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

Moreover, without Brian Carter, the three countries will receive less.

They still had some details to consider, and said they would need to go back and think about them.

Xiao Ce naturally agreed.

For the next few days, they spent their time discussing these things.

...

The discussion went relatively smoothly.

After the final day of discussions, they all signed the agreement.

After signing the agreement, Xiao Ce did not linger there.

He received a message from the Turkic Kingdom.

They have won a great victory and are now worried about possible retaliation from the other side.

Furthermore, they have already begun to amass troops on the border.

Xiao Ce also realized the seriousness of the problem at this time. He really did not expect that they could be completely wiped out.

After all, the first time it's 30,000, the second time it's 50,000...

Moreover, the second force of 50,000 was considered the elite troops of their Slavic nation.

After these two battles, what was once a grudge between us has now become a real feud!

If so, and they launch a desperate counterattack, they will certainly be their opponents.

Therefore, Xiao Ce canceled his trip to see those warships.

After cancelling the trip, Xiao Ce returned home.

Although the agreement has been signed, there are still things to be done afterwards.

For example, receiving the naval forces that have been mobilized, and inspecting those ships.

Because of Brian Carter.

Xiao Ce was not afraid of her safety.

They left on fast horses this time, because they really didn't want to stay here for even a minute longer!

...

After traveling at breakneck speed for several days, they took a break one day.

Hu Yidao, dressed as a person from India, found him.

At this moment, Hu Yidao truly looked like a person from India.

"You little rascal, you're really well-informed! How did you know I was coming?"

Hu Yidao chuckled and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I am, after all, one of the Twelve Fiends."

Xiao Ce asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Is there some problem on your end?"

Hu Yidao smiled and shook his head, saying, "No problem... what problem could there be... not a single problem! And it went very smoothly, thanks to you, Your Highness..."

"No... I didn't do anything," Xiao Ce interrupted.

Hu Yidao chuckled and then recounted what had happened over there.

His techniques were very useful to those at the very bottom of society.

He believed that within a few months, Sanjay would become a god-like figure.

Xiao Ce nodded in satisfaction and told Hu Yidao that he had reached an agreement with the foreigners.

He was also told that if it was really urgent, he could go to Boudica.

After all, the Turkic Khaganate was quite far away, and as the saying goes, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst!

Boudica can be useful in an emergency.

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, Hu Yidao didn't linger.

He said that Sanjay was still a bit simple-minded, and he needed to keep an eye on him to see if anything would go wrong.

After Hu Yidao left, Gulimiza asked Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I have a question that I've been thinking about for a while now... but I still can't figure it out. I wanted to ask you..."

Looking at Gulimiza's serious expression, Xiao Ce asked with some surprise, "What's wrong?"

Gulimiza said to Xiao Ce, "I think that cooperation with the foreigners was just a formality. They only provided some warships and weapons... Only the first batch of two hundred warships and shells were given away for free. You had to buy everything else yourself!"

"When the time comes, any weapons or other equipment needed will have to be purchased. In essence, they haven't actually spent much money... Consider how difficult the Slavic Empire will be to conquer, how many people and resources it will consume... While you're attacking the Slavic Empire, they can profit from selling you arms. After you conquer it, they can still sit back and reap the profits..."

"So, no matter how I look at it, it's a losing proposition. I really can't see... how we can profit from it!"

When Xiao Ce saw that Gulimiza had raised this question, he smiled and said, "First of all, given the current situation, it would be extremely difficult for us to even build some wooden warships on our own. Because the dead emperor didn't value the navy at all, Xiao Kingdom's naval capabilities are practically zero."

"With our current capabilities and manufacturing level, we are far behind them! So, for now, the only chance for us to overtake them is to leverage their strengths!"

"Looking at us is a loss! Time is money. If we rely on ourselves, it will take three to five years to build a navy that can rival Japan or even the Slavic countries! Not to mention the troops, tactics and a series of other very complicated things."

"Now, the Xiao Kingdom is riddled with holes. We don't have time!"

"Do you think the smooth progress of this collaboration is due to my abilities?"

Gulimiza nodded very firmly, believing it was Xiao Ce's ability.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "It's entirely because I gave them enough benefits... otherwise, why would they help me..."

As he spoke, a sly look appeared on Xiao Ce's face.

"Of course, I'm not stupid. Our cooperation means that after we take over the Slavic and Japanese empires, they'll take a cut based on their national tax revenue..."

"When should we take it? How will the national tax collect it? I have many ways to do this... When the time comes, I can give them as much as I want."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Gulimiza couldn't help but think to herself, "Just as I expected!"

"Aren't you afraid they'll get anxious then?"

Xiao Ce said with a smile, "So, I want to take advantage of this time with them to get as much of their technology as possible. When we become strong, they will have no choice but to suffer in silence."

"Besides, I'm a person of principle, and I would never let them suffer a loss. If they really help me, I'll make sure they get even more!"

Gulimiza nodded in agreement when she heard Xiao Ce say that.

Then, Gulimiza changed the subject and said to Xiao Ce, "By the way, Your Highness... are you going back now to start a war with the Slavs?"

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, "Of course not. Starting a war now is certainly not in our current interest! However, the specifics depend on their attitude... Moreover, there is always a delay in receiving our letters from the Turkic Kingdom! Perhaps they have already started fighting, who knows?"

...

Meanwhile, in the border cities, Nikolayevich Shahar led a group of people to conduct an inspection.

Later, they had people investigate the matter many more times.

The results of the investigation were somewhat hard to accept.

Because they discovered that it wasn't caused by artillery shells, but by hand grenades.

