Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is the second day.

The morning sun has just risen, and the city gate of Shendu has been crowded with water, and the people who go out of the city to sweep the tombs are squeezing me, I squeeze you, and the voices are not lively.

At this time, the Xuanwumen Square was already overcrowded, and the imperial relatives and civil and military nobles who participated in the Taimiao sacrifice ceremony had already stood in shifts according to their grades, where three groups of two whispered or talked loudly.

And all around are the Qianniu guards wearing bright light armor and holding spears. Under the illumination of the early sun, the Qianniu Guards wearing bright light armor flashed with golden brilliance, looking sacred and inviolable.

Half an hour later, the hundred officials and nobles and the clan personnel were basically ready, and the crowded Shenwumen Square also became extremely quiet, and everyone turned their eyes to the tall and majestic Xuanwumen Tower.

At the moment when Ma Jin appeared, the imperial relatives and relatives of the entire Xuanwumen Square, the civil and military nobles knelt on their knees, bowed their heads, and shouted in unison: "Weichen and others see Your Majesty, long live, long live, long live!" ”

In an instant, the momentum shook the sky, soaring into the sky, like a tsunami from the mountains, which made people extremely shocked.

Seeing the countless officials and nobles under the city tower bowing down the mountain and shouting long live, Ma Jin's mood couldn't help but get excited, his hands were slightly raised, and he looked at the people under the Shenwu Gate and said majestically: "Zhongqing is flat!" ”

Hearing Ma Jin's words, Wang Chengen hurriedly stepped forward and said loudly: "Your Majesty has a will, and all the ministers are flat!"

As soon as the words fell, after another mountain shout, the ministers got up and served.

Then under the guidance of Wang Chengen, Ma Jin walked slowly to the city tower, and the people under the Xuanwu Gate were headed by the royal family and followed closely behind after Ma Jin went downstairs, followed by the nobles, followed by the civil and military officials led by the eldest grandson Wuji, Yue Fei and others, and a team of thousands of people, under the protection of the soldiers in helmets and armor, slowly rushed towards the Shenwu Gate, the east gate of the imperial city.

Although the sacrificial procession was huge, the procession was orderly and did not stagnate at all, so it didn't take long for Ma Jin and others to arrive at the Taimiao, the place where the first emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty were resting.

Compared with the crowds of people in Xuanwumen Square, the Taimiao at this moment is much quieter and more solemn, after all, it is the place where the first emperors of the past dynasties are buried, and no one dares to make such a loud noise.

By the time Ma Jin and his party arrived, the officials of the Zongren Mansion and the Ministry of Rites had been waiting in front of the Taimiao for a long time, and they didn't give Ma Jin much time to think, and what followed was naturally a series of cumbersome rituals.

The ritual of the Taimiao sacrifice was solemn and complicated, and the whole sacrificial process was carried out for more than an hour.

Ma Jin, who had done everything, couldn't help wiping the sweat on his forehead, and completing the Taimiao sacrifice meant that this huge sacrificial ceremony was completed.

……

There are two flowers, one on each branch

When the gods were holding a grand sacrifice ceremony, the Zhou army camp in Zhucheng.

"Deputy Marshal, General Yue reports urgently."

As soon as he heard that Yue Yun's battle report had arrived, Li Jing immediately reached out and took the small copper pipe held in the scout's hand, unscrewed the hidden button, took out a small note from the inside, and opened it to look at it, and the hanging heart was relieved.

"Lieutenant Marshal, but won?"

Niu Gao and Yue Yun are good friends, so they naturally know what Yue Yun is doing, and they are also very concerned about the victory or defeat, and when they saw Li Jing's face, they also became excited, and hurriedly asked.

"Well, naturally he won, Yue Yun, this kid fought well, and almost wiped out the Liao army's grain robbery soldiers and horses!"

"Hehe, that's good, that's good, you have a deputy marshal, you have no last resort, and it's easy for a little Liaoguo to ......"

Listening to Li Jing's words, Niu Gao grinned, clapped his hands excitedly, and held Li Jing by the way, but this is not flattery, it is indeed Niu Gao's heartfelt words.

"That's it, let's not talk about this, go, tell the army the good news!"

Li Jing smiled and waved his hand, and commanded.

"No!"

Hearing Li Jing's order, Niu Gao didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly rushed out of the Chinese army's tent after answering the promise, and went to be busy without mentioning it.

On March 14 of the fourth year of Shenwu, Yelu Qi personally led the main force of the Liao army of 300,000 to the camp of the Zhou army to invite battle, Li Jing strictly ordered the Zhou army to hold out, ignoring the invitation of the Liao army, until sunset The Liao army pretended to return to the camp, but in fact took advantage of the situation to withdraw the army, and the Zhou army did not catch up.

