There are too many disputes in the world, when a "Dignity of the Soldier" caused an uproar in the world, in the so-called "Shilin", where the dispute was endless, where the dignity of the soldier was discussed, and the future and boundary between the scholar and the warrior were discussed, on the battlefield thousands of miles away, with an order, the army that had just crossed the Shule River stopped attacking at the foot of the North Mountain.

The war finally came to an end at this moment. Further west, there were fortresses to hold the canyon and pass to block the Ming army's offensive footsteps, and the journey from Xi'an to the Shule River thousands of miles away was also the limit of the Ming army's logistics, and the road in disrepair made it extremely difficult to transport materials.

The large-scale attack stopped at the Shule River, Guazhou, the important town of the ancient Silk Road, once again returned to the arms of the master, presumably thousands of years ago, Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty and Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty went to the Western Regions, and they must have left footprints here.

Now this is the westernmost territory of the Ming Dynasty, in this ancient town where few Han people live, there are wind-eroded rammed earth mounds everywhere, perhaps the relics of the Han and Tang dynasties, like a thousand miles of monuments, telling the world who the real owner of this place is.

No matter how the world changes, they will always stand here, waiting for the return of their masters. Now its owner has finally returned. It also brings it back to life, as the only "city" at the westernmost end of the front, this ancient town has been permeated with a strange atmosphere for some time in the past.

Wounded soldier!

The wounded soldiers who were evacuated from the front were evacuated to the field hospital here for treatment, and although there was a field treatment system ahead of its time, the level of medical care was limited and the medicine was also primitive. Because there is no painkiller, the wounded can only use their consciousness to fight the pain, and when they can't stand it, they will let out a scream. When they couldn't take it anymore, as soon as they struggled, with a terrible howl, blood poured out from under the gauze that wrapped the wounds, staining their bandages and even their sheets.

There are also some wounded, because of the fever, so that their consciousness is confused, in the moaning, moaning some vague words, these confused wounded are often there muttering "mother", "daughter-in-law" and other words, often miss their families, sometimes, some soldiers will slowly lose their lives in the thoughts of their families.

Of course, there are also soldiers who will shout surprise words such as "Long live Your Majesty" in their sleep, and even shout in their dreams as if they have committed hysteria......

War is not only physically traumatic for soldiers, but also psychological.

Zhang Guodong, who searched around the field hospital but did not find his comrades-in-arms, finally found the name of platoon commander Zhang Ping on the list of the dead, his expression was a little gloomy.

The platoon commander is dead!

The squad leader Ding Xiangshou also died,

And also......

One by one, his comrades-in-arms died in battle, and for some reason, he couldn't even remember the appearance of some of his comrades-in-arms, but it was only a few months. How can you just forget it?

Just when Zhang Guodong, who looked lost, wanted to return to the camp, there was a groaning sound from the tent next to him, followed by an extremely faint voice.

"Long ...... Sir, pour me a glass of water......"

Turning his head to look at the open tent, he saw a wounded soldier with a broken leg lying on the bed moaning, both of his legs were blown off, even his thighs were missing, and his lower body was wrapped in bandages, and some blood was oozing from the bandages.

Maybe it was blown up by landmines, the Qing army planted a lot of mines on the battlefield, but their mines are very powerful, and when people step on them, they often cost them bones. Actually, this is also a good thing, if the leg is blown off, people live, but there will be more cripples in the world, even if there is a meritorious field, what can be done? I'm still a cripple for the rest of my life.

Actually, having said that, it's better to be alive than dead.

If you die, you will never see you again. Zhang Guodong, who was a little sentimental in his heart, looked at the injury, took out his water bottle, and then bent down to help the wounded soldier drink water, and the wounded soldier's face was a little grateful. He drank very quickly, as if he was very thirsty.

"Slow down, slow down! Don't drink in such a hurry! ”

When admonishing the wounded soldiers, Zhang Guodong asked again.

"Why are you so thirsty, nurse? The next time you're thirsty, call the nurse, you know? ”

"Hmmm......"

The wounded soldier who drank half a pot of water closed his eyes as if he was very comfortable, and then he opened his eyes, looked at Zhang Guodong and said.

"Thank you!"

Just when Zhang Guodong wanted to say no thanks, he saw that the wounded soldier didn't know where to get a bayonet.

