Chapter 481: The Tribulation of the Common People (Part 1)
At noon, there were still four hours before the imperial army arrived at Niutou Mountain.
At this time, the Niutou Mountain Pass was completely silent. No one could be seen. Even the few campfires had been cleared, leaving no trace.
Although there is still at least half a day before the battle begins, everyone has already taken their positions, quietly waiting for the arrival of night.
"Sir, there are still two hundred miles."
On a low hill somewhere in the Niutou Mountain area, Chu Xianping once again whispered to Wei Changtian the current location of the imperial army's vanguard.
I have to say that it is good to have an insider like Han Zhao. We don't even need scouts. We can directly grasp the latest developments of the enemy at any time.
"Okay, got it."
Looking at the wide funnel-shaped valley beneath his feet, Wei Changtian nodded slightly with an extremely serious expression.
It is a pity that the old woman's son died in the battle, but now is obviously not the time to think about it.
Including Chu Xianping, Liang Zhen, Liang Qin. In fact, everyone is like this. There are no distracting thoughts in their minds at the moment. The only thing they are thinking about are the various details of the battle tonight.
Time passed little by little, and after noon, dark clouds slowly rolled in from all directions, soon reaching the point of covering the sky and the sun.
Although it is said that autumn rain is always scarce, the rain in Shuzhou is not valuable. Even in this late autumn, it will fall from time to time.
However, judging from the thickness of the clouds today, the rain today will definitely be heavy.
"Sir, one hundred and twenty miles."
Beside him, Chu Xianping put down the mother-and-child jade, looked at Wei Changtian and said, "The enemy's marching speed is in line with our expectations. They should arrive at the pass at the beginning of the Xu hour."
"Well, is there any situation with Han Zhao?" Wei Changtian asked in a low voice.
"No."
"Okay, tell him that from now on there is no need to send messages unless there is something unusual."
Wei Changtian raised his head and looked at the dark clouds above his head: "Tell him to be more careful and do everything according to the plan."
"yes."
After responding, Chu Xianping immediately sent the last instruction to Han Zhao via Zhuoyu.
Wei Changtian turned around and looked around.
The mountains are continuous, the forests are undulating, dark clouds cover countless mountain peaks, and the scenery is confusing.
There was no movement in the valley below, not even a single bird or animal could be seen. There were only countless bushes and short trees, and gravel and yellow sand all over the ground.
With mountains on the sides, valleys at the bottom and dark clouds as the cover, everything combined together looks like a huge coffin, waiting for tens of thousands of lives to be buried in it.
According to conservative estimates, the number of casualties among the imperial army tonight will be at least over 150,000.
That is to say, out of the 200,000 people who are now charging here with great momentum, only about a quarter will survive tonight, and the rest will be buried forever in this small valley.
In fact, these people are all like the deceased Zhang Shi. They have wives, children, and are sons, husbands, and fathers. Their relatives will also be like that old woman and will never be able to wait for that familiar figure again.
From this perspective, Wei Changtian, Chu Xianping, Liang Zhen and others are the culprits who destroyed more than 100,000 families.
Correspondingly, the same is true for Ning Yongnian, Han Zhao, Wu Ding and others.
When the nature of a war has nothing to do with justice, everyone involved is actually an executioner.
To put it more extremely, this scope can be expanded to every soldier, or even every ordinary citizen on both sides.
Just like Voltaire's famous quote -
In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.
Whether it is voluntary or forced, since you have already participated in it, you must naturally bear all possible consequences of your actions.
But for these soldiers and civilians, it is more accurate to say that they are paying for the struggle between those in power rather than their own actions.
Dying for the benefit of others, this is actually the true cruelty of war. In his previous life, this was a truth that Wei Changtian would never understand in his entire life.
But now, his experiences over the past year or so have made him understand it all.
Therefore, Wei Changtian certainly would not suddenly turn into a "saint" and order the ambush to be abandoned just because of some inappropriate "pity".
But just before all this happened, he still felt sad for no reason.
All I can say is, alas.
Once the hero draws his sword, the people of this world will suffer another ten years of disaster.
At the hour of You, the vanguard of the army was only fifty miles away from the Niutou Mountain Pass.
In the central army a little further behind, Han Zhao's carriage was running smoothly, with only him and You Wenzong sitting in the carriage.
"General Han, it looks like it's going to rain."
Lifting the curtain and taking a look outside, You Wenzon said softly.
His face was still pale and it was obvious that his injuries had not yet healed.
But the governor still insisted on not resting, and no one knew why.
"Shuzhou is known to rain a lot, although this rain did come a little suddenly."
On the other side, Han Zhao casually replied: "But as long as it doesn't affect the march, it's fine."
"Um."
You Wenzon nodded slightly and did not continue the topic.
He looked at Han Zhao who was pretending to study the map of Shuzhou City, and after a moment he suddenly asked, "General Han, did you recognize Wei Changtian before?"
"Um?"
Han Zhao raised his head calmly, frowning slightly, "I did see him a few times in the capital."
"Really?"
You Wenzong raised his eyelids a little: "Then do you feel, General, that this boy's personality has changed drastically overnight?"
"That's true."
Han Zhao didn't know why You Wenzong suddenly said all this nonsense, but he still answered very carefully: "It seems that he has become a different person since he was exiled to Shuzhou."
"Of course, it could also be that he has been deliberately hiding his abilities before."
"Hide your weaknesses? What's the point?"
You Wenzong smiled and said, "He is the only son of the Wei family, and there are no brothers fighting for power. Who is he hiding his incompetence for?"
"Uh, Master You."
Han Zhao was stunned when he heard this, then shook his head helplessly: "I am just a reckless man, how can I understand these things."
"General, you are being too modest."
You Wenzong shook his sleeves lightly: "You see, although you have no friendship with Wei Changtian, you know what he did in Shuzhou, and even know exactly when he changed his personality."
"I guess the general must have anticipated that this boy would rebel in the future, so he is so concerned, right?"
"How can he be a reckless man if he can foresee things so well?"
“.”
Outside the carriage, the dense footsteps and various shouts continued.
The car suddenly became silent.
Han Zhao turned his head to look at You Wenzon, his expression first confused, then surprised, and finally angry.
"Master You! What do you mean by that?!"
"Are you suspecting that I'm colluding with Wei Changtian?!"
"I did not say that."
You Wenzong's tone did not change: "I just felt that the general seemed a little nervous today."
"General Han, there should be an ambush in Niutou Mountain, right?"
(End of this chapter)
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