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

Da Lei subconsciously glanced at the two guards beside him.

Xiao Ce nodded knowingly to the two men, signaling them to leave.

He was also a little curious about what had happened, since Da Lei never seemed to have much emotional fluctuation.

"Da Lei, what's wrong?"

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "I don't know what happened either. It's a letter from the Twelve Fiends of the Northern Desert."

Now it was Xiao Ce's turn to be surprised.

"Was it delivered personally by the Twelve Fiends?"

Da Lei nodded: "That's right, Your Highness is the one who opened it, so I don't know what it is about."

As Da Lei spoke, he handed a letter to Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce dared not delay, so he took the letter and opened it.

Da Lei watched nervously from the side.

Xiao Ce's expression changed completely after reading the letter.

I finally managed to laugh.

Seeing Xiao Ce laugh out loud, Da Lei's worried expression eased considerably.

Even he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your Highness, it must be good news, right?"

Xiao Ce said with a beaming smile, "That's right, it's indeed good news."

"They even sent the Twelve Fiends to deliver it; I thought something terrible had happened!"

Seeing Da Lei's still-shaken expression, Xiao Ce said, "This is good news that I must know personally. It wasn't sent by Yin Pan'er, but by Uncle Zhong."

Da Lei nodded: "Your Highness, what's the good news?"

"After they improved the coal, they used my technology to smelt steel! Moreover, they have also discovered many mines in the northern desert. We have explosives, and they are using my mining technology to make very smooth progress!"

"Give me enough time, and I really can level up the technology tree. Then we can sweep everything aside! I won't have to play the subservient fool anymore!"

Xiao Ce said with great enthusiasm.

Da Lei listened in a daze, just like before, he understood every word Xiao Ce said.

But when put together, he just couldn't understand it.

"Steel? What is steel? Technology tree? What kind of tree is that...?"

Xiao Ce smiled at Da Lei and said, "Simply put, if we use steel to forge swords, the resulting swords will be able to cut through iron like mud. Not only that, with steel of higher strength, the cannons and other weapons I want to make in the future will be even more suitable."

Da Lei looked embarrassed.

"Your Highness, although I don't understand it, it's still a good thing, isn't it?"

Xiao Ce nodded.

Da Lei nodded and said to Xiao Ce that he would go and settle the messenger.

"By the way, did the messenger take anything else with him?"

Da Lei shook his head: "They just gave me a letter. I'll go ask about it."

Xiao Ce felt that since they had all forged steel, he didn't bother to forge some suitable weapons for him.

After Da Lei went to ask, they gave him a letter but no other token.

This disappointed Xiao Ce somewhat, but then he thought about it again and realized that it was a journey from the northern desert to here.

It was obvious that Uncle Zhong sent people over as soon as he received the news.

According to the letter from Uncle Zhong, the first batch of weapons could be produced within six months at the earliest.

When Xiao Ce saw someone coming, he translated what he thought was useful, which he had written over the past month, using the secret code he had agreed upon with Uncle Zhong and the others, and had the messenger take it back.

After traveling for another two days, they arrived at the famous Nu Mountain within the territory of the Xiao Kingdom.

As Xiao Ce rode his horse, he looked up and saw the majestic mountains standing like giants on the only road between Xiao Kingdom and the Western Regions.

Historically, the territory of the Xiao Kingdom and the Western Regions were separated by the giant Nu Mountain range...

Later, due to the passage of time...

This allowed the territory of the Xiao Kingdom to extend all the way to the Jade Gate Pass outside the mountains.

Even from a distance, one can see that Nushan Mountain is extremely steep.

There are two routes through the Nu Mountains, one of which runs through the foot of the mountains.

However, with no support on either side, it was very easy for them to hide an ambush. This road was created by the people of Xiao.

It was once a road used by ordinary people, but now it is controlled by people from the Western Regions.

The Western Regions army could be faintly seen stationed among the mountains on both sides.

The other road is a winding mountain road that goes up one side, and this mountain road is very rugged.

The mountain path is narrow and winding, like a giant python coiled around the Nu Mountain.

Moreover, it's clear that few people use this path anymore, and it's overgrown with weeds.

Diliti sent out some scouts at the front.

