Amid the uproar of surprise and surprise, Yang Zhen looked at Zu Keyong alone, only to see that Zu Keyong just lowered his head in silence and had no expression on his face. It was obvious that he had already known about this result.

Yang Zhen ignored him when he saw this. When the room became quiet again and everyone looked at him again, he continued to finish reciting the imperial edict.

Until this time, Xu Changyong could not get any clear or hint from Zu Keyong, so he simply asked Yang Zhen directly: "Brother Yang! Oh no - Mr. Yang! What the court means is that the Mongolian troops led by me, Old Xu,

The cavalry, as well as General Zu's Central Army led by General Zu, will be officially incorporated into the newly formed advance battalion from now on?! If we don't go back to Ningyuan, we won't go to Jinzhou either?!"

Up to now, Xu Changyong still looked unbelievable. He didn't believe that Zu Dashou would agree to do this, and he didn't believe that Sanggarsai, who had always regarded his Mongolian battalion as a forbidden private soldier, would agree to do this.

So he opened his eyes wide and stared at Yang Zhen closely, waiting for Yang Zhen to give him a clear answer.

It was not that he was unwilling to stay in the advance camp, but he had always thought it was impossible, so he rarely thought about this issue. Now that he suddenly faced this result, he was a little confused.

If he had known that this would be the result, he might have behaved differently in the previous battles.

Yang Zhen also knew that Xu Changyong was a straight-tempered rough man who meant what he said but didn't mean what he said. When he saw him asking questions, he said to him: "Brother Xu, there is no need to be polite to brothers! After going through those previous battles, we have long been friends of life and death! At any time, I will

Yang Zhen is Brother Xu’s brother! We are still brothers!"

After saying these words, Yang Zhen continued: "As for the issue of Brother Xu and Brother Zu, the imperial decree does have this meaning. From now on, the imperial decree will be to form a new advance battalion for the Eastern Expedition!

"You two are the generals of the newly formed advance battalion to conquer the east. Your current troops are also the men of the newly formed advance battalion to conquer the east!

"If Brother Xu and Brother Zu have any questions about this, you can send someone to Ningyuan tomorrow to ask Marshal Zu and General Sanggarsai for instructions and ask them what they mean!

"If they order you to return to the team, I don't have any objection, brother! I really hope you stay, but if you decide to leave, just like us brothers, Yang will never stop you!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking, everyone in the room looked at each other a little bit. Zhang Degui and other Yang Zhen's old men all turned their attention to Zu Keyong and Xu Changyong.

Under the gaze of everyone, Xu Changyong couldn't stand it anymore. He waved his hands and said: "I, Old Xu, don't mean this! We are brothers, and I, Old Xu, will follow you. You feel comfortable, and I am very happy to stay! That's it!

I’m afraid, brother, you’ve misunderstood the meaning above!——”

"No need to ask! There is no need to send someone to ask for instructions from Commander-in-Chief Zu! Xu Youyi does not need to ask for instructions from Sanggarsai! The imperial court's decree has been clearly stated! Can the commander-in-chief and Sanggarsai still disobey the imperial court's decree?

!If we go to Ningyuan again to ask for instructions from the Commander-in-Chief, wouldn’t we put him in a position of disloyalty?!”

After listening to what Yang Zhen said and Xu Changyong's explanation, Zu Keyong finally raised his head and looked directly at Yang Zhen and said loudly: "Although I, Zu Keyong, am a descendant of the ancestral family, I am not a member of the ancestral family."

The general, but the general of the Ming Dynasty!

"The imperial decree was clearly written, and I, Zu Keyong, did not say anything about it! From now on, Zu will be a member of the advance battalion ordered by the Emperor to conquer the East!

"My ancestor followed General Zu to fight against the captors and serve the country. When he followed Commander Yang, he also fought against the captors and served the country. What's the difference? From now on, Mr. Zu will only listen to Commander Yang's military orders, and only follow Commander Yang's orders."

Follow your lead!"

Zu Keyong, who had been silent and gloomy at first, had a firm and decisive look on his face when he said these words.

Yang Zhen knew that he had finally made up his mind, and he was happy in his heart. With a smile on his face, he nodded heavily at him, and then turned to Xu Changyong.

At this time, Xu Changyong looked at Zu Keyong with a look of surprise and disbelief.

——Did Marshal Zu tell Zu Keyong anything in private, or give Zu Keyong any orders?!

Xu Changyong looked at Zu Keyong's determined face and felt a little suspicious.

However, the situation in front of him no longer allowed him to hesitate any longer.

Moreover, Zu Keyong has already expressed his position, so there is no pressure on him - you Zu Keyong, a descendant of the ancestral family, is like this, why can't I, Xu Changyong, an outsider do the same?!

