If I send you to join the army and marry a woman, will you conquer the Empress?

Qin Feng dared not think any further.

Although he had had some unpleasant experiences with Yun Qingya, he knew that the woman was not a bad person at heart.

She was just too proud and cared too much about her so-called reputation and family.

And no matter what, she is still his woman.

"Someone come here!"

Qin Feng roared angrily, making the entire courtyard buzz.

The guards who were standing outside the courtyard rushed in immediately and knelt on one knee.

"General!"

"Go, bring Yue Shan here! Tell him to come see me immediately!" Qin Feng's voice was full of an unquestionable command.

"yes!"

The guards obeyed and ran out quickly.

As Fuyao watched Qin Feng's retreating figure, a strange pang of sorrow welled up in her heart.

It seems that Qin Feng does have feelings for that woman named Yun Qingya, and she holds a significant place in his heart.

Soon, Yue Shan jogged over in a hurry.

He had just finished arranging the rotation of troops at the Imperial Guard camp when he received an urgent summons from Qin Feng, and he thought something terrible had happened.

"General! You were looking for me?"

As soon as Yue Shan entered the room, he saw Qin Feng's gloomy face, which looked like it was about to drip water, and his heart tightened immediately.

"Yue Shan!"

Qin Feng turned around, staring intently at him, and said, word by word, "I'm giving you a task!"

"Please speak, General! I will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire without batting an eye!"

Yue Shan patted his chest and said loudly.

"I don't care what method you use!"

Qin Feng's voice was icy cold: "Use all the forces at your disposal, whether it's the Imperial Guards or the Tian Ce Army's sentries, search the entire capital thoroughly!"

"If we can't find it in the capital, we'll expand the search area to a radius of a hundred li!"

"Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find Yun Qingya for me!"

Yue Shan was so frightened by Qin Feng's imposing aura that his heart trembled.

He then realized that it was Miss Yun Qingya who had gone missing.

No wonder the commander-in-chief was so angry.

He dared not be negligent in the slightest and immediately nodded heavily.

"Rest assured, Commander!"

"I, Lao Yue, guarantee that I will bring Miss Yun back to you safe and sound within three days!"

Having said that, Yue Shan dared not linger for another second, turned around to accept the order, and strode away.

Watching Yue Shan's departing figure, Qin Feng stood in the courtyard, gazing at the distant sky, his expression still solemn.

Yun Qingya, you silly woman.

Please, please don't let anything happen to you!

……

After Yue Shan left to carry out his orders, Qin Feng's irritation did not lessen in the slightest.

He stood in the courtyard, hands behind his back, brows furrowed, the image of Yun Qingya's aloof and stubborn face flashing through his mind.

The women inside the room, seeing his appearance, dared not approach him to disturb him.

Bai Wanqing held the sleeping Xiao Nian'an in her arms, and exchanged a glance with the Shangguan sisters, all of whom saw the worry in each other's eyes.

Only Lu Jiaojiao, with her intelligent eyes, lingered on Qin Feng for a moment, then glanced at Empress Fuyao beside her, whose expression was complicated, as if she had thought of something.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally stepped out.

"My husband."

Lu Jiaojiao's voice pulled Qin Feng back from his thoughts.

"Is there anything else?" Qin Feng asked.

He had always relied heavily on this intelligent and capable woman.

"Jiaojiao has something important that she wishes to discuss with her husband and His Majesty privately." Lu Jiaojiao's expression was unusually serious.

Should we discuss this separately?

Qin Feng glanced at the thick account book she was holding, then looked at the sky and nodded.

"Let's go to the study."

He said to Bai Wanqing and the others, "You all take good care of Xiaoyu and the child first. Jiaojiao and I are going to talk about some important matters."

"Okay, husband, you can go ahead and do your work."

Bai Wanqing nodded understandingly.

Fuyao followed, knowing that if Lu Jiaojiao said that, then things must be complicated.

The three of them went to the study and closed the door.

Qin Feng, with an imposing air, sat down in the main seat and gestured for the two others to sit as well.

"Speak, what's the matter? Why are you being so mysterious?" Qin Feng picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Lu Jiaojiao did not sit down, but instead respectfully placed the thick account book in her hand on the desk in front of Qin Feng.

"My lord, Your Majesty, please take a look."

Qin Feng put down his teacup, picked up the account book with some doubt, and turned to the first page.

Fuyao also curiously came over.

The handwriting on the ledger was delicate and neat, clearly the work of Lu Jiaojiao.

But the contents of the document made Qin Feng's brows furrow even more deeply.

This is an account book concerning the income and expenditure of the Great Xia Dynasty's national treasury.

From tax revenues in previous years to various military and political expenditures, everything is recorded clearly and readily available.

Although Qin Feng wasn't particularly sensitive to these figures, he could tell that in recent years, the Great Xia's national treasury had been in a state of deficit.

Last year, in particular, military spending was astronomical, due to the invasion of the northern barbarians and the war along the southeast coast.

He flipped directly to the last page.

When Qin Feng saw the final balance circled in vermilion at the end of the ledger, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"What does this mean?"

He looked up at Lu Jiaojiao, his voice somewhat cold.

At the end of the ledger, it was clearly written:

Treasury balance: zero.

"It means..."

Lu Jiaojiao took a deep breath and said, word by word, "Husband, we are penniless right now."

"The entire treasury of the Great Xia Dynasty cannot even produce a single tael of silver now."

"What?!"

Fuyao gasped in surprise, unable to believe her ears.

Although she knew that the national treasury had never been very abundant during her father's reign, she never imagined that it would reach such a desperate state!

Qin Feng's expression also darkened instantly.

He had just ascended the throne as regent, and Fuyao had become empress. They thought they could finally make their mark, but now, they didn't even have any money left.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

Without money, how can we feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers?

What can be used to appease the people after the war?

What can be used to rebuild homes destroyed by war?

This is absolutely a huge joke!

"That's not all."

Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, Lu Jiaojiao dropped an even bigger bombshell.

"Not only is there not a single tael of silver in the national treasury, but we... also owe a huge debt to foreign countries."

"In debt?"

Qin Feng's voice was as cold as if it had been pulled out of an ice cellar.

"How much do you owe?"

Lu Jiaojiao stretched out three slender fingers, her expression extremely solemn.

Thirty million taels of silver.