There was a burst of gunfire, and more than thirty Japanese people were seen. Suddenly, only a few people were left standing.
There were only about fifty Tiqi soldiers at the front who fired. This accurate hit rate was in stark contrast to the previous fire gun soldiers.
You must know that this is just a round of shooting, and it is still done on horseback.
Nearly half of the hits have been made.
Seeing the bright armored cavalry and the flag fluttering in the wind behind it, Zhenhai Guards could not be familiar with it. This is the Xuanjia Guard directly under His Highness Taisun.
The superb riding skills were simply astonishing, and Qianhu of Zhenhai Guard could only see envy in their eyes.
There are even more traces of military formations among the more than three hundred Tiqi galloping.
By this time, Qianhu had already understood that Zhenhaiwei must have been targeted by His Highness Taisun.
At the same time, in the village of the Japanese merchant base camp.
The unsuspecting Japanese merchants had no ability to resist under the charge of 1,500 Zhenhai Guards.
The remaining two hundred people surrendered as soon as they met.
There is no need to struggle at all, the number of people is too obvious.
The villagers fell to their knees one by one, trembling all over.
Zhenhai Guard Qianhu Sha Hongguang frowned immediately, showing no joy at all.
Baihu next to him whispered: "Boss, if we capture him alive like this, I'm afraid the credit won't be enough."
After finishing speaking, he looked specifically at the villagers kneeling on the ground.
How could Sha Hongguang not understand what his confidants meant?
This is not just about killing prisoners, but also about killing good people and taking credit for their merits.
Only by doing this can you maximize your achievements and get enough silver rewards.
"How can you report that we annihilated thousands of Japanese pirates without even a single casualty?"
"If the report is reported, wouldn't it put the matter on the table? If the superiors investigate, who will be responsible?"
Sha Hongguang said in a deep voice.
Although it is a common practice to kill good people and take merit, it cannot be said that it can be put on the table. The laws of the Ming Dynasty have very strict penalties for this, and it can even be punished with consecutive crimes.
After Shang Yang's reform, the Qin State established a military merit conferment system.
Qin law stipulates: "If one beheads one head, he will be ranked one level; if he wants to be an official, he will be ranked fifty dan. If he beheads two people, he will be ranked second; if he wants to be an official, he will be judged one hundred shi.
The merit of beheading is proportionate."
In other words, if you behead one level, you can be promoted to one level; if you are an official, your annual salary will be at least one hundred shi. According to the twenty-level military merit title system, the lowest-ranking public servant also has an acre of land, a house and a servant.
As a reward, one hundred stones of grain was equivalent to about 20,000 catties, which was equivalent to the grain production of one hundred acres of land at that time.
Stimulated by the generous rewards, the Qin army was delighted to hear the battle. They were fearless and invincible on the battlefield. They frequently beheaded hundreds of thousands of enemies in battles and finally wiped out the six eastern kingdoms.
After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the military merit conferment system was also abolished, but some practices were inherited.
Because this method is the best at boosting morale, in later movies and TV shows, there was often a reward of a certain amount of silver for killing one person, and this is where it comes from.
The Japanese pirates also invaded the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. In the pursuit of the Japanese pirates, there was a stipulation of how many rewards could be exchanged for one head.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's behavior of killing good people and taking advantage of their merits started from the Japanese pirates.
The main reason is that there is not much difference between the Japanese pirates and the Ming and Han people. For example, the people of the Ming Dynasty along the coast have also lived on the seaside for a long time, so it is difficult to tell the difference between the Japanese pirates and the Han people.
Especially if the head is chopped off and a layer of lime is applied, it would be difficult for even an experienced autopsy expert to distinguish it.
This gave many sergeants an opportunity.
Usually, the superiors are well aware of this, and even participate in it to occupy the largest share.
After hearing Qianhu's words, the hundreds of households felt unwilling.
Now, due to the arrival of His Highness the Grand Sun, many of the brothers' sources of wealth have been stopped, and no one knows how long it will take for them to recover.
If His Highness Taisun stays here for a month, will there be no movement for a month?
Because of their sudden wealth, many sergeants of the Zhenhai Guard started spending money lavishly. In particular, it was extremely common to treat Shangguan to drink wine.
If anyone skips two drinks, he or she may lose more than half the money next time.
Furthermore, by inviting the superior officer to drink, you can have fun together, get things done, and have fun. With this excuse, the sergeants are scrambling for help.
There is little money recently, but the sergeants have long been accustomed to this kind of life. Every time they go off duty, they go to restaurants to eat and drink.
