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

Chapter 322

These officials were bewildered and wanted to know what had happened, so they all went to the residence of Prefect Hu Duo to see him.

They were told that Hu Duo had gone to the military camp that morning, and a whole day had passed, but he had not returned yet, which made the Hu family very anxious.

Upon learning this news, the officials were certain that something must have happened at the military camp. They didn't know exactly what had happened or whether it would affect them.

For a moment, they were undecided.

“A group of people appeared in the city a couple of days ago. They were a dozen or so tall and strong, and they all had horses. The prefect ordered us to keep an eye on them. I think it was these people who were behind this.”

One of the officials said uncertainly.

"No mistake, any unfamiliar face in Datong will not escape our notice, and there haven't been any other unfamiliar faces these days."

Another official echoed this.

"Who are these people? Are they from the capital?"

A middle-aged man with a goatee stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming.

"It's very possible that, apart from people in the capital, who else has this ability?"

The person next to him nodded.

"This is Datong. Even if people from the capital come, with General Lu here, how could there be any trouble in the military camp?"

The man with the goatee looked incredulous.

"Given the current situation, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard arresting people everywhere, it's clear that something's wrong. Otherwise, Lord Hu wouldn't have stayed out all night."

The leading official forced himself to remain calm.

At that moment, an official rushed over.

"A spy from the Embroidered Uniform Guard has informed us that they are indeed from the capital and are thoroughly investigating the issue of military pay. It shouldn't affect us."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

In fact, Zhou Chu intentionally released this information to prevent these people from resorting to desperate measures. These people can only remain calm when they are certain that it will not affect them.

Yu Hai's actions were highly efficient, but this time there were simply too many people to search. Of all the Imperial Guards in Datong Prefecture, only about half, less than five hundred, could be truly trusted.

Even if those with wavering stances are all included in the operation, it would still take a long time to thoroughly investigate these 300-plus people.

It took Yu Hai's men six or seven days to thoroughly investigate the problems of these people. During those six or seven days, the eunuchs who raised Zhou Chu's horses, along with a cook, had already arrived in Datong.

Chunlan also came along. Originally, Zhou Chu didn't want Chunlan to come, after all, Datong is different from Suzhou, and it was winter now. A girl like her would suffer a lot here.

But Chunlan insisted on coming. She was afraid that if she wasn't by Zhou Chu's side, her young master wouldn't be able to find someone to take good care of him. Moreover, Chunlan was afraid that others wouldn't be able to handle many things well, so Zhou Chu didn't insist anymore.

However, these people cannot enter the military camp, especially since Chunlan is a woman.

Zhou Chu arranged for them to stay in the house he used to live in. Once this matter was resolved, or when the Tiger Army arrived in Datong, Zhou Chu could finally unleash his full potential and make a big splash.

The Tiger Legion carried all the flintlock muskets they were issued, and they also brought enough ammunition.

The mother-and-child cannons were transported by special personnel, first by waterway to Tianjin, and then from Tianjin to Datong. In terms of overall speed, it was not much different from that of the Tiger Army.

The artisans from the Southern Garrison Command who were originally in Suzhou Prefecture also returned to the capital to continue manufacturing guns and cannons there.

"Sir, everything has been investigated, and the house has been searched."

Yu Hai sent the Imperial Guards into the military camp with boxes of money.

These households, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, didn't have particularly large assets, so confiscating their property was quick; basically, a dozen or so people could confiscate many homes in a single day.

Of course, this was only a preliminary search; some people would be left to search carefully to ensure nothing was missed.

"No one tampered with it, right?"

Zhou Chu glanced at Yu Haidao.