Chapter 700 A Dream of Youth 232
"Well..." Doctor Du sighed, then lowered his voice further, "If you have a good relationship with Chief Steward Fu, perhaps you could ask him to persuade General Li."
In battle, casualties are inevitable, but the old, weak, sick, and disabled can be spared.
Physician Du's face was somewhat pale. "When we captured a city, the army slaughtered over five hundred households, including the elderly, the weak, and the disabled..."
Li Yu may have had sufficient reason to act in this way, but Doctor Du was a physician who had always been dedicated to saving lives. This was his first time accompanying the army, and seeing such a scene was truly unacceptable to him.
This was a huge shock to him. Even though he had seen many dead people, he was still terrified by his commander's slaughter.
"Doctor Xie, why do you say that?"
Even though they had captured the city and the soldiers and civilians had surrendered, they still couldn't escape the fate of being slaughtered and massacred.
From that day until now, he has only been able to fall asleep with the help of calming soup; otherwise, he wouldn't have been in this state in such a short time.
The soldiers who had looted the spoils of war even shared some with him because he had saved their lives, but Doctor Du refused to accept them, and he was tormented by the loss.
Xie Ning's fingertips, gripping the cup, turned white. After a long silence, he said with some difficulty, "For deterrence."
Seeing that Physician Du seemed somewhat confused, Xie Ning exhaled and explained his understanding of the matter to him, stating that it was an objective and cruel fact.
"This is a tactic of intimidation, Physician Du. When you attacked that city, did you encounter fierce resistance? Did you fail to capture it after a long siege?"
"Yes, we also suffered heavy casualties. At that time, there wasn't enough medicine, and many soldiers who could have survived died."
At that time, the younger students under him cried until their eyes were red.
"Siege and defense are two types of wars with very asymmetrical casualties. With the strength of the city, the defender only needs a small number of soldiers to deal with an enemy that is several times or even dozens of times stronger."
The defenders have a commanding view of the city. When we attack, we are shot dead by their archers when we are some distance from the city wall. When we cross the moat, another group of us are shot dead. When we climb the city wall, another group of us are killed by rolling logs and rocks, or burned with oil. Even if we are lucky enough to break into the city, there will be another fierce battle.
Siege warfare is extremely difficult and consumes a great deal of manpower; countless soldiers must go in one after another to open a breach.
If the cities behind them all put up such a fierce resistance, the troops expended in the siege will be unable to sustain the effort. Therefore, massacring a city is a form of deterrence, making the defenders behind it tremble with fear.
If the defending side can be persuaded to surrender smoothly, the attacking side can gain the greatest benefit at the lowest cost.
After a pause, Xie Ning continued, "It also carries the meaning of venting anger. The soldiers need to vent their accumulated resentment towards the defenders, otherwise it will easily disrupt the morale of the army. Therefore, some generals will make promises to the soldiers that 'their swords will not be sheathed when the city falls' and 'they can take any money they want.'"
The greater the losses during a siege, the more ruthless the killings tend to be.
Moreover, massacring an entire city is the fastest, smoothest, and cheapest way to plunder wealth; it's a classic case of using war to sustain war.
Physician Du was dumbfounded. He had never thought about such things before. "Lord Xie, you not only study medicine, but you've also learned military strategy?"
"My father taught me some things." It was a kind of pre-military lesson, mainly to remind Xie Ning, because war is often cruel, and anyone who can sit in the position of a commander-in-chief is ruthless.
With Xie Ning's experience, how could she not know?
Doctor Du felt a little better, but he was also filled with self-doubt: "Could it be that massacring the city was the right thing to do?"
This is so shocking to his values.
Xie Ning simply shook his head, his face expressionless. "Massacre is merely a military tactic, but it can never be right, and war can never be right."
Standing on the side of the Great Zhou, we fight to reclaim lost territory and for peace on the border; standing on the side of the Western Li, they fight to protect their country. We stand on different sides, and each has its own rights and wrongs...
Sometimes, dwelling too much on these things can easily lead to self-imposed limitations.
Just remember that we are born as human beings, and we should know the preciousness of life, hold it in awe, and respect others and ourselves.
"I've learned a lot." Doctor Du's tormented heart gradually calmed down; he was even less composed than a young girl.
Somewhat incredulous, yet with a sense of certainty, Doctor Du's gaze fell upon the white wolf, who was fast asleep to the side. Perhaps from the very beginning, she was different.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of awe towards Xie Ning.
Xie Ning poured tea for Physician Du and promised, "I will go and find Chief Steward Fu. Moreover, we were able to conquer Lingzhou thanks to the support of the people in the city. The thing you are worried about should not happen."
As he opened the door to go out, Physician Du saw the brother and sister squatting at the door, unable to run away in time. He couldn't help but give them both a sharp tap on the head. "Don't listen to what is improper! When we get home, I'll make you two copy the Analects fifty times!"
Although they mainly studied medicine, they still studied some basic books.
The brother and sister's faces fell immediately, but they knew they had done wrong by eavesdropping, and they didn't dare to argue, so they obediently accepted their punishment.
Physician Du carried Du Mingzhao away. Du Xin touched her nose, turned around and ran to Xie Ning. "Sir, they made meat pies. Please try some. They're delicious!"
The meat patties were baked until crispy, and when you bit into them, the meat filling inside was juicy and flavorful, making them a truly rare delicacy.
Xie Ning took the meat pie, glanced at Du Xin, and laughed, "I won't punish you by making you copy the Analects. Just go back and copy the Zhuangzi three times."
Du Xin's expression instantly cracked.
Separated by a wall, the refined scholar, still not quite finished listening, put away his ears, showing no awareness of the impropriety of not hearing what was improper. This inn belonged to his family and had now been requisitioned by the Great Zhou army.
Because his older sister was cautious, she had set aside a small secret room for him to hide in, but he never expected to hear such remarks.
“I can understand copying the Analects, but why copy the Zhuangzi?”
He considered himself to be quite knowledgeable, but he couldn't understand Xie Ning's intentions.
The young woman beside her put down her cup and slightly lifted her eyelids. "She just mentioned 'right and wrong,' and Zhuangzi had similar remarks, saying that 'right' and 'wrong' are not fixed... She is quite learned."
"Let's go, let's take Father home."
"yes."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
