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

Shen An smiled slightly and said, "You really are like a dog that can't be stopped from eating shit. Give you a little sunshine and you'll beam; give you a little hope and you'll think you're all that?"

"Otherwise? Without me, how would you keep these people in check? If they knew you killed me, they would definitely rebel, and you wouldn't be able to withstand it!" Yuwen Bingyu said proudly.

"First of all! If they killed you, how would they know it was me?" Shen An retorted. "I could easily frame Li Huaiyi for your death. After all, you two had a conflict before, so it would be normal for him to kill you."

As for me! Everyone saw it. I was the one who protected you and brought you to Nanling Prefecture. Together we attacked the city and brought you back to Nanling Prefecture!

I said that Li Huaiyi sent people to kill you, and I think some people would believe me.

"But there are still many more people who don't believe it! Don't underestimate the wisdom of the people of Nanling Prefecture!" Yuwen Bingyu retorted.

"They are indeed wise; they know who is good to them and they will support them!" Shen An agreed.

"Hmph! This is my achievement over the years, winning their hearts. No one can replace my position in their hearts, so you shouldn't have any ulterior motives!" Yuwen Bingyu's lips curled up: "Oh, by the way, do they still remember when you led people to attack and kill the county officials and steal their grain?"

"That's not right. If you can give them benefits, I'll give them even more benefits, right? As the saying goes, they'll follow whoever feeds them, and they won't be an exception!" Shen An retorted.

"Hmph! How much benefit can you give them? What are your money and grain compared to hundreds of thousands of people!" Yuwen Bingyu said disdainfully.

"First of all, I am preparing to lift the mandatory military service rule in Nanling Prefecture! Nanling Prefecture does have a large population, but nearly one-fifth of them have to serve in the army. Four people have to support one soldier, which is too much pressure for them."

"If we reduce the troop strength to 50,000 or even 30,000, with 20 or 30 people supporting each soldier, their pressure will be much less!" Shen An stated his plan.

Yuwen Bingyu remained disdainful: "You're dreaming. Nowadays, large prefectures have hundreds of thousands of troops, and ordinary small prefectures have at least fifty or sixty thousand. Some prefectures have only one hundred thousand people, but they have fifty thousand soldiers."

Without so many soldiers, how can you defend the city?

Yuwen Qin coughed lightly: "Sister, you seem to have forgotten how we lost to our lord. He only had a mere 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers. Didn't all three of us fail to win?"

"Warfare relies on the wisdom of generals, more advanced weaponry, and stronger individual combat capabilities. Having so many useless soldiers is meaningless to our lord!"

Yuwen Bingyu froze, then began to recall past events.

Shen An actually wanted more troops, but he understood that water can carry a boat but also capsize it. The chaotic world hadn't lasted much longer, and the people could still hold on.

But as time went on, the people were driven to the brink of despair, and their first instinct was to rebel!

Nowadays, in many prefectures, four or five people rely on taxes to support one soldier, which is really too difficult for ordinary people.

It won't be long before we're driven to the brink of despair.

Shen An did this in order to achieve sustainable development and encourage more people to farm.

With ample food supplies, one can truly establish a foothold in this chaotic world.

Otherwise, if everyone goes to fight a war, there will be no one to farm the land, so what's the point of fighting a war?

Yuwen Bingyu had no idea what Shen An was thinking; all she could think about was that Shen An had indeed won with fewer troops.

For Shen An, quality is more important than quantity when it comes to soldiers!

This made her expression turn sour, but she still retorted, "So what if that's the case? It only relieves some pressure, it's not really a benefit!"

"But what if I divide the land of Nanling Prefecture equally among the people according to their population and past contributions? For example, I would give more land to those who are on my side! And I would teach them more advanced planting techniques to increase their harvest!"

"It concerns their livelihood and survival. Do you think they would still turn against me?" Shen An asked.

"Haha, you're being incredibly stupid. Most of the land is in the hands of the gentry and noble families. Do you think they'd let you distribute it to ordinary people?" Yuwen Bingyu felt like she was hearing a joke.

"Just kill them! I've already completed land reform in Qingyang Prefecture and Julu Prefecture. Any gentry or noble family that objectes, I'll kill them!" Shen An said casually. "Do those gentry and noble families in Nanling Prefecture have three heads and six arms? Are they more powerful than gentry and noble families in other places?"

Yuwen Bingyu could no longer control her expression.

