Chapter 1005: Low Morale
....
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Can’t you see that the Di people are provoking you? He wants to use the commoners to humiliate His Highness. He wants to break the spine of the You army and shatter the soul of our army.”
“If you charge up now, the horses will reach the front of the Northern
Barbarians. Do you dare to take a step forward?”
“l wouldn’t dare! Because in front of the formation are hundreds of citizens of the Great Zhou Dynasty.”
“If we don’t move forward and hesitate at that moment, we’ll fall into their trap and lose this battle.”
“Have you thought about the consequences of losing?”
“At that time, all the commoners in the North and even the Great Zhou Dynasty will be like the hundreds of commoners in front of us. They will be like knives and meat on their chopping block…”
This was the logic. How could soldiers who had been through hundreds of battles not understand?
However, they couldn’t accept it emotionally.
Immediately, a soldier’s eyes turned red as he roared in grief and indignation, “Are we going to watch helplessly as the f*cking Di thieves kill our people, humiliate our commander, disrupts our army’s morale, and shatters our army’s soul? Can we tolerate that?”
“Intolerable!”
“Intolerable!”
The soldiers’ roars echoed in the cold wind.
Another soldier said, “Your Highness, what do you say? As long as you give the order, even if we die without a complete corpse, we won’t take a step back.”
“Yes, we won’t retreat…’
“We won’t retreat. Let’s fight them to the death…”
“I’ll risk it…
Yin Huaixi slowly closed his eyes. The army was asking him for instructions This was not because of the morale of the army, let alone their individual morale. It was the irrational anger after being embarra.s.sed and angry.
The situation was chaotic, and their defeat was set.
Yin Huaixi was about to give the order to retreat.
A commoner who had been whipped in front of the Northern Barbarians formation suddenly shouted, “Your Highness, kill us. A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Instead of being humiliated to death by them, it’s better to die at the hands of the soldiers of our Great Zhou Dynasty.”
“Kill us. We’ve had enough.”
“Kill us and avenge us.”
“We can’t lose this battle, Otherwise, our children, relatives, and descendants will all become livestock raised in the Northern Barbarians…
The sudden change made Meng Duo’s expression change, but he quickly calmed down. He had observed the You army just now and knew very well that they might not be able to do it.
The You soldiers woke up from their anger. If they were angry and sad before, they were now truly sad.
A soldier raised his bow, but his eyes were red as he shook it. “No, I can’t do it…”
Some soldiers closed their eyes, unable to bear to look anymore. “They’re all the citizens of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It’s intolerable for our compatriots to kill each other. How can we do it?!”
A soldier couldn’t help but retreat. He hugged his head and squatted on the ground. “Don’t force me, don’t…”
The soldiers who had been through hundreds of battles revealed their weakest side for once. Yin Huaixi’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.
On the first day they entered the military camp, an old general asked them, “Why did you join the army?”
“To kill the f*cking Di people.”
“Why do you want to kill the Di people?”
“My father, mother, wife, son, daughter, brother… They were killed by the Di people. I want to avenge them.”
“We have to kill all the Di people so that our parents, wives, children, brothers, relatives, and friends won’t be robbed by the Di people again.” “We have to protect the country and the people…”
One voice after another was filled with pa.s.sion. It was their loyalty to the country and the people. “Alright, remember your words today. Don’t ever forget them! ”
The weakness of the You army became Meng Duo’s confidence, “Hahaha, I knew that you Great Zhou people were all a group of spineless people.
Soldiers, today, we’ll destroy the Great Zhou army. We’ll step on their corpses and use their blood to break through the Shanhai Pa.s.s to achieve an unparalleled achievement in the Great Zhou.”
“The Northern Barbarians will definitely win, and the Great Zhou will definitely be destroyed!’
“The Northern Barbarians will definitely win, and the Great Zhou will definitely be destroyed!’
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Northern Barbarians raised their troops and shouted in unison. Their voices shook the sky, forcing the soldiers of the You army to retreat dozens of feet.
General Ming Wei, who was sitting on his horse, had an ashen expression. He suddenly gritted his teeth and rushed out first. He raised his bow and arrow and used all his strength to shout angrily, “Shoot…”
“Don’t!” Yin Huaixi didn’t have time to stop him. This order should have been given by him.
It was too late. General Ming Wei was the first to shoot.
Then, there was a second arrow, a third arrow, a fourth arrow… and countless arrows.
Seeing the old commoners in front of the formation fall one by one, the eyes of all the You soldiers present turned red. This anger was because their dignity had been awakened, and it was the anger of forbearance and sorrow.
General Ming Wei turned around and smiled sadly. He said to King Yue Fei, “Since Your Highness is the commander-in-chief of the You army, this order should have been personally issued by Your Highness. However, you and I know very well that this order can’t be issued by you at all. I know that I have violated the military order and my crime is unforgivable. Today, I will use this body of flesh and blood to forge the soul of our You army and raise our morale. I won’t hesitate to die.’
As soon as he finished speaking, General Ming Wei raised his long saber high. “Those who shot the arrows, follow me…
Yin Huaixi’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red. He subconsciously called out,
“Uncle Ming…”
“Charge…”
“Charge…”
“Charge…”
General Ming Wei took the lead, followed by more than a hundred horses. They were not afraid of death and rushed towards the Di Army’s camp. As they rushed, they shot arrows.
However, everyone knew that they were tempting fate.
They were not killing the enemy. They were simply courting death.
Meng Duo was caught off guard by this sudden change. He quickly ordered,
“All troops, be on guard and shoot…”
Densely packed arrows fell like rain on the hundred or so people who were charging forward. Horses fell one after another, and soldiers fell. The You soldiers’ eyes were red as they shouted, “General, no…”
“General, come back quickly…”
“No, General…
Yin Huaixi suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes were clear. He should have been the one to give the order to shoot, but what happened after the order?
What would the soldiers think?
After killing all the commoners in front of the formation, could the You army revive their morale without any obstruction?
NO!
Those who died were all the commoners of the North.
Furthermore, as a soldier of the Great Zhou, they had personally killed these commoners.
The person who had given the order was their high and mighty commander-in-chief.
At that time, his prestige as the commander-in-chief of the You army would definitely plummet. During the battle, this was a huge taboo in the army.
General Ming Wei understood that this order should be personally issued by King Yue Fei, but not by him. General Ming Wei’s prestige in the army was second only to King Yue Fei’s prestige. Only by giving this order would there be soldiers who would resist the pain and shoot arrows. Then, he would personally lead over a hundred archers to sacrifice their lives. Only then could this stimulate the morale of the soldiers and ignite their bloodl.u.s.t.
At this moment, Yin Huaixi finally understood that prideful soldiers would definitely lose, and he had paid a painful price for it..