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

The common people were completely confused by Xiao Ce's words.

However, I heard Xiao Ce say the land was divided himself.

Another round of cheers erupted.

Among them were some educated slaves.

As they were talking, a young man dressed in tattered hemp clothing spoke up: "Your Highness, is it acceptable for people like us, who have no one to recommend us, to do this?"

Upon seeing this, Xiao Ce nodded and said, "That's right! From now on, the recommendation system will be abolished in the four prefectures of the northern desert! The imperial examination system will be reinstated!"

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Xiao Ce continued to explain: "The so-called imperial examination system is to allow everyone to obtain official positions through examinations based on their own abilities, rather than through recommendations based on nepotism!"

These young men, dressed in tattered clothes but with refined manners, knelt down and shouted "Long live Xiao Ce!"

"These things need to be perfected step by step! Before that, anyone who thinks they are capable can write to me! As long as you trust me, let's work together to create a better home! Although I am the King of the Northern Desert, everyone should know that these four counties of the Northern Desert belong to me, but even more so to you!"

The people were deeply moved by Xiao Ce's words!

Even after Xiao Ce left, these people were still in a daze, continuing to kowtow.

Once Xiao Ce entered the palace, he instructed Qian Lai to place a petition drum on one side of the city gate and a mailbox on the other.

"Your Highness, are you really going to let them in? What if someone comes knocking every day? Will you see them or not?"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "You still don't understand the psychology of ordinary people. Although I said the same thing as them, these people won't come knocking unless they're driven to desperation!"

"Moreover, we will establish a rule that anyone who makes false accusations or falsely bangs the petition drum will be severely punished."

Qian Lai nodded and then asked, "Could someone be using those letters to plot against you, Your Highness?"

Xiao Ce laughed and said, "That's not a problem. I'm not the first to read any of the letters anyway. I'll just find some trustworthy people to check them when the time comes!"

Qian Lai nodded in agreement: "Your Highness is wise. So what are you planning to do next? The most difficult to deal with are those prestigious families!"

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "I've already thought of a solution. Let's bring the heads of the four major clans to the Hall of State Affairs first. As for the rest, let them wait under the execution platform!"

Qian Lai really wanted to ask Xiao Ce why, but in the end, he held back.

Because what Xiao Ce wanted to say, he didn't need to ask. What Xiao Ce didn't want to say, even if he asked, he wouldn't say.

...

The heads of the four major clans were called individually.

They followed behind Qian Lai, hoping to get some information out of him.

As a result, Qian Lai couldn't find out a single thing about it.

Liu Xuan originally wanted to discuss countermeasures with them, but their subordinates had just exposed all the things they had done.

They ignored each other.

They continued until they reached the Hall of State Affairs.

Xiao Ce was sitting alone in the main seat when these people came in.

Kan Zongye was the first to bow: "This humble subject, Kan Zongye, pays his respects to Your Highness."

After Kan Zongye took the lead, Lin Shou and Liu Xuan followed suit and bowed to Xiao Ce.

"This humble subject, Lin Shou, pays his respects to Your Highness."

"This humble subject, Liu Xuan, pays his respects to Your Highness."

Only Cai Tianming remained, holding his head high, and snorted coldly upon seeing this.

"Hmph, do you three have any backbone? Spineless! Xiao Ce, if you have the guts, kill me! I will never kowtow to you! You killed my son, I will never forgive you! So, don't even think about making me submit to you! Let me tell you, don't be so arrogant now, you're just a grasshopper in autumn, you won't be able to jump around for many more days."

After hearing Cai Tianming's words, Xiao Ce burst into laughter.

He then added, "Look at that... Patriarch Cai is so tough! Very good, I like people with backbone!"

With that, he waved his hand and said, "Men, tie him up! We'll take him out and behead him in a bit!"

Cai Tianming's eyes widened as he looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Xiao Ce, how dare you? Do you know who I am? Do you know how many soldiers I have? You can kill me..."

Cai Tianming pointed at Xiao Ce and began to boast about his qualifications.

As a result, Axe Bull, one of the Twelve Fiends, and Hu Yidao stepped forward.

They pinned Cai Tianming to the ground and quickly tied him up like a rice dumpling.

Before he could finish speaking, Hu Yidao wielded his swift knife and cut a large piece of cloth from his body, stuffing it into his mouth to shut him up.

They held him aside, leaving him only able to whimper.

Xiao Ce continued, “Family heads, you are all wiser. There are always people in this world who lack a deep understanding of themselves and others! Cai Wu was like that, and Bao An and his son were even more so! They died because of their own blind self-confidence! They always overestimated themselves and underestimated others, and were extremely arrogant. They always thought they were number one, and God was number two! No one could touch them!”

Even after Xiao Ce said this, Cai Tianming, who was being held aside with something stuffed in his mouth, was still unconvinced.

