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

...

The atmosphere inside the hall was extremely tense at this moment.

Bao Cong lay on the ground wailing, "Father...it hurts...Father...it hurts so much...kill that good-for-nothing for me..."

With a pained expression, Bao An hugged Bao Cong and said, "Cong'er, I will definitely avenge you! Don't worry, that good-for-nothing is like a grasshopper in autumn, he won't be able to jump around for many more days! Once they fall into my hands, I will definitely cut them into a thousand pieces."

As he spoke, he looked at the other members of the powerful families and noble clans in the hall.

They were all standing at the entrance of the hall, looking towards the door, seemingly ignored by everyone.

Even more remarkably, some were already talking to people outside the hall.

What are you all doing?

Bao An questioned him almost roaringly.

At this moment, Cai Tianming, the head of the Cai family, walked over and said, "General Bao An, people outside are saying there's a way out. Xiao Ce seems determined not to come and talk to us. We certainly can't stay here! We have to find a way; we can't just sit and wait to die."

Bao An nodded and asked, "How to get out? What way?"

Before Cai Tianming could speak, Kan Zongye interjected, "I heard that all you need to do is express your stance to Xiao Ce, support and acknowledge him as the King of the Northern Desert!"

After speaking, Kan Zongye looked at Cai Tianming and stopped him with his eyes.

Before Cai Tianming could answer, the heads of the other two powerful families nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right!"

Upon hearing this, Bao An hurriedly said, "Then you should also go and state your position. As long as we can leave the area he controls, we can deal with him. As long as we make contact with the outside world, we can deal with him. Everyone, hurry up and go... As long as one person gets out, we will be saved."

The crowd nodded in agreement and told Bao An that they would go out and ask again.

Bao An frowned and nodded: "I'm entrusting this to you all. The Second Prince and that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce don't get along, and he definitely isn't going to let me off the hook. I'm afraid you'll have to put up with this for now. If you all help me get through this difficult time, I will definitely repay you all. Even the people of the Turkic Kingdom will thank you properly!"

Mos Ashina, standing to the side, nodded and said, "That's right, you all hurry up and go... hurry up and pretend to support him... as long as we can get out of here, we'll have a way to survive. Whoever saved me, we Turks will never forget you!"

After listening, the heads of several powerful families nodded and then walked out in unison.

As soon as they stepped outside the hall, Cai Tianming, his face grim, questioned Kan Zongye: "Kan Zongye, you really were bought off by that good-for-nothing. Why did you hide it from Bao An?"

Kan Zongye snorted coldly: "Then go and tell him everything. Just tell Bao An that Xiao Ce needs us to betray each other's secrets in exchange for a chance to get out and live! Even if you really get out and save Bao An in the end, do you think Bao An and that Turkic Khan will be grateful to you? Will they suspect that you wrote something to Xiao Ce? At that time, will Consort Hui and the others in the capital let us go?"

Cai Tianming asked, "So, are you really going to write it?"

Kan Zongye said, "Of course it has to be written! Xiao Ce's idea is to let us fight like dogs so he can reap the benefits and gain leverage over us! Only in this way can he control and manipulate us! Only then will he dare to let us leave with peace of mind, using minimal force to control the entire four prefectures of Mobei, and only then can he feel secure as the King of Mobei!"

Lin Shou, the head of the Lin family, said: "Patriarch Kan! If we use this to gain our freedom, we will inevitably be restrained and controlled by Xiao Ce in the future! Judging from Xiao Ce's various methods, he is not as useless as rumored. He is a very resourceful person! If they hold us hostage, our lives will probably not be peaceful for the rest of our lives."

Liu Xuan, the head of the Liu family who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Yes! The happiest days for our families were when Bao An was the ruler of the four prefectures of the northern desert. So, it would be better to let Bao An continue to be the ruler of the four prefectures of the northern desert in name only, no matter who else it is."

Cai Tianming's face twisted in rage as he said, "Kan Zongye, I think you've been bribed by Xiao Ce! I won't write this. He killed my eldest son, and his head is still lying in the palace, his eyes wide open. I will never let Xiao Ce rest in peace!"

Kan Zongye glanced at Cai Tianming: "Cai Tianming, if you had any brains, you wouldn't say that. Let me finish. What I mean is, we'll all conspire to fabricate some completely fictitious incriminating evidence. Then we'll tell Xiao Ce. What does Xiao Ce know? As long as what we wrote matches up, he'll trust us."

"Once he trusts us and lets us out, we'll have a way to deal with him!"

As soon as Kan Zongye spoke, Lin Shou and Liu Xuan slapped their thighs and said, "Patriarch Kan, your idea is great! Yes, let's do it this way!"

Cai Tianming's face turned awkward: "You should have said earlier that this was the method. Then tell me how to write it?"

Kan Zongye then called everyone over and began to speak in a low voice.

...

Xiao Ce was in a palace on the far east side of the imperial palace at this time.

This palace was originally where Bao An stored his gold and silver treasures, so it was surrounded by watchtowers, making it very secure.

After seeing the palace, Xiao Ce immediately took a liking to this place.

He sat among them.

Qian Lai led a group of over fifty men in their forties, all of whom had the character "Mo" tattooed on their heads and their eyes were filled with fear and unease.

They were clearly the slaves of the legend.

After these fifty-odd men in their forties came in...

Qian Lai addressed the group of over fifty people, saying, "This is the King of the Northern Desert, personally appointed by His Majesty as the ruler of the four prefectures of the Northern Desert. Quickly pay your respects to the King of the Northern Desert."

