If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

Inside the council chamber, the fire flickered.

Xu Qingshan held the old trading card between two fingers, his gaze lingering for a moment on the seven characters "Wanhe will close in three days".

"Closed down?" Hou San peeked inside, then sneered. "Wanhe Auto Shop is one of the top businesses in Bailangji, making a fortune every day. Closing down at this crucial moment... surely the owner isn't planning to retire to his hometown?"

"It's not about providing for your old age, it's about silencing you."

Liu Ruyan stood by the table, her voice cold and clear, "The leader of Black Wind Stronghold fled into White Wolf Village with his remaining troops, undoubtedly seeking refuge at Wanhe Car Dealership. But for those big shots in Yunzhou Military Supplies, the leader is now a potential source of trouble. Once Wanhe Car Dealership 'closes down,' the people inside, and that ledger, will likely be reduced to ashes."

Xu Qingshan placed the sign face down on the table, his eyes revealing a cold decisiveness.

"They can't burn the accounts without my permission."

He raised his head and looked around at everyone in the room.

"We must go to White Wolf Village. And we must set off immediately."

Liang Shun stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "My lord, I will immediately muster the troops! We'll take a hundred elite soldiers and surround Wanhe Carriage Shop!"

"Absolutely not." Xu Qingshan resolutely refused. "What the Four Forts lack most right now is manpower. The new recruits have just been recruited and haven't seen battle yet, and the refugees also need to be looked after. If a large number of troops are transferred away, the defense line will inevitably be empty. The spies from Yunzhou are still watching from the shadows. If they seize the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, all the foundation we have worked so hard to build will be destroyed."

He turned to look at Xiao Hongluan beside him.

"Hongluan, you stay at Duanhe Fort. The recruit training cannot stop. Within ten days, I want to see them able to form ranks and meet the enemy."

Xiao Hongluan gripped the ash wood spear tightly. Although a hint of fighting spirit flashed in her eyes, she still nodded decisively: "Leave it to me. Anyone who dares to slack off during training, I'll break their legs."

"Qinghe, you continue to oversee the registration and land distribution of the refugees. With labor service in place, the refugees' hearts will be at ease." Xu Qingshan arranged things methodically. "Uncle Zhou will return to Black Stone Fortress to take charge of the central command. Guo Shan and Liang Shun will respectively guard the key passes of Iron Gate Fortress and Broken River Fortress. Without my order, no one is allowed to send troops."

After arranging the matters for those remaining behind, Xu Qingshan stood up and glanced at the remaining people.

"This time, I'm only bringing twenty Zhenbei cavalrymen."

Hou San was taken aback: "Twenty riders? Centurion, White Wolf Village is a den of iniquity, and Wanhe Carriage Company employs a lot of thugs. Do you think twenty of us will even be enough to fill a tooth gap?"

"We're not going to war, we're going to do business." Xu Qingshan's lips curled into a meaningful smile. He turned to Su Jinniang and said, "Manager Su, you know the rules of the trade best. This time, we'll disguise ourselves as a caravan and enter Bailang Market."

Su Jinniang was quick-witted and immediately understood Xu Qingshan's intention.

"Are you planning to use the pretext of returning the stolen goods from Black Wind Stronghold to get in openly and legitimately?"

"Not bad." Xu Qingshan nodded. "Black Wind Stronghold has robbed many caravans over the years. We can load the goods whose original owners we can confirm onto the carts. The Zhenbei Army will escort the caravans to White Wolf Market to return the goods to their rightful owners. No one can find fault with that. Not only can we avoid the vigilance of Yunzhou's spies, but we can also win people's hearts along the way."

Half an hour later, a well-trained team assembled outside Duanhe Fort.

The twenty selected elite cavalrymen from the Northern Garrison had all shed their conspicuous standard military armor, donning thick, coarse cotton-padded coats and furs, making them look like caravan guards who spent years licking blood from the edge of a knife. Their weapons and repeating crossbows were all neatly concealed beneath their large robes and the goods.

In addition to Xu Qingshan, the group included Su Jinniang, Liu Ruyan, Hou San, and Aman, who was in charge of tracking and scouting.

Five large trucks were fully loaded and covered with thick snowproof tarpaulins.

"Set off."

At Xu Qingshan's command, the team braved the early winter wind and steadily marched toward Bailangji.

……

Bailangji is located at the border of Daqian and the northern grasslands.

There are no towering city walls here, only endless rows of wooden buildings, warehouses, and gray tents. The streets are muddy, and the air is perpetually filled with the pungent smells of strong liquor, animal dung, and roasted meat.

The cries of vendors in various accents rose and fell, and swordsmen, fur-clad hermits, and shrewd smugglers converged here, forming a huge and distorted vortex of interests.

As soon as Xu Qingshan's "caravan" entered the market, Su Jinniang demonstrated her social skills as a seasoned businessman.

Instead of heading to Wanhe Car Rental, she booked a spacious courtyard of an inn on the south side of the market. After settling the carriages and horses, she immediately had Hou San and a few of his men spread the word in some of the busiest taverns and teahouses in Bailang Market.

"Have you heard? The Black Wind Stronghold, which was entrenched in Black Wind Pass, has been wiped out by the Zhenbei Army!"

"How come I haven't heard about it? It's been all over the place these past few days! I heard even the second-in-command, Qi Biao, died in the chaos!"

"That's not all! The Zhenbei Army has declared that all the looted goods in the Black Wind Stronghold warehouse will be returned intact, as long as the owner can produce proof of ownership!"

The news caused an uproar throughout the entire Bailangji business district.

