Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 94 Chase
As soon as Liu Daogui stepped onto the battlefield with a long spear in hand, the rebel army collapsed before the Northern Army could even make a move.

They were being hunted everywhere, and it was no use kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy; the people of the city who surrounded them chopped them to the ground and cut off their heads.

In the darkness of the night, the thieves had no idea of ​​the terrain and were moving around like headless flies.

In desperation, some people jumped into the river, but it was useless. They would still be fished out by the people and their heads would be chopped off while they were talking and laughing.

It was as if this was not a battlefield, but a vegetable market.

Liu Daogui also witnessed the powerful strength of the people. As long as they were given enough money and food, they would be extremely brave and could fight such a favorable battle with ease.

The wailing and screaming continued all night long, and at dawn, even the morning mist was filled with a hint of blood.

The ground was covered in blood and there were headless corpses that had been stripped naked.

In those days, cloth was also money. A pair of fusuma could be passed down for three generations in an ordinary family, and it was common for a family of five to share one piece of clothing.

So no matter how worn out your clothes are, someone will collect them.

At noon, human heads were piled in front of Liu Daogui, and Cao Ji distributed food to everyone with a sullen face.

"Joining the army will make you our second parents!"

"Thank you for joining the army. If you have such good things in the future, please feel free to help me."

"You are right. I joined the army here and it is my duty to defend the land. Thank you for your generous help." Liu Daogui was very polite. As expected, the soldiers and civilians only cared about him and didn't think about where the food came from...

Even many of Cao's followers were grateful to Liu Daogui.

"My Cao family has never been so happy in so many years. After this battle, who else north of the Huai River dares to provoke my Cao family?"

"I heard that General Liu will be our son-in-law in the future, and our two families will become one."

"That's great! With General Liu here, our lives will be much better..."

Several members of the Cao family were chatting loudly, as if they were afraid that Liu Daogui and Cao Ji couldn't hear them.

Cao Ji's expression looked better then, and he glanced at Liu Daogui with his small eyes.

Liu Daogui happened to be looking at him and coughed, "Tomorrow I will send someone to Jiankang and ask my uncle to come and propose marriage. I will definitely not bring disgrace to the Cao family."

Without Cao Tengyun, the Cao family strongly supported this battle, and the two families were closely tied together. Liu Daogui had to give them a legitimate status.

The marriage between the two families is an inevitable trend and is also a promise made by Liu Daogui to the Cao family.

"From now on, the two families will work together to ensure the peace of the city." Cao Ji was satisfied.

Liu Daogui smiled in his heart. His ambition was too small. He only thought about the city of Qi and did not realize the value of this battle at all. From now on, all the powerful people in Lanling County had to be respectful to him.

The pursuit stopped at night.

The people carried swords and spears, and carried strings of human heads, and returned to the city to exchange for food.

The two main culprits, Zhang Fonu and Bai Longzi, both died at the hands of Mao Dezuo. Liu Daogui couldn't help but look at this man with admiration again.

The reason why this battle was so easy was that he led his troops into the Ran family camp, and they were like nails on the bandits, making it impossible for them to advance or retreat, and their morale plummeted.

Although this era is chaotic, heroes and heroes emerge one after another.

According to statistics from various armies, more than 6,800 were killed in this battle.

Liu Daogui was shocked when he saw the number. There were only 5,000 invading bandits in total, and he had no idea how they managed to get more than 6,000 heads. He quickly ordered the cancellation of the head reward.

If we keep doing this, we can produce not only 6,800 but even 1800.

After sending out scouts to investigate, they found out that several refugee camps around them had also suffered the disaster.

The young men, blinded by rage, didn't care if they were bandits or not. As long as they didn't have a flag with the word "Liu" on it, they would rush forward in a massive mass...

The reward was cancelled, and resentment arose in the city.

But there is no point in complaining. If the killing continues, I am afraid that the surrounding counties will also suffer... The casualties of the soldiers were quite heavy, with 71 killed and 134 injured.

Of the 153 war horses, only 97 returned.

Liu Daogui felt distressed. These soldiers were all brave warriors selected from thousands of miles away. War horses were extremely rare in Jianghuai, and each war horse was worth a lot of money.

But that's how war is. There will inevitably be casualties, and this is already the smallest price to pay.

Each family of the soldiers who died in battle was directly allocated 20 mu of land, and the wounded and disabled soldiers were allocated 10 mu of land, and each household was given an additional 10 strings of cash as compensation.

"Ten strings of cash per household, that's two thousand and three strings of cash..." Cao Ji's face turned ugly again.

"Does your Cao family still need this little money? Put it all in the account. There's also a bronze Buddha statue in Qingguang Village. We'll transport it down to pay off the debt when the time comes."

The bronze Buddha was more than one meter tall and was made entirely of pure copper. If it were smelted, it could be exchanged for at least 10,000 coins.

Anyway, there is no buyer for this thing for the time being, so it is better to give it to the Cao family.

A man without trust cannot stand. Although the Cao family did not ask for the debt, Liu Daogui felt embarrassed to take it for free.

If you borrow and repay, it is not difficult to borrow again.

After this battle, Liu Daogui planned to search the entire Nichu Mountain and Mengshan Mountain, as these bandits must have a lot of belongings.

There are also powerful people in Lanling, big and small, who still have to pay the protection fees.

These are the dividends of war.

"That's not what I meant. The soldiers are refugees and have already died in battle. They can just divide the land. Why give them so much money?"

Ten strings of cash is not a small amount, it is enough for a family's expenses for a year.

"You're wrong. This money must be paid. Without their bloody battles, how could this battle have been won so easily? This money is not only for compensation, but also for all the living people to see. Otherwise, who would be willing to fight on the battlefield in the future?"

Liu Daogui's face was serious.

The key to whether an army has combat effectiveness lies in how it treats its casualties and resolves other people's worries.

To be honest, even Liu Daogui thought ten coins were too little.

If people were not so poor that they had to starve and need money everywhere, the pension should be doubled.

"I admire your good command of the army." Cao Ji's praise was a little stiff.

However, his words reminded Liu Daogui that it was not enough to just give them money and land, but he also had to give them a grand funeral.

The dead are gone, but the living should continue to forge ahead.

Ranshi Lei is surrounded by green water and green mountains. It is located on a high ground and overlooks most of Lanling. It is also a Feng Shui treasure land.

Liu Daogui had seventy-one tombs built on the fort. The conditions were so simple that the bodies could only be wrapped in horsehide and straw mats for burial. The bluestone from the fort was used to erect tombstones, each inscribed with the soldier's name and their hometown...

Julu, Changshan, Xingyang, Shangdang, Gaoping, Pingyuan... without exception, they are all people from both sides of the river.

We burned more than a dozen piles of dry grass as a farewell for them.

Liu Daogui stood in front of the stone tablet for a long time, silently reciting the place names on it, with mixed feelings in his heart.

These men died fighting because they believed in themselves...

"Since the soldiers treat us so well, we will die without regrets." Several fire chiefs were moved.

Among these dead martyrs are their relatives.

"You all must live well and live until the day when we recover our homeland!" Liu Daogui looked at the vast land in the north. The road he chose was not easy to walk, and more people would fall in the future.

But since I have made the choice, I must go on, otherwise I will be sorry for those who died!
(End of this chapter)