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

At the court assembly the following day, Zhu Houcong once again brought up the idea of ​​installing Prince Xingxian as the late emperor, which was met with strong opposition from the court officials.

Among them, the civil officials, led by Liao Feng, the Vice Minister of Rites, were the most vehement in their opposition.

Liao Feng listed a series of etiquette rules, shouting that the ancestral laws and rites could not be changed or destroyed, displaying a posture of remonstrating to the death, as if he would bang his head on the ground the next moment if Zhu Houcong insisted on his position.

Seeing Liao Feng's flamboyant behavior, Zhu Houcong sneered inwardly but did not stop him, seemingly wanting to see how Liao Feng would handle the situation.

"Your Majesty, Lord Liao is loyal to the country. Does Your Majesty intend to force Lord Liao to his death?"

At this moment, another official from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward.

The moment he uttered those words, he stood on the moral high ground and began to condemn Zhu Houcong; truly befitting of someone from the Ministry of Rites.

"Your Majesty's actions are indeed contrary to propriety. Please, Your Majesty, rescind your decree."

Seeing that Liao Feng was in a difficult situation, Yang Shen hurriedly stepped in to help him out.

Although Yang Shen, now forty years old, holds a low official position and has little real power, he enjoys an extremely high status among scholars and can be considered a leading figure in the Ming Dynasty.

In the eyes of the literati and officials of the Ming Dynasty, even Yang Ting and Xia Yan were far inferior to Yang Shen.

Although Yang Shen was a junior Grand Secretary, he never used his power to oppress others. In Yang Shen's eyes, he was always just a compiler in the Hanlin Academy and a lecturer in the classics, and he never regarded himself as a junior Grand Secretary.

This is where his divide lies, his incompatibility with his social class.

With Yang Shen taking the lead, more and more upright officials emerged, citing classical texts to refute Zhu Houcong.

Ultimately, the court meeting ended in discord, and Zhu Houcong failed to achieve his desired outcome.

After the court session, Zhu Houcong went to the imperial study, and the angry expression on his face instantly disappeared.

"Tell the weighing equipment that we can start."

Zhu Houcong looked at Lu Bing and said expressionlessly.

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing dared not linger for a moment. He rode swiftly to the Jinyiwei headquarters and arrived before Zhou Chu without any hindrance. He found Zhou Chu with countless troops from the Northern Garrison behind him, ready to depart at any moment.

"My lord, His Majesty says we can proceed."

Lu Bing bowed and said.

Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters; both Lu Bing and Zhou Chu clearly distinguished between these two.

"Get started with the list I gave you."

Zhou Chu looked at Lu Wanshan behind him and said.

"Yes."

When it comes to major operations, Lu Wanshan naturally wouldn't let things fall apart, and at this moment he was extremely respectful to Zhou Chu.

After the ceremony, Lu Wanshan led his large group of men and began to act according to the previously planned scheme.

For this operation, Zhou Chu provided Lu Wanshan with a list of more than a dozen civil officials.

This included four officials of the third rank, and the rest were officials of the fourth rank.

These were the main forces that refuted Zhu Houcong in the imperial court.

Except for Yang Shen.

Yang Shen himself had no problem, and besides, Yang Shen was still a junior Grand Secretary, so Yang Tinghe wouldn't just stand by and watch Zhou Chu's people arrest him.

If he's really arrested, Yang Tinghe will be finished.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Zhou Chu had no intention of harming Yang Shen. He had prepared a special plan for dealing with Yang Shen.

Focus on the heart.

Keeping Yang Shen around would be beneficial to both Zhou Chu and Jiajing.

Once the Great Rites Controversy is over, Yang Tinghe's political life will be over, and at that time, people like Yang Yiqing, Zhang Cong, and Xia Yan will rise to power.

Zhang Cong is alright, but Yang Yiqing is no good person.

Leaving Yang Shen behind to keep these people in check and muddy the waters would be more advantageous for Zhou Chu.

Of course, the prerequisite is to successfully win Yang Shen's heart and turn him into one of your own.

