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

Da Lei nodded in agreement and walked to Cai Wu's side without any hesitation.

"You...you dare...I am the eldest grandson of the Cai family! Waaah..."

Da Lei remained expressionless and ignored Cai Wu.

He stomped Cai Wu under his feet and, with lightning speed, pulled out a dagger.

Then, she pinched Cai Wu's mouth shut.

They pried a dagger into his mouth.

He stirred it inside very deftly, and then skillfully pulled out a tongue.

It was thrown in front of Cai Wu.

In an instant, bright red blood gushed from Cai Wu's mouth like a spring.

...

Everyone present could see it very clearly.

The entire venue was completely silent.

Everyone was deeply shocked.

They all knew who Cai Wu was...

They know it better.

Cai Wu had his tongue cut out, so there was no chance of him surviving!

Xiao Ce addressed everyone sternly, saying, "I have always been clear about rewards and punishments! Those who obey me prosper, and those who defy me perish!"

"I am the King of the Northern Desert, personally appointed by His Majesty! There can only be one king in the Northern Desert, and that is me! The Northern Desert can only have the surname Xiao!"

"Whoever dares to oppose me in the Northern Desert will face only one consequence: death!"

After saying that, Xiao Ce looked at Cai Wu, who was clutching his throat and spitting blood on the ground, and said, "Da Lei, cut off this traitor's head and display it to the three armies! This is the consequence of betraying me."

Da Lei nodded, drew his broadsword from his waist with practiced ease, and swiftly brought it down.

With a soft thud, his head rolled to the ground like a watermelon.

Da Lei picked up a long spear from one of the soldiers on the side and thrust it directly into his head.

Then he held up Cai Wu's head and waved it in front of the surrendered garrison.

Xiao Ce observed the expressions on the faces of the guards.

Knowing that he had established his authority sufficiently, it was time to give them a little something sweet!

"I know this matter has nothing to do with you. You all pulled back from the brink in time and did not do anything excessive."

"Now I will incorporate you into my Northern Desert Army. Are you willing?"

None of the guards spoke; they looked at each other, and none of them uttered a word.

Although Xiao Ce was ruthless and killed Cai Wu.

However, they were well aware that the four prefectures of Mobei were indeed Bao An's domain.

Like the other governors who had previously served in the four prefectures of Mobei, Xiao Ce, upon assuming office, was eager to make a name for himself.

As a result, he only fought with Bao An for a few days before suffering extremely bad outcomes.

Xiao Ce noticed that apart from Wang Quan and a few others who agreed, very few others did!

"I'm giving you one night to consider! After tonight, you won't have the chance to join my Northern Army! Those who are willing to join my Northern Army will enjoy the same treatment as my soldiers. Five taels of silver per person per month!"

People are realistic.

After these words were spoken, many soldiers asked if it was five taels of silver a month.

Xiao Ce nodded: "That's right! Five taels of silver a month! You'll get paid as soon as you register! However, once you join my Northern Desert Army, you must abide by the rules of the Northern Desert Army! I will give you the detailed rules of the Northern Desert Army later. As long as you can all follow them and complete the assessment, you will also receive a bonus. As long as you work hard and complete the army's assessment, earning more than ten taels of military pay a month is not a problem."

As soon as Xiao Ce said this, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

You should know that now that they are part of Bao's army, the monthly military salary of one or two taels of silver is already a lot for them.

According to Xiao Ce, working for a month is equivalent to a year's salary in Bao Family Army.

Only a fool wouldn't do that.

Even if Xiao Ce doesn't last long, they'd be happy to receive even five taels of silver.

This training performance bonus was Xiao Ce's idea, and it had been tested by the cavalry unit led by Yan Jia.

The effect is excellent, and it can greatly motivate them to train.

"Your Highness, I'll do it! I'll join!"

"Your Highness, I want to do it too! I want to join!"

...

Seeing the crowd in an uproar, Xiao Ce smiled and nodded, then said to Shen Bao, "Shen Bao, you and Wang Quan go register."

Shen Bao nodded and led his men to take over these people.

Yan Jia then walked to Xiao Ce's side.

Xiao Ce sensed that he seemed about to speak again.

"Yan Jia, do you think these people aren't worth winning over?"

Seeing that Xiao Ce had seen through his thoughts, Yan Jia nodded: "Your Highness, it seems you know everything? You should know that these people are all seasoned soldiers and opportunists."

Have you ever heard the saying, "A train runs fast because of its locomotive"?

Yan Jia looked puzzled: "A train?"

Xiao Ce then realized that the analogy was very inappropriate, as there were no trains in this era.

Xiao Ce put it another way: "That is to say, there are never cowardly soldiers, only cowardly generals. As long as the general is good, he will naturally lead a fierce and powerful army."

