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

Chapter 120 Borrowing People

Iron foundry.

"What? Your Highness, if you're going to add so many sets of heavy armor at once, we won't be able to complete the rest of the court's work!"

Xu Mo, the general guarding the iron foundry, scratched his head and said with an embarrassed look on his face.

Zhou Chuxuan smiled lightly, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile: "General Xu, you are from the Xu family. I used to have a deep connection with the Xu family. Why don't you give me some convenience now?"

Xu Mo forced a smile on his face. "Your Highness, you don't just want one or two sets of armor, you want over five thousand sets! Even if they're cast, it'll take at least a month. And now the imperial court has assigned us over ten thousand sets. We really can't spare the time!"

Zhou Chuxuan, hands behind his back, paced back and forth in the room with a relaxed demeanor. Seeing Xu Mo's hesitant expression, he slowly pulled out a blueprint from his pocket and handed it to him: "Take a look! This is for you, General Xu!"

"Ok?"

Xu Mo took it with a puzzled look on his face. After he took a quick look at the contents on the drawing, his expression instantly became extremely shocked.

He read the contents of the drawing up and down several times in disbelief, and then turned his gaze to Zhou Chuxuan: "Your Highness, this, this, where did you get this from?"

This kind of cast iron technology has never been seen before, let alone heard of. Looking at the entire Wu Dynasty's history of hundreds of years, it is simply unique!

Zhou Chuxuan sat on the chair, crossed his hands on his lower abdomen, and smiled faintly: "General Xu, I have only shown you this cast iron technology, but it is not in vain!"

Xu Mo immediately knelt on one knee on the ground, his eyes sincere: "Your Highness, this kind of iron casting technology is extremely precious and has absolutely reached an unprecedented level. Thank you for your kindness. If Your Highness has any instructions, I will climb mountains of swords and cross seas of fire to get it done for you!"

"Hahaha!" Zhou Chuxuan laughed, "It's not that serious. I just need you to step in and mobilize some manpower to help me forge some heavy armor! Of course, the location is at the Fuling Army camp outside the city, not in the capital!"

As the saying goes, one should be grateful for what one has received. After receiving Zhou Chuxuan's favor, Xu Mo did not immediately refuse as he had done before. Instead, he rolled his eyes and said, "Your Highness, how about this? I have a team here. They are death row prisoners sent by the court. They work in the iron foundry. Those who perform well can be exempted from the death penalty!"

"These people don't have a formal position. Even if they're not at the iron foundry, they won't be investigated by the court. So, I'll secretly assign a few more people to the prince. Although these people are a bit inefficient, combined with the prince's own iron casting technology, there will definitely be no problem!"

Zhou Chuxuan nodded. "Yes! But, since these were death row prisoners assigned to you by the imperial court, why didn't you let them devote themselves to the iron casting?"

Xu Mo scratched his head and said with a smile: "Your Highness, because these death row prisoners are all women! In addition, they have been tortured and abused in the cells, their bodies are relatively weak, and they are shackled and shackled..."

The corner of Zhou Chuxuan's mouth twitched, and he had an urge to take the drawings back directly.

I gave you such advanced cast iron technology, and all you did was give me a group of female prisoners to get rid of me?

Seeing Zhou Chuxuan's expression stiffen, Xu Mo quickly whispered, "Your Highness, you know that salt and iron have always been the most strictly controlled industries by the court. Even every worker in the industry must be registered with the court. If anyone uses it privately, they will lose their heads!"

Zhou Chuxuan sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Alright! I won't make things difficult for you! By the way, you have to lend me some tools. Is that okay?"

"Of course there is no problem with this. There is plenty of space in the warehouse!" Xu Mo felt relieved after hearing Zhou Chuxuan say this.

"Come on, take me to see the prisoners. I'll take them back when it gets dark!"

"Okay, Your Majesty, this way please!"

After many twists and turns along the way, Xu Mo finally brought Zhou Chuxuan to an open space. The place was surrounded by high walls with caltrops and barbs on top, making it impossible to climb up. This was also to prevent the prisoners from escaping.

In the center of the venue, there were blocks of cast iron waiting for the prisoners to carry.

There were about a hundred women, dressed in rags, with disheveled hair, and shackles on their hands and feet. They were carrying iron blocks with difficulty as they walked across the venue and loaded them onto the carriages.

There were also more than a dozen supervisors holding whips around, with fleshy faces and ferocious looks. They stared at the women intently. If anyone slowed down a little, they would be whipped directly.

"My Lord, this is it!"

Zhou Chuxuan looked at these women silently, frowning slightly. "What crimes did they commit to be sentenced to death? To suffer here?"

Xu Mo said in a deep voice, "These people are all bandits from the mountains. They robbed houses and harmed the people. They were eventually wiped out by the soldiers. They were captured and brought up the mountain!"

"Where are these bandits?"

"Just two hundred miles west of the capital, there's a Lotus Mountain, and on top of that is a Lotus Village! Seven or eight hundred women have gathered on the mountain, all bandits!"

Xu Mo pondered and said, "These women are quite skilled. They even beat back the local government soldiers repeatedly. In the end, the imperial court dispatched a 3,000-man army to besiege the Lotus Village and eventually wipe it out!"

"I see!"

Zhou Chuxuan nodded: "Then I will take these people away first!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

Xu Mo then stepped forward and struck the gong: "From now on, you will follow the prince and do whatever he tells you to do. Anyone who dares to resist will lose their head!"

The women weakly raised their heads and looked at Zhou Chuxuan, their eyes dull and they didn't even have the strength to agree.

"Your Highness, shall I call you a few carriages? Then I'll send someone to help you take them back!"

Zhou Chuxuan raised his hand to stop Xu Mo's actions and said, "Just go and park the carriage outside! I'll take them away after dark!"

"Also, tell your people to leave. I have something to say to them!"

Xu Mo was startled, then said worriedly: "Your Highness, don't underestimate these women. They are all vicious and powerful. If you are alone here, if anything happens to you, we won't be able to save you in time!"

Zhou Chuxuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, don't worry about me! You all go out!"

"But, Your Majesty, this..."

"go out!"

Seeing that Zhou Chuxuan's voice sounded somewhat unhappy, Xu Mo had no choice but to give up and leave with the dozen or so supervisors.

Zhou Chuxuan slowly sat on the carriage loaded with iron blocks: "You, do you want to live?"