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

The wind and snow howled and swirled between the cliffs of Luoergou, like countless cold blades scraping against the rocks.

Three hundred cavalrymen, all dressed in black, stood in formation on the south side of the canyon. They did not display any banners to identify themselves, nor did their warhorses utter a single unnecessary neigh. The entire formation exuded a chilling and murderous aura, as if they had been through countless battles.

High up on the cliff, in a crevice between rocks, Liu Ruyan lay on Xu Qingshan's left, carefully observing the mysterious cavalry below through binoculars.

A moment later, she put down her monoculars, leaned close to Xu Qingshan's ear, and whispered, "Centurion, look closely. Although they've covered their faces with black cloth and are wearing unmarked cloaks, they can't hide their true nature."

Liu Ruyan's eyes were exceptionally sharp, dissecting the flaws below word by word.

"Look at their warhorses, all of them are large horses from Hequ, and the shape of the saddles and the position of the water bags are typical of the Yunzhou military regulations. Look at the curvature of the scabbards of the swords at their waists, and the way they tie their leg wraps... Ordinary caravan guards or retainers would never have such a uniform pace."

A hint of certainty flashed in her eyes.

"This is definitely a regular border army from Yunzhou. Judging from the formation in which they reined in their horses just now, they are most likely a patrol battalion that has been patrolling outside the pass for many years and is most skilled at long-distance raids."

Xu Qingshan's gaze was cold, and he nodded slightly.

To ensure the safe transport of these weapons, Chen Huaiyi went so far as to secretly deploy three hundred elite cavalrymen from the patrol battalion to act as thugs. This audacious act far exceeded the limits of what a "merchant" could possibly do.

The standoff at the bottom of the canyon did not last long.

From the ranks of the black-clad cavalry, a burly general slowly emerged. He rode forward to the twenty-odd heavy mule carts, facing the leader of the Vulture Tribe across the distance.

Without further ado, the general pulled a small seal from his pocket and tossed it to the steward in charge of the handover. The steward pressed the seal onto the distinctive brass plate before handing it to the leader of the Vulture Tribe for verification.

That was Chen Huaiyi's private seal used to handle black market transactions.

By the light of the torch, the Vulture Tribe leader saw the markings clearly, and a greedy smile immediately spread across his face. He waved his hand, and several steppe barbarians behind him immediately dismounted and strode towards the mule carts covered with thick felt.

"Whoosh—"

The rough hemp rope was cut by a sharp blade, and several huge waterproof safety felt sheets were ripped off.

Under the flickering firelight, the goods loaded on the mule cart were finally revealed.

There was no silk, no tea, and no salt.

Neatly stacked in the wooden crates were pieces of fine iron lamellar armor strung together with tanned cowhide ropes and polished to a cold, eerie gleam! Next to the lamellar armor were stacks of red-tasseled iron helmets with neck guards, and bundles of heavy military arrows with steel-quenched arrowheads!

Three hundred sets of Daqian-style military armor were laid out openly before these grassland cavalrymen.

On the cliff, the soldiers of the Zhenbei Knights who witnessed this scene all held their breath.

Zhou Laoqi's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, his teeth clenched so tightly they rattled, and the veins on the back of his hand gripping the knife hilt bulged. If it weren't for Xu Qingshan's military orders, he would have already jumped down without hesitation and devoured the black-clad general alive.

Those armors were made at great expense by the Great Qian Dynasty to equip border soldiers and serve as a barrier against foreign enemies.

But now, these corrupt officials in Yunzhou, in order to fill the holes of their own embezzlement, have brazenly sold these life-saving iron armors to the barbarians who plunder the people of Daqian day and night!

"These beasts..." Zhou Laoqi let out a low, suppressed growl, "Our Zhenbei Army is starving and freezing up front, we can't even get a decent winter coat, and they're selling their armor to barbarians! Centurion, give the order, I'm going to chop them to pieces!"

"Shut up."

Xu Qingshan's voice was deep and cold, carrying an undeniable pressure. He stretched out a hand and firmly pressed it on Zhou Laoqi's shoulder, forcefully suppressing his impending killing intent back behind the rock.

"Charging down now would be exhilarating, but it's not enough." Xu Qingshan's deep eyes gleamed with rationality and ruthlessness in the darkness. "What we want is not to kill a few hundred people to vent our anger, but to nail Chen Huaiyi to the pillar of shame for treason, leaving him no chance to recant."

Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, Liu Ruyan asked softly, "Centurion, what are you waiting for?"

