Not long after, the lights in Songshan City came on. Yang Zhen finished inspecting the defense of the north gate, then bid farewell to the supervisory minister Yang Chaojin and others, and returned to the General Military Mansion.

As soon as Yang Zhen came back, Ma Keqing and Li Shouzhong immediately saw the opportunity and reported to Yang Zhen.

"Zu Zerun?! But Zu Zerun, the eldest son of Marshal Zu?"

"Exactly."

"How can you be sure that he is Zu Zerun, the eldest son of Commander Zu?"

"This, Governor, he said this himself, even though he is in a humble position, he doesn't believe it. But another man who calls himself Shen Yongzhong testified to him, saying that he is Zu Zerun."

"Confused, how can they themselves testify to each other? - By the way, where is that Shen Yongzhong?"

Of course, Yang Zhen was no stranger to the name Zu Zerun. He knew that he was Zu Dashou's eldest son, and that he had surrendered to Huang Taiji with Zu Dashou as early as in the Battle of Daling River.

However, Zu Dashou ran back due to various reasons, but Zu Zerun and Zu Zehong, Zu Dashou's other son, were left as hostages, and later became high-ranking officials in the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, when Li Shouzhong mentioned Zu Zerun's name, Yang Zhen immediately knew who he was talking about. Although he had never seen this Zu Zerun, he knew that it was not difficult to confirm this person's identity.

However, he was very unfamiliar with the name Shen Yongzhong. He turned his brain around a few times, but found that he had no impression of this name in his mind.

"Captain, this Shen Yongzhong also said that he is your relative."

"Nonsense, if it's my relative, how can I know nothing about it?"

"No, Governor, he is not a relative on your side, but a relative on Madam's side. He said that he is Madam's cousin, and Madam's natal family is his aunt's family. His aunt is your mother-in-law, Governor."

"What are you talking about? Wait, Li Shouzhong, you said his surname is Shen?! But Mr. Xushun Shen Zhixiang's Shen?!"

Yang Zhen listened to Mrs. Li Shouzhong's short talk and didn't realize who he was talking about for a moment.

When he came to his senses and realized that the lady Li Shouzhong was talking about was his wife Qiu Bihan, Shen Zhixiang's name immediately popped into his mind like a flash of lightning.

Earlier, when Yu Liangtai persuaded him to take the opportunity to cross the sea to Jinzhou and use the marriage relationship to win over Shen Zhixiang to rebel, he had explained to him the relationship between Shen Zhixiang and Qiu Zhentai.

At that time, he regarded Yu Liangtai's suggestion as a fantasy and a completely impossible thing. However, his marriage to Qiu Bihan actually connected him with Shen Zhixiang, but it also left a deep impression on him.

impression.

At the moment, from Li Shouzhong's words, he thought of Xushun Gong Shen Zhixiang. If Shen Yongzhong was related to him, it would make sense.

At this time, Li Shouzhong touched his head and frowned and said: "I heard from the person who claimed to be Zu Zerun that this Shen Yongzhong is the nephew and heir of Shen Zhixiang. As for whether this Shen Zhixiang is the Duke Xushun mentioned by the governor

——”

When Yang Zhen heard this, he suddenly realized that he knew the identity of Shen Yongzhong.

There may be multiple Shen Zhixiangs in this world, but I will never let myself meet another one here.

The Shen Zhixiang who could be told from Li Shouzhong's mouth must be the Manchu Tatar Duke Xushun Shen Zhixiang.

Therefore, he didn't have much patience. When Li Shouzhong continued to explain, he immediately interrupted him, clapped his hands and said with a big smile:

"Okay, okay, okay, it's really hard to find anywhere, it takes no effort to get here! With Shen Yongzhong, the next thing we do will be easier to handle. God helps me, hahahaha——

"

Yang Zhen's performance made Li Shouzhong and Ma Keqing confused. They didn't know what Yang Zhen meant by saying "good", so they couldn't help but look at each other in confusion.

——Is it possible that it is a good thing for the Manchu Tatars to come to surrender?

——Is it possible that the governor in front of me still has the idea of ​​​​surrendering to the Tatars?

Just as the two of them were thinking wildly, Yang Zhen stopped laughing, pondered for a moment, and said to them: "Go quickly, send someone to consult with Zhang Chen and Fang, as well as Deputy General Xia and Deputy General Lu.

Come to the General Military Mansion to discuss matters! Remember, don’t say anything else, just ask them to come to the General Military Mansion!”

After all, the fact that Zu Zerun and Shen Yongzhong entered the city to persuade them to surrender could not be hidden from anyone.

Even if the people in the city were concealed, Huang Taiji, the puppet emperor of the Manchu Tatars, only needed to shoot a letter into the city to expose the matter and cause confusion among the military.

Well, since he couldn't hide it, Yang Zhen simply stopped hiding it and directly called Xia Chengde and Lu Pinqi to intervene.

Asking them to intervene would have at least two benefits. On the one hand, it would allow them to personally identify Zu Zerun's identity, and on the other hand, it would also remove unnecessary suspicion for themselves.

Of course, Yang Zhen himself had no intention of surrendering to the Manchus, but if some of his soldiers mistook him for surrendering due to improper handling, he would be in big trouble.

Therefore, it is definitely not possible to deal with this matter completely privately, but it is also not possible to make it public to a large extent and cause a storm in the city.

