The next day, Xue Ding gathered the Ningguan cavalry together early in the morning.
More than 50,000 Ningguan cavalry gathered on the Ningguan City campus. Although there were no horses, the campus was still packed.
Xue Zheng was not wearing armor, but was wearing a white suit and walked up to the general stage. When all the soldiers saw Xue Zheng coming to the stage, solemn expressions appeared on their faces, and the audience was completely silent.
Xue Ding did not speak immediately. He knelt down on one knee with a sullen face and performed a military salute in the direction of everyone.
All the soldiers were in an uproar and knelt down in unison.
Xue Ding glanced at the audience and said with a sad look on his face: "My sons, I, Xue Ding, led 30,000 cavalry that day to go on an expedition. I will be lucky enough to come back now, but many people have stayed outside Beidou City forever. This is my responsibility. They fight with unparalleled bravery and are all heroes of our Ningguan City!"
"I just came back from Beidou City. The general has tried his best in this battle. Although we suffered heavy losses, we killed many Qing and barbarians several times our own. We did not lose this battle!" One of the soldiers was injured. The soldier with his head wrapped in gauze stood up and said excitedly.
After saying this, the man knelt down again.
"The last general also came back from Beidou City. It is an honor for us to go out with the general. General, there is no need to blame yourself!" A general who was missing an arm knelt down and shouted. His broken arm had been bandaged and covered with gauze. It's red and looks a little scary.
"Me too, none of those dead Pao Ze were cowards! I just wish I didn't kill more enemies!"
Such speeches came one after another, and both the soldiers who returned and those who stayed behind were very excited.
"We who follow the general have put life and death aside for a long time. No matter who follows the general on the expedition, it is the same. Once you enter Ningguan, your soul will be in Ningguan for the rest of your life!" A general standing in the front row shouted loudly.
"Once you enter Ningguan, your soul will be in Ningguan forever!"
…
All the soldiers shouted loudly together, and the shouts were loud.
Xue Ding still had a sullen face. He stood up slowly, and then shouted: "All officers and soldiers listen to the order and stand up!"
The soldiers immediately stood up after hearing the words. Xue Ding's words were military orders, and no one dared to disobey them.
"Today, Taichu is in danger. Ningguan City will be in crisis at any time, but I am running out of gas and will die at any time. If I am not here, are you willing to continue to advance and retreat with me, Ningguan City?" Xue Ding His tone was majestic with a hint of desolation.
Everyone was shocked, and everyone looked in disbelief.
No one dared to say anything at this time. A general with a high official position in the army stood up and said: "The general is very active now, how can he die?"
"I will not joke about matters of life and death. My death is a foregone conclusion. If you don't want to stay, you can leave now!" Xue Ding said seriously.
The crowd was silent, and no one chose to leave.
The general who just spoke spoke again: "Ningguan City is our home. Even if the general is away, we will not abandon Ningguan City. My king, Dian, is willing to live and die with Ningguan!"
"We are willing to live and die with Ningguan!"
…
Everyone knelt down on one knee again, and everyone solemnly performed a military salute.
Xue Ding nodded with satisfaction and said: "As expected of me, Xue Ding's son!"
He paused and continued: "Now the Taichu imperial court has too much time to take care of itself. I will not avoid relatives when I recommend talents. After my death, my son Xue Kai will succeed as the guard general of Ningguan. Do you have any opinions?"
"We are willing to swear allegiance to the Major General to the death!" A voice soon came from the crowd.
Then words of allegiance came one after another. Under Xue Ding's deliberate cultivation, Xue Kai's prestige among the Ningguan army was also extremely high. Naturally, no one objected to him becoming the guard general of Ningguan.
"In that case, Kai'er, you will be the guard general of Ningguan from now on. After your father dies, Ningguan City will be handed over to you!" Xue Ding looked at Xue Kai and said solemnly.
Xue Kai immediately knelt down and saluted and said excitedly: "My child will live up to his father's trust, live up to the trust of his lords, and swear to protect Ningguan City to the death!"
