Border Soldier: My fiancée snatched credit and broke off the engagement, so I promptly became a marq

Han Wenshan took two gray cars with him.

There were no wounded soldiers on the vehicle.

All the boxes were empty.

He knew when he fled the training ground that Han Qianshan might not be able to hold Black Stone Fortress. Even if the medical tent couldn't be burned, his three hundred personal guards might be trapped inside.

But as long as the silver is still there, the Han family has not lost.

The Xishan Silver Cellar contained more than 20,000 taels of silver.

That was the wealth the Han family had amassed over three years from military rations, government subsidies, horse prices, and smuggled goods from the north. Liang Qi knew the entrance to the cave, but he didn't know how to open the final stone door.

The key was always kept inside Han Wenshan's waistband.

There were originally more than thirty miners outside the silver vault.

They are not members of the Han family.

Some were military households owed grain, some were Han slaves bought from the north, and six were blacksmiths who had gone missing from the Red Iron Depot. The Han family feared they would reveal the entrance to the cave, so they were all chained together and had not descended the mountain for three years.

When Han Wenshan was preparing to escape, he ordered his henchmen to drive the miners into the deepest abandoned cave.

The entrance to the cave was piled with dry firewood and black oil.

Once the silver is finished, a fire will be set on the cave roof, burying everyone who knows the secret inside.

The convict who was beheaded was trying to buy time for his comrade.

What Chen Mu saw at the foot of the mountain path was not just the silver box.

I also saw black smoke rising from the abandoned cave entrance.

"Zhou Tie, take twenty men to rescue the miners."

"Others are trying to steal my silver."

Zhou Tie asked, "Should we save the people first or rob the silver first?"

"Together."

"I want both the people and the silver."

Twenty guards rushed down the rubble slope toward the abandoned cave. The suicide soldiers rolled logs down from the height; the first log broke the leg of one of the guards, and the second log was deflected by Zhou Tie with his spear.

The miners also began banging on the door inside the cave.

Cut it outside.

It bumped inside.

The firewood had barely burned halfway down when the wooden gate was smashed apart from both sides. More than thirty miners rushed out, dragging their chains; the two at the front had their hair singed.

Zhou Tie cut the main chain and threw the captured knives to them.

"If you want revenge, there are members of the Han family at the cave entrance!"

The miners didn't even have shoes.

Instead, he grabbed a knife, a shovel, and a stone hammer, and turned to pounce on the guards who were fighting to kill him.

The six blacksmiths were the most ruthless.

They used a mining sledgehammer to smash a suicide soldier's legs into a crevice in the rock, then smashed his breastplate piece by piece.

"This is the armor of the Red Iron Treasury."

"I did it myself!"

"I'll smash it myself today!"

The fire in the abandoned cave was extinguished by snow and loose soil.

The people Han Wenshan wanted to bury all became reinforcements for Chen Mu's attack on the silver vault.

When Chen Mu led a hundred cavalrymen to the West Mountain, the two gray carts had just stopped halfway up the mountain.

A black gash was carved into the mountainside.

Fifty bodyguards stood guard outside the cave, while a dozen laborers were carrying silver chests onto a cart. Each chest required four people to carry, and the wooden levers pressed down on their shoulders, causing them to bleed.

Han Wenshan stood at the cave entrance urging them on.

"Only government silver will be stored inside!"

"I don't want silver coins or copper coins!"

"quick!"

One of the laborers collapsed due to weakness in his legs, and the silver box fell to the ground.

The lid of the box is cracked.

The gleaming silver ingots rolled into the snow.

Han Wenshan drew his sword and slashed.

The head of the convict fell beside the pile of silver.

The others were so frightened that they frantically tried to lift the box.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from below the mountain path.

Han Wenshan turned around and saw the black pot and tattered cloth on Chen Mu's knife hilt.

His face fell completely.

"Han Qianshan lost?"

Chen Mu looked at the human head on the ground.

"Faster than you."

"You shouldn't have come."

Han Wenshan raised his hand.

Fifty assassins lined up at the cave entrance, shields raised in front and crossbows at the rear. The mountain path was narrow, allowing only three riders to pass abreast. Even with a hundred men, Chen Mu couldn't possibly charge up at the same time.

Han Wenshan pointed to the silver boxes.

"Twenty thousand taels."

"Let me down the mountain, and half of it is yours."

"Add another captain to the White Wolf Pass."

Chen Mu asked, "And the other half?"

Han Wenshan thought he was moved.

