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

He gestured for Xiao Yang to walk ahead.

Xiao Ce followed behind, noticing that these officials hadn't even changed out of their official robes, clearly having come directly after court.

After Xiao Yang stepped forward, the officials greeted him one after another, naturally ignoring Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce was happy with this.

Once inside the Prince's residence, he was naturally ignored.

Xiao Ce then asked Fu Yao, "What's going on?"

Fuyao then said, "Your Highness, just now quite a few officials came to offer their condolences, but there was nothing unusual about it."

Xiao Ce nodded, presumably it must have happened in the imperial court.

Since Xiao Dingbang never mentioned this matter, they all assumed that he had tacitly approved of it.

This is why some people who were on good terms with the King of Zhen wanted to come, but were wary of the Emperor's attitude.

Now that we have the emperor's approval, we've made it through.

Xiao Ce told Da Lei to instruct his men to keep an eye on things, and then he went back to his room to attend to his own business.

...

At that moment, a carriage passed by outside the Prince's Palace in Zhenguo.

The carriage stopped in front of the town's royal palace.

Then a young man in white gently lifted the curtain.

A servant dressed in blue stepped forward and asked, "Young master, would you like to pay your respects?"

The young man in white shook his head and said, "I thought there would be no one, but I didn't expect quite a few people to come. Let's wait a moment! Let's go into the palace first."

As the young man in white spoke, he lowered the curtain of the carriage.

The servant in blue continued driving the carriage.

...

Inside the palace, Xiao Dingbang frowned as he reviewed the memorials.

Since Xiao Dingshan died, reports of unrest from various places have been coming in one after another, as if they had all conspired together.

This instantly worsened Xiao Dingbang's mood, which had improved somewhat due to Xiao Dingshan's death.

"His Majesty."

Seeing that Xiao Dingbang's brows were so furrowed they could kill a fly, Lu Banban still cautiously called out.

Xiao Dingbang looked at Lu Banban: "What's wrong?"

"Consort Yun requests an audience!" Lu Banban said, bowing.

Xiao Dingbang was full of surprise, because as long as he didn't go looking for Consort Yun, she would never bother him.

That's like the sun rising in the west.

"Oh? She wants to see me? What happened?"

Lu Banban said with a smile, "Your Majesty, it is said that the Thirteenth Prince has arrived in the capital and is entering the palace!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Dingbang's eyes brightened considerably, and his expression became excited. He placed the memorial in his hand on the table.

"What? The thirteenth prince has arrived?"

Lu Banban nodded: "Your Majesty, that's what Consort Yun said!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Dingbang immediately stood up: "Great! Finally, some good news!"

He got up and walked directly to the entrance of the hall.

Consort Yun was already waiting at the door. When she saw Xiao Dingbang come out in person, she said, "Your Majesty, why did you come out in person?"

"I heard that Wen Qin has arrived, but where is he?"

Consort Yun cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, the people at the palace gate just came to report, and I have just confirmed that Wen Qin should be on his way. Your Majesty instructed me before that you should be informed as soon as Wen Qin returns. So, as soon as I found out, I came here immediately."

Xiao Dingbang nodded: "He came directly to your palace, didn't he?"

Consort Yun nodded.

Seeing this, Xiao Dingbang happily pulled Yunfei along, saying, "Let's go, let's hurry over there."

"Your Majesty, will this interfere with your handling of state affairs?"

Xiao Dingbang waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter whether those messy things happen a day earlier or a day later."

With that, he pulled Consort Yun onto his imperial carriage and headed to Consort Yun's palace.

Upon arriving at Consort Yun's palace, a young man in white was already waiting for them.

This young man in white was none other than Xiao Wenqin, the thirteenth prince of Xiao Kingdom and son of Consort Yun.

Xiao Wenqin displayed exceptional literary talent at the age of three, which caught the eye of Consort Yun's father, Guan Shizhong.

Consort Yun came from the Guan family of Yinchuan, one of the four great clans of the Xiao Kingdom.

The Guan family of Yinchuan is widely recognized by scholars as the foremost literary family in the land.

Guan Shizhong discovered Xiao Wenqin's talent and petitioned the emperor to allow Xiao Wenqin to study at the Guan family.

Xiao Dingbang naturally agreed, after all, in terms of literature, even the teachers in the palace were far inferior to the teachers in the Guan family.

Xiao Wenqin has only returned a few times over the years, but each time he does, he is appreciated by Xiao Dingbang.

