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

Qin Feng's heart softened slightly when he saw the worry in her eyes.

He reached out and pulled Fuyao into his arms, gently patting her back.

"Tell me, how did your father fail back then?"

He knew that only by knowing oneself and one's enemy can one win every battle.

For him, the failure of the Xia emperor was the most valuable experience.

Fuyao leaned against his chest, feeling his warmth, and the panic in her heart gradually subsided.

She gathered her thoughts and recounted that long-buried past.

"That was when I was ten years old."

"Back then, my father wasn't like he is now... He was once full of vigor and ambition, and he also thought about working hard to govern the country and becoming a capable monarch."

"The first thing he did was to weaken the power of the aristocratic families."

Fuyao's voice became somewhat low.

"He didn't launch a direct attack on all seven major families like you did. He chose the easiest target, the Lu family of Fanyang."

"My father wanted to take back a portion of the salt and iron monopoly and return it to the imperial court, citing the private production of salt and iron as affecting the national treasury's revenue."

He thought that if he only dealt with the Lu family, the other powerful families would stand by and watch, or even be happy to see it happen.

"But he was wrong, terribly wrong."

A hint of bitterness appeared in Fuyao's eyes.

"The imperial edict had just been issued when the entire court was in an uproar the very next day."

"The officials of the Censorate jointly submitted a memorial impeaching the Emperor for competing with the people for profit, saying that the salt and iron monopoly was an ancestral law that should not be easily changed."

"Officials from the Ministry of Revenue cried and shouted that once the monopoly was taken back, the Lu family would stop paying taxes to the national treasury, and then the military funds would not be available."

"Even the Grand Chancellor at the time, my father's most trusted teacher, knelt outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, begging my father to rescind his decree."

"More than half of the officials in the entire court are speaking up for the Lu family."

"Only then did the Emperor realize that he was not facing just the Lu family, but an entire intricate network of powerful clans."

"During those days, the entire capital was in a state of panic. The price of salt in the market increased fivefold overnight. The price of ironware rose even more outrageously, and even the price of grain began to fluctuate."

"Father was driven to the brink of despair and could not move an inch."

"Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer..."

Fuyao's voice was choked with sobs.

"He was not only forced to retract his order, but also had to sign the first loan agreement in order to quell the anger of the powerful families."

"Using the salt tax revenue for the next three years as collateral, we borrowed five million taels of silver from the Cui family's money shop in Qinghe."

"That 30 million taels of national debt started from that time."

"From then on, Father's spine was completely broken."

"He dared not utter a single word about weakening the aristocratic families again. He could only watch helplessly as they, like bloodsucking leeches, clung to the Great Xia, frantically sucking its blood until they drained the entire country dry."

By the end, Fuyao was sobbing uncontrollably.

That was a pain that would never fade in her heart.

She watched as her father transformed from an ambitious emperor into a cowardly and incompetent puppet who compromised at every turn.

She was afraid, she was really afraid, that Qin Feng would follow the same path as her father.

Qin Feng listened quietly without saying a word.

He simply used his hand to gently wipe away Fuyao's tears.

He waited until she had cried enough and calmed down a bit before he slowly spoke.

His voice was calm, yet it carried a powerful confidence that could make the heavens and earth pale in comparison.

"Fuyao, look at me."

He cupped her face in his hands and made her look into his eyes.

"Your father is the emperor."

"He had too many concerns and too many compromises while sitting in that position. He was afraid of chaos in the world, of instability in the country, and of being condemned in history as a tyrant."

"So, he lost."

"But I am not the emperor."

A domineering and arrogant smile appeared on Qin Feng's lips.

"I don't care what the world thinks of me, nor do I care how history records my story."

"All I care about is whether my family has enough to eat and wear."

"I only care whether my people will starve to death in the streets."

"Anyone who dares to touch them, I'll kill them!"

"Whether it's a prestigious family or a wealthy clan, in my eyes, they're all the same!"

He held Fuyao tightly in his arms, looked out the window at the sky just before dawn, and said, word by word:

"What your father couldn't do, I will do."

"I will kill those he dares not kill."

"From this day forward, I will rule the land of Great Xia!!!"

Qin Feng's domineering declaration acted like a shot of adrenaline, completely dispelling all the fear and unease in Fuyao's heart.

She looked up at the man before her, her eyes glistening with tears, yet filled with boundless pride and love.

Yes, he is not the emperor.

He is Qin Feng.

It is Qin Feng, who would go against the tide even if it meant facing a million enemies, all for the sake of his family.

It is Qin Feng, who can turn the tide of battle with three arrows amidst a thousand troops.

There is nothing in this world that he cannot do.

……

With Qin Feng's command, the entire capital city instantly sprang into action, like a sophisticated war machine.

Lu Jiaojiao, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Revenue, moved into the archives piled high with files. They worked for three days and three nights without closing their eyes, thoroughly examining the accounts of the seven great families over the past century.

Li Jing mobilized all his disciples and former officials, forming an invisible net that stretched from the capital to the whole country, to secretly collect evidence of the crimes committed by the seven great families.

Li Xuanba and Yue Shan went even further, turning the capital into a military camp.

The twelve Imperial Guards were all mobilized, blocking all major roads leading in and out of the capital.

The elite troops of the Tian Ce Army broke into smaller units and lay in wait in the streets and alleys of the capital, monitoring every suspicious target.

The entire capital city was outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense, with a sense of impending doom hanging over everyone's hearts.

Meanwhile.

Seven gold-embossed invitations, jointly signed by Regent Qin Feng and Empress Fuyao, were delivered to various parts of the country by the elite cavalry of the Tian Ce Army at an urgent speed of 800 li.