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

Xiao Jiu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, you just analyzed it. The Turks only made this compromise to protect Mos Ashina. They can't possibly agree to your conditions!"

“Those people aren’t stupid; they can figure it out. So, if you do that, won’t they think you’re incredibly foolish, Your Highness?”

Xiao Ce laughed and said, "Haha, I want them to know that I'm really stupid and naive. I believed their conditions! Once they know, the Turks will know too!"

Xiao Jiu's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

Xiao Ce didn't explain to Xiao Jiu, but patted Xiao Jiu's head and said, "You don't understand, do you?"

Xiao Jiu nodded.

“If you don’t understand, just figure it out slowly! Go and bring that Mos Ashina out, then lock him up alone,” Xiao Ce said.

Xiao Jiu nodded: "Then do we need to be served the best food and drinks?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "No need. Just make sure he doesn't die!"

Xiao Jiu nodded, took the letter, and walked towards the Hall of Rites.

Xiao Ce stretched and said to Qian Lai, "Qian Lai, did I send you to find the blacksmith to make iron stirrups?"

Qian Lai bowed and said, "Your Highness, everything has been arranged."

"Don't be stingy with money. Give what you should give, don't be stingy!"

Qian Lai nodded.

Xiao Ce asked Qian Lai, "By the way, did you inquire about the matter I asked you to find out?"

Qian Lai nodded and said, "Your Highness, there are indeed several salt mines in the northern desert, but these salt mines are edible and are controlled by a few powerful clans. However, there are quite a few toxic brine mines, more than a dozen in total. After they were mined, they found that the brine inside was toxic and have all been abandoned, as they are completely inedible."

Xiao Ce's eyes lit up as he listened!

They don't have the purification technology, but he does!

Actually, his current method of refining refined salt is not much different from refining brine ore; it's just a matter of adding a few more steps.

If he had access to a brine mine, he wouldn't need to buy salt and then refine it; he could get it done in one step, saving a lot of money!

Where are these brine mines located?

“We currently control two mines! The others were discovered and abandoned by powerful clans in the other four prefectures. Your Highness, those are brine mines; consuming them would be poisonous. They're completely unusable,” Qian Lai kindly reminded him.

"You don't need to worry about that! You send people to mine first, and then I'll send someone to transport it!" Xiao Ce said happily.

Although Qian Lai had only known Xiao Ce for a short time, he had heard quite a few rumors about Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce must have had his reasons for saying that, so I readily agreed to do it.

After giving the instructions, I looked at the time and thought I should take a nap.

He was truly exhausted, having been busy ever since he transmigrated to this era.

These days are even busier than when I was chairman.

...

Xiao Jiu arrived at the Hall of Rites once again, and a foul stench greeted her.

The main problem is that this ceremonial hall doesn't have a toilet, and Xiao Ce has locked them up here.

They were only provided with water, but not food.

Even though they weren't given food, they still needed to poop.

Their side, including the master and servants, numbered over a hundred people, so they could only deal with the problem from the nearest location.

Therefore, the stench was absolutely unbearable.

The servants here are doing somewhat better; when have those merchants and officials ever suffered like this?

Seeing Xiao Jiu coming over.

The others rushed forward, each holding a thick letter.

"Ninth Master, this is a letter I wrote to the Prince, representing my sincerity! If the Prince spares my life, my life belongs to the Prince... This is just a small token of my appreciation!"

"Ninth Master, this is mine! I really can't stand it anymore. As long as Your Highness lets me out, I'll do anything!"

As people handed over their letters to Xiao Jiu, they also stuffed his valuables into his possessions.

Xiao Jiu nodded as she accepted the letter, without any politeness: "Gentlemen, I'll say it again, you don't need to repeat what I said. If you're sincere, put your sincerity in the letter, no need for such formalities! I'm just passing it on."

"This is just a small token of our appreciation, Mr. Jiu, thank you for your trouble..."

Xiao Jiu finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and saw Zhang Yunqing.

"Mr. Zhang, you're here at the perfect time! The Prince is very satisfied with your writing and needs to speak with you. Come out with me in a bit."

After hearing this, Zhang Yunqing's eyes reddened with excitement, and he almost knelt down before Xiao Jiu!

Xiao Jiu said to Zhang Yunqing, "Alright, I didn't come here to see you... I'll tell you later."

With that, Xiao Jiu led a group of soldiers into the hall.

Zhang Yunqing thought he had grown closer to Xiao Jiu, and while following Xiao Jiu, he asked, "Mr. Jiu, is there something you need? Can you tell me a little bit?"

As he spoke, he stuffed a heavy, exquisitely crafted gold medal into Zhang Yunqing's pocket.

Xiao Jiu said with a smile, "It means the Turks have backed down. They are willing to offer ten million taels of gold, ten thousand fine horses, and a million shi of grain to ransom the people."

Xiao Jiu didn't control her volume.

The people at the scene were stunned, because it was always the Turks who came to rob them. When had the Turks ever given anything back?

And it's a number that's unimaginable.

