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

Xiao Yang spoke very directly.

After listening, Xiao Ce gave a bitter smile: "Look at the current situation. They are determined to split us. Unless we use force, we have no better way."

Xiao Yang nodded.

"Alright, Your Highness, whatever you say, I will do! Just give the order."

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Remember this, your purpose on this trip is nothing more than to win over as many people as possible. This will benefit you in securing your throne in the future!"

Seeing Xiao Ce say this, Xiao Yang grinned and nodded repeatedly.

"Your Highness, don't worry! As for my mother..."

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, "Since she doesn't come to you, it means she must have her own plans... Here's what you should do: tomorrow, find an opportunity to talk to Xiao Wenqin and say that you want to take your mother out of the palace. See if they try to stop you. If they do, then it means they have a problem. Of course, if they don't stop you, and your mother is unwilling to leave the palace, then it means your mother has some kind of plan."

"Of course, if your mother comes back with you, then everyone will be happy, right?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Xiao Yang's eyes lit up and he said to Xiao Ce, "Brother, you are truly amazing. Your mind is so sharp... How come I couldn't have thought of that?"

Xiao Ce was both amused and exasperated by Xiao Yang's knack for seizing every opportunity to flatter him.

"Alright, if anything comes up in the future, I'll have Qian Dafang contact you..."

Xiao Yang nodded, then asked Xiao Ce, "Brother, are you leaving?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "I probably won't stay for too long! But I won't be leaving anytime soon. I've already told you what to do. From now on, it's up to you to do it yourself. You've been by my side for a while, and I've taught you quite a bit, haven't I? How much have you learned?"

Xiao Yang looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Brother, I have learned at least seventy or eighty percent of what you taught me."

Xiao Ce stood up, patted Xiao Yang on the shoulder, and said, "That's enough!"

"But..."

Before Xiao Yang could finish speaking, Xiao Ce interrupted, "You don't want to be my puppet forever, do you? I made you emperor, not because I want you to be my puppet."

Xiao Yang nodded first, then added, "Brother, if I could be your puppet for life, I would be willing."

Xiao Ce looked at what Xiao Yang said and patted him on the shoulder: "You kid, you've really come to your senses."

After saying these words, Xiao Ce stopped talking about these serious topics.

Instead, he turned to Qian Dafang and started talking about business.

Especially trade with the Western Regions.

Qian Dafang was naturally very happy to agree, and listened as Gulimiza mentioned the trading center that Xiao Ce had set up in the Western Regions.

Qian Dafang immediately became very interested upon hearing this.

He then asked Xiao Ce about the trading center.

Xiao Ce didn't hide anything and told him how to make money at this trading center.

After hearing this, Qian Dafang's eyes were practically sparkling with excitement.

In particular, when Xiao Ce talked about the futures market model, he felt as if a new world had been opened up for him.

Xiao Yang wasn't interested in this; he could hear Xiao Ce yawning repeatedly as he listened to what Xiao Ce was saying.

Xiao Ce told him to go back first, as he still had many things to do.

Xiao Yang didn't dawdle this time.

As Xiao Ce and Qian Dafang were talking, Qian Dafang asked someone to bring paper and pen, and wrote these things down in detail.

Furthermore, questions were raised.

Xiao Ce originally intended to have Qian Dafang and the others find a way to establish such a large trading center.

They initially thought this thing was too advanced, and they didn't know if they could accept it.

To Xiao Ce's surprise, Qian Dafang's ability to accept things far surpassed his own.

The next day.

As Xiao Ce had instructed, Xiao Yang, as always, displayed a sorrowful expression.

To make it seem like he hadn't eaten or rested well.

Xiao Yang even had someone do his makeup to make him look a little haggard.

After Xiao Yang arrived, he first started crying and wailing as usual.

Immediately afterwards, he knelt down beside the coffin.

It wasn't until after the morning ritual ended that Xiao Wenqin pulled Xiao Yang aside.

“Brother, yesterday I forgot about your troops in the northern desert... The troops in the northern desert are your elite army... It's unnecessary for you to have such an elite army guarding there. The Turks have already been defeated by you... They wouldn't dare to do anything.”

