Three Kingdoms: Ten Times Speed, Diao Chan Says I'm Too Fast

The mountain road north of Tianjing Pass leading to Gaodu County lies across the Taihang Mountains like a dark, winding snake.

When cavalrymen reached places where the roads were difficult to traverse, they had to dismount and walk.

Even in the widest part of the road, only three warhorses could pass side by side.

Gongsun Zan's cavalry and the garrison at Tianjing Pass were divided into two parts, resembling a snake's head and a dragon's body.

They are about a mile apart.

The mountain road is flanked by dense forests and steep cliffs.

The garrison commander of Tianjing Pass rode on horseback, directing the army forward while constantly having scouts report back on the situation ahead. His expression was solemn and tense as he looked at the surrounding woods on both sides.

"General, no enemy troops have been spotted three miles ahead."

The scout, who had rushed back, reported to the captain guarding Tianjing Pass.

"Scout, scout again, find out five li ahead." The captain guarding Tianjing Pass gave the order: "If you find enemy troops, return immediately and report."

After receiving the order, the scout turned around and went to investigate again.

..............

The canyon walls, shrouded in twilight, were sheer and sharp, and the valley floor, barely wide enough for three riders to pass side by side, was covered with decaying leaves.

The soldiers moving through the valley took each step with extreme caution, as if afraid of disturbing the spirits of the forest or the lurking beasts.

A tense atmosphere permeated the valley.

A young soldier followed behind the corporal, his cloth clothes billowing in the cold wind that swept through the valley.

"Corporal, I feel a chill in me," the young soldier said in a low voice.

The sergeant walking in front turned around and glanced at the soldiers behind him.

"Keep your eyes open and be alert. If you really encounter enemy soldiers later, run as far back as you can. Remember not to block the middle of the road, but run along the sides of the road."

The sergeant's voice was very soft, and only Li behind him could hear it.

Upon hearing the sergeant's words, Li looked puzzled.

Seeing the look in Li's eyes, the sergeant offered an additional explanation.

“We are surrounded by cavalry. If there is a big charge, they will definitely be the first to come. If you run in the middle of the road, once the cavalry starts charging, they will not care if you are the enemy or anyone else. They will all rush over. If you stand in front, you will be trampled into mincemeat. Do you understand?”

Li understood this time and nodded vigorously.

Veterans always seem to have a premonition of the killing intent on the battlefield.

Even if the scouts ahead report that there are no enemy soldiers.

But the aging corporal seemed to have already caught a whiff of war and the faint, metallic scent of bronze.

The young soldier behind him was named Li.

He was a new recruit who had been enlisted not long ago.

Because he looked like the eldest son who died in battle on the northern grasslands many years ago, the corporal always took extra care of him.

After listening to the corporal's words, Li followed closely behind him, gripping his only weapon, the spear, tightly in his hand.

Just as the corporal turned around and continued marching forward.

A whooshing sound rang out.

puff!

The sound arrived in front of him very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the sergeant, who was speaking just a second ago, was struck in the temple by a sharp arrow.

The powerful arrow pierced the corporal's temple.

Without a helmet, the corporal collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Corporal!"

A gasp escaped his lips.

hum!

It sounded like the buzzing of a bird flapping its wings in fear.

Li subconsciously looked up at the sky.

A dense rain of arrows slowly fell from the sky.

Rumble!

The logs and rocks that had been rolling down the cliff had crashed down with a loud bang.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! There's an ambush! There's an ambush!"

Shouts erupted from the awakened soldiers.

Thick pine logs, as thick as bowls, crashed into the ranks, severed limbs and fragments of armor scattering across the bluish-gray rock face.

The enemy's whistles echoed from the top of the valley, and the simultaneous humming of hundreds of horn bows drowned out the terrified screams of the Tianjing Pass soldiers.

"Raise shields! Raise shields! Gather together! Raise shields to defend!"

The guard captain of Tianjing Pass, riding in the middle of the formation, shouted loudly.

The soldier with the shield trembled as he raised the wooden shield above his head.

However, the launched arrows formed a downward parabola after ascending into the air, the iron arrowheads piercing through the wooden shields with a dull thud, the arrowheads stabbing straight into the soldiers' arms.

Even so, the soldiers still dared not put down their shields.

If you put it down, the arrow won't hit your arm, but your head.

Even so, soldiers continued to fall to the ground, shot down by arrows.

The rolling stone on the cliff smashed through the dead wood, and crashed into the crowd with small stones and splashed black soil.

In an instant, cries of agony filled the air.

Lucky looked at the corporal lying in front of him, and then at himself, who only had a spear.

At this moment, the corporal's dying words began to rouse his legs, which had been numb with fear.

run.

Run along both sides of the road.

Make way for the cavalry to charge.

He lifted his numb legs, turned around, and ran towards the back.

Driven by his instinct to survive, he just wanted to escape from there as quickly as possible.

dong dong!

dong dong!

dong dong!

Heavy footsteps, like war drums, echoed from the other end of the valley.

Rows of burly soldiers, each wielding a shield taller than half a person and clad in heavy armor, marched in orderly steps toward the Tianjing Pass garrison, which was huddled together in defense.

