My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 309: Warriors rule the country!

"Third Class Merit..."

"Second-class merit..."

"First-class merit..."

"And special merit?"

In the first year of Emperor Rong Xinyuan’s reign, in the eighth month of autumn.

In the western border of Beidi County, somewhere in an unknown jungle.

Looking at the book in his hand, which was made of rough paper and beautifully bound, King Jiangdu Liu Fei read it again and again, flipped through it again and again, as if he couldn't let it go.

The book was nothing else - it was the first state decree issued by Liu Rong after he took power: a plan to reform the military merit accounting system.

The official name of the plan is "New Rules for Calculating Military Merits."

In recent days, King Liu Fei of Jiangdu, who had safely arrived in the north and had no other important matters to attend to, devoted himself to the study and exploration of this new law.

——Like the criminal and civil laws used by the Supreme Court and local governments throughout the country: the "Han Code", the legal regulations implemented in the army, namely military law, are also an integral part of the Han Dynasty's legal framework.

As a clan prince - as the real powerful prince of the Han Dynasty, rather than the so-called "princes" who were raised like pigs in later generations, Liu Fei needed to maintain a basic understanding of all the new and old laws of the Han Dynasty.

To put it in a positive way, it is to maintain a basic understanding of the Han political arena in order to better govern one's own fiefdom.

To put it bluntly, even if you suddenly become crazy and want to do something unorthodox in the future, you have to avoid legal risks to avoid being caught by the Chang'an Central Government.

When it comes to Liu Fei, the situation is different.

In this battle, the Han dynasty used Mayi as bait, intending to make a feint to the east and attack the west in order to seize Hetao.

Liu Fei had been privately designated by Liu Rong as the first clan prince to be enfeoffed by the Han Dynasty in the Hetao region.

As we all know: for the Han Dynasty, no matter how necessary it was to reduce the power of the vassal states, the three border kings of Yan, Dai and Zhao were always excluded from the regulations.

At the very least, the other inland vassal states should be weakened first, and only at the very end will it be the turn of these three kings guarding the northern border.

As for the South, it is even more exaggerated.

——Emperor Taizu Gaohuangdi Liu Bang, with all the ministers, nobles and relatives in the court, killed a white horse in the Changle Palace and swore an oath: No one except the Liu family can be king!
However, it did not affect the Wu Changsha Kingdom in the southernmost part of the Han Dynasty's territory, which continued to exist for more than 40 years after Emperor Taizu's White Horse Oath.

If he hadn't been incompetent and accidentally cut off his lineage, the Han family would still not have had any plans to abolish the Wu Changsha Kingdom and enfeoff his relative as the King of Changsha in the short term.

Combining all these things - whether it is the three border kings of Yan, Dai and Zhao in the north, or the Changsha Kingdom in the south, they all show the most intuitive attitude of the Han Dynasty towards the clan princes and the feudal system.

The central government of Chang'an wished that those clan vassal states that were useless to the country, only played a very limited role in local governance, and at the same time always caused troubles and even posed a threat to the central government of Chang'an would be abolished and turned into counties overnight!

Even taking various concerns into consideration, the central government in Chang'an still reached a consensus on "cutting down the power of the vassal states" in just over 30 years after Emperor Taizu founded the Han Dynasty.

——Must cut!

Don’t be too aggressive, just boil the frog in warm water!
If we can’t provoke public anger, then we’ll just defeat them one by one!

In a word, no matter whether it is the princes of different surnames with ulterior motives or the princes of clans with ulterior motives, their rights must be deprived.

No matter how slow the action is or how slow the effect is, the pace of the Chang'an court's efforts to reduce the power of the princes must never stop for a moment!

In sharp contrast, the central government in Chang'an took a relatively cautious attitude towards the kings guarding the northern and southern borders.

For example, during the reign of the previous emperor, when the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu broke out, the first things the court in Chang'an considered were the reliability of the three border kings of Yan, Dai, and Zhao, as well as whether the northern defense line was stable and whether the Huns would have a chance to intervene, causing the central court in Chang'an to be attacked from both sides.

Eventually, it was determined that the Xiongnu were "too busy to take care of themselves" and had their own problems to deal with (the Chanyu Ting massacred the Right Wise King and his followers), and that at least two of the three border kings of Yan, Dai and Zhao were absolutely trustworthy. The court in Chang'an - Emperor Xiaojing was finally able to settle down and resolutely launched Chao Cuo's "Plan to Reduce the Powers of the Feudal States" in order to completely force the King of Wu, Liu Bi, to rebel.

Simply put: the Chang'an court was very cautious about the three border kings of Yan, Dai and Zhao.

As for the individuals occupying these three thrones, namely the King of Yan, the King of Dai and the King of Zhao, the court in Chang'an relied on them to consolidate the border defense on the one hand, but was also wary of their being too powerful to be removed, or even worse, harboring enemies to harm themselves.

But for these three "border guarding countries" located in the northern border, the Chang'an court would help them whenever possible, exempt them from all kinds of demands whenever possible, and increase rewards wherever possible.

