After Zan Wanshou and the commander-in-chief of the Shunqing Army, Cao Shen, the grandson of Cao Youwen, arrived at Yuechi County, they ordered the Shunqing Army's deputy general Zhang Zi to lead a thousand Shunqing troops and the Yuechi Army led by Han Peng. The "Zan surname" flag was used to surround the attack. Zan Wanshou, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, was famous. The Mongolian army did not expect that the Song army would arrive so quickly and had no time to withdraw to Qujiang. They had to prepare on the spot and wait for Zan. Wan Shou and Cao Shen took the remaining two thousand elite troops and went straight to Qujiang. After convincing the Han centurion, he pretended to be a messenger who came back to report the news, and led a death squad of 100 people to falsely open the city gate of Qujiang Mansion.
At that time, it was night, and the Mongolian garrison at Qujiang was overconfident. Seeing the centurion's military uniform and the exact same command, and being an acquaintance, they opened the city gate without asking, and the death squad immediately opened the city gate. They rushed in and started a fierce battle with the Mongols near the city gate to buy time for the army to enter the city.
The two thousand Shunqing troops who were ambushing outside, led by Zan Wanshou, Cao Shen and several generals, rushed straight towards Qujiang City. After all the death squads fell, the army finally rushed into Qujiang City. Although the Mongols in Qujiang City The Semu soldiers resisted desperately, but because the Mongolian garrison in Qujiang City was still intoxicated with wine, they could not organize a coordinated counterattack without the general's command. In addition, they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. Due to lack of preparation, our army was defeated. Surrounded and eliminated one by one, the defenders could only escape to the north under the protection of their personal guards while half asleep. After that, General Zhang Jue led 5,000 reinforcements to Yuechi and quickly defeated the Yuechi Mongolian and Han troops who had no intention of fighting. , recaptured Yuechi County.
At this point, our army has recovered the entire territory of Guang'an Army.
The last part is the self-summary of the Sichuan Military Region: Through this battle, it is obvious that our army's combat effectiveness has been significantly improved, both in terms of individual soldier ability and courage. The Mongolian army is a subordinate new army of Mongolia, and its combat effectiveness is not strong. However, our army won the victory with relatively few casualties. This was the first time in the siege battle of the Sichuan Military Region. The Guang'an Army regained the entire territory and relieved the northern part of Chongqing Prefecture. The peripheral pressure allowed the center of gravity of our defense line to move more than two hundred miles north.
After reading it, I said to Lu Xiufu: "Lu Aiqing, what do you think?"
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, judging from the contents of this battle report, I think there are three points worthy of attention. First, the combat effectiveness of our army has been significantly improved. This is the same as what the Sichuan Military Region said. According to my estimate, the combat effectiveness of our army has improved significantly. The Han and Jin soldiers who are no longer weaker than the Mongolian soldiers can compete with the Western Region Semu soldiers in the Mongolian army without falling behind. This shows that our military training method over the past year is very effective; the second is Zan Wanshou's military His ability is beyond my imagination. Lord Zan is decisive in command and good at strategy. His performance is remarkable and can be compared with an experienced general. The third thing is that the Mongols are still self-righteous and always think that we are in charge of the court. They did not dare to take the initiative to attack. This proud mentality was also the fundamental reason for their failure in this battle."
I nodded and praised: "Well, the biggest discovery is Zan Wanshou. It seems that our dynasty has another Confucian general."
Lu Xiufu smiled and said yes, and then said sadly: "Your Majesty, only twelve of the one hundred suicide squad members of the Shunqing Army survived. These twelve were without exception, and they were all seriously injured. Fortunately, the army doctor The nurse's timely treatment saved his life, and the other eighty-eight people all died heroically. I recommend that they be commended."
I did not immediately answer the question about the award, but said: "Lu Aiqing, a large-scale war is about to break out soon. Please tell me first about the pension provisions for our soldiers who died or were disabled in the war."
"Yes, Your Majesty, according to the regulations of our court, those who are unable to continue serving due to injuries will be given thirty thousand to do whatever they want. Those who are seriously injured and unable to take care of themselves will be given a life sentence. For the soldiers who died, there are the following. The security system, first of all, the soldiers who died in battle are buried by the government, and monks or Taoist priests are invited to pay their respects regularly. Secondly, the descendants of the fallen soldiers are included as officials or their descendants to join the army. Thirdly, their families are given necessary support. provide financial assistance, such as granting a certain amount of money and materials to the families of dead soldiers and civilians, reducing or exempting the rents of families of fallen soldiers, and providing lifelong support to the helpless family members of martyrs by the state."
Generally speaking, the policy of preferential care and security for military personnel implemented in the Song Dynasty reflected the importance that the Song Dynasty government attached to military work, helped to improve the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the military, and played a role in stabilizing military morale, inspiring troop morale, and enhancing national defense strength to varying degrees. , this policy of the Song Dynasty played an important role in connecting the past and the future in the history of preferential care and protection for military personnel in ancient China, and had an important impact on later generations.
