In late April 1785, Murasaki Hide led the main force of the expeditionary force to the city of Forzbia and met with the forward army group stationed in the city. When Murasaki Hide arrived, a very strange thing happened: as

Roger, the deputy commander of the forward army, disappeared in the city of Frogzbia!

The staff of the forward army could not explain his whereabouts. They only knew that he had gone out alone all night and did not return. Zichuan Xiu and Lin Bing were greatly worried, but they were worried that the local demon tribe had murdered him. Zichuan Xiu was particularly worried because Roger

It was his beloved general who he single-handedly brought out. He ordered: "You must see a person alive, and a corpse must be seen when dead! If anything happens to Roger, then the entire Yakun tribe of Vogelsbia will be buried in his honour!"

"

The expeditionary force launched a large-scale search. Lin Bing sent all the military police to rummage through the city and searched for a whole day. In the end, nothing was found. In the evening, when Zichuan Xiu and Lin Bing returned to the headquarters dejectedly, they both thought that Roger was

The situation was definitely in danger. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the door, he saw Roger with a bruised nose and face, wolfing down his dinner. He ate all the food brought by Zichuanxiu. While eating, he greeted Zichuanxiu: "Sir,

You came back so late!”

"You...where did you come back from? Why were you beaten so badly?"

"Sir, it's a long story! In order to find out the enemy's situation, I went out last night to inspect the sentiments of the demon tribe. When I was having a peaceful and friendly in-depth exchange with the local indigenous people who admired our civilization, I was suddenly attacked by a group of people with malicious intentions.

The demon mob attacked! Although I was very brave, the enemy was really outnumbered and had advanced weapons to help. The fierce battle was really fierce. Despite all the disadvantages, in the end, I still used the spirit of a fearless warrior

Defeated the enemy and defended the dignity of the expeditionary force with brilliant achievements! Oh, what a thrilling experience it was!"

"Oh, you've worked really hard!" Zichuanxiu turned around and ordered Lin Bing angrily: "Send this warrior to the solitary room! Don't give him food and starve him until he screams. This will prevent him from running out with so much energy.

Fight with someone!"

"Ah, sir! I screamed, ah... ah..."

Afterwards, Scholar Zichuan found out. It turned out that Roger went to hook up with a local demon girl, but was blocked by her husband on the bed. Zichuan's red flag was tied up with a big stick by several strong demon guys.

He was beaten severely, until he howled like a ghost, and cried for mercy. Finally, he was put into a sack and imprisoned for a day and a night.

"If it hadn't been for your timely rescue, my lord, I would have been murdered by those villains! They dared to murder the general of my expeditionary force and despise the military power of my family. My lord, you must avenge me!" Holding Zi Chuanxiu's thigh,

Roger said with tears.

Zichuan Xiu said with a straight face: "The military power of the Zichuan family has nothing to do with being a pervert who stole sex and was beaten."

Thinking that this guy's romantic activities had alarmed so many people, Zichuan Xiu angrily ordered to extend Roger's confinement period by one week, and only gave him carrots every day. When Roger came out, his eyes were as red as a rabbit.

During his stay in Georgia, Zi Chuanxiu's main job was to collect debts and urge Yagomi to pay compensation of three million taels of gold. This amount was so huge that Yagomi even used the gold buttons on his own clothes.

After peeling it off to replenish the money, he rummaged through boxes and cabinets and only managed to collect less than 1.8 million taels of gold. The gap was so huge that he had to send an envoy to see Zichuan Xiu and beg for reduction or exemption of compensation.

"Sir, we really can't find even half a gram of yellow stuff. I beg you to be magnanimous. A little more tolerant!"

Zi Chuanxiu was extremely determined: "Reduction or exemption is impossible!" Seeing the disappointed look on the messenger's face, he changed his tone: "But if the Yakun tribe is temporarily inconvenient, it is not impossible to postpone the payment. But you have to provide some collateral.

