Yang Zhen rode his horse to the north gate and asked Zhong Ling to go and summon Zhang Chen to see him. Then he asked Zhang Chen to light up a group of veterans of the musketeers, and everyone mounted their horses and followed him out of the north of the city.

The heavy rain in early July has become a thing of the past. After the stone arch bridge on Xiaosha River was destroyed by floods, a simple pontoon bridge has been built on the river.

Zhang Degui once proposed to build a solid stone arch bridge to facilitate the transportation of ore from Luhong Mountain and lead and iron materials smelted on-site at Heishigang into the city, but Yang Zhen rejected it.

The result was a simple pontoon bridge built with old boats, iron chains and wooden boards connected in series.

When Yang Zhen led a hundred men and horses to the pontoon bridge at lightning speed, he saw a group of men and horses on the other side of the river slowly walking towards the pontoon bridge under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Walking in front was a group of heavily armed knights, and behind was a group of more than a dozen mules and horses.

"Hehe, this gift from Marshal Zu is quite heavy. There are twelve carts in a row. If they are all filled with silver, darling, you must have one hundred and eighty thousand taels, right?"

Zhang Chen followed Yang Zhen to the end of the pontoon bridge. He put his feet on the stirrups and put up a pergola with his hands. He looked north for a while, then sat back on the saddle and said to Yang Zhen with a smile.

As soon as Zhang Chen said these words, the veterans of the Musketeers took a breath and imitated him one after another. They stood up with their feet in stirrups and looked across the river. For a while, there were whispers and discussions from left to right.

It was with a sense of joy, as if the carts of the team were really loaded with silver, and that the silver would become their own.

Yang Zhen was very tolerant of the surviving veterans of the temporary Ningyuan Advance Battalion, and these veterans knew this very well.

Therefore, even though Yang Zhen is now the chief garrison officer who wears the seal of the former general who conquered the East, and the governor of the Zuo Army Governor's Mansion, the veterans under him still seem quite casual in front of him and do not treat him at all.

Not afraid.

Of course, Yang Zhen has long been accustomed to this. At the same time, he doesn't want to distance himself from these veterans, so he doesn't care.

While the soldiers around them were whispering and laughing, the people and horses on the other side of the river were getting closer and closer, and the team at the front obviously saw Yang Zhen and his party, and then they galloped towards them.

In the blink of an eye, the team of people arrived at the other end of the bridge across the river. Yang Zhen looked intently across the pontoon, and the leader was Zu Keyong.

"Captain, Commander Zu is right behind!"

Zu Keyong took the lead and crossed the pontoon, came to Yang Zhen's side and stopped. He first reported Zu Dashou's location to Yang Zhen, and then continued:

"Bizhi went to Jinzhou City early in the morning, and soon met Marshal Zu. He presented the Governor's wedding invitation to the Marshal in person and explained the reason for today. However, the Marshal only asked Beizhi to wait patiently in the city. It was not until after noon that he

At that time, I was told that I was humble enough to come to Songshan City in person to congratulate the Governor!"

After Zu Keyong said these words, he turned to look at the sky in the west. His face was full of melancholy for a moment, and finally said: "I have kept the governor waiting for a long time. I hope I didn't delay the governor's happy event, otherwise the humble heart will be really——"

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, nothing is delayed. Brother Zu, you don't have to feel bad!"

Yang Zhen saw Zu Keyong's gloomy and annoyed look at the end, and immediately interrupted him. He first told him that it was okay, and then asked him:

"You asked someone to deliver a message, saying that Marshal Zu brought two strangers with him on his trip. Do you have anything new to tell me now?"

"Well, I'm really ashamed of myself. I didn't get any useful information from you. The commander-in-chief treated the two people aloof. He seemed to be very disdainful, but sometimes he also valued them. He specially sent people to accompany him. I was following the commander-in-chief.

Although he is in the team, he is out of reach!"

When Yang Zhen heard Zu Keyong's words, he felt more confident, and then nodded. Seeing that Zu Dashou and his party were approaching, he said to everyone:

"Let's go, let's cross the bridge together to greet our ancestors!"

Yang Zhen led the men and horses across the pontoon bridge, and Zu Dashou happened to be the first to reach the river bank.

"Hehehe, Mr. Yang, Mr. Yang, today is your special day. I came a little late because of something, but I have to trouble you, the groom, to leave the bride behind and come out of the city to welcome her in person. It's really annoying, it's annoying!

"

After the last secret conversation on Xiaohongluo Mountain, Zu Dashou had a new understanding of Yang Zhen. When they meet again now, it will be different from before.

Besides, Yang Zhen is now the commander-in-chief of the former general who conquered Liaodong, and his status as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong general, who was appointed by the imperial court, is already equivalent in name. At this time, in front of the generals of both sides,

The affection that should be given should still be given.

It's just that although Zu Dashou's words were polite, no matter how Yang Zhen listened, he felt that there was an indescribable strange smell in them.

