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

Shen An's carriage sped along the road.

Yuwen Bingyu's men also pursued them all the way.

As night fell, Shen An's carriage came to a stop, the road ahead blocked by a huge boulder that had fallen from the mountain.

Yuwen Bingyu's men gradually caught up.

The opportunity seemed to have arrived, and the people Yuwen Bingyu had dispatched felt that there was a 100% chance of success.

They acted decisively, choosing to take action and capture Shen An alive!

However, when they were still a hundred steps away from Shen An...

The crossbows in Shen An's and the others were then fired.

Although small crossbows are difficult to penetrate armor easily, who are Zhao Long and the other eight people?

They are Shen An's strongest eight-person team.

Not only is its close-combat ability outstanding, but its shooting ability is also virtually 100% accurate.

As they fired, crossbow bolts continued to strike their necks.

Yuwen Bingyu's men never considered what dangers might exist a hundred paces away.

In the darkness of night, only the pale moonlight shines, making it difficult to guard against hidden arrows.

By the time they realized what was happening, more than a dozen people had been killed or injured.

Seeing this, they quickly dodged.

"Who goes there? How dare you attack me, Shen An?"

Shen An's voice rang out.

In the mountains and forests, his voice was deep. The deaths of more than a dozen people in an instant had put them under tremendous mental pressure, and they also felt that Shen An's voice carried a sense of authority.

Before they came, Yuwen Bingyu told them that they must be absolutely certain of success before they could make a move.

Given the current situation, it seems unlikely that success will be achieved.

They acted decisively, shouting, "We are bandits from the surrounding mountains. We only wanted to borrow some money from you, but seeing how powerful you are, we decided not to make a fool of ourselves. Farewell!"

After saying that, they dragged the corpse and ran away.

"Damn, is that all?" Shen An was far from satisfied.

"My lord, shall we give chase?" Old Six was quite frightened earlier, but after witnessing the prowess of Zhao Long and the others, he regained his courage.

"What are we chasing? They're probably afraid of revealing their identities. They won't dare to continue unless they're absolutely sure. If we chase after them and end up in a position that's advantageous to them, we'll be in big trouble. Let's go around that boulder and head back!" Shen An slapped Blackie Liu on the head and left immediately.

By the time Shen An returned safely to Qingyang City, it was nearly evening.

Before getting out of the car, Shen An instructed Hei Lao Liu: "Today, send someone to deliver some grain seeds to Yuwen Bingyu."

"But she sent people to kill us. Is she still reliable?"

Whether she is reliable or not depends on her subsequent performance. Cooperating with her is only an aid. If we want to survive in this chaotic world, we still have to rely on ourselves.

"Besides sending people to deliver grain and seeds, you must also find a way to bribe Yuwen Bingyu's people. I need to control her every move."

"Hehe, that's good. I was just thinking of bribing the people around her! This woman is good to the common people, but not so good to the officials in her own household. I can definitely bribe them!" Black Six said confidently.

"Excellent! If you succeed, you'll be richly rewarded!"

"Okay!"

After Hei Laoliu left, Shen An summoned Liu Wenyuan and instructed him to spend a large sum of money to secretly bribe Li Huaiyi and the people around Yuwen Qin.

He believed that as long as he poured in a lot of money, someone would eventually succumb to the temptation.

Another day passed.

Yuwen Bingyu received the grain seeds from Shen An.

She looked at him for a while before calling over his advisor, Mr. Mingyue.

This person was dressed in white, giving off an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Mr. Mingyue, you must already be aware of the current situation. I wonder whether I should continue cooperating with Shen An, or give up?"

"In my opinion, the basis for cooperation is that the two sides are evenly matched in combat strength. Shen An's weapons are indeed very strong, but his number of people and territory are still too small. I think it would be better to sell Shen An out. As long as Li Huaiyi attacks Qingyang City, you can join forces with Li Huaiyi to attack Shen An."

