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

Chapter 710

Wang Zhi's father died at sea, leaving no trace of his body. All that was left for Wang Zhi were the clothes he wore every day. Wang Zhi always carried these clothes with him, hoping that one day he would bring glory to his ancestors and return home in triumph to build a cenotaph for his father.

Wang Zhi's hometown is Shexian County, Huizhou Prefecture, Southern Zhili. Wang Zhi's original name was Wang Zhi. After he joined the army, Yun Jin changed his name to Wang Zhi. However, he retained his identity as Wang Zhi. This time, when Wang Zhi returned to his hometown, he naturally used the name Wang Zhi.

The Wang family was originally a very wealthy family in Shexian County, but when Wang Zhi was five or six years old, the Wang family fell into decline, and Wang Zhi and his father could not even afford to eat. Originally, Wang Zhi had a childhood betrothal, and before the family's decline, that family was considered to be marrying above their station.

However, after the Wang family fell into decline, fearing that they would be implicated by Wang Zhi and his son, they immediately went to Wang Zhi and his son and made them sign a letter of annulment.

At that time, Wang Zhi was still young and did not understand how humiliating it was to be forced to break off the engagement. But Wang Zhi's father did understand, so he was too ashamed to stay in Shexian County any longer. He took Wang Zhi and left for another place, and kept telling Wang Zhi that he must make something of himself and bring honor to the family in the future.

Wang Zhi's father was also working hard in this direction. Even if he became a pirate, he only wanted to earn enough money to take Wang Zhi back home in glory and make up for the shame he had lost back then.

Unfortunately, he died at sea and was destined never to return.

But Wang Zhi remembered his father's instructions: he must make a name for himself and bring honor to his ancestors. This is why Wang Zhi was so determined to bring honor to his ancestors.

Now Wang Zhi has achieved it, becoming a titled general of the Ming Dynasty. In a small place like Shexian, let alone a titled general, even the county magistrate is a figure of immense power. Wang Zhi's triumphant return to his hometown as a titled general has shaken the entire Shexian County.

Wang Zhi's current status and position are something his father probably never dreamed of, let alone dared to imagine, but Wang Zhi has truly achieved it.

Wang Zhi rode his Ferghana horse, with the Imperial Guards leading the way and escorting him from behind. They carried the gifts bestowed upon him by the emperor, the calligraphy and paintings given to him by Zhou Chu, and the more than one million taels of silver that Wang Zhi had brought back from Japan.

Originally, Wang Zhi didn't dare to openly bring back this silver, but Lin Zhi didn't care. He said, "How much silver have we provided for the Ming Dynasty and His Majesty? We've only taken this little bit. If His Majesty knows, he will think you are loyal and trust you more. If you don't take any, His Majesty will be uneasy."

Lin Zhi actually didn't have such a high level of political awareness. Every time Lin Zhi returned to the capital, he would visit Zhou Chu as soon as possible. Zhou Chu would give him a lot of advice in his words. These words were actually spoken by Zhou Chu to him.

"It's fine for you to make some money in Japan, as long as it's not too much. Japan is far from the emperor's reach, so if you show no interest in making money, His Majesty will be worried."

Zhou Chu said this because he wanted to use silver to curb Lin Zhi and Qi Liang's nascent ambitions.

Otherwise, if they guard the silver mountain while he doesn't get a single penny, they'll definitely feel resentful over time. So Zhou Chu might as well let them take it directly.

Wang Zhi and his group were very sensible, or rather, they felt they had already taken enough.

Even when the Wang family was at its peak, the entire Wang family only had a total of twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver. Now that Wang Zhi had taken so much, he felt ashamed before the Ming Dynasty and before His Majesty. His Majesty had even specially sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to help him escort this silver. The more Wang Zhi thought about it, the more he felt that he was a worthless person.