Upon seeing this, more than fifty people knelt down.

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

Qian Lai cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, these fifty-two are the best craftsmen in Lingxiao City. As you instructed, some are carpenters, and some are blacksmiths! They are all top-notch."

Xiao Ce nodded and said to them, "Very good, you may all get up."

The group knelt on the ground, not daring to get up for a moment.

"I command you to rise," Xiao Ce said to the men.

These people got up, but none of them looked happy.

"Don't be nervous, all of you. Do you know why I sent you here?" Xiao Ce said to them.

The craftsmen all shook their heads, and some of the smarter ones knelt down and said, "Your Highness, we did not betray the four prefectures of Mobei... We did indeed provide weapons to the Turks before. But we were forced into it. As slaves, we had no choice but to die! We beg Your Highness to forgive us and spare our lives!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present kowtowed and begged for their lives.

They all lived in Lingxiao City, and Xiao Ce sent money to spread rumors about him.

For example, Xiao Ce came and occupied Lingxiao City in order to eliminate those traitors.

For example, Xiao Ce had already killed many Turks and many traitors. The reason Xiao Ce sealed off the city was to clean up those traitors.

There were also other messages, such as granting freedom to the slaves of the four northern prefectures, allocating houses and land to them, exempting them from taxes for a year, and reforming the land tax, etc. In short, the goal was to ensure that everyone in the four northern prefectures had enough to eat and money to spare!

The people in the city were filled with a mixture of surprise, joy, and worry.

What's shocking is that they had all been forced by Bao An to do things for the Turks to some extent, and they didn't know if that counted as treason.

The good news is that if, as the rumors suggest, the new king of the Northern Desert is going to give them a good life, their hard times should be coming to an end.

What worries them is that they don't know how long Xiao Ce can hold out. After all, there have always been many ambitious people who wanted to change the officials of the four prefectures of Mobei, but in the end, they all met tragic ends.

When these top craftsmen were brought here, Qian Lai brought soldiers with him and didn't explain why.

Because of their skill, these craftsmen did indeed help the Turkic royal family forge a considerable number of weapons under Bao An's orders.

Now, they all feel that Xiao Ce is going to deal with them as traitors.

Watching these people kowtow one after another.

Xiao Ce asked Qian Lai, both amused and exasperated, "Qian Lai, didn't you tell them why you came?"

Qian Lai awkwardly said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, didn't you say you wanted to keep it a secret?"

Xiao Ce thought about it and realized that he had indeed given such instructions. He then addressed the kowtowing craftsmen, saying, "Gentlemen, you have misunderstood. I am not taking your lives. I am cleaning up traitors, but I know even better that you have all been coerced. You people of the northern deserts hate the Turks the most! You wish you could skin the Turks alive and tear them apart. If you had a choice, you would certainly not serve them."

The craftsmen, in their forties, listened to Xiao Ce's words with tears in their eyes: "Your Highness is wise... Our daughter was raped by the Turks..."

"My wife and daughters were raped by the Turks right before my eyes... I'm keeping my life because I dream of one day killing the Turks..."

...

These individual artisans spoke through gritted teeth, their voices filled with anger, about their hatred for the Turks.

Xiao Ce was shocked to hear this; the families of these people had all suffered persecution at the hands of the Turks.

Some are better off with family and children, while others are completely alone.

Xiao Ce looked at the crowd and said, "Gentlemen, the reason I summoned you here is to ask for your help! To create some divine weapons to fight against the Turks!"

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, everyone kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, we are willing! However, we can only make some conventional weapons. We cannot make the magical weapon you mentioned for fighting the Turks!"

"I have already drawn up the blueprints; all you need to do is follow along and build it! However, I have one condition: once you agree to this, you must stay here for at least three years! During these three years, you cannot go out or have contact with outsiders. Because I do not want the divine artifact I designed to fall into the hands of outsiders."

"For the next three years, I will give each of you a salary of one hundred taels of silver per year! Of course, all of this is voluntary. If you are unwilling, I will not force you!"

"Those of you who wish to stay will receive a year's salary in advance, and after collecting the silver, you can go and say goodbye to your families! Come back to report tomorrow. Those who do not wish to stay can leave directly. For those of you who wish to stay, I will definitely send people to treat your families well, take good care of them, and ensure that they have no worries about food and clothing and are safe and sound!"

Xiao Ce spoke sincerely, and one of the craftsmen raised his hand: "Your Highness, I'll do it! We commoners were not allowed to leave Lingxiao City before, is there really a hundred taels of silver?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "Of course! One hundred taels of silver is just the base salary. Every time you make a divine weapon, I will give you a commission! As long as you work normally, saving up one thousand taels of silver in three years is no problem at all!"

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, the eyes of all the craftsmen present lit up.

You have to understand, they used to work themselves to the bone under Bao An, earning less than twenty taels a year. Now, their income under Xiao Ce is simply astronomical.

Some curious people asked, "Your Highness, may I ask what divine artifact you are making? Can we make it?"

After one person spoke up, the others chimed in, "Yes, Your Highness! Our craftsmanship is indeed quite good, but you're talking about divine artifacts... We've only ever made ordinary weapons. Even if we agree to your request, we won't actually make what you're asking for!"

Xiao Ce smiled and said to them, "Don't worry, since you are top-notch craftsmen, making these is naturally no problem!"

As he spoke, he looked at Da Lei beside him and said, "Go and get the blueprints for the composite bow and the repeating crossbow!"