High Martial Arts: First day of dropping out of school, reward: Devouring the Emperor's Body

Looking at these soldiers, Li Mo's sense of guilt only intensified.

He walked to the side and then called Zheng Jiahao over.

"Zheng Jiahao, you know all about these people. Go and take stock of them, then give me a list of the fallen. I'll ask the higher-ups for their compensation. Also, make sure to comfort their families."

"If they can't return with me alive and well, at least they should return home with dignity!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jiahao sighed, then said, "Sigh! Okay!"

Before long, Zheng Jiahao brought over a list of the dead, which contained information on more than four thousand people.

Although the entire Great Xia army had just experienced a major battle and urgently needed reorganization, Li Mo still brought this list to Zhao Zhenyuan's central army camp.

Seeing Li Mo wrapped in bandages, Zhao Zhenyuan asked in confusion, "Li Mo, why aren't you properly recuperating? What are you doing in my tent?"

"Don't even mention there's no war yet; even if there were, it wouldn't be your turn to go!"

Li Mo was naturally aware of this, and then he handed the list to Zhao Zhenyuan.

"Don't worry, Zhao Shuai, I'm not some war maniac. The vanguard battalion also needs rest and recuperation right now. I'm here to do something for the brothers in the vanguard battalion."

Upon seeing the list, Zhao Zhenyuan's expression hardened.

With Zhao Zhenyuan's intelligence, how could he not see that many of the people above were prisoners of war from the mining area? However, according to regulations, prisoners of war were not entitled to death benefits.

Moreover, Zhao Zhenyuan promised Li Mo many benefits beforehand when Li Mo led the vanguard battalion into battle, including a large sum of compensation.

If the prisoners of war in these mining areas received the same compensation as those in the vanguard battalion, then that amount would be quite substantial.

Zhao Zhenyuan then said in a deep voice, "Li Mo, these people are all excellent, worthy of being soldiers of our Great Xia! But I cannot give them this batch of compensation."

Upon hearing this, Li Mo's expression immediately changed, and this was a rare instance of him losing his temper.

They were never afraid of enemies on the battlefield, but the betrayal by their own people was even more tragic.

Li Mo retorted angrily, "What do you mean by this? They are all brothers in my vanguard battalion, regardless of whether they are prisoners or not! Since they follow me, Li Mo, and acknowledge me as their battalion commander, I must fight for what is rightfully theirs!"

"If you don't issue this compensation, do you want to discourage all the brothers in the army?"

Zhao Zhenyuan looked helpless, seemingly anticipating Li Mo's outburst, and continued, "Let me finish. This compensation isn't being distributed by me, but by you! The White Ou Empire hasn't made any moves yet. I estimate that we and the Black Earth Tribe will remain inactive for the next few days. Tomorrow, the entire army will hold a merit-based reward ceremony; you'll understand then!"

Seeing that Li Mo's expression had softened somewhat, Zhao Zhenyuan continued, "Li Mo, you haven't been in the army for very long, and your foundation is still weak. Although you've gained fame because of this battle, the veterans in the army may not necessarily respect you!"

"Remember these people in your vanguard battalion now; they will be the foundation of your future!"

Li Mo seemed to understand Zhao Zhenyuan's meaning and nodded silently.

The next day, the merit-based reward conference that Zhao Zhenyuan had mentioned arrived as scheduled.

All members of the Vanguard Battalion were present, and almost all of them sat in the front row.

After a day of rest, Li Mo and the others had almost all their bandages removed.

Standing on the stage, Zhao Zhenyuan first expressed his appreciation to all the soldiers who participated in the war, saying that without their valiant fighting, they certainly could not have annihilated so many enemy troops.

This is an extremely rare and resounding victory in the last two decades.

Next, Zhao Zhenyuan specifically commended the vanguard battalion.

"Comrades, in this great battle, the people we should be most grateful to are the brothers of the vanguard battalion! Without them, perhaps there would have been no war, nor our great victory!"

These words were met with enthusiastic applause from the entire audience.

Because Zhao Zhenyuan's words were indeed true, every member of the vanguard battalion demonstrated the strength to be worth ten men, and they truly deserved their reputation.

"I have decided to promote every brother in the Vanguard Battalion by one rank and award them a collective first-class merit! They will also be granted the title of Collective Combat Hero!"

A collective first-class merit is extremely rare in the entire history of the new era, yet not a single person stood up to raise any objections.

After commending all the brothers in the vanguard battalion, Zhao Zhenyuan mentioned Li Mo.

"Li Mo, as the commander of the vanguard battalion, you should all have heard of him to some extent. He deserves the greatest credit for this victory! He annihilated 10,000 enemy medical troops, secured hundreds of thousands of kilograms of star crystals for the country, and even used himself as bait to help us achieve this victory!"

"I hereby announce that Li Mo, the commander of the vanguard battalion, has been promoted from the rank of Second Lieutenant to Major General, skipping several ranks!"

Upon hearing this, the entire audience gasped in shock.

They were well aware beforehand of the immense merit Li Mo had made this time, and they also knew that Li Mo would receive unprecedented rewards.

But this award is a bit too much!

What does it mean to be promoted from second lieutenant to at least general?

It boosted my level by a full six levels!

Moreover, Li Mo is not even twenty years old. No one in the history of our army has ever reached this rank at this age!

Apart from the human hero Chen Han, the youngest major generals in our army are all over forty-five years old, and this is based on their successive great achievements.

This can't even be called a promotion that skips a level; it's a rocket promotion.

Even Li Mo himself was taken aback. He really didn't expect that with just one sentence from Zhao Zhenyuan, he would be on equal footing with those old men in the army.

The Great Xia army has always respected the elderly, and there has never been a precedent of a young and capable leader in power. Zhao Zhenyuan's promotion has directly put Li Mo in the spotlight.

Li Mo then truly understood what Zhao Zhenyuan meant when he said that the old soldiers in the army would not respect him.

This is both an honor and a shackle!

As expected, as soon as Li Mo stepped onto the stage, many of the veteran generals in the army gave him disdainful looks.

They didn't say it aloud, but they all thought that Li Mo was too young to deserve this honor, and his strength was simply not up to par.

Because Li Mo had just made a great contribution, the veterans in the army did not react on the spot.

However, the young people under the age of forty present burst into cheers.

Li Mo looked somewhat embarrassed, but he had no choice but to accept the Major General badge personally awarded to him by Zhao Zhenyuan.

He whispered, "Commander Zhao, you're setting me up!"

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Zhenyuan replied, "Young people should be full of vigor and ambition! What's the point of being timid and hesitant? Don't worry, your reward is yet to come!"