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

Yan Jia bowed and left.

Xiao Ce then looked at Shen Hu, who had been following behind him.

"Shen Hu, tomorrow, after the Tiger Leopard Stronghold arrives, incorporate these three thousand cavalry into your ranks. Then, assign ten thousand of your most trusted men to garrison this area. All the rest of the troops are to rush to the aid of Lingxiao City. I want you to completely surround Lingxiao City!"

Shen Hu cupped his hands in agreement and said, "Your Highness, then you should go and rest."

As he spoke, Wang Quan sent someone to take Xiao Ce to the Yanmen Pass government office.

Xiao Ce found a room and settled in.

After resting for a while, Xiao Ce went to Yin Pan'er and Nie Bing's room.

After knocking on the door.

Yin Pan'er's voice came from inside the room.

After Xiao Ce went inside, Nie Bing said to him, "Your Highness, do you want to know about the powerful and noble families in the four prefectures of Mobei?"

Xiao Ce listened to Nie Bing's words and nodded with a smile: "That's right! I need to know the situation in Lingxiao City."

Nie Bing said to Xiao Ce, "Those powerful noble families do not live in Lingxiao City."

“There are four major clans in the northern desert, each of which occupies a prefecture. The Cai family of Cai Wu, whom you just killed, is in the Chanda prefecture of the northern desert. There is also the Lin family of Wushan prefecture, the Kan family of Qingshan prefecture, and the Liu family of Ping'an prefecture.”

"These four prefectures are named after them. The Cai family is in Chanda City, the Lin family in Wushan City, and the Kan family in Qingshan City. The Liu family is in Ping'an City. Lingxiao City is located in the middle of these four prefectures! It is the fifth prefecture that these four powerful families opened up in order to win over Bao An."

"Each of the four powerful clans ceded two cities to Bao An, thus forming the fifth prefecture in the northern desert, named Bao Family Prefecture."

Xiao Ce couldn't help but snort coldly: "They really think they're some kind of local tyrant."

Nie Bing said, "What Wang Quan doesn't know is that each prefecture has its own guards. Those guards are no weaker than the Bao family's army! Moreover, when my father was in power, they had more than 10,000 guards, and now they probably have even more. Also, the servants under these powerful families are not counted in the population of the four prefectures of Mobei."

“My father once estimated that the number of servants of those powerful clans had multiplied over the years, reaching at least several hundred thousand. Moreover, these people had been brainwashed by the powerful clans for generations, and their servile mentality was deeply ingrained. We must also guard against this force.”

Xiao Ce frowned as he listened: "So, the information that there are fewer than 100,000 people in the northern desert is completely inaccurate?"

Nie Bing nodded and said, "Of course! Bao An and his men aren't stupid. If they really killed everyone, wouldn't they be left with nothing? They killed ordinary people who have lived here for generations, and they have nothing to do with those powerful nobles and are not under their control."

Xiao Ce nodded in agreement: "Then do you know how many of those household servants there are?"

“My father said that each of those powerful clans kept at least 50,000 household slaves. And then there were the prestigious families that these clans were affiliated with. Back then, a conservative estimate was 300,000!”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce couldn't help but laugh out loud: "So it wasn't the four prefectures of the northern desert that were weak, but rather bloodsucking worms, which are indeed fat and large!"

Yin Pan'er, her face grim, said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, how can you still laugh? If that's really the case, although the Northern Desert is poor, those powerful clans are incredibly wealthy! Dealing with them won't be easy... Besides, they have connections with the Turks... In that case..."

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "It's alright! I don't think this is bad news at all. On the contrary, I think it's good news! It shows that the four prefectures of Mobei are not barren. At least the fact that those noble families can support so many servants shows that their land is fertile enough!"

Seeing Xiao Ce's expression, Nie Bing said to him, "Your Highness, I'm saying all this so that you'll back down..."

Xiao Ce said, "They have 300,000 servants, while I have 300,000 people who support me. Bao An has tens of thousands of troops, while I have 100,000! Even if it's a head-on confrontation, I'm not afraid of him!"

Yin Pan'er reminded him, "Your Highness, they have the entire Turkic Kingdom behind them! Bao An's strength doesn't come from his army! Otherwise, those powerful clans and noble families could easily have taken care of Bao An if they had joined forces! But they didn't, probably because they were wary of the Turkic Kingdom behind them!"

"Bao An is a traitor and an agent of the Turks!"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Don't worry! He's just a dog who sells out his country for personal gain! If I can't even handle them, I might as well just go home. Just watch me put on a show."

Then Xiao Ce turned to Nie Bing and said, "By the way, Nie Bing, you haven't told me who is the strongest among the four great clans... and what their relationships are like, what conflicts they have, do you know all that?"

Nie Bing looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Of course I know..."

Xiao Ce sat down to the side, poured himself a glass of water, and said, "Then tell me about it."

Nie Bing said to Xiao Ce, "I can tell you! However, I have one condition!"

Xiao Ce looked at Nie Bing and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Conditions? What conditions?"

Nie Bing said, "You can definitely do it! I'll only follow your advice after you promise me!"

"Okay, no problem! Tell me your conditions."

Nie Bing looked at Xiao Ce and said, "That means the bet we made with you before is canceled!"

Xiao Ce didn't react for a moment and said to Nie Bing, "A bet? What bet?"

Hearing Nie Bing's words, Yin Pan'er remembered the bet she made with Xiao Ce.

"It's the three-year bet you mentioned before!"

After listening, Xiao Ce looked at Nie Bing with great interest and said, "So? Do you think I'm promising now? Do you believe I can really do what I promised in three years?"

"No! I just don't want to bet with you anymore. I still think you're dreaming!"

Nie Bing was still being stubborn, but she was already scared inside.

Because, along the way, Nie Bing had already witnessed Xiao Ce accomplish one impossible thing after another.

Deep down, she felt that he might actually be able to keep his three-year promise.

Thinking about how Xiao Ce had tormented her to the point of near death after she lost the bet, she wouldn't give him another chance.

Xiao Ce smiled when he saw Nie Bing's stubbornness.

He knew what Nie Bing was afraid of, but this woman really was all looks and no brains.

Whether or not there was a bet was completely irrelevant to his desire to sleep with her.

After saying that, he turned to Nie Bing and said, "Fine, the bet's canceled! Now, can you repeat after me?"