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

"Your Highness, are you alright? You seem distracted."

Yin Pan'er's words pulled Xiao Ce back from his thoughts, and he smiled: "It's alright, Nie Bing's words did remind me."

Nie Bing was somewhat surprised: "So you finally realize you shouldn't have been so overly ambitious...?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "Of course not! It's just that you reminded me that we need to hurry! We need to fight the Turks, and we also need to open up the Western Regions! These two things need to be done together!"

Nie Bing was speechless when she saw Xiao Ce's interpretation, thinking to herself that this was not what she meant.

At this moment, Xiao Ce turned his head to look at Qian Lai.

"Uncle Lai, did the Qian family business engage in trade with the Western Regions before?"

Qian Lai asked in confusion, "The Western Regions? Your Highness, you mean those foreign tribes outside Yumen Pass, right? And what is this 'trade'?"

Xiao Ce thought to himself, "They don't have the word 'trade' here yet."

"Have you ever gone to the Western Regions to do business?"

Qian Lai shook his head: "No, Your Highness, don't you know? In fact, back in the time of the late emperor, someone hired these foreign tribes to use witchcraft to harm the late emperor! Since then, the late emperor issued a decree that he was not allowed to trade with the foreign tribes outside Yumen Pass, and except for the time of paying homage, they were not allowed to set foot in Xiao Kingdom."

"Of course, some wandering knights still sneak through. There are also people from other races coming over! But they all come stealthily. If we want to trade, a large number of people need to enter and exit Yumen Pass, which is almost impossible."

Isn't this a form of isolationism?

Xiao Ce listened and nodded: "What do wandering knights do?"

Nie Bing couldn't help but retort, "Your Highness, I thought you were very knowledgeable. But it turns out you don't even know about the ban on foreign tribes, and you don't even know what a wandering knight is?"

Xiao Ce raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced: "Isn't that what's written in the book?"

Nie Bing then explained that the so-called wandering knights were people who traveled the world, eliminating evil and promoting good.

Listening to her explanation, Xiao Ce raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "In the rural areas of later generations, wouldn't this be called 'wandering ghosts'? Or, to put it more nicely, a travel blogger?"

However, this is exactly the kind of "ghost hunting" Xiao Ce needs right now.

"Excellent, excellent. Uncle Lai, go and find some wandering knights like these for me. I will pay them to travel the Western Regions and bring back some things for me!"

Qian Lai nodded: "Alright, Your Highness, how many men do you need?"

Before Xiao Ce could speak, Yin Pan'er interrupted curiously, "Your Highness, are you perhaps looking for witchcraft from other races? My father said that the witchcraft of those other races will inevitably backfire on them in the end... You should think twice."

Seeing that she had misunderstood, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "I am an atheist and do not believe in witchcraft! I need them to find some plants, and you will find out when the time comes!"

As they were talking, they saw Xiao Jiu carrying a thick stack of things, followed by two soldiers, each carrying a bulging bag.

After Xiao Jiu came in, she bowed to Xiao Ce and reported what had just happened.

Mos Ashina has been settled in. He originally wanted to make some demands, but after being intimidated by Xiao Jiu, he completely backed down.

Now he's staying obediently in the accommodation arranged for him.

Xiao Ce nodded in satisfaction. Xiao Jiu's progress was very rapid. After cutting off Bao Cong's two arms, it could be said that his true nature had been liberated.

Xiao Ce nodded repeatedly as he listened, then pointed to the things the two soldiers were holding and asked.

"What are those two holding? Why do they smell so bad?"

“Your Highness, those were people from the Hall of Rites who came to bribe me. Your Highness, didn’t you say that you would accept whatever they offered? They were desperate because they were locked up, so they gave me treasures they had hidden on their bodies! There were too many things for me to carry, so I had someone take the treasures from the pockets of Bao An’s clothes.”

After saying that, Xiao Jiu looked at Xiao Ce cautiously and asked, "Your Highness, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand with a smile: "You did nothing wrong. What's with that traitor wearing clothes?! We're eating right now, and this stuff is just too smelly."

