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

White Wolf Village, second floor of the South Street Inn.

The message Ding Wang sent out caused everyone in the room to stop what they were doing.

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

"This accountant is a smart man." Xu Qingshan tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "He knows that once the boss makes contact with the people of Yunzhou, he, the accountant, will be the first to die. If he wants to live, he can only use the second set of accounts he has as a pledge of loyalty and find someone who can protect him."

"Wanhe Car Dealership's backyard is heavily guarded." Liu Ruyan walked back to the table, her voice calm. "Since he's locked up under the stable, the boss must have sent trusted men to watch over him. It won't be easy to get him out quietly."

"Forcing them to pay is definitely not an option; we need to distract them first."

Xu Qingshan looked at Su Jinniang.

"Manager Su, you just said that Wanhe Car Dealership, besides handling long-distance delivery, also deals in private horse trading?"

Su Jinniang immediately understood.

"They're secretly trading military horses; they're incredibly audacious. There are now over a dozen unmarked warhorses in the backyard. They're most likely sent in advance from Yunzhou to support the boss."

"Then let's go buy horses." Xu Qingshan picked up his teacup, blew away the steam, and said, "Offer a high price for that batch of military horses of dubious origin."

A shrewd glint flashed in Su Jinniang's eyes.

"Understood, I'll go right away."

……

Half an hour later.

Bailangji North Street, Wanhe Car Dealership.

Compared to the bustling atmosphere of other shops, Wanhe Auto Shop was unusually quiet today, with even half the number of clerks soliciting business in front of the door.

Su Jinniang, wrapped in a thick fur coat, strode into the main hall of the carriage shop, accompanied by two Zhenbei cavalrymen disguised as guards.

Yan Song, the manager of the carriage shop, was sitting behind the counter doing accounts. He was in his forties, fair-skinned and well-off, with a pair of eyes that revealed the shrewdness of years of calculating business routes.

Hearing footsteps, Yan Song looked up and, upon seeing who it was, immediately broke into a warm smile.

"Oh my, isn't this Manager Su? I heard you're currently working for the Zhenbei Army at Duanhe Fort. What brings you to our humble shop today?"

Yan Song was polite on the surface, but he was secretly on guard.

The leader of Black Wind Stronghold was hiding in the backyard, while Su Jinniang's caravan, which flew the banner of the Zhenbei Army, had already become well-known in White Wolf Town. Her arrival at this time made Yan Song suspicious.

"Manager Yan is really well-informed."

Su Jinniang didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the counter.

"I only care about business, not people. I'll do things for whoever offers the right price."

She lowered her voice, deliberately adding a touch of a businessman's urgency and complaint to her tone.

"To be honest, I've come today to discuss a big deal with Manager Yan."

Yan Song calmly had someone pour him some tea.

"Please speak, Manager Su."

"I want to buy horses, warhorses that can go into battle." Su Jinniang held up three fingers. "Thirty horses, and I'll pay twice the market price."

Yan Song's eye twitched.

Double the price—that was definitely a windfall that would make anyone envious. But he wasn't blinded by greed; instead, he calmly probed the market.

"Manager Su is joking. I'm just an ordinary carriage shop; where would I get military horses? Besides, now that the Zhenbei Army has wiped out Black Wind Stronghold, do they really need more horses?"

Su Jinniang sneered and picked up her teacup to moisten her throat.

"We've wiped them out, but how could we so easily take everything from Black Wind Stronghold? That hothead Xu Qingshan has emptied the Four Forts' coffers in his quest to recruit soldiers. Now the Four Forts are full of new refugees, we only have enough food for half a month, and warhorses are pitifully scarce."

She deliberately slammed the teacup down, making a crisp sound.

"To procure supplies, Xu Qingshan took all his main force with him, ostensibly to escort merchant caravans, but actually to profit from the trade routes. He left behind a mess, leaving me to figure out how to buy horses. What bad luck!"

As Yan Song listened to these complaints, his guard gradually lowered.

These words perfectly matched the intelligence he had received from Yunzhou scouts the day before. The four fortresses were sparsely armed, the new recruits were in disarray, and food was scarce; Xu Qingshan had taken the elite troops with him.

Since Xu Qingshan's main force is not in Bailangji, Su Jinniang's appearance here is really just to buy horses, not to target the chief.

Thinking of this, Yan Song's smile became more genuine.

