dognovel Chapter 255 Sun Quan is back, we have no way out.
Chapter 255 Sun Quan is back, we have no way out.
Having choices is a good thing, but it may not be a good thing for people who have difficulty making decisions.
The sad thing is that most people suffer from decision paralysis, and they're all in the late stages of it.
After disbanding, the army did not return to their tents. Instead, they formed circles around their tents, sitting cross-legged, and then...
Some villages were engaged in heated discussions, while others remained silent. Everyone was struggling with their own dilemma, not just ordinary soldiers, but even many battalion commanders and captains.
Shen Yi arrived at the military camp, glanced at the scene, and strode over to the hamlet where Zhou Laosan was. He pushed aside two soldiers, sat down between them, and said with a smile, "You're having quite a heated conversation. What are you talking about? Tell me about it too."
After a moment of silence, Zhou Laosan sighed helplessly, "General, what kind of question is that? What else can we discuss besides whether or not to go home?"
Shen Yi smiled and asked, "Do you want to go back?"
Without thinking, Zhou Laosan blurted out, "Of course I want to! My family just got eight mu of land, and I can't wait to go back and plow it. But I also know that we can't hold onto this land until we defeat Wu's army."
“General, although I am illiterate and have little knowledge, I have lived more than ten years longer than these children and have experienced many more things than them. I can understand many things.”
“At least I know that people are divided into different classes. Few of the aristocratic officials in the county treat us common people as human beings. Not to mention aristocratic officials, even the village head, the head of the village, and even the village chief in the same village like to bully people. The wealthy relatives in our village who are not even within five degrees of kinship with us are already bossing us around, let alone outsiders. The fairness that General Guan talks about is the greatest luxury for us common people.”
"Moreover, after Sun Ce died, Sun Quan gave too much power to the Jiangdong gentry in order to take control of Jiangdong. The sons of the gentry killed us common people like killing chickens. The gentry would not go to jail for killing people, they only had to pay compensation, or even not pay compensation. To be honest, we common people were not even as good as a donkey in the eyes of the gentry."
“But General Guan is different. He truly treats us like human beings. If General Guan is defeated and Sun Quan returns, not to mention anything else, the He family will be the first to deal with me, because I took their land.”
"The He family of Shanyin may not care about these few acres of dilapidated land, but they care a lot about the family's reputation and authority. Wolves will only allow wolves to compete with them for food, but they will never allow sheep to steal the meat from their mouths. In the eyes of wolves, sheep are always food and can only be food. If sheep resist, they will inevitably suffer the most severe blows from wolves. In other words, if the He family comes back, not only me, but even my family members may be retaliated against, unable to live or die."
The more Zhou Laosan spoke, the clearer his thoughts became, and the more terrified he felt. The thought of the He family's revenge on him made him shudder. He slapped his thigh and stood up, saying firmly, "I will never have a good life if I don't defeat Wu Jun and destroy the He family. So I've decided that I will stay and fight Wu Jun. I'm not joking this time. I swear in the name of my ancestors."
Even the ancestors have come out; this is a fight to the death with the He family. For the eight acres of newly allocated land, Zhou Laosan is going all out.
Moved by Zhou Laosan's words, the other soldiers raised their fists and roared, "That's right! We won't sleep soundly until Wu Jun is dead! In that case, let's fight Wu Jun to the death! Defeat Wu Jun and defend our land! Defeat Wu Jun and defend our land!"
The soldiers shouted slogans so loudly that they completely forgot they were also Wu soldiers.
Every soldier is an independent thinker with a clear mind. Their motto is never about achieving glory on the battlefield or becoming a high-ranking official; it is simply about defending their homeland.
Because they knew that being ennobled and appointed to high positions had nothing to do with ordinary soldiers like them. Instead of thinking about such unrealistic things, they would rather focus on tangible benefits, such as earning a few more acres of land for their families and securing their own gains.
Shen Yi originally came to persuade everyone, but Zhou Laosan did all the work, so there was nothing left for him. Shen Yi simply let the soldiers rest and took Zhou Laosan to give a speech elsewhere.
