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

At this moment, Cui Tianhe, the deputy military governor, was extremely anxious.

Listening to Li Huaiyi, all he could hear were his own books.

I was furious.

But he held back, and sighed heavily, "Your Excellency, I didn't mean to disturb you, but something terrible has happened, and I have no choice but to inform you."

"What is it? Have you found the emperor?" Li Huaiyi asked.

"It's not that the emperor has been found, but that Yang Ke has been defeated!" Cui Tianhe said.

Li Huaiyi flew into a rage: "What? Defeated! Is Yang Ke an idiot? We gave him ten thousand elite troops, and he still lost? Where is he? Call him here!"

"It seems he can't make it!"

Why?

"I heard he was captured alive, and the rest of them were all wiped out; not a single one returned!"

"What?!!"

Li Huaiyi didn't believe any of this. He grabbed Cui Tianhe and lifted him up like a chick: "You're talking nonsense! Where did you get this rumor? If the entire army was wiped out, who spread the news?!"

"It was someone I sent out to secretly follow them and see it with my own eyes."

"On the walls of Shen'an City, there are hundreds of divine weapons that can fire in rapid succession and are far more powerful than ordinary bows and arrows, capable of piercing through the armor of people three hundred paces away!" Cui Tianhe hurriedly replied.

"How is this possible? How could such a divine weapon exist in the world?" Li Huaiyi still didn't believe it.

"My lord, how could I dare to lie to you about this? Besides that, there is another matter that has come to pass."

"What is it now?"

"The grain supplies in Qingping County have been stolen, and it was Yang Ke who led a group of men. This means that Yang Ke has already submitted to Shen An!"

Upon hearing this!

Li Huaiyi had no choice but to believe it all.

He paced back and forth anxiously, asking, "How did Shen An obtain those divine weapons? Why was there no news about him before?! Why?"

"My lord, this is not the time to worry about these things. Yang Ke has betrayed you and has already led his men to raid the granaries in Qingping County. He might already be in Qiangbei County. If the grain supplies there are lost, we will lose a large amount of food, and the soldiers' food supply will become a problem!" Cui Tianhe said anxiously.

"Damn Yang Ke, damn Shen An, what are you still standing there for? Quickly send someone to Qiangbei County!" Li Huaiyi said, spitting as he spoke.

"Don't I lack the authority to deploy troops?"

"Damn it, you..."

Li Huaiyi wanted to curse, but then he realized that this was a rule he had set up in order to monopolize military power.

He could only swallow his words and immediately ordered the dispatch of three thousand cavalrymen to head straight for Qiangbei County.

Even after the men were dispatched, Li Huaiyi's anger had not subsided.

He then summoned Cui Tianhe and asked him to bring over those who had witnessed the battle firsthand, and asked them about it in detail once more.

After hearing this, Li Huaiyi's expression changed drastically.

How would he deal with such a powerful weapon?

If no one else were fighting him, he could easily trap Shen An with his large army, but now he is besieged on multiple fronts and cannot spare many troops.

Just as he was getting so angry his face turned red, Cui Tianhe stroked his beard, squinted his eyes, and said, "Your Excellency, what seems like a setback is actually a good thing!"

Li Huaiyi pulled Cui Tianhe up again: "I lost 10,000 elite soldiers and encountered such a powerful enemy, and you're telling me this is a good thing?"

"Governor, you have been fighting with other warlords for years without a clear victor, not because you are weak or have little territory, but because you lack the powerful weapons to crush them!"

Cui Tianhe said with a calculating look, "Now that Shen An has revealed the divine weapon, we can bribe others or send people to investigate secretly. If we can find out the origin of the divine weapon and how it was made, we can find out."

"Then you'll have a divine weapon, won't you?"

Li Huaiyi's anxious gaze gradually calmed down. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You're right! Let's get there first while the others don't know!"

However, what if Shen An becomes even more arrogant and attacks us on his own initiative?

"If Shen Anruo had such abilities, would he need to wait for us to attack them? Wouldn't he have attacked long ago? This shows that those divine weapons are only useful on the city walls, convenient for defending the city, but not for long-range attacks!" Cui Tianhe analyzed.

"Even so, it is still a threat. If we can suppress it for the time being, it will give us time to obtain the secret of the divine weapon and make it ourselves," Li Huaiyi said.

Cui Tianhe's lips curled up slightly: "This matter is easy to resolve. Next, you send someone to deliver a message to him, saying that it was Yang Ke who led the troops to attack without your knowledge beforehand."

Considering that he dealt with Yang Ke, a scoundrel who deserved to die, he was rewarded and given an official position.

Whether he accepts it or not, publicly declare that you will send him to meet the enemy.

At that time, we can not only keep him in check, but also divert the trouble to other places!

Wouldn't that give us ample time to uncover the secrets of that divine weapon?!

"Excellent! As expected of Mr. Cui, I'm convinced!" Li Huaiyi clapped his hands and said, "Back then, I overruled everyone's objections and made the right decision to appoint Mr. Cui as the deputy military governor!"

Cui Tianhe sneered inwardly. This bastard, he was just trying to cause trouble for him, but now he's acting like a gentleman?

If he didn't need to dig out the emperor and make sure he was killed, why would he stay here?

"Shen An's matter is actually not a big deal. The most important thing is the emperor. He wants to arrest him alive or find his body, otherwise he won't be able to explain it to the emperor in the capital!" Cui Tianhe said again.

"Yes! The emperor's fate is unknown. If she escapes back, it will be detrimental to both of us. I will still send people to search for her. As long as she is still within the territory of Yangnan Prefecture, we will definitely find her!" Li Huaiyi promised. "However, investigating the matter of that divine weapon is also extremely important. Before the news of Yang Ke's army being wiped out spreads, Vice Envoy Cui should quickly select suitable candidates to investigate the divine weapon."

"yes!"

As Cui Tianhe left, Li Huaiyi suddenly became excited: "Damn Shen An, you really surprised me! What you're doing now could immediately turn my book into a monster! Really, very good!"

After Cui Tianhe finished speaking, he felt a surge of inspiration and began to write furiously again.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Within Qiangbei County, Shen An and his team successfully obtained the grain supplies.

It is being transported towards Qingyang County.

The scout ahead rushed to report: "Reporting to our lord, three thousand Black Spirit soldiers are heading in our direction!"

"Three thousand? My lord, let's run! We can find another way to make provisions, but if we lose our lives, we're done for! Let's run!"

Liao Bing made a quick decision: even though their weapons were advanced, they only brought two hundred men to avoid being targeted.

With two hundred against three thousand, a difference of fifteen times, there's no way they could possibly win.

"We can't escape! They're here!"

Before Shen An could finish speaking, the Black Spirit Army appeared in their field of vision.

They rode swift horses and quickly surrounded them!

They were given absolutely no room to escape.