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 magnificent castle stands on the banks of the Wei River, overlooking this vast land.

This is the ancestral home of the Longxi Li clan, which has a history of nearly a thousand years and is known as the "Number One Family in the World".

Unlike the Cui clan of Boling, which was a prominent clan that lived in a remote corner of the country.

The Li family of Longxi is a state within a state in the truest sense!

They have their own land, their own army, and their own laws here.

The imperial decrees are nothing but a piece of waste paper here.

The emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty was less intimidating than a servant of the Li family here.

On this day, atop the walls of the Li Clan Castle, the patriarch Li Boyong and a group of key members of the clan were gazing into the distance from the railing.

His face was flushed with a sickly redness, and his eyes held an undisguised smugness and pleasure.

"Judging by the time, the capital should be on the verge of collapse by now."

Li Boyong stroked his beard and said with a cold smile.

"I have received news that Qin Feng, that bastard, sent Li Xuanba and Yue Shan to launch a sneak attack on Qinghe and Fanyang."

A tall, thin, middle-aged man with a sinister look bowed and spoke.

This person is Li Zhongwen, Li Boyong's cousin, and also the Li family's chief strategist.

"Oh? He's quick to react."

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

"Unfortunately, he was still too naive."

"Does he think that taking over the small Qinghe County will turn the tide of the battle?"

"He has no idea where the true power of our seven great families lies!"

Li Zhongwen smiled sinisterly:

"The master of the house is wise."

"Qinghe's Wanshi Granary was just a bait we threw out."

"Our true food reserves are all concentrated in this castle beneath our feet!"

"The grain here is enough for us to hold out for three years! The capital, on the other hand, couldn't even last three days!"

"Once the capital is in chaos and Qin Feng is too preoccupied to care for himself, we will join forces with the others and, under the pretext of 'purging the court of corrupt officials,' march eastward!"

"At that time, the entire Great Xia dynasty will belong to our Li family!"

"Hahaha……"

Li Boyong laughed loudly, his laughter filled with boundless ambition and arrogance.

He could almost see himself wearing a dragon robe, reigning supreme over the world.

However, at that moment...

"Waaah—"

A mournful and long horn call rang out without warning from the distant horizon.

Immediately afterwards, the ground began to tremble slightly.

It was as if a vast army was galloping in from afar.

Li Boyong's laughter abruptly stopped.

He turned his head sharply and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

On the distant horizon, a black line appeared.

That line was getting thicker and longer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Soon, they saw it clearly.

That's not a line.

It was an iron torrent composed of countless cavalrymen clad in black armor!

Before that black torrent, a large banner with the character "Qin" embroidered with a golden unicorn fluttered in the wind, making a loud rustling sound!

Beneath the banner, a young man dressed in a blue robe and riding a white horse slowly approached.

He was not wearing armor, nor was he carrying any weapons.

Their leisurely stroll made it seem as if they weren't there to fight, but rather to enjoy the scenery.

But when Li Boyong saw his face clearly, which carried a lazy smile.

His pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpoints!

A bone-chilling coldness shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

Qin Feng!

What is he doing here?!

Shouldn't he be in the capital, overwhelmed with worries about the grain supply?

How dare he personally lead a large army to the old stronghold of the Li family in Longxi?

Are you crazy?!

"Quickly! Quickly! Sound the alarm!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Li Boyong let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—"

The piercing alarm bells instantly resounded throughout the entire castle.

On the city wall, countless soldiers of the Li clan swarmed out of their barracks and ran haphazardly to their posts.

Looking down at the dark, menacing army below the city, their legs went weak with fear.

Although they claimed to have 30,000 tribal soldiers.

But they were nothing more than a motley crew hastily assembled from farmers and servants.

Normally, they could act like tyrants in Longxi.

But to send them to face off against Qin Feng's elite Imperial Guard, a force that had fought its way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

Isn't that a joke?

"Master... what should we do?"

Li Zhongwen was also terrified, his face turning ashen and his voice trembling.

"What's the panic!"

Li Boyong forced himself to remain calm, but roared in a fierce but inwardly weak voice.

"We have an army of 30,000! And this impregnable castle!"

"Even if Qin Feng is a formidable fighter, he only has a few thousand men!"

"Pass on my order! Everyone, hold the city walls to the death! Do not engage in battle!"

"If we can hold out for ten days! No, five days! Something will definitely happen in the capital! Then, Qin Feng will have no choice but to obediently go back!"

Under Li Boyong's strict orders, the Li clan soldiers on the city wall finally managed to calm down.

They drew their bows and arrows, moved stones and logs, and adopted a defensive posture.

However, to their surprise...

The Imperial Guards below the city did not immediately launch an attack as they had imagined.

They stopped just an arrow's throw from the city wall.

Then, they began to set up camp at a leisurely pace.

Dig trenches, set up antlers, erect camps...

Everything was orderly and well-organized.

Their relaxed demeanor made it seem as if they were truly there for a picnic.

Qin Feng even had a table and a pot of tea set up in front of the army formation.

He sat there, sipping his tea, and observing with interest the Li clan soldiers on the city wall, who were sweating profusely with tension.

"What...what does he mean by that?"

Looking at Qin Feng's confident and fearless demeanor, Li Boyong felt increasingly uneasy.

"Surrounding without attacking?"

Li Zhongwen's brows furrowed tightly.

"What exactly is he trying to do?"

They couldn't understand it.

Qin Feng, not bothering to make them figure it out, calmly instructed his personal guards:

"Go and deliver the 'gifts' we brought to the folks in the city."

"yes!"

Soon, hundreds of Imperial Guard soldiers pulled out bundles of leaflets from their pockets.

They mounted specially made, arrowless whistling arrows.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Countless leaflets, like snowflakes, flew into the city.

The flyers fluttered and landed in the streets and alleys of the castle.

Countless ordinary people curiously picked up the papers from the ground.

When they saw what was written on it.

Incredible anger was on everyone's face!

It was written there, in the most straightforward and simple language—

"A Letter to the Elders and Fellow Villagers of Longxi!"

"Are you all aware that the price of grain in the capital has reached one hundred coins per dou?"

"Do you know that a million people in the capital are starving and resorting to cannibalism?"

"And the culprit behind all this is none other than the Li family of Longxi, whom you serve!"

"They hoarded enough grain to feed the entire Great Xia, yet they watched helplessly as their own people starved to death!"

"Just for their own selfish desires, for the ridiculous dignity of their thousand-year-old family!"

"Such a heartless and unjust family, do you still want to risk your lives for them?"

"Your Highness the Regent has led the heavenly army to the city gates! He has come solely to punish the traitors and rid the people of this scourge!"

"Whoever opens the city gates to welcome the royal army will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold and one hundred acres of fertile land!"

"Those who resist to the bitter end will be executed along with their entire families on the day the city falls, leaving not a single chicken or dog alive!"

Each flyer is like a spark of fire.

It instantly ignited the anger and resentment that had been building up in the hearts of all the people in Longxi City for many years!

"That damned Li family! They've hoarded so much grain, just to watch us starve?"

"My son was conscripted into the army, supposedly to protect our country, but he didn't even get paid and starved to death a few days ago!"

"They don't treat us like human beings at all! We're their slaves, their livestock!"

"They've rebelled! They've rebelled! Let's fight them!"