Once everyone knows about it, Zu Zerun's identity will never be concealed. In this way, he will be passive.

Shen Yongzhong is just fine. No one knows him. Whether he is killed or detained, the impact will not be big. You can deal with him in any way.

But Zu Zerun was different. His identity was too sensitive. He couldn't be killed, and it was inconvenient to keep him. Even if he was allowed to appear in public in Songshan City, it might cause an uproar.

The rift between the Songshan army and the garrison troops in other cities in western Liaoning was already deep. It would be even more troublesome if Zu Zerun suddenly appeared to persuade his troops to surrender and caused chaos within their own camp.

Zu Dashou originally stepped on two boats, supported his own troops, and bet on both sides. But once Zu Zerun not only survived, but also surrendered to the Manta people, he not only served as a high-ranking official with the Manta people, but also went to Songshan City

When word of the surrender spread, there were only two ways to go before him.

One is the surrender of Kaicheng and the complete surrender of the Manchu Tatar puppet emperor Huang Taiji.

The other is to plead guilty and resign, handing over his duties as the chief military officer of Liaodong Town in the Ming Dynasty.

Which choice would Zu Dashou make, or in other words, which choice would the various generals and leaders of the Zu Family Army ask Zu Dashou to make?

The answer is obvious, there is only the first possibility.

Because Zu Dashou himself knew very well that given his current situation, if he really surrendered his military power and left the Zu Family Army under his command, he would definitely not end well.

But he said that after Yang Zhen passed the order, Zhang Chen and Fang Guangchen arrived quickly.

The two of them knew that Yang Zhen came to see them for something, but Yang Zhen remained silent and it was not convenient for them to ask.

After a while, Xia Chengde and Lu Pinqi arrived one after another.

Seeing that the summoned people had arrived, Yang Zhen said, "I asked you to come here tonight because I want you to accompany me to meet two people."

Having said this, Yang Zhen stood up from his seat and said to Li Shouzhong and Ma Keqing who were standing at the door: "Let's go, you guys lead the way, let's go meet the visitors!"

"Visitors?! Are they the two so-called spies that Li Shouzhong captured in the evening?"

Yang Zhen's words suddenly filled everyone present with suspicion, and they hurriedly followed Yang Zhen to the front yard of the General Military Mansion.

Soon, the group headed by Yang Zhen arrived outside the dungeon in the corner of the west courtyard of the front yard of Songshan General Military Mansion.

Since Yang Zhen moved into Songshan City, the dungeon of the General Military Mansion has never been used, and the west courtyard above the dungeon has been used as the barracks for Yang Zhen's personal troops and the guard team of the General Military Mansion.

After Yang Zhen got married, his soldiers leaders Guo Xiaowu and Ma Keqing, as well as two other servants from the mansion, moved here to live.

Today, Zu Zerun and Shen Yongzhong, who were sent to the General Military Mansion for interrogation by Li Shouzhong in the name of Manchu Tatar patrol sentry, are detained here.

When they arrived here, Zhang Chen, Fang Guangchen, Xia Chengde, and Lu Pinqi suddenly became more certain that Yang Zhen's so-called visitors must be related to the two people brought in from outside the city.

The entrance to the dungeon is inside a vocational room, and Guo Xiaowu is waiting at the door of the vocational room with a torch.

When Yang Zhen and his entourage arrived, Guo Xiaowu saw the ceremony, held a torch and led the way, leading everyone down the steps in the office room into the dungeon.

The originally dark dungeon suddenly became brightly lit with the arrival of Yang Zhen and others. The only two prisoners in the dungeon with their hands tied behind their backs immediately entered Yang Zhen's field of vision.

Their attire is similar, with money rat tails on their heads and full robes. Only one is a little older, about forty years old, and the other looks much younger, probably in his early twenties.

When these two people saw so many people suddenly descending from the dungeon, they immediately stood up from the ground behind the wooden fence, pretending to be calm and looking at Yang Zhen and others.

"Zu——, Deputy General Zu! Are you Deputy General Zu Zerun?!"

Before Yang Zhen had time to ask questions, Xia Chengde who was following him had already obtained a torch at some point, held it up and looked at the two people, and then screamed in surprise.

"What?! Deputy General Xia, what did you say?!"

Xia Chengde recognized Zu Zerun as soon as he came up, but his scream immediately made several other people pale in fright, and Fang Guangchen even screamed after him.

It's just that Fang Guangchen didn't recognize Zu Zerun. After hearing Xia Chengde's exclamation, he asked aloud while looking at Yang Zhen's face, hoping to see some clues.

Yang Zhen, on the other hand, just watched everyone's reactions with interest, listened to their screams and inquiries, and did not speak to them at all, nor did he have any reaction.

At this time, Lu Pinqi, who was also surprised, also took a torch and held it up to the faces of Zu Zerun and Shen Yongzhong through the wooden fence in the dungeon. They looked carefully at the faces of Zu Zerun and Shen Yongzhong before finally locking their eyes.

On the older person.

"It is indeed your Lieutenant General Zu! I didn't expect that the rumors in the army turned out to be true. Lieutenant General Zu, you did not die in the Daling River!"

Eight years have passed. Apart from the fact that his hair is now shaved and braided, and his attire is different, Zu Zerun’s eyebrows, cheekbones, face shape, facial features, body appearance, and demeanor have not changed much.
Chapter completed!