Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

The Changsun family was the most powerful clan in Guanzhong, possessing 300,000 hectares of fertile land and involvement in various industries in the Yongliang region of Northwest China, making them incredibly wealthy.

The influence of the Changsun family in the Guanzhong region is comparable only to that of the Ye family in the entire Great Chu.

Even the Western Xia Qiang people, who were able to rival the Chu state in the northwest, still relied on the support of powerful clans in Guanzhong, led by the Changsun family.

When Emperor Xuan of Chu led an army of 300,000 to fight against Li Yuanhao, the leader of the Qiang tribe, he was defeated and moved the capital to Jinling. After that, the powerful clans of Guanzhong, led by the Changsun family, began negotiations with Li Yuanhao that lasted for several months.

In the end, the powerful clans of Guanzhong gained far greater benefits than under the rule of the Chu state, and even monopolized all salt and iron mining businesses in the Guanzhong region.

In exchange, the major families in Guanzhong had to unconditionally support the establishment of the Western Xia state and regularly pay taxes sufficient to maintain the expenses of the palace and government offices.

More than two hundred years have passed, and the powerful clans of Guanzhong have developed into a group more powerful than ever before, whose influence can even sway the political arena of Western Xia.

In order to prevent the powerful clans in Guanzhong from continuing to grow stronger, the current ruler of Western Xia, Li Shaohao, has begun to suppress the living space of various ethnic groups in Guanzhong from all aspects.

However, the Guanzhong aristocratic families had deep roots, and the Western Xia dynasty had almost no systematic learning of local governance experience over the past two hundred years.

This led to nearly half of the people in the Guanzhong region becoming vassals of powerful clans, or becoming servants, tenant farmers, or artisans.

When they decided to take charge, they faced the strongest opposition in the entire Guanzhong region.

In response to Li Shaohao's suppression, the people of Guanzhong, instigated by powerful clans, launched a strong resistance, causing turmoil in the Northwest for a time.

The Western Xia royal family's plan to suppress powerful clans ultimately failed, and they could only continue to maintain this delicate balance.

Meanwhile, the powerful clans of Guanzhong, feeling the Xia Kingdom's targeting, gradually began to stop supporting the Qiang people's rule and reduced the amount of money and grain that should have been delivered each year under various pretexts.

From then on, the conflict between the Xia state and the powerful clans of Guanzhong intensified and remained unresolved for many years.

In order to divert attention from this contradiction, Li Shaohao followed the advice from Shu and adopted a two-pronged approach to consolidate his rule.

First, they could attack the Heluo region, forcing the Chu court to recognize the Xia state as an equal empire, which would also quell the restless emotions of the powerful clans in Guanzhong.

Secondly, he hoped to regain the trust of the powerful clans in Guanzhong through a marriage alliance with the Changsun family, thus ensuring a long-term supply of resources to his regime.

Currently, the first requirement has been met, and Luoyang was easily captured.

However, what he thought would be an easy second marriage proposal turned out to be rejected outright by Changsun Ying.

Their reason was, "A bunch of greyhounds, do they even deserve to marry me?"

This caused the Western Xia royal family to lose face, but they dared not speak out against it.

What they feared was not Changsun Ying, but Changsun Yang's attitude.

In fact, Changsun Yang was not optimistic about the current situation of the Xia royal family. Although he did not explicitly refuse the marriage alliance, he was not very interested in it. Instead, he secretly encouraged his daughter Changsun Ying to marry into other aristocratic families in Guanzhong.

Little did anyone know that Changsun Ying, who had been pampered since childhood, had ridiculously high standards. She had stated more than once that the man she wanted to marry had to be an impeccable hero of the world.

What is a hero?

In Changsun Ying's mind, the ideal was a hero who could govern the country with both literary and military prowess, and who was also young and promising.

But nowadays, such men seem to exist only in storytelling, and it seems that he is destined to "cultivate his own virtue" in this life.

"Cai Die, tomorrow come with me, and we will select thirty women to go hunting in the hunting grounds."

“Miss, the master said that with the recent chaos of war, he hopes that you will stay at home and study more, and not go anywhere.”

"Hmph, Father is just making up a lame excuse to introduce me to potential partners. I don't need to pay any attention to him."

"But……"

"What, you're not even listening to me anymore?"

"The slaves dare not."

Spoiled by her family since childhood, Changsun Ying developed an arrogant and domineering personality.

She even kept a group of skilled female warriors as guards, who often accompanied her on hunting trips, demonstrating her strong martial spirit.

"Come on, follow me to the stables to choose a good horse."

Without saying a word, Changsun Ying pulled Cai Die towards the stable.