Although the national policy of the Song Dynasty was to emphasize culture over military affairs, compared with other dynasties, it was still "people-oriented". Although the soldiers of the Song Dynasty had a so-called tattoo system, they could be guaranteed three meals a day. By the Southern Song Dynasty, the tattoo system gradually After the abolition, the salary of soldiers was also improved, and the imperial court would pay a fixed monthly salary (equivalent to the allowance for future generations). This was one of the reasons why the Southern Song Dynasty was able to maintain half of the country for more than a hundred years.
"The pension system of our dynasty is quite strict. In order to enable the soldiers at the front to fight the enemy bravely, under the premise that the original pension policy remains unchanged, I also plan to give a one-time compensation to the soldiers who died in the war during the decisive battle between Han and Mongolia. One hundred times their monthly salary will be given as their pension. For those who have won the honorary title, an additional increase will be made. For those who have won the special honorary title issued by the court, that is, the Chinese Gold Medal, their pension will be increased by 50%. Those who receive the first-class honorary title issued by the imperial court, that is, the Xianchun Silver Medal, will have their pension increased by 40%; those who have won the first-class merit martyrdom determined by the military region will have their pension increased by 30%; those who have received the second-class merit martyr's pension will increase by 20% , the pension for third-class martyrs is increased by 10%. This part of the pension does not conflict with other military merit awards and can be accumulated and superimposed. At the same time, for the children of the above honorary recipients, if they are of appropriate age to study, all fees will be exempted. Paid by governments at all levels,”
"Yes, Your Majesty, in this way, the families of the martyrs who died in our court will have no worries, but this part of the military expenditure is also very large,"
"Well, it's very big. From next year, even if the expenses of other departments are reduced, we must ensure the expenditure of this military expenditure."
"Yes, I understand,"
"Also, let the Government Council order government agencies at all levels to do a good job in comforting and rehabilitating the families of military martyrs. Anyone who has embezzled the pensions of soldiers, no matter how much, will be punished by one level. The soldiers are fighting bloody battles at the front, and they cannot be allowed to have any We should not worry about the future, let alone let the martyrs feel cold. Lu Aiqing, please write down the additional pension policy that I just mentioned. After I sign it, it will be handed over to the Government Administration Council for implementation. The time will start from February 1 this year. , until the end of the Song-Mongolia War,"
"Yes, I obey your order,"
"Regarding the awards for the Sichuan Military Region's recovery of the Ningxi Army, the Military Affairs Council and the Ministry of War made a plan first. All the 88 warriors who died in the battle to recover Qujiang Prefecture were awarded the Xianchun Silver Medal and were named Yun. The other twelve people were awarded first-class merit by the Sichuan Military Region and were named Cavalry Lieutenants. After recovery, their military ranks were promoted to one level. Others were implemented in accordance with our original pension policy. At the same time, the local government of Ningxi Army was ordered to A monument was built in front of the city gate of Jiangfu to commemorate these eighty-eight warriors. This monument was named the Eighty-eight Martyrs Monument. On the front of the monument, there were eight characters "The heroes of the Song Dynasty, their names will go down in history" engraved on the front of the monument, and on the left and right sides they were engraved Their names are used on the back to introduce the course of the battle and the heroic deeds performed by these eighty-eight people in the battle to recapture Qujiang Mansion. By the way, Lu Aiqing, wait a moment,"
After saying that, I picked up a hard pen and drew the picture of the Monument to the People's Heroes in my memory, handed it to Lu Xiufu and said: "Lu Aiqing, please give this drawing to the Ministry of Industry. From now on, the monument to the martyrs of our country will follow this pattern." The unified name for this style of construction is the Monument to the Heroes of the Song Dynasty. Any martyrs who have made significant contributions or won battles of strategic significance can apply to erect monuments in commemoration. The cost of construction is uniformly allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the local government is responsible for daily maintenance. "
Lu Xiufu looked at it and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your order."
"Tomorrow, your Military Academy will hold a military intelligence conference and convene the major newspapers and periodicals in Lin'an City to announce the news of the Ningxi Army's victory, and focus on publicizing the heroic deeds of the 100-man death squad, setting an example, and letting me show it to the people, especially the young people. Everyone can be proud of soldiers and heroes,"
"Your Majesty, I understand," Lu Xiufu put the drawing into his arms and continued, "Your Majesty, this year's recruitment work will be from March to September. The major military regions and the navy will recruit a total of 50,000 people. The quotas for additional troops in each military region have been issued in the middle of last month. All military regions hope to increase the quotas of their own military regions in order to cope with the upcoming war. Your Majesty, do you want to increase the number of people you plan to recruit?"
"No, soldiers are precious. Lin'an Military Region needs to increase its military strength because it is divided into Ryukyu and Goryeo. The Marine Corps will be increased by 5,000. In the future, it will be responsible for the task of landing operations. The other military regions will ask them to strengthen their support for regimental defense members. The training is just carried out according to the original plan. The military tax army of the Yangzhou Military Region is officially incorporated into the establishment of our regular army and can be arranged in order."
"Yes, I obey your order,"
I suddenly remembered the issue of prisoners: "Lu Aiqing, how does our government handle the captured enemy soldiers?"
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, generally speaking, there are the following methods: pardon, release, exchange, return, imprisonment, assassination, exile or execution."