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

Inside the dungeon of Broken River Fortress, cold water droplets slid slowly down the moss-covered stone walls, dripping onto the muddy ground with a monotonous yet chilling sound.

A thick stench of blood and damp mustiness filled the air. In this sunless underground prison, the torchlight flickered in the cold draft, casting an eerie glow on Liu Ruyan's aloof face. She sat upright in a wooden chair, a rough wooden table before her, a brush suspended in mid-air, its tip saturated with ink, silently awaiting the answer from the person before her.

Beside Liu Ruyan, Hou Sanzheng idly played with the leather whip in his hand, which was stained with dark red blood. The tip of the whip occasionally brushed against the ground, making a chilling hissing sound.

The patrol battalion commander bound to the rack was named Han Zhong, the deputy captain of the three hundred black-clad cavalry involved in the Gray Bear Ridge transaction. In the Yunzhou camp, he was a respectable mid-level officer who had seen bloodshed and profited alongside his superiors. But now, facing the silent Liu Ruyan and the whip that could fall at any moment, Han Zhong's mental defenses had crumbled like a burst dam.

His armor had long been stripped off, leaving him only in a thin, torn prison uniform. The blood at his wounds had congealed into dark red scabs, and every breath was accompanied by excruciating pain.

"Who gave the military order to remove your Daqian military uniforms before leaving the city?"

Liu Ruyan's voice wasn't loud; her soft tone echoed in the empty, damp cell, her voice devoid of any discernible emotion. But to Han Zhong, her flat tone felt like sharp knives, each word cutting into his flesh.

"I...we really didn't know it was military armor!"

Han Zhong trembled violently, his heavy breathing sounding particularly shrill in the cramped cell. His voice was thick with sobs and boundless fear, as if the whip would shatter his bones if he paused even slightly. "Before leaving the city, the military orders from above were issued very hastily. The officers only made us all change into black night clothes and thick robes without any insignia, strictly forbidding us from wearing any armor or clothing bearing the insignia of the Yunzhou Camp. Even our identification badges were confiscated and locked in iron boxes in the barracks."

Liu Ruyan raised an eyebrow, her wrist holding the pen remaining perfectly still, and continued to ask, "Since you know this rule is so unusual, didn't one of your three hundred elite soldiers, who have fought their way up the border, ever suspect the origins of this mission?"

"Military orders are absolute, who dares to ask a single question?" Han Zhong swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, his eyes darting away, avoiding Liu Ruyan's gaze. "Moreover... moreover, the orders from above are that this time we're escorting a particularly important shipment of 'border market smuggled goods' across the border. No one is allowed to inspect the goods without authorization along the way, and even less is anyone allowed to whisper to each other. As long as we deliver this shipment safely to Gray Bear Ridge, the mission will be accomplished."

At this point, Han Zhong's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, making a "clucking" sound.

"What's more... before we set off, the steward of that Master Chen came to the camp in person. He didn't waste any words and directly had several heavy camphor wood chests brought out. Every brother who participated in this mission received two taels of pure silver on the spot, as a deposit. The steward also promised in public that as long as we escorted the goods back alive, each of us would be rewarded with three taels of silver!"

Two taels of silver.

For the lowly soldiers of Yunzhou, who were constantly penalized by the military supply deductions, ate stale rice mixed with sand, and even struggled to find a new cotton-padded coat to keep warm in the dead of winter, this was nothing short of a windfall. People die for money, birds die for food; in this icy, snowy frontier, silver was far more effective than those vague military regulations.

A deep mockery flashed across Liu Ruyan's eyes. For a mere five taels of silver, the swords meant to protect the nation's regular border troops had been turned into private soldiers protecting corrupt officials and even smuggling military equipment. The very foundation of this Yunzhou camp was rotten to the core.

Her brush moved swiftly across the rice paper, making a soft rustling sound as she recorded Han Zhong's words word for word. Then, she paused, slowly raising her eyes. Her sharp gaze seemed tangible, piercing straight into the depths of Han Zhong's heart, as if trying to dig out the last trace of his concealment.

This question, like a poisoned ice pick, points directly to the core of this major case of treason.

