New Trickster

  Originally, Lü Shi had intended to be a bystander, but now he was unexpectedly put in charge and, with Tian Xing's proposal, could only bitterly accept this task.

  "If I say that I have a gap in my heart, it is the great master's indulgence. I will express my unconventional ideas and discuss them with everyone." Lv Shixian humbly made a promise, then said "In fact, this division of accounts should be linked to the number of troops sent out."

  This is the tone, and everyone nodded in agreement.

  "The number of troops deployed, everyone is here, and has reported their own numbers, no need to say more. I think this way, once the county city is broken, you all must first set aside one-tenth of what you get, as consolation for the families of our dead and wounded brothers in this battle to capture the city, does everyone agree?"

  Nowadays, most of the bandits are family men, and they also bring their families with them when they go to battle. According to the rules of various mountain strongholds, widows and orphans without a man to support them are just a burden, which stronghold is willing to take them in? Driving them away and letting them fend for themselves has become the norm. But without men and the protection of the stronghold, these widows and orphans are actually on a road to death.

  Lü Shi's words were also to secure some means of survival for the people who were about to lose their livelihoods. After all, they were all from humble origins and it was unfortunate that they were born in a chaotic era, so if they could take care of each other, they would.

  But seeing the alliance leader not speaking, the other three also had a look of "this is unnecessary", Lü Shi couldn't help but smile wryly, then explained: "Actually doing it this way has great benefits for everyone present."

  "What's the benefit of this?" asked Tian Xing, who was present at the scene.

  "Everyone present is a hero who does great things. Since you are doing great things, you need to expand your own strength as much as possible in this chaotic world when it starts. Where does the strength come from? That is the people who follow you."

  Everyone nodded in agreement, but in their hearts they thought, isn't it actually hard to find someone? If the county town was broken and the autumn grain tax was levied, at this time of natural disaster and human calamity, everything is lacking, except for refugees. As long as you have a large amount of grain and silver in your hands, recruiting refugees won't be difficult, right? This gentleman isn't a monk by origin, but he can't help having a Bodhisattva's heart. However, in this chaotic world, a Bodhisattva's heart won't last long.

  Lü Shi saw through everyone's thoughts and smiled: "Actually, there are always people available, but only those who are loyal are the foundation of your household. A group that is just here for a meal will come to join you, but they can only fight when things are going well. When they encounter difficulties, no matter how urgent it is, they will disperse immediately. Because they know that if they die in battle or are injured and disabled, their families will have no way out. For the sake of their families, who would still be willing to fight to the death for you? So this time, we'll leave one-tenth as compensation for those who died in battle, and explain it to everyone beforehand. When everyone sees that their families are taken care of, who wouldn't be eager to charge forward when attacking the county city? At the same time, the people will know that you care about your subordinates, so how can they not be loyal? And later on, when things become critical, who wouldn't be willing to fight for you? This is the heart of the people and the army."

  "It's just that." Not getting muddy after all is old and worldly, at this time he slapped his thigh in admiration and said: "It's still Mr. who looks at the problem from a long-term perspective, it's not enough for us, it's the one who wins the hearts of the people who wins the world, that's a big deal, but it can also be applied to our small matters, a batch of loyal and dedicated subordinates are always the capital of life, this matter will be handled like this." The alliance leader nailed it, and everyone else didn't have any objections, so it was settled.

  Lü Shichang let out a sigh of relief, in any case, he had done something good. He looked at the several rod leaders squatting outside the door listening to the news, and saw that their eyes were already filled with gratitude. The principle of human gratitude is just this.

  "The remaining spoils of war will be divided according to the number of troops each side contributed. Beforehand, a quota is set for every hundred men, such as our leader's four thousand troops being equivalent to forty shares, and your alliance leader's fifteen thousand troops being equivalent to one hundred and fifty shares, and so on. The total spoils are then divided accordingly. Even if there are casualties during the battle, the division of spoils will still be based on the original shares, thus avoiding any future disputes."

  This is now a common way of distributing shares in listed companies, but at that time it was already ahead of its time and absolutely fair.

  "Fair enough." The four of them shouted in unison, this method was simple and fair, and it wouldn't lead to the phenomenon of holding back one's strength in order to gain more resources. After all, your current troop numbers are right there, no one can deny that.

  Casualties are inevitable, and there is still compensation to be had. The lives lost were those of others, but the material goods gained were one's own. As long as the material goods are in hand, what's to fear about instantly regaining strength?

  "There's one more thing that everyone might have overlooked, now I'll talk about how?" Lv Shi proposed again.

  "Sir, you speak and we will listen without fail." said Bu Nian.

  "Whether what's being said is right or wrong, let's just wait and see." Lü Shixian accompanied with a humble tone before expressing his own views. The following suggestions were indeed made for the sake of helping Tian Xing out.

  "In this battle, the alliance leader's deployment plan is acceptable, but there are some shortcomings. I am to blame, please don't be angry with me, Alliance Leader."

  "Please, sir, just say it." said Daodu with a non-stick tone.

  "That is the problem of allocating troops to each family when going out to battle. If we follow the words of the alliance leader, you will send 2,000 and other families 500, this is what the alliance leader has promised, but it cannot be taken."

  It's still worth praising, and it's enjoyable to nod with a flushed face, even if you don't get dirty.

  "But in this way, it is the alliance leader who loses too much. Although the alliance leader is magnanimous, there is also a very serious problem in between."

  He didn't stick to his words and thought that Lü Shi was thinking of himself, so he felt happy in his heart, but after seeing Tian Xing's face, he became embarrassed.

