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

Xiao Ce walked toward a tea stall outside the city.

This tea stall is a place for passersby to rest, and business has always been good.

"Sir, would you like some tea or a side dish?"

A young girl stepped forward with a smile and greeted Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce noticed a menu on the side of the tea stall. It not only sold tea, but also some small wines and snacks.

"Give me a pot of rice wine, two ounces of beef, and a plate of peanuts."

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, the young girl smiled and nodded, "Okay, sir, please find a seat..."

Xiao Ce found an inconspicuous corner to sit down.

The people resting here all seem to be merchants, and they're all talking about the recent situation.

After all, merchants are the most knowledgeable about current affairs.

Xiao Ce listened intently.

"Mr. Zhang, are you here to take refuge, or what? You're from the north, right? What's the situation up there?"

"Hey, of course we're seeking refuge. We came from the Northern Desert Royal Palace. Tian Jinxian, the governor of the Northern Desert Royal Palace, surrendered without even fighting, and opened the city gates to welcome the Slavs... I don't know the current situation... but it must have been occupied by the Slavs!"

"What?! It's been occupied by the Slavs? Are we still going? I just brought dozens of cartloads of goods from the Western Regions..."

"Who knows, the situation is chaotic right now... I suggest you either wait here and see how things develop, or head west... Either way, this place will definitely be wiped out first..."

"Indeed, I'm also planning to head west... I heard the people of Fusang have already landed in Linhai County, and they haven't even put up a fight?! Ah, if only Prince Xiao Ce were here... They're all spineless cowards now... They're too afraid to fight them..."

"What? They landed in Linhai County... When did that happen?"

"A few days ago, I was planning to head west."

Listening to the merchants chatting amongst themselves, I couldn't help but ask, "Gentlemen, what about the Gold Society? Isn't the Gold Society in charge of your business affairs? Don't they offer any advice?"

Hearing Xiao Ce speak from the corner, the merchant quickly smiled and said, "The Gold Society...the Gold Society did offer advice. They said everything should proceed as usual, and we should do business normally...but, with just a casual remark like that, what if those foreign devils rob us of all our goods? Who will we cry to then..."

"That's right... The Golden Society members are all wealthy and powerful; they can afford to cause trouble, but we can't withstand that..."

Listening to the merchants' complaints, Xiao Ce realized that it was indeed true.

Those who personally transport goods here are actually earning hard-earned money.

“Since the Golden Society represents the Chamber of Commerce, I think they must have far more information than ordinary people like us…” Xiao Ce continued to say to them.

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, these people immediately scoffed: "Forget it. The reason the Golden Society was so powerful was because they were around when the Prince was in power... They rose to prominence by relying on the Prince."

"Including those prefects, they were indeed trustworthy when the prince was in power... but look how long it's been since the news of the prince's ascension to immortality spread... and already everyone is in a state of panic... tell me... what do you call this, 'when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter'..."

"Indeed, the Gold Society was trustworthy before because they trusted the Prince... But now, judging from the situation with the Prefect, we should focus on protecting ourselves..."

"If all else fails, I'll consider exchanging for some food and hiding in the mountains. This great war is inevitable, even if those prefects don't fight. I've heard that the Slavs and the Japanese aren't on good terms either, so we'll still have to fight..."

"Those bastards... sigh... if only the Prince were here..."

These merchants actually represent the thoughts of the majority of ordinary people.

Xiao Ce naturally didn't reveal his true colors at this moment; he was eating snacks and drinking wine.

Judging from the people's sentiments, they are all very pessimistic. It seems that after returning this time, it will be necessary to spread the news.

Just as Xiao Ce was lost in thought, the little girl spoke up: "Gentlemen, I think you should actually believe in the Golden Society. Our Prince isn't dead; he's ascended to heaven. This is the root of our Prince's lineage; he won't forget us... Don't you find this situation very strange?"

A merchant listened and laughed, saying, "You're just a little girl, what do you think you know about national affairs?"

Now that the young girl had some free time, she couldn't help but puff out her budding breasts.

"Gentlemen, don't underestimate me. We run tea shops here, we know a lot of people, and we hear a lot of news... So, I think this might be one of our prince's tricks!"

Xiao Ce became interested in the girl's confident demeanor and listened while eating peanuts.

The little girl was also very good at punctuating; she would only say half of what she meant before stopping...

Several merchants immediately became interested: "Little girl, tell us quickly... tell us why you only told half of it... hurry up... I'll add another pot of wine!"

"That's right, add a plate of meat... Little girl, tell us quickly, we won't listen for nothing! Your analysis makes sense, we feel that listening to you has saved us money, so you'll definitely give us a reward..."

"Not bad, not bad... Little girl, tell me quickly. I'll add another pot of wine..."

Seeing the merchants' cooperative manner, the young girl said, "Hehe, gentlemen, you are all smart people... Don't worry, I will make sure my arguments are reasonable and convincing. But if I fail to convince you... all the dishes you added will be free!"

After the little girl said that, the others also started picking up food.

The lively scene attracted some people who originally wanted to go into the city to come and listen.

The young woman said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I will share my observations based on the information I have received and my years of business experience here."

"Let me explain first why everyone is told to go about their business. Is this part of the Prince's plan and scheme?"

In a short time, more than a hundred people had gathered here.

But the silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop, which shows this little girl has some skill...

No one interrupted, and the little girl continued, "As everyone knows, our prince was once the son of God, the savior sent by Heaven to our Xiao Kingdom."

"The changes brought about by the arrival of the Prince are evident to all. The Xiao Kingdom is now only just beginning to get on the right track. As everyone knows, the current prefects of our Xiao Kingdom were all promoted by Prince Xiao Ce himself."

