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

Zhou Chu first met Zhu Houcong, the emperor who was the same age as him (the previous calculation of twelve years was incorrect and has been corrected), in the imperial study.

Zhou Chu and Zhu Houcong are both just over fifteen years old.

Zhu Houcong, however, had already ascended the throne and become emperor. Such is the wonder of life's twists and turns.

Zhou Chu was already about 1.8 meters tall, and although he wasn't particularly burly, he was extremely well-proportioned.

"Hengqi, I acquired a black steed named Ta Xue Wu Zhui by chance last year, and I brought it with me on this trip to the capital. Go and see if you like it."

When Zhu Houcong saw Zhou Chu, his initial confusion and helplessness vanished, and he felt more confident.

The young man before him, the same age as himself, was almost supernaturally intelligent. With the young man's plans and his own abilities, Zhu Houcong believed that he would be able to secure the throne.

The Snow-Treading Black Steed has been a famous horse since ancient times. It is entirely black except for the white hair on its four hooves, and it can travel a thousand miles a day.

This black steed, Treading Snow, was not obtained by chance, as Zhu Houcong claimed.

After Zhou Chu first gave Zhu Houcong advice, Zhu Houcong, upon learning that he might become emperor, couldn't sleep all night. He then thought that if he went to the capital to meet Zhou Chu, he should prepare a gift for their first meeting.

According to Lu Bing, Zhu Houcong knew that Zhou Chu had been learning martial arts from Lu Song for several years, and immediately came up with an idea to send people to search for famous horses in various places.

He was lucky; by chance, one of his men bought a black horse named Ta Xue Wu Zhui, which made Zhu Houcong extremely happy.

The value of a fine horse is immeasurable.

Zhou Chu was stunned when he heard this, not expecting Zhu Houcong to value him so much.

That's good, then all the effort I put in before wasn't in vain.

"Your Majesty, horses can be seen at any time, and they can't run away. The most urgent task is to help Your Majesty resolve the current situation."

Zhou Chu said.

Zhu Houcong was even more pleased to hear this, as it showed that Zhou Chu was wholeheartedly on his side.

Thinking about it, that makes sense. Zhu Houcong had long heard how Zhou Chu had treated Lu Song's family, and he had never doubted Zhou Chu's loyalty.

"Is there a solution for the weighing instrument problem?"

Zhu Houcong said with some distress.

When he first arrived in the capital, he had no idea who he could rely on besides Zhou Chu, and he was completely clueless about the civil and military officials.

If Zhou Chu hadn't warned him beforehand, Zhu Houcong might have relied on Yang Tinghe for a while after he first entered the capital.

After all, he was installed as emperor by Yang Tinghe.

However, ever since he learned how his elder brother and uncle died, Zhu Houcong harbored the deepest fear of Yang Tinghe, regarding him as a monstrous threat.

At this moment, Zhu Houcong felt extremely insecure, fearing that the Grand Secretary might dislike him and cause him to drown.

"Your Majesty need not worry too much. The officials in the court are not a monolithic group. There are some people Your Majesty can promote appropriately, such as Zhang Cong, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and Yang Yiqing, the Minister of Revenue. These two are not on the same side as the Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe."

Zhou Chu told Zhu Houcong the information he knew.

Yang Yiqing and Zhang Cong were both opportunists in the historical Grand Rites Controversy, and also the biggest beneficiaries.

During the Grand Rites Controversy, these two men did not hesitate to switch sides and stand on Zhu Houcong's side, helping him turn the tide against all odds.

Therefore, Zhou Chu naturally had to investigate the interpersonal relationships and stances of these two people.

After six months of investigation, Zhou Chu discovered that these two were not on the same side as Yang Ting and Xia Yan.

Zhou Chu didn't care about the loyalty or treachery of these two men. Loyalty and treachery were always relative to who they were referring to. At this moment, being loyal to the emperor and helping him to maintain control of the narrative was what made a loyal minister.

