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

Nikolayevich Riess looked grim, but he suppressed his anger.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Okay, we'll do it as soon as possible!"

Then, he looked at Xiao Tao and said, "Your Highness Xiao Tao, do you have any other conditions?"

Xiao Tao shook his head: "I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. It's very simple: either contribute money or contribute your efforts."

Nikolayevich Ries nodded, then got up to take his leave.

Seeing the angry expressions on their faces as they left, Xiao Tao couldn't be happier.

"Brother, look at their expressions, their faces are black with anger."

Bi Han asked Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, will they agree? What if they become desperate and launch an attack on your side?"

Xiao Ce smiled and waved his hand, saying to Bi Han, "It's unlikely they'll launch an attack, don't worry. They just can't accept it yet, but they will definitely accept it eventually."

Xiao Zhan nodded in agreement: "That's right, Your Majesty. Should we prepare for war now and deal with Xiao Xiangqing?"

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, "No rush. If you prepare too diligently, they will definitely use a stalling tactic in the end!"

Xiao Zhan nodded and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I understand... We're just making a show of being ready to retreat at any moment, right?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said to Xiao Zhan, "You're a promising young man!"

Bi Han asked, "We finally managed to occupy these three cities... If we give them up, we can only return to Sichuan, while Your Highness and you can only retreat to the Northern Desert Palace. In this way, wouldn't we lose the initiative?"

Xiao Ce said, "Even if that doesn't happen, it doesn't matter. These three cities are just buffer zones! The real war will only begin if they attack the Great Wall of our Northern Desert Royal Palace..."

"Moreover, I instructed Xiao Ce to maintain a relaxed exterior but a tight interior!"

“Next, I have some suggestions that I haven’t told Xiao Zhan yet… but I can say them now.”

Xiao Zhan became interested upon hearing Xiao Ce's words.

Her eyes gleamed as she looked at Xiao Ce, and she said with a smile, "Your Highness, I've been waiting for you to speak. Do you have time now?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "If you're not sleepy, we can find a place where we can have a good chat..."

Xiao Yang said, "Then, shall we have a barbecue, drink some wine, and chat all at the same time?"

Xiao Ce smiled and nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

...

After returning, Nikolayevich Riess asked Rochasky Binder, "General Binder, why did you make us agree to their demands...?"

Rochaski Binder said, "Your Highness, they are actually right. These Xiao people have no bottom line; they'll follow whoever feeds them... If we continue like this, it will be disadvantageous for us if they side with Fusang."

“We have witnessed Xiao Ce’s abilities. When the time comes, Fusang will use Xiao Ce to hold off us as a buffer. The Northern Desert Royal Palace will serve as a buffer zone, while the entire Fusang will come to Xiao’s side. Xiao’s territory is vast and rich, dozens of times larger than Fusang’s. Fusang doesn’t even need to unify; the territory they currently occupy is enough for them to develop.”

"If we give Fusang enough time to develop, coupled with Xiao's vast land and resources, it's unimaginable how terrifying it would be. Our support for them is precisely to prevent Fusang from developing too smoothly here!"

"Your Highness, you should be able to understand this score, shouldn't you?"

Nikolayevich Ries nodded: "I understand that, of course, but I still feel threatened by them. It makes me uncomfortable."

Rochaski Bindt laughed and said, “Your Highness, it’s alright. Consider this an investment. Giving them some weapons and having them fight for us is a worthwhile thing. Their country has no manufacturing capabilities. Once we drive out Fusang, they will still have to rely on us... At that time, when we provide them with weapons, it will be time for us to recoup our investment with interest.”

Nikolayevich Ries agreed, "That's right, that makes sense. But will my father, the Emperor, agree?"

Rochasky Binder said, “Of course, His Majesty the Tsar can certainly weigh the pros and cons. Our main purpose here is to assess their strength! So, ignore them... For now, we'll use their lives to embolden them. We'll settle accounts later, with interest, and agree to their demands!”

Nikolayevich Rees nodded: "Should we agree to their terms first?"

Rochaski Binder said, "Let's not rush things. If we can delay, let's wait and see what they do first."

Nikolayevich Ries nodded in agreement.

...

The next day, the Slavs secretly watched their army packing up all their weapons.

They looked like they were about to run away at any moment.

This convinced the Slavs to believe them.

The Slavs agreed to provide Xiao Tao with weapons for free, but their weapons reserves and armories would need to be supervised by their own people.

They were afraid that Xiao Tao and his group would keep it for themselves.

Xiao Tao didn't mind at all, because once that happened, they could go all out and get to work...

After agreeing to Xiao Tao's request, Nikolayevich Ries went to talk to Xiao Ce.

Because, even though they gave Xiao Tao a free service, Xiao Ce still had to charge them.

They wanted Xiao Ce to cancel the transportation fees and tolls charged to them.

Xiao Ce smiled helplessly and said, "Your Highness Rhys, are you really joking? We didn't collect your money; we transported the goods for you, that was the transportation fee... that was already agreed upon. Just because your cooperation with Xiao Tao has changed, does that mean your cooperation with us should also change?"

Nikolayevich Ries: "Your Highness Xiao Ce, aren't you in cahoots with Xiao Tao?"

Xiao Ce waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm not with him. You've been in Xiao Kingdom for so long... You must have seen what kind of people my brothers are. We're cooperating now because we have common interests. Just like you're cooperating with us... Let's be realistic, I need to consider the people of our Northern Desert Royal Palace."

Before Nikolayevich Reis could speak, Xiao Ce stared intently at him, a sly smile flashing across his face: "Your Highness Reis, you're a clever man. You'll pay a small price now, and as long as you drive Fusang out, you can get all the interest back, right?"

