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

As Bao Cong spoke, he slapped Xiao Jiu, who was already frightened, again.

"You worthless lackey, I'm talking to you... hurry up, or I'll beat you to death!"

Xiao Jiu was the son of a slave. Because of his quick wit and skill in arithmetic, he was lucky enough to be recruited by the Qian family business.

However, the people from Qian's Trading Company taught them to be obedient, compliant, and to prioritize the customer.

Therefore, the personality he developed from childhood cannot be changed overnight.

Bao Cong's arrogance and domineering attitude instantly brought out his servile nature.

He was so frightened that he stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move.

Seeing that Bao Cong was about to unleash all his anger on Xiao Jiu, Boss Zhang, who had just received reliable information from Xiao Jiu, quickly stopped Bao Cong, saying, "Young General Bao, calm down, calm down. We are, after all, under his command. No matter what, he is Xiao Ce's man..."

After saying that, he shouted to Xiao Jiu, "Hurry up and go, General Bao Cong. I told you to go, so hurry up and go... What are you standing there for?"

Xiao Jiu kept talking while giving him meaningful glances.

Xiao Jiu finally came to her senses and hurriedly left.

Seeing Xiao Jiu run away and break free from Boss Zhang's control, Bao Cong cursed, "Who are you... what are you? How dare you stop me?"

With a forced smile, Boss Zhang said, "Young General Bao, I am Zhang Yunqing. In Lingxiao City, I assist and oversee the trade and procurement for the Turks..."

Bao Cong glanced at Zhang Yunqing, pondered for a moment, and seemed unable to recall who Zhang Yunqing was.

With a disdainful expression, he said, "I don't know him... But you, why did you stop me? What did you mean by that? Do you think I'm afraid of that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce?"

"That good-for-nothing Xiao Ce is so useless in the capital that even a stray dog ​​on the street could piss on his shoe and he wouldn't dare utter a sound. Do you think I'd be afraid of such a piece of trash?"

Zhang Yunqing nodded and bowed obsequiously, "Yes, yes, General Bao Cong. Beating that man up will only dirty your hands. Besides, isn't the Khan inside in grave danger? Every moment of delay increases the danger, doesn't it? General Bao Cong, you are a nobleman; it's not worth getting angry with those lowly servants..."

At this moment, the merchants standing nearby stepped forward and echoed Zhang Yunqing's statement.

Moreover, his words were clearly an endorsement of Zhang Yunqing.

Bao Cong pointed at them and said, "Alright! Let me tell you, you are all people of Lingxiao City. If I find out that you dare to betray the Bao family, you know the consequences! Consider this a test for you!"

Everyone smiled and nodded.

As he spoke, Bao Cong turned and left, seemingly unwilling to stay there a moment longer.

Class was ingrained in his bones, so in Bao Cong's mind, even breathing with these people from the lower classes outside the palace seemed to taint him.

After Bao Cong left.

The merchants standing next to Zhang Yunqing all asked him questions.

"Manager Zhang, what information did you get from Xiao Jiu just now?"

"Yes, Manager Zhang, we just spoke up for you..."

"We are all one. If you have any news, you must tell us..."

Zhang Yunqing looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Didn't you just promise Bao Cong that you wouldn't betray the Bao family?"

"What nonsense about the Bao family... We merchants rely on ourselves... To put it bluntly, the Bao family needs us... These days, the Bao family talks so big, belittling the Northern Desert King to nothing, but the current Northern Desert King treats their so-called generals and clan heads like pigs and dogs, keeping them here. It's obvious this Northern Desert King is no ordinary person!"

"That's right, didn't you see? Cai Wu, the garrison commander of Yanmen Pass, has had his head chopped off. What does that mean... it means Yanmen Pass has fallen. The fact that the Northern King was able to capture Lingxiao City so quietly means that all nine cities guarded by the Bao family have likely fallen! Mr. Zhang, we merchants have it tough... you have to tell us..."

"Yes, we businessmen are meant to be dependent on the government... Mr. Zhang, we have a good relationship... there's a legitimate way, you have to show us..."

After reading what everyone said, Zhang Yunqing didn't hide anything and repeated what Xiao Jiu had said to them.

Of course, he kept Xiao Ce's current strength a secret.

He also had some selfish motives. If they were free from all worries, they would tell Xiao Ce everything about themselves.

That would not show his sincerity.

He told them everything he needed to say, but concealed some things, leaving them with lingering doubts.

After he finished speaking, these people were somewhat surprised, and their expressions were a little awkward.

"Alright... I've said everything I needed to say... Whether you write it or not, I'm going to write it now..." Zhang Yunqing had already decided to take the gamble.

