We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

Zhou Tiancheng waved to Tuoba Dao.

He knew that Tuoba Dao was already afraid of him and afraid of the Great Qian Dynasty.

What good is driving away the barbarians?

With this kind of firearm, the Great Qian Dynasty could easily wipe out the Northern Xia!

What Zhou Tiancheng needs to do now is to put his mind at ease.

"Tuoba Dao, you know very well that many Central Plains states have ruled the land of Northern Xia in history."

Why did they all eventually abandon this place?

Do you know why?

Tuoba Dao shook his head.

Chou Tien-cheng provided the answer.

"Because the culture of Daqian is a collective culture, while Beixia is sparsely populated and not worth the cost for Daqian to manage, because Daqian simply cannot control it."

"Your Northern Xia is the same. You have clearly formed a systematic country, but from the court to the army, you are more like a group of tribal chiefs discussing national affairs. This is not how a country should be."

"So your worries are completely unfounded."

"The Great Qian can't control you. In the end, you Northern Xia people will have to manage it yourselves. My son will become the emperor of Northern Xia, and even my daughter will be the empress of Northern Xia."

"Under these circumstances, I will not exploit you Northern Xia too much."

Zhou Tiancheng walked out of the military camp.

He pointed to the streets of the Great Vietnam Pass.

"Did you see that?"

"This is the Great Yue Pass. In the future, it will become the most important trading city between the Northern Xia and the Great Qian. Merchants from both sides will rest and chat here, just like friends."

"The Great Qian needs mutton, beef, and warhorses."

"The Northern Xia needs salt, ironware, cloth, tea, and so on, and they will trade here."

"Because of the war, trade between the two sides is not easy. You resent that the goods you exchange for your cattle and sheep are too simple, and you think that the merchants of Daqian are too cunning. Daqian is also racking its brains for the warhorses in your hands."

"These problems will all be resolved."

"I will have Daqian establish a brand new organization specifically to control market prices, and the core of the organization will be built here."

"Only in this way can the interests of both sides be guaranteed."

Zhou Tiancheng did more than just make empty promises.

He led Tuoba Dao to the riverbank and told him that various levels of residences would be built there, constructed using cement. He also planned to keep a courtyard there, since the melons from Northern Xia were quite sweet.

Next to the government office, he will set up a brand new organization to manage prices between the two sides, balance relations between the two ethnic groups and the two countries, and even invite some Northern Xia people to serve as officials.

Near the military camp, Zhou Tiancheng wanted to build a school so that the children of Beixia could also attend.

If Tuoba had read the book, he would know that this is called cultural influence, a subtle shift in the influence of the cultural environment on both sides of the border.

Centuries later, Northern Xia may become a kingdom, or it may become a piece of land in the Great Qian Dynasty.

But who knows about these things?

At least for now, Northern Xia is indeed facing the threat of barbarians.

Tuoba Dao took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

"Your Highness, I will do as you say."

"Just hold on until winter."

Zhou Tiancheng smiled and nodded.

"Yes, as long as we can hold out until winter."

Tuoba Dao turned and left.

Now, he no longer felt any burden about killing those Northern Xia civilians.

It is worthwhile to sacrifice some people for the sake of this country.

If anyone is to blame, it's Bei Xia for being so incompetent.

Zhou Tiancheng watched him leave, then turned and returned to his own courtyard.

To his surprise, Lin Tong was waiting for him in the main hall.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Lin Tong stood up to show his respect.

Zhou Tiancheng waved his hand casually.

"What are you doing here?"

He was a little curious.

Lin Tong rarely comes to his place.

Upon hearing this, Lin Tong gave Zhou Tiancheng a deep look and took out a letter from his pocket.

"His Majesty sent you a letter. It was first delivered to the military camp, and I brought it to you."

Zhou Rui's letter?

Zhou Tiancheng was a little confused, but he still reached out and took it.

He didn't open it directly; instead, he glanced at Lin Tong thoughtfully.

"Has Father written a letter to General Lin?"

Lin Tong smiled and nodded.

"I wrote it."

He hesitated for a moment, looked at Zhou Tiancheng suspiciously, and then spoke.

"Many people in Kyoto say that His Highness the Crown Prince is an imposter, that a body double killed the real Crown Prince and took his place."

Zhou Tiancheng's hand trembled violently!

He's a complete imposter!

The key issue is that he has no way of proving that he is real. On the contrary, he is very wary of some of the little things that Zhou Rui mentions from time to time, because he is not the real crown prince and has not experienced it. Once he is exposed, he will be finished!

Lin Tong glanced thoughtfully at Zhou Tiancheng's trembling hand.

This moment.

Zhou Tiancheng broke out in a cold sweat.

forget!

He forgot to pretend in front of Lin Tong!

Don't forget, this Lin Tong in front of you is not only a famous general in the Northern Frontier, but he is also the Imperial Guard instructor handpicked by Zhou Rui, and he is Zhou Rui's man!

Zhou Tiancheng, feigning composure, picked up his teacup and spoke with a light laugh.

"General Lin, I won't keep you any longer. I need to go see what letter my father wrote to me."

Lin Tong's smile had long since vanished. He stood up with a solemn expression, nodded slightly, and left.

As soon as he left, Zhou Tiancheng panicked.

"Old Liu!"

"Old Liu, come quick!"

Manager Liu rushed over.

Zhou Tiancheng didn't say anything, but walked straight to the study with a somewhat solemn expression.

Manager Liu realized something and followed Zhou Tiancheng into the study, ordering Xinhua to guard the outside and strictly prohibiting others from approaching.

After doing all this, he finally came to Zhou Tiancheng.

"Your Highness, something has happened?"

"Rumors are circulating again; it's probably Qin Zhi'ang or the Gu family stirring things up again!"

Zhou Tiancheng couldn't help but curse a couple of times.

Why are those two old geezers so persistent?

As he opened the letter in his hand, he spoke to Steward Liu.

"My hand trembled slightly in front of Lin Tong just now, and he saw it. He's Zhou Rui's man, so my identity will probably be even more suspicious."

"The biggest problem now is that I can't prove I'm not the crown prince, but I also can't prove I am the real crown prince!"

"Also, are you sure you've destroyed the true prince's body?"

Steward Liu nodded solemnly.

"I watched it get destroyed."

"And what about the people who knew the truth?"

Zhou Tiancheng asked again.

"What about those who did the skinning, or those who helped dispose of the bodies?"

Steward Liu looked somewhat grave.

"I sent it away."

"Didn't kill him?"

Zhou Tiancheng's eyes widened instantly!

Steward Liu nodded slightly.

"They must not be killed."

"Killing some and letting others go, or killing them all, would be like trying to hide something obvious."