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

Okamoto Juzo said to Xiao Ce, "Good...good...Ce, I knew I hadn't misjudged you...you're not bad!"

As they spoke, they arrived at Tojo Seisuke's residence.

In just one night, Tojo Seisuke looked visibly haggard.

"Tojo Seisuke, what happened to you? You look so haggard. You didn't kill anyone. What are you afraid of?" Okamoto Juzo said casually to Tojo Seisuke.

Tojo Seisuke gave a bitter smile: "How can I not be afraid? I didn't actually kill the person... but it happened on my territory, within my sphere of influence. As the saying goes, if you want to find fault, you can always find a reason."

Okamoto Juzo, however, remained calm: "Don't be too nervous. Even people from the Illuminati have to be reasonable..."

Tojo Seisuke nodded vigorously and said, "That's true, but judging from your expression, you probably don't know yet."

Looking completely bewildered, Okamoto Juzo asked Tojo Seisuke, "Know what?"

Seeing this, Tojo Seisuke said to Okamoto Juroku, "You don't know either?"

Okamoto Juro gave a wry smile and said to Tojo Seisuke, "I'm also on your side, but I don't have any news. Tojo Seisuke, if you have any news, just tell me."

Okamoto Juzo said somewhat anxiously, "That's right, we're all here, so just say what you need to say!"

Tojo Seisuke said, "The Illuminati must have made a decision. They've started mobilizing their forces in the Sulu Kingdom and they're heading this way!"

Okamoto Juzo became nervous upon hearing this: "Their army must be the elite of the elite."

Tojo Seisuke nodded: "That's right... That's why I invited you here, just to ask you what to do? Should we stay, or run away?"

Okamoto Jusuke may have had his own opinions before, but seeing Xiao Ce's ideas at this moment, he looked at Xiao Ce almost reflexively.

Xiao Ce simply smiled faintly, without any other expression.

Seeing Xiao Ce's expression, Okamoto Juzo quickly said, "Ichice, what are your thoughts? Tell me?"

Xiao Ce smiled again, but did not answer.

Okamoto Juzo then said to Xiao Ce, "We're in a desperate situation, so just say it."

Seeing that Okamoto Juzo was no longer putting on an act in front of Tojo Seisuke and the others, Xiao Ce asked, "Head of the Tojo family, what do you think?"

When Xiao Ce didn't give him an answer, he instead asked them questions.

"We're just not sure about the information right now."

Xiao Ce smiled and said directly to Tojo Seisuke, "Head of the Tojo family, you actually want to stay, don't you? You sent us here so that our lord would stay with you and face this together. That way, we'll have some deterrent effect."

"So, you actually already have the answer, right?"

Tojo Seisuke was taken aback when Xiao Ce guessed his thoughts, but he quickly said, "Why do you say that? We came to invite you to join us..."

Xiao Ce didn't wait for Tojo Seisuke to speak, saying, "Head of the Tojo family, you may not have made a decision yet, but you definitely want to stay. Otherwise, everyone else is already coming. We're trying to escape! Since we're trying to escape, what's there to discuss? Can't we just run away?"

Okamoto Juzo saw that Xiao Ce's rebuttal made a lot of sense: "That's right, Tojo Seisuke, let's be more honest."

Tojo Seisuke said awkwardly, "I did consider leaving, but then I felt that if I left, I'd be taking the blame. I just wanted to take a gamble! That's why I came here to discuss it with you guys."

"I assure you, I haven't made a decision yet. So I'm inviting you to discuss it!"

Xiao Ce smiled and replied, "Alright, there's no need to discuss this anymore."

Tojo Seisuke looked at Okamoto Juzo with a displeased expression: "Does his opinion represent your opinions?"

Xiao Ce knew that Tojo Seisuke had misunderstood, but he smiled and didn't respond.

At this moment, Okamoto Juzo said to Tojo Seisuke, "That's right, it naturally represents my opinion! Not only my opinion, but also the opinion of our entire Okamoto family."

Okamoto Juzo's words made Tojo Seisuke's face turn ugly.