Xue Ding looked away from Xue Kai, glanced at the soldiers and said: "I have three more things to announce, Zheng Lin, Shan, you two come up!"
After hearing this, Yang Zhenglin and Er Zhuang walked up to the zero general stage. Yang Zhenglin was feeling better, but Er Zhuang was still hungover and was walking a little frivolously.
"These two, Yang Zhenglin and Zhou Shan, have been adopted as adopted sons by this general. From now on, they will be members of my Xue family!" Xue Ding pointed at the two of them.
The soldiers present looked at the two men with different expressions, some were confused, some were envious, some were jealous, and some were disdainful.
"Zheng Lin is an old man in our army. Many of you should know him. Shan was rescued by me during this expedition. Almost all his family was killed by the Qing and barbarians. If there had been no Shan in the battle of Beidou City, we would have Xue Ding is already a dead man..." Xue Ding introduced.
"Isn't that guy Yang Zhenglin just a military doctor? How can He De become the adopted son of the general?"
"That man named Zhou Shan is just an outsider, but he was actually adopted by the general as his adopted son. I'm jealous of him."
"The general has not had any adopted sons in so many years. This is preparing for the future. These two will definitely be the most influential figures in our Ningguan City in the future!"
"I don't know if this guy appears out of nowhere. Isn't the general so afraid of chilling everyone's hearts?"
"This is the general's family matter. Why are you feeling so cold? I think you are just nakedly jealous!"
There were whispers in the crowd and everyone was talking about it.
"Quiet! If you have any objections, please contact me directly! I'm not dead yet!" Xue Ding frowned and said, all the oppression of his grandmaster realm was gone, making people feel extremely chilling.
The soldiers immediately shut their mouths, and the scene suddenly became quiet.
"There are two more things. First, Shan will join our Ningguan Cavalry from today on. Those who survived from Beidou City should know Shan's skills. With Shan joining us, our Ningguan Cavalry will be even more powerful!" Xue Ding walked to the second floor. Zhuang patted his shoulder and said.
"Is the general's statement true?" Someone immediately started asking.
The soldier who participated in the battle in Beidou City solemnly said: "This brother is at least in the late Jinjing realm. His sword skills are weird and unpredictable. I have seen him take action with my own eyes. He is extremely powerful!"
Many of these conversations were held in secret. After everyone knew how powerful Erzhuang was, they questioned him a lot. The military worships the strong, and this applies everywhere.
This time Xue Ding ignored the discussion below and continued: "I will announce the appointment of Yang Zhenglin as the Deputy Commander of Military Quartermaster! Responsible for managing the military doctors of the entire army."
The entire army was dumbfounded, not because Yang Zhenglin's new official position was so high, but because the entire army had never had a deputy commander of quartermaster.
This was an official position tailor-made for Yang Zhenglin, and it was evident that Xue Ding valued him.
Xue Ding also patted Yang Zhenglin on the shoulder and said: "Work hard, Ningguan's future is yours!"
Yang Zhenglin excitedly cupped his hands and said, "Zheng Lin will definitely live up to his adoptive father's love!"
Xue Ding turned around and looked at a general who was about the same age as him in the audience and said with a smile: "Youming, Zheng Lin will be left to you. Train him well. You don't have to give brother Wei face!"
The general named Youming, who was over fifty years old, was named Xu Youming. He was the commander of the Ningguan Cavalry. He was only slightly older than Xue Ding. Don't worry and leave the logistical matters to him.
Xu Youming is a key factor in Xue Ding being able to safely leave Xue Kai to defend the city. With Xu Youming watching over Xue Kai, there won't be any big problems in Ningguan. Xue Kai respects this uncle very much.
Xu Youming smiled with a understanding expression: "General, don't worry, I have long wanted to deal with this guy."
"That's good, haha." Xue Ding smiled, without caring about Yang Zhenglin's feelings.
Yang Zhenglin looked confused. Isn't it a good training? Why did it become a tidy up...
"That's all I want. If everyone has no objections, let's leave. Xue will go there to enjoy his happiness first!" Xue Ding smiled freely and left the Ling Jiang Platform.
