Chapter 55: The Shrine of Loyalty and Righteousness

  After this victory, the morale of the Ye family army was high, but they couldn't hide their fatigue. If they didn't let them rest properly for a short period, the fighting power of the soldiers would also decrease significantly in the following days. As long as one is human, there is a need for rest; otherwise, if a person remains highly tense for a long time without rest, he will become slack. Jian was very clear about the importance of this point, and although he still had many things to do, such necessary rest was still necessary.

  Instead, after recalling the troops, Ye Xuan followed the usual practice of rewarding those who had made contributions during this period. Although the soldiers and generals of the Ye family army did not have a salary to speak of, as long as there was a battle to be fought, Ye Xuan would never hesitate to reward them. Therefore, through rewards, almost every soldier and general gained a considerable amount in this great war, compared to their normal military pay. As long as they dared to risk their lives on the battlefield, the soldiers' gains were much higher than their normal military pay!

  In this era, pure so-called political ideology work is not enough, the most practical thing is still a substantial reward, which can stimulate people's desire to fight. The Ye family army itself has no military pay to speak of. If in peacetime, at most, it would only provide food and clothing, and the soldiers would not get any money. This had a lot to do with **Jian's initial uprising when he didn't have much money in his pocket. However, after getting used to it, he discovered that the rewards after each battle were more effective in stimulating the soldiers' desire to fight than their regular military pay. This made the soldiers more eager for battle and seek out battles, so they persisted.

  Of course, for those who were afraid of death and retreated in this battle, they did not forget them either. As for rewards, don't even think about it. More than 20 people who violated military discipline were either executed or punished accordingly.

  Under the reward and punishment system, the effect is naturally immediate. The soldiers who received the rewards are naturally overjoyed and their morale is greatly boosted, eagerly waiting for the next opportunity to go into battle again and be rewarded. As for those who were punished for being cowardly and afraid of death, those who were killed need not be mentioned. Those who were flogged and locked in prison cells reflect on their actions, look at others, and are mostly ashamed, basically taking it as a warning, making up their minds that next time they have the opportunity, no matter what, they must make up for the loss of face this time.

  Of course, this time the rewards were also given to those hunters who assisted in the battle, including the militia who were transferred later. They all received their respective rewards, and the families of those who were injured or killed in action also received generous compensation, so that after these people received the silver reward, they were all delighted and couldn't wait to follow the Ye family army to fight another battle.

  These messy things kept Ye Xuan busy for several days, and as May approached, the weather became increasingly hot. After arranging the matters of Jian Jiangjun, he began to recruit soldiers on a large scale.

  With the prestige of this battle, the local people admired Ye's army even more and knew that they were protecting them from the disaster of the southern barbarians. When the news spread, many young men from surrounding counties came to enlist, including some refugees who rushed to Yangcheng to join the army.

  At this time, the southern part of Hebei was bustling again. The people who came to enlist almost knocked down the recruitment platform set up by Ye's army at the foot of the mountain. They were afraid that they would not have a share in this recruitment, and one by one, they squeezed into the recruitment office, registered their names, places of origin and other information, waiting for Ye's army to select them.

  However, this time Ye Jiajun only recruited about 1,000 soldiers, and with so many applicants, Chen Fei was overjoyed.

  From the very beginning of recruiting soldiers, Chen Fei followed the former Xingtian Army's recruitment requirements and strictly controlled the quality of the soldiers. Those who did not meet the requirements were immediately eliminated, leaving only strong and honest people who met all the recruitment requirements of the Ye family army, and they were incorporated into the new recruit camp.

  As for those who were eliminated, the locals continued to return home and farm, while the refugees from outside were registered by Ye's army and handed over to Zhuge Yu for unified resettlement. At the same time, a batch of craftsmen was selected from among them and again filled into the Ye family army's artisan camp to work.

  As for these things, Ye Xuan only needed to make an appearance and naturally didn't need to take care of them personally, entrusting everything to his subordinates.

  He led his men to the newly built Zhongyi Temple in southern Hebei, where a grand memorial ceremony was held. The names of the fallen generals who had followed Ye Xuan were all engraved on the stone tablets of the temple, including the spirit tablets of those who had died in this war and were placed inside the temple.

  Ye Xuan personally presided over this memorial ceremony and also specially arranged for several old soldiers to take care of the Zhongyi Temple, so that the incense fire here would not be cut off. The Ye family military officers also came here to pay their respects and mourned these brothers who had fought side by side with them.

  Although this matter seems insignificant, Ye Xuan attaches great importance to it. Even the new recruits who have just been recruited into the army are ordered by Zhuge Yu to take them to the Loyalty Temple to worship and pay respects to the heroic ancestors of the Ye family. And specially arranged for people with good eloquence to tell the new recruits about the experiences of the Ye family army's battles, in order to give everyone a sense of honor, so that all members of the Ye family army cannot forget that they have today, thanks to the soldiers who risked their lives to fight for it.

  It may seem like a small thing, but the people of Ye's family are very grateful to Ye Xuan for not forgetting those who followed him in the past. Many people secretly rejoiced when they saw the names on the stone tablets during their visit to the Loyalty and Righteousness Temple, thinking that they were lucky to have followed Ye Xuan, or else who would still remember them now? Unconsciously, some soldiers thought that even if they died on the battlefield one day, as long as their names could be engraved on this stone tablet, they could die with their eyes closed.

  And this has greatly boosted the morale and cohesion of the Ye family army. Nowadays, Ye Xuan's reputation in Hebei is also getting louder and louder, and at this time, Ye Xuan's reputation in Hebei is not inferior to that of his grandfather, Xi Ning War God Ye Long, and his father, Iron Blood War General Ye Wei.