After the Liao army retreated, Li Jing strictly ordered the Zhou troops everywhere not to attack without authorization, and allowed the main army of the Liao State to meet the surrendered city of Yelu Xin, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses withdrew to the territory of Tiele.

At this point, the Battle of Yongzhou officially came to an end, and the Zhou army suffered nearly 20,000 casualties, but fortunately, the place was not affected too much, and the losses were not large. However, it annihilated more than 100,000 Liao troops, and the results of a series of fierce battles ended in a great victory for the Zhou army.

……

In the Ganlu Hall of Taiji Palace, Ma Jin was on the dragon chair, looked at the ministers in the hall and said solemnly: "You have all read the battle reports of Xie Xuan and Li Jing, right?" The two Aiqingguo lived up to their expectations, rejected hundreds of thousands of troops of the Liao army and the border towns of Zhucheng, and forced the Liao lord Yeluxin to return in vain.

It is really a great contribution to save the people of our Great Zhou Dynasty from creating life and being displaced! How's the Cabinet going? How to reward the merits of the soldiers!

The eldest grandson Wuji came out and replied: "Except for Xie and Li, who have not been able to agree on whether they are promoted to the knighthood, the rest of the soldiers can be rewarded according to the rules." ”

Ma Jin nodded when he heard this, and said, "As for the matter of knighthood, I have my own decision, so you don't have to discuss it anymore!" But what are the statutes of the Cabinet of Rewards for the rest of the soldiers? Tell me about it. ”

Yue Fei, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, said: "Back to Your Majesty, according to the practice of this dynasty, those who are beheaded on the battlefield will be given a silver reward. ”

"Cutting a head can get five taels of silver, this beheading has a total of 136,900 levels, the court needs to reward 680,000 taels of silver, and then count the reward of one marshal of the enemy, seven 10,000 cavalry commanders, and hundreds of generals below 1,000 cavalry commanders, and more than 100,000 taels of silver, and the Qing Military Department of the Privy Council has calculated that a total of 788,800 taels of silver is required."

"In this battle, I suffered 12,650 casualties in the Great Zhou, a total of 107 generals above the rank of lieutenant, and the family members are rewarded with 250,000 stone of food and 253,000 taels of silver."

"In addition, if a general above the rank of lieutenant dies, the court shall also give preferential treatment to his family, and the deputy lieutenant or above shall have at least one stone of rice and three coins of silver per month, and if the widow has no children and does not remarry, the court shall support her for the rest of her life, and if she has a child, she will be supported until her son is sixteen years old."

Ma Jin listened to Yue Fei's words and couldn't help but be secretly speechless. After a great victory, not counting the cost of food and salary, the reward and pension alone have reached more than 1.4 million taels. This is still a victory, if the battle is lost, then the pension money will not go to the sea?

Ma Jin's thoughts turned in his heart, and he pondered for a moment and asked, "If a sergeant is injured or injured, how can the family compensate for it?" ”

Yue Fei bowed down and replied, "Back to Your Majesty!" If a soldier is seriously injured, if he cannot support himself, the court will give a pension of 20 taels of silver, and his household will be exempted from forced labor; For those who are slightly injured, a bereavement pension of five taels of silver will be given; For those who died in battle, they were given a pension of 20 taels of silver and 36 stone of grain, and their families were exempted from forced labor, and their families were given half a salary for three years, after which the supply was suspended. ”

Ma Jin nodded after hearing this and continued to ask: "Is there too much gap between the officials and the soldiers?" Is this pension also paid by the chief officer of the military brigade to which he belongs? ”

Yue Fei nodded again and again.

Ma Jin groaned: "Regarding the bereavement of the soldiers, I have some thoughts here. ”

Speaking of this, Ma Jin couldn't help but lightly knocked on the dragon chair, and continued: "I think that the reward of this soldier is not only to give silver, but also to give him honor, I have pondered a system of 'military meritorious', and I want to parallel it with the current reward system. ”

Speaking of this, he continued to explain:

"These non-commissioned officers who have not been awarded official positions, as long as they have seen blood on the battlefield once, will be awarded the title of duke, encouraging them to dare to fight on the battlefield!"

"And there are sergeants who have won the enemy's head rank, and they will be awarded the title of Shangzao, and they can receive one stone of grain every year!"

"If a sergeant personally beheads a person above the fifth level, he will be awarded the title of duke, and he will be rewarded with ten acres of Yongye land, and his land will not be taxed!"

"If a sergeant personally beheads more than 10 years, he will be awarded the title of Zuo Shu Chief, and those who are awarded this title can be seen that the county officials do not kneel, and they will be rewarded with 30 acres of Yongye field, and their households will be exempted from conscription! And so on for the later titles. ”

"The Great Liang Maker, in addition to exempting Yongye Tian from forced labor, also gave the 'Great Zhou Jianrui' plaque approved by the royal pen to glorify the door."