In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

Upon feeling the chill of the snow-covered ground, Yuwen Bingyu's first reaction was to seek support and a savior.

She still regarded Wei Min'er, who spoke to her heart, as her savior.

Where is Wei Min'er?

"My lord, Wei Min'er has disappeared."

"Huh?! Where is she?"

"They just suddenly disappeared."

"this..."

Yuwen Bingyu's first thought was to find an excuse for Wei Min'er. Perhaps she got separated from her, but Wei Min'er had dozens of guards with her, how could she get lost?

The only possibility is that Wei Min'er ran away as soon as she heard that Li Huaiyi's army had ambushed them!

"Wei Min'er, how dare you do this! You, didn't you say you would share joys and sorrows with me and be my best friend for life?" Yuwen Bingyu spat out a mouthful of blood.

It's clear she was extremely heartbroken!

"My lord, Li Huaiyi's army is advancing with overwhelming force. We have already suffered over three thousand casualties. You must quickly rally your spirits and take command of the battle!"

Faced with his subordinates' pleas, Yuwen Bingyu panicked.

She knew nothing about military affairs. It was pitch black all around, and they were under attack. She had no idea what to do.

Just as she was thinking of running away as soon as possible.

A tall, imposing figure rode a white horse and came before her.

It was Wang Junfeng.

Her spirits lifted, as if she had seen a savior: "General Wang, you, you're back!"

"Yes, I'm back. Leave the rest to me. Li Huaiyi ambushed us; I'll crush them!"

"Very well, I'll leave everything to General Wang!"

At this moment, Yuwen Bingyu didn't think she was wrong; rather, she could transfer the pressure on her to Wang Junfeng.

The naive Wang Junfeng genuinely believed that Yuwen Bingyu had finally seen the truth in her time of crisis.

She knows who her true support is and who is truly capable!

Wang Junfeng even felt that he had made the right decision to insist on coming back, and his fighting spirit was even stronger!

"Send a small squad to higher ground to get a clear picture of that scoundrel Li Huaiyi's troop strength!"

"The other team, detour and leave this area to call for reinforcements!"

After Wang Junfeng had a clear understanding of Li Huaiyi's troop strength, he calmly formulated a counterattack plan.

The battle raged until dawn.

Wang Junfeng did his best and finally waited for the arrival of 20,000 reinforcements.

Even though Li Huaiyi had the advantage in troop strength, he did not linger in battle and immediately retreated.

They suffered 25,000 casualties in Shen'an, and nearly 10,000 more died in Li Huaiyi's sneak attack last night.

A total of 35,000 people died.

The Nanling Prefecture had a total of 120,000 troops, and this loss was almost a third of them.

What's worse is yet to come: the supplies they prepared for this war were burned!

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Bingyu was unable to accept it for a moment.

He collapsed to the ground and passed out.

When she woke up again, she was already on her way back in the Nanling Mountains.

Wei Min'er, who had disappeared without a trace, was sitting in her carriage, taking care of her.

"Min'er, you...you weren't missing, were you?"

"My lord, what are you saying! We're supposed to be best friends for life, how could we disappear? I've been doing my best to fight the enemy, it's just that it was too dark for you to notice," Wei Min'er explained aggrievedly.

"I knew it, you couldn't have run away." Yuwen Bingyu was very gratified, feeling comforted, and even tried to get up to hug Wei Min'er.

But when she looked out at the scenery of the Nanling Mountains through the sedan curtain, the pressure of reality struck her again.

"Min'er, I only trust you. Tell me, did we lose this time? How many people were lost? Were the provisions prepared for this war burned?"

"Alas... Yesterday's statistics showed a loss of 35,000 people, but after traveling here, some people were seriously injured and never recovered, and another 800 people died. The grain and fodder were indeed burned. When you fainted, someone came to report that it was that scoundrel Shen An who sent people to burn them."

"this...."

Faced with this cold reality, Yuwen Bingyu felt as if the sky had fallen once again.

Back then, her father defied all opposition and made her inherit the Nanling Prefecture.

For so many years she has enjoyed the thrill of defeating her brother.

I am confident that I can make this business bigger and stronger!

Despite being certain to win this battle, the team suffered heavy casualties.

Those provisions were collected for her by the people who trusted her.

They believed she could defeat Shen An, bring them more food, better seeds, and better protect their divine weapons.

But...

She didn't know how to face her father in the afterlife, nor how to face the people of Nanling Prefecture who had such high expectations of her!

Just when she didn't know what to do, her good friend Wei Min'er came to her rescue: "If you ask me, this defeat is all Wang Junfeng's fault. He led his troops to attack the city, but he was captured by Shen An's men in no time!"

Afterwards, he returned and led his troops to fight Li Huaiyi's men again, but what happened? He suffered heavy losses again. Ultimately, this unsuccessful campaign was entirely his responsibility!

Yuwen Bingyu's panicked heart immediately calmed down at this moment!