"Don't, don't, don't, my nephew really doesn't deserve to be called the Commander-in-Chief. Looking at the whole Shanhaiguan, the only one who can be called the Commander-in-Chief is you! How much does the nephew have? Maybe the capital court will

I don’t know, but my nephew knows it in his heart, so the commander-in-chief should call him by his first name to make him feel at ease!"

When Yang Zhen met Zu Dashou, of course he couldn't rely on him. Hearing Zu Dashou call himself Mr. Yang Zhen, he knew in his heart that despite the previous communication and understanding, Zu Dashou still had thoughts about the court's arrangement.

At that moment, he quickly lowered his posture, smiled and denied the title of Zongzhen, got off his horse, and quickly walked forward to lead Zu Dashou's horse.

Zu Dashou saw that Yang Zhen was so low-profile in front of him, and knew that Yang Zhen was very careful about the weight, so he didn't care about it at the moment, and did not further express his dissatisfaction. He just rode on the horse without dismounting, but said expressionlessly

Said to Yang Zhen:

"In that case, let everything continue as usual. - Dear nephew of Han Qing, today is the day for you to marry your step-in-law. As your father's colleague in the past, I can also be regarded as your elder. It would be unreasonable not to come here.

, it doesn’t make sense. So since you’re here, you can’t come empty-handed. I’ve brought you several carts of gifts, so please send someone to take them back!”

As Zu Dashou spoke, he turned to one of the generals beside him and said, "It's getting late. Go call Da Le, and Da Le will come with two men and escort the chariots and horses!"

Yang Zhen followed Zu Dashou's gaze and saw that the tiger general was Han Dong whom he had met in Xiaohongluoshan before. He quickly nodded to the tiger general as a greeting.

When Han Dong turned around and rode away, Yang Zhen looked to the north and saw in the distance the team of carriages and horses that had fallen behind were moving forward creakingly in the mud.

The wilderness between Xiaoling River and Xiasha River was almost completely submerged by water during the continuous heavy rains in early July. The roads that were already in disrepair were of course washed away.

Nowadays, the swollen river water has long subsided, but there are still many large and small water bubbles left in the wilderness. Mud flats are everywhere, and the mud is extremely muddy, making it extremely difficult for vehicles and horses to move.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen said to Zu Dashou: "Since the commander is here, he must go to the city to sit there. My nephew has been looking forward to the commander's arrival for a long time. The wedding wine that the nephew has prepared will not matter to the commander.

You have to have a drink anyway! Zhang Chen, come on, lead the way——"

"Wait a minute! My dear nephew, Han Qing, it's getting late today. I won't be entering Songshan City. You will send someone to bring congratulatory gifts across the bridge in a while. When I come this time, in addition to congratulating you, I have something else.

I want to tell you something."

Zu Dashou first stopped Yang Zhen and interrupted his arrangements. After saying these words, he looked at Yang Zhen again and said slowly:

"My dear nephew, my dear nephew, in June you led people westward to the border area, saying that you were recruiting soldiers from the Xuan Mansion. Did you do anything else while you were in the border area?"

Zu Dashou suddenly asked this question, which shocked Yang Zhen - Zu Dashou already knew? Could it be that someone in Songshan City had tipped off? Or had Zhangjiakou sent someone to contact Zu's family? How did Zhangjiakou know that it was someone?

What about the things you did yourself?

"Why did the commander say this?! Why can't my nephew understand? Besides, this is not the place to talk to the commander. If the commander has anything to say, you'd better go to Songshan City with your nephew. My nephew has already prepared it.

After drinking good wine and good meat, wouldn’t it be nice to eat and chat at the same time?”

"You kid, don't play tricks on me -"

After hearing Yang Zhen's answer, Zu Dashou's eyes widened, his face suddenly darkened, and he became no longer polite. However, halfway through his words, he seemed to realize something. He glanced around and saw that he was beside himself and Yang Zhen.

All the tribesmen were listening attentively. They stopped talking, calmed down their tone, and said to everyone:

"Don't be stuck here anymore. Make way for the convoy to cross the bridge! - Yang Zhen, come with me for a walk. I have something to ask you!"

After Zu Dashou said this, without waiting for Yang Zhen's reply, he immediately turned the horse's head, clamped the horse's belly, and galloped upstream along the Xiaosha River.

After returning from the order, Han Dong, who had been riding his horse to stop beside Zu Dashou, looked at Yang Zhen, then followed the horse with his hands under his belly.

When Yang Zhen saw this, he naturally had no choice. He immediately asked someone to fetch the horse, got on it, and ran in the direction where Zu Dashou was galloping.

Of course, since Zu Dashou was followed from a distance by the guarding general Han Dong, Zhang Chen could not rest assured that Yang Zhen would be in danger alone. He immediately handed over the musketeers to the following Qian Boss Li Shouzhong and rode on his own.
Chapter completed!