The military discipline of the Great Qian Dynasty was as strict as an iron wall. Anyone who mobilized more than a hundred troops without the Ministry of War's tiger tally or the general's order would be punished as an accomplice to treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of their family. Even if Chen Huaiyi was incredibly audacious, the deputy commander of the patrol battalion would not risk having his entire family beheaded by lending out three hundred regular cavalrymen for such a shady business based on a few empty words from a merchant.

Upon hearing this question, Han Zhong's face turned deathly pale, and large beads of cold sweat rolled down his filthy forehead, splashing into the muddy water. He shook his head frantically, the iron chains on his wrists and ankles rattling loudly in the confined space, sounding particularly mournful.

"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Grandma, please have mercy and spare my life!" Han Zhong completely broke down, roaring loudly, afraid that if he hesitated even a moment longer, his head would roll. "The troop mobilization document wasn't a proper military order from the Ministry of War! That night, Chen Huaiyi personally led his men to our patrol battalion's camp. He found our adjutant, and in his hand... in his hand, he was holding a bronze plaque!"

"What bronze medal?" A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Liu Ruyan's eyes, and her knuckles holding the pen turned slightly white.

"It's the General's Office's 'Temporary Troop Deployment Bronze Token'!" Han Zhong's voice became shrill and piercing with boundless fear, like the mournful cry of a night owl. "I was on duty outside the commander's tent at the time. The curtain wasn't fully drawn, so I saw it with my own eyes! That bronze token was made of pure copper, with cloud patterns and tiger heads engraved along the edges, and a seal script character '令' (command) engraved in the center. When the adjutant saw that token, without saying a word, his expression changed several times, and he immediately selected our three hundred most elite men and handed them over to Chen Huaiyi's steward to be taken away overnight!"

After he finished speaking, a long silence fell over the cell. Only the crackling of the torch burning grease and Han Zhong's heavy breathing could be heard.

Liu Ruyan's fingers tightened slightly as she held the brush, and a drop of thick ink fell from the tip, spreading into a small, glaring black spot on the white Xuan paper.

The General's Office issued a temporary troop deployment plaque!

In the entire city of Yunzhou, besides the high-ranking Yunzhou garrison commander Chen Huaishan, who wields the power of life and death, who else has the authority to issue such a document? Even if Chen Huaiyi has extraordinary connections, he could never forge such a top-secret token capable of mobilizing a regular army out of thin air. This means that this heinous arms smuggling case was not merely an act of greed by Chen Huaiyi alone, but rather the result of the entire Yunzhou power center's behind-the-scenes manipulation.

"Take his signature."

Liu Ruyan stood up, gently blew on the Xuan paper filled with her confession to dry, and handed it to Hou San beside her. Then, without lingering, she turned and strode out of the suffocating dungeon, her cold figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the stone steps.

……

Stepping out of the dungeon, one is greeted by a biting, cold wind from the frontier, mixed with snowflakes, which invigorates the spirit.

Liu Ruyan did not go directly to the council hall, but instead crossed the spacious central training ground of Duanhe Fortress first.

The training ground was a hive of activity. Three hundred sets of fine iron lamellar armor, captured from Grizzly Bear Ridge, were neatly arranged on wooden racks. The old craftsman Ma Fu, along with a dozen young apprentices, were carefully wiping the bloodstains and snowmelt from the armor plates with coarse cloths soaked in rust-preventing oil.

"What a treasure! Truly top-quality stuff!" Ma Fu exclaimed repeatedly as he wiped the metal plates, his calloused fingers tracing the cold iron surfaces. His eyes were filled with a mixture of fascination and regret. "This Xuan-grade refined iron requires twelve forging processes to form. The thickness of each armor plate is just right, enough to withstand the barbarians' heavy curved swords without crushing the soldiers during long marches. Those damned parasites of Yunzhou actually sold such life-saving equipment to the barbarians! They deserve to be torn to pieces!"

On the other side of the open space, Shen Qinghe and Zhao Lihua, along with several clerks, were checking the dozen or so heavy camphor wood chests. The chests were open, and the white silver ingots and gold dust inside gleamed alluringly in the sunlight. Next to them were dozens of flawless, top-quality sable pelts.