Hearing this, Xiao Jiu carefully poured the items onto the ground and threw the clothes away.

When he returned, Xiao Ce and Qian Lai were already squatting next to the two piles of treasures.

"Are these things valuable?"

Qian Lai's expression was extremely interesting, and he nodded repeatedly: "Your Highness, these things are too valuable... This jade pendant is a type of icy jadeite with floating flowers, just this one piece is worth a thousand taels of gold!"

After hearing this, Xiao Ce was still somewhat shocked.

It's truly a case of "the rich feasting on meat and wine while the poor freeze to death on the streets." How many people starved to death in the four prefectures of the northern desert? These people could easily produce a single jade pendant that would be enough to feed thousands of people for a year.

"Little Jiu, do you remember who gave you these things?"

Xiao Jiu nodded and told everyone who had given her these things.

Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised: "You remember all of this clearly? Your memory is pretty sharp!"

Xiao Jiu scratched his head: "Your Highness, it's because I have a good memory, almost like I can remember everything I see. That's why Qian's Trading Company kept me there as a shop assistant!"

"You also have the ability to remember everything you see?"

Qian Lai then testified for Xiao Jiu: "Your Highness, Xiao Jiu truly possesses this ability. His memory is the best I've ever seen!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce immediately felt like he had struck gold.

"Uncle Lai, Xiao Jiu, you register here. Then, go and exchange these things for cash as soon as possible, and then go and buy some grain."

Qian Lai nodded and said, "Your Highness, if you are in a hurry to sell, these things may not be very expensive. Also, the grain in the four prefectures of Mobei is extremely expensive. In the Central Plains, a shi of grain is only worth one tael of silver, but here it costs more than five taels."

Xiao Ce nodded: "I know. Go and contact those merchant guilds in Anhua City! Have them offer a suitable price, and I'll exchange it for grain and transport it to me without asking for money. Grain prices are high here; are those merchants hoarding it for profit?"

Qian Lai shook his head and said, "No, some time ago the Turks gathered outside the four prefectures of Mobei. Bao An quickly knelt down and delivered a large amount of money and grain to the Turks. This was all squeezed from the mouths of the people. With less grain in the market, the price of grain went up!"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. The urgent food shortage should be resolved. You take care of this matter first!"

After speaking, Xiao Ce glanced at Yin Pan'er and Nie Bing: "Have you finished eating?"

The two men nodded.

Xiao Ce then called to the two men, "Now that you've finished eating, come back to your rooms with me."

Yin Pan'er blushed, but did not refuse.

Nie Bing's face was also flushed, her voice turning icy: "Your Highness, please have some self-respect! I am no one to you... I promised to help you, but... I will not..."

Seeing that the two of them had misunderstood, Xiao Ce said with a wry smile, "What are you two thinking? Go and see the letters of loyalty that those big fish in the Hall of Rites wrote to me!"

Seeing Xiao Ce say this, the two of them blushed even more, and with a bit of embarrassment, they followed.

After returning to his room, he first asked Nie Bing to help him sort out the letters.

First, the merchants' houses were put in one pile, and then each powerful clan and its affiliated noble families were put in another pile.

There are also a bunch of individual prestigious families listed.

After finishing the sorting, Xiao Ce asked Nie Bing to go and check on the affairs of the four major clans.

After all, Fei Du had told Nie Bing a lot of information that he had been keeping to himself.

Nie Bing agreed.

The rest will be left to Xiao Ce and Yin Pan'er to see.

Half an hour later, Nie Bing put down the last letter in front of her.

"Are the people from the four major clans conspiring to deceive me with some completely fabricated stories?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Nie Bing asked in surprise, "Your Highness, you've seen this?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "Why would I need to look at that? Those people from the four great clans are hoping I'm dead. The reason they're willing to write this is just like the Turks—their goal is to keep me in check! Once they return to their territory, they'll be plotting to kill me. Naturally, they won't give me any real leverage."

"They'd have to be out of their minds to honestly give me all their dirt on them!"

Nie Bing nodded and looked at Xiao Ce, saying, "Your Highness, there really is someone in their powerful clans who's lost their mind!"