Xiao Yang said to Xiao Wenqin, "Your Majesty, it seems you still don't quite understand the situation in the Northern Desert. Although the Northern Desert is a barren land, the Yanmen Pass there serves the same purpose as the Yumen Pass; they function as our gateway... If this gateway is lost, our Central Plains will never be peaceful again. The Turks can come and go as they please, and they can't do anything to us..."

"Furthermore, Your Majesty, you are unaware of the following... We are not only threatened by the Turks, have you heard of Tsarist Russia?"

Xiao Yang had intended to show off, but he never expected Xiao Wenqin to know: "Of course... it's north of our Gobi Desert, north of the Heihe River, known as the River of Death in Gobi! There lives a group of Slavs there, and they have a country called Tsarist Russia. However, that country seems very mysterious, and we don't have much interaction with them..."

"Brother, does Tsarist Russia, which was originally considered a barbarian Slavic people, dare to challenge us now?"

Xiao Yang listened to Xiao Wenqin's analysis.

Xiao Yang was somewhat dazed and asked Xiao Wenqin, "Your Majesty, how did you know?"

Xiao Wenqin said to Xiao Yang, "When I was studying at the academy, I read about this in some books... I used to think it was fake... but now it seems to be true! What do those Slavs look like?"

Xiao Yang was almost stumped by Xiao Wenqin's question, but fortunately, Xiao Ce had mentioned it to Xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang then followed Xiao Ce's description and began to speak with Xiao Wenqin.

Actually, Xiao Yang had never seen it either. However, he had learned from Xiao Ce that even when encountering things he was unsure about, he should still have confidence.

As expected, Xiao Yang was certain that he had seen it before, and he said it directly.

Xiao Wenqin clearly believed him: "It seems we can't move the army in the northern desert either..."

Xiao Yang said to Xiao Wenqin, "Your Majesty, of course it's not that we can't move... If you want to move, you can... What you just said is also wrong. What 'my army' and 'prince'? Under heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king. We are all His Majesty's!"

Upon hearing Xiao Yang's words, Xiao Wenqin was taken aback: "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king! Second brother, you must say that well!"

Xiao Yang thought to himself that he was just borrowing Xiao Ce's words. He realized that he wasn't very cultured, so he quickly explained.

"It wasn't me who said it, it was what the book said...it was what the book said..."

Xiao Wenqin asked curiously, "What book is it?"

Xiao Yang gave an awkward smile: "I don't remember either, I only remember it was from a book! I just thought the sentence was powerful, so I wrote it down..."

Seeing this, Xiao Wenqin nodded, then gave a wry smile: "Second brother, how wonderful it would be if the other imperial brothers were like you?"

Seeing this, Xiao Yang asked, "Your Majesty, are those guys still not coming?"

Xiao Wenqin shook his head: "They won't come... They made it clear that they won't come unless I abdicate! And they even demanded that I hand over my father's remains... They said they need to have them examined..."

When Xiao Wenqin brought up this matter, Xiao Yang quickly asked, "By the way, Your Majesty, there's something I've been thinking about... I'd like to ask you about it, but I don't know if it's appropriate?"

Xiao Wenqin looked at Xiao Yang, then smiled and said, "Second brother, go ahead and ask."

Xiao Yang said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony, will I? Father's health has always been excellent. To exaggerate a bit, he could even kill a tiger... How could he have died so suddenly, and from such a sudden illness... What illness did he have?"

Xiao Wenqin's next answer surprised Xiao Yang.

"Second brother, you're a smart man... Since you've come with sincerity, I won't hide it from you anymore! Father died of poisoning..."

Xiao Yang had actually already learned about it from Xiao Ce, but he still pretended to be surprised.

"What? Died from poisoning? This...how is this possible? Who had the audacity to do this?!"

Xiao Wenqin then spoke up, "According to the imperial physician, it was food poisoning. They used the incompatible properties of food to make His Majesty eat it. Father Emperor found out about it too. He arrested the imperial chefs and eunuchs and interrogated them severely. Many people in the palace were arrested and killed, but they have all disappeared without a trace!"

Xiao Yang was somewhat surprised by Xiao Wenqin's candor: "So, Father Emperor knew before he died that someone had poisoned him?"

