Chapter 79: The Bluff

Chapter 79: The Bluff

The common people were confused by Xiao Ce’s words.

However, they personally heard Xiao Ce mention land distribution from his own mouth.

So they raised another thunderous cheer of “Long Live.”

Among them were some who had studied, despite being Bonded People.

As they spoke, a young man dressed in ragged hemp clothes stepped forward and asked, “Prince, can people like us, who have no one to recommend us, also qualify?”

Seeing this, Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Correct! From now on, the recommendation system will be abolished in my Four Northern Desert Prefectures! In the future, an imperial examination system will also be implemented!”

Seeing the confused looks on their faces, Xiao Ce continued to explain, “The so-called imperial examination system allows everyone to earn official positions through exams, based on their own abilities! No longer through the various connections of favoritism!”

These shabbily dressed yet refined young men all knelt down and cheered “Long Live Xiao Ce.”

“These matters need to be perfected step by step! Before that, anyone who believes they have ability can write letters to This Prince! As long as you trust This Prince, we will work together to build our homeland! Although This Prince is the King of Northern Desert! Everyone must know that these Four Northern Desert Prefectures belong to This Prince, but they are even more yours!”

The people were stirred with fervor by Xiao Ce’s words.

Even after Xiao Ce left, they hadn’t snapped out of it and were still kowtowing.

Xiao Ce entered the Temporary Palace and told Qian Lai to place a grievance drum on one side of the city gate and a suggestion box on the other.

“Prince, are you really putting them there? What if someone comes to beat the drum every day, will you receive them or not?”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “You still don’t understand the hearts of common folk. Even though This Prince told them that. Unless pushed to the brink, these people won’t come to beat it!”

“Moreover, we’ll set a rule then: anyone who makes false accusations or beats the grievance drum without cause will face severe punishment.”

Qian Lai nodded and asked again, “What about the letters? Could someone use the stationery to harm you, Prince?”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “No fear of that. I won’t be the first to read any letters. We’ll find some trusted people to screen them when the time comes!”

Qian Lai listened and nodded: “Prince, you are wise. So what do you plan to do next? The hardest part will be dealing with those from the Prominent Families!”

Xiao Ce smiled and replied, “I have already thought of a way to handle them. First, bring the Family Heads of the Four Great Clans to the Yanzheng Hall. As for the others, have them wait under the Execution Platform!”

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

Because if Xiao Ce wanted to say, he didn’t need to ask. If Xiao Ce didn’t want to say, asking wouldn’t make him tell.

…

The Family Heads of the Four Great Clans were summoned individually.

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

However, Qian Lai didn’t let a single word slip.

Originally, Liu Xuan wanted to discuss a plan with them, but because their own subordinates had just exposed all the things they had done cleanly, none of them paid any attention to each other.

They remained like this until they reached the Yanzheng Hall.

At this moment, Xiao Ce was sitting alone in the main seat. After these people entered, Kan Zongye was the first to bow.

“This humble subject, Kan Zongye, pays his respects to the Prince.”

After Kan Zongye took the lead, Lin Shou and Liu Xuan both followed in bowing to Xiao Ce.

“This humble subject, Lin Shou, pays his respects to the Prince.”

“This humble subject, Liu Xuan, pays his respects to the Prince.”

Only Cai Tianming remained, holding his noble head high. Seeing the scene, he snorted coldly.

“Hmph, do the three of you have any backbone? Spineless cowards! Xiao Ce, kill me if you have the guts! I will never bow or pay respects to you! You killed my son, I am your sworn enemy! So don’t think you can make me submit to you! Let me tell you, don’t be fooled by your current arrogance. You are just a grasshopper in late autumn, you won’t last many more days.”

After hearing Cai Tianming’s words, Xiao Ce laughed heartily.

Then he said, “Look at this… Family Head Cai is so tough! Good, I like tough bones!”

With that, he waved his hand grandly: “Guards, tie him up! Take him out later for execution!”

Cai Tianming widened his eyes and said to Xiao Ce, “Xiao Ce, how dare you? Do you know who I am? Do you know how many Manor Guards I have? If you kill me…”

Cai Tianming pointed at Xiao Ce and started listing his credentials.

But then, Fu Niu, the burly one from the Twelve Fiends, and Hu Yidao stepped forward.

They pressed Cai Tianming to the ground and, in a few moves, tied him up like a zongzi.

Before he could finish speaking, Hu Yidao swiftly waved his knife and cut off a large piece of cloth from Cai Tianming’s clothes, stuffing it into his mouth to shut him up.

They restrained him to the side, leaving him to only make muffled “wuwu” sounds.

Xiao Ce continued, “A few Family Heads, you are wiser. In this world, there are always people who have an inaccurate perception 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 confidence! They always overestimated themselves, underestimated others, and were incredibly arrogant. They always thought they were first, Heaven second! No one could touch them!”

After Xiao Ce said this, even though Cai Tianming was restrained to the side with something in his mouth, he was still unyielding.

Xiao Ce snorted coldly and pointed at him, saying, “See that? Even like this, he’s still not convinced! He must think This Prince is still scaring them! Still not accepting it.”

