At this time, there was only the Ghost King himself in the Tiansha Palace. He sat on the throne throughout the day, frowning tightly and forming "river"-shaped wrinkles between his eyes. This expression did not change until nightfall.
Since launching the second invasion war against the Ghost Mother Kingdom, not only has he not benefited at all, but he has also suffered a series of losses. It is no exaggeration to say that this defeat was the worst since the founding of the Ghost Kingdom.
Not only did he take the entire navy and all the military ports, but he also brought along the 50,000 to 60,000 troops that were destroyed on Shuoyue Island and more than 20,000 captured sergeants.
Especially after the Xiao family army infiltrated Ruguo, he lost a lot of money and local officials. In order to fend off the pursuers, Xiao Shizhu often took out his money from the treasury of various cities and scattered all his money on the path of the pursuers.
The money was coaxed away by his own soldiers, and most of it could never be recovered. The domestic economy also suffered a depression, and the economy and production of most towns were paralyzed in a short period of time.
In the end, even his first general, Abang, died on the battlefield. Every time he thought about these terrible things, the Ghost King felt heartbroken, and waves of humiliation and anger filled his chest, making him feel that life was worse than death.
.
In fact, he should be a little grateful to Xiao Shizhu. Almost all the local officials and generals of the Ghost Kingdom killed by Xiao Shizhu were descendants of the Mohist family. This move also allowed the Mohist family to control the Ghost Kingdom overnight.
It has been weakened a lot. It's just that the Ghost King was kept in the dark and didn't know that his royal power was about to be emptied by the Mo family, so he just resented Xiao Shizhu.
"Father." Just as the Ghost King was gnashing his teeth as he thought more and more, a young girl walked towards the palace from outside the palace. It looked like this woman was only twenty-eight years old, with a round oval face, small and delicate features, and slender eyebrows.
Her eyes are smart and delicate, revealing infinite purity; she is actually a beautiful woman at such a young age.
Her skin was as radiant as snow, and she was wearing a gauze dress with red edges hanging off the shoulders. Her cloud-like hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, and the tied tail of her hair hung down on her shoulders, making her look slightly slimmer.
Some are cute and playful.
As soon as she entered the hall, the faint fragrance exuded from her body slowly spread towards every corner of the hall, which made her feel relaxed and happy.
Seeing that she was pretty and slim, she was incompatible with the ugly ghost king. If she said that they were father and daughter, I guarantee that the first reaction of anyone who heard this would be surprise.
The girl stood still in front of the Ghost King, and softly called out again: "Father?" The voice of Yan Yuying was very beautiful. When the Ghost King heard this, he recovered from his daze.
"Qian'er." He raised his head slightly and glanced at the woman blankly. When he saw that it was his daughter, he squeezed out a smile; but the smile was so stiff, it was like a superficial smile but not a smile, and it seemed a bit forced.
"Father, if you have any worries, you might as well tell Qian'er so that Qian'er can share your worries." Gui Qian'er also smiled at him and spoke softly.
"Haha, my Qian'er has really grown up." The Ghost King smiled, a look of relief appeared between his brows, and he swept away the gloom that had lingered on his face before, and said, "It's a pity that my father has nothing to do with your help."
"Father, don't lie to me. I know that your father is worried about how to restore the country's strength." Gui Qian'er knelt down beside him, leaning her head on the Gui King's knee, thinking slowly and said: "Didn't the Yellow Emperor send his men down?"
Do you want to propose marriage? If he can help us restore our national strength, Qian'er is willing to sacrifice her life for her father and marry far away from the country of Xiong." Her tone was calm, but her face was very firm.
The Ghost King was stunned for a moment, greatly moved, and suddenly felt a warmth in his heart. He patted Gui Qian'er's shoulder with his broad, rough palm, his eyes were kind, and he changed from his usual rough voice, and said to her softly: "Father, King
I understand; but Huangdi is not a great hero, and he is not worthy of our Qian'er."
"Looking at the entire underworld, who can be regarded as a great hero in the eyes of the father?" Qian'er raised her head, looked at the Ghost King and blinked her big, watery eyes.
"Father doesn't know either." The Ghost King's loving eyes fell on her face. After a moment, he squinted and smiled. The majesty that always hung on his ugly face disappeared in an instant, leaving only infinite
Father's love, he said: "But one day, we Qian'er will definitely meet that great hero, the only great hero who is worthy of you."