"Moreover, these people are considered the elite of the Bao family army. They have been in the four prefectures of Mobei for so long, they must have many friends and connections. As long as this news gets out..."

“Naturally, more and more people will join us. At that time, Bao An’s army will collapse without a fight.”

Yan Jia's eyes lit up after hearing this: "Your Highness is wise!"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "This is nothing... Alright! Let's go through the pass!"

Everything went much more smoothly than Xiao Ce had imagined.

Xiao Ce had considered the desolation of the four northern prefectures, but the scene still exceeded his expectations from the moment he entered the gate.

After entering the pass, there is a city that is connected to it.

The city was filled with small houses built of yellow mud, and there were hardly any people in the entire city.

Apart from the garrison, the entire city appeared exceptionally desolate.

Xiao Ce summoned Wang Quan.

After Wang Quan arrived, he bowed to Xiao Ce.

"Greetings, Your Highness! May I ask what your orders are?"

Xiao Ce looked around and said, "This is supposed to be the first city within the four prefectures of Mobei, but where is everyone? I don't see a single person."

"Your Highness, the people are either dead or arrested! This is because this is the first city we enter after passing through the pass, so there are always troops stationed here."

"Whenever troops arrive, they plunder the people. The people can't bear it and they all flee! Moreover, after years of Bao An's tyranny, the four prefectures of Mobei are already reduced to less than one-tenth. The entire four prefectures of Mobei are either soldiers or slaves! There are no civilians left!"

"What do you mean? There are no common people?"

Wang Quan nodded and said, "Your Highness, in order to curry favor with the Turks, Bao An has been constantly capturing people from the four prefectures of northern Mongolia to serve as slaves for the Turks."

"The Turks couldn't bear to let them use their horses for transport, so they made the captured slaves do things that even animals wouldn't do. They didn't treat our northern people as human beings, only giving them very little food, or even horse manure... They called us northern people 'two-legged mules.' After those people died, the Turks would ask Bao An for them. Bao An would then capture them."

"Over time, less than one in ten of the common people survived. The remaining people were enslaved by the noble families and exploited by them to cultivate the land and produce goods. At its peak, the vast four prefectures of the northern desert had more than a million people! Now, there are less than 100,000 people registered, and these 100,000 people are all from the four major families and some local noble families who are attached to them. They have all been divided up and enslaved!"

Before Xiao Ce arrived, he had heard about the tragic situation in the four prefectures of Mobei from Nie Bing.

He had thought the people here were in a bad situation, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

“This Bao An deserves to die a thousand deaths! He’s worse than an animal!” Xiao Ce said, his face ashen.

Yin Pan'er, listening from the side, also looked rather unpleasant.

"Why is there not a single piece of news from Kyoto?"

"Bao An's sister is His Majesty's favorite concubine, and their relationship in the capital is complex. Moreover, Bao An is ruthless; he has tattooed the character 'Mo' (漠) on the faces of all the people from the Mobei region. Bao An has made an agreement with the lords of several cities within the pass: anyone seen with this tattoo within the pass must be killed without question! Because there is a specific law in the Mobei region that prohibits people from leaving Yanmen Pass!"

Xiao Ce was furious just listening to it.

"Don't you soldiers know how to resist? Don't you soldiers have tattoos?"

Wang Quan's face turned grim as he said, "As long as we're with the Bao family army, we won't need tattoos. But once we leave, we'll have to get tattoos on our faces! And we have no way to resist. Our wives and children are all under the control of the powerful noble families."

“Bao An and those powerful nobles are in cahoots... If we don’t obey, our families will be killed. The only reason we dare to rebel is because our families have all been captured by the Turks... We have no attachments!”

Xiao Ce looked at Wang Quan and asked, "Do you have a wife and children?"

A look of pain flashed across Wang Quan's resolute face.

"He has a wife, two sons, and a daughter. However, they were all captured and taken to the Turkic Khaganate last year! Now, I'm afraid..."

Wang Quan's face was full of pain and conflict.

Xiao Ce patted Wang Quan on the shoulder and said, "I will lead you to make the Turks repay the pain they have caused you a hundredfold or a thousandfold!"

Wang Quan knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times to Xiao Ce: "Your Highness, we are not in a hurry! We just hope you can take care of yourself!"

Xiao Ce said to Wang Quan, "What? You think I'm no match for them?"

Wang Quan shook his head and said, "Your Highness, that's not true! But you shouldn't underestimate them either..."

Xiao Ce smiled slightly at Wang Quan and said confidently, "Don't underestimate me! Behind me are 300,000 civilians coming, and nearly 100,000 soldiers! What can they do against me!"

As Xiao Ce spoke, he said to Yan Jia, "Yan Jia, go and let our cavalry get a good rest. Tomorrow is that scoundrel Bao An's wedding day; I can't be absent!"