The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

"Excellent! Very good! No one deserted! I, Yang Zhen, have always sincerely treated you all as family, as brothers, and you are fully worthy of that!"

Fortunately, no one quit in the end, which greatly encouraged Yang Zhen. He only had this many people under him, and if another batch left at this time, he would be finished.

"The time and route for heading north have been determined! We will set off by boat on the fourth day of the third month! I have also obtained a written order from the governor, and the imperial supervisor of funds will allocate a sum of money for our back pay and the funds for our departure based on the number of people!"

"I, Yang Zhen, will not take a single penny of this silver! Furthermore, everyone below me, regardless of rank or status, will receive it equally per head! In the next two days, anyone in Ningyuan City who has any unfulfilled wishes or personal matters to attend to can request leave from their superior, and the superior should grant them leave in all cases!"

They are about to set off, and many of them may never return, dying at the foot of Songshan City. Yang Zhen does not want these people to have any worries or unfulfilled wishes after they go to sea.

Yang Zhen now knows from Zhang Degui and others that he has a younger brother named Yang Jie in this chaotic world.

However, Yang Jie was adopted by Yang Zhen's uncle, Yang Guozhu, several years ago, and is currently in Yang Guozhu's army, always by Yang Guozhu's side.

Besides, Yang Zhen had long been all alone. His father died in a battle with the Tartars, and his mother chose to hang herself when Guangning fell to avoid being humiliated by the Tartars.

Yang Zhen's wife and daughters had long been displaced and died in the frequent wars in Liaodong.

Although Yang Zhen himself has no family left in Ningyuan, he might have some relatives and friends among his subordinates in the city.

Yang Zhen's actions deeply moved many of his subordinates, who realized that their superior, Yang Zhen, truly cared for them and put himself in their shoes.

"The second thing is the establishment of the advance detachment! As everyone knows, Governor Fang personally inscribed the name of the Ningyuan Advance Detachment for us! From now on, we will be called the Ningyuan Advance Detachment!"

"This advance battalion is currently a provisional unit, including the commander-in-chief's central army of one hundred iron cavalry and three hundred Mongol light cavalry! In the future, they may return to their respective headquarters, but the banner of the advance battalion will always belong to us!"

"For ease of command, I have been ordered by the Governor to reorganize our less than two hundred brothers into three teams! The first is the musketeer team! The second is the artillery team! The third is the grenadier team!"

"Now, everyone has their own place! Today, we have gathered everyone together not only to formally clarify their respective affiliations, but also to identify the commanders and adjutants of each team!"

"The commander of the musketeer unit will be Yang Zhen himself! The commander of the artillery unit will be Zhang Degui, the guerrilla commander of the advance battalion! The commander of the grenadier unit will be Li Lu, the commander of the advance battalion!"

Without hesitation, Yang Zhen appointed his right-hand men as the commanders of the artillery and grenadier teams of the advance battalion. His words were firm, decisive, and resolute, and the more than 180 men in the three square formations below remained silent.

Zhang Degui and Li Lu already knew about Yang Zhen's appointment, so as soon as Yang Zhen finished speaking, the two of them knelt down on one knee, clasped their hands, and accepted the order.

Yang Zhen stepped forward and helped the two men up, then addressed the standing crowd: "The commanders of each team have been chosen! But I haven't decided on the adjutants yet! I've gathered everyone here today to hear your opinions!"

Yang Zhen's actions surprised everyone present, especially Zhang Degui and Li Lu.

These two men had just heard Yang Zhen mention the term "adjutant" and were still unclear about what was going on, because Yang Zhen had not told them about it beforehand, and their opinions had not been sought in advance regarding the selection of adjutants for each team.

The two men wanted to stop Yang Zhen from speaking, but they couldn't do so in public. So they watched Yang Zhen nervously, afraid that he would cause some unexpected trouble.

While Zhang Degui and Li Lu were tense, the three small square formations standing there stirred up another commotion—when had the camp ever consulted their opinions on military appointments!

"You have no doubt! You know your own comrades best! If you think there is one person around you who is brave and resourceful on the battlefield, or who has killed the most Tartars, and whom you admire most and are willing to follow his orders, then stand up and recommend him! No matter how humble he was before, as long as no one objects, or if most people agree, I will appoint him immediately!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking, it was clear that the crowd in front of him was getting restless, which was exactly what he wanted to see.