.”

The result of the negotiation was that the gold mines in the Yakun territory were handed over to Zichuanxiu as collateral, and the balance of the compensation was guaranteed to be paid within one year with an interest of 20%. If it exceeds one year, the interest will increase to 30% -

- Yagomi had a wishful thinking. Anyway, the human expeditionary force cannot stay in the demon territory for a long time. Even if the gold mine is handed over to them, they don't have the time and time to mine it, so the remaining compensation can be wasted.

Yagomi had a good idea, but unfortunately, he got the wrong target. He didn't know that he was facing not only the Zichuan family's leading young general, but also a rare profiteer in millennia. His little calculation,

In Zizhongxiu's opinion, it was not worth mentioning. Zichuanxiu changed hands and sold the one-year right to use the gold mine to Gotak Khan for 1.5 million taels of gold - unlike the gold mines in the territory.

Goyami, there is not much gold in the Gotakhan clan, and he can only spend 700,000 taels of gold with all his money, but he promised to pay off the balance within two years after he ascended the throne.

Zi Chuanxiu sneered: "Two years? In two years, you will be the emperor of the demon clan! The most difficult thing in the world is to ask for debts from the emperor, and I am not stupid!"

The two dilly-dallyed for a long time, and finally Zichuanxiu reluctantly gave in and allowed Goda Khan to use the clan's treasures to fully pay off the debt. As for the price of the Ge'ang clan's treasures - Master Xiuchuan calculated carefully.

He couldn't even compare with the court officials of those centuries-old pawnshops. He bought precious furs by the pound, jewelry by the sack, rare jade toys by the piece, and calligraphy and painting cultural relics by the price of scrap paper. Goda Khan was so worn out by him that he wanted to

cry.

Looking at Zichuanxiu bargaining excitedly, Gotha Khan blurted out: "Sir, I haven't had much dealings with the senior officials of the Zichuan family, and I don't know your people. However, I guess that among the generals of the Zichuan family, you should be the most popular.

Someone who’s more of an outlier?”

"Uh? What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Goda Khan smiled bitterly and kept shaking his head. If another general led the army to attack the kingdom, at most he would burn, kill and plunder a few cities, and at the worst, he would carry out a few massacres. This would not scare the demons.

——No matter how cruel the enemy is, the kingdom has seen it. Is there any creature in the world more cruel than the demons? Only Zi Chuanxiu has not fought many battles since entering the country, and has looted countless money. For him, it is simply

There are no sacred things. The hatred of the country and the family can be paid with money, lives can be redeemed, and death can be avoided by paying money to massacre the city. Even the position of the demon emperor is sold with a clear price. This serious and brutal revenge and counterattack was

It's like doing business. I don't know if a person like this is approaching the war against the kingdom. I don't know if it's a tragedy for the kingdom or a blessing.

After knocking Yagomi with a big bamboo pole in the city of Fogrozbia, in early May of 785, the expeditionary force continued to advance towards the Demon Castle, passing through Damlerdan and Mentesivaste along the way.

Ah, Mizmigrad and other places—these place names of the demons always make Zichuanxiu furious...

Since leaving the land of the Goang tribe and entering the land of the Yakun tribe, the army has moved from the open and vast plains into the undulating mountains. Unlike the lush and green mountains and forests in the inland and the Far East, the mountains here fit the bill at first sight. The barren mountains and rivers, barren grass, bad rocks and phosphorus, dangerous peaks and scorched earth, coupled with the gloomy sky covered with dark clouds, make people feel extremely sinister at first sight?br>

The officers and soldiers were all talking about how unruly people came out of poor mountains and harsh waters. The water and soil of the demons were so dangerous. No wonder the demons they produced were so hateful.

