In ancient China, there were many dynasties, and there would be friction between each other to a greater or lesser extent, and war was inevitable. And when we watch the TV series, we must have seen this scene, the war horn is blown, and the soldiers on both sides will rush to the enemy like crazy. As if they were not afraid of death, they still kept moving forward in the face of the cold sword.
But there is also a problem, as the soldiers of the first platoon, they are the most likely to die, and the soldiers in the first row look like cannon fodder to us, why do they still rush to the enemy desperately? In fact, although they seem to be cannon fodder, there is a reason why they still do not retreat.
fight
The war is cruel and constantly honed
Ancient warfare was very cruel, and in that era of cold weapons, there would be sacrifices whether it was in the flat land or the siege of the city. In fact, through watching TV dramas or checking the data, we will find that if the two armies confront each other on the flat ground, it is still good, because the casualties will be greatly reduced, and once the siege war is encountered, the siege side will definitely pay huge casualties.
And the dead are often the vanguard of the first row. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei entered Shu to attack Chengdu, and he fought for two years without being able to take it, and the soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and finally Liu Zhang surrendered liu Bei to take Chengdu. Since you want to attack the city, then the natural ladder is indispensable, the ladder must always be climbed, the first soldier to climb the ladder is called the vanguard, they are often cannon fodder, will be the first to be attacked.
Then the question arises, knowing that he is the most likely to die, why would he rush forward without his life? This has something to do with their qualifications. Generally the vanguard are new recruits, their role is to cover the veterans, veterans in the army can be said to be a treasure, they have experienced many wars, experienced combat bravery, any general will not let the veteran die easily. And once most of the veterans die, the new recruits who have just entered the battlefield will naturally be quickly eliminated by the enemy due to lack of experience and no protection from the veterans.
In order to win the war, it is actually necessary to let the recruits act as the vanguard to cover the veterans. And everyone starts from a new recruit, which can be regarded as an experience for the recruit, if the new recruit wants to be protected, then the rank of the vanguard must be experienced. After surviving, you can be promoted, naturally you don't have to be a platoon leader, and then there will be new recruits to cover you.
Moreover, even many famous generals in ancient times also started from the vanguard, and they also experienced countless wars to make them more and more experienced, and also made them more understanding of war. Therefore, in the ancient army, the new recruit as the vanguard also became an unwritten rule.
Affect morale, can not retreat
When fighting, it is generally led by the general, and although the first platoon leader knows that he may be sacrificed on the battlefield, but the general is a pioneer, how can they not rush forward? During the Song Taizu period, the wars at that time were all led by generals, and when Taiyuan was captured, many generals took the lead in attacking the city, which also caused many generals to be shot by bows and arrows and killed.
And they have no choice but to rush forward, and retreat is a dead end. Not all soldiers have the spirit of sacrificing their lives and forgetting death, everyone has only one life, except for the last resort, who would want to die like this. On the battlefield, there will also be people who are greedy for life and afraid of death, and they also want to retreat, but retreating is also death, and maybe they can still survive if they rush forward.
Transporting grain
I believe we all know that in order to prevent soldiers from escaping, there were also special inspectors in ancient wars, and if they did not receive the order to retreat, the soldiers fled privately, not only to end up as a deserter, but also to be executed. Instead of dying like this, it is better to kill violently.
Even some soldiers will think of the idea of pretending to be dead, and this kind of thinking will also be thought of. If you choose to pretend to be dead, then you will have a high probability of dying under your own chariots, horses, and may be trampled to death, it can be said that the death rate of pretending to die is higher than that of rushing to kill. So don't choose to pretend to be dead.
The reward is rich, for the sake of merit
Although the death rate of soldiers in the first row is very high, there are still many people who are soldiers in the first row. We must know that under the heavy gold there will be brave men. Because the vanguard is dangerous, their rewards are also very rich. Moreover, the difficulty of siege warfare is much greater than that of the two armies, and the mortality rate is also higher. So no matter which dynasty, their reward for the first person to climb the tower can be said to be absolutely satisfactory to you, which is much faster than killing the enemy on the battlefield and obtaining military merit.
During the Three Kingdoms period, the State of Wu was the first to ascend the city tower directly as a lieutenant, and when Tang Gaozu Li Yuan attacked Henan, because Zhang Shigui took the lead in climbing the city wall, the slave alone rewarded him with more than eighty people. And this kind of rich reward, the soldiers in the first row are the most likely to get, that is, danger and opportunity coexist.
And even if you die because you were the first to enter the city, then your family will get your credit, and they will be rewarded or even knighted. So even if the soldiers in the first row are easily killed, there will still be many people who choose to be the vanguard soldiers, which is why you will be rewarded for living, and even if you die, your family will also receive supreme glory.
Be glorified and benefit your family
Compared with our current era of peace, the ancient wars can be said to be very many, some of those wars you have to fight, in the face of foreign invasion, all you can do is to fight them back. There were many soldiers in the first platoon who were also willing to follow the general in charge.
Because if it is a foreign invasion, they cannot defeat the enemy, then their families in the rear naturally cannot be avoided. If they do not choose to bravely charge forward, then the safety and future of their wives, children and parents will not be guaranteed. In order to protect themselves, the family behind them, they will naturally choose to charge forward, if the war is won, the safety of their families will be guaranteed, and they themselves will also receive supreme glory.
This is the vanguard, even if they will die, they must rush forward, because behind them are also the people they want to protect.
Conclusion: Having said all this, I believe everyone understands why the soldiers in the first row are prone to death and rush forward, right? In that chaotic era, this is their best choice, they can not stay out of the matter, I believe that if we are placed in that era, the same as the first row of soldiers, I believe we will make the same choice, that is, to rush forward, for their own protection of the people, must do that!