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

Before dawn, the sky over Yunzhou City was heavy with darkness.

A biting wind, swirling with snowflakes, swept across the towering eaves of the General's Mansion, emitting a mournful wail. The entire mansion was brightly lit, the clashing of armor and the rapid hoofbeats breaking the deathly silence of the morning.

Inside the study, Chen Huaishan sat upright in a large rosewood chair, with several newly delivered secret reports spread out on the table in front of him.

The message came from a trusted confidant who had been lurking outside the post station—there was unusual activity in the backyard of the imperial envoy's post station, and Tang Su had personally issued the border patrol envoy's order, preparing to forcibly seal off the northern granary after dawn.

"They came quickly."

Chen Huaishan slowly closed the lid of the teacup in his hand, the porcelain clinking together with a crisp, soft sound.

His sharply defined face showed no sign of panic, only a deep, unfathomable coldness. As a general who had fought on the frontier for decades, he knew all too well what it meant if the situation spiraled out of control. The three hundred sets of armor from Grey Bear Ridge had fallen into Xu Qingshan's hands, Zhao Wu's whereabouts remained unknown, and Tang Su was about to use his imperial envoy status to inspect the northern granary…

If Tang Su's troops were to swagger into Beicang, the situation would be completely out of his control.

"Pass down the order."

Chen Huaishan raised his eyelids, his tone so calm that it revealed no emotion whatsoever, but the two trusted generals standing below him felt a chill run down their spines.

"First, immediately transfer Chen Huaiyi, the head of the Beicang, to the death row and high-prisoner area of ​​the Yunzhou military prison. No one is allowed to visit him except with my personal written order. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."

"Secondly, the two treasurers and four clerks in charge of the armory in the North Warehouse were all arrested overnight on charges of 'colluding with merchants to steal military supplies.' Those who resisted were killed on the spot."

The commander of the personal guards below trembled slightly and asked in a low voice, "General, what about those clerks... if they speak recklessly in prison...?"

Chen Huaishan's gaze swept over the commander, his eyes as calm as if he were looking at a corpse.

"The border region is bitterly cold, and the prison is damp and gloomy. It is not uncommon for several frail and weak clerks to die from poisoning out of fear of punishment or from sudden illness."

The commander's breath hitched, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he clasped his hands in a deep voice, saying, "This subordinate understands!"

"Go and do it." Chen Huaishan waved his hand, his expression indifferent. "Before dawn, post notices at all the city gates, markets, and military camps in Yunzhou City. Let all the soldiers and civilians in the city see clearly how I, Chen Huaishan, am cleaning house for the imperial court."

……

As dawn broke.

Lead-gray clouds pressed down on the city of Yunzhou. Before the merchants and pedestrians in the market had fully gathered, squads of fully armed soldiers from the General's Office strode quickly through the main streets and alleys, posting official notices bearing the General's Office's vermilion seal on prominent city walls and bulletin boards.

In less than half an hour, the city gates and markets were packed with dense crowds.

Several literate scholars and the caravan manager crowded at the front, reading aloud the contents of the notice by the morning light:

"...Imperial Edict from the General's Office: Chen Huaiyi, the head of the Beicang granary in Yunzhou, has been blinded by greed and has deceived his superiors and subordinates. He has colluded with illegal merchants in the border regions to secretly resell decommissioned military equipment, and has even stolen tokens from the General's Office to lure some soldiers of the patrol battalion out of the city to escort it... General Chen Huaishan is furious and deeply saddened upon hearing this. Therefore, in strict accordance with military law, Chen Huaiyi is stripped of all his authority and imprisoned in a death row cell to await his execution! All officials involved in the Beicang case are to be detained and severely interrogated without any leniency..."

The announcement caused an uproar throughout Yunzhou City.

"General Chen actually imprisoned his own brother on death row?"

"These are brothers! I heard that last night, the General's guards ransacked Master Chen's house, and even his family was placed under house arrest!"

"It seems Commander Chen has indeed been kept in the dark. If a general truly wanted to smuggle weapons, why would he send his own brother to do such a capital offense? Clearly, it's Chen Huaiyi abusing his family's power to act recklessly!"

