Chapter 248: Oath, Fight to Protect

With the spread of the butterfly effect, the events that Li Chengqian can now influence and predict have deviated from the established track.

The help that can be provided is more inclined towards these heroes of the time.

In the dead of winter in October, heavy snow fluttered down the ground like goose feathers, covering the entire world with a pure white scene.

“Everyone line up! Come one by one, everyone will have a share.”

The noisy and bustling streets were filled with rows of densely packed people.

The biting cold wind roared like a ferocious beast.

People were shivering all over due to the cold wind and could only wrap themselves tightly in thin clothes.

But even so, their faces were still filled with faint smiles, as if they saw the dawn of hope in this cold winter.

Looking forward along the crowd, you can see several huge iron pots with steam rising from them at the front of the line.

There was thick, boiling hot porridge in the pot. The tempting aroma drifted in the cold wind, dispelling the chill from the people.

“Thank you so much, kind person!”

A hunchbacked old lady walked forward tremblingly. She picked up a bowl of steaming porridge with one trembling hand, and with the other hand she leaned on a tattered cane, struggling to support her weak body, then she slowly limped away.

From his staggering steps and haggard face, it can be seen that these are the indelible pain and traces left on him by the war and the times.

In this turbulent era, almost all men, without exception, have personally experienced the cruel and bloody fighting on the battlefield.

This is just a microcosm.

If the state highway had not opened a soup kitchen, people like this would have died in this winter.

“You don’t need to thank us. If you must thank someone, then thank our Crown Prince.”

The leading sergeant who was standing in front of the pot distributing hot porridge shouted loudly, his voice sounded particularly loud and clear in the cold wind.

“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

Many people were shouting from the bottom of their hearts, and some were praying silently.

Over the course of a year, many benevolent policies were implemented.

For example, suppressing officials and gentry, distributing land to the people, reducing taxes, etc.

This series of policies greatly increased Li Chengqian’s reputation as a virtuous man. He was deeply supported by the local people and his fame reached a peak.

If you have milk, you are a mother.

Since then, no one in power has ever treated the people as human beings in this way.

There is only exploitation and no feedback is ever given.

This disaster relief effort has brought Li Chengqian’s reputation to a new level.

“Your Highness, there are many wealthy families among the disaster victims in the city who are pretending to be disaster victims to claim compensation. Should we arrest all of them?”

Wu Xing reported politely.

This is human nature.

Who would complain about having too much food at home?
“Let him be, but we need to find a way to dilute and deteriorate the rice porridge donated by the charity, and add some soil, sand and gravel. Just make sure no one dies. If someone is really rich, I’m sure he won’t be able to eat it.”

If you don’t take advantage of an opportunity, you’d be a bastard.

There is a lot to be done in terms of disaster relief.

Either the upper level is corrupt, or the lower level is breaking the law.

“By the way, Gao Kan and his men are going to march out today to form a pre-battle alliance, so it’s time for me to go as well.”

Li Chengqian tightened his thick fur coat and walked slowly towards the training ground, taking one deep step and one shallow step, facing the heavy snow.

At this moment, the parade ground has long been covered with thick snow. At a glance, it looks like a vast expanse of white, like a fairy tale world clad in silver.

However, in this silent white, there were more than a thousand soldiers standing straight like green pines. Their heavy armor was gone.

They stood motionless on the playground, as if they were one with the snowy scene. The falling snow piled up on them mercilessly, and the lifelike snowmen quietly guarded the land.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew, and the snow piled on the soldiers’ bodies shook violently as if driven by some mysterious force, and a large piece of it slid down in an instant.

At the same time, all the soldiers looked in the same direction.

They all wanted to get a clear look at Li Chengqian, whom they believed to be their savior.

There was an excitement and admiration that was hard to conceal in everyone’s eyes, and they all wanted to take a close look at the leader who had changed their status.

The new soldiers recruited this time were all civilians from Pyongyang and Liaodong.

