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

Chapter 367

Sun Ao's expression changed instantly. He hadn't expected this woman to be so unreasonable. Usually, it was him and others who were unreasonable, but now that it was his turn, he realized that he had no way to break the deadlock and felt utterly desperate.

The sight of the two thousand fully armored Xuanwu soldiers before him left Sun Ao with no intention of resisting. His Salt Gang had some members, but they were not soldiers, and in Yangzhou, they numbered only a few thousand at most. Compared to these fully armored soldiers, they were no match for them.

Zhang Cong, who was standing to the side, naturally had no objections. In fact, he also wanted to handle it this way, but as the governor with a promising political future, he was naturally restrained in his actions and dared not act as recklessly as Yun Jin.

"General Lu, did you report to His Majesty before bringing your troops here?"

Zhang Cong hesitated for a moment, then decided to remind Yun Jin. After all, Yun Jin looked very young and might not be familiar with many of the rules of officialdom. If he mobilized troops without the emperor's permission, it would be a serious crime.

Zhang Cong was promoted by Zhou Chu, so naturally he didn't want to watch Yun Jin fall into the abyss.

"I sent a secret report to His Majesty on the way here. Whether His Majesty agrees or not, I have to do this. Afterwards, His Majesty can decide whether to kill or punish me, so I can't care about anything else."

Yun Jin's expression softened slightly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cong's heart tightened, thinking to himself that this young lady was truly audacious.

"Should I submit another memorial stating that it was my idea to have you mobilize the troops?"

Zhang Cong hesitated.

Upon hearing this, Yun Jin shook her head.

"Please don't. How do you know about the existence of my army? Besides, if you speak up for me, His Majesty will become even more suspicious of me and my second brother. His Majesty is not afraid of isolated ministers, but he is afraid of his ministers forming cliques."

Yun Jin explained clearly and logically.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cong was immediately impressed by the young girl in front of him. He hadn't expected a girl to have such awareness and understanding.

Zhang Cong originally shared the same idea. The reason he said those things was simply to show goodwill to Yun Jin. There were many things he could choose not to do, but he couldn't remain silent. By saying them, he demonstrated his determination to stand with Yun Jin and Zhou Chu through thick and thin.

In officialdom, what you say is often more important than what you do.

Next, Yun Jin carried out a major purge of all the well-known salt merchants in Yangzhou City. All of them were arrested by Yun Jin without any reason.

"What right do you have to arrest us? You're knowingly breaking the law!"

At this moment, Yun Jin appeared in front of these salt merchants and Sun Ao. One of the salt merchants said angrily.

“I am a general who leads troops into battle, not a prefect or a governor. I don’t need to investigate cases one by one. At worst, I can hand over my military power. His Majesty can kill or punish me as he pleases, but before that, I will wipe out your entire families.”

Yun Jin said with a face full of resentment.

Upon hearing this, the salt merchant, who had been shouting, immediately shut his mouth, afraid of angering the crazy woman in front of him.

The soft fear the hard, the hard fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear the reckless.

At this point, Yun Jin was clearly disregarding everything; if she really wiped out their entire family, they would be helpless.

This woman's army is so powerful that, not only in Yangzhou, but throughout the entire Jiangnan region, probably no one can control it.

"We don't know where we have offended you, young lady. If you can tell us a plan, we will definitely apologize."

Sun Ao also realized that Yun Jin was not someone to be trifled with. He was just the leader of the Salt Gang. Although he was ruthless, he was instantly intimidated when faced with someone like Yun Jin who had fought on the battlefield.

“Zhou Hengqi, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is my elder brother. He raised me since I was a child. Do you all think this enmity is significant?”

Yun Jin looked at Sun Ao. Although she spoke calmly, her eyes were already red. It seemed that if Sun Ao and the others said something she didn't want to hear, Yun Jin would take action without hesitation.