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

Koichi Tojo nodded repeatedly: "That's right... What you said makes sense... If Xiao Ce really is rebelled against, what should we do? You know, we don't have many troops right now. Our previous prisoners were all in the Northern Desert King's Palace!"

After listening to what Koichi Tojo said, the group remained silent for a while before starting to talk amongst themselves.

"Young Master Gu Yi, we don't need to be too nervous. After all, the entire Xiao Kingdom is currently funded by us. Even if they change their leaders, they still can't escape coming to us for discussions..."

"They've taken us under control now, I think it's because they're afraid we'll help Xiao Ce... We don't have any other options right now. We can only wait for their people to come looking for us!"

The group nodded in agreement, and Tojo Koichi nodded as well: "It seems that this is the only way now..."

As he spoke, a look of disdain flashed in Tojo Ko's eyes.

"It seems I overestimated Xiao Ce... I just wonder who the person who betrayed him is?"

...

Their words were relayed to Xiao Ce once again.

Xiao Ce was truly speechless.

Even with guns pointed at their heads, they still wanted to believe him.

It really does convey the idea that 'if you are powerful, great scholars will naturally come to debate the classics for you.'

Da Lei, standing to one side, said, "Your Highness, they are all so loyal to you, how can you bear to hurt them?"

Xiao Ce rolled his eyes at Da Lei. Ever since Da Lei married General Dan...

He started to change as well; his once icy expression finally started to show some smiles.

Now they even make fun of people.

"It's actually better that way...at least they won't lose hope in me too soon. It's always better to have a glimmer of hope amidst despair..."

"Tomorrow, we'll be entering the Northern Desert King's Palace, won't we?"

Da Lei nodded.

Xiao Ce said meaningfully, "I wonder if that Tojo Xiaoji is still alive? I'm rather looking forward to seeing what kind of expression he'll have when he finds Tojo Koichi and complains about how his prisoners are growing potatoes in our area."

...

It must be said that Tojo Shōki had a very strong will.

He spent a day alone in the wilderness to make sure no one was chasing him.

He had just started to leave this area when they found another farmer, so that no one would be able to tell that he had a Japanese accent.

He pretended to be mute, tricked the farmer into giving him a meal, and then stole a set of clothes.

After putting it on, he originally intended to pretend to be a refugee.

However, the security in the Northern Desert Prince's Palace was so good that there wasn't a single refugee.

If he were to pretend to be a refugee, he would easily attract attention.

So he had no choice but to pretend to be a traveler. He had planned to hide in the wilderness, but there wasn't an inch of wilderness near the main road.

It's all been cultivated.

He suddenly realized that the Northern Desert Prince's Palace was not good because it was too well-governed; some fugitives had nowhere to escape to.

After all, the people of the Northern Desert Royal Palace are all active in life, so it would really attract attention if some of them were to wander around.

And so, Tojo Shōki wandered around in fear for three days.

Finally, some good news arrived: the army had entered the territory of the Northern Desert King's Palace.

They will be stationed not far from them tonight; the advance troops have already begun to arrive and set up camp.

This made him extremely happy.

Tojo Shōki was still very clever; he approached the farmers next to those plots of land.

Then he pretended to be mute and gestured that he was willing to do odd jobs for them.

All you need to do is give him a bite to eat.

After Tojo Shōki gestured for a while, the farmers finally understood.

The farmers here are all simple and honest people, and they agreed immediately.

In the evening, he stayed in the cowshed of a farmer's house.

The farmers had arranged a woodshed for him, but he insisted on living in the cowshed.

The farmers couldn't persuade him otherwise, so they stopped saying anything.

The farmer's house was not far from where Xiao Ce's army was stationed; he could confirm it by looking at the clusters of firelight.

However, this soon put Tojo Shōki in a difficult position.

Their army was so large that their camps stretched for miles.

Even if you leave it to him to look for, he might not be able to find it.

Moreover, he could only search secretly.

However, he knew he had no better way.

I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Overconfident, he infiltrated the past, avoiding the sentries.

Little did they know that Xiao Ce had secretly deployed sentries within his army during his march.

These sentries were located several miles away from the camp.

They used various coded messages and animal sounds to communicate.

So, at the very spot where Tojo Shōki first appeared, he was discovered...

Xiao Ce naturally received the news immediately.

"Your Highness, there's a suspicious person right now, wandering around our camp like a headless fly... We suspect it's the Tojo Shōki you mentioned..."

