Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 318 Rewards based on merit
"The blame for Jiqing's failure lies with me."

Under the desperate protection of the Yuan army, Bai Buha escaped back to his residence, refused to flee, and chose to write a memorial to the throne.

He briefly described the course of the battle, as well as his own experience of being ambushed and instead outmaneuvered.

In the final summary, he solemnly offered advice to Emperor Yuan.

In any case, we must mobilize the greatest possible force to eliminate the Red Turban Army that has captured Jiqing.

Otherwise, the Yuan Dynasty would surely perish at the hands of this Red Turban Army.

This is considered his last testament.

He handed the memorial to his trusted confidant.

They wanted to escape the city before the other city gates were breached and send the memorial to Dadu.

Watching his trusted men ride away into the distance, Baibha withdrew his gaze and turned to go to his room.

Halfway there, he stopped and asked, "Have those traitors all been dealt with?"

"Prime Minister, all the traitors in the city, regardless of age or gender, should be dealt with."

"The women have all been sent to the technical training camps, so it's probably difficult to give orders now."

"It's alright." Baibuha waved his hand and walked towards his house. "Don't worry about the women."

"When a tribe on the grassland is wiped out, the women are not killed."

"You all should run for your lives!"

The Red Turban Army stormed into the city, wiping out the Yuan army's elite forces and plunging the city into chaos.

In this situation, even if Prime Minister Toqto'a were to be resurrected, it would be futile.

The fall of the city was due to Baibha's wrong decision.

He is a responsible person and will naturally take responsibility for his decisions.

Back inside, he lit his letters, seals, and other belongings and threw them into the brazier to burn.

In particular, those rare books and paintings he collected from various parts of Jiangnan were his most cherished possessions.

Although the Mongols had only ruled the Central Plains for a few decades, many people had already been deeply influenced by Confucian culture.

While the situation in Baikal is not yet that serious, it is showing signs of becoming severe.

However, none of that matters now.

When the faint sounds of battle cries came from outside the window, Baibha quickened his pace.

He took down his family's heirloom bow and broke it in two with great effort.

He raised his family heirloom sword and held it against his neck.

"Eternal Heaven~ Free shipping, don't let these Han armies go to the grasslands!"

Having personally witnessed the formidable fighting power of the Red Turban Army, Baibuha was filled with despair.

These Han troops are too powerful; there is almost no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

He had already foreseen that the Yuan Dynasty would not last more than a few years before being driven back to the grasslands.

Now, the only hope is that these powerful Han troops will not pursue them to the grasslands and wipe them out!
As dawn broke, large numbers of Red Turban soldiers poured into the city from various gates.

Military clerks posted notices to reassure the people, and loud-voiced soldiers shouted military regulations along the streets.

"Kill those who take advantage of the chaos!"

Anyone who harbors defeated soldiers will be executed!

"Kill those who commit violence and evil!"

The army's entry into the city brought chaos, a period when crime was rampant.

Countless people took advantage of the chaos to commit evil.

Lin Dao has a lot of experience in this area.

His first step was to promise large-scale rewards for military achievements in order to stabilize the morale of the most destructive force.

After all, ancient sieges were usually followed by massacres of varying scales.

If you want people to work hard, you have to give them enough benefits.

Otherwise, at best they won't work hard in the future, at worst they'll simply rebel.

Lin Dao relied on high welfare and generous treatment to maintain morale among his troops; otherwise, where would the Red Turban Army have gotten such strong fighting power and cohesion?

Having stabilized the morale of the troops, the next step was to control the city.

Fully equipped armored soldiers patrolled the streets, and anyone caught committing a crime was dealt with according to military law.

After the abolition of corporal punishment, military law, in essence, only has two types.

One is the military baton, the kind that can actually kill people.

Another option is beheading.

When Lin Dao entered the city, he saw many severed heads hanging on the street.

They were all baring their teeth and looking ferocious.

The heads of Yuan soldiers are not displayed here; they are valuable items that can be exchanged for military merits.

Those hanging here are the ones who were beheaded for committing evil deeds within the city.

Lin Dao glanced at it once and then paid no more attention.

He had seen and dealt with too many people like this, and was already used to it.

Arriving at the government office, Lin Dao set up his camp there.

"King Ming."

Li Shanchang, who had been frightened earlier, ran over to report with tears of joy.

"The spies in the city didn't betray us; they were caught by Yuan Gou because their plans were leaked."

He was genuinely terrified.

He even thought that the Ming King wanted to kill him.

Once inside the city, he went on a mad search for those bastards who didn't keep their word to take revenge.

Only then did he realize that it wasn't these guys who had tricked him, but rather that they hadn't kept their plans secret.

Not only did they perish, but they were also exploited by the Yuan army, almost causing the Red Turban Army to fall into a trap.

"is it?"

Lin Dao was somewhat skeptical. "Call them over."

“King Ming,” Li Shanchang hurriedly explained, “they couldn’t come. They were all slaughtered by the Yuan dogs. They didn’t even spare the elderly or infants.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao immediately frowned.

The brutality of the Mongols was no less than that of the Tartars.

Every time the barbarian invaders entered China, it was accompanied by endless massacres.

The conquests of the barbarians were accompanied by blood and tears!
"That's it."

Lin Daoyang nodded, indicating, "You should avenge your friends."

As a smart man, Li Shanchang immediately understood Lin Dao's meaning.

He immediately bowed and turned to avenge his tragically killed friends. At that moment, all talk of repaying evil with kindness was nonsense; only justice would prevail!

If you do the first day of the month, I will do the fifteenth!