Xiao Ce snorted coldly and pointed at him, saying, "You see? Even so, he's still not convinced! He definitely thinks I'm still trying to scare them! He's still not convinced."

The remaining three people gave an awkward smile after hearing Xiao Ce's words.

Xiao Ce then said to them, "Tell me, did he deserve to die?"

The group of people looked at each other, but no one said a word.

Xiao Ce snorted coldly and said, "Stop playing the bandwagon game and trying to build a united front! I've called you here to talk to you! I'm giving you a chance to live."

"It's not that I'm afraid of you! If I'm unhappy, I can kill you all, I can kill you all!"

"I will tell you the truth as well! I now command an army of 100,000! I am not afraid of your privately-run guards at all!"

Hearing Xiao Ce's words, the three heads of powerful families were filled with surprise and suspicion.

"You all know my background, right? You know who my backer is! Although the King of Zhen has been summoned back to the capital by my father, he no longer has military power, but he still has many confidants in the army."

"Anyone with a brain knows why I, a perfectly good crown prince, would choose to come here. I'm not afraid for you to know!"

"If you submit to me, we can tell you even if we are your own people. If you do not want to submit to me, not even a dead man can reveal the secret!"

"My arrival here was all at the behest of my Ninth Imperial Uncle, the King of Zhen. To the outside world, everyone thinks that I conscripted 100,000 troops from among the disaster victims. But let me make it clear to you that's not the case. All of this was arranged for me long ago by my Ninth Imperial Uncle, a veteran of many battles!"

"If I had only relied on some greenhorns, would I have been able to advance all the way to Lingxiao City with such unstoppable momentum?"

Xiao Ce gave him a good talking.

These people immediately looked enlightened, clearly believing Xiao Ce's words.

After all, the rumor that Xiao Ce and Prince Xiao Dingshan, the King of Zhen, had an illegitimate child was not only prevalent in the capital, but was actually known among the nobles of the entire Great Xiao Kingdom.

If Xiao Ce is backed by King Xiao Dingshan, then everything makes sense.

Liu Xuan was the first to cup his hands and say, "I see! Then may I ask the purpose of your visit, King of the Northern Desert...?"

Xiao Ce's gaze was piercing: "You don't actually think I'm here to fight you for territory, do you? To be honest, your mere four prefectures and thirty-nine cities are nothing to me!"

Kan Zongye suddenly realized, "Your Highness, did you come here to fight the Turks? To accumulate military merits?"

After listening to Kan Zongye's words, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "You see, there are still smart people among us. That's right, I came here to fight the Turks! You should have all heard that because of my status, my father has always been quite wary of me and has always wanted to get rid of me."

"Therefore, my Ninth Imperial Uncle came up with this plan for me to come to the four prefectures of the northern desert to pacify the Turkic Kingdom. At that time, I will have made an unparalleled contribution, and as the eldest son of the legitimate wife, I will have military merits in my hands. Who else but me is worthy of the position of Crown Prince!"

Lin Shou listened and said, "So, Your Highness, you're not here to deal with us?"

Xiao Ce burst out laughing, his face full of disdain. "Deal with you? You've got some nerve! Do you even deserve it?"

The group's expressions immediately became somewhat awkward, because according to Xiao Ce's words, the position of Crown Prince and the title of King of the Northern Desert were, in comparison, utterly insignificant for the King of the Northern Desert, residing in a remote corner of the land!

Xiao Ce continued, "To be honest, from the moment I received your letter, I really wanted to kill you all. Because you all treated me like a fool."

"I gave you a chance! I let you surrender to me! But you fooled me! Fortunately, there are still some of you who know what's good for you. Patriarch Kan Zongye is very sincere. He wrote very honestly, without any falsehoods! If I'm going to cooperate, it will definitely be with someone like him."

With that, Xiao Ce said to Qian Lai, "Go and offer a seat to Patriarch Kan!"

Kan Zongye bowed slightly, feeling somewhat smug, thankful that he had been cautious beforehand.

Lin Shou and Liu Xuan, who were standing beside him, realized what was happening and glared angrily at Kan Zongye.

"Kan Zongye, you've tricked us! You made us write fake things, but you turned around and wrote the real ones for the Prince!"

Kan Zongye narrowed his eyes and said to them, "What are you saying? I didn't understand a word you said!"

Liu Xuan's face was grim as he said, "Your Highness, we are also innocent in this matter! It was Patriarch Kan who asked us to fabricate some false stories to deceive you... We fell for his trick and were deceived!"

Kan Zongye then cupped his hands to Xiao Ce and said, "Please investigate, Your Highness. They are not kind people. They believe whatever I say! Obviously, now that they know Your Highness's current strength, they regret it and have started to smear me."

As they were talking, Liu Xuan, Lin Shou, and Kan Zongye started arguing and blaming each other.

Xiao Ce watched with a smile, everything unfolding as he had anticipated.