During the Battle of Hanzhong, Chen Wang pursued all the way to the gate of Xixiang City before stopping the pursuit.
After statistics, it was found that a total of 1,230 levels were obtained, and more than 40,000 people were gathered along the way.
A total of thirty-seven people from all levels of military academies in the rogue army were captured and killed.
However, only nine hundred and thirty-two military merits were reported. The thirteen bandit generals who were captured alive were all recorded with merit, but the other twenty-four people who were killed were only recorded with nineteen.
Chen Wang didn't say anything about this situation.
Everything that needs to be done has been done, the money has been spent, and the relationship has gone away.
It’s pretty good to be able to report so many first-level skills.
Without this relationship with Cao Wenzhao, more than 1,200 heads could be reported, but whether they can actually be counted as half is a matter of debate.
The imperial court is now in financial difficulty, and everything can be saved, especially military merit.
The reason why Hong Chengchou was able to withstand huge pressure and prevent Cao Wenzhao from acquitting his first-level merit was actually because the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household were also happy to see such a situation.
Because the head has been reported, what is to be disbursed is real money.
The people who deal with these reward money accounts and the Ministry of War can't get much. The only ones who can be greedy and benefit are the generals and colonels at all levels. Naturally, they can underpay if they can.
The military merit system in the early Ming Dynasty was actually different from the military merit system in the late Ming Dynasty.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the military merit system had actually become a first-level military merit system, with the first rank as the main one and the rest as supplements.
The reason for all this is not because the first-level military merit system is better, but because the first-level military merit system is not too bad under the collective military merit system.
The rest of the military merit system, such as the military merit system implemented in the early Ming Dynasty, was abandoned precisely because of the unscrupulous level of excessive and false reporting of military merit.
One good thing about the first-level system of military merit is that the evaluation of merit is simple and clear at a glance, making it difficult to falsely report.
You can only claim as much merit as you have as many heads as possible, so you don't need to issue a large amount of unnecessary silver rewards, which greatly reduces expenditures.
But no matter how good the system is, there will always be loopholes. The first-level military merit system induces an extreme evil behavior - killing good people and taking credit for merit.
Although the Ministry of War has means of inspection, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom.
Not only would some people specially decorate their heads to kill good people and take credit for their crimes, but the inspection officials would sometimes collude with the generals, as long as there were heads who could handle the matter.
The disadvantages of the first-level skill are not just that. The first-level skill greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in the early stage.
But as time went by, the first-level skill began to reduce the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.
The implementation of the first-level meritorious service made the court mainly rely on the number of first-level heads to determine rewards when discussing merit.
Without heads or with scant harvests, even if the troops bravely fought the enemy on the battlefield and suffered heavy casualties, they still had no success, or even once.
This led to the fact that when multiple units of the Ming army gathered together for battle, most generals would not fight with authority but would observe the situation. If they won, they would grab the head. If they lost, they would flee quickly to preserve their strength.
The first-level military merit system did improve the Ming army's combat merit in the early stage, but in the later stage it became a major factor in the weakening of the Ming army's combat effectiveness.
There is such a passage recorded in "Practical Military Training·Volume 8·Corruption Control".
"When the Jilaibei Army comes to battle, they specialize in fighting for credit. They kill a thief, and three to fifty people fight with each other, but the defeated thief is killed and chased."
"Every time a thief uses several people as bait to lure you forward to claim credit, but he is killed by a crowd of people, and he doesn't get a single head. I don't know how many people he killed.
"Taking advantage of a small number of troops to retreat, they broke through the camp and the entire army was wiped out. They were so confused that they didn't realize it."
Qi Jiguang has always hated the attitude of "heads".
As early as the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, the first article of "military ethics" was "regardless of the head, and kill directly in order to achieve complete victory."
The reason why the Qi family army is invincible in the world is that regardless of their heads is one of the major reasons.
Almost all the rules and regulations and military regulations that Chen Wang currently implements in the army are directly adapted from the two books "Records of Military Training" and "New Book of Discipline Effects".
Of course, Chen Wang also made some changes and did not copy it completely.
Regarding the first-level merit, Chen Wang and Qi Jiguang adopted similar methods and set the same military rules.
Military law: When facing the enemy in battle, charge and kill the thieves after engaging in battle. No beheading is allowed until after the battle.
If anyone takes his head for any reason, he will be beheaded immediately.
The flag has three meritorious soldiers dedicated to cutting off heads. The meritorious soldiers' clothes have white cloth sewn on the arms and the word "qigong" embroidered on them. The meritorious cloth strips are also tied to the helmets for identification.
They will rush through the officers and soldiers within the flag, advance the battle line, and cut off the heads of the fallen enemies.
After the troops are withdrawn, the merit will be distributed equally among the entire flag according to the heads taken.
