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

Li Boyong's birthday banquet, like a boulder thrown into a lake, stirred up huge waves in the officialdom of the capital.

Everyone understood that the head of the Longxi Li family was using this method to declare to the entire capital and even the whole world:

The Li family has returned.

Moreover, it was done with an unprecedentedly strong stance.

And it was the day after Li Boyong arrived in the capital.

The Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe...

The heads of the other six major families also arrived in the capital one after another.

Although their entourage wasn't as extravagant as Li Boyong's, with roads paved with gold, each family's procession was still enough to leave ordinary people speechless.

The caravan of the Lu family of Fanyang brought over a hundred carts of refined salt and high-quality ironware, which they openly sold at the city gate.

The price was 30% lower than the market price, which led to a frenzy of buying by countless ordinary people and vendors.

They completely disregarded the imperial government's salt and iron monopoly.

The Zheng family of Xingyang controlled the Grand Canal.

Their fleet sailed directly from the Tongtian River into the inland waterways of the capital. Thousands of large ships blocked out the sky, completely clogging up the entire inland waterway of the capital.

The Cui families of Boling and Qinghe, renowned throughout the land for their grain trading and money lending, were even more direct.

Their convoy wasn't filled with gold and silver jewelry, but rather with box after box of account books and yellowed IOUs.

These are all debts owed to them by the emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Unlike Li Boyong, the heads of the seven great families did not act independently upon arriving in the capital.

As if they had planned it all along, they gathered at the Li residence on Zhuque Street.

A secret meeting that would determine the future landscape of the capital was about to begin.

"Brother Li, your entourage this time has completely outshone the rest of us."

Lu Zhaolin, the head of the Lu family of Fanyang, was a slightly overweight man in his fifties who smiled like Maitreya Buddha, but whose eyes often gleamed with shrewdness.

Li Boyong stroked his beard and smiled faintly: "Brother Lu is joking. It's just a reminder to that arrogant regent. Let him know that this capital doesn't belong to him alone."

"That's right!"

Cui Jingshan, the head of the Cui family of Boling, nodded.

Wang Xuance, the most mysterious head of the Taiyuan Wang clan, slowly spoke:

"Qin Feng is unlike any of the previous emperors of the Xia family. He's an unpredictable and ruthless man. We can't let our guard down."

"What you say is absolutely right, Brother Wang."

Zheng Yuanli, the head of the Zheng family of Xingyang, nodded.

"We seven families are of one mind and one heart. Since Qin Feng dared to touch Brother Cui, he has become an enemy of all seven of us. We must not let him defeat us one by one."

A hint of approval flashed in Li Boyong's eyes.

"Brother Zheng has hit the nail on the head."

"The reason we've gathered in the capital is to unite as one and show Qin Feng what the consequences are for offending the seven great families!"

"Isn't he going to have a wedding banquet? Doesn't he want us to come and support him?"

Li Boyong sneered, "Then let's just build our own venue in the capital!"

"Our seven families have joined forces to buy several streets in the most prosperous area of ​​the capital and build a 'Five Surnames Guild Hall'!"

"From now on, this will be the base for our seven families in the capital! Whatever decrees the court issues, whatever ideas Qin Feng has, they'll have to come to our guild hall first and ask for our opinion!"

"Doesn't he want to be regent? Then let's make him the king of this regent!"

Li Boyong's words were powerful and assertive.

The other six family heads were all delighted to hear this and applauded enthusiastically.

"Great idea! That's a good idea!"

"Right here under the emperor's nose, we'll build our own kingdom within a kingdom! I want to see what Qin Feng can do to me!"

"That's settled! The cost will be split equally among the seven families! The manpower will also come from all seven families! I want to make this 'Five Surnames Guild Hall' a more prestigious establishment in the capital than the Imperial Palace in the shortest possible time!"

……

The power of the seven great families is terrifying.

When they decided to join forces to do something, the entire capital city was shaken.

The next day, astonishing news spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

Ten commercial streets, including Xuanwu Street and Qinglong Street, located in the very center of Beijing and the most bustling area, changed hands overnight!

The seven powerful families, with an unyielding stance that left no room for refusal, forcibly acquired all the shops and residences on these ten streets at prices far below market value.

Those who refuse to move out will have their homes "catch fire" that very night.

Those who dared to resist would "fall into" the moat the next day.

In just three days, these ten streets were completely cleared out.

Immediately afterwards, tens of thousands of artisans, like ants, swarmed into this area.

Countless houses were demolished, and countless precious timbers and stones were transported from all over the country.

A magnificent and imposing architectural complex, even more majestic than some palaces in the imperial palace, rose from the ground at an incredible speed.

"Five Surnames Association"!

When these four gilded characters were hung high on the main building of the guild hall, which was comparable to a city gate, the entire capital city fell silent.

Everyone understood that this was no longer a provocation.

This is a declaration of war!

These are the seven great families telling everyone in the most direct and brutal way—

They want to establish their own independent kingdom right under Qin Feng's nose!

……

The Regent's Palace.

Yue Shan and Li Xuanba had bloodshot eyes and exuded a terrifying killing intent.

"Commander! We can't tolerate this any longer!"

Li Xuanba's pair of purple-gold hammers creaked as he gripped them.

"These old dogs are utterly lawless! They're forcibly demolishing houses! They're treating human life like dirt! They're uprooting our Great Xia!"

"General, give the order!"

Yue Shan also looked grief-stricken.

"We were patrolling the streets today when we witnessed an old woman being beaten to death by their private soldiers because she refused to move! Her body was just left there on the street!"

"We wanted to intervene, but they actually said that it was their 'Five Clans Guild Hall' territory, not under the jurisdiction of our Imperial Guards! They even dared to attack our people!"

"They've rebelled! They've really rebelled!"