"It's a total of twelve thousand taels of silver, plus two hundred taels of gold dust." Shen Qinghe held an abacus in her hand, her fingers moving quickly across the beads, her voice revealing a hint of barely suppressed relief. "With this money, our Sibao will have a much easier time this winter."

Holding a supplies booklet, Zhao Lihua quickly calculated: "Manager Su has already contacted several trustworthy smuggling caravans. As long as the money arrives, we can cross the blockade of Yunzhou and secretly purchase enough winter wheat seeds, cotton cloth, and medicinal herbs from several eastern prefectures. We can even hire dozens more skilled bricklayers to thoroughly reinforce the collapsed walls of Qingya Fort and Tiemen Fort before the heavy snow closes the mountains."

Watching this scene, Liu Ruyan's heart, which had been chilled by the interrogation, began to warm slightly. The wealth seized from corrupt officials and barbarians would finally be used where it was truly needed. The North Wall was no longer a discarded pawn to be slaughtered; it was rapidly absorbing nutrients and taking root in this icy wasteland.

She walked across the training ground and glanced at the temporary medical camp set up by Qin Yuenu.

Inside the medical camp tents, warm fireplaces burned, and the air was filled with the rich scent of herbs. Several new recruits, who had sustained minor injuries in yesterday's fierce battle, lay on communal beds covered with thick layers of dry straw, allowing medics to change their dressings.

Although these new recruits were somewhat pale, there was no trace of dejection in their eyes. Instead, they exuded a resolute determination born from having experienced the baptism of life and death. They were no longer those refugees who would fight tooth and nail for half a piece of coarse grain cake, but true soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty, wearing uniforms and holding spears.

Liu Ruyan did not make a sound to disturb her. She withdrew her gaze, quickened her pace, and headed straight for the council hall located behind the city wall.

……

Broken River Fortress, Council Hall.

The charcoal fire crackled softly in the huge copper basin, and the heat it emitted dispelled the chill in the room.

Xu Qingshan sat behind a large, long table, wearing a faded black cloak, quietly looking at the confession bearing Han Zhong's bright red fingerprint that Liu Ruyan handed him. Shen Qinghe and Zhou Laoqi stood on either side, the atmosphere in the room exceptionally heavy.

"Bronze medal for troop deployment..."

Xu Qingshan tapped his fingertips lightly on the heavy solid wood table, making a soft, resonant sound.

Those deep, unfathomable eyes revealed no emotion, yet they exuded an invisible sense of oppression.

Liu Ruyan took a deep breath, her voice tinged with barely suppressed indignation: "Centurion, now all the loopholes have been completely plugged. Chen Huaiyi, a mere warehouse manager, has no right to mobilize troops. That bronze plaque from the General's Office is the most direct and irrefutable proof! This shows that Chen Huaishan was deeply involved in this arms trafficking scheme from the very beginning. Three hundred sets of armor leaving the pass—without Chen Huaishan's tacit approval, even if Chen Huaiyi had wings, he could never have escaped the three gates of Yunzhou City!"

"Yes!" Zhou Laoqi's eyes widened in anger, his large, fan-like hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked, radiating a chilling aura. "These hypocritical bastards, standing on that high platform all day spouting patriotic rhetoric, treating us like dogs, while behind our backs they carry the General's orders, selling our brothers' breastplates like commodities! Centurion, now that we have the confessions, the witnesses and the evidence, let's send the evidence to Lord Tang Su by express courier, so he can report directly to the court, wipe out Chen Huaishan's lair, and avenge our fallen brothers!"

Hearing the crowd's indignation, Xu Qingshan did not immediately express his opinion.

He carefully examined the still-wet confession, his eyes devoid of blind fanaticism, instead revealing a calm, analytical approach. He had witnessed too much betrayal and scheming, and knew all too well just how deep the waters of the Yunzhou officialdom ran.

"Do you really think that based on the testimony of a deputy captain of a patrol battalion, plus a claim that he 'saw with his own eyes' a troop mobilization token, you can easily bring down a border general who commands tens of thousands of troops and has been operating in Yunzhou for over a decade?"