Chapter 479 The Tribulation of Common People (Part 1)
At noon, there were still four hours before the imperial army arrived at Niutoushan.
At this time, the Niutoushan Pass was completely quiet. No one could be seen. Even a few bonfires had been cleaned up without leaving any traces.
Although there is still at least half a day before the battle starts, everyone is already in place, quietly waiting for the night to come.
"Sir, there are still two hundred miles left."
On a low mountain somewhere in Niutoushan District, Chu Xianping once again reported to Wei Changtian in a low voice the location of the imperial army's vanguard.
It has to be said that it is good to have an internal agent like Han Zhao. He does not even need scouts and can directly grasp the latest developments of the enemy at any time.
"Oh, I see."
Looking at the wide, funnel-shaped valley at his feet, Wei Changtian nodded slightly, his expression extremely serious.
It is a pity that the old woman's son has died in the battle, but now is obviously not the time to think about such things.
Including Chu Xianping, Liang Zhen, Liang Qin...
This is actually the case for everyone. There are no distracting thoughts in their minds at the moment. The only questions they are thinking about are the various details of tonight's battle.
Time passed little by little, and as soon as noon passed, dark clouds slowly came in from all directions, and soon they reached the point of covering the sky and the sun.
Although it is said that autumn rain is always rare, the rain in Shuzhou is not valuable. Even in this late autumn season, it will fall from time to time.
However, judging from the thickness of the clouds today, the rain will definitely not be light today.
"Sir, one hundred and twenty miles."
Next to him, Chu Xianping put down the Zimu Jade, looked at Wei Changtian and said: "The enemy's marching speed is as expected, and they should arrive at the pass at the beginning of Xu Shi."
"Well, is there anything going on with Han Zhao?" Wei Changtian asked in a low voice.
"No."
"Okay, tell him that from now on, if there are no abnormal conditions, there is no need to send any more messages."
Wei Changtian raised his head and looked at the dark clouds above his head: "Let him be more careful and everything will go according to plan."
"yes."
In response, Chu Xianping immediately sent Han Zhao the last instruction with Zhuoyu.
Wei Changtian turned his head and looked around again.
Continuous mountains, undulating forests, dark clouds locking countless mountain tops, the scenery is confusing.
There was no movement in the valley below, not even a single bird or animal could be seen, only countless shrubs and trees, and gravel and yellow sand all over the ground.
The mountains are the sides, the valleys are the bottom, and the dark clouds are the cover... Everything combined is like a huge coffin, waiting for tens of thousands of lives to be buried in it.
Conservative estimates suggest that the number of casualties among the imperial army tonight will be at least 150,000.
In other words, of the 200,000 people who are now being killed with great force, only about a quarter will survive tonight, and the rest will be buried in this small valley forever.
In fact, these people are all like the dead Zhang Shi, with wives and children, as sons, husbands, fathers...
Their relatives will all 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 single-handedly destroyed more than 100,000 families.
Correspondingly, the same goes for Ning Yongnian, Han Zhao, Wu Ding and others.
When the nature of war has nothing to do with justice, everyone involved is actually an executioner.
If we go a little more extreme, this scope can be expanded to every soldier, and even every ordinary citizen on both sides.
Just like Voltaire’s famous saying——
When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent.
Whether it is voluntary or coerced, since you have participated in it, you will naturally have to bear all possible consequences of your actions.
But for these soldiers and civilians, rather than paying for their own actions, it is better to say that they are paying for the fights of those in power.
Dying for the benefit of others is actually the true cruelty of war...
In his previous life, this was something Wei Changtian would never have understood.
But now, more than a year of experience has made him understand all this.
Therefore, Wei Changtian certainly would not suddenly transform into a "sage" and order the ambush to be abandoned because of some inappropriate "pity".
But just before all this happened, he still felt sad for no reason in his heart.
All I can say is...sigh.
Once the hero draws his sword, another ten years of calamity will befall the common people.
...
...
At Youshi, the vanguard of the army was only fifty miles away from the Niutoushan pass.
Among the Chinese troops behind, Han Zhao's carriage was driving smoothly, and only he and You Wenzong were sitting in the carriage.
"General Han, it seems like it's going to rain."
After opening the curtain and taking a look outside, You Wenzong said softly.
His face was still pale, and his injuries were obviously not yet healed.
But the warlord still insisted on not taking a break, and he didn't know why.
"Shuzhou is already rainy, although this rain did come suddenly..."
On the other side, Han Zhao casually replied: "But as long as it doesn't affect the march, that's fine."
"Um."
You Wenzong 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, have you recognized Wei Changtian before?"
"Um?"
Han Zhao calmly raised his head and frowned slightly: "I did meet him several times when I was in the capital."
"Is it?"
You Wenzong raised his eyelids a little: "Does the general feel that this son's temperament has changed drastically overnight?"
"This...is true."
Han Zhao didn't know why You Wenzong suddenly said these things, but he still followed his words very carefully and replied: "It seems like he has changed since he was sent to Shuzhou."
"Of course, maybe he has been hiding his clumsiness on purpose before."
"Hiding clumsiness? What's the point of this?"
You Wenzong smiled: "The Wei family only has an only son, and there are no brothers competing for power. Who can he hide his clumsiness for?"
"Uh...Master You."
Han Zhao was stunned when he heard this, and then shook his head helplessly: "I'm just a reckless man, how can I understand these things."
"The General's words are too self-effacing."
You Wenzong shook his sleeves gently: "You see, although you have no friendship with Wei Changtian, you know what he did in Shuzhou, and you even know exactly when he changed his temper."
"I think the general must have expected that this kid would rebel in the future, so he is so concerned, right?"
"How can he be a reckless man if he knows things like a god?"
"..."
Outside the carriage, there was still the sound of dense footsteps and various shouts.
But the car was silent for a moment.
Han Zhao turned to look at You Wenzong, his expression first showing confusion, then surprise, and finally anger.
"Master You! What do you mean by this?!"
"Are you suspecting that I have colluded with Wei Changtian?!"
"I didn't say that."
You Wenzong's tone did not change at all: "I just feel that the general seems a little nervous today."
"General Han, there should be an ambush in Niutou Mountain, right?"