Even though it is the beginning of autumn, it is really hard to find shade around the capital of Xijun. Passers-by often find themselves unbearable in the heat. They lift up their clothes again and again, rub the sweat from their foreheads, curse to God a few times in secret, and then go on the road again in anger, and There was not much time to delay; the handymen in the city never rested. They kept fetching water from the well every day and continuously poured it on the long street to take away the heat.
In autumn, the scorching sun is even more intense. Only when the sky is dark and the night is deep, can the whole city feel a little cool. But as it gets closer to noon, the sun is blowing out, making the clothes of pedestrians on the ground hot, not to mention the lack of shelter. On the top of the unblocked city, even the guards who had been exposed to the wind and sun for many years, there were a large number of people who could not bear the magnificent sunshine. They hid under the base of the city wall to enjoy the coolness, and drank some soybean juice by the way. It can barely cool down.
Even under the guard general's repeated orders, the defenders were still complaining, and they were unwilling to climb to the top of the city again. They begged, saying that the sun was really shining at noon, and if they had not put on armor, they could still endure it. After putting on armor, The armor is so intense that the midday sun is scorching it, almost scalding your skin and flesh, and then the sweat washes away the pain, heart-wrenching pain, and unstoppable itching. Please take off your armor before going upstairs to stay.
The guard general looked even more gloomy today. Hearing what all the guards said, not only did he not give in at all, but he ordered his men to blast all the soldiers who were resting under the city wall out of the shady ground. He cursed angrily, "Xijun The soldiers in the capital are so weak now? How can they go into battle and sacrifice their lives when they are only exposed to the sun? They are not allowed to even guard the city and look out for the wind on the salary of a saint. Don't you feel guilty? "
Several guards on the side wanted to argue a few words, but they were persuaded by two or three old guards and whispered, "Now that the guard is angry, it would be better to say less. If the guard's temper was normal, he would never be like this. I'm really angry. Don't you know it? Today, Lao Dutong and Commander Jia were fighting on the sand table. They lost all three battles. They each had 3,000 men at their disposal. In the first two city battles, Commander Jia was defeated. During the attack on the city, no more than a thousand men were lost. Even if they set foot on the old capital to attack the city, Laodu would attack the city. However, Lieutenant Jia secretly took out hundreds of dead men and blocked the retreat. Three thousand wooden men They all died under the inner city. Even when the two armies met in the plains in the third round, Lao Dutong never took any advantage. He just killed 60 to 70% of Jia Xiaowei's soldiers and the entire army was wiped out."
Several old soldiers glanced at the livid face of the guard, and whispered, "The guard respects the old commander very much. How can he not hold back his unknown anger? How can he argue with him at this time? All you gain is your own loss, so why bother?"
After hearing this, a group of soldiers still had some complaints. Among them, one of them, who usually hated the rules, said with anger, "I tell you, elders, our brothers Pao Ze must not neglect their duties. If there is such a big city, No one stands up, no matter what, it doesn't matter, but no matter whether it is Lao Dutong who wins, or whether it is Jia Xiaowei who wins three battles, everything must be rational, right? With such a scorching sky, taking off the armor is already It's not just that he's overstepping the rules, but he wants to put his anger on his own family members, which is a bit irritating."
"After all, you are young and energetic, so there is no need to care too much," several old soldiers waved their hands, wiped the sweat from their heads and smiled bitterly, "Even if you want to persuade me, you shouldn't worry about it. They will all come on their own after a while. If you move around, if you mention a few words at that time, the guard will look good, and you can take off the obstructive iron armor. Wouldn't it be better? If you really can't stand the scorching heat, I will go up to the tower to support you for a while. Young people take care of me, but I feel uncomfortable."
"Whatever you said, these are all seniors, not to mention they are all old. It's better to leave such small things to us." All the soldiers laughed and picked up their armors one after another, and walked towards the tower step by step. Go up.
