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

When Xiao Zhan said this, he revealed a proud expression.

"Brother, I think I've made good choices in these three cities. While I may not be the best at governing a country, I'm not afraid of anyone when it comes to warfare, especially if the weapons are evenly matched."

Bi Han nodded slightly in agreement.

"Good, not bad! I'm not good at fighting either, and I didn't come here for any other reason than to give you guys some courage and encouragement."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Xiao Zhan quickly said, "Brother, don't be modest. I've heard a lot about you. If you weren't good at fighting, how could you have kept the Slavs out? If you hadn't let them in, they wouldn't have been able to get in at all. They were only able to come through your methods now."

Xiao Ce laughed and said, "That wasn't under my command; it was my general who fought it."

When Xiao Zhan saw that Xiao Ce still wouldn't admit it, he wanted to say something, but Bi Han stopped him.

“Regardless, the arrival of the Prince is a boost to our morale…” Bi Han said, then asked Xiao Ce, “Your Highness, judging from your attitude just now, it seems that you are not fond of that Nikolayevich Ries.”

Seeing that there were no outsiders present, Xiao Ce did not hide anything: "That's right, these Slavs will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. No matter how we cooperate, I can never bring myself to entrust my back to such people."

They nodded in agreement.

Xiao Zhan's face hardened as he said, "So, do we need to... kill him now?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "Not at the moment, although their methods are quite despicable. We can seek common ground while reserving differences. We share a common goal, which is to deal with the people of Fusang! There's just one question: are you cooperating now, or are you going to pay for their weapons?"

Xiao Zhan nodded: "Of course! And the price isn't cheap either..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce said, "Even at this point, they're still thinking about making money. Go and tell them that if they want to continue cooperating, they should send the same number of troops to help resist the people of Fusang..."

"If they're unwilling to let us fight for them, then they should waive the cost of our weapons. Otherwise, we won't cooperate..."

Xiao Zhan nodded to Xiao Ce: "Then, Your Highness, will you step forward, or..."

Xiao Ce said, "Of course you should step forward! But they definitely know that this was my idea."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Xiao Zhan waved his hand and said, "Brother, don't misunderstand. I'm not afraid of offending them... I'm least afraid of offending them."

Xiao Ce asked, "How far away is their army from us now?"

Xiao Zhan respectfully replied, "It's about a five-day journey from here."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Then this time is just right."

Bi Han said with some worry, "What if the Slavs don't agree? After all, they should understand the current situation. We've completely broken ties with them..."

Xiao Ce said calmly, "Let's see how they react first. I'm here too. We'll decide based on their response. We're on our turf now, what are we afraid of? Let's call him over."

As he spoke, Xiao Ce's face hardened: "If they're willing to talk properly, they naturally have ways to do so. Of course, if they don't want to talk properly, I also have some underhanded tricks..."

Seeing Xiao Ce's expression, Bi Han couldn't help but shudder.

Xiao Zhan said excitedly, "No problem, Your Majesty. Anyway, you're here. I'm not afraid of anything. You can even let me kill him."

Xiao Ce smiled and waved his hand: "There's no need to kill him. He's always more useful alive than dead. Let's go and call him over first, then we can have a proper talk."

Xiao Zhan nodded.

They were then warmly welcomed and a dinner was held.

Xiao Ce went to rest first. The saying "no feast is ever a good feast" is absolutely true.

...

Nikolayevich Ries was also talking to the general who had come with them.

The general who accompanied the army this time was from the Slavic country, Rochaski Bind.

Binder Rochaski was considered a famous general in Slavic countries.

Although Nikolaevich Ries occasionally received news from Slavic countries while he was here.

However, for safety reasons, Shahar did not give them a very clear explanation.

It was at this time that Nikolaevich Riess learned from Rochaski Bind about all the things that had happened to their Slavic country.

Nikolayevich Riess asked, "So, you still haven't figured out how Xiao Ce managed to make things fall from the sky?"

Rochasky Bindt nodded: "That's right, it's precisely because we don't know his secret that His Majesty the Tsar sent us here. We're not here to help them fight."

"His Majesty the Tsar said that the lives of us Slavic warriors are precious... The reason we sent troops here is firstly to protect you, since this matter is far too dangerous..."

"Secondly, we're here to supervise Xiao Ce. After all, they'll definitely face difficulties in their battle with Fusang. They'll certainly use this kind of attack method, and once we see it, we'll be able to crack it and then we'll have nothing to fear."

Nikolayevich Riess listened and nodded, a meaningful look in his eyes: "It seems that my worries were not wrong at all. I always thought that Xiao Ce was a big problem."

Or he might say with a menacing look, "Then let's find a way to assassinate him. What do you think?"

Rochaski Binder shook his head: "No. Killing him isn't difficult, but I've passed through the Northern Desert King's Palace on the way here, and I've witnessed the madness of their people. I thought their claim that as long as Xiao Ce died, the Northern Desert King's Palace would have as many assassins as its people was an exaggeration."

"However, now it seems that this statement is not an exaggeration at all... We don't need to. Moreover, now that Xiao Ce has arrived, his sharp blade can help us deal with Fusang. For us, isn't this a good thing?"

Nikolayevich Riess listened and nodded.

Rochaski Binde asked, "Your Highness, how much do you know about him? Do you know his weaknesses, or perhaps..."

Nikolayevich Ries awkwardly chimed in, "To be honest, we're ashamed to say that all the information we've received about him is false. Besides, his Northern Desert Royal Palace is very secretive, and I only recently learned about him. I don't even know as much about him as you do."

