However, it was said that Ma Chao led 13,000 cavalry, and finally arrived at the Zhanghe Department station in Bohai County. There are as many as 50,000 of the two armies in one place, and these 50,000 people are different from the Yellow Turban Elite that Liu Bei and Cao Ying compiled. Among them, thirty percent are elite Xiliang cavalry, and thirty percent are the Black Mountain Army, and the state army also has more than 5,000 people, and the rest are all recruits recruited locally a year ago.

In order to save military spending, Ma Chao could only take the route of elite soldiers, and invested a lot of financial and manpower to improve ordnance and equipment. After more than two years of development, the sergeants were basically all equipped with sturdy and lightweight fish scale kai, and almost all of their weapons were made of refined iron, which far exceeded the equipment of other princes' subordinates.

Not only that, Ma Chao also promulgated a series of rules and regulations, those who want to join the army must be able to pass the test of thirty miles of speed and two hours of military posture, otherwise no matter how great your ability is, including the part of Dong Zhuo's Xiliang soldiers that were recruited. Although the conditions are a bit harsh, those who want to join are still like a rain. The main reason is that Ma Chao's treatment is so good that people are willing to work for him.

First of all, Ma Chao followed the policy of tax exemption for conscription in the Han Dynasty, all the people under his rule, as long as someone in the family served in the army, they could be exempted from one cent of tax, two people could be exempted from two cents of tax when they joined the army, and three people were exempted from three points of tax. Nowadays, all the three states have implemented a three-point grain system, which means that a family can farm for nothing as long as they have three sons who join the army. If a family has four or even five people joining the army, not only can they be exempted from all taxes, but they can also receive subsidies from the local government. Of course, this preferential policy is only for ordinary people, not large households.

Second, there is a strict military salary system, and all non-commissioned officers and soldiers, regardless of their official positions, can receive a monthly salary of 1,000 yuan per month. In addition to this, there is a military rank allowance and an officer allowance. There are ten ranks in the military, ranging from private to colonel, and the highest colonel receives a monthly allowance of 2,000 yuan. There are strict regulations for officers from the army commander, the chief officer, the team leader, the tun commander, all the way to the general of Pi, the partial general, the miscellaneous general, the front and back, the four generals, the general of the chariot and cavalry, the general of the hussars, and even the generals.

For example, if an officer of a platoon commander is paid 300 yuan a month, if the corporal is a corporal, he can get a basic monthly salary of 1,000 yuan plus a rank allowance of 200 yuan, plus an officer's allowance of 300 yuan, a total of 1,500 yuan.

Finally, there is the reward system, which is a major event, and Ma Chao discussed it with the generals for several days. For example, in the battle between the two armies, killing one person can cut off his right ear and take it into his pocket, and as long as he does not die after the battle, this person's head can be exchanged for a month's basic monthly salary of 1,000 yuan. If an enemy officer is killed, as long as someone can testify, he can add money based on his identity, and if he kills a captain of the opposing party, he can add 200 yuan, the captain is 400 yuan, the team rate is 800 yuan, the tun commander is 1,600 yuan, the qu commander is 3,200 yuan, and the lieutenant or Sima is 6,400 yuan.

The captain is the commander of a thousand, and if he can kill an officer above the captain level, he can get a reward of at least 10,000 yuan, and there is no upper limit. If any of the minions are lucky enough to kill a famous enemy general, it is possible to get rich overnight. If you don't need money, you can also exchange the head for the rank, according to the calculation of 1,000 dollars a month, first exchange the head you get into money, and then convert it into time, all voluntarily!

Of course, the premise of these rewards is that you don't die, and if you hang up just after you go into battle, everything is empty talk. Ma Chao naturally also thought of this, and for this reason, he also formulated a relevant pension policy. The basic pension of the officers and men of the whole army is 6,000 yuan, and it is also related to the rank and position. That is, half a year's monthly salary will be paid according to the monthly salary before this person's death, and the surname will be compensated to the immediate family members of the fallen soldiers. At the same time, death is not in vain, if a soldier kills six enemies in a big battle before he dies, then the reward for these six people must also be transferred to their families. In addition to the military's pension, the local government must also exempt some taxes and give certain subsidies!

A series of policies aimed at mobilizing the active surnames of the sergeants, since the introduction of the generals, Ma Chao specially organized generals to give lectures in the army, whether new recruits or veterans, must be familiar with this matter. As soon as this policy was implemented, it was loved by the soldiers, as long as they had the ability and strong martial arts, it was too easy to get ahead. In the past, many sergeants were afraid of war, but now they are all gearing up, and war means getting rich.

Ma Chao also specified the relevant military law, such as violating the military law, the light will be deducted from the month, the rank of general, and the heavy will be beaten with a military stick, beheaded and even the family members will be demoted to slaves.

Under such a policy, it is necessary to feed more than 300,000 people, and the monthly expenses are astronomical. But is Ma Chao the one who suffers?

In the period when there was no war, in addition to regular training, these sergeants also had to organize and participate in various public welfare work, such as repairing city walls, widening moats, developing water conservancy, military cantonment, and so on.

The purpose of Zhang He's garrison in Beihai County was to prevent the Yellow Turban Thieves in Qingzhou, echoing with Zhao Yunbu in the north, and had relied on the Yellow River to repel the invasion of hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban Thieves, and his soldiers made a lot of military achievements. At present, the Qingzhou Yellow Turban has basically dispersed, and if it is no longer a climate, Zhang Hebu will lose its effect.

Ma Chao and Xun Yu and others, who came after completing the task, discussed, and then asked Zhao Fu to organize a naval army and build a pontoon bridge over the Yellow River, with 20,000 cavalry crossing the river first, and the infantry and baggage troops behind. 20,000 troops rushed along Leling, Jieshi, and Le'an to take Zibo, the seat of Qingzhou governance.

