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

"Haven't Zhang Meng and the others shown up yet?" Zhu Shigui asked in return.

"It hasn't appeared yet; we don't know where it went."

"Something must have happened to them. The situation in Qingyang County is not right. Those Western barbarians might have acted ahead of time. We've already gotten enough money from those wealthy families, so let's make a quick getaway." Zhu Shigui said decisively.

"Sir, if you leave, you might not be able to keep the position of county magistrate!" Qian Guangzhi reminded him again.

"That's not necessarily true. The military governor will definitely not let those lowly people leave in order to protect Qingping County, a major commercial town. I'll go back and encourage that idiot Liu Wenyuan. Who knows, he might lead the people to fight back bravely!"

"Once he succeeds, we'll take the credit for him in the future!" Zhu Shigui calculated.

"Magistrate, you are truly brilliant!" Qian Guangzhi exclaimed in admiration. "If that fool succeeds, you will surely be promoted when you return in triumph!"

"Hehe, it's too early to say now. Go and call Liu Wenyuan over. I'll have a word with him, and then we'll make our escape!"

"yes!"

Half an hour later.

Liu Wenyuan came to Zhu Shigui's side.

"Wen Yuan, you've arrived!" Zhu Shigui said with a broad smile.

Liu Wenyuan knew this wasn't good news, so he didn't waste any more words with Zhu Shigui: "Magistrate, are you leaving now?"

"Alas... I was ashamed that you saw through me." Zhu Shigui sighed, "I'm a coward who values ​​my life and wouldn't dare stay here in this situation. So I called you here to say goodbye, and also to tell you that after I leave, you will be the head of Qingyang County. All orders will be under your command. I hope you can lead the people to fight back against the Western barbarians!"

Upon hearing this, even though Liu Wenyuan was very shrewd and felt that Zhu Shigui was leaving him with a mess, he was still attracted by the power.

He had been thinking about how to defend against the Western Barbarians.

Now the opportunity has arrived, hasn't it?

Moreover, with Zhu Shigui gone, he could forget about his position as county magistrate.

The idea of ​​eliminating Zhu Shigui and other malignant tumors has now come true, hasn't it?

They just didn't kill Zhu Shigui.

At this thought, Liu Wenyuan suddenly remembered that he had almost committed suicide in front of Shen An in order to kill Zhu Shigui!

How stupid!

Luckily, he stopped then, otherwise he would have regretted it to death.

Hearing Zhu Shigui say this, Liu Wenyuan was actually somewhat moved, and even felt that Zhu Shigui was actually a decent person, just greedy for money and afraid of death.

Giving him power at a crucial moment shows that Zhu Shigui has always had good judgment.

Liu Wenyuan immediately bowed and said, "Since the magistrate has entrusted me with this great responsibility, I will certainly lead the people to resist the Western barbarians and protect my Qingyang County!"

Zhu Shigui cursed the fool in his heart, but on the surface he said with satisfaction, "Wenyuan, you are truly a rare and good person! I am very relieved to entrust Qingyang County to you!"

Alright, now come with me. I'll write a letter guaranteeing that you'll have control of the entire county after I leave!

"good!"

Fifteen minutes later, Liu Wenyuan, holding Zhu Shigui's letter, respectfully saw Zhu Shigui off.

As night fell, Zhu Shigui's entire faction left with their families.

Liu Wenyuan stood on the city wall, watching with a constant smile on his face.

He went to the county government office immediately, wanting to gather manpower and show off his official power.

To his utter surprise, the number of people who left with Zhu Shigui far exceeded his expectations. Apart from a few coroners who were not taken away, everyone else had left. Due to the limited visibility, he had not seen anything at all.

Doesn't this mean that in such a large county government office, he's become a commander without any real power?

But he didn't think he had been tricked by Zhu Shigui.

As soon as the Western Barbarians attack, the others will naturally seek help from the county government. At that time, he can use Zhu Shigui's letter to command others!

At that time, he will be a good official who saves people from danger!

If he can hold out until Li Huaiyi's reinforcements arrive, he will surely be promoted!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The news that the Western Barbarians were coming to attack had spread far and wide.

The people were in a state of panic and flocked to the county government for help, wanting to know what to do next.

But all they saw was Liu Wenyuan.

With his silver tongue, Liu Wenyuan calmed the people down and instilled in them the idea that fleeing was pointless, and that everyone should fight to the death to defend the city, just like him!

Before the Western Barbarians invade, everyone should stockpile as much supplies as possible.

His words made him the person in charge of Qingyang County.

Even so, a large number of people and forces still fled. Liu Wenyuan had no intention of dissuading them, because he knew that Li Huaiyi would not let the people leave. Their only way out was to come back and defend the city with him!

According to reliable sources, in five days at most, the Western Barbarian army will break through the counties north of Qingyang County and besiege Qingyang County!

We have about two thousand troops, and there's still time to prepare!

"Your Excellency, Shen An requests an audience!"

"Oh! Shen An? What's he doing here?"

