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

Zhao Daxuan's lips curled into a slight smile as he leaned back in his seat, his eyes filled with amusement.

"I've already sent Chen San, who just left, to find Wang Liefeng and tell them that after tomorrow night, I'll be maximizing the mine's defenses—it'll be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Given how desperate Leng Wuye is right now, even if Chu Hanchuan wasn't with him, he would definitely be unable to resist seizing this opportunity."

Qin Lide clapped his hands and laughed, "That's right. We'll set up an ambush at the mine. As long as Leng Wuye leads his men in, we can wipe them all out."

Zhao Daxuan nodded, then his expression suddenly turned serious. He said in a deep voice, "Li Erlong, take a thousand elite troops and set off at midnight tonight. Head to the mine ahead of time and find the best ambush site. Once Chen San lures Leng Wuye, Wang Liefeng, and their group into the ambush, launch the attack immediately."

"Li Changming, take a thousand elite troops and ambush them behind Duanlong Valley tonight. As soon as Chu Hanchuan and his men make a move, immediately seal off the area. Make sure they don't let a single one escape from either of the two exits of Duanlong Valley; catch them red-handed!"

"Remember, capture them alive only. Do not harm Chu Hanchuan and Leng Wuye. We want them caught red-handed; I want them to have no way to defend themselves!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the council hall showed excitement.

Li Erlong stood up excitedly and roared, "Sir, this move is brilliant! These two bastards, one greedy and the other cowardly, have fallen right into our trap. We'll close the net from both ends at the same time, let's see where they can run now!"

Li Changming smiled and clasped his hands in agreement, saying, "Your Excellency is wise! Closing the net from both ends perfectly solves Chu Hanchuan's problem of gathering evidence and the hidden dangers of the gold mine!"

Qin Lide nodded in agreement at first, but then frowned slightly as if he had thought of something.

He stepped forward and said, "Sir, there is a problem. The escort team will face Chu Hanchuan's forces, which are several times larger, tomorrow night. I'm afraid they will suffer heavy losses."

Zhao Daxuan had already thought of this. He smiled and said, "It's alright. I will disguise myself as an ordinary soldier and follow the team escorting the kidnappers. When Chu Hanchuan attacks tomorrow night, I will hold them off."

Qin Lide knew Zhao Daxuan's fighting prowess; he was indeed capable of shouldering this heavy responsibility. However, he still advised, "Sir, you are now the backbone of the Wangbei Camp. How can you personally take such a risk?"

"Old Qin, I don't like hearing that. How can our backbone not be on the front lines?"

Zhao Daxuan smiled and waved his hand, "Don't worry, Elder Qin, I know what I'm doing!"

He then stood up, a cold glint in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "If there are no other problems, let's proceed according to our assigned tasks!"

"promise!"

Everyone answered in unison.

……

On the other side, after quietly leaving the Black Mountain Pass, Chen San first walked a few miles and then changed direction before pretending to be exhausted and rushing on his way, and arrived at the city guard's garrison.

A young soldier guarding the gate of the garrison was dozing against the fence when he heard heavy footsteps coming from ahead. Startled, he quickly stood up.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the visitor was a soldier wearing the uniform of the Wangbei Camp. He breathed a sigh of relief, but still asked a question.

"Stop! Who goes there!"

"Brother, I'm here to see Commander Wang Liefeng! I have something urgent to report to you in person. Please let me know that things have changed tonight!"

Chen San pretended to be anxious and kept urging, "Brother, please, this is a matter of life and death, please go and inform them as soon as possible."

"What Commandant Wang? We don't have such a person here!"

The young soldier, still a bit groggy from being startled awake, waved them away irritably when he heard they were looking for someone.

"Go away, go away, are you fucking tired of living? Do you think you can come to this place in the middle of the night? Go back to your Wangbeiying."

Chen San frowned upon hearing this, and was about to speak when another middle-aged soldier next to the young soldier nudged his lower back and whispered a reminder.

"Are you looking for death? Wang Liefeng is the one who's been running rampant in the camp these past few days. Didn't you see how respectful the two captains are to him?"

The young soldier was taken aback by what he heard, then his heart skipped a beat. He quickly changed his words and said to Chen San, "You stay here for a while, I'll go and inform them."

After saying that, he turned and gave the middle-aged soldier beside him a grateful look before hurrying away to report.

A moment later, the soldier returned with a smile on his face and grinned at Chen San, saying, "Lord Wang invites you, brother, come with me."

Seeing Chen San nod, the young soldier turned and led the way, with Chen San following behind him into the camp.

Chen San walked along the road. His right hand couldn't help but touch the hundred-tael silver note in his pocket through his leather armor; Zhao Daxuan had told him to keep it.

Then, he went over Zhao Daxuan's words in his mind over and over again, trying to control his emotions, and his breathing gradually slowed down.

The young soldier led Chen San to a tent in the camp. This tent was located in the center of the camp, not far from Leng Wuye and Chu Hanchuan's tent.

However, this camp was unlike Leng Wuye's; several personal guards stood outside the camp.

Even though there were no soldiers guarding outside Wang Liefeng's tent, the others in the camp did not dare to underestimate him, since there were very few people living around Leng Wuye and his group.

After the young soldier led Chen San into the tent, he announced his arrival and left, leaving Chen San alone to face Wang Liefeng.

Besides Wang Liefeng, Chen San noticed another man sitting to the side in the tent, resting with his eyes closed.

It's him!

Chen San recognized the man; he was Yue Zhenyuan's personal guard! But what was he doing here?

Before Chen San could guess the reason, Wang Liefeng, who was sharpening the long knife in his hand, suddenly stopped what he was doing.

Wang Liefeng looked up and coldly stared at Chen San, his sharp gaze forcing Chen San to lower his head.

After a moment, Wang Liefeng said warily, "Chen San, why aren't you staying at the mine? What are you doing here? Did Zhao Daxuan discover something unusual?"

Chen San feigned anxiety, took two steps forward, and said in a trembling voice, "Lord Wang, things have changed. If we don't act tomorrow night, we really won't have another chance."

Wang Liefeng frowned, slammed the knife on the table with a loud clang.

"You better explain yourself! What exactly happened?"

Chen San sighed softly and said in a deep voice, "It's like this, this afternoon Zhao Da... Zhao Daxuan secretly took a few trusted men to inspect the gold mine."

"He personally told the mine's foreman that three times the manpower would be sent to the mine after tomorrow, and that the two weapons that had previously displayed their power outside Zhenbei City would also be placed outside the gold mine's shafts."

As soon as Chen San finished speaking, Wang Liefeng's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"What did you say?"