Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Xiao Ce helped Qian Lai to his feet.

"The problem you mentioned isn't really a problem. I invited everyone here today to dispel their anxieties."

Qian Lai's eyes lit up.

"Your Highness, do you have a solution?"

Xiao Ce smiled and nodded: "Of course, it's about time. Tell me about the members of the Golden Society!"

As he spoke, he walked ahead, while Qian Lai spoke beside him.

The entire Golden Club has 136 members. Although there are no entry requirements, anyone who does business can join.

However, Qian Lai still set one up, since at the beginning, the person who set up the tea stall also claimed to be a businessman and wanted to join the association.

Qianlai established a series of rules and set certain thresholds.

Of these 136 people, ten hold the position of chairman.

The way to become the chairman is simple: it depends on the amount of tax paid. Those who rank in the top ten in terms of annual tax payments can enter the chairmanship.

Since this is the first period, it is not possible to rank them based on the amount of tax paid.

Therefore, these ten people were all nominated by everyone.

As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance of an octagonal hall, where many people dressed in fine clothes were already waiting.

Upon seeing Xiao Ce arrive, the group bowed in greeting.

Xiao Ce waved for them to get up and then entered the Eight Directions Hall.

Xiao Ce first glanced at the ten people standing at the head of the group; these were the people who had originally formed the Chamber of Commerce.

"Gentlemen, do you know why I have sent you here?"

Everyone, look at me, and I'll look at you.

No one dared to respond; they all nodded with tense expressions on their faces.

They heard rumors that the entire granary of Beiwang County had been secretly infiltrated and burned down by the Turks.

Therefore, they guessed that Xiao Ce had summoned the owners of these merchant houses.

It's simply a matter of making them pay for their food...

Xiao Ce looked at them and nodded, then asked with some surprise, "Oh? Do you know why I've summoned you here?"

Everyone nodded again.

Xiao Ce looked at Qian Lai beside him: "You told them?"

Qian Lai quickly waved his hand: "Your Highness, no. Even I don't know. What do you want to talk about..."

Seeing this, Xiao Ce said, "Come on, tell me... do you know why I sent you here?"

Although Xiao Ce was all smiles, no one responded.

After all, Xiao Ce may seem harmless on the surface, but they have all heard about it.

Xiao Ce led a thousand cavalrymen and utterly destroyed the rear of the Turks.

Not only that, they also stormed into Yanbei City and killed many Turks.

With such ruthless methods, whoever takes the first hit is doomed.

Seeing that no one responded, Xiao Ce noticed the apprehension and fear in their eyes.

"What's wrong? Why do you all have that look on your faces? Do you think I'd eat someone? Weren't you all nodding just now?"

Seeing that everyone's gazes were shifting, Xiao Ce turned his attention to the chubby man who was the leader of the ten chairpersons in the Golden Society.

"Mr. Jin, you speak!"

The person Xiao Ce was asking about was Zhang Yunqing's sworn brother.

Before leaving the Turkic region, Zhang Yunqing had told me to help take care of things if possible.

Jin Dawei is also very capable. Judging from the money, Jin Dawei has a lot of influence in the Golden Club.

Looking at Jin Dawei's stammering manner.

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "You don't need to be afraid. The people who oppose me should be afraid. I am indeed ruthless to my enemies, but I am always the most tolerant to my own people! Your sworn brother, Zhang Yunqing, should have told you about him, right?"

Jin Dawei nodded awkwardly: "Yes...we've all heard about it. Now that our Beiwang County is facing such difficulties, we all know what's good for us and we'll all lend a hand. Your Highness, just name a number, and we'll definitely find a way."

Jin Dawei's words completely baffled Xiao Ce.

"Name a number? Name what number? What are you talking about? Beiwang County is in trouble? What trouble? I didn't know anything about it."

Jin Dawei sized up Xiao Ce, observing that Xiao Ce's reaction was genuine.

They asked Xiao Ce questioningly, "Your Highness, you didn't call us here to procure provisions?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "Raising grain?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Xiao Ce suddenly realized.

