Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 224 Honor and Benefits

Bao Chao followed his instructions and came to Li Shixian and the other man. He first clasped his fists and saluted before sitting down.

Li Shixian spoke.

"Bao Chao, you are a good boy."

"This time when the king came to Jiujiang, he specifically ordered to summon officers at all levels above the brigade level, or local governors at the prefectural level. I just looked around and found that you are the only regiment commander."

"You've earned your stripes this time!"

When Bao Chao heard this, his eyes moved and his mood obviously improved.

It turns out that I am really the special one!
Although Bao Chao felt somewhat proud, he still scratched his head and said.

"You are too kind, Commander. I am just lucky."

Upon hearing this, Li Shixian just patted him on the shoulder and said.

"Shit luck."

"You were summoned by the king this time not because of luck, but because of your achievements in fighting on the battlefield."

"More than a hundred people took over Jiangxia. Who else but you could have such a record?"

Li Yiwen on the side also said with a smile.

"Bao Chao, you have definitely caught the king's eye for being summoned this time. Your future is limitless..."

Just as everyone was talking, another group of people walked in from outside the concierge.

Although these people were also wearing Tang army uniforms, Bao Chao was quite unfamiliar with them. He had never seen them before and had no impression of them at all.

Seeing this, Li Shixian, who was a bit of a community veteran, took the initiative to greet him.

"I see that some of you brothers look unfamiliar. Which department are you from?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lexing clasped his fists in return and began to speak.

"I am Zhang Lexing, commander of the 91st Brigade. May I know who you are, brother?"

After the Nian Army accepted the amnesty from the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty immediately issued them a sum of military pay and provided them with a batch of food, fodder and military equipment, which was a very open and honest move.

When Li Yi arrived in Jiujiang this time, in order to facilitate the overall planning of the eastern expedition strategy, he ordered all the generals of the Nian Army to come to him for discussion.

The Nian Army had just received food, salaries and weapons from the Tang Dynasty. It was difficult for them to refuse.

So Zhang Lexing brought people here.

Of course, in order to prevent Li Yi from turning against them and catching all of them in Jiujiang.

Except for Zhang Lexing, the nominal leader of the alliance, the rest of the people coming from each tribe are deputy generals or confidants.

Although Li Yi did not have this idea, the Nian Army was newly surrendered after all, so it was reasonable to be on guard against them.

When Li Shixian heard this, he immediately realized that they were members of the Nian Army.

The 91st Brigade mentioned by Zhang Lexing does not mean that his unit is the 91st brigade-level unit of the Tang Army, but means the th Division, the st Brigade.

The reason why Li Shixian was able to identify Zhang Lexing's identity at once was because the Tang Dynasty organized the Nian Army into five brigades: the 91st, 92nd, 93rd, 101st, and 102nd.

As soon as Zhang Lexing reported the unit number, Li Shixian knew which unit he belonged to.

After listening to Zhang Lexing's question, Li Shixian responded.

"You are too polite, Commander Zhang. I am Li Shixian, Commander of the 63rd Brigade."

Zhang Lexing suddenly realized.

"It turns out to be Brother Li. I am so sorry for my disrespect."

Just as the few people were exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Tai, the chief attendant of Li Yi, came to the gatehouse of the government office.

After pushing the door open, he spoke to Li Yiwen, Li Shixian, Bao Chao and others.

"Please follow me, the king has summoned you."

After saying that, Zhang Tai turned around and gave instructions to Zhang Lexing and others.

"Please wait a moment, Commander Zhang."

Zhang Lexing nodded. Since he was under someone’s roof, he wouldn’t be unable to wait for such a short period of time.

After he finished speaking, Zhang Tai led the way, taking Li Yiwen and others to the lobby of the government office.

Soon, they were taken to the lobby of the government office.

Immediately, several people bowed together.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with good health and happiness!"

Li Yi nodded slightly and then said.

"Generals, please stand up."

After saying this, Li Yi said to Zhang Tai who was standing beside him.

"Zhang Tai, bring some chairs over and give seats to the generals."

Bao Chao, Li Yiwen and others sat down as they were told, but they did not dare to look directly at Li Yi who was sitting in the main seat. They could only glance at Li Yi out of the corner of their eyes.

This was the first time he met this famous hero!

Bao Chao's first impression of Li Yi was that he was young, handsome, and full of confidence.

One look at it and one cannot help but be impressed.

Come to think of it, if Bao Chao could command an army of hundreds of thousands and several provinces in his early twenties, beat the Qing court and kick the foreigners, and be almost invincible, then he might be more confident than Li Yi.

After everyone sat down, Li Yi began to speak.

"I came to Jiujiang this time to lead the army to the south of the Yangtze River. I summoned all the generals to meet me today to ask for their opinions on the eastward expedition..."

Although the Tang Dynasty's eastern expedition would not be changed because of the opinions of these generals, Li Yi still wanted to listen to their opinions and make final adjustments to the battle plan based on the opinions of these frontline generals.

Bao Chao continued to carefully look at Li Yi out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but compare him with the bigwigs in the Qing court that he had met when he was still a member of the Qing army.

However, he discovered that the so-called big shots he had met before, whether they were governors, generals, or famous scholars, could not compare with Li Yi in terms of demeanor.