Xiao Ce's expression became quite interesting as he listened to the report.

"Oh? So Tojo Shōki has finally arrived... Alright, don't arrest him."

The soldiers nodded as he came to report, then looked embarrassed.

Xiao Ce asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Just say it."

The soldier who reported said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, that person seems a bit stupid and very cowardly... Judging from his cautious manner, even if we let him search, he might not find the place of those Japanese people even by tomorrow!"

Xiao Ce suddenly understood: "Then you should give him some pointers, like hinting at it when he's urinating. Then lure him over there..."

The soldier who was reporting suddenly understood.

He then cupped his hands in obedience and left.

Seeing this, Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, you've really gone to great lengths to trick them..."

Xiao Ce raised an eyebrow: "The night is long, think about it... Right now, Tojo Xiaoji must be full of hope. Tojo Koichi is also still holding onto hope... If their hopes are shattered in an instant the moment they meet, how wonderful that would be."

Da Lei gave an awkward smile: "Your Highness, offending you is truly the worst luck I've ever had... Not only am I suffering physical torment, but I'm also suffering mentally..."

Xiao Ce rubbed his hands together: "Da Lei, let me change my clothes."

Looking at Xiao Ce's appearance, Da Lei asked in confusion, "Your Highness, why are you changing your clothes?"

Xiao Ce said, "Of course it's military uniforms! I naturally have to go see such a grand spectacle..."

Da Lei looked at Xiao Ce, smiled, and agreed.

Da Lei really couldn't see through Xiao Ce. Xiao Ce was very calm and composed most of the time.

But often, he seems like a child.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Tojo Shōki was still following a headless fly, wandering around aimlessly.

He was relieved that he had been wandering around for almost half an hour without being discovered.

He felt a mixture of wariness and contempt for their army.

He didn't know how he could have lost to such an army. If he had ten thousand troops now, he would dare to launch a surprise attack on them...

However, to his dismay, there were simply too many people here.

Just when he was at his wit's end, several soldiers suddenly appeared not far from him.

The sudden appearance of the soldiers terrified him so much that he almost lost his mind, and he quickly shrank to the side of the field ridge.

Several soldiers walked straight up to him, and he was terrified.

However, he breathed a sigh of relief a few seconds later.

However, there is both good and bad news.

The good news is that these soldiers were just relieving themselves.

The bad news is coming at him.

After the soldiers walked up to him, they started urinating on him, covering him in urine.

He was so scared that he didn't dare to utter a sound.

However, their conversation soon drew his attention...

"Ugh, what bad luck, I have to stand guard for those Japanese people again... I really don't want to go..."

"Yeah, I heard that guy named Tojo Koichi is pretty difficult to deal with..."

"Alright, alright... It's only for tonight, we'll change people tomorrow."

After shaking off their trembling, the two walked to one side.

Although Tojo Shōki was drenched in the water, he was incredibly excited...

"Great...great...God bless us."

He wiped his face and then crouched down to go over.

With these individuals 'leading the way,' Tojo Shōki finally found the military tent where Tojo Koichi and his men were staying.

However, upon seeing the large number of defending troops, Tojo Shōki immediately became timid and hesitated to advance.

Xiao Ce, disguised as a soldier, had already discovered Tojo Xiao Ji's location with the help of others.

Seeing how cowardly he was, he huddled in a corner.

Xiao Ce had no choice but to give Da Lei a wink, and Da Lei then had his men gather together to play cards.

Even with the water being released so heavily, Tojo Shōki still waited quite a while before rushing towards the tent...

Xiao Ce watched as Tojo Shōki nervously trembled as he went inside, and then smiled and said, "Alright, you're inside... everyone go back to your posts."

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, the soldiers on the side returned to normal.

Just then, Tojo Shōki crawled into the tent.

Koichi Tojo frowned slightly: "Who! Did I let you in? You just walked in, you dogs, you're getting more and more arrogant... Do you think you can just come and go as you please in my military tent?"

Koichi Tojo's furious roar nearly scared the soul out of Tojo Shōki...

"Young master... young master... please speak softly... please speak softly..."

Tojo Shōki prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "Young master, this old servant has finally met you..."

Tojo Koichi recognized Tojo Shōki immediately.

Disheveled and unkempt...

However, Koichi Tojo only felt that his voice sounded familiar...

"You are..."

Tojo Shōki then tidied his wet hair, trying to show his face as much as possible.

"It's me...it's me...Third Young Master, it's me...Xiao Ji!"