In this battle, Wang Jian deceived the Yan Dynasty coalition forces and ambushed them halfway. At the same time, he used surprise troops to capture the Yannan Great Wall.
At a disadvantage, Zhao Jia's Dai army took the lead in withdrawing, and the Yan army's generals, Prince Dan and Qin Wuji, also fled one after another, causing the Yan army to collapse across the board.
Part of the Yan army surrendered before the battle, and the other part of the defeated troops fled to Yishui, but found that their retreat was cut off, and the Guancheng that entered Yan had been captured by the Qin army. These Yan troops were massacred by the Qin army in hot pursuit, or were killed by the Qin army.
Forced to jump into the freezing water...
The Qin army made the first contribution, and the merit was calculated based on the number of enemy soldiers.
Although Lu Buwei and Wei Liao successively proposed the "theory of righteous soldiers", they did not advocate large-scale massacre of enemy troops, and expanded the ways to reward military merits in order to eliminate the will of the six countries to resist.
But it was just that there were fewer killings compared to the period of King Zhaoxiang. War has never had anything to do with charity, especially when motivated by military merit. Not killing was not enough to satisfy the soldiers' desire to perform meritorious service.
The entire military merit system will also be shaken.
So when the Qin army sealed the sword, the place was already littered with corpses, and the flowing Yishui was dyed red with blood.
The war came to an end, and a more important moment began.
Military judges from various ministries began to count the number of beheadings.
Remember merit and punishment.
The head level is not simply calculated based on whoever cuts it off first. This simple rule is difficult to adapt to complex situations.
Fighting on the battlefield is not just about fighting alone.
For example, Hei Buti and Yan Zu were fighting to the death. Hei Buti was about to be killed. At this time, Xiao Bai stepped forward and stabbed Yan Zu with a spear. Then Hei Buti seized the opportunity, killed Yan Zu and cut off his head.
Ask, whose head belongs to this person?
If the head is given to the black buttocks, wouldn't all Xiaobai's efforts be in vain?
It would be better to wait for him to be killed and wounded by the enemy, and then take the opportunity to kill the enemy and cut off the enemy's head. Wouldn't all the credit go to himself?
There are many such situations. Bloody battles on the battlefield are not about soldiers fighting one on one, catching and killing each other.
It is often many to one, many to many. Under the formation and the formation of five soldiers, a killed enemy is often surrounded by multiple Qin soldiers. You have a halberd and I have a spear. If no one is missing, then kill them.
People, how to divide heads?
There are also cases where crossbowmen shoot and injure enemies from a distance. How does the crossbowman's military merit count? Could it be that he fired wildly and killed countless enemies, but in the end there was not even a head.
Like those warriors who climbed to the top of the city first, they contributed the most and killed countless people on the way up, but were eventually killed by the enemy. In the end, if he didn't have a head, he had no military merit. Could it be that his death was in vain?
If there is a group of Qin soldiers who have suffered the most casualties and performed the most meritorious service, but only have a few wounded soldiers left, and the heads they received are not even enough to offset the punishment, and the wounded soldiers not only have no merit but are also punished, then who will be willing to fight to the death in the future?
What is called fairness and justice?
Therefore, except for those situations where the enemy is truly killed one-on-one, and someone witnesses it, and the ownership of the head is certain, the head rank in the melee of the military formation is generally determined based on the amount of effort contributed in the battle.
Although not all military judges can be fair and impartial, under the circumstances at this time, it is the most appropriate and most acceptable method.
Zhao Tuo's group of thousands of people first distributed the heads they received to the soldiers who were at the forefront, so that most of the people who died in the battle received titles. After all, they fought bravely and even lost their lives. To a leader
Isn’t it right to let future generations inherit the title? No one has any objection to this.
Of course, there are no unlucky dead people who have been confirmed to have committed no meritorious deeds.
Zhao Tuo knew that in their village, some people were so squeezed that they fell off the Great Wall. Such a death would be in vain.
Zhao Tuo's hundred-man team lost twenty-one people in this battle, but they received forty heads. Not only did the number of beheadings exceed the number killed in battle, but they also met the "surplus theory" standard, which allowed them to be killed.
The commanders and generals of their villages can be promoted to one level.
Liang Guang, the commander of the camp, was promoted from Shangsao to Hairpin Niao, and Baijiang Lu Wu was promoted from Hairpin Niao to Bu Geng.
However, Liang Guang died in the battle. When the commander of the camp was charging on the Great Wall, he took the lead and was stabbed to the ground by several Yan soldiers with their spears.
His title can be inherited through his descendants, so his death is not worthless.
But Liang Guang's death put everyone in Xintun into crisis.
There is a saying in "Shu Wu Ling": "If you die, if you grow long, you should be rewarded; if you grow long but do not die, you will be rewarded; if you die but cannot grow, you should punish him."
If one of our own soldiers dies in battle, the soldiers under his command must kill an enemy officer of the same rank or above to atone for the crime, otherwise they will be punished.
When Liang Guang dies, on behalf of the people of Xintun, they must take out the head of the commander of the Yan army.
"Among the heads you have obtained, some are above those of the village chief."
The military judge stared at the people in Xintun in front of him with a straight face.
However, the scene in front of them was somewhat beyond the expectations of the military judge. Under normal circumstances, when faced with questioning by themselves, the soldiers should have been frightened or uneasy, or they would have been happy when they received the head of the commander.
The soldier in front of him had a strange expression, an expression he had never seen before.
The military judge said displeasedly: "The commander of the village died in battle. If you cannot produce the corresponding head, you will be punished in this battle."
"Yes, yes!"
A soldier lying on the ground, holding his buttocks, screamed.
He shouted: "We have killed one of them."
"Where is it? I haven't taken out the head yet."
"Our commander was summoned by General Li!"
"General Li?" The military judge's eyes widened.
"That's right, he killed a general, hee... ouch!"
The soldiers on the ground were so proud that they laughed and pulled the wound on their buttocks, screaming in pain.
…
A temporary camp was set up inside the Yannan Great Wall.
Zhao Tuo walked into the coach's camp carrying a bloody head.
Behind him, two of the general's soldiers followed carrying a headless corpse, and blood was still dripping along the way.
The person Zhao Tuo killed had an extraordinary status and there was no need to behead him.
But he cut it anyway because the situation was chaotic and he was afraid that if he didn't cut it, someone would take advantage of the chaos and steal it.
After all, this kind of beheading thing really happened.
Li Xin stood in the tent, waiting quietly for Zhao Tuo.
On the side, Huan Zhao was reporting to him the casualties in this battle.
Li Xin raised his hand to silence Huan Zhao.
He had already received a report that someone had killed a general of the Yan army, but the identity was still being determined.
Li Xin was impatient and asked people to bring the bodies of Zhao Tuo and the general.
"Did you kill him?"
"only."
Zhao Tuo nodded, stepped forward and placed the bloody head on the table, standing aside, waiting for the general's inspection.
Li Xin's eyes first swept over the head of the person, then fell on the headless body carried in from behind.
His eyebrows were raised slightly, and there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
The iron produced in Yanzhuang is mostly made of cast iron armor. The armor on the corpse in front of you is well-made and gorgeously decorated, which is enough to show that its identity is unusual.
"Have you confirmed your identity?"
Li Xin asked the two soldiers carrying the body.
"General, judging from the talisman worn on the corpse, this person should be the commander-in-chief of the Yan Army, Qin Wuji."
Li Xin's expression changed and he stared at Zhao Tuo.