"..."

"..."

"The God-given King is directly retreating to Menghu Pass?"

Upon hearing about the continuous victories in various regions and the Food Protection Army entering the territory of Quzhou, heading towards Menghu Pass to converge, Hu Ma and his companions, who initially planned to go directly to Quzhou to observe the movements, were also a little surprised:

"Wasn't it said that this God-given King is the most fierce and domineering, striking viciously? When did his temper become so good, retreating on his own initiative in the face of the Food Protection Army's step-by-step pressure?"

"The God-given King's retreat to Menghu Pass isn't really a loss, more like a strategic retreat for future advantage."

Facing Hu Ma's doubts, a disciple from the Colorful Character Sect, an advocate of not eating beef, timely relayed the information from various places: "The land of Quzhou, rich in grains and iron, is most prosperous, but this prosperity and barren land are defined by Menghu Pass."

"Inside and outside the pass are completely different."

"Inside Menghu Pass is the real root and foundation of the God-given King, while the counties outside are just dependencies, which can be lost and retaken easily."

"Of course, the God-given King's temper wasn't originally so good. He endured this because the situation was unfavorable to him."

"Nowadays, this God-given King has already been at constant friction with the Longevity King to the north, with early tensions. Now the Mingzhou Food Protection Army comes into conflict with him, and the army attacks, along with Gunzhou's White Armor Army, and Guazhou's Iron Threshold Army advancing simultaneously, pressing in on three sides."

"There's also the Meat Cutting Army from Official Zhou, along with various ambitious gangs and private militia, all gathering troops, all moving with intent to attack!"

"Now, this God-given King orders his troops to retreat to Menghu Pass without engaging in major battles with the enemy, only to preserve strength."

"In just these few days, he personally led his troops, sweeping away more than a dozen forces surrounding him, while dispatching reliable personnel to guard against the northern Long-winning King, freeing himself up to lead his Futu Army towards Menghu Pass, there to fight a decisive battle with everyone!"

"..."

"Personally leading troops, and in a few short days, sweeping away more than a dozen forces?"

Hearing this, Hu Ma pondered briefly, a single sentence carrying the weight of countless sleepless nights and countless killings by this person.

Then, finding it somewhat strange: "Is this person's reputation really that bad, attracting more than a dozen forces to attack him all at once?"

"It's not purely that; it's mostly because some capable people intervened."

The disciple from the Colorful Character Sect laughed: "We also want to investigate the truth, but the person who acted is extremely clever, making it impossible for us to find any clues. However, just looking at the situation, we can guess a bit."

"This God-given King indeed has a bad reputation, with many under his command practicing demon soldier evil skills, but he's not a fool. Why would he deliberately provoke so many opponents at this time?"

"On the contrary, because he has a foundation, seeing the opportunity arise, he wants to make alliances with the nearby grasshead kings and jianghu grass, giving fame to those who desire fame and benefits to those who desire profit, to strengthen his reputation and become the Alliance Hierarch of the Central Plains amid the unstable world situation."

"This was also an occasion borrowed from his lady's birthday, widely inviting various heroes to forge alliances."

"But no one expected that the final result would be different from what he envisioned."

"What were originally courteous and friendly handwritten letters, when delivered to others, became arrogant and insulting. What originally included many irresistible terms, turned into forceful plundering, leaving no path for survival."

"He is formidable, but others also want to live, so they all ended up rising against him!"

"..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma suddenly understood: "Trick door?"

Who else but the trick door could do such sneaky and damaging things?

Yet doubts arose in his heart instantly: "Don't those grass people want to verify anything?"

"Even if the God-given King realized something was wrong, he should have tried to explain it somehow?"

"..."

The disciple of the Colorful Character Sect chuckled bitterly, yet before he could speak, Sister Wu He beside him laughed and said proactively: "It's impossible to explain."

"Brother Hu, the letters the God-given King sent out were in perfect condition with golden lacquer intact when received. Upon opening, the writing and treasure seal on them were exactly the same, but the content was vastly different. How could it be discernible?"

"Some wanted to get to the bottom of things, but the envoys sent over had already been secretly replaced, so how could they inquire?"

"Others, who were originally under the God-given King's command, welcomed the military envoys with the tiger charm, ordering them to attack others first. Afterwards, when the God-given King claimed it was fake and he hadn't given any orders, how could anyone believe him?"

"The God-given King's decision to pull back troops and retreat to Menghu Pass was precisely for this reason."

"He found that once his soldiers were sent out, they suddenly were no longer his own."

"..."

"It's indeed the trick door..."

Listening to these matters, Hu Ma, although suddenly enlightened, couldn't help but feel some sentiment: "The Zhao Family's actions are truly elusive."

"They reap all the benefits inside and out, yet manage human relations so skillfully that one can't bring themselves to dislike them!"

"Looking at the world's situation now, it was clearly them who first posed a problem for us. It's also them who used underhanded methods to keep us unsettled, yet because of those two weights, I actually have quite a favorable impression of them."

"But, nowadays, those six surnames are bound to clash with us at some point. Why are they stirring things up anyway?"

"..."

In his heart, he merely pondered, what if those trick door methods were used on the Food Protection Army.

The fledgling Food Protection Army might end up in a more difficult situation than the God-given King, possibly being exterminated.

Wu He had seen much and could speak of some principles, but when asked about the true motives of the trick door, she had no concrete answer.