Over the years, which merchant guild hasn't suffered losses at the hands of Black Wind Stronghold? They thought those goods were long gone, but now that they heard the Zhenbei Army was willing to return them to their rightful owners, many merchants were so excited that they immediately rummaged through their chests and cabinets to find old account books and receipts, and rushed towards the inns on South Street.

The courtyard of the inn quickly became bustling with noise.

"This is tea from my Li Family Business!" A chubby merchant, clutching a box of tea bricks, was moved to tears. "The Zhenbei Army is truly benevolent! From now on, whatever goods the Four Fortresses of the North Wall need, my Li Family will supply them at the lowest possible price!"

Su Jinniang sat in the center of the courtyard, checking the invoices while chatting and laughing with the merchants.

"Gentlemen, you are too kind. Commander Xu of our Zhenbei Army has said that from now on, the trade routes between Tiemenbao and Duanhebao will be personally protected by our Zhenbei Army. As long as everyone follows the rules, we will never let you suffer the humiliation of the bandits again."

The merchants were deeply grateful, and their wariness and hostility towards the Zhenbei Army vanished as boxes of returned goods were returned.

While winning people's hearts, Su Jinniang also subtly inquired about Wanhe Car Dealership.

In return for their kindness, the merchants who had retrieved their goods naturally shared everything they knew.

"Manager Su, I don't know about other things, but Wanhe Auto Shop has been acting strangely lately." A thin leather merchant lowered his voice. "On the surface, they seem to be taking orders and dropping off customers as usual, but I have a distant nephew who dumps swill in their kitchen. He said that for the past two nights, there has been a strong smell of burning paper in the backyard of the auto shop."

Su Jinniang's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled as she handed over a piece of broken silver: "Thank you for the reminder, sir."

As night fell, the hustle and bustle of Bailangji gradually subsided, with only a few taverns in dark alleys still lit by red lanterns.

Inside the guest rooms on the second floor of the inn.

Liu Ruyan was standing by the window, calmly observing the activity across the street through the crack in the window frame.

Ah Man walked in from outside, carrying a chill with her.

"I've found out." Ah Man walked to the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and said, "Wanhe Car Dealership's front yard is indeed operating as usual, but the back yard is heavily guarded. I went around to a high point at the back and took a look; there are at least a dozen more top-quality military horses in the stables."

"Military horses?" Xu Qingshan sat at the table, gently turning the teacup in his hand. "It seems that the chief has brought more than just a few people; even the horses from Yunzhou to meet them have arrived."

"Not only that."

Standing by the window, Liu Ruyan suddenly turned around, a playful smile appearing on her beautiful face.

"It's quite lively outside Wanhe Auto Dealership right now."

She walked back to the table, dipped her finger in the tea, and drew two circles on the surface.

"In the past half day, I've discovered that there are two completely different groups of people watching us and Wanhe Auto Dealership."

Liu Ruyan pointed to one of the circles: "The first group of people, with a distinct air of江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world), were loitering outside the inn in groups of three or five. Their eyes were fixed on our caravan. Obviously, the leader already knew that the Zhenbei Army had entered Bailangji, and he was afraid that we were here to arrest him, so he sent people to keep watch."

Then, she pointed to another circle.

"But the second group is even more interesting." Liu Ruyan lowered her voice. "These people are well-trained, and their positioning and shift changes are very much like those of the border army. They completely ignored our inn and instead blocked the front and back entrances of Wanhe Carriage Shop."

Xu Qingshan's eyes flashed: "People from the Yunzhou military supply depot?"

"Most likely." Liu Ruyan nodded. "These two groups are clearly unaware of each other. The leader thinks that only the Zhenbei Army is watching Wanhe Caravan, but he doesn't know that the people sent from Yunzhou to 'meet' him have already surrounded the caravan."

Hou San, listening from the side, gasped in astonishment: "Good heavens, a double-cross! Are they trying to suffocate the boss, along with the account books, in Wanhe Car Dealership?"

"The boss isn't stupid. Since he dared to hide inside, he must have some leverage that makes Yunzhou hesitant to act." Xu Qingshan stood up and walked to the window. "The current situation is like a pile of dry tinder, just one spark away from exploding."

Just as the group was discussing, three very soft knocks came from outside the inn's door.

Two long and one short – this was the code left by Su Jinniang.

Hou San immediately drew his short knife and held it behind the door.

The door was pushed open a crack, and Su Jinniang slipped in, followed by a man dressed in tattered shop assistant clothes and wearing a bamboo hat.

The man took off his straw hat, revealing a weathered face; he was Ding Wang, a survivor of the Shuntong caravan.

Upon seeing Xu Qingshan, Ding Wang immediately bowed and greeted him, saying, "This humble subject greets Commander Xu."

"No need for formalities." Xu Qingshan raised his hand. "Any new information from Wanhe Auto Dealership?"

Ding Wang nodded heavily and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his sleeve.

"Manager Su was making a lot of noise selling goods at the market during the day. The accountant from Black Wind Stronghold originally fled into Wanhe Carriage Shop with the leader. But he clearly sensed something was wrong and knew that once the account books were handed over, he would surely die."

Ding Wang handed the note to Su Jinniang, his voice tinged with excitement.

"That accountant wants to live."

"He bribed a janitor at the car dealership who emptied chamber pots and quietly passed me a message."

Xu Qingshan looked at the note in Su Jinniang's hand.

Ding Wang took a deep breath and repeated the exact words from the accountant:

"The tent was in the dry well, and the people were locked under the stable."