On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Lin Yi picked up the wine bowl, but did not drink it. Instead, he looked at the clear wine in the bowl and felt the slight coolness coming from the rim.

He knew the fat man was telling the truth.

In the original book, after Lin Yi was knocked unconscious, all his former cronies who had fawned over him scattered like birds and beasts, and some even turned against the Heavenly Gang to cause trouble for the Lin family.

Only Fatty, that simpleton, continued to treat him like an older brother.

Anyone who dared to say a bad word about Lin Yi would be met with his wrath, for which he received many beatings from his father, Wang Tienan.

This affection is more precious than gold.

"Fatty," Lin Yi put down his wine bowl, looked up at him with clear and sharp eyes, "the past is the past, now let's talk about something serious."

Fatty Wang was taken aback by his gaze, then grinned and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, yes, yes, it's all in the past! Don't worry, brother, I'll arrange to book the whole place when I get back. A lot of new girls have come to Yanlai Tower these past two years, and they're all incredibly hot, some even black! I've already tasted their saltiness for you; that woman was black all over except for her teeth, but damn it..."

Seeing that the fat man was getting more and more out of control, Lin Yi interrupted, saying, "Alright, alright, I'm not talking about that important matter."

"Huh?" The fat man was taken aback. "What important business could we two possibly have?"

Lin Yi picked up a piece of braised beef, chewed slowly, and asked as he ate, "How many troops do we still have available to mobilize?"

Upon hearing the words "soldiers and horses," Fatty Wang's playful expression immediately vanished, and he became serious.

"Brother, the legacy left by the old prince is still there. The 300,000-strong army in the northern border is under your command. These are all veterans who followed the old prince into battle and beheaded barbarians. They are all fiercely loyal and only recognize the banner of our Lin family, not the imperial decree."

Lin Yi nodded; this was the same situation as he remembered.

The 300,000-strong army in the Northern Territory was the culmination of the old regent's life's work, the foundation upon which the Lin family stood, and something that Emperor Nangong Xiong and his sons dreamed of possessing.

"That's enough." Lin Yi uttered two words, then downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp. "Fatty, listen up, I need you to do a few things right now."

"Brother, you say it!" Fatty Wang put down the wine jar and straightened his back.

"First," Lin Yi took out a token made of black iron, engraved with a tiger totem, from his pocket and slammed it on the stone table, "You immediately send your most trusted person with my military token to the Northern Border day and night."

"Tell the Northern Commander Nalanku to personally lead 100,000 elite troops to immediately surround the capital! Remember, the action must be swift! But do not make a big fuss and let everyone know. The troop movement must be secret, preferably without alerting the four major camps guarding the capital. Once they arrive in the capital, they must immediately set up camp and not move around."

Fatty Wang stared wide-eyed at the tiger tally that symbolized military power in the northern border, and his breathing became heavy.

To move 100,000 troops to Beijing?

What does this mean?

This is fucking...

"Secondly," Lin Yi ignored his shock and continued, "you will redeploy the Shenji Battalion to take full control of the defenses of the twelve city gates of the capital, starting tonight! Remember, it's just taking control, nothing else, and absolutely no conflict."

The Shenji Battalion was the best-equipped garrison force in the capital, specifically responsible for protecting the imperial city. Its commander was always a trusted confidant of Wang Tienan.

Taking over the city's defenses is tantamount to putting the entire capital in one's own hands.

"Great, brother! You're finally rebelling!" Fatty Wang's face trembled with excitement.

"Alright, I've had my eye on that old emperor for ages! What is he anyway! If it weren't for the old prince's insistence on putting him on the throne, he'd probably still be licking the boots of some high-ranking official! Big brother, just give the order! Just say the word, and I'll lead my men into the palace tomorrow and rip the old emperor's dragon egg off for you to use as a toy!"

"Shut up," Lin Yi interrupted him coldly. "Who said I was going to rebel?"

"Huh? You're not rebelling?" Fatty Wang was bewildered. "If you're not rebelling, why are you sending troops to the capital?"

Lin Yi looked at him, his eyes deep: "Intimidation. I want to tell the whole world that the Lin family hasn't fallen yet, and we're not pushovers they can easily bully. Of course, this also serves to protect our safety. After all, I don't want to be an emperor; I just want to be a playboy."

The fat man nodded blankly: "So you want to sideline the old emperor, make him a puppet, and then the two of us can play with women and tease our wives every day, living a carefree life."

"clever."

Fatty Wang nodded again, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Although he was simple-minded, he understood that the intimidation of 100,000 troops at the city gates was far greater than him waving his fists and cursing.

At that time, if the old emperor does not want to be completely overthrown, he will have to obediently be sidelined.

Because once war breaks out, his small force is no match for the Lin family.

Hehe, Big Brother really thought of everything! Awesome!

"Great, big brother, I'll go take care of it right away." The fat man clicked his tongue and stood up.

Lin Yi said, "Wait, I haven't finished yet. My name can't be mentioned when it comes to troop deployment."

The fat man's heart skipped a beat.

"Huh? Whose will we use then?"

"Use your father's name." Lin Yi looked at him. "Just announce to the outside world that it's your father, Minister of War Wang Tienan, who was worried that the capital's defenses were weak and that there might be troublemakers, so he suggested that troops from the northern border be sent to the capital to help defend it. As for the Shenji Battalion, they were also ordered by Minister Wang to strengthen their defenses."

Fatty Wang opened his mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time.

I thought to myself, "I knew it!"

This is it.

My father was at home sleeping with his concubine when suddenly a huge pot was dumped on him.

If I go back, he'll beat me to death!

The fat man immediately chickened out at the thought of his father's smelly, sour soles.

This man fears nothing but his living father.

"No, bro, Fatty thinks we need to discuss this further..."

"Discuss my ass." Lin Yi didn't give him any face. "When you get back, tell your father everything that just happened and what I said. Tell him that I, Lin Yi, am awake and will no longer be that woman Luo Qingyu's lapdog. The Lin family won't fall. Your father is a smart man; he knows what to choose."

Wang Tienan was the adopted son of the old regent, and the two families shared both prosperity and adversity.

When the emperor wanted to weaken the power of the regional princes, the first family he would deal with was the Lin family.

The Lin family has fallen; the Wang family will be next.

Now that Lin Yi has made a strong comeback, this is Wang Tienan's only chance of survival.

The fat man nodded hesitantly.

That's all we can do for now.

"There's one last thing," Lin Yi suddenly said with a playful tone, "Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the Luo family."

"What are you doing? Go fuck her mother?"

Lin Yi: ...

"Can't you say anything serious for once?"

The fat man scratched the back of his head: "Seriously? Then... let's go smash her house up?"

"Smashing things up is pointless." Lin Yi shook his head. "I need to get back the one million taels of betrothal money I gave away."

The fat man was completely dumbfounded.

"No way... Brother, you really have no shame at all? You want the betrothal gifts you gave out back?"

"Nonsense, my 300,000 brothers in the North are waiting to eat. I don't have spare money to support a queen who has someone else in her heart."

After hearing this, Fatty Wang was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.

"Hahahaha! Big brother! That's such a damn ruthless move! Yes, that's what we'll do! We'll go tomorrow, and if old man Luo doesn't pay, Fatty will dig up his ancestral graves!"

"Yes! Dig up their ancestral graves!"