Chapter 3236 Captive
Seeing that both the emperor and the imperial concubine were angry, Xiao Shunzi naturally didn't dare to respond. He hurried over to bring the person sent by Chen Zixiao to welcome him.
He was a deputy general beside Chen Zixiao, named Tian Xun.
When he saw that the emperor and the imperial concubine looked unwell, he knelt beside the carriage and kowtowed, saying, "Your humble servant Tian Xun pays respects to the emperor and the imperial concubine."
Zhu Feng didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Chen Zixiao only asked you to come and greet him? His arrogance is getting bigger and bigger."
Tian Xun broke out in a cold sweat.
He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Lord Chen did not intend to be negligent. However, before setting out to welcome you, I suddenly received news that cavalry from the Eastern Chahe tribe were roaming around Handongwei."
"Oh? Then he—"
"Master Chen personally led the troops to clear out the rebellion."
"so……"
Zhu Feng's expression softened slightly after hearing this. After a moment's thought, he sneered, "Why, does he usually lead the troops himself?"
Tian Xun said, "Normally, this wouldn't happen. But this time, the Emperor's carriage was almost at Handongwei, and Your Excellency was worried that the presence of the Eastern Chaga tribe's troops at this time would alarm the Emperor. Therefore, he took it very seriously, leading the troops out in person and was unable to come to greet him. I beg Your Excellency to forgive me."
Zhu Feng frowned and sighed deeply.
He said, "He's a captain, he should know what a captain should do. If he has to lead the troops like this for such a small matter, then what's the point of maintaining an army?"
The cold sweat on Tian Xun's forehead dripped down, and he said repeatedly: "Yes, yes."
Nan Yan listened from the side and snorted coldly.
Zhu Feng ignored her and said to Tian Xun, "Well, let's go. We can talk about anything when we get to Handongwei first."
"yes!"
Hearing that he would not pursue the matter of Chen Zixiao for the time being, Tian Xun finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately got up from the ground, mounted his horse again, and walked to the front of the team, replacing Ashu's position as the leader, leading the emperor's carriage to Handongwei.
Zhu Feng sat back in the carriage and said to Nan Yan, "What were you humming just now?"
Nan Yan said, "Your Majesty only talks about others."
Zhu Feng frowned, reached out and pinched her face, saying, "Behave yourself when you get over there. If you act so wickedly in front of others again, I'll show you how I'll deal with you!"
Nan Yan pursed her lips, sat aside and said nothing.
And she also vaguely understood Zhu Feng's purpose of coming to Handongwei this time. He did not respond to what he said just now, which showed that he was still going to send troops to Handongwei this time.
In fact, if he has the chance, he will definitely lead the troops himself.
Thinking of this, Nan Yan couldn't help but groan in her heart. You know, when leaving the capital, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess came to see him off with him in their arms. Zhu Chengxuan gave them earnest advice, especially entrusting the Imperial Concubine to watch over the Emperor and never let him take risks again. Because of the previous incident, Nan Yan did feel guilty towards the Crown Prince, so naturally she had to obey him. But now, she was afraid that she would fail to live up to the Crown Prince's trust again.
Thinking of this, she felt overwhelmed.
But no matter what, under the leadership of Tian Xun and others, the imperial carriage quickly passed through a grassland with green grass more than one meter tall, entered Handongwei, and arrived at the Duwei Mansion. Chen Zixiao and his men were already kneeling at the door to welcome the emperor. As soon as the carriage stopped, they heard the crowd shouting "Long live the emperor".
Zhu Feng jumped off the carriage and saw Chen Zixiao kneeling at his feet.
Chen Zixiao kowtowed repeatedly before him: "I, the guilty minister Chen Zixiao, have come to plead guilty to Your Majesty. I deserve death!"
Zhu Feng watched him kowtow, raising the dust from the ground. He simply smiled faintly and said, "You deserve to die, but how you die depends on how well you fight today."
As he said that, he looked at Chen Zixiao again.
Obviously, he had just returned to Handongwei and had not even had time to change out of his soft armor and put on the official uniform for receiving the emperor. The corners of his clothes and boots were covered with mud.
If he came to greet the emperor in this appearance in the capital - even if he was not in the capital, if the censors knew about it, it would be enough to impeach him and force him to take off his military uniform.
Chen Zixiao lowered his head and said, "The Eastern Chahe tribe had a total of 200 men. I led them into battle and killed 53 and captured 18. The rest escaped."
Zhu Feng raised his eyebrows slightly.
At this time, Nan Yan also got off the carriage.
She glanced at Chen Zixiao and said softly, "Whatever the emperor wants to ask, at least wait until we enter the palace. There are so many people watching here."
Zhu Feng thought for a moment and said, "Come here, escort the imperial concubine into the palace."
Nan Yan was stunned for a moment and looked at him: "What is the emperor going to do?"
Chen Zixiao tilted his head in surprise and glanced at him carefully. Zhu Feng looked down at Chen Zixiao and said, "Didn't you capture a dozen prisoners? I want to go and take a look."
Chen Zixiao asked, "Your Majesty, are you going now?"
Zhu Feng said: "Let's go now."
Chen Zixiao thought about it and immediately stood up to lead the way. However, Nan Yan frowned slightly. Although it was not the first time they came to Handongwei, and Zhu Feng was relatively casual here before, it was too casual for him to go to see the prisoners directly without even entering the Duwei Mansion after arriving.
Moreover, Nan Yan was becoming more and more afraid of the thing she had just worried about on the road, fearing that it would come true.
So he whispered, "Your Majesty..."
Zhu Feng patted her hand and said, "Alright, take your people and go in to rest first. You must have been very uncomfortable on this journey. Go and rest for a while. I will talk to you when I come back later."
Nan Yan could only sigh and said softly, "Then Your Majesty should not be too tired."
"I know."
So, Nan Yan took Ruoshui and the others and was led into the mansion by the steward of the Duwei Mansion. On the other side, Chen Zixiao took Zhu Feng directly to the dungeon.
As they walked, Zhu Feng asked, "I heard that they captured some of their people before?"
Chen Zixiao said: "Yes."
"Did you find out anything?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, no."
"You've been interacting with them for over two years, arresting and killing so many people, and yet you haven't found out anything?"
Chen Zixiao sighed and said, "The men of the Eastern Chaga tribe are exceptionally tough. It's said that when they're born, they're thrown into an icy river and soaked there. Only those who can survive are considered strong and healthy. They're raised this way, and when they're five or six, they start practicing martial arts. Before they're ten, they can ride horses and shoot arrows with unerring accuracy. They spend their lives fighting to make a living. Captured captives are almost impossible to pry open, and those who are beaten too hard are simply killed."
Hearing this, Zhu Feng frowned slightly.
The people of the Eastern Chagali tribe are indeed difficult to deal with, but I didn't expect that they grew up like this. No wonder they have been able to cause chaos in the northwest for so many years.
He asked, "So what are you going to do with the people you captured today?"
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