What does he want to do?

"Mother......"

The wounded soldier cried out as he stabbed his bayonet in the throat.

"No ......"

In Zhang Guodong's shouting, the wounded soldier fell down with his bloody neck, his face was relieved, and his eyes slowly lost their luster in the convulsions of his body

"Don't ......"

Shouting in his mouth, looking at the suicidal brother in horror, he touched the back of his waist, and then Zhang Guodong realized that the bayonet was stolen by the wounded soldier while he was feeding water.

Zhang Guodong stood there stunned, watching the doctors and nurses running over, watching the doctors shaking their heads and sighing, when the military doctor handed him the bayonet, the military doctor looked at Zhang Guodong who was standing, "Okay, people always have to die!" ”

He patted him on the shoulder, then said.

"Death may be a relief for him!"

"Oh."

Nodding, Zhang Guodong looked at the dead soldier and asked.

"Is his injury serious?"

"My legs are blown up, and even the bottom ones are gone...... Alive......"

Shaking his head, the doctor sighed.

"It's gone, but it's easier."

Oh, yes!

Let's go, maybe it's easy!

Just what about his family?

"Sir, he ...... How will it be reported? ”

The reason why Zhang Guodong asked this is because dying on the battlefield or committing suicide on the battlefield are two completely different concepts from suicide in the hospital.

The military doctor looked at Zhang Guodong, looked at him, and then asked.

"Are you comrades-in-arms?"

"No, I just want to ask, after all, after all, ......"

Looking at the wounded soldiers around him, the medic lowered his voice.

"Don't worry, I won't write a suicide ......"

Then the medic's voice became a little muffled.

"After all, it's not easy to be a soldier......"

It's not easy to be a soldier......

After leaving the field hospital, Zhang Guodong's face has been unnatural, the appearance of the wounded soldier has been emerging in front of his eyes, his appearance, especially the smile of relief at the end, made him feel cold in his back, and finally the appearance of the wounded soldier has changed, changing in his mind, becoming a fallen comrade-in-arms, becoming a comrade-in-arms around him, and even becoming himself in the end.

"I have a treasure knife in Zhenli City, and I will die happily on the battlefield. Short-clothed horses go out of the capital, trumpets and brass drums. The battlefield is facing the enemy, and the battle robe is dripping with blood. Asking yourself about your life, is your head quite light? ……”

In the silence of the night, although the singing came from far away, it was still heard clearly.

"A-Niang is holding her clothes and whispering to her children, I don't love you today. The beloved wife persuaded her husband to do it and gave her a ride generously. Kill the enemy generals and die in battle. If the army is not triumphant, it will take a few years to steal a life......"

With a little starlight, Zhang Guodong could see several already drunk soldiers, singing this song loudly there, and finally, listening to the song "Praying for Death in War" that I don't know who learned from the newspaper, he only felt that his eyes were hot, and he tilted his head slightly, but he didn't let the tears flow down.

Looking into the distance, on the other side, a bonfire was blazing. After getting closer, Zhang Guodong found that this was a temporary crematorium, that is, the corpses were piled on dry firewood, and then the corpses of the soldiers were burned into ashes.

The horse leather shroud has always been just the imagination of the poet, and the vast majority of soldiers throughout the ages have been buried in the barren mountains and mountains, and even ended up in the wilderness of violent corpses. That is, His Majesty is benevolent and righteous, and ordered that the bones of the fallen soldiers must be brought back, and it is impossible to bring back the bodies, so they can only be cremated on the battlefield, and then the ashes must be transported back to their families.

At the time of cremation, the monks with the army wore a yellow monk's robe, stood in front of the fire, twisted the Buddhist beads in their hands, and recited the scriptures.

Several soldiers from the field hospital, sitting together at the fire, smoking cigarettes and throwing firewood into the fire from time to time, kept watch here all night until the bodies were incinerated.

In the dark night, in the dark wilderness, there was not a single light, only a few fires that burned corpses spitting red flames, which only made people feel that everything was eerie and cold.

Maybe it's a psychological effect, standing on this wilderness, looking at the fire, Zhang Guodong only felt that a cold wind covered it, and the wind was biting, so he couldn't help but shrink his shoulders.

"Brother, take shelter from the wind here."