In less than ten days, many sergeants were already strapped for cash and eager for another windfall.
And now, a windfall is right in front of them.
Perhaps it is difficult for new recruits to accept the idea of killing good people and taking credit for their merits, and they may not be able to overcome that hurdle in their hearts.
But for veterans who have been on the battlefield for a long time, they have long been numb to death, whether it is the enemy or themselves.
"Boss, look, there are at least hundreds of young men here. No one would recognize them even if they were taken to the inspection department."
"As for the casualties, we can let a group of brothers retire first and take them to Caobang for a few days, and they can still receive pensions."
"When His Highness the Grand Sun here leaves, we will change the household registration and let the brothers come back."
"Wouldn't this kill two birds with one stone?"
Baihu's eyes moved quickly, and he soon had an idea.
It has to be said that the bolder the people, the more productive the land will be. This method of operation really made Sha Hongguang and several surrounding households shine.
After Sha Hongguang thought about it in his mind, he found that this method was indeed feasible.
The eyes of several hundreds of households nearby showed longing.
Ming Dynasty's pension is not low, especially for veterans like them, who can earn money faster than killing Japanese pirates.
If you calculate it casually in your mind, it is a large amount of objective wealth.
Just when everyone was eager to try, Sha Hongguang suddenly said: "No."
Several hundred households were immediately confused, thinking they had heard wrongly.
Sha Hongguang said in a deep voice: "It's a good method, but it can't be used now."
"Think about it, who gets the credit for killing the Japanese pirates this time."
Baihu said: "Of course it is for His Highness Taisun."
Sha Hongguang asked again: "Then let me ask you, should we only kill the young and strong, or should we slaughter the entire village."
As soon as this question was asked, several hundred households were immediately confused.
One of the hundred households opened his mouth to speak, but immediately swallowed it back.
Because in everyone's mind, they must be using Qingzhuang's head to pretend to be a Japanese pirate in exchange for money.
But this involves a problem, which is also a problem that hundreds of households subconsciously ignore.
What if these old, weak, women and children report to the officials then?
Has the matter been completely exposed?
In order to prevent exposure, do we have to kill them all again?
In order to prevent killing good people and taking credit for merit, dynasties of past dynasties have summed up a set of effective methods.
The Qin State was the first to implement a system of conferring military honors. It also had a set of measures to prevent killing good men and taking credit for their merits. There were strict regulations on beheading: when beheading, the neck must be cut off at the base to expose the Adam's apple, to prevent the army from using children and women as credit.
The head must be handed over to the official for verification within three days after the victory to prevent counterfeiting.
Officers are not allowed to kill enemies. Officers' rewards are calculated based on the total number of enemy kills after the army fights. This prevents commanders from taking advantage of their power to "rob heads".
After the head is handed over, there is also a set of inspection methods. The first is to look at the shape of the bun. During the Warring States Period, the people of Qin had different buns from those of the six eastern countries.
The Qin State was located on the border, and the people of Qin wore their buns on the right side. Han, Wei, Zhao, Qi and Yan all wore their hair in a middle bun. The heads that were handed over could identify the enemy and ourselves at a glance, which effectively prevented them from risking merit by beheading their own people.
In addition, leveling requires teammates and officials to provide evidence, so there will basically be no head-stealing.
"Liye Qin Slips" records a case of killing a good person and claiming merit.
A soldier killed the guard at the military camp and came overnight with his head to report his merits.
The head examiner found that the fatal injuries to the head were caused by daggers, not spears or crossbows. In the battle between the two armies, the majority of fatal injuries were caused by spears and crossbows. Killing people with daggers is really rare.
So they immediately ordered officers at all levels to count the number of soldiers. If there were any missing persons, they should come immediately to claim their heads. It was indeed confirmed that they were killing good people and taking credit for their merits.
Today, Ming Dynasty also follows this firm method.
Although the Zhenhai Guards were strong, at this time in the early Ming Dynasty, even if there was corruption and bribery in the military, it would not be completely rotten to the core. In many aspects, they were relatively strict.
It wasn't until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that people were all in cahoots with each other, working together, pretending to be ignorant, saying hello to me, hello to everyone.
At this time, hundreds of households also became entangled.
A whole village was slaughtered, and no one would take care of it in troubled times. But now, it is considered a big problem, and it might even spread to the capital.
The greater the impact, the harder it will be to solve the problem.
These are all people with Ming Dynasty household registration, and everyone brings taxes.
Even if the taxes of a village disappear, even if they are hidden, how long can they be hidden?
Even if you open up a relationship and suppress the matter, how much money will be spent in the process is not out of your own pocket.