Moreover, how can one distinguish between loyalty and treachery?

Historically, Zhang Cong's reputation has been largely negative, but he wasn't entirely condemned.

Moreover, his loyalty to the emperor is undeniable.

Unlike other cabinet ministers who either wanted to control the emperor, assassinate the emperor, or deceive their superiors and try to control the whole government, he did not.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong's eyes lit up. He was not familiar with Zhang Cong, but he had heard of Yang Yiqing, the Minister of Revenue.

When his father, King Xingxian, was alive, he often mentioned the Three Heroes of Chu, one of whom was Yang Yiqing.

"Yang Yiqing is now the Minister of Revenue. In his eyes, I am just a child. Why would he help me?"

Zhu Houcong felt somewhat powerless when he thought about this problem.

Zhou Chu was not surprised to hear this. Originally, these two people did not side with the emperor from the beginning, but rather two or three years later.

However, since Zhou Chu is here, he will help the emperor speed up this process.

"That's easy. Your Majesty just needs to show your skills. Tomorrow at court, Your Majesty can continue to propose posthumously honoring Prince Xingxian as the late emperor. At that time, someone will naturally come out to oppose it. The Ministry of Rites will naturally be the first to bear the brunt. I have something on Liao Feng, the Vice Minister of Rites."

Zhou Chu did not hide anything from Zhu Houcong.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong's gloom vanished instantly, and his face lit up with excitement.

If he could do as Zhou Chu suggested and make an example of him, the officials in the court would not dare to bully him like this.

Subsequently, Zhou Chu told the Jiajing Emperor the names of the officials he had leverage over.

Although it was still the reign title of Zhengde at this time, the reign title of Jiajing had already been decided, and it would be changed to Jiajing in the spring of the following year.

"Thanks to Hengqi, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do. In this capital, I have no one to rely on and can only depend on Hengqi from now on. Does Hengqi want to enter the court as an official or do he have other ideas?"

Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu and finally brought up the most crucial question.

The official position in Zhou Chu.

"This humble subject does not wish to serve in the court. If I were to serve in the court, I would certainly be no match for those old foxes, and I would probably end up in a quagmire. This humble subject wishes to join the Embroidered Uniform Guard and serve His Majesty."

Zhou Chu didn't mince words and directly stated his thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Jiajing's eyes shone even brighter, and he placed even greater reliance on Zhou Chu.

"In that case, I will appoint you as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what do you say?"

Jiajing was well aware that Zhou Chu had helped him rise to power and had begun planning for him long ago.

Although he wanted to appoint his childhood friend Lu Bing as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he also understood that Zhou Chu's contributions were far greater than Lu Bing's.

Moreover, Zhou Chu and Lu Bing had an excellent relationship, practically like family. Zhou Chu was also very good to his wet nurse, which made Lu Bing feel even closer to Zhou Chu.

"Your Majesty, it would be more appropriate for my elder brother to take on the role of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Zhou Chu looked at Lu Bing beside him and said.

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing immediately became anxious.

"Don't try to deflect the responsibility onto me. I'm far from capable of this. Compared to you, I'm still far inferior. His Majesty needs our assistance, so please don't refuse."

Lu Bing knew his own situation well. Although he was skilled in both literature and martial arts, he felt that he was inferior to Zhou Chu in terms of knowledge and other aspects, except for martial prowess.

Moreover, he knew better than anyone how much Zhou Chu had schemed for His Majesty.

No matter how shameless he is, he wouldn't dare to take the position of commander.

"Yes, Hengqi, you shouldn't refuse. You will be the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Wenfu will be the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It's settled then."

Jiajing immediately made the decision, giving Zhou Chu no chance to refuse.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was always the emperor's man. The emperor had absolute power to appoint and dismiss personnel, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a strict hierarchy. No one would question Jiajing's orders, even though Jiajing had just ascended the throne and was only fifteen years old at the time.