All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 293: A Star General Emerges and Conquers a Famous City

"The treatment in the army is similar to that of the Shen Ce Army."

"The annual salary is thirty-six stones, and twenty-one pieces of clothing are given in spring and winter."

"Three festivals and two rewards will be distributed according to the rules."

Faced with the treatment announced by Chen Ran, the Pinglu Army prisoners were truly moved.

Shouting passionate slogans is not very effective. What really touches people's hearts is generous treatment.

It's just like the capitalists in later generations who wanted to recruit hard-working soldiers with a monthly salary of several thousand yuan. It's really stupid.

Many prisoners immediately shouted to him, "Is what the general said true?"

Chen Ran said sternly, "This general never lies to men."

But he quickly changed the subject, "But you fought against the rebels before, and were defeated and captured. How can you become a soldier right after you get here?"

This also makes sense.

The defeated generals who had just been defeated suddenly became soldiers with the same treatment as themselves. What would the soldiers under Chen Ran who fought bloody battles and finally won the victory think?
"General, please tell me what you mean."

"If you are willing to surrender, you can join the auxiliary soldiers camp." Chen Ran waved his hand and said, "Auxiliary soldiers will receive half the salary of combat soldiers."

Even though their treatment was cut in half, the prisoners did not feel it was too bad. It was already higher than that of the Autumn Defense Army.

Before the An-Shi Rebellion, the Tang army was treated very well.

But after the Anshi Rebellion, the financial capacity of the Tang Dynasty declined significantly, and the treatment provided to the army also plummeted.

You should know that the best-treated army in the world is the Shence Army.

The treatment of soldiers in local vassal states and guards was better, but still far inferior to that of the Shen Ce Army.

That is similar to the treatment given to Chen Ran’s auxiliary soldiers.

Not to mention the military forces in the prefectures and counties directly under the imperial court.

The spring and winter clothing, family rations, and even daily rations and pickles given to ordinary county soldiers had long been cancelled.

They usually could only get a dozen dan of grain a year, and only got some benefits during the three festivals and two grants.

In the Tang Dynasty, one stone of grain weighed just over 100 kilograms, so more than a thousand kilograms of grain a year seemed like a lot, but in that era of oil and water scarcity, a family of several could only make ends meet.

But life is not just about eating, there are other expenses, which makes life tight.

When Huang Chao started the uprising, he was able to run rampant in the areas directly under the imperial court. A very important reason for this was that the local troops were not very motivated to fight.

Moreover, he rarely provoked the feudal lords, because he knew that the combat effectiveness of their troops was not on the same level as that of the imperial court's troops.

Chen Ran arranged personnel to reorganize the prisoners and distribute them to various auxiliary troops after they were dispersed.

As for himself, he called on the auxiliary soldiers to find a place on Yanggu Mountain and dig pits to bury the soldiers who died in the battle.

As for the dead soldiers of the Pinglu Army, the prisoners of war took them to Yushan on the other side of the river to dig a grave and bury them.

The Tang Dynasty warriors were very conscious and all knew that once they went into battle, this day would inevitably come. However, few of them cried or wailed, or fought to the death.

After burying the soldiers, they recorded their military records and returned to their old camp to distribute pensions to their families.

If someone has no family, then they will just be recorded in the register and will be distributed when their relatives are found.

To be honest, the imperial court often ignored the soldiers who died in battle, so Chen Ran was already very kind.

This scene also made the captives feel more at ease, and they felt that it was not bad to follow such a general.

The next step is to count the results of the battle and reward the soldiers according to their merits.

It has been promised before that any auxiliary soldier who can kill a soldier of the first rank can join the combat army.

Among the hundreds of auxiliary soldiers who participated in the battle, over a hundred achieved victory, but only eighty-three actually survived the war, including a dozen wounded.

Chen Ran fulfilled his promise on the spot and announced that these eighty-three people were all combat soldiers and would be added to several teams that had suffered heavy losses.

As for those who had made achievements but died in battle, Chen Ran stated, "If there are sons and nephews in the family, they can join the army for their merits."

"If sons and nephews have not yet grown up, they can receive their salaries according to the military regulations until they grow up."

If there are no children or nephews in the family, then there is nothing we can do.

As a result, all the combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers under Chen Ran began to think about getting married and having sons.

"Any soldier who kills an armored soldier of one rank will be rewarded with five strings of money and ten pieces of silk." Chen Ran met with the soldiers who had made military achievements one by one and stated that he would pay the money immediately when he returned to the old camp and would not delay the payment!
These things may seem a bit tedious, but the truth lies in the small things.

The soldiers are not NPCs, they have flesh and blood and emotions. It is not easy to win their hearts.

"Team leader Ge Congzhou won the first place in the third rank."

Looking at the young man in front of him, two lines of subtitles floated across Chen Ran's eyes.

'Meet the historical figure Ge Congzhou, a native of Juancheng, Puzhou. This person is open-minded and brave. He is a famous general in the founding of the Later Liang Dynasty and is loyal to Zhu Wen.'

'Note: You can modify two of the words.'

Chen Ran looked at Ge Congzhou in front of him with a little surprise, and after a moment he changed "loyal to Zhu Wen" to "loyal to Chen Ran".

Almost in an instant, Ge Congzhou, looking at the great general in front of him, suddenly felt that the great general was a man of heaven, with the world in his heart and determined to pacify the troubled times. This was the wise leader in his heart~~~
"According to the rules, I will give you 15 strings of cash and 30 pieces of silk."

After talking about the reward, Chen Ran smiled and said, "You are so brave and good at fighting, so come to the guards and be a captain."

