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

"This...how is this possible?!"

Fuyao was completely stunned. She felt dizzy and almost lost her balance.

Thirty million taels of silver!

What does this mean?

The total tax revenue of the Great Xia Dynasty in a year is only a little over ten million taels!

This enormous debt could crush the entire dynasty!

"You bastard!"

Qin Feng slammed his hand on the table, instantly creating cracks in the desk made of fine golden nanmu wood.

A terrifying rage rose from his chest.

He worked so hard, fighting battles in the north and south, to build this empire, only to end up with this mess.

An empty treasury and a huge debt of thirty million taels?

What the hell was that bastard who did this?!

"Whom do you owe?!"

Qin Feng gritted his teeth and squeezed out these three words.

He wanted to see who had the audacity to treat the Great Xia Dynasty as their own money bag, taking whatever they wanted!

Looking at Qin Feng's face, which was distorted with anger, Lu Jiaojiao felt a pang of pity, but she still uttered those names that were enough to shake the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

"The Li family of Longxi, the Li family of Zhaojun, the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, and... the Wang family of Taiyuan."

"Five surnames and seven prominent families".

……

When those words came out of Lu Jiaojiao's mouth, the air in the entire study seemed to freeze.

The anger in Qin Feng's eyes paused slightly, replaced by a chilling coldness.

He was familiar with this name.

Even when he was still an unpopular fifth son of the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor, he had heard of the illustrious reputation of these ancient families.

They are like invisible mountains, pressing down on the Great Xia Dynasty for hundreds of years.

He just hadn't expected that these powerful families would extend their reach so far and be so audacious.

They dared to directly empty the national treasury, even saddled the royal family with such a heavy debt.

"It's them..."

Fuyao's face turned deathly pale.

As a royal princess, she knew better than anyone the terrifying power that the phrase "five surnames and seven noble families" represented.

"Yes, that's them."

Lu Jiaojiao nodded, her expression more solemn than ever before.

"This debt of thirty million taels was borrowed from these seven great families in installments by Emperor Xia during his reign, using the national tax revenue of the next ten years as collateral."

"It's nominally a loan, but in reality, it's no different from robbery."

Lu Jiaojiao opened another part of the ledger, which was densely filled with details and terms of every loan.

"The interest rates they charge are shockingly high. Many loans are compounded with interest, and the principal can multiply several times in just a few years."

"Moreover, they used these loans to obtain a great deal of privileges. For example, they had control over the salt and iron monopolies, control over the Grand Canal, and even the power to appoint officials in some important prefectures and counties."

Qin Feng's gaze grew colder as he looked at the humiliating and detrimental terms.

He now finally understood why the Xia Emperor, despite holding imperial power, was constrained at every turn.

It turns out that he had long been sidelined by these powerful families.

The entire Great Xia, though nominally named Xia, has long since become the property of these ancient families.

"These woodworms!"

Qin Feng's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Fuyao looked at Qin Feng's cold profile, her lips moved, and finally she spoke, her voice trembling and bitter.

"Qin Feng, you are unaware of the true extent of the terror posed by the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families. It goes far beyond this."

"They don't even respect the royal family."

A hint of fear and humiliation flashed in Fuyao's eyes.

"These aristocratic families have existed since the previous dynasty. Each family has been passed down for nearly a thousand years, deeply rooted, flourishing, and with a network of relationships that spans the entire world."

"They had their own land, their own private troops, their own banks and trade routes, and even... their own official system."

"The Li family of Longxi controls all the trade routes in the Northwest. Silk, tea, porcelain—any business that can make money cannot bypass them."

"The Li family of Zhao County has been officials for generations, with their protégés and former subordinates all over the court and the country. They have practically controlled the imperial examinations and the literary tradition of the Great Xia."

"The Cui family of Boling is the largest grain merchant in the world, and they control more than half of the granaries of the Great Xia. The Cui family of Qinghe, on the other hand, has opened money shops all over the country and controls the financial lifeline of the Great Xia."

"The Lu family of Fanyang monopolized the salt and iron forging business."

"The Zheng family of Xingyang controlled the most important water conservancy and canal transport."

The most mysterious of all is the Wang family of Taiyuan. It is said they have woven an intelligence network covering the entire land, ensuring that no disturbance in the world escapes their notice.

Lu Jiaojiao stood by, constantly adding to the discussion.

With each family's strength she mentioned, Qin Feng's gaze grew colder.

This is hardly a prestigious family.

It's clearly seven kingdoms within a kingdom!

They infiltrated the entire Great Xia Dynasty in every aspect, including economics, politics, military affairs, and culture, leaving it riddled with holes.

"Emperors come and go, but powerful families remain."

Fuyao smiled bitterly and uttered this long-standing phrase.

"This statement is not without basis."

"I once heard an old man in the palace say that when the founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty pacified the world, he wanted to marry a woman from one of the five noble families as his crown princess, as a way to win over and show favor to the aristocratic families."

"Guess what happened?"

Fuyao looked at Qin Feng and asked with a self-deprecating smile.

Qin Feng didn't speak, he just looked at her quietly.

"As a result... I was rejected to my face."

Fuyao's voice was filled with humiliation.

"That family sent a message to the founding emperor, saying, 'The emperor's daughter can marry into our family as a wife. But our daughter will never marry into the emperor's family as a concubine.'"

"In their eyes, even the Crown Princess was just a concubine. They believed that marrying their daughter into the royal family was a disgrace to the family."

"Emperor Taizu was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot, but he was powerless to do anything about it."

At this point, Fuyao's eyes were already red.

This is the greatest humiliation for the Xia royal family in hundreds of years.

Even the founding emperor couldn't do anything about them, let alone the emperors who came after.

Emperors of all generations have tried to weaken the power of these aristocratic families, but without exception, they have all failed.

They are like vines clinging to the great tree of Daxia, already integrated with the tree, intertwined and impossible to separate.

Forcibly stripping it off would only cause the entire tree to collapse.

A deathly silence fell over the study.

Fuyao and Lu Jiaojiao both looked at Qin Feng nervously, waiting for his reaction.

They revealed everything to let Qin Feng know what a terrifying behemoth he was about to face.

This is not one or two enemies, but seven enormous forces that have been passed down for thousands of years.

To be an enemy of them is tantamount to being an enemy of the entire world.

They feared that Qin Feng would act impulsively and repeat the mistakes of emperors throughout history.

However, Qin Feng's reaction was beyond their expectations.

The coldness and murderous intent on his face had vanished at some point.

He just sat there quietly, his fingers rhythmically tapping lightly on the table.

There was no fear, no retreat, and not even anger in those deep eyes.

There was only a calm as deep as an abyss.

After a long while, Qin Feng stopped tapping.

He looked up at the two women and suddenly smiled.

"That's very interesting."

"Emperors come and go, but powerful families remain constant?"

"In my Qin Feng tradition, there is no such concept."

"Just because previous emperors were incompetent doesn't mean I, Qin Feng, am incompetent!"