Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

Xia Mingyuan had already seen that Chen Wenxin was not just a crazy charlatan.

But I never expected that this guy might be the orthodox descendant of the military strategist!

You must know that since the founding of Daxia, Emperor Taizu has been cracking down on the school of military science. At that time, all the descendants of the school of military science were buried alive.

The once popular military theory thus declined.

I didn’t expect that after so many years, the military tradition still exists today.

When you want to fall asleep, someone will give you a pillow. The person Xia Mingyuan wants to find most right now is the heir of the military strategist!

These people are capable of strategic deployment, but deploying troops is secondary.

After all, as a sand table model enthusiast in his previous life, Xia Mingyuan believed that he was no less capable than anyone else of this era in these aspects.

In contrast, what Xia Mingyuan was most interested in was the military formations used by strategists to deploy troops.

Especially on the cold weapon battlefield, when two armies face off, those unpredictable battle formations can allow the soldiers to exert their maximum combat power on the battlefield!

For example, the Long Snake Formation, the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation, etc.

What the descendants of military strategists are best at is studying these battle formations.

Xia Mingyuan pulled out a chair and sat down, looking Chen Wenxin up and down.

"Master, I see you're quite good at fortune-telling. Are you interested in staying and working for me?"

Chen Wenxin shook his head gently, "Please forgive me, sir. I'm used to being a free-spirited person, and I have a lively personality. I'm afraid I can't stand too much control."

"The mountains are high and the road is long, so let's say goodbye now."

After saying that, Chen Wenxin put on his package and was about to leave.

Xia Mingyuan spoke calmly, "You, a descendant of a military family, are pretending to be a Taoist priest on the streets, claiming to be fortune-telling, but actually scamming people to make a living. Are you really willing to let what you've learned never be put to good use?"

As soon as these words came out, Chen Wenxin really stopped.

Xia Mingyuan paused and continued, "Now that you've seen my identity, you should understand that in this world, if you really want to live up to what you've learned from books, you have no choice but to rely on me."

"If you agree, I'll let you run this gambling house and give you 10% of the monthly profits! Give me a month, and within a month, I guarantee you'll have enough soldiers to deploy your troops!"

Hearing this, Lu Xiucai felt secretly anxious.

The 10% profit from this gambling house is at least a thousand taels a month. How can this fortune teller deserve so much money? Even if the young master wanted to buy a horse bone with a huge sum of money, this is not the way to spend it!

He hesitated again and again and was about to open his mouth to remind Xia Mingyuan.

Chen Wenxin suddenly turned around, threw the bag in his hand back on the table, and looked at Xia Mingyuan with a smile.

"As expected of someone who dares to claim that he can wipe out the banditry in Hanyang within a month, he's just as arrogant as I am."

"Well, I'll stay and see how many soldiers you have in a month!"

"Don't worry, when that day comes, sooner or later you will be so tired that you will cry for your parents!" Xia Mingyuan stood up and chuckled.

"I couldn't ask for more!" Chen Wenxin suppressed his smile and saluted with his fists.

After leaving the gambling house, Lu Xiu wanted to say something but stopped himself several times.

"Old Lu, if you have something to say, just say it. Why are you always thinking about it?"

Xia Mingyuan patted his shoulder suddenly, "Are you trying to say that I gave Chen Wenxin too much money?"

Lu Xiucai nodded and sighed, "Young Master, you may not know this yet, but this gambling den is simply a treasure trove!"

"I just looked through the account book. I made more money every month than I thought. The net profit from the water withdrawal alone is at least 20,000 to 30,000 taels."

"In addition to that, there's also trading, bankership, and lending, which costs 20,000 to 30,000 taels a month, so the total is over 50,000 taels."

"You promised to give him 10% of the profit, which would be five thousand taels."

"Five thousand taels of silver a month. Even a counselor in the palace of a prince or duke would never earn more than that. I'm not being nosy. How can a charlatan like him be so capable..."

"Okay!" Xia Mingyuan smiled and shook his head. "After a while, you'll know that this guy isn't just some charlatan, but has real skills."

"Five thousand taels of silver this month is absolutely worth it."

Xia Mingyuan paused for a moment and said calmly, "Since the gambling house is already ours, let's put aside the two things of lending and trading for the time being. Although we can use some tricks to make money, we should try to avoid such immoral things, otherwise I'm afraid that God will strike me with lightning."

"Also, if you manage Kunlun Security well, you will get 10% of the profits next month."

"Sir, that's not what I meant..." Lu Xiucai blushed and tried to explain quickly.

Xia Mingyuan waved his hand and said, "I know you don't have those little thoughts, but since we are all family, I will treat you equally."

When Lu Xiucai heard the three words "one of our own", he was so excited that tears almost fell from his eyes.

The word "foster father" was on the tip of his tongue, but Lu Xiucai suddenly recalled Xia Mingyuan's repeated instructions and had to swallow it back.

"Sir, there is one more thing."

While Lu Xiucai was stunned, Xia Mingyuan had already walked ahead, and he hurriedly trotted to catch up with him.

"I just took a look at the gambling den's account book. I found a monthly expenditure of 30,000 taels of silver. I suspect this money is most likely a bribe from Jin Daya to his superiors. This is also the rule that gambling dens follow if they want to gain a foothold in the city. Look..."

Xia Mingyuan frowned when he heard this, "Do you know who this money was given to?"

Lu Xiucai shook his head. "Every month, this money is first deposited into Li's Bank, and then someone is assigned to take it away. In such a short period of time, it would be difficult to track down who exactly received it."

"Then forget it!"

Xia Mingyuan waved his hand and said, "Send ten more Qilin Guards to watch over the place. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will have their legs broken!"

"I want to see who in Yangcheng dares to accept my money!"

"Sir, what you said makes sense!" Lu Xiucai nodded in agreement.

With just one sentence, he saved another 30,000 taels of silver every month.

It feels so good to work behind Master Xia without having to worry about other people's feelings.

Thinking back to the past, I had to set up a stall on the street and copy letters for people. I had to ask everyone for favors, and if I wasn’t careful, I would be kicked out. What kind of life was that!

Xia Mingyuan returned to the princess's residence and just sat down when Wei Saner tactfully brought him tea and handed him a wet towel.

Xia Mingyuan took a sip of the tea. The temperature was just right, and the amount of tea leaves was also what he was used to. He couldn't help but turn around and look at Wei Saner in surprise.

This kid is really something and has good judgment. Lu Xiucai has chosen a good helper for himself.

"Old Lu, we've been getting a lot more financially comfortable lately. Find some time to go to the countryside and take 30,000 taels of silver to buy some land..."

"Remember to conceal your identity when you go, and don't let anyone know that you are from the Princess's Mansion."