She knew that what Wei Min'er said was unreasonable; the reason for all of this was clearly that she hadn't listened to advice.

If she hadn't been so stubborn, things would never have turned out this way!

but!

She needs a scapegoat to take all the blame!

Wang Junfeng is the best candidate!

"Min'er, thank you for reminding me," Yuwen Bingyu said gratefully, holding Wei Min'er's hand tightly.

Wei Min'er was shocked.

How could Yuwen Bingyu be so stupid?

She believes everything I say?

This is wonderful! Last night she originally intended to run away and never return, but Mr. Mingyue ordered her to go back and continue to sow discord.

She came with the conviction that she was going to die.

Who would have thought that success would be so easy?

"Lord Yuwen, what are you saying? No need to thank me. I was just telling the truth. Wang Junfeng should take responsibility for this!" Wei Min'er emphasized.

"Yes, he must take responsibility. Once we return to Nanling Prefecture, I will make Wang Junfeng pay the price!" Yuwen Bingyu lifted the sedan curtain and glanced at Wang Junfeng, who was leading the group on horseback.

Yuwen Bingyu thought that everything would be fine after returning to Nanling Prefecture, but the reality was far from that!

Outside Qingyang City.

Shen An set up thousands of pots outside the city, cooking mutton in them, and ate and drank heartily with his soldiers, singing and dancing.

Although the vast majority of soldiers did not even move, the fact that they forced Yuwen Bingyu's army to retreat and killed more than 20,000 enemies was already a victory.

But something even more unexpected happened to Shen An.

Liu Wenyuan came to report: "My lord, we have received intelligence that after Li Huaiyi ambushed Yuwen Yubing last night, he was ambushed by Yuwen Qin on his way back. However, Li Huaiyi must have anticipated Yuwen Qin's ambush. The two sides fought a great battle, with casualties exceeding ten thousand on both sides."

The team you sent out to burn grain supplies also took this opportunity to burn Li Huaiyi's grain supplies.

Given the current situation, neither Li Huaiyi nor Yuwen Bingyu has the ability to invade us again in the short term, so we can continue to develop with peace of mind!

"That old fox Yuwen Qin is really cunning. On the surface, he doesn't seem to care about anything, but behind the scenes, he's always plotting how to scheme against them," Shen An said, taking a sip of mutton soup. "However, I don't think that focusing on development from here on out is the better choice for us!"

"Why? Haven't you always thought that a peaceful development would be more beneficial for us?" Liu Wenyuan asked, puzzled.

"That was true in the past, but it's different now. Even though we have a steady stream of money flowing into our pockets every day, we still can't buy enough ironware and food through our own channels."

We need to invade others and plunder their territory directly!

"And the target of our invasion is Yuwen Bingyu! Of the three major forces that are currently our enemies, she has suffered the most casualties! We can learn from those nomadic tribes, launch a surprise attack, plunder the grain and ironware of the counties in Nanling Prefecture, and then quickly withdraw and return!" Shen An calculated.

Liu Wenyuan clapped his hands: "Yes, yes, absolutely! They invaded first, so we can retaliate and seize their food. We are also legally and militarily capable of fighting back."

Moreover, Yuwen Bingyu suffered heavy casualties this time. Even if she escapes back, the defenses of many areas will be weakened, giving us the perfect opportunity to strike while she's weakened! However, if we send a large army, Li Huaiyi and Yuwen Bingyu won't dare to invade again in the short term. But what if Yuwen Qin attacks our Qingyang City?

"First of all, Yuwen Qin's troops also suffered more than 10,000 casualties this time, which is a huge loss for any local power. He needs to recuperate."

Secondly, yesterday, Yuwen Bingyu's men lost thousands of lives just by passing through the traps and mechanisms. After a great battle, tens of thousands of people died without even touching the city gate.

With such a cautionary tale before him, Yuwen Qin would absolutely not dare to act rashly.

Furthermore, we only need to send a few thousand cavalrymen to attack and then retreat, while our main force remains in the city, so we don't need to worry about any invasion.

Shen An's words reassured Liu Wenyuan considerably: "My lord, when shall we send troops to Nanling Prefecture?"

"Let's party tonight! Tomorrow I'll personally lead the troops to Nanling Prefecture to give Yuwen Bingyu a little surprise." Shen An revealed a playful smile, then took a leg of lamb from the pot and handed it to Liu Wenyuan: "Eat, eat!"

One day later.

Yuwen Bingyu's army finally returned to the prefecture of Nanling Prefecture.

The people lined the streets to welcome them, but what they saw were the soldiers looking dejected and defeated.

They panicked. Had they been defeated?

Then all the grain they collected was wasted, wasn't it?

As the people gathered around, demanding an explanation from Yuwen Bingyu.

Yuwen Bingyu immediately followed the plan, got out of the sedan chair, and began to shift the blame to Wang Junfeng.