The soldier who was adding firewood looked at Zhang Guodong and said.

"This northwest wind, like a knife, don't look at it is already summer, as soon as this wind blows, it may be able to make you go for half a life."

At this time, Zhang Guodong noticed that a wind barrier was tied up behind them with blankets, and they hid on one side of the wind wall, facing the fire.

"Hey,"

Sitting behind the wind wall, Zhang Guodong put his arms on his knees, and then stared blankly at the fire, his heart thinking of the brother who committed suicide again.

Perhaps, he is in this fire.

Thinking of this, his mind became confused. When I think of the brothers who committed suicide, I naturally think of the platoon leader, the squad leader, and the other brothers who died in battle, and I think of them being burned to ashes here.

Just when he was thinking about it, he realized that something bad was going to happen, and he felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to go crazy. At this moment, a paper cigarette was handed to him.

"Come on, brother, smoke one."

"Yo, paper cigarettes...... It's not cheap. ”

Zhang Guodong took the paper cigarette and said, paper cigarettes are not cheap, they must be more expensive than tobacco leaves, and few brothers smoke this, often only military officers smoke this.

"It's all taken from the tent, you know, you send it to them, but there are always people leaving, people leaving, things are left in the tent, and it is ruined, so it's cheaper for our brothers."

Zhang Guodong can understand this, of course he won't say anything, just light the cigarette and smoke it silently. Then I chatted with them again, and they talked a lot, and naturally they also talked about the corpses that were burning here, and talked about their performance on the battlefield, whether they were brave or cowardly.

There wasn't much respect, but more of a pity, a pity for the loss of their lives. Chatting and chatting, Zhang Guodong talked about his comrades-in-arms and the brothers around him.

"In our platoon, I'm the first scared person who can't even put a gun, really, I'm not afraid of your jokes, usually when I speak, my voice is louder than anyone else, but on the battlefield, my legs are weak, and my hands are shaking and I can't put a gun......"

He suddenly said loudly.

"In the end, it was the platoon commander who woke me up with a few big mouths one after another, and then he put on a gun, and the mouth was pumped, it was a sound, and I remember it until now...... Hey. ”

To whom?

Are these brothers here? Or to the corpse in the fire, or to the soul of a comrade-in-arms,

The ghost knows, and Zhang Guodong doesn't know either, so he didn't think about anything at all.

In fact, he knew the answer in his heart, not so much to the brothers sitting around the fire, but to the dead who were burning in the pit.

He knew very well in his heart, although he didn't want to say it in his heart, but he couldn't control himself, and he couldn't even help but brag.

"Tartar,, you see one is softer than the other, but they are all treacherous and can play dead, and I was the first to rush forward...... Originally, I thought it was a dead man, but who knows, the dead man on the ground moved, and I stabbed it with a knife...... A few more are getting closer, close enough to touch my mouth...... Surrender? The Tartar soldiers dropped a fart, and as soon as I pulled the trigger, I put sugar gourds on the three of them......

The front one, with blood from his nose, collapsed...... There is another one who actually said something to me, I am Han, what the hell, now that I know that I am Han, what did I do earlier...... What else do people say, he is a banner man, more noble than us Han people, too crazy, I put the butt of my gun at his head, smashed it desperately, and smashed it all the time, and he didn't even recognize his mother before stopping...... I'll tell you, I've killed more than a dozen people, and one of them I strangled to death...... When I saw him that day...... That kid still wanted to backhand, I grabbed his neck and choked him to death...... In the end, he was strangled alive! ”

With a cigarette in his mouth, Zhang Guodong couldn't tell whether his words were true or false, he was just talking there, it could be his, or it could be someone else's story, anyway, he was talking, telling these people around him, telling these corpses in the fire, and in the end, he couldn't stand it, stood up, and then scolded.

"Fuck, they're all bastards...... Why are all the hell dead, all the stand up for me, get up......"

Cursing, scolding, he rose to his feet, then left the fire and ran off into the distance, finally disappearing into the darkness in the distance. The stars twinkled in the sky, the night sky was like day, and Zhang Guodong, who had already wiped away his tears, spread his legs and urinated while shedding tears.

The uncomfortable feeling will finally pass, and my heart will slowly feel better. Feeling only a little exhausted, he looked up at the sky and finally muttered......

"I'm so homesick......"