Chapter 75

For several days, several night patrol teams traversed the mountains and valleys, investigating the movements of the bandits. Mei Zhihuan, Zhao Cheng, and others even dispatched their elite household guards, but strangely, no signs of bandit activity were found nearby.

Finally, the night patrol team that delved deep into the Yinghuo Mountain area returned with a report. They confirmed that the Left Fifth Camp had indeed shown signs of movement, but the operation had been put on hold.

Although this was good news, Zhao Cheng and the others did not dare to be complacent. They continuously mobilized the local militia and even conscripted able-bodied civilians to defend along the southern foothills of the Dabie Mountains.

Zhao Cheng and Mei Zhihuan even used the Taiping Post Station as their temporary command center, with the main force and cavalry from Baosheng Fort now stationed at Tiger Head Pass.

Seeing that there was no immediate prospect of battle, Liu Jun asked for leave from Zhao Cheng.

"Your subordinate plans to return to Xibay to recruit a new team of soldiers and purchase some supplies, so I am here to request a few days off."

Zhao Cheng knew that Liu Jun intended to expand the Nine-Headed Bird to over three hundred men and fully supported this plan, as long as he didn't have to provide the funds.

"The bandits haven't made any moves yet, so it's fine for you to take a few days off. However, you must return quickly, as Tiger Head Pass still needs you to defend it," Mei Zhihuan said. Although the main force from Baosheng Fort was now stationed at Tiger Head Pass, they were considered mobile forces that could be deployed based on enemy movements. According to the deployment, Liu Jun's Nine-Headed Bird was the primary defensive force at Tiger Head Pass.

After receiving approval, Liu Jun returned to the inspection office.

"Jiye, come over and sit down. I have something to discuss with you," Li Chunjiang called out, his expression somewhat somber.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah," Li Chunjiang sighed deeply. "Jiye, I may not be able to manage the Nine-Headed Bird anymore." Mentioning this, his brows furrowed. Establishing the cavalry was not a whim. Later, when he met Liu Jun, they built the cavalry together, recruiting soldiers, purchasing military equipment, training the team, and then launching operations against bandits. Throughout this journey, Li Chunjiang felt a sense of accomplishment, a real feeling that he was doing something meaningful and substantial.

However, after his injury, his family began to oppose his continued involvement in the local militia. Initially, he persisted, but when news of a large bandit force from the east reached them, his parents firmly opposed his continued involvement, leaving no room for argument.

Li Chunjiang's father was very firm, stating that they would not oppose providing money and grain, and would even contribute a large sum to support the fight against the bandits. Even if they had to provide manpower, the Li family could organize a team of household guards and servants. However, Li Chunjiang could no longer remain in the local militia.

This decision was final and non-negotiable.

The Li family was counting on Li Chunjiang to take the imperial examination in the spring and become a top scholar. How could they let him take such risks? Last time, he was injured fighting a few small bandits. If the knife had gone in a bit deeper, Li Chunjiang would have been left without an heir. Now, the bandits from the east were a large and dangerous group, numbering in the thousands, with no regard for life. Who would dare to take such a risk?

Liu Jun had anticipated this and was not surprised or upset. Li Chunjiang had been very helpful to him. Without Li Chunjiang, there would be no Nine-Headed Bird. However, he knew that Li Chunjiang could not stay in the local militia indefinitely.

In fact, Liu Jun suddenly felt that Li Chunjiang's departure might not be entirely bad. After his departure, the Nine-Headed Bird would no longer belong to the Li family or Li Chunjiang, but to Liu Jun himself.

Even without the Li family's financial support, Liu Jun was not worried. He had already accumulated a substantial amount of money and grain.

Due to Li Chunjiang's insistence, the Li family had little influence over the Nine-Headed Bird. Now that Li Chunjiang was leaving, the Nine-Headed Bird would truly belong to Liu Jun. He would no longer be a deputy but the leader.

In this sense, it might be a good thing.

"Even if you're no longer in the team, you are still the founder and builder of the Nine-Headed Bird. You can still support me and the team from behind," Liu Jun said with a smile. Although Li Chunjiang was leaving, Liu Jun still hoped that the Nine-Headed Bird would continue to receive support from the Li family, even if not in terms of money and grain, but through their influence.

Li Chunjiang smiled, his mood improving slightly. "Of course, if there are any issues in the future, you can come to me."

"The silver in Qiting hasn't been withdrawn yet," Liu Jun mentioned the money.

That was nearly 30,000 taels of silver. Technically, this money belonged to the Nine-Headed Bird, but since Li Chunjiang had established the team, it was important to clarify this to avoid future problems.

However, Li Chunjiang was not concerned about this. "Why bring that up? That money belongs to the team. With that money, the team won't have to worry about financial issues for a while. If the money runs out, you can come to me, and I will help raise more funds."

Seeing Li Chunjiang's generosity, Liu Jun was very impressed. Li Chunjiang was a very pure person, and Liu Jun knew he could not be as selfless.

Liu Jun smiled. "What are your plans next?"