The process of making a decision is the most agonizing. Once the decision is made, there is no need to agonize anymore. Influenced by Zhou Laosan, the soldiers who decided to stay seemed to have finally put their minds at ease. They got up, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and went back to camp to sleep with relaxed expressions.
Poor Zhou Laosan was conscripted by Shen Yi and made to act as a speaker in various villages, doing ideological work for the soldiers.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed commander-in-chief, Wu Yue, was also actively mobilizing his troops. He sat among them and talked for a long time, finally concluding: "We all came from the Wu army. Everyone knows what kind of people the Wu army is. When we were in the Wu army, all the good things in the army went to the generals' personal guards, while all the dirty and hard work was done by us common soldiers. Every time there was danger, we were always sent to charge first, and then the generals' personal guards would go up to pick up the scraps. How many of our brothers died because of this?"
"Take Xiaoyao Ford for example. At that time, I was a captain under Xu Sheng. One of my squad leaders died in battle while covering Xu Sheng's retreat. Afterwards, I went to Xu Sheng to ask for compensation, and guess what? The compensation was taken by Xu Sheng's personal guard. That was money that my brother risked his life for! How could my brother's wife, children, and elderly parents live without this money?"
"I went to argue with Xu Sheng, and guess what? I got twenty lashes, and before my injuries had even healed, I was demoted several ranks to a platoon leader. Do you think that's fair?"
"General Guan said that it is entirely up to you whether you stay or leave. I don't care whether you leave or not, but I am definitely going to stay. This time I will definitely compete with Xu Sheng on the battlefield and let him know what it means for a commoner to shed blood when he is angry. Let him know that even people of humble origins can have anger. Xu Sheng may not be able to withstand my anger."
Wu Jun employed a regimental system, with the regimental members linked by blood ties. The general's personal guards were almost all his relatives.
This system has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the commander feels at ease when his own people use it, and the commander's victory or defeat directly affects the fundamental interests of his troops, so at critical moments the troops will fight desperately for their commander.
The downside is that only a minority of soldiers are related by blood. Most soldiers are not related to their commanders and their troops by blood, which is tantamount to excluding non-troop soldiers and artificially creating divisions within the army.
In addition, the main general's troops were almost all from aristocratic families. They were arrogant and domineering, and it was common for them to beat and scold soldiers. The main general could not punish them, after all, they were his own brothers. If he punished them too harshly, he would be criticized by his clansmen. Besides, he still needed these clansmen to fight for him in critical moments. How could he dare to offend them too much?
Therefore, when faced with the misdeeds of his subordinates, the commander often chooses to turn a blind eye and let them run rampant.
To let things go unchecked is to condone them, allowing the sergeants to bully the soldiers with increasing impunity. They think, "I'm the general's brother, even the general can't do anything to me, so what can you do to me?"
While the general could rest assured on the battlefield, his troops caused him a great deal of trouble in his daily life. They would find all sorts of ways to act recklessly and commit crimes, causing the general to become alienated from the lower-ranking soldiers. Wu Yue suffered greatly from this, and his resentment towards Xu Sheng and his personal guards was heavier than that of a ghost.
How to put it? This system applies to the gentry of Jiangdong and even Jingzhou. Everyone is on the same level, and no one is better than anyone else.
But now, Guan Xing, this oddball, has emerged, arbitrarily breaking the vassal system and uniting most of the people. This is a devastating blow to the vassal system in Jiangdong.
Wu Yue's accusations stirred up the soldiers' painful memories, and they all said indignantly, "The general is right. We must defeat Wu's army and capture Xu Sheng alive. This time, we must capture Xu Sheng and let him know what regret is."
People have different ideas and demands. The soldiers from Kuaiji wanted to defend their land, while the surrendered soldiers from Wu and Yue wanted to vent their anger at the captured Xu Sheng.
Defeating and capturing your former superior on the battlefield is an exciting thought.