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

Inside the council hall of Duanhe Fort, the weary messenger from Yunzhou knelt on one knee on the bluestone slab.

His uniform was soaked by the wind and snow, frozen into a hard shell of ice. Although he held a red official document from the Yunzhou General's Office, delivered with utmost urgency, the messenger didn't dare raise his head. Upon entering Duanhe Fort, he felt a suffocating sense of oppression—the gleaming steel armor on the drill ground, and the veteran soldiers of the Zhenbei Army staring at him with eyes that seemed to regard him as a dead man, all warned him that this was no longer a soft target for the Yunzhou camp to easily manipulate.

Xu Qingshan sat behind a large, long table, wearing a black cloak, his face cold and stern. He didn't speak, but only slightly raised his chin.

Hou San stepped forward, snatched the official document sealed with sealing wax from the messenger's hand, roughly pried open the seal, and handed it to Xu Qingshan with both hands.

Xu Qingshan unfolded the thick official document, his eyes quickly scanning the pages.

The council chamber was eerily quiet, save for the occasional spark from the charcoal brazier. As Xu Qingshan read on, a chilling mockery gradually crept into his abyss-like eyes.

A moment later, he casually tossed the official document onto the long table with a soft thud.

"This General Chen changes his mind faster than turning the pages of a book," Xu Qingshan's voice echoed in the hall, carrying undisguised sarcasm.

Liu Ruyan stepped forward, her gaze falling on the official document, and quickly scanned it. After reading only a few lines, a look of surprise and cold laughter appeared on her beautiful face.

"Centurion, Chen Huaishan's official document... is completely different from the one from two days ago that accused us of 'falsifying accounts and having ulterior motives'."

Liu Ruyan extended her slender finger and pointed to the few lines of strongly worded text in the center of the official document, then read them aloud to the people in the room:

"...Chen Huaiyi, the chief of the Beicang garrison, has received great favor from the Emperor, yet harbors treacherous intentions. He is suspected of embezzling military equipment, colluding with border merchants, and even using large sums of money to induce some soldiers of the patrol battalion to take risks for his own personal gain. Upon hearing of these appalling misdeeds, I am heartbroken and unable to sleep at night..."

Liu Ruyan paused at this point, her tone becoming even more sarcastic.

"The official document states that General Chen Huaishan has 'put righteousness before family,' personally leading men to search Chen Huaiyi's residence last night, stripping him of his official position, and imprisoning him in the Yunzhou military prison's death row camp, where he is under strict guard and awaiting the court's judgment."

"Not only that, he also issued an extremely urgent order in this document." Liu Ruyan looked at Xu Qingshan, "He ordered Xu Qingshan, the garrison commander of Duanhe Fort, to immediately escort all three hundred sets of captured military equipment, all the live prisoners of the patrol battalion, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold, the steward of the Chen family, and that crucial North Warehouse silver account to Yunzhou from the date of receiving the order."

"Chen Huaishan's reasoning was very high-sounding—this is a major case of treason involving the safety of the border, and should be handed over to the Yunzhou General's Office for joint trial by the three courts to uphold military law. No one is allowed to detain evidence or privately try criminals; otherwise, they will be treated as accomplices."

"Ha! What a noble act of sacrificing family for the greater good!"

Hou San crossed his arms, spat out a mouthful of sarcasm, and said, "When that official document arrived yesterday, he swore that the Black Wind Stronghold account books in our possession were forged, and that we were traitors who privately recruited deserters. What, the battle at Gray Bear Ridge just ended today, the blood of the dead hasn't even dried yet, and these account books aren't forged anymore? They've suddenly become a major case of treason?"

Zhou Laoqi, enraged to the point of laughter, slammed his large, fan-like hand on the table, making the teacups jump: "That old fox Chen Huaishan, his change of face is faster than the sky on the grasslands! He saw things were getting out of hand, so he kicked his own brother out to take the fall, while he himself became a righteous and incorruptible official!"

"This is precisely Chen Huaishan's most ruthless aspect."

Xu Qingshan sat in the main seat, his deep gaze looking through the window towards Yunzhou, where the wind and snow were raging.

"In the battle of Grizzly Bear Ridge, the elite of the 300-strong patrol battalion was mostly lost, and 300 sets of standard lamellar armor and 2,000 military arrows fell into our hands. This is such a huge incident that even if Chen Huaishan has connections everywhere, he absolutely cannot cover it up. There are so many eyes watching in Yunzhou City, and Lord Tang Su's spies are everywhere. Since he can't cover it up, he might as well strike first and deliberately detonate it."

Liu Ruyan frowned and continued to analyze Xu Qingshan's train of thought, feeling increasingly terrified as she thought about it.

"If we send all the people and evidence to the Yunzhou General's Mansion..." Liu Ruyan's breathing tightened slightly, "once we enter that mansion, we'll be in Chen Huaishan's territory. Those patrol soldiers being escorted might 'commit suicide out of fear of punishment' in their cells at any moment; that ledger recording numerous crimes might be burned to ashes in an 'accidental' fire; as for Chen Huaiyi himself, he might even die suddenly in the death row camp from a 'sudden illness' before the joint trial."

"In the end, all the survivors became dead, and all the irrefutable evidence turned to ashes." Liu Ruyan looked at the red official document, her voice chilling. "This shocking case of treason will ultimately only be seen as an act of greed by Chen Huaiyi alone. And Chen Huaishan will be completely unaware, and because he arrested his own brother first, he will be praised by the court and the public as a pillar of the nation who puts righteousness before family and does not show favoritism."