After communicating with the Western Regions army that was lying in ambush on both sides of the mountain, they were allowed to pass.

When traveling through the foot of Nu Mountain, Xiao Ce was genuinely alarmed.

This natural barrier is worth more than a thousand troops; the mountainside is easy to defend and difficult to attack. I don't know what those clever people in the Western Regions were thinking, actually letting go of this natural barrier!

As they passed through, Xiao Ce observed the heads of the ambushing troops peeking out from both sides of the mountain range; at most, there were only a few thousand soldiers.

It seems that the army has already retreated after receiving the news.

After circling around the Nu Mountain from its base, the scene before Xiao Ce surprised him.

After passing Nushan Mountain, the temperature rises sharply.

However, it wasn't a vast desert as Xiao Ce had imagined.

Although it is a desert region, it also has oases, forests, and mountains.

Aside from the scorching temperature and dry air, there wasn't much difference.

The area east of Yumen Pass, encompassing nine cities and one prefecture, is now largely deserted.

All I saw were camel caravans already waiting.

The horse caravans here have all been replaced by camel caravans as they set off.

Although it's a bit slower, it's clearly more suitable for this land.

After all, we had only been here a short time, and many horses had already gotten stuck.

After traveling for two days, we finally arrived at Yumen Pass.

Upon seeing the Jade Gate Pass, Xiao Ce was honestly shocked once again.

I thought the Nushan Mountains were already incredibly formidable, but the Yumen Pass has been repaired to make it as solid as a rock.

The Yumen Pass is built on a small, unremarkable mountain range.

The city walls and passes atop the mountains are tens of meters high, resembling a black dragon lying across the sand.

He now understood why the people of the Western Regions were willing to abandon the natural barrier of Nu Mountain and choose the Jade Gate Pass.

If you are stationed in the mountains, the environment is poor and it is inconvenient to transport food and supplies.

The Yumen Pass was a man-made fortification designed to meet the needs of battle and to allow for the troop buildup of more soldiers for defense.

If a real battle were to break out, it would be easier to mobilize soldiers at the Yumen Pass.

Moreover, according to this negotiation, the Yumen Pass was occupied by the people of the Western Regions, while the natural barrier of Nushan Mountain was given to the Xiao Kingdom.

When they arrived at the Yumen Pass, there were already many men and women dressed in Western Region attire waiting there.

The pass was teeming with countless warriors from the Western Regions.

The guard beside Xiao Ce explained in a low voice, "Your Highness, it is said that the emperors of the five kingdoms in the Western Regions are called kings, but they are referred to as so."

"Their king is already here! To welcome this triumphant delegation."

Xiao Ce nodded and said calmly, "That sounds nice, but they're just here to divide the cake. Let's just watch them fight like dogs."

Just then, a very arrogant and domineering messenger came to the front of the group.

The messenger pointed at Xiao Ce from afar.

"Hey! What are you doing hiding in the back? Can't you see? We're almost in our Western Regions territory! Are you some kind of queen? Can't you show your face in public? The Imperial Advisor orders you to come here right now!"

After the messenger finished shouting, he hurriedly left.

Xiao Ce didn't think much of it, but he could sense the murderous intent in the eyes of the guards around him.

It should be noted that these people were the elite special forces selected by Xiao Ce.

If Xiao Ce hadn't given them orders, that messenger would probably have died hundreds of times over.

Xiao Ce rode forward on his camel.

Seeing Xiao Ce rush over, Diliti grumbled, "Can't you see what's going on? Did I need to invite you? You're really giving me face, or do you have a problem with me...?"

Before Diliti could finish his rant, Ling Chang interrupted him, saying, "Grand Preceptor Diliti, our king has already come out! Let's get down to business first."

Diliti pointed at Xiao Ce and said, "Use your brain and stop dawdling, or you'll regret it! You'll do exactly what I tell you to do, understand?"

Xiao Ce revealed a meaningful smile.

At this time, a group of people had already emerged from below Yumen Pass.

Diliti immediately led his group forward as well.

Xiao Ce subconsciously glanced at Wu Wei and Lin Bang to the side, even though they were following behind Diliti.

However, they were all craning their necks to look at it.

After walking for a short while, a group of people came out from below Yumen Pass.