"I see. Commander Xu has it tough." Yan Song rubbed his hands together, feigning difficulty. "Manager Su, double the price is indeed tempting. But Wanhe Car Dealership is really not in a position to do this deal today."

"What? Manager Yan thinks the money isn't enough?" Su Jinniang raised an eyebrow.

"It's not about the money." Yan Song lowered his voice, revealing a hint of mystery. "The carriage shop is seeing off a group of 'distinguished guests' tonight, and all the good horses have already been prepared. We really don't have any extras. If Manager Su really wants to buy, why don't you come back in a couple of days? I'll definitely reserve a batch of top-quality horses from outside the Great Wall for you."

Distinguished guest.

Su Jinniang grasped those two words and already knew what was going on.

The distinguished guest Yan Song mentioned was none other than the leader of Black Wind Village, who was preparing to escape from White Wolf Village under cover of night.

"Since Manager Yan has a big deal tonight, I won't insist."

Su Jinniang stood up, dusted off her fur coat, and turned to leave without hesitation.

"I'll come back in a couple of days. Manager Yan, don't forget the promise you made today."

Watching Su Jinniang's departing figure, Yan Song breathed a long sigh of relief.

As long as the main force of the Zhenbei Army is not present, tonight's transaction will proceed smoothly. Once the chieftain and his ledger are sent out of Bailangji, Wanhe Carriage Company will receive the large reward promised by Yunzhou.

……

At the same time, in a tavern in the back alley of Wanhe Car Dealership.

Liu Ruyan sat by the window, her eyes fixed on the shop assistants coming in and out of the car dealership's side door.

Not long after, a young man dressed as a car dealership clerk walked into the tavern carrying two wine jars, his neck hunched.

Liu Ruyan's eyes flickered slightly. She picked up the wine pot on the table, walked gracefully to the waiter's table, and sat down directly.

"Hey buddy, drinking alone is no fun."

Liu Ruyan was extremely beautiful, possessing a unique charm honed in the brothel. With just one glance, she could make the waiter stare in disbelief.

"You...may I have something to say, young lady?" the waiter stammered.

Liu Ruyan didn't say anything, but gently pushed a silver ingot weighing ten taels next to the waiter's wine bowl.

"I'd like to ask you something, sir."

The shop assistant's eyes lit up when he saw the silver, but he still glanced around warily.

"What do you want to know, young lady? I'm just a gofer; I don't know much."

Liu Ruyan leaned closer, her voice so soft it seemed to drip with water.

"Have you had any guests with knife wounds staying in your car dealership's backyard these past few days?"

The waiter's expression changed slightly. He was about to reach for the silver when he recoiled as if he had been electrocuted.

"I...I can't say this out loud, the shopkeeper will break my legs if he finds out."

Liu Ruyan then pushed over another ten-tael silver ingot.

"If you don't tell me and I don't tell me, who will know? I'm just looking for someone. I heard that I have an enemy who was seriously injured and is hiding in White Wolf Village. As long as you tell me what's going on inside, these two ingots of silver are yours."

Twenty taels of silver is equivalent to three years' wages for this worker.

Driven by greed, the shop assistant gritted his teeth and quickly shoved the silver into his sleeve.

"Miss, I'm only telling you this." The waiter lowered his voice and whispered in Liu Ruyan's ear, "A group of people have indeed moved into the backyard, and they all look fierce. The leader, the 'big boss,' has injuries all over his back and legs, and he needs help to walk."

"Is their internal situation stable?" Liu Ruyan continued to ask.

"Peaceful my foot!" the waiter scoffed. "Last night, that 'big boss' was arguing fiercely with an accountant. I overheard a few words while I was handling the feed. The big boss said that if we handed over some accounts, we could exchange them for the lives of the people of Yunzhou. But the accountant absolutely refused, saying that once the deal was completed, all those who knew about it would be silenced."

Liu Ruyan kept the waiter's words firmly in mind.

The leader wanted to use the second set of accounts to exchange for Yunzhou's life, but the accountant saw through the ruthlessness of Yunzhou's group and worried that he would be discarded after the deal was done.

No wonder the accountant had to find ways to send messages out.

"Where is the accountant now?"

"The big boss had him locked up, locked in the cellar under the stable in the backyard." After saying this, the waiter picked up his wine bowl and took a big gulp. "Miss, that's all I know. Please don't tell anyone I told you."

