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

"Why are you the only ones who came back? Where did all the lowly people from the neighborhood go?!" Li Huaiyi questioned.

"Your Excellency, there isn't even a trace of those lowly people in the villages nearby; they left long ago."

"What! They left long ago?! These lowly people!" Yuwen Bingyu couldn't keep up the act any longer and started swearing as well.

At this moment, a cold wind swept in, and everyone present felt a bone-chilling cold.

Li Shanfei gritted his teeth and stepped forward, saying, "Governor, we chose the wrong day. We shouldn't have attacked Shen An in this freezing weather. If it weren't for the snow as cover, we wouldn't have fallen into Shen An's traps so often!"

Or should we withdraw our troops first?

"Should we wait until spring, when the ice and snow melt, before coming back?"

These words resonated deeply with Li Huaiyi at that moment.

He was so eager to get rid of Shen An because he was afraid someone else would take him away, which is why he decided to act before spring.

As it turns out, this was absolutely the wrong choice.

Once spring arrives and the ice and snow melt, how could we possibly still be getting sick so often?

But the biggest problem right now is still Yuwen Bingyu.

If she hadn't threatened to cooperate with Yuwen Qin if he didn't cooperate with her, he wouldn't have come now.

If he leaves and she chooses to cooperate with Yuwen Qin, things will become complicated.

"Hmph! You call yourselves men? You cower at the slightest difficulty?!" Yuwen Bingyu said with dissatisfaction and disdain.

"You are a heroine, more capable than us, so please lead the troops forward." Li Huaiyi gestured for them to proceed: "You won't dare?"

Yuwen Bingyu immediately realized that Li Huaiyi was trying to provoke her.

Just as he was about to retort, Wei Min'er, who had been following the army, whispered, "Lord Yuwen, how many more traps are there? If we continue, what does it matter if some people die? As long as we reach the walls of Qingyang City, with our 60,000 troops and the methods we have prepared in advance to deal with Shen An's divine weapons, your army alone can conquer Qingyang County."

Everything left behind by the Prince of Zhennan will then be yours!

If you give up now, and something unexpected happens later, such as Li Huaiyi cooperating with your brother, it will be bad for you!

Perhaps you will lose this opportunity to become incredibly wealthy!

Yuwen Bingyu's inner desires were ignited by Wei Min'er's words.

She was truly unwilling to give up!

Simultaneously.

Cui Tianhe, a member of the Divine Dragon Society, was also quietly persuading Li Huaiyi not to give up.

But Li Huaiyi saw things more clearly than Yuwen Bingyu; if things continued like this, countless people would die.

It would be better to trick Yuwen Bingyu into continuing forward, while he could then ambush her from behind.

He immediately rode up to Yuwen Bingyu and said with a sigh of admiration, "Alas, my courage is truly inferior to yours. I really dare not continue. If you have the will, then go ahead. I'll take my leave now!"

"You're withdrawing? You're voluntarily abandoning our cooperation! All previous agreements are now null and void!" Yuwen Bingyu warned.

"So be it. I have to take responsibility for the lives of my men." Li Huaiyi feigned fear. "Then I'll make my escape!"

"Let's retreat."

Yuwen Bingyu did not stop her. Her original intention in cooperating with Li Huaiyi was not because she thought that the two of them could defeat Qingyang County, but because Qingyang County was the territory of Yangnan Prefecture. If she did not cooperate with Li Huaiyi, not only would Li Huaiyi treat her as an enemy, but she would also be unable to stand up legally.

Now that Li Huaiyi has withdrawn his troops, she can deal with Shen An on her own.

He alone obtained the wealth left behind by the Prince of Zhennan!

Li Huaiyi immediately ordered the bugle to be sounded, and they withdrew their troops.

Yuwen Bingyu's deputy, Wang Junfeng, stepped forward to persuade him, "Sir, let's withdraw our troops too. Who knows how many more traps lie ahead? We can come back after spring when the snow melts!"

"Damn it! Even if there are still traps, there can't be many left!" Wei Min'er cursed angrily. Her goal was to provoke war as much as possible and reduce the military strength of the four southeastern prefectures. Anyone who dared to oppose it was a thorn in her side: "Lord Yuwen, I think this person is in cahoots with Li Huaiyi and doesn't want you to get the treasure left behind by the Prince of Zhennan!"

Yuwen Bingyu's face clearly showed anger.