Just when the Ghost King and his daughter were enjoying a moment of family happiness and father-daughter love, Xiao Shizhu had already taken advantage of the darkness of the night and quietly arrived at the sea outside Heimu Village with Xiao Jiajun.
As expected, the Ghost King was completely undefended here. Not only was there no troops stationed there, but there was still a dead silence all around. There were dilapidated courtyards and vacant houses everywhere. This allowed Xiao Shizhu and Xiao Jiajun to set foot in the Ghost Kingdom again without any effort.
superior.
There was not even a patrol force nearby, which made the Xiao family's army a lot bolder. They actually moved all the supplies and ammunition off the ship without fortification. Compared with the sneakiness the first time they came, this time
They were so arrogant, as if they were afraid that the enemy would not know they were coming.
Then they gathered on the beach, distributed supplies and ammunition one by one, and then lined up and headed for the mountain forest south of Heimu Village.
King Kong still led the Imperial Guards and sailors, sailed the warship away from the coastline of Black Dragon Island, and once again became the logistics captain for Xiao Shizhu and the others.
Xiao Shizhu's planned march route was from the northeast to the southwest. All the enemy troops were frightened by the news and fled within ten miles. Those who were unlucky enough to be caught up by Xiao's army would not kill those who put down their weapons and resisted stubbornly.
Those who do so will be shot to death without mercy.
The Xiao family's army was as powerful as a broken bamboo, and the sword pointed at every direction. They captured six cities in a row in three days, and the Ghost King's army was beaten and fled. The difference from the last time was that this time the Xiao family's army did not massacre civilians who did not resist, nor did they kill any more civilians.
He did things that robbed the homes of the people.
Xiao Shizhu knew very well that the people in the underworld were ignorant and ignorant, and almost every soul living at the bottom didn't care who would be their leader in the future. To put it bluntly, as long as they can live a good life with dignity, then they will be satisfied.
It’s my mother. So this time he gave a fatal order to the Xiao family’s army. Every time he captured a city, he borrowed flowers to offer sacrifices to Buddhas, opened the local granary and treasury, and opened a warehouse to store grain and distribute money. He also posted posters all over the streets.
: "Return to the Ghost Mother Country, human souls and demon souls will be equal from now on, and will be exempted from taxes for three years!" and other notices.
At first, the citizens of the Ghost Kingdom were wary and did not dare to collect food and money. After all, the vicious image of the Xiao Family Army had already been deeply imprinted in their minds. So the Xiao Family Army had no choice but to open all the doors of the granary and treasury and leave like this;
The food and money inside were free to be looted by the people.
This move directly drove the Ghost King to death; in the past few hundred years, the Mohists had made a lot of money in this country, and it was difficult for the island, which was mostly made of mountain rocks, to grow much food. The Mohists were so messy
After the Heyi Tong, the people were miserable. In addition, when Xiao Shizhu came for the first time, he only sent troops to encircle and suppress the people but forgot to care for the people, so he had lost a lot of people's support.
The common people who are mostly Bai Ding only know life, but they don't know that the Ghost Kingdom has been almost controlled by the Mohists. Nine out of ten officials are disciples of the Mohist family. It is actually the Mohists who prevent them from living. They only know that the Ghost King is the Mohist.
He is a bad ghost, full of dissatisfaction, and naturally he will only spread evil on the ghost king.
So as soon as Xiao Shizhu distributed grain and money, the people of the Ghost Kingdom who dared to be angry but dared not speak out secretly compared it in their hearts and felt that Xiao Shizhu was better. With the money and grain in their hands, they even thought Xiao Shizhu had treated them not long ago.
The hatred of the country and its people, all of which were in ruins, were all forgotten.
On the fourth day, the Xiao family army advanced with great force and easily reached the uninhabited forests in the mountains to the east of a pass called Wuhui Pass in the south of the Ghost Kingdom.
The pass in the distance is located between two mountains called Gongshan and Jinshan. It faces south and is surrounded by majestic mountains and ridges for hundreds of miles, many with cliffs.
