Chapter 35 - Buying Hearts and Minds
"They are all good, they are heroes, they are the mainstay of my Datang, and they are my great benefactors!" Zhao Fan jumped onto a platform, glanced at the somewhat restless crowd below, and said in a deep voice.
The generals in the audience had different expressions when they heard this, or their faces were relaxed, or they were disdainful, or they sneered, and some did not have any expressions, just looked at him coldly.
The bearded man shook his head, and said a little speechlessly, what are you doing at this time, these big-headed soldiers are not stupid, and they can't be done by saying a few sensational words.
Scar, on the other hand, looked at all this with a blank face, and did not say anything special.
"Bearded!"
"Here!"
"You will temporarily act as our bookkeeper and take care of our family funds!" Zhao Fan glanced at his beard and said slowly, "Give 5 taels of silver to all the living brothers, thank you for your efforts during this time, and let everyone take it for a good year first." ”
As soon as Zhao Fan finished speaking, all the soldiers in the audience instantly became silent, and after a while, bursts of cheers came.
"Thank you, Lord Wang!"
"The prince is wise!"
"The prince is so handsome!"
……
Zhao Fan looked at the happy crowd, pressed down with both hands, this time the scene quickly stopped, and Zhao Fan also had to sigh, the reality of this world.
"Those brothers who died heroically in the battle will be given a death pension of one hundred taels each!" Zhao Fan looked at the list of dead in his hand with some sadness, and said solemnly, "We can't let these heroic soldiers shed blood, sweat and tears!" ”
In an instant, everyone fell silent, and the entire scene became audible, including the beard and scar, and the eyes looking at Zhao Fan gradually became hot.
Blood, sweat and tears? Isn't it their Shenwu Army? The experience of the Shenwu Army over the years can be summed up in one sentence, the credit is led by you, and the pot is carried by me.
Death pension? If it doesn't exist, there is no way to guarantee even military salaries, let alone anything else.
In this troubled world, they are fighting in all directions, what are they most worried about? It's not that if he accidentally dies in battle, his family will lose their breadwinner, and even the most basic survival will not be maintained.
What is the concept of a hundred taels of silver? That's two hundred copper coins, enough for a family of five to live without food and clothing for a lifetime, and it is money that an ordinary person can't earn in a lifetime, even if the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are treated very well, it will take a full twenty years to save!
"Lord, isn't a hundred taels too much?" The bearded man, who had just taken office, immediately entered the role, grinning a little distressedly.
Seeing that the silver that had just arrived, he immediately removed the small half, and the bearded heart was like dripping blood, and the most important thing was that if he gave more now, it would be very troublesome later, after all, the current Zhao Fan is also rootless water, and when the money is used up, there will be no more, not to mention that it is still borrowed, and it will not be repaid in the future.
"Bearded, I have made up my mind, I don't need to say anything more about this matter." Zhao Fan waved his hand, signaled the bearded man to do what he said, and then turned around and said to everyone, "Soldiers, from today on, I will be your commander, your head!" ”
Everyone looked at Zhao Fan on the stage, silent, just quietly waiting for Zhao Fan to speak.
"The emperor handed you over to me, and I will be responsible for you, and from today on, you will be my Shouwang's people." Zhao Fan looked at everyone, nodded with satisfaction and continued, "I can't guarantee that each of you will be able to go home alive, nor can I guarantee that each of you will be able to become an official and become a knight." ”
"But I promise that at any moment, no matter what happens, I will never leave any of you behind, as long as there is a bite to eat, there is a bite to eat from you."
"As long as I'm still in the day, the military salary and pension will never change, and the brothers don't have to worry, if something happens, there is no one to take care of the family, we go out to fight, and if we win, we come back, and if we lose, then the pension will come back!"
Zhao Fan's face was red with excitement, and he shouted while waving his fist, and all the soldiers were also emotional, looking at Zhao Fan with bright eyes.
Let's ask that soldier who doesn't want to find a more reliable commander, the big guy wears his head on his belt every day, who doesn't want to find a guarantee for his family? As for what won't give up on anyone, just listen to it...
"Lord Wang, we did it with you!"
"Whoever is good to us, we will be good to whom!"
"Lord Wang, from now on, I promise that the life of the dog is yours!"
……
Scar and Bearded glanced at each other and nodded slightly, and their eyes invariably showed a hint of appreciation.
"Brothers, who is our head?" The bearded man jumped on the platform and exclaimed.
"Lord Wang, Lord Wang!" There was a unanimous answer from the audience.
"In order to let the brothers who died in battle feel at ease, the prince did not hesitate to deign to go to Miss Wei to borrow money, and also paid the military salary to the brothers and the pension to the dead brothers, is such a commander worth our follow?"
"It's worth it! Worth! ”
No one thinks about anything else, the only thing to do at this time is to respond to the bearded question with a loud shout, if Zhao Fan borrowed money from Wei Ruqian just now, it made the soldiers feel incomprehensible, and even despised and disdainful.
Then when everyone knew that the money was used to pay everyone military salaries and pensions, their minds completely changed.
They are just a group of ordinary soldiers, a group of mud-legged people, and they don't have much knowledge, but they know who is good to them and who is bad to them, no matter if Zhao Fan does this, whether he is buying people's hearts, but if they can do this, even if they buy people's hearts, they will admit it.
"Now, there is a person who is not afraid of death, and his mother has taken away our prince's woman, saying that he will sell it to the Qinglou, can we agree?" Scarface glanced at the excited crowd, took the bearded man's words, and shouted with a hideous face.
"No! Don't say yes! ”
"Who the hell dares to rob the woman of our prince, is she tired of being crooked?"
"Arrest him and send him to the Qinglou as a male pet!"
"Whoever goes against the prince of our family will be able to get along with me and fuck him!"
Unlike last time, everyone below rose up in a group of people, eager to draw their weapons and go out to fight now!
What are you kidding, isn't arresting the woman of our commander just a slap in the face of our Shenwu army? This is absolutely not allowed!
Zhao Fan listened to the soldiers' crude and sonorous answers, and deeply felt that the money was too well spent......