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

Chapter 386

"Sir, those silver-carrying carts from Shanxi will pass by outside Shaoxing City tonight."

Chen Zhao approached Zhou Chu and said respectfully.

Chen Zhaogang had only been there a short time when he reported to Zhou Chu about the Shanxi merchants' silver transport carts. These Shanxi merchants had arranged for people to exchange silver throughout the Ming Dynasty, and naturally, a place was also set up in Jiangnan, with the amount being 20 million taels of silver.

"Have someone keep an eye on them first, and then make a move when they are further away from Shaoxing."

Zhou Chu sneered.

Since these Shanxi merchants are so reckless as to engage in money exchange with the royal bank, then I have no reason to be polite.

Zhou Chu didn't even bother to cover it up. Otherwise, if he had spread the news immediately, someone would have been tempted by the money, which would have thrown the situation into chaos and no one would have noticed who was behind it.

Zhou Chu didn't want to hide anything. Since these Shanxi merchants dared to take action against the royal bank, they should be prepared to bear the wrath of the imperial court. Not prosecuting them openly was already giving them enough face.

In fact, it wasn't just here; several other Shanxi Yunyin convoys were also robbed. However, unlike here, in other places, all sorts of people were involved.

If the people of Shanxi can recover even half of this 100 million taels of silver, they'll be incredibly lucky.

Logically, if silver was stolen in other places, those in Jiangnan should be more cautious. But the Shanxi merchants had no choice because Jiangnan was not their territory. Leaving 20 million taels of silver here was like putting it in the tiger's mouth. The longer it stayed, the greater the chance of something going wrong.

At this moment, the Shanxi merchants were filled with regret. They originally wanted to squeeze the Royal Bank out of business, but they didn't expect to get themselves into trouble instead. They couldn't understand where the Royal Bank got so much silver.

Putting aside everything else, each of the five banks they use for their money exchange has at least 20 million taels of silver, which may have been drawn from neighboring prefectures. Even so, each prefecture's royal bank must have at least seven or eight million taels of silver.

The Zhou family mansion in the Ming Dynasty numbered far more than a hundred, which means that the imperial bank held at least 700 million taels of silver, or even more.

When they came to this conclusion, the Shanxi merchants couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. They couldn't understand where the royal family got so much silver.

They knew that Zhou Chu had caused quite a stir in Jiangnan, but they were unaware of many of the inside stories, in addition to the continuous flow of silver being transported from Japan.

In reality, the Royal Bank didn't have that much silver in its coffers; at most, it would be 500 million taels. They simply deposited more in key prefectures of each province, which was enough to handle any unexpected situation.

"My subordinates will make arrangements now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao immediately perked up.

To ensure the success of Chen Zhao's operation, Zhou Chu directly assigned him a thousand Xuanwu soldiers. However, the command of these thousand Xuanwu soldiers did not belong to him, but to a centurion of the Xuanwu army.

When it comes to military campaigns, Chen Zhao is incompetent. If he were to command, it would be a case of an amateur directing professionals, and even the strongest combat capabilities would be rendered useless.

Moreover, since the Xuanwu Army was playing the role of mountain bandits this time, they naturally couldn't wear full armor. Even so, they were more than capable of dealing with the rabble escorting the silver carts.

"My lord, someone outside the village is requesting an audience. He claims to be Dong Rui, the prefect of Shaoxing Prefecture."

A centurion from the Xuanwu Army approached Zhou Chu and said respectfully.

"The Prefect of Shaoxing? Bring him here."

Zhou Chu had no concept of the Dao.

Zhou Chu was not surprised by the Shaoxing prefect's request for an audience. After all, the Xuanwu Army was currently stationed in Zhangjia Village, making it difficult to avoid attracting attention. It was reasonable for the Shaoxing prefect to guess his identity.

"Second brother, which side does this Shaoxing prefect belong to?"

Yun Jin asked from the side.