There were even some unexploded bombs here, leaving them speechless!

They racked their brains but couldn't figure out how they did it.

Later, they came up with a possibility that it was an attack by their own army infiltrating the area.

After they finished looking around, they immediately called over some more troops.

Nikolayevich Shahar then asked these people their views on how to deal with the Turkic Khaganate.

The consensus was that we should fight.

However, when Shahar asked the crowd who was willing to fight, the oligarchs immediately backed down.

Even Constantine Eugene, who had been making a great fuss, dared not say anything more.

Nikolayevich Eva then said, "Actually, we could talk before... This time, if we ask to pass through, they will agree. We all know they are capable of fighting now. If we fight them and have a chance of a quick victory, then of course we will fight! But what if we get dragged into a quagmire?"

"You should know that recently, there has been a series of bad news from the Central Plains of Xiao Kingdom. With the support of Fusang Kingdom, Xiao Tao and his group are already making moves, and their tentative battles have caused Xiao Xiangqing and Xiao Zhan to suffer repeated defeats. If we don't give them confidence and weapons support in time... they will discover that Xiao Xiangqing and Xiao Zhan are weakened, and then they will launch a swift and unstoppable attack!"

After listening to what Nikolaevich Eva said.

Constantine Eugene's expression was extremely grim: "So, you mean...we want to negotiate?"

Eva nodded.

Constantine Eugene sneered: "Peace talks? We don't even dare to fight them now... or rather, we can't beat them. What good would it do us to take over the Central Plains in the future? This road will belong to them in the future. If they're unhappy and won't let us walk on it, what are you going to do then?"

Upon hearing Constantine Eugene's words, Eva snorted coldly and then said, "Lord Eugene, I'm not saying we shouldn't deal with this issue. This time, the Turks attacked us entirely because we broke the treaty first. We were supposed to negotiate peace before attacking them, so their attack would be considered retaliation..."

"So, it can be said that it is understandable! I have dealt with Xiao Ce before, he is a smart man... he knows how to prioritize, and so do we."

"Our enemy now is definitely not this Xiao Ce, but the Fusang Kingdom... No matter how skilled Xiao Ce is in battle, I believe that the annihilation of your Saleh armed forces this time was largely due to underestimating the enemy. That man is cunning and treacherous!"

"Precisely because he's clever, he must know that fighting us is not in their best interest. They would naturally prefer us to fight Fusang, so they can benefit from the conflict..."

Eva was interrupted by Constantine Eugene, who said, "That's right...that's exactly it! If we do that, wouldn't we be falling into their trap?"

Eva smiled and said, "It's a simple matter. It's not that we can't defeat the Turks; it's that we don't want to be delayed and waste our time. You've all fought wars; you know that attacking a city is difficult, but defending it is easy..."

"We finally managed to plant two thorns in the Xiao Kingdom, but those two thorns were usually pulled out by the Fusang people! So, we've lost our initiative, and now that they've stabilized the Xiao Kingdom, we're no longer a match for them!"

"So, let's take over the Central Plains of Xiao Kingdom first. Then, we can attack them from both sides! Wouldn't that make things much easier? Besides, maybe that smart guy Xiao Ce will realize that we've taken over the Central Plains and that the situation is hopeless, so he might surrender to us!"

Despite his deep reluctance to believe it, Constantine Eugene did so.

However, at this moment, what Eva said makes a lot of sense.

Constantine Eugene did not respond.

Eva said, "Of course, I don't necessarily want peace talks. I'm just saying that, based on the current situation, peace talks would be more beneficial for us. Of course, if our Slavic nation has very capable generals, then we can also go to war, because it would be even more beneficial to completely subdue them!"

"This is the only way to solve the problem once and for all. The peace talks I mentioned are just a last resort!"

Eva is very good at talking.

Shahar, who had been listening attentively, slowly spoke up: "Eva is right. If we can subdue them, we should... that way we'll solve the problem once and for all. Right now, the most powerful oligarchs and generals in our Slavic country are all here!"

"Does anyone here want to lead troops into battle? I'll give you as many troops as you need this time... the main goal is to defeat them decisively. However, there's a condition: there can't be massive casualties or a crushing defeat. We've already lost 80,000 troops here, although 50,000 belong to Lord Constantine, but they are still part of our Slavic military force..."

"Therefore, what I need is to attack with certainty! We cannot accept another crushing defeat!"

Everyone wanted to give it a try, but then they remembered that the infamous Saleh militia had been completely wiped out.

Most importantly, since Saleh's forces were completely wiped out, they had no idea what tactics the Turkic people were using.

Therefore, they were not confident either.

The group looked at each other...

No one dares to make a guarantee.

At this point, several oligarchs began to speak up, saying, "Actually, I think Eva is right. Our main goal is to defeat the Fusang Kingdom! After defeating the Fusang Kingdom, even if the Turkic Kingdom and the Northern Desert Royal Palace are incredibly powerful, they will be completely trapped inside us, like dumplings! There will be no other way for them to escape."

"That's right, I also support peace talks! Given the current situation, peace talks are indeed the best solution."

The tone of the conversation changed very quickly.

Shahar said to Eva, "Eva, how much of a chance do you think there is left for peace talks?"

Eva shook her head, looking troubled. "After all, we went back on our word first! I have no choice but to give it a try..."

Shahar nodded and said, "No, that's too dangerous! Let's go and fetch him..."

Eva shook her head: "Father, if an ordinary person goes to Xiao Ce, they probably won't even get to see him! I have a way to make sure he doesn't kill me!"