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

Han Da cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, rest assured. You have carefully selected all the young men who will transport the grain. They are all skilled laborers with great strength. With a little training, they will be ready for the battlefield!"

Yan Jia echoed, "Your Highness, I have also selected a thousand men from among them. However, our mounted archers cannot be trained so quickly! It takes time! What I can guarantee is that once they are on the battlefield, they will be able to fight!"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Very good! I will go and give the order. Make sure the soldiers have meat with every meal. Let them nourish their bodies properly!"

The two bowed and thanked them.

"Oh, and here's a training method I wrote for the army. You'll be training according to this method from now on!"

As he spoke, Xiao Ce took out the bound booklet.

This is a training guide that Xiao Ce compiled during this period, based on modern military training methods and combined with the local national conditions.

After the two men took it and casually flipped through a couple of pages, they clasped their hands in agreement.

They showed no surprise whatsoever.

Because these training methods were unheard of to them and seemed utterly unremarkable.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce let them leave.

Along the way, Yan Jia and Han Da marched and trained their troops.

We replenished the horses in several nearby cities.

So they've managed to ensure everyone has a horse.

A cavalry force of five thousand men has begun to take shape, and stirrups have been introduced.

Even for those who have never ridden a horse before, it is much easier to get used to.

Along the way, Xiao Ce saw many refugees heading to the four prefectures of Mobei, including some young people.

These young men are in their prime, but they are somewhat thin because they have been starving for many years.

As long as you eat well, your body will recover in no time.

Xiao Ce then ordered Han Da to send people to recruit soldiers!

After hearing about the military pay Xiao Ce offered, and that they would be able to eat meat at every meal, these people...

They were all eager to join in.

Xiao Ce asked Han Da to select some soldiers to be assigned to the infantry.

While they're at it, let Han Da give them some treatment on the way.

Because Han Da was conscripting soldiers again, and it was on foot.

Xiao Ce then made a last-minute decision to split the team into two groups.

One group, mainly composed of cavalry, set off first towards Maoming City.

Because Xiao Ce had made an agreement with those death row inmates that they would each recruit soldiers and then gather in Maoming City.

Meanwhile, Han Da, with troops recruited from among the disaster victims along the way, gradually caught up.

Thirty-five days after they separated, it was time to open Anhua City.

Xiao Ce arrived at Maoming City, on the border of the Central Plains.

A few hundred miles north of Maoming City lies Yanmen Pass, the gateway to the four prefectures of northern Mongolia.

When they were several hundred meters apart, Yan Jia caught up.

"Your Highness, should we assemble our cavalry?"

During this period, they worked day and night.

However, it was not done in a large-scale operation.

Instead, they split up into small teams of ten people each.

The goal is to avoid attracting attention.

Along the way, Xiao Ce discovered many spies from various parties, including some from the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

Many of them also came from the four prefectures of the northern desert.

However, Xiao Ce arranged for their carriage, along with Yin Pan'er's female guard and Lin Zhong, to follow Han Da's infantry unit.

Therefore, the spies all believed that Xiao Ce was with the infantry.

Little did they know, at this very moment, Xiao Ce had already arrived in Maoming City.

Xiao Ce wanted to catch the opponent off guard.

Xiao Ce shook his head at Yan Jia and said, "Let's stick to the same strategy as before, keeping the group divided into smaller units. You go ahead, we'll be there shortly!"

After hearing this, Yan Jia bowed and left.

Yin Pan'er led the horse forward: "Young master, what's next?"

Xiao Ce concealed his identity along the way.

Therefore, they addressed Xiao Ce as "Young Master".

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "Gather the troops!"

Yin Pan'er asked curiously, "Did the people you sent out recruit soldiers?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "That's right. The reason I came here in such a hurry these past few days is because I received news from Shen Hu. All three thousand men sent out have returned! And they brought quite a few more with them."

Yin Pan'er asked curiously, "How many people did they bring?"

Xiao Ce kept everyone in suspense, saying, "You'll find out soon enough."

Nie Bing couldn't help but pour cold water on the idea: "No matter how many soldiers you recruit, none of them have ever been on the battlefield. If your soldiers were to go to the battlefield and see the carnage, they'd probably wet their pants on the spot!"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "You underestimate them too much. Besides, who said I wanted them to fight? I want them to fight the Turks, not our own people."

Nie Bing asked with a hint of doubt, "No war?"

Xiao Ce laughed and said, "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next best is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege their cities. Do you understand? Fighting is the worst strategy ever!"

As he spoke, Xiao Ce led his horse toward the city.

Yin Pan'er said, "The soldiers you recruited are in Maoming City? There shouldn't be many. Otherwise, if a city suddenly has tens of thousands of people, it would definitely know."

Xiao Ce did not answer them and went directly into Maoming City.

Maoming City is located on the edge of the city, so this area is considered relatively desolate.