"rest assured."

Having obtained the information she wanted, Liu Ruyan stood up and walked out of the tavern.

The intelligence matched.

The chief was seriously injured, internal strife broke out, and the accountant was locked under the stable.

……

As dusk fell, lanterns lit up the streets of Bailangji.

The backyard of Wanhe Auto Dealership was even more heavily guarded than during the day. More than a dozen armed guards patrolled the yard.

But in the eyes of a true master, this defense is still full of flaws.

Hou San changed into a black night-clothes, like a night owl, and silently climbed over the high courtyard wall into the backyard.

Although his back injury has not fully healed, he is still agile.

After avoiding two groups of patrolling guards, Hou San followed the scent and found the stable in the corner of the backyard.

A dozen or so tall military horses were tethered in the stable, and the air was filled with the smell of horse manure and hay.

Hou San groped around under the manger for a while and found a slightly loose wooden plank.

He used his dagger to pry open the wooden planks, revealing a narrow stone staircase leading underground.

"Ding Wang's information was correct; there is indeed a cellar."

Hou San held his breath and slowly walked down the stone steps.

The cellar was pitch black, with no lights on. Hou San took out a tinderbox from his pocket and gently blew on it to light it.

The faint firelight illuminated the scene in the cellar, but Hou San's expression suddenly changed.

The cellar was empty.

There was no accountant or guard.

On the wooden pillar in the corner, only a thick hemp rope, severed by a sharp weapon, remained.

"Did they escape? Or were they moved?"

Hou San frowned and carefully searched the ground with his tinderbox.

Soon, he found a bloodstained half of a copper coin beneath the severed rope.

Besides the copper coins, there was also a line of writing on the muddy ground next to them, which had been scratched out with fingernails.

The handwriting is very messy, clearly indicating that the person who left the writing did so in a state of extreme haste and panic.

"The old dyehouse, midnight."

Hou San looked at the words on the ground, immediately extinguished the fire, and retreated out of the cellar along the same route.

The accounting office had already been moved beforehand.

The boss was clearly wary of the accountant's mischief and didn't keep him at Wanhe Auto Shop. But before being taken away, the accountant desperately wrote down the time and place of the transaction.

The old dyehouse, midnight.

……

When Hou San brought the intelligence back to the inn, Xu Qingshan and Liu Ruyan had already organized all the clues.

"The old dyehouse is on West Street in Bailangji. It's been abandoned for seven or eight years. There's hardly a soul around. It's definitely a good place for private transactions." Su Jinniang knew the terrain of Bailangji like the back of her hand.

Xu Qingshan placed the half of the bloodstained copper coin on the table.

"The transaction will take place at midnight." Xu Qingshan glanced at the sky outside. "There are still two hours until midnight. Aman, take some men to keep watch near the old dyehouse, but don't get too close."

"Understood." Ah Man accepted the order and left.

Just then, the scout from the Zhenbei Cavalry, who had been keeping watch on the roof of the inn, slid down the pillar and quickly entered the room.

"Centurion!"

The scout looked grave.

"There's some commotion at Wanhe Car Dealership. Just now, one of their employees led a fast horse out of the back alley and galloped all the way out of Bailangji, heading towards Yunzhou."

Liu Ruyan asked, "Why is a waiter running so fast?"

"I saw it very clearly," the scout reported. "When the man mounted his horse, a corner of the saddle pad flipped up. Underneath the pad was a letter tube sealed with yellow clay. I've seen that type of clay before in Yunzhou; it's the sealing wax used in military supply depots."

The room fell silent instantly.

Xu Qingshan's eyes flashed with a cold light.

"The waters at Wanhe Auto Dealership run deeper than we thought."

Yan Song, the manager, is far more than just a profit-driven car dealership owner. He even has the authority to directly use the secret seals of the Yunzhou military supply depot.

This shows that Wanhe Auto Shop itself was a secret stronghold planted in Bailangji by the Yunzhou Military Supplies Department!

"The boss thought he was safe by hiding in Wanhe Auto Shop. He had no idea that he had already stepped into the gates of hell," Liu Ruyan sneered.

"Go after that guy." Xu Qingshan looked at Hou San. "We absolutely cannot let him deliver the contents of the mailbox into Yunzhou."

Hou San drew his short knife and grinned.

"Centurion, rest assured, even if his horse grew wings, it wouldn't escape my grasp."