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

As he spoke, Xiao Ce squeezed the camel's belly, and the camel's pace quickened considerably.

Hu Yidao also squeezed the camel's belly between his legs: "Your Highness, since you've already made your decision, then so be it. However, this thing is really too slow. It's not much faster than me running."

Xiao Ce glanced at Hu Yidao and said, "Then you should get down and run; that will lighten his weight a bit."

Hu Yidao chuckled after being rebuked by Xiao Ce, and then stopped arguing.

He rode a camel and followed.

After Xiao Ce occupied the Three Passes Road area, he did not directly abolish the toll, but instead made some improvements.

Ordinary people don't need to pay, but those who do business still need to pay.

Of course, there is a way: if you trade here, there are no fees. Similarly, the fees charged here at Sanguandao are also free.

As Xiao Ce spoke, he ordered his men to build a trading market on a wasteland next to the Three Passes Road.

Even Ling Chang and the others didn't quite understand the purpose of doing this. Wouldn't it have been simpler to just waive their toll fees?

When they said that, Xiao Ce laughed and said they were fools.

This Sanguan Road is a necessary route within Shanshan, and it is also a necessary passage for foreigners who want to go to certain cities.

With such a huge flow of people, if you're only thinking about toll fees, you're practically begging for food.

However, if we can retain these people and build a trading city...

Where there are people, there will be consumption, and the local economy will naturally be boosted.

With increased foot traffic, the land here will become more valuable, attracting more investors.

This process, repeated repeatedly, creates a virtuous cycle.

Of course, Xiao Ce wouldn't explain to them. According to Xiao Ce's estimate, the results would be seen in less than a month.

Now, the policy has been in effect for a few days, and what we know is that the number of people from all sides is increasing.

This can be seen from the camel caravans coming and going on the road. Moreover, this city of Sanguandao is now riding the wave of major changes in the entire Shanshan region.

He was very confident that he would make the Three Passes Road the center of trade in the Western Regions.

...

At this moment, in the Kingdom of Uzbekistan, a long-stalled court assembly was being held.

The court assembly had been delayed because the ruler of the small state had gone to the border.

Now that the ruler of the small kingdom has returned, everyone is gathered together at the court assembly.

Because the Western Regions had been a vassal state of the Xiao Kingdom for many years, their court was set up in the same way as the Xiao Kingdom's.

The king of the small kingdom sat on the throne, with his ministers standing on either side.

Chi Gao stood beside the king of the small country.

However, the way they greeted each other here was by bowing, and they bowed to the king of the small country.

The king of the small kingdom then addressed the assembled officials in a serious manner: "Gentlemen, thank you all for your help during my time at the border..."

"This time, we achieved great results on the border, thanks to all of you and the three generals of Xiao Guo's Tiger Army!"

After the king of the small country exchanged some polite words...

At this moment, Diliti spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, the three generals have now made outstanding contributions, and we should reward them handsomely."

"Therefore, Wuwei is hereby appointed as the Grand Marshal of the Central Army of the Kingdom of Uz, commanding our 300,000 elite troops of the Kingdom of Uz!"

"We appoint Lin Bang as the Grand Marshal of the Uzbek Cavalry, commanding our 100,000 cavalry."

"Issue the instructor as the commander of the Imperial Guards, and oversee the 100,000 elite Tiger Warriors brought by the General, as well as all other essential defense duties for our capital!"

Diliti then followed Chi Gao's instructions and began to speak.

The reason he dared to say this was that last night, following Chi Gao's instructions, he had already discussed it with all the ministers.

At that time, they will all object, and in that case, Chi Gao's request will be fulfilled.

After Diliti spoke, the king of the small kingdom naturally nodded in agreement with Lou Yao: "The Grand Preceptor is right, he is indeed a talented person, we must make good use of him. What do you ministers think..."

Seeing this, Diliti winked at the ministers beside him.

However, these ministers seemed to ignore him completely, as if they hadn't seen Dilit at all.

Diliti's face immediately turned very ugly.

After a moment, the king of the small kingdom continued, "Gentlemen, do you have any objections? If not, I will announce this appointment!"

