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

Shen An had no intention of hiring an assassin.

The assassins had no real connection with him; they took the money and the job, and might just sell him to Ma Tianming for another profit.

The risk is just too great!

Moreover, Ma Tianming only brought four followers, so if they launched a surprise attack beforehand, there was a good chance they could kill them all.

He decided to do it with Shen Xiaoqi.

But this cannot be told to Liu Wenyuan.

"I've already hired the hitman, you don't need to worry about it."

Shen An instructed, "Also, I need one hundred blank travel permits. Get them ready for me tomorrow and have them delivered."

"What do you need so many travel permits for?" Liu Wenyuan frowned.

"The control in Yangnan Prefecture is getting tighter and tighter. Without travel permits, how will those assassins get to Qiangbei County?"

"That doesn't require a hundred sheets."

"Just give it to me." Shen An's tone hardened.

If any other squad leader had dared to speak to him like that, Liu Wenyuan would have lost his temper long ago.

But he knew that Shen An was no ordinary corpse carrier, and that he would have to rely on him to kill Ma Tianming.

He gritted his teeth: "Fine, but even with the travel permit, we still can't avoid being checked on the road. You'd better hide your weapons."

Shen An nodded.

Liu Wenyuan peeked outside to make sure no one was around before mounting his horse and riding away.

The next morning, hundreds of blank travel permits, stamped with the county government's seal, appeared in Shen An's courtyard.

Shen An only needs to fill in his name on it to travel freely within Yangnan Prefecture.

It's a pity that Liu Wenyuan isn't qualified to issue a travel permit for Yangnan Prefecture, otherwise he could go directly to the Helian Merchant Alliance.

Shen Xiaoqi squatted down beside him, rubbing her hands together. "Brother, when are we leaving?"

"Ma Tianming, we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning. We'll leave tonight." Shen An's gaze fell on the travel permits: "Get there early, lay in ambush, and kill them with one blow."

Then, Shen An went back into the house and took out a crossbow, handing it to Dugu Meng: "The checks on the road are stricter than before, so we can't take you across the border. After we leave, wait for us to come back at home. This is for you to use for self-defense."

It was made just for her!

When Dugu Meng took it and held it in her hand, she felt a surge of joy.

Thinking of its power, Dugu Meng finally asked the question she had been holding back for so long: "Shen An, if you have the opportunity in the future, would you teach the army how to make this?"

Shen An realized that she was making plans for the future.

Could she be someone in the imperial army?

However, regardless of whose side she belongs to, she will only do things if it is in his interest; if it is not, even if Dugu Meng begs him, it won't work.

However, he didn't rule it out completely, stroking his chin and saying, "It depends on the situation."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Shen An casually tucked the travel permit from the table into his pocket.

Old Zhao arrived, followed by Zhao Long and Zhao Feng.

As soon as Old Zhao entered the courtyard, he was panting heavily and said, "It's bad! Yesterday at noon, the Western Barbarians officially attacked Qiangbei County. I heard that their attack is fierce, and Qiangbei County may not be able to hold out."

Once the city falls, it will only take a few days for the Western barbarians to take over our Qingyang County.

"Squad Leader Shen, you're still a free man. Can you take Xiaolong and Xiaofeng with you?"

Dugu Meng's heart sank.

Although she knew the Western Barbarians would come, she still felt worried for the people of Daliang when she heard the news of the war.

It is unknown how many people will die in this war.

She hated her own incompetence, and even more so the rebels who prevented her from returning to the capital.

If she were in command at court, she would never have allowed these villains to so easily start a war between the two countries!

Zhao Feng panicked. If Shen An ran away, her dream of becoming the wife of the county magistrate would be shattered.

"Grandpa, what are you saying!" Zhao Feng stepped forward and took Old Zhao's arm. "We must trust the military governor. His Black Spirit Guards are far superior to the Western Barbarians. Qiangbei County will definitely be able to hold out!"

"You silly boy, this isn't the time to gamble!" Old Zhao stamped his feet anxiously. "Once they attack, you won't be able to run away!"

Zhao Feng wanted to argue further, but Shen An spoke up: "Uncle Zhao, what Xiao Feng said makes sense."

"The Western Barbarians number only 30,000; the Black Spirit Guard won't collapse so easily. Leaving now would be too hasty."

"That's right!" Zhao Feng quickly chimed in, "What if the Western Barbarians don't attack? If Chief Shen leaves early, he might lose his position when he comes back! Grandpa, why didn't you consider Chief Shen's gains and losses?"