Xiao Wenqin nodded and said to Xiao Yang, "That's right. However, by the time he found out, he was already terminally ill. The imperial physicians said that medicine was useless... So Father Emperor had some premonition before he died..."

Xiao Yang listened, somewhat puzzled, and said, "Since he had some kind of premonition... then why didn't he establish a crown prince earlier... that way there wouldn't have been so much trouble..."

Xiao Wenqin gave a bitter smile and said, "Second brother, you should know our father. He's extremely suspicious. After he was poisoned, he suspected all of us princes around him..."

"He even gave us some fake imperial edicts just to see our reaction..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yang realized something.

Before Xiao Wenqin could speak, someone said, "Could it be that the imperial edicts issued by the Fourth Prince, the Eighth Prince, and the Ninth Prince were not fake? Were they indeed secretly given to them by Father?"

Xiao Wenqin nodded with a wry smile: "That's right... So, the imperial edicts in the hands of the princes are all genuine... There's no forgery involved!"

Xiao Yang said with a grim expression, "So, all this trouble was caused by Father Emperor?"

He almost swore.

This emperor was incredibly selfish; he was the most bizarre emperor in history.

It's certain that there's no one like it before, and there may not be anyone like it after.

Xiao Wenqin smiled helplessly and nodded: "That's right, Second Brother, he was largely responsible. However, at that time, he only wanted to find out who poisoned him. Who knew that even after he secretly issued an imperial decree to those people, he still couldn't catch the poisoner..."

"After he finally appointed me, he also issued some imperial edicts saying that the previous edicts appointing them as crown prince were canceled. As a result, my brothers all said that I had manipulated the emperor to do that... and they immediately rebelled!"

Xiao Yang said bitterly, "So, we still haven't caught the real poisoner? Father, we've truly lost both our country and our resources. Our Xiao Kingdom was already beset by internal and external troubles, and now, after his actions, it's been driven to the brink of division!"

Xiao Wenqin gave a similarly bitter smile.

Looking at Xiao Wenqin, Xiao Yang couldn't tell that he was acting at all.

Having known Xiao Wenqin for so long, Xiao Yang felt that he was still the same as when he was a child, a refined and cultured scholar.

He did not become arrogant and condescending after becoming emperor.

After all, he can't fake this kind of state!

If this is really an act, then this person is terrifying.

Xiao Yang thought to himself that Xiao Ce had never had any contact with this Xiao Wenqin, and perhaps his opinion would change after they did.

Seeing that Xiao Wenqin remained silent, Xiao Yang asked, "Your Majesty, what are your thoughts now?"

Xiao Wenqin gave a bitter smile: "To be honest, Second Brother, before Father Emperor died, he asked me to bring you back. You can help me!"

Did he know about his sons' rebellion before he died?

Xiao Wenqin shook his head: "I don't know..."

Xiao Yang sneered: "He really is a good father. He can't think of any good things, but he remembers me when it comes to cleaning up his mess."

After Xiao Yang finished speaking, he realized that he had seemingly spoken out of turn.

Then he turned to Xiao Wenqin and said, "Your Majesty, please don't mind... I just think those foolish things he did before he died!"

Xiao Wenqin nodded and said with a smile, "Actually, I also disagree with my father's approach!"

Xiao Yang then pledged his loyalty, saying, "Your Majesty, since I've come, it means I acknowledge your authority. Since Father has left this mess behind, let's find a way to resolve it... So, you asked me to bring the troops from the Western Regions and the Northern Desert to fight them... let's fight them..."

After listening to Xiao Yang's words, Xiao Wenqin's eyes showed a touch of emotion.

"Your Majesty, this matter is of utmost importance! I still think we should discuss it with some ministers. I actually don't recommend using force!"

Xiao Yang nodded: "Your Majesty, I'll listen to you. Before, I disliked you entirely because of that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce... Now that good-for-nothing is in the Western Regions, we're no longer in this situation..."

Xiao Wenqin gave an awkward smile: "Actually, my eldest brother isn't..."

Xiao Yang waved his hand to interrupt: "Alright, let's not talk about things that displease His Majesty! By the way, there is something else I need to discuss with Your Majesty."