"At that time, not only will you be able to obtain all of Shen An's secrets, but you can also use this opportunity to befriend Li Huaiyi and work together to deal with your brother in the future!" Mr. Mingyue suggested, stroking his beard.

"Will this... work?"

"Why not? Isn't what you want to obtain divine weapons and methods to increase production? The difficulty of obtaining them by cooperating with Li Huaiyi will be far less than if you cooperate with Shen An to fight Li Huaiyi."

"I urge you, Your Excellency, to heed my advice." Mr. Mingyue's tone was urging.

After pacing around the room a few times, Yuwen Bingyu said, "Let me think about it. It's not spring yet, and there's no war going to break out. We can make a decision when the snow melts in spring!"

"Opportunity waits for no one. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Sooner or later, word will get out that you met with Shen An."

When this gets to Li Huaiyi or your brother, and they think you'll cooperate with them, they might even take action against you first to prevent it!

"At that time, it will be the millions of people in Nanling Prefecture who will suffer!"

Mr. Mingyue shook his head in disappointment: "Your Excellency, you have always said that an official should love the people like his own children. Your indecisiveness may cause suffering to millions of people in Nanling Prefecture, which seems to contradict what you said!"

Yuwen Bingyu's chest heaved: "I understand what you're saying, but I still need to think about it."

"I have said everything I needed to say. I hope you can make a decision that benefits the people of Nanling Prefecture."

Mr. Mingyue turned and left.

Yuwen Bingyu gazed at the grain seeds and fell into deep thought.

After returning to his residence, Mr. Mingyue wrote two letters and immediately summoned his trusted aides: "Send these two letters to Li Huaiyi and Yuwen Qin as quickly as possible."

"yes!"

Mr. Mingyue stroked his beard, raised his head high, and then he actually tore off his face.

His originally aged face had transformed into that of a young scholar.

He chuckled softly, "The current situation is quite good. Once they've finished fighting amongst themselves, it will be my turn to take control of their territory. At that time, my Divine Dragon Society will be the master of this place!"

"Yuelang, you are truly resourceful. If the elders find out, they will surely reward you."

A seductive voice came from behind the curtain.

Mr. Mingyue pulled him out.

It sounds like a woman, but it looks like a man.

Mr. Mingyue put his arm around her waist, peeled off her face, and she returned to her original charming appearance.

"Min'er, those old fogies are busy fighting with the remnants of the emperor's faction in the capital. They have no time to spare for us here. Instead of waiting for them to reward us, why don't you come and reward me properly tonight!"

"You're really impatient, but you can't just wait until after spring when they have a big war. You should secretly send people to stir things up, make them wary, and start the war ahead of time."

Otherwise, if those old fogies in the capital succeed, the Great Liang Kingdom will belong to them. Even if you control several nearby prefectures, they won't think it's your achievement." Wei Min'er extended her slender, fair finger and tapped Mr. Mingyue's forehead.

This seemed to awaken him. He clapped his hands and said, "Min'er, you're right! Then I'll keep adding fuel to the fire and force them to start the war as soon as possible!"

"But the emperor is currently nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. We must urge Cui Tianhe to find him as soon as possible, otherwise the emperor's existence will be a threat to our Divine Dragon Society!" Wei Min'er added.

"Don't worry, I already urged them a few days ago!"

After saying that, Mr. Mingyue seemed unable to bear it any longer, so he pressed her against the wall and tore off her clothes...

Three days later.

After a message reached Li Huaiyi's ears, he changed his mind, as he had originally planned to wait until the spring to fight again!

He immediately summoned Cui Tianhe and informed him of the news.

He narrowed his eyes: "Your Excellency, is this news reliable?"

"Of course it's authentic. Considering Shen An's attempt to win over Yuwen Bingyu, Shen An is becoming an increasingly serious threat to us, and we must deal with him as soon as possible!" Li Huaiyi said in a deep voice.