In this case, things become much easier.

As long as he could inspire their fighting spirit, Yuan Keli believed that this battle could be won, so he has always been so confident.

Seeing that Li Biao and Zhang Yanfang were both looking at him, Yuan Keli said, "Pass the order along. Every head taken in this battle can be exchanged for 20 taels of silver."

After hearing Yuan Keli's words, Li Biao and Zhang Yanfang were both surprised. Is it so simple and crude?

Yes, that's it, simple and crude. The two people didn't ask, and Yuan Keli didn't say it, but that's what he meant.

Yuan Keli once studied the military situation of the Ming Dynasty. He knew one thing, that is, rewards are very important.

Many people join the army not for patriotism or loyalty to the emperor, nor even for promotion, wealth, or a chance to stand out in the world.

In the military, those who want to get promoted, make money, and stand out are all idealistic people. At least only middle and lower-level officers would have such ideas.

Ordinary soldiers join the army just to get paid.

Many people suffered from famine and could not afford to eat. They had no choice but to join the army to get a meal.

Some people were forced to work in the army because their families had been in trouble, or they had too many children or too little land. In such cases, they were still hungry and could not afford to eat, so they had no choice but to work in the army.

They valued nothing more than their salary. The money the court gave them was meager, and they simply wanted to fill their stomachs. Under such circumstances, they didn't want to fight. Who would be responsible if they died in battle?

On the northern border, the Ming Dynasty also had a policy: anyone who killed a Mongolian soldier would be rewarded with 40 taels of silver.

However, this policy is often just a decoration and there is no money given at all.

First, the court had no money, and second, even if the court gave money, it would be embezzled at every level when it was distributed.

With these two factors intertwined, the soldiers had no desire to fight to the death. Who would fight to the death if they couldn't get any money?

There was a relatively special army in the Ming Dynasty army, that was Qi Jiguang's Qi Family Army.

Everyone in the Qi family army will receive full wages, and a large portion of the captured items will be kept; as for the rewards for killing the enemy, they will not be small either.

In order to maintain such a large expenditure, Qi Jiguang did a lot of things.

First of all, he gave gifts to Zhang Juzheng and the civil servants of the court. It can be said that Qi Jiguang used every possible means to give gifts.

In addition, there was also the issue of collecting salaries without working. The imperial court would never give you the full amount of salary, and even if it did, it would be stripped away by layers of money. By the time Qi Jiguang got his salary, there was no way there would be that much left.

Under such circumstances, one can only think of other solutions. For example, Qi Jiguang reported a staffing of 20,000 people, but only recruited 10,000.

In addition to supporting these 10,000 people, the remaining money allocated by the court could be used by Qi Jiguang as gifts, or by the officials to put some into their own pockets.

Only in this way could Qi Jiguang have enough money. Otherwise, he would not have received the support of the court or Zhang Juzheng.

Yu Dayou, a contemporary of Qi Jiguang, had a more straightforward temper and would not do the same thing as Qi Jiguang.

Look at his life, he was always Yu Long and Qi Hu in battle; but when it came to being an official, the two were very different.

Although Qi Jiguang was eventually implicated by Zhang Juzheng, his official position rose rapidly during Zhang Juzheng's reign.

Look at Yu Dayou again. He experienced several ups and downs in his life. It was so miserable.

Looking back on this incident, Yuan Keli did indeed realize some of the secrets of warfare, namely, giving soldiers sufficient rewards to stimulate their fighting spirit.

This wasn't Northern Xinjiang, so forty taels per head was clearly unrealistic. But if we cut it in half, twenty taels per head would be more realistic.

With such encouragement, Yuan Keli believed that these people would definitely have the morale to fight, and that there would always be brave men when there was a big reward.

Twenty taels of silver per head, forty taels for two heads. How much is an acre of land worth in this southwest place?

If you chop off two heads, you can buy more than ten acres of land and build a house. If you chop off a few more, you can become a small landlord.

With such an incentive, some people would definitely take a gamble. Men die for money, birds for food, let alone in a rugged place like the southwest? And what about those veterans in the military?

It's not that these people can't fight, they just don't want to fight. They rush forward when they see benefits and retreat when they see danger.

This is the benefit in danger. Yuan Keli believes that these people will risk their lives.

Zhang Yanfang looked at Yuan Keli and her eyes suddenly lit up.

That's all money! If his men chop off too many heads, he'll definitely get a share. Zhang Yanfang understands this.

Zhang Yanfang said cautiously, "Master Dutang, can you keep your promise of twenty taels of silver per head?"

What he was worried about now was that if he chopped off the head but didn't pay, then he would be doomed. If he couldn't fulfill his promise, the soldiers would come and make trouble for him.

Yuan Keli smiled and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, each head is worth twenty taels of silver, not a tael less."

Nodding excitedly, Zhang Yanfang said with a smile, "Then I'll go tell them right away!"

Looking at Zhang Yanfang leaving excitedly, Yuan Keli stroked his beard with a smile.

For Yuan Keli, spending some money to solve this matter is not a big deal. If His Majesty does not approve it, he can also get some from the southwest.

With so many chieftains, you don’t believe that you can’t extort some money from them?

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