On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Wang Tienan became increasingly agitated as he spoke, until he was almost heartbroken: "Your Highness, once we run out of money and can't pay the soldiers, those 100,000 troops will become a scourge on us! We won't even need the emperor to lift a finger; we'll be finished!"

Fatty Wang was stunned. He had never thought about such a complicated problem before. He scratched his head and said, "Dad, if we run out of money, can't we just rob someone? I'm not good at anything else, but I'm fucking good at robbing! I'll rob whatever the emperor has!"

"You bastard! Who do you think you're calling 'master'?" Wang Tienan slammed his fist on the stone table in anger. "Besides, do you think this is child's play? Robbery? Rob one family today, rob another tomorrow, and we'll offend the entire court. Who will speak up for us then? We'll really become traitors that everyone wants to kill! Is your brain filled with your mother's shit?"

Being scolded by his own father in front of his older brother made Fatty Wang lose face, and he muttered, "My mom doesn't poop."

"You dare talk back? I'll curse your ancestors..." Wang Tienan immediately took off his shoes.

The fat man took off running.

Wang Tienan was too lazy to chase after him. He put down his shoe, looked at Lin Yi, and hoped that he would listen to his advice.

In his view, although Lin Yi had regained his senses and acted decisively and ruthlessly, he was still too young and did not consider things thoroughly enough.

Deploying troops to intimidate is acceptable, but sending 100,000 troops to the capital is simply inviting trouble.

However, faced with Wang Tienan's almost desperate analysis, Lin Yi showed no panic whatsoever. He even picked up his tea and slowly took a sip.

"Uncle Wang, I already anticipated your concerns." Lin Yi put down his teacup, his tone eerily calm. "Money is not a problem."

Wang Tienan doubted his ears.

What does it mean that money is not a problem?

I spent ages explaining things to you, but you didn't listen to a single word!

One hundred thousand troops!

Those weren't 100,000 ants, they were 100,000 living people!

How much food does it consume every day just for eating? That can't be calculated in silver; it would take mountains to pile it up!

You're telling me money isn't an issue?

Ugh.

Wang Tienan was extremely anxious.

He was genuinely afraid that Lin Yi, young and impetuous, would become arrogant and overconfident after winning two battles.

Militarily, he trusted Lin Yi, after all, he was the old regent's grandson, and he had that ruthless streak in his bones.

However, logistical support and national governance cannot be solved by fighting and killing alone.

"Your Highness...you...you don't understand what this old minister means?" Wang Tienan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and prepared to have a good talk with Lin Yi again.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yi waved his hand, interrupting him: "I understand what Uncle Wang means. He's just afraid that we can't afford to support this army of 100,000 and will eventually drag ourselves down."

"Yeah, right!" Wang Tienan cursed inwardly.

You fucking know all this, and you still say money isn't a problem? Are you kidding me, Uncle Wang?

Fatty Wang chimed in, "Yeah, brother, my dad's right. While I think robbery is a good idea, it can't go on forever. What if we bankrupt the emperor? Where will we rob from then on?"

"Hehehe..." Lin Yi was amused by the way the father and son were singing in unison.

He stared intently at Wang Tienan and said, "Uncle Wang, do you think our Great Zhou Dynasty is short of money?"

Wang Tienan was taken aback, wondering why Lin Yi suddenly asked this question.

He thought for a moment and cautiously replied, "Your Highness, judging from the Ministry of Revenue's accounts, the national treasury is indeed not abundant. Years of warfare against the northern barbarians, coupled with frequent famines in various regions, have resulted in enormous expenditures for the court."

He sounded somewhat guilty when he said that.

Because he knew that the national treasury was indeed empty, but the real reason was not some natural disaster or man-made calamity, but that it had been emptied by certain people.

"On the books? Ha, can you trust what's on the books?" Lin Yi sneered. "Let me ask you again, Luo Hongtu is just a mere sixth-rank official, yet his home was found to contain 500,000 taels of silver. What about the homes of other officials? Those first-rank officials, princes, nobles, and imperial relatives—how much money do they have?"

"This..." Wang Tienan was speechless.

He had thought about this problem, but he dared not think about it; the waters were too deep.

Lin Yi said, "So, it's not that the Great Zhou is short of money, nor that the national treasury is empty. It's that all the country's money has ended up in private pockets. Given that, why should we worry about money? This capital city we stand on is an inexhaustible gold mine!"

Wang Tienan was still a little confused, but there was one sentence he understood.

That means there's plenty of money in this city!

Just look at Luo Hongtu and you'll know.

He was just a sixth-rank official; in a local area, he could hold a position like prefect or vice minister, but in the capital, he was nothing.

A single fart, and he's rolling in money.

What about Prime Minister Liu Wentao? The ministers of various departments, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, and those hereditary dukes, marquises, and earls, which one of them wasn't extremely wealthy?

If only we could rob all of these people...

Wang Tienan broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

The fat man was completely confused, but he grasped the key point and excitedly slapped his thigh: "Brother! I get it! You mean we should rob all the officials in the capital, then we'll have the money? Damn, that's a great idea! Especially the Ministry of Works' mansion. I heard that Zhang Hanlin, that bastard, keeps over a dozen girls as concubines! He's inhuman!"

"You don't know anything!" Wang Tienan snapped out of his daze and slapped the fat man on the back of the head. "The prince is preaching some great principle, do you think he's telling you to become a bandit? You brainless idiot!"

Fatty Wang wasn't angry even after being beaten; he just chuckled foolishly.

But Wang Tienan could no longer laugh.

Previously, he respected the old regent and feared imperial power.

Now, what he respects is Lin Yi himself.

This young man not only possessed his grandfather's ruthlessness, but also foresight that his grandfather lacked.

"Your Highness... do you mean we should take action against the entire court?" Wang Tienan's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Because this is no longer a rebellion, but an attempt to completely overthrow and rebuild the entire dynastic order!

Such a bold idea made even the Minister of War feel a chill run down his spine.

However, Lin Yi laughed nonchalantly: "Hehehe, Uncle Wang, you still don't understand. We're not going to attack them, but rather make them vomit up what they've eaten."

He paused, his gaze deepening. "However, before we act, I must teach you a lesson. Uncle Wang, do you know the real reason for the downfall of our Great Zhou, and all the dynasties before it?"

The fat man boomed again, "Of course! They're bullying ordinary people!"

Wang Tienan hated him most for his ignorant and pretentious way of interrupting, and roared, "If you fucking interrupt again, go back to your knees!"

"oh."