Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

"Third in command?"

Xia Mingyuan remained calm on the surface, but was secretly delighted in his heart.

He expected that this net would catch a big fish, but he also thought that this deacon named Monkey was just the best. He didn't expect that he would actually catch a big one.

"What's the name of your third in command?"

Xia Mingyuan continued to ask with a gloomy face.

"Call him Chen Qing. His brother is the Chen Asi you killed." Monkey said incoherently.

"Pa!" Xia Mingyuan walked up and slapped the guy in the face, his face grim as he said, "Do I need you to talk such nonsense?"

"Tell me, how many branches does your Poison Dragon Gang have? How many soldiers and horses are there in total? How many kings are there? How many infantrymen are there? How many cavalrymen are there?"

Xia Mingyuan's series of questions left Monkey stunned.

"Master, the Poison Dragon Gang has nine great kings, with a total of approximately 7,000 men. There are also some small factions that have spread out that we don't know about. As for the infantry and cavalry you asked about, I'm just a spy. How can I know about these things?"

"Hmm?" Xia Mingyuan raised his eyebrows. "Monkey, it seems you are not honest."

"Someone, bring the bamboo sticks."

The monkey was so frightened that it trembled violently and almost fainted on the spot.

"Master, please forgive me, I really don't know these."

There was a cry in the monkey's voice, and he had a sad face as he begged for mercy desperately.

"I don't know this, I don't know that, what else can you know?"

"The time for an incense stick has come. Tell me something useful. Have you not found any useful information in all these years in the Poison Dragon Gang?"

Monkey was so frightened that his soul almost died. He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I know that the Xu family has been secretly dealing with our Poison Dragon Gang. This is what I inferred from the Third In command."

"Xu family?" Xia Mingyuan frowned when he heard this.

The Xu family is one of the most prominent families in Hanyang City, and is very famous even in the entire prefecture. Because of their meritorious service to the emperor, their ancestors had a hereditary marquisate.

The current head of the family, Xu Zhengyang, is a fourth-rank official of the imperial court who retired and is living out his days in Hanyang. Even Sun Yaozu treats him with great respect.

A family like this can make countless money by doing some business, so why would they get involved with the Poison Dragon Gang, which is not worthy of being mentioned in public?

Although Xia Mingyuan was shocked, he did not show any expression. He just glanced at the monkey and asked him to continue.

The monkey was so sad that he could not even cry, so he hurriedly continued to confess, fearing that Xia Mingyuan would torture him again.

"The Third Master went to the city this time to investigate the cause of Chen Ah Si's death. The most important thing was to contact the Xu family. The Third Master has been vague about this matter and didn't let us know."

"I was afraid he would take his anger out on me because of Ah Si's incident, so I secretly read the letter he was carrying."

In the time it took to stick up an incense stick, he had confessed everything, even the incident of stealing a chicken when he was a child.

Seeing that he couldn't squeeze anything useful out of this guy, Xia Mingyuan waved his hand and looked at the two soldiers beside him.

"I'm very dissatisfied with his answer. I'll leave it to you now. Let him experience the power of your city defense battalion."

Xia Mingyuan said this, put his hands behind his back, took the Eighth Master step, and walked straight out of the cell.

The two soldiers were watching from the side, their faces had turned pale with fear, and a cold wind was blowing behind their backs. They looked at Xia Mingyuan as if he were looking at a devil.

Xia Mingyuan returned to the cell where he interrogated Chen Qing. Pan Yue was already exhausted and out of breath. He asked his men to use the branding iron, but Chen Qing gritted his teeth and refused to say a word.

"General Pan, can you do this?"

Xia Mingyuan sat back in his seat, drank a sip of tea, turned his head and looked at Pan Yue who was breathing heavily.

"How could such a simple interrogation waste so much time? My time is very precious."

Pan Yue's face froze, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Commander Xia, this guy is really a tough guy. Even after the whip broke, he still didn't utter a word. His mouth is the toughest thing in his body. I actually admire him a little bit."

"A tough talk?"

Xia Mingyuan shook his head. "I think your methods, Master Pan, are not good enough. With all your methods, I think you can only scare children."

Pan Yue's mouth twitched, and he almost died of anger from Xia Mingyuan.

"Commander Xia, what do you mean?"

"If you have any skill, then show me some of it. As long as you can get him to confess within the time I need, I, Pan Yue, will not take a single cent of the 1,500 taels of silver."

"Oh, General Pan, you are still so polite."

Xia Mingyuan slowly stood up and said, "Since you have spoken, let me, the commander, do it."

"Remember, when it comes to interrogation, the most important thing is to attack the heart. Using torture is simply too shameful."

Xia Mingyuan said this, waved his hand to stop the two soldiers, and walked in front of Chen Qing.

"Chen Qing, the third in command of the Poison Dragon Gang, is skilled in wielding the Mo Dao. He has secretly come to Hanyang to investigate the cause of death of your brother, Chen Ah Si."

"I don't know if I'm right?"

Xia Mingyuan spoke calmly, but Chen Qing was shocked and looked a little ugly.

"Boy, what if you know my identity? You can find out these things by just asking around."

"If I'm right, Monkey and the others have confessed. What great things can these spineless bunch accomplish? This is all he knows."

"Yes, you are really tough." Xia Mingyuan nodded slightly, with the corners of his mouth raised, revealing an expression that seemed to be smiling.

"Chen Qing, you think your plan is perfect, but in fact, we have been keeping an eye on you for a long time."

"Even without your brother, you will fall into my hands this time."

"Hmph, stop trying to bluff me." Chen Qing said calmly, "I'm not one of those minions. I'm the king of the Poison Dragon Gang."

Xia Mingyuan looked around, then moved closer to Chen Qing. He lowered his voice and whispered two words, "Xu family."

Hearing these two words, Chen Qing was shocked all over, but he quickly forced himself to remain calm and pretended to be indifferent.

"Boy, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Xia Mingyuan patted his face and said, "Chen Qing, you are such a loyal dog. Your master sold you out, yet you still loyally protect him."

"Use your brain and think about it. Could it be that these were also given to me by those monkeys?"

"You're going to meet the Xu family at Four Seasons Building. Am I right?"

Chen Qing's expression changed drastically, and he no longer had his previous calmness. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Xia Mingyuan in surprise.

"How do you know all this?"

Xia Mingyuan didn't answer, but just raised the corners of his mouth and stared into his eyes.

"Chen Qing, your boss agreed very readily to come to the city this time, right?"