……

Mount Xulong, the headquarters of the Blood Fiend Alliance, is shrouded in a bloody aura year-round.

In the center of the main hall of the headquarters, there is a chilling pool of blood.

Today, the banks of the blood pool are filled with kneeling, weeping people in despair.

They were all people from the Heluo region who had fled after the fall of Luoyang but were captured by the Western Xia slave-catching team.

The Western Xia Dynasty was a slave society. After conquering people who were not of their own ethnicity, they were all treated as slaves (except for powerful clans who could provide benefits, and they would be specially befriended).

If a slave escapes, they will be severely punished, such as being handed over to the Blood Fiend Alliance to practice extremely evil techniques.

"cut!"

*Pfft, pfft, pfft*

With an order from a Blood Fiend Alliance elder, hundreds of Heluo people were beheaded by Blood Fiend disciples standing behind them.

The corpses and blood were pushed into the pool of blood, reflecting a scene of apocalypse.

Inside the Blood Fiend Alliance's main hall, a burly man with a full beard and bare chest and belly leaned on a blood-red cold blade.

His name is Blood Fiend Ancestor. He is at the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm and has one foot already in the Immortal Realm. He is a top-tier existence in this world.

He was holding a bowl of wine stained with blood, raising it high to toast his fellow disciples at the surrounding tables.

"Come on, brothers! Let's drink this bowl of blood wine, and hopefully we can establish our headquarters in Jiangnan soon! Drink!"

"Okay, drink!"

Influenced by the customs of the Xia Kingdom, the entire Blood Fiend Alliance looks like a bandit's den, lacking the high-end and classy atmosphere that a sect should have.

Nearly ten thousand disciples have made a fortune by cooperating with the Xia Kingdom.

After downing a bowl of blood wine, and seeing the trembling girl pouring the wine beside him, the Blood Fiend Ancestor was immediately overcome with lust.

"Young lady, how about you submit to this old man?"

The girl was so frightened that she knocked over the wine pot in her hand and immediately knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.

"Grand Ancestor, how can I, a mere mortal, serve you?"

"Hehe, don't worry, you're not just serving me, but everyone..."

As soon as he finished speaking, bursts of laughter erupted in the room.

The girl was so frightened that she was completely out of her mind and kept kowtowing to the ancestor.

"Ancestor, please spare me! I'm only fourteen years old!"

"Hehe, fourteen years old?"

The Blood Fiend Ancestor stroked his thick beard and looked at the girl with a wicked grin.

"Then the ancestor is in luck. Let me taste your soup."

After saying that, he grabbed the girl and draped her across his lap, laughing as he tried to tear off her clothes.

"No, help, help me!"

"The ancestor doesn't care about your life, he just wants you to be happy, oh ha ha ha—"

Blood Fiend Ancestor's beastly laughter echoed in the hall, instantly drawing countless echoes.

The girl closed her eyes in despair, silently lamenting how tragic her fate was.

boom--

Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly came from outside the hall, startling everyone inside, including the Blood Fiend Ancestor.

"What happened?"

"what--"

The question had barely left his lips when a cloud of dust fell from the roof.

At the same time, a loud, mournful scream came from outside the door.

The next moment, a disciple suddenly rushed into the main hall and scrambled to the patriarch's feet.

"It's terrible, Ancestor! Divine lightning is striking from the sky outside! They..."

boom--

Before the disciple could finish speaking, another loud bang shook the entire hall.

Outside the palace gates, smoke billowed as more than a dozen Blood Fiend Alliance disciples were blasted to pieces by the thunder.

"what happened!"

Blood Fiend Ancestor flung the girl aside, picked up his blood-red blade, and rushed out the door.

At this moment, at the top of Leiyuan Valley opposite Xulong Mountain, the two heavy artillery battalions of the Imperial Guard had already set up their artillery positions.

Shen Lang held up a monocular telescope, observing the direction of the Blood Fiend Alliance with a blank expression.

At this moment, Qu Yi came to report.

"Reporting to the instructor, the artillery test firing is complete. The trajectory and angular distance have been readjusted based on the data from the gun sight. I request permission to fire a salvo."

Shen Lang put down the viewing mirror and replied calmly.

"Reload the 75mm rapid-fire guns and 88mm mountain guns with high-explosive shells, and the 105mm field guns with high-explosive shells. After firing a salvo, report the data to me."

"As ordered!"

Qu Yi immediately ordered his subordinates to use flag signals upon receiving the order.

The next moment, both heavy artillery battalions were fully prepared.

"fire!"

Boom boom boom boom——

With a thunderous roar, the scorching shells, carrying angry flames, were unleashed towards the Blood Fiend Alliance headquarters in Xulong Mountain, four or five kilometers away.