278: Chapter 0278, Article Eleven

In a small place called Pei County, bordering Yong Province city, lived nearly a thousand military households.

Since the war had ended, the White Kings Army could take turns returning home to visit their families.

After lunch, a middle-aged couple walked out the door to see their son, who had rarely been able to come home, back to the military camp.

This military household was surnamed Liu. Their son, Liu Tongguang, had an older brother in his early years. According to the law, reservists were allowed to study.

Liu Tongguang had studied for a few years when he was young, but after his older brother died in battle, he had to abandon his pen for the sword.

Seven years ago, relying on his keen intelligence, Liu Tongguang made rapid progress in horsemanship and marksmanship. Because he could read and write, he was appreciated by his superiors.

That same year, Liu Tongguang joined the Silver Armor Army. After seven years of tempering and dozens of battles, he was already a Ninth-Rank Peirong Captain in the Silver Armor Army.

"A-Guang, I heard the epidemic outside is still very serious, and Yong Province city is completely locked down. You must be careful!"

"Mother, don't worry. Although the epidemic is still around, very few people are dying now. The Zhenbei Army's military doctors have a miracle medicine that works exceptionally well!"

"Oh, heaven be praised, then Mother can rest easy..."

"Father, don't be reluctant to spend that money. Use it all to prepare a dowry for Little Sister."

Liu Tongguang had returned home this time specifically to bring his family a substantial amount of military pay.

Ever since the Silver Armor Army was merged into the Zhenbei Army, the military pay had tripled, which thrilled him.

His younger sister was already eighteen, and they had never had the confidence to find a matchmaker to arrange a marriage, which had worried his parents sick.

"A-Guang, this military pay isn't high-interest loan money you borrowed, is it? You must not touch that stuff!"

His old father still didn't quite believe it; how could he bring back so much at once?

In the past, three or four months' pay was only this much, and it wasn't even guaranteed to be paid on time!

"Father, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"We all heard that you suffered a defeat in Gan Province, and now Grand Marshal Lu has surrendered. Can the new Lin Xiao really offer such good terms?"

Liu Tongguang gave a bitter smile. "The Zhenbei Army has always paid well. If you don't believe me, ask the other families; they all received triple the military pay!"

"That wouldn't be because they want you to rebel and attack the capital, would it? Otherwise, why pay so much..."

"Mother! Don't talk nonsense! If someone hears you, we'll be beheaded!"

Liu Tongguang said sternly, "Lin Xiao of the Zhenbei Army has a knack for making money. That famous Northern Trade Alliance belongs to him!"

"Is that the honeycomb coal? And soap? That business is his?"

"No wonder, he is rich..."

Mother Liu looked at her son with heartache. "A-Guang, you leave all the money for the family; when will you be able to take a wife yourself? You are the only son we have left."

"Mother, I'm not in a rush yet. Now that the military pay has increased, I'll just save more," Liu Tongguang said with a smile.

"Sigh... if it weren't for those animals taking away our family's dozen or so mu of military land, we wouldn't have to rely on you to support the whole family," Father Liu sighed bitterly.

Liu Tongguang frowned.

In fact, when he was a child, his family had military land passed down from their ancestors.

But because his older brother died in battle and there were a few years when no one in the family joined the army, the land was seized by the local gentry in Yong Province.

This phenomenon was not rare; in fact, more than half of the military households had already lost their ancestral military land for various reasons.

Over the years, his parents had done odd jobs for the wealthy in the county town to barely maintain a living; it only got better after he joined the Silver Armor Army.

On the way back to the military camp, Liu Tongguang was thinking about what had just happened.

The Zhenbei Army's military pay was truly generous, unparalleled in the Great Gan.

Since the founding of the dynasty, only the very first batch of soldiers who conquered the empire had such treatment.

Could such generous conditions really be maintained indefinitely?

No matter how profitable the Northern Trade Alliance was, it couldn't possibly support an army of two hundred thousand!

This winter, would Lin Xiao "rely on his troops to assert independence and claim the title of king"?

After all, in the entire North, the Three Prefectures of Yan were awaiting reconstruction, and the four western provinces had been severely damaged.

