This sum of money has long been on the minds of the generals, but as a general of the army, it is absolutely impossible to steal it openly. If they work together, they can't beat the clever Hong Shaobao. The only way is to use the thieves to come with them. Cash out...
Pensions for officers and soldiers were also extremely high this time. The family members of those who died in the war could receive two hundred taels of silver. Men had priority in enlisting in the army after reaching adulthood. The whole family was exempted from all taxes for twenty years, and then levied in half.
Those who were seriously injured could receive one hundred taels, and thereafter they could receive one tael of silver and two buckets of rice every month. They did not need to work. If they were homeless and had no real estate, the court would provide accommodation. If he has a family, his treatment will be the same as that of a person who died in war.
Those who are injured but do not affect their work and are unable to continue fighting can receive fifty taels of silver, and the Ministry of Personnel will arrange non-combat work, with a monthly salary of no less than one, two, and five cents of silver, and an additional three measures of rice.
It can be said that it is precisely because the court can provide extremely generous pension benefits that the officers and soldiers have no worries and can fight the enemy bravely, which is completely different from the previous model of raising bandits to respect themselves.
For generals, the pension benefits they enjoy are even higher. If a general at the rank of chief military officer retires from active service due to injury, the court will issue a one-time payment of five thousand taels of silver.
The level of retirement is much higher than that of civil servants, almost equivalent to that of the chief minister. Even if a small boss retires, he can still get one hundred taels of silver, and the monthly pension is calculated separately.
It is actually very easy to make some money every month by using the contacts accumulated in the army and using your pension to start a small business, such as selling newspapers in your hometown, helping to recruit soldiers, or even training new recruits locally.
Therefore, whether you are an official in the army or live after retirement, as long as you do not rebel, violate the rules, be timid, or collaborate with the enemy, you will enjoy very high treatment. This makes the generals and lieutenants in the army have to Fighting hard.
It's okay to continue eating and waiting to die, but who wouldn't be jealous watching others carrying money back in boxes?
If you have no money, how can you support your soldiers and subordinates?
Fighting depends on morale. If you want to keep the morale of your soldiers strong, you have to use money to support it.
Even a general like Marco, who was unwilling to fight head-on with his opponent, after receiving the first large sum of silver reward from Hong Shaobao, returned to the big tent and began to think about how to catch up with the rebels as soon as possible so that he could continue to make money. .
This is not just 12 or 8 taels of gold. Once you win a battle, you can receive thousands of taels of silver reward. The generals were all afraid of poverty before, and finally caught a legitimate opportunity to make money, so they had to seize it.
It is said that the prince has saved 30 to 40 million yuan while punishing nobles and moths in the capital. The court suddenly has a huge fortune, and now it is determined to have no worries about military pay. It depends on the performance of everyone on the front line.
After receiving the silver reward, the soldiers naturally smiled happily and almost bought up all the meat and wine in Xiangyang City. Without the threat of the bandits, they could openly barbecue by the river, and then eat and drink.
Below you can bathe, eat, lie down and enjoy the river breeze. As the commander of the army, Hong Chengchou must take advantage of the time to set up camp and complete all logistical work, including rewards and punishment objects, before tomorrow morning.
The workload is naturally extremely huge. Even if there are dozens of clerks and servants, and matters involving tens of thousands of people, they will be extremely busy, and it will not be considered complete until daylight.
"Master Shaobao, this time I march into the army, I will bravely ask for a fight! I will be deeply favored by the Holy Spirit. So far, my efforts have been in vain. I am really ashamed of myself. I have also failed to fulfill my mother's instructions..."
When Hong Chengchou ordered to break camp, Liu Guoneng came alone with only one purpose, and that was to find an opportunity to make military exploits.
Liu Zian, a younger brother of the clan, fought with Luo Dai. Luo Dai was satisfied with the performance of his troops, so he spoke to Hong Shaobao. In view of his military exploits, he was rewarded with 10,000 taels of silver.
Liu Zian gave two thousand taels to Liu Guoneng, plus the two thousand taels sent by Luo Dai, there were four thousand taels. But for the more than 20,000 soldiers under his command, this amount of money was a drop in the bucket.
After traveling two hundred miles back and forth, Liu Guoneng was of course not satisfied with just a "travel fee", and the generals around him also encouraged him, hoping to make more military exploits, at least similar to Liu Zian's, so that he could have the opportunity to share the money.
"Haha, Guoneng is full of fighting spirit, and I am very relieved. But there is no need to worry about it. Zhang Ni is on the run nearby, and there are many thieves in the Xunxi area in the distance who need to be wiped out. Guoneng should order his soldiers to gather enough strength. Otherwise, the opportunity to fight will be wasted.”
After careful observation during this period, Hong Chengchou felt more at ease with Liu Guoneng. As the prince had warned, this person was one of the bandit leaders who had been recruited and did not have much intention of rebelliousness. He could use him with confidence.
