"In the past few decades, because of the Huai'en Order, the court has always strictly prohibited us from provoking border conflicts and conflicts with the seven Shatu tribes. We have to give in and tolerate each other in everything, and not let a single soldier leave Baishishan Pass. Under such circumstances, even if some of our soldiers died, the county governor's office would not acknowledge it and would not be willing to allocate pensions. The families of the sacrificed soldiers would not be able to enjoy any preferential treatment, and even the leading officers would be held accountable. So strictly speaking, the soldiers who died in Baishishan Pass in the past few decades have not received any pension from the court!" Tie Yunshan's tone was a little sad, and the other officers in the room also fell silent.
Yan Liqiang knew that Tie Yunshan was telling the truth even without using his Snake Mind ability. "Didn't you say before that you had the soldiers take off their uniforms, disguise themselves and fight the Shatu people outside the pass a few times? What if there were casualties?"
"When casualties occur in such situations, we can only report that it was an accident during training, or that the soldiers had some disease. Then, our Baishiguan garrison officers above the rank of lieutenant will each pay some silver and collect 20 taels of silver for each sacrificed soldier and send it to their families as a token of our gratitude!"
"Do you have that much money?"
Tie Yunshan was silent. Xiao Yuman, the military officer beside him, sighed, "Your Excellency the Governor may not know that the officers of our Baishi Pass were once notoriously poor in Pingxi County. Being an officer here does not bring any merit, but a lot of trouble. The commanders of all levels in the county are unwilling to be assigned to garrison Baishi Pass. To this day, all the belongings of Mr. Tie are not worth more than two hundred taels of silver..."
"Baishi Pass is the main pass leading from Gulang Grassland to the northwest. There are countless Shatu caravans entering the pass every day. If you just take a little customs duty from each Shatu caravan, it will not be a small amount. How can you be poor?"
"It's all because of those bastards in the court who worship the seven Shatu tribes like their fathers. What Huai'en Order? Fuck that. The seven Shatu tribes rely on it to bully others and refuse to pay any customs duties. Whenever we have a conflict with the Shatu people, those Shatu dogs report it to the higher-ups, and the court and the county governor's office blame us without asking why. They always target us who eat the soldiers' food..." Wang Naiwu suddenly got so excited that he started cursing, "So many of our comrades and brothers have suffered this..."
As soon as Wang Naiwu opened his mouth, the other captains were all aroused and started cursing indignantly.
"That's right. Back then, there was a lieutenant at Baishi Pass who killed two Shatu people because a Shatu caravan broke through the pass after dark. Guess what happened, sir, the governor? The lieutenant was actually thrown into jail by that son of a bitch Ye Tiancheng. If it weren't for our collective enthusiasm and our joint petition to protect him, that brother would have almost been beheaded by Ye Tiancheng. Even so, that brother was finally imprisoned for two years before he was released. He was so disheartened that he swore that he would never eat military rations again in his life, and finally left the northwest to make a living somewhere else..."
"Those traitors in the court and those corrupt officials in the localities, although they are Han Chinese, they worship foreigners as gods. They are very stingy and mean to us Han Chinese. They will never deduct nine copper coins from you if they can get ten copper coins from you. However, they treat those bastards like the seven tribes of Shatu like turtles in a brothel. They are penniless and can't wait to send their women to them. Those bastards just like to step on the heads of us Han Chinese and lick the butts of Shatu people. I hate that the knife in my hand is not sharp and I am not capable enough. Otherwise, I really want to raise an army to chop off the heads of those bastards and sell all the nine clans of those bastards to the Shatu people as slaves..."
"Ahem..." Xiao Yuman coughed a few times, and the officers from Baishiguan, who were red-faced and indignant, stopped talking and did not say anything more radical...
Yan Liqiang's face was as gloomy as water. He continued to ask Tie Yunshan, "Then according to military rules, how should we deal with the spoils of war such as the cattle, horses, and money we seized from the Tuli tribe yesterday?"
"According to the rules of the Han Empire's army, all spoils of war are to be owned by the public and stored in the warehouse. The decision is made by the superiors. War horses like rhinoceros horses are in short supply. The horses raised in the military horse farms are not enough to be distributed. The army usually has to find ways to buy them from the Shatu people outside the Great Wall. Naturally, they cannot be distributed to the soldiers below. Things like cattle and sheep are not to be disposed of by the army. Cattle can be used to plow the land and are useful to the local area. The only livestock that can be disposed of by the army are chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep that can be used to fill their stomachs. The troops can just slaughter and eat them, and the superiors won't say anything. Large sums of gold and silver and captured weapons and armor must be handed over..."