"It will naturally belong to the Han family."

"few."

How many do you want?

"I want them all."

Chen Mu drew his sword.

"I'll take your life too."

Han Wenshan's expression changed.

"Fire the crossbows!"

More than thirty crossbow bolts were fired down the mountain path.

Chen Mu and his men had already dismounted, holding round shields in front of their heads. The first volley of arrows struck the shields, but two guards were still hit in the legs.

The assassins quickly mounted their guns.

Chen Mu did not rush along the main mountain road.

He looked at the laborers carrying the silver.

"Do you want to live?"

The laborers dared not answer.

"Push the box down!"

The hard laborers on the outermost edges were the first to be assigned to their tasks.

His entire family died at the hands of the Han family's grain officer, and he himself was captured and forced to dig tunnels simply because he knew how to break stones. Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well let the silver pelt the Han family to death first.

He slammed his head against the corner of the box with all his might.

The wooden crate was overturned down the mountain path.

Silver ingots rolled out of the crack like a white rain of stones. The second and third chests were also overturned by the laborers.

The assassins at the cave entrance instinctively tried to stop them.

Each silver ingot weighed ten taels and could break a foot bone if rolled down a steep slope. The shield formation immediately fell into chaos, and the crossbowmen in the rear were blocked by their own men.

Chen Mu charged upwards with his shield raised.

A silver ingot struck the shield, making his wrist go numb.

He stepped on the silver floor and crashed into the first row.

The short sword pierced through the gap in the shield, first stabbing the thigh, then slitting the throat. Zhou Tie and Samu followed closely on either side, and the guards, no longer looking at the silver on the ground, all crowded towards the cave entrance.

The Han family's assassins were thrown into disarray.

Someone bent down to pick up the silver.

Fearing the silver chests would all roll down the mountain, some people turned around to protect the carriage.

Fewer than thirty people are still truly working hard.

Chen Mu felled the third assassin, blood seeping from his right shoulder again. He switched the sword to his left hand, grabbed an enemy shield, and shoved it forcefully.

The two people behind the shield were pushed against the mountainside.

Zhou Tie's spear pierced through the waist and abdomen of both men.

Samu led the White Wolf Guards up the side of the scree slope and jumped into the midst of the crossbowmen. With a slash of his scimitar, the five crossbowmen fell before they could even turn their crossbows.

The entrance was quickly blocked by corpses.

Han Wenshan no longer guarded the mountain.

He grabbed the last silver box and retreated into the cave, while ordering the stone door to be lowered.

"close the door!"

Two assassins swung their axes and cut the ropes that had been used to suspend the prisoners.

The thick stone doorway descends along the groove.

Several laborers were still inside the cave, crying and shouting as they tried to run out.

Han Wenshan didn't care at all.

Chen Mu rushed to the door, but the stone door had already fallen to his waist.

He pushed a wooden box full of silver ingots over.

boom!

The stone door crushed the box lid, but the silver ingots inside blocked it.

A crack less than two feet long was left.

Chen Mu crawled in on the ground.

Zhou Tie tried to stop him, but only managed to grab his heel.

"Corporal!"

"Open the door!"

Chen Mu has already been lured into the silver vault.

There were only a few oil lamps inside.

The stone walls were piled high with wooden crates and sacks, and at the deepest part was a ditch. Han Wenshan threw down the silver crate and led his seven assassins toward the ditch.

Chen Mu grabbed a pry bar from the ground and chased after him.

The first assassin turned and slashed with his sword.

The iron shovel blocked the attack, sparks flying in the black hole. Chen Mu rammed forward, the shovel head piercing the opponent's eye socket, then pulled it out and flung it at the second person.

The iron spike pierced his chest.

The remaining five rushed at once.

The silver vault was cramped, making it difficult to wield the longsword. Chen Mu grabbed a bag of loose silver and threw it, the heavy bag knocking over the two men at the front. He stepped on one man's neck, seized his knife, and then slashed off the other man's hand.

A third person hugged his injured shoulder.

Chen Mu felt a tingling pain on one side of his body, but his head slammed backward violently.

The sound of a nasal bone cracking rang out.

He turned around and stabbed the other man in the abdomen three times.

The last two assassins were scared.

They stopped protecting Han Wenshan and jumped into the ditch to try to escape.

The ditch only reached their knees, but it was covered with a thin layer of ice. The two had only taken a few steps when Samu, who was outside the stone gate, crawled in from another drain, each of them deadly, his scimitar wielding a blade.

