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

Outside the capital.

Two hundred thousand troops from the Gyeonggi region marched to the capital, but most of them were not selected and could only watch helplessly from the sidelines.

Zhou Chuxuan stood on the high platform, looking at the teams of cavalry coming towards him with burning eyes, and sighed helplessly in his heart.

The cavalry of nomadic peoples has a natural advantage. No matter how much the Wu Dynasty trained its troops, it was difficult to match the enemy in terms of cavalry combat effectiveness.

When the Northern Desert delegation entered the capital, the war horses were fat and strong, and the cavalrymen were all in high spirits.

On the city wall not far away, Emperor Wu and Li Nian stood there, watching Zhou Chuxuan's situation, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Lord Li, do you think Lao Liu can really defeat the elite cavalry of the Northern Desert with 50,000 soldiers?"

Li Nian sneered in his heart, thinking that Zhou Chuxuan deliberately chose 50,000 troops to cater to his plan, so that he would have a reason to retreat.

He immediately bowed and smiled, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been keeping a low profile for many years. He must have his own considerations!"

"They say every generation has talented people. Perhaps His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already come up with a plan to deal with this situation! Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has grown up and it's time for him to stand on his own!"

Emperor Wu looked at Zhou Chuxuan's tall figure, and a trace of sadness could not help but appear in the depths of his eyes. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Yes! The Sixth Prince has grown up, and the Wu Dynasty really needs young people!"

On the other side, Lao Yang was carrying a crossbow on his back and a musket on his waist, with a proud smile on his face.

"Your Highness, we have already selected 25,000 elite soldiers! However, there is one thing I don't understand!"

The old sheep scratched his head and asked: "Only by what criteria did you select these soldiers?"

Zhou Chuxuan put his hands behind his back, looking mysterious and profound: "Of course I have my own standards, and the secrets cannot be revealed!"

In fact, he was selected according to the standards for selecting special forces in his previous life. From spirit to body shape, the standards are naturally not something that people of their time can understand.

It was not until dark that Zhou Chuxuan finally selected 35,000 soldiers and lined them up outside the capital according to his requirements.

Flags filled the sky, swords, spears, and halberds were like a forest, and the shouts of elite soldiers shook the sky.

"Your Highness, there is no way we can select 50,000 soldiers no matter what!" Lao Yang scratched his head and said embarrassedly.

"It's not the number of soldiers that counts, but their quality; it's the courage of the generals that counts!" Zhou Chuxuan was not afraid at all: "As long as we equip our cavalry with repeating crossbows, and with me at their command, it will be easy to slaughter those barbarians in the Northern Desert!"

"Your Highness, the Northern Desert Cavalry are brave and powerful. Our Wu Dynasty cavalry are always afraid of them. Your Highness, it's best to resolve this matter first, otherwise..."

Lao Yang had been to the battlefield before and had witnessed the bravery of the Northern Desert Cavalry, so he naturally did not dare to take it lightly.

"Do not worry!"

Under the illumination of the torches, the entire city wall was as bright as day. Zhou Chuxuan slowly walked to the highest point of the city wall and said in a deep voice.

"Soldiers!"

Thirty-five thousand soldiers saluted in unison, their voices resounding, "We pay our respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Soldiers, everyone says that the Northern Desert cavalry are brave, but I simply don't believe it!" Zhou Chuxuan said with a smile, "Tell me, how many heads and arms do these Northern Desert cavalry have?"

"One head, two arms!" One of the leading cavalry officers immediately responded.

"it is good!"

Zhou Chuxuan laughed out loud and said, "Since they don't have three heads and six arms, then why should we be afraid? We can still chop them in half with one strike!"

"What's more, I have equipped you with a crossbow..."

Under Zhou Chuxuan's passionate speech, the emotions of the 35,000 soldiers were instantly raised to a peak.

For a moment, the shouts outside the capital shook the sky, and the 35,000 soldiers were united as one.

This scene made Emperor Wu, who was watching from the city wall, marvel: "Great, great! The Sixth Brother has really grown up!"

Li Nian couldn't help but sneer in his heart. "Grown up?" When we join forces inside and outside and surround you in the Forbidden City, you might be able to feel his growth even more!

However, before Emperor Wu could be happy for long, Zhou Chuxuan's next words made him stunned on the spot.

"Soldiers, anyone who follows me on the expedition will receive a monthly salary of ten taels of silver. In addition, each person will receive a resettlement allowance of twenty taels of silver!"

As soon as these words were spoken, tens of thousands of soldiers became excited and looked at each other with excited expressions.

Twenty taels of silver for resettlement? Ten taels of silver for military pay?

They had fought their entire lives, yet they had never received such generous treatment! With such a wise leader, even dying on the battlefield would be a worthy death!

"I swear allegiance to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and to the Wu Dynasty until death!"

"Kill all the Northern Desert barbarians! Kill all the Northern Desert barbarians!"

While the passion was high here, Emperor Wu's expression grew increasingly gloomy. His hands, which were behind his back, were tightly clenched together, and even veins were faintly visible.

Where did he get so much money to support these soldiers?

He actually dared to ask for ten taels of silver as military pay and twenty taels of silver as resettlement allowance!

That's 35,000 soldiers! Even the Wu Dynasty's annual tax revenue couldn't match that!

Li Nian desperately suppressed the slight upward curve of his lips and tried to keep his voice from trembling. "Your Majesty, I believe that since this is the Crown Prince's first time leading troops to battle, you should give him more support!"

"Humph!"

Emperor Wu snorted coldly, his face suddenly burning. "Support? How can I support you? How much silver do I have in my treasury? Do I have to ask the royal family to write IOUs to the soldiers?"

After saying this, Emperor Wu turned away.

......

Late at night, East Palace.

Zhou Chuxuan and Li Nian sat opposite each other.

"So, are you satisfied, Prime Minister?" Zhou Chuxuan gently poured the tea and pushed one of the cups in front of Li Nian.

"Haha, good, very good! I was right about you!" Li Nian couldn't suppress a smile on his face. He picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"However, how could you, with 35,000 soldiers and horses equipped with repeating crossbows, be defeated by Bei Mo?"

Li Nian was very clear about the power of the crossbow in Zhou Chuxuan's hand. If there were 10,000 people equipped with crossbows, they would be able to resist the 100,000-strong army on the opposite side.

Zhou Chuxuan slowly stood up, extinguished the candle, and said mysteriously, "Since I made the crossbow, I must be aware of its advantages and disadvantages!"

Looking at Zhou Chuxuan's bright eyes, Li Nian nodded repeatedly: "Okay! In that case, I can lend you 100,000 taels of silver!"

Zhou Chuxuan was startled when he heard this, and then immediately poured tea for Li Nian: "Prime Minister, please have some tea!"

"you......"

After Li Nian left, Xu Hanyan sat silently beside Zhou Chuxuan, her beautiful eyebrows slightly wrinkled.

"Are you really going to betray Wu Dynasty?"