When Yang Zhen and the advance battalion were ordered to go north to rescue Songshan, the governor Fang Yizao said that everyone could be promoted to two levels to be useful. However, when the appointment documents from the Ministry of War came out, most people were promoted to one level.

Zu Keyong was promoted from staff general to deputy general, Zhang Degui and Xu Changyong were promoted from guerrilla to staff general, Li Lu was promoted from Dusi to guerrilla, and Yang Shen was promoted from Qianzong to garrison. They were all promoted one level.

Only Zhang Chen went from being a big-headed soldier who was dismissed from his post for a crime and made atonement for his crimes, to being reinstated in one fell swoop and restored to his garrison rank.

But no one else had anything to say.

Because Zhang Chen followed Yang Zhen this time and made great achievements. At the same time, he was originally a veteran garrison officer, and now he is just reinstated to his original position.

Let us also say that these people who had been given official ranks by the Ministry of War heard the official document read by Yang Zhen and stepped forward one after another to salute and accept the appointment.

Except for Zu Keyong who still looked serious, Zhang Degui, Xu Changyong, Li Lu, and Zhang Chen all looked cheerful.

In these days, all the hardships, sins, sweat, and blood they endured following Yang Zhen were all in vain, and they finally got the results they wanted.

After Yang Zhen finished talking about the promotion of these people by the Imperial Military Department, several other key figures in the advance battalion in the room, such as Pan Wenmao, Wang Shoutang, Zhang Guogan, Pan Xi, Yang Zhan'ao and others, all looked at Yang Zhen eagerly, waiting.

Yang Zhen’s following.

Pan Wenmao was an old soldier. Although he had been stationed in the rear guard in Guangning and later under Yang Zhen and his son for many years, he did not have an official rank in the imperial military attache sequence.

Whether he was the rear guard gunpowder lifter in the past or the ammunition depot lift ambassador he currently serves, they are all appointments made by the commander of the first guard or the commander of the first battalion. The commander can take it back with just one sentence.

Not allowed to hold official positions.

The same is true for Wang Shoutang's ironworks and his son Wang Sheng's deputy ironworks.

This is also true of Pan Wenmao's adopted son Pan Xi, who served as the right-wing adjutant of the so-called advance battalion grenade corps.

These people all hope that they can truly have a serious background as a military attache of the imperial court, that is, they must have the kind of official credentials awarded by the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War.

As for Zhang Guogan and Yang Zhan'ao, they have the rank of general military attache, but this time they have made meritorious service with Yang Zhen, so they naturally hope to go further.

Including Yan Shengsan, Guo Xiaowu and other people who did not have any military attaché rank, they all looked forward to having an opportunity this time.

Just now, when they were kneeling on the ground and listening to Yang Zhen read out the imperial edict, they all heard that the new advance battalion for the East Expedition was ordered to be announced by Yang Zhenbao at the garrison level and below, and directly appointed by Yang Zhen below the Qian general. They all felt boundless hope in their hearts.

None of these people dared to think about being directly promoted to an official position above the garrison level. After all, there were so many people who made meritorious services this time, and they were nothing.

Besides, in the past, for them, the official positions above the garrison officer were simply unattainable military attachés. These people never thought that they could rise to the top in one step.

Therefore, after listening to the official document from the Ministry of War read out by Yang Zhen, everyone placed their hopes on the pile of blank official documents in Yang Zhen's hand that had been stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen smiled and asked everyone to be calm, and asked Ma Keqing to prepare pens, ink, paper and inkstones and put them on the table together.

Yang Zhen also understood very well what these people were thinking.

He knew that this was human nature. In this era, his verbal appointment, no matter how noble it sounded, was nothing compared to a military officer selection certificate stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War.

"Others, don't panic! The Holy Emperor is so gracious that in order to reward meritorious service and encourage bravery, he has been appointed to the Ministry of War and issued to our advance battalion thirty blank official notices of the Military Selection Division!

"Among them, the chief officer Qian can choose and appoint ten people, and the general manager can choose and appoint twenty people! And I, Mr. Yang, have been given the right to select and appoint me directly from among the meritorious soldiers!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking, he went to see Pan Wenmao and others. He saw that these people were all staring at the Ministry of War official report in their hands. They paused for a moment, and then Su Rong said:

"The official notice of the imperial court has been stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War, and the seal of the cavalry is also signed by Master Chen Xinjia and the Ministry of War. It can be said that it is guaranteed to be fake and genuine!

