Chapter 38
Li Xingzai was choked by Cheng Dalie and smiled awkwardly: "It seems that the master has some insight?"
"Actually, an army that fights for honor isn't the strongest." Cheng Darui said casually: "A stronger army should be one that fights for faith?"
"Faith?"
"Right, faith! An army of thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people, each with a common faith, fearless of death and defeat. When one dies, there are thousands and millions more to follow. Such an army is naturally invincible, sweeping everything before it."
"Is there really such an army in this world?" Li Xingze found it hard to believe.
"Of course." Cheng Daire recalled the history he knew from his past life.
Li Xingzai and Li Yu'er exchanged a glance, both feeling some shock in their hearts. Is there really an army like the one Cheng Dalai said? What would it be like if such a troop were to be deployed into war?
Tonight, the two of them casually brought it up and chatted about it until they touched on a question that has puzzled all famous generals since ancient times:
How can one make someone willing to die?
Hand-to-hand combat in the age of cold weapons, you will face your enemy face to face, bayonets see blood, your comrades fall down beside you, intestines flow out from their belly, the next one to die could be you or anyone else.
In this situation, people don't have time to think about the tactics they've mastered, and can only rely on instinct to fight. At this moment, everyone will wonder, why am I fighting?
Life is only once for anyone, and everyone wants to survive. But how can they survive? Turning around and running away from the battlefield as far as possible is almost an instinctive choice.
But once this is done, an army will become a mob of fugitives, and the enemy will be able to cut off their heads like killing pigs. Just like Heishi Castle facing Gama Fortress, they will be destroyed in the shortest time, so five people can defeat one thousand.
All commanders have to face this problem, the real battle is not that you wave your sword and say kill, and the soldiers will rush forward like machines. The actual situation may be that when you wave your sword and say kill, your subordinates have already run away.
So every commander must think about this problem: how to make your soldiers stop retreating and turn around, charge forward against the enemy's weapons with their own lives, and open up a road.
Survival, interests, honor, faith... Can these be real reasons?
Inside the earth house, Cheng Darui and Li Xingze were both silent, as if they were all thinking about this issue. Li Xingze glanced at Cheng Darui, who was curled up against the wall, sniffing his nose...
Li Xingzhe thought to himself: I think these are a matter of course, what on earth is a mountain bandit like you thinking about?
"Actually, an army united by faith is not the strongest. The strongest army is one that fights for survival." Cheng Dalai broke the silence.
"Survival?" Li Yuanni said: "Isn't that just making everyone a deserter?"
"It's not necessarily that they can survive even if they escape." Cheng Dairen stretched his body slightly: "Just like the battles between the Rong tribe and the Empire, why did the Rong tribe win every battle, while the Empire lost every battle?"
Li Xingze's expression turned serious, this was also a problem that had plagued the empire for over a hundred years. The empire's military strength, equipment, and army organization were far superior to those of the Rong tribe, yet in battle, they couldn't win even with a ten-to-one ratio.
"What's your esteemed opinion?"
"It's pointless to discuss this any further, let's just drop it." Cheng Dalie was very relaxed, he asked: "Have you ever thought about why the Rong tribe wants to invade the empire?"
"This..." Li Xingzhe just wanted to speak, but found that this question was actually not easy to answer.
"The Empire and the Rong tribe are sworn enemies, having fought each other for hundreds of years. As soon as the Rong tribe gets a chance, they want to invade the Empire. They're brutal, uncouth, and uneducated... basically just a bunch of bandits." Li Yu'er interjected, but when she got to the end, she suddenly remembered that the person in front of her was also a bandit, so she wisely shut up.
"It's said that the Empire thinks the Rong tribe is like a devil, idle and looking for trouble, thinking of attacking the Empire after eating their fill." Cheng Dalai shook his head: "In fact, the reason why the Rong tribe attacks the Empire is not because they are full and looking for something to do, but because... they can't eat their fill at all."
Li Xingzai held his breath and listened intently to Cheng Dairen's words, each phrase from the mountain bandit's mouth was like a key that opened up a new world for him, making him think of questions he had never thought of before.
"The Rong tribe lives on the grasslands, making a living by herding. Natural disasters and human calamities make their lives even more difficult than those of the imperial citizens. A single snowstorm can turn the grasslands into a desert, causing large numbers of cattle and sheep to die. On one hand, they can't survive, and eating northwest wind depends on the mood of heaven; on the other hand, not far from them is the empire's world of luxury, where there is food, women, and fine silks. Why wouldn't you fight?
Cheng Dalai yawned and said slowly: "Death doesn't matter anyway, it's all just a death in the end. Might as well tie your head to your belt. When an entire army is forced onto a desperate path, they will naturally burst forth with superhuman fighting strength."
Li Xingze was silent for a long time before saying, "Thirty years ago, when the Rong tribe entered the empire, it seemed that at that time there was a rare drought, not only in the Rong grasslands but also in many places in the empire. And over the years, if the harvest is good, the disturbance on the Rong side will be smaller, and if the harvest is bad, the scale of the Rong's invasion will be larger."
Cheng Dalai continued: "The Rong tribe is determined to fight to the death, while the imperial guards are thinking about what? The border cannot be defended, and there is still the Central Plains. After a defeat, they can escape. One side will starve to death if they don't win, while the other side won't die even if they run away. With such a war, how can the empire not lose? Not to mention the internal struggles within the military and court, with all sorts of intrigue and infighting."
Li Xingzai carefully digested Cheng Darui's words, suddenly receiving this new information, he needed to digest it properly. The empire had been fighting with the Rong tribe every year since its founding, but it was often defeated and rarely won.
Everyone was wondering why it would be like this, but today Cheng Da Lei's three words and two sentences directly pointed out the key to the problem. However, these elegant words came from a mountain bandit's mouth.
"Mr. Cheng!" Li Xingze suddenly raised his head: "Are you willing to follow me back to Jingzhou?"
Cheng Dali was startled: "What are you going back to Jingzhou for?"
"Sir, you have a heart full of grand designs and a belly that hides mountains and rivers. It's really not suitable for you to be buried in the wilderness. If you follow me back to the capital, I'll make sure you have a great future ahead of you!" Li Xingzhe suddenly grasped Cheng Dalai's hand tightly.
Cheng Dali was stared at by Li Xingze, and his heart felt a little empty: This kid, shouldn't have been fooled, right?!
In the past, when we were chatting in the dormitory, who wasn't pointing at the mountains and rivers, wielding their pen with abandon? Even if they were talking nonsense, they would still claim to be right... Hey, do you still want to take responsibility for your words?!
Today, Cheng Da Lei was also speaking his mind freely, he didn't take it to heart, anyway, even if he said something wrong, he wouldn't be beheaded. But looking at Li Hang Zhe's expression...it seems like he's serious this time.
