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Chapter 1295 Who are you loyal to?
Although Hu Zichen admired Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng very much, during the years he was with Hu Dawei, he was educated in loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, which made him attach great importance to the emperor and the court.

And at this moment he actually heard with his own ears that Zhang Mingyuan, the middle officer of the Earl of Yongning, said, "They are persuading Luo Rucai to surrender to our Yongyi Army."

For a moment, Hu Zichen felt confused!

The former Earl of Yongning was so wise and brave in his eyes. It has been almost four years since the bloody battle of Julu. His admiration for Earl of Yongning Zhang Cheng has been growing with the passage of time.

Back then, Zhang Cheng and he were just captains under the generals of border towns. Even as a captain of the Shanxi general's standard camp, he was also the central officer of the general Hu Dawei, and led the main force of Hu Dawei's direct cavalry.

However, Zhang Cheng was just a captain in the Xuanzhen Affiliated Camp at that time, which was totally incomparable to his position and strength at that time!
But to this day, Hu Zichen has fought diligently on the battlefield, but has only managed to get the title of a guerrilla general, while Zhang Cheng has already become the General of Zhenshuo and the Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu Town. He has also been conferred the title of Earl of Yongning by the current emperor, and the Yongyi Army under his command has expanded to six battalions with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, becoming a well-deserved first-class strong army.

Looking at his current situation, his troops have been reduced from over ten thousand to less than three thousand. The situation is completely different.

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The words Hu Dawei had said to him before were still fresh in his mind, "I am old and useless. You must follow Zhang Cheng wholeheartedly this time and not be half-hearted. We soldiers are most concerned about obeying orders. As long as the Earl of Yongning is not forcing you to rebel against the court, you must follow his orders."

"General Tiger, although we only have these two thousand men left, they are all elite warriors who have fought in hundreds of battles. They have followed you through life and death for many years and are loyal and reliable. As long as you recover from your injuries and get back on your feet, we may be able to revive our past glory."

"Silly Tiger, our number of tens of thousands of people is decreasing, but Zhang Cheng's number is increasing. We are both fighting slaves and killing bandits. Have you ever thought about the reason behind this?"

"It's... it's because the person we followed is not good enough. Yang Wenyue... he is not a good fighter!"

"Hey. You still don't understand the whole thing here. Think about how we raise troops first, and how does Zhang Cheng raise troops?"

"We still rely on the money and food given by the court to support our troops. Could it be that... we can also rely on looting to support our troops like the bandits?"

"If we rely on the money and food given by the court to support the army, why can't our soldiers even have enough food to eat? Zuo Liangyu also relies on killing innocent people for credit and robbing the people to support his troops. How come Zhang Cheng can easily support tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and they are well fed and well-equipped?"

"This... could it be that... Earl Yongning also killed innocent people to take credit for his achievements and robbed the people?"

"Oh, you are such a blockhead, how can you be so stupid?"

After a moment of regret, Hu Dawei said self-deprecatingly, "It's really not your fault. I have been watching you too closely over the years. I only let you lead the troops to fight, but I didn't understand the way of money and food."

"Huzi, how can Zhang Cheng afford so many good soldiers? This is something I have never understood. However, although I am injured now and cannot return to the battlefield to fight for the time being, you and your men cannot sit idle. Just follow what I have agreed with Zhang Cheng. You will lead your men to Xincheng Market tomorrow. When you arrive, don't ask too many questions. Just do whatever Zhang Cheng asks you to do. Everything will be done according to Zhang Cheng's orders."

Hu Zichen responded quietly, but he couldn't help but ask the question in his mind: "What if the Earl of Yongning forces me to rebel against the court?"

"how is this possible?"

Hu Dawei asked back, but then he said: "Huzi, I have been loyal to the emperor and the court all my life. You must remember that you can do anything, but you cannot rebel and ruin the reputation of my Hu family for loyalty."

"You know what?"