It can't compare to Anhua City, according to Shen Hu's letter.

We went to an inn in Maoming city.

As soon as we arrived at the inn, a waiter greeted us warmly.

"Four gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Xiao Ce said, "Let's take a break. We also need to find someone named Shen Hu!"

As he spoke, he slipped a piece of silver into his hand.

The waiter became even more polite: "Please, gentlemen. Is this Mr. Shen? He's been waiting here for a long time. Please rest here, and I'll go and invite Mr. Shen over for you right away."

As he spoke, the waiter instructed the others to serve tea and water, and he hurriedly went upstairs.

Yin Pan'er asked with a puzzled look, "Who is Shen Hu? I've never heard of him before?"

Having spent so much time with Xiao Ce, Yin Pan'er felt she had gotten to know everyone around him.

Including the bodyguards around him.

Xiao Ce said with a smile, "Do you remember the veterans' battalion I established before? Shen Hu was the battalion commander I appointed!"

Yin Pan'er nodded: "Young master, you've been hiding it quite well."

Xiao Ce said with a smile, "Of course, how could you possibly see through me?"

As they were talking, a man who looked to be about forty years old and had a resolute face came down from upstairs.

Led by the waiter, the man spotted Xiao Ce at a glance and jogged over.

"Greetings, sir!"

Xiao Ce was worried that he might let something slip, but now it seems that he was worrying too much. This person was much more composed than he had imagined.

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "There's no need for formalities when traveling. Please sit down."

Shen Hu listened and nodded, then sat down.

Seeing that no one was around, Shen Hu said to Xiao Ce, "Young Master, everything is ready here. When would be a convenient time for you to come over?"

Xiao Ce said with a smile, "Let's do it now."

Shen Hu nodded, then got up and went out first.

The group of them rode their horses and followed Shen Hu out.

As Yin Pan'er rode her horse, she said to Xiao Ce, "Young Master, did you already know that those soldiers were outside?"

Xiao Ce smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course, isn't that why I'm here to ask him to show me the way?"

Yin Pan'er asked, "Then where are we going?"

Xiao Ce said to Yin Pan'er, "Tiger and Leopard Stronghold."

Before Yin Pan'er could speak, Nie Bing, standing to the side, asked in surprise, "Could Shen Hu be the leader of Tiger Leopard Stronghold?"

This time it was Xiao Ce's turn to be surprised: "You even know about Tiger and Leopard Stronghold?"

Nie Bing nodded: "Tiger and Leopard Stronghold is a notorious bandit stronghold in the surrounding area. The stronghold is home to two extremely powerful brothers, Tiger and Leopard. They specialize in robbing the rich to help the poor. It's said they have a force of over two thousand men. Their stronghold is hidden on Mount Luoxia, a very steep and easily defensible mountain. Therefore, the government troops have been unable to subdue them for years!"

As Xiao Ce rode his horse, he said, "Nie Bing, you know quite a lot! That's right, this Shen Hu has a brother named Shen Bao. The two brothers used to be in the army, but later offended the local powerful figures and had no choice but to become bandits. Shen Hu then raised a band of over a thousand men, called Tiger and Leopard Stronghold. Later, during a robbery of government grain, Shen Hu fell into their trap, was captured, and sentenced to death. According to the laws of the Great Xiao Dynasty, all those sentenced to death must be executed in the capital!"

"So, when I sent them to recruit soldiers this time, Shen Hu told me about it. He even told me that all the brothers from his Tiger and Leopard Stronghold could come and fight for me!"

“I checked the location of his village, so I set the meeting point in Maoming City and had him meet up with the other recruits there. After all, a large number of strangers lingering here would definitely attract attention. But if Shen Hu takes them away in time, that won't happen.”

After Xiao Ce said that, Yin Pan'er asked in surprise, "Young Master, how many things have you been hiding from us?"

Xiao Ce smiled but remained silent.

Less than half an hour later, we arrived at the foot of Luoxia Mountain.

Shen Hu blew a whistle, and more than a dozen burly men appeared in the dense forest.

"Greetings, Chief."

Shen Hu said, "This is the King of the Northern Desert!"

More than a dozen burly men bowed deeply to Xiao Ce.

Shen Hu said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, the horse trail is too dangerous. Have them hide the horses in the dense forest, and we'll take you up the mountain path. That will be faster."

Xiao Ce nodded.

Nie Bing looked wary and pulled Xiao Ce aside.

"You've never met this Shen Hu before, how can you trust him so much? What if..."

Upon hearing Nie Bing's question, Xiao Ce asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual?"

Nie Bing shook her head.

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, "There's nothing to worry about! I have a good eye for people. My personal principle is to trust those I employ and not to employ those I don't trust... Trust me!"

With that, Xiao Ce turned and asked Shen Hu to lead the way.