sovbooks Chapter 20 We, the people of Liujiatun, earnestly request the protection of the Luo family army!
Chapter 20 We, the people of Liujiatun, earnestly request the protection of the Luo family army!
Good, this will bring in 17,000 taels of silver in one day!
Rock checked his system balance and found that he actually had 21200 taels of silver in his system, which was definitely a huge sum of money!
At least in the short term, it seems that he has no problem recruiting soldiers from the system or maintaining the daily expenses of these troops.
"By the way, system, do my soldiers receive regular pay? If so, how is it distributed?"
Suddenly remembering something, Rock quickly asked the system.
[Players please note that most of the system's armies have routine maintenance costs, which are essentially military pay! Please carefully review the unit descriptions for details!]
[These military salaries will be automatically deducted from the player's account balance each month. Please note that prolonged arrears in pay will severely damage troop morale, significantly weaken combat effectiveness, and may even reduce it to near zero!]
Upon seeing this, Rock frowned slightly.
Fortunately, it seems that his system soldiers are absolutely loyal to him as a basic requirement. According to the system's description, even if he were to be extremely stingy and not spend a penny, these soldiers would eventually become extremely demoralized, but they would not directly rebel against him.
Even so, Rock did not want to casually delay paying his soldiers' wages.
In this chaotic world, other things may not be strong, but the gun barrel must be strong.
If the morale of these system soldiers, who are the backbone of the army, is low, what will happen to the other soldiers?
If that happens, even if his soldiers don't mutini, his troops will lose their fighting capacity, causing him to be eliminated from the chaotic world.
Thinking of this, Rock couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
It seems he needs to pay more attention to the issue of military pay on a regular basis, and keep some silver in the system so that he doesn't run out of money when it's time to pay the military pay, which would result in a decline in the combat effectiveness of his army.
Regarding military pay expenditures, after reviewing the system, Rock found that his system was indeed quite simple and crude.
Under normal circumstances, the military pay for his own troops is equivalent to one-tenth of their recruitment cost. If calculated from this perspective, in the less than a year that Rock has had these soldiers, the military pay he has paid them is already enough to recruit another group of such soldiers.
In addition to normal circumstances, he can also choose to give his soldiers extra pay, starting with more than double the pay.
This mode can significantly boost the morale of the system's soldiers in a short period of time, putting them into a state of high morale, or even fanaticism.
However, this model cannot last. Once extra pay is issued for three consecutive months, the system will default to the increased pay given to soldiers by Rock, resulting in a permanent increase in the soldiers' pay.
"Well, that makes sense. Rewards are precious because they're not always available. Otherwise, if we gave rewards every day, people would take them for granted."
Rock nodded. This was easy to understand; it was actually quite similar to bonuses or something. The most important thing was not to let people take it for granted.
Otherwise, this phenomenon will occur:
If you give money to a beggar every day, but one day you stop giving him money, the beggar will think that you have taken his money!
"By the way, I only gained 200 experience points this time, how did I suddenly level up again?"
Suddenly, Rock noticed the upgrade notification on his system interface. He thought about it and realized that it might be because the 300 experience points he had previously gained had overflowed, which was why he was being upgraded again.
[Congratulations, player! Your personal level has been upgraded to level four. The upgrade reward is 1,000 taels of silver, unlocks a random three-star troop type, increases troop command ability by 10, and slightly improves physical attributes.]
Huh? Why is the randomly unlocked unit a three-star unit this time?
Rock was slightly stunned, not understanding why he had obtained a higher-level unit this time, but no matter what, it was ultimately a good thing!
[Congratulations, player! You have obtained a three-star unit: Hojo Thunderclap (from Total War: Shogunate)]
[This unit is equipped with: a handheld grenade launcher and a machete. Recruitment price: 100 taels of silver per person or 3500 taels of silver per squad (40 people). Population requirement: 1 population per squad.]
Holy crap, what kind of unit is this? Why are there Japanese soldiers here?
For a moment, Rock didn't quite understand what this type of soldier was, but when he saw the very distinctive small tube in their hand, he immediately remembered it:
Isn't this the same mortar that was known as the "Japanese Sengoku Katyusha" during the total war of the Shogunate?
This mortar is not the kind used in World War I and World War II; it is a very old type of firearm.