In general, for the kings guarding the border, the central government in Chang'an was on the one hand guarding against personal threats posed by the vassal kings to the Han ancestral temples and the country, and on the other hand, it had great expectations for the strategic significance that the vassal states could play.

Yan, Dai, and Zhao were still like this - as a border king, he was only responsible for the border defense mission and the strategic defense mission.

Needless to say, Liu Fei, the King of Meng, was given the Hetao area in the future, which meant he was tasked with a strategic defensive mission no less important than that of Yan, Dai, and Zhao. At the same time, he was very likely to be tasked with a strategic offensive mission.

——Liu Fei alone will inevitably attract the attention of the entire Chang'an court and even the whole world!
Liu Fei's every word and action will be put under a magnifying glass, repeatedly analyzed and even dissected by countless people;
At the same time, the court in Chang'an, and even Emperor Liu Rong himself, had great expectations for Liu Fei.

It is hoped that Liu Fei, the Mongolian King, can quickly mobilize the subjective initiative of the clan princes on private land to help the Han family digest the "new land" of Hetao in the shortest possible time, and use it as a strategic fulcrum for the Han family to further attack the grassland, or launch a counterattack.

Taking all these into consideration, it is obviously necessary for Liu Fei to study all existing laws of the Han Dynasty.

——Especially military law!

Especially the military law, which is closely related to most of Liu Fei’s military deployments in the future, is what Liu Fei needs to master and understand thoroughly as soon as possible.

Because this not only concerns Liu Fei's future rewards and punishments for his generals and ministers;

It also concerns whether Liu Fei would make some principled mistakes at certain times because he was unfamiliar with the Han Dynasty's existing military laws, especially the military merit accounting system.

Emperor Rong said, "I trust Jiangdu," but anyone who believes what the emperor says is a fool.

Let's take a step back and say: Even if Emperor Rong really trusted Liu Fei 100%, if the day came when Liu Fei accidentally made a mistake, Emperor Rong in the court in Chang'an would inevitably have to put in some effort to protect Liu Fei and Liu Fei's achievements in Hetao.

As a subject, Liu Fei had the awareness to prevent and avoid this situation in advance.

Just by looking at it, Liu Fei was completely immersed in it. For three whole days, Liu Fei's attention was attracted by this plain-looking book in his hand...

"In a certain war, when there is no obvious difference in the strength of the enemy and our own forces, a single soldier receives a third-level decapitation, and his injuries are not disabling, and he can continue to serve after recovery;"

"If a single soldier wins a second-class head, or is disabled and retired, or a single soldier wins a first-class head, or dies in battle and martyrs for the country, they will all be awarded: Individual Third-Class Merit."

"——Individual third-class merit, promotion of rank below Quchang by one level, promotion of rank below Gongcheng by one level, and inclusion in the list of candidates for Zhonglang candidate examination in the Prime Minister's Office."

"A reward of 100,000 yuan, a piece of cloth, and a plaque with the words 'Household of a Third-Class Meritorious Official' to be hung outside the door."

"For a third-class meritorious official who dies in battle, his son shall be given a title of 100 dan as an official and a rank of 10-man when serving in the army."···
"In a certain war, when the enemy is at a clear disadvantage in terms of force, that is, when the enemy is twice as large as ours or more, a soldier who has won the third-class individual merit and has been awarded the third-class individual merit shall be given the title of second-class individual merit."

"——Second-class personal merit, one level higher in rank, entered Chang'an as a Zhonglang for three months, and then returned to his original unit, with a rank higher;"

"The disabled veterans will be elected as village elders;"

"For those who died in battle, their ranks and titles shall be increased by one level, and their sons shall inherit the title and shall not be demoted."

"A reward of 200,000 yuan, 10 pieces of gold, two pieces of cloth, and a plaque reading 'Household of Second-Class Meritorious Officials'."

"The second-class meritorious official who died in battle, Mengzi, was given a salary of 200 shi as an official and served in the army as a garrison commander."

···
"In a certain war, when the difference in the strength of the enemy and ours is large, that is, when the enemy is three times ours or more, if a single soldier has won three heads and has been awarded a second-class individual merit, the lesson is: first-class individual merit."

"——I have made first-class merit, and my rank and rank have been raised by one level, and I have been promoted to Zhonglang."

"The disabled retired will be promoted to county lieutenants;"

"For those who died in battle, their ranks and titles will be promoted one level, and their two sons will inherit the titles. No one should surrender."

"A reward of 500,000 yuan, 20 pieces of gold, 5 bolts of cloth, and a plaque reading 'Household of the First-Class Meritorious Official'."

"For those who died in battle as first-class heroes, one of them will be made a young man."

···
"In a certain war, when the difference in the strength of the enemy and ours is extremely large, that is, when the enemy is five times ours or more, a single soldier has captured five heads and has made an individual first-class merit, the class is: individual special merit."

"——I have made special contributions, and my rank has been raised by one level, and my rank has been raised by one level, to the rank of Zhonglang."

