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

The charred rubble emitted pungent blue smoke in the cold wind, and the scorching embers mixed with snowmelt turned into a sticky, foul-smelling mud.

The North Granary tent had completely collapsed into ruins. The Yunzhou soldiers who had rushed to put out the fire stood in the muddy water, carrying buckets of water, looking at each other in bewilderment, none daring to make the slightest noise.

In the open space in front of the main hall, Xu Qingshan held half of a charred, blackened ledger with charred edges in his hand, his expression as cold as ice.

"General Chen, this fire was set at a very opportune moment."

Xu Qingshan's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a nail hardened with ice, clearly piercing the ears of everyone present.

Chen Huaishan stood ten paces away, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his golden armor stained with smudges of cigarette ash. The muscles in his face twitched slightly, and his deep, hawk-like eyes were fixed on the tattered scroll in Xu Qingshan's hand, a chilling undercurrent surging within them.

"Commander Xu, you mustn't speak recklessly." Chen Huaishan took a deep breath, his voice low and authoritative. "The important Beicang area was suddenly set on fire by thieves, and I have already ordered the entire camp to search for them. You risked your life to retrieve the tattered documents from the fire and protect the witnesses, which is indeed courageous and resourceful. But to conclude a major border case that has been going on for many years based on just a few pages of paper burned by the flames is far too frivolous."

"Child's play?"

Liu Ruyan stepped forward slowly. She took out a wooden box wrapped in layers of moisture-proof oilcloth from her close-fitting leather pouch and opened the lid in front of the imperial envoy Tang Su and dozens of generals present.

Inside, neatly stacked, were old account copies of Black Wind Village, annual silver account copies of Beicang, and rubbings of documents seized from Gray Bear Ridge.

"General Chen, the truth or falsehood of accounts cannot be determined by words alone."

Liu Ruyan's expression was aloof. With her delicate hands, she opened the dark curtain of Black Wind Stronghold and carefully spread the tattered scroll in Xu Qingshan's hand on a dry wooden board.

She dipped her brush in cinnabar and began to compare each item with the others in front of everyone.

"In the winter of the fifteenth year of Tianxi, the records of the North Granary Transport Loss Office show that: 300 shi of military rations for winter protection were allocated from Qingyabao. The carts were overturned by heavy snow on the way to Luoergou and were completely destroyed in the valley. The records were processed and written off by the Transport Loss Camp."

Liu Ruyan's pen tip landed on a page of an old account book from Black Wind Stronghold, the sound crisp and clear like jade striking jade.

"On the same day of the same month, the Black Wind Stronghold's entry record states: 300 shi of high-quality official grain transported from Yunzhou, equivalent to 600 taels of silver. 400 taels were allocated to the General's Treasury, and the remainder went into the Black Wind Stronghold's private treasury!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the accompanying Yunzhou garrison officers changed slightly.

Liu Ruyan did not stop, her fingers continuing to move downwards along the tattered scroll.

"In the spring of the sixteenth year of Tianxi, Tiemenbao reported that it had allocated 1,000 bundles of armor-piercing heavy arrows. The records of the damaged transport room show that the entire bundle was intercepted and killed by the Black Wind Village bandits on the way. The leading officer was killed in battle and the records were cancelled."

"On the same day, the Black Wind Stronghold's list of stolen goods was as follows: 1,000 bundles of armor-piercing arrows manufactured by the Great Qian Dynasty were transported from White Wolf Market to the Vulture Tribe outside the pass, in exchange for 40 warhorses and 30 sable pelts!"

"In the autumn of the seventeenth year of Tianxi, Duanhebao urgently needed 2,000 catties of pig iron to repair the irrigation canals and city defenses. According to the transport records: a flash flood occurred, the boat capsized and fell into the water, and sank to the shallows of Duanhe."

"According to the Black Wind Stronghold account book: Two thousand catties of official iron were resold to the blacksmith camp beyond the Great Wall for eighty taels of gold!"

One stroke after another.

The time, place, type of materials, reason for write-off, and even the converted profit-sharing ratio of silver—two account books that were hundreds of miles apart and should have been completely unrelated—were suddenly superimposed on each other perfectly at this moment!

The so-called heavy snow that overturned carts, flash floods that capsized boats, bandits blocking the road, and barbarian cavalry raids...

Compared to these pages of vermilion handwriting, they all became a cover-up for heinous corruption!

Beicang first allocated a large amount of military equipment and provisions that originally belonged to the border fortresses and villages, transported them halfway, and then sold them to bandits and barbarians by secret teams. Finally, the transport damage office issued a "war damage document" covered with red seals, lightly pushing all the losses and culpability onto natural disasters and bandits.

