Chapter 272 Reward
Huang Wan's letters are numerous and miscellaneous. Most of the petitions to Liu Hong contained military information, so I picked them up. The letter to the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government was full of pessimism and the sadness of sacrificing one's life for one's country. In the letter to his nephew in Beijing, he wrote the teachings of the elders, instructing his nephew to read more scriptures and not indulge in hunting. He also summarized and refined some of his military experience in the army to his nephew, hoping that they would pay attention to martial arts. thing.
Ding Sheng passed through these things in passing, and the most important ones were the three letters. A letter was sent to Lu Zhi from Xianbei Zhonglang. It clearly stated that the war in Hebei had reached a stalemate. The Youzhou Cavalry originally assigned to him must be sent back after the war is over and allowed to go north. This letter is about Hebei. It seems that the decisive battle between the Han army and the Hebei Yellow Turbans has reached a critical period.
The second letter was from Zhang Wen, the general of Zuo Zhonglang. The man said in the letter that he and You Zhonglang General Zhu Jun had reorganized Runan's power and would send 30,000 troops to Xingyang. He asked Huang Wan to make sure the walls were clear and not to fight with the Taishan bandits.
What shocked Ding Sheng was this letter. Who would have thought that Huang Wan had just been beaten here, and there were 30,000 Han soldiers behind him? Are these Han soldiers inexhaustible?
And Ding Sheng was also surprised. With his military literacy, he could see that Zhang Wen's plan was very good. He knew the situation himself, and the Taishan Army's logistical pressure was always very heavy. If Huang Wan chose to fortify the wall and clear the country, and could not escape, When the Han army from the south arrives, it is possible that the Taishan army will be defeated in this battle.
I just don’t know why Huang Wan gave up on this.
In fact, what can Huang Wan do? It was Liu Hong who kept asking Huang Wan when he would send troops to exterminate the Taishan bandits. The powerful officials also complained that they had to go back before the autumn harvest, otherwise there would be no manpower to harvest millet. Huang Wan was under pressure from above and below, so he had no choice but to send troops.
This was the second letter, and what made Ding Sheng even more frightened was the third letter. From the content of the letter, it is obvious that it came from a senior military official or staff member in the Taishan Army. The general wrote all the true and false information to Huang Wan, and most of the text talked about Qu Shuai's character, experience, and decision-making.
After reading this, Ding Sheng had one thought:
"There is a traitor among us!"
Ever since the Taishan Army experienced the Zhang Goudu incident, they have been pulling the strings of traitors. And now there is a traitor who is bigger than Zhang Goudu. What kind of storm will this set off for the Taishan Army?
Thinking of this, Ding Sheng called Jinquan and asked him to stay behind. Then he sneaked back to the camp with a few guards and letters under the cover of night.
This matter is too important, and the fewer people know about it, the better.
……
Because Xingyang was not far from the battlefield, Xingyang County Magistrate Yang Zan knew about the afternoon defeat in the evening.
This time Huang Wan led his troops to the expedition, and the Yang family of Hongnong also went out under the leadership of his nephew Yang Gan. But now, there is no news from his tribe. As an uncle, Yang Zan is heartbroken and doesn't know how to tell his tribe. Originally, he should have chosen some capable people to go to the battlefield and find out whether his clan nephew was killed or captured. The results are different, and the way of processing is naturally different.
But at this moment, he could no longer care about his family nephew, because Xingyang City was already in chaos.
Each family in the city has its own connections, some have sons and nephews in the army, or some are patrolling the battlefield to hear what is going on. And because they selected capable tribesmen who were more concerned about the development of the war than Yang Zan's county soldiers, these powerful people in the city knew the outcome faster than Huang Wan.
At this time, Xingyang City was in chaos. Every family was tying ox carts and moving big boxes, and everyone was about to run to the west. There are Chenggao and Hulao Pass, the largest passes in the world. You will be safe if you run there. If the Taishan Army would take advantage of the victory to attack Xingyang City at this time, they could even catch the Han Army off guard and capture Xingyang City at a very small cost.
But unfortunately, if is just if. Originally, Ding Sheng's tribe was the most promising to take advantage of the victory and attack. However, because he returned to the Yuegang camp of the Taishan Army overnight, Jin Quan was the only one in command.
At night, the city of Xingyang was ablaze with fire, and the noise of carriages and horses kept coming. When the nearby sentinel got this information and told Jin Quan, because there was no military order, he did not dare to raise troops rashly and could only watch the fighter planes pass by.
The chaos in Xingyang City continued until dawn. During this period, Xingyang had no defense capabilities at all. The powerful people in Xingyang have given up hope of defending Xingyang City, and the walls on all sides can no longer bring them a sense of security. So even if the farm is here, they can only endure the pain and cut the meat. Only by running outside Hulao Pass can they have a chance.