Ever since he entered the Demon Kingdom, the fear of encountering a large-scale guerrilla war from the enemy has been a lingering shadow in Zichuanxiu's mind, especially after seeing such a dangerous landscape. His uneasiness became even stronger. Lin encountered countless guerrillas and rebels when he was quelling the chaos in the Far East. The demons also encountered desperate resistance from the residents when they invaded the Far East and the mainland. Now, the human expeditionary force is facing the same situation, and the demons' reputation for being strong and bloody has become even stronger. Better than the Far East, invading this country with strong folk customs will inevitably lead to a terrible guerrilla war.

In my imagination, as soon as I entered the country, all kinds of guerrillas, death squads, death squads, Yamaguchi groups, and boy scouts would swarm forward. I and my subordinates were exhausted and were fighting all day long. In order to deal with the resistance and guerrillas from various places, Zichuan Xiudu was prepared to lose 30,000 troops.

But what happened shocked the senior leaders of the expeditionary force: Since entering the territory of the demon clan, except for Yagomi who also made some resistance, the people have not responded at all. The submissiveness of the demon clan people was surprising to Zichuanxiu. The expeditionary force shouted : "I want food!" The demon natives immediately emptied their last rice bag; the expeditionary army said: "I want wood!" So the indigenous residents obediently removed their roof beams and sent them to the expeditionary army as firewood; the expeditionary army The army said: "We need labor!" So the village chief went from house to house to recruit strong men to transport food and grass for the expeditionary army.

Seeing this situation, Wen He and others were greatly encouraged, thinking that they were doing justice to the unjust and relieving the people, so the righteous teachers were supported by all the people. But as time went by, Zi Chuanxiu discovered that this was not the case at all! It was not the case! Because the demon residents love and support the Expeditionary Force, the "Justice Liberation Army", this is purely due to the traditional characteristics of the demons respecting power. The demons are accustomed to obeying the strong. The Demon God Emperor was powerful back then, and they were all against the demon god. The emperor bowed his head and obeyed his orders; now the Demon God Emperor was defeated by the Zichuan family, and the expeditionary army's cavalry and sabers fell on them, so they all obeyed the Zichuan family again.

Zi Chuanxiu really couldn't understand, what on earth were thinking in those green heads? The human army was heading towards their capital. They were so calm and didn't care at all?

"What they obey is only strength, not justice. When such a large country is facing collapse, not a single subject stands up and fights for her. This is really incredible!"

The demons have a capricious temperament. They are loyal to the main group, but also rebellious. They are cruel and bloody, and look down upon death. At the same time, they are as cowardly as rats, and will fall apart at the slightest touch. With so many contradictory personalities concentrated in one race, they actually still have It is incredible that he did not die from schizophrenia.

Along the way, the roads in the Demon Clan were not as smooth and wide as those in the mainland. They were mostly potholed mud roads, which became muddy during the rainy season. Because the expeditionary army packed a lot of baggage, the march was very difficult. Even though they were not attacked Blocking and intercepting, but the daily forward speed is only fifty or sixty miles.

Since passing Mizmigrad, the terrain we passed has changed again, from mountains to deserts. In the mainland, people often say that the demon clan is vast and sparsely populated, but after experiencing it personally, Xiucai Zichuan understands how desolate the empty country is.

The situation was such that after four days of driving and almost three hundred miles of walking, there was not even a small town or even a small village in sight, let alone a city.

At first, Zi Chuanxiu thought that the demons were practicing the strategy of clearing out the wilderness, but the guide told him that this place was originally deserted, and there was no one living within hundreds of kilometers of the Gobi.

Weeds, lonely roads, endless yellow sand, suffocating silence, and blowing wind and sand. Survival, the most basic life activity, has become a luxury in this land.

It was early summer. But the sun on the Gobi was already so fierce that it was blinding. Even Zichuanxiu's originally fair complexion was tanned and rough. In the morning, strong winds and sand blew from time to time, and the soldiers of the expeditionary army took off their clothes one after another.

