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

Chapter 312

"Here's what we'll do. You go to Shanxi yourself. That's where your fief is located. I've already sent a decree to Zhixin, instructing him to lead the Tiger Legion to Datong as quickly as possible to meet you."

Jiajing said.

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhou Chu bowed and said.

"Take more men to protect your safety."

Jiajing said with some concern.

The capital city is only about 600 li away from Datong, but Suzhou Prefecture is nearly 3,000 li away from Datong. This means that it will take a long time for Lin Lu and the Tiger Army to reach Datong.

The fastest way for the Tiger Legion to travel would be by water to Tianjin, but this was obviously impractical. The Tiger Legion of two thousand men consisted not only of men but also horses. Even Zhou Chu's black horse was weak in the legs after traveling by boat, let alone ordinary warhorses.

Moreover, it's impractical to have so many horses on a boat; the horse manure alone would be difficult to manage.

Therefore, the Tiger Warriors could only march rapidly by land towards Datong.

In this way, even at the fastest speed, it would take the Tiger Army more than twenty days to reach Datong.

However, the situation in Datong was urgent, and there was clearly not much time left. Zhou Chu had to set off immediately to Datong to reorganize his troops in order to meet the Mongols' renewed attack.

After spending the Lantern Festival at home, Zhou Chu took Shen Lian and more than a dozen Jinyiwei centurions and headed straight for Datong early the next morning.

In addition to these, there was also an imperial edict from Jiajing and a waist token bestowed by the emperor, so that Zhou Chu could act as he pleased upon arriving in Datong.

Even so, Jiajing was very worried. The court had long lost control over local military power, especially in places like Datong. When Jiajing changed generals before, he only transferred a relatively capable general from Datong, and did not send one from other places.

Because Jiajing was well aware that the entanglements between these local armies and local powerful clans were very deep, and if not handled properly, they could easily cause mutiny. They were too powerful to be controlled.

Jiajing sent Zhou Chu to Datong to handle this problem for two reasons. First, Lin Lu was far away in Suzhou Prefecture and might not be able to arrive in time. Second, Zhou Chu was experienced and shrewd. If Zhou Chu could not solve the problems in Datong and the entire Hetao region, Lin Lu would probably be walking into the lion's den.

Zhou Chu and his group of Imperial Guards donned masks and traveled lightly, arriving in Datong in just four or five days.

Wearing a mask is solely to protect your face from the cold wind. In such frigid weather, with the need for a rapid march, your face would likely freeze if you didn't wear a mask.

The mask even has glass goggles, leaving only two small holes for breathing.

This mask was quite valuable; it was specially sent to Zhou Chu by Huang Jin on behalf of the Jiajing Emperor.

"My lord, Datong is just ahead."

Shen Lian pointed to the city not far away and said.

Because of the mask, Shen Lian's voice sounded muffled.

"Enter the city."

When Zhou Chu and his group left the capital, they were not wearing Jinyiwei uniforms, but plain clothes. There were a dozen or so of them in total. If they had entered the city wearing Jinyiwei uniforms, they would have immediately attracted the attention of many people in the city.

This is definitely not a good thing for Zhou Chu.

At this moment, in Datong City, General Lu Ying was eating mutton with a group of gentry and watching beautiful women dance in his tent. The tent was unusually warm because of the charcoal fire.

"Lord Lu, what did the imperial court say? Have they replied?"

One of the men, who was bloated and had two hands covered in gold and jade rings, asked.

"Not yet, but you need not worry. The Mongol official has already held the city, and I don't think the emperor will say anything. Since the city hasn't been breached, why should you be concerned?"

Lu Ying said proudly.

"Lord Lu is right, but we still need to confirm it, otherwise it will be troublesome if the court sends someone over."

Another official said.

“What’s there to be afraid of? In this Datong city, you and I are the local emperors. Even if the people from the imperial court come, they will have to watch our faces. If they know what’s good for them, fine. If they don’t, we’ll just kill them and blame it on the Mongols. Nobody will know.”

Lu Ying sneered.