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

After listening to Ashina's words.

The other tribal leaders nodded excitedly: "Is the time right? Didn't you keep saying it wasn't the right time yet?"

Ashina said, "The time wasn't right before because the people of the four northern prefectures were still willing to be our dogs, feeding us and providing for us. But now, whatever their situation is, it shows they're no longer willing to be our dogs!"

"We all know that if your dog starts biting you, you absolutely can't keep it! We'll beat them up as soon as they show their faces!"

The leader nodded and said, "Then it's because they didn't understand the situation."

Before Ashina could speak, the tribal chiefs beside him said, "The most capable fighter in the entire Xiao Kingdom is that King Zhen, Xiao Dingshan! However, Xiao Dingshan's achievements are so great that they've been imprisoned in the capital by their foolish emperor... There's nothing to be afraid of."

Ashina nodded and said, "That's right... Even if Xiao Dingshan personally led the troops, they would be no match for our cavalry! Since it's a full-scale attack, let's all bring out all our resources."

"Weren't the 20,000 elite troops that our various tribes sent out before enough?"

Ashina said, "That's enough to fight in the northern deserts! However, this time we must take advantage of their unpreparedness to conquer the Central Plains! If the battle lines are stretched out, our 20,000 cavalry will be stretched thin. As an example, I will send out all 10,000 cavalry from Ashina's tribe!"

"You've sent out all ten thousand cavalry? Don't you care about your home?"

Ashina laughed and said, "What, are you planning to raid my tribe? I really can't think of any other enemies besides you... each of you, name as many as you can."

“Brother Ashina, you’ve already contributed ten thousand, so I won’t hesitate either; I’ll contribute all five thousand of my cavalry.”

"We have three thousand! We've all gone."

"I have two thousand..."

...

These Turkic tribal leaders revealed almost everything about their families and resources.

Ashina nodded and said, "Good, I've done a rough calculation, and we have nearly 60,000 cavalry! At that time, we'll surely tear the entire Xiao Kingdom apart."

"Brother Ashina, after we conquer the Xiao Kingdom, how will we divide the spoils?"

Ashina said, "Let's first take the four prefectures of the northern desert, and then, after a brief reorganization, we'll divide the regions. Whoever conquers them first, they'll be theirs... In the end, whoever conquers the most cities will be the new emperor. What do you say?"

Some tribal chiefs looked displeased: "This isn't a good idea, Brother Ashina. We only have two thousand cavalry. If we go out and fight on our own, I'm afraid we'll run out of manpower after capturing a few cities..."

Ashina said, "The tribes with fewer troops can unite and then divide the spoils equally!"

After listening to Ashina's words, the group nodded repeatedly.

Ashina said, "Then let's all get ready. Get everything prepared. I'll give you half a month to assemble at the designated location. Any questions?"

The group waved their hands repeatedly: "Brother Ashina, we've made such a big fuss. Aren't you afraid they'll harm your eldest prince?"

Ashina waved his hand and said, "It's alright! I doubt they would dare. Before, when we gathered 20,000 cavalry, we scared them so much that they came to apologize in person... This time, with 60,000 cavalry, we'll scare them so much they'll wet their pants on the spot!"

"Brother Ashina, we heard that they also cut off one of the Khan's fingers?" a chieftain asked.

Upon hearing the chief's words, Ashina's expression darkened further: "There is indeed a finger, but it doesn't look like Mos's. I suppose they're just trying to scare us. Even if I gave them a few times the courage, they wouldn't dare cut off our Khan's finger. Let's see who dares to cut it off; I'll dig up their ancestral graves and chop off all the fingers from their ancestors' corpses!"

After listening to Ashina's words, the group nodded and smiled, having no doubt about what Ashina said.

Ashina was able to become the number one among the Turkic tribes because of his ruthless methods.

...

The following day, inside the Hall of State Affairs in Lingxiao City.

The place was packed with people, led by the heads of the three families: the Kan, Liu, and Lin.

Behind them were all prominent families, and at the very back of the procession stood a group of merchants.

The people standing in the hall now were notified early on, but were not told what to do.

They looked around and saw that the hall was filled with heavily armored soldiers, weapons in hand, exuding a chilling aura.

Thinking of the bloody scenes they had witnessed on the execution platform yesterday, their hearts pounded. The somber atmosphere in the hall made them afraid to even whisper to each other.

Because Zhang Yunqing had informed these merchants that this was a good thing.

Therefore, they became the most at ease in this great hall.

Yesterday, after Zhang Yunqing showed them the scene of the killing, he went to talk to them about the chamber of commerce.

They listened to what Zhang Yunqing said and felt it must be a good thing, so they all expressed their support.

...

Just when everyone was in a state of panic, Xiao Ce led Yin Pan'er and Nie Bing in.

