Chapter 3244

All the Embroidered Uniform Guards are of one mind.

Many of them are hereditary Embroidered Uniform Guards; their ancestors were comrades-in-arms among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and they form an army that never retires—the bond among them is self-evident.

Moreover, over the years, as the world's winds and clouds shifted, these Embroidered Uniform Guards and their ancestors and fathers have all undergone the baptism of blood sacrifice; each comrade-in-arms will not only fight to the death to protect other comrades-in-arms in wartime, but will also, after a comrade-in-arms dies in battle, spare no effort to care for their wives and children, treating their children as their own—this bond of blood has long surpassed everything.

The imminent great blood-replacement plan will not only permanently separate them and their families, but also separate them from many generations of comrades-in-arms; to them, this is nearly as unbearable as death.

And the Commander-in-Chief seems to have already prepared a countermeasure; naturally, everyone trusts him completely and remains wholly in agreement with him.

Thus, everyone declared their support, fully obeying the Commander-in-Chief's orders,

Immediately, Commander Yin said to everyone: "Everyone, first unload the carts with all your strength; do not let the surname Song notice anything. I have something to discuss with this brother."

The crowd immediately clasped their hands and said: "Subordinates obey your command!"

After speaking, everyone immediately turned around and continued moving the goods, pretending nothing had just happened.

At this moment, Ye Chen looked at Commander Yin; he did not fully control Commander Yin's consciousness, but, as when he initially controlled Chen Zhonglei, he sealed his own consciousness within Commander Yin's body—though Commander Yin must still act according to Ye Chen's will, his own consciousness remains fully awake, observing all this.

Knowing that Ye Chen can see and hear everything, Ye Chen whispered: "Do not make a fuss; take me to a secluded, safe place—I wish to speak with you in detail."

At this moment, Ye Chen not only needs to avoid that Assistant Minister Song, but also other Embroidered Uniform Guards; being an unfamiliar face, everyone who sees him will have some doubts, and if too many people see him, they will cross-check and realize no one knows him, which will inevitably draw excessive attention from others.

Therefore, he hopes first to avoid others, to open a window for frank talk with this Commander Yin—after all, to control thousands to follow his arrangements, merely controlling him to act is far from enough; he must win Commander Yin's willing heart to serve him, and leverage his authority among these people to wholeheartedly accomplish this task, or there will be no chance.

Although Commander Yin's consciousness is not controlled, his consciousness has remarkably stayed in sync with his body; he immediately nodded firmly, turned, and led Ye Chen away from the platform.

The Dukang Mining site is vast; Commander Yin led Ye Chen out of the refining plant, then drove a mining off-vehicle, taking Ye Chen toward the distance.

A few minutes later, the off-vehicle stopped beside a completed high tower; Commander Yin then said to Ye Chen: "Within a one-kilometer radius here, no personnel have been arranged temporarily."

Ye Chen nodded slightly and said: "I am now withdrawing the seal on your consciousness and will speak openly with you; if you harbor any rebellious intent, I will hesitate not to kill you, then terminate the redemption plan for all your dead warriors, Embroidered Uniform Guards, and their families—from the next second, you will forever part from your family, and I believe your brothers will soon also forever part from theirs!"

Having said this, Ye Chen knew he could not expect a sincere reply from him, so he directly drew the spiritual energy back from within him.

After Commander Yin regained control of his body, he took a long breath, then immediately clasped his hands before Ye Chen and said with utmost respect: "Sir! I am Yin Xiaoyang, representing the nine hundred and eleven sworn brothers and all family members, earnestly begging for your rescue!"

Yin Xiaoyang is no fool; he knows that Ye Chen could infiltrate under Assistant Minister Song's eyelids undetected, so his strength must surely surpass that of Assistant Minister Song.

Moreover, he has a closer relationship with his superior envoy, who once vaguely mentioned that everyone at a dead warrior's garrison had gone missing; thus, seeing Ye Chen suddenly burst into Dukang Mining, he felt hope rise in his heart, believing Ye Chen could surely rescue him and the other Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Ye Chen did not respond to his request, but asked: "How many people do you have here, including the dead warriors and Embroidered Uniform Guards? Include all family members as well."

Yin Xiaoyang immediately replied: "Replying to Sir, Dukang Mining, together with myself, has nine hundred and twelve Embroidered Uniform Guards, three thousand and forty-seven family members, totaling three thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine; the dead warriors imprisoned in the mine number one thousand five hundred and forty-eight, with family members five thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, totaling seven thousand three hundred and eighty-four; adding both gives eleven thousand or so."

"Eleven thousand..." Ye Chen, upon hearing this, could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Eleven thousand plus—this exceeds my predicted maximum by several thousand.

Originally I thought at most six or seven thousand, not exceeding seven or eight thousand; but now there are indeed over eleven thousand three hundred—moving so many people silently is truly a test.

Immediately, he asked Yin Xiaoyang: "What is the background of that Assistant Minister Song?"

