Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 391 - 239: Military Camp Life_3

Chapter 391: Chapter 239: Military Camp Life_3

After filling their stomachs to about eighty percent full, the two of them began to discuss state affairs in the pitch dark.

Although the Peace Army was a rather insignificant force, it was located in a strategic position, and soldiers were able to obtain quite a bit of external information from their superior officers on a regular basis.

Wang Fang sighed softly, "Brother Zhao, I’ve been feeling some regret lately for sending my wife and child back home."

Zhao Haiping thought for a moment, "Why? The Jin soldiers have already moved south, and although the Western Army is currently blocked by the strong city of Taiyuan, it’s still possible that many troops could bypass Taiyuan City. At that time, our Peace Army will inevitably be dragged into the fires of war.

"Your decision to send your wife and child back was the right one."

Wang Fang shook his head with a bitter smile, "Brother Zhao, you don’t know the whole story. The latest military intelligence arrived today. The Jin’s Western Army is blocked by the strong city of Taiyuan and can’t conquer it quickly, so even if our Peace Army meets the enemy, as long as Taiyuan stands, we are unlikely to encounter a large number of Jin soldiers.

"However, my hometown is in Xiangzhou State, which is right on the path the Jin’s Eastern Army must take to head south from Yan Jing to Da Liang...

"The Eastern Army has been unstoppable, reportedly overcoming state and county defenses as well as various armies along the way without establishing any resistance. In another two or three days, the Jin soldiers will cross Cen Bridge Inn and reach the capital city..."

Only then did Zhao Haiping realize why Wang Fang was regretting his decision, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

Everyone originally thought that the Jin would focus their main attack on Taiyuan, making Pingding County a very dangerous place.

Many soldiers like Wang Fang ultimately decided to send their wives and children back to their hometowns.

Logically, if Yan Jing could hold out a bit longer, or if the Jin didn’t focus the main force on the Eastern route, or if the Jin didn’t intend to attack the capital directly, a place like Xiangzhou State would be relatively safe.

But unfortunately, the Jin’s Eastern Army proved even more unstoppable than the Western Army, encountering little resistance on its way straight to the capital city.

So, what kind of hellish scene must it have been along their path?

About this, Zhao Haiping, as opposed to Wang Fang, a local, had a clearer picture.

For Wang Fang and others, they hadn’t truly dealt with the Jin soldiers yet.

Since the establishment of the Jin, there had appeared to be a friendly and cooperative relationship with the Qi Dynasty, and on the surface, the relations seemed quite harmonious. This mass southern invasion was the first time the Jin and Qi came to direct conflict with one another.

Therefore, Wang Fang and his peers had not yet witnessed the brutality of the Jin.

Zhao Haiping, however, knew that during this historical period just before and after the Qi Dynasty, the Jin could be considered among the most brutal forces, surpassing many of the past Hu people and even the later Northern Barbarians in their cruelty.

Take the extremely brutal nomadic Northern Barbarians, for example, who would massacre as they conquered cities and leave a trail of corpses in their wake. Whenever they conquered a place, they would typically exterminate everyone other than craftsmen.

Yet, in the process of the Northern Barbarians conquering the Qi Dynasty, they showed some sincerity towards some of the former Qi officials; many senior officers were executed only after repeated persuasion attempts failed.

Of course, even so, this didn’t change the heavy toll of slaughter by the Northern Barbarians. The era when they ruled the Central Plains was akin to purgatory for its people.

But the cruelty of the Jin was even greater than this.

Their massacres were worse than those of the Northern Barbarians, and they had no respect for the Qi royal family, high officials, or clan relatives, whimsically subjecting them to abuse and humiliation for entertainment. Wherever the Jin soldiers went, they left nothing but devastation, and the places they passed were turned to ruins.

This is why, even when the Jin later controlled the entire area north of the Yangtze River through their formidable military might, they never established a stable rule. Rebel armies like Yu Jiaxuan’s sprang up, and the Jin could only maintain indirect control by supporting various turncoats.

The Jin soldiers even turned massacre into a kind of passive skill, to the extent that during the Battle of Niu Zhu, Wanyan Hailing, in pursuit of stability, strictly forbade his soldiers from killing innocents, resulting in extremely low morale among the troops and ultimately, a mutiny that led to his death.

This incident also indirectly shows the severe consequences of not allowing these Jin soldiers to massacre at will.

At that time, the Jin could be seen as a nation with maxed-out military skills but negative political skills, doing everything as if they intentionally wanted to provoke greater resistance from the people of the Qi Dynasty.

If the Jin army happened to pass through the small county where Wang Fang’s wife and child were, the consequences... were indeed unimaginable.

Zhao Haiping thought for a moment, then still offered some comfort, "The Jin’s Eastern Army has been unstoppable on its way, and with Wanyan Sheng, the commander of the Eastern Army, ordering a direct march to the capital, there likely won’t be much time for looting and slaughter along the way. As long as the civilians get word in time and flee to the mountains, most should be alright."

Wang Fang sighed, "Alas, I can only take comfort in this thought.

"Brother Zhao, what do you think will be the outcome of the Jin’s southern incursion?"

Zhao Haiping was silent for a moment, then ultimately shook his head, "I don’t know."

Though he knew the script that was to come, it was still too heavy for a low-ranking soldier like Wang Fang.

Zhao Haiping knew that since the Peace Army had become an important location in this instance, it was destined to be drawn into war and face a great battle. Whether he and Wang Fang would survive this battle was indeed difficult to say.

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