Gu Xin's mission this time was to win over the smaller countries. Taking advantage of the fact that the Yunhai tribe was too busy to cause them trouble, she tried her best to win over the surrounding small countries, adhering to one principle: if diplomacy didn't work, she would resort to force.
Therefore, she not only brought the prime minister of the Liusha Kingdom, but also an army of ten thousand men.
Unlike the Great Zhou Dynasty, which could easily send out armies of 100,000, here, even a small tribe or small country might have its entire population mobilized for war, but the total number of soldiers would only be a few tens of thousands.
The prime minister of the Liusha Kingdom, whose surname is Gongsun, was a nobleman from the Shennv Kingdom who accompanied the ruler of the Liusha Kingdom.
Lord Gongsun is exactly forty years old this year. Since the establishment of the Liusha Kingdom, he has been in charge of important affairs of the court, so he looks rather refined.
He was dressed in a long robe, and his beard was neatly trimmed.
When he saw Gu Xin emerge from the carriage, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality. He thought he would never see the woman from his homeland again in his lifetime.
Although the women of the Goddess Kingdom are generally quite fierce, there are also many beautiful girls whose appearances are different from those of the girls in the west. Lord Gongsun prefers the appearances of the girls from the east.
He got out of the car to greet Gu Xin.
"Uncle Gongsun, no need for formalities! It's quite hot, please get in the car!" Gu Xin said with a smile after he bowed.
Her father said that since she was to be a princess, she could be approachable in ordinary times, but at crucial moments, she had to show the dignity of a princess and not let the people below look down on her.
Lord Gongsun cupped his hands in greeting and boarded the carriage.
Gu Xin planned to ride a camel. After getting on the camel, she put on a veil to shield herself from the sun.
Bai Si and Mo Fei, as her close bodyguards, followed behind her as the convoy set off.
Upon reaching the border of the Liusha Kingdom, Han led his 10,000 troops to follow Gu Xin.
This time, they were going to Renchang Kingdom, a small country with only three cities. The ruler was a woman, so Gu Xin invited Han Shi to come along.
Renchangguo has a population of less than 100,000. It is a country in the west that is relatively close to the coast. Some of its people make a living by fishing.
It takes about nine days to travel from Liusha Kingdom to Renchang Kingdom. There are no tribes in between. One of the Shalong Gang's strongholds used to be in this area, so Han and Mo Fei are very familiar with the terrain.
It wasn't until mid-June that they arrived at Ren Changguo's place.
Ren Changguo's city gate was built with large stones. Gu Xin only brought a few dozen people, while the ten thousand soldiers were waiting not far away.
Lord Gongsun alighted from his carriage and stepped forward to negotiate.
The soldiers guarding the city gate, led by Ren Changguo, told them to wait while he went to report.
Soon after, the city gates opened, and someone led them inside.
As Gu Xin rode on her camel, looking at the streets of Ren Changguo, she couldn't help but frown.
The people here are even more unrestrained than those in the Flowing Sand Kingdom. Even though it's the middle of summer, both men and women only wear half of their clothes and pants, and they are almost all dark-skinned. Moreover, they all look so thin, as if they haven't eaten.
Upon arriving at the palace, a person dressed normally finally appeared.
A man in white, with curly hair tied with a headband, had a typical appearance in the area—not as dark-skinned as the locals, but not fair-skinned either.
He stared coldly at Gu Xin, and as soon as Gu Xin dismounted from the camel, the man made his move.
"I'll take over!" Gu Xin called out to Bai Si and Mo Fei, who were trying to protect her, and drew her sword from her waist to meet the attack.
She even suspected that the soldiers of the Quicksand Kingdom were deliberately holding back, as no one had been able to defeat her within thirty moves recently. Therefore, she wanted to find a stranger to test her skills.
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