Seeing that Xiao Ce had been so straightforward, Nikolayevich Riess smiled, said no more, and left.

In the following days, the large army controlled by Cai Hui also joined their battle.

Xiao Xiangqing was full of confidence at this moment because his troops were not only at their peak and most abundant, but even his weapons were the best.

Xiao Xiangqing was very satisfied after inspecting the three armies.

He then prepared to launch an attack. In their three-army tent, his generals, as well as Cai Hui's general Tang Ji and the general from Fusang, Takeda Nobunaga, were all gathered together.

Xiao Xiangqing humbled himself greatly, bowing deeply and saying, "General Tang Ji and General Takeda, you are both our benefactors. What is the next battle?"

General Tang Ji, a large man, said to Takeda Nobunaga of Fusang with a fawning smile, "General Takeda, please take charge. We will follow your instructions."

Then, she turned to Xiao Xiangqing and asked, "Your Highness, do you agree?"

Xiao Xiangqing followed Tang Ji's example and fawned over him, bowing and scraping.

The man, Takeda Nobunaga, who was only about 1.6 meters tall, looked at their expressions and said calmly, "This is your war. We are here only to supervise... Moreover, I don't understand the fighting methods of your cowardly soldiers. My fighting style is tailored for the warriors of our Fusang Empire! Even if I told you the method, your cowardly and weak soldiers would never be able to replicate it!"

Takeda Nobunaga's words were quite arrogant.

Many of the generals present did not look well.

If it weren't for Xiao Xiangqing's repeated instructions, they really wouldn't have been able to resist cursing at Takeda Nobunaga.

However, even without them saying a word, their resentful expressions were enough to displease Takeda Nobunaga.

He walked straight up to several of Xiao Xiangqing's generals.

"Baka yarou, why are you glaring at me like that? Are you upset with me?"

Xiao Xiangqing quickly smiled apologetically, "No, no! General Takeda, we generals just have a rather serious appearance."

As he spoke, Xiao Xiangqing said to the generals, "Quickly... follow General Takeda and apologize with a smile."

Although the generals were unwilling to do so, they were well aware of the current situation.

Although I don't want to accept it, there's nothing I can do about it.

He had no choice but to suppress his anger and apologize to Takeda Nobunaga.

"General Takeda, we didn't glare at you... we just have this expression by nature."

Tang Ji, who was standing to one side, stepped forward to smooth things over: "General Takeda, please don't get angry. Your status is noble, and it's not worth ruining your health."

Only then did Takeda Nobunaga say arrogantly, "Alright, I won't bother with you. Your childish war is nothing compared to the brave warriors of our Fusang Province. Five thousand of them could easily rout them."

"And you have hundreds of thousands of them now, do we still need to discuss it? Bring your artillery and bombard them! We'll give you artillery, and we can raze them to the ground. Do we still need to discuss it? Ridiculous... utterly ridiculous..."

"Now I finally understand why you people always fail..."

He said disdainfully, "I'm not here to help you; we're here to supervise the battle. If we see any of you cowering in battle, we'll kill you! As for how you plan to win, I'm not interested, and I won't remind you."

With that, he waved his hand and said, "Talking about this with you is a waste of time. Just let me know when you plan to start fighting. As long as I don't see you deserting or being afraid to fight... if I do, I will show no mercy and have you court-martialed..."

With that, Takeda Nobunaga swaggered away.

After Takeda Nobunaga left, several of Xiao Xiangqing's generals spat in the direction he had left.

"Pah! You son of a bitch... what are you pretending for... you look like a short, scrawny gourd!"

"Damn, he's really good at showing off. He managed to take down Xiao Zhan with 5,000 men. He's got the ability, let him try... If he can do it, I'll cut off my head and use it as a chamber pot."

...

These generals were all complaining, which really scared Tang Ji, one of Cai Hui's generals.

"Generals, please calm down, please calm down... be careful, walls have ears."

Xiao Xiangqing's expression was also not good: "General Tang Ji, you saw it too. This son of a bitch is really arrogant... Even their leader, Tojo Kōki, wouldn't be this arrogant."

Tang Ji smiled and said, "Your Highness Xiao, we understand...we understand...but there's nothing we can do now. We're just too weak. Isn't that the way it's always been? Whoever has the bigger fist has the right to speak...We're currently living under someone else's roof."

"They look down on us, so we have to prove them wrong. We'll win a great victory and show them, don't you think?"

Xiao Xiangqing naturally understood Tang Ji's meaning, so he followed Tang Ji's words and said, "That's right! Ignore these people, this country is ours. We are not fighting for the Fusang Kingdom, we are fighting for ourselves... Now it is our turn to use the Fusang Kingdom! Gentlemen, do you have confidence? This time, we must take them down in one fell swoop, and it would be best to directly break through the Northern Desert Royal Palace!"

Upon hearing Xiao Xiangqing's words, several of his generals said, "Your Highness, just watch. This time we have so many soldiers and such advanced equipment. We'll beat them to a pulp."

“Indeed, Your Highness! We were ambushed by them before! We should let the world know that not only are the Sichuan Army good at fighting, but our Jiangnan Army is not weak either.”

"Your Highness, just you wait and see. We'll beat them into submission in one go! I heard Xiao Ce is there too. This time, we'll capture both of them and deliver them to you."

Looking at the arrogant demeanor of his generals, Xiao Xiangqing smiled and said, "Good! If you capture Xiao Ce, you will be credited with the greatest merit, and I will reward you handsomely."

"Your Highness, just you wait! We'll show you that Xiao Ce is nothing but a paper tiger!"