Old Zhao finally realized that he had been too hasty to think about this aspect.

He cupped his hands somewhat awkwardly and said, "Squad Leader Shen, I'm sorry, it was my oversight."

"It's only human nature, don't take it to heart." Shen An waved his hand: "Xiao Feng and Xiao Long, help your grandfather back to rest."

"Okay!"

With a sweet smile on her face, Zhao Feng was afraid that Old Zhao would change his mind and ruin her dream of becoming the county magistrate's wife, so she quickly helped Old Zhao up and left the place.

"Go do what you're supposed to do, and act like nothing happened."

After making the arrangements, Shen An placed the road signs and, with his tools in hand, the three headed to the mass grave.

Thanks to Ma Tianming's arrangements yesterday, Ma Qiang has now become the true leader of the mass grave.

Today, he not only sidelined Shen An, but also began to win over the people of the mass grave in Qingtian Village, attempting to completely isolate Shen An.

At that time, Shen An will have no help, and he can directly arrest Shen An and force a confession through interrogation!

Why bother with all that complicated and roundabout arrangements like Ma Tianming's?

Does breaking up with him mean I can't let him be my scapegoat in the future?!

Shen An ignored his little tricks.

Once Ma Tianming is killed, this guy's death is imminent.

That night, at midnight, Shen An filled in a false name on the blank travel permit and then led his horse out the door with Shen Xiaoqi.

Dugu Meng stood at the door, her eyes filled with unconcealed worry.

"Shen An, Xiao Qi, you will definitely come back safely!"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, my brother hasn't even consummated his marriage with you yet, he'll definitely be back!"

Shen Xiaoqi mounted his horse and said with a grin.

Dugu Meng was already used to Shen Xiaoqi's speaking style. She snorted softly and then looked at Shen An, waiting for his response.

"I'll be back!"

Shen An gave Dugu Meng a smile and rode away.

Dugu Meng stood there watching the two figures disappear into the night, and only turned back after a long time.

Before dawn, the two entered the territory of Qiangbei County.

Along the way, there were only refugees fleeing south, dragging their families along, but they were stopped by government soldiers when they reached the border of the neighboring county.

Without a permit, nobody can get through.

The people were blocked outside the checkpoint, and their cries could be heard from half a mile away.

Shen An reined in his horse, looked around for a while, then whipped it and continued on his way.

He knew perfectly well that in this chaotic world, ordinary people were nothing more than blood bags to support officials, and the reason he didn't let them leave was because the military governor was afraid of losing his support.

He was indignant at the sight of such injustices, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Perhaps one day he will rise to a high position and then change this cannibalistic world.

The two ran all the way to Madman Valley, which was twenty miles from the front line, and stopped there.

According to the route given by Liu Wenyuan, Ma Tianming must take this route.

Shen An and Shen Xiaoqi, one on the left and one on the right, each found a good spot and hid behind the rocks.

Three hours later, dust rose from the distant official road.

Shen An squinted and looked over; five horses were coming this way along the official road.

Riding the chestnut horse in the middle was Ma Tianming.

The number of people was indeed consistent with what Liu Wenyuan had said!

Shen An gripped the crossbow tightly and imitated a bird's call.

Shen Xiaoqi, on the other side, also responded.

As they came within range of the crossbows, Shen An and Shen Xiaoqi pulled the trigger together.

Ma Tianming and his group never expected that someone would set up an ambush here.

Right now, they're riding their horses, chatting and laughing, dreaming about becoming county magistrates in the future.

"what!"

The next moment, the man riding in front of Ma Tianming was shot in the forehead by a crossbow bolt and fell straight off the horse.

Ma Tianming was startled!

"Oh no! Someone's lying in ambush! Run!"

The remaining four tried to turn around and escape, but it was too late.

All four were hit by crossbow bolts.

Ma Tianming was luckier; he was shot and fell to the ground, where he was stopped by his horse.

The others were not so lucky; they were riddled with crossbow bolts like hedgehogs and died on the spot!

Ma Tianming was filled with fear, thinking that the Western barbarians had come!

He used the horses as cover and immediately fled into a nearby valley.

How could Shen An let him get away?

They immediately gave chase.

Ma Tianming sensed that someone was chasing him and knew he couldn't escape, so he hid behind a boulder.

Trying to talk to them might offer a way out.

He squinted and looked north.

When Ma Tianming saw the familiar face of the person who had come, he was extremely surprised!

How could it be Shen An?