As soon as the powerful people left, one of the consequences was that the number of soldiers in Xingyang City was immediately reduced by nine levels. There were only more than 800 county soldiers left in the city. The other soldiers were all mobilized as the powerful people rushed westward.
After all, these soldiers are still powerful.
During this process, Xingyang made Yang Zan look at him completely coldly, and did not refuse the powerful people to leave. A friend wanted to persuade him to leave together. With his status as Yang, even if he abandoned the city and left, he was determined to be dismissed and his life would be saved.
But Yang Zan refused, saying that it was precisely because I came from the Yang family that I couldn't leave. My nephew has already sacrificed his life for the country. How can I, as an uncle, be worse than a nephew?
At dawn, after all the power in Xingyang City was gone, Yang Zan immediately had the four gates sealed. He said to those still left in the city:
"In this battle, I will die together with the city. If I am here, the city will be there. If the city is lost, I will die. If there are two or three sons who dare to surrender, they will be executed."
At this time, Yang Zan no longer expected to be kind and gentle. He wants to use iron and blood to unite these people in the city, whether they are willing to defend or not? Gather all the corn in your hands, and only those who go to the top of the city will have food. And once you get to the top of the city, can you still control your own life and death?
Can the Yellow Turban Army coerce him? I, Yang Zan, can’t be coerced?
In this way, Zhang Chong didn't know that there would be such a madman in Xingyang City. What kind of variables would this bring to his subsequent war?
……
The Taishan Army did not attack the city, and Zhang Chong did not investigate who was the traitor after receiving Ding Sheng's letter. He put all his energy into transporting and treating the wounded.
The Taishan Army did not transport all the injured Taishan Army officers and soldiers back to the camp until the afternoon of September 16th.
Afterwards, the Taishan Army returned to the battlefield after a night's rest and began to clean up the battlefield. There were many armors and weapons there that needed to be carried, and the warriors simply did not dare to take these things privately.
The battlefield this time is much quieter than yesterday. Obviously, many of the seriously injured members of the Han army did not survive until now, and some were so weak that they could only groan. These injuries were obviously minor.
When they saw Taishan's army coming back, they cried out for help, begging them to save them. They were lucky, because this time the Taishan Army came to rescue them, because those who survived until now were generally lightly wounded and could recover with a little treatment. And these people will be the new source of troops for the Taishan Army.
What the Han soldiers asked for the most was water. The ones who were thirsty the longest had not had water for two days. Of course, there were also many people who wanted to drink, which was ignored by the Taishan military officials.
What a joke, if they want to drink, they have to wait for a big victory, so where can they get the wine to drink?
Birds and beasts have begun to appear near the battlefield, and the strong smell of blood has kept them hungry all night. If it weren't for the bonfires burning everywhere last night that hindered them, they would have come here to feast. But now the flames were gone, only the two-legged beasts that looked less threatening, and the nearby wild wolves, tigers and leopards rushed over. In the end, they all became the Twolegs' meal. Without the cover of darkness, the horrors on the battlefield were directly exposed to everyone. There are broken pieces and corpses everywhere, and you can see all kinds of death here. Some were smiling, and some were curled up with faces full of pain. Such people must have suffered tremendous pain before they died.
If those same warriors from last night had come to clean up the battlefield, they might have been frightened to death. But this time, the veterans who came are battle-hardened. They have become numb to life and death. This is a slaughterhouse, and they are the butchers. The person lying here is not a human being, just a head and two-legged beast.
There was a wave of wounded soldiers on the edge of the battlefield, and the care they received was obviously better than that of the Han army. These people are the Ru Ying Yellow Turbans. With the support of the Taishan Army, these people limped back to the Yuegang Camp, where they had food, clean water, and basic care.
One thing to say is that the Taishan Army was definitely not as concerned about these Ru Ying Yellow Turbans as its own wounded soldiers, otherwise it would not have been delayed until the second day and some of the wounded soldiers had not been transferred. But compared with past experiences, these Ru Ying Huangjins are undoubtedly much luckier. In the past, they were injured and left to fend for themselves on the battlefield.
The Taishan army took off the armor of the Han soldiers. These were the most important captures of this battle. As the Taishan Army moved further and further away from the Taishan area, it was difficult for them to supply home-made clothing and armor during external battles, so the clothing and armor ripped off from the Han army in each battle became the only supplement for the Taishan Army.
There were approximately more than 4,000 soldiers of the Han army in this battle. This was undoubtedly a very large elite. There are at least three thousand armors left on the battlefield. With the addition of these armors, although the Taishan Army suffered heavy casualties in this battle, its overall strength did not drop much.
After taking off their clothes and armor, clearing the battlefield and capturing the loot, the Taishan Army returned to camp. There will be a huge bonfire party tonight, and all the officials will participate. They should go back early to clean themselves up and attend this army banquet with a decent image.