When the head is taken, it will be supervised by the supervisor and the general's soldiers.
If there is anyone who hides and refuses to retaliate, or if the harvest is not completed, the soldiers, supervisors, flags, teams, and corps commanders will all be beheaded.
Because the first merit system is a typical result-oriented system, the acceptor only looks at the first level and not the person.
Some people value property, while others value official position, so the phenomenon of trading credit naturally arises, which leads to chaos.
Moreover, in order to prevent killing a good person and taking advantage of merit, the inspection of the head is also quite strict.
Although the heads of rogue bandits are not as easy to identify as those of Beilu and Jiannu, there are still some ways to identify them.
The heads of women cannot be avenged, nor can the heads of old people be avenged, let alone children.
The heads of men also need to be subdivided into different levels. Although the more than a thousand people killed were all actual male bandits, according to various regulations, only more than 900 people could be reported to the level after screening.
What's more, the heads of rogue bandits are now worthless. Each head can only be exchanged for about one tael of silver, and there is no way to get promoted to a noble rank.
The heads of generals were quite valuable, ranging from five taels to one hundred taels according to the original rank.
Regarding this result, Chen Wang had nothing to argue with, because his goal had been achieved.
The Battle of Hanzhong made Hong Chengchou no longer doubt him, but he also began to value him.
The name of a Hanzhong general is more valuable than ten thousand taels of gold.
With the title of General, he can make many arrangements later.
Now the historical line has changed a lot. He entered Hanzhong Mansion, defeated Zhang Yuan in the first battle, and was successfully promoted to the rank of general due to his previous military exploits.
The crisis in Hanzhong Mansion also made the imperial court prepare to once again upgrade the military structure of Hanzhong Mansion and establish a staff general.
Historically, the military organization of Hanzhong Prefecture first changed from a guard station to a guerrilla, and then directly upgraded from guerrilla to a town, directly setting up a deputy general soldier, and then changed to a general soldier.
Although there are only generals now, the original Hanzhong guerrillas had the power to mobilize the Hanzhong Guards, and the power of the generals will only be greater.
The generals in the border town have the power to control the generals of the entire line. If they are appointed as the generals in Hanzhong Mansion, there are no deputy generals and generals above them. In fact, it can be regarded as an independent military town.
Except for the two fixed positions that cannot be mobilized, what Chen Wang can mobilize is a guerrilla battalion, plus the Hanzhong Guards.
I just don’t know how powerful the authority will be by then, and whether there will be an opportunity to intervene in local military affairs.
If the power is strong enough, then the backhand Chen Wang laid down in Mian County can also play its due role.
At that time, using Mian County as the entry point, we can slowly plot against the Hanzhong Guards.
Although the imperial court still has considerable control over the local area, in four years' time it will be the thirteenth year of Chongzhen.
The entire world will fall into complete chaos, the situation in the border areas and inland areas will continue to deteriorate, and the prestige of the imperial court will be wiped out and collapse.
At that time, military generals from various places formed a mountain top and began to support their own troops. The governors from various places had less and less control over the leading generals. Even if someone noticed their arrangements in Hanzhong, it was already too late.
Chen Wang knew very well that what he was doing now had to be planned slowly and he must not be in a hurry.
Chen Wang has not forgotten the old things in Gongchang Mansion.
At that time, he was too eager for quick success and wanted to chase Li Guo all the way into Hanzhong Mansion, which aroused Hong Chengchou's suspicion.
If it weren't for Cao Wenzhao's suggestion, Chen Wang himself wouldn't have noticed anything wrong.
In the past few months, the biggest truth Chen Wang has understood is that you should never underestimate anyone who can hold a high position. Those who are self-righteous are the most stupid people.
Chen Wang closed the document in his hand and rubbed his swollen temples.
Leading troops in battle and charging into battle, Chen Wang actually didn't have much fear.
However, these official exchanges and official receptions gave Chen Wang a headache. These were all extremely energy-consuming things.
Although with Zhao Huailiang's help, nothing much went wrong, the feeling of walking on thin ice was not easy.
Just after seeing off the officials sent by the prefect of Hanzhong Prefecture, envoys sent by King Rui arrived in the army again.
It was not until dusk that the messenger sent by King Rui was sent away.
While Chen Wang was thinking, Chen Gong also walked in from outside the tent. His eyebrows were filled with joy and he said with a smile.
"His Royal Highness Prince Rui is very generous. This time he sent a lot of wine, pigs and sheep."
Before the Battle of Hanzhong, King Rui sent a lot of live pigs and sheep to the camp, and also rewarded them with silver, wine and rice.
Although the reward for the army was not given this time, more than 300 pigs and sheep were given as gifts, as well as a lot of wine and grain.
If all these pigs and sheep were slaughtered, each person in the army would be given about seven or eight kilograms of meat, which was already considered a very good treatment.
