After passing the southern foot of Maling Mountain, the future was bright and clear in the blink of an eye. Pingyuan Village was not far away, but the surrounding environment was no longer visible during the march.
All villages passing by were slaughtered and corpses were everywhere. However, there were fewer young people among the dead, and most of them were old and infirm. However, there were many women and children in ragged clothes among them.
The scene beside the well, on the fence, and in front of the hall was all like this, as if it were a purgatory on earth. Cao Yi was worried that Ye An wouldn't be able to bear such a scene, so she pulled him and planned to lead his army around the village, but Ye An insisted on stopping the army.
He said to the soldiers beside him: "Give me the order to leave a thousand people stationed outside the villages and towns, and the rest will go inside to restrain my Longxi elders!"
Chen Lin was a little worried that the army would mutiny or flee the camp, but he underestimated the Longxi people. These Longxi men entered Panshi Town silently and began to collect the bodies of the victims.
The cruel reality finally revealed the true aspect of ancient war to Ye An. One or two corpses may make people sad, but hundreds of corpses will make people angry, and hundreds of corpses will make people numb.
At the same time, plant the seeds of revenge in your heart.
It was as unbearable as a body burning with fire. Ye An saw with his own eyes the young man's broken cry when he gathered up the corpse of a woman whose head was smashed by a flail. Perhaps this woman's corpse reminded him of
Killed his own mother......
A passing veteran patted him on the head and whispered: "Why are you crying?! Kill a few more rebellious beasts. You can pay tribute to them better than your urine!"
Sometimes the transformation of a young man happens in just an instant. Ye An clearly saw the perseverance on that young man's face after he solemnly collected the woman's body, which was frightening. It was a kind of hatred and perseverance that entered the heart. Although human beings are sometimes cruel,
Ruthless, but most of the time full of sympathy, especially towards things with a strong sense of identity.
This can be regarded as part of Ye An's pre-war propaganda, using empathy and compassion to inspire the fighting spirit of soldiers, which is very common in the propaganda and education of later generations.
There were hundreds of corpses cleared out in the small Shipan Town. People who looked at them on the main street of the town felt their scalps numb and their breathing became heavier. Such a shock could completely shock people's hearts. Even Ye An couldn't bear it.
He had seen corpses before, but never so many at once.
Shipan Town is like this, and you can imagine what other villages and towns in Huanzhou are like.
When the army was reorganized and set out again, the army of three thousand people did not say a word, and the quiet sound of marching was like drums that shook people's hearts. The first to feel that something was wrong were the veterans of the Cao family. They were surprised to find that this temporarily mobilized army was not very capable.
It's the same, there is a fierceness and toughness from top to bottom.
Cao Yi and Chen Lin looked at each other, and finally silently turned their attention to Ye An. They knew very well that the young man in front of them was manipulating people's hearts. Although the words were not nice to hear, it was a real thing.
Thick smoke billowed from the burning pile of firewood, and the smell made people gag. All the ashes were collected and buried beside the long pavilion outside Shipan Town, and a tombstone was carved with a huge stone: "In July of the Year of Yichou, Shipan Town of Western Qiang
There were three hundred and seventeen people who engraved monuments here to sacrifice innocent people."
Ye An led Tieniu and his soldiers, knelt down on one knee and clasped their fists, shouting: "We will kill innocent people, but if we don't kill the Xiqiang traitors, it won't be enough to comfort the souls of the dead. If we go to the west and kill all the bandits, we may not return them!"
"Wow!"
Thousands of soldiers followed Ye An and knelt down on one knee, saying impassionedly: "Kill all the bandits and we may not return them!"
At this point, the fighting will of the three thousand soldiers of the Anhua Army was completely awakened by Ye An, and even the veterans of the Cao family also shouted. Cao Yi and Chen Lin subconsciously followed Ye An and knelt down. At this time, they were even more frightened. The scene is like a dream. The army of three thousand people was temporarily mobilized at the beginning, then embarked on the journey, and now united as one. What seemed like a long process actually took place in just a few days!
What is even more shocking is that Ye An is a civil servant, but now he has a very high prestige in the army. Even the veterans will call him Ye Hou when they see Ye An, and some even call him Ye Shuai directly.
Such a title is correct. The pacification envoy originally has the right to set up a commander-in-chief and can control the military and administration of the area. However, Ye An is the deputy pacification envoy, so this title is a bit overstepping. After all, there are people above him. There is Fan Yong, and he is also a pacifying envoy who can give up once everything is done.
But neither Cao Yi nor Chen Lin dared to say it. At this time, the military morale was available and the fighting spirit was strong. No one dared to destroy the atmosphere in the army at this time, let alone have internal conflicts at this juncture.
Ye An inadvertently obtained the command of Cao Yi, which made Cao Yi very dissatisfied. He whispered to Ye An: "You are a civil servant, why do you need to be so outstanding in the army? Ordinary civil servants are all harmonious. The soldiers are thousands of miles apart, but if you get too close, you will inevitably give others leverage in the future..."
"I know!" Ye An looked at Cao Yi very calmly, and at the same time looked at Chen Lin and said with a smile: "Isn't there Senior Officer Chen as the supervisor of the army? If the morale of the army is low, how can we kill the enemy on the battlefield? Changsheng and the soldiers The reason why we work together is naturally to let the soldiers serve their lives. We are all serving the country, so how can we be so different from the superiors and the inferiors? Don’t you know how to get along with soldiers as a general? I don’t believe it!”
Cao Yi said awkwardly: "Wu Qi's fate is not very good. Even if he personally used drugs to treat sores on soldiers, he would inevitably be tortured."
Ye An sighed dissatisfied: "I talk to you about army management and construction, but you talk to me about politics. I talk to you about politics, but you talk to me about the battles in the court... Why can't you understand? That's right. , because you and I are different, and our goals are also different!"
Ye An on the battlefield is an extremely "simple" person. He is so simple that he just wants to win the war and minimize his casualties. These soldiers are all living lives, and behind them are families. They are the strongest members of the family. Labor is also the mainstay, and reducing one's own casualties while killing the enemy is the most important thing at the moment. As for other soldiers, Ye An will not consider it. He is worried that using these soldiers as a bargaining chip to gain credit will be unsettling and condemned by his conscience for the rest of his life.
Everyone has his own moral bottom line and final persistence. He doesn't care about Cao Yi's views, nor does he care about Chen Lin's concerns.
He led Tieniu and his own soldiers and continued to advance: "Zhou Changsheng! If you linger any longer, you will give up your assignment in the vanguard camp and let me go to the Huotou camp to cook pots!"
Amid a burst of laughter, the big man Zhou Changsheng stood up and ran quickly shouting: "Pioneer Camp!"
"Here!"
"Let's go!"
"Here!"
Two loud promises that made the eardrums numb echoed outside Shipan Town. This was Ye An's request. Every move of the army must be made by everyone. No matter what you are doing, even if you are shitting, you must make a loud promise. , Only in this way can we command with restraint.
He could already name all the captains in the Anhua Army. He could even name most of the captains, and even gave them their nicknames.