The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Zhang Chen was not tall, and standing in front of Yang Zhen, he was noticeably shorter. However, he had a straight back and a commanding presence, clearly someone who had been through many battles and was very calm and confident.

"Zhang Guogan's nickname in the army is 'Chatterbox Zhang,' and aside from the fact that his mouth is indeed a bit talkative and foul, everything else he says is true! When it comes to firearms, especially muskets or other firearms, he ranks first under your command, sir, and I truly admire that!"

Zhang Chen's humble yet assertive attitude impressed Yang Zhen, and his words secretly pleased Yang Zhen as well.

It seems that the veterans under Yang Zhen's command have survived so many battles and are still alive today for good reason!

Yang Zhen's current concern is that his men are all old fogies, mediocre in archery and horsemanship, and disdainful of firearms, unwilling to use them. If that's the case, it will be troublesome.

Since I have men who are skilled with firearms, things will be much easier.

As Yang Zhen's mind raced, he heard Zhang Chen continue, "However—in terms of the number of Tartars killed, and in terms of the ability to command respect, this humble official is second to none!"

After saying this, without waiting for Yang Zhen's reaction, Zhang Chen continued, "This time, Your Excellency led us north to rescue Songshan, which was extremely dangerous! Although Your Excellency's decision to take the sea route was unexpected, even so, the Tartars must be heavily besieging Songshan now. To break through or escape in the future, relying solely on superior firearms is probably not enough; one cannot fight against so many! When facing the Tartars, the brave will prevail! If one hesitates, there will be no place to bury the dead!"

"This humble servant volunteered not only for the sake of the lord, but also for the sake of the brothers, and even more so for the sake of myself! The lord's decision to change past tactics and re-emphasize firearms shows that firearms are of great importance to us on this mission!"

"Actually, I don't want this position! I have no objection to Zhang Guogan's personal skill with firearms, but a musket unit equipped with Lumi guns is no less important than an artillery unit. I worry that if Zhang Guogan makes a mistake in command, we will be doomed!"

Yang Zhenneng could tell that Zhang Chen's words were sincere and not just a personal argument, so he turned to Zhang Degui and Li Lu, meaning to ask for their opinions.

What Yang Zhen is most gratified about now is that he has the physical qualities of the original Yang Zhen, but what he regrets most is that he has lost the memories of the original Yang Zhen, so much so that he has no understanding of the people under his command.

Fortunately, his right-hand men, Zhang Degui and Li Lu, were people he could fully trust.

Zhang Degui and Li Lu had already discerned Yang Zhen's true intentions. This trip north was not an ordinary one; it was truly fraught with peril. If they didn't promote capable people now, they might never have another chance.

The two men exchanged a glance, then nodded firmly at Yang Zhen.

That means that what Zhang Guogan said was basically true, and what Zhang Chen said was not unfounded either.

Although neither Zhang Degui nor Li Lu spoke, Yang Zhen understood their meaning. After hesitating for a moment, he said loudly:

"In that case, I will divide the musketeer unit into left and right wings! I appoint Zhang Chen as the adjutant of the left wing! I appoint Zhang Guogan as the adjutant of the right wing! Each musketeer will lead twenty musketeers! The musketeer unit's flag will be in the possession of Zhang Chen, the adjutant of the left wing!"

After saying this, Yang Zhen turned around and took the musket team flag from Yang Zhan'ao, who was standing beside him. He held it with both hands and looked at Zhang Chen and Zhang Guogan.

Zhang Chen and Zhang Guogan were caught off guard by this outcome. They exchanged a glance, then quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and loudly proclaimed, "Your humble servant obeys!"

Yang Zhen, holding the musketeer squad flag, walked to Zhang Chen, who was kneeling on the ground, and said to him, "Zhang Chen! I know you have always been brave in battle and highly respected, but I didn't know you are also proficient in firearms and skilled in using muskets. Today, you and Zhang Guogan will lead the left and right wings of the musketeer squad respectively. You are entrusted with the safekeeping of the musketeer squad flag; you should know the weight of your responsibility!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen's expression turned grave, even more serious than before. He clearly understood Yang Zhen's words, knowing that the musketeer team was being handed over to him. Without further ado, he replied, "This subordinate understands!"

Immediately afterwards, Yang Zhen solemnly handed the musketeer team flag he was holding to Zhang Chen, and then helped him up.

Then, Yang Zhen turned to Zhang Guogan, helped him up, and said to him, "Zhang Guogan—you were dismissed from your post for violating military law by speaking out about important court affairs. Your arrival in Ningyuan with me is to atone for your sins. I have long heard of your expertise in musket shooting, and today I appoint you as the right-wing adjutant of the musket unit precisely because I rely on you. I hope you will make the most of your strengths and overcome your weaknesses, and quickly achieve merit!"

