The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Last month, the king sent an edict to Yangcheng, saying that the King of Jing offered the land west of Qingyang, but later broke the agreement and attacked our Nanjun, so we sent troops to punish him..."

After talking about what happened last month, Heifu bowed to Li You and said, "This matter doesn't matter to the garrison soldiers in other counties, but it's different for us garrison soldiers in Nanjun. When we heard that our hometown was attacked, we were shocked. For more than a month, there have been constant speculations in the army. The soldiers kept asking the hundred generals and the garrison commanders, but the hundred generals and the garrison commanders didn't know the details. They asked the rate commanders and the five hundred commanders, but they didn't get a formal answer."

It's not that the rate commanders and the five hundred commanders didn't tell the soldiers the truth. These middle-level officers also didn't know what happened at home and didn't dare to say anything.

What happened in Nanjun? Which counties were affected by the war? Is my family okay? Except for officers like Heifu who could ask around and get ambiguous news, most soldiers were still at a loss.

In this day and age, when you are on a military expedition, don't expect to keep in touch with your family, and there are no newspapers or news to let you know what is happening thousands of miles away. Some officers even think it is a secret and keep their mouths shut, which makes the soldiers suspicious.

Hei Fu knows that when Ji Ying takes people out to chop wood, he often chats with others and comes back to tell Hei Fu that the rumors in the army can no longer be stopped, and there are all kinds of rumors.

Some people say that several counties in Nanjun were destroyed by the Chu army, and their hometown was burned into a white emperor. Some people even think that even Jiangling has fallen...

This makes the soldiers in Nanjun more eager to return home. If something happened at home, who would have the heart to fight outside?

"Therefore, if you want to stop rumors, you must first start by telling the soldiers the truth. Only the captain can do this."

As a captain sent by Xianyang, Li You is a senior officer. Of course, his understanding of the overall situation of this war is much better than that of the generals and five hundred masters. If he personally came out to dispel the rumors and told everyone that Nanjun was safe, the rumors would be broken without any attack.

"Good, I will immediately send the messenger to each camp to spread the message and let everyone know that Nanjun was safe."

Li You wrote a document on the spot, and after he finished writing, he asked Hei Fu to read it over.

"The State of Jing is to Nanjun like a threat to the heart, and like a courtyard and a wolf's den living next to each other. Therefore, as long as the State of Jing is not destroyed, Nanjun will need to be on guard every year, and the elders of your hometown will not be at peace..."

After reading it, Hei Fu immediately praised it: "The captain's article is really wonderful. It not only appeased the hearts of the soldiers, but also encouraged everyone to fight to defend their hometown."

He was not just flattering, because Li You's writing was really good.

Hei Fu knew that Li Si was not only a trusted minister of the King of Qin, but also a famous calligrapher of the time, and wrote the "Remonstrance to Expel Foreigners" and other famous articles that have been passed down through the ages.

Li You is indeed the son of Li Si. He not only has a good handwriting, but also the language of his articles is not obscure and easy to understand. Moreover, it seems that every sentence is considered from the perspective of the soldiers. He did not say empty words such as "fight for the king, fight for the Qin State", but found a reasonable reason for everyone to fight: fight to defend their hometown and defend Nanjun!

Li You asked the messenger to take this document to each camp and summon the soldiers to read it in turn. Anyone who dares to spread rumors in the future will be severely punished!

"This is a good plan." Li You praised Hei Fu and said, "This captain has just arrived in the army. I really don't know what the soldiers are thinking, and I can't patrol the camp all the time. If there are similar things in the future, you can report them to me in person." Hei Fu said he dared not, and at the same time hesitantly said, "However, this plan can only make the soldiers no longer suspicious and calm the rumors in the camp. I have another idea that may make everyone's hearts completely stable, improve morale, and fight hard." "Let's talk." Li You sat back at the table. Although Hei Fu was young and of low birth, he looked like a rough man, but he had a lot of ideas. It seems that promoting him to be a short soldier is a wise choice. Hei Fu said, "The captain needs to encourage people." "Encourage people?" Li You was thoughtful. He remembered that "Wu Zi" once recorded a dialogue between Wu Qi and Wei Wuhou. Wei Wuhou asked Wu Qi, "Is strict punishment and clear rewards enough to win?" Wu Qi replied that it was not enough to win. Only by achieving the following three points, "Issuing orders and people are happy to hear them, mobilizing troops and people are happy to fight, and engaging in battle and people are happy to die", can we win for sure. To achieve these three points, Wu Qi provided a method, which was to encourage the soldiers. Let people with different merits receive different land and houses and titles, so that the families of the dead soldiers do not have to get nothing because of the death of their brothers and sisters. These things that other countries occasionally implemented were guaranteed by Qin Law. Therefore, when encountering a war, the Qin people would be happy to hear about war, and their parents and wives at home would also encourage them when they said goodbye: "If you don't get the title, then don't come back!"

