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

Chapter 533

Taiyuan is about 500 li away from Datong. The Prince of Jin's mansion is located in Taiyuan and has a very deep connection with those Shanxi merchants.

To put it bluntly, it's all for profit. Not only have the tributes to the princes' mansions in various regions been greatly reduced, but even the tributes that are publicly acknowledged have been owed by the imperial court for many years.

The princely mansion was far from being as glamorous as it appeared on the surface.

In the years before, when the Jiangnan gentry were living in luxury, some princely mansions even struggled to cover their expenses.

Prince Zhu Zhiyang of Jin had a fondness for pleasure since childhood, or rather, this had been a tradition of the Prince of Jin, with most of them being arrogant, extravagant, and dissolute. This was the fundamental reason why the Prince of Jin's mansion was looked down upon by other princely mansions.

Compared to the Prince of Dai's mansion, where the father of Prince Zhu Junzhang had problems, the current Prince Zhu Junzhang is much better in terms of overall situation and all aspects. At the very least, all of Zhou Chu's actions in Datong were supported by Prince Zhu Junzhang.

This is a matter of choosing sides. As a vassal king, you can indulge in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and you can do nothing, but you must not make mistakes on matters of principle that are of great importance.

After all, all the princely mansions were descendants of the Zhu family, and the princely mansions had been supported by the imperial court for so many years. For someone like Prince Jin to actually collude with foreign enemies was something no emperor could tolerate.

Zhou Chu made a high-profile trip to Taiyuan, his purpose being to alert the enemy.

Of course, Zhou Chu and Shen Lian Dazhu traveled alone ahead, while Yun Jin secretly followed behind with a thousand Xuanwu soldiers not far behind.

This force of a thousand soldiers kept a very low profile, dividing themselves into several teams and disguising themselves as merchant caravans, forming several square formations to protect Zhou Chu.

“Father, Zhou Chu has already arrived in Taiyuan. He is most likely coming for us.”

Inside the Prince of Jin's residence, the heir apparent, Zhu Qiyuan, looked at Prince Zhu Zhiyang of Jin and said restlessly.

Zhu Zhiyang naturally knew that Zhou Chu had come to Taiyuan. Given Zhou Chu's high profile, it would be difficult for Zhu Zhiyang not to know.

The news that the Mongols had been completely annihilated by Zhou Chu's forces a few days ago had already spread throughout Taiyuan. There was no news at all about the troops sent by the Prince of Jin's mansion to Datong. Among these troops, only the consul was from the Prince of Jin's mansion.

To put it bluntly, they were just using the name of the Prince of Jin's Mansion to work in Datong. If it weren't for the name of the Prince of Jin's Mansion, the Imperial Guards in Datong would have arrested them long ago.

However, this was something that Prince Zhu Zhiyang of Jin had tacitly approved. Now that these people had lost contact, Zhu Zhiyang knew very well that they had most likely been arrested by Zhou Chu's men, who were the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhu Zhiyang was quite at ease with the man from the Prince of Jin's mansion whom he had sent out. However, no matter how at ease he was, Zhu Zhiyang knew that his collusion with the Mongols was destined to be exposed.

At this moment, not only was Zhu Qiyuan restless, but Prince Jin, Zhu Zhiyang, was even more anxious, as if his backside was on fire.

After all, Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was about to enter Taiyuan.

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has always represented only the emperor. Zhou Chu's arrival in Taiyuan means that the emperor has already decided on his fate.

This made Zhu Zhiyang feel a sense of unease.

"Father, those businessmen were discussing taking action against Zhou Chu a couple of days ago. Should we help them?"

Zhu Qiyuan looked at Zhu Zhiyang and asked.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhiyang gave his son a cold glance.

"How could I have given birth to such an idiot like you!"

Zhu Zhiyang said with disappointment, "I can't believe you're living up to your potential."

Zhu Qiyuan was completely bewildered upon hearing this.

"Father, Zhou Chu has already entered Taiyuan. If we are slow to act, we will miss our chance."

Zhu Qiyuan said anxiously.

“You only ever look at the surface of things. Who does Zhou Chu represent? He represents the Emperor, His Majesty. When Zhou Chu set off from Datong to Taiyuan, it means that His Majesty has already dealt with us.”