Possessing an army of two hundred thousand and holding three of the five great iron cavalries, Lin Xiao was actually fully qualified to claim the title of king.

Moreover, before Prince Bai died, he had specifically mentioned in his confession of guilt that he wanted to hand over the Northern Territory to Lin Xiao...

"Sigh..."

Liu Tongguang was not a simple martial artist; he was literate and educated, so he thought about things more.

Thinking of the army's uncertain future, he felt a bit worried.

"Old Liu! You've returned!"

As soon as he arrived at the military camp, his good brother of ten years, Xu Zhao, rushed over holding a piece of paper.

"What's the rush?" Liu Tongguang asked, puzzled.

"Look, this is the newly issued 'Zhenbei Army Eleven Rules'!"

Xu Zhao handed over the printed paper and said excitedly, "adjutant Chen said that the first ten people to recite the full text will be rewarded with three guan of money, and the first hundred will also be rewarded with one guan!"

"I heard this is a benefit for us soldiers. Those officers above the seventh rank not only have to recite the full text within three days, but they also have to write it out, and the key is they don't get a reward!"

"You, Old Liu, are the writer of our camp. Hurry up and memorize it so you can claim the reward and treat the brothers to a drink!"

Liu Tongguang looked surprised. In over ten years of military service, this was the first time he had heard of earning a reward for memorizing an article!

He quickly took a look, and his expression immediately turned to one of great astonishment!

It wasn't that these "Eleven Rules" were complicated; on the contrary, they were very simple.

For someone who had studied for a few years, it should be memorizable within an hour or two.

That night, Liu Tongguang bought a few pots of hot wine for his old brothers.

He himself returned to the camp early, and under the oil lamp, he spread out the cheapest bamboo paper and, after a long time, began to write a military journal:

...

Twenty-first year of Hongzhi, seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, at the Yong Province military camp.

Returned from visiting family, learned that the Zhenbei Army had promulgated the Eleven Rules.

I have been good at memorization since I was young. After reciting the full text at the Military Affairs Office, I received a reward of one guan and drank with my comrades.

Back in the camp, what I think about is still the eleven new rules:

Obey orders in all actions; do not take a single needle or thread from the common people; all spoils of war must be turned over to the public; speak politely; do not hit or scold people; do not molest women; do not mistreat prisoners. Pay for what you buy; return what you borrow; compensate for what you damage; do not damage crops;

...

Besides these eleven rules, there are many other details and punishment systems, which I will not elaborate on here.

I have been in the army for over a dozen years and have never seen such military rules. They seem simple and easy to understand, but they actually contain profound principles.

The brothers in the army laughingly discussed these eleven rules. We soldiers are not mountain bandits; we know that military orders are like mountains, we know that rewards and punishments are clear, so how could we defile people's wives and daughters or seize people's wealth?

However, throughout history, soldiers causing trouble for the local people has been common, and there have even been those who slaughtered cities and looted for three days...

I have never heard of anyone organizing such easy-to-understand principles into a document, requiring the entire army to memorize them, and implementing them consistently.

Lin Xiao is truly the first person in history to do so!

The sage said, to know is easy, but to do is difficult.

I believe that if these eleven rules can be strictly enforced and executed, Lin Xiao's achievements will last for generations, and the Zhenbei Army will also leave a lasting legacy for ten thousand generations!

...

The next morning.

Liu Tongguang was just about to go to the training ground when he was called over by the Military Affairs Office.

When he arrived at the scene, he found that there were hundreds of other soldiers with him, most of whom were also grassroots captains.

Liu Tongguang noticed that it seemed to be the same group of people who were competing with him to recite the Eleven Rules yesterday.

adjutant of Records Wu Wei said straightforwardly:

"Today, you do not need to participate in training. Lin Xiao has ordered that everyone is to follow him on an expedition!"

The hundreds of people at the scene looked at each other, their expressions grave.

Wasn't the war over? What is Lin Xiao doing?

What kind of great enemy requires Lin Xiao himself to take the field?

Liu Tongguang frowned, completely puzzled.