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

It's important to know that the stability of the grenades they made was far inferior to that of later generations...

Even a slight impact or a large shock could easily cause it to explode.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Ce immediately told them to remove the bomb from his body without saying a word.

Then, frightened, he ran out and told them to untie him before approaching him again.

Qian Dafang then came over and asked, "Your Highness, is this dangerous?"

He seemed to still have lingering fears.

Xiao Ce's facial muscles twitched, then he said to Qian Dafang, "You don't have any on you either, do you?"

Qian Dafang shook his head and said, "I don't have any on me, but I hid ten boxes under my bed..."

Xiao Ce: "..................................................."

Xiao Ce was completely speechless, wondering if it was just that their people were lucky.

Their hand grenades are more stable.

Despite the locals' crude usage, there has never been an explosion that injured anyone.

Seeing that Xiao Ce did not answer, Qian Dafang asked Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Xiao Ce said, "Ten boxes of grenades, one wrong move and you're all dead. Didn't I tell you to be careful when transporting these things... Each grenade was carefully wrapped to prevent an explosion due to instability."

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Qian Dafang swallowed hard.

After all, judging from Xiao Ce's expression, he didn't seem to be joking.

Qian Dafang immediately arranged for someone to move the grenades from under his bed to the side.

Xiao Ce then said to Qian Dafang, "It seems I still need to give you some regulations regarding the transportation and storage of these things... These things either don't cause any problems! If a problem does occur, it's not just a matter of lives being lost. Moreover, we don't transport small quantities each time, so people might get injured..."

With that, Xiao Ce went to his study and wrote down a set of guidelines for them.

I had given instructions to Lien Chan before, but I hadn't told these people.

This unexpected complication did require Xiao Ce to expend some of his energy.

...

At the same time, she also told Xiao Yang about the 'benefactor'.

Tell him to keep an eye on it.

However, Xiao Yang replied that Xiao Wenqin was probably unaware of the situation.

Moreover, according to Xiao Yang's observation, this Xiao Wenqin was a very typical scholar.

The one who truly pushed things forward behind the scenes was probably Consort Yun.

The following day, before the funeral began.

Xiao Wenqin and some important officials discussed the matter of the rebellious princes.

Most of these important officials are people Xiao Yang doesn't know.

Xiao Wenqin said that since Yin Weiyong left, a group of his confidants have resigned.

Not only that, but the ministers supported by the fourth, eighth, and ninth princes have all left.

Therefore, there weren't many ministers left on this side.

However, those who remained were the officials who were loyal to the Xiao Kingdom, even if they were a bit pedantic.

However, there is absolutely no problem with loyalty.

Most of these ministers were promoted by Xiao Wenqin.

Xiao Yang stood to one side, looking completely bewildered, unlike yesterday.

Now, he was confident that he would definitely make an appearance today, because Xiao Ce had already given him some ways to speak here today.

Xiao Yang didn't need to question the methods Xiao Ce provided; they would definitely earn their admiration.

"Gentlemen, the day after tomorrow is the Emperor's funeral. It's quite obvious that the princes outside won't be coming! What do you all think we should do next? All the messengers we sent have been killed!" Xiao Wenqin said.

The ministers looked at each other in surprise.

"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if they don't come. They wouldn't have come back after they left. We'll just issue a proclamation to reprimand them...we'll condemn them...let the people condemn and despise these traitors."

After a minister spoke out.

Xiao Wenqin listened with a hint of helplessness. What kind of solution was this?

These people are clearly rebelling! Besides, the tactic of condemnation has already been used before.

No matter how Xiao Wenqin condemned them, they condemned him back exactly as he had said, and after a while, it was like a shrew cursing in the street.

Just then, another minister retorted, "What kind of solution is this? In my opinion, we've been putting on a show for so long! We should show them our strength and defeat them! We have a considerable force; if we can defeat one of them, the others will surely come to negotiate obediently. We've been too soft."

"Lord Xu, what you're saying makes it sound like everyone knows we have to subdue them! But subduing them is easier said than done! The only army we have is General Wang Guanzhong's 200,000 troops, while the combined armies of their various families are several times larger than ours!"

"Why aren't they making any moves now? They're hoping we'll take action so they can benefit... So, whoever makes a move now will be the one who gets taken advantage of."

"Lord Wang, are you saying we should do nothing now? We are the legitimate rulers, yet we do nothing and invite ridicule from the world?"

"Hmph...that's still better than rashly launching an attack, only to be defeated one by one, and then letting those people invade Kyoto!"

It looked like these ministers were about to start fighting each other.

Xiao Wenqin then stepped in to mediate: "Gentlemen, what you all say makes sense... We are all doing this for the good of Xiao Kingdom, and we all want to come up with a better solution."

"Your Majesty, we are now in a complete dilemma. We can neither advance nor retreat... Those princes dare to be so arrogant because they know we are in this situation... If our forces were several times larger than theirs... would they still dare to be so arrogant?"

One of the ministers who advocated war, named Xu Yuan, was speaking when he suddenly thought of something.

He suddenly looked at Xiao Yang to the side.

Then his face broke into a smile as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum!

"Yeah! What are we discussing here? Don't we have a powerful weapon right here? Why are we making trouble for ourselves?"

After hearing Xu Yuan's words, the ministers all looked at Xiao Yang.

And so, they all understood each other perfectly.

Even Lord Wang, who wasn't a proponent of war, clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Not bad...not bad...King Anyang is still here! How could we forget about our Xiao Kingdom's greatest war god!"

"Our Prince Anyang single-handedly defeated the Turks and held firm in the northern desert. He routed the Turks... Not only that, even when he went to the west, he was able to guard a region. He is truly a blessing to our Great Xiao!"