"Putting righteousness before family ties, showing no favoritism... Commander Chen's methods truly deserve the title of 'iron-fisted and impartial'!"

The onlookers and soldiers discussed it animatedly, and many who were unaware of the truth even praised Chen Huaishan's behavior.

Inside the main hall of the General's Mansion, Chen Huaishan stood with his hands behind his back, listening to the report from his scouts, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

In this city, as long as he seizes the moral high ground first and pours all the mud onto Chen Huaiyi, even if Tang Su holds the imperial seal, he can only proceed as an "investigator of corruption." As long as those key interrogators in Beicang rot silently in prison, this shocking case will forever remain confined to Chen Huaiyi.

……

However, Xu Qingshan, who was thousands of miles away in Duanhe Fort, had already anticipated this scene from the very beginning.

Inside the council chamber, the fire was blazing.

Liu Ruyan strode into the hall and handed the secret report that had just been sent from Yunzhou City to Xu Qingshan.

"Centurion, news has come back from Yunzhou." Liu Ruyan's delicate brows were etched with a hint of solemnity. "Chen Huaishan's actions were even more ruthless than we anticipated. Before dawn, he ransacked Chen Huaiyi's mansion. Of the six treasurers and clerks in the Beicang who directly handled the accounts, four committed suicide last night during their transport. The remaining two were beaten to the point of near death and are now imprisoned in the death row."

Shen Qinghe, flipping through the copied account books, sighed softly: "Chen Huaishan is cutting his losses to survive. He pushed Chen Huaiyi out to take the blame, and then killed all the people involved. In this way, the entire chain of smuggling arms is broken at Chen Huaiyi's point, and there is no evidence to investigate further upstream."

"He can only cut off the tail if the tail is willing to be cut off."

Xu Qingshan put down his teacup, a cold glint appearing in his deep eyes.

"Chen Huaiyi was greedy and arrogant, but he was by no means a loyal and righteous man willing to die for others. The reason he dared to grit his teeth in prison was because he still held onto a sliver of hope that his comrade-in-arms was just putting on a show and would find a way to save his life once things calmed down."

Xu Qingshan stood up, walked to the map, and his gaze fell on the location of the Yunzhou military prison.

"The dead don't recant their confessions, but as long as Chen Huaiyi is alive, he is the sharpest knife hanging over Chen Huaishan's head."

Xu Qingshan turned to Liu Ruyan: "Ruyan, can we make any moves regarding the old steward of the Chen family in Bailang Village, or our mole in Yunzhou Prison?"

A sharp glint flashed in Liu Ruyan's eyes: "It's all prepared. Manager Su has been operating in Yunzhou for many years, and there are several jailers in the military prison who are responsible for delivering food and guarding prisoners. They've taken a lot of money from us. The old steward from the Chen family, whom we've detained at Duanhe Fort, has also written a personal letter as you instructed."

"Very good." Xu Qingshan tapped his finger lightly on the table. "No need to say anything complicated. Just copy the official notice that Chen Huaishan posted all over the city this morning and send it in. Also, have the old steward pass on a message to Chen Huaiyi."

Liu Ruyan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Which sentence?"

Xu Qingshan uttered a few words expressionlessly:

"Tell him that his brother has already submitted a memorial to the court, stating that all the charges of treason and collusion with the enemy were committed by Chen Huaiyi alone. The official document ordering his execution in the autumn is already on its way to the capital."

……

Late at night, deep within the Yunzhou Prison.

The place is shrouded in darkness, and the biting dampness mixed with the musty smell of straw is suffocating.

In a solitary death row cell deep inside, Chen Huaiyi huddled in a dark, damp corner, his once-luxurious brocade robe now stained with mud and blood. The biting cold seeped into his bones through the cracks in the stone slabs, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

Although he had become a prisoner, Chen Huaiyi still held a sliver of hope in his heart.

"My brother is acting... Yes, he must be putting on an act for that stubborn old man Tang Su..." Chen Huaiyi muttered to himself, his chapped lips trembling. "I'm his own brother. I've spent countless amounts of money on his behalf to send to various high-ranking officials to make the Chen family what it is today... He couldn't possibly kill me... In a few days, once the Gray Bear Ridge incident has been suppressed, he'll definitely find a scapegoat to replace me..."