Xiao Wenqin was waiting at the door when he saw the imperial carriage arrive.

Xiao Wenqin immediately stepped forward and knelt down to pay his respects to Xiao Dingbang.

Xiao Dingbang ran forward excitedly and helped Xiao Wenqin up: "Wenqin, get up! Get up! I've missed you so much."

As Xiao Dingbang spoke, he looked at Xiao Wenqin with a satisfied expression.

"You've grown taller and look like an adult now! Not bad, not bad! It's just that you're a bit thin. Now that you're back, I'll teach you martial arts."

Xiao Wenqin cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Father! I have long heard of your extraordinary martial prowess. It would be my great fortune to receive some guidance from you."

Consort Yun smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Wenqin, let's go inside and talk."

With a smile, Xiao Dingbang took Xiao Wenqin's hand and said, "Come on, your father wants to have a good talk with you."

Upon arriving at the palace, Consort Yun ordered that pastries and tea be prepared.

Xiao Dingbang then started chatting with Xiao Wenqin, who spoke eloquently and fluently.

Xiao Dingbang nodded repeatedly as he listened: "Indeed, Wenqin. You haven't wasted your time at the Guan family in Yinchuan all these years. You've gained considerable insight!"

Xiao Wenqin cupped his hands to Xiao Dingbang and said, "Father, have you been troubled by something lately?"

Xiao Dingbang asked Xiao Wenqin with a surprised look how he knew.

Xiao Wenqin said, "Reporting to Father, on my way back from the Guan family in Yinchuan, I witnessed many scenes of famine, floods, and insect plagues in various places. As the saying goes, when there are unusual celestial phenomena, there must be unusual events. Father must be troubled by this matter."

Xiao Dingbang nodded: "That's right! Disaster relief is needed in various places, and the national treasury is also tight. Most importantly, local governments are still cutting back and exploiting... Less than 30% actually reaches the people."

Xiao Wenqin said to Xiao Dingbang, "Father, actually, it is not difficult to deal with this kind of embezzlement of disaster relief grain and fodder."

Before Xiao Wenqin could finish speaking, Consort Yun whispered a reminder from the side: "Wenqin, don't talk nonsense... How would you know a method that none of the court officials have known? You've never even been to court. Don't spout such nonsense."

Xiao Dingbang waved his hand: "Consort Yun, this is not the imperial court. Besides, this is just a chat between my son and me. Wenqin, you may say whatever you want... I will not blame you if you are wrong."

Xiao Wenqin nodded, then said to Consort Yun, "Mother, although I am not in the imperial court, there were political discussions in Yinchuan, specifically addressing the problems currently facing the Xiao Kingdom. Actually, this issue of embezzlement of disaster relief grain didn't just appear recently; it has existed for a long time, and we happened to discuss it..."

As he spoke, Xiao Wenqin said to Xiao Dingbang, "Father, this method is not my personal idea. It was come about through discussions among the scholars of Yinchuan."

Xiao Dingbang's curiosity was completely piqued by Xiao Wenqin: "Tell me quickly..."

Xiao Wenqin cupped his hands and said, "It's actually very simple. Just mix sand into the disaster relief grain. After stirring it, it's very difficult to separate the sand from the grain. In this way, it's useless for them to embezzle the grain. And the real disaster victims have already reached the point of eating dirt, so they don't care about the sand in it."

Xiao Dingbang's eyes lit up immediately: "Grain mixed with sand? Brilliant...brilliant...brilliant indeed...good idea...not only that, once someone dares to sell this grain mixed with sand, it can be used to identify who is privately selling disaster relief grain."

"Wenqin, you truly deserve to be my most beloved son. With such a simple solution, you have already resolved my urgent crisis... Good! Tomorrow in court, you will present this suggestion... I will adopt it, and you will be rewarded with a great achievement."

Xiao Wenqin quickly cupped his hands and said, "Father, no... Your son told you this method not to seek merit, but entirely to share your burdens... I have no selfish motives whatsoever. Father, please just go and make the arrangements..."

Xiao Dingbang said, "How can this be allowed?"

Consort Yun, standing to the side, cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, Wenqin is right. As long as it can share Your Majesty's burdens, that's fine... Besides, this matter isn't a good thing for Wenqin, is it?"

Xiao Dingbang looked surprised: "What do you mean?"

Consort Yun cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, this method did indeed help you. However, it also cut off the livelihood of many people. It is said that cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Therefore, this is not a merit, but rather a black pot...and will make people resentful!"

