Chapter 127: Military Merit System

"Everything is ready; we only await Your Highness's command to proceed," said Chang Wei.

Although these past few days have been filled with assassinations and the arrest of officers and generals colluding with the Yuan Family,

the process for determining rewards and punishments for this military campaign has been steadily advancing.

This also includes the arrangements for the burial of fallen soldiers.

"Your Highness, the documents regarding rewards and punishments are here; please review them." As Zhao Xu brought this up, Liu Fu took a booklet from his robes and presented it.

This was the list of merits and punishments that he and Chang Wei had worked out.

"Lv Chang captured Charha in the battle of Wuan County; promoted to Captain, commanding five thousand troops, rewarded with one thousand taels of Silver."

"Bai Shang defended the North Gate in the battle of Yancheng, fighting to the death without retreating; the entire battalion killed one thousand enemies; promoted from Colonel to Captain, commanding five thousand troops."

"Colonel Qin Shan, in the battle of Yancheng, commanded troops to kill over twelve hundred enemies and shot dead the Northern Di Lumu Tuo; promoted to Captain."

"......"

Zhao Xu read through them one by one; many generals were involved.

The front part listed Colonels promoted to Captains, followed by Small Banners promoted to Colonels, as well as the promotions of other soldiers.

The standard for their promotion was essentially the number of enemies killed during this campaign and their bravery in battle.

After glancing through the list, Zhao Xu nodded, indicating his approval of it.

It was much as he had expected; these Colonels promoted to Captains were often commended by Chang Wei in the past.

There was no need to mention Lv Chang; this Bai Shang had also been one of the Imperial Guards who protected him before.

Because the army lacked generals, Chang Wei had requested him.

Qin Shan, on the other hand, was a former general in the County Soldiers, born a commoner.

He had previously served as a Small Banner in the County Soldiers before becoming a Colonel.

Besides these three, there were three other Captains: Guan Tong, Wei Qun, and Niu Cha.

Among these three, Guan Tong and Wei Qun came from the Imperial Guards, while Niu Cha, like Qin Shan, came from the County Soldiers; all were from humble backgrounds.

"Is Chen Hu not included in these rewards?" Zhao Xu asked casually.

Chang Wei laughed and said, "The lad is feeling aggrieved, saying that the Infantry fought all the battles this time, and they in the Cavalry didn't even get to eat shit."

Zhao Xu and Liu Fu burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Liu Fu said, "Who told him the Cavalry is Your Highness's treasure? Naturally, they cannot be used so casually."

Zhao Xu said, "It is true that he didn't have a chance to earn merit this time. If he didn't have it, then he didn't have it, but even if he has no merit, he has put in the hard work; we must give him a Collective Merit."

"Collective Merit?" Chang Wei and Liu Fu were stunned.

They knew that whenever Yan Wang came up with these fresh terms, he had new ideas, so they listened carefully.

"This list of rewards is good, but I feel it is still missing something," Zhao Xu said. "The promoted generals certainly have outstanding merits, but just like Chen Hu, there are many others who contributed or didn't have the chance to fight; we cannot say they have no merit."

Chang Wei nodded; he had thought about this problem.

However, he didn't know how to solve it for the time being.

"In my view, let them receive merit collectively. Create a Medal to hang in their barracks; at the very least, it will warm their hearts. Additionally, reward them with some Silver. Let this Collective Merit be divided into three grades: First Class Merit, Second Class Merit, and Third Class Merit," Zhao Xu said.

Then,

he picked up the paper on the table to show the two of them; this was what he had just drawn.

Chang Wei looked over and saw a circle with a Long Sword and a shield crossed inside it.

There were three circles, labeled First Class Merit, Second Class Merit, and Third Class Merit.

"These Medals will be cast in gold," Zhao Xu continued, then said sternly, "Furthermore, I have another consideration for establishing Collective Merit: to prevent soldiers from fighting over heads for personal merit on the battlefield in the future."

Chang Wei frowned.

To him, since ancient times, soldiers have always relied on heads to calculate merit.

Now that Yan Wang said this, he was somewhat surprised.

"During this campaign, I watched the whole time. After soldiers killed an enemy, they were busy cutting off the enemy's ears, but fighting was still ongoing in other areas. This led to slow reinforcements, which invisibly caused greater casualties for the Wangfu Army."

"Even worse, some soldiers fought in the streets over heads; this simply makes me feel ashamed," Zhao Xu said, his voice deepening.

Chang Wei's old face flushed red. Everything Yan Wang said was true, but because the entire Great Song was like this, he hadn't felt there was a problem.

But now that Yan Wang had pointed out the drawbacks, he suddenly came to his senses.

Liu Fu's eyes darted around; although he was not a military man, he was also thinking about this issue.

"Does Your Highness intend to abolish the military merit system based on heads? But if so, how can we inspire the soldiers' courage to kill the enemy?" Chang Wei asked.

"I am not abolishing it, but designating specific people—for example, assigning one soldier in each squad to collect them and count them after the battle," Zhao Xu said.

This is ancient times; the quality of soldiers cannot be compared to modern soldiers who have undergone national education. He feared that a sudden abolition would be counterproductive.

Therefore, what he wanted was reform.

At the same time, the establishment of Collective Merit counts the total number of heads, ignoring the individual's count.

This subtly encourages soldiers not to pursue individual head counts to the extreme; after all, if the total number of enemies killed is higher, the reward they receive will be greater.

Chang Wei's eyes lit up. "That is a way. With a designated person to collect them, in a squad of ten soldiers, the other nine can focus on fighting."

And when he heard the purpose behind Zhao Xu's establishment of Collective Merit, he nodded repeatedly.

The most important thing on the battlefield is formation, and formation requires collective discipline and combat effectiveness.

Strengthening collective merit can better enhance the combat effectiveness of the entire army.

Overall, Yan Wang's small reform did not weaken the individual head-count merit system but rather strengthened the collective military merit system.

"After you go back, list the squads, Small Banners, and Colonels that performed well," Zhao Xu said.

"Yes, Your Highness," Chang Wei replied.

Having finalized the military merit system for the Prince's Personal Army, Zhao Xu turned to the back of the merit book.

That was where the compensation for fallen soldiers was recorded.

"For soldiers killed in battle, issue one hundred and eighty taels of silver at once," Zhao Xu read aloud.

"This is five years of military pay for a soldier," Liu Fu added.

In the Great Song, this was already considered a very generous pension.

Even for the Imperial Guard, a soldier's death only brought one hundred taels of silver.

Of course, this was just the regulation; in reality, many soldiers who died in battle received nothing at all, as it was all embezzled.

"Give them three hundred and sixty taels, for ten years. Furthermore, the families of these soldiers shall be exempt from taxes, and they must be given preferential treatment in every aspect within Yan Commandery," Zhao Xu said.

Every soldier of the Wangfu Army is a young and strong man; they are the pillars of their families.

Since they died on the battlefield, he could not let them shed blood only for their families to shed tears.

To him, he would rather the Wangfu be smaller and his own food and clothing be worse than fail these fallen soldiers.

"This..." Liu Fu hesitated, wanting to say more.

Chang Wei, that fierce and sturdy man, had his eyes turn red, "Your Highness, this general thanks you on behalf of the families of the fallen soldiers."

"This is what I ought to do, and it is within my power. Very well, go back and prepare for the memorial service for the fallen soldiers," Zhao Xu said.

Upon hearing this, Chang Wei nodded heavily.