Chapter 97: Catching the Traitors

Chapter 97: Catching the Traitors

The expressions of the three Family Heads were not good.

Because, they had not prepared any gifts. In their eyes, the ‘War Bonds’ they bought counted as giving a large sum of money.

Actually, their family members had asked them yesterday if they should bring any gifts.

As a result, after they learned about the Emperor’s secret decree, they stopped taking Xiao Ce seriously, since in their eyes they already considered him a dead man.

Kan Zongye reacted the fastest. He immediately came forward, bowed, and said, “Please forgive us, Prince. I sent a message to my family, and they thought the money spent on buying ‘War Bonds’ was the gift for your ‘Enfeoffment’! They only brought that silver. I have already scolded them. And I have already arranged for people to gather provisions as quickly as possible. We offer five million dan of provisions!”

Once Kan Zongye spoke, Liu Xuan and Lin Shou quickly chimed in one after another: “Yes, yes, Prince! We have already ordered people to prepare ten million dan.”

“That’s right, I have also ordered people to prepare ten million dan!”

When they heard Kan Zongye say five million dan, they knew he was bragging; they had all talked yesterday.

They knew very well that Kan Zongye was just talking big.

What they wanted was to sweet-talk this fool Xiao Ce, just so they could leave this place.

The two of them were even rather pleased with their own big talk. Kan Zongye, standing beside them, saw their expressions and his own face turned grim!

If Xiao Ce weren’t there, he really would have wanted to curse those two men out loud. Is this how you try to steal the spotlight?

After Xiao Ce heard their words, his face immediately turned dark.

Bang! He slapped the table in front of him.

“Family Heads, if you didn’t prepare, you just didn’t prepare! You look down on This Prince, and This Prince knows it. But, are you treating This Prince as a fool?”

“Family Head Kan, your offer of five million dan is already exaggerated. Liu Xuan, Lin Shou, are the two of you treating This Prince as a fool? Do you know how many dan of grain the entire Xiao Kingdom court can collect in a year?”

“Twenty million dan!”

“Are you telling This Prince, how will you produce so much grain? Will everyone in your prefectures go without eating or drinking?”

Family Head Kan listened and knelt on the ground: “Prince, please calm your anger… I… I didn’t lie to you. I know the Prince has just arrived here, and the Disaster Victims and soldiers all need grain. I thought, like this, rather than letting the Turks come and plunder it, it’s better to give it to the Prince’s soldiers… We can tighten our belts, but we must not let the soldiers go hungry…”

Liu Xuan and Lin Shou hurriedly tried to make up for it: “P… Prince, we didn’t mean that. We meant our total support for you is that much, but it needs to be spread over several years…”

After Xiao Ce listened to their explanations, his expression softened.

“So that’s how it is! Then it seems This Prince wronged you!”

Seeing that Xiao Ce was no longer angry, the men wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

“Then please rise quickly.”

After they got up, Xiao Ce said, “This Prince hates nothing more in life than people who treat me as a fool, and hates even more those who betray This Prince… You won’t be like that, will you?”

The three men shook their heads in unison.

Xiao Ce looked at them and said, “Good!”

“Alright, it’s getting late. Family Head Kan, you are a smart person, so it’s your turn. Can you guess again, who are the last three seats for?”

Kan Zongye shook his head, his face bitter: “I truly do not know, Your Highness.”

Xiao Ce looked at Lin Shou and Liu Xuan.

Both men also shook their heads.

Xiao Ce then said, “Since you don’t know, This Prince won’t make you guess. You didn’t prepare gifts for This Prince, but This Prince has prepared gifts for you…”

Xiao Ce glanced at Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu called out according to the rules.

Immediately after, three groups of people walked in from one side. Due to the distance being too far, those on this side could not see who the newcomers were.

But the Prominent Families on the outermost side made quite a commotion.

They seemed very surprised by the identities of those who had arrived.

At this moment, Kan Zongye, Liu Xuan, and Lin Shou, sitting to one side, all looked questioningly at the family members beside them.

But their family members also wore confused expressions.

And so, they all craned their necks.

Xiao Ce, looking very pleased with himself, poured himself a cup of wine and took a sip.

Yin Pan’er was very curious. Although she didn’t know what was about to happen, given the current atmosphere, she had a feeling something significant was about to happen quietly.

“Third Brother! What are you doing here?”

“Second Brother! What are you doing here?”

“Fourth Brother! What are you doing here?”

When those people got closer, Kan Zongye, Liu Xuan, and Lin Shou shouted almost in unison.

