During an archaeological expedition in Hubei, experts discovered a Qin Dynasty family letter, an illegible text that revealed a 2,200-year-old secret. According to the information summarized by experts, it was found that the content of the family letter was mainly the Heifu brothers who were soldiers in the Qin Army asking for money from their mothers. This revealed a shocking message, could it be that the Qin army, which was known as the Master of Tigers and Wolves and swept through the Six Kingdoms, actually had no salary? There is no pay, why can soldiers not be afraid of death?
This goes back to the time when the Shang Martingale changed the law, and the Shang Martingale set up a set of reward systems in the form of legislation, stipulating that no matter who they were from, as long as they had made military merit, they could receive knighthood and rewards. You know, in ancient times, knighthoods were mostly hereditary, and those nobles did not have to do anything, and they could get a lot of resources, even if they were very incompetent. And ordinary people, no matter how capable you are, it is almost impossible to turn around - at that time, there was no relatively fair talent selection system such as the examination system.
In this situation, the Qin law stipulates that as long as the enemy is killed, he can obtain knighthood and land, which is simply an irresistible temptation for a large number of low-level soldiers. This system, analogous to modern, is that there is no basic salary, and when you make a contribution, you directly reward equity, although this is somewhat difficult and the risk is also very large, but once it is successful, it is to turn over and be the master. How can this not be desperate?
Moreover, for soldiers, if they are only paid, they are fine when they are alive and can maintain the operation of the family, but if they die, what will happen to the family? However, if you have a knighthood and land, even if you sacrifice yourself, your family can still have a guarantee - the Qin army stipulates that soldiers die on the battlefield, and the credit can be credited to the family. For soldiers, even if this reduces a worry, they only have to desperately kill the enemy on the battlefield, even before dying, they must do their best to pull a cushion back.
What is important is that the Qin Army's regulations on the military industry are very clear and feasible, not to draw a big pie for soldiers. The Qin Dynasty military merit system was named "Twenty Grade Military Merit Knighthood System", which clearly stipulated the promotion conditions and rewards for each level, taking the first-class title "Gongshi", as long as the enemy killed a "knight", that is, an officer, it can be obtained. The treatment of "gongshi" is also very detailed, you can get a house, a servant, a piece of land; there is also a second-class knighthood "Shangzuo", the temptation is also quite large, everyone knows that the Qin people are tough and easy to commit crimes, and after the Shang martingale changed the law, the qin dynasty law was very severe, and it was severely punished at every turn. But if you can win the first rank of the enemy's two "knights", if your parents are prisoners, you can directly release them...
Such a clear promotion system allows every soldier to see hope, and even if he dies, as long as he has made military merit, he can also ensure that his family is guaranteed. Although there is no salary, such conditions are more attractive than wages. It is worth mentioning that while the military merit system of the Qin Dynasty was clearly defined, it was not rigid, such as doing dangerous work such as attacking the city, and the conditions for remembering merit would be appropriately relaxed. As for the conditions for testing merit, it makes modern people a little uncomfortable, after killing people, they must get the first level down and pin it on their waists, and then submit it after going back, and "violently head" for 3 days, and those who have objections can report it. After successful acceptance, the beheading record will be sent to the county where the soldier is located, and the county government must complete the relevant reward within 3 days, otherwise the county lieutenant will be removed. (WeiQi)