"If the higher-ups want to divide it, how much can an ordinary sergeant get?"
Tie Yunshan shook his head and told the truth, "Ordinary sergeants basically have nothing, or only very little. If the superiors commend them, generally only officers above the rank of flag are eligible to share a small amount of spoils. For ordinary sergeants, after winning a battle, at most they can have a few days of food in the barracks. Some sergeants can also search a small amount of money and personal belongings from the enemy. Although it is said above that these money and personal belongings should be turned over to the public, in fact, in the army, as long as the amount of money is not large or there is nothing too eye-catching, we all assume that it belongs to the sergeant who seized it, and don't investigate it in detail. Otherwise, the morale of the army will be difficult to maintain, and it will cause chaos!"
After hearing this, Yan Liqiang shook his head helplessly and sighed, "I didn't expect that in the military, from officers at all levels to sergeants, everyone has their own difficulties!"
"That's right!" Tie Yunshan said, "We won a great victory this time and seized a lot of spoils. Please let the governor handle it!"
Yan Liqiang closed his eyes, and after a while, he opened them again with a solemn look on his face. "Please write down what I am saying now, the clerk. From now on, these are the rules of the Qiyun Guardian House. As long as the Qiyun Guardian House exists, these rules will never change!"
After hearing what Yan Liqiang said, everyone in the room looked at each other and were suddenly shocked. They didn't know what rules Yan Liqiang was going to set.
"Let me talk about the pensions for the soldiers first!" Yan Liqiang looked around and said, "From now on, all the soldiers under my Qiyun Guardian Office who die in battle with the enemy will enjoy the following pensions. First, each sacrificed soldier will receive 50 taels of silver as pension, 100 taels for sergeants above the rank of flag, 500 taels for captains, and 1,000 taels for officers above the rank of lieutenant. The pension will double for each higher rank!"
"Secondly, in addition to the silver pension, the families of the fallen soldiers will be evaluated as martyrs' families. The parents, wives and direct blood relatives of the martyrs will be permanently exempted from the head tax and the labor service at the township and county levels. The martial arts halls and archery clubs will also be exempted from the examination for the children of the martyrs after they turn 15!"
“Third, each county under the jurisdiction of the Qiyun Protectorate will have a Heroes Hall from today. The tablets of soldiers who died in battle, regardless of their rank, can be placed in the Heroes Hall to enjoy the incense and offerings of the people of the county. They will enjoy blood and food forever and leave their names in the future generations. A National Temple will also be set up in the county. Soldiers in the army who have made outstanding contributions will be enshrined in the National Temple after their death. Their names will be left on iron pillars, and monuments will be built to erect their images. Every Qingming Festival, they will be offered sacrifices to with the rituals of the national god, and their names will be immortalized forever!”
When Yan Liqiang said the first point just now, the captains in the room were already very excited. When they heard the second point, even people like Tie Yunshan suddenly had bright eyes and looked at Yan Liqiang. When Yan Liqiang said the third point, the captains in the room, and even the soldiers standing guard outside the room, bowed down to Yan Liqiang. All the tough guys had red eyes and tears in their eyes. They were so excited that they didn’t even know what to say at this time because they were too shocked. They just felt the heat in their hearts rolling in their bodies like boiling magma, their blood vessels were dilated, and their heads were numb, as if they had received an initiation...
But Yan Liqiang hadn't finished speaking yet, and those powerful words still rang out from his mouth...
"Fourth, whether in the army or in the local area, anyone who embezzles money for the pensions of martyrs' relatives is guilty of desecrating the army and is punishable by death. He must be executed!"
"Fifth, from today onwards, all the spoils captured by the soldiers under the Qiyun Guardian Office in battle will be half given to the public and half kept by themselves. Among them, the armor, knives and valuables obtained from the enemies killed will belong to the winners themselves and do not need to be handed over!"
"These five points will be the permanent rules of our Qiyun Protectorate. As long as the descendants of the Yan family continue, this rule will not be overturned. The gods and ghosts of heaven and earth will bear witness to it!" Yan Liqiang had already taken out a dagger before he finished speaking. Without changing his expression, he cut open his palm with the dagger, and blood dripped onto the ground...
When hearing the fourth point, Tie Yunshan's face was already in tears and his lips were trembling. When Yan Liqiang finished speaking, Tie Yunshan bowed heavily to Yan Liqiang and said to him word by word in a hoarse voice, "All... the... officers... of... Bai... Shi... Pass... are... willing... to... die... for... the... governor...!"
"We are willing to die for the Inspector!" The other captains and soldiers outside all shouted loudly.
(End of this chapter)