Liang Xiao explained in a loud voice.
"The rewards for this battle will be determined by the outcome. If we achieve a great victory and recapture Helan Mountain, the soldiers who march will be heavily rewarded. Each soldier will receive no less than eight taels of silver, and the defending troops no less than three taels. Generals below the fifth rank will be promoted at least one level, without question! The marching soldiers will be granted meat rations for no less than a month, and the defending troops for no less than ten days. If it is a minor victory without recapturing Helan Mountain, we will discuss it further!"
"We fight for our country and naturally strive to kill the enemy, but since ancient times, war has been accompanied by casualties. Therefore, His Majesty has also made strict and detailed regulations for the compensation of fallen soldiers."
"For fallen soldiers, their families, in addition to the highest reward for this battle, will receive a pension of ten taels of silver! Every year, imperial envoys will visit to comfort and assist their parents, wives, and children. Their parents, wives, concubines, and children will be exempt from head tax and corvée labor for life, and their entire family will be exempt from tax on up to fifty mu of land for sixteen years. Siblings and other blood relatives will be exempt from head tax and corvée labor for three years!"
"After a soldier falls in battle, their family may receive the soldier's stipend for three years. After three years, they may receive half of the soldier's stipend! If the children are young, the imperial court will raise them until they are sixteen years old. If the wife remains a widow and does not remarry, and has no sons or her son is disabled and unable to work, or if the parents are still alive and have no one to support them, the imperial court will provide lifelong support."
"The state will establish shrines of heroic spirits in various locations. The ashes and spirit tablets of fallen soldiers can be enshrined there for eternal worship!"
"For soldiers who are seriously wounded and disabled while fighting on the battlefield, the state will provide lifelong support, with their monthly stipend remaining the same, and exemption from head tax and corvée labor for life!"
As Liang Xiao announced this, the soldiers' hearts pounded with excitement, almost roaring in disbelief!
Such compensation and rewards far surpassed those of any previous dynasty!!
Such promised heavy rewards and compensation, with families receiving at least half of their former stipend for a long period after their death, would allow them to fight without any worries.
In comparison, the treatment of soldiers in the Great Gan army in the past was appalling. Even after winning, the rewards were meager, at most a few days of meat rations, which led to a lack of fighting spirit among the troops.
Especially after the great victory at Yanzhou, the imperial court's rewards were seen throughout the country!
The Qingtian Guard, the Great Gan Iron Guard, the White Robe Army, and the cavalry, as the vanguard and forward troops that suffered the most losses, received rewards more than three times that of ordinary soldiers. It was said that each person received at least twenty taels of silver, enough to sustain their families for at least two years!!
Now, with Liang Xiao personally reading the imperial decree, no one questioned its credibility!
Although fighting on the battlefield carried the risk of death, wasn't it more lucrative than farming?
Everyone wanted to join the Great Gan Iron Guard, the Qingtian Guard, or the White Robe Army, but the entry requirements for these three units were too high. The soldiers could only settle for second best and strive to earn merit by killing more enemies.
Liang Xiao then added, "On the battlefield, as per the old rules, without the orders of the commander or deputy commander, any officer who retreats before the battle is ordered to do so will be beheaded! If the troops retreat before the officers, the rear will execute the front!"
A strict system of military merits, rewards, compensation, and punishments was thoroughly perfected.
At this moment, the soldiers below erupted in earth-shattering cheers: "We vow to fight to the death!"
All the soldiers understood that this battle was of extraordinary significance. The Great Gan Dynasty was determined to recapture Helan Mountain, and even to march into the desert and water their horses in the vast sea!
If just recapturing Helan Mountain yielded such rewards, what about watering their horses in the vast sea, or even annihilating the barbaric tribes and eliminating future troubles...
The military orders were quickly spread throughout the entire camp.
Not all of the 300,000 defenders of Shuofang had come to this assembly; most were still training or on patrol.
Upon hearing the news, the entire army rejoiced, everyone sharpening their skills and intensifying their training, just hoping to be chosen for the expedition and not left behind to defend the city.
