Chapter 640 Merit and Pension (Please vote and subscribe)
Three days later, the caravan stationed in the temporary camp and the more than 1,000 cavalrymen who returned to the Han herdsmen finally waited for Sarin and Gesang, who were responsible for escorting the white salt. The two were nervous all the way, marching at night and resting during the day. It took more than half a month to finally hand over the batch of white salt to You Zhi, which made everyone relieved.
And Arslan, who had not left not far away, was surprised to see a small tribe carrying a large number of livestock from the side to join the Han tribal caravan. He hurriedly took a few scouts to scout.
This reconnaissance was not a big deal. Seeing the scene of the Han tribal caravan almost made him spit out blood in anger.
Looking into the distance, the herdsmen unloaded heavy sacks from their livestock, and then the Han tribe caravan neatly loaded them onto the empty carriages. While doing all this, they looked at Arslan's scouts intentionally or unintentionally, and even whistled from time to time, mocking them.
"Hahahaha, now we have nearly 2,000 people in total, and there are 1,500 young and strong cavalrymen alone. Even if that damn Maodun sees us loading the white salt, he can't do anything to us." Sarin, who was responsible for escorting the white salt with Gesang, looked at Arslan's scouts in the distance and couldn't help but say proudly.
"Commander You, now that the white salt has arrived, and we have so many people, do you think we should take the initiative to fight them? Otherwise, it would be too depressing to just come out for a walk and go back."
Qianyang Yili, the herdsman leader who had just joined the Han tribe, couldn't help but suggest that the task of picking up the caravan was now completed, but they were wearing such good equipment from the leader, and they didn't even let go of an arrow. It would be too depressing to just go back like this, and they couldn't help but want to fight with Arslan.
But You Zhi immediately rejected it. At first, when he saw the reinforcements coming, he really wanted to fight with Arslan with real swords and guns, but during the three days of waiting for Gesang, after learning about the situation of the herdsmen who returned to the Han tribe, he immediately gave up this plan.
"Don't think about these useless things. We have about the same number of people as them now. The other side is all light cavalry and has no worries, but we still have women, children and goods to take care of. It is inevitable that we will lose sight of one thing while fighting. Don't make things worse. Now it is a great achievement to transport these livestock and salt back. Don't worry, the leader will not miss any benefits for you after you return." "
Okay, then we will set off now?" Yili nodded, and finally had to agree.
"Yes, the whole army will set off and return to the camp."
Following You Zhi's order, the caravan loaded with white salt, the returning Han cavalry, and Gesang's tribe, nearly 4,000 people and a large number of livestock, set off on the road home singing and dancing.
Arslan, who was watching this scene from behind, could only stare with anger. He wanted to kill the Han army in front of him, but he didn't have the strength. In the end, he could only lead his army back in disgrace. He swore that he would complain to the leader after returning this time. The army responsible for searching for the salt transport team was too useless. They actually let so much white salt slip away from their noses.
However, a few days later, when the three troops sent by Maodun all returned without success, Maodun, who learned the final result, did not get angry or punish anyone. Instead, the attack on his old nest made Arslan and others frightened and angry. They shouted to attack the Han tribe's garrison and avenge the dead tribesmen.
They couldn't help but be angry. Most of the people who stayed in the garrison rescued their families and livestock, but most of the families and livestock of their expeditionary troops were captured by the Han tribe.
In the battle of the Tiger Guards' raid on Maodun's lair, the Han tribe beheaded more than 2,000 people, but there were only 400 to 500 young and strong herdsmen, and most of the rest were old, weak, women and children. In addition, more than 3,000 people and more than 100,000 livestock were captured. But where did all these gains come from? In fact, most of them were young and strong men who went to the war.
For example, Arslan, his several eldest sons followed him to fight, but their wives and children were all abducted by the Tiger Guards, and their tents were burned to ashes. There was not a single livestock left, and they all became homeless vagrants. They would be out of their minds if they were not angry.
"Chief, please take us to seek revenge on the Han tribe and take back our people and livestock. I, Arslan, am willing to lead the charge for you."
In the big tent of the temporary camp, Arslan and a group of cavalry leaders who went to the war knelt down and petitioned at the same time.
"You lead the charge? What do you have to fight with? Don't you think our losses are not big enough?" Maodun asked sternly.
"Then won't we take revenge?" Arslan retorted unconvincedly.
