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

Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi finally felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining.

Why would they disagree?

In the past few days, Li Huaiyi has ordered his state government to send another 50,000 troops.

These days, Yuwen Qin has also been using his past influence to recruit soldiers and has once again amassed 20,000 men.

Yuwen Bingyu accepted the soldiers originally assigned to the six counties by Yuwen Qin, and now she has 170,000 soldiers under her command.

She left 40,000 men to guard the city, and took 130,000 troops with her.

Three forces, totaling 200,000 troops!

After some discussion, the three decided to attack Julu Prefecture first, and that they would not split their forces but concentrate their strength to attack one place.

A day later, they set off for Julu Prefecture.

When they arrived in the counties under the jurisdiction of Julu Prefecture, Yuwen Qin expected a welcoming scene with people lining the streets, but only a few scattered people came.

Almost all of them were originally from the local gentry and noble families; not a single ordinary person was seen.

"Brother, you don't have much prestige here! Is this all the people who are here to greet you?" Yuwen Bingyu's words were full of sarcasm.

Yuwen Qin's expression was very unpleasant, not because of Yuwen Bingyu's sarcastic remarks.

The fact that the common people didn't come shows that Shen An has won their hearts.

If these peasants all side with Shen An, the situation will be dire.

Li Huaiyi had long heard about Shen'an's land reform, and now that he had gained the support of the people, it must be the same.

He immediately suggested to Yuwen Bingyu, "Lord Yuwen, we should arrest all these local gentry now, and then send someone to inform the people that even if we defeat Shen An, the land reform will continue to the end!"

"Brother Huaiyi is right, that's the way it must be!" Yuwen Qin nodded.

"You overestimate those peasants. There's no need for that. We officials need to win over the local gentry, not these peasants!" Yuwen Bingyu said contemptuously.

"Lord Yuwen, that's not how it works. When the gentry and noble families still held power, it was natural to try and win them over. But look at these people, they don't seem to have any power at all anymore. They're not worth trying to win over!"

Li Huaiyi said, "Those peasants, although poor, have people who can be turned into fighting force. If we make them feel that we can also bring them benefits, at least they won't stand on Shen An's side."

"Who knows, maybe they'll help us fight Shen An out of respect for Brother Yuwen from the past!"

Yuwen Bingyu frowned.

She was clearly considering it.

"Hmph! According to you, when our military governor conquers Julu Prefecture, half of the land you promised her will be given to these peasants?"

At the critical moment, Wei Min'er stepped forward.

These words resonated deeply with Yuwen Bingyu. Her earlier objection stemmed from her concern for her future territory, which she didn't want to be given to those peasants.

"You didn't say that before we came!" Yuwen Bingyu said in a deep voice.

"We can say that first, and then go back on our word later!" Yuwen Qin said hurriedly.

"Hmph! Going back on your word afterward? What if those peasants rebel in a fit of anger??? I think you two have ulterior motives. You don't want us adults to truly control those places, do you?!" Wei Min'er snorted angrily.

"So that's what you were thinking!" Yuwen Bingyu was furious.

Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi then realized that the root of Yuwen Bingyu's madness lay with Wei Min'er.

Li Huaiyi was unaware of the existence of the Divine Dragon Society, but Yuwen Qin was well aware of it. It was because he had previously eliminated the Divine Dragon Society's spies that he was able to have someone impersonate him to deceive Shen An and allow Shen An to obtain different information.

At this moment, he realized that Wei Min'er was definitely a member of the Divine Dragon Society.

"Wei Min'er, you've been hiding this well!" Yuwen Qin popped his head out and pointed at Wei Min'er.

Wei Min'er felt a chill run down her spine. She knew Yuwen Qin had seen through her identity, but she had managed to rise to her current position; what kind of situation hadn't she seen?

"What am I hiding? Your first scheme failed, so what dirty water are you trying to smear me with now?" Wei Min'er said, her face full of grievance: "Lord Yuwen, look at them! They're trying to kill me just to deceive you!"

"Let's see who dares!" Yuwen Bingyu protected Wei Min'er.

"Brother Yuwen, what do you mean by this?" Li Huaiyi asked, puzzled.

"Then, let me tell you about the Divine Dragon Society!"

