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

Shen An thought about it for a moment.

"If you want to make contact, you need to figure out whether Princess Gaoping is kind or malicious towards you, and whether she is in cahoots with treacherous officials."

If they are in cahoots, then contacting her is tantamount to suicide.

"If you don't contact her and stay here with me, your identity won't be revealed in the short term."

"Princess Gaoping is my own aunt. After my father passed away, she has always protected me. She would never collude with the rebels. Now I am more worried about her situation."

Those rebels took control of the palace and killed countless people who were loyal to me.

Princess Gaoping must also be their target. Dugu Meng shook her head and said.

Shen An felt that the harsh reality had dealt Dugu Meng a blow, but it was still too lenient.

Too trusting of people.

Although he wasn't sure whether Princess Gaoping was good or bad, it was always better to be cautious.

He couldn't let Dugu Meng do as she pleased, even if she was the emperor!

Shen An said in a deep voice, "Anything is possible. Family ties mean nothing in the face of the allure of the throne! If you want to avoid unnecessary trouble, listen to me and find out which side she's on first!"

Dugu Meng wanted to retort, but Shen An's words still carried that same domineering air.

She couldn't utter the words she wanted to say in rebuttal.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"Very well, then let's wait for Bai Moli's news. If Princess Gaoping really takes a liking to me, I will meet her," Shen An said.

"Then you'd better be prepared, my aunt is a wolf girl."

"Wolf girl? What does that mean?"

"It's just that she has a wolf-like need for men..." Dugu Meng's voice became softer.

"Are you afraid that if I see her, she'll eat me alive?"

Dugu Meng's face flushed instantly; she really didn't want Shen An to have any close contact with her aunt.

But she was too embarrassed to say it out loud, since she and Shen An had no relationship at all now.

What right does she have to make demands of Shen An?

She bit her lip and said, "It's not that I'm afraid you'll eat it, it's that I'm afraid you'll suffer a loss."

"Men don't always suffer losses." Shen An stretched. "But it's not that easy for her to make me give in. Besides, she might not even be interested in me."

Dugu Meng felt that Shen An's second half of his statement was self-deception. He was such a charming man, how could her aunt not like him?

"Anyway, you need to be prepared. She's incredibly skilled with men!" Dugu Meng added.

"Okay, I understand. However, it's freezing cold here, so even if the news comes, I won't be able to go to the capital for the time being. Unless she comes in person, it will be difficult to meet her quickly."

For now, the focus remains on the future war with Li Huaiyi.

After Shen An finished speaking, he drank the last sip of hot tea and got up to leave. He needed to check if this year's wheat had been affected by the heavy snow, as this directly affected the grain supply after the wheat ripened in the spring, and even more so the military supplies that followed.

Dugu Meng did not follow them out, but instead her mind was filled with the moment when Shen An had pinned her against the wall.

That domineering nature made her feel irresistibly drawn to him.

When Shen An came outside, the snow was already falling heavily.

Zhao Long and Shen Xiaoqi did not rest in the freezing cold. They were standing outside their house, shirtless, gesturing wildly.

Shen Xiaoqi used to practice boxing in a carefree manner, but after seeing Zhao Long's rapid progress, he changed his mindset and became exceptionally hardworking.

His talent is in no way inferior to Zhao Long's.

Zhao Long was extremely focused during the fight, while Shen Xiaoqi had a kind of reckless drive.

The two fought, and neither could gain the upper hand.

Upon seeing Shen An emerge, the two ceased their fight.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"Let's go take a look at the wheat field."

"Hehe, I'll go with you too."

"Put your clothes on and let's go!"

Half an hour later, Shen An arrived at the official's private plot. The surrounding area was covered in white snow. Shen An lifted the thick snow covering the wheat seedlings.

I checked the condition of the wheat seedlings.

He breathed a sigh of relief; the wheat seedlings were growing very well.

He then went to nearby villages, where the situation was mixed. The fields that followed his instructions and used manure as fertilizer grew very well.

Although the wheat that wasn't fertilized was still alive, it didn't grow nearly as well as the wheat that had been fertilized.

"Brother, those people are so arrogant. They used manure as fertilizer to increase the harvest, but they wouldn't believe it. Now look what's happened, they'll regret it when the harvest comes!" Shen Xiaoqi complained.

"Xiao Qi, you can't say they're arrogant; they're just too conservative," Shen An said. "After all, there's no precedent in the world for using excrement to increase production, so it's normal that they're hesitant to use it."

"No matter what, these people are going to regret this!" Shen Xiaoqi retorted sharply.

Shen An didn't insist on correcting Shen Xiaoqi, but continued to take him around the Qingyang County area until they had seen all the areas and confirmed that everything was alright before returning to the city.

The following day at noon.

Li Huaiyi sent a letter demanding that Qingyang County pay the poll tax required by the emperor as soon as possible.

"My lord, how should we respond to Li Huaiyi?"

"Tell him that you expect him to lead by example!"

Shen An burned the letter directly in the brazier.

"If we don't pay, will Li Huaiyi use our non-payment as a pretext to start a war?" Liu Wenyuan asked.