They wore heavy armor, covered their heads and faces with their coats, and trudged forward against the wind and sand. In many places, the yellow sand obscured the road, and the men and horses had to wade through foot-deep sand nests, and could only walk step by step. In the team,

From time to time, the wheels of a carriage loaded with baggage would get stuck in a sand pit and unable to get out. At that time, a whole team of soldiers would have to work together to push the cart and pull it out. The men and horses were exhausted and sweating profusely.

During this kind of march in the Gobi, the biggest threat was the lack of water. Because of the hot weather and excessive physical exertion, all the drinking water carried by the army was consumed in just two days. There was a panic in the team. Zichuan Xiu was ready to slaughter the mules and horses to drink their blood.

Fortunately, there was a Geang guide in the army who was familiar with the geography. He led the troops to find clear springs and water sources in the Gobi, which enabled the army to sustain itself.

Zichuan Xiu secretly called it a fluke. Fortunately, he chose to cooperate with the Ge'ang people. Without them to lead the way, the harsh natural environment would have destroyed the expeditionary force.

At noon on May 15th, a misty black line appeared on the horizon. With an excited look, the Geang guide ran to Zichuanxiu and reported: "Sir, we have walked out of the Gobi no-man's land!"

Sure enough, lush green grass and low shrubs can already be seen next to the road. Although there are not many, after looking at the barren and monotonous yellow sand for several days, this little bit of green is particularly surprising.

Moved, the soldiers all became energetic and even moved forward much more briskly.

That afternoon, the expeditionary force finally saw people. They were two demon herdsmen, an old man and a young man. They were driving a few sheep to graze on the side of the road. The coarse cloth worn by the old man was so dirty that the original color could not be seen.

It was barely enough to be worn around the waist to cover the lower body, and the naked upper body exposed rows of ribs. The sheep were also very thin, like a team of skeletons. When the soldiers and horses passed by, the old and the young did not dare to raise their heads and prostrated on the ground.

He kowtows and puts his forehead on the ground without daring to raise it.

Encountering a living person for the first time in several days, Zichuanxiu stopped.

The guard kicked the old demon man who was lying on the ground: "Old man, raise your head! I want to ask you something!".

The old man raised his head, and Zichuanxiu saw an old, haggard and frightened face. The wrinkles on his face were full of sand and dirt. He raised his hands high and spread his black and skinny fingers like tree branches.

He was saying something very quickly, and Zichuan Xiu only understood a few words: "Master... pitiful... take them all..."

"What did you say?"

The old man repeated it. He was so frightened that even his voice was trembling. Zi Chuanxiu didn't understand.

Coincidentally, Gotak Khan was beside Zichuanxiu, and he told Zichuanxiu: "Sir, this is a person from the Gossa tribe."

"Gosa tribe?"

"A small tribe, with a total of less than 30,000 people. They are a nomadic tribe attached to the Yakun tribe. The old man was speaking the dialect of their tribe, and he was begging."

Gotak Khan acted as a temporary translator and translated the old man's words: "The military master is pitiful. He left me a ewe. One ewe is enough! With the ewe, my grandson and I can survive! Others

Yes, the military master has taken them all!"

Zi Chuanxiu asked: "Is this your grandson? Where is your son?"

"Master Jun, he is dead."

"How did you die?"

"He participated in the Western Expedition and was killed. Military Lord, please leave me a ewe... Just one ewe is enough, otherwise I will really starve to death..."

After listening to Goda Khan's translation, the generals all showed heavy expressions. Baichuan took out his handkerchief and secretly wiped his eyes. Looking at the begging old man, the skinny man and the sheep, his fingers were as black as chicken feet,

A strange feeling that hadn't been felt in a long time arose in Zichuan Xiu's heart.

Zi Chuanxiu wanted to ask this old man, why did he leave a ewe? It would take a long time for the ewe to give birth to a lamb. During that time, did they eat sand for a living?
To be continued...