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

"Who?"

Nie Bing kept Xiao Ce in suspense, letting him guess.

Xiao Ce shrugged and waved his hand, saying, "I don't know them very well, so how am I supposed to guess? However, I can rule out two of them first. First of all, it's definitely not Cai Tianming or Kan Zongye. I killed Cai Wu, and Cai Tianming is now my sworn enemy. As for Kan Zongye, he is the strongest of the four great clans in terms of overall strength, so it's impossible for him to be either."

"Your Highness, you're mistaken. It's Kan Zongye!"

As she spoke, Nie Bing handed one of the letters to Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce accepted the letter in surprise.

Kan Zongye's writing was fairly sincere. He recounted some of the things he did, how many governors he had killed, and his dealings and schemes with the Turks.

If this evidence were presented to the emperor, their entire family would be executed dozens of times over.

At this moment, Yin Pan'er came over to take a look.

"Your Highness, is he trying to curry favor with us?"

Xiao Ce's expression turned slightly cold: "They're trying to outsmart me."

Yin Pan'er asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what are you planning to do?"

Xiao Ce feigned mystery: "This has to be kept secret, or it won't work anymore!"

Nie Bing didn't press further, but changed the subject: "How are things on your end?"

"The merchants and the officials under Bao An wrote very sincerely, so it should be true. As for the officials from the prestigious families and the other four prefectures, I think they wrote a mixture of truth and falsehood... However, that doesn't matter, since they're not on my territory! Nie Bing, I need you to select some trustworthy officials to help me manage these nine cities."

Nie Bing immediately took out a list from his person.

“Your Highness, I have been prepared for a long time. There are thirteen officials here, all of whom previously served under my father. My father praised them highly, and they were all in the Hall of Ceremonies yesterday.”

Xiao Ce glanced at the list, nodded, and stretched. "That's all for today. It's getting late. Would you two like to stay here, or..."

The two of them said in unison that they wanted to leave.

Xiao Ce did not try to stop him, and instead had Da Lei present his written plan on reforming the four prefectures of Mobei, as well as methods for development and governance.

"Since you're going to be in charge of this place from now on, we'll govern it according to this book. Go back and take a look. If you have any questions, you can ask me while I'm still here."

Yin Pan'er looked at the two thick books Xiao Ce handed her: "These...did you write these yourself?"

Xiao Ce did not deny it: "Otherwise, what do you think I was doing locking myself in my room at night before? You should go back and take a look. The people in these nine cities were all brought over from the Central Plains, and the slaves here have been trained to the point of losing their thoughts and personalities. It's a good opportunity for them to adapt to a completely new system."

Yin Pan'er looked at the two thick books and nodded: "Okay, I'll go back and take a look first."

Watch the two people leave.

Xiao Ce looked at Xiao Jiu Hou outside the door.

As soon as he stepped out the door, someone approached him: "Your Highness, should we have the seasonal maids come to serve you in bed? I'll go right away..."

Xiao Ce smiled. What did this kid think he was?

Women are something that can only be used as a diversion.

"I asked you to go to the Hall of Rites and bring Zhang Yunqing out. Where did you settle him?"

Xiao Jiu, realizing she had misunderstood, looked somewhat embarrassed: "Your Highness, temporarily settle him and that Khan's son together."

Xiao Ce nodded and let Xiao Jiu lead the way.

As soon as he stepped out of his palace, he saw soldiers patrolling everywhere in small teams of five, covering the entire palace without leaving any blind spots.

Upon seeing Xiao Ce, the soldiers gave him a spirited military salute.

Xiao Ce nodded with a smile, very satisfied with the soldiers' spirit and morale.

He was right about Yan Jia; he really knew how to lead troops.

On the way, Xiao Ce asked Xiao Jiu about Zhang Yunqing.

Listen to what Xiao Jiu said.

Ce felt that Zhang Yunqing was quite a legend.

Zhang Yunqing was a native of the northern desert. He grew up in Shoushan City of Ping'an County. His parents were slaves of a wealthy family surnamed Zhang in Ping'an County. With his clever mind, he gained the favor of the eldest son of the Zhang family, who took him under his wing and made him a tutor. He learned to read and write and read a lot of books.

This continued until the eldest son of the Zhang family inherited the family position. Zhang Yunqing was also promoted to the position of Zhang family steward. As a confidant of the family head, he was spared the tattoos of the slaves and thus accumulated his first fortune within the Zhang family.

Because Shoushan City was adjacent to the Turkic Kingdom, it was always plundered by the Turks.

They had a tacit understanding with the Turks.

That is, when the Turks came to plunder, the wealthy households would stay inside, handing over some grain and treasure at their gates, and the Turks wouldn't come to loot. However, that group of Turks went mad and took the grain from their gates, which wasn't enough.

They broke down the door, killed everyone in the wealthy household, and looted everything.

Zhang Yunqing had made a conscious effort beforehand, setting up a cellar in the mansion and hiding the Zhang family members inside.