"In a few days, I will go to Nanjing to meet some friends. Then, at the end of the year, I will go to the capital to prepare for the imperial examination in the spring," Li Chunjiang said. "Jiye, have you decided to take the military examination this year?"

Liu Jun shook his head. "I don't have the heart to think about that right now. We'll see. I just asked Zhao Bingxian for leave. You can accompany me back to Queen City first, and have the brothers move the old camp's supplies to Tiger Head Pass. Additionally, we need to recruit new soldiers, and you need to help me with that. Also, as we agreed, you need to help me propose to the Lu family. You can't back out."

Li Chunjiang laughed heartily. "I, Li Chunjiang, always keep my word. Just wait and see, I will definitely succeed in proposing for you."

The next morning, before leaving, Liu Jun first distributed rewards to the meritorious soldiers from the rescue of Zhao Dagou.

In that battle, a total of fifty heads were taken, with each head worth twenty taels of silver, totaling one thousand taels. However, most of the kills were made by Liu Jun and the old team members like Zhang Shan. The new recruits only killed five bandits, and most of those were joint kills.

Liu Jun proposed that each new recruit receive five taels of silver, and each old team member receive twenty taels. This would result in the new recruits receiving six hundred taels and the old team members receiving three hundred taels, with the remaining one hundred taels going to the team. Everyone agreed with this arrangement.

Distributing nine hundred taels of silver at once made Liu Jun a bit hesitant. He felt it was time to revise the reward system. Otherwise, if they fought a larger battle and killed hundreds or thousands of enemies, he would be unable to support the rewards.

The reward for taking a head should be retained, but the amount should not be so high. Twenty taels per head was too much. It should be divided into categories, such as Northern Raiders, Southern Pirates, Bandits, Mountain Bandits, and Thieves, each with subcategories like Leader, Chief, Elite, Ordinary, and Weak.

From Northern Raiders to Thieves, the reward for a head would range from ten taels to two taels, decreasing by one tael per category.

For a Northern Raider, an elite would receive ten taels, a chief would receive twelve taels, a leader would receive fourteen taels, an ordinary member would receive eight taels, and a weak member would receive six taels.

Of course, reducing the reward for taking a head would require strengthening collective military achievements. It would be best to calculate the team's achievements as a whole, not individual achievements, and distribute the rewards equally among the team members, making it more fair. Additionally, collective achievements should be calculated, such as the reward for a victory with fewer troops, a victory with equal numbers, and a victory with more troops.

Liu Jun felt this would be a complex calculation, but he had a preliminary idea. A new military achievement system was necessary. Otherwise, with the future addition of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, the remote units would kill more enemies, while the close-combat units would be at a disadvantage, affecting fairness and morale.

On the way, Liu Jun shared his ideas with Li Chunjiang, who nodded frequently. "This is a good plan. It's more fair and just."

The Ming army had an existing system for military achievements and rewards, but it was difficult to implement in practice. For example, the Ming had a rule that a soldier who captured or killed a pirate on a ship would receive fifty taels of silver, while a soldier who captured or killed a pirate on land would receive twenty taels. Commanders and officers needed to capture a pirate ship and a pirate to advance one rank, receiving fifty taels of silver and fifty ingots of paper money.

During the Yongle period, military achievements were divided into extraordinary, first, and second. An extraordinary achievement would advance two ranks, a first achievement would advance one rank, and a second achievement would not advance. The calculation of military achievements was mainly based on battle performance, with a reward of thirty taels of silver for capturing a bandit and twenty taels for taking a head.

During the Xuande period, a rule was established for killing southern bandits, with a reward of one rank for taking three heads.

In later periods, the focus was on advancing ranks based on the number of heads taken. For example, killing a Northern Raider would advance one rank per head, two ranks for two heads, and three ranks for three heads, with a maximum of three ranks.

During the Jiajing period, killing a pirate would advance three ranks, or a reward of one hundred and fifty taels of silver if the soldier did not want to advance. Killing a pirate follower or a Chinese follower would advance one rank, or a reward of fifty taels and twenty taels of silver, respectively.

The court provided high rewards for taking heads, often advancing one rank per head and offering several dozen taels of silver. However, in practice, the border troops often had few kills, leading to the killing of innocent people to claim achievements. Even if there were real kills, the officers often claimed the achievements and withheld the rewards.

Although the reward for taking a head was high, it was often just a promise.

The Nine-Headed Bird's reward system was straightforward, with the promised amount always given, with no embezzlement. Therefore, the old rule of twenty taels of silver per head was clearly too high, especially since they were dealing with local bandits and mountain bandits.

However, the Nine-Headed Bird had a disadvantage in that, unlike the official army, which could advance in rank and receive promotions, the Nine-Headed Bird, being a local militia and now Liu Jun's personal household guards, could not advance in rank, even if they took heads.

Rewards were still necessary, but they needed to be fair and acceptable to the team members.

On the way, Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang discussed the matter, and Liu Jun occasionally called in subordinates like Zhang Shan, Wang Qian, and Zhang Donggou to ask for their opinions.

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