Dressed as the prince's substitute? I took the throne

The three of them looked at each other and walked inside.

The old man didn't seem to be afraid of the sudden arrival of Zhou Chuxuan and the others. He simply introduced himself quietly, "My three guests, my name is Qi Hai, and this is Qijia Village. There are 200 households in the entire village. On weekdays, there are quite a few merchants coming and going. But for some reason, there have been almost no visitors recently!"

"That's it!"

Zhou Chuxuan didn't point it out, but just smiled lightly: "Old man, then why is there smoke rising from every household, but no one is walking on the streets?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Qi Hai, who was walking in front, turned around and looked at the three people with a burning gaze, a hint of fear in his eyes: "Three guests, please don't say such things! This is a place cursed by the gods! If you say this, you will anger the gods!"

Zhou Chuxuan scoffed and immediately got straight to the point: "Old man, there's no need to be so secretive! We're planning to go to the Western Regions to meet Zhang Baitian. As his subordinates, why did you attack my people for no reason?"

"Guest, what do you mean by this?"

The smile on Qi Hai's face disappeared without a trace. He looked at Zhou Chuxuan and the other two and gradually took a few steps back. He didn't know when several young and strong men emerged from the thick fog again, holding farm tools in their hands, staring at them hungrily.

"Old man, you know exactly what I mean!"

Zhou Chuxuan gripped his pistol, ready to strike at any moment. "This is Zhang Baitian's scout base. Your entire village is Zhang Baitian's men. Do you really think I don't know?"

"hehe!"

Qi Hai suddenly laughed, with a somewhat weird smile on his face. He waved to the young and middle-aged men around him, and those young and middle-aged men immediately retreated.

"I didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's ability to discern is so strong, but he still can't hide it from you!"

Qi Hai shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in front of the three people: "Go back! The master doesn't want to see you!"

"Zhang Baitian, have you already known that I'm going to the Western Regions?"

There was a serious look in Zhou Chuxuan's eyes.

"Correct!"

Qi Hai didn't hide anything: "Moreover, the Lord also gave me a few words to tell His Highness! Your Highness can stay in the capital and clean up the mess of the Wu Dynasty. He will lead his troops to the Western Regions and keep out of the way! If there is ever a day when the Wu Dynasty is in turmoil or faces destruction, he will send troops to rescue it!"

"However, Your Highness, please do not force him to lead his troops out of the valley and into the world! This is a rule passed down from generation to generation by the adults. Do you really want to break it?"

Murong Xue and Zhang Wu looked at each other, took a step back at the same time, and said nothing. In the current situation, they could not get a word in, and only Zhou Chuxuan could make the decision.

Zhou Chuxuan looked at Qi Hai deeply, and after a long moment of contemplation, he finally said, "I came here for the sake of the stability of the Wu Dynasty, and for other reasons. Therefore, I must see Zhang Baitian!"

Qi Hai lowered his head slightly, his voice low and hoarse: "Your Highness, please go back. The master has instructed that you cannot go there. No matter what happens, you cannot go there!"

Before Zhou Chuxuan could say anything, Qi Hai interrupted him: "Your Highness, I know what you want to say. The lineage of Prince Jin, the threat of Zhou Wuhen, these are nothing! Your Excellency knows everything!"

"Your Highness, please go back!"

Seeing Qi Hai's resolute attitude, Zhou Chuxuan took a deep breath, then turned around and said, "General Murong, old Taoist priest, let's go!"

"Ok?"

Murong Xue was stunned. Before she could understand what was going on, she was pulled away by Zhou Chuxuan and Zhang Wu.

It was not until they left the village that Murong Xue asked curiously, "Your Highness, Your Highness, are we really going to go back like this?"

Zhou Chuxuan narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes: "Go back? I will never go back without seeing Zhang Baitian!"

"Pass the order down, all soldiers return to the capital, the three of us will continue to advance!"

As soon as these words came out, Zhang Wu said with a sad face: "Your Highness, why don't you ask me to go back to the capital with you? It's dangerous here!"

Zhou Chuxuan's mouth twitched. This old man always sabotaged him. "Master, don't worry, I will keep you safe! Besides, doesn't your lineage have a strong connection with Zhang Baitian? If you weren't here, I wouldn't be able to enter Zhang Baitian's valley."

"That sounds like human language!"

Zhang Wu smacked his lips. "Alright, I'll risk my life to accompany you, Your Highness! But, I have to tell you in advance, although Zhang Baitian may be somewhat ruthless and ungrateful, his first priority is the entire Wu Dynasty, not just himself!"

"Your Highness, please don't act on impulse!"

Zhang Wu naturally knew that Zhou Chuxuan was not the real crown prince of the Wu Dynasty, so it was very likely that what he considered first in many cases was not the Wu Dynasty, but his own interests.

Zhou Chuxuan nodded: "Don't worry, old Taoist priest, since I am now the crown prince of the Wu Dynasty, I will definitely put the Wu Dynasty first!"

"That's good!"

After sending all his soldiers back to the capital, Zhou Chuxuan and the other two boarded a carriage and continued on their journey to the Western Regions.

Little did they know that after they left, Qi Hai from the village stood on the top of the mountain, watching them speeding along the official road, his eyes filled with coldness: "Since you insist on doing this, then you can't blame me!"

"Pass the order down and act according to the plan!"

"Yes!"

The three of them had already entered the Western Regions in their carriage, and were only a hundred miles away from the valley where Zhang Baitian was.

Today they arrived at a city called Leicheng. Even the city walls were made of loess, which looked very desolate. There were not many soldiers standing guard on the walls.

"Your Highness, this is not good!"

Murong Xue suddenly pointed at the city wall, her expression changing: "Why isn't the flag hanging on their city wall the Wu Dynasty's flag?"

"Ok?"

After Murong Xue's reminder, Zhou Chuxuan looked up at the flag on the city wall and found that it was indeed not the flag of the Wu Dynasty. There was a pattern of a Qiongqi on it, which looked quite ferocious.

"Zhang Baitian!"

Zhang Wu stroked his beard and said softly, "This is the flag of Zhang Baitian's lineage!"

When Zhou Chuxuan heard this, his expression changed slightly. He did not rush into the city, but stood below and looked at the flags fluttering in the wind on the city wall, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"It's just a small border town, but now it's not flying the flag of the Wu Dynasty anymore. Instead, it's flying the flag of Zhang Baitian! Haha! That's really great!"