Zhou Lin held a long spear and followed the team forward with a solemn expression. His eyes were red from the flames around him, and his throat was dry from the smoke and he coughed.
But these are not the reasons for his expression to be so solemn.
The fierce flames and thick smoke could not stop the advance of the Jin army soldiers. However, the desperate resistance of the Xianbei people made their originally rock-solid will waver.
It would be better if the opponents were only Xianbei cavalry. But in addition to the Xianbei cavalry with bows and knives, they faced more ordinary Xianbei people. Among them were gray-haired old people, half-grown children, and even some Women and children all went to the battlefield. In order to protect their relatives and property, they rushed towards the Jin army like crazy and resisted the advance of the Jin army.
Facing these old and weak women and children, the Jin army, which has always been strict in military discipline and has a tradition of strictly prohibiting the massacre of civilians, seemed extremely uncomfortable. Although military regulations did not say what should happen when old and weak women and children resisted. Even though these people were of foreign races. There were too many things to do. But facing them, Zhou Lin was still a little reluctant to take action. The other sergeants were in a similar situation to him.
Because of this, Zhou Lin and the others suffered a lot at the beginning. Zhou Lin couldn't bear to do it and was slashed on his left shoulder by an eleven or twelve-year-old Xianbei boy. If it weren't for the thick armor he was wearing, it could have been removed by him. He used most of his strength. I was afraid that this knife would break his entire arm at shoulder level.
Although the child died in the end with an angry shot from Zhou Lin, Zhou Lin was still shocked by such a thrilling incident.
In fact, Zhou Lin's situation is still good. Many of his colleagues died due to this kind of negligence. Facts have proved that no one can underestimate the wild nature of the grassland nomads. They are all born warriors. He has been practicing riding and shooting since he was a child. Even women and children cannot underestimate him. Zhou Lin saw with his own eyes that a brother in the same team was hit in the face with an arrow from a tough woman in her twenties who was 70 steps away. He died on the spot. .
Therefore, after experiencing initial carelessness, Zhou Lin and the others could only muster up their energy to deal with the resistance of the Xianbei people.
Xiong Lie's fire caused chaos to continue to spread on the Xianbei side. Their resistance was completely instinctive. Every now and then, dozens or hundreds of Xianbei people would appear on the path of the Jin army. It was a pity that they had no resistance at all. Planning and purpose. The counterattack turned into a mess.
In contrast, the Jin army had already anticipated this situation. Yan Liang divided his troops into several groups. Each of them was responsible for advancing in an area. These groups further divided his men into groups of dozens of people. The formation of a hundred people could not only maintain a strict formation, but also be able to flexibly pass through the fire scene. The archers and crossbowmen fired arrows at the unlit tents almost without stopping. The spearmen even arrived in time to use their weapons. Throw flammable substances such as nitrate and sulfur into the fire to make the fire bigger and stronger.
Under this situation, the battle between the Jin army and the Xianbei people was easily predictable. The serious Han army dealt with Xianbei's old and weak soldiers. The result was already destined without guessing.
In such a confrontation, the Han army was like a massacre. The scattered counterattacks of the Xianbei people could not threaten the advance speed of the Jin army at all. But the effect was not without effect. So many Xianbei people who were unorganized and lacked the ability to resist were slaughtered. The clan members, even if their hearts are as hard as iron, can't help but be cast a shadow at this time.
These are old people, women and children. Although the soldiers under Wen Yuan have long been accustomed to life and death, they are by no means indifferent to life like killers. Any Jin soldier has his hands stained with the blood of these old, weak, women and children. I am afraid that this I will never be able to erase that shadow in my heart for the rest of my life.
Faced with this situation, many Chinese soldiers who had experienced little combat experience rebelled and vomited. Their values did not allow them to attack these Xianbei people who were struggling needlessly. Some soldiers who had just entered the battlefield killed many The Xianbei people, who had no ability to resist, showed hatred and rebellious emotions. What's more, they were even unable to abide by the strict military discipline and continue to move forward.
Zhou Lin also felt the same way. His hands had already been stained with the lives of seven or eight Xianbei old and weak people. This was something he was unwilling to bear as he had always been instilled with the idea of hoeing the strong and supporting the weak. Now he was the only one supporting Zhou Lin and other Jin troops. The soldiers continued to move forward only because of their instinct of obedience.
Fortunately, the Han army only blocked the main road in front. There are still many small roads to escape. When there is hope of survival, most people are not willing to die in vain. Therefore, those who stubbornly resist only account for a few of the hundreds of thousands of Xianbei people. The majority of Xianbei people The tribesmen were driven deep into the valley by the Jin army like ducks on a shelf.
But the number of Xianbei people was so great that they were simply too numerous to kill. Even a small number of people was a terrifying number. Yan Liang only sent his army to chase for more than three miles and killed more than 20,000 Xianbei people. And among them Most of them are old, weak, women and children in the tribe.