"Of course we have to take revenge, but not now. We have suffered too much loss in this battle. The most important thing is to recover as soon as possible and solve the survival problem of the tribe. Now is not the time to fight a decisive battle with the Han tribe. We might as well go to rob some small tribes to replenish the population and supplies. Women and livestock are everywhere. We can rob them when we are gone. It won't be too late to seek revenge on the Han tribe after we have licked our wounds." Maodun said to the leaders who asked for war.
When everyone heard it, they also thought it made sense. There was no way. Their herdsmen's life was originally like this. Grazing, hunting, and robbery were all part of life. The weak would be robbed, and the strong would rob others. This was the rule of the grassland, and they had long been accustomed to it.
So after Maodun proposed this strategic goal, it immediately received a response from everyone. Several armies rested for two days and then came out in full force to launch a large-scale sweep plan against the surrounding small tribes. For a time, the entire southern grassland was full of complaints, and the number of casualties and livestock was countless.
At the same time, a carnival was going on in the Han army camp. In a few days, the fleet first escorted thousands of captives back to the camp in Xincheng, and then the caravan led by You Zhi returned safely with the returning Han cavalry, and escorted back the white salt that the Xin tribe valued at 10,000 cattle and horses, and the 2,000 cattle and horses used as compensation. For a time, all the soldiers and herdsmen in the camp cheered, and the whole camp was filled with an active atmosphere.
Until a few days later, when the Tiger Guards returned with hundreds of thousands of livestock, the warm atmosphere in the camp was pushed to a climax, especially the Han tribal soldiers and civilians who stayed in the camp. When had they ever seen so many livestock? Seeing that the overwhelming herds of livestock had all become the spoils of their own tribe, how could everyone not be happy.
The Tiger Guards returned triumphantly, the caravan returned safely, and the captured livestock and people were countless, so it was time to celebrate. The whole army rewarded meritorious service, promoted meritorious service, compensated the dead in battle, and slaughtered livestock to reward the three armies. The aroma of barbecue filled the entire Han tribe's Xincheng camp for many days, attracting many nearby wolves.
As for the reward and compensation, Luo Chong attached great importance to it. Whether an army can fight depends on military discipline, but before you ask the soldiers to abide by discipline, as a leader and officer, you must first do your own thing well. Being able to distinguish rewards and punishments is what the officer needs to do.
The Tiger Guards who returned triumphantly were excited when they heard that they would be rewarded. Most of them came for military merit, and that's what they wanted.
Xue Dongliang also quickly reported the meritorious service of the soldiers. After checking, Luo Chong immediately made a reward or punishment decision. Because the way of recording merit is by group, if some groups have a full level of merit, then the whole group will be promoted to a higher level. If they are not enough to be promoted, they will be recorded in the archives first, and they will be rewarded when they reach the next level of merit.
In addition to the corresponding land granted to most of the promoted people, all the soldiers of the Huben Guard were also rewarded with ten goats each. In addition to the corresponding pension policy, the families of the martyrs also received an additional 20 goats, that is, ten goats for the soldiers and thirty goats for the families of the martyrs.
The bodies of the martyrs were pickled with lime and sent back to their hometowns by large ships for burial. Fortunately, the territory of the Han tribe is not very large now, so it would not take much time to do so.
As for the reason for such compensation, it was mainly to deal with the captured livestock. According to Ling Feng's opinion that goats could easily cause grassland desertification, Luo Chong decided to keep all the sheep, and the tens of thousands of goats seized were given as rewards to soldiers and martyrs' families. After they were brought back to the tribe, they could kill them for meat or raise them themselves, which was a considerable income. Moreover, they would definitely not let these sheep gnaw randomly in the Han tribe, and they would be fed with straw alone.
Especially for the martyrs' families, in addition to the monthly martyr subsidy of ten yuan (for their children to live until adulthood), all the martyrs who died were also promoted to one level of nobility, and the obtained nobility was inherited by their eldest son. In addition to the thirty goats, the widows and children could also improve their food. In addition to eating meat for themselves, raising dozens of sheep could also provide goat milk, shearing wool, and selling lambs for money. Even if there was no subsidy, relying on dozens of sheep alone could make their families worry-free, not to mention that they still had a lot of land at home.