Yin Xiaoyang respectfully replied: "Replying to Sir, Assistant Minister Song is a deputy of the Right Military Governor's Office, ranking just below a regional commander, with high status; moreover, it is said that Assistant Minister Song's family background is not ordinary—she is a collateral branch of the Wu family."

The Wu family is none other than Wu Feiyan's natal clan; every family, as long as it continues, must inevitably intermarry and bear children, so there must certainly exist collateral branches.

However, Ye Chen knows little about the Wu family, and even less about its collateral branches.

Thus he asked Yin Xiaoyang: "Do you know, then, what the full name of this Assistant Minister Song is? Where does she come from?"

"I do not know..." Yin Xiaoyang truthfully replied: "Previously, Dukang Mining had received a visit from the highest-ranking official, namely the Envoy Sir; this Assistant Minister Song was brought by the Envoy Sir a few days ago, said to be sent to oversee Dukang Mining's upgrade and renovation; besides that, she must also carry out Dukang Mining's great blood-replacement."

Ye Chen asked: "The great blood-replacement should just be separating you and your families and brothers, right?"

"Yes." Yin Xiaoyang nodded: "This move is sinister and vicious; presumably the Ying Lord worries we Embroidered Uniform Guards might rebel, so he uses our families as hostages; moreover, if we ever wish to reunite with our families, we must only do so by dying in battle—thus this plot will not only break our rebellious hearts, but also drive us to die for the Ying Lord's merit and achievement."

Ye Chen hummed, then asked him: "Will the dead warriors participate in the great blood-replacement?"

Yin Xiaoyang said: "I truly do not know about this; according to that woman surnamed Song, the current great blood-replacement should concern only the Embroidered Uniform Guards, after all, the dead warriors are larger in number and more difficult to operate."

Having said this, he looked at Ye Chen, nervous yet eager, and asked: "Sir, please save us! As long as we can escape the clutches of the Broken Qing Society, we Embroidered Uniform Guards are willing to serve you with the devotion of dogs and horses for a lifetime!"

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then said: "Saving you is possible; I came here precisely to take you all out of this place, and I do not need you to serve me with the devotion of dogs and horses for a lifetime—I only need you to help me deal with the Broken Qing Society when I need it; after the Broken Qing Society is eradicated, you may regain your freedom—this is no empty promise, for if the Broken Qing Society is not removed, even if I immediately grant you freedom, you will still hardly escape death; so if you wish to truly live freely in the sunlight with your families, you must first eradicate the Broken Qing Society."

Yin Xiaoyang without hesitation said: "Sir's words, I understand! If the Broken Qing Society is not removed for a day, I and my family will never have a day of peace!"

Having said this, he suddenly remembered the toxin in his body, and hurriedly asked: "Sir, I dare to ask one thing—do you……have a way to completely remove the evil toxin in our bodies? If the evil toxin is not removed, we will all die violently within a few days..."

Ye Chen nodded slightly and said calmly: "Rest assured, I naturally have a way to completely remove the toxin in your bodies; otherwise I would not be doing this useless labor."

Speaking, Ye Chen added: "Recently I have already taken from Cyprus an entire garrison's Embroidered Uniform Guards, dead warriors, and their families; those people are now placed by me in a very safe location; if no accident occurs, I will also place you there—but here the population is large, and moreover it is inland, so I find it difficult, without exposure, to bring everyone out at once."

Yin Xiaoyang nervously said: "Sir, according to that woman surnamed Song, the great blood-replacement may begin in three days; three days later, even if we here have not yet sent people out, other garrisons will have people sent out; a delay of one day on the road, and at the latest four days later someone will arrive—if we cannot all withdraw before then, we fear exposure."

Ye Chen nodded and said: "Time is indeed pressing; I have already arranged a transit point; originally I wanted to send people out gradually over the coming period, but now it seems there is not much time left for preparation—tomorrow, or even as early as tonight, we must first send out the first batch."

Saying this, Ye Chen added: "Next, I need you to cooperate with me wholeheartedly—not only must you divide everyone into batches and withdraw them in succession, but also ensure everyone obeys orders completely; moreover, when you devise the withdrawal batches, you must ensure someone remains working at the refining plant until the last day, because the phosphates you send daily to Casablanca Port cannot stop—once stopped, the Moorish trade in Casablanca will notice, and from there they will come over; driving at maximum speed, it takes just over two hours to arrive."

Yin Xiaoyang solemnly promised: "Sir, rest assured—I will certainly coordinate the personnel well; since you want to take us and the dead warriors all away, you can first let the dead warriors and their families leave, while we stay behind to work overtime, mine enough phosphate ore, then let the refining plant work overtime to produce enough finished product, and finally leave a transport team here to stand the last shift, smoothly sending off the last cart of phosphates!"

Ye Chen, seeing his willingness to let the dead warriors withdraw first and his ability to clarify the matter clearly, felt affirmed in his character and competence, and thus nodded satisfactorily, saying: "Good, as long as we do everything to the utmost, we will surely make these eleven thousand one hundred people vanish from under the Broken Qing Society's eyelids, as if into thin air from Morocco!"