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

Long queues formed outside millet shops that still had some grain stored up.

Panic began to loom over the capital like an invisible behemoth.

Countless people flooded the streets, surrounding the closed rice shops and shouting and cursing wildly.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

"You heartless, unscrupulous merchants! Are you trying to starve us to death by hiding our grain?"

"If you don't open the door, we'll smash it up!"

In the heat of the moment, the angry crowd smashed open the doors of some rice shops.

However, when they rushed in, they found that the huge granary was completely empty, without even a single grain of rice.

All the food seemed to have vanished overnight.

Panic completely escalated into despair.

Some people began to storm the government and the newly established business alliance.

They vented all their resentment on the new policy that had given them hope but had now plunged them into despair.

"What kind of bullshit new policy is this! Since it was implemented, we can't even afford to eat!"

"Where is the Regent? Let him come out! Didn't he say he would give us a good life? Is this the good life he's promised us?"

"We need to eat! We need to live!"

The entire capital city was in chaos.

Complete chaos.

……

The Imperial Palace, Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

All the civil and military officials gathered together, their faces filled with solemnity and worry.

Empress Fuyao sat on the dragon throne, her face pale, her fists clenched tightly.

Looking down at the ministers arguing fiercely over grain prices, she felt dizzy and disoriented.

She couldn't understand why yesterday the people were cheering and the situation seemed so promising.

In just one night, it turned into this hell on earth.

"Your Majesty! Grain prices in the capital are soaring, and public discontent is boiling. I implore Your Majesty to postpone the new policies and first negotiate with the seven powerful families to appease them and stabilize prices!"

An imperial censor knelt down, heartbroken and pleading.

"fart!"

Minister of War Li Jing glared angrily.

"This is clearly the work of the seven great families! They're trying to use the lives of the entire city to blackmail the imperial court and the prince!"

"If we compromise now, all our previous efforts will have been in vain!"

"No compromise? Are we just going to stand by and watch a million people in the capital starve to death?"

"Minister Li, it's easy for you to say that when you're not in my shoes!"

"you……"

The imperial court was in complete chaos.

The pro-peace and pro-war factions argued heatedly.

As the focus of all this, Qin Feng remained silent from beginning to end.

He simply stood there quietly, his hand on the hilt of his sword, expressionless.

No one knows what he is thinking at this moment.

But in those deep eyes, there gleamed a cold light colder than a thousand-year-old ice.

Good tactic.

What a great way.

He admitted that he had underestimated the shamelessness and malice of these powerful families.

They dared not engage him in a real battle on the battlefield.

But they used this most despicable and vicious method to deliver a fatal blow from behind.

To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit!

They not only want to destroy his new policies, but also the prestige he has painstakingly built up in the hearts of the people!

Turn him from a savior into a sinner who caused the people to suffer!

"Your Highness... what should we do now?"

The Minister of Revenue walked out shakily, his face full of despair.

"The national treasury is empty."

"In order to stabilize prices, all the reserve grain has already been put into the market."

"The capital city is now a huge granary, but the key is in the hands of the seven great families."

"We...we can't last three days."

"If no grain is transported to the capital in three days, I'm afraid there will be great chaos!"

All eyes were on Qin Feng.

Can he break this deadlock that would leave any emperor helpless?

Qin Feng slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the hall.

Those who were anxious, worried, gloating, or just watching the show...

Finally, his gaze fell on the dragon throne, on those clear eyes filled with helplessness and dependence.

Qin Feng smiled slightly at her.

That smile was full of powerful energy.

"What's the panic?"

Qin Feng finally spoke.

The sound wasn't loud, but it acted like a calming pill, instantly silencing the entire noisy hall.

"A bunch of rats who only know how to hide in the gutter, how dare they bare their teeth in front of me?"

"Reveal my military order!"

Qin Feng's voice suddenly became powerful and resonant, filled with a chilling, iron-blooded aura!

"Summon all generals of the Tian Ce Army and the Imperial Guard in the capital, as well as all officials in charge of the Merchant Alliance, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works!"

"Attend the Regent's Palace within fifteen minutes and convene an emergency military meeting!"

"I'd like to see whether their granaries are stronger, or my sword is stronger!"

……

The Regent's Palace, Council Hall.

An atmosphere of bleakness permeated the air.

Li Xuanba, commander of the Tian Ce Army, Yue Shan, commander of the Imperial Guard, and other high-ranking military officers stood in full armor, their hands on their swords, their faces grim and their eyes burning with fury.

Opposite them were civil officials led by the Minister of Revenue, as well as several core leaders of the New Business Alliance.

Anxiety and solemnity were written on everyone's faces.

"Your Highness, the situation is more serious than we imagined!"

The Minister of Revenue held a thick stack of files in his hands, his voice trembling.

"According to our latest statistics, more than 90% of the rice shops in the capital have been controlled, either openly or covertly, by the seven major families."

"The amount of grain they've hoarded is unimaginable, but they simply won't sell it! Not a single grain of rice will be sold!"

"The price of grain on the black market has risen to fifty cash per dou! That's ten times the usual price! And it's still rising!"

"If this continues, chaos will surely erupt in the city within two days!"

The head of the new business alliance added with a worried expression:

"All the caravans we sent out were blocked outside the city."

"The seven great families have gone all out this time. They have hired a large number of outlaws and even some mountain bandits to block all the main roads leading to the capital."

"Our people simply can't get in. Forcing their way in would only cause unnecessary casualties."

"Your Highness! Why waste your breath on them!"

The hot-tempered Li Xuanba slammed his fist on the table and roared.

"These sons of bitches from powerful aristocratic families are clearly plotting a rebellion!"

"Just give me one word! I'll lead my troops right now and raid every house! I'll smash all their granaries!"

"I refuse to believe that even with a knife to their throats, they'd still dare not hand over their grain!"