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

After nightfall, all was quiet.

The campfire died down, with only faint embers occasionally casting a last, shimmering glow in the ashes.

Hundreds of Han soldiers on Daqingshan Mountain huddled around a bonfire, wrapped in cloaks and huddled together for warmth.

The direction behind us is Daqingshan Mountain.

But instead of the usual quiet after nightfall, the Daqingshan Mountains were filled with rustling sounds.

Under the cover of darkness, figures dressed in gray or white animal fur coats and carrying short swords moved through the woods.

Just like a herd of beasts in a dense forest.

Upon closer inspection, they are densely packed, covering the entire eastern slope of Daqingshan Mountain.

Aside from the sound of footsteps and the crunching of branches underfoot, everyone had a stick in their mouth.

Below the mountain was the Han army's garrison.

These soldiers, armed with short swords, with braided hair, some even bald, and wearing animal skin hats, were clearly heading towards the Han army camp.

After a period of searching, the densely packed soldiers on Daqingshan Mountain saw that they were about a hundred meters away from the Han army camp.

At this moment, at the foot of the mountain, a group of Han soldiers carrying torches were patrolling around the camp.

The leader was none other than the village head, Meng Ji.

"It's fucking cold."

Meng Ji muttered something under his breath, then went to a big tree and unzipped his pants.

The soldiers behind him, holding torches, moved closer to Meng Ji.

"What are you doing?"

Meng Ji turned around, glared at the soldier, and laughed and scolded, "You brat, didn't you see I needed to pee?"

"Are you trying to spy on my bird?"

"If you want to see, unzip your pants and see for yourself, damn it."

The soldier shrank back sheepishly and chuckled.

After relieving himself, Meng Ji shook himself, then pulled up his waistband, took the wine flask Zhang Xun had given him from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and leaned forward to smell it.

"The wine from the military commander is really good."

Meng Ji muttered to himself, "After my wife gives birth, I'll treat everyone to a good meal when we get back."

Upon hearing Meng Ji mention drinking, his soldiers immediately perked up.

"Village Chief, can we come along and have a drink with you?"

"Yes, village chief, we also want to drink good wine."

Meng Ji raised his eyes and glared at several of his soldiers.

"You bunch of brats, are you trying to drink me out of house and home?"

"There are fifty people in the village. If they all come to my place for a drink..."

"My whole family is going to starve to death this year."

"Go away, go away, go somewhere cool and stay there."

Meng Ji raised his hand and waved.

The soldiers following behind Meng Ji chuckled.

The group had known Meng Ji for several years.

They naturally knew Meng Ji.

Although he said he wouldn't invite her, Meng Ji would definitely invite her.

Border regions are not as good as the Central Plains.

In times of war, they are soldiers; in times of peace, they are farmers.

The border military settlements meant that generations of them were destined to live together.

They were from the same hometown, comrades-in-arms, and neighbors.

It's clear that this is no ordinary matter.

Just as the group was chatting and laughing, a crisp sound suddenly came from the woods not far away.

It sounded like a tree branch being broken.

Meng Ji's ears perked up instantly.

He then gestured for the soldiers behind him to be quiet.

"Shh!"

Meng Ji craned his neck to look at the woods not far away.

The slopes of Daqingshan Mountain are not far away.

This place is desolate year-round, and it is common for wild beasts to roam freely.

"Let's see if there's anything that's not looking properly, and we'll catch it for you to have a treat." Meng Ji pressed his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist.

The soldiers behind Meng Ji immediately shut their mouths and hid their torches behind them, afraid of disturbing any wild beasts that might appear in the forest.

However, just as Meng Ji stretched his head to look into the woods...

Suddenly, a fierce howl rang out.

The next second, an arrow made of bone arrowhead shot towards Meng Ji.

Whoosh!

The arrows were extremely fast, and Meng Ji had no time to react or dodge.

puff!

"what!"

The arrow pierced Meng Ji's left eye in the next second.

Fortunately, the distance was far, and the arrows made of bone were not very powerful.

With a cry of pain, Meng Ji gritted his teeth and fiercely grabbed the arrow shaft, pulling it out of his left eye.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The Huns!"

"Enemy attack!"

Meng Ji glanced at the arrow and shouted that it was the Xiongnu.

The arrows used by Han soldiers mostly had bronze or iron arrowheads.

During the reign of Tan Shihuai, the Xianbei plundered artisans extensively, which is why the arrowheads they have been using in recent years are all made of iron.

Only the Xiongnu, who were driven out and defeated by the Xianbei and have been declining in recent years, and other tribes in the northern steppes, used bone arrowheads.

Fresh blood flowed down Meng Ji's left eye.

However, this did not slow down Meng Ji's reaction speed or his action of drawing his sword.

Under the cover of night, Meng Ji's voice boomed like thunder, instantly waking the Han army in the camp.

And the large groups of Xiongnu people in the Daqing Mountains no longer hid.

One by one, they spat out the wooden sticks they were holding in their mouths, then brandished their iron swords and shouted loudly as they charged out of the Daqingshan Mountains.

Seeing that there were so many Xiongnu, they were no ordinary small tribe, so Meng Ji immediately retreated quickly.

"Quickly, wake up the military commander! It's the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu!" Meng Ji shouted loudly.

In the distant camp, most of the Han soldiers had been awakened by Meng Ji's loud shouts.

Zhang Xun, who was in the middle of a dream, suddenly woke up and grabbed the sword beside him.

After getting up and regaining his balance, Zhang Xun saw Meng Ji retreating towards the camp with a torch in his hand.