They must have heard the news that the granary had been burned down.

Now I understand. No wonder they all looked like they'd eaten shit.

Xiao Ce burst into laughter: "Hahaha! You all think I'm some kind of Bao An!"

Jin Dawei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, didn't you call us here to procure grain?"

Xiao Ce smiled disdainfully: "The Turks think they can cut off my lifeline by burning those grain supplies? They underestimate me too much! You don't need to worry about the grain supplies! I have other matters to discuss with you."

With that, Xiao Ce said, "I won't waste any more words with you. The first thing I wanted to tell you is that Zhang Yunqing is now in charge of the affairs of the Turkic Kingdom! Therefore, the position of president of our Golden Society is now vacant. Previously, Uncle Lai had been temporarily in charge, but now that Zhang Yunqing is too busy, Uncle Lai will officially take over."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Qian Lai was skilled in interpersonal relationships, so he was quite popular among these businessmen.

In addition, everyone knows that Qian Lai is Xiao Ce's confidant.

The others dared not say anything.

Moreover, they would be grateful if they didn't have to pay money or provide food.

Xiao Ce continued, "The second thing is that I have some good news to tell everyone."

Although no one said anything, their expressions revealed their anticipation.

"The Turks have invaded the four prefectures of the northern desert, causing considerable disruption. But now, I can tell you, the Turks are on their last legs. In at most half a month, I will be able to wipe them out. At that time, the thirty cities of the four prefectures of the northern desert will all be back in my hands!"

"Furthermore, I have reached an agreement with the new Khan of the Turkic Khaganate, Urgen. From now on, we can trade with the Turkic Khaganate, so you should start preparing now!"

"My principle remains the same: open the market, embrace the market, and you can all compete fairly based on your own abilities. Let's see what you can do! However, if anyone chooses not to compete, don't blame me for being impolite."

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, everyone stood there dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief.

“Your Highness, Urgen Khan? I’ve never heard of him before,” Jin Dawei said.

He had a good relationship with Zhang Yunqing, so he was quite familiar with the situation of the Turks.

However, I have never heard of the Urgen tribe.

Xiao Ce did not tell anyone that the Turkic Kingdom had fallen into his hands.

Only a very small number of people know this.

He didn't intend to follow the lead of these people.

Xiao Ce said, "That's right. It was a small tribe from the former Turkic Kingdom. I received their help when I was conquering their rear. We've helped each other out. With my help, the Urgen tribe is now the largest tribe in the Turkic Kingdom."

"Now that Yanbei City is in my hands, the Turks are like fish in a barrel. When the time comes, after I kill them, Urgen will be the ruler of the Turkic Kingdom. Zhang Yunqing has also been assigned there."

After Xiao Ce's explanation, everyone was immediately eager to try their luck.

"Your Highness, long live the Emperor! If we can open up the Turkic Kingdom, we can not only do business there! It is said that beyond the Turkic Kingdom's mountains, there are some other ethnic groups, and there is also a kingdom called India! We can even do business there."

“That’s right, I’ve heard that too. India has a population that is no less than that of Xiao… If that’s the case, that would be wonderful.”

The ten chairpersons of the Golden Society spoke excitedly.

Xiao Ce was equally surprised: "You know about India?"

“We all heard it from Mr. Kim,” the chairmen of the Gold Club said.

Jin Dawei chuckled and scratched his head, "I heard it from my sworn brother... He said those Indian women are quite voluptuous..."

As he spoke, Jin Dawei realized his slip of the tongue: "Your Highness, please forgive me..."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright. As Confucius once said, food and sex are human nature! There's no need to hide it."

“You’re right. In the future, when we expand our business to India, we can also bring some Indian girls over to serve us. That would be a wonderful thing.”

Hearing Xiao Ce say this, everyone immediately felt much closer to him.

Xiao Ce continued, "One last thing, according to what Uncle Lai said, you have been a great help to us during this time. In particular, you supported the defense of Lingxiao City by running a cement business that was almost unprofitable, which enabled Lingxiao City to withstand the Turkic attack this time."