What a clever scheme to cover up the truth with a "dead man's account"!

Tang Su stood to one side, staring at the shocking sets of comparison figures on the wooden board, his face ashen, almost dripping with sweat. The border inspector's chest heaved violently, his white beard trembling uncontrollably, as he pointed at the ruins and shouted sternly:

"Heartless and despicable! Utterly devoid of conscience!"

Tang Su turned around, his eyes flashing like lightning as he glared at Chen Huaishan: "General Chen! Your Yunzhou Beicang granary, under your command, has been using the life-saving rations allocated by the imperial court to the border soldiers, fabricating a four-year-long list of dead men! Tens of thousands of bushels of grain and thousands of sets of armor have been 'wasted' into the pockets of barbarians and bandits! As the commander-in-chief, stationed in the General's Mansion, can you really just say 'I was unaware' and get away with it?!"

Chen Huaishan's eye muscles twitched violently, and his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves, his knuckles turning bluish-white.

He never expected that Xu Qingshan not only salvaged this crucial half of the tattered ledger from the fire, but also held the detailed ledger of the Black Wind Stronghold, which included specific dates for the distribution of spoils!

The combination of the two sets of accounts no longer constitutes mere suspicion, but rather exposes the entire chain of corruption to the public.

"My lord... Your Excellency, Imperial Envoy, please investigate..."

Just then, the old granary official, who had fallen into the mud, struggled to his feet with the help of the doctor.

The old granary clerk coughed up a mouthful of foul blood, grabbed Tang Su's official robe hem, and wept uncontrollably:

"I...I've been a clerk in the Loss and Damage Reporting Office for six years. Every single one of these loss and damage reports is fabricated! If we lowly clerks don't stamp and cancel the reports as instructed, we'll all mysteriously die in the ditch outside the city within three days!"

Tang Su bent down and asked in a deep voice, "Old man, please explain clearly: who does this supplies transport unit usually obey? Who moved these military supplies out of the warehouse, and who forced you to write off the accounts?!"

This question was like a guillotine hanging over everyone's heads, instantly tightening the atmosphere around the camp to its limit.

All the generals' eyes fell on the old granary official's mouth.

The old warehouse clerk trembled all over as he slowly raised his blistered hand and pointed in the direction of the General's Guard Camp.

"It's...it's General Hu Lie, the commander of the damage control battalion!"

The old warehouse clerk's voice was hoarse and grating: "Every time supplies were transferred, Commander Hu personally entered the warehouse to collect the goods, carrying the General's personal guard token. All the war damage reconciliation reports were also delivered by Commander Hu alone with his troops! If the accounts didn't match, it was Commander Hu who would come to 'settle the accounts' with his personal guards!"

Commander of the Damage Control Team – Hu Lie!

Upon hearing this name, many officers on both sides of the hall gasped in shock.

However, even though the old warehouse clerk revealed Hu Lie's name, the confession still lacked the most crucial element—every time Hu Lie took goods to settle accounts, it was done by oral instruction, and Chen Huaishan never signed it in person.

A barely perceptible hint of ferocity and determination flashed in Chen Huaishan's eyes.

As a commander who had been in charge of the border for many years, his skill in sacrificing pawns to save the king was chilling.

"What a scoundrel Hu Lie! What a treacherous beast!"

Before Tang Su could speak, Chen Huaishan suddenly roared. He drew his sword from his waist and cleaved a burning log in two with a single stroke, his face contorted with rage and murderous intent.

"I entrusted him with the task of transporting defense supplies because of his many years of military service, yet he dared to betray the General's Office and collude with that traitor Chen Huaiyi, committing such a heinous act that wreaks havoc on the border! Ma Rong!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Deputy Commander Ma Rong immediately stepped forward, clasping his hands in greeting.

"Take the personal guards and seal off all the garrisons in the city! Proceed to the main camp of the transport battalion immediately and seize Hu Lie! If he dares to resist, execute him on the spot!" Chen Huaishan ordered sternly, his expression filled with grief and indignation. "Today, I will personally crush this traitor and give the court and all the soldiers in the city an explanation!"

"Understood!" Ma Rong mounted his horse and, with dozens of personal guards, galloped away from the camp with thunderous hooves.

Decisive, resolute, and ruthless.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Huaishan once again seized the initiative, conveniently pinning all the blame on Hu Lie. Once Hu Lie is dead, the trail will once again go cold.

Xu Qingshan watched Ma Rong's departing figure with a cold eye, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He took a step forward, his gaze passing over the ruins to meet Chen Huaishan's gloomy eyes.

