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

Chapter 142

"listen."

Zhou Chu clapped his hands, and instantly everyone in the training ground fell silent.

These newcomers have heard a great deal about Commander Zhou Chu these past few days. There's no way around it; Zhou Chu has done just too much these days, and he has rapidly elevated the status of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to surpass that of the Eastern Depot, even suppressing the arrogant civil officials in the court to the point of silence.

The last time the Embroidered Uniform Guard enjoyed such prestige was during the reigns of the Yongle and Hongwu emperors, more than a hundred years ago.

Moreover, all the things Zhou Chu did, one after another, showed that although this commander was young, he was a complete living devil.

Most of these greenhorn recruits didn't even dare to look at Zhou Chu, and didn't even know what Zhou Chu looked like. This was entirely out of their heartfelt awe and fear.

So although Zhou Chu's voice wasn't loud, the effect was surprisingly good, and the originally chaotic training ground instantly quieted down.

"I plan to select eight hundred people from among you. These eight hundred people will have the positions and benefits of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but due to their special nature, they will not be recorded in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's roster. However, their promotion will be much easier than that of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Also, if anyone dares to leak a single word of what I said today, the Northern Garrison Command's prison will be their final destination."

Zhou Chu spoke softly and his tone wasn't particularly serious, but the nearly three thousand newcomers in front of him were all terrified.

"Alright, those who want to participate in the selection can come and line up."

After Zhou Chu finished speaking, he stood there and said nothing more.

The nearly three thousand people in front of him all seemed extremely excited. Of those who could have entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard, apart from a few who were going to inherit their fathers' Embroidered Uniform Guard positions, more than 99% of them had neither the opportunity nor the qualification to enter the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Basically, after the training was over, they would return to the local government offices to take over their fathers' positions as yamen runners or other jobs. Their lives were predictable, with little hope for the future.

They were mostly teenagers around fourteen or fifteen years old, not seasoned middle-aged people. Naturally, they had dreams and drive. Now that such a great opportunity was right in front of them, they would probably regret it for the rest of their lives if they gave it up.

As a result, long lines of new recruits began to form, including those who were originally intended to inherit their fathers' positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhou Chu, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, spoke with such solemnity that everyone was not stupid and could understand the key point. The commander was clearly going to form a special force. It was still unclear what the specifics of the force would be, but as a newly formed force, the promotion opportunities would undoubtedly be far greater than those of the long-established Embroidered Uniform Guard. Once such an opportunity was given up, it was likely that it would never come again.

Even those who originally didn't want to participate were suddenly caught in a dilemma when they saw that others had participated, fearing that they would miss this opportunity and that when they met their original companions again in a few years, they would have risen to great heights while they were still stuck in the same place.

That's just how people are. They might not do it themselves, but they're afraid that the people around them will become successful after doing it.

After some hesitation, they all went to join the queue.

Zhou Chu divided these people into two teams, with himself and Yun Jin each in charge of selecting one team. Although these were new recruits still in training, they had practiced martial arts since childhood, so their foundation was much stronger than that of ordinary troops. Naturally, there were quite a few soldiers to be selected, and about one out of every three could satisfy Zhou Chu and Yun Jin.

Those who were selected were incredibly excited, while those who weren't selected felt they had missed the greatest opportunity of their lives and were all dejected.

"Go and draft a confidentiality agreement, and have all these people sign it."

Zhou Chu looked at Feng Shi and said.