"What a clever escape! What a brilliant switcheroo!" Zhou Laoqi cursed angrily. "Centurion, the evidence we risked our lives to retrieve from those barbarians cannot be handed over to that old scoundrel to destroy! We cannot accept this order!"

"Not accepting?" Xu Qingshan glanced at Zhou Laoqi indifferently. "If we don't accept this order, Chen Huaishan will immediately use his position as the garrison commander of Yunzhou to accuse Duanhe Fort of 'possessing excessive military power, harboring traitors, and plotting rebellion.' Then, he can legitimately mobilize tens of thousands of troops to quell the rebellion. Can our mere few hundred men possibly stop him?"

Zhou Laoqi was speechless, his face turning bright red, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

In the power struggles between warlords, the greatest fear is losing the legitimacy of their cause. Chen Huaishan now occupies the position of supreme commander of Yunzhou, and his orders are ostensibly in accordance with the military laws of the Great Qian Dynasty. If Duanhe Fort openly disobeys orders, they will be considered rebels.

"Then... what should we do? We'll die whether we hand it over or not. Are we just going to watch him wash away all this incredible crime?" Hou San was so anxious that he kept scratching his head.

"Hand it over. Why won't you hand it over?"

Xu Qingshan's lips curled into a cold smile. He stood up, walked to the long table, personally ground the ink, and picked up the brush.

"Since General Chen wants this evidence so badly, we, as his subordinates, should naturally share his burden. But the method and location of the handover cannot be left to him to decide."

Xu Qingshan wrote the reply slip quickly on the white paper with swift, flowing strokes.

Liu Ruyan leaned forward and looked at the contents of the paper. Her originally furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a bright light flashed in her eyes.

Xu Qingshan wrote the reply with utmost respect, praising General Chen Huaishan's heroic act of "putting righteousness before family and acting swiftly and decisively," and expressing that the entire Duanhe Fort would absolutely obey the General's command and was willing to immediately return all weapons, prisoners, and account books.

However, at the end of the document, Xu Qingshan abruptly changed his tone and added an extremely harsh condition.

"...However, this case involves a wide range of issues, a huge amount of military equipment, and is also related to the fact that the border is in danger of collusion with the enemy. In order to ensure that the handover process is foolproof and to prevent bandits and the remaining barbarians from robbing and killing us along the way, I humbly request General Chen to invite Tang Su, the Imperial Censor and Border Inspector, to personally attend the handover and supervise the handover by all three parties."

"Until Lord Tang Su personally verifies our identity, inventories the evidence, and issues the joint investigation report, in order to preserve the evidence, Duanhe Fort will not leave an inch of its armor or weapons. We hope that the General will understand the situation and prioritize the affairs of the nation."

After finishing the last stroke, Xu Qingshan threw the brush onto the inkstone, his eyes sharp as knives.

"You want to play the game of procedural justice? Then we'll take it to the extreme," Xu Qingshan said coldly. "Since you've classified this case as a major treason case, it's no longer just a matter for your Yunzhou. Tang Su is an imperial envoy, representing the emperor on his inspection tour of the border. Without his seal of approval, you, Chen Huaishan, won't get a single piece of paper from me!"

Looking at the impeccable reply, Liu Ruyan couldn't help but chuckle: "The centurion's Tai Chi move really hit Chen Huaishan's weak spot. If he refuses Tang Su's supervision, it's because he has a guilty conscience, and he's announcing to the whole world that he wants to destroy the evidence; if he agrees to Tang Su's supervision, then this evidence will be completely exposed to the imperial envoy, and it will be harder than climbing to heaven for him to do anything again."

"Seal the documents."

Xu Qingshan blew the ink dry and handed it to the clerk next to him. Then he turned to look at the Yunzhou messenger who was kneeling on the ground, trembling.

"Brother, I've finished writing the official document. You can go back and report now." Xu Qingshan looked down at him. "Go back and tell General Chen Huaishan that the soldiers of Duanhe Fort are waiting for his next order."

The messenger felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He kowtowed repeatedly, his hands trembling as he accepted the heavy receipt. He then stood up and retreated.

"etc."

Just as the messenger was about to step out of the council hall, Xu Qingshan's voice drifted out from behind him like a ghost.

The messenger froze, cold sweat instantly soaking through his undergarments, and mechanically turned his head.

Xu Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes revealing a chilling depth.

"By the way, could you ask General Chen a question for me?"

Xu Qingshan stared into the messenger's eyes and said, word by word.

"Just ask him... has Zhao Wu, the vanguard commander of Yunzhou who has always been by his side, running errands for him, been found yet?"

The messenger's pupils constricted sharply. Zhao Wu's disappearance was classified as top secret by the Chen family within the Yunzhou camp; how could the garrison of Duanhe Fortress know?!

He dared not ask a single question, and even scrambled out of the council hall, mounted his horse, and galloped madly toward Yunzhou City.

Watching the departing figure, Hou San stroked his chin and grinned, "Centurion, that last sentence you added will probably keep Chen Huaishan up at night even more than these three hundred sets of armor."

"Chen Huaishan thought he could cut off his tail by sacrificing his own family for the greater good, but he forgot that the vicious dogs he released before are not only not dead, but are also ready to bite him back at any time."

Xu Qingshan turned around and looked at the wind and snow outside the house.

"This ten-day show has only just begun. Chen Huaishan, let's take our time."