"Go to Chang'an to learn the art of war, and then become a general!"

"Those who are disabled and retired will be promoted to county lieutenants;"

"For those who died in battle, their ranks and titles shall be promoted one level, and their sons up to five shall all inherit their titles, and none shall surrender."

"A reward of one million yuan, one hundred gold coins, two pieces of brocade, an imperial sword, and a plaque reading 'Household of Special Meritorious Officials'."

"The three young sons of the special meritorious generals who died in battle were made Langs, and all of them joined the crown prince's personal army."

···
"A valiant warrior is a loyal minister of the state and my arm."

"For all the meritorious officials of the Han Dynasty, there were plaques bestowed by the emperor to be hung on their doors. However, if they were bullied by county officials or local tyrants, the county governor would be dismissed, the county magistrate and lieutenant would be punished, and the county official would be sentenced to death."

"Anyone who bullies a meritorious official, especially the orphans and widows of a hero, or the parents of a hero, will be executed without questioning!"

"I hereby proclaim to all the people of the world, may God bless our Han Dynasty for ten thousand years..."

He had flipped through this book several times - it was almost torn to pieces, but when he saw the section about the calculation of personal military merits again, Liu Fei still felt a surge of emotion.

Liu Fei clearly remembers that when this "New Rules" was first introduced by Liu Rong as a draft for discussion and voting in the court, it caused a huge public opinion storm in Guandong, especially among Confucian scholars in Lu.

I don't know how many people were heartbroken and told each other: If this method is implemented, the Han Dynasty's military men will be in power, and the civil men will be gone!
In order to calm public opinion, King Liu Yu of Lu and Lu's Grand Tutor and Prime Minister Tian Shu also put in a lot of effort.

But to this day, there are still "learned" people all over the world who lament: The Han emperor was too warlike and the Han court was too warmongering. If they don't survive for another hundred years, they will surely repeat the downfall of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty!
However, Liu Fei scoffed at this statement.

——What’s the matter?
I promise you scholars that by playing a game of chess or answering a question, you can rise to the highest position in the government and become the prime minister of the country.

Why can't we warriors tie our heads to our belts and risk our lives to take dozens of heads in exchange for a chance to become a military officer or a general?
Why!
To be honest, the Han Dynasty established its country through military force and awarded honors and titles based on merit, which meant that military men were in power!

Instead of whining and barking here, it is better to exercise, make achievements and establish a career as soon as possible, and be a real man who does not bring shame to Han officials - or even Han people. This is the really important thing.

From this book, Liu Fei basically understood why Cheng Buzhi, whose floating kill score was negative in the battle at the beginning of the year, was not sentenced to death but was even promoted to a higher position.

——According to the description of the calculation of generals’ military merits, namely the ‘collective military merits’, in the battle at the beginning of this year, the entire Beidi Duwei under Cheng Buzhi’s command was awarded the collective first-class merit.

The so-called first-class collective merit, according to the general description in the "New Rules", is to exceed the strategic task under the premise that the troops are obviously at a disadvantage, that is, the enemy has three times or more than ours, and with casualties within a reasonable range, cause a heavy blow to the enemy, so that the enemy's strategic intentions are seriously frustrated. After approval by the court, this can be awarded: first-class collective merit.

For first-class collective merit, the commander-in-chief can be made a marquis, and two lieutenants can be made lords;

In addition to the rewards they received for their personal meritorious services, generals in the army were also granted one level of nobility below the rank of Gongcheng and one level of official rank below the rank of Quchang.

As well as extra rewards, there were 50,000 soldiers, 100,000 squad leaders and platoon leaders, 200,000 garrison leaders and group leaders, 500,000 team leaders, Sima and colonels, and 1 million duwei and generals.

In addition, there are various additional pensions for killed or disabled soldiers, etc., which can be said to cover all aspects.

As for the higher level of collective special merit - when he just got this "New Rules" this summer, Liu Fei concluded that he would never see any Han army winning a collective special merit in his lifetime.

but now……

"If the troops in Mayi can really hold back the main force of Chan Yuting and prevent him from returning to Henan to provide assistance, then Cheng Buzhi's troops will probably be awarded a special collective merit."

"——After all, the phrase 'completely thwart the enemy's strategic intentions and make great contributions to our strategic goals at the cost of reasonable losses' is not something that can be achieved simply by talking..."

"As for the North..."

Thinking like this, after a few days, Liu Fei's gaze finally shifted from the "New Rules" in his hand to the soldiers of the Shanglinyuan Suiying A and B divisions who were also hiding in the jungle like himself and ready for battle.

"These two camps..."

"Hey;"

"I really want to see how many households of marquis my brother will confer on these two commanders of the Suiying Army..."

"I wonder how Li Guang would feel when he heard that a mere Suiying could be awarded a special collective merit and be made a marquis or even a lord."

···
"Feng Tang Yi Lao~"

"It's hard to be named Li Guang~~~"

"laugh!"

"Who can I blame?"

(End of this chapter)