"Sir, I am absolutely not with Li Huaiyi! I was just thinking about the lives of the soldiers!" Wang Junfeng hurriedly explained.

"Heh heh, you raise an army for a thousand days to use it for one day, and now is the time to use them, but you won't let them charge into the trap? What are you up to? And you still say you're not one of Li Huaiyi's men!" Wei Min'er pointed at Wang Junfeng's face and cursed.

"Where did this witch come from, spreading rumors and sowing discord here!" Wang Junfeng was a military general, and he couldn't win an argument with Wei Min'er. He was so angry that his face turned red, and he drew his sword to kill Wei Min'er.

This was exactly what Wei Min'er wanted: "Lord Yuwen, look at him! I told you so! He's got a guilty conscience and is trying to kill me to silence me!"

"Wang Junfeng, get out of here!" Yuwen Bingyu shouted angrily.

She believed in Wang Junfeng's loyalty and that he couldn't possibly be one of Li Huaiyi's men.

But now he's like an obstacle in her own path!

She wanted to take this opportunity to seize Qingyang City, obtain the wealth left behind by the Prince of Zhennan, and the divine weapons of Qingyang City for herself!

"My lord, please listen to me! Don't fall for this witch's wicked scheme!" Wang Junfeng cried anxiously.

"Shut up! Wei Min'er, you are someone sent by Master Mingyue to help me, you are definitely not some witch!" Yuwen Bingyu rebuked again: "Wei Min'er is right, an army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one!"

Now that a great battle is imminent, you must charge into the traps for me!

Besides! How many traps can they set? And where can they hide even if they do? If you retreat, you'll be falling into Shen An's trap!

Everyone, listen up!

Send three hundred vanguard troops to scout ahead, and be sure to learn from past failures and be extra careful.

The main army, followed by three hundred vanguard soldiers, marched towards Qingyang County.

We must take Qingyang City today!

"Lord Yuwen, you are truly a heroine! After this battle, all women in the world will worship you. They will use your actions today to warn all women that no woman is inferior to a man!" Wei Min'er flattered.

This greatly moved Yuwen Bingyu. She had been secretly keeping male lovers all along because she thought, who says women are inferior to men?

Why can men have multiple wives and concubines, but women can't?

Why can men lead troops into battle, but women can't?

Today she is going to do what men dare not do!

We must also show the world the courage and strength of women, and make Li Huaiyi regret the decision he made today!

"Let's go!"

Yuwen Bingyu shouted, and the army marched forward again.

It was evening.

Yuwen Bingyu finally saw Qingyang County in the distance.

At this moment, the emotions she had suppressed all this time could finally be released!

Along the way, the difficulties far exceeded her expectations; she had previously thought there would be at most a thousand traps.

But along their journey, they encountered at least nine thousand, if not ten thousand, traps.

Originally there were 60,000 people, but now there are only 52,000 left.

A total of eight thousand people died!

Each time she fell into a trap, she doubted whether she had made the wrong choice.

But she always persevered!

Now that we can see Qingyang County in the distance, it proves that her choice was right!

As long as we conquer it, all the sacrifices will be worthwhile!

"Lord Yuwen, under your wise leadership, we have finally seen Qingyang County. Please attack immediately!" Wei Min'er urged.

"Sir, you mustn't! There have been so many traps along the way, and there are bound to be many more outside this county town. You mustn't rush!" Wang Junfeng hurriedly stopped him.

"What do you know? The area outside the county town is different from other places. They need to go out of the town to fight. If there are traps and mechanisms, wouldn't they fall into them themselves? So there are definitely no traps and mechanisms outside the county town!" Wei Min'er retorted.

This time, Yuwen Bingyu did not accept Wei Min'er's explanation. With so many deaths and injuries along the way, she was genuinely afraid of the traps and mechanisms set up by Shen An.

"Junfeng, send a small team to investigate the situation in front of the county town. We've already encountered all sorts of traps and mechanisms along the way, so we should be able to detect them."

"yes!"

Wang Junfeng immediately sent someone over.

Shen An, standing on the city wall, had been waiting for Yuwen Bingyu's army for a long time.

"She's finally here! I thought she would give up like Li Huaiyi!" Liao Bing stomped his feet excitedly.

"That old scoundrel Li Huaiyi is extremely despicable. He might not give up. He might even sneak over again."

"That Yuwen Bingyu is the real fool, using someone as a pawn!" Shen An saw through the situation: "Since she's so stubborn and willing to be this pawn, we'll hone her skills when her army arrives!"