"Once this deal is completely finalized..."

Xu Qingshan stared intently at the trading scene below.

"Catch the thief red-handed. In the current situation, Chen Huaiyi can still argue that the goods were switched or that the barbarians robbed him. I need to wait for all three things to happen."

Xu Qingshan held up three fingers, his tone chilling.

"First, the barbarians personally inspected the armor to confirm the goods in the transaction."

"Third, all handover documents between the two parties must bear Chen Huaiyi's seal in black and white!"

Valley bottom.

At the signal of his leader, a fierce warrior from the Vulture tribe laughed and picked out a brand-new set of lamellar armor from the cart, immediately putting it on over his tattered animal skin coat.

He stretched his limbs, then drew the curved sword from his waist and slashed it forcefully at his breastplate.

"when!"

With a crisp sound, the scimitar was deflected, leaving only a faint white mark on the fine iron lamellar armor, without even a single armor plate falling off.

"Excellent armor! Truly the finest armor of the Great Qian!" The leader of the Vulture Tribe laughed heartily, his eyes filled with fervor. With these three hundred sets of heavy armor, their Vulture Tribe was strong enough to roam freely across the grasslands, and if they encountered the light cavalry of the border army, they could completely crush them head-on.

With a satisfied wave of his hand, the barbarian cavalry behind him immediately led over ten packhorses.

More than a dozen heavy camphor wood chests were unloaded from the horse. The chests were opened, and they were filled with silver ingots, gold dust, and top-quality sable furs, all accumulated from looting on the grasslands.

The black-clad general dismounted, walked to the silver chests, casually kicked open one of the chests to check its quality, and nodded in satisfaction.

Then, the steward took out a thick ledger of transactions. The general in black took Chen Huaiyi's private seal from the steward without any hesitation and pressed it heavily on the last page of the ledger.

The inkpad was bright red, shockingly so.

On the cliff face, Liu Ruyan's breathing suddenly quickened. She whispered a reminder: "Centurion, the barbarians have inspected the armor, the silver has passed through their hands, and the documents have been stamped. If we act now, we'll have caught them red-handed, with irrefutable evidence!"

All the evidence is complete. Those silver chests and the stamped account books are the inescapable death warrant for the Chen family.

However, although Xu Qingshan's right hand was already on the hilt of the long sword, he still did not intend to draw the sword.

"Wait a little longer."

Xu Qingshan's voice was barely audible, yet it conveyed the extreme calmness of a hunter facing his prey.

Although the transaction was completed, both sides remained extremely wary. The three hundred black-clad cavalrymen did not relax their vigilance after the handover was completed; they maintained a tight formation, with most of the troops still stationed at the southern entrance of the canyon, ready to turn around and retreat from Luoergou at any time.

If we act now, once these three hundred regular cavalrymen discover they have been ambushed and their vanguard has suffered a setback, the main force behind them will inevitably abandon the mule carts and escape directly along the route they came from.

Even if fifty riders were the most elite, they couldn't possibly hold off three hundred riders who were determined to escape in an open area.

Xu Qingshan's goal was to trap and kill them all.

At the bottom of the valley, the two parties who had completed the transaction began to coordinate.

The Vulture Tribe's cavalrymen gleefully took control of the twenty-odd mule carts, preparing to retreat to the northern grasslands; while the black-clad general waved his hand, ordering his soldiers to load the chests full of silver onto their horses.

To cover the heavy shipment of silver, the main force of the black-clad cavalry, which had been blocking the valley entrance, began to slowly move forward, penetrating deep into the heart of Luoergou, to join forces with the vanguard.

One step, two steps.

As the black-clad cavalry formation contracted, the entrance to the canyon on the south side gradually became empty.

The wind and snow grew increasingly violent, making the withered grass on the cliff face howl.

Xu Qingshan's gaze was fixed on the figure of the last black-clad cavalryman, as sharp as a hawk's.

The cavalryman responsible for bringing up the rear spurred his horse across the narrowest, invisible boundary between the two cliffs, finally stepping deep into Luoergou.

All three hundred elite cavalrymen of the Yunzhou Patrol Battalion, along with more than one hundred barbarian Vulture Tribe members, were completely stuffed into this natural pocket.

The long sword was drawn.

A cold light, like autumn water, quietly bloomed in the darkness.

Xu Qingshan slowly stood up, facing the howling north wind, raised the hand holding the knife, and slashed down fiercely.

"Road closed."