"Not as beautiful as my mother-in-law." Niu Dawa said with arrogance.
Zhang Xiaozu glanced at him angrily.
"Do you know that girl?" Zhou Jianlai grasped the key to the problem.
"Yeah!" Zhang Xiaozu nodded heavily and said with a solemn expression: "The moment I passed by her just now, I thought she looked very familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen her before. It wasn't until an idea flashed in my mind just now that she looked very familiar. I just remembered where I saw her."
"Where?" Niu Dawa asked curiously.
"Underground river." Zhang Xiaozu took a breath of cold air and said word by word.
"Underground river?" Niu Dawa and Zhou Jianlai couldn't react for a while, showing puzzled expressions.
"That female ghost that attacked us!" Zhang Xiaopou pointed out.
"Ah?!" The two couldn't help but exclaimed when they heard this. They looked at Zhang Xiaopou in surprise and fright, swallowed and asked, "Are you sure you read it correctly?"
"Sure!" Zhang Xiaozu nodded with great certainty, "Apart from the fact that her face has gained color, her eyes have become brighter, and there is no hollow blood pupil between her eyebrows, the rest of her body shape and appearance are exactly the same as that of the female ghost. . This is why I couldn’t remember where I had seen her at first. One was a human and the other a ghost. It was difficult to connect the two of them.”
Afraid that Zhou Jianlai and Niu Dawa wouldn't believe it, he added: "As you know, I have almost a photographic memory after realizing the subtle state of mind."
Although they found it very unbelievable, Zhang Xiaozhu's words were so conclusive that Zhou Jianlai and Niu Dawa had to believe them. The two of them were shocked and horrified for a moment.
"No wonder you look so ugly. It turns out you saw a ghost in broad daylight." Niu Dawa suddenly realized.
"The wooden box on the carriage should be filled with water. It is not difficult to infer that they were carrying water back to Yancheng from Baihuang Mountain, and the female ghost was hiding in the water in the underground river. If she had the means to escape from the water and disguise herself as a human, It's natural to meet people from Yaowang Valley by chance." Zhou Jianlai analyzed it, then frowned and said seriously: "If she is really the person disguised as the female ghost, then you have to be extremely vigilant, because she must be Coming for you."
"Then she is really a longevity star who hangs herself to death." Niu Dawa couldn't help but sneered, "Now that the pawn has the ability to subjugate demons and catch ghosts, will he be afraid of her, a female ghost?"
"——" Zhang Xiaozhu was startled when he heard this, and then he held his forehead and said in a dumbfounded way: "I would have forgotten what I do if you don't tell me. That is, why should I be afraid of a mere disciple of the great Heavenly Master Sanqingguan? If word spreads about a female ghost, she will be laughed out of the martial arts circles. If she dares to come to me and cause trouble, I will reward her with a few talismans and beat her to death."
After being reminded by Niu Dawa, Zhang Xiaozhu remembered that he was no longer the same person as before. If he had a head-on confrontation with a female ghost again, he would have endless methods, and they would all be used to deal with ghosts.
It can be seen that the female ghost has left a lot of psychological shadow in his heart, otherwise he would not just remember being afraid and forget his own abilities. But at this time, the shadow in his heart has been swept away, and he is even eager to give it a try. The female ghost saw his powerful impulses.
"The female ghost is not scary, but I am afraid that she will take advantage of the people in Yaowang Valley." Zhou Jianlai frowned.
"Hey, as the saying goes, if you have too many lice, you won't be itchy; if you have too many debts, you won't have to worry. Anyway, we already have a grudge with the people of Yaowang Valley, so adding another female ghost is nothing." Niu Dawa sneered.
"That's true." Zhou Jianlai smiled and nodded.
The three of them were running at the back of the team. During the conversation, they had already fallen some distance away from the main force, and they immediately rushed to catch up.
…
At four o'clock in the afternoon, a huge convoy drove into the north gate of Yancheng. The main road was immediately blocked by soldiers in helmets and armor, and no other people were allowed to approach.