"As I've said before, I will not let those who are loyal to me suffer losses. Therefore, I am now preparing to reveal the secret recipes for Tianshan Snow Salt, Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar, and Divine White Wine! I entrust them to you to produce and sell!"

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, the crowd's expressions shifted from excitement to fervor...

Some ordinary business owners asked, "Your Highness... do we ordinary merchants have this opportunity? Or do the chairmen have the opportunity?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "Of course there's a chance. Now that you've joined the Golden Society, everyone is equal. This business isn't something any one of you can do alone..."

"Take refining white sugar, for example. First, you need sugar, and sugar needs sugarcane. From sugarcane to sugar, and then refining and purifying it, many industries are involved. So, I suggest you form your own teams and create an industrial cluster to achieve common prosperity!"

Xiao Ce's words left everyone somewhat confused.

Seeing Jin Dawei nodding repeatedly, Xiao Ce asked, "Did you understand?"

Jin Dawei nodded and said, "That's right, Your Highness, you've explained it very clearly. What's there to misunderstand? For example, if I want to make Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar, I can recruit a hundred people. Twenty of them can deal in sugarcane, twenty can deal in refining sugarcane into brown sugar, twenty can deal in refining brown sugar into white sugar, and the rest can directly sell white sugar... This way, everyone can make money, it's a win-win situation, and we can also increase production..."

When Jin Dawei said that, everyone's eyes lit up, and they immediately understood.

Xiao Ce nodded with great satisfaction: "Not bad, as expected of Zhang Yunqing's brother. Of course, these techniques of mine aren't given to you for free. My Northern Desert Prince's Mansion will charge you a patent fee of five million taels of silver per year, plus half of the profits! Apart from that, I don't care how you sell or market this product!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jin Dawei asked, "Your Highness, I have another question... Snow Frost Sugar and Immortal Wine are easy to deal with, but the sale of Tianshan Snow Salt might be at risk of being restricted by policy! The national policy of Xiao Kingdom is to prohibit the private sale of salt!"

Xiao Ce nodded: "That's right! We really don't sell salt. Who said we sell salt? No salt on the market is as pure as ours. From now on, you should call this Tianshan Snow Salt sodium chloride and sell it as sodium chloride! It's not the same thing as salt; it's just something made from salt."

Seeing Jin Dawei still hesitating, Xiao Ce continued, "Salt certainly can't be sold, but can dishes with salt in them be sold in restaurants?"

Everyone nodded.

Xiao Ce spread his hands: "That settles it! Our sodium chloride is processed from salt, can we sell it?"

Everyone nodded instinctively.

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "That settles it! These are the few things. After you go back, those who want to participate should go and register with Uncle Lai. Then Uncle Lai will make the specific arrangements! I'll say it again: don't engage in cutthroat competition. If everyone works together, everyone can eat their fill and have a good meal!"

"But if anyone tries to sabotage this, don't blame me for being ruthless! If you work for me, I'll make you all incredibly wealthy businessmen within three years."

Everyone's eyes lit up as they listened.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's almost time... everyone can leave now."

At this point, everyone bowed, and Jin Dawei said, "Your Highness, are you sure you don't need food? If food is scarce, we can all chip in and hopefully sustain Beiwang County for a month or two..."

After Jin Dawei spoke, all the businessmen nodded in agreement!

They listened to Xiao Ce's grand vision, even if it was just empty promises, and willingly accepted it all.

And it tastes sweet.

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "No need, you can keep your food."

The crowd asked in confusion, "Your Highness, the granaries have all been burned down. Even if the common people don't need to eat, the army still needs money and provisions..."

Xiao Ce interrupted with a wicked smile, "Who said the granary was burned down?"

The crowd became even more puzzled.

Xiao Ce said, "I possess divine powers, and under the protection of the immortals, our provisions have not been damaged in the slightest. Therefore, there is absolutely no food crisis in our entire Northern King Prefecture, so you can rest assured..."