Song Xiu

Chapter 55 Zhao Dexiu is now a small-time millionaire.

Zhao Dexiu has always been a quick-thinking person.

Amidst shouts of battle, Zhao Dexiu signaled to his servants behind him to urge the donkey cart to follow him.

When Zhao Dexiu arrived in front of the first soldier from Chanzhou on the left, he didn't say anything, but silently took out the money from the donkey cart behind him and handed it to him.

Zhao Dexiu's actions were observed by the two hundred soldiers of Chanzhou.

When Zhao Dexiu personally handed the money to the first soldier from Chanzhou, not only was this soldier shaken, but the other soldiers from Chanzhou were as well.

Since the late Tang Dynasty, there have been many people who treat their soldiers well. Even among the imperial guards, the emperor's personal guards received much better treatment than ordinary soldiers.

But the difference in treatment is one thing, since they enlisted, the two hundred soldiers from Chanzhou have never heard of their commander personally distributing money to the soldiers.

It should be understood that in that era, soldiers had a very low social status, while Zhao Dexiu was a prince of noble status!
Two identities, one in heaven and one in earth, but now heaven and earth seem to be connected!
The feeling of being valued and honored was first experienced by ordinary soldiers during the chaotic Five Dynasties period.

The Five Dynasties was a chaotic era teeming with demons and monsters. The reason why the Five Dynasties were so chaotic was due to the prevailing atmosphere and the system. It does not mean that every soldier was born evil.

Otherwise, Zhao Kuangyin's military reforms would not have been successful in history.

The desire for good governance is the most sincere hope in the hearts of every citizen, and these newly enlisted soldiers are also ordinary people.

Zhao Dexiu was swift and decisive, handing out money quickly. As he passed each strong man, he observed the changes in their eyes.

When Zhao Dexiu saw the emotion he longed for, he knew that everything he had done that day had not been in vain.

Zhao Dexiu had never led an army, but he at least had the knowledge of later generations, and he had seen many of the propagandas of his previous life.

Even in later generations where the concept of equality is deeply ingrained, when a leader personally awards medals to a select group of people, regardless of whether the individuals themselves are moved, even someone watching from behind a television screen can feel the surge of emotions within them.

We should learn from good experiences, but we shouldn't blindly copy them.

In chaotic times, spiritual enjoyment must be based on material things; money must be distributed first before spiritual pursuits can be discussed!

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Dexiu, having distributed the money, returned to the two hundred soldiers from Chanzhou.

Then, at Zhao Dexiu's prompting, Lü Duan, holding a military order, loudly recited:

"The Chanzhou Army has five military orders."

As the investigating officer, Lü Duan began to explain military discipline to the Chanzhou army.

The military discipline of Chanzhou, drafted by Lü Duan, mainly consisted of five aspects: prohibiting desertion, curbing plunder, maintaining discipline within the army, clarifying rewards and punishments, and restraining officers and soldiers.

Each aspect has its own detailed rules, and each detailed rule has its own corresponding punishment.

During the chaotic Five Dynasties period, in order to minimize the possibility of mutiny, punishments were very severe, with beheading, slow slicing, and execution of relatives being commonplace.

With such severe punishments, a mutiny should have been greatly reduced, but in reality, it wasn't.

The reason is not that many people are not afraid of death, but that many strict military disciplines only restrain ordinary soldiers, and rarely punish middle and high-ranking officers.

The surge in support for the new leader is largely related to this injustice.

While Zhao Dexiu couldn't manage other areas for the time being, he wouldn't show any leniency towards his core group of loyal followers.

After Lü Duan finished reading the military regulations, he specifically emphasized at the end:

"Anyone who violates military discipline, from the highest-ranking military commander down to the lowest soldier, shall be severely punished according to orders, without any leniency!"

As soon as Lü Duan finished speaking, the eyes of the two hundred soldiers from Chanzhou instantly became serious.

I've heard many cruel orders in the army. The orders of the Chanzhou army are not much different from those of the Imperial Guard, but it is very rare to see one that explicitly punishes superiors.