The Taishan Army returned to camp, leaving corpses all over the ground. These were no longer under their control. Later, a group of civilians will come from the Heji area and Guan, Suo, Xinzheng and other areas of Xinzhan, and these corpses will be buried by them.
……
In order to hold this banquet, Taishan Army prepared a lot. Not only are there pigs, sheep, and horses that are difficult to eat on weekdays, but everyone has a bowl of wine. Of course, these supplies were all captured from the Han army's camps.
It was the seizure list brought by Ding Sheng that gave Zhang Chong the confidence to hold such a large-scale bonfire party. This battle was the most brutal battle fought by the Taishan Army. If you want to calm down the anger of the soldiers, you must have a feast with wine and meat.
The cooks were busy cleaning up the pigs, sheep and horses. The cooks from Huangwan were a big help. With their help, the feast began to be prepared in an orderly manner.
Naturally, the soldiers were thinking about wine and meat, but the officers and soldiers of the Taishan Army were eagerly thinking about another thing, which was the classification of meritorious service in this battle.
Commander Qu is very strict about military merit, but as long as there is merit, Commander Qu is very generous and will never let the officials down or be wronged. For example, Na Yu Jin was only born in Shanliao, but he was defeated and surrendered, but he has made great achievements and has now achieved the position of captain of the left wing of the Central Guard Army. There are also Guo Mo, the commander of the Zuo Bu School, who also achieved this position by using his sword and gun to gain advanced skills.
In short, although the Taishan Army is very strict in pacifying military merit, the promotion path is very smooth. Just by letting those who have meritorious service take positions, I don't know how much better than the Han army.
In addition to merit grading, officials are also concerned about one thing, and that is rewards. Reward, reward, the so-called reward comes with reward. Tonight's banquet for the whole army is a reward, so the reward is naturally indispensable.
Because the Taishan Army implements the holy treasury system, there is no salary on weekdays. It's not that Zhang Chong is stingy, but the Han army on the opposite side doesn't have any pay, so they only have to pay each other. But these things have long been included in the holy treasury system implemented by the Taishan Army.
But the lack of salary does not mean that Zhang Chong does not need to pay. Just like the Han army, the Taishan army would give out a batch of rewards after a victory, whether it was wine or meat, clothing or millet. In short, those who had meritorious service should be rewarded to serve as an incentive.
This is actually also a psychological factor. The daily supply of food and clothing is necessary, and only providing these can ensure that the Taishan soldiers are not dispersed. But if nothing happens after the war, then there will be such a problem in mentality:
Since my treatment is the same as before when I work hard and sell blood, why should I work hard? If you ask me to go to the battlefield, I can't refuse, but can't I survive? Isn't it okay to have a bad fight? Can this person control me?
Therefore, rewards after the war became a means to satisfy everyone. Especially since this time was such a big and bitter battle, the army was more and more demoralized and wanted to avoid fighting, so there was an even greater need for rewards.
And Zhang Chong has thought about all this, and this time he will give gold to those who have made merit. Yes, it is gold, and it will be melted into gold and distributed by him.
Ding Sheng's tribe transported a batch of gold from the Han army's camp, probably weighing several thousand kilograms. Zhang Chong also thought about the smelting style, so he asked the craftsman to make a clay mold and write seven words inside:
"Zhang Chong bestowed gold upon Xingyang"
These gold medals are honors awarded by Zhang Chong to meritorious officials, allowing them to pass them on to their children, so that their descendants can remember and cherish the merits of their ancestors for generations to come.
This is Zhang Chong's method. Not only material rewards, but also spiritual rewards must be achieved in one step.
Most of the gold medals have been poured out and will be distributed after the banquet. The reason for being so anxious is that Zhang Chong learned the lessons of later Song Taizong. During the Northern Expedition, he repeatedly postponed the reward for capturing Taiyuan, insisting on recapturing Yanyun and launching another attack. In the end, the Northern Expedition failed and the rewards were all gone. It's hard to say whether the failure of the Northern Expedition had something to do with the delay in rewards, but the soldiers were certainly unhappy.
Zhang Chong will continue to fight in the future. If he imitates Zhao Er's approach, it will really be unpopular. Therefore, Zhang Chong not only planned to distribute the gold medals after the banquet, but also piled up the gold medals and distributed them one by one himself. You must maximize the incentive effect of this reward.
In this way, the account owners and clerks hurriedly counted the merits; the cooks and soldiers were busy collecting the ingredients; the officials carried water to wash themselves and put on clean military uniforms; the military officials silently looked forward to the rewards of this battle.
Everyone is looking forward to the big banquet tonight.
My condition is not very good today, I am trying to adjust. There were too many sunspots, and Xiao Chen was a little mentally exhausted. But don't worry, everyone, Xiao Chen will take a nap and continue fighting tomorrow. There are also many book friends whose response pace is a bit slow and they can’t catch up anymore. I decided to speed up the pace later and won’t write in such detail.
(End of chapter)