He said he wanted to discuss with you how to defend against the western barbarians!

"Let him go back!"

Liu Wenyuan did want to cooperate with Shen An before, but now that Zhu Shigui has naturally resolved the issue, why would he need to cooperate with Shen An anymore?

Moreover, he believed that with these people, they could hold out until Li Huaiyi's reinforcements arrived, and there was no need for Shen An to come and steal his credit!

After all, Shen An is a registered head constable!

If Shen An were anyone else, he wouldn't care, but as the head constable, if his superiors asked about it later, the credit that should have belonged to him would have to be given to Shen An!

This is absolutely unacceptable to him!

"But he said he could help us harm the Western Barbarians!"

"With their meager funds, what can they possibly help with?" Liu Wenyuan said dismissively.

Although he had witnessed Shen An using that kind of crossbow, it was indeed powerful at killing ordinary people without any defenses. However, the Western Barbarians were all wearing thick armor, and it was impossible to break through their defenses.

On the contrary, he felt that Shen An's weapon could fool those who didn't understand. Once Shen An was involved in this matter, those who didn't understand would see his weapon and think that Shen An had great strength.

"Let Shen An go. Tell him that he is not allowed to enter the county town without my summons. Also, put his mind at ease! With me here, the Western barbarians will absolutely not be able to break through the defenses of my Qingyang City!" Liu Wenyuan ordered.

"yes!"

Shen An, standing outside the county government office, almost laughed out of anger upon hearing Liu Wenyuan's reply.

"Forget it, let's respect his fate. If he wants to die, we won't stop him!"

Shen An chose to return to the mass grave. In the past few days, he had successfully completed the transaction with the people sent by Luo Li. Since Zhu Shigui had already run away, and no one was bringing the body here, Shen An ordered the corpse carriers to do their best to dig up the bones that had been buried before and make them into crossbow bolts.

Now that the mass grave has been emptied, Shen An did not allow anyone to remain there, but instead relocated them all to Heishan Village.

Since the county town wouldn't let him go, he decided to use Black Mountain Village as a stronghold to fight against the Western Barbarians.

As long as we can hold this place, Qingyang County will not fall completely under the control of the Western Barbarians.

When the Western Barbarians come to cause him trouble, that will be a good opportunity for them to retaliate!

After settling down in Heishan Village, she was once again deeply moved when she saw Dugu Meng, who had been transformed by Shen An into a military fortress.

She had always felt that Shen An was capable, whether it was making blood charcoal or crafting crossbows, but he wasn't someone who could do everything.

Seeing that Shen An could build military fortresses and set up all sorts of sophisticated traps, she realized that Shen An's military capabilities were definitely no less than those of the generals of the Great Liang Kingdom.

Where did Shen An learn all this from?

How did he acquire these abilities at such a young age?

In her eyes, Shen Anzhen was becoming more and more mysterious and unfathomable.

But she's also becoming more and more attractive.

Dugu Meng has made up her mind that if she were to find someone to have a child for her in the future, she would definitely choose Shen An; he is her only choice!

Shen An was unaware of his thoughts. He, Zhao Long, and Shen Xiaoqi were assembling a repeating crossbow.

More than sixty of these have been made in the past few days, each capable of firing ten arrows in succession. If two thousand Western Barbarians were to attack Black Mountain Village, they would already be a powerful deterrent against them.

But Shen An still felt uneasy. To overcome his fear of insufficient firepower, he needed to have more firepower.

He needs to produce one hundred of them by the time the Western Barbarians reach this place.

As for other weapons,

Shen An is currently lacking iron. Even though he knows how to make furnaces and improve the toughness of steel, he doesn't have enough iron to make other weapons.

Therefore, he could not take the initiative to attack. He needed to wait for the Western Barbarians to come. As long as he killed a group of people, even if the others escaped, the weapons left behind could make up for their lack of iron weapons!

Five days later!

Liu Wenyuan stood on the city wall, watching the Western Barbarian army approach step by step.

He swallowed hard. He could tell that the Western Barbarians far surpassed the local garrison in Qingyang County in terms of weapons, size, and discipline.

But he wasn't afraid!

The number of people coming this time was less than the previously expected two thousand; there were only about fifteen hundred.

Of the people who had previously chosen to flee, more than 70% returned.

The reason was simple: Li Huaiyi forbade the people to flee. Before they even left Qingyang County, they were driven back by the guards of the neighboring counties.

They had to come back and stand with Liu Wenyuan.

With a population of over 20,000 in Qingyang County, Liu Wenyuan felt there was no reason why the county could not be defended!

As long as he can hold out until Li Huaiyi arrives, he will be a great hero!

He shouted, "Western barbarians, there's nothing to fear! Defend the city with all your might, and when the governor sends reinforcements, we will have won!"

These words are sure to boost morale.

It's one thing to imagine, and another thing to be aware of.

When the Western Barbarians began their attack on the city, Liu Wenyuan, a civil official, realized the harsh reality!