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

Upon hearing Yue Zhenyuan say that this evidence was insufficient to bring down Chu Hanchuan, Li Changming immediately felt anxious.

"General Yue, how is this possible?"

"The kidnapper's ledger clearly lists Chu Sancheng, and they even found a pass to leave the city on him, which bears Chu Hanchuan's private seal."

"If he's not the mastermind behind the human trafficking ring, then who else could it be?"

Yue Zhenyuan's face was sullen as he tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He only sighed softly after Li Changning finished speaking.

"I naturally believe your evidence, but His Majesty and the civil service may not accept it!"

As he spoke, Yue Zhenyuan looked at Li Changning with unwavering eyes and said, "Do you know that a captain's rank is no longer under my sole control? Even if we want to take him down, we need irrefutable evidence!"

"The generals here are not like those elsewhere; without a powerful backer, how can they have any influence in the court? And who would recommend such a person to His Majesty for a position?"

"The ledger only lists Chu Sancheng, not Chu Hanchuan. As for the private seal on the exit pass, he can easily argue that it was stolen."

As he finished speaking, Yue Zhenyuan shook his head and sighed, "Under these circumstances, taking rash action would only alert the enemy. If they destroy all other favorable evidence, then we really won't be able to do anything about them."

Li Changning's face turned ashen upon hearing this; the situation was completely different from what he had expected.

He originally thought that as long as he presented this evidence, Yue Zhenyuan would directly order the removal of Chu Hanchuan from his official post and then take Chu Hanchuan down.

But he never expected there to be so many twists and turns behind it all, which made him feel as if he had a lump in his throat, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"General, what should we do then? Are we just going to stand by and watch Chu Hanchuan go unpunished?"

Li Changning looked at Yue Zhenyuan with resentment, hoping that the other party could make a decision.

Yue Zhenyuan was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said helplessly, "I don't have any other solutions for the time being."

"But I can block news from Zhenbei City for at least five days! During those five days, I guarantee the news of the entire kidnapping gang being wiped out won't get out!"

"Zhenbei City is a crucial border city and cannot be sealed off for long! Therefore, the news will likely reach Chu Hanchuan's ears in five days. Once he finds out, he will definitely try his best to destroy any incriminating evidence."

Upon hearing this, Li Changning's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "I understand, General. We will return to Black Mountain Pass immediately and inform Lord Zhao of the news. We must obtain irrefutable evidence of Chu Hanchuan's collusion with the rebels within five days!"

"By the way, General, please arrange for someone to receive the kidnappers we captured alive, and see if we can get any useful information from them. Also, please send someone to make proper arrangements for those dozens of children."

Yue Zhenyuan nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Understood. Go quickly, be careful, and don't alert the enemy."

Li Changming nodded and left Yue Zhenyuan's tent with a sullen face.

Several centurions waiting outside the tent greeted him with smiles.

But when they saw Li Changming's dark face, their hearts skipped a beat.

"Sir, has something happened?"

A centurion asked cautiously.

Li Changming shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Things have changed. The evidence is not sufficient. We must return to Black Mountain Pass immediately and inform Lord Zhao of the news as soon as possible."

"Let's keep working hard tonight, brothers, we'll be traveling through the night again."

Upon hearing this, the centurions exchanged glances but said nothing. They simply looked disappointed and beckoned their soldiers to head towards the north gate under Li Changming's leadership.

Just as Li Changming and his men were traveling day and night, an elite force of five hundred men quietly crept up the mountain under the cover of darkness.

This team of five hundred men was a hand-picked elite force from under Chu Hanchuan and Leng Wuye.

They were all agile and decisive, not only were they tight-lipped, but their families were also under the control of Chu Hanchuan and Leng Wuye.

Five hundred people—not too many, not too few—enough to ascertain the truth without revealing their location due to an excessively large number.

Led by a man surnamed Liu, they found the mine that Zhao Daxuan was unwilling to tell them about, and then quietly went up the mountain under the cover of night.

At this time, they were not wearing the city guards' standard uniforms, but had changed into all black clothes, with black headscarves covering their faces, only revealing their eyes.

They evaded the sentries and lookouts set up by Zhao Daxuan, and with the cover of rocks and dense forests, the five hundred elite soldiers silently climbed to the high point on the west side of the mine, overlooking the mine below.

The first thing that catches the eye is the iron ore on the surface, with several simple blast furnaces built against the mountain, still with embers inside, glowing with a faint dark red light.

In the open space, neatly stacked reddish-brown iron ore was piled up.

There were still many guards stationed around the mine, but it was already late at night, and since nothing unexpected had happened recently, the guards were inevitably a little lax.

Wang Liefeng, a member of the team, stared intently at the mine for a long time before shaking his head firmly. He was certain that the gold mine was not being mined here.

"Zhao Daxuan is hiding very well. The gold mine isn't located here. Everyone, split into several teams and search separately. Remember, don't reveal yourselves!"

Wang Liefeng lowered his voice and gave instructions to the people beside him. Then, each of them led a hundred men and scattered in different directions.

Wang Liefeng led his group stealthily, avoiding several sentries. When they reached a mountain hollow, the lead scout suddenly stopped.

The scout turned and gently waved to Wang Liefeng, indicating that something was amiss ahead.

This mountain hollow is extremely well hidden, concealed by the surrounding rocky cliffs. Unless you make a special detour to this place and push aside the bushes to check, you will never find it.

Wang Liefeng's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward, raising his hand to gently push aside the bushes in front of him.

When he saw the scene inside the ravine, Wang Liefeng's pupils shrank, his breathing became rapid, and an undisguised joy appeared on his face.

Hidden in the mountain valley was a narrow yet secluded mine.

On the open ground outside the cave entrance, several baskets of unwashed, golden-looking ore were piled up.

In addition, there were wooden basins for panning for gold dust and stone pestles for grinding gold ore.

Not far from the mine, on an open ground, there were several small alchemical furnaces, with a lot of slag scattered around them.

Leng Wuye clenched his hands and waved them excitedly in the air.

This must be the gold mine that Zhao Daxuan has been painstakingly hiding!

However, he did not rush to make a move. His sharp eyes had already noticed several hidden sentries lurking in the secluded corners around the mine.

Taking action rashly would only alert the enemy; their mission today is simply to locate the gold mine to facilitate their subsequent actions.

Wang Liefeng signaled to the others to keep quiet, and then he observed the situation in the mine without moving.

Suddenly, several soldiers walked out of the mine, chatting and laughing. Wang Liefeng stared intently at one of them, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Great! Even God is on his side!

Wang Liefeng felt that he had found the person who was working with him from the inside!