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

No one expected that Li Huaiyi would specifically call out Shen An's name as soon as he arrived.

Liao Bing, Liu Wenyuan, and the others appeared normal on the surface, but they were already secretly preparing. If Shen An gave the order, they would fight Li Huaiyi to the death!

Dugu Meng is currently hiding on the city wall, not daring to face Li Huaiyi directly, but she is also prepared for battle.

Only Shen An showed no unusual reaction; he feigned surprise and delight.

He stepped forward from the crowd, bowed deeply, and said, "This humble one, Shen An, greets Your Excellency, the Military Governor!"

Liao Bing and the others were on tenterhooks. They realized that Shen An was completely unprepared, and if Li Huaiyi made a move, Shen An might not be able to escape.

After Li Huaiyi glanced at Shen An from head to toe, a smile appeared on his rather rough face: "I have heard your story before, how you fought alongside Liao Bing against the Western Barbarians. Now that I see you, you are indeed a man of great talent. It's a waste for you to be a constable."

I heard that your previous county lieutenant has retired. From now on, you will be the county lieutenant of Qingyang County, and will jointly govern Qingyang County with Magistrate Liu and Inspector Feng, protecting the people!

Shen An immediately understood Li Huaiyi's thoughts.

Li Huaiyi called him out alone because he wanted to support someone to fight against Liu Wenyuan alongside Feng Zihuan.

They're using him as a pawn.

Unfortunately, this was entrusted to the wrong person.

Shen An immediately feigned excitement and gratitude: "Thank you, Governor! Thank you, Governor! I will certainly serve you with utmost loyalty and devotion, even unto death!"

"Impressive writing! This is the first time I've heard of someone dedicating themselves to the cause until their dying breath. It seems I haven't misjudged him. Hahaha!" Li Huaiyi laughed wildly.

A pale-faced scholar stepped out from the crowd.

He held a paper fan, his expression arrogant, but when he reached Shen An, he bowed with both hands: "I am Feng Zihuan, greetings, Brother Shen!"

They completely disregarded Liu Wenyuan.

"Inspector Feng, you are too kind," Shen An quickly returned the greeting.

"I don't like living in cities. Shen An, Liu Wenyuan, Liao Bing, you guys come with me. I have some things to arrange for you!" Li Huaiyi ordered.

Liu Wenyuan's heart sank. If he couldn't even enter the city, how could he possibly make a move?

"Magistrate Liu, what are you standing there for! Hurry up!" Feng Zihuan urged.

This shows that Feng Zihuan was already demonstrating his status and trying to outdo Liu Wenyuan in this matter.

Liu Wenyuan didn't care about any of that, since Shen An was the one in charge of Qingyang County anyway.

He is now completely focused on finding an opportunity to strike Li Huaiyi and kill him in one blow!

He quickly followed.

Five hundred meters outside the city gate, Li Huaiyi had a tent set up, a pot of wine brewed, and four seats arranged for Shen An and the others to sit down.

Apart from the two songstresses he was constantly embracing, he deliberately kept his distance from everyone else.

After taking his seat, Li Huaiyi stated his purpose directly: "Magistrate Liu, General Liao, and County Lieutenant Shen, the Western barbarians' attack on the city has severely damaged Yangnan Prefecture. We need money in all aspects. You must raise 50,000 taels of silver for me within three months. If you don't have the money, you can exchange it for grain and medicine of equivalent value. In short, I need to see you within three months!"

Before Li Huaiyi arrived, the group had already guessed his intentions, but they did not expect him to make such an outrageous demand.

Qingyang County has a total population of just over 50,000. In these three months, they raised 50,000 taels of silver, which means that everyone has to contribute one tael of silver.

In these chaotic and famine-stricken times, ordinary people can't even afford to eat. Who could possibly raise so much money?

"What? You're all ignoring the Governor's orders?" Feng Zihuan slammed his fist on the table. "The Governor is doing this for the stability and prosperity of Yangnan Prefecture. If you can't do that, then you can all quit your jobs!"

"Don't be rude!" Li Huaiyi said, pretending to be a good person. "I know it's difficult for you, but it's also very difficult for me. No matter what you do, you have to get the money for me."

"As long as you can gather enough, I guarantee you'll keep your official positions. And as long as you don't go too far, I'll turn a blind eye!"