There is only a rugged mountain road that is only five feet wide, winding along the cliffs in the mountains, crossing the pass from north to south, and finally breaking out of the mountains to reach the southern basin; and the road is dangerous and winding, and there are always left
There are twelve large curves on the right side of the cliff facing the abyss. The loops and twists and turns have the meaning of being difficult to return. Therefore, the pass is called Wuhui, which comes from the word "no return". It is the southern part of the Ghost Kingdom Pass leading to the central part.
The only shortcut and key point in Guanzhong.
Xiao Shizhu failed to reach this place last time. When he arrived here for the first time today, he saw that there are steep mountains within a hundred miles, with cliffs and peaks stretching for hundreds of miles. Only after the entrance and exit of the pass, he exclaimed in wonder: "This guy, the Ghost King, is not the same."
He is weak. He knows that this place can be blocked by one man and cannot be opened by ten thousand people, so he just sets up a pass to block a million-strong army. It is a pity that he chose the wrong opponent."
After speaking, he called Wu Zhiqi again and said: "Take your soldiers, get close to the pass, and steal a tongue quietly." Wu Zhiqi responded, turned and left. Xiao Shizhu ordered the army to stay in place in the jungle.
After resting, I sat on the ground leaning against the trunk of an ancient cypress tree, closed my eyes and rested my mind.
The mountain breeze blew against his face, bringing with him waves of sleepiness; just when he was about to fall asleep, Wu Zhiqi led his men and came towards him with a human soul tied up.
They pressed the human soul in front of Xiao Shizhu and forced him to kneel down towards Xiao Shizhu. Xiao Shizhu opened his eyes slightly and glanced at the human soul. He closed his eyes again and asked again and again: "Name? Affiliated unit? General of the army? Strength of the pass.
And the number and types of weapons?".
The enemy human soul sergeant did not answer when he heard the words. He just snorted and turned his head slightly to one side. Judging from the hair of the man opposite, the enemy soldier knew that he should be Xiao Shizhu.
"A tough guy, I just don't know if he's real or just pretending." Xiao Shizhu opened his eyes again and glanced at the other person, stroking his palms and saying, "stop his mouth and cut off his flesh piece by piece.".
The human soul saw that he looked like a Confucian scholar, but when he spoke, a cold murderous look appeared on his face. In addition, Wu Zhiqi was already planning to take action. He suddenly knew that Xiao Shizhu was not joking anymore, so he trembled with fear and hurriedly
Said: "Back, back, back to the general, the small one is the Tianhun Army, and the people who live in the pass are also the Tianhun Army. After General Grandma learned about your route, she guessed that you will definitely come back here, and where does she plan to clean up?
you.".
Xiao Shizhu knew very well what grandma was thinking. The No Return Pass was one of the only passes that was not destroyed the last time he went deep into enemy territory. Any fool knows that if Xiao Shizhu comes again, there is a high possibility that he will come here. What's more,
This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack, so the best strategy is to wait and see.
"Grandma?" Xiao Shizhu looked confused. He clearly remembered that the ghost mother said that Grandma was a horse face, but as far as he knew, the commander of the Tianhun Army was a bull-headed Ah Pong. The question arose in his mind, so he asked again: "
Are all the Tianhun Army troops? Where is Ah Pong?"
"Yes." The enemy soldier nodded his head and looked at him suspiciously. After a slight pause, he said, "Didn't you send soldiers to assassinate him?"
Xiao Shizhu was confused when he heard this, and said blankly: "If you tear off one hand, you will die?"
After saying that, he cursed coldly: "General Apo will definitely seek revenge from you for the revenge of General A Pong. A large number of crossbows have been prepared in the pass to be used against your Yuren army. You are just waiting to die."
Bar!".
"Grandma is really a genius at slandering; but it's okay, she is willing to put this debt on my head, I will just accept it." Xiao Shizhu was too lazy to talk to him, just waved his hand and said: "Pull it down.
Kill him." After that, he said no more words.
"It's really a narrow road for enemies." After Wu Zhiqi escorted the enemy soldier away, Yu Rong came over and asked Xiao Shizhu: "General, what are you going to do?".
"Isn't Grandma looking forward to my going? Then I will take the initiative and let her and her Heavenly Soul Army be buried with this pass." After saying this, he turned his head and looked towards the west, with excitement in his eyes.