Even if the suppression is temporarily suppressed, who will pay the taxes for this village?
The government is not stupid, and will not say that it will be supplemented by Zhenhaiwei. Zhenhaiwei has only one thousand households. How can others help if they don't get some benefits.
Is it possible that he would use the money in his pocket to help fill the hole here?
Calculating it this way, if Sha Qianhu and his brothers have to make up for the tax every year? That would be a huge loss.
"Damn it, if you put it all together, the brothers still have to give money to support them."
One Hundred Households said cursingly.
Baihu, who had expressed his opinion before, was still a little reluctant and suggested again: "How about saying they colluded with Japanese pirates?"
As soon as he said this, the other hundreds of households looked at him as if they were a fool.
Especially Sha Hongguang, there was something strange in his eyes: Are you trying to trick me?
He thought he was the King of Yan and could kill him however he wanted.
As a member of a thousand households in Zhenhaiwei, how could he have such great power?
The key is to check from above and find out that the designated one is not running.
Maybe the other brothers could survive, but he definitely had the only option of execution.
"Tie up all the Japanese pirates and go back to receive their merits. Stop attacking those crooked people. Our brothers here have families and families to live with. No one can bear the burden of anything that happens."
"There is still an old mother, wife and children to support at home, so just take as little as possible. It is better than losing your life."
As Sha Hongguang opened his mouth, even if he felt a little unhappy, that was all he could do.
However, all this anger was directed at the Japanese merchants, and the kidnapping sergeant would slap him with a slap in the face if something went wrong.
The beatings made these Japanese merchants scream in agony.
Hearing the cry, the Zhenhai Guards sergeants became more energetic. They picked up the back of their swords and beat him violently, leaving his head bruised and bleeding.
Sha Hongguang didn't care. Even if he killed dozens of people, it wouldn't be a big deal and he wouldn't say that anyone cared.
The fate of these Japanese pirates, ever since they were caught, was destined to be death.
This kind of thing is tacitly approved by the superiors.
But as Sha Hongguang was walking, he suddenly thought of it and gave an order:
"We'll kill a few less. Our Zhenhaiwei side just needs people to build roads. These Japanese pirates seem to be quite capable."
"I heard that the imperial court has allocated funds for road construction. If we use these Japanese people to replace corvees and get some subsidies, we should still have some income. If they are killed, they will only be rewarded with one head."
When the sergeants heard this, their eyes suddenly lit up, and they looked at the Japanese as if they were shining treasures, and they quickly stopped beating them.
Hundreds of households looked at Sha Hongguang with a bit of admiration in their eyes.
After all, he is a master of Qianhu, and his ability to pluck wool is truly unmatched by ordinary people.
.....
"It seems that people like Zhenhaiwei have some conscience." Zhu Ying said with a smile.
The spies from afar reported everything about Sha Hongguang's situation.
Of course you couldn't hear what he said, but you could see the things he did to appease the villagers and kidnap the Japanese pirates.
Zhu Ying's requirements for these sergeants can be said to be quite low. As long as they do not kill innocent people indiscriminately, in Zhu Ying's opinion, they are considered very good and can already surpass 80% of the guards' sergeants.
At this time, Uncle Zhang said: "My boss, these sergeants are very shady. I guess they feel that the benefits of massacring the village are too low, so they act like this."
Zhu Ying shook his head and said, "No matter what they think, no matter what they think, at least they didn't take action."
"Ordinary sergeants, including those from hundreds or thousands of households, most of them have never read a book. We cannot ask them from our perspective. It is enough to think of these things."
Hearing this, Uncle Zhang lowered his head and said, "My boss is right. This old slave is worrying too much."
Zhu Ying waved her hand: "Come down and set off. We just happen to go to Zhenhaiwei for a walk."
....
The news of His Highness Taisun's appearance spread to Zhenhai Guards in a very short period of time.
Every household in Zhenhai Guard, especially Chai Bai, the commander-in-chief, suddenly became nervous.
This is His Royal Highness Taisun, the future His Majesty of the Ming Dynasty.
It is a great honor to personally patrol Zhenhai Guard.
It's just that this honor, in Zhenhaiwei's view, is almost like bad news.
There are too many things they have done, any one of which is known to His Highness the Grand Sun. Once he is held on to it, let alone others, Chai Bai's position in the command room of the capital will be at stake.
"Let me put my words here first. If anyone makes His Highness Taisun unhappy, don't blame me for not talking about the brotherly love of the past."
In the parliament hall, Chai Bai looked coldly at the various households sitting there and said fiercely.