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

Mr. Mingyue rolled his eyes and said, "My lord, Yuwen Bingyu is extremely hypocritical. She likes the feeling of wielding power, the feeling of manipulating others, and the feeling of being flattered. She also likes so-called petty gains."

You might as well write her a letter, saying that you are willing to befriend her and offer her 200,000 shi of grain as a gesture of goodwill, so that you can form a lasting alliance.

I'll have Wei Min'er tell her to take this opportunity to extort more benefits from you, and also point out to her that after the three parties cooperate, they will definitely distribute the benefits according to their share, so it's better to get a sum of money first and then share it with them peacefully!

Knowing Yuwen Bingyu's personality, she'll definitely enjoy the feeling of you giving in, and she'll try to extort as many benefits as possible before the fight. Through haggling and bargaining, you can not only delay her for several days, but also avoid paying anything in return!

"Good idea, that's a good idea." Shen An gave a thumbs up. "Then, you should inform Wei Min'er first, and I'll write a letter and have someone send it to Yuwen Bingyu!"

"yes!"

Two days later.

Li Huaiyi traveled day and night and finally arrived at Nanling Prefecture.

He first met with Yuwen Qin, and after the two discussed things, he went to meet Yuwen Bingyu.

As before, Yuwen Bingyu put on airs once again.

It wasn't until mid-afternoon that Yuwen Bingyu finally chose to meet.

This time, Li Huaiyi brought local specialties and handsome men with him, and he acted extremely humble, like a grandson.

The two of them also set very low, very low conditions.

The demanded share after the war was also lower than Yuwen Bingyu's expectations.

Ling Yuwen Bingyu was quite pleased with herself, feeling that she had them all under her control.

Next, it's time to make a move against Shen An.

"Since your attitude seems acceptable, then we will send troops to attack Julu Prefecture in two days!"

Upon hearing this, Li Huaiyi and Yuwen Qin were overjoyed. This grandson hadn't been pretending for nothing!

He immediately showered Yuwen Bingyu with praise.

The breeze made her feel lightheaded.

However, she was more interested in enjoying the men that Li Huaiyi had brought.

This time, Li Huaiyi not only brought men from his army, but also many blond-haired, blue-eyed Hu men. Before she had even tasted them, she sent the two away.

Half an hour later.

Li Huaiyi and Yuwen Qin were drinking together at a restaurant in Nanling Prefecture.

At this moment, the two were in high spirits, both looking forward to taking advantage of Shen An's unstable footing to deliver a fatal blow.

They drank without restraint, one glass after another.

When they were in the mood, the two started singing and dancing.

Around midnight, the two of them started to feel tired and were just about to leave the restaurant.

Yuwen Bingyu's men then came to inform them: "Gentlemen, the military governor has ordered that the date for attacking Shen'an be postponed again!"

The two of them sobered up considerably.

"Why the sudden postponement? Didn't she say the troops would be dispatched in two days?" Li Huaiyi grabbed the man's collar.

The man wasn't afraid of Li Huaiyi at all: "Let go! This is Nanling Prefecture, not a place for you to run wild!"

Li Huaiyi was furious. How dare a mere messenger dare to act like that!

"Brother Huaiyi, please calm down, please calm down." Yuwen Qin stepped in to smooth things over, handing the man a hundred taels of silver: "Young man, I wonder why your military governor has suddenly postponed things?"

"That's more like it!" The man was still arrogant. "The military governor said that after thinking it over, two days from now is not an auspicious day, so let's continue to wait."

During this time, neither of you needs to see her. If you want to go back, go back; if you don't, then stay obediently in Nanling Prefecture.

After saying that, the man turned and left.

"Damn it!"

Li Huaiyi, enraged, smashed the table with a single blow.

It is evident that he possesses extremely formidable personal martial prowess!

But now it can only be described as a powerless roar.

Yuwen Qin's face darkened: "Yuwen Bingyu's actions might be due to Shen An's machinations behind the scenes!"

My sister is greedy and short-sighted; she might have been promised some benefits by Shen An to Yuwen Bingyu.

"Damn it, it must be so!" Li Huaiyi also saw through everything: "We have to find a way to wake your sister up, otherwise if she is really dragged down by Shen An, our situation will be even worse."

"I'll find a way to get the news to Yuwen Bingyu's ears!"