Zhou Chu wasn't very confident about Yang Shen, but he knew very well that Yang Shen was torn and in great pain.

This pain and sense of separation is similar to that of his teacher, Tang Bohu, both stemming from intense conflicts between life goals, personal character, and social class.

There are many such people, such as Li Bai and Su Shi.

The most perfect example of solving this problem is none other than Wang Yangming.

Wang Yangming's concept of the unity of knowledge and action is something that most people cannot learn; those who lack the understanding are easily led astray.

But Yang Shen's is just right.

The Northern Garrison Command acted with impunity, causing all officials to feel insecure and afraid to go out for fear of getting into trouble.

Although Lu Wanshan was dissatisfied with Zhou Chu, his ability to become the commander of the Northern Garrison was undeniable.

Soon, one official after another was arrested and imprisoned in the Northern Garrison Command's prison.

Upon receiving the news, Yang Ting, Xia Yan, and the others were immediately in an uproar, and they all rushed to the Northern Garrison Command, demanding the release of the person.

"Your Northern Garrison Command is simply outrageous, daring to persecute loyal and virtuous officials like this."

Yang Tinghe came up to Lu Wanshan, pointed at Lu Wanshan's nose and cursed loudly, but Lu Wanshan didn't dare to talk back.

Zhou Chu's task for him was to hold off everyone for one hour.

At the time, Lu Wanshan expressed his doubts about this.

"You think you can get these people to confess in an hour?"

Lu Wanshan was very familiar with these officials; they were all the type to refuse to admit their mistakes until they were faced with dire consequences, and without evidence, it was difficult to torture them.

"If I can't do it, I'll take the blame. They can do whatever they want with me then."

Zhou Chu's words completely stunned Lu Wanshan.

He never expected that a young man like Zhou Chu would dare to make such a pledge. He really couldn't understand where Zhou Chu's confidence came from.

Or is this young man too naive, unaware of how united these civil officials are?

Regardless, Lu Wanshan didn't want to get involved in any of this.

Whether Zhou Chu succeeds or not, it is not a bad thing for him.

If Zhou Chu succeeds, their Northern Garrison Command has made a great contribution; if Zhou Chu fails, they will naturally lose their position as commander.

Looking at these big shots in front of him, Lu Wanshan felt a chill run down his spine.

"My lords, please don't be anxious. Our Northern Garrison Command will not arrest people without reason."

Lu Wanshan said casually.

"Then what is the reason? Tell me, if you don't give us an explanation today, don't even think about getting away with this. Release them immediately."

Yang Tinghe said angrily.

Of course, this anger was just an act; it was simply a matter of basic professional conduct for an official.

Yang Tinghe and others were among the first to arrive. The other officials had been hiding at home, fearing they would be targeted by the Northern Garrison Command.

But upon hearing that the Northern Garrison Command had already taken the man back, and that the Grand Secretary and Minister of Rites Xia Yan had both gone to the Northern Garrison Command, they immediately felt emboldened and flocked to the Northern Garrison Command to bolster Yang Tinghe and his forces.

Soon, nearly a hundred officials gathered in front of Lu Wanshan.

Even though Lu Wanshan was the pacification commissioner of the Northern Garrison, he felt his scalp tingle at this moment.

He was genuinely afraid that if this matter wasn't handled properly, it would affect him.

At the same time, Lu Wanshan felt sorry for the emperor and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He thought how powerful the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been in the past, but now it had fallen to this state.

The previous commander and two deputy commanders died at the hands of the old man right before my eyes.

Thinking of this, Lu Wanshan didn't know where he got the courage.

"My lords, I am merely acting in accordance with regulations. What is your purpose in besieging my Northern Garrison Command? Are you perhaps trying to protect the criminal officials inside?"

"What arrogance! You call me a criminal official right off the bat? Do you have any evidence? You're just arbitrarily arresting loyal subjects of my Great Ming Dynasty."

Xia Yan sneered.

He didn't take Lu Wanshan's words to heart at all.

So-called threats are based on strength. Without strength, making threats is just a joke and no one will care.

"I'll say it again, release them right now!"

Yang Tinghe roared angrily.