Xuan Yuanzhan was embarrassed by Xuan Yuanpeng's praise.
"I heard that the Northern Rong have invaded the northern lands?" Xuan Yuanpeng suddenly asked about the war with the Northern Rong.
Fearing that he would worry, Xuan Yuanzhan quickly reassured him, "Yes, but I have already led the troops to drive them back. This time, in addition to the Zhenbei Army guarding the northern lands, the capital reserve army also contributed a lot, as did the bandit army in the northern lands, who also made great contributions."
"Bandit army?" Xuan Yuanpeng asked curiously, "Are they the bandits from the north?"
Xuanyuan Zhan nodded: "Yes, they were all bandits from the North. I saw that they were numerous and forced into banditry by the disaster. Apart from stealing some food, they didn't do anything heinous. Sometimes, when refugees had no food, they would open their granaries to distribute porridge. So I considered offering them amnesty. I even sent a memorial to the capital, but it didn't reach you. Later, Xuanyuan Yu even falsely accused me of offering amnesty without authorization, saying that I was building up a private army to rebel. Because there was no formal amnesty, I had no intention of sending them to the battlefield. However, the Northern Rong soldiers were numerous, and our soldiers defending the city were limited. Fortunately, the bandits volunteered, saying they had a way to deal with the Northern Rong army, so I agreed to let them go to the battlefield."
As Xuan Yuanzhan spoke, he stood up and knelt down before Xuan Yuanpeng again: "The memorial for surrendering them to the emperor failed to reach you. In the end, I did indeed surrender them to the emperor without authorization. Please punish me!"
Xuanyuan Peng glanced at him, then laughed in exasperation: "I was indeed poisoned by the puppet curse, which damaged my brain, but I'm not that muddle-headed. There were forty or fifty thousand bandits, could you really kill them all? If so many bandits were slaughtered during a disaster like the one in the North, the morale of the entire Eastern Chu would be in turmoil. Offering amnesty is the only and best solution. It was Xuanyuan Yu and Xuanyuan Zhi who had selfish motives and didn't send the memorial to me. How could I blame you? Besides, in the face of the national crisis of the Northern Rong invasion, those bandits spontaneously went to the front lines to fight the enemy. They have already made amends for their actions."
"Get up quickly, you did nothing wrong, why do you need to admit it?"
Xuanyuan Zhan knew that Xuanyuan Peng could understand him, so he didn't say anything more and stood up: "This time, these bandit troops devised a plan to kill 100,000 soldiers of the Beirong Tianqiong tribe, making great contributions in our battle and directly causing the Beirong tribe to surrender. This time, I not only captured Tuoba Xiong, the leader of the Tianqiong tribe, but also captured the other Tianqiong tribe leaders. However, I was able to come back in time. The other leaders are still imprisoned in the Northern Prison. I only brought Tuoba Xiong back."
Xuanyuan Peng was surprised that he had also captured the leaders of various tribes in the Northern Rong. He looked at Xuanyuan Zhan with satisfaction again and said, "Zhan'er, you are really amazing!"
Even when Xuan Yuan Yu and Xuan Yuan Zhi plotted against him, he was still able to balance his duties to his family and country, guard the border, and protect the people.
In contrast, when the Northern Rong invaded the northern lands, Xuan Yuan Yu and Xuan Yuan Zhi, as regent princes, did not think about how to drive out the Northern Rong soldiers, but instead used various means to try to eliminate dissidents.
Not only does he lack the talent to govern a country, but he also harbors malicious intentions. How can someone who only knows how to bully his own people be worthy of being the emperor of Eastern Chu!
Xuanyuan Zhan thought of something and cautiously looked at Xuanyuan Peng, saying, "There's one more thing."
"What?" Seeing that Xuan Yuanzhan's expression was off, Xuan Yuanpeng subconsciously frowned.
Xuanyuan Zhan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, the Northern Rong did not invade the Northern Lands without reason. It was because someone from Eastern Chu colluded with Tuoba Xiong that the Northern Rong suddenly attacked the Northern Lands."
Xuanyuan Peng was startled: "Who is it?"
Bai Shi and Zong Jiu both looked at Xuan Yuanzhan, realizing that someone had colluded with the Northern Rong, which had caused this great battle.
"It's Xuanyuan Zhi."
"Cough cough..." As soon as Xuan Yuanzhan gave his answer, Xuan Yuanpeng was so angry that he coughed violently.
"Xuanyuan Peng".
"emperor."
Seeing Xuanyuan Peng coughing like this, Bai Shi and Zong Jiu were very worried.
While helping Xuan Yuanpeng soothe his anger, Bai glared at Xuan Yuanzhan and said, "You know he's not well, yet you still upset him!"
Looking at Xuan Yuanpeng, who was coughing quite badly, Xuan Yuanzhan had a fawning expression on his face.
He didn't want to provoke him, but this was a big deal, and he couldn't let it go unreported!
It took Xuanyuan Peng a while to stop coughing. He shouted angrily, "Those two beasts!"
One dared to murder his father and kill his emperor in his struggle for power, while the other dared to betray his country to eliminate dissidents. What sins did he commit in his past life to have such two beastly sons?
Seeing Xuanyuan Peng panting so hard, Bai felt extremely distressed: "It's too late to get angry now, so don't get upset for them anymore."
Xuanyuan Zhan didn't want to see him so angry, so he comforted him, "Fortunately, this time we didn't make a big mistake. We not only won the battle, but we also imprisoned all the leaders of the Northern Rong tribes. This great battle should keep the Northern Rong quiet for a long time."
Xuan Yuanzhan's words finally made Xuan Yuanpeng feel a little better. He took several deep breaths to suppress his anger: "It's good that you led the army to repel the Northern Rong. Otherwise, if the Northern Rong had really occupied the northern land of Eastern Chu, I would have no face to meet our ancestors in the underworld even if I died."
He kept talking about death, so Bai gave him a reproachful look and said, "Don't say such things."
Xuan Yuanzhan also said, "Xuan Yuanzhi only wanted to use the Northern Rong to keep me from returning to the capital to save my mother and Ning'er. He probably never expected that the Northern Rong would mobilize so many troops."
If it weren't for him in the north, the Zhenbei Army, with its twenty large troops, would probably not have been able to withstand the Northern Rong army at all.
This time, the Northern Rong almost took advantage of a loophole, which nearly led to a major mistake.
Xuanyuan Peng was so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time. After a while, he looked at Zong Jiu and ordered, "Help me get up. I'm going to the morning court today."
Upon hearing this, Lady Bai immediately worried and said, "How can you go to court in this state? Rest for two more days."
With so many things happening, how could Xuanyuan Peng possibly lie down? "I only have three days left. If these matters are not dealt with, I have no mind to lie down."
As Xuanyuan Peng spoke, he took Bai Shi's hand and said, "Once I have dealt with all the important matters in the court, I will begin to arrange our wedding."
"The wedding?" Before Bai could even agree, Xuan Yuanzhan was shocked: "You...you're getting married?"
Bai looked at Xuan Yuanzhan with an uncomfortable expression: "You don't agree?"
Xuanyuan Peng immediately looked at Xuanyuan Zhan with tension.
Seeing their tense expressions, Xuan Yuanzhan sighed softly: "Of course I won't disagree, but your special status might cause the entire court to resist."
If their marriage were really that easy, it wouldn't have taken so long to get married.
Xuanyuan Peng thought he disagreed, but when he heard him agree, he breathed a sigh of relief and said resentfully, "I have dedicated my whole life to Eastern Chu. Now I only have three days left to live. Can't I live for myself for once?"
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