The common people watched the excitement from a distance, looking at the carriages carrying huge wooden boxes, pointing and talking, guessing what was in the wooden boxes.
Some people said it was food, some said it was ordnance, until someone suddenly discovered the moisture coming out of the cracks in the wooden box, as if they had discovered a new world, and yelled that the wooden box contained water. This roar was like a fire starting a prairie fire. , spread rapidly throughout the city.
No one stood up to refute that the wooden box was not filled with water, because it was the light and hope seen in a desperate situation. Even if there was a voice of doubt in their hearts, they were unwilling to speak out and destroy it.
In the end, the officials did not let their good wishes go away.
Twenty carriages drove into the Beicheng City Government Office and posted a notice on the notice board at the door of the office. All residents of the ten northern cities could receive half a bowl of water with their identity tokens.
A half bowl of water, just two or three mouthfuls, can save a life.
As soon as the news spread, the entire North Ten City was like a frying pan, and the whole city was in a state of shock.
Then there are North Jiucheng and North Eighth Cities——
When half of the carriages passed through the corridors on both sides of the city to the south city, the ten cities in the south began to boil.
At dusk, the rebels once again called for gold and retreated, ending the day's feint attack.
After missing the best opportunity yesterday, Xiahou Hongyuan knew clearly that it was absolutely impossible to capture Yancheng on their own. They needed to wait for the Daya Army in Yanbei to launch an attack together and attack Yancheng from both sides. Only by making it difficult for the Yancheng defenders to take care of themselves can he capture Yancheng. Before that, his task was to continuously launch feint attacks, so that the Yancheng defenders could not rest and at the same time take the opportunity to train their military formations. It could be said to be the best of both worlds.
In his eyes, Yancheng is strong, but it is a dead city after all. Once the north and south are blocked, Yancheng will not be able to support it for long in such a harsh environment.
"A bunch of idiots!" Wei Guangfu couldn't help cursing when he heard the earth-shattering cheers coming from Yancheng. "We retreated strategically and we didn't suffer a defeat. Are they so happy?"
"Haha, your Majesty, there is no need to get angry over such a trivial matter." Xiahou Hongyuan smiled and comforted after hearing this, "This is a way to boost the morale of your subordinates. Although it may be self-deceiving, it is very effective. On the other hand, our soldiers, A one-day feint attack left thousands of corpses under the city wall without any results, and morale will inevitably be severely damaged. If this continues for two or three days, there will be no need for Yancheng to send troops, so we will take care of ourselves first."
Wei Guangfu followed Xiahou Hongyuan's gaze and saw that the soldiers who had retreated from the battlefield looked dejected. He hurriedly asked Xiahou Hongyuan for advice on how to boost morale.
"I beg you, Your Majesty, to eat, drink, and sleep on the same bed with the army." Xiahou Hongyuan half-knelt down in front of Wei Guangfu and begged.
"General, please get up quickly." Wei Guangfu hurriedly stepped forward to help Xia Hou Hongyuan up, and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about this? They shed their blood for Wei, I should eat, drink, and sleep with them sleep."
"Your Majesty is generous and benevolent, and the restoration of the country of Wei is just around the corner." Xiahou Hongyuan said happily.
"Good advice from the general." Wei Guangfu laughed happily. After laughing, he heard the cheers coming from Yancheng getting louder and louder. He couldn't help but listen carefully and asked Xiahou Hongyuan: "General, what do you hear they are shouting about?"
Xiahou Hongyuan listened for a moment and then responded: "It seems to be shouting long live Dayu, long live the city lord, long live Yaowang Valley."
"Strange." Wei Guangfu frowned slightly and said in confusion: "After the battle is won, shouldn't they shout Long Live the General? Why should they shout Long Live the Medicine King Valley?"
"It should be because Yaowang Valley helped them catch the Big Ya spy hiding in Yancheng." Xiahou Hongyuan guessed.
