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

Longxi, the ancestral home of the Li family.

A vast mansion, covering thousands of acres and featuring a continuous series of pavilions and towers, is nestled deep within the embrace of mountains.

This is the foundation of the Li family of Longxi, the head of the "Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families".

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the Li Clan Ancestral Hall is solemn and filled with the smoke of incense.

The head of the family, Li Boyong, was an elderly man over sixty years old, dressed in a brocade robe, with a thin face but bright, piercing eyes, sitting upright in the main seat.

He held a gold-embossed invitation in his hand, a faint hint of sarcasm playing on his lips.

Below him sat more than a dozen core members of the Li clan, each with an extraordinary bearing.

"Heh, the Regent and the Empress are getting married, and they've invited guests from all over the world to discuss state affairs?"

Li Boyong casually tossed the invitation card onto the table, his voice filled with disdain.

"This Qin Feng really thinks he's someone important. A military man who rose to power through a coup, and a mere young girl, do they even deserve to 'discuss state affairs' with us?"

As soon as he said this, a chorus of snickers immediately rose from the audience.

"The patriarch is right! A nouveau riche from humble beginnings, who has managed to gain some military power, really thinks he can command the world? What a joke!"

A middle-aged man stroked his beard, his face full of arrogance.

"I heard that he even fell out with the Xia Emperor for that Empress Fuyao. He's truly blinded by lust. It seems our new regent is nothing more than a brute who's lost his mind because of a woman."

"In my opinion, his sending out invitations so widely, ostensibly for a grand wedding, is actually a sign of fear. The national treasury is empty, and he owes us a massive debt of thirty million taels. He's trying to use the wedding as an excuse to bow down and curry favor with us, hoping we'll forgive his debt!"

"Hmph, dream on! Qin Feng has fought countless battles, slaughtering countless people, but so what? Conquering the world and governing it are two different things! Without the support of our seven families, that little girl's throne wouldn't be secure for even a day!"

The crowd chimed in with their own words, their expressions filled with contempt and disdain for Qin Feng and Empress Fuyao.

In the eyes of these aristocratic families who have inherited their lineage for nearly a thousand years, emperors are like flowing water, changing generation after generation. But they are the eternal and unchanging masters of this land.

Qin Feng?

He's just a martial artist who suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

How does he compare to the powerful and influential founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty?

Even the founding emperor couldn't do anything to them, so what kind of trouble could a regent who rose to power through women possibly cause?

Li Boyong listened to the discussions of his clansmen and nodded in satisfaction.

That's exactly the mindset I'm looking for.

This is a deep-seated contempt and arrogance towards imperial power.

Li Boyong cleared his throat, and the entire ancestral hall instantly fell silent.

"He wants us to go, so of course we'll go."

"With such a grand event, if we don't go and show our support, wouldn't it make us, the Li family, seem afraid of Qin Feng?"

"but……"

He abruptly changed the subject, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Since we're going to a wedding, we can't go empty-handed. We need to prepare a 'generous gift' for this newly appointed regent!"

"The master of the house is wise!"

The crowd responded in unison.

"This is the first gift!"

Li Boyong held up one finger: "Let's start with our grand gesture. Qin Feng wants a big celebration, doesn't he? Then let's show him what real grandeur is!"

"Pass on my order!"

Li Boyong stood up, his voice not loud, but it carried throughout the entire ancestral hall.

"Bring out all eight 'Nine Dragons Agarwood Carriages' from the warehouse! Also, prepare three thousand armored soldiers to guard them! Along the way, I want everyone to see the majesty of the Longxi Li Clan!"

"He's just a regent, not even the emperor, and he thinks he can put on airs in front of us?"

"I'll show those people in the capital who truly rules this world!"

……

Meanwhile, the Cui clan of Boling, the Cui clan of Qinghe, the Lu clan of Fanyang, the Zheng clan of Xingyang...

Almost all the prominent families that received invitations were holding similar secret meetings.

Their reaction was exactly the same as that of the Li family of Longxi.

Disdain, contempt, and deep arrogance.

In their eyes, Qin Feng's invitation was a joke, a signal that a warrior was bowing down and begging for mercy when he had nowhere else to turn.

Cui Jingshan, the head of the Boling Cui clan, burned the invitation in front of his clansmen.

"Qin Feng, you brat, think you can compete with us with just a few soldiers? Doesn't he even consider who's supplying the provisions for his hundreds of thousands of troops?"

"He's caused grain prices to skyrocket in the capital, and people are suffering. Doesn't he have to beg us to open the granaries and release grain? His wedding this time is just to give us a way out and make us give him face."

"Hmph, face? We can give that. But we'll set the price!"

"Send the order down to the grain merchants in the capital to raise the price of rice by another 30%!"

"I'd like to see whether Qin Feng's blade is faster, or the people starve to death faster!"

……

The Regent's Palace, inside the study.

Qin Feng quietly looked at the secret reports in his hand. These were all reports from Tian Ce Army spies, sent back from various places, regarding the reactions of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families.

Lu Jiaojiao stood to the side, grinding ink for him, a smile on her intelligent and beautiful face.

"My husband, it seems everything is as you predicted. These so-called ancient families are indeed arrogant, one after another, and they don't take you seriously at all."

Qin Feng put down the secret report and sneered.

"If they were truly so clever and cautious, they wouldn't have survived for a thousand years and still act so foolishly. They've been living in comfort for too long, and have long forgotten what true reverence is."

"Did they think I was begging them, that I couldn't do anything about them?"

Qin Feng walked up to the huge map, looked at the territories of the seven great families marked on it, and a cold killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Very well, let them continue their thousand-year dream. When they arrive in the capital, I will personally drag them out of their dreams one by one, and then slam them to the ground."

"Jiaojiao, how are your preparations going?" Qin Feng asked.

Lu Jiaojiao's eyes shone with confidence.

She handed a thick booklet to Qin Feng.

"My lord, please take a look. I have compiled all the major industries, trade routes, and bank distribution of these seven great families over the past hundred years, as well as the list of their main officials in the court and local areas."

"Their lifeline lies here."

Qin Feng opened the booklet and looked at the intricate economic network map that covered almost the entire Great Xia Dynasty. He nodded in satisfaction.

"very good."

He looked up and gazed out the window.

"The bait has been cast, and we're just waiting for these arrogant fat fish to swim into the net on their own."

He turned around and called out towards the door, "Someone come here!"

A bodyguard immediately came in.

"General!"

"Send word to Yue Shan and Li Xuanba to tighten the net. The fish will be here soon."