There are many people who come to sign up to join the army.

However, it is not easy to become a part of this raid.

After rounds of rigorous screening, only more than a thousand people remained.

The reason why so many people volunteer to join the army is, on the one hand, their loyalty to the country, and on the other hand, the generous military benefits.

Under the guidance of Li Chengqian’s concept of attaching importance to military development, not only did he carry out drastic reforms and improvements to the existing military system, but he also greatly increased the soldiers’ salaries, pensions and other benefits.

If civilians want to change their fate, joining the army is the best option.

Outstanding military achievements can help one cross the class barrier. Even if one has no military achievements, earning military pay is still a very considerable income.

Even if one dies on the battlefield, one can still receive a large pension, and the family members of the deceased will continue to receive part of the salary, so that they can have food and clothing without worries.

Under such favorable conditions, the desire to join the army is extremely high.

However, the loyalty maintained by money is still extremely limited.

Therefore, Li Chengqian appeared at this oath-taking ceremony.

“I don’t know why you are here. Maybe it’s for the silver, or maybe it’s for promotion. Just like you don’t know why I want to start a war.”

Li Chengqian stood on the school platform, his eyes slowly sweeping over these unfamiliar faces.

“Well, now I will tell you why I want to start a war.”

Li Chengqian’s voice became a little higher, and it could be heard far away in the silent snow.

Even the sergeant at the end of the line could hear it clearly.

“I started the war in self-defense. At the beginning of the year, the Mohe, Shiwei and Khitan countries, together with the northern countries, invaded my border and killed my subjects.”

“Although we haven’t penetrated into the hinterland, what about next year? And the year after? If this continues, we will eventually reach here. When that day comes, our relatives will be enslaved again, or even massacred.”

“In order to avoid tragedy, I have decided to take the initiative and lead an army to the north to keep the flames of war out of our borders.”

Gradually, many soldiers with confused eyes also gained faith in their hearts.

“Fight to protect!”

Li Chengqian suddenly raised his powerful right hand high up and stared at the soldiers in front of him.

“Fighting is to protect…”

Seeing this, Gao Kan and Xue Rengui, who were standing nearby, raised their strong right arms high without hesitation and shouted the same words in response to Li Chengqian’s call.

“Fighting is to protect…”

Along with these passionate shouts, the soldiers’ originally calm hearts seemed to be thrown into a huge rock, instantly setting off a surging wave of emotions.

One after another, they followed suit and shouted, and the deafening shouts resounded through the sky and lasted for a long time.

At this point, the purpose of the oath had been achieved. Li Chengqian slowly raised his hand and then slowly put it down. As his arm fell, the thunderous shouting stopped abruptly, and the whole scene suddenly became silent.

After a short pause, Li Chengqian spoke again: “The meaning of a soldier’s existence is to protect, to protect the land under our feet and to care for our families behind us.”

He scanned the faces of every sergeant, trying to make them deeply understand the meaning of this sentence.

Then, Li Chengqian raised his voice and continued:
“You must clearly understand that this battle is not fought for me alone, but for yourselves and for everything you cherish. Now, I have evenly distributed these four lands to you according to your accounts, so you are now fighting to defend your own rights.”

Having said this, Li Chengqian paused for a moment, then asked in a serious and earnest tone:
“If I tell you that this battle is completely voluntary and no military pay will be issued, then are you still willing to join this war?”

At this moment, the scene fell into a brief silence, but soon someone responded loudly: “Yes! Even if there is no military pay, for our homes and loved ones, we will do it!”

“Want to fight!”

“Want to fight!”

……

Short and continuous sounds were heard, and finally merged into one.

Everything they enjoy now is the result of many benefits that they have never had before.

How could I not fight for it?

Seeing this, Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction.

Fighting voluntarily will unleash unimaginable combat power.