This is the recipe for the Qin army to win every battle, so as the commander of the army, Li You can only follow the example of Wu Qi and Sima Rangju, personally inspect the camp, and reward the soldiers with meat and wine before the battle to show that he loves his soldiers like his sons, that's all.

A man who kills cattle and pours wine, and gives them a rich reward and rests them, does not want to be drunk and full as a virtue, but to increase morale...

However, when Li You was thinking about ordering the soldiers to have extra meals, Hei Fu shook his head and said: "I think that what the soldiers stationed in Nanjun need most now is not the gift of cattle and wine..."

Encouragement with food is definitely effective, but Hei Fu feels that what the soldiers in Nanjun need most now is spiritual comfort, something that can calm their uneasy hearts due to homesickness.

After listening to Heifu's suggestion, even Li You, who was happy to accept advice, frowned.

"Let the soldiers write letters home?"

...

Li You did not agree with Heifu's suggestion immediately, but asked the messenger to read the rumor-refuting documents in each camp, and then summoned the commanders and the five hundred commanders.

Just when Heifu was about to leave, Li You asked him to stay.

"You, the one who offered advice, have left. How should this captain discuss the military affairs?"

Heifu hurriedly said, "It's time for the officials to take turns today."

"Let other short-armed generals replace you." Li You did not question it, and immediately summoned the five hundred commanders who managed the short-armed soldiers, asked him to adjust the defense, and let people replace Heifu.

The five hundred commanders took the order and left. When he announced the news, the four generals who had nicknamed Heifu "the quilted general" were all shocked by the order, and they were jealous.

They have been following Li You for half a year at the shortest and one or two years at the longest, but they have never received such treatment. You know, being valued by the captain is an important way for the short-armed guards to be promoted.

Even Zhai Chong opened his mouth slightly. He did not expect that when the short-armed generals isolated Hei Fu and did not play with him, Hei Fu had already joined the military meeting that only the commander and the five hundred masters could participate in by making suggestions.

Who is looking down on whom? And who is left far behind?

After only a few days, they have been valued by the captain. What will happen in the future?

After a while, the commanders and the five hundred masters came to the big tent. When they opened the tent door, they were also slightly stunned to see a small general standing at the end of the tent and smiling and waiting. Hei Fu's former boss Cheng Wuyou was even more surprised.

"Heifu, shouldn't you be guarding outside the tent?"

Heifu smiled awkwardly: "The captain asked me to stay and participate in the military discussion..."

Cheng Wuyou immediately looked Heifu up and down, as if he had met him for the first time. Although he had a good impression of Heifu and knew that he was a capable subordinate, he did not expect that Heifu would be valued by the captain Li You so quickly.

Although they were surprised, it did not prevent the military officers from immediately slamming the table after hearing Li You's suggestion of Heifu.

"Let the soldiers write letters home? Not to mention that the war is imminent, it is so difficult to ask all 5,000 people in Qu to write a letter. Captain, I think this strategy is ridiculous and absolutely not feasible."

A leader was the first to criticize this suggestion, and the others nodded in agreement, thinking that this idea was purely superfluous.

After everyone finished criticizing, Li You nodded to indicate that Heifu could speak.

Hei Fu then stood up from the last seat in the tent, bowed to everyone, and said softly: "I am a humble official, I just want to ask you, have you written letters home in the past three months to inform your family that you can't return home on time?"

The military officers looked at each other. As officers, they had connections, and it was not difficult to ask an acquaintance or put a private letter in the carriage for official mail to send it back. At least one letter to home, and at most one round trip, and received winter clothes sent from home.