Consort Yun pointed out the advantages and disadvantages in just one sentence.

Xiao Dingbang suddenly realized: "That's right, then I'll give this 'credit' to that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce."

Consort Yun did not respond.

Xiao Dingbang became interested: "Your family in Yinchuan offers this kind of course? What else are you discussing?"

Xiao Wenqin said, "Father, it is true. There have been continuous natural disasters, and judging from the current situation, they seem to be getting worse. This is the topic of our exam. I have indeed thought about it and come up with some solutions, but they may not be very mature. Father, you can give me your opinion."

Xiao Dingbang nodded: "Okay, Wenqin, you go ahead..."

"Actually, there are two aspects to dealing with this problem: one is to increase revenue, and the other is to reduce expenditure. Since increasing revenue is a natural disaster, it is difficult for us to find a solution. However, we can reduce expenditure."

"My Xiao Kingdom has an army of over 600,000, and these troops are mostly at the cost of attrition... However, many places have not seen war for many years and are mostly garrisoned. Therefore, I believe that we can let them cultivate the land while they are stationed here!"

Xiao Dingbang became interested: "What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Wenqin then began to explain: "It means that the troops stationed in various places can engage in agricultural production and generate profits even when there is no war. They can also reclaim wasteland, so they can not only be self-sufficient, but also produce surplus grain."

“Our army of over 600,000 can be transformed into 600,000 laborers in an instant... This not only saves money but also generates new revenue.”

...

Xiao Wenqin then began to explain the details.

Xiao Dingbang listened with great interest.

If Xiao Ce had overheard this, he would have definitely suspected that Xiao Wenqin had copied his method.

Because the method Xiao Wenqin described was essentially the same as the land reclamation policy he implemented in the northern desert regions.

To be precise, it simply changed its name.

However, Xiao Wenqin's method of "stationing for farming" is more detailed.

After listening to Xiao Wenqin speak for half an hour, Xiao Dingbang's eyes showed even stronger admiration.

"Good! Good! Good! Wenqin, you are truly a savior sent by heaven to save me. Such a method can not only reduce a large amount of expenditure for the national treasury, but may even increase revenue... You can propose this method to the court again tomorrow!"

Then Xiao Dingbang looked at Consort Yun and said, "Consort Yun, this matter is surely possible, isn't it?"

Consort Yun cupped her hands and said, “Your Majesty, perhaps it is better not to. I would like to reiterate what I said before: Wenqin offered your advice to help Your Majesty, without seeking anything in return. Moreover, Your Majesty, you know that our maternal family are all scholars, and the Guan family is unwilling to enter officialdom, so we have no one to rely on. Wenqin, if you are so eager to show off so soon after entering officialdom, I think it would be better for you to keep a low profile.”

"In fact, if His Majesty really wanted to reward Wenqin, it would only take a word... there's no need for all this pretense. Besides, Wenqin has always been quietly studying and is unaware of the dangers of the court."

Xiao Dingbang nodded: "You're right! Then I'll use your method. Wenqin, you've solved my urgent problem in one fell swoop... Tell me, what reward do you want? I'll reward you privately."

Xiao Wenqin bowed humbly, saying, "Father, I want nothing. I only hope that I can use what I have learned over the years to share your burdens and do something for the common people of the world."

When Xiao Dingbang heard Xiao Wenqin say this, his face was full of appreciation.

"Excellent! He truly is my good son... He has the world in his heart and indeed has the countenance of an emperor."

Xiao Wenqin looked extremely apprehensive: "Father...that would be too much for your son, I dare not!"

Siu Ting-pong smiled, looking completely unconcerned.

"If I say you have it, then you have it."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Dingbang noticed that Xiao Wenqin kept looking outside at the sky.

He then asked Xiao Wenqin, "Wenqin, what are you looking at while you keep looking outside?"

Xiao Wenqin spoke frankly to Xiao Dingbang, saying, "Your Majesty, I was observing the sky."

"Is there something you need?" Xiao Dingbang asked curiously.

Xiao Wenqin cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, when I returned to the capital, I saw that the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion was setting up a mourning hall. I didn't go to pay my respects just now because there were so many people. Also, I wanted to pay my respects to Your Majesty and Mother Consort first, so I went into the palace. I thought I would go later when it got dark."

When Xiao Dingbang heard Xiao Wenqin say this, the smile on his face immediately froze a little.

"Are you going to offer sacrifices to the King of the Town?"