Just as he was trying to comfort himself, a faint clanging sound of chains came from outside the corridor.

An elderly prison guard, slightly overweight and wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, slowly stopped in front of the cell door, carrying a food box.

"Dinner's ready." The old jailer looked around to make sure there were no patrolling soldiers nearby, and called out in a low voice.

Chen Huaiyi scrambled over, gripping the cold iron bars with both hands, and asked anxiously, "Liu Laosan! What's going on outside? Has my elder brother... General Chen sent anyone in? When will he let me out?!"

The jailer known as Liu Laosan sighed, his eyes filled with sympathy and pity.

Instead of answering directly, he took out a neatly folded piece of hemp paper from his pocket and slipped it through the gap in the fence.

"Second Master, take a look for yourself. These are the notices posted all over the four gates of Yunzhou this morning."

Chen Huaiyi's heart sank, and he unfolded the paper with trembling hands. In the dim light of the oil lamp in the corridor, when he saw the shocking words on the notice—"Deceiving superiors and subordinates," "Removed from office," "Thrown into death row to await execution"—he was struck as if by a heavy blow, and his face instantly turned from pale to ashen.

"No...impossible! This is just a stopgap measure, it must have been written by my elder brother for outsiders to see!" Chen Huaiyi shook his head frantically, his knuckles turning white from gripping the paper too tightly.

The old jailer crouched down, took out a folded secret letter from the bottom of the food box, handed it in again, and said in a low voice:

"Second Master, stop dreaming. The four treasurers who worked with you at Beicang were all 'dealt with' by the General's guards on the way to their execution last night. This is a blood-written letter sent in by your old steward."

Chen Huaiyi trembled as he opened the letter. The handwriting was familiar to the old steward of the Chen family; each word was like a sharp icicle, piercing his heart.

"Second Master, the Commander-in-Chief has submitted an official document to the Ministry of War, placing all the blame for the illegal sale of weapons and the unauthorized transfer of patrol battalions from Grey Bear Ridge on you alone. The Commander-in-Chief personally ordered that there be no one left in Beicang to testify against him, making you the sole scapegoat for the Chen family. Commander Xu of Broken River Fortress holds all the silver accounts and the prisoners. The Commander-in-Chief cannot protect you, nor has he ever intended to... We urge you to make a decision soon!"

"Clatter".

The secret letter slipped and fell onto the damp, muddy ground.

Chen Huaiyi collapsed to the ground, his eyes terrifyingly empty.

Only at this moment did he truly understand. In the face of the Chen family clan and the Grand General's official hat, his so-called younger brother was, from the very beginning, a discarded pawn that could be trampled into the mud and crushed at any moment!

Chen Huaishan not only wanted him dead, but also wanted him to bear the infamy for all time and die for the heinous crimes of the entire General's Mansion!

"Chen Huaishan... how cruel you are..."

Chen Huaiyi raised his head, letting out a low growl like that of a wounded beast. Tears mixed with mud slid down his cheeks, and the fear and dependence in his eyes instantly transformed into endless resentment and despair.

"You want me to be your scapegoat, to protect the Chen family's wealth and glory... I'll make sure you don't get your way!"

"Liu Laosan! Tell me, who delivered this letter?!"

The old jailer's eyes flickered, but he remained silent.

Chen Huaiyi was breathing heavily, his mind racing. There was no other person who could have delivered this letter into Chen Huaishan's tightly controlled prison except for the Northern Army of Beiqiang Town, who possessed all the evidence and were currently locked in a direct confrontation with Chen Huaishan!

In this life-or-death moment, Chen Huaiyi no longer cared about saving face or harboring hatred. He knew that the only person in the world with the ability and the right to save his life from Chen Huaishan's blade was that young centurion whom he had once regarded as an ant!

Chen Huaiyi pressed his face tightly against the gap in the iron fence, his voice trembling but resolute:

"Go back and tell the messenger...can you contact Xu Qingshan's men?!"

"I want to see Xu Qingshan!"

"I have the secret transfer order personally signed by Chen Huaishan! I know all the details about the transport damage unit!"

"If he can spare my life... I'll expose all the dirty deeds Chen Huaishan has done over the past fifteen years!"