"Not to mention Tian Jinxian, the general manager of the Northern Desert Royal Palace! As the saying goes, ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring! If the country is in turmoil, who will know first?"

The little girl spoke to the onlookers.

"He must be a high-ranking official!"

"No, no...it might be those powerful and wealthy people!"

"That can't be right, those are merchants..."

...

Hearing some people's answers, the little girl smiled and said, "You're all right. The first to know will be high-ranking officials! If the world is about to descend into chaos, those officials will definitely be the ones who flee, followed by the powerful and wealthy, then the merchants... and finally the common people!"

"Just think about it, how powerful are the Crew-Headed Army of the Northern Desert Royal Palace? They have 500,000 Crew-Headed Army soldiers over there... The Slavic country only has a few hundred thousand people... Although none of us have fought in wars, we have all experienced war. You should all know that, right?"

"Once war breaks out, the attacking force will have at least half again as many troops as the defending force! But with equal numbers, they'll have the upper hand. Why not fight? Since those commanders were chosen by Prince Xiao Ce, they certainly aren't stupider than us..."

"Since they're not dumber than us, they must be smarter. There's only one reason they're not fighting: they want to let them in... Why let them in? Of course they won't just let them in for nothing..."

"Based on my guess, that was our prince's scheme. Everyone knows what lies at the border between the Northern Desert Prince's Palace and our Central Plains? There's a Great Wall of the Northern Desert that stretches as far as the eye can see! The Great Wall of the Northern Desert is no ordinary wall! If we drive them there, won't it be difficult for them to return to the Northern Desert Prince's Palace?"

“If the Northern Desert King’s Palace cuts off their supplies, won’t they become an isolated force? You know, our Central Plains Army also has troops, and they haven’t rested during this time. On the contrary, they’ve been working even harder to replenish their supplies. I’ve seen quite a few members of the Golden Society coming here to purchase supplies.”

"And there's a steady stream of supplies coming from the Western Regions! What does this mean? It means we're going to trap them! If our superiors think we can't win, they should send all the supplies to the Western Regions, not have them come from there, right?"

"So, don't worry. Luring them here is like trapping a dog inside! If they want to retreat, they have the Great Wall in the northern desert; if they want to advance, they have our Central Plains Army... and they have no supplies... What do you think the outcome will be?"

Xiao Ce felt a chill run down his spine as he listened to the young girl's analysis.

The young girl's analysis was 90% accurate.

After the little girl finished speaking, the merchants beside her began to chime in: "Now that you mention it, it's true. When I passed through the Central Plains and the border region before, I saw quite a few Central Plains soldiers building something on the mountains..."

The young girl continued, "And as far as I know, many of the big bosses of the Golden Society recently left Kyoto themselves to go to the heart of the Central Plains... which is what you call the front lines, right? If there's a war there, what would they be doing there? Those Golden Society bosses are all smart people... they definitely won't go to dangerous places... but they'll certainly be there for the profits..."

"So, I think everyone can rest assured. Even if it's war, it's a war we're guaranteed to win!"

"Let's talk about Linhai County next. Actually, Linhai County is even simpler, as everyone should know. Since our Xiao Kingdom was invaded by the Fusang people several times, we have also vigorously developed our navy. I have heard this from many merchants who do business in Linhai and the local people. Our navy is constantly training at sea."

"I heard about it about two weeks ago. Apparently, hundreds of ships have gathered in the waters outside Linhai County, and they are all training in perfect unison, preparing to meet the enemy..."

"Did you hear any resistance? You think they made such a big commotion just to welcome them in...?"

One of the merchants spoke up: "We haven't even seen a single warship, let alone the sound of cannons..."

The little girl said, "Look, this illustrates the problem... You need to learn to look at things together... The Japanese are coming. If we don't attack their ships, perhaps we should lure them ashore and incorporate their ships... Then we can trick them ashore and kill them..."

"Or perhaps, isn't slavery from Fusang the most popular thing in our Xiao Kingdom? Those Fusang slaves are small, have great stamina, and are like mules... Maybe we should lure them here and capture them alive to be our slaves..."

The young girl analyzed the situation, and the merchants listening nearby agreed in unison.

Xiao Ce listened with amazement.

This girl is absolutely amazing...

It's a real waste of talent to have her selling tea here.

These merchants, listening to the young girl's analysis, were brimming with confidence.

“Young lady, so you mean that this is all guided by the spirit of our Prince in heaven.”

The little girl seemed to believe this without a doubt...

They all bowed towards the sky, saying, "It must be true! The stability of our Xiao Kingdom was all won by the Prince... so we will definitely not let it all go to waste... Please bless us, Your Highness!!"

As she spoke, the little girl knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. After the little girl took the lead in kowtowing...

Everyone here started kowtowing.

He was the only one left sitting motionless at the table in the entire tea stall, which looked rather out of place...

If he doesn't kneel, he'll definitely be seen as an oddball, which might cause trouble.

But if he were to kneel, that would be truly strange—kneeling before himself.

I had no choice but to find an opportunity and then slip away.

"Your Highness, are you alright...? What happened?"

As Xiao Ce kept looking back at the tea stall, he didn't notice that Ye Mao and Da Lei had arrived.

Upon seeing the two people, Xiao Ce smiled and waved his hand, "It's nothing...it's nothing...Alright, let's go..."

Seeing this, Night Owl and Big Thunder looked over at the people kneeling on the ground...

"What are they doing? Who are they worshipping? Could it be that, Your Highness, you were discovered just now? Were you discovered?"

They saw so many people kneeling in devout worship, clearly worshipping Xiao Ce.