Xiao Ce felt comfortable listening to this, since he hadn't used any tricks at all, yet they trusted him completely.

Xiao Ce had no doubt that if they were sent to their deaths, they would obediently do so.

Seeing this, he said to Tojo Seisuke, "Head of the Tojo family, is there some misunderstanding? What I want to say is that there is no need for us to discuss this. Given the current situation in Japan, we will definitely stand together. If you stay, we will definitely stay. Of course, if you run away, we will definitely run away too."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Tojo Seisuke, who had initially looked embarrassed, burst out laughing.

"So that's what you meant. Not bad... not bad... that's exactly what I meant, Mr. Ichizawa. You also think we don't need to run?"

After seeing Okamoto Juzo and Okamoto Juroku's attitude towards Xiao Ce, Tojo Seisuke smiled slightly and then asked.

His speaking attitude has improved a lot.

Xiao Ce nodded. His goal was to tame them and make them listen to him.

This time, he wouldn't hold back anymore. When they were at their wits' end, Xiao Ce needed to demonstrate his exceptional abilities.

This way they will become dependent on him and let him take the lead.

"That's right, it's actually quite simple. If they really wanted to do something to us, they should have controlled a few ports instead of bringing their army here."

Xiao Ce continued, "Head of the Tojo family, let me ask you another question... Was it one representative from the Illuminati, several, or did they come together?"

Tojo Seisuke made no attempt to hide anything and said to Xiao Ce, "Sir, according to our leads, so far only one person from the Illuminati has come."

After listening, Xiao Ce nodded and then said, "Then my guess was correct."

Xiao Ce's words were very persuasive, and Tojo Seisuke obediently followed his lead.

Tojo Seisuke pressed on curiously, "You guessed correctly? What did you guess?"

Xiao Ce said to Tojo Seisuke, "Just as we suspected, there are problems within their ranks!"

Tojo Seisuke looked at Xiao Ce with a puzzled expression, but did not interrupt.

"We'll only know the specifics after they arrive. However, what we do know for now is that if there were no problems, they would definitely come in large groups. But they didn't! The Illuminati representative who did come clearly had the approval of their leader."

"So, the reason why all the soldiers here are following him is because he brought his army here alone. This shows that he doesn't trust anyone else. So, I guess they came here mainly to ask questions."

"They definitely want answers from us, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem. On the contrary, we need to keep an eye on Tokugawa Heiyasu and make sure he doesn't die. He must know something."

Xiao Ce began his reasoned analysis, and Tojo Seisuke listened with nodding in admiration.

Seeing this, Okamoto Juzo seemed afraid that Xiao Ce would say too much, so he quickly interrupted and said, "Well, Tojo Seisuke, can you rest assured now?"

As he spoke, Okamoto Juzo winked at Xiao Ce, signaling him to stop talking. Okamoto Juzo didn't say anything, but he was inwardly cursing!

Okamoto Ichisaku seems quite clever, but why did he tell Tojo Seisuke all the crucial information? He thought to himself, Okamoto Ichisaku is still too naive.

Looking at Okamoto Juzo's expression, Xiao Ce put on an apologetic one, then smiled and shut his mouth.

To be honest, Tojo Seisuke's mind had been in turmoil, but hearing Xiao Ce's words really calmed him down.

Once Tojo Seisuke calmed down, he felt much better and didn't hold back in praising Xiao Ce.

"Alright, Okamoto Juzo, stop hinting at Mr. Ichisaku. Didn't you hear what Mr. Ichisaku said? Japan is in ruins right now, and we need to cooperate."

Okamoto Juzo glanced at Tojo Seisuke and said, "That's what I think too, but you're much better at hiding it than I am. If our Mr. Ichisaku hadn't seen through you, would you have told us the truth?"

Tojo Seisuke said with a smile, "I still have to say it... I assure you, as long as you are sincere, I will definitely exchange information with you!"

"Of course, don't hide too much information about Mr. Ichisaku from me. You're lucky to have found such a treasure as Mr. Ichisaku. No wonder people say your Okamoto family is about to have a change of fortune!"