Han Wenshan was all alone.

He stood at the deepest part of the silver vault, with a stone wall behind him that led nowhere.

"Chen Mu".

"If you kill me, two thousand riders from White Wolf Pass will arrive in no time."

"Keep me, and you can trade my life for yours."

A loud boom suddenly came from above the silver vault.

Han Wenshan had already pushed down the two wooden pillars supporting the inner cave, waiting for Chen Mu to approach. Gravel fell from above, smashing a silver box flat on the spot.

A stone also fell on Chen Mu's head.

Sam lunged forward and shoved him aside. The stone grazed their backs as it fell, breaking Sam's lower leg.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Han Wenshan stepped through the ditch and ran into the shadows.

Chen Mu did not go to help Samu.

"Alive?"

Sam hugged his broken leg, gritted his teeth, and nodded.

"Then let's wait."

Chen Mu continued his pursuit.

At the end of the ditch was a narrow crevice, narrow enough for someone to squeeze through sideways. Han Wenshan took off his close-fitting silver armor and began to crawl into the crevice.

Chen Mu grabbed his ankle and dragged him back.

Han Wenshan turned around and stabbed wildly with his short sword, one of which pierced through Chen Mu's boot.

Chen Mu did not let go.

He dragged the man out of the crevice and slammed his head against the rock wall.

The first blow split Han Wenshan's forehead open.

The second time, the dagger fell into the water.

The third time, my whole body went limp.

Chen Mu picked up the dagger, first cut his belt, and then took out the key to the silver vault from the hidden compartment.

"The key is with you."

"Why are you still running?"

Han Wenshan's face was covered in blood.

"The silver vault also has a fire pit."

"If I don't go back, the whole mountain will collapse!"

Chen Mu dragged him back to the silver box.

"Kneel down first."

Han Wenshan gritted his teeth and refused to kneel.

Chen Mu plunged a knife into the back of his knee.

Han Wenshan screamed and knelt down in the ditch.

"You think that once you get the money, people will follow you?"

"The world recognizes the Han family name, not your worthless pot!"

The stone gate was finally pried open by the people outside.

Guards, laborers, and White Wolf Guards poured in.

The first thing they saw was Han Wenshan kneeling in the silver water.

The second act is a cave full of silver.

Zhou Tie split open the largest wooden crate.

The place was crammed full of official silver, broken silver, copper coins, and gold ingots. Roughly piled together, it amounted to well over 20,000 taels.

The six rescued blacksmiths quickly recognized the gold ingots at the bottom of the box.

"This is not gold available on the market."

"It's gold from the Northern Melt, one piece can be exchanged for five good horses."

The oldest blacksmith rummaged through another box and found thirty salt permits and two strings of caravan copper plaques.

"The Han family has more than just hidden silver."

"They take advantage of the salt road, leather goods road, and horse market on the west side."

Chen Mu did not hand over the bronze medal to anyone for safekeeping.

He handed the salt certificate to the old blacksmith.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"meeting."

"Then take people to buy salt and iron."

"What if the Han family tries to stop them?"

Chen Mu pointed to Han Wenshan, who was kneeling in the ditch.

"Tell them first that this person knelt down."

"If you still try to stop us, we'll take the shop back too."

The old blacksmith held the salt certificate, straightening his back for the first time.

The other five blacksmiths also shouldered their mining hammers.

"The furnace in the silver vault is still usable."

"Give us three days, and we can rebuild the Han family's armor-piercing weapon and transform the Northern Barbarian scimitars into Han swords."

Chen Mu nodded.

"The furnace, the iron, and the silver are all for you to use."

"What I want is for everyone to have a sword in the next battle."

All six people responded at the same time.

The Han family imprisoned them for three years.

With just one sentence, Chen Mu got all six hammers for himself.

The laborers stared in disbelief.

Chen Mu grabbed a handful of loose silver from the box and threw it to his fellow laborers who had been killed by Han Wenshan while carrying the box.

"The family of the deceased shall receive fifty taels."

He grabbed another handful and threw it to the wounded guards who were attacking the tunnel.

"Twenty taels of silver for bloodshed."

"Fifty taels for those who come into the cave with me."

The silver fell into pairs of bloodstained hands.

No one cheered.

They took a bite first.

Only after confirming it was true did he let out a roar.

Han Wenshan knelt in the ditch, his face paler than a dead man's.

He had hidden the silver for three years.

Chen Mu didn't even check the seal before distributing them.