It has to be doubled!
After Li Shanchang left, Lin Dao instructed Feng Guoyong to "send a telegram to Xu Da and ask him how things are going on his end."

The most important thing in commanding an army is commanding distance.

In the era of cold weapons, commanding an army mainly relied on personal guards riding horses to deliver messages.

But things are different here at Lindao; it has high technology!
Use a walkie-talkie when you're close, and a radio when you're far.

The problem wasn't the supplies; the problem was the difficulty in training qualified telegraph operators.

Only now have a few been trained to follow Xu Da south to capture Hongdu (Nanchang).

The purpose of capturing Hongdu was to cut off Xu Shouhui's Tianwan regime's eastward expansion.

At the same time, it also opened up a passage to the south, preparing for future southward expansion into Guangdong and Guangxi.

Before the expansion of the army, Lin Dao commanded 20,000 to 30,000 Red Turban Army soldiers using walkie-talkies.

He already has a lot of relevant experience, and with a flat management structure, commanding an army of this size shouldn't be a problem.

Later, after the army expanded, it gradually became impossible to command it all.

This led to the promotion of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, who were then appointed to lead armies respectively.

However, the army was still too large, causing inconvenience in command.

This time, Lin Dao plans to promote another batch of generals who are capable of taking charge independently.

The administration of maintaining order in the city was left to Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, Shi Nai'an, Luo Guanzhong, and others.

They each recruited people from their hometown, classmates, and classmates of the same year.

Lin Dao drew a red line for them: those who had served the Mongols were not to be considered, nor were those from wealthy landlord families.

Of course, these are all temporary measures, used only when urgently needed.

As the talent cultivated by the military's night-time snack service matures, they will gradually replace the military personnel.

Lin Dao's attitude was simple.

They would rather pacify the whole world and have military leaders everywhere than give scholars who represent the powerful landlords and tyrants a chance to rise to prominence.

At least the military leaders could defeat the barbarians, unlike the scholars who would send back the land that their soldiers had fought and lost their lives!
Lin Dao had long since lost trust in so-called scholars.

As the unrest in the city gradually stabilized, the ceremony to reward military merits followed.

As for the location, it was set at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain, on the shore of Xuanwu Lake.

First, the soldiers who had made meritorious contributions stepped forward in groups to receive their rewards.

In addition to the reward for capturing heads, he also received a medal commemorating his participation in the war.

These medals come with corresponding rights in addition to honor.

After retiring, he wore medals and received the same courtesy as officials.

Wearing medals, one can go straight into the government office.

Having medals can exempt you from a portion of your taxes; the more medals you have, the more you can be exempted from taxes.

Furthermore, different medals also come with an annual stipend.

Although the quantity is small, something is better than nothing.

With these benefits, even in old age, children will take good care of you.

After all, as long as they live, they can receive money and food and be exempt from taxes, so naturally, the children hope to live as long as possible.

It is precisely because of these benefits that the soldiers are so enthusiastic about the medals.

If it were only of commemorative value, it would probably have been sold by the soldiers to merchants in the army market long ago.

As I said before, people in ancient times rarely talked about ideals and sacrifices; they genuinely didn't value those things.

As long as the benefits are sufficient and appropriate.

There are plenty of people willing to risk their lives for you.

Lin Daofa's rewards mainly consisted of copper coins, silver, and military scrip.

It reduced physical expenditures and focused primarily on supplying money to improve the monetary system.

Military scrip was printed in South Africa.

It is exquisitely made, with anti-counterfeiting lines and a plastic film attached.

Given the level of technology in ancient times, it was absolutely impossible to replicate.

Moreover, Lin Dao is not stupid; he would never engage in excessive or indiscriminate issuance of bonds.

He knew perfectly well the lesson that the Yuan Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang's actions directly led to the collapse of the monetary system, turning perfectly good paper money into worthless paper.

After the sergeants received theirs, it was the officers' turn.

Mid-level officers, such as platoon leaders, all received silver medals.

The rewards were also much more generous.

Those who made outstanding contributions and performed exceptionally well were promoted to the rank of centurion.

They were all awarded medals and rewards personally by Lin Dao to show his respect.

Next to take office were mid- to high-ranking military officers such as the commander of a thousand men.

When everyone received their rewards, they were all all smiles, except for Tang He, whose face was displeased.

Lin Dao asked him curiously, "Why do you have such an expression on such a wonderful day?"

With a face full of sadness, Tang He angrily accused Fu Youde, "He stole my chainsaw!"

After hearing the details, Lin Dao laughed and said, "Then let him compensate you with a few more bottles of good wine!"

"His achievements in this battle were not due to the chainsaw, but to his bravery and courage!"

“If all women in the Central Plains were so courageous, what role would the Mongols have?”

"I intend to establish the Fifth Battalion of the Imperial Guard and appoint you as the guerrilla general to lead this battalion."

Fu Youde was the second to last person to take the stage, before Chang Yuchun.

Lin Dao pinned a gold medal on him. "Well done. How are your injuries?"

Fu Youde, whose arm was in a sling, hurriedly replied, "It's nothing, I'll be fine after some rest."

"I intend to establish the Fourth Battalion of the Imperial Guards and appoint you as its adjutant."

Fu Youde was overjoyed and immediately bowed in respect.

"I am willing to die for the Wise King!"

When Chang Yuchun stepped onto the wooden platform and came to the forest path.

He saw the gold medal in Lin Dao's hand, which was inlaid with two swords!

"Golden Double Swords Medal of Honor"

"I finally got it!"

(End of this chapter)