"General Chen has always been quite quick to arrest his own people," Xu Qingshan said calmly.

Chen Huaishan turned his head and stared coldly at Xu Qingshan: "What does Commander Xu mean? Is it wrong for me to enforce military discipline and arrest wanted criminals?"

Xu Qingshan looked at him, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm:

"I'm praising you. Before anyone else has been found guilty, General Chen already knows who to arrest first."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Huaishan's eyes, and his fingers tightened slightly around the hilt of his knife. A chilling killing intent surged between them as their eyes met. But he ultimately did not retaliate; he merely snorted coldly and turned away with a flick of his sleeve.

Fifteen minutes later.

The harsh sound of horses' hooves grew louder as Ma Rong led his personal guards back at breakneck speed.

Ma Rong tumbled off his horse, his face extremely pale. He knelt on one knee before Chen Huaishan: "General! This humble general led men to seal off the Yunsun Camp's headquarters and searched all the residences under Hu Lie's name... Hu Lie... Hu Lie is gone!"

"What?!" Chen Huaishan's eyes widened in anger. He strode forward and grabbed Ma Rong by the collar. "How could a living person just vanish into thin air?! The city gates are under martial law, did he grow wings or something?!"

"Reporting to the Commander, according to the adjutant in the camp, half an hour before the fire at the Beicang warehouse, Hu Lie changed into civilian clothes and quietly left the camp with two trusted men. Their whereabouts are still unknown!"

Chen Huaishan shoved Ma Rong aside, his face ashen as he looked at Tang Su: "Lord Tang, the bandit leader Hu Lie has fled to escape punishment. I have already ordered the sealing of all nine gates of the city. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we will definitely capture this thief and bring him to justice!"

Tang Su looked coldly at Chen Huaishan without saying a word.

At this point, it's obvious to anyone that this was a meticulously planned escape and cover-up.

……

Half an hour later, the fire in Beicang gradually died down.

Using his authority as an imperial envoy, Tang Su ordered the accompanying imperial guards to escort the seriously injured old granary official back to the imperial envoy's post station for safekeeping. The tattered account books and all the evidence were also sealed by the imperial envoy's guards.

In the alleyway outside the camp, the wind and snow began to rise.

Xu Qingshan, along with Zhou Laoqi and Liu Ruyan, reined in their horses and stopped in a sheltered spot.

"Centurion, that old scoundrel Chen Huaishan is too slippery!" Zhou Laoqi spat, his face full of indignation. "He burned down the accounting office, killed the clerk, and now he's even let Hu Lie, the person in charge, escape. Without Hu Lie's confrontation, we still can't convict Chen Huaishan of treason!"

Liu Ruyan also frowned slightly: "Yunzhou City's nine gates are tightly closed, but Chen Huaishan has countless secret passages and safe houses in the city. If Hu Lie was silenced in advance by the General's Mansion's assassins and his body was thrown into the dry well, this case will probably become an unsolved case again."

Xu Qingshan sat on horseback, his expression still calm.

"Chen Huaishan wanted to silence him, and Hu Lie himself was aware of this."

Xu Qingshan's gaze swept across the deep alleys, and he said calmly, "Hu Lie has been in charge of the transport and loss room for three years. He knows the Chen family's mess better than anyone else. Chen Huaiyi was arrested, and the Beicang caught fire. Hu Lie is not stupid. He knows that as long as he falls into Chen Huaishan's hands, his only fate will be to die suddenly."

Just then, a figure dressed in a bulky fur coat and wearing a felt hat emerged from the shadows deep in the alley like a ghost.

It was Hou San.

Hou San leaped to Xu Qingshan's horse in a few bounds, patted the snow off his body, and a sly smile of confidence appeared on his thin face.

"Centurion!" Hou San lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Manager Su's informant in the city has made a move. The information is spot on!"

Xu Qingshan lowered his head slightly: "Have you caught the person?"

"The person hasn't been arrested yet, but the location is locked!"

Hou San sneered and whispered closer, "Hu Lie didn't leave the city at all, he didn't even dare go to the safe house Chen Huaishan prepared for him. That old bastard is wary of Chen Huaishan killing him to cover his tracks! He's currently using a very dark route, planning to hide himself in a black coffin used for transporting corpses, and under the pretext of a funeral procession at the mortuary, sneak out of the city through a secret passage at the water gate!"

Xu Qingshan's lips curled into a cold smile.

He raised his head and looked at the sky over Yunzhou, where snow was falling all around.

"Want to be dead?"

Xu Qingshan slowly pulled on the reins.

"Let's go to the mortuary and send a good coffin to this Commander Hu."