"Once I've won over the gentry and noble families, and distributed the fertile land, which commoner will rebel against me? Who will remember a good-for-nothing like you who only talks the talk?" Shen An's words struck her like a heavy blow to the chest.

This caused her to stumble back several steps until she hit the corner of the wall and stopped.

She wanted to keep finding reasons to prove her importance.

But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out.

She was so anxious that she cried!

She looks so pitiful; anyone who didn't know her would think she was some kind of weak woman.

"Brother, brother, please help me, okay?" Yuwen Bingyu looked at Yuwen Qin pleadingly.

"Sister, you're a menace. Go in peace. I hope you'll be a good person in your next life." Yuwen Qin said coldly.

"Brother, I'm your only family in this world! Are you really going to abandon me like this?"

"No, no, I still have my own family. You are just the descendant of that old geezer who listened to slander. I think you should hurry up and go to the Yellow Springs to see him!" Yuwen Qin shook his head and said.

"Waaaaah, brother, how can you be so heartless? I'm your sister, how can you face our ancestors if you don't help me? And Shen An, I'm just a young woman, is it really okay for you grown men to treat me like this?" Yuwen Bingyu began to use moral blackmail.

Shen An felt like vomiting just listening to this: "Yuwen Qin, if you're going to make a move, then make one now, or I might!"

"My lord, I'll finish her off immediately!"

As he spoke, Yuwen Qin drew his sword and charged toward Yuwen Bingyu.

"Huh? You want to kill me? Are you stupid? There are only three of us in the room right now. The two of us can easily subdue Shen An and get everything that belongs to him! Why would we need to kill each other?" Yuwen Bingyu stopped crying and yelled at him, "Idiot, wake up!"

Yuwen Qin has absolutely no intention of being Shen An's enemy.

Because he knew perfectly well that ever since he decided to make an enemy of Shen An, he had been suffering defeat after defeat.

The last thing he should have done was to become Shen An's enemy!

Otherwise, death is inevitable for him!

"Useless little sister, you still don't understand the reality. For us to oppose our lord is the biggest mistake we've ever made. Stubbornly clinging to our errors will only lead to our demise, just like you!"

Yuwen Qin gave her no further chances.

He took a step forward and pierced Yuwen Bingyu's chest with his sword.

In her extreme pain, Shen An spoke up: "Yuwen Bingyu, you actually had a bright future when I took the initiative to seek cooperation with you. It's just a pity that you chose to cooperate with others to deal with me. One wrong step led to another."

These words dealt another heavy blow to Yuwen Bingyu.

She was filled with extreme regret: "Shen An, can...can you give me another chance?"

"I don't give others a second chance, so go ahead with peace of mind!"

Shen An said this to Yuwen Bingyu, but it was also a warning to Yuwen Qin.

Yuwen Qin naturally understood. As soon as Shen An finished speaking, Yuwen Qin drew his sword and stabbed it fiercely again.

After repeating this process three times, Yuwen Bingyu was unable to move.

Facing death, Yuwen Bingyu stopped feigning pitifulness and instead began to curse: "Shen An, Yuwen Qin, you two will both die a horrible death, a horrible death!"

After cursing, she started shouting like a madwoman: "I am the chosen one, I am the chosen one, my ending should not be like this, gods and Buddhas, please save me, save me!"

"I'll definitely be saved by them, I definitely will! I definitely will..."

Her voice grew fainter and fainter until she fell silent, and no gods or Buddhas appeared to save her.

Watching her die, Shen An felt a sense of satisfaction. He clapped his hands and said, "Well done!"

"Thank you, my lord, for allowing me to kill her with my own hands!" Yuwen Qin knelt down.

"These are just things I promised you, no need to thank me." Shen An stretched, then finished off Yuwen Bingyu, making sure she was dead. He then instructed, "I'm going back to rest now. You take care of the body and make it look like Li Huaiyi sent an assassin to kill her."

"yes!"

As soon as it was light!

Shen An then made public the matter of Yuwen Bingyu's assassination.

However, most people, like Yuwen Bingyu, did not believe it.

But when Shen An announced his series of plans, the people's attitudes indeed changed, and they cheered and jumped for joy, as if Yuwen Bingyu's death had never happened.

However, the local gentry and officials who owned large tracts of land dared not oppose Shen An's policies, but demanded a thorough investigation into Yuwen Bingyu's death, hoping to use this incident to let everyone know the truth and unite with other people to overthrow Shen An.