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

"Come on!"

"be honest!"

The following morning, after a night of fierce fighting, the Western Xia army, now without command, was utterly routed by carpet bombing and close-range, concentrated attacks from infantry groups.

The Western Xia army, including Helian Qianjun, was blown to pieces. Of the 57 officers in the army, 42 were killed in battle, 8 were captured, and 7 went missing.

In addition, they captured more than 23,000 people and 6,000 intact warhorses, annihilating the entire organized Western Xia army in one battle.

Looking at the Western Xia army, stripped of their armor and with their morale at rock bottom, Jiang Shangxian couldn't help but sigh:

"Such a record for the Imperial Guard is probably unprecedented in history; they wiped out the main force of the Western Xia overnight."

After this battle, the Western Xia will likely no longer have the power to threaten the heartland of our Chu state.

Shen Lang, standing to the side, replied, "The war is far from over. The recapture of Luoyang was exactly what I expected."

After all, the fact that I was able to hold off the Luchuan army's frontal attack with only 500 Imperial Guards had already proven the feasibility of my military theory.

Now I have launched a surprise attack on the exhausted Western Xia army overnight, and I also have a large number of artillery pieces deployed.

"It would be a miracle if we couldn't win a war like this."

"It's so reassuring to have you handle things." Jiang Shangxian patted his shoulder. "I never expected you to be so romantic."

"romantic?"

Shen Lang looked at the fat man with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Shangxian squinted and said, "How could this not be romantic? If I'm not mistaken..."

Your purpose in taking Chang'an is simply to present it as a wedding gift to our imperial nephew, isn't it?

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang was stunned and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Does silence mean consent?"

Jiang Shangxian couldn't stop smiling.

"I knew you were like that. You're just saying one thing and meaning another. You say you don't want it, but you're thinking about it all the time."

"Don't deny it. Think about it yourself. Since His Majesty chose her as the emperor's son-in-law, how much have you actually helped her?"

"Don't give me that nonsense about money. With your abilities, how could you not make money?"

When I saw you hand over 1400 million taels of gold to His Majesty without missing a single cent, I couldn't believe it was real, you know that?

"Hey brother, you're such a frustrating person. You clearly have feelings for our imperial nephew, but you just won't say it out loud."

"But I understand, you just want to prove that you deserve the position of Emperor."

Even if you don't capture Chang'an, my imperial nephew won't care.

After all, you've been her greatest support since she ascended the throne; who else could she rely on besides you?

"Take my advice and stop running away. Although the forest is indeed attractive, the only tree that is truly right for you will always be that one."

“Go back and get the wedding arranged. What’s wrong with our royal nephew? He’s got both looks and figure.”

After listening, Shen Lang fell silent.

In fact, he was immediately attracted to Jiang Mengxuan's unique temperament when he first saw her.

However, the vast difference in their status and the numerous controversies surrounding imperial power prevented him from getting too deeply involved.

Throughout history, there have been countless examples of people who met tragic ends because their achievements overshadowed those of their superiors.

Shen Lang was also afraid that he would end up like that.

But he just couldn't control his inexplicable feelings for her, and without realizing it, he had done a lot for her, gradually solidifying her position in the court.

Moreover, he was well aware of how Jiang Mengxuan treated him.

He truly kept his promise, remained steadfast in his trust, and always insisted on not interfering with the process before the results were in. If it were any other emperor, they would probably have harbored doubts long ago.

Last time in the Imperial Study, I also lost control and pounced on him; if Qingwen hadn't appeared in time...

Thinking of this, Shen Lang felt a moment of dizziness, and his heart began to race.

"Instructor, a man named Sima Wang insists on seeing you."

Meng Gong's voice pulled Shen Lang back to reality from his daze.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shangxian immediately said to Shen Lang, "This person's surname is Sima, so he must be from the Sima family of Luoyang."

Shen Lang frowned, closed his eyes, and the intelligence system immediately started working, quickly finding relevant information about Sima Wang.

"Bring him to me."

"Yes."

Before long, a disheveled Sima Wang was brought before Shen Lang.

Before Shen Lang could speak, Sima Wang couldn't help but say, "Sure enough, everything is just as it predicted, hahaha, but I didn't expect..."

This day has come so quickly; that blurry figure—it's definitely you.

Jiang Shangxian was somewhat confused by Sima Wang's meaning: "What are you trying to say by spouting all this nonsense?"

Sima Wang, however, stared intently at Shen Lang and said, word by word, "This scene before me has been recurring in my dreams for over a decade."

The dream foretells that I will eventually die at the hands of a man named Shen Lang.

Over the years, I've eliminated almost everyone with the surname Shen from my life, but I never expected that things still wouldn't change.

Shen Lang turned to Jiang Shangxian and said, "Your Highness, would you please go and check the ammunition reserves?"

"Very well, I will go right away."

Knowing that Shen Lang wanted to be alone with Sima Wang, Jiang Shangxian immediately gave them some space.

"Please, Young Master Sima."

Shen Lang gestured for Sima Wang to enter a bamboo forest.

