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

Bao An's face darkened. "I'm afraid this is inappropriate!"

A burly Khan named Gesa, with a face full of scars, said, "What's wrong with it? You keep saying that the four commanderies of the northern desert are the home of our Turks. Now that we want to go home, are you going to stop us?"

"Exactly! You say one thing and do another! Let me tell you, the Great Khan said he was training the troops. But that's not what we think. If it weren't for the Great Khan stopping us, we would have already razed your land to the ground. Your trash soldiers are nothing but easy prey in front of our Turkic warriors!"

"If you agree, then obediently go back and withdraw your troops! If you don't agree, we'll raze your city to the ground tomorrow."

Bao An's words caused a stir among the audience.

Bao An, his face grim, cupped his hands and said, "Gentlemen, you've misunderstood! That's not what I meant. If you Khans want it, I'll give you all four counties, let alone two!"

"However, my saying it's inappropriate is entirely for the sake of you Khans. If I were here, I could give you whatever you wanted! But if you come and lose the two prefectures, the Emperor will definitely send troops."

“I know that the soldiers who come here will definitely not be a match for the Turkic warriors! But, as the saying goes, even ants can kill an elephant! Our Great Xiao Kingdom has many lowly people, and human life is worthless. But the warriors of the Turkic Kingdom are precious. So, I think that if the Turkic Kingdom is not preparing to attack the Central Plains, then let alone two counties, even four counties, I would offer them up with both hands.”

"Not only that, we can also serve as vanguards for you Khans!"

"However, I do not recommend that you attack the Central Plains. There are many rioters causing trouble in the Central Plains. If the Turks attack, it will only unite the people of the Great Xiao Kingdom to fight against the Turks! As long as you Khans wait patiently, the Great Xiao Kingdom will surely be in chaos within three years! At that time, the Turks will be strong and well-equipped, while the Great Xiao Kingdom will be in turmoil. With a single attack, you can take control of the Central Plains!"

"Therefore, I am truly thinking of the Turkic Kingdom. If you want anything, just tell me, and I will give it to you!"

Bao An bowed deeply and spoke with utmost humility, explaining that these were all things his strategist had taught him.

For him, selling out the country once is selling out, and selling out ten times is also selling out!

It wouldn't matter if the Great Xiao Kingdom was sold off completely, as long as his interests weren't harmed.

Ashina listened to Bao An's words and still felt that what he said made a lot of sense.

"You're right... However, since General Bao has put it that way, we won't stand on ceremony. We need five million taels of silver, so go and prepare it!"

Bao An listened with a grim expression and said, "Your Majesty, this... our four northern prefectures are far too impoverished... Moreover, we gave you all a considerable amount of money and grain before the New Year. The people are practically starving!"

Ashina's face darkened, and he said, "Can't you do it? If you can't, we'll go and collect it ourselves... I'll give you three months! If you can't gather enough, we'll collect it ourselves! Your four northern prefectures aren't just home to ordinary people, they also have quite a few wealthy households, go and think of a way!"

Bao An said with an awkward laugh, "Yes...yes...I'll figure something out!"

Ashina said, "Alright, within seven days, you need to gather one million taels of silver to reimburse our training expenses. You have three months to raise the remaining five million taels. No problem, right?"

"Your Majesty, didn't you just say five million taels?"

Ashina laughed and said, "That's right, so we're not going to have to pay for our own training expenses, are we? General Bao, you talk a good game. Why is it so difficult for you to come up with a little money? If it's so difficult, we might as well do it ourselves..."

Bao An smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes...yes...yes! Ashina Khan, don't worry. I'll send someone to raise the money right away!"

Ashina said with a smile, "Alright, then you should go quickly."

Ashina smiled and waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

After Bao An bowed and left,

The Khans, seeing Bao An's expression, burst into laughter: "Hahaha, Ashina, you're absolutely right. The people of the Great Xiao Kingdom are all sheep... and fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered... We just came here for a stroll and made six million taels of silver, which is more than our annual income..."

Ashina laughed and said, "That's right, these people from the Great Xiao Kingdom are spineless... We're not in a hurry. Let's use their money to strengthen our power first. After they start fighting amongst themselves, we'll directly invade the Central Plains and make all the Han people of the Great Xiao Kingdom our Turkic slaves... Hahaha!"

Bao An left the tent and, listening to the laughter of the Turks, said to the strategist with a grim expression, "Strategist, after we go back, quickly summon all the wealthy households from the four prefectures."

The strategist said, "General, I'm afraid the wealthy families won't agree to pay this much. Moreover, if we push them too far, they might turn against you."

Bao An said, "I don't want them to pay. They have people under them! Ask them for it!"

The strategist said, "General, the entire population of the four prefectures in the northern desert is only a little over 100,000. It would cost six million taels of silver. That's an average of sixty taels of silver per person... Even if we killed them, we still wouldn't be able to come up with that amount."

Bao An said, "Then let the common people borrow from those wealthy households and sign IOUs. Then they can use their labor to pay off the debt! Otherwise, when the Turks come, they will have to become slaves, slaves worse than dogs! Let them choose for themselves! Anyway, the court has rules, and those lowly people can't escape. What else can they do but endure it?"

The strategist cupped his hands and said, "General, you are wise. I will go and do it right away!"

Bao An said, "We must be quick. We can't let these Turkic Khans think I'm incompetent!"

...

Outside Anhua City.

Xiao Ce and his party rode their horses at breakneck speed for two days, finally arriving outside the city on the afternoon of the second day.

However, when they arrived outside the city...

Xiao Ce frowned, for no other reason than this.

Anhua City truly deserves its reputation as one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the heart of the Central Plains.

The city gate was built in a very grand manner, with the city wall being tens of meters high and more than ten meters wide, and the south gate was guarded by soldiers.

Dozens of corpses were hanging directly above the city gate. These hanged people all had a distinctive feature: they were all dressed in tattered clothes.

It seems to be a warning issued to prevent disaster victims from flooding into the city.

Outside the city walls, a dense mass of refugees stretched for hundreds of meters outwards.

Xiao Ce estimated that there were tens of thousands of people.

These disaster victims were all emaciated, dressed in tattered clothes, covered in dust, and with empty and numb eyes.

After Xiao Ce approached, he dismounted and led his horse toward the city gate. Looking at the people along the way, his heart tightened.

Wherever there are disaster victims, there is not a single blade of grass left; the trees have been stripped of their bark and all their leaves have been picked.

As a modern person, he had actually watched some related films and documentaries.

But after witnessing these scenes with his own eyes, Xiao Ce felt as if a huge stone was pressing on his heart!

Xiao Ce's expression didn't look good.

Nie Bing appeared behind him without him noticing, her voice cold: "You can't even stand this? At least they have tree bark to eat! The people of the Northern Desert suffer ten times, a hundred times more than them! Do you know what the people of the Northern Desert eat to fill their stomachs?"

Xiao Ce turned to look at Nie Bing.

Nie Bing said, "They filled their stomachs with yellow mud."

When Xiao Ce was in modern times, he had heard of a type of soil called Guanyin soil...

It is consumed in some very impoverished places abroad.

Seeing Xiao Ce's grim expression, Nie Bing said, "Now you know how ridiculous your three-year agreement was, don't you?"