Yuwen Qin revealed the purpose of the Divine Dragon Society and that their people had already infiltrated the southwestern prefecture.

Li Huaiyi's expression darkened: "You mean anyone who keeps sowing discord and trying to get me to start a war could be a member of the Divine Dragon Society?"

"Yes, I almost fell for it too. It was Zhang Chi who discovered the trick and exposed her." Yuwen Qin then pointed the finger at Wei Min'er: "Sister, didn't you feel it? This woman has been sowing discord all along. She's definitely a member of the Divine Dragon Society. They want us to kill each other so they can reap the benefits!"

"My lord, listen to this! They're making up stories just to smear me! They just can't stand that we women have power. They're disgusting! They're scheming in every way, afraid that we women will step on their heads!" Wei Min'er hid behind Yuwen Bingyu, adding fuel to the fire with every word she spoke.

Yuwen Bingyu, her anger flaring, retorted, "You really can't tolerate women being better than you, can you?"

Li Huaiyu really wanted to kill these two bastards with one sword. What a load of rubbish they were!

Yuwen Qin remained calm: "Members of the Divine Dragon Society all have a five-colored dragon tattoo on their bodies. If you want to prove you're not a member of the Divine Dragon Society, take off your clothes now and let us examine you!"

After saying that, Yuwen Qin took out the portrait of the five-colored dragon.

Everyone looked at the five-colored dragon, but it lacked the majesty of a dragon and only carried an evil aura, clearly not of the righteous path.

"What! I'm a woman, and you're making me undress for a search? What are you up to?" Wei Min'er retorted fiercely, "Sir, they're trying to take advantage of me, waaaah!"

"Hmph, you vixen, stop spreading your lies here!"

Something unexpected happened: Yang Chuwei, who had been demoted to a commoner by Yuwen Bingyu a few days ago, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

He ripped Wei Min'er's clothes off.

He pulled with precision, and Wei Min'er was instantly naked.

On her back, you can see a five-colored dragon tattoo that is exactly the same as the one in the portrait of Yuwen Qin, full of evil!

Wei Min'er was shocked, but she reacted quickly: "Waaah, Yuwen Qin must have known about my tattoo beforehand, so he fabricated a lie to frame me!"

"Sister, think carefully. Has this woman been delaying our advance? Has she been advocating for war?" Yuwen Qin questioned. "Think again carefully. Is it because of her that you have suffered so many defeats?"

"Bullshit! Yuwen Qin, shut up!"

Something happened that left Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi powerless, but Yuwen Bingyu still didn't believe it: "I don't care what your purpose is, but I absolutely do not believe that the people who truly understand me are from the Divine Dragon Society. On the contrary, you have been trying to sow discord since you first arrived here!"

I am now formally telling you that everything must be done according to my rules. If you are unwilling, then go and attack Julu Prefecture yourselves!

Although Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi cursed her inwardly for being incredibly stupid, the army was already here. If they broke up, it would be too difficult to regroup them!

They both kept quiet and endured it.

"Hmph! Keep going! We must reach Julu Prefecture before sunset. Anyone who dares to obstruct us will be killed without mercy!"

Yuwen Bingyu felt extremely domineering.

But in everyone's eyes, she was incredibly foolish, especially Wei Min'er, who had just thought she was doomed.

But Yuwen Bingyu still believed in her.

That's incredibly stupid!

Yuwen Bingyu continued forward without encountering any resistance.

Wei Min'er's flattery was because she was scared away by Shen An's power. In reality, Shen An only chose to defend Julu Prefecture. As long as he could severely damage them in Julu Prefecture, he could drive them back.

Yuwen Bingyu truly believed that it was through direct power and intimidation, and she became even more convinced that Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi's previous talk about land reform was a scheme against her.

I can't stand seeing their women doing well!

As night fell, the army stopped five miles from Julu City.

Learning from past mistakes, even though Yuwen Bingyu felt confident, he dared not act rashly and first sent a small group of soldiers to probe the situation.

After some probing, they found no problem.

"The absence of a problem doesn't mean there isn't one. Since we can't find a problem, listen to me: I can solve the predicament caused by that exploding object in front of Shen An City!"

Zhang Chi walked up to Yuwen Bingyu, waving his paper fan.