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

Chapter 216

The battle between the two sides was destined to be unequal from the very beginning; their strengths were on completely different levels, resulting in a total massacre by the Xuanwu Army.

Yun Jin kept these people so close before taking action to prevent any from escaping alive.

If sixty or seventy ships were to scatter at a distance, she really wouldn't have a good solution.

Now it's different. The enemy is underestimating us and acting recklessly. At such close range, there's no way to escape; we can only engage in close combat.

This created favorable conditions for the Xuanwu Legion to annihilate them.

The sea is not land; there are no ships at sea, so there is no possibility of escape.

After nearly half a day of fighting, the Xuanwu Army finally annihilated all the pirates.

"Cut off the heads of these Japanese pirates, and I'll recommend them to you for credit later."

Yun Jin looked at the excited Xuanwu Army soldiers and said.

Upon hearing this, the Xuanwu Army was greatly encouraged and began to clean up the battlefield.

Although the Xuanwu Army was not officially part of the Ming Dynasty's combat order, it was still a legitimate army of the Ming Dynasty. Killing so many Japanese pirates was certainly something they could use to claim credit.

However, these military achievements cannot be publicized for the time being; they can only be awarded in secret.

On the other hand, Cui Wenkui eventually compromised.

He had to compromise. If there was anything he cared about most in this world, it wasn't fame or fortune, but his elder brother and Cui Wenkui's own family.

According to the rules of officialdom, family members are generally not implicated in the misfortune. Of course, there are many exceptions.

But Zhou Chu really can't be blamed for Cui Wenshan's actions; it was entirely because the father and daughter were out of their minds and committed such a heinous crime.

Zhou Chu's decision not to directly raid Cui Wenshan's home was already quite prudent, and no one could find fault with his actions.

Fearing that Cui Wenkui might change his mind, Zhou Chu immediately sent Lin Lu and Shen Lian with Cui Wenkui to the governor's office to finish writing the official document, affix the seal, and bring it back.

As for the land deeds for the Cui family's 100,000 mu of land, Cui Wenkui said he would have them delivered tomorrow.

The wedding banquet at the Tang residence was a joyous occasion for all the guests and hosts. Tang Bohu's relatives and friends, in particular, felt incredibly fortunate to have dined under the same roof as so many important figures, something they could boast about for the future.

The next morning, Cui Wenkui had two boxes of land deeds carried to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) headquarters.

"These are the agreed land deeds. Please inspect them, Lord Zhou."

Cui Wenkui said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu didn't hesitate and signaled Chen Zhao to have someone carefully examine the evidence.

"Lord Cui, there is no need to worry. According to the agreement, as long as there are no problems with these land deeds, I will release your brother and daughter after Lord Cui and Mr. Yangming have finished handing over military power."

Zhou Chu smiled.

"I hope Lord Zhou will keep his word."

After saying this, Cui Wenkui turned and left.

He was too lazy to argue with Zhou Chu about the fact that military power was destined to be lost. Unless absolutely necessary, Cui Wenkui did not want to face Zhou Chu for even a moment, as this man was simply a ruthless demon who would devour people without spitting out the bones.

Three more days passed, and Cui Wenkui and Wang Yangming finally completed the handover of the army. All the documents were distributed to the various government offices, and the military tally was handed over to Wang Yangming.

"Let's proceed according to plan."

Seeing that everything was ready, Zhou Chu looked at Chen Zhaodao beside him.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao immediately led his men to post notices throughout Suzhou.

The proclamation was quite simple: effective immediately, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be ordered by the Governor to begin surveying the land in Suzhou Prefecture.

This news immediately caused a huge uproar in Suzhou Prefecture.

The gentry of Suzhou Prefecture were immediately outraged and flocked to the governor's office to interrogate Cui Wenkui about his intentions.

Cui Wenku knew very well that this matter was impossible to explain, and he had no way to explain it either. After all, there was an imperial edict, and what he did was in accordance with the imperial edict.

If he were to try to shirk responsibility at this time, the imperial court would be the first to object.

So Cui Wenku hid away early on, not even at the governor's office, trying to avoid seeing or bothering him.

When these gentry could not find Cui Wenkui, they all led a group of people to the place where Zhou Chu was having the land measured.

"What is the purpose of this, everyone?"

Zhou Chu looked at the tens of thousands of people standing in the fields in front of him, seemingly trying to stop him from surveying the land.

"What right do you Embroidered Uniform Guards have to conduct land surveys? This is not a job that you Embroidered Uniform Guards are supposed to do."

The leader, an elderly man with white hair and beard, reprimanded them in a condescending manner.

"What my Embroidered Uniform Guard should do is none of your business. If you don't move aside, don't blame me for being impolite."

Zhou Chu sneered.

"We'd like to see how impolite you really are. You little brat, how dare you be so arrogant in front of us? There are tens of thousands of of us, what can you do to us?"

The old man became even more arrogant.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu's face immediately lit up with excitement.

"Since you all don't appreciate our kindness, then none of you are leaving."