Since the Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion was a provisional unit, it essentially gave him the opportunity to build an army according to his own ideas. Since it was a provisional unit, even if it was a bit sensational, no one could say anything about it.

Yang Zhen ignored the commotion among the three teams in front of him, and simply watched them whisper with a smile.

Yang Zhen looked at the faces of the people standing in the first row one by one. When his gaze fell on Zhang Guogan's face, he saw Zhang Guogan suddenly take a step forward and step out of the line.

At this moment, Yang Zhen was overjoyed and was about to speak when he heard Zhang Degui roar, "Zhang Guogan, what trouble are you causing now! Get back to the ranks!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guogan blushed deeply and stood there, unsure whether he should step back. He simply stared at Yang Zhen without saying a word.

Seeing that Zhang Guogan was standing still, and that Zhang Degui was about to berate his nephew again, Yang Zhen immediately grabbed Zhang Degui to stop him from speaking, and then said to Zhang Guogan:

Are you recommending someone else, or are you recommending yourself?

Zhang Guogan's actions had now attracted the attention of everyone present, and the 180-plus people fell silent once again.

"Sir! I'm from the musketeers! Since we're the musketeers, surely being proficient in firearms and accurate marksmanship is more important than being skilled in archery and horsemanship!"

After saying this, Zhang Guogan did not back down, but quietly waited for Yang Zhen's reply.

"You're right! The adjutant of the musketeer corps should be an outstanding marksman and proficient in firearms and musket tactics! Even if his archery and horsemanship are mediocre, as long as he is proficient in firearms, it's perfectly acceptable!"

At this point, Yang Zhen continued, "Zhang Guogan! In terms of musket tactics, do you have anyone around you whom you admire? Will you recommend yourself, or will you recommend someone else?"

"Recommend someone else?! Grandma!"

Zhang Guogan muttered to himself, but loudly proclaimed, "Since you say so, sir, when it comes to the superb marksmanship and mastery of firearms in the army, I, Zhang Guogan, dare to boast that I am second to none!"

Judging from the large scar on Zhang Guogan's right cheek, Yang Zhenguang could intuition tell that the kid must have been trained with firearms.

After listening to Zhang Guogan's words, Yang Zhen looked at the other musketeer soldiers standing in neat rows and asked loudly, "How has Zhang Guogan usually performed? Is what he said true?"

Seeing that many soldiers in the musketeer corps were nodding repeatedly, but no one stepped forward to give a clear answer, Yang Zhen asked again, "Is there anyone who can recommend someone else, or volunteer themselves?"

At this moment, a man suddenly stepped out from the end of the third platoon of the musketeers. He was not very tall, but he was burly and strong, with a dark face, a square face, a bulbous nose, and a short beard like needles on his chin. He looked very strong.

The man strolled forward and stood beside Zhang Guogan, then said, "My lord! This humble servant, Zhang Chen, is also willing to recommend myself!"

"Zhang Chen! What are you doing causing trouble for me?! You're just a night scout; how many more Tartars have you killed than me? But when it comes to shooting with a musket, who has a better chance of winning? Don't you have any self-awareness? I've already volunteered, and you're still trying to compete with me? My lord—"

When Zhang Guogan saw his old rival Zhang Chen, who was dissatisfied with him, stand up and argue with him, he became a little anxious. He spoke these words very quickly. Just as he was about to speak to Yang Zhen, he saw that Yang Zhen looked unhappy and stopped talking immediately after saying "Sir".

Yang Zhen was a few years older than Zhang Guogan, but they had grown up together since childhood.

Yang Zhen's background was undoubtedly superior to Zhang Guogan's. In addition, Yang Zhen's archery, horsemanship, and bravery were far superior to Zhang Guogan's.

Therefore, although Zhang Guogan was proud of his proficiency with firearms, deep down he both admired and feared Yang Zhen. When he saw Yang Zhen was unhappy, he immediately became anxious and dared not say anything.

Seeing that he had shut up, Yang Zhen didn't waste any more words with him and looked directly at Zhang Chen, saying, "Zhang Chen, what's your opinion on what Zhang Guogan said?"