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

How can we overturn the image of a useless person in everyone's mind?

A mere passing grade?

Or perhaps 80 or 90 points?

Not enough, far from enough.

He has to get full marks, and full marks in all subjects!

This military training competition was Zhou Rui's test for the Crown Prince!

a few days later.

The Royal Hunting Grounds.

The tents had already been set up, and tables, chairs, fruits, and vegetables were laid out underneath. Eunuchs and palace maids were hurrying around, making the final preparations.

As dawn broke, civil and military officials entered the venue.

Countless ordinary people also heard the news and were unable to enter, so they could only watch from afar.

The first person to arrive was Shi Cheng.

He knew the casino odds, and he even bet a lot of money on himself.

Even he himself felt that he was bound to win!

now.

As he entered the royal hunting grounds, he wore a confident yet slightly restrained smile.

He's the one who will definitely win this competition!

He wanted to demonstrate the capabilities of the northern frontier warriors before the Emperor!

"What 'Third Prince' or 'Fourth Prince'? You think you can challenge my hard-earned experience with your hobbies? You're far from qualified!"

"As for the Crown Prince, we can lend him a hand when the time comes."

Shi Cheng had a rather favorable impression of the Crown Prince.

Having made up his mind, he turned and beckoned his brothers to enter the hunting grounds to await the Emperor's inspection.

Unlike traditional soldiers, Shi Cheng's soldiers were noticeably more unruly, each with their own unique characteristics.

For example, a man following behind Shi Cheng was picking his nose as he walked, showing no sign of tension.

These soldiers gave off a bad vibe, like thugs, but Shi Cheng wasn't stupid; he knew it in his heart.

In small-scale operations with only 500 men, he preferred to let his soldiers perform to their fullest potential rather than restrict them with military rules and regulations.

For example, the man behind him picking his nose is an excellent archer, hitting the bullseye every time!

In addition, he also has a trump card. Shi Cheng himself is quite capable, and he also has Su Xiu, who is incredibly strong, by his side. Isn't he sure to win this competition?

Followed by.

Sun Tong, Hou Feng, Zhou Jie, and others entered the venue one after another.

They themselves knew that their status was inferior to that of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, so they came early to avoid being envied.

Unlike Shi Cheng, some of these people trained their troops in a conventional manner, while others simply didn't know how to train troops at all.

For example, Li Zheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is all talk and no action. He came here just to make up the numbers. His troops are clearly a rabble and don't look like a regular army at all.

The onlookers were already laughing.

"I reckon this is about the best the Crown Prince can do. He walks listlessly, how can he win a battle?"

"I'm already looking forward to His Highness the Crown Prince's appearance. I wonder what kind of surprise he will bring us!"

The people were naturally overjoyed. They had placed their bets on Shi Cheng and other generals from the northern frontier, and at that moment, they seemed to see the dawn of victory.

Until the Third Prince appeared.

Zhou Tianze rode his horse ahead.

Behind him stood a uniform line of cavalry!

The people who saw this scene immediately stopped laughing.

Some people even screamed loudly.

"That's not fair! This isn't fair! Why does he get to use cavalry?"

This is a lot of hard-earned money that has been invested in the casino.

Even though you are the third prince, using cavalry is going too far.

Some commoners who usually had a good impression of the Third Prince and even called him the Wise Prince now felt a bit disgusted with him.

Isn't this blatant cheating?

They paid money, they didn't come here to watch you cheat!

It's not just them.

Shi Cheng and the others' expressions also changed.

Although they didn't lose their composure, they were no longer able to laugh.

They've all fought in the northern frontier; who doesn't know how formidable cavalry is?

Fortunately, they had some confidence, having frequently clashed with cavalry, so they didn't lose their composure.

Only a few people who were just there to make up the numbers, such as Li Zheng, decisively stepped forward to flatter the Third Prince.

In his words, it was clear that the third prince had already secured first place in the competition.

"The Crown Prince has arrived!"

Just then, the eunuch's shrill voice reported.

Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look, and immediately froze on the spot.

Approaching them were five hundred National Protection Army soldiers, all in perfect unison and moving in perfect unison!

Zhou Tiancheng was completely relaxed, lazily riding his warhorse, looking nonchalant.

But behind him, on his left, was Xiao Shi, wearing a fine iron mask and exuding a murderous aura.

On the right is Xinhua, with a cold and stern expression, holding a large gun in his backhand.

There was also a second brother riding a warhorse in the middle.

"Whoa!"

Zhou Tiancheng pulled on the reins, and his warhorse came to a stop.

at the same time.

The second brother's loud voice rang out.

"stand at attention!"

Five hundred people.

It stopped instantly.

Everyone was so neatly arranged that they looked like one person.

Laymen found it entertaining and cheered loudly.

The experts' expressions changed drastically!

How could these be soldiers trained by the Crown Prince?

The phrase "orders must be obeyed" was demonstrated vividly.

If such a team were to appear on the battlefield, their execution would likely far surpass that of others. If they were also led by a capable general, defeating ordinary troops would be as easy as a father beating his son!

"Just a little bit more."

The Duke of Protectorate suddenly spoke.

All the other generals turned their heads in unison.

Some civil officials didn't understand and looked at the Duke of Protectorate with blank expressions.

Even Zhou Rui was a little curious.

Almost there?

What's the difference?

The Duke of Protectorate narrowed his eyes.

"In the military, execution is important, but military spirit is also very important."

"A team with a strong military spirit has a different morale on the battlefield. When they are asked to charge forward, they will not flinch even if there is a cliff in front of them."

"What we see now is merely execution; we don't know if they have the determination to fight to the bitter end. And that determination comes from the commander-in-chief; it is the soul of the entire army!"

A military officer standing nearby immediately laughed.

"Your Excellency is being far too harsh. It's already quite remarkable that the soldiers have been trained to this level in just one month."

"As for the military spirit you mentioned, sir, it takes time and experience to forge on the battlefield. What soldier is fearless from the start?"

Everyone else nodded in unison.

Humans are all afraid of death; it's human nature.

Are soldiers not afraid of death?

This might be something that can be trained, and it's related to a person's experience, but it's absolutely impossible for someone to be unafraid of death from the very beginning of their military service.

Qin Zhi'ang chuckled twice in a mocking manner.

"Your Excellency may not know this, but these five hundred people are not citizens of the capital. They are five hundred prisoners selected from the Jingzhao Prefecture."

"They're all wicked and depraved bastards, their minds filled with evil and crooked schemes. They'll never possess the military spirit the Duke speaks of!"

Qin Zhiang remained silent, simply watching Zhou Tiancheng from afar.

Your Highness, can you really do it?

Zhou Tiancheng seemed to sense something, glanced down at the tent, and then turned to look at the soldiers behind him.

His voice wasn't loud, but every soldier could hear him clearly.

"Your families are watching from outside. Whether you are human or ghost depends entirely on your own behavior."

"I know that some of you have brought shame upon your families and feel ashamed yourselves, but after today, I hope you can stand tall and proud and tell the world that you are soldiers of the National Protection Army, not criminals!"

Five hundred pairs of eyes shone brightly, staring intently at Zhou Tiancheng.

They did not reply.

But their knuckles were white as they gripped their weapons!