After the battle of Xiangyang, Zhang Ni no longer dared to fight in formation with the army. At this time, he was probably still climbing over the mountains and ridges, looking for weaknesses in the court and waiting for opportunities to strike. Therefore, all the officers and soldiers had to prepare for long-distance marches and pursuits. Only the preparations of the thieves are enough.
"The final general will definitely not dare to live up to the great trust of Lord Shaobao!"
Liu Guoneng realized from Hong Chengchou's words that they not only wanted to pursue and annihilate Zhang Xianzhong, but also moved to Xunxi.
Many leaders in Xunxian and Junzhou areas who were favored by the imperial court also had an affair with Zhang Ni, and most of them would follow suit and rebel.
Based on this dangerous situation, the imperial court ordered Sun Chuanting to lead a number of general troops to attack from the west, echoing Hong Chengchou's troops.
However, it is unrealistic to expect Sun Chuanting to defeat the multiple rebel bandits entrenched in the Xunxi area. After Hong Chengchou defeated Zhang Ni, he was bound to join Sun Chuanting.
Liu Guoneng realized that there were still many battles ahead, and he was overly worried. As long as he obeyed Hong Shaobao's orders, he would not be afraid of falling behind.
Since he sent troops to Henan, Hong Shaobao has shown good concern for his troops. He not only reissued all the silver owed by the court before, but also fully supplied the prescribed food and salary, which greatly improved the impression of Hong Shaobao by his troops.
Hong Shaobao's reputation among the rebels was extremely bad due to his harsh tactics in dealing with bandits in the past many years. However, since this period of contact, apart from being strict in running the army, Hong Shaobao did not have many of the misdeeds of a court official.
On the contrary, he was strict with himself and took people to inspect each battalion from time to time, asking the army doctors to carefully check the physical condition of the sick soldiers, which made everyone admire him.
Hong Shaobao treated all the recruited soldiers equally and never found any excuse to withhold even a little bit of food and salary. He often asked whether any of his subordinates were obstructing or misappropriating money and food. It can be said that he was a competent and good boss that was difficult to meet.
Because Hong Shaobao was fair and strict in dealing with things and decisive in rewards and punishments, Liu Guoneng was very willing to serve under him. If someone else came to replace him, he would have to be more careful.
"Pass this commander's order to kill Mr. Zhang with a sacrificial flag!"
Hong Chengchou was very busy and had no time to recruit this guy who was lame on one leg. Besides, he was already lame, so he couldn't lead the army in the war.
It's not appropriate to leave it to His Highness the Crown Prince to deal with. In line with the principle of making the best use of everything, I might as well kill him to boost morale and avoid being listless early in the morning.
"Wang Shangli, His Highness the Crown Prince thinks highly of you. As long as you swear not to rebel again, you can be entrusted with important responsibilities. Now that you have been captured for the second time, even if I let you go, I am afraid that Zhang Xianzhong will be very suspicious of you."
Hong Chengchou did not pay homage to the king yesterday, but let him wait overnight to give him enough time to think, and then talk to him again when the whole army was setting off.
"Although I am not talented, I am not a person seeking glory. If Hong Shaobao dares to let me go, I will naturally be grateful."
Now that Hong Chengchou had kept his mouth open, Wang Shangli wanted to test it out to avoid falling into the trap again. He was afraid of becoming a prisoner of the army for the third time. Being laughed at twice was enough, and he didn't want to do it again.
"Come here, untie him! Prepare your horse! You can leave on your own. I will not stop you, let alone shoot your bow and arrow!"
Hong Chengchou sat on the Taishi chair and watched where he would go. If it were him, he would be embarrassed to go back and report to Zhang Ni. The general was incompetent and was captured by the army again...
"really???"
After being released, Wang Shangli touched his wrist and asked in disbelief.
"How can I go back on my word in public?"
Hong Chengchou smiled and stroked his beard, not afraid of the other party making any choice at all.
"See you later!"
You gave him a chance, so don't blame yourself for being like this. After Wang Shangli clasped his fists and saluted, he strode to the front of the horse.
Hong Shaobao's soldiers around him were indifferent to him, and they didn't look like they were trying to catch him. Wang Shangli got on his horse and ran to the gate of the camp.
After walking around outside, they all ran back, dismounted in front of the big tent, and came in to salute. Everyone was confused and couldn't understand what this guy was doing.
"Reporting to Hong Shaobao, the former Wang Shangli has defected to Zhang Xianzhong. Wang Shangli is willing to serve the imperial court and has no intention of rebelling from now on!"
It wasn't like he didn't expect to run back to the rebel army and report to the Eight Kings, but how could he say anything when he went back?
The first time he led troops to sneak into Xiangyang City, but was discovered by others, and then fought fiercely by the river, and was defeated by Luo Dai.
Even if Liu Zi'an didn't blame him, all his troops would have been destroyed.
He failed to outmaneuver, failed to attack by force, neither route was feasible, and he was captured twice.