Behind the giant shield were long spears, each three meters long.

Upon seeing this, the guard captain of Tianjing Pass dared not linger for a moment and spurred his horse to gallop away.

When the commander fled, the surrounding soldiers naturally scattered and broke up.

After leaving behind hundreds of corpses, the Tianjing Pass garrison fled in the direction they had come from.

Qu Yi rode behind hundreds of soldiers wielding halberds and wearing heavy armor.

With a cold smile on his lips, he pressed forward relentlessly.

"A white horse?"

"Humph."

..............

Gongsun Zan, who was about a mile away, was leading his White Horse Cavalry forward when he soon saw the routed army fleeing back from the front.

Seeing the shields studded with arrows and the panicked expressions on the faces of the fleeing soldiers, Gongsun Zan knew that they must have encountered an ambush ahead.

"General, it's bad! There's an ambush ahead!"

The guard captain of Tianjing Pass, who had luckily escaped back, shouted loudly.

Gongsun Zan frowned, but showed no surprise.

In fact, the thousand guards at Tianjing Pass were used by Gongsun Zan as bait.

This was Gongsun Zan's plan before he set off.

There were ambushes ahead, and the first to suffer were the thousand guards of Tianjing Pass who were used as bait.

The question now is how many ambushes there are.

"How many soldiers are lying in ambush? Can you see who the general is?" Gongsun Zan shouted.

The panicked soldier pointed to the area behind him: "We can't see how many soldiers are lying in ambush in the valleys on both sides, but there are over a thousand soldiers lying in ambush in the valley passages."

Only a thousand people?

Gongsun Zan looked at the passable valley ahead.

The road here is wide enough to accommodate three horses abreast.

This width is sufficient for a cavalry charge.

More than a thousand...

Even if there are ambushes between the valleys on both sides, how could the infantry possibly withstand the charge of the cavalry unless the road is blocked with huge rocks and logs?

What's more, it was his White Horse Cavalry.

"Yan Gang, Shan Jing, lead your cavalry forward in a charge!"

"Break through the Liangzhou army blocking our way!" Gongsun Zan ordered.

"only!"

"only!"

Following behind Gongsun Zan, Yan Gang and Shan Jing spurred their horses and began to accelerate, each carrying a long spear.

The large cavalry following behind the two men surged toward the other side of the valley.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed, creating a thunderous, earthquake-like roar between the two sides of the valley.

The Tianjingguan garrison, who had just escaped Qu Yi's blockade and were fleeing in this direction, were caught off guard and trampled by the charging warhorses.

As the cavalrymen brushed past him, Li, who had collapsed into the withered grass by the roadside, recalled the words his sergeant had told him before he died.

On the other side, Qu Yi led eight hundred vanguard soldiers and five hundred halberd warriors, who were already lined up neatly and blocking the valley.

The heavy shields were planted in the ground, forming layers of shield walls.

The soldiers forming the shield wall were clad in heavy armor and wore iron helmets, revealing only their determined eyes.

One-third of these two hundred shield bearers were members of the Qu clan.

He was a cousin of Qu Yi.

Unless they are all killed in battle, they will not retreat a single step unless Qu Yi gives the order.

The remaining two-thirds were also the elite of the Liangzhou army, all of them strong and healthy.

Without this quality, it would be impossible to dare to face a cavalry charge head-on.

This is also the source of Qu Yi's confidence.

Besides these two hundred shield soldiers, there were three hundred crossbowmen behind them.

Interspersed among the three hundred crossbowmen were three hundred longbowmen.

A row of crossbowmen and a row of longbowmen, moving back and forth, filled twenty rows.

Further behind were five hundred halberd warriors clad in heavy armor and wielding large halberds.

These five hundred halberd warriors were also carefully trained by Qu Yi, specifically to counter cavalry.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves shook the sand and gravel on the ground.

Groups of cavalrymen revealed their strength at the bend in the valley.

"crossbow!"

Qu Yi, on horseback, raised the command flag in his hand.

The crossbowmen in the first row placed their crossbows on the shield-bearers' thick, massive shields.

"bow!"

Qu Yi raised the command flag.

The longbowman standing behind the crossbowman drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and raised it high into the air.

"rush!"

Clad in armor, Yan Gang and Shan Jing raised their spears, pointing them directly at Qu Yi's army ahead.

The cavalryman lowered his head, held his lance horizontally, and spurred his horse's belly with his legs to begin a rapid charge.

hum!

The hum of a powerful crossbow bolt rang out.

The crossbow bolts fired horizontally and the arrows fired from the bow were launched almost simultaneously.

After the first row of crossbowmen and the second row of archers fired a volley, they began to retreat in an orderly fashion. Then, the third row of crossbowmen and the fourth row of archers immediately stepped forward and launched a second wave of arrows in seamless succession.

The crossbow bolts, fired horizontally, were like the scythe of death, slicing through the charging cavalry like wheat being harvested.

The rain of arrows falling from the sky looked like clenched fists, crashing down from above.

In an instant, people and horses were thrown into chaos in the valley.