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

Xiao Ce walked out of the main hall.

Yan Jia was ordering his men to search each individual palace.

Many maids and servants were also tied up.

Boxes of gold and silver treasures were carried out.

After Yan Jia saw Xiao Ce come out, he came over to report.

"Your Highness, all the residences in the palace have been searched, and the gold and silver treasures are being tallied by Manager Qian."

Xiao Ce nodded.

"Where are the soldiers who surrendered over here?"

Yan Jia said, "We're having them deal with the bodies."

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Have them all come over here and line up!"

Yan Jia nodded.

Yan Jia then gave the orders.

Just then, a soldier came running up.

"Your Highness, a man named Kan Zongye from the imperial palace is requesting an audience with you!"

Xiao Ce listened and nodded in satisfaction.

With an expression of complete control, he said to the approaching soldiers, "I won't see them! What do they take me for? I gave them a chance just now, and they all acted arrogantly. Opportunities don't come often!"

The soldier clasped his hands and prepared to retreat.

Seeing that the soldiers hadn't gone far, Xiao Ce suddenly thought of something.

"Wait!"

The soldier looked at Xiao Ce with some confusion.

"Your Highness, is there anything else you require?"

Xiao Ce said to the soldiers, "Take him from inside to outside, and then have him wait outside. After half an hour, let him go back in!"

The soldier looked puzzled, but nodded nonetheless.

...

Qian Lai stepped forward and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, we have seized a total of eight million taels of silver, one million taels of gold, as well as jewelry and other treasures of all kinds. The count is still being tallied!"

“However, based on what I know, this Bao An probably has more than just this much money. He must have other things going on.”

Upon hearing Qian Lai's words, Xiao Ce's expression became much more interesting!

"Hahaha, I get it now! What does it mean when Heshen falls, Jiaqing feasts! Good! Good! Good! The military funds will come right away!"

Qian Lai, puzzled by Xiao Ce's seemingly nonsensical question, asked, "Heshen? Jiaqing? Your Highness, who are these two people?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "It's not important, it's not important!"

He was in a very good mood, and everything was going pretty much as he had imagined.

The poverty of the four prefectures in the northern desert is entirely due to these leeches.

Bao An is rolling in money.

These local natives are probably all richer than the national treasury.

Not to mention the Turkic Khaganate, who have been plundering this area for years.

Xiao Ce's gaze turned somewhat frantic as he thought about it.

The murderous intent in his eyes intensified even further.

"Turks, I have arrived! Just you wait. I will make you spit it out a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

As they were talking, Xiao Ce saw Yan Jia leading over three thousand men in a neat formation as they approached.

"This humble servant, Sun Qiang, greets Your Highness!"

"This humble servant, Zhao Long, greets Your Highness!"

"This humble servant, Huang Shan, greets Your Highness!"

"This humble servant, Guan Sheng, greets Your Highness!"

"This humble servant, Jiang Xing, greets Your Highness!"

Six burly, imposing men stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and saluted Xiao Ce with their hands clasped in a military salute.

He recognized Sun Qiang, who was in charge; Sun Qiang had previously served under Cai Wu.

Yan Jia stepped forward and introduced, "Your Highness, we were able to capture Lingxiao City this time thanks to the assistance of these generals. Although these generals are not high-ranking, I have spoken with them all. They are all patriots who only worked under Bao An to survive before!"

Xiao Ce nodded in agreement, and said to them with a deeply moved expression, "No need for formalities...no need for formalities, I'm sorry to have troubled you!"

"You have done me a great favor! You have also saved your brothers. My conquest of Lingxiao City deserves the greatest credit! Rise...rise..."

After Xiao Ce stepped forward, he helped them all up with a very approachable expression.

Zhao Long said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, will you really attack the Turks in the future? Can we really kill the Turks?"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "That's right, of course we can kill the Turks! What kind of mess has that traitor Bao An made of the four prefectures of the northern desert? The people are living in misery!"

"Rest assured, I have arrived today! Your good days have come. The Turks have taken everything from us, and I will take it all back, one by one!"

"I dislike empty talk, and I especially dislike making empty promises! I prefer practicality!"

Then Xiao Ce said to Yan Jia, "Yan Jia, what did you promise them?"

Yan Jia then said, "Your Highness, joining our Northern Desert Army, ordinary soldiers receive five taels of silver per month, and squad leaders ten taels..."

Yan Jia repeated the phrase he always said.

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "That's right! Everyone, line up! Go and collect your first paycheck for joining the Northern Desert Army! And the bonus I promised you!"

"Long live the King of the Northern Desert! Long live the King!"

The soldiers behind him shouted excitedly.

Xiao Ce said to Qian Lai, "Qian Lai, have you brought all the people from your trading company here?"

Qian Lai nodded and said, "All the accountants have been summoned as instructed by the Prince."

Xiao Ce nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Sun Qiang and the others.

He moved to the side and told them to follow.

Six followed suit.

Xiao Ce said to Sun Qiang, "Sun Qiang, can I trust any of you?"

Sun Qiang nodded and said, "Your Highness, although we are under Bao An's command, we are all doing this out of necessity. Many of our family members are still being enslaved in the Turkic Kingdom. We think about it day and night and want to rescue them!"

"That's right, Your Highness! As long as you can attack the Turks, we'll do it even without pay!"

...

The remaining men chimed in, "Your Highness! We swear on our lives that we'll follow you and fight the Turks. We'll give our lives to you! We'll even forgo our pay!"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "We still have to fight the Turks...and I will pay your military salaries! However, to repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife...as you all know, there are many problems in the four prefectures of the northern desert!"

"Among you, those you know well can be trusted from your hometown. How many comrades-in-arms are there in various cities?"

Everyone nodded.

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Alright! I'll give you a task! Go and choose people you absolutely trust! Then go to the various cities and persuade those people to join my Northern Desert Army!"

"As long as they agree to join me and submit to my king, their bounty will be the same as yours!"

After listening, the men cupped their hands and said, "Yes, Your Highness! However, General Bao An only controls nine cities. The remaining thirty cities are all under the control of the private armies of various powerful clans!"