The soldiers still couldn't connect this lively general with a dying man, and they dispersed with extremely complicated emotions.
Xue Ding disappeared after leaving. Even Xue Kai didn't know where he went. He had just assumed the position of general and had too many things to be busy with, so he had to send Ran Chu to look for him, but he couldn't find him.
Xue Ding's disappearance has cast a haze on the General's Mansion. Only the young Xue Ninguan is not affected. Since Zhou Lin came to the General's Mansion, this guy has been teasing Zhou Lin whenever he can. This makes him responsible for taking care of Zhou Lin. Lin's maid was worried, fearing that something might go wrong between the two ancestors.
However, Zhou Lin liked to play with Ning Guan very much. He couldn't stop giggling when he saw how big his brother was. The harmony between the two was even worse than that of their biological brothers.
At noon on the second day, Xue Ding returned to the General's Mansion, and several carts of things came with him.
They were a huge number of wooden swords and armors, almost as big as those used by adults, and even Zhou Lin's size could fit through them.
Upon hearing Xue Ding's return, Xue Kai, Er Zhuang, and Yang Zhenglin all ran to the door to greet him.
"Dad, where did you go that day? My son sent people to search and couldn't find you." Xue Kai said with a worried look.
Xue Ding smiled and said: "Why do you want me? I went to find a good carpenter's workshop nearby for my father and ordered some things."
Xue Kai looked at the carts of armor with confusion and asked, "Are these armors? What are they used for?"
Xue Ding also looked back at his masterpiece and said with a smile: "This is a gift from my father to the three of you. To be precise, it is for your descendants."
Xue Kai seemed to understand something. He suddenly felt sad and had no words.
"There are three sets of armor and swords here. Each set can play with a child from childhood to adulthood. Ning Guan and Zhou Lin can play with it now. Zheng Lin, you brother, you have to work harder. This is a good thing for a father. Things must not be covered with dust!" Xue Ding said proudly.
The three of them were very moved when they heard this.
Xue Ding smiled and said: "There are still good things!"
At this moment, three more carriages came from the other end of the street. Each carriage had a large cage, but the contents of the cage were very strange.
A general was riding a horse in front of the carriage. It was Xu Youming, the military commander of Ningguancheng.
"My nephew has met Uncle Xu." Xue Kai took the lead and said that this was not a formal occasion. Xue Kai, the gatekeeper of Ning Gate, gave Xu Youming the courtesy of a junior.
"General, I have met Captain Xu!"
"Zhou Shan has met Lord Captain!"
Erzhuang and the others also immediately saluted. Xue Kai addressed himself as a junior, so naturally they couldn't lose their etiquette.
Xu Youming smiled with satisfaction and said: "We are all members of the family, so there is no need to be polite. After Kai became a general, he can still remember his uncle, which is good!"
"Uncle Xu, please stop teasing your nephew, Xue Kai has to call you uncle no matter what!" Xue Kai also said with a smile, obviously the two have a good relationship.
At this time, Xue Ding stepped forward and said, "Youming, have you all found him? Is he a good product?"
Xu Youming said with an annoyed look on his face: "The general is so majestic. If you want it, your brother is in charge of logistics, not a god!"
Xue Ding's expression changed and he said, "Didn't get it? Then what is this?" Then he jumped onto the carriage and observed carefully.
"You're lucky, you have such a good Yingzhou tiger cub, which is a rare commodity. You asked me to get three of them at once!" Xu Youming said proudly.
Xue Ding had already seen the tiger in the cage clearly, and the tiger was baring its teeth and cracking its mouth at him.
He smiled with satisfaction and said: "It's really a good product, haha. You three have one for each. Once you've been tamed, you can play with the children and serve as mounts for the children when they grow up!"
"Dad!" Xue Kai shouted excitedly, but he choked and said nothing more.
"Thank you, foster father!" The two foreigners were also very moved, but their words were still okay. They bowed to Xue Ding.
Although they are not biological fathers and these gifts are not actually given to them, they still feel the mountain of fatherly love.
