On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Mimi squatted down beside him, listening to Lin Yi talk about these national affairs, but couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Yifei felt the same way, but she was more perceptive than Mimi. She thought the prince was a true hero, even though he was ruthless, it was all to deal with bad people.

The prince is truly good to the common people.

You know, which of the people in Ping'an County who were allocated land didn't praise the prince as a living bodhisattva?

Nangong Min reached out and gently smoothed the wrinkles on Lin Yi's clothes: "Your Highness is absolutely right. Human greed is insatiable. Father and those officials have long been blinded by power, only seeing the military power in Your Highness's hands, but failing to see the chaos in the world. But now, Father has mobilized 200,000 troops to defend the capital, intending to launch a strong attack. How does Your Highness plan to respond?"

Lin Yi grinned.

"They're nothing but a rabble. The soldiers in the Jiangnan camp haven't fought in years, their swords are practically rusted. The private armies of the various vassal kings are all spoiled brats who've never seen blood. Putting them together, there's no unified command. If they actually get to the battlefield, they'll be so scared they'll wet their pants at the first charge."

Hearing Lin Yi speak so confidently, Nangong Min felt much more at ease.

Because as long as Lin Yi wins, she and her mother can survive.

"Your Highness is incredibly brave; I admire you greatly!"

Upon hearing this, Mi Mi quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, yes! This servant admires you too! I admire Your Highness the most! Hehehe!"

"Silly girl." Lin Yi chuckled and pinched Mi Mi's cheek.

Just then, a furious roar came from afar: "Big brother! Big brother! Where are you?!"

You don't even need to look to know who it is to hear that raspy voice.

In the entire Regent's Palace, apart from that fatso, there wasn't another person who dared to shout like that.

Sure enough, after a while, Fatty and Lu Dehao came over from the Moon Gate one after the other.

These two are practically inseparable now; they go everywhere together, and even choose the same prostitute.

"Big brother! Hahahaha, oh my, your wife is here too!" The fat man was very respectful to Nangong Min and laughed repeatedly.

The latter nodded with a smile: "Fatty, Young Master Lu."

"Greetings to sister-in-law!" Lu Dehao bowed, and then Yifei brought two chairs for them to sit down. Afterwards, she helped Nangong Min back to the pavilion.

The fat man sat down casually, and the chair creaked.

"Why are you two back here instead of working outside?" Lin Yi asked.

The fat man patted his large belly and replied, "Hey, it's just a day off today, you decided it's one day off every seven days. Besides, I've almost got the casino sorted out. In another ten days to two weeks, it'll be open!"

That's good news.

Previously, Lin Yi issued a ban on gambling, shutting down all the casinos owned by powerful families in the capital.

But this is not a real intention to ban gambling; rather, it's to seize this lucrative business and have the Regent's Palace monopolize it.

This is an incredibly profitable business; the future military budget will depend entirely on it.

Lin Yi looked at Lu Dehao: "Were they all modified according to the blueprints I gave you?"

The latter sat up straight and answered.

"That's right, as you instructed, we've combined the three large casinos on Qinglong Street into one super-sized venue. The first floor is for casual patrons, playing dice and dominoes; it's easy to get in, anyone can. The second floor is the VIP area, specifically for high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants. It not only has gambling but also private rooms. The third floor, as you requested, has been converted into a bath and relaxation area, but we haven't hired anyone yet. But I'm not in a hurry; we can hire people after it opens."

Lin Yi nodded.

In modern society, these integrated entertainment venues are the most profitable.

In ancient times, entertainment options were scarce. With such a place available, wouldn't the wealthy people obediently empty their coffers?

Besides, the most profitable business here is the casino.

Casinos will spring up all over the country in the future, all under the direct control of the Prince's Palace, and from now on, there will be no shortage of military funds.

"There's just one thing I need to ask my older brother."

"you say."