However, this explicit wording greatly enhanced the two hundred soldiers of Chanzhou's sense of identification with military orders.

Moreover, Zhao Dexiu first gave sufficient rewards before talking about severe punishments. With this foundation, even if the military orders were strict, the two hundred soldiers of Chanzhou would accept them.

"promise!"

The two hundred soldiers from Chanzhou answered in unison, "Yes, sir!" Upon hearing this unified shout of obedience, Zhao Dexiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Only at this moment did he begin to grasp the basics of these two hundred people.

Even before the army was formed, Zhao Dexiu had already considered how he would control his first direct-line armed force.

The army values ​​ability, and Zhao Dexiu once considered whether to adopt some training methods from later generations to let the soldiers experience his abilities.

But Zhao Dexiu soon discovered that this path was not viable.

Under Zhao Kuangyin's leadership, the training methods of the Imperial Guards had become quite sophisticated: not only were there regular training in various weapons and formations, but even basic training in weighted running and obstacle climbing was included.

Realizing that this approach wouldn't work, Zhao Dexiu turned her attention elsewhere.

After much deliberation, Zhao Dexiu focused on two aspects: "compensation and benefits" and "spiritual development".

Compensation and benefits are the cornerstone of moral development.

What frustrated Zhao Dexiu even more was that many of the benefits and welfare that existed in later generations were already taking shape in his time.

For example, healthcare and housing.

Fortunately, due to the limitations of the era, many benefits and privileges were not yet fully developed and their scope of application was quite limited, with most being available only to the personal guards of generals.

Since becoming the founder was impossible, Zhao Dexiu could only utilize the knowledge of later generations to become the synthesizer.

Even the best system can fail to adapt to local conditions and cause chaos.

Adapting many excellent systems from later generations, such as "five social insurances and one housing fund, and preferential treatment for children," to local conditions and adapt them to the times is a cautious, time-consuming, and labor-intensive task.

Especially in feudal society, the success of a system was directly related to the power held by its implementers.

Zhao Dexiu currently has too little power and needs to continue developing his abilities.

Although many excellent systems cannot be used directly, it does not prevent Zhao Dexiu from adapting some of them by first borrowing the existing framework.

For example, Zhao Dexiu's protection of soldiers who died in battle was a veneer of the contemporary "hereditary system of personal guards".

By rationalizing and appropriately increasing the amount of benefits, many advanced welfare systems can be integrated into the core troops. This will not only ensure the troops remain loyal, but also serve as a pilot for future military reform plans.

Of course, money is an essential foundation for the continued reform of compensation and benefits.

Zhao Dexiu is not short of money at the moment.

During the Five Dynasties period, monarchs often rewarded meritorious service with large sums of money.

For example, after the Chenqiao Mutiny, many generals such as Shi Shouxin and Wang Shenqi were rewarded by Zhao Kuangyin with a fortune of one million strings of cash, not including land, houses and other rewards.

Zhao Dexiu was the one who "made the greatest contribution" in establishing the regime, so how could he have received less money as a reward than Shi Shouxin and others?

Zhao Kuangyin bestowed his former residence upon Zhao Dexiu, and most importantly, his former residence contained the wealth he had accumulated over many years of fighting.

In the battle of Huainan alone, Zhao Kuangyin received nearly a million strings of cash as a reward.

Besides being a reward from Emperor Zhou Shizong, this million strings of cash also came from an unspoken rule of the time: those who made outstanding military achievements would have their treasury's wealth taken first upon conquering a prefecture.

The law of the jungle prevails, and this holds true in chaotic times.

Knowing this well, Zhao Dexiu took the risk to try and claim the "first merit in supporting the establishment."

"The first merit in establishing the dynasty" is not just a simple honorary title, but will transform into sweet spring water, constantly nourishing Zhao Dexiu's small and barren foundation of power in all aspects.

Of course, even the sweetest spring water cannot be inexhaustible.

If you want your power to continue to grow, there is only one fundamental way—to continuously make contributions!
In times of chaos, the only way to survive is to exchange military achievements for power and wealth.

(End of this chapter)