Just as Zu Keyong said just now, following Commander Zu is the same as following Yang Zhen.

Moreover, these days of getting along also made him feel that following Yang Zhenqian might be more promising.

Although Zu Dashou's current status, army, power and influence are much higher than Yang Zhen's, it seems that he has a better future by following Zu Dashou.

However, Marshal Zu already had many strong generals under his command, and there was no shortage of generals and officers like Xu Changyong who were still in the middle of the pack in middle age.

If you want to survive under the hands of Marshal Zu, I really don’t know how many years and months it will take!

The most important thing is that since Xu Changyong was ordered to leave Ningyuan City with the temporary deployment of 300 Mongolian soldiers, whenever he thought about the purpose of Commander Zu sending him here, he felt disheartened deep in his heart.

This is asking him to follow Yang Zhen to die!

At this moment, under the gaze of everyone, many past events came to Xu Changyong's mind. Looking at Yang Zhen's expectant look, he immediately clasped his fists and said:

"Brother Zu is right! When you go to Jinzhou, you serve the imperial court, and when you stay in Songshan, you serve the imperial court! Of course, following Marshal Zu means killing Tatars to serve the country, but following Brother Yang also means killing Tatars to serve the country, so what else can there be?

respectively!?

"And from my point of view, following Brother Yang to kill the Tatars, I, Old Xu, feel more confident and feel better! Brother Yang thinks highly of me, Xu Changyong, and I, Xu Changyong, don't have a second thought!

"From now on, I, Old Xu, will follow you in the advance camp! Brother, if you say to go east, I, Old Xu, will never go west! Brother, if you say you want to beat a dog, I, Old Xu, will never chase a chicken!"

As soon as Xu Changyong said these words, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became much more relaxed.

Especially after he said his last words, Yang Zhen, Zhang Degui, Li Lu and other former members of Yang Zhen burst out laughing together.

Yang Zhen smiled and said to Xu Changyong: "Brother Xu, please relax! Brother, I will neither let you hunt dogs nor chase chickens! If anything happens in the future, we will definitely be together as brothers.

Go up! In short, that’s the saying, share the blessings and share the hardships!”

After saying this, Yang Zhen stepped forward, helped Zu Keyong and Xu Changyong, who had been kneeling on the ground, up, and then asked the old troops in the advance camp to get up as well.

When everyone got up from the ground and sat down again, Yang Zhen took out a stack of documents from the small table and said to everyone: "I reported victory to Ningyuan twice before. Your contribution was clearly written in the documents.

Governor Fang also submitted the original text to the Ministry of War!

"Now the imperial court's reward has arrived! Since I, Yang Zhen, have been rewarded, naturally all of you are indispensable! All the official notices from the Ministry of War are here, and I will read them to you now!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking, the atmosphere in the small room suddenly became lively. Xu Changyong, Zhang Degui, Li Lu and others were all nervously and excitedly staring at the documents in Yang Zhen's hand.

"Zu Keyong, the Chinese Army Staff General under the General Army of Liaodong Town, accompanied Ningyuan Deputy General Yang Zhen to the north to rescue Songshan and made meritorious service. He was promoted to the deputy general of the advance battalion of the Eastern Expedition! The officer's duties were assigned to the advance battalion commander, Songshan Regiment General Lian.

Official Yang Zhen has made the decision! Congratulations to Lieutenant General Zu!"

After Yang Zhen said this, the others followed Yang Zhen happily, clasped their fists at Zu Keyong, and then said in unison: "Congratulations to Vice Admiral Zu!"

Seeing everyone congratulating him, Zu Keyong finally had a smile on his face. First he cupped his fists and bowed to Yang Zhen, and then returned the favor one by one.

Next, Yang Zhen read out several names clearly given for promotion in the official documents of the Ministry of War and the positions to which they were promoted——

Xu Changyong, who was originally a guerrilla member of the Jingdong Battalion under the general command of Liaodong Town, this time because he followed Yang Zhen north to rescue Songshan and successfully rescued the siege, he was promoted to a staff general of the imperially ordered Zhengdong Advance Battalion.

As for Zhang Degui, the number one general in Yang Zhen's old department, he was officially promoted from his original position as a miscellaneous guerrilla to the rank of general of the advance battalion ordered by the emperor to conquer the east.

Li Lu, the second-ranking figure in Yang Zhen's old department, was also officially promoted from his original position as a miscellaneous commander to the guerrilla general of the advance battalion ordered by the emperor to conquer the east.

And Zhang Chen, who has now become the third person in Yang Zhen's old department, was "reinstated" in one fell swoop from the so-called left-wing adjutant of the advance camp musketeers who was not in the imperial official list at all, and was dismissed from office after being convicted.

The large number of soldiers became the garrison of the advance battalion ordered by the emperor to conquer the east.
Chapter completed!