The newcomers were none other than…

Kan Shanyue, third branch of the Kan Family.

Liu Qi, second branch of the Liu Family.

Lin Nan, fourth branch of the Lin Family!

These people were the rivals within their respective families, oppressed by them for years. These were the people Xiao Ce had met last night.

These people paid them no mind.

Kan Shanyue brought his family forward: “Commoner Kan Shanyue, along with my wife and children, pays respects to the Prince, and congratulates the Prince on his Enfeoffment. Although we are of the Kan Family, we do not have much property. Upon receiving the Prince’s invitation, we were overwhelmed with favor, but we truly have no money to buy an expensive gift. Therefore, we sold off our humble property and exchanged it for eight hundred thousand dan of provisions, to show our welcome for the Prince.”

What Liu Qi and Lin Nan said was similar to Kan Shanyue. They had both sold their property, exchanged it for eight hundred thousand dan of provisions, and, unlike empty promises, more than half had already arrived, with the rest on the way.

Now, the expressions of Kan Zongye and the others were not good. Never mind anything else, just based on the provisions brought by these three families, Xiao Ce could be sustained for a long time.

However, they did not dare to show it at this moment.

Moreover, they now had a vague sense of unease in their hearts, because these people were all pro-war advocates who had been suppressed by them for years.

This information was also what Nie Bing had told Xiao Ce.

These three men were the arch-rivals within those three Noble Clans, oppressed by them for years, so their circumstances were not good.

After listening to them, Xiao Ce smiled and said, “You have sold off your homes, what will you do in the future?”

Kan Shanyue said to Xiao Ce, “Prince, how can we have a home while the Turks are undefeated! This commoner heard that the Prince brought one hundred thousand elite troops to resist the Turkic barbarians, and I decided I must do something! A person lives for nothing more than three meals and a bed, everything else is unimportant. As long as we can help the Prince fight those damned Turks, we are willing to eat husks and wild herbs!”

At this, Liu Qi and Lin Nan echoed his words.

After hearing this, Xiao Ce said loudly, “Good! If the soldiers and people of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures all have this heart, why worry about not defeating the Turks!”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce had them take their seats.

Xiao Ce swept his gaze over Kan Zongye and the three families. Their expressions were extremely odd.

The look they gave Kan Shanyue was very ugly!

Xiao Ce then stepped forward. At this moment, a herald soldier came up.

Herald soldiers were people with loud voices; in ancient times without loudspeakers, they served the purpose of a loudspeaker.

…

“Everyone, today is the banquet for This Prince’s ‘Enfeoffment’. To be honest, This Prince originally did not want to hold this.

“After all, the people are suffering deeply. However, after careful consideration, This Prince decided to hold one after all!

“The reason is none other than this: This Prince is now the ruler of the Northern Desert. This Prince needs to inform all the people of the Northern Desert that This Prince has arrived! Their good days will come soon.

“Before This Prince came to the Northern Desert Region, This Prince made a solemn vow! Within three years, drive out the Turkic barbarians, reform the Northern Desert, ensure that everyone in the Northern Desert has a stable home, clothes to cover their bodies, and food to fill their bellies. And also let them have surplus money every year, and meat with every meal!”

“Today, on the day This Prince establishes his domain in Northern Desert, This Prince will add one more rule here. That is to break that damned class system… People! Are born equal! No one is superior just because they were born into a prominent family! And no one is inferior just because they were born among the common people!”

“This Prince will reform the way officials are selected. The Imperial Examination System will be adopted. Everyone can change their own life through studying and taking exams!”

“Even for those who don’t like studying, This Prince will provide many farming methods in the future. So everyone can earn money not just from farming! You can also become rich through business!”

“As long as you work hard, you can change your fate through studying! Studying changes fate!”

“As long as you work hard, you can rely on your own diligent hands! Hard work brings prosperity!”

“As long as you work hard, you can make money through business!”

“As long as This Prince is here for one day, all the people of Northern Desert, through your efforts, can change your own destinies!”

Xiao Ce’s passionate speech was relayed by the messengers and spread throughout the entire square.

The area fell into a deathly silence. After all, with Xiao Ce speaking like this, most people from prominent families felt they were about to suffer!

On the contrary, the merchants sitting on one side cheered “Long Live” loudly.

At that moment, dozens of messengers stood on the city wall. They stood on the wall and accurately relayed Xiao Ce’s speech.

Many common people gathered outside the city. Hearing Xiao Ce’s words, they all shouted “Long Live.”