"But - you all must remember that just because the Ministry of War officer has informed you, it does not mean that the advance battalion has such troops and horses under your control! You all know the current situation of our advance battalion! What responsibilities do you have today?

Si, what job will you still have when you wake up tomorrow morning? It can’t all change overnight!

"When in the future, when our advance battalion is reorganized, fully staffed, and equipped with strong troops, these officers will be able to truly put their work into practice! On this point, I want to put the ugly words up front! In our advance battalion,

, an official is an official, and a job is a job, you must distinguish clearly!"

Yang Zhen had no choice but to do this, so he said.

This small advance battalion already has one deputy general, two staff generals, one guerrilla member, and two garrison members. If there are a bunch of Qian generals coming, how can I have so many soldiers to lead them!

According to the camp system of the Ming Dynasty, a thousand generals had to lead five hundred people.

However, the actual soldiers I have in this advance battalion are not enough to bring together the number of soldiers led by Commander Qian!

Nowadays, a lot of official hats are being distributed. It's okay to have some addiction to officialdom in your heart, but if everyone really thinks that you are an official, it will be troublesome.

Of course, everyone knew what Yang Zhen said, so after Yang Zhen made it clear first, no one had any objections.

Zhang Guogan, who was a bit talkative, had grown up with Yang Zhen originally. He immediately took over Yang Zhen's words and shouted:

"We all know! Having an official complaint from the imperial court is just a matter of speaking out and it will bring glory to one's face! Even if your Excellency rewarded me a thousand-year-old general, I know how much I am worth, but I will still be my right-wing adjutant of the Musketeers!

We understand what you mean, sir!"

After hearing this, Wang Shoutang and others immediately followed suit and said, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Don't worry, sir! Officials are officials, and their duties are duties, we all understand!

"Officials may sound nice, but positions are our duty! Our officials are all rewarded by adults, how can we not understand the importance of the job!"

Seeing that they understood what he meant, Yang Zhen said no more. He invited Zu Keyong, who was pretty good at writing with calligraphy, to come over and write. Then he dictated the personal appointment:

"Pan Wenmao! Pan Wenmao is hereby appointed as the commander-in-chief of the advance battalion, and he will be promoted by the advance battalion ammunition factory. He will take office in March of the 12th year of Chongzhen!"

After Yang Zhen said this, Zu Keyong wrote it down and handed it to Yang Zhen.

Pan Wenmao hurriedly stepped forward and knelt in front of Yang Zhen, and then Yang Zhen personally handed over the report of the Ministry of War officer who had not yet dried the ink to Pan Wenmao's hands.

Pan Wenmao took it with great care and took a closer look. He saw that the official official certificate printed on the engraving was clearly printed with two large black characters of "Ministry of War".

Looking further down, I saw the words "Martial Arts Division has been appointed to advance the camp in accordance with Qin's order to march to the east according to Qin's order" written in the first column on the right, with a half-square imprint on the front of the words "Martial Arts Division".

Looking further down, there is the line dictated by Yang Zhen and written by Zu Keyong.

As for the original ammunition depot, which was transformed into the current ammunition factory, he didn't pay much attention to it.

At the end, there are the words "Awarded to this position in March of the twelfth year of Chongzhen".

On the head of the word Chongzhen, there is a large red seal in a square shape, which is the legendary "Seal of the Ministry of War".

The uneven seam on the far left side of the Ministry of War official certificate is also covered with a half-square red mark, and there is also a half-length signature of Chen Xinjia, the Minister of the Ministry of War.

Pan Wenmao took the colorful Ministry of War official report with trembling hands, carefully folded it, hid it in his arms, then bowed to Yang Zhen and said:

"Pan Wenmao thanks you for your promotion!"

Yang Zhen looked at him, nodded at him, and said nothing, because everything was left unsaid.

Next, Yang Zhen successively gave an oral account of Wang Shoutang, the deputy commander of the Iron Works, Wang Shen and his son, the captain of his own army, Yang Zhan'ao, the deputy captain, Yan Shengsan, the right-wing adjutant of the Musketeers, Zhang Guogan, and the adjutant of the Grenadier Corps, Pan.
Chapter completed!