“Mr. Zhang, have you considered this? What if the King of Mobei passes away? What you wrote could cost you your life…” some businessmen said to Zhang Yunqing.

Zhang Yunqing said, "Fortune favors the bold. If the King of Mobei gains a foothold, I will be his most trusted person... and the benefits will naturally be plentiful. However, as you all said, if the King of Mobei can't hold out for long, we will only face certain death. So, the choice is yours!"

After Zhang Yunqing finished speaking, he walked to the table and began to write.

...

On one side, Xiao Ce stood at the Xinggong Xinya Station.

The cacophony station was a semi-open-air attic, filled with hundreds of densely packed black cacophonies.

On one side, there were cages, each with a name on it.

For example, Ashina Khan, the Kan family, the Lin family...

The names on those cages indicate that each cage of calves is a dedicated messenger.

Xiao Ce looked at the wall of cages, which covered almost all the four prefectures of the northern desert and all the forces!

There was also the relationship with the Turks.

Each cage contains between five and twenty animals.

After observing for a while, Xiao Ce had some questions and asked the messenger crow beside him, "These messenger crows all look the same. How can you be sure that the messenger crows inside won't be switched? For example, a letter that was supposed to be delivered to the Kan family might end up being delivered to the Lin family instead."

The messenger crow standing nearby respectfully said, "Your Highness, we messengers are responsible for every letter we deliver. You may see all these messengers as the same, but to us, they are entirely different beings!"

"If a letter is delivered to the wrong address, not only will I be beheaded, but my entire family will be beheaded. That will never happen here!"

Looking at the messenger crow's confident and determined expression.

Xiao Ce nodded.

The raven messenger asked, "Your Highness, why don't you try it? You can mix all these raven together, and I can distinguish them!"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "No need! Since I have chosen you, I will definitely trust you!"

Xiao Ce actually wanted to test it out, but he discovered that even if the messenger could distinguish clearly, he still couldn't tell if their quotas were correct.

Instead of doing that, it's better to just verbally express some trust in them.

Xiao Ce glanced at Yan Jia. Yan Jia then handed the messenger the fresh finger of Mos Ashina and a letter.

"Go and give it to Ashina! Is this finger okay?"

The messenger weighed it in his mind for a moment, then said, "No problem."

Immediately afterwards, they selected a crow several times larger than an ordinary raven from a cage labeled Ashina, tied the letter and their finger to its two legs, and then released it.

Having done all this, the messenger bowed to Xiao Ce and said, "Your Highness, the Turks will receive the message by lunchtime tomorrow at the latest. If they reply promptly, they will receive it the day after tomorrow."

"So fast? I hope nothing goes wrong."

The raven messenger nodded and said, "Accidents are inevitable... but they are rare. Our raven messengers have undergone multiple selection and training processes, and they are adapted to all kinds of extreme weather and complex situations. Especially for important letters, we will choose the best raven messengers to deliver them."

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Okay! What's your name?"

The messenger said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, my name is Fei Du."

"Fei Du? Good! Why did you agree to this king so quickly?" Xiao Ce asked.

The messenger said to Xiao Ce, "Reporting to the King of Mobei, I heard General Yan Jia say that you are Miss Nie Bing's husband. I don't trust you, but I trust Miss Nie Bing."

Yan Jia added from the side, "Your Highness, Fei Du and his followers were all established by Governor Nie Yao. After Governor Nie Yao was murdered, they endured humiliation and remained hidden by Bao An's side, so that one day, when Nie Bing needed help, he could step in in time."

Xiao Ce nodded in agreement. It seemed he had underestimated Nie Bing's influence in the four prefectures of Mobei.

"Good! Do a good job, and I will definitely avenge Governor Nie Yao!"

Fei Du respectfully said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, as long as you fight against the Turks, I am willing to die for you."

Xiao Ce waved his hand with a smile and said to Fei Du, "Alright, if you, a mere messenger of crows, were to be torn to pieces, what a mess you would be in."

As he spoke, Xiao Ce looked intently at Fei Du and said, "Since you have been lurking under Bao An's side for a long time, you must know about Bao An's dealings with the powerful clans and the Turks, right?"

Fei Du's expression froze for a moment, then he nodded as if he were pondering something.

"Then can you tell me?" Xiao Ce asked bluntly.

Fei Du nodded, then shook his head.

Xiao Ce asked with a hint of doubt, "Why?"

"Your Highness, please forgive me, but I need Miss Nie Bing's permission before I can speak with you," Fei Du said to Xiao Ce with a firm gaze.