The famine is so severe now that ordinary people can't see any meat and meat, and it's already good to have a full meal.
Chen Gong walked all the way to the tent, found a chair, sat down, and took a sip of tea.
"The prefect of Hanzhong said it nicely. When the bandits were besieging the city, they were able to allocate military rations very quickly. Now that the siege of Hanzhong has been resolved, the rations cannot be delivered in a long time."
Chen Wang shook his head, a little helpless.
The facts are indeed as Chen Gong said, but in the Battle of Hanzhong, they gathered a total of more than 40,000 people, and this number is still increasing.
There are so many people who all need to be accommodated, and the amount of food and grass they consume every day is astronomical.
Chen Wang glanced at Chen Gong, who was sitting at the bottom, and warned him.
"You don't need to take care of the food issue for the time being. Don't send anyone to rush it."
Chen Xiang pondered for a moment and then said.
"In a few days, you will transport some military rations to Hanzhong City..."
A trace of astonishment flashed in Chen Gong's eyes and he said.
"The military rations that Hanzhong Prefecture should give us have not been received. We still have to transport the military rations there. This..."
Chen Wang raised his hand and stopped Chen Gong's words.
"When the military merit reports are reported, the promotion documents will come out. If you are promoted to a general, you will probably stay in Hanzhong."
"If you stay in Hanzhong, you will inevitably have to deal with the prefect of Hanzhong. Naturally, you need to build a good relationship."
"and……"
Chen Wang glanced sideways and said.
"We have taken most of the grain, grass and gold and silver that Zhang Yuan and Lu Shi carried. We have to hand over some to deal with the situation."
There were two places where Zhang Yuan and Lu Shi hoarded grain, grass, gold and silver, one in Chenggu and the other in Baocheng.
Although they brought a lot of food, grass, gold and silver with them when they besieged Hanzhong Mansion, it was not a large amount.
But even so, after defeating Zhang Yuan and Lu Shi, more than 12,000 shi of grain were still confiscated.
After that, they pursued all the way and obtained more than ten thousand stones of food outside Chenggu City.
Zhang Yuan and Lu Shi combined more than 100,000 troops to naturally not have so much food, but after hearing the news of the defeat, many people began to loot food.
When Lu Shi fled first, he took away a lot of grain from the grain field in Chenggu, so the seizure was limited.
As for the grain that Zhang Yuan and Lu Shi had hoarded in Baocheng, Chen Wang took action a little late, and it had basically been robbed, with nothing left.
The total amount of gold and silver artifacts seized was only more than 30,000 taels of silver, which was not as rich as those seized during the Battle of Chunhua.
Zhang Yuan's original lair was in the southern mountainous area of Xixiang. Naturally, the gold and silver utensils were left in his lair and were not brought out.
As for the Golden-winged Penglai, he didn't plunder many cities all the way south, and his harvest was limited, so naturally he didn't have that much gold and silver.
However, more than 30,000 taels is already considered a lot, so Chen Wang naturally has no intention of being too little.
"Brother is right."
Chen Gong also came to his senses at this time and nodded in agreement.
"Is there any news from Zhiyi and Zhili?"
Chen Wang lowered his head again and looked at the map of Hanzhong Fukhan on the table.
Zhang Yuan's lair is not a secret place. The Hanzhong Army has known about it for a long time, but they just don't have the ability to attack it.
The reason why Chen Wang stopped chasing after him all the way to Xixiang was because he was eyeing the savings left by Zhang Yuan.
After all, Zhang Yuan was also the leader of the 24th Chinese Battalion. He fought all the way from Shaanxi to Henan, and then from Henan to Hanzhong. He looted all the way to Hanzhong.
Naturally, he gained a lot by conquering many big cities along the way. Zhang Yuan must have accumulated a lot of gold and silver.
So after pursuing all the way to Xixiang City, Chen Wang immediately asked Hu Zhiyi and Hu Zhili to lead troops to besiege Zhang Yuan's original camp in the mountainous area.
The Hanzhong Guards were also temporarily mobilized and set up defenses on all sides to prevent the bandits in the camp from escaping with their money.
"The news came at noon that they have surrounded Zhang Yuan's camp and are attacking the mountain. There are many bandits in the camp."
"The defense of the camp that Zhang Yuan set up before is average. It should not take long for the camp to be breached."
Hearing Chen Gong's answer, Chen Wang felt relieved. Since there is still resistance, it proves that he has not escaped much and should get a lot of things.
"It's not dark yet. You can lead the First Cavalry Division over there and bring more shield cars."
"Capture the camp as soon as possible to avoid long nights and nightmares."
Chen Wang looked at the scene outside the tent and said in a deep voice.
"After breaking through the stronghold, don't let anyone know how much gold and silver you got. Just load it into the car and escort it over..."
(End of chapter)