“Of course, you have served the country loyally, and the country will not let you down. The military pay will be paid as usual. If you can return safely from this battle, I will personally award you honors. If you die in battle, your souls will be buried in the Martial Temple, and your family will be supported by the whole country.”

Li Chengqian encouraged.

“Fight! Fight!”

The fighting spirit was high, and every soldier had faith at this moment.

It is not like before, where we fought blindly and were forced to go to the battlefield.

At this moment, they seemed to be given a sacred mission, and joining the army had become a symbol of honor.

Fight for your country, fight for your family, fight to protect.

And these are exactly the effects that Li Chengqian hopes to achieve.

“Here, I wish the entire army a triumphant return!”

Li Chengqian waved his hand and large flakes of snow flew into the air.

“The army is on the march to the North!”

Xue Rengui shouted loudly.

In an instant, more than a thousand people turned around and walked out of the military camp without looking back.

“Your Highness, the army has gone far away, let’s go back too.”

After a long time, Wu Xing walked behind Li Chengqian and spoke softly.

The traces on the snow have been completely covered by ice and snow.

“Wu Xing, when you go back, have the Bad People spread the idea of ​​serving the country and defending the homeland in every county.”

Li Chengqian gave the order very seriously.

It is time to examine the policies implemented previously.

People are selfish.

They only get angry when their own interests are infringed.

Li Chengqian distributed the land, thus binding the people of the four regions together.

Only if they don’t want to give up this hard-earned land again will they launch a counterattack and fight the enemy to the death.

What Li Chengqian needs to do is to take the lead.

“Also, are there any unusual movements in the court? Can the many arrangements be implemented?”

Now all the focus has shifted to the Tang mainland.

“Reporting to His Highness, the Bad Guys have already infiltrated secretly. There should be news coming soon.”

Wu Xing reported that the previous Tang army’s return to Tang also had a certain purpose.

Among them were many bad spies who infiltrated the Tang territory.

“First, focus on getting information about Fanyang. This is the origin of the Lu family and we cannot afford to lose it.”

If they wanted to fight back from Liaodong, the first big family they would face would be the Lu family of Fanyang.

At the same time, he also represents the power of the aristocratic families in northern Shandong.

Throughout history, the Shandong clans have created countless huge waves.

This force can definitely influence the direction of the country.

Don’t be fooled by its existence in the form of a clan, it has great power behind it.

“In compliance with your highness’ orders, I will add more personnel to infiltrate the Fanyang area.”

Since Li Chengqian attaches so much importance to it, the martial arts team must make more arrangements.

“As the Art of War says, the best strategy is to attack the enemy’s plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Attacking cities is a last resort. If we want to win the battle, we need to do something about the Tang army that we let go before.”

Li Chengqian said again.

“Your Highness, what do you mean? I don’t understand. Please enlighten me!”

Wu Xing thought about it for a while but still couldn’t come up with a solution.

“Before the soldiers were disarmed, didn’t they fully learn about our policies? They were also allowed to witness the lives of our people.”

“To be fair, if you were just a commoner, would you rather live in the Four Paths or on the Tang mainland?”

Every step Li Chengqian takes has many calculations in mind.

“Of course I live here!”

Wu Xing blurted out the answer without even thinking.

Indeed, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty belonged to the upper class and had nothing to do with him, an ordinary citizen.

On the contrary, the welfare of the four regions of Liaodong truly benefits the people.

“Then let the bad guys spread the information about the land contract system. The vast number of farmers are our allies. If we want to overthrow the rule of the clans, we must have their support, otherwise we will never succeed.”

Li Chengqian’s biggest trump card is the lower-class people.

Otherwise, wanting to use the four lands to pry open the aristocratic families of the Tang Dynasty would simply be a foolish dream.

“promise!”

Wu Xing’s heart was also touched by Li Chengqian’s profound plan.

The layout is too far away.

It can be said that a plan was already in place when we stepped into this land.

(End of this chapter)