Late Ming Dynasty: From the Defeated Soldiers at Daling River to Ascending the Throne

Just past noon, Zou Yuan sat in the garrison tower's official hall, a thick stack of confessions spread out in front of him.

He looked at each document one by one, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

He had the twelve confessions examined separately. If Chen Feng's identity was fake, there should be some discrepancies.

He picked up Chen Feng's copy, then the one by Meng Changgeng, and then looked at the one by Zhao Sheng... they all matched.

Not only do they match, but some details also corroborate each other perfectly.

The Mongolian man named Aji confessed to shooting off Orosechen's ear, and the story was exactly the same as what the bald man named Meng Changgeng said.

That simpleton Hao Dadao gave the simplest testimony, but the key parts matched up with others.

If there's anything that doesn't add up, it's that Chen Feng also has the identity of a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zou Yuan flipped through it again.

Of the twelve confessions, two of the five night scouts said Chen Feng was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and three said Chen Feng came from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But no one can say for sure how they came to be born.

The others, including Chen Feng himself, didn't mention it at all.

Zou Yuan's fingers kept tapping on the table.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He stared at those three words for a long time.

If it's true, he can't touch this person; the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the emperor's personal guard.

If it's fake... then this person is incredibly audacious.

He looked up at the window; there were still two days until the start of winter, and not a single cloud in the sky.

Zou Yuan was silent for a moment, then called out, "Someone come here."

A bodyguard pushed open the door and came in.

Zou Yuan pointed to the papers on the table, "Send these confessions to the Jizhou General's Office over the next few days. Have Dong Jing write a document... stating that a group claiming to be from the Ningyuan Army was intercepted at Xifengkou. They have a great merit on their shoulders, but there are also some suspicious points. Please make a decision, General."

The guard responded and picked up the confession, heading outside.

Zou Yuan called out to him again, "Wait a minute."

The guards turned around.

Zou Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Let me add one more thing: there's a guy in that group named Chen Feng who claims to be a captain under Song Wei, and he might have a Jinyiwei identity."

The guard nodded and left.

Zou Yuan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Chen Feng, from the moment he entered until now, has remained calm and fearless, and has not pleaded for mercy.

He had seen people like that before.

One type has a powerful backer, the other is truly reckless.

Neither of them are easy to mess with.

The next day, the General's Office replied to Zou Yuan.

Wang Weicheng's letter was brief, essentially stating that the matter involved the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Song Wei, the General of Shanhaiguan, but Chen Feng claimed to be under General Song's command, requiring verification by Shanhaiguan first. He instructed that Zou Yuan be placed under house arrest and not treated harshly.

Zou Yuan understood that Song Wei and Wang Weicheng had fought together during the Tianqi era and had a good personal relationship; his commander-in-chief didn't want to offend his friend.

Three days later, Santunying sent a message instructing Zou Yuan to send the man to Shanhaiguan. He was not to escort him, but to make sure he did not escape.

Zou Yuan felt increasingly uneasy; this matter was definitely not as simple as just confirming an identity.

The fact that the General's Office issued this order suggests that they had received confirmation of Chen Feng's identity from Shanhaiguan, meaning that Chen Feng's identity as a centurion is genuine.

But why did you then tell them not to let anyone escape?

Zou Yuan couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it and just wanted to get rid of the person as soon as possible.

He summoned his personal guards and ordered them to escort Chen Feng and his party to Shanhaiguan.

........................

At 1:00 PM on the eighth day of the tenth lunar month, Chen Feng, who had been under house arrest for four days, was finally released.

Looking at the sun in the sky, Chen Feng stretched comfortably.

These past few days, Zou Yuan hasn't treated them badly, providing them with all the food they need and even giving them two jugs of turbid wine. However, the fact that they can't go out makes them feel a bit stifled.

The fact that they were going to send him to Shanhaiguan instead of directly convicting him suggests that either Xifengkou had confirmed his identity as a commander or Shanhaiguan had some other explanation.

In short, the fact that he wasn't directly convicted is good news.

The twelve people were placed on three flatbed carts, and Guo Zhuo escorted them with thirty riders.

Before departing, Chen Feng approached Zou Yuan, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you for your care these past few days, General Zou. I will remember it. We can leave five of the horses we brought back to you as a token of our gratitude. However, I must take the armor, weapons, and other horses to Shanhaiguan. Since we have no heads to kill, these armor pieces will serve as proof of our military merits. I hope you understand."

Zou Yuan glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.

Zou Yuan's face showed nothing, but Chen Feng knew he was somewhat displeased, so he added, "When we return to Shanhaiguan, I will certainly reward you handsomely."

Hearing this, Zou Yuan smiled and said, "Commander Chen, you're too kind. We're all comrades in the military, so it's only right that we help each other out."

