The tunnel was not very wide, but as Chu Mo delved deeper, he discovered dozens of similar passages.

The man ahead moved swiftly and was quiet, barely uttering a word. It didn't strike Chu Mo as odd; real soldiers were always like that. They acted more than they spoke, they were straightforward, and they never bothered to curry favor with anyone.

Soon, Chu Mo followed the man into a large space. Glancing around, he estimated that it was roughly the size Marshal Fang Mingtong had described. He thought to himself, this must be the true tunnel.

The man did not lead Chu Mo further down the tunnel but turned off to the side, stopping at the entrance of a small room.

"General, the envoy has arrived."

"Come in." A somewhat deep voice came from inside the room.

The door swung open, and the man nodded at Chu Mo. "The General is inside."

Chu Mo stepped in casually. A modest wooden table took up most of the room. It was old, the wood aged and weathered. Behind the table sat an elderly man in his fifties, dressed in casual attire. His hair was greying, and his face was marked with wrinkles.

When he saw Chu Mo, he looked up with a glint of surprise in his eyes. Apparently, he hadn't expected Marshal Fang's envoy to be so young.

"Take a seat. We don't have much to offer here. Marshal Fang said you're one of us, so I won't stand on ceremony." The elderly man said without any preamble.

"No need to be courteous, General. My grandfather was also a soldier," Chu Mo replied with a smile, taking a seat on an antique wooden chair. It was surprisingly comfortable.

"A soldier's descendant? I can sense that in you. Very good!" The old man nodded in approval. "Marshal Fang's letter informed me of the critical military situation here, urging me to fully cooperate with you and hand over all command to you."

He rubbed his forehead, "It's not that I don't trust you, but these soldiers... Even if I order them to follow your command, as professional soldiers, they will, but... it will be difficult for them to take your orders without resentment. Do you understand?"

Chu Mo nodded, "General, I'm here not to usurp authority but to carry out a task vital for the survival of Great Xia. I hope you and your soldiers grasp that."

The old man stared at Chu Mo, stunned, "Marshal Fang didn't mention the specifics to me, only that it's a crucial military matter. How could this place possibly be the key to the survival of Great Xia?" The old man murmured to himself, "If you're talking about the resources here influencing the survival of Great Xia... that makes more sense."

Chu Mo shook his head and gave a wry smile, "Do you know that a war is going to break out between Great Qi and Great Xia, General?"

The old man glanced at him, "A war between Great Qi and Great Xia was inevitable, I've known that for a while. But what does that have to do with this place?"

"This location has been exposed." Chu Mo stated bluntly, "Great Qi intends to follow this tunnel and launch an attack directly into the heartland of Great Xia!"

"What? That's impossible!" The old man abruptly stood up. His powerful aura immediately filled the room. His eyes narrowed dangerously at Chu Mo, "Do you realize... except for the people here, only three people in all of Great Xia know about this place! And these soldiers... they haven't left this place or returned home for ten years!"

Chu Mo looked calmly at the old man, "One of those three people, General, is the problem."

Not believing, the old man looked at Chu Mo, pulling down one finger at a time, "Marshal Fang... is out of the question. The Emperor... even less so. The Crown Prince... has he lost his mind?"

"He has indeed." Chu Mo stated calmly. It was only now that Chu Mo understood why the Emperor and Marshal Fang had immediately believed his intelligence report. The people who knew about this primordial stone mine were even fewer than he had imagined.

Only three! There really wasn't anyone else who could've betrayed them.

"The Crown Prince was blinded... his eyes were gouged out." Chu Mo looked at the old man, "General, so Prince Xia Ying is no longer the Crown Prince! He can never become the monarch of a country!"

"No.. it's not possible... The Crown Prince is greatly loved by the people, how could something so tragic happen to him?" The old man muttered in disbelief, stumbling back into his chair. His earlier intimidating aura had vanished, "Even if he did encounter a disaster, he... as a prince, shouldn't resort to such madness… he shouldn't!"

The old man didn't doubt Chu Mo's words. As the general who was entrusted with guarding this place, he was inevitably one of the Emperor and Marshal Fang Mingtong's most trusted and loyal supporters.

Chu Mo's arrival, bearing Marshal Fang's Tiger Charm and the imperial edict and King's Sword from the Emperor, confirmed his identity beyond any doubt. Plus, the secret letter from Marshal Fang offered further proof.

Other than feeling that Chu Mo was too young to command respect, the general didn't have any other concerns.

Yet he had enormous difficulty accepting that the future monarch he had idolized could have committed such a treacherous act.

"General, it has already happened. It's not the time to question its authenticity." Chu Mo looked at the old man and said, "His Majesty mentioned there is a master authority in mining and excavation present here. Could you introduce me to him? I have matters to discuss."

The elderly man looked at Chu Mo and sighed, "Didn't Marshal Fang tell you? That person is me."

"What?" Chu Mo was momentarily taken aback. Marshal Fang and the Emperor hadn't given him much information about the situation here due to the urgency.

"I was the one who oversaw the mining and excavation here. I am not a warrior-though I have some abilities, I am better at mining and excavation." The man looked at Chu Mo, somewhat dazed and despondent, "My name is Zhang Rong."

"It turns out General Zhang is an expert in this area. I genuinely apologize for my prior ignorance." Chu Mo stood up and saluted the old man, "I must take over the military authority here. But after this war, it will be returned to you, General. Please rest assured."

Zhang Rong gave a bitter smile, "After this war, will this place still exist? Once the secret of this place leaks out, staying here would just be waiting for death!"

Chu Mo said, "Please relax, General. You have greatly served Great Xia! Your merit in defeating the Great Qi alliance in this battle will be enormous. After ten years of never leaving this place... you should go home and take a look."

"Home... yes, I miss home!" Zhang Rong sighed deeply. After remaining quiet for a while, he raised his head and looked at Chu Mo, "If the Emperor and Marshal Fang entrust such an important state affair to you, I will naturally fully cooperate. You just need to tell me what to do."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.