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

Chapter 217

In the eyes of these gentry, Zhou Chu dared not do anything to them.

After all, the law does not punish the masses. Each family brought dozens of servants, and the total number of people was over ten thousand. In addition, other gentry were also arriving with their people.

They were not ordinary people or refugees. Even if the governor of Jiangnan, Cui Wenkui, faced pressure from so many gentry at the same time, he would probably have to bow his head.

Therefore, these people had confidence, after all, what they were facing was just a mere Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) in Suzhou Prefecture, and the highest-ranking official was only a commander of a thousand men.

These Imperial Guards were someone they had never taken seriously before.

There is another reason why these gentry in Jiangnan are so lawless: there are princes in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, but there are no princes in Southern Zhili and Jiangnan.

Furthermore, as the imperial court's control over local areas weakened, the entire Jiangnan region almost became a state within a state, forming a huge interest group.

Throughout the Jiangnan region, it's not so much that Cui Wenkui held absolute power, but rather that he was able to achieve such power because of the support of these gentry.

"I'd like to see if the mere Embroidered Uniform Guard can cause any trouble in Suzhou Prefecture."

The old man at the head of the group said calmly.

"Oh? You mean, in this Suzhou Prefecture, you are the rulers?"

Zhou Chu quietly dug a tunnel for the old man.

"Hmph, what a sharp-tongued brat. I have never uttered such treasonous words. Today, with me here, you will not be able to measure this land."

The old man was shrewd and experienced; naturally, he wouldn't fall into a pit.

"Gentlemen, don't blame me for not warning you. If you are obstructing official business here and do not leave within fifteen minutes, you will bear the consequences."

Zhou Chu, too tired to keep arguing with the old man, looked at the huge crowd in front of him and shouted angrily.

“If you insist on measuring the land, then step over us.”

"We cannot leave."

. . . . .

As soon as Zhou Chu said this, the tens of thousands of people in front of him immediately erupted in a clamor, and they began to shout, taking advantage of their numbers.

Faced with these incredibly arrogant gentry, Zhou Chu was not annoyed at all. Instead, he handed the military tally in his hand to Shen Lian behind him.

"Go to the military camp and transfer 20,000 troops over."

This military tally was given to Zhou Chu by Wang Yangming. Of course, this was done with the emperor's permission; otherwise, handing over the military tally privately would only lead to disaster.

At this moment, Cui Wenkui, who was hiding in Cui Wenshan's house, received the news that the gentry had all gone to surround Zhou Chu. He immediately felt his eyelids twitching and sensed that something terrible was about to happen.

"Ying Su, why do you look so pale?"

Seeing his younger brother's face turn so pale, Cui Wenshan, who knew Cui Wenkui very well, immediately realized that something bad might have happened.

“Brother, you don’t know this, but in order to get you and Tingting out, I signed a land measurement document for Zhou Chu. This angered all the gentry in Suzhou Prefecture. Since they couldn’t find me, tens of thousands of people went to surround Zhou Chu.”

Cui Wenku's face grew increasingly grim.

"Isn't this a good thing? It's a good opportunity to teach Zhou Chu a lesson, so he won't be so arrogant."

Cui Wenshan asked, puzzled.

In Cui Wenshan's view, who in the entire Jiangnan Province would dare to offend these gentry? If these gentry joined forces, even his younger brother, the governor, would have to back down. Wasn't Cui Wenshan's visit to his residence precisely to avoid these gentry?

Upon hearing this, Cui Wenku looked at his elder brother with a helpless expression, thinking that he couldn't blame his brother, as there was simply a lot of information he didn't know.

“Brother, you underestimate Zhou Chu. Back when he was in the capital, he wasn’t just a mere centurion, but the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He risked his position and arrested nearly a thousand officials in the capital. Most of them were exiled and their homes were confiscated, while a few were killed by him. This man is a madman, a living Yama.”

Cui Wenku sighed.

He knew very well that the so-called "law does not punish the masses" did not apply to Zhou Chu at all. Not to mention that less than a thousand gentry would gather tens of thousands of servants to cause trouble, even if there were thousands of officials, Cui Wenku doubted that Zhou Chu would not hesitate in the slightest.

Upon hearing this, Cui Wenshan gasped. He had guessed that Zhou Chu might be someone of considerable importance, but he never expected Zhou Chu to be so audacious.

"That was in the capital. He's just a mere centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard now. How could he possibly cause trouble in Suzhou Prefecture?"

Cui Wenshan was puzzled as to why his younger brother was so tolerant of this Jinyiwei centurion. What information was behind this that he didn't know?

"A mere hundred households?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Wenkui was too lazy to even complain.

"Brother, do you know that this mere centurion you mentioned quietly wiped out Inoue Saburo's group of Japanese pirates, not even one of them escaped. Inoue Saburo is still in his hands."

"Do you know that this mere hundred households was attacked by Wang Huai with four or five thousand private soldiers? As a result, all four or five thousand private soldiers were wiped out, with not a single survivor."

Every time Cui Wenkui said another word, Cui Wenshan felt a chill run down his spine.

After Cui Wenkui finished speaking, Cui Wenshan felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

Only then did he realize how lucky he was to have returned alive.

For this kind of butcher, killing them was just a matter of course; he could simply leave them in the chaos of battle and they would be dead.

"And these gentry..."

Cui Wenshan hesitated before speaking.

"I can't worry about that anymore."

Cui Wenku sighed.

Now he can only take care of himself and his elder brother's family. As for these gentry, even if he tries to persuade them, no one will listen or take it seriously.

After all, in the eyes of these gentry, it was he who advocated for the land surveying.

No solution.

Only then did Cui Wenku realize just how terrifying Zhou Chu, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, truly was.

If this young man were to play with them in the imperial court, Cui Wenkui believed that even ten more Zhou Chus wouldn't be enough for them to handle.

But this young man deliberately avoided all their advantages, rarely engaging with them. When he did engage, it was usually when he held the absolute upper hand. At that point, the negotiation was no longer a negotiation, but rather a one-sided threat from him.

Even now, the people of the capital regard Zhou Chu as a treacherous minister who persecuted officials, but this young man remains calm and has never thought of explaining anything to the people because of this.

In fact, whether it was Cui Wenkui or the other officials, they all hoped that Zhou Chu would pay more attention to his image and how the people viewed him. That way, he would have a weakness, or rather, they hoped that Zhou Chu would wage a war of public opinion against them and play word games.

These are the things they excel at.

Whether it's the witty banter in officialdom or other literal matters, these are things that civil officials excel at. If Zhou Chu tries to play these games with them, he'll be using his weaknesses to attack their strengths, and the civil officials will have plenty of ways to drag Zhou Chu into a quagmire.

But Zhou Chu perfectly avoided these things, often acting unconventionally and decisively.

If Zhou Chu's knife hadn't been so fast, Cui Wenkui and his men would have had a way to entangle him.

Just when the Cui brothers were at their wits' end, Shen Lian had already mobilized 20,000 troops.

The Suzhou gentry, who had been so confident, changed their expressions as they watched the 20,000-strong army slowly advancing before them.