The mental pressure of the soldiers increased sharply with the blood on their hands. Especially the spearmen in the front row. Their eyes were already bloodshot and the hands holding the guns were numb. Every time they stabbed them, they let out a painful roar. . It was as if the gun was stabbing into their own body. Some people really couldn't stand this kind of massacre. They even knelt on the ground and vomited despite military orders. Some even fell into madness. They attacked everyone around them without distinguishing between ourselves and the enemy. people.
Yan Liang also discovered this phenomenon. In this situation, the soldiers under his command could not exert 60% of their original combat power. He has led the army for many years. He has experienced many storms and seen many things. He knows the reason for this. The original intention of killing people is It is a huge test of human nature. The first time a newcomer kills someone on the battlefield, they often feel nauseous and vomiting. They will have nightmares for a long time. Many people are unable to pass this level. But killing unarmed veterans who have little ability to resist Weak women and children need a heart as hard as stone, and even destroy the human heart. Even many well-trained professional soldiers cannot get over this hurdle.
After all, the officers and soldiers of the Jin army are just professional soldiers who have been trained in combat skills. It is a pity that soldiers are not killers. They join the army for faith and survival. But killing is not their profession or pleasure.
After such a massacre, Yan Liang didn't know how many of his men would go crazy or have a mental breakdown. But now it sounds like he has no other choice. Because if the Xianbei people don't continue to put strong pressure on him, only two of him will be annihilated by the backlash. There were more than 10,000 infantry troops, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and order the advance.
In addition to the huge mental burden on the Jin soldiers, the situation on the battlefield was also shifting towards the Xianbei people. After experiencing the initial chaos and killing several communities, the Xianbei people also got time to make adjustments. They gathered Thousands of Xianbei cavalry from several tribes and tens of thousands of old men and strong women who still had strength were recruited. Against the flow of fleeing people, they launched a fierce counterattack against the Hebei army.
Both sides were red-eyed. They were strangled together desperately. There was a scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere. The war was like a meat grinding machine running at full strength. It opened its bloody mouth crazily to swallow up life. Both sides started at midnight. The fighting lasted until the afternoon of the second day. The number of dead on both sides exceeded tens of thousands. There were piles of corpses one or two people high everywhere in the fighting area. The soldiers on both sides fought selflessly on the piles of corpses. Either you died or I lived. .
In the pile of corpses killed in battle, although most were Xianbei people, they burst out with amazing fighting spirit by defending their tribes and families. The Xianbei people, with their flesh and blood, were able to hold back the advance of the Jin army.
Under the banner of the former army, Guo Huai commanded the soldiers to attack with a hoarse voice. The soldiers and horses of Yan Liang and Wei Yan suffered too many casualties and were exhausted. They had been rotated down by Guo Huai's reserve team to rest. But the battle has been going on so far. Now even Guo Huai is a little bit tired. Can't hold on.
The Xianbei people have stabilized their position. Although their casualties are three times that of the Han army, compared with their huge base, these tens of thousands of casualties cannot break their muscles and bones at all. More than 400,000 The Xianbei people can easily mobilize hundreds of thousands of old men and strong women who can fight. However, the Jin army has been reduced by nearly 30% of its soldiers. If this continues, sooner or later the advantage will shift to the Xianbei people's side. And I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on for long.
Just when Guo Huai was full of anxiety, Yan Liang and Wei Yan came over. They just asked his men to withdraw and rest for two hours. Yan Liang returned to the front line uneasy to check the situation.
Yan Liang asked: "How's it going? Bo Ji."
Guo Huai smiled bitterly and said: "Two or three thousand brothers were killed and wounded. But we can still withstand it. It's just the general. The situation will not be good if this continues." In two hours, Guo Huai's men suffered casualties of almost two thousand infantry. It was so heavy. The price he paid for the first unification of the army was quite heartbreaking.
Yan Liang's face twitched. He smiled bitterly and said solemnly: "Yes. You can take your people down and rest for a while... There are only two hours. After two hours... there will be no more. Everyone has to go up. The battlefield. Even if we fight to the last man, we can never lose this battle."
Guo Huai's body trembled. He bowed his hands and left silently.
Taking back the command power from Guo Huai, Yan Liang gave orders for his troops to replace Guo Huai's troops who had been fighting hard for two hours. Looking at the stalemate situation on the field, Yan Liang anxiously gritted his teeth and muttered: "Su Xiaowei, do you want to Hurry up. If this happens, we will be the unlucky ones."
Just when Guo Huai was filled with anxiety, a huge rumbling sound suddenly sounded from behind the Xianbei formation. The sound got closer and closer, and became louder and louder. In the end, it even drowned out the loud shouts of killing on both sides of the battlefield.
Zhou Lin rested for two hours. The extremely depressed mood caused by the massacre had relaxed a lot. But his eyes were still bloodshot. When he was very resistant but had to obey the order, he climbed up a corpse that was more than two feet high. When Dui Shang turned his attention to the Xianbei people, his eyes were immediately filled with shock.
Because he saw shocking scenes that he would probably never see again in his life. So many... so many...