At this moment, a large number of Xiongnu soldiers had rushed out from the Daqing Mountains.

It was pitch black.

Moreover, there was a constant stream of Xiongnu soldiers, their figures mingling within the mountains.

In the distance, on the flat grassland leading to southern Mongolia, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed.

Although they were not visible, they were definitely Xiongnu cavalry.

"Form ranks! Shi Feng, you lead your men to form ranks and block the enemy. The rest of you, mount your horses immediately and protect the Prefect as he departs!"

"Quick, quick!"

Zhang Xun shouted loudly.

However, due to the darkness of night, most of the awakened soldiers were unaware of what was happening around them and could not see clearly, so the camp was thrown into chaos for a time.

"My lord, it's the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu!"

With blood gushing from his eyes, Meng Ji shouted loudly and ran towards Zhang Xun.

Upon seeing Meng Ji's bloodied and mangled eye, Zhang Xun immediately frowned.

"Meng Ji, take your men and protect the Prefect, leave immediately and return to Pingcheng Pass!"

"Hurry up!" Zhang Xun shouted.

Meng Ji shook his head violently: "No, General, I'll stay, you go."

The Xiongnu horses were fast, and their archery skills were superb.

If we leave together now, we will definitely be chased by the Xiongnu cavalry.

Therefore, if most people were to evacuate safely, some people needed to stay behind to contain the Xiongnu.

This has long been a common practice for the border troops.

Moreover, those who delay will face a near-certain death.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Xun frowned and shouted angrily, "I am a military commander, and you are a military commander!"

"Just leave when I tell you to. If you utter another word, you'll be dealt with by the warlords!"

Zhang Xun drew his sword from his waist; by then, all the Han soldiers had awakened.

The Han army camp, once lit by torches, resembled a giant ring of fire.

All around them were swarms of dark Hun wolves.

Zhang Xun glanced at the charging Xiongnu soldiers, his brows furrowed.

With so many Xiongnu soldiers, they were definitely not from an ordinary tribe.

It is highly likely that it was an ambush.

Because this place is close to Pingcheng Pass, large Xiongnu tribes generally do not come here to graze their livestock.

But why would there be an ambush here?

After a brief period of confusion, the Han army began to form battle formations.

The Han Dynasty fought against the Xiongnu and Xianbei, nomadic peoples of the grasslands, for hundreds of years, and had long since developed a perfect combat system.

There was no point in running away when faced with the Xiongnu's charge.

The soldiers who remained on the perimeter were ordered to keep their warhorses out.

The Xiongnu soldiers, who had already begun to raise their bows and arrows, were launching a counterattack against the approaching troops from the direction of Daqingshan.

With the warhorses blocking their way, even if the Xiongnu cavalry charged, they would not be able to break through the army's formation for a while.

Meng Ji covered his eyes with one hand, looked at Zhang Xun with the other, and then nodded vigorously.

"Here!"

Zhang Xun nodded to Meng Ji as well.

Between life and death, no words were exchanged; the two men, with a single, shared glance, understood everything.

If I die in battle, my family will naturally be taken care of by you from now on.

Meng Ji suddenly turned around and walked towards Wang Rou's direction.

At this moment, nearly a hundred cavalrymen in the direction where Wang Rou was located had already mounted their horses.

Meng Ji loudly ordered his soldiers to bring over their warhorses.

"Please, Your Excellency, evacuate immediately. The military commander will lead troops to block your retreat and buy you time to escape," Meng Jin said loudly as he approached Wang Rou's elite cavalry.

Chen, the clerk who had already mounted his horse, nodded.

Meng Ji mounted his horse.

Before leaving, he turned his head and glanced at the position where torches formed a huge circle.

At this moment, the Xiongnu who had rushed out from within the Daqing Mountains were already close to the battle formation.

Half of the soldiers lowered their bows and arrows and drew their swords from their waists.

Without fear, he met the charging Xiongnu soldiers head-on, ready for close combat.

In terms of mounted archery, the Han army was no match for the Xiongnu.

But if we're talking about cavalry charges or close combat on foot, that's a different story.

One Han Chinese can fight against five Hu barbarians!

The Han soldiers were well-equipped, while most of the Xiongnu soldiers were unarmored.

In close combat, three or four Han soldiers forming a battle formation might not be able to gain the upper hand against a dozen or so Xiongnu soldiers.

Moreover, it was dark at this time, which was not suitable for mounted archery. Even if the cavalry charged close, they would have no choice but to dismount and fight in close combat.

"General, hang in there! I'll be right back for you!" Meng Ji muttered, then whipped his horse and galloped towards Pingcheng Pass.

...........

Rumble!

The sound of horses' hooves kicking up dust was like muffled thunder in the night.

As Wang Rou's elite cavalry advanced further and further ahead, Meng Ji was filled with worry about the battlefield behind him, where the sounds of battle had faded into silence.

Having estimated that he had been galloping for nearly half an hour, Meng Ji gritted his teeth and quickened his pace to catch up with Wang Rou's personal guards.

"Lord, hold on, I'll be right back."

As he spoke, Meng Ji urged his horse to give chase.

However, just as Meng Ji was leading his thirty-odd men in pursuit of Wang Rou's elite cavalry guards...

As Meng Ji rounded the cliff, he was surprised to find that the elite cavalry under Prefect Wang Rou had stopped in the distance.

Why did it stop?

Meng Ji was taken aback.

Just as I was about to ask, I heard a shout coming from not far away.

“Military Commander Zhang Xun secretly colluded with the Xiongnu and ambushed the Prefect. His crime deserves to be punished.”

"Fire arrows!"