"Haha, I have to thank Yaowang Valley." Wei Guangfu said with a smile, "Otherwise, I will have to worry about this matter when I capture Yancheng? The big-tooth spies all over the city can't sleep well. Let's go, go Military camp.”
An hour later, under the cover of night, a carrier pigeon flew out of Yancheng and flew into the rebel camp dozens of miles away. The information brought out was immediately sent to Wei Guangfu, who unfolded a secret letter. His expression immediately changed, and he shouted loudly: "Not good!"
"Your Majesty, why are you so alarmed?" Xiahou Hongyuan asked in shock.
"Something happened." Wei Guangfu looked at Xiahou Hongyuan with an ugly face and handed him the secret letter in his hand.
When Xiahou Hongyuan read the secret letter, his expression changed drastically and he frowned deeply.
"I asked why they shouted long live Yaowang Valley. It turned out that the people from Yaowang Valley discovered the water source in Baihuang Mountain. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Wei Guangfu beat his chest in anger.
The importance of water sources is self-evident. Whoever can control a water source is almost invincible. How can Wei Guangfu not be anxious or angry?
Not to mention him, even Xiahou Hongyuan, who had been strategizing and full of confidence, lost a bit of his calmness and said urgently: "Your Majesty, whether this news is true or false, we must inform the Daya people as soon as possible and let them go to Baihuang Mountain. Find out the truth."
"General, do you think this is true or false?" Wei Guangfu asked.
"It's probably true." Xiahou Hongyuan responded, "We haven't been able to find out what Yancheng did when he sent out a hundred thousand troops to enter Baihuang Mountain ten days ago? And the people from Yaowang Valley happened to enter on those days. City. Now that I think about it, it must be the people from Yaowang Valley who brought the news of the water source, and Yancheng immediately dispatched a hundred thousand troops to guard it."
"The bastards from Yaowang Valley must be damned!" Wei Guangfu said through gritted teeth.
"It's not all bad news." Xiahou Hongyuan suddenly changed his tone and a smile appeared on his face.
"What do you mean, general?" Wei Guangfu asked hurriedly.
"The water source is in Yanbei, so the people of Yancheng and Daya can fight to the death. The fishermen will benefit from the snipe and the clam. We just need to wait and become fishermen."
"What the general said is true." Wei Guangfu's eyes lit up and he said with a sinister smile: "I will write a secret letter and pass the news to the people of Daya. They are more anxious than us. They will not be able to sit still for a moment after hearing the news. Yes. Haha, good, what a snipe and clam competing for the fisherman’s profit.”
…
"Sir, the whole city is shouting long live Yaowang Valley, saying it's the water source they found." Qu Kai reported to Qi Wuwei in the military tent, his tone was stiff, and you could hear the emotion in his voice. He did not go north with the army, but stayed behind to protect Qi Wuwei's safety.
"Haha, don't worry, your Tianzi Camp's contribution will not be missing at all." Qi Wuwei buried his head in the desk and smiled without raising his head.
"Sir, this subordinate is not here to compete for credit." Qu Kai frowned and said, "Zhang Xiaozu discovered the water source, not Yaowang Valley."
"His contribution is not less at all." Qi Wuwei said.
"But--"
"I know what you want to say." Qi Wuwei interrupted Qu Kai's words, sighed and raised his head, saying: "Zhang Xiaozu or Yao Wanggu, who do you think can make the morale of Yancheng soldiers and civilians so high? For Dayu , for the sake of Yancheng and for the victory of the war, sometimes we have to sacrifice some personal honor."
"I just can't stand the arrogance and arrogance of everyone in Yaowang Valley, as if the water source was really discovered by them, and they are shameless. How can they be like little brothers and sisters, who only seek credit for their great work, neither seeking credit nor profit. It's better now , I can’t even get a name. How frustrating!” Qu Kai muttered gloomily.
"Why, do the people in Yaowang Valley look down on you?" Qi Wuwei asked with a smile.
"My subordinates want to ask for some water to wipe themselves with, but the Yaowang Valley disciples guarding the water source won't give it to me," Qu Kai said in a dull voice.
