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

Chapter 320

To facilitate reports from the soldiers below, Zhou Chu and Yu Hai, along with other Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) from Datong, all stayed in the military camp that night.

That very night, many centurions tried to break into the camp and escape, but they were all intercepted by the secret sentries of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and handed over to Zhou Chu.

"Why are you all so desperate? Are you scared?"

Zhou Chu looked at the few centurions in front of him and teased them.

Only a hundred-household commander was sent to break into the camp, not a thousand-household commander. Clearly, these few people were sent out to test the waters. If they could escape, the others would follow.

But clearly their wishful thinking failed.

“You are only centurions, and you probably couldn’t have embezzled much military pay. Your crime doesn’t warrant death. Now that you’ve stormed the camp, I can execute you on the spot.”

Zhou Chu's tone was gentle in the first half of his sentence, as if he was thinking of them. But his expression changed drastically in the second half. His face turned cold and his eyes flashed with a cold light, leaving these centurions with no doubt that Zhou Chu would dare to kill them.

After all, during the day, this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in front of them had publicly killed more than a dozen centurions and a chiliarch.

"My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life!"

Several people kowtowed hurriedly.

"Your crimes may be serious or minor, but they are all within my control. His Majesty has granted me the authority to act expediently, and your lives are also within that discretion. Do you understand?"

Zhou Chu looked at the group of people in front of him and said.

Upon hearing this, the men trembled with fear. Although they were centurions, they had been greedy and lustful for many years. In addition, Datong had not seen any fighting for many years except for the recent Mongol attack, and they had long lost their fighting spirit, making them far inferior to ordinary soldiers.

"Don't you understand what the lord means? Reporting others is meritorious. As long as you can implicate others and provide sufficient evidence, your death sentence can be waived, and your crime of embezzling military funds can also be appropriately reduced."

Shen Lian said from the side.

Having followed Zhou Chu for so long, he instantly grasped Zhou Chu's implication. Since Zhou Chu played the bad cop, someone else naturally had to step in and play the good cop.

"My lord, I confess! I confess everything!"

The group hurriedly kowtowed, afraid that if they spoke too slowly, Zhou Chu would change his mind.

"Yu Hai, they're in your hands now. Interrogate them thoroughly."

Zhou Chu looked at Yu Haidao.

"Yes, my lord."

Yu Hai said respectfully.

After saying this, Yu Hai led the group to a nearby tent and began an impromptu interrogation that night.

Just as Yu Hai and the others left, Zhou Chu heard shouts of battle coming from outside the camp.

"Go and see what's going on."

Zhou Chu said.

Upon hearing this, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly left the tent. About an hour later, he returned.

"Sir, the squad leaders and sergeants are organizing soldiers to capture the centurions and commanders, but these centurions and commanders know that tonight will be tough, so they have all gathered together, and now a fight has broken out."

Zhou Chu wasn't too surprised to hear this. The centurions who had just stormed the camp were likely sent out by these centurions and commanders who had gathered together.

In order to protect themselves, they had no choice but to gather together.

However, the number of centurions and commanders was limited. By this time, the soldiers had already seen the huge bounty that Zhang Chao and his men had received, and they were all naturally greedy. They no longer cared about centurions and commanders; all they saw was money.

Zhou Chu knew very well that this small-scale conflict would not last long.

Sure enough, less than a quarter of an hour later, the shouts of battle in the military camp disappeared without a trace, and the centurions and chiliarchs were soon escorted to Zhou Chu by groups of soldiers.

These soldiers were so afraid of losing the bounty if they killed them that only a few centurions were injured, and surprisingly, no one died.

Corporals and squad leaders had no say in embezzling military pay; at the very least, one had to be a centurion. If these corporates and squad leaders were involved, they wouldn't have been so valiant.

Because of the earlier shouts of killing, Yu Hai had already arrived inside Zhou Chu's tent, and the previous centurions were naturally handed over to other Jinyiwei for interrogation.