Lu Dehao said, "What my elder brother means is that interest rates should be reasonable, but that boundary... is hard for us to grasp."

The fat man chimed in, "Yeah, either don't release anything, or release everything. What does 'releasing appropriately' even mean?"

Actually, lending money at exorbitant interest rates was not Lin Yi's original intention.

But not letting them go is definitely not an option; your casino isn't making money, but letting them go too much is even worse.

He opened the casino to make money off the rich, not to drive ordinary people to their deaths.

Therefore, there must be a clear standard for this appropriate delegation, otherwise it will be really difficult for those below to manage.

Lin Yi said, "Let's say half of the family fortune. We need to thoroughly investigate the family background of anyone who wants a loan. All the family assets combined can only be borrowed up to half. Sigh... to be honest, I don't want to make money off poor people."

Lu Dehao was somewhat puzzled: "If we don't make money off the poor, whose money will we make?"

"It!" Lin Yi pointed to the fish in the lake.

Apart from the girls, neither Lu Dehao nor the fat man understood this analogy.

But Lin Yi knew the truth in his heart.

Having finally transmigrated and become the regent, I still have to win over the wealthy and powerful, create various pretexts, and watch my mother's face.

Wouldn't that make me a beggar on my knees?

Before Lu Dehao could ask, Lin Yi said, "You don't need to understand what I mean, just do as I say. The accounts must be kept clear, and every penny must be deposited into the Prince's public account. If I find anyone embezzling, I'll kill their entire family!"

"Brother, don't worry about that!"

"Also, Fatty..."

The fat man was almost asleep when he heard the shout and jumped, as if he had sprayed himself in his crotch.

"Why?"

"From now on, you don't need to worry about the casino. There will be a war in a few days, so you need to go back to the Shenji Camp immediately. Leave the city affairs to Dehao."

Upon hearing that there was a war, the fat man's eyes lit up instantly: "A war? That's great, brother! I'm so bored I could have a baby out of bed!"

"Don't interrupt. Take the token and go outside the city to take over Nangong Ao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Scatter them and assign them to Nalan Ku's troops. These are all very powerful heavy cavalrymen, and they will be very useful in the future. Also, go back and tell Yue Nan to move all the Eight-Ox Crossbows to the city wall. Make sure you have enough arrows, and prepare rolling logs, stones, kerosene, and molten gold."

"Understood, Fatty will go right away."

The fat man was a typical restless person; he would leave immediately upon receiving an order, more energetic than if he were visiting a brothel.

At this moment, the steward Lin An came over from the corridor, walked up to Lin Yi, and respectfully bowed: "Your Highness."

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

Lin An took out an unsigned letter from his sleeve and handed it to him with both hands.

"Your Highness, news has just come from the palace. The messenger was very careful and didn't say anything, only that it must be delivered to you."

Lin Yi took the letter.

The letter had no sealing wax, no signature, and nothing special about it.

Could it have been delivered by an inside source? That shouldn't be the case; inside sources always use passwords to deliver messages.

Lin Yi pondered for a moment, then opened the letter and found that it contained only a very short message.

"His Majesty, due to the shortage of provisions for the 200,000 troops sent to defend the capital, has decided to empty the private treasury and sell historical treasures to fund the army. At the same time, he has issued an edict ordering all the concubines in the harem and the princes of the Ninth Prince's residence to donate their gold, silver, and valuables. Furthermore, Liu Wentao has suggested that all civil and military officials in the court be forced to donate. His Majesty has approved this and the edict will be issued at the morning court tomorrow."

Lin Yi burst into laughter after reading it: "Hahahaha! You're really grasping at straws in your desperation, Min'er, your father is up to his old tricks again."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Min came over again, took the letter, glanced at it, and said nothing.

"Alas, Father Emperor has no choice... Husband, I wish to go back and check on dinner. I will not concern myself with these important military and national affairs."

"Um."

After saying that, Nangong Min turned and left.