After these days, they became more and more certain. Xiao Ce was not just talking. They had truly experienced the benefits of the reforms firsthand.

…

Seeing the silence in the area, Xiao Ce continued.

“All of you, you so-called prominent families. You don’t need to be afraid either. This Prince is not targeting you!”

“This Prince’s reforms are equal for everyone! It’s the same for you too. On the contrary, you have more advantages than the common people outside.”

“You have more connections and money than the common people. As long as you support This Prince and obey the laws, This Prince will not take these away from you. Because, these were also accumulated by your ancestors! This Prince is not a robber!”

“The only thing you need to do is change. If you don’t work hard in the future, your families can only go downhill. Even after a few decades, you might be surpassed by ordinary common people! Don’t blame anyone for this. The opportunity is the same for everyone. On the contrary, if you have the ability and seize the opportunity, you can reach greater heights in the future!”

“In short, if you want to lie flat, you can! But, lying flat will only cause your family to decline. Only through hard work and struggle can your family reach greater heights. Follow This Prince. If you are wolves, follow This Prince to eat meat! If you are dogs, you can only eat shit!”

“What This Prince says cannot be achieved by This Prince alone! It needs your help. Will you walk with This Prince?”

Some people from the lesser prominent families stood up one after another. “We are willing!”

More and more prominent families stood up. Although many harbored resentment in their hearts, they dared not remain seated.

“Also, you all remember, right? This Prince said, the people of Northern Desert are above everything! Those who dare to try to harm the people of Northern Desert! No matter who you are! This Prince will not let you go! No matter who! Even if it is This Prince who harms the people of Northern Desert, please come and chop off my head!”

Everyone listened to Xiao Ce’s words and couldn’t help but become solemn.

Xiao Ce said loudly, “But, just the other day, This Prince received a secret letter. Someone wants to harm our people of Northern Desert!”

“Bao An’s remnants have deceived Your Majesty and slandered This Prince! They want to trap and starve our Four Northern Desert Prefectures! They have now stationed twenty thousand troops outside Yanmen Pass, preventing any food supplies and merchant caravans from entering the Four Northern Desert Prefectures!”

As Xiao Ce spoke, he turned his head and looked at those people from the three great noble clans.

These people immediately lost their composure, their faces turning pale, even before Xiao Ce said his next words.

“Your Majesty, instigated by Bao An’s remnants, also falsely issued an Imperial Edict, conspiring with Kan Zongye, Liu Xuan, and Lin Shou’s family, attempting to collude with the Turks to trap and starve the three hundred thousand disaster victims This Prince brought, as well as the one hundred thousand soldiers fighting the Turks!”

“Here are the correspondence letters they sent to their accomplices, copies!”

As he said this, many servants took stacks of copies of their reply letters and distributed them among the prominent families. Among them was also a letter from Xiao Yang.

When the prominent families saw this letter, they were also filled with righteous indignation. Because, if things really went according to the contents of the letters, their interests would also suffer losses.

Xiao Ce turned his head and looked at the people from the three great noble clans.

“This Prince gave you a chance! But, you did not cherish it! Guards, arrest the entire families of Kan Zongye, Liu Xuan, and Lin Shou! Execute them publicly as a warning to others!”

Xiao Ce said sternly. Many soldiers appeared from one side.

“Xiao Ce! How dare you! You are the traitor… You colluded with the Prince of Zhenguo to betray the country… We received a secret decree from Your Majesty! To rid the Great Xiao Kingdom of a scourge!”

“Don’t you dare move, we have a secret decree from Your Majesty! Xiao Ce is a rebel…! Whoever dares to move, we will execute your nine families!”

Seeing the situation, Lin Shou and Liu Xuan completely dropped their act. They directly took out letters from their bodies!

Although they didn’t know how Xiao Ce found out!

However, they had no other choice now! They held up the secret letter given by the Emperor! And started to threaten.

Even the usually calm Kan Zongye said with a fierce expression, “Xiao Ce, you are a smart man. It was right that you didn’t dare to kill us before! Do you know what consequences there will be if you kill us?”

Xiao Ce snorted coldly. “You will die today!”

“Everyone present, listen to my order! By the Emperor’s secret decree, arrest the rebel Xiao Ce! Whoever captures this rebel alive, I will reward ten thousand gold! Anyone who surrenders now, I will reward one hundred gold and spare your life! You must know whose domain Northern Desert is! Quickly surrender! I will spare your lives!”