Yuwen Qin searched for connections overnight and spent five thousand taels of silver to persuade Yang Chuwei, the military commander in Yuwen Bingyu's entourage, to agree to reveal Shen An's sinister intentions to Yuwen Bingyu.

Secondly, Yang Chuwei told Yuwen Bingyu about Shen An's sinister intentions.

However, yesterday Yuwen Bingyu had already been influenced by Wei Min'er, who had a very strong ability to predict the future. Wei Min'er had already instilled in her the idea that anyone who opposed this matter might be bribed by Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi, with the aim of preventing her from taking advantage of the situation.

Upon hearing Yang Chuwei's words, Yuwen Bingyu flew into a rage and, without saying a word, ordered his men to ransack the house.

Yang Chuwei agreed to Yuwen Qin's request not for money, but because he felt he couldn't miss the opportunity.

He only collected the money incidentally; he planned to distribute it to the poor later.

He used to be incorruptible, but after his home was searched, five thousand taels of silver were found out.

"Well done to you, Yang Chuwei! You look so cunning, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you've actually taken five thousand taels of silver from Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi!"

"My lord, I intended to distribute this money to the poor. I promised them mainly because I felt we couldn't miss the opportunity for victory!"

"I see you're in cahoots with them, trying to prevent me from getting any benefits."

You betrayed me for your own selfish gain?

You deserve to die a thousand deaths, but considering that you served me for many years, even if you didn't achieve anything, you still put in a lot of hard work.

"This will strip you of your position as military commander and reduce you to a commoner!"

"My lord, my lord, I..."

Yuwen Bingyu didn't give him a chance to speak and immediately had him dragged away.

Wei Min'er appeared just in time: "My lord, I knew it! There must be someone who would take money and do things for Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi."

Yuwen Bingyu still couldn't suppress her anger: "He deserves to die! He was bribed with a mere five thousand taels!"

"Most people are selfish," Wei Min'er sighed.

"Thank goodness, Min'er, you're here!" Yuwen Bingyu held Wei Min'er's hand tightly. "If it weren't for you, I really would have been deceived by them!"

"My lord, we are both women, and I truly cannot bear to see you deceived by those despicable men." Wei Min'er's eyes shone with determination. "Rest assured, as long as I, Wei Min'er, am here, none of those despicable men will be able to deceive you!"

Yuwen Bingyu was moved, and she nodded emphatically.

"Now that we've seen through Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi's scheme, let's kick them out, otherwise they'll cause more trouble!" Wei Min'er suggested.

"We'll still need them in the future, so just kick them out and forget about them. After today's events, I'm sure no one will dare to act recklessly and relay messages for them!"

"Alright then, let's discuss how to make Shen An pay a higher price!"

"How much would be appropriate?"

"Two million shi of grain, five hundred crossbows, and ten thousand Tang swords in their army! Otherwise, tell them that your army will be at the city gates soon!"

"Isn't this a bit too much? He disagrees, what should we do?"

"Now that he's backing down, we naturally have to ask for the absolute maximum. If we ask for less at the beginning, and then both sides try to negotiate, wouldn't you end up with even less?"

"That's absolutely right, then I'll write a letter of divorce right now!"

The next day, news of the military commander Yang Chuwei being demoted to a commoner spread throughout the entire Nanling Prefecture.

Li Huaiyi couldn't help but burst into a tirade: "Stupid woman, she's fucking stupid! So stupid! She's a fucking pig!"

"At this point, scolding won't help. As far as I know, Yuwen Bingyu really likes to listen to a girl named Wei Min'er. Let's find a way to give her benefits and get her to help us!" Yuwen Qin said in a deep voice.

"Give it a try."

Five days later.

The two then realized that Wei Min'er was an extremely wicked woman who only accepted benefits but did nothing in return.

All they can do now is wait.

Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye!

Yuwen Bingyu remained silent.

Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi could no longer sit still. They went to Yuwen Bingyu's residence and begged Yuwen Bingyu to meet them.

This time, Yuwen Bingyu finally chose to meet with them.

The reason was simple: she discovered that Shen An was all talk and no action, and he never actually paid her.

Even if she were incredibly stupid, she could understand that Shen An was trying to buy time.

"Brother, Brother Huaiyi, tomorrow we will assemble a large army and attack Julu Prefecture!" Yuwen Bingyu said proactively.