The White-haired Queen

Jing Li looked at the shepherd and asked with a scrutinizing look in his eyes: "Then how many people are your own people at the rare earth mine?"

Facing Jing Li's questioning, the shepherd chose to remain silent. He seemed unwilling to answer the question, and even used silence as a form of resistance. However, this silent resistance was regarded as a provocation in Jing Li's eyes.

Wen Lanyue, who was standing by, was worried that further delay might waste more time, so she decided to break the deadlock and said, "Okay, stop wasting time. Just tell us, how many of you are our own people, and how many are innocent people from the Northern Cang Kingdom?"

After hesitating for a moment, the shepherd finally spoke: "We are just some businessmen, buying and selling some goods, as long as we can make a profit. As I said before, the joint forces of Country Y and Country M are also involved in this operation. Country Y sent a platoon of troops, and Country M also invested a platoon of troops. In other words, there are about sixty people belonging to the military. As for other aspects, all key links are basically responsible for them."

The shepherd paused, as if he felt that he had not made himself clear enough, and added: "And there are only about a dozen of us businessmen. Normally, we are not directly involved in specific affairs, and we will only show up when we need to solve the problem." His tone seemed a little helpless, as if to indicate that his role in the whole incident was very limited.

After some thinking, Wen Lanyue and Jing Li gradually understood the situation to a certain extent. They had a clear division of labor, and everyone knew their roles. As businessmen, their tasks were mainly to deal with matters related to the local government or the people. The military was responsible for the management of mining and other specific tasks. The people who were quietly brought in were responsible for the actual labor.

After thinking for a while, Wen Lanyue couldn't help but ask curiously: "Just one rare earth mine requires more than 60 managers, so how big is this mine?" His eyes revealed doubts about the scale and a desire to explore the unknown. This question not only made her imagine the scale of the rare earth mine, but also triggered his thinking about the entire mining operation system.

The shepherd said calmly: "When we boarded the ship and came ashore, there were about sixty people with military backgrounds. However, not all of these sixty people were responsible for managing the rare earth mines, only a small number of them were responsible for this task."

Jing Li asked: "What about the others? What are they responsible for?"

The shepherd frowned slightly and replied, "I only have a general understanding of the situation. Not long ago, they discovered a new mineral deposit, which seems to be a uranium mine. I guess most people are focusing on this uranium mine."

Wen Lanyue hurriedly asked: "What is the current progress of this uranium mine?"

The shepherd thought for a moment and then said, "As far as I know, they are discussing how to mine it."

Wen Lanyue thought for a moment and then said, "So, this uranium mine can only be considered as just starting out, right?"

The shepherd nodded and said in agreement: "That's right. The deployment of personnel, the implementation of funds, and the coordination and communication of various links all take time. This is a huge and complex project and cannot be accomplished overnight." He looked into the distance, as if he could see the uranium mine hidden deep underground and the series of work and challenges surrounding it.

However, the shepherd knew very well that this uranium mine would not have much to do with him, either now or in the past.

Jing Li asked in confusion: "I don't think you are an ordinary businessman! If you are just an ordinary businessman, how can you catch up with a galloping horse? Who are you?"

The shepherd sighed deeply, showing a helpless expression, and said, "How can I explain this?" He was silent for a long time, and finally said slowly, "To be precise, I used to be a soldier, and now I am a businessman. I can be regarded as a businessman with a military background."

Jing Li turned to look at Wen Lanyue and said, "Envoy Wen, do you have any other questions? Their division of labor is very detailed. I think it will be difficult to ask for more useful information."

Wen Lanyue reminded softly: "You haven't asked the most crucial point yet?"

Jing Li thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "Oh, Envoy Wen Zheng is referring to that location and the schematic diagram below the mine, right?"

Wen Lanyue didn't say anything, but just blinked twice quickly to show her agreement.

The shepherd heard this and before Jing Li could ask, he spoke up, "I only have the approximate location and the schematic diagram of the mine, which is not something I can look at, let alone own."

Jing Li said indifferently: "In that case, then tell me, how do you want to die?"

When the shepherd heard this, he panicked instantly. He quickly said, "Envoy Wen, you promised to keep me alive!"

The corners of Wen Lanyue's mouth rose slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile, but she quickly turned around and left without looking back.

The shepherd was mad when he saw this. He stood there, looking at Wen Lanyue's back as she left, and kept shouting, "Envoy Wen, Envoy Wen..." There was a hint of sadness and despair in his voice.

Just as the shepherd was about to start cursing, Jing Li suddenly said, "If you keep making so much noise, your companions will hear you. I'm afraid you won't even be able to fake your death."

The shepherd suddenly realized what was going on. He widened his eyes and said in surprise, "So you said I was faking my death?" After thinking for a moment, he muttered to himself, "Yes, they must have known that I was arrested. Maybe some people are watching me nearby." Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder.

Then, the shepherd began to look around. Fortunately, the terrain was open and there were Wen Lanyue and his men around. It seemed that they would not be discovered, but in order to ensure that there would be no mistakes, the news had to be made more realistic.

So the shepherd suggested: "Let's make a scarred dummy and then put it on the fire and cremate it."

Jing Li nodded in agreement: "This way, the flames will rise to the sky and will definitely attract other people's attention. Well, it's a good idea!"

Next, they acted quickly. The shepherds found some old clothes and straw and made a dummy that looked like it was seriously injured. Then, they carefully placed the dummy over the fire and lit the flames.

As the fire grew bigger and bigger, the dummy was gradually engulfed by the raging flames, and thick smoke rose up, forming a spectacular scene.

After completing all this, the shepherd quietly mixed into Ruirui's team. They continued to move towards the farm as if nothing had happened. However, they all knew in their hearts what impact their previous actions would have...