It was now January of the following year.
The previous year, the Great Gan soldiers had defeated the barbarians. At the end of last year, Liang Xiao had beheaded 170,000 enemies, giving the soldiers unprecedented confidence.
Everyone believed: the barbarians were never invincible, but could be completely defeated!
With this confidence, the soldiers' morale reached an unprecedented height.
They only wished to have a decisive battle with the barbarians!
Including the cavalry in the Shuofang area, the northern army now had sixty thousand cavalry available. Combined with other branches of the army, they could fully cope with the impact of the barbarian cavalry. Things were not what they used to be!
A day later, the entire Shuofang Commandery learned of the contents of the mobilization assembly, and their respect for Xiao Qing and gratitude towards Liang Xiao grew even more.
"A hundred years from now, perhaps our Emperor will receive the most noble posthumous titles and temple names besides the founding emperor! Emperor Wu? Emperor Taizong? Emperor Sheng? Emperor Zu? Emperor Shi..."
Xiao Qing's father, the former emperor, had already been given the temple name Zhongzong and the posthumous title Emperor Wen. Xiao Qing, in his two years on the throne, had achieved the feat of defeating the barbarians in the first year and beheading 170,000 barbarians in the second year, enough to be remembered for eternity.
Liang Xiao and Lu Yi, who were in the military camp, heard the people's discussions and could only smile wryly.
This way, Xiao Qing would have to carefully consider whether to announce to the world that she was actually an empress.
The northern army did not immediately dispatch troops because Shuofang was also preparing to send a portion of its army to assist, increasing the chances of victory.
At the same time, supplies from Yanzhou were continuously being transported, including recently manufactured weapons.
Liang Xiao's troops marched at a considerable pace, but this was with the premise of leaving behind some logistics soldiers.
Since they were marching within the country, these logistics soldiers did not fear enemy ambushes.
On this day, thirty of the highest-ranking northern generals gathered in the military tent, holding their breath and listening intently as Liang Xiao and Lu Yi explained military strategy.
Especially the generals from Yunzhou and Shuofang, led by Wang Chunqiu, dared not even breathe, their hearts pounding.
Let alone recapturing Helan Mountain, even defeating the barbarians was a feat they had never accomplished.
Even Lu Yi looked at Liang Xiao with deep emotion.
The white-clothed Chēqí before them was already twenty years old by lunar reckoning. His birthday was approaching, yet he was leading troops into battle, with no opportunity to receive the capping ceremony for his coming-of-age...
Twenty years old!!
On this day, whether it was the barbarians on the verge of a decisive battle with the Great Gan Dynasty in the Helan Mountain region, or the Great Liang Kingdom, the Guishuang Dynasty, the Sun-Moon Army, the Huichun Sect, the Peacock Dynasty, the Tianri Tribe... all were awaiting the outcome of the decisive battle.
Even the Taiji Kingdom, bordering the northeastern frontier of the Great Gan Dynasty, was in a state of extreme tension throughout the nation.
The Great Gan Dynasty was their nominal suzerain, but after the Great Gan Dynasty lost Helan Mountain ten years ago, they paid tribute to the Great Gan Dynasty with increasing infrequency, and paid tribute to the barbarians with increasing frequency.
If this battle was won by the barbarians, the Taiji Kingdom would likely completely defect to the barbarians.
If the Great Gan Dynasty won, the Taiji Kingdom would choose to re-recognize the Great Gan's suzerain status!
The Taiji Kingdom possessed rich mineral and timber resources, and its women were gentle and beautiful, renowned in surrounding countries...
Even the Izumo Kingdom, far across the sea, was tense throughout the nation.
The white-haired Emperor, day and night, discussed with his ministers whether the Great Gan Dynasty could recapture Helan Mountain.
If the barbarians continued to suffer defeats, their dream of crossing the ocean and entering the Central Plains, even if not shattered, would have to be shelved for many years!
Just as Liang Xiao was explaining to the generals, a herald came to report: "Envoy from Izumo, Ito Masamune, requests an audience with the Deputy Marshal!"