The officials and merchants present did not believe it; clearly, this was a delaying tactic.

However, they dared not say anything.

Xiao Jiu walked to the entrance of the hall and saw a group of people gathered there.

Xiao Jiu looked at them and said, "You all heard it, right?"

Everyone nodded.

Xiao Jiu looked around again, took out the reply from the Turks, and read it aloud to everyone once more.

Then, they had it circulated among the people inside the hall.

"The prince said this is our first victory! Let me tell you all, there is nothing the prince cannot do if he wants to! Even the Turks will have to obey."

Xiao Jiu looked around and cried out, "Where is the Khan? The Khan!"

Mos Ashina heard him clearly and cleared his throat: "I am here!"

The crowd immediately parted to make way!

Mos Ashina covered his hand, which was missing a finger, and his face seemed to put on a stern expression again.

"Hmph, I've already told you all. I am the eldest prince of the Turkic Kingdom. Do you know what that means? My country will save me no matter the cost!"

Xiao Jiu knew Xiao Ce's purpose and was still polite to him: "Your Highness Khan, it was Bao An who stirred things up before. Our Prince said it was all a misunderstanding! As long as you cooperate, you will definitely return safely!"

Mos Ashina glanced at Xiao Jiu, intending to make things difficult for him.

However, he then thought of Bao Cong, whose hands had been chopped off, and who was now half-dead inside the house. He was still in their hands, and in his eyes, both Xiao Ce and Xiao Jiu were madmen.

"I won't hold a grudge against anyone! Just hand over the person who cut off my finger, and I won't hold it against you." Mos Ashina said this, but in his heart he had already sentenced Xiao Ce and Xiao Jiu's group to death.

Xiao Jiu smiled and said, "No problem, these are all negotiable."

After saying that, he turned to look at the members of the prestigious families: "Have you finished reading it? Don't damage that letter!"

Lin Shou then handed the letter from the Turks to Xiao Jiu!

He then handed the letter he had written to Xiao Jiu: "Young sir, this letter is for the King of Mobei. I would like to trouble him to take a look at it in his busy schedule."

Lin Shoudu, one of the four major clans, has begun sending letters.

The others all stepped forward to deliver the message.

They all gave Xiao Jiu some of their personal treasures, more or less.

Xiao Jiu accepted everything without hesitation.

However, he received so many gifts that he really couldn't handle them all.

He looked around, pointed to Bao An's corpse beside him, and said, "Go and strip him of his clothes, and wrap up these treasures for me!"

The merchants outside all took action to curry favor with Xiao Jiu.

Those prominent families on one side watched with twitching eyelids. Even after Bao An died, he wouldn't be allowed to rest. His corpse was just stripped naked and left there.

Xiao Jiu wrapped up the treasures he had collected and had the accompanying soldiers carry them before walking out with Mos Ashina.

After watching them walk away, Cai Tianming's face turned extremely gloomy.

"Do you really think the Turks would agree to Xiao Ce's outrageous demands?"

Lin Shou said, "Such an obvious delaying tactic! It seems that the King of the Northern Desert is nothing special. He was happy to release the people with just a letter."

Cai Tianming snorted coldly and glanced at Kan Zongye with disdain.

"It's just that some people have been praising him all along. I wonder if they've taken some bribes from him! How could a notorious good-for-nothing become so powerful? This time, he just got lucky and wiped us all out!"

Kan Zongye, standing to the side, didn't respond, but said coldly, "Cai Tianming, don't try to frame me! I haven't done anything, and my conscience is clear! We're like frogs in a well, completely oblivious to what's going on outside. Whether he's a dragon or a worm, we'll find out once we get out."

"Regardless, Bao An is dead. Xiao Ce also cut off Mos Ash's finger. Knowing the nature of the Turks, he won't let us off! The four prefectures of the northern desert are about to be engulfed in turmoil!"

Cai Tianming snorted coldly, his face full of disdain: "It's nothing more than the Turks paying us off to avoid trouble, and if that doesn't work, we'll hand Xiao Ce over to them. Isn't that how it's always been? What does it matter to us how the four prefectures of the northern desert change?"

Kan Zongye was too lazy to argue with Cai Tianming. He was also feeling weak from hunger. He waved his hand, sat down at his table, and began to meditate.

...

At this moment, in the courtyard of Xiao Ce's palace...

Xiao Ce lay on a grand chair, drinking tea, with two young women kneeling beside him, massaging his legs.

There was someone standing behind him, massaging his shoulders!

A copper hot pot was placed on the stone table beside him, and it was cooking at the moment.

Under Xiao Ce's command, the remaining girls picked and washed vegetables.

Among the Twelve Fiends, Hu Yidao, famous for his swift knife, was standing in front of a chopping board, holding a small knife, slicing the beef and mutton that Qian Lai had prepared into slices as thin as cicada wings.

Xiao Ce clapped his hands in admiration: "Excellent swordsmanship!"

I wonder if the Eighth Prince of the State of Zhen would faint from anger if he found out that Xiao Ce had sent his top swordsman to the chopping block!