Okamoto Juzo laughed and said, "Alright, stop crying. Our Okamoto family has always been at the bottom. There's a saying, 'What goes around comes around,' and it's our turn now."

Tojo Seisuke smiled and nodded: "Then may I ask this Mr. Ichisaku a question?"

Okamoto Juzo said, "Alright, ask away, but we can't guarantee we'll tell you everything!"

Tojo Seisuke smiled and said, "Don't worry, he'll answer all my questions. And don't worry, he won't let you suffer any losses..."

Let Tojo Seisuke ask Okamoto Juzo himself.

Then he gave Xiao Ce a wink, telling him to say what he could say and not to say what he couldn't.

Xiao Ce could tell that Tojo Seisuke was much more relaxed at this moment.

Just then, Xiao Ce said to Tojo Seisuke, "Lord Tojo, please ask."

Tojo Seisuke said to Xiao Ce, "Mr. Yice, what should we do next?"

Seeing this, Okamoto Juzo said, "You're quite clever... Is this even a question?"

Seeing this, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "My lord, there's nothing wrong with talking about this!"

After hearing Xiao Ce say this, Okamoto Juzo knew that he must know what he was doing.

Xiao Ce then said to Tojo Seisuke, "Now we should just do what we're supposed to do, and wait for them to come. After they arrive, we don't need to worry too much; we should just say what we need to say..."

"Remember, didn't those Illuminati members say they were so great? So, we only have one option: to be honest! After all, we're innocent in this whole mess, right?"

Xiao Ce looked at Tojo Seisuke meaningfully as he spoke.

Tojo Seisuke replied almost immediately, "Of course, we are definitely innocent. If I were involved in this, would there be such panic?"

Xiao Ce smiled slightly, then said to Tojo Seisuke, "That's simple. Since we are innocent, I believe the Illuminati will investigate thoroughly. We have nothing to hide. We should just face it honestly. Even if there are two factions within the Illuminati, that's their competition, not ours."

Tojo Seisuke listened and nodded, finding Xiao Ce's words to be very reasonable.

That coincided with his idea.

"Mr. Ichize, have you considered what side we should take if problems or disagreements arise within the Illuminati...?"

Okamoto Juzo, clearly not wanting Xiao Ce to answer, coughed lightly as he listened to Tojo Seisuke's words.

Xiao Ce smiled slightly, thinking that even if Okamoto Juzo didn't hint at it, he wouldn't say it anyway.

Xiao Ce smiled slightly, then said to Tojo Seisuke, "It's too early to say anything when we don't know anything yet... Could it be that the head of the Tojo family already knows?"

After listening to Xiao Ce's words, Tojo Seisuke shook his head with a smile: "Of course not... However, after we understand the situation in the future, we can all exchange opinions."

After listening to Tojo Seisuke's words, Xiao Ce smiled awkwardly and said, "Head of the Tojo family, it seems that repeating what I said is useless."

Xiao Ce naturally knew that the old man Tojo Seisuke was doing it on purpose, after all, if he gave an answer...

Okamoto Juzo would naturally have this thought.

Although Okamoto Juzo trusts himself, no master would be happy if he overstepped his authority.

“I am merely a strategist. You should discuss these matters with our lord. I am only here to advise our lord! The fact that I can speak with you now is because our lord and the head of the Tojo family think highly of me. It would be too much of an honor for you to follow my advice.”

Xiao Ce's words made Okamoto Juzo beam with joy.

It was clear that he was very satisfied with Xiao Ce's answer.

"Haha, not bad, not bad! Tojo Seisuke, although I don't consider him an outsider... you still need to figure out who's in charge..."

Tojo Seisuke didn't just want to harm Xiao Ce; to a greater extent, he also wanted to test Xiao Ce.

Therefore, he was actually satisfied with Xiao Ce's answer.

Tojo Seisuke laughed heartily, then cupped his hands in apology: "I was just flustered by this mess! Sorry!"