When no one responded, Diliti coughed softly.

He was winking and making faces at some people again.

After a while, someone finally came out.

Diliti's ugly expression finally softened a lot.

"Your ruler is wise and sagacious!"

After uttering the words "minister," Chi Gao glared at Diliti with eyes that seemed to be spitting fire.

Diliti will appear increasingly helpless.

After one person spoke first, the others followed suit...

"Your ruler is wise and sagacious!"

Chi Gao stared wide-eyed at Diliti, winking at him as if ordering him to stop it.

But Dilit is certainly not stupid.

These ministers made such a good promise to him last night, but now they've suddenly changed their tune. It's obvious someone is sabotaging them.

After much deliberation, Diliti could only think of one such person.

That was Empress Lou Yao.

After a moment's thought, he also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

After Dilit spoke, Chi Gao almost couldn't resist beating him up on the spot.

But he still held back.

After all this, the appointment is now a done deal.

The three generals who were already outside the palace went inside.

Then, the instructor was appointed and immediately took over the defense of the royal city. The other two generals were also about to be assigned to troops in various places.

After the court session ended, Chi Gao hurriedly left with the ruler of the small state.

Before leaving, Chi Gao gave Dilit a cold look.

Diliti knew he was in trouble, and he discovered that those he thought were his confidants didn't listen to him at all.

Just when he was completely at a loss, a palace maid appeared beside him.

"Master Imperial Master!"

Upon hearing this from the young palace maid, Diliti immediately became very nervous.

"What are your orders, palace attendant?"

When the young palace maid saw Diliti bow to him, she immediately displayed an expression of trepidation.

"Your Excellency, please don't! I cannot accept such an honor."

Diliti's face was ashen as he addressed the young palace servant, "Is this servant someone Lord Chi Gao calling me?"

The young palace maid smiled and shook her head: "Of course not, Grand Preceptor Diliti, I am a palace maid of the Queen Mother. It is the Queen Mother who invited you for a chat!"

Diliti's eyes lit up immediately after hearing what the palace maid said.

It was like grasping at the last straw, or like encountering a beacon in the darkness!

"I have also been wanting to see the Empress Dowager, but I haven't been able to. Please have a palace maid lead the way."

Diliti said anxiously that he had indeed wanted to switch his allegiance to the Queen Mother. However, he had only heard some legends about her.

However, he has never met the First Lady, and previously, to meet her, one had to go through Chi Gao.

Now that the First Lady has approached him, he has finally found an opportunity.

...

They followed the palace maid to one of the halls in the inner palace.

The beautiful woman, Lou Yao, was already waiting.

Diliti had never met Lou Yao before, and this was the first time he had seen her, so he was not sure if this person was the Empress Lou Yao.

"Your Excellency, Imperial Advisor, you must be tired from this trip!"

Just as Diliti was staring blankly at her, Lou Yao spoke to him.

Diliti immediately confirmed Lou Yao's identity and knelt down on the spot with a thud.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Your humble servant, Diliti, greets Your Majesty."

Looking at Diliti's appearance, Lou Yao said with a smile, "Grand Preceptor, how come you went to Xiao Kingdom and learned all that dross from Xiao Kingdom?"

Diliti gave an awkward smile and said to Lou Yao, "I heard that Your Majesty is from the Xiao Kingdom, and I... I thought you would like the Xiao Kingdom's ways."

Lou Yao waved her hand and said, "I don't like Xiao Guo's ways. You should get up first."

After Dili stood up, he saw that Lou Yao did not speak.

He swallowed nervously, then said to Lou Yao, "Your Majesty, I have something I need to ask you to forgive me and punish me."

Lou Yao waved her hand: "This isn't your fault!"

Upon hearing Lou Yao's words, Diliti's face immediately turned awkward: "Mother, do you know what I'm about to say?"

Lou Yao said with a smile, "Of course, I know what you did. Otherwise, why do you think no one did as you said at today's court assembly..."

Diliti's face turned pale: "Your Majesty, it's not that I want to oppose you, it's just that Lord Chi Gao is so aggressive, and he has a lot of dirt on me... that's why I have no choice but to do this."