Rochasky Binder quickly said, "Your Highness, it's not too late to know now."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Your Highness, there are Prince Xiao Zhan's men outside requesting an audience."

Nikolayevich Riess muttered to himself, somewhat puzzled, "Why did he send someone over at this time?"

Despite saying that, they were still allowed in.

The one who came over was Xiao Zhan's personal servant.

After the servant came over, he first bowed.

Nikolayevich Riess asked, "Sir, may I ask what business His Highness has sent you here?"

The servant respectfully spoke in Slavic Mandarin: "Your Highness, our Prince said that he was very moved by the large number of soldiers who came to support us this time, so he specially arranged a banquet. He specially invited you and the generals to come and enjoy the banquet together to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."

Nikolayevich Ries nodded: "Very well, thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. Tell them we will definitely be there on time."

The servant listened, smiled, and nodded before taking his leave.

Nikolayevich Ries and Rochasky Binder exchanged a glance and then said, "I think they're just being overly friendly; they're up to no good."

Seeing Rochasky-Binder's puzzled expression.

Nikolayevich Ries then realized that he had used a proverb from the Kingdom of Xiao.

That's when they added a further explanation.

Rochaski Binde then smiled and said, "It's alright... their current situation is that they're afraid we won't support them... Although they have some shady methods, that Xiao Ce knows when to stop. If they weren't afraid of us, they would have just dropped the bombs this time..."

"We truly attacked them with all our might, and they suffered no losses. It's simply a matter of each getting what they need, and in fact, they need our peace more. So, Your Highness, you don't need to worry too much..."

Nikolayevich Riess nodded: "Mr. Bind, with your words, I can rest assured."

...

The dinner arrived as scheduled.

Xiao Ce and his group arrived early, while the Slavs, on the other hand, started acting up and began to arrive late.

Xiao Zhan said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, you're absolutely right. These people... are just scoundrels to the core. And now they're putting on airs again."

"That Nikolayevich Reis is not the same person he was when he found out about Xiao Xiangqing's rebellion. Back then, he was almost scared to death. Now he's putting on an act again."

Xiao Ce laughed and said, "It's alright, they won't last long... They think we can't do without them now... It must be those Slavic troops who came and were talking to that Ries."

Xiao Zhan nodded.

Xiao Ce told him to be patient and not to rush, saying that good things come to those who wait.

Even so, the Slavic people were a full half hour late.

Half an hour later, Nikolayevich Ries arrived with a group of generals.

After they arrived, they quickly bowed and apologized: "Your Highness Xiao Zhan, please forgive us. Our army encountered some urgent matters, and we had to deal with them, which is why we were delayed."

Xiao Zhan wore a fake smile, which, to be honest, was uglier than crying.

"It's alright, it's alright. The night is long, and we're just killing time anyway. Please take a seat."

After saying that, before they could even sit down, Xiao Zhan waved his hand and said, "Serve the food."

Seeing Xiao Zhan's expression, this group of Slavs naturally knew that he was angry.

However, they didn't seem to care at all; instead, they sat down with smiles on their faces.

After they were seated, Xiao Zhan exchanged a few polite official greetings.

After the food was served, he began to eat.

Xiao Zhan ate without saying a word, which puzzled the Slavs.

First she looked at Xiao Zhan, then she looked at Xiao Ce.

However, what puzzled them was that even Xiao Ce was focused on eating.

The Slavic people, however, didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

As a result, a strange scene unfolded inside the hall.

That is, the two of them ate very heartily, while the others just looked at each other and exchanged glances.

After the two of them had almost finished eating, Xiao Zhan patted his stomach, looked up, and saw that they were looking at him.

"Please eat. I invited you to dinner, why aren't you moving? Is it because the food from our Xiao Kingdom doesn't suit your taste?"

Nikolayevich Ries cleared his throat: "Your Highness Xiao Zhan, our people have just arrived and are inevitably experiencing some acclimatization issues. But it's alright, we have already received your kind intentions. You invited us here this time, surely it's not just for a meal?"

Seeing this, Xiao Zhan smiled and said, "Your Highness Rhys, I knew you were a smart man. You've seen through all my little schemes... Since you've seen through them all, then I won't hide anything from you. We're allies, so we should share what we have, right?"

Nikolayevich Riess narrowed his eyes and said with a forced smile, "Your Highness Xiao Zhan is good, of course. Let's just speak frankly... no..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Zhan slammed his hand on the table and said, "Alright, Your Highness Rhys, you are indeed a straightforward person... Well then, I won't hold back anymore... Let's speak frankly..."

“Your Highness, you are right that we are allies. However, the circumstances of our alliance are different from before. After that bastard Xiao Xiangqing broke the agreement, I am the only one left... The reason I didn't betray him was because you persuaded me, right?”

Nikolayevich Ries nodded: "Of course...that's right, but you also saw that those Japanese aren't human."

Xiao Zhan nodded and said, "That's right, I think so too. It's good that I'm cooperating with you now, but in the end, I don't have any grudges or hatred with the people of Fusang... You agree, right?"

Nikolayevich Ries, his gaze sharp and his expression gradually darkening, asked, "Your Highness Xiao Zhan, what do you mean by this? You're not planning to betray our alliance, are you? That's not a wise choice."

Xiao Zhan smiled and then said, "Of course not, don't be in a hurry. What I mean is, ultimately it's your enmity with Fusang that's the root of the problem, and I'm helping you, right?!"