Zou Yuan was actually unsure of Chen Feng's abilities. Although a Qianzong (a military officer) was at most a sixth-rank official, five ranks lower than Zou Yuan, who was a fourth-rank commander.

But this person has made extraordinary contributions and will surely be promoted greatly. In such a chaotic era, it is not impossible for him to be promoted three or four ranks.

Moreover, given his young age, it's not impossible for him to become a general in the future.

At this point, it's better to do him a favor out of personal goodwill than to offend him.

Chen Feng sat on the cart, its wheels turning as it rolled south along the gravel road.

Chen Feng and Hao Dadao were placed on the same flatbed cart.

Throughout the journey, Hao Dadao remained silent, but Chen Feng could feel that gaze fixed on him.

He didn't mind, resting his head on the armor and closing his eyes to rest.

That night, the team set up camp in a dilapidated temple by the Luan River.

Half of the temple collapsed, but the main hall can still block the wind.

Several soldiers lit a fire in the courtyard and sat around it with Chen Feng and the others, eating dry rations.

Chen Feng sat by the campfire, warming himself by the fire, while sticking dry biscuits on branches and letting them soften by the fire.

Hao Dadao suddenly stood up and walked in front of Chen Feng, drawing everyone's attention.

He didn't speak, just stood there blankly in front of Chen Feng, he hesitated several times but couldn't say anything.

Chen Feng glanced at him, then handed him the softened flatbread. "Want some?"

Hao Dadao glanced at Bingzi, then at Chen Feng, and finally managed to say, "Come with me for a moment."

After saying that, he walked out of the dilapidated temple.

Chen Feng glanced at him, dusted himself off, and followed.

Hao Dadao left the dilapidated temple and walked several hundred steps upstream along the Luan River.

The water level of the Luan River is not high in winter. The faint moonlight of the new moon shines on the water, making it shimmer white, and the sound of rushing water comes from the middle of the riverbed.

The two stood facing each other, neither of them speaking.

Hao Dadao clenched his jaw tightly, and after a long while, he squeezed out a word through his teeth: "Liar."

Chen Feng remained silent.

"The Thousand Generals are fake," Hao Dadao said. "The Embroidered Uniform Guards are fake too, they're all fake."

Chen Feng remained silent.

Hao Dadao's breathing grew heavier, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "Dazhu is dead, Lao Xiong is dead, Erdan is dead... If you hadn't said you were a commander that day, we would never have gotten out of Damaobao! It's all your fault!"

Chen Feng finally spoke: "If I hadn't brought you out, what were you planning to do? Become an outlaw like you initially said?"

Hao Dadao raised his voice, "Being an outlaw is better than dying!"

"And then?" Chen Feng stared at him. "Caught by the Tartars and forced into service? Or killed like a dog?"

Hao Dadao grabbed Chen Feng by the collar, "Never mind that! Their deaths are your fault!"

He swung his fist, sending a gust of wind through the air, and smashed it towards Chen Feng's face.

Chen Feng did not dodge.

The fist stopped half an inch from Chen Feng's nose.

The two stared at each other, their breaths mingling.

Why didn't you dodge?

"You didn't manage to take it down either, did you?"

Hao Dadao glared at Chen Feng, his chest heaving violently, and finally loosened his grip, shoving him away.

"You son of a bitch! You lied to me!" he muttered. "I should beat you to death."

Chen Feng didn't speak, but nodded silently.

"But I also know," Hao Dadao turned his face away, "that Dazhu and the others...it's not entirely your fault. If it weren't for you, I might have died in Nangou that night too."

Chen Feng nodded again.

Hao Dadao turned back, his eyes a little red, "You led me to kill the Tartars, it was exhilarating! I've never felt so exhilarated."

Chen Feng's lips twitched. "So, do you still want to follow me and kill the Tartars in the future?"

"You're a fake commander, how can you lead someone like that?"

How do you know I'm not the real Qian Zong?

Hao Dadao was stunned for a moment. "Really? But the scholar said..."

"It will become true."

Hao Dadao stared into Chen Feng's eyes. "That's settled then. But remember, not a single penny of the compensation money for those brothers can be missing. If you dare to embezzle it, I'll kill you!"

Chen Feng patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Never."

In the distance, several figures were visible around the corner of the temple wall.

Meng Changgeng, Zhao Sheng, Lao Putou, Aji, and Sun Ergou huddled in the shadows, peering over.

The Luan River was rushing, and they couldn't make out what they were saying.

"What's wrong?" Sun Ergou asked in a low voice.

Old Pu raised his hand and smacked him on the head, "Children should mind their own business."

Aji squinted at him for a long time, then suddenly grinned and said, "Master Hao, a good man."