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

Because it had only been less than a week since we last met.

Shahar looked much older at this time; half of his once golden hair had turned white, and he looked much more haggard.

Seeing this, the group became even more nervous.

The fact that he has become like this is proof that he has been under a lot of pressure.

It's easy to imagine how difficult this decision must have been for him.

After Shahar sat on his black iron throne, he surveyed the crowd.

After observing everyone's expressions, he smiled slightly and said, "Why do you all have that expression?"

An official said to Shahar, "Your Majesty, what are you doing...?"

When Shahar heard that someone was concerned about him, he smiled and then waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired... Is everyone here?"

As soon as Shahar finished speaking, the group looked at each other in dismay.

They didn't know who Shahar had called.

Before anyone else could answer, Shahar answered his own question, saying, "Since everyone's here, I'll speak."

Shahar then turned his gaze to Nie Bing: "Lord Nie Bing, after careful consideration over this period of time, I can agree to cooperate with you."

Nie Bing's response to Shahar was quite calm.

“Very good, I knew it, Your Majesty the Tsar. Since you have the talent to unify the Slavic country, you can’t be a fool.”

Shahar gave a wry smile and said to Nie Bing, "I have a feeling that you're insulting me."

Nie Bing smiled and said, "Obviously not..."

Shahar said to Nie Bing, "I won't mention any conditions, because even if I did, you might not agree to them..."

Nie Bing smiled and said, "It seems your composure during this time has been very useful. That's right, we won't let you agree to us for nothing. Since you've chosen to support us, we will definitely give you the capabilities of our Illuminati."

Shahar looked at Nie Bing: "What kind of weapons are you going to provide us? You should know that although our weapons are somewhat inferior to yours, they are actually sufficient for the current intensity of combat. This is an experience that Xiao Ce summarized in his battles... Once weapons reach a certain level of intensity, tactics and strategies obviously become more important."

"Therefore, if you have ordinary weapons, they may not be enough to give us an overwhelming victory over them."

After listening to Shahar's words, Nie Bing smiled and said, "Of course... But, after fighting Xiao Ce for so long, haven't you understood one thing yet?"

Shahar looked at Nie Bing with a puzzled expression: "Reason? What reason?"

Nie Bing said, "When I first became acquainted with Xiao Ce, he always said a saying: 'The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next best is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege their cities.'"

Because they were speaking a Slavic language, these people didn't quite understand its meaning.

Nie Bing then explained again: "The general idea is that the best strategy in warfare is to defeat the enemy through strategy, the next best is to win through diplomacy, the next best is to crush the enemy by force, and the worst strategy is to conquer cities and seize territory..."

"Xiao Ce's greatest skill is actually subduing the enemy without fighting! Therefore, we should learn from him and use his own methods against him."

After listening to Nie Bing's words, Shahar asked, "So... does your Illuminati have a solution?"

A proud look appeared on Nie Bing's face as she said to Shahar, "That's right, our Illuminati unified the West not through force... In fact, what Xiao Ce is using now is the same method the Illuminati used in the West back then... or even something the Illuminati had already mastered... The reason we, the Illuminati, chose this name is not just for show..."

"Where the light shines, there will be the power of our Illuminati."

After hearing Nie Bing's words, Shahar's eyes brightened slightly: "So, you can undermine them from within?"

Nie Bing nodded and said, "That's right. Are all these people trustworthy to you?"

Shahar nodded and said, "Of course! These are all our core members."

Nie Bing nodded: "Okay, I spent a long time in Xiao Kingdom. Furthermore, I clashed with Xiao Ce several times... though I ended up losing..."

The people in the Slavic country, whether oligarchs, officials, or even Shahar and his children, all watched very intently, and no one interrupted him.

"Therefore, I know Xiao Ce very well. I have also learned a lot from those failures. First of all, Xiao Ce likes to be a hands-off manager, which is both his strength and his weakness."

"He initially conquered the Turkic Kingdom, but he had no intention of managing it. Instead, he sent a merchant who had previously done business with the Turkic Kingdom to manage it. He also took over the Northern Desert and gave it to his former wife to manage. Later, he handed it over to Yin Weiyong, who is now a scholar from the Northern Desert Royal Palace. Now, he has even given the entire Xiao Kingdom to Yin Weiyong."

"He's genuinely willing to relinquish power! His advantages are obvious; everyone will work hard for him out of gratitude... However, his disadvantages are equally obvious: once he loses his leadership and representation in that area, he loses control over that region..."

Upon hearing this, Rhys subconsciously waved his hand, indicating that he wanted to speak.

Nie Bing looked at Rhys: "Your Highness, do you have any objections?"

Ries asked Nie Bing, "Lord Nie Bing, what you said about this is indeed true... However, you must have been away from Xiao Kingdom for some time now."

Nie Bing nodded, somewhat puzzled, upon hearing Rhys's words: "That's right, I did leave for a while, but not for too long."

Ries said to Nie Bing, "That's right. I actually did some research on Xiao Ce and the Xiao Kingdom before. The problem you mentioned did exist before, but after Yin Weiyong came to power and took control, he seemed to have noticed it, or perhaps Xiao Ce noticed it. They are now 'creating a god' throughout the Xiao Kingdom, deifying Xiao Ce within its borders! This has caused their people to worship Xiao Ce..."

"So, the drawbacks you mentioned are no longer valid. After all, their people worship and believe in Xiao Ce..."