Lou Yao smiled and said, "Of course I know! However, judging from your performance at the end of the court assembly, there's still hope for you..."

Diliti bowed to Lou Yao and said, "Mother, please punish me..."

Lou Yao waved her hand and said, "You're not comfortable being a puppet national advisor, are you?"

When Diliti saw that Lou Yao had brought this up, his expression turned slightly embarrassed. He then said, "Your Majesty, as long as it is for the good of the Kingdom of Uz, my personal likes and dislikes are not important."

Lou Yao nodded and said, "Not bad! As expected of the person I chose."

Diliti was surprised to hear Lou Yao say this: "Mother, you chose it?"

Lou Yao nodded: "Otherwise, why would you think Chi Gao would be able to find you? The reason I haven't let you see me during this time is because I wanted to test your abilities!"

"Besides, back then Chi Gao could represent me. So, we didn't need to meet. But now, Chi Gao seems to have forgotten that he's just a messenger! He seems to have turned what I gave him into his own personal ability..."

"Then I don't need this person anymore!"

Lou Yao's voice was icy when she said this.

Just then, Diliti swallowed hard, vaguely guessing what Lou Yao was planning to do.

Seeing that Diliti didn't respond, Lou Yao smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I won't let you kill him."

Lou Yao's words, as if she had seen through his thoughts, left Diliti astonished, followed by fear.

This woman is terrifying; she seems to be able to see right through him at a glance.

So, Diliti lowered his head and didn't dare to look Lou Yao in the eye.

Just then, a palace servant's voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the Chief Instructor requests an audience."

Hearing the voice of the palace servant at the door, Lou Yao said calmly, "Go and invite him in."

At this moment, Diliti, as if he had just gotten back to the point, bowed to Lou Yao and said, "Mother, do you think... I... should I excuse myself for a moment?"

Lou Yao waved her hand at Diliti and said, "No need, Grand Preceptor. I invited you here today because I wanted you to be one of my own..."

Dili nodded, but his expression was unnatural.

Lou Yao appears delicate and frail, a beautiful and charming woman, but in reality, her heart is as deep and unfathomable...

At Lou Yao's signal, the coach came over.

Even though the current coach is wearing a full suit of armor, he still doesn't look particularly impressive.

After the coach came in, he subconsciously glanced at Dilit.

Diliti nodded to the coach with an awkward, fawning smile.

The instructor nodded and bowed to Lou Yao, saying, "Your Majesty, the task you instructed has been completed. Would you like to check it?"

Lou Yao nodded.

The coach didn't waste any words and clapped his hands.

A short while later, a man who looked like an imperial guard walked out of the door, carrying a wooden box.

Lou Yao then said to Diliti, who was standing to the side, "Grand Preceptor Diliti, come and see, I've prepared a first gift for you."

Seeing this, Diliti looked extremely apprehensive: "Your Majesty, I didn't do anything wrong; on the contrary, I almost ruined your good deed... Your Majesty, I dare not ask for a gift! I only ask that in the future..."

"Alright, stop with the nonsense. I gave you a gift, so go and accept it." Lou Yao interrupted Diliti directly.

Diliti then nodded with an awkward smile, and stepped forward.

When he reached the wooden box, he still carried a hint of anticipation.

He glanced at the instructor, then at Lou Yao, and gestured for him to open it.

Diliti smiled and opened the huge wooden box.

However, the moment he opened the wooden box, he sensed something was wrong.

Once it was fully opened, inside the dark wooden box lay a bloodied head with a hideous face.

This head belongs to none other than Chi Gao, Diliti's former boss!

Diliti was so frightened that he immediately took two steps back.

Lou Yao smiled and said, "Is the Imperial Advisor satisfied? After he dies, no one but me can restrain you... You will then be able to become a true Imperial Advisor!"

Diliti swallowed hard, nodded repeatedly, and bowed deeply to Lou Yao, his body trembling, to express his gratitude.

Lou Yao walked to the dark wooden box, calmly grabbed Chi Gao's head, and lifted him up.

They locked eyes.

"Chi Gao, tell me, why did you do this? You've ended up like this."