The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 532

Wen Zhengming was appointed as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy by the Jiajing Emperor, a position previously held by Yan Song. This position mainly involved advising the emperor.

This task might not have been suitable for someone else, but Wen Zhengming was the perfect candidate.

First, Wen Zhengming held a pivotal position in the literary world of the Ming Dynasty. Second, Wen Zhengming was Zhou Chu's teacher, and Jiajing wanted this somewhat pedantic teacher to constantly advise him so that he would not go astray.

Jiajing knew very well that many emperors were easily swayed by others' opinions. After hearing too many nice things, they would believe them and gradually lose their sense of reason.

Listen to good advice, and listen to what is unpleasant to hear. As the saying goes, "Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; listen to only one side and you will be misled."

If it weren't for Zhou Chu laying the foundation for Jiajing's current power base, Jiajing might not be as ambitious as he is now. If Zhou Chu hadn't done so many things for Jiajing, he might have been ambitious for a while, then become disheartened and started to give up.

But the current situation gave Jiajing hope, the hope of revitalizing the Ming Dynasty, and even pushing it to an unprecedented peak.

Any emperor facing this situation would be filled with ambition.

Jiajing felt that he might not be inferior to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, in the future. Li Shimin had a loyal minister, Wei Zheng, by his side, so he could also have a loyal minister by his side.

This is Jiajing's view and expectations of Wen Zhengming.

When Wen Zhengming was appointed as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, he was very happy. The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy was a third-rank official position, and the value of this position depended entirely on the emperor.

For example, the previous emperor, Emperor Zhengde (Zhu Houzhao), was a reckless and unruly man, and Yan Song, as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, suffered greatly.

But the situation is completely different now. The Ming Dynasty is thriving, and the current emperor is a wise and powerful ruler. Wen Zhengming served as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy under Jiajing, which may have made him a prominent figure in history.

Thinking of this, Wen Zhengming was full of energy.

Wen Zhengming even wrote a letter to Tang Bohu to boast about it.

Inside Datong City, after the Mongols were completely annihilated, the matter was not over, especially for Hai, it was just the beginning. Those captured people from the Prince of Jin's mansion were desperate to save their lives and were eager to tell everything they could.

Of course, there are a few loyal ones. Neither Yu Hai nor Zhou Chu will force these people. These people are often alone, without parents, so they are not afraid of the so-called extermination of their three clans. As the saying goes, you get what you ask for. Zhou Chu will naturally grant their request.

After all, the information provided by others was more than enough, and many of their accounts even overlapped.

After compiling this information, Zhou Chu sent it all to the capital for Jiajing to decide.

"This is outrageous! The Prince of Jin's residence is simply disregarding my words."

Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu's memorial and said angrily.

Although none of the testimonies submitted in Zhou Chu's memorial implicated the Prince of Jin's residence, Jiajing was well aware that since these people were using the name of the Prince of Jin's residence, the Prince of Jin's residence could not escape involvement.

It's better if there's no evidence. Once there is evidence, it would be a fatal blow to both the royal family and the reputation of the entire Zhu family.

After all, it's not a good thing for a prince's mansion to secretly collude with foreign enemies.

Jiajing knew very well that Zhou Chu said he would send troops to Ü-Tsang, but the actual dispatch of troops would take at least one or two months. After all, sending troops to Ü-Tsang was no small matter; the logistics and supplies alone would take the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue a long time to manage.

Before that, let the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard deal with these people who are too far away.

With this in mind, Jiajing picked up his pen and began to write a secret edict to Zhou Chu.

The main meaning of the secret edict was that, regarding the Prince of Jin's residence, only the Prince of Jin and his heir should be punished, and the two of them should be demoted to commoners. The reason given was that they were dissolute and licentious.

Jiajing couldn't think of a suitable reason. If he wanted to say that the Prince of Jin was unfilial, the old Prince of Jin had been dead for countless years, so it was obviously inappropriate to bring that up now.

While the claim of being licentious and unrestrained is far-fetched, it is still a plausible reason.

As long as it's plausible, that's fine. Jiajing believed that Prince Jin should understand why he was dealing with him. If he was pragmatic, that would be best; if not, there was always Zhou Hengqi, the ruthless killer.

Zhou Chu received Jiajing's secret edict and read its contents. Jiajing's plan to deal with the Prince of Jin's mansion was exactly what Zhou Chu had expected. This was also why Zhou Chu did not stop the Prince of Jin's mansion consul from committing suicide. Even if the man had not committed suicide, Zhou Chu would have killed him anyway.

If this person were alive, the emperor would be in a difficult position.

"Go and call Hu Zongxian and the others here."

Zhou Chu looked at Da Zhu and said.

Upon hearing this, Dazhu hurriedly went to the army to summon people.

"Gather a thousand soldiers and prepare to follow me to Taiyuan."

After Dazhu left, Zhou Chu looked at Yun Jin and said.

Upon hearing this, Yun Jin immediately perked up.

Soon, Hu Zongxian, Zhao Zhenji, and others arrived in front of Zhou Chu.

"Teacher, what brings you here?"

Hu Zongxian said respectfully.

"I am going to Taiyuan, and you will come with me."

Zhou Chu looked at Hu Zongxian and the others and said.

Zhou Chu brought them out to teach them things, or to put it another way, it could be called a study tour, just like Shen Lian had followed Wang Yangming on his study tour before. So wherever Zhou Chu was, they would naturally follow.

Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian and the others perked up. Although they hadn't participated in the arrest of the people from the Prince of Jin's residence, they had heard about it, and Zhou Chu's purpose in going to Taiyuan was self-evident.

Thinking about this, Hu Zongxian and the others felt inexplicably excited.

Zhu Xianrong, on the other hand, seemed rather worried.

"Teacher, what are His Majesty's plans to do with the Prince of Jin's residence?"

Zhu Xianrong couldn't help but ask.

Although other princely mansions looked down on the Prince of Jin's mansion, they were all princely mansions, so it was a case of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death." If Jiajing dealt with the Prince of Jin's mansion seriously, the other princely mansions would also be affected.

Even if the news of the Prince of Jin's mansion colluding with foreign enemies were to spread, other princely mansions would certainly be affected.

"The Prince of Jin and his heir are debauched and have been demoted to commoners, but the Prince of Jin's residence remains unchanged."

Zhou Chu looked at Zhu Xianrong and said.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xianrong breathed a sigh of relief. This outcome was the best result for both the Prince of Jin's residence and for them.

"My lord, I have mustered all the troops and they are ready to depart at any time."

Yun Jin approached Zhou Chu and said.

"Alright, let's set off for Taiyuan."

Zhou Chu smiled.