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

Chapter 455

Inside Mao's residence, a dozen officials sat in the main hall, looking at Mao Ji.

“Teacher, if you ask me, this Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhou Chu, is nothing special. When he first took office as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was like a newborn calf that was not afraid of tigers. He did things without knowing the consequences and was naturally bold. But times have changed. I heard that Zhou Chu hid in that small mountain village before and did not dare to come out. I am afraid that he was scared out of his wits by that assassination attempt. In the future, he will probably not be as reckless as before.”

When Yang Lian, the Vice Minister of Rites, mentioned Zhou Chu, his tone was full of disdain.

Yang Lian was originally the Vice Minister of Rites in Southern Zhili. Officials in Southern Zhili had far less power than their counterparts in the capital. According to the normal procedure, Yang Lian should have been promoted to Minister of Rites in Southern Zhili. However, at that time, Liao Feng, the Vice Minister of Rites in the capital, was killed by Zhou Chu, and the position of Vice Minister of Rites was left undecided.

Yang Lian was originally a student and former subordinate of Mao Ji. Seeing the opportunity, Yang Lian kept writing letters to Mao Ji, expressing how much he missed his teacher, and also had people send Mao Ji many treasures and antiques.

Yang Lian knew very well that even a mere Vice Minister of Rites in the capital was far superior to the Minister of Rites in Southern Zhili. To be an official in the capital was to truly enter the core of power. At that time, the performance evaluation system in Southern Zhili had not yet been implemented, so Yang Lian naturally hoped to become an official in the capital.

Only in the capital, at the heart of power, could he have a chance to advance further. In Southern Zhili, becoming Minister of Rites was the highest he could achieve, and it was meaningless.

After becoming the Vice Minister of Rites, Yang Lian was not content with his position. He began to network with officials at all levels and helped Mao Ji make connections. Most of the officials who are now currying favor with Mao Ji and Xia Yan are thanks to Yang Lian.

Therefore, within Mao Ji and Xia Yan's group, Yang Lian could be considered the third most important figure, after Mao Ji and Xia Yan themselves.

"Yes, sir, what Lord Yang said makes sense. In my opinion, Zhou Chu is now like an ox with a nose ring. He used to be a newborn calf, but now it's different. Why should you hesitate?"

Another official echoed this.

Upon hearing this, Mao Ji looked at Xia Yan, who was standing to the side.

"Gongjin, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan raised his eyelids and glanced at the smug Yang Lian and the others, a cold smile creeping across his face.

Others may not know how formidable Zhou Chu is, but Xia Yan knows it all too well. Back in Jiangnan Province, if he had been even a little slower in returning to the capital, Zhou Chu might have easily killed him. Now, Xia Yan often wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

However, Xia Yan could only think about this; he absolutely could not say it aloud. Because these people had curried favor with him and Mao Ji, if he boosted their morale and diminished his own, the officials below would be dissatisfied and harbor rebellious intentions. Often, once you reach a certain position and are fawned over by countless people, you have no say or do what you want.

Xia Yan knew, and Mao Ji also knew, that these people had not realized how terrifying Zhou Chu was. However, he would not undermine their confidence. It was a good thing to have these people charging into battle. Even if they were investigated and punished by Zhou Chu, there would be a steady stream of officials to replace them.

These officials always seek to curry favor with others. Yang Yiqing is now terrified, or perhaps he's too old and lacks the energy for it, so naturally he won't bother with these officials anymore.

Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, promoted officials like Yan Song and Zhang Cong, and incidentally Han Jie. Other officials who wanted to curry favor with Zhou Chu couldn't even find a way to do so.

Xia Yan knew very well that this was both Zhou Chu's cleverness and his lack thereof.

Zhou Chu's cleverness lies in the fact that he is the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, whose power comes entirely from the emperor. As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhou Chu must not form factions, otherwise the emperor may not tolerate him.