This empty promise is all talk; only a fool would believe it.

But Shen An wants to develop steadily, and three months is enough time to quickly increase his power.

Liu Wenyuan wanted to find an opportunity to kill Li Huaiyi.

On the surface, he naturally agreed, but Liu Wenyuan only pretended to hesitate before saying, "Governor, we understand your difficulties. For the development of Yangnan Prefecture, I will definitely lead the entire county to prepare the money for you within three months!"

"Hmph! What do you mean by 'preparing for the military governor'? He's going to put the money into the state treasury!" Feng Zihuan banged on the table again.

It's like being a prostitute and then trying to maintain a virtuous image!

"Inspector Feng is right. I will definitely be careful with my words in the future," Liu Wenyuan said hurriedly.

"Alright, since you've all agreed, I'll be leaving now!" Li Huaiyi said, standing up.

Liu Wenyuan was anxious. He had finally met Li Huaiyi, but he hadn't even had a chance to make a move. How could he be willing to do that?

He quickly replied, "Your Excellency, I have prepared a welcoming banquet in the city. Why don't you have a meal before you leave?"

"No need," Li Huaiyi refused outright, then boarded his imitation dragon carriage and left.

They came quickly and left quickly, without even giving Liu Wenyuan a chance.

"Hmph, since you've prepared a welcoming banquet, then let this inspector go," Feng Zihuan snorted.

Liu Wenyuan really wanted to kill this guy.

He looked at Shen An, seeking Shen An's opinion.

As for Shen An, now that Li Huaiyi is gone, and there's no longer a chance to kill him immediately, he might as well continue to play it safe and develop his strength before looking for another opportunity.

He shook his head. Liu Wenyuan was somewhat disappointed, but he still followed Shen An's instructions and quickly made a gesture of invitation.

"County Commandant Shen, please!" Feng Zihuan still ignored Liu Wenyuan and instead took the initiative to invite Shen An again.

Shen An felt that Li Huaiyi and Feng Zihuan were even more adept at navigating the officialdom than Zhu Shigui.

If the relationship between Shen An and Liu Wenyuan was that of an ordinary county magistrate and constable, then what they did was extremely successful. This not only supported Shen An, but also directly pulled Shen An to the opposite side of Liu Wenyuan.

The two sides, for the sake of power, will directly become enemies, thus achieving a balance of power.

Shen An decided to go along with his wishes, completely ignoring Liu Wenyuan. Like a petty person who had gained power and found a powerful backer, he immediately became sworn brothers with Feng Zihuan, leaving Liu Wenyuan and Liao Bing behind.

After returning to the Qingyang County government office, Feng Zihuan had a meal and started to put on airs, demanding that Liu Wenyuan report to him promptly on every matter in the county, no matter how small.

He also forcibly placed a woman next to each of Liu Wenyuan, Shen An, and Liao Bing, ostensibly as their personal assistants, but in reality, they were there to monitor them.

What Feng Zihuan said and did before had little impact on Shen An and the others.

But this matter had an impact.

Shen An was already considering whether he should kill Feng Zihuan and all the men he brought right now.

I heard from Liu Wenyuan that the other party goes back to report once a month, but the information may not be accurate.

He needed to find out how often Feng Zihuan reported to Li Huaiyi, if it was really once a month.

Shen An decided to kill him on the spot.

In the next month, we will expand our army at an alarming rate!

Shen An first praised Feng Zihuan for being so thoughtful, giving each of them a beautiful woman. Then Shen An asked, "Inspector Feng, how often will it be before you meet with the Military Governor?"

Feng Zihuan immediately became wary; his face, which was already flushed from drinking, turned cautious: "Why are you asking this?"

"Hey, I'm thinking of getting something..." Shen An rubbed his hands together. "A separate gift for the military governor. If the inspector returns, I hope he can take it with him. But don't worry, I know the proper etiquette!"

"Haha, you're really sensible, kid! No wonder you were promoted by the military governor!" Feng Zihuan clapped his hands with his fan and said, "Then I need to calculate the date first."

"You calculate it, you calculate it."

Shen An reached for the knife hidden at his waist. If Feng Zihuan said he would only go back once a month, then it would be the day Feng Zihuan died!