Hu Zichen looked at his uncle's determined eyes, nodded heavily, and answered in a firm voice: "Yes. Hu Zi has taken note. Uncle, don't worry, even if Earl Yongning puts a knife to my neck, at most I will give him my head, and I will not follow him to rebel against the court." "Okay. You... go!"

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Now, Hu Zichen couldn't understand why he didn't persuade Luo Rucai to surrender to the court, but instead persuaded him to surrender to the Yongyi Army. What was the story behind this? Or did Earl Yongning really have some ill intentions?

But in just a moment, his confused eyes became clear, and he finally figured out one thing - as long as Earl Yongning had not rebelled against the court, as long as Earl Yongning still led him to kill bandits and slaves, it would be enough!
As for what will happen in the future, the worst that could happen is that I will do as I promised my uncle Hu Dawei and give the head on his neck to Earl Yongning, thus preserving the Hu family's reputation for loyalty.

Hu Zichen was struggling in his heart for a while, and He Zhenxiong, the deputy general of Xuanfu Town Biaoying, was also struggling in his heart.

He Zhenxiong was originally a guerrilla general of the left camp of Xuanfu Town. He was a dignified military officer of the imperial court. Although he defected to Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, during the battle against the bandits in Liaodong, the beliefs in his bones could not be completely changed in a short period of time.

Although after he surrendered to the Earl of Yongning, he had made some contributions on the battlefield in Liaodong, and of course more relied on the connections and background of the Earl of Yongning in the court. Not only did he not stay in Liaodong forever like Yang Guozhu, but he was also promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General as he wished.

Therefore, He Zhenxiong was also a grateful person. He worked very hard in the army. He would unswervingly carry out any military orders given by the Yongning Earl's headquarters, and never make any concessions.

But this does not mean that he has decided to be loyal only to Earl Yongning!
In He Zhenxiong's heart, he has not forgotten the court and the current emperor. His innate loyalty to the emperor and his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty are still deeply rooted in his heart.

Even though he hated the mediocre and corrupt officials in the court and the generals who were afraid of death, he did not hate the current emperor or the glorious Ming Dynasty!

To whom do I owe my allegiance?
Earl of Yongning?
Or the current emperor?

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Although He Zhenxiong was full of questions in his heart, he appeared calm as usual on the surface. After all, he was a former commander of a battalion, and he was able to keep his emotions hidden.

However, he is different from Hu Zichen. Although he also has a loyal heart and patriotic heart, since he joined the army of Earl Yongning, his horizons have been opened and his understanding of the world is somewhat different from before.

Nowadays, He Zhenxiong is more inclined to be loyal to Earl Yongning. He is just bound by the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor in the first half of his life. He is a little conflicted in his heart, and he cannot completely get over it for the time being.

After all, they were once military generals of the imperial court, and they are still military officials of the imperial court today. They are not those bandits with evil intentions!

And in this large tent, there is an outlier who can definitely be called an outsider of the Yongyi Army, that is Cao Shixi, the commander of Zhending Guard. In his heart there is only the Earl of Yongning, and he has long forgotten the Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, whom he has never met.

In his opinion, Earl of Yongning could help him achieve military merit, advance his career, realize his ambitions, and bring honor to his family, so his loyalty to Earl of Yongning came from the heart.

Cao Shixi perfectly embodies the saying "whoever gives milk is the mother". Of course, he currently only recognizes Earl Yongning as his biological mother. At least at this stage, his loyalty to Earl Yongning is unquestionable.

This may be the mentality of those disadvantaged civil and military officials today!

It was precisely because of their own frustrations in life that they forgot about the court and the emperor, and would follow anyone to the death as long as he could make them successful.

It is like Niu Jinxing, Li Yan, and Song Xiance to Li Chuangwang, Xu Yixian to Zhang Xianzhong, Ji Ziyu to Luo Rucai, and Liu Yuchi to Yuan Shizhong.

Things in the world are generally like this. They seem to follow certain patterns, but in fact there is no pattern at all!