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

The group nodded: "That's right...that's right...Eva is right."

Shahar nodded: "In that case, prepare the best feast, move to another place, and let's talk again..."

Then he looked at Eva and said, "Eva, why don't you go and find him?"

Eva nodded: "Father, of course, no problem... However, I can't change any of the current outcomes."

Shahar nodded: "Of course...we know what to do next?"

Shahar then ordered his men to prepare.

He also instructed Constantine Eugene to give Xiao Ce a friendly look later.

Constantine Eugene nodded: "Your Majesty, I certainly know what it means to be flexible... at least until I found out how he sent those wooden boxes raining down from the sky, I tolerated him..."

Shahar nodded: "Not bad!"

Eva looked at these people and was speechless.

...

Meanwhile, Xiao Ce and Gulimiza, who were being watched over, were playing Go on a piece of paper.

Gulimiza was drawn to this simple yet not-so-simple way of playing.

There are countless changes and transformations within it.

A short while later, a sound came from outside the house.

"You all stand down."

"What? My words don't count? I'm acting on the Tsar's orders!"

Xiao Ce turned his head and saw that Eva was being kept outside.

Eva arrived; clearly, they had received a generous gift from Xiao Ce.

The guard at the gate asked Eva, "Your Highness, we can only let you through with the Tsar's order... Please don't make things difficult for me..."

Eva listened to the guard at the door and said with a hint of helplessness, "Fine, if you don't want me to go in, I don't want to go in anyway."

As she spoke, Eva saw Xiao Ce inside the house.

"Your Highness, they have received the generous gift you sent. They asked me to invite you to dinner later. I'm just a messenger; whether you go or not is up to you."

After listening to Eva's words, Xiao Ce gave her an OK sign.

The two didn't exchange any words before Eva turned and left.

Gulimiza then said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I've discovered that you've also captured the heart of the only princess of the Slavic Empire!"

Xiao Ce smiled upon hearing Gulimiza's words: "Oh? Really? How did you know?"

Gulimiza smiled playfully: "A woman's intuition."

Xiao Ce raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Is your intuition accurate?"

Gulimiza nodded: "Of course it's true, Your Highness. A strong woman like Nikolaevich Eva must admire strength. A man like Your Highness, who is handsome, capable, and resourceful, has no resistance to her."

Seeing Gulimiza praising him so much, Xiao Ce felt a little embarrassed and asked Gulimiza, "Are you talking about Nikolayevich Eva, or yourself?"

Gulimiza didn't shy away from the topic at all: "Me too, I admire strength, I admit it..."

Then Gulimiza said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, can you tell me now? What gift did you give me?"

Xiao Ce said to Gulimiza, "Do you remember the letter we received on our way back?"

Gulimiza nodded and said to Xiao Ce, "Of course, it seems that a technology called hot air balloon or something has achieved a major breakthrough?"

Xiao Ce nodded to Gulimiza: "That's right. The person who wiped out the Saleh armed forces before was none other than this hot air balloon. This time, they promoted this technology to the Northern Desert Royal Palace and told the research institute of Dragon Tiger Stronghold about the problem of not being able to turn. As a result, they solved the problem in less than a few days."

"So, our hot air balloons can now change direction. Moreover, thanks to their improvements, their takeoff capabilities have been greatly enhanced. They immediately implemented the upgrade, and this is their first use. I had them prepare in advance."

"Then, after I gave the order, they came over and flew to their respective locations to deliver the wooden boxes and notes I had prepared to them."

"Once they receive these things, they'll naturally know that I'm letting them off the hook. If I didn't, I would have dropped bombs. And if I did, it would be something they couldn't handle..."

Gulimiza nodded in agreement: "Your Highness, since you have such a method, why not use bombs? Bomb these people to death..."

Xiao Ce looked at the ruthless look on Gulimiza's pretty face and laughed.

He then said, "Because my hot air balloon still has many drawbacks! For example, its range is still limited. At present, it is more of a deterrent. If we go to war with a country like the Slavic Empire, we must be able to break their confidence in a short period of time. Otherwise, getting into a protracted war will not be good for either of us."

"Therefore, the best approach at present is still peace talks... which is the most appropriate."

Gulimiza nodded: "No wonder I invited you to dinner."

As the two were chatting, someone came to invite them...

Xiao Ce didn't stand on ceremony and went with Gulimiza.

This time it was a place to eat, and Shahar and his group were all standing and waiting.

Gulimiza saw everyone standing up to greet her and smiled.

Holding Xiao Ce's arm, she said softly, "Your Highness, they are really quite enthusiastic... completely different from before."

Shahar greeted them with a smile.

"Your Highness, King of the Northern Desert, welcome! We thought you wouldn't come!"

Xiao Ce looked at Shahar and said with a smile, "I came with sincerity! We haven't even reached an agreement yet, how could I not come?"

Seeing that Xiao Ce wasn't taking advantage of his kindness, Shahar relaxed a little.

"The conditions we just proposed may have upset you."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "No... Your Majesty the Tsar, the peace talks are all for the sake of your own country's interests. That's how it is; it's called demanding a high price on the spot and then bargaining on the spot..."

"I don't agree to your terms. You haven't even heard my terms yet. Maybe after you hear them, you'll think they're suitable?"

Seeing this, Shahar smiled and agreed, then invited Xiao Ce in.

After taking his seat, Shahar was not in a hurry to discuss peace talks.

Instead, he said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, the King of Mobei, this gift you have given us is truly unexpected."