This allowed the Zhang family head and more than ten other people to escape the calamity, but their property was completely looted by the Turks, and their house was burned to the ground!

The head of the Zhang family died in despair, and the Zhang family soon fell into ruin.

Zhang Yunqing used some of the money he had accumulated in the Zhang family to give some of it to the surviving members of the Zhang family for their living expenses.

It is said that later, after Zhang Yunqing became wealthy, he repaired the Zhang family's house and supported them, which can be considered as showing kindness and loyalty!

Because he was very familiar with these powerful and prestigious families in the northern desert.

He knew very well that he was all alone and doing business in the northern desert, and the end result would be that he would be exploited and wiped out by powerful noble families.

He originally intended to go to the Central Plains, but by chance, he saved a merchant from the Turks.

During the conversation, he discovered a business opportunity! The Turkic Kingdom was located on the grasslands! Although various tribes had been vying for control of the northern desert, the spoils were always used by the nobility, and ordinary Turks had no use for them.

The Turks still need to buy what they require!

On the advice of that businessman.

Zhang Yunqing did not choose to do business with the people of the northern desert, but instead went to do business with the Turkic Kingdom.

Because of this business, everyone thought he was trying to make a living off a tiger.

However, he managed to navigate the Turkic people very well thanks to his personal abilities.

Not only did he build up his business, but he also maintained good relations with the Turks.

Because of his relationship with the Turks.

Here, whether it's a powerful clan or a prestigious family, they will all give him some face.

Especially after Bao An arrived, he gained Bao An's trust and his business took another step forward.

Listening to what Xiao Jiu said, he felt more and more that Zhang Yunqing was indeed the key to helping him break the deadlock.

He watched as Xiao Ce nodded repeatedly.

Xiao Jiu cautiously inquired, "Your Highness, don't you hate traitors the most? Zhang Yunqing is one of them, isn't he? Besides, is such a person trustworthy?"

Xiao Ce smiled and asked, "Where did you get all this information from?"

Xiao Jiu scratched his head: "Most of it is just hearsay."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "Putting everything else aside, just based on his unwavering loyalty to the Zhang family, his nature can't be too bad. As for doing business with the Turks, how can that be called treason? He's making money off the Turks! Compared to the actions of those powerful noble families, his actions are nothing."

"Moreover, judging from the information in his letter to me, I have a great use for him! As for whether he is trustworthy or not, I never like to listen to what others say. I trust my own judgment."

As he spoke, he looked at the courtyard in front of him, which was heavily guarded, indicating that they had arrived at their destination.

Xiao Ce looked at Xiao Jiu and asked, "Is this the way?"

Xiao Jiu nodded.

After Xiao Ce entered the courtyard, he saw Mos Ashina poking his head out of one of the rooms.

Upon seeing that the person who came was Xiao Ce, he was so frightened that he quickly shrank his head back.

Led by Xiao Jiu, they arrived at another room.

The door was open, and a man was seen writing furiously at a table, with a lot of his own 'materials' written beside him.

"What, are you planning to write an autobiography for me this time? But while you have time to write it, I don't have time to read it!"

Hearing the sound at the door, Zhang Yunqing was startled and saw that the person who came in was Xiao Ce.

His expression was extremely complicated. He ran excitedly all the way, and then knelt down directly in front of Xiao Ce with a thud.

"This humble subject, Zhang Yunqing, greets Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! I was unaware of Your Highness's arrival and failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me!"

Xiao Ce did not stop Zhang Yunqing's behavior. He walked straight in, sat down in the spot where Zhang Yunqing had been sitting, picked up a piece of paper, and began to read it.

"Your Highness, this is still unfinished and unpolished. If Your Highness wishes to see it, I will write it all night long!"

Xiao Ce put the paper back on the table, looked at Zhang Yunqing who was prostrate on the ground and smiled: "As I just said, you may have time to write, but I may not have time to read it!"

Zhang Yunqing smiled awkwardly and nodded: "Your Highness, then this humble subject..."

"Give me a reason not to kill you for what you've done!" Xiao Ce said directly, without any hesitation.

Seeing Xiao Ce's dark face, Zhang Yunqing trembled and crawled on the ground, slightly raising his head and glancing at Xiao Ce.

He glanced at Xiao Jiu again.

However, they couldn't discern anything from the two people's faces, and awkwardly asked Xiao Ce.

"Your Highness, isn't what I've written enough?"

Xiao Ce said with a half-smile, "What you wrote is indeed enough to kill you!"

Zhang Yunqing's expression changed rapidly. After a moment of contemplation, he said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, it's because you want me to use you! Keeping me alive is definitely better than killing me! Your Highness, it seems you're going to take action against the Turks, and in the entire Great Xiao Kingdom, no one understands the Turks better than me! Your Highness, as long as you keep me alive, I promise you won't regret it! I swear, I will be absolutely loyal to you!"