Nie Bing's face showed a hint of disdain: "Ordinary people? Those opportunistic people, do you think they are important? Do you really think that the direction of a country is determined by the people?"

Rhys said, "Of course, isn't that what Xiao Ce did? He relied on the common people to rise up."

Nie Bing shook her head and laughed, saying, "He's just lying to the people. You actually believed him? The people are the most ignorant! They only care about who offers the best welfare and who can give them a better life..."

“Those depressed people are like dogs. If I take out a dog bone, they will obediently come over. If we give them a piece of meat, they can bite their master. That’s not impossible.”

"Those are the easiest to sway! Remember, people are naturally inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm. Aren't you the same? When we can offer you more benefits, you will naturally support us!"

When Shahar heard Nie Bing's words, his eyes lit up immediately: "Lord Nie Bing, you're right. Whatever you want to do, we'll cooperate with you."

Nie Bing did not object and said, "My initial task is to infiltrate the Turkic Kingdom! In fact, many Turkic people were left behind in the beginning. They are the natives of the Turkic Kingdom. Although they are only a small part of the population, with their efforts to develop, their ethnic group has become a force to be reckoned with."

"Therefore, that ethnic group is the easiest to win over! Secondly, we will sow discord between Wei Wuji and Yunqing Urgen. Wei Wuji controls the Turkic army, while Yunqing Urgen controls the military and political affairs."

"It's actually quite simple. There will definitely be friction between the two sides. Moreover, we've already been sending messages these past few days, saying that Yun Qing. Urgen will rebel. Now, both Yun Qing. Urgen and Wei Wuji will definitely be wary of each other!"

The group nodded to each other as they listened; in fact, it would be the easiest thing to make them fight amongst themselves.

"Then, Lord Nie Bing, what do we need to do?"

Nie Bing smiled faintly: "You just need someone to cooperate with us... Let Rhys accompany me to the Turkic Kingdom."

Shahar nodded: "No problem."

Nie Bing then followed up with Shahar, saying, "Next, Rhys and I will discuss the specifics of what to do. I need you to grant Rhys some authority, including the ability to mobilize the military."

Shahar nodded: "Of course... as long as you ask, we will give you our full support."

Nie Bing glanced at Rhys: "Rhys, are you alright?"

Rhys smiled and said, "It's my pleasure."

Nie Bing nodded and said, "That's good. From now on, I don't need to discuss everything with you... Everyone can leave now!"

Seeing this, Shahar quickly said, "Wait!"

Nie Bing looked at Shahar with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong? Is there another problem?"

Shahar shook his head and smiled awkwardly: "Lord Nie Bing, what about support in terms of weapons..."

Nie Bing said to Shahar, "I will go and talk to the Illuminati. They will come as soon as possible."

Shahar nodded: "When will the people of Fusang begin to move...?"

Nie Bing looked at Shahar with a slightly cold gaze and said, "There's no need for me to tell you this."

Shahar still asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to cooperate? We always need to know what our allies are up to."

Nie Bing smiled faintly, then said, "It's too early. We'll only be qualified after we've conquered the Turkic Kingdom!"

"Don't worry, I'll let you know when it's time to do things..."

Shahar gave an awkward smile: "Okay!"

With that, Nie Bing looked at everyone and said, "Alright, it seems you all still have something to say. So, I won't talk to you anymore. Rhys, let's go discuss some details. You guys talk yourselves."

Ries glanced at Shahar instinctively.

Shahar nodded very discreetly as well.

...

After Lis and Nie Bing left.

After leaning back on the Iron Throne, Shahar addressed them, "Gentlemen, do you have anything else to say? Actually, you don't need to repeat myself. Just tell Nie Bing any news you have..."

"Your Majesty, are we just supposed to do nothing? Just wait?"

Shahar said, "Indeed, Nie Bing made it very clear. We just need to do what she says and cooperate... Isn't that a good thing?"

Konstantin Eugene looked at Shahar and felt that Shahar's current state was not the Shahar they knew.

"Your Majesty, are you resigned to this?"

After hearing Konstantin Eugene's words, Shahar laughed out loud: "Are you willing to accept this? What are you talking about? Have you forgotten how you tried to persuade me before?"

Constantine Eugene gave an awkward smile: "Your Majesty, what I mean is, you can't just not interfere with everything."

Shahar said meaningfully to Constantine Eugene, "You and Nie Bing are close, you go and say something..."

Constantine Eugene, increasingly embarrassed, said, "Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"

Shahar laughed and said, "Eugene, you know what I mean. We're all just puppets in their hands... You'd better watch yourself!"

Shahar stood up abruptly, and Konstantin Eugene wanted to say something.

"Alright, things have come to this. I hope that the Illuminati will one day leave... We will not regret the decisions we made today, at this moment. The die is cast! Since we cannot change it, let's gather our strength."

After saying that, he left.

The oligarchs were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What do you think our Tsar means?" Constantine Eugene was the first to speak.

The oligarchs exchanged glances: "Eugene, we all know what you've been doing. Not to mention His Majesty the Tsar!"

After listening to the oligarchs' words, Constantine Eugene looked slightly embarrassed: "What...what do you all mean...?"

The group looked at Constantine Eugene and said, "We all know that you have been sending your family members to the Illuminati one after another. The Tsar knows even better."

Constantine Eugene turned pale after hearing this, but still stubbornly insisted, "What are you talking about? I don't understand. Just say what you mean!"

Everyone who saw him gave him a meaningful look...