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

Inside Jinyang City.

noon.

Magistrate Chen Wei, who had just finished handling official business in the county, returned to his spacious mansion.

After changing into casual clothes, Chen Wei took his seat in the main hall.

A group of scantily clad maids carried wooden lacquered trays and placed exquisite dishes in front of Chen Wei.

Two pretty maids knelt on either side of him, using long chopsticks to pick up dishes and gently place them in the lacquerware bowls and plates in front of Chen Wei.

The other person used a wooden spoon to scoop a spoonful of wine from the wine jar next to him and put it into a wine vessel.

Chen Wei did not pick up the bowl and chopsticks in front of him, but instead unfolded a scroll of bamboo slips.

As soon as he opened his mouth, a maidservant brought him dishes with long chopsticks, followed by a sip of fine wine.

"This evaluation is the best out of the three years. If all goes well, I will be able to become a county official next year."

As Chen Wei stroked his beard, he envisioned a bright future.

Although Bingzhou is bitterly cold.

Fortunately, the trade here is quite developed.

With income from trading furs, minerals, and salt wells, plus the fact that the prefect was his mentor, Chen Wei amassed a considerable fortune during his three years in office.

This time, he has once again connected with Wang Yun. As long as he goes to Luoyang before winter and pays a sum of money, he will definitely be appointed as the next prefect.

Although he could not be the governor of a prefecture, he would certainly need a prefectural assistant.

If you can endure for another three to five years, you will become the prefect.

As the governor of a prefecture, a high-ranking official with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), he had truly entered the ranks of officials.

"liquor."

Chen Ye, feeling quite pleased with himself, took a sip of wine.

The beautiful maid beside him quickly picked up a wine cup and presented it to Chen Ye.

But before Chen Ye could reach out to catch it...

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the main hall.

A middle-aged scholar strode into the main hall, his face showing anxiety and panic. Upon entering, he immediately bowed to Chen Ye and said urgently:

"My lord, something terrible has happened."

"Something terrible has happened! Disaster has struck! Disaster has struck!"

Ok?

Chen Ye, who was about to drink, was taken aback.

"What trouble has happened?"

"Speak clearly."

The middle-aged man who entered the main hall was Chen Ye's advisor.

He was also the chief clerk in Jinyang County.

Officials like Chen Ye, a county magistrate, or Liu Wei, a prefectural governor, would have their own staff.

They are also advisors.

They are usually used for discussing and brainstorming.

Moreover, they mostly served as civil servants.

They usually help with things like checking for omissions and filling in gaps.

The chief clerk looked at Chen Ye with a look of horror, then turned his gaze to the maids in the hall.

Chen Ye frowned and waved his hand.

The maids, understanding the unspoken message, rose, bowed, and then, with their hands on their waists and heads bowed, respectfully retreated from the main hall.

After all the maids had left, the registrar finally spoke:

"My lord, something terrible has happened."

"That Duan Yu... that Duan Yu is back!"

"what?"

Chen Ye was taken aback.

Duan Yu is back?

still alive?

this.....

How is this possible?

The bandits of Longshan numbered over three hundred, and their leader, Li Shanfeng, and others were particularly fierce.

Duan Yu only had twenty-odd people, and they were caught off guard by the enemy's strategy. How could Duan Yu possibly have come back alive?

"He escaped?" Chen Ye asked, frowning.

The registrar quickly shook his head.

He said in an extremely solemn tone and with a serious expression, "No."

"My lord, Duan Yu has slaughtered more than 300 bandits from Longshan and is currently leading the heads of more than 300 bandits east of Jinyang City."

"The city was in an uproar at this point."

"Thousands of people gathered outside the city gate and witnessed it all."

Chen Ye's eyes widened instantly.

Even the bamboo slips in his hand were so frightened that they fell to the ground.

"You... what did you say?" Chen Ye raised his voice, "You said Duan Yu slaughtered all three hundred bandits of Longshan?"

The clerk nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, sir, there are more than three hundred people, more than three hundred bloody heads, piled up outside the east side of the city."

"Duan Yu and his men were unharmed."

The clerk also found it unbelievable when he said this.

As Chen Ye's chief clerk and advisor, he was naturally aware of the inside story of Duan Yu's expedition into the mountains to suppress the bandits.

Duan Yu, a guerrilla commander, brought only twenty-odd people with him.

Although the county government dispatched the bandit chief Liu He and dozens of soldiers.

However, the role of these officers and soldiers was to monitor Duan Yu.

They weren't helping Duan Yu suppress the bandits.

What methods did Duan Yu use, or what extraordinary abilities did he possess, to be able to kill more than three hundred bandits in Longshan?

"Where is Liu He? Where is Liu He?" Chen Ye asked hurriedly.

The chief clerk shook his head and said, "My lord, things have happened too quickly."

"I have also sent people to investigate."

"but....."

The chief clerk said with a solemn expression, "However, I feel that the odds are against us."

"Furthermore, I believe we should immediately inform the Prefect, as the bandits of Longshan have extensive connections."

"I'm worried that Duan Yu may have learned something from Li Shanfeng, the bandit leader of Longshan, and he might..."

Chen Ye suddenly stood up from his seat.

The bandits of Longshan were named after their mentor, Prefect Liu Wei.

When Wang Gai asked him for help, he did not tell his mentor Liu Wei about it.

Chen Ye didn't take the mere vagrants in the village seriously at all.

but now......

The bandits of Longshan were completely wiped out.

That would be a big problem.

He might be punished.

And the staff were right.

If Duan Yu learns something from the bandit leader Li Shanfeng, things could get very serious.

"Quick!"

"Get a car ready immediately and take me to my mentor's place."

Chen Ye couldn't wait to change his clothes and walked out of the main hall in his casual clothes.

The chief clerk behind him quickly followed Chen Ye's footsteps.

"Prepare a car to take me to my mentor's place. Also, send more people to inquire about the whereabouts of the bandit leader Li Shanfeng and the bandit Liu He."

"We must confirm whether the two are still alive or something."

“Only these two know the key to it,” Chen Ye said.

The chief clerk following behind Chen Ye nodded repeatedly.

"Damn it," Chen Ye gritted his teeth.

A small game of tag!

They actually forced him into this situation.

He wasn't worried about what Duan Yu could do.

In any case, Duan Yu is just a lowly wandering soldier; how could he possibly cause any great upheaval?

What he was worried about was the reprimand from his mentor, Prefect Liu Wei.

Even if Duan Yu learned some inside information from Li Shanfeng and Liu He, so what?

How could they possibly defy the heavens?

If he wanted to kill Duan Yu, it would only take a single word from him.

But all the bandits of Longshan were dead. They were bandits raised by his mentor to amass wealth.

Nowadays, every official must pay a fee to the local officials before taking office.

For example, an official position with an annual salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain) was priced at 20 million coins.

Of course, this is just a standard, not a fixed one.

Those seeking official positions can submit bids based on estimated prices, and the person with the highest bid will be awarded the position.

In addition to a fixed price, the amount can be increased or decreased at any time based on the applicant's social standing and wealth.

Therefore, to become an official nowadays, one needs not only status and talent, but also money.

When a new prefect takes office, he must pay at least tens of millions of coins.

If one relied solely on their salary, it would take hundreds of years to accumulate this amount of money.

Where does the money come from?

The only solution is to find one yourself.

Now that Li Shanfeng is dead, it's as if his mentor Liu Wei's path to wealth has been cut off.

This effectively cut off his mentor's financial path to promotion and new appointment.

"That damned country bumpkin," Chen Ye cursed as he walked out of the mansion.