"Yes...yes, we also have 200,000 troops in the west and 200,000 elite troops in the northern desert...we have troops...we have Lord Anyang, so we can just tie them together and fight them all, it's not a problem at all!"

...

These adults, upon thinking of Xiao Yang, immediately began to praise him.

In the past, Xiao Yang would have been excited to hear these people boasting.

Now, Xiao Yang only feels that these people are treating him like an idiot.

Before Xiao Yang could speak, Xiao Wenqin said, "Gentlemen, you are right. Prince Anyang is indeed the God of War of our Great Xiao."

"He also made great contributions to our Xiao Kingdom. However, you should not forget that the Turks north of the Gobi Desert are already lurking and watching us with predatory eyes, ready to take revenge at any time."

"Therefore, no matter what, the army in the northern desert must not be defeated. Although the land in the northern desert is barren, it is the shield of our Xiao Kingdom's Central Plains. We must not lose the northern desert. If we lose the northern desert, then it will be as easy as taking something out of a bag for the Turks to enter our Central Plains. Moreover, without the shield, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven to fight back."

"The same principle applies to the Western Regions, which you gentlemen may not know. While we were in turmoil in Xiao, the kingdoms of the Western Regions had already unified. Those countries that we used to call foreign tribes and small states have now become a federation. They have unified the military and the law... and are no longer countries that we can look down on."

"Now that things have turned out this way, with our strengths and weaknesses shifting, we must be even more cautious about underestimating our enemy..."

Xiao Wenqin is explaining.

Xiao Yang chimed in, "Besides, outsiders don't know. Gentlemen, don't you know? When I was sent to guard the Western Regions, the troops were arranged by my father at Xiao Xiangqing's instigation. Those troops were all unwanted by other units. To put it bluntly, describing them as 'misfits' wouldn't be an exaggeration..."

"Those troops might be able to intimidate people by standing there... but if you let them fight... they'd be laughed out of the room..."

When Xiao Yang spoke, some people were unaware of the situation, but some veteran officials were aware of it.

They all chimed in, "That's right, the troops from the Western Regions are hard to deal with... Even if we bring them over, they'll probably just be sending our own people to their deaths."

After listening to Xiao Wenqin's words, Xu Yuan still managed to grasp some of the problems.

"Your Highness Prince Anyang, the soldiers in the Western Regions are difficult to mobilize. We can mobilize the soldiers in the northern deserts... You know, those territories in the Central Plains have all been occupied by those rebellious kings... If you stay there, aren't you just helping them defend them? Why not send troops to quell them... If they are quelled, our country will be at peace. Even if they aren't quelled, let those Turks come and keep harassing them..."

Before Xu Yuan could finish speaking, Xiao Yang said sternly, "Lord Xu Yuan, you are too short-sighted! How could you do this?"

"How we fight and quarrel with those rebellious princes is a family matter! To be honest, whether our new emperor Xiao Wenqin sits on the throne or some other prince sits on it, it's still the Xiao family that sits on it..."

"If we let the Turks attack, they won't be polite. They'll treat us like pigs and dogs. It's easy to hold onto the northern desert, but if the Turks take it, it will be difficult to attack again... We should be thinking about how to resolve this peacefully, not about hurting the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred of our own."

"Otherwise, even if we quell the rebellion of the Four Kings, how will we deal with the threat from the Turks?"

Xiao Yang's words left Xu Yuan speechless.

The ministers standing nearby listened and echoed their agreement.

"Indeed, what the Prince of Anyang said is very true! We should distinguish between inside and outside..."

"Yes, we must resolve internal troubles, but we must also defend against external enemies. Otherwise, as the King of Anyang said, even if we pacify the Xiao Kingdom, what's the point if we end up with a country devastated and in crisis on all sides?"

...

Xu Yuan listened to these words and said, "By the same logic, if we cannot quell the rebellion of the Four Kings, then even if we guard the border, we are guarding it for those rebellious kings...aren't we just doing the work for them?"

Xiao Wenqin then said, "The Rebellion of the Four Kings will definitely be quelled; it's just a matter of time. Preventing foreign enemies from entering the country is my primary consideration as emperor!"

"We've already said we'd protect the borders and ensure the safety of the people! So, naturally, protecting the borders is the first priority."

As he spoke, Xiao Wenqin looked at Xiao Yang and said, "Brother, from what you've said, it seems you must have many ideas... I wonder, do you have any good plans?"

After listening to Xiao Wenqin, Xiao Yang remained silent for the first time.

Subsequently, several ministers began to ask questions.

Xiao Yang then slowly began to speak.

"Actually, it's not that there's no way out. Besides, I'm not a proponent of war. After all, no matter how we fight, it's just a self-inflicted drain on our Xiao Kingdom's defense forces! It's completely unnecessary."

Xiao Yang first expressed his attitude according to the note given to him by Xiao Ce.

After hearing Xiao Yang's words, everyone nodded in agreement...

"Prince Anyang, you mean...we won't fight either? But now that you've come this far, you must have heard some things. They're incredibly arrogant..."

Xiao Yang nodded: "That's right! This problem is definitely not easy to solve. If it were easy, we wouldn't have been discussing it here for so long."

The group nodded.

Xiao Yang then spoke up, "Actually, I do have a very good method..."

Under the expectant gaze of the group.

Xiao Yang didn't rush to speak, but instead asked Xiao Wenqin, "Your Majesty, you trust all these ministers, right? After all, I'm quite unfamiliar with many of them..."

Xiao Wenqin looked around and naturally knew that what Xiao Yang was about to say was very important.

As Xiao Wenqin was observing, the ministers, one by one, raised their hands and swore a solemn oath...