After these days of "training," these people knelt down very quickly.

In no time at all, they all knelt down on the ground.

"Greetings, King of the Northern Desert! Your Highness, long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!"

Xiao Ce sat down and did not correct their shouts of "Long live the Emperor!"

After all, he'll be the emperor sooner or later.

"Rise, all of you," Xiao Ce said with a smile, sitting in his seat.

As the group stood up, their expressions were not very natural; some could even be described as unpleasant.

Xiao Ce addressed the crowd, saying, "Gentlemen, there's no need to be nervous. Since you are all willing to support me and have shown your sincerity, I have seen it all! I am not a bloodthirsty person!"

"I've called you all here because I have some good news to tell you, so don't be nervous."

Although Xiao Ce spoke with a smile, no one present dared to relax at all; on the contrary, their expressions became increasingly tense.

Seeing that no one responded, Xiao Ce turned to Kan Zongye and said, "Patriarch Kan, have you all passed on what I told you, the spirit of this king, to your descendants?"

Kan Zongye bowed and stepped forward, replying tactfully: "Your Highness, we have already told everyone about your plan to attack the Turkic Kingdom, and everyone is very supportive."

As Kan Zongye spoke, he looked at Lin Shou and Liu Xuan.

These two old foxes were very clever, and they nodded repeatedly: "That's right... Everyone is very happy, and they strongly support and endorse it!"

The three of them had already discussed it. In any case, they needed to stick together and stop hurting each other.

Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, they still reached an agreement verbally.

After the three of them spoke, the prominent families behind them chimed in.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce smiled and said, "Very good, everyone's support is good! When I go to fight the Turks, I won't have any designs on you. Your privately-run guards are just protecting their own territory, so please rest assured and don't be nervous! To be honest, I really don't think much of your guards."

After Xiao Ce said this, the expressions of these people became more relaxed.

Lin Shou couldn't help but ask Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, what are your instructions for summoning us here?"

"Of course it's a good thing. Since it's a war, once we defeat the Turks, we'll definitely have a lot of spoils. You know, those Turks have plundered us quite a bit over the years! So, I'm thinking about how to distribute the gold, silver, treasures, money, and grain we capture. I can't keep it all to myself, right? That's why I called you here to talk about this."

Xiao Ce's words caused an uproar throughout the hall.

They began whispering among themselves, initially thinking that Xiao Ce was just fooling them.

However, if this is indeed the topic of discussion, then it would be a good thing.

However, there are still some people who remain rational.

After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Moreover, Xiao Ce doesn't seem to be the kind of person who's willing to suffer losses!

Nie Bing, standing to the side, looked at Yin Pan'er questioningly, as if asking what Xiao Ce was up to.

However, Yin Pan'er shrugged helplessly. She had only seen Xiao Ce since leaving his place yesterday.

They are busy with those new policies, even though it involves nine cities.

However, these nine cities are completely in need of rebuilding, and there is much to be done.

If Xiao Ce hadn't insisted, she wouldn't have wanted to come today.

......

Kan Zongye spoke first: "Your Highness, if you can defeat the Turks, the spoils will naturally be yours. You are the King of the Northern Desert, the entire Northern Desert is yours! We cannot take a share of your things!"

Kan Zongye pondered for a moment and thought that Xiao Ce might be fishing, testing them.

He declined.

Lin Shou and Liu Xuan chimed in, saying no!

Seeing that the three old foxes hadn't taken the bait, Xiao Ce was getting quite anxious.

"You three old geezers, what's wrong? Have you all forgotten what I told you yesterday? Although I am the King of the Northern Desert, this place is still ultimately inhabited by you natives! I'm going to share with you, so why are you still being so polite?"

The three of them exchanged glances after hearing Xiao Ce's words.

She was still quite clever and followed Xiao Ce's lead, saying, "I will follow Your Highness's orders. Whatever Your Highness decides!"

Xiao Ce then looked at the heads of those prestigious families and said, "What about you? When it comes time to divide the spoils, you will also get a share."

The heads of prestigious families looked flattered and surprised!

However, none of the heads of the three major clans dared to speak out, and naturally, they dared not.

They all followed suit, cupping their hands in greeting to Xiao Ce and saying, "We will follow Your Highness's orders! You say how to divide it, and we will divide it accordingly!"

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Xiao Ce said, "Alright! Since everyone wants me to speak, I've thought it over and over, and no matter how I divide it, it will definitely not be fair. But I have come up with a way that will be absolutely fair!"

Everyone looked at Xiao Ce with curiosity.

Xiao Ce glanced at Da Lei, who then took out a piece of paper with very intricate patterns. The paper looked a bit like a banknote, but it was much more complicated.

"After much deliberation, I have decided to launch war bonds for everyone to subscribe to!"