In the dark, a hundred steps away from the city gate tower, on a tea stall, a lean man of no apparent age drank up the herbal tea in a bowl and said softly, "Xijun has been weak for a long time. I thought I was too weak to wear armor and fight." We retreated from the enemy, but we didn’t expect these soldiers in the capital city to be saved.”
Hearing this, the old man sitting opposite almost choked the whole mouthful of tea in his throat. He stared at his tiger eyes and shouted, "What you said is so unreasonable. The soldiers I brought out cannot stand up to the strongest armies in the world." As for being too weak, don't think that your kid's sandbox skills are slightly better than mine, and you can use this to underestimate the soldiers of the capital. If you don't believe it, ask the hundreds of people you brought to come and compete. I don't think you can really tell the difference. Win or lose, win or lose.”
Unexpectedly, when the lean man heard this, he suddenly burst into laughter, tapped the edge of the table with two fingers, and said with a smile, "Old Commander, although Jia He has not caught up with the time when all the nine countries in the world are rising in smoke, he knows that an army The difference between strong and weak is not that I look down on your old army training methods, but if it is really a matter of life and death, the hundreds of soldiers I brought with me from the West County are enough to kill the entire city.
"And the damage is less than half." As if seeing the old man's surprised face, Jia He added, "The reason why a strong army can be recorded in the annals of history is that in addition to having talented generals, it also needs killing skills, but the most important thing is , it still depends on whether you can walk the talk."
"For example, today I am attacking the city with my troops. There are pits for horses a hundred steps outside the city, and there are sharp bamboo-pointed spears in them. The horses cannot go over them, and there is nothing to fill them. But the soldiers are so fast that they have to go through them. All I need to say is , someone has filled the pit with his life so that the three armies can cross it."
"The capital may as well ask itself, if the soldiers under his command were to encounter a war, could they all risk their lives and trust each other with their lives?"
The old man tightened his gray eyebrows and thought for a long time before he raised his head and looked directly at Jia He's face.
"How to do?"
Jia He ignored the old man's burning gaze, but turned around on the bench and shouted to the waiter at the tea stall, "I'm telling you, waiter, can this tea slag be sold to others for drinking? Change the pot of tea, otherwise I won't give you the tea money." .”
The waiter was also annoyed by the sun. He was about to scold the man, but the tea stall owner grabbed him and muttered twice. Then he reluctantly put in a pot of tea and put it down angrily. Left angrily.
"To put it bluntly, it's majestic." Jia He added a bowl of tea slowly, nodded with satisfaction, "This shopkeeper is quite knowledgeable, and he may be able to expand his family business in the future." Then he continued, " This power is not military power, but the dignity and momentum of the general. These soldiers know that they will work hard for you and win consecutive battles, so they naturally obey your words. How many soldiers are just greedy for great military achievements? Those who wear the tassels of a general? Most of them come here to seek some salary based on their own good health. Who is willing to risk his life for others for no reason? "
"Lao Dutong has told me many times in the past few days that he loves his soldiers like sons. During the sand table deduction, he even said that I, Jia He, play ruthlessly and risk his life, which hurts the morale of the army, but I don't take it seriously. Everyone says A general should love his troops as his sons, but in normal times, even if you allow them to have good clothes and food, and reduce them to daily fighting and training, and if they don't respond to requests, do they really love their soldiers like their sons? At least the juniors know that what they want I can’t give you my life.”
"They know that as soldiers under my command, they have a greater chance of winning. If they win consecutive battles, they will naturally survive with more honors. So why can't the one who survives be himself?"
"So even if it seems like a lifeless thing, they are still willing to do it. In this way, how can they worry about the failure of the military?"
"So the soldiers trained by me, Jia He, have always been rolled over in blood and water. The dead are buried in the ground, and the living are brave and strong in the mountains and rivers, and their energy shakes Yama."
"There is no reason to be invincible."