"Definitely, but there's no reason for it. The war will still break out; there's no difference. We don't need to worry about it." Shen An said, "By the way, have you issued the edict regarding the emperor's demand for a poll tax?"

"It's already been issued, and in less than two days, the entire Qingyang County will be bustling with activity."

And things turned out exactly as Liu Wenyuan had predicted.

Two days later, the area outside the county government office was packed with people.

They weren't there to cause trouble; they wanted to ask Liu Wenyuan and Shen An to put in a good word for them.

For Shen An, this was an opportunity to completely divide the local people from the imperial court.

He stepped forward and promised them, "Rest assured, everyone, we will definitely plead with the court to reduce the poll tax."

Three days later, Shen An sent people to spread the word that Shen An and Liu Wenyuan had pleaded with the military governor to ask the court to reduce taxes, but the response was that even if the people died, the money would still be collected.

Otherwise, all the officials in Qingyang City will die!

The news quickly spread throughout Qingyang County.

At this point, the people clearly felt the pressure and realized that the imperial court, for the sake of money, no longer cared about their lives.

Liu Wenyuan knew Shen An's purpose. He noticed the change in the people's hearts and, while admiring him, immediately went to find Shen An.

"My lord, the people are now full of complaints. Should we rise up in rebellion?" Liu Wenyuan asked.

At this moment, Liao Bing is discussing the army's next training plan with Shen An.

Upon hearing about rising up in rebellion, he became excited: "Of course we should rise up! We now have nearly 15,000 troops, 500 crossbows, and every soldier is equipped with a fine Tang sword! If we don't rise up now, when will we?!"

Shen An kicked Liao Bing: "What kind of rebellion are you talking about?"

"Now that the people's anger has been ignited, isn't this a good opportunity?"

Liao Bing rubbed his backside and asked, "The war between Li Huaiyi and Yuwen Qin is almost over. If we seize this opportunity to rise up in rebellion, wouldn't we be able to get more people to join our army and fight against Li Huaiyi?"

"Then we'll be rebels, and Li Huaiyi becoming the righteous army will be very disadvantageous for us."

Shen An denied it, saying, "As for what you said about anger being aroused now, we are still far from that point."

Right now, they are only feeling the pressure, not the despair.

If you rise up now, not many people will follow. You need to let the head tax issue continue to escalate and keep them under pressure.

"My lord, you're the best! You've considered everything much more comprehensively than I have. So, when should we rise up in rebellion?" Liao Bing asked.

"Two conditions need to be met. First, Li Huaiyi and his people must rebel first. Second, the people must feel that they have reached a dead end," Shen An replied.

Liao Bing and Liu Wenyuan both nodded.

"Liu Wenyuan, continue to portray how we pleaded with the court, but the court insisted on forcing everyone to their deaths, so that the people will resent the court," Shen An instructed.

"yes!"

"My lord, what about me? What should I do next?" Liao Bing asked expectantly, patting his chest.

"All you can do is continue recruiting and training, and be ready to fight at any time!" Shen An instructed.

"good!"

After the two of them left.

Shen An summoned Hei Lao Liu.

Today's Hei Laoliu is not what he used to be.

He had become Shen An's buyer, handling all the grain, ironware, and other supplies.

As a result, he became a well-known big shot in the black market of Yangnan Prefecture and surrounding prefectures.

But when he saw Shen An, he still acted very respectfully.

"My lord, what brings you to me today?"

"I don't want to be passively attacked. I want to join forces with Yuwen Bingyu. Do you have any connections to let me meet with her?" Shen An asked.

Old Man Hei stroked his beard and said, "My lord, why don't you join forces with Yuwen Qin? Yuwen Bingyu's Nanling Prefecture is currently no match for Yuwen Qin. And Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi are enemies. Wouldn't it be better to unite with the enemy of our enemy?"

"Yuwen Qin had long been eyeing our repeating ballistae. In the past few months, we have captured no fewer than fifty groups of people."

Although this guy has become an enemy of Li Huaiyi, his purpose in cooperating with me is definitely to obtain the secrets of weapons such as repeating crossbows.

These are our foundations, and I cannot give them to him.

Moreover, I am certain that no matter who wins between me and Li Huaiyi, he will take advantage of our weakness and launch an attack on us.

This kind of person is absolutely uncooperative.

Shen An explained, "Yuwen Bingyu is different. She did not send anyone to target our weapons. Furthermore, although she and Yuwen Qin are siblings, they are sworn enemies."

Back when Li Huaiyi and Yuwen Qin were on good terms, the two even joined forces to attack Nanling Prefecture.

If it weren't for Yuwen Bingyu's excellent reputation among the local people, and their unwavering support in resisting to the death, she would have been killed long ago.

"Even so, she might not be willing to cooperate with us. Over the years, she has tried her best to avoid war for the sake of the people of Nanling Prefecture," said Hei Laoliu.

"You don't need to worry about this. I have something she can't refuse. You just need to tell me if you have any connections to let me meet her!" Shen An asked.