"It's hard to say. We say he's from the Jiangnan faction, but according to the results of the Jinyiwei's investigation, he doesn't seem to care much about the things that the officials in Jiangnan arrange for him. He seems to only like making money, but he hasn't done anything that would anger the heavens and the people, so we haven't taken any action against him for the time being."

Zhou Chu thought for a moment and realized that he had indeed seen Dong Rui's file when he was in Suzhou.

Such a prefect is fine to replace or not, but if Dong Rui is removed, there's no guarantee that an official from the Jiangnan faction will be brought in. After all, there are only so many officials in office, and if Dong Rui is removed, someone will naturally take his place.

It's unrealistic to want to appoint all the people in the positions to his own people. That would be suspected of forming cliques and engaging in favoritism. If he promoted too many people, the Zhou faction would become the most powerful force in the court, and he would become a thorn in the emperor's side.

Therefore, Zhou Chu only investigated and punished officials, and never easily recommended them.

Dong Rui, who was initially a little apprehensive, was overjoyed to hear that Zhou Chu was willing to see him. Dong Shu'er, who was following behind him, was even more excited, thinking about how to win over the legendary Lord Zhou after meeting him. Once she became Lady Zhou, not only in Jiangnan, but in the entire Ming Dynasty, everyone would have to defer to her.

The thought of this made Dong Shu'er tremble with excitement.

Led by the commander of the Xuanwu Army, Dong Rui arrived before Zhou Chu.

"Are you Lord Zhou Chu in person?"

Dong Rui looked at Zhou Chu with some trepidation.

He had never met Zhou Chu. Last year, when Zhou Chu was in Suzhou, he, as the prefect of Shaoxing, was trying to avoid Zhou Chu as much as possible. Even when someone asked him to go to Suzhou to discuss important matters, he declined with various excuses.

He would try to get away with whatever tasks were assigned to him from above, and if he couldn't get away with it, he would just do them.

But the person was determined not to leave Shaoxing Prefecture.

"What? You haven't seen me before? I remember last year you officials from Jiangnan gathered together quite a bit to discuss how to deal with me."

Zhou Chu said with a half-smile.

Although Zhou Chu appeared relaxed, his words sent chills down Dong Rui's spine.

"Your Honor, I'm innocent! I didn't leave Shaoxing Prefecture at all last year, and I never went when anyone summoned me."

Dong Rui hurriedly explained.

Dong Shu'er, who was standing to the side, couldn't take her eyes off Zhou Chu. She had heard that Lord Zhou was handsome and dashing, but she never expected him to be so extraordinary. He could make her father so afraid with just a few words. This kind of man was exactly what Dong Shu'er wanted.

"You're quite clever, trying not to offend either side?"

Zhou Chu looked at Dong Rui in front of him with great interest.

As for Dong Shuer standing to the side, Zhou Chu didn't even notice her.

"Lord Zhou, what are you saying? I am an official of the court, a subject of His Majesty. If I am to serve, I am to serve the court. If I am to take sides, I am to stand with His Majesty."

Dong Rui hurriedly assured him.

"What brings you to see me?"

Zhou Chu was too lazy to listen to Dong Rui's nonsense and said impatiently.

"Since Your Excellency has appeared here, how can I, as the Prefect of Shaoxing Prefecture, pretend to be deaf and dumb? Of course, I must come to pay my respects. I heard that Your Excellency was assassinated and seems to be seriously injured. This is my daughter, Dong Shu'er. I will let her stay by Your Excellency's side to serve you tea and water. This is my way of showing my goodwill."

Dong Rui said solicitously.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu noticed Dong Shu'er standing to the side. He glanced at her and saw her looking at him with a shy and timid expression.

However, Zhou Chu was no ordinary man. He could tell from just one glance that Dong Shu'er was eccentric and full of scheming.

"Shu'er greets Your Excellency."

Dong Shu'er bowed.