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

Chapter 748

After leaving the Southern Garrison Command, Zhou Chu went to the Military Academy. The entire trip to Shexian and his stay took about half a month. During this time, both the garrison troops and the students at the academy were trained to the point of exhaustion by the Tiger Legion.

Now, whether it's the 10,000-strong army or these students, they all feel genuine awe towards the Tiger Legion, not to mention Lin Lu and Zhou Chu, who trained the Tiger Legion.

When they saw Zhou Chu again, everyone's feelings were different. Before, they felt awe for Zhou Chu as an important figure, but many people didn't have a concrete understanding of Zhou Chu as a person.

Even though many people knew what Zhou Chu had done, it was all hearsay and they didn't really have any strong feelings about it.

Once they truly understood the terror of the Tiger Legion, their feelings towards Zhou Chu changed completely. It was no longer the awe they had for a great figure, but rather a sense of reverence for the Tiger Legion's commander.

Even Yu Dayou, after half a month of fully understanding the military quality of the thousand-strong force before him, dared not imagine what kind of combat power such an army could exert under his command.

Just thinking about it made Yu Dayou incredibly excited.

Since he began studying military strategy, he had never seen such a terrifying army. Each soldier was extremely capable in individual combat, but that was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was the seamless coordination between these soldiers. There was no other way to break through them except to surround them and attack them with dozens of times the number of troops, or to launch a strong attack at any cost.

But Yu Dayou had heard Zhou Chu mention that there were still several thousand such troops. Yu Dayou couldn't imagine what kind of force, such a number and such strength, would be able to stop the Ming Dynasty, or even the world, if these two forces were to unite.

Even for Yu Dayou, without a well-trained army of over 100,000, it would be impossible to annihilate these two forces. The prerequisite is to set up an ambush in advance and surround them completely; otherwise, there would be no chance at all.

The past two weeks have had a significant impact on Yu Dayou. Previously, Yu Dayou focused more on studying battle formations and large-scale troop operations. Now, having witnessed the combat power of the Tiger Legion, Yu Dayou realized that the role that special forces like the Tiger Legion can play is not to be underestimated.

For the past two weeks, Yu Dayou humbly followed the Tiger Legion soldiers, carefully observing their training methods and memorizing them.

The past two weeks have greatly improved Yu Dayou. Although his strengths do not lie in special operations, the training methods of the Tiger Legion have given him great inspiration. He found that reducing the training volume of the Tiger Legion and applying it to ordinary troops is also very practical.

"Shifu, what are your thoughts after these past two weeks?"

Zhou Chu smiled as he looked at Yu Dayou's energetic demeanor.

"My lord, after witnessing your methods of training troops, I realized that I had been somewhat narrow-minded before. The reason why Han Xin is a military genius is not only because there is no limit to his ability to lead troops, but also because he can quickly build an army from scratch. A rabble can be transformed into an elite force in his hands."

Yu Dayou remarked with emotion.

"Everyone understands that it's a do-or-die battle, but when it comes to the actual operation, almost no one can replicate it. The troop deployment, the well-trained soldiers, and the absolute perfection of their skills are all extremely crucial. There's also the pre-battle investigation. With so many factors involved, if any problem arises, success is impossible."

Yu Dayou became more and more excited as he spoke.

Seeing Yu Dayou's excited expression, Zhou Chu finally understood what a top-tier military talent was: someone who could draw inferences from one instance to another, and even more, simply through observation.

Zhou Chu understood that it wouldn't be long before Yu Dayou would have no weaknesses left.

"Zhifu, you are indeed a great talent. I believe that it won't be long before your ability to lead and train troops will reach a new level."

Zhou Chu smiled.

"It's all thanks to your guidance, sir. Otherwise, I don't know how long it would have taken me to comprehend these things. If I hadn't witnessed the Tiger Legion, I might never have been able to comprehend them in my entire life."

Yu Dayou bowed and said.

Even though Yu Dayou was not good with words, he was filled with gratitude towards Zhou Chu at this moment.

Yu Dayou knew very well that whether it was martial arts, military strategy, or many other professions, true knowledge was contained in a single sentence, while false knowledge filled countless volumes. Without breaking through that layer of paper, many people would never understand the key to the problem in their entire lives.

“If you don’t have the ability, even if you beg me, I won’t give you a second glance. If we don’t cultivate a talent like yours, how can we face His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty?”

Zhou Chu said.

"Rest assured, my lord, I will serve Your Majesty to the death."

Yu Dayou hurriedly said.

Hearing this, Zhou Chu nodded. He then looked around the rest of the military academy, including the fact that the eunuch in charge of the academy had been replaced. Zhou Chu knew about this, since Huang Jin had specifically told him that the previous eunuch had been beaten to death.

"Sir, what are your orders?"

The head eunuch was very perceptive. Seeing Zhou Chu approaching, he came up to him with a fawning expression.

"I have just returned to the capital and have been away for half a month. I've been looking around. Tell me what has happened in the academy during these past two weeks."

Zhou Chu glanced at the eunuch and said as he walked.

"Yes, my lord."

The eunuch hurriedly followed Zhou Chu and told him everything that had happened in the past two weeks.

Zhou Chu didn't mind his detailed explanation, and walked around while listening to the eunuch behind him report bit by bit.

Wherever Zhou Chu went, whether they were students or soldiers, they all saluted him. This was a long-standing tradition of the Tiger Legion and the Black Tortoise Army, and in the past half month, this tradition had spread throughout the entire academy.

When the eunuch had finished speaking, Zhou Chu arrived at the academy gate. By then, it was already getting dark.

"Thank you for your trouble, sir. I'm going home now, so that's all for now."

Zhou Chu looked at the eunuch behind him and said.

"What are you saying, sir? It is my honor to serve you. My godfather has long instructed me to always obey your orders."

The eunuch said respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu nodded, said nothing more, mounted his horse, and left the military academy.

When Zhou Chu got home, it was already completely dark.

"Husband, why are you only getting home now?"

Lin Yao was overjoyed when she saw Zhou Chu.

Zhou Chu is only in his early twenties now, and he feels awkward asking Lin Yao to call him "Master Zhou," so he simply calls her "Husband."

Yun Jin, who was standing to the side, didn't say anything. She knew very well that her husband would have a lot of things to deal with after returning to the capital, a fact that Yun Jin, who had led troops, was well aware of.

At this moment, Yun Jin and Lin Yao were already showing signs of pregnancy. Zhou Chu watched the two of them standing at the door, looking charming and touching in the candlelight.

"First I went to the palace to report to His Majesty, then I went to the Southern Garrison and the Military Academy, and I just finished up."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Quickly, loosen up the master's clothes."

Seeing Zhou Chu's state, Lin Yao felt a pang of heartache and looked at the maid waiting to the side.

Upon hearing this, the maidservant hurriedly came behind Zhou Chu and began massaging his shoulders and back.