Hearing this, Ge Congzhou was overjoyed and immediately bowed and saluted, "Thank you, General! I will die for you!"

'The changes have been made, and the rewards are now being distributed.'

'Note: 400 sets of horse armor will be issued.' Chen Ran smiled even more broadly. They had just captured a large number of horses, and horse armor would be even more powerful.

The cavalry of the Tang Dynasty was very powerful, but by the end of the Tang Dynasty, the towns in the Central Plains were short of cavalry and could only rely mainly on infantry.

The reason why the Pinglu Army had so many horses was due to their close relationship with Youzhou Town.

The Pinglu Army, which originated in Yingzhou, purchased horses from Youzhou Town every year and transported them by sea.

In addition, the Pinglu Army had a good relationship with the Henghai Army in the north, and the Henghai Army had many horse farms and was willing to sell them to the Pinglu Army.

Chen Ran seized nearly five thousand horses, of which more than a thousand were war horses, and the rest were pack horses, draft horses, riding horses, etc.

As the sky gradually darkened, the auxiliary soldiers began to build a camp, preparing to spend the night here before going to Yanggu County to find the old camp.

Unexpectedly, before dark, the hundreds of cavalrymen that Chen Ran had sent out in advance, who were actually mounted infantry, came back, bringing with them the head of Yang Jian, the commander of the Zhuangshan Army who had escaped before, as well as the defeated soldiers who had fled before.

Yang Jian was also unlucky. During his humiliating escape, he was blocked by a group of mounted infantry and his head was chopped off.

After dinner, the soldiers returned to their tents to sleep.

Chen Ran was looking at a map in the military tent, thinking about his next course of action.

Even the night wind can hardly blow away the summer heat.

The tent was so hot and stuffy that he simply got up and went out for a walk.

The military camp was actually very dark at night, with lights only in a few places in the camp.

Chen Ran, the commander-in-chief, had several pots of fire lit outside his tent.

In the light of the fire, Chen Ran saw Ge Congzhou. "You just joined the Guard today, and you are assigned to guard the night?"

Ge Congzhou immediately saluted and said, "It is my duty to protect the safety of the general!"

"it is good."

Chen Ran smiled and nodded. After exchanging a few pleasantries and enjoying the night breeze for a while, he planned to go back to sleep.

But he saw Ge Congzhou hesitated to speak, as if he wanted to say something.

He paused and asked, "If you have something to say, just tell me."

"General!" Ge Congzhou responded immediately, "I spoke to the captives from Zhuangshandu and learned that their auxiliary troops were following behind, about 40 to 50 miles away."

"You mean to capture this auxiliary force?"

"General, please understand." Ge Congzhou nodded and said, "The soldiers of Zhuangshandu have been defeated. Find someone with prestige and good words to persuade them to surrender. We can get thousands of auxiliary soldiers and the military supplies and fodder they transported."

Chen Ran didn't want to expand the army too quickly. After all, he was taking the elite route and the salaries he offered were too high.

If the number of people increases dramatically, the pressure will be great.

However, military supplies and fodder are right in front of us, and we cannot let them go.

After thinking for a while, Chen Ran instructed, "In that case, tomorrow morning you will lead 200 cavalrymen and go to Shandu to find someone who can speak to persuade them to surrender. Only regular soldiers are needed, not civilians."

Ge Congzhou was overjoyed and immediately bowed, "Yes!"

The next morning, Ge Congzhou selected a few people from among the captives and followed the cavalry to attack the auxiliary troops in Zhuangshandu.

This time, Ge Congzhou returned on horseback only when the sun was high in the sky.

"General, we have persuaded the auxiliary soldiers to join you."

Ge Congzhou's face was full of joy. "Most of these auxiliary troops are from Licheng (Jinan) County. They are willing to help the general capture Licheng!"

When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, was in power, he had nothing better to do so he changed all the states in the country into counties.

Qizhou was first changed to Qi County, then to Linzi County, and after a few years it was changed to Jinan County.

When his son Li Heng came to power, he changed all the counties back into prefectures.

It's really an endless hassle.

The capital of Qizhou was Licheng.

"Licheng's defenses are weak, with only a few hundred defenders." Ge Congzhou said excitedly, "Those auxiliary soldiers are willing to persuade their fellow villagers to surrender the city."

Chen Ran asked with a slightly puzzled look, "Why?"

It can't be that he is so domineering that people can bow down to him even from dozens of miles away.

Ge Congzhou replied with some trepidation, "I promised them a reward after they conquered the city, and I also promised them revenge."

"Ok?"

Chen Ran raised his eyebrows and said, "Explain clearly."

"The governor of Qizhou embezzled military pay and withheld rewards, and many soldiers in the state hated him." Ge Congzhou's eyes were eager, full of joy for the general's expansion of power. "As long as they are allowed to kill the governor for revenge and divide his property, they are willing to take Licheng for the general."

Seeing Chen Ran remaining silent, Ge Congzhou felt somewhat uneasy.

Fortunately, Chen Ran smiled after a while and did not punish him. Instead, he praised and promised, "If this can be accomplished, you will be a battalion commander."

Ge Congzhou was overjoyed and immediately saluted, "Thank you, General!"

"Don't thank me yet." Chen Ran waved his hand. "In that case, I will give you all the cavalry to go to Licheng. I will go to Yanggu County to pick up the old camp and arrive in Licheng in ten days."

"Don't worry, General!"

Ge Congzhou responded loudly with full confidence, "When the general arrives in Licheng, I will have already occupied the city!"

(End of this chapter)