  Lü Shi didn't care, and continued: "The drawback is that on the battlefield, the soldiers don't know their commander, and the commander doesn't know his soldiers. The command is not flexible, after all, our subordinates are all from the same village or clan, and the leaders are also brave villagers who take turns serving as headmen. Everyone is familiar with each other, and the command relies on emotional authority. Once they are dispersed, they lose their flexibility in command. Moreover, everyone is used to listening to their own leader's orders, and once someone else takes over, it's hard to avoid resistance and delay. On the battlefield, situations change rapidly, requiring everyone to work together seamlessly, without any hesitation or delay."

  Bu Nian did not stick to the mud, suddenly stood up, his face changed greatly, and after thinking for a moment, he sincerely bowed to Lü Shidé for the first time: "Thanks to Mr. teaching, otherwise I would have made a big mistake, does Mr. have a way to teach me?"

  The other three also understood the key point and stood up to pay their respects, waiting for Lü Shiyu to reveal his method.

  Lv Shixiao smiled and said, "The method is actually simple. Everyone will do their own thing, and we'll still follow the proportion of troops allocated by the original alliance leader. However, instead of fighting separately, each stronghold will operate independently, with each taking charge of a section of the city wall. This way, we can avoid the drawbacks of unclear leadership."

  "This method is good, it's just... " - an awkward and embarrassing way to put it, no need to say more, everyone understands.

  Lv Shi waved his hand, smiling and interrupting the words of Bu Zhen: "In order to avoid everyone working hard but not effectively, each household can draw out 50 people, mix and form a supervisory team, dispatched behind the three battle teams. If the alliance leader requires an attack, if there is no action, the supervisory team will immediately go forward and cut down."

  "Good, good, good, this method is the best. In the disciplinary squad, your family can be spared, but the brothers of other families will not let it go, good, good, good." The four of them loudly praised Lv Shi's clever plan.

  Lü Shì stole a glance at Guan Yu, seeing that this rough and generous man was also in high spirits. He thought to himself: "I saved you from an inexplicable defeat, I wonder how you will treat me."

  "There's another thing that's troublesome." Lü Shi said with a deliberate frown.

  "We are willing to listen to your advice, sir." The four of them hastily straightened their faces and clasped their hands together. Lü Shi's successive plans had already made everyone convinced and obedient, so they listened humbly to Lü Shi's strategy.

  "A large army gathers, and it's hard to keep everything under wraps for long. With so many people from different mountain strongholds and all sorts of individuals involved, it's inevitable that rumors will leak out. Even if everyone is being cautious, it's impossible to rule out the possibility of mistakes or oversights. Moreover, with multiple large armies at varying distances, it's also difficult to avoid miscommunications and gaps in coordination. News will inevitably reach the county authorities, who may not have sufficient troops but can still count on neighboring counties to sit back and watch. However, the county authorities do have the power to mobilize militia during wartime, and there are also wealthy households and gentry within the city walls who can summon their own private guards to defend their homes. Their strength should not be underestimated. In this way, attacking the city will become a protracted affair, which means our forces may end up being relatively weak."

  Everyone nodded in agreement. This is indeed an undisputed fact. Everyone knows that this action, with its grand fanfare, cannot be hidden even if they want to, and the county government will definitely receive news of it. If they break into the city, it will be a disastrous outcome for everyone, and those officials and wealthy households hiding in the city will also do their best to send out troops and supplies. Even if there are no soldiers, apart from the conscripted laborers, there are still many starving people in the city, among whom there are strong and able-bodied individuals who will not care who they fight for as long as they are given food. The defensive strength can be increased several times immediately. This is indeed an oversight, thanks to Lv Shi's reminder, otherwise everyone would have rushed out only to face a strongly fortified city with elite soldiers, while their own forces are just a motley crew, not many in number. If the county government organizes three to five thousand strong and sturdy men to defend the city resolutely, they will be left to sigh in admiration outside the city walls.

  "What should Mr. do?" Now everyone is determined to get the autumn grain tax in the city, even if it's this cruel winter, and their own family can barely survive, they don't know how many more can hold on, so they have to fight again, so Lv Shi still has to come up with a plan.

  "The Art of War says that if you have ten times the strength of your enemy, you should surround them, and if you have five times their strength, you can defeat them. That's why we need someone to lend us a hand." Lu Shi said this out of helplessness.

  Originally, I wanted to take advantage of the government army's unpreparedness and use strategy to capture them, but now it has become a well-known fact that strategic capture is absolutely impossible. If you want to save people, you can only rely on having more manpower, which will increase your chances of winning. This is a one-shot deal, if it succeeds, then it's fine, if not, then we can only watch as the Zhang brothers and those village youths die.

  To save a dozen or so fellow villagers, he had to sacrifice countless innocent lives. Lu Shidi really didn't know if this was selfishness or helplessness.

  Things are like this, originally I just thought about crossing over and impulsively believed that I could change history, but reality tells me that with one's own strength, changing the massive rolling wheel of history is undoubtedly a foolish dream. The realistic approach is also the rational approach, which is for one person to rush towards the south, avoid that familiar **, live a peaceful life in the south or overseas, use one's knowledge to become a rich man, and spend a glorious life as a traverser should have. However, who would have thought, things are unpredictable, and events push you away from your own ideas, step by step walking into this historical tide, whose fault is it?

  I've always thought that friends who like this book would collect it, but now I'm a bit disappointed. Can you give me a surprise? I won't ask anyone to collect it, just hope the people who read my book will thank you.