After getting everyone's affirmation, Hei Fu asked again: "May I ask you, if there is no correspondence, you don't know what's going on at home, and your family doesn't know whether you are alive or dead, can you feel at ease?"

The commanders and the five hundred masters were a little embarrassed. If that happened, their families would be worried to death, and they couldn't feel at ease here.

Hei Fu smiled and said, "Most of us Nanjun garrison soldiers were conscripted in the first month (October). After the war to destroy Wei, it was already May. We should have returned home in June and returned to Nanjun in July or August to help with the autumn harvest. But we were stopped by a new military order halfway and asked to stay where we were. As a result, we were told that there was a big battle to be fought."

"The soldiers did have complaints, but they also knew that military law was as strict as a mountain. If they ran away rashly, their families would be implicated, so they stayed in the camp honestly."

"But while they are in Yangcheng, the soldiers' hearts have already flown back to Nanjun. Nanjun was attacked by Jing State. Are their families safe? The garrison period was originally only one year, but now it may be extended for several months or even half a year. Their families have no news and are probably worried. I don't know if the soldiers' families have received the titles and houses they got in the war to destroy Wei. There are thousands of words to say, but they can only be separated by mountains and rivers and cannot communicate. This is why the soldiers miss home..."

"In the past three months, many of the 100 people under my command have asked me if they can send letters to their families. I don't ask for a reply from my family, but I ask to write down what I want to ask on bamboo slips and send them out, so that my family will know that I am safe and can feel at ease for a while."

His voice gradually became louder.

"Put yourself in their shoes. If you do this, so will one hundred soldiers and five thousand soldiers!"

After saying this, Hei Fu bowed to everyone in the tent: "So, this is not a whim of Hei Fu, but the wish of all the soldiers in the army!"

There was silence in the tent. With that said, the commander and the five hundred leaders had no reason to object, but they still had some objections on how to implement it.

"I don't know how much wood and ink would be wasted for each person to write a letter, and there are few literate people in the army, how can we get everyone to write letters?"

Someone else worried: "The soldiers may leak military secrets if they speak without thinking."

Hei Fu replied: "It will take one or two months for the letters to be delivered home, and we may not be in Yangcheng by then. In addition, the soldiers who want to write letters home can prepare their own wood tablets. In addition, the literate commanders and garrison commanders of each hundred and each garrison should help their comrades write letters home, with the soldiers dictating and the military officers writing for them. In this way, it will take only three days, and the letters will take less than five carts, and the hearts of 5,000 soldiers can be reassured. Why not do it?"

After that, he urged Li You: "At that time, the captain can also personally inspect the camp and write letters to a few soldiers. There is a saying in Anlu County that a letter from home is worth ten thousand gold when the war lasts for three months! The captain's move is better than a gift of ten thousand gold in the hearts of the soldiers! The soldiers will be grateful and die for the captain!"

After listening to Hei Fu's words, Li You was moved.

"The beacon fire has been burning for three months, and a letter from home is worth ten thousand gold? It seems to make some sense."

"In the past, Sima Rangju and Wu Qi both encouraged their soldiers personally. When Qi was a general, he did not set up a mat when sleeping, did not ride a horse when walking, and personally wrapped the food and shared the hard work with the soldiers. If a soldier had a sore, Qi sucked it for him, so the soldiers did not turn back to fight..."

"If I can write a few letters home for the soldiers today, it may also have a similar effect, letting everyone know that I love the soldiers. In this way, the army's morale can be won, and the soldiers can be used by me!"

The Art of War says that if you treat your soldiers like babies, you can go to the deep stream with them; if you treat your soldiers like your beloved sons, you can die with them. It sounds simple, but it is difficult to do. Soldiers are not stupid, and they can see the true feelings and false intentions. Therefore, even if many generals want to imitate them, they cannot achieve the effect of Wu Qi and Sima Rangju.

But now, there is an opportunity in front of Li You. Agreeing to let the soldiers write letters can also prove that Nanjun is indeed safe, so that they can finish the battle with peace of mind.

So Li Duwei hit the table and cheered: "I have made up my mind, this strategy is feasible!"

Seeing that the captain had made the decision, the leaders and the five hundred commanders could only agree.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Hei Fu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but he laughed at himself in his heart: "I'm afraid my nickname will become 'Family Letter Hundred Generals' in the future."