A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

As soon as Zhao Fubao finished speaking, Zhao Daxuan's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands in approval.

"Well done. I hate child trafficking the most. Now I'll expose all the connections behind him."

Zhao Daxuan looked at Zhao Fubao expectantly and urged, "Then hurry up and tell me where their hideout is?"

Zhao Fubao nodded and said, "They're incredibly audacious; they actually set up their hideout right inside Zhenbei City!"

"Oh? This is what they mean by 'the darkest place is under the lamp'! It seems they have powerful backers, otherwise they wouldn't dare to be so audacious!"

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Daxuan's eyes; the audacity of this group of kidnappers had also exceeded his expectations.

"But being within Zhenbei City isn't necessarily a bad thing. By following the clues, we can catch them all in one fell swoop, leaving them nowhere to run!"

Zhao Fubao laughed and said, "That's right, I've already found out the exact address. As long as we don't alert them, we can take them all down in one fell swoop!"

Zhao Daxuan laughed heartily, "Good, good, good, have you found out who his backer is? As long as the evidence is conclusive, we can take them down as well!"

When asked about his backer, Zhao Fubao frowned and said in a deep voice, "Their gang operates on a single-line basis. He has never actually met his backer, only knowing that the other party is a captain-level general in the Zhenbei City Guard."

Zhao Daxuan slammed his fist on the table and roared, "How dare you! A dignified captain like yourself would do such despicable things! You've truly fed your conscience to the dogs for money!"

"Can you pinpoint which captain it is?"

Zhao Fubao shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I don't know. I've tried many methods, but they still insist they don't know. It seems they really don't know."

"However, the kidnapping leader also said that the head of their hideout was in charge of the entire operation of the gang, including selling children and making offerings to that captain."

"He once saw an account book in the chief's study, which recorded all income and tribute information, but unfortunately the page he saw only contained income information."

Zhao Daxuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "So, if we can capture that leader alive or get that ledger, we'll know who that captain is!"

Zhao Fubao nodded, a hint of urgency on his face, and said, "That's right, sir. To prevent the other side from receiving advance notice and destroying evidence, we must act as soon as possible!"

"Otherwise, if they find out that their people have been captured, they might move their hideout, and that would be troublesome."

Zhao Daxuan stood up, pondered for a moment, looked at Zhao Fubao, and said in a deep voice, "Here's what you'll do: tell Li Changming about the situation and have him lead five hundred Xuanjia cavalry to set off tonight to take down the entire kidnapping den."

Zhao Fubao hesitated, saying, "Sir, Zhenbei City isn't entirely under our control. Can Uncle Li really manage to lead five hundred men directly into the city?"

"Why not? I'll write a letter to General Yue right now, and go to him when I get to Zhenbei City. General Yue will naturally give him the authority to act as he sees fit."

After saying this, Zhao Daxuan went to his study, picked up his pen and wrote quickly. In a short while, he wrote down the general situation and then heavily stamped his seal on the paper.

"Take this and tell Lao Li to act boldly and swiftly. We absolutely cannot let that kidnapping gang get away, or I'll hold him accountable."

Zhao Fubao smiled and took the envelope, saying, "Sir, why don't you let me go? I guarantee I can complete the mission."

Zhao Daxuan smiled at Zhao Fubao and shook his head, saying, "You're in charge of the army's logistics right now. If you leave, who will manage the supplies?"

He patted Zhao Fubao on the shoulder and continued, "Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities to earn credit later. There's no need to rush. I know what I'm doing."

Zhao Fubao's face flushed slightly as Zhao Daxuan saw through his thoughts. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Sir, I'll do anything you ask as long as I can serve you."

"Hahaha...Alright, enough with the act, we're all brothers! Okay, hurry up and tell Old Li to get ready, we're leaving tonight!"

Zhao Fubao nodded, turned and walked away, but was stopped by Zhao Daxuan at the door.

"Wait, tell Old Li to leave quietly, so the city guards don't notice. One of these two might be the captain behind the Tartar gang!"

Zhao Fubao was taken aback upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "If it really is them, that would be even better! We can take them down and stop them from causing trouble in front of us!"

Zhao Daxuan also laughed and said, "That would have to be them!"

Zhao Fubao smiled and nodded, then turned and left.

After Zhao Fubao left, Zhao Daxuan remained seated in the reception room, deep in thought, pondering his next move.

Seeing that Zhao Fubao had been gone for a long time and Zhao Daxuan still hadn't made a sound, Shen Qingci went to the reception room and found him sitting there deep in thought.

Shen Qingci then slowly walked in through the door and softly called out, "Husband, haven't you finished talking? Why aren't you having your meal? The food is getting cold."

Hearing the voice, Zhao Daxuan came back to his senses and looked at Shen Qingci apologetically, saying, "Qingci, it's you. I'm so sorry, I was thinking about something and forgot about the time."

Shen Qingci frowned as she looked at Zhao Daxuan's slightly haggard face. She could tell that Zhao Daxuan had put in a lot of effort to coordinate the overall situation during this period.

After all, in just one or two months, Zhao Daxuan had grown from a small centurion leading a hundred men to a captain leading three thousand men and in charge of tens of thousands of refugees.

Although nominally still a Commandant, his real power was no less than that of a Colonel. In fact, everyone knew that as soon as the imperial decree was issued, Zhao Daxuan could be promoted to Colonel immediately, and even receive a noble title.

The range is enormous. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be riding high on their success by now, completely lost in their own glory.

How could anyone be as calm and collected as Zhao Daxuan, constantly thinking things through and exhausting himself, all for the sake of protecting his country and ensuring a peaceful life for himself and those around him?

Unfortunately, we are now beset by internal and external troubles, with tigers in front and wolves behind!

Either the Tartars outside the pass might launch a counterattack at any moment, or the city guards, who are now at the city gates, are eyeing the Black Mountain Pass and its spoils.

With a soft sigh, Shen Qingci reached out and stroked Zhao Daxuan's rugged face, saying gently, "Husband, there's no need to worry too much. Qingci will get through this with you. Let's go eat first."

Zhao Daxuan reached out and grasped Shen Qingci's soft hand that was stroking his face, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes. He nodded and said, "Okay, let's go eat first! After we eat, I have some good news for you."

Shen Qingci smiled slightly, "Okay, I'm looking forward to it."

……

After nightfall, a group of soldiers led their warhorses out of the Black Mountain Pass. The horses had cloth wrapped around their hooves and wooden plaques in their mouths.

Under the cover of night, the group deliberately avoided the city guard's garrison and quietly headed towards Zhenbei City.