Judging from the ranks, the five emperors were at the head.

Xiao Ce originally intended to find the emperor of Uz, but his gaze was drawn to the empress of Shanshan.

I thought the empress of Shanshan wouldn't be very beautiful, since she must be quite old to be an empress.

However, after seeing the empress of Shanshan, Xiao Ce realized that he had a stereotype.

One of them had skin so fair it practically glowed, and was about 1.7 meters tall; he held his own among the group of men.

Her long, jet-black hair, as lustrous as a waterfall, cascaded down her shoulders, swaying rhythmically with her movements, adding a touch of liveliness.

Her features were very delicate, much prettier than some of the later actresses like Dilraba or Gulnazar!

She wore a magnificent robe, its exquisite embroidery shimmering in the sunlight, and her face, sculpted like a piece of jade, was flawless.

If there's any flaw, it's that she might look like she's in her thirties. But in Xiao Ce's eyes, a woman her age is a blooming flower, a ripe grape.

She has a more mature and charming appearance compared to some young women.

With the empress looking like this, Xiao Ce felt that his trip to the Western Regions was incomplete.

Just as Xiao Ce was staring at the empress with unbridled eyes, scrutinizing her.

The Empress of Shanshan also noticed Xiao Ce's burning gaze coming from behind the crowd.

She also glanced at Xiao Ce, meeting his undisguised desire in her eyes.

Xiao Ce had expected her to be displeased.

But, she didn't.

She gave Xiao Ce a gentle smile with alluring eyes and nodded slightly.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Ce naturally returned a smile without hesitation.

At this moment, Xiao Ce's gaze turned to the people beside him.

Beside Empress Nanxi of Shanshan, there were three burly adult men wearing small hats, who were likely the kings of the other three countries.

In the very center was a boy who looked to be only five or six years old.

The boy, dressed in imperial robes, looked rather out of place. Without a doubt, this was Ju Wentai, the puppet emperor of the Kingdom of Uzbekistan.

After Dilti stepped forward, he began to talk at length.

So many rulers were listening to him speak, and the other rulers were all smiling and agreeing.

This revealed who held the power of discourse in the entire Western Regions.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Diliti called out to Xiao Ce in an extremely exaggerated manner: "Xiao Ce! Xiao Ce! Come here, let our king see you, the eldest son of the Xiao Kingdom!"

Xiao Ce stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the several rulers.

When Diliti saw that the kings of the various kingdoms returned the courtesy to Xiao Ce, and when he saw that their young emperor Ju Wentai of the Uz Kingdom was also going to return the courtesy, he was surprised.

Diliti stopped him, saying, "Your Majesty, we don't need to. He can't accept your bow. Besides, since he is a hostage, according to etiquette, Your Majesty, he is still considered your son!"

Ju Wentai, the child, didn't quite understand what Dilit meant.

However, looking at his expression, his eyes were full of fear towards Dilit.

Diliti spoke with great provocation, mocking Xiao Ce, "Xiao Ce, your manner of bowing was incorrect. Our king and your father are of the same generation. Since you have come to our Uz Kingdom as a hostage, you are now our king's adopted son. Please pay your respects to your father in the Western Regions! From now on, our king will take good care of you."

"Give our king a grand salute!"

Diliti's words caused an uproar, and the expressions of the kings varied.

Some were somewhat embarrassed, some were gloating, and others were sizing up Xiao Ce, seemingly watching to see how he would react.

Xiao Ce saw Ling Chang standing next to Empress Nan Xi and wanted to speak up for him, but Nan Xi stopped him and also began to scrutinize Xiao Ce.

Based on the fact that Dilit hadn't come looking for him during this time, Xiao Ce knew very well that Dilit wouldn't let him off the hook.

So he was already mentally prepared, right when he was yelling at me to come over.

I already guessed it; he was already planning to make things difficult for himself.

Xiao Ce had already prepared a solution!

Seeing Xiao Ce standing motionless, Diliti said coldly, "What? Are you deaf? Xiao Ce, have you forgotten what I just said to you? Are you trying to challenge me?"

Xiao Ce slowly raised his head and looked at Diliti with icy eyes: "Are you sure you want me to do this?"