After Yang Zhen learned that Zhang Guogan was Zhang Degui's nephew, he immediately realized that Zhang Guogan was his childhood friend and a playmate who had grown up together.

Therefore, when he looked at Zhang Guogan's face, which had been disfigured by the gunshot, he spoke these words with great earnestness.

Zhang Guogan understood the implication in those words. Usually a chatterbox, he didn't say anything this time, but simply nodded emphatically.

Aside from feeling a little annoyed that Zhang Chen had surpassed him to become the left-wing adjutant, he didn't have much to say.

In the winter of the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign, after the Battle of Julu, Zhang Guogan and Yang Zhen fought desperately to break out of the siege, only to be falsely accused by the eunuch Gao Qiqian in the court of deserting. Those who had finally managed to break out were imprisoned again.

During this process, Zhang Guogan couldn't control his tongue and publicly denounced Gao Qiqian as unrighteous and childless. As a result, he was exposed and soon suffered retaliation. His hereditary and military posts, such as "Trial Hundred-Household Officer" of Guangning Houtunwei and "Camp Thousand-Head" under Yang Zhen, were completely removed.

Later, he followed Yang Zhen and was rescued from prison by Yang Zhen's uncle, Yang Guozhu. He then came to Ningyuan Army as a common soldier to redeem himself.

Although he was a reckless person, he knew that Yang Zhen was taking a certain risk by giving him important responsibilities at this time, since that dead eunuch Gao Qiqian was still the General Commander of Liaodong.

And Zhang Chen, he also knew that the other party wasn't giving him away for nothing.

Although Zhang Chen was born into an ordinary military household and had no hereditary official position, he was older and more experienced than Yang Zhen. He had served as a night scout in the Yizhou border army and was once a garrison officer highly valued by Yang Zhen's uncle, Yang Guozhu. However, he was dismissed from his post for losing his garrison and ended up working under Yang Zhen in hopes of regaining his former status.

If we're only talking about skill with firearms, Zhang Chen might not be as good as me, but in every other aspect, he's probably better than me in every way. Having shared meals with him for so long, how could Zhang Guogan not know this?

So he really couldn't say anything about the result.

Yang Zhen's method of selecting the left and right wing adjutants of the musketeer team made it clear to everyone on the small training ground that the military positions in the Provisional Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion, especially those in the musketeer team, artillery team, and grenadier team, were no longer determined by background, but by merit.

Whoever can win the hearts of the people will be the leader.

Therefore, after the adjutants for the left and right flanks of the musketeers were determined, the adjutants for the artillery and grenadier corps were quickly selected.

Similar to the temporary division of the musketeers into left and right wings, the artillery and grenadier units were also divided into left and right wings.

The adjutant on the left wing of the artillery unit was none other than the experienced and prudent veteran Pan Wenmao, who had once been in charge of gunpowder affairs for the Guangning Houtunwei. The adjutant on the right wing was Yang Shen, a young but highly regarded current commander-in-chief, who was quite favored by Zhang Degui.

This Yang Shen was a distant relative of the Yang family of Houtunwei in Guangning, and could be considered a member of the same clan as Yang Zhen.

The Yang family settled in Liaodong in the early Ming Dynasty, more than two hundred years ago, and has since spread to countless branches. Yang Zhen and Yang Shen are already beyond the fifth degree of kinship. They are relatives, but no one can say for sure.

Yang Shen, on the other hand, was quite principled. He never tried to curry favor with Yang Zhen or Yang Zhen's uncle, Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu. From the age of fourteen or fifteen when he enlisted in the army, he relied on his military merits to rise step by step to the rank of battalion commander.

Currently, Yang Zhenjun's only two tiger-squatting cannons, which are merely for show, are under his command, and he is highly regarded by Zhang Degui.

This time, Yang Zhen persuaded Governor Fang Yizao to set up a temporary Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion, and then set up an artillery unit in the battalion in a grand manner. Zhang Degui naturally thought of asking Yang Shen, whom he knew well, to help him command the artillery unit.

Zhang Degui had no idea that Yang Zhen would arrange something like this in the end. Under the public election, the mature and steady Pan Wenmao won the support of the soldiers, and the words he said when suppressing the soldiers' unrest were also approved by Yang Zhen.

Thus, Pan Wenmao unexpectedly became the adjutant on the left wing of the artillery unit, while Yang Shen became the adjutant on the right wing.