In addition, because the martyr's family lost a labor force, Luo Chong also added a special pension policy. When their family members need to rent livestock for farm work, they can borrow cattle and horses from the animal husbandry under the jurisdiction of the local government for free, and handle it in an emergency and preferential manner to compensate for the lack of labor in the martyr's family.
After the promulgation of this series of pension policies, the morale of the army suddenly soared. The Han army, which usually looks very powerful, was upgraded from gold to star diamond level at this time, and even the spirit was different.
However, this is also a very normal thing. The pension is for the family of the dead and to take care of the lives of the orphans of the martyrs, but more importantly, it is for the living. The family of one person who died in battle can get a heavy pension. The leader promulgated a series of policies and subsidies to solve their worries. Which soldier would not fight for the Han tribe?
In addition to these, part of the remaining horses, cattle and sheep will be sent back to the Han tribe to supplement the number of livestock in the animal husbandry stations in various places and increase the number of livestock in the newly developed counties. The rest will be sold to the herdsmen who have surrendered to the Han tribe. Basically, a large number of sheep are exchanged for their small number of cattle and horses to provide more animal power to the counties where the Han tribe is located.
At the same time, this behavior can be regarded as a disguised reward for the herdsmen who have surrendered, because the price Luo Chong exchanged for them is very low, which makes the herdsmen very happy.
Luo Chong's idea is even simpler. Among the 100,000 livestock, in addition to 20,000 cattle and horses, 80,000 of them are sheep. In addition to rewarding meritorious soldiers and providing pensions to the families of martyrs, there are more than 50,000 left. Why do I need so many sheep? If I kill them all for meat, I guess I can't eat them all even if they rot. As for letting myself herd sheep, that is even more impossible.
Instead of doing this, it is better to exchange all these sheep for cattle and horses for the herdsmen, and then send the cattle and horses back to the tribe to pull carts and plows, which can be regarded as making the best use of them.
In addition, the white salt obtained from the Xin tribe was not enough for the Han tribe to eat, so they simply sold it to Suritu in exchange for cattle and horses, and then sent another 10,000 cattle and horses back to the Han tribe. In this way, the Han tribe added more than 40,000 livestock this time alone, which greatly increased the per capita livestock ownership of the Han tribe and completely solved the problem of the scarcity of livestock power in the Han tribe.
From this point of view alone, the cost of raising the army is valuable. It has only been a few months since the troops were sent out, and all the money has been earned back. The strategic plan of building a city on the grassland and managing the grassland trade for a long time can prove its necessity at this time. As long as there is such a trading point, the Han tribe will no longer lack livestock for use no matter how fast it develops in the future. Although the grassland today cannot be called the Han tribe’s own horse farm, the Han tribe has a decisive voice here.
Apart from other things, in terms of military strength, although the Han tribe is currently weak in attack, it is more than enough in defense. No one dares to underestimate the existence of the Han tribe. In terms of influence, as the only force that can sell white salt and metal products to the grassland, there is no need to explain too much. To be frank, without the Han tribe, the entire grassland will start to live a hard life.
Two weeks later, the situation of all parties in the entire grassland stabilized, and the new city began to be built steadily. In addition, with the help of the returning Han herdsmen and captives, the construction was also orderly.
Seeing this situation, Luo Chong planned to return to Hanyang City. First, he missed his wife and children after being away for a few months. Second, the seizure this time was significant. Not only did the livestock increase, but the number of captive slaves also increased a lot. With these sufficient labor resources, he could go back to do a lot of things. Many construction projects that had been approved for a long time were also ready to start, and he had to go back to preside over them in person.
In this way, in early May of the first year of Jianyuan, Luo Chong took a team of personal guards on a sailing boat to go home. After half a month of sailing, he finally returned to the lakeside dock of Weishan County at the end of May. When he rushed home, it was already early June.
The two children, Luo Cheng and Luo Lan, who were just born when the army went out, were now seven months old and began to learn to speak. After several months of careful feeding, the two little babies were white and fat and had a cute appearance. Luo Chong, who had been separated for half a year, loved them so much that he almost became a professional dad.
However, on the third day after Luo Chong returned home, a letter from Zhudao sent by an eagle brought Luo Chong good news again. The letter was written by Shouya and had many words, but it boiled down to one sentence, that is, Shouya had already negotiated with the Xin tribe about the delegation's permanent residence in Zhudao, and a piece of land was allocated for the delegation to use. Most of the content in the letter was Shouya's description of this base.
(End of this chapter)
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