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

Zhao Daxuan reached out and gently stroked the armrest of the seat, his brows furrowed, and a hint of irritation flashed deep in his eyes.

The general only gave them five days. If they couldn't produce irrefutable evidence that Chu Hanchuan colluded with the kidnappers and profited from it, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

He also knew that Chu Hanchuan had been operating in Zhenbei City for so many years, his roots were very deep, and he had powerful backers in the capital.

If we don't handle this properly and act rashly, he might turn around and accuse us of falsely accusing our superior.

It should be noted that Chu Hanchuan is currently the Commandant of Zhenbei City, while he is merely a minor Captain.

With time running out and the task heavy, he couldn't think of a good breakthrough point for the time being.

"My lord, I don't think there's any need to make things so complicated."

Li Erlong, standing to the side, glared, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "If you ask me, we should just lead a squad of elite troops straight into their camp and kidnap that bastard Chu Hanchuan!"

"Sir, please let me handle this! I guarantee I'll complete the mission! Just bring him back here, give me one night, and I'll make sure he confesses to every single thing he did as a child!"

Before Zhao Daxuan could even speak, Qin Lide, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore.

Qin Lide waved his hand with a wry smile and advised, "Lord Li, gathering evidence is not like charging into battle on a battlefield, where you can just rely on brute force and go straight for it."

Li Erlong immediately showed a disdainful look and sneered, "Old Qin, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you scholars are just too full of twists and turns! As long as we have the evidence, isn't that enough?"

Qin Lide said helplessly, "It's not that simple. This matter requires a series of interconnected steps and irrefutable evidence! You should know that the conviction of a captain must be decided by the capital."

"Otherwise, even if we capture Chu Hanchuan and extract a confession through torture, will the officials in the capital accept it when it comes to the actual conviction?"

"If a confession is obtained through torture and a loyal person is framed, the confession we worked so hard to obtain will instantly become a worthless piece of paper, and we will also be implicated."

Li Erlong's previously disdainful expression froze on his face. He thought about it and realized that it made sense. He deflated like a punctured balloon.

"This won't work, that won't work, are we just going to stand by and watch that bastard run around right under our noses?"

Li Erlong stood up irritably and paced around the reception room, muttering, "You have no idea how infuriated I was by their shameless behavior when they first arrived at Black Mountain Pass a few days ago."

"Now that they have the chance to kill Chu Hanchuan, they're acting like cowards! Does that bastard really intend to write up his own incriminating evidence and deliver it to their doorstep?"

Upon hearing Li Erlong's words, Zhao Daxuan, who was sitting at the head of the table, suddenly stopped stroking the armrest of his chair.

A vague idea, like a fish in water, he tried desperately to grasp, but couldn't even touch its tail.

Since those account books and seals are inanimate objects, and Chu Hanchuan is not afraid of them, could the live witnesses he currently has become his help?

Just as they were pondering this, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the council chamber, and a guard knocked lightly on the door before entering.

He knelt on one knee before Zhao Daxuan and reported, "Sir, a brother from the mine has come and says he has something important to report to you."

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and Zhao Daxuan subconsciously frowned.

However, the gold mine was his future capital, and it was also a secret kept from the imperial court, so there was no room for carelessness.

He suppressed his irritation and asked in a deep voice, "Did he say what it was about?"

The soldier shook his head and replied, "Sir, that brother wouldn't go into details, only saying that it was a matter of great importance and he had to report to you personally."

Zhao Daxuan's heart sank, but he still nodded and said, "Let him in!"

A moment later, a stocky, honest-looking man walked in, his head hunched over. He looked pale and haggard.

Zhao Daxuan recognized the man immediately. His name was Chen San, and he was a soldier he had personally selected to guard the gold mine.

Although he had only been with Wangbei Camp for a short time, Zhao Daxuan had initially chosen him because of his honesty, loyalty, and sense of righteousness, which was why he entrusted him with the secretive task of guarding the gold mine.

When Chen San entered the council hall, he saw that the room was full of generals. He was at a loss for what to do with his hands and feet. He stood there stammering for a long time, but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"Chen San, why aren't you on duty at the mine? What are you doing back here?"

Zhao Daxuan asked in a deep voice, secretly praying that something had gone wrong at the gold mine.

Otherwise, if things get out of hand at Chu Han Manor before we can even get going, we'll be in a passive position if things get messy on both ends.

Upon hearing this, Chen San looked up at everyone in the room, his lips moved, but he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and just looked at Zhao Daxuan with helpless eyes.

Zhao Daxuan immediately realized what was happening, but since it was probably inconvenient to say it in public, he stood up and walked towards the side hall next to him.

"Chen San, come with me!"

Chen San breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed after him.

After the two entered the side hall, Chen San turned around and closed the door, then knelt down with a thud.

Chen San then slammed his head against the brick ground three times, making several dull thuds.

Before Zhao Daxuan could ask any questions, he recounted everything that had happened the previous two nights, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

He recounted how Wang Liefeng subdued him, how he threatened him with the charge of his brother deserting, and how he finally used the pretext of five hundred taels of silver and the promise of a brotherly reunion to persuade him to defect.

"Sir, Wang Liefeng said they will launch a surprise attack to seize the gold mine at 11:45 tomorrow night. He wants me to inform them of the information from the various outposts before tomorrow night so that they can take the gold mine without anyone noticing."

After recounting the whole story in one breath, Chen San said with a choked voice, "These past two days, I haven't been able to eat or sleep. I've been tossing and turning every night, and my conscience just won't let me get over it."

"My lord, you have devoted yourself to the Great Xia for the past two months, achieving countless military exploits, and you have treated us brothers very well. If I were to help outsiders betray you, would I still be human?"

Having said this, Chen San kowtowed heavily again and continued, "I have told you everything. Whether you kill me or torture me, I, Chen San, will not utter a single complaint!"

"I only beg you to have mercy on my good-for-nothing brother. In my next life, I'll continue to serve you like a slave to repay your kindness!"

After saying this, Chen San felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and he felt completely relaxed.

He knew in his heart that even if he eventually got the five hundred taels from Wang Liefeng, he would live with guilt and be unable to eat or sleep for the rest of his life.

Chen San lowered his head, not daring to look at Zhao Daxuan, and quietly awaited the punishment that was about to come.