I am not the adopted son of the Eight Great Kings. Can the Eight Great Kings give me a third chance?
It's not that Wang Shangli never thought about wiping his neck. It would be easy to die, but death would also be a joke.
I was made a prisoner twice and committed suicide because I couldn't bear to think about it. In the eyes of others, what is this if it's not a joke?
Last night, Wang Shangli was in prison and thought about why the Eight Kings would rebel again, but Liu Guoneng did not participate. Instead, he followed Hong Chengchou to quell the rebellion.
During the battle on the riverside, Liu Zian was right. Once a man has made a promise, he can't follow his promise. How can he go back on his word, accept recruitment and then rebel again? How is this move different from that of a vicious dog?
In the past, each had his own master. What Liu Zian said was not accepted by Wang Shangli. Now that he was imprisoned, Wang Shangli reflected on whether it was right or wrong to follow the eight kings in rebellion.
"Okay! Show courtesy and understand the general principles. Please get up quickly!"
Hong Chengchou came over and helped Wang Shangli up, which was considered as acknowledgment of Wang Shangli's surrender. Whether it was true or not needs to be verified in the future, but he must give enough face.
There is another purpose in recruiting this person, that is, Wang Shangli not only knows the true situation of Zhang Ni's rebel army, but also has a close relationship with Zhang Ni's eldest son, Zhang Kewang.
Hong Chengchou hoped to use Wang Shangli to catch Zhang Kewang's troops who were waiting for opportunities north of the Han River, so as to eliminate the threat of the bandit army to Fancheng.
Nowadays, no one knows where Zhang Kewang led his army to go. Even the captured rebel soldiers knew nothing about it. After asking, no one could tell clearly.
Zhang Xianzhong fled to the southwest with his defeated troops. From the map, it was getting farther and farther away from Zhang Kewang's troops. It seemed that he was going to abandon his adopted son. This move puzzled Hong Chengchou.
Afterwards, the two generals had a conversation. To Hong Chengchou's dismay, not even Wang Shangli knew Zhang Kewang's destination.
"When we first divided our troops, Dingguo led 3,000 troops to the west, and it was expected that he would lead 3,000 troops to the north. Bada... Zhang... Zhang Ni said that it was a plan to attack the east and attack the west. After defeating the official army, they would join forces again. . Now they are defeated at the foot of Xiangyang City, and the number of their troops lost is no less than ten thousand. It was originally said that they would go south to Yicheng, then capture Zhongxiang, and finally attack by force. This strategy has become difficult to implement. I have no way of knowing other strategies, please forgive me, Shaobao, maybe. Capture the two military advisors on the left and right, and you can learn the details from their mouths."
Although Wang Shangli was a senior general of the rebel army, he only knew a general idea. In order to avoid leaking the information, the eight kings only let everyone know what they should know about the specific invasion strategy.
In other words, Hong Chengchou had to capture several senior generals and piece together what they knew to get a more complete answer, but this was not easy.
Generals Ma Yuanli, Liu Jinzhong, and He Tianyun were all shot dead by the army. After Zhang Junyong was captured, he cursed and refused to cooperate at all. Only Wang Shangli repented and decided to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side.
But having Wang Shangli in hand was not enough. Hong Chengchou compiled the information that Jiangzu said yesterday and was only able to get a small part of the information about the rebel army.
"Okay, okay! It's not easy to answer my questions and resolve my doubts. Please wash up first, and then go with me!"
Hong Chengchou was quite satisfied with his answer. He didn't look erratic when he looked at the other party. What he said should be the truth, but he probably already knew the content of what he said, so it didn't have much value at all.
The troops were divided into three groups and did not merge. Hong Chengchou did not believe that Zhang Xianzhong would abandon his two adopted sons. The important thing was that they had 6,000 troops and horses, which was a great supplement to Zhang Xianzhong after the tragic defeat.
Hong Chengchou felt that Zhang Ni and his two sons would definitely meet up somewhere and then attack the city. The most important thing was to see his next move as soon as possible.
Fortunately, the four general military officers Yang Yufan, Mou Wenshou, Tang Tong, and Jiang Mingwu had already led their troops to catch up and would not let Zhang Ni disappear from the sight of the army.
Otherwise, nearly 100,000 troops would be in Gucheng and Xiangyang, playing in circles with the rebels, and the officers and soldiers would really be treated like monkeys by Zhang Ni!
Fortunately, Xiangyang was not lost in this battle and also defeated the rebel attack. Otherwise, it would undoubtedly have been a big defeat.
In order to give the officers and soldiers the upper hand at the initial stage, the prince specially asked himself to deal with Zhang Xianzhong, which was a good choice.
Qian Suiye also specially told himself that Zhang Ni was young, but as cunning as a fox and as fierce as a wolf, so he should never underestimate his enemy.
The Battle of Xiangyang indeed sounded the alarm to Hong Chengchou and the army generals. A slight negligence in fighting Zhang Ni would lead to catastrophe.