This is really a very charming young man!
He spoke slowly and steadily, but inexplicably made people feel convinced and willing to follow him... After Li Yi finished talking with Li Yiwen and others, they turned their attention to Bao Chao.

He looked at this famous Hunan Army general in history with some curiosity.

"The first phase of the Eastern Expedition went smoothly and intensely. I am truly pleased."

"But when it comes to bravery, none is better than Bao Chaoer."

Li Yi spoke, his expression full of approval.

"He defeated thousands of troops with only a few hundred men and captured the world-famous city of Wuchang Prefecture. It is no exaggeration to say that he was the bravest among the three armies!"

After hearing Li Yi's praise, Bao Chao just clasped his fists and said.

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed of your praise!"

"I just did what I was supposed to do. The credit was given to all the soldiers in the army. How dare I attack?"

Li Yi said with a smile.

"Bao Chao, you are really too modest."

"If all the generals of the Tang Dynasty could be as brave as you, why would we worry about injustice in the world?"

Li Yi praised Bao Chao for a while, and then ordered someone to reward him with a custom-made sword and a gold medal engraved with the words "Bravest of the Three Armies" as a reward.

Well, what Li Yi is giving now are all unexpected honors.

As for promotions and rewards of gold, silver and land, these were naturally the responsibility of the relevant staff of the Personnel Department of the General Staff, and they have all been fulfilled.

Otherwise, how could Bao Chao be promoted from company commander to regiment commander in just a few months?

Li Yi would certainly not personally intervene in such matters that were full of the smell of money and utilitarianism.

All he had to do was to give honor and find ways to instill the idea that honor was above all else in the Tang army.

This is what Li Yi, the supreme ruler of the Tang Dynasty, should do.

As the boss, his mind can be filled with interests and calculations, but his words must only speak of honor and justice.

Of course, the benefits that should be given should also be given.

If you only talk about honor without giving any benefits, isn't that just being a hooligan?

If you act like a gangster too much, how will your subordinates dare to follow you?

After doing all this, Li Yiwen, Bao Chao and others took their leave.

After leaving the government office, Li Shixian took the sword that Li Yi had just awarded him from Bao Chao and played with it.

Pulling the sword out of the scabbard, looking at the blade that was flashing with cold light, and the inscription "Made in the second year of Zhaowu and awarded by the emperor" engraved on the blade, Li Shixian was filled with emotion.

"Good knife!"

"It is said that the king specially ordered the Foshan Arsenal to customize a batch of finely crafted sabers. The number is limited and is specifically used to reward important generals in the army as a token of his favor."

"It is usually reserved for officers of brigade rank and above."

"I didn't expect the king to give you the reward in advance. Bao Chao, you have definitely caught the king's eye this time. You have a promising future."

Although the knife is well made, it is actually not worth much.

But this thing was given by the emperor and is rare, so it is very valuable.

Although Li Shixian also had one, it was a reward from Li Yi according to convention, and all officers of the same rank had one.

It's obviously not as good as the special gift from Bao Chao!

Bao Chao said, scratching his head and smiling.

"I'll have to take care of you more in the future, Brigade Commander."

Li Shixian patted Bao Chao on the shoulder and said very proudly.

"You and I are brothers, if I don't take care of you, who should I take care of?"

However, Li Yiwen, who was standing by, was jealous of the imperial medal.

There is no other reason, it’s just that the four big words “The Bravest among the Three Armies” on the medal are so eye-catching.

Although the Tang army now has corresponding medals for different levels of military merit, how can those wholesale medals compare to this custom-made one?
You should know that Li Yi has only awarded one medal of this honor so far.

The honor represented here is really too great!
……

After Li Yiwen and others left, Li Yi summoned Zhang Lexing and others who came from Anhui.

After arranging Zhang Lexing and others to sit down, Li Yi began to speak.

"When I was in Guangzhou, I heard that there was a good man named Zhang Lexing in the Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan areas. He often led his brothers to rob the rich and help the poor, and to eliminate violence and protect the good. He was like Lord Xinling in the world."

"Now that I see it, it's true that there is no false reputation!"

"What a hero!"

I can’t say anything else, but when recruiting talents, Li Yi definitely gives the maximum emotional value.

Li Yi is never stingy when it comes to things that can be given with just a few words.

Upon hearing this, although Zhang Lexing still had some resentment towards the Tang Dynasty for using means to divide the Nian Army when recruiting them, the resentment in his heart involuntarily dissipated a lot when faced with the praise from his superior Li Yi.

The two exchanged a few polite words, and Li Yi immediately started to talk about the practical stuff.

"This time the army is marching eastward to Jiangnan to fight against the Qing demons, and Anhui is also one of the important battlefields."

"When the time comes, we will inevitably ask Brigade Commander Zhang and his brothers to contribute more."

"How about this, I will order someone to give your family 500,000 silver dollars as funds for the expedition."

"In addition, I will provide you with 3,000 foreign rifles, 20 cannons, and a number of corresponding bullets and shells, which will be used for the army's operations."

"What do you think?"

Li Yi understood that when facing a force that had just surrendered to him, he must not just make empty promises, as doing so would only drive the other party away from his loyalty.

If you want to win the other person's heart, you have to give him something practical.

Something practical is better than anything else!
(End of this chapter)