The remaining three men listened to Xiao Ce’s words and gave awkward smiles.

Xiao Ce then said to them, “Tell me, does he deserve to die?”

The men looked at each other, but no one spoke!

Xiao Ce snorted coldly and said, “Stop playing the game of sticking together and showing unity! This Prince has called you here now to talk with you! It’s giving you a chance to live.”

“It’s not because This Prince fears you! If This Prince is displeased, This Prince could just kill you all, and that would be that!”

“This Prince will also be honest with you! This Prince currently possesses an army of one hundred thousand men! This Prince is not at all afraid of your privately recruited Manor Guards!”

Hearing Xiao Ce’s words, the three Family Heads’ faces were filled with shock and suspicion.

“You know my background well, don’t you; who my backer is, right? Although the Prince of Zhenguo was recalled to the Capital by my Imperial Father, and he no longer holds military power, he still has many trusted followers in the army.”

“If you have any brains at all, you know why This Prince gave up being the proper Crown Prince to come here. This Prince isn’t afraid of you knowing!”

“Because if you submit to me, we are on the same side, and it’s fine to tell you. If you don’t want to submit, a dead man can’t leak secrets!”

“This Prince came here, all of this was the intention of my Imperial Uncle, the Prince of Zhenguo. To outsiders, it seems I recruited one hundred thousand troops from among the Disaster Victims. But This Prince tells you clearly that is not the case. All of this was arranged long ago by my Imperial Uncle; they are seasoned veterans who have seen many battles!”

“If This Prince relied only on some raw recruits, could This Prince have attacked all the way to Lingxiao City so swiftly and smoothly?”

Xiao Ce delivered a full-blown bluff.

These men immediately wore expressions of sudden understanding, clearly believing Xiao Ce’s words.

After all, the rumor that Xiao Ce was the illegitimate son of the Ninth Prince, the Prince of Zhenguo Xiao Dingshan, wasn’t just widespread in the Capital; in fact, the entire Nobility of the Great Xiao Kingdom knew about it.

If Xiao Ce had the backing of the Prince of Zhenguo Xiao Dingshan, then everything made sense.

Liu Xuan was the first to cup his hands and say, “So that’s how it is! Then, may we ask, King of Northern Desert, what is your purpose in coming here…”

Xiao Ce’s gaze was sharp: “You don’t think This Prince came here to fight you over territory, do you? To be honest, your measly Four Prefectures and thirty-nine cities haven’t even caught This Prince’s eye!”

Kan Zongye had a look of sudden realization: “Prince, did you come to fight the Turks? To accumulate military achievements?”

Hearing Kan Zongye’s words, Xiao Ce smiled and said, “You see, there are smart people after all. Correct, This Prince came here to fight the Turks! You should have all heard that, because of This Prince’s status, my Imperial Father has always been very wary of me. He has always wanted to get rid of me.”

“So, my Imperial Uncle helped me think of this strategy: to come to the Four Northern Desert Prefectures and subdue the Turkic Kingdom. That would establish an unparalleled achievement, and since This Prince is also the eldest legitimate son, holding military achievements, who else but me would be fit for the position of Crown Prince!”

Lin Shou listened and asked, “So, Prince, you are not here to deal with us?”

Xiao Ce burst out laughing, his face full of disdain: “Deal with you? You really think highly of yourselves! Look at yourselves, are you even worthy?”

The men’s expressions turned somewhat awkward because, according to what Xiao Ce said, compared to the position of Crown Prince and the title King of Northern Desert, the remote land of Northern Desert was not worth mentioning at all!

Xiao Ce continued, “To be honest, when This Prince received your letters, This Prince really wanted to kill you all. Because you all treated me like a fool.”

“This Prince gave you a chance! To let you surrender to This Prince! But you tried to deceive This Prince like a fool! Fortunately, among you there are still those who know what’s good for them. Family Head Kan Zongye was very sincere. His letter was very genuine, without falsehoods! For cooperation, This Prince would definitely work with someone like him.”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce said to Qian Lai, “Go and bring a seat for Family Head Kan!”

Kan Zongye gave a slight bow, feeling somewhat smug inside. Good thing he had been cautious earlier.

Lin Shou and Liu Xuan beside him caught on and glared angrily at Kan Zongye.

“Kan Zongye, you tricked us! You told us to write false things, but you turned around and wrote the truth to the Prince!”

Kan Zongye merely narrowed his eyes and said to them, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand a single word!”

Liu Xuan’s expression turned ugly: “Prince, we are also wronged in this matter! It was Family Head Kan who told us all to fabricate false information to deceive you… We were fooled by him at the time, that’s why we were tricked!”

Kan Zongye again cupped his hands toward Xiao Ce and said, “Prince, please judge clearly. They are no good sorts. They believed whatever I said! Clearly, now that they know your current strength, they regret it and are trying to sling mud at me.”

As they spoke, Liu Xuan, Lin Shou, and Kan Zongye began to argue, accusing each other.

Xiao Ce watched with a smile on his face. Everything was developing as he had anticipated.