Chapter 3234: An Elephant May Not Be Able to Crush an Ant to Death
The two of them were sitting together, drinking water and chatting, when suddenly, a sound of copper bells was heard on the path ahead. Looking up, they saw a group of people slowly walking towards them.
The Jinyiwei reacted quickly, and another team rushed forward immediately to stop those people.
Nan Yan stretched her neck to take a look and said, "He looks like an ordinary merchant passing by. Don't scare him."
Zhu Feng said, "Let's go and take a look."
So the two of them stood up and walked slowly over there. Fang Buyuan had his men surrounding that group of people for questioning. When they saw the emperor and the imperial concubine coming, they all knelt down. That group of people were just some passing merchants. They were like frightened birds at first, and now they were suddenly stopped by such a group of guards in gorgeous clothes. They were scared out of their wits and didn't know what to do.
Then, the guards were heard kneeling down and saluting, calling out "Your Majesty" and "Your Majesty".
The leading businessman shuddered and fell to his knees with a thud.
"Huang, Huang, Huang——"
He stuttered for a long time and couldn't speak, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Zhu Chengjun, who had come to watch the fun, smiled and said, "It's the Emperor!"
The merchant seemed to have his Ren and Du meridians opened up, and he immediately kowtowed heavily to the ground: "Your Majesty!"
Zhu Feng couldn't help laughing.
Nan Yan frowned, turned around and pinched Xiao Chengjun's mouth, signaling him not to talk nonsense, then followed Zhu Feng over and sat on a mound of earth, and she stood behind Zhu Feng.
Zhu Feng looked at the group of people, about ten to twenty in number, five or six of them were well-dressed, and two of them had high noses, deep eyes, blond hair and heterochromia, and were obviously merchants from foreign countries. The remaining ten or so were all strong men in their thirties, dressed in shorts and sturdy clothes. They were obviously hired by these merchants to protect them along the way.
Zhu Feng smiled and said, "Are you guys doing business?"
The leading merchant trembled and said, "To answer the emperor, we, along with the two of them, are all doing business."
"What's your name?"
"My surname is Hou, and my humble name is Qibao."
Hearing this name, Zhu Feng smiled. It was an interesting name.
He asked again: "What business are you in?"
"I'm in the silk business. The other two are in the pepper business, and they, their family, are selling porcelain..."
After listening to his detailed introduction, Zhu Feng finally understood that this was a caravan formed by several families, each operating independently, so they didn't compete with each other for business. The two foreign merchants had become acquainted with them after they arrived in the Western Regions. They not only admired the culture of the Central Plains, but were also very interested in its trade, so they wanted to follow them to see if there was any profit to be made.
Zhu Feng smiled and looked back at Nan Yan, who also smiled and nodded.
This is the result Zhu Feng wants.
Not only should the Great Yan Dynasty exchange resources with other Western Regions countries and gather all the treasures in the world to the Central Plains, but more importantly, the prestige and culture of the Great Yan Dynasty should spread far and wide.
Nan Yan looked up at their group again and said with a smile, "However, it's a bit arrogant for you to go on this journey with just this small number of people, isn't it? By the way, you don't bring much with you."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of those kneeling on the ground changed.
Zhu Feng also sensed something was wrong and frowned slightly, "What's going on?"
Fang Buyuan, standing by, immediately said, "If the emperor asks you questions, answer them quickly. If you dare to lie, it will be a crime of deceiving the emperor, and you will be beheaded!"
Hou Qibao immediately kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. We dared not lie. We encountered bandits on the road. Many people died and even our belongings were stolen. We escaped with our lives."
"What?!"
When Zhu Feng heard this, his brows furrowed.
He immediately found out that there were more than 30 people when these people entered the pass, including nearly 20 guards. However, before entering Yumen Pass, they encountered a group of cavalry from the Eastern Chagali tribe. The guards fought desperately and nearly half of them died before they escaped. However, the goods they brought were generally robbed and half were scattered. They returned almost empty-handed this time.
No wonder I was like a frightened bird when I saw them just now.
Nan Yan frowned and said, "The Emperor has set up the Seven Guards of Guanxi in the northwest. Is there nothing he can do?"
Hou Qibao said with a sad face, "After we escaped, we also went to Handongwei. The master there immediately sent troops, but the people of the Eastern Chahe tribe had already fled and we couldn't catch up. Later, the master gave us some water and food to continue on our way, but everything was lost."
As he said this, he started crying out of grievance.
The businessmen behind were also sobbing.
You know, it is not easy for these merchants to make a trip to the Western Regions. Some of them even spent all their wealth to make a fortune. Now they are robbed on the road and everything is gone. They almost lost their lives. How can they not feel wronged?
Zhu Feng frowned and was silent for a long time before saying, "Take them away and give them some money."
Fang Buyuan said, "Yes."
After saying that, he asked people to take Hou Qibao and the others away. As they walked away, Hou Qibao and the others bowed repeatedly to Zhu Feng and Nan Yan to express their gratitude. After they left, Zhu Feng turned around and looked at Nan Yan with a gloomy face and said nothing.
Nan Yan knew that he must be famous.
Originally, he had set up the Seven Guards of Guanxi and spent so much manpower and resources just to ensure the safety of merchants traveling west after the westward journey was opened. Previously, they had wiped out the bandits in the Hot Moon Bay and recaptured Bailong City, and even drove back the troops of the Neng Kingdom. But now, he was being harassed by a small group of cavalry. How could he not be angry?
But sometimes, reality is so funny and cruel.
An elephant may not be able to crush an ant to death.
This group of people is roaming around in the northwest wilderness, making it difficult to guard against them. It is indeed a headache.
Nan Yan didn't know what to say for a moment, so she could only ask Wen Bieyu to take Cheng Jun to play somewhere else and not to disturb Zhu Feng and annoy him. She reached out and gently rubbed Zhu Feng's back to help him calm down. She saw Fang Buyuan leading Hou Qibao and others down the other side. He not only gave them some money, but also gave them some dry food and water when he saw that their water and food were almost used up.
Nan Yan frowned slightly: "Hmm?"
Zhu Feng looked up at her: "What's wrong?"
Nan Yan thought for a moment and said softly, "These people came from the Western Regions. They must have prepared enough dry food and water on the way. But after being robbed by those people, they have to go to Handongwei to replenish their supplies."
Zhu Feng said: "Yeah."
Nan Yan asked, "Then where do the people of the Eastern Chaga tribe go to replenish their food and water?"
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