Xiao Ce nodded to Shahar and said, "I'm also here to show you my sincerity. You know, although we are not as militarily powerful as your Slavic Empire, we do have our own methods. We're here to talk not out of fear, but because I believe that cooperation will benefit both sides, while war will result in mutual defeat..."

Shahar nodded: "Yes, yes, Your Highness the King of the Northern Desert is absolutely right. That's right, I heard from my people that the gift you prepared for us fell from the sky. I'm really curious, I don't know how it was done. I wonder if Your Majesty the King of the Northern Desert could reveal a little bit about it?"

Xiao Ce said to Shahar, "Your Majesty, this secret is naturally inconvenient to reveal! Please forgive me. However, since we have a good relationship in the future, it's not impossible to tell you, wouldn't you say?"

"All of this is based on our close cooperative relationship, just like our relationship with the Turkic Kingdom, where we are inseparable."

Shahar listened and laughed, saying, "Not bad..."

As he spoke, Shahar ordered the dishes to be served.

He then said, "Your Highness, we have already stated our conditions, which you have rejected. We wonder what your conditions for peace talks are?"

Xiao Ce said to Shahar, "Tsar, well then, I won't beat around the bush. I actually have two plans for you, you can both listen to them!"

Shahar nodded slightly upon seeing this.

"The first option, I mean, is a simple collaborative approach!"

"We only have one objective: to transport supplies and troops. It's very simple. You hand over all your weapons and ammunition, and we'll transport them for you. We'll only charge you a transportation fee. As far as I know, the things you sell aren't cheap, and the transportation fee I ask for won't be expensive either. It's absolutely fair and honest."

"If your troops want to pass through, the same principle applies. Your troops and weapons will be separated, and we will help you transport the weapons. We will also lead the troops, and we can guarantee the safety of your people. If any problems arise, we will take full responsibility. Including the weapons being transported, I can also guarantee that if any problems occur on our territory, we will provide full compensation."

"Since you're crossing the border, we won't charge you the fee. This way, you'll look down on us, and we don't want to take too much advantage of you. Let's keep it a gentlemanly cooperation, a little more subtle!"

Constantine Eugene couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, what you say sounds good, and it sounds impressive, but what if you seize control of the weapons we sell to those forces in the Central Plains, or if you intercept all those weapons..."

“We’re not bandits…and we’re not that shameless! Since this is a collaboration, this is my way of showing great sincerity. You can inspect the delivery time and the goods as you see fit.”

"It's called a cooperation, but it's really just a business transaction! You provide the money, and we provide the labor. Our Turkic Kingdom and the Northern Desert Royal Palace are essentially a security escort agency, so there's no need for either of us to feel burdened. If we don't want to cooperate anymore, we can terminate the cooperation at any time!"

"My plan is not like those impractical plans you've come up with. My method is actually in your best interests. You shouldn't be afraid I'll renege on my promise. Facing such a powerful empire as yours, would I want to renege on my promise? Would I have a death wish?"

Shahar thought that what Xiao Ce said made some sense.

"You also mentioned that we have another cooperation model? What is that like?"

Xiao Ce continued with a smile, "Another cooperation model is to strengthen our cooperation. First, we will open our markets to each other, engage in free trade, and refrain from levying taxes on each other."

"In this way, your weapons can be transported by the security companies within your territory, and we will not charge you any fees. However, your people must abide by our laws while they are in our territory."

"Furthermore, when your troops request passage, you only need to report your route, number of troops, and departure time in advance. We will also send a commander to supervise whether you have overstepped your boundaries."

"Since it's a collaboration, we need to cooperate in all aspects. For example, if we need to purchase weapons, the price needs to be the same as the price your military would pay. Other aspects of cooperation can also be completely open."

"The specifics of how to cooperate will be handled by the officials in each relevant field. This is a genuine move towards cooperation..."

After Xiao Ce finished speaking, one of the oligarchs objected: "Your Highness, the King of the Northern Desert, you really are quite the schemer! What is the size of your Turkic Kingdom plus the Northern Desert Royal Palace? What is the size of our Slavic Empire? Aren't you obviously trying to take advantage?"

Xiao Ce said with a smile, "Then it's up to you. I've given you both options, and it's your choice. I believe you all have your own judgment, and you should know better than anyone whether what I said was excessive."

Shahar said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, we are aware of your request. We need to discuss it now and will give you an answer tomorrow."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Of course, before we cooperate, what your Constantine Eugene said before was very good. Before we cooperate, we need to do some accounting first."

Shahar frowned slightly and said to Xiao Ce, "Oh? What debt?"

Xiao Ce said to Shahar, "Tsar, you probably don't know what their Saleh militia has been doing in our area."

Shahar did not respond.

Xiao Ce continued, "They bombarded a large area of ​​our grasslands and farmland with artillery shells. For at least five years, not a blade of grass will grow there. Even if grass does grow, the cattle and sheep will probably die after eating it... That's one-fifth of the entire Turkic territory. How are we going to calculate the compensation?"

When Constantine Eugene heard Xiao Ce say this, his eyes widened and he said, "How dare you ask me for money? You killed 50,000 of our lives, and you took all those weapons. I'm not asking you for money, but you're asking me for money?"

Xiao Ce snorted coldly: "A robber comes to your house to steal things, smashes everything up, and then you beat him to death. Who pays the robber money, you or the robber pays you?"

Constantine Eugene listened to Xiao Ce's words with a gloomy expression and did not respond.

"Of course, if you don't want to pay compensation, then let our people loosen up your land with artillery shells!"