Men Get in the Way of My Conquest

A reborn female protagonist who takes her madness to the very end x a younger, wolfish general

A more refined title: The Scheme for the Empire. The setting is already fictional, so my heroine is going to conquer the land and become emperor.

In her previous life, Xie Yu was raised as a boy. When the empire was on the verge of collapse and war broke out everywhere, Madam Xie threatened to kill herself unless Xie Yu resumed her identity as a girl and went to seek refuge with her maternal uncle in Yongzhou. But her uncle's family was treacherous. They clipped her wings, harmed her trusted followers, and gave her away to nobles. Xie Yu died unwilling to accept her fate. On the day the city fell, she laughed up at the sky, took a bronze sword, and fought her way to the imperial palace, sending the entire Xiao clan to their deaths.

When Li Ting led his troops into the palace, all they saw was a woman laughing wildly, the bronze sword in her hand still dripping blood.

Sunlight streamed in from outside the hall. Xie Yu couldn't make out Li Ting's face. She dragged her sword forward one step, and the soldiers all drew their swords and advanced toward her.

Xie Yu gave a weak, crooked smile, then collapsed, drained of strength. If she hadn't resumed her identity as a girl, or if she had been a little braver back then, would things have turned out differently? "Li Ting really got the whole world handed to him!"

When Xie Yu awoke again, she felt that Heaven had treated her kindly. Gazing at the boundless yellow sands, she thought: Why shouldn't she take this land for herself?

P.S.:

1. She doesn't start out wanting to be emperor. At first, she only wants to escape her prison. Later, her territory keeps growing, and if she submits to someone else, she'll have to hand it all over. When she thinks about it, there's no one worthy of it.

2. The male and female leads knew each other as children, which is why the heroine chose Li Ting to help her among all the different powers in her previous life.

3. The heroine's madness lies in the schemes she makes step by step beneath a calm exterior, and in her daring to defy the whole world.

4. The heroine isn't kind. Any kindness she shows is something she chooses to display after weighing the benefits.

Theme: Perseverance and self-reliance