Zibo, originally Tian Kai's territory, in the Yellow Turban Riot, Tian Kai retreated to Donglai, Huangxian area, and now the Yellow Turban has just dispersed and reoccupied. Unexpectedly, just after cleaning up the mess, Ma Chao led 20,000 cavalry soldiers to the city.

Tian Kai didn't dare to face the battle, and he didn't dare to put Ma Chao into Qingzhou, while sending the meteor Ma to cross the river to Youzhou to ask the master Gongsun Zhan, and at the same time sent someone to invite Kong Rong, the Taishou of Beihai County, to persuade Ma Chao to retreat. Kong Rong had just sent Liu Bei away, which could be described as a heavy loss, and Ma Chao was also the god he invited, so he was naturally reluctant to let Ma Chao lead the army into Qingzhou.

Ma Chao came here to take Dian Wei, Huang Zhong, and Chen Zhi with the three fierce generals, leaving Zhang He to lead the infantry army. The army marched to the foot of Zibo City, only to see the city gate opened, a line of about 500 sword and shield soldiers rushed out, followed by dozens of war horses, led by Kong Rong, who had a one-sided relationship, and another person was about forty years old, with a short beard, and Kong Rong walked side by side.

In front of the two armies, Kong Rong clasped his fists and shouted: "Beihai Taishou Kong Rong (Qingzhou Thorn Shi Tian Kai) meets the general!" It is inconvenient to salute immediately, and please don't blame the general! ”

Ma Chao smiled slightly, took a few steps forward and clasped his fists and saluted: "You two don't have to be polite? Kong Beihai is unharmed! After receiving Kong Beihai's urgent report in Luoyang, Ben Jiang immediately dispatched troops and rushed to Beihai County non-stop, smelling that the yellow turban thieves had dispersed, and Beihai County was safe and sound, which was really gratifying! ”

Kong Rong said: "Fortunately, Liu Xuande of the Plains helped with all his might, and Fang was lucky to solve the crisis in Beihai!" I had already sent someone to tell the general about this, but I don't know why the general came with his troops? ”

Ma Chao frowned, and said in a deep voice: "The whole world is not the king's land, and he will be the general of the imperial court, where can he go?" Could it be that Kong Beihai wants to break away from the imperial court and establish himself as a king? ”

Kong Rong was shocked, Ma Chao is obviously looking for fault! If today's monarch is not a king, and a minister is not a minister, who doesn't know that the Son of Heaven is a puppet in the hands of your Ma Chao? But on the surface, no one dares to openly establish himself as the king, Liu Yan in Shuzhong is called the emperor, and what he relies on is only the identity of the Han clan, and he said at the moment: "The general's words are serious, and he is panicking, as a general, the world can go!" Beihai County welcomes the general's soldiers and horses to settle in at any time! ”

Ma Chao smiled slightly, hugged his fists and said: "Kong Beihai is really a handsome among people, and he knows the current affairs enough!" Over the years, you have encouraged farming, opened schools, and developed education, Qingzhou is full of yellow turbans, only Beihai County is relatively stable, and it should be a great achievement! This will immediately list you as a doctor of Guanglu, two thousand stones in the ranks, Feng Yiyanghou, 600 households in the food town, enter the court as an official, and Cai Yong, Ma Yueyan, Chen Lin, Zhong Xuan and others are in charge of education, I don't know what Kong Beihai wants? ”

"This" Kong Rong was stupid at the time, Ma Chao was giving him a chance, and agreeing to it was equivalent to admitting the current imperial court, and from then on he was mixed under Ma Chao. If you don't agree, I'm afraid Ma Chao will turn his face immediately, even the Yellow Turban Thief can't stop a mere Beihai County, how can he stop Ma Chao's tiger and wolf army?

Ma Chao saw that Kong Rong was hesitant, knowing that he still needed time to think about it, so he was not in a hurry, he looked at Tian Kai and said: "As far as this general knows, during the period of the first emperor, there was a Qingzhou Thorn Shi Jiaohe. Jiao He was not good at leading the troops for the officials, and when the Yellow Turban was raised, the soldiers were sharp and the food was sufficient, and when he saw the Yellow Turban thief, he fled, and did not dare to fight with it. After the world was pacified, Jiao He's territory was densely populated, with many soldiers and generals, and he owned Qingzhou, but he was always bullied by the weak, and Jiao He died of illness because he was pursued by the enemy. It also coincided with the chaos of Dong thieves, and Qingzhou has never had a history of assassination and a state pastor, but I don't know who sealed the history of Qingzhou? ”

Tian Kai's face was flushed, who occupied a state or a county in these years could lead the state pastor (assassin history) or the post of Taishou, the court existed in name only, even if the magistrate could not take office, and the magistrate did not dare to rebel openly, therefore, all the princes adopted a tacit attitude and recognized each other, but Ma Chao did not buy it.

Tian Kai pondered for a while, hugged his fists and said: "General Qiyu, under the command of Gongsun Zhan, the general of Fenwu, when the Dong thief was in chaos, General Gongsun saw that Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were everywhere, water thieves were rampant, and the people were miserable, so he sent the last general to lead the army to pacify the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, and put it on the imperial court, and elected Kai as the history of Qingzhou Thorn, as evidenced by the edict of the Son of Heaven!" ”

Ma Chao really didn't know about this, so he groaned for a while, and sneered: "Since there is an edict from the Son of Heaven, I will naturally recognize your identity as the Qingzhou Thorn History." But this general will ask you, can the edict of the Son of Heaven in your hand have the jade seal of the country? (To be continued.) )