Simply put, this thing is an iron or bamboo tube inserted into a wooden pole. Gunpowder can be placed inside, which will launch the projectile inside in a parabolic trajectory to strike the enemy.
This thing can be filled with iron shot or small iron balls, or even small bombs, making it very flexible for artillery use.
Although its firepower is not high, its flexibility and the fact that its trajectory is not easily obstructed are enough to make up for some of its shortcomings. After all, the flexibility of most artillery is really hard to describe, and the biggest enemy of artillery is terrain.
Of course, another reason why this weapon was not widely used in history is that it has a relatively high probability of exploding, making it somewhat dangerous to use.
However, this shortcoming is made up for by the characteristic of Rock System products being of high quality. As long as the weapons and equipment produced from Rock System are produced, there is almost no such thing as barrel explosion or scrap rate, unless it is intentionally damaged.
After putting away the system interface, Rock ordered his cavalry to inform the villagers that the local tyrant Liu Sanpang had been killed.
Immediately after the cavalry notified the villagers of the news, Rock took out a bunch of IOUs and contracts from the home of the local bully Liu Sanpang and burned them all in front of all the villagers.
The villagers were overjoyed to see that the insurance team that had been oppressing them all day long had been dealt with by Rock and his group, and that even the IOUs and contracts that had been used to tie them to the land and exploit them in various ways were gone.
"Thank God! Finally, a hero has come to uphold justice for us!"
"Father, Mother! Our land is finally ours! We no longer have to let Liu Sanpang ride roughshod over us!"
Many villagers couldn't help but sob and kowtow to Rock and his group.
Rock quickly helped the villagers up himself, then smiled and said to them:
"Fellow villagers, no need for formalities. That Liu Sanpang has only brought about his own downfall due to his many evil deeds! As the saying goes, Heaven is watching what people do!"
"However, before I leave, I would like to ask you all a question. Have you ever heard that Liu Sanpang seems to have a powerful backer, namely Liu Heilong, the chief bandit leader of Black Dragon Mountain?"
Upon hearing this name, the villagers, who had just been all smiles, froze instantly, their faces turning trembling with fear.
"Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?"
Some villagers sat down on the ground, their faces pale. Having lived here for so long, they naturally knew Liu Heilong.
They had heard about Liu Sanpang bringing in his powerful backer before, but they had forgotten about it because they were so happy just now!
Now that they think about it, they realize:
It seems my troubles are far from over!
Once Liu Heilong leads his bandits down the mountain, the few hundred people from Liujiatun alone will be no match for the well-equipped and powerful bandits of Heilong Mountain!
Thinking about this, some villagers have already begun to hesitate about whether they should quickly take their families and run away.
Although they had to leave the land they depended on for survival if they fled with their families, and might die on the way to reclaim the land at any time, if they didn't flee, they would definitely be retaliated against by the bandits of Black Dragon Mountain, and they might even be slaughtered by them!
Never overestimate the integrity of these bandits. If they are only after money, they may not kill too many people. But if they come down here for revenge, they will surely kill without hesitation!
Rock and his group were well-equipped and rode tall horses, so they could easily pack up and leave at any time, but they couldn't do that!
Rock knew that some villagers were probably already blaming him in their hearts, but he didn't care. He waited until the villagers quieted down before continuing:
"Fellow villagers, now you have witnessed the strength of our Luo family army. In that case, why not let our Luo family army protect your Liu family village!"
"You used to have to pay insurance premiums, but now that Liu Sanpang is dead and his insurance teams have been wiped out by us, you only need to pay half of the premiums you used to pay. All other miscellaneous taxes and levies are waived!"
"If you're willing, we guarantee we can help you fend off these Black Dragon Mountain bandits and prevent them from harming you all. If you're not willing, we won't force you; we'll leave immediately!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately began to whisper among themselves.
To be honest, they would definitely be unwilling to pay security fees to another group of people, since they had been psychologically traumatized by Liu Sanpang and his gang.
But it would be unrealistic to let Rock and the others leave like that.
After all, it seems that the only hope for them to stand up for them and help them fend off those bandits is Luo Ke's Luo family army.
After some discussion, several village elders stepped forward from the group, then bowed to Rock and said:
"Lord Luo, since that's the case, all 120 households in Liujiatun are willing to pay you a security fee! If you are truly willing to protect Liujiatun, we will be eternally grateful!"
Almost as soon as the elders finished speaking, a system notification sounded in Rock's ear.