After getting away from the hustle and bustle, looking at the bamboo forest before him, Sima Wang said again, "It seems that this is where I, Sima Wang, will be buried."

"Do you know why you should die?" Shen Lang said bluntly. "With your abilities, you should be governing the land for the imperial court."

However, he chose to aid and abet evil, and joined the Western Xia to harm the people. How many people died because of Sima Wang's act of letting the wolf into the house?

How many people have lost their lives because of your personal desires? Sima Wang, your death wasn't because you had a system within you.

Rather, it is your ambition that is too great, so great that it has betrayed your beliefs and abandoned the responsibilities that the aristocratic class should bear!

Sima Wang gave a wry smile: "So this thing is called a system."

Unfortunately, I still thought that only by doing that could I escape that future fate.

It's laughable that all of this was just wishful thinking on my part.

Shen Lang sneered and slowly drew the dagger from his waist.

"Blame yourself. You never believed in yourself, yet you entrusted your fate to some unknown external force."

What face do people who can't even control their own destiny have to excuse their crimes?

You, and the Sima clan behind you, will perish because of your shamelessness after today.

jingle--

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind chimes rang.

A gentle breeze blew, and a corpse appeared behind Shen Lang.

The next moment, a golden light flashed from Sima Wang's corpse and instantly poured into Shen Lang's forehead.

In that instant, an extremely tragic scene flashed through Shen Lang's mind.

In the dilapidated Taiji Palace, the Empress, dressed in red and holding a long sword, sat on the dragon throne with a haggard expression.

Looking around, all that could be seen was a gloomy, apocalyptic scene, with the faint sounds of fighting still audible.

Suddenly, a group of fully armed soldiers and a large group of martial artists, led by a man wearing a dragon robe, stepped into the Taiji Hall.

"Jiang Mengxuan, this is the consequence of your enmity with the aristocratic families and the martial arts world. But you don't need to think too much about it."

Because the land and rivers of Great Chu will soon belong to me; the change of dynasty will begin today.

You probably never dreamed that such a powerful empire would end up like this.

You have absolutely no control over the vast foundation Shen Lang left you; in just a few short years, it has deteriorated into such a wretched state!

The Empress's eyes were bloodshot and filled with resentment: "If my husband hadn't been assassinated and poisoned, how could I have ended up like this?"

"If my husband were by my side, how could a scoundrel like you have gained such power!"

"Haha, Jiang Mengxuan, do you know what the biggest difference is between you and Shen Lang?"

That means you're not ruthless enough. If you had even half of Shen Lang's ruthless methods...

How did things end up like this? It's too late for you to realize your mistake now.

Without Shen Lang, the industrial foundation he painstakingly built for you will lose its dominant position.

If the reform ultimately fails and everything returns to its original state, doesn't that feel very frustrating?

These past ten years must have been very difficult for you, right?

Losing Shen Lang is like losing your soul; you have absolutely no idea how to manage the vast business he left you.

But rest assured, after your death we will rewrite history, portraying you as the greatest tyrant of all time, a debauched and cruel ruler who persecuted loyal officials, forever nailed to the pillar of shame.

The Empress slowly rose, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth: "Even if I die, I will drag you down to hell with me!"

As Jiang Mengxuan roared with her sword drawn, Shen Lang immediately snapped out of his daze.

"Damn it! What kind of bullshit future is this? Are you crazy?! I possess the 'Yuhuang Chaos Technique' and am immune to all poisons. Even if I ate arsenic like it was food, it wouldn't be enough to fill a tooth gap. Poisoned to death? Is that even possible!"

In an instant, Shen Lang realized that this thing called the "Predicting the Future System" was a huge trap.

Judging from Sima Wang's performance, this thing is definitely suspected of misleading young people.

Often, the foreseeable future leads us step by step down a path of no return, with the aim of making us abandon our original aspirations.

Therefore, Shen Lang decided to simply pretend that this ability did not exist and relegate it to the ranks of useless systems.

Composing himself, he stepped out of the bamboo grove and shouted, "Meng Gong!"

"My subordinate is here!"

Shen Lang took out a tactical plan: "Take your main force and I'll assign you a support artillery battalion. Head to Hangu Pass immediately."

"Taking advantage of the current lack of defense at Hangu Pass, we should swiftly capture it to prepare for our army's imminent attack on Chang'an."

Meng Gong asked in confusion, "Instructor, how did you know that Hangu Pass was undefended?"

"Don't ask anymore, time is of the essence."

"Yes."

After giving the military salute, Meng Gong immediately went to gather troops.

Shen Lang shouted again, "Qu Yi!"

"My subordinate is here."

"There are just too many prisoners, and my army doesn't have enough food. You know what to do with them, right?"

Qu Yi's eyes turned cold: "Don't worry, Instructor, I'll take care of it right away!"

Shen Lang: "Ma Jiji, please stay."

"Don't worry, instructor, I understand."

One sentence directly determined the tragic fate of tens of thousands of Western Xia soldiers.

After this battle, the main force of the Western Xia was basically wiped out.