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

Zhou Chuxuan rubbed his brows. What else could he say? He could only bring his men from the capital.

The craftsmanship of making the repeating crossbow could no longer be hidden, so it had to be made public and equipped to the Wu Dynasty's army to improve its combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

As for the fire gun, it is rather complicated to make and difficult to control, so he is not yet willing to widely spread it in the army.

Linghu Cong couldn't help but sneer in his heart when he saw Zhou Chuxuan frowning and thinking. He thought that pretending to be crazy and stupid for a few years was the way to bide one's time?

Is this kind of person worthy of being mentioned in the same breath with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?

My mission today is to hold him back, keep an eye on him, and not let him ruin Lord Yuan’s plan!

"General Linghu!"

Just as Linghu Cong was stunned, Zhou Chuxuan spread out a map on the table and said, "General Linghu, you used to be in charge of the frontier troops. Do you know what the terrain of the northern border is like?"

"Of course I know that!" Linghu Cong nodded. "Although I can't guarantee that I know every detail, I know exactly where the mountains, rivers, hillsides, and low-lying areas are!"

"That's good!" Zhou Chuxuan smiled meaningfully upon hearing this and handed a brush and a stack of paper to Linghu Cong.

"I'm really not that sensitive to maps. I wonder if General Linghu could draw a simpler version? Just mark where there are hillsides and low-lying areas!"

Linghu Cong was stunned: "Your Highness, are you going to take over this thousand-mile defense line on the northern border?"

"Of course!" Zhou Chuxuan said seriously, "I can't rely on all the generals while I'm personally visiting the northern border, right?"

"General Linghu, please take care of it!" Zhou Chuxuan waved his hand and called in two maids from outside: "You stay here. If General Linghu needs anything, you must satisfy him!"

"Yes!"

"General Linghu, I have something else to do, so I'll trouble you with the map!" Zhou Chuxuan smiled slightly and turned to leave.

Linghu Cong's chest heaved violently with anger, but Zhou Chuxuan's reason was indeed legitimate, and he had no way to refuse, so he had to pick up the brush and start marking on the paper.

Zhou Chuxuan walked out of the room quickly and called Erhu: "Quick, gather our personal soldiers immediately and prepare to set off!"

......

night.

The top-notch private room in Juxian Building in Beijing.

The box that could accommodate dozens of people was filled with people. Everyone was wearing simple clothes and looking at the center with a serious expression.

Yuan Shouwen sat in the center and slowly lit a candle: "Everyone, we have gathered here tonight to carry on the will of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince laid out his plans for years, but in the end, this imposter usurped his position and murdered him! We followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince back then, wasn't it to earn a good reputation for ourselves, both in life and after death, and to escape our current situation?"

"Now's your chance!"

Yuan Shouwen's eyes flashed with murderous intent: "Everyone, I have the military token of the Imperial Guard in my hand. I can mobilize the 10,000 Imperial Guards in the capital!"

"Any of you still have assassins on your side? Feel free to tell us. We can guarantee that you will retreat safely from the capital after you take action!"

Just as someone stepped forward, Xu Qinglong suddenly said in a deep voice, "Everyone, please discuss this for a while. I have a stomachache and need to go out for a while!"

Yuan Shouwen nodded and continued to discuss with everyone.

However, after nearly half an incense stick of time, Xu Qinglong still hadn't returned. Yuan Shouwen gradually realized that something was wrong and quickly waved his hand to signal everyone to stop.

"Wait a minute, everyone! Something's wrong!"

Suddenly, the singing and dancing in the entire Juxian Building stopped and became quiet.

"Not good! Evacuate from the secret passage quickly!"

Yuan Shouwen was horrified and quickly opened the secret passage on the wall and led everyone in.

After running for an unknown amount of time, the group finally reached the exit, panting.

"Damn it! Could it be that fake guy noticed something was wrong here? That shouldn't be the case!" Yuan Shouwen cursed inwardly, "Quick, look where this is?"

"No need to look, this is outside the capital!"

Before the people below could answer, a chuckle was heard.

"Ok?"

"Qiang!"

With the sound of a gong, countless torches suddenly lit up around them, surrounding everyone in the center. Only then could everyone see clearly that they were in a forest.

The exit of the secret passage just now was actually a small cave that had been dug through.

Zhou Chuxuan slowly appeared before everyone, peeling an orange in his hand. "Everyone, how is it? Surprise?"

At this time, Xu Qinglong slowly walked out of the shadows, stood beside Zhou Chuxuan, and looked at Yuan Shouwen with a smile on his face.

"Bastard, bastard! You actually betrayed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you shameful traitor!" Yuan Shouwen's face instantly became extremely distorted.

Xu Qinglong stroked his beard disdainfully: "You eunuch are so pedantic! What His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? He's just a dead man!"

"He's just a dead man whom even His Majesty doesn't recognize! You're still thinking of being loyal to a bunch of dead men! How ridiculous!"

Yuan Shouwen's chest heaved violently with anger. Looking at the dark muzzles of the muskets around him, he didn't dare to move for a while.

"What exactly do you want to do? Do you want to kill us?" Yuan Shouwen looked at Zhou Chuxuan, his eyes full of sarcasm.

"I believe you also understand in your heart that His Majesty wants stability for the Wu Dynasty, not turmoil! We are enough to occupy half of the court. Do you dare to take action?"

"Haha, that's right, I'm the Minister of War, and this is the Minister of Revenue... Do you dare to make a move?"

The opponent in front of him became more and more arrogant. Zhou Chuxuan remained silent, and Xu Qinglong looked at Zhou Chuxuan with some insecurity.

"Your Highness, please make a decision as soon as possible on what to do! This will save us from further complications!"

"Haha, what we mean is that you'd better let us go. From now on, you go your way and we won't interfere with each other. How do you think?"

Yuan Shouwen narrowed his eyes slightly, and his hoarse and low voice was quite bewitching.

After a while, Zhou Chuxuan put the peeled orange slices into his mouth one by one and sighed softly: "The Wu Dynasty is so corrupt, and it's all because of you, a bunch of treacherous villains!"

"The reason why it's so hard for the Emperor to rectify the Wu Dynasty is that he can't bear to deal with you, the parasites in the court!"

"Hahaha!"

Yuan Shouwen couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Why, are you, His Royal Highness, going to step in and take over the reins on His Majesty's behalf?"

"Do you think your abilities are greater than His Majesty's?"

Zhou Chuxuan shook his head slightly: "I dare not do so! But I am the Crown Prince after all, so at the very least I must put things in order, otherwise I will be taking over a dynasty riddled with problems!"

"If it can't be rectified..."

"So what?"

Yuan Shouwen's voice gradually became louder. He was certain that Zhou Chuxuan would not dare to kill them today.

"Then we'll start anew, so what?"