In many film and television dramas, people will find a phenomenon, on the ancient battlefield, most of the soldiers in the first row would rather die as cannon fodder than run away as deserters, so many people are more curious, nine deaths on the battlefield, these soldiers in the first row can be so firm to hold the bottom line, why is this?
What is even more strange is that in the ancient wars of real history, are the soldiers in the first row also the same as in the film and television drama, and will not be deserters? And why would they rather die in battle and become cannon fodder than be deserters? In fact, there are a lot of mysteries in all of this.
Composition of the first row of soldiers
Now we are studying in school, there are often some teachers to study well students to sit in the first row, the worse the learning is arranged to sit in the back, this is a kind of human nature deep potential habit, always like to put the best things in the most conspicuous place, on the one hand, they look pleasing to the eye, on the other hand, they can prevent emergencies from happening.
In the same way, on the ancient battlefield, it was a contest of life and death, as the leader of an army, of course, the first to arrange their most trusted and most capable and combat effective soldiers in the first row, because the position of the first row is too special, once on the battlefield, the first to compete with the enemy is them.
It can be said that the level of the soldiers in the first row basically represents the approximate overall level of this army, especially in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period of the war, it is more obvious, at that time usually the soldiers in the first row are the soldiers on the chariot, this kind of soldier generally holds a spear in his hand, follows the chariot forward, wields a spear, attacks the enemy, and the soldiers behind are closely following behind the chariot, making up for the enemy who did not die, once the chariot is defeated by the enemy, the soldiers behind will quickly scatter and flee. A war is over.
Therefore, in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the soldiers in the first row, that is, the soldiers on the chariot, in addition to the soldiers trusted by the generals, were also born famous, either the children of the nobles, or the children of the gentry, these people and the generals of the army, the status gap is not large, but the division of labor is different, they are the biggest beneficiaries of the victory of the war, but also the biggest victims of the defeat of the war, once the war is lost, their original aristocratic status or gentry continue, it will end, so they are on the battlefield, Not only for the sake of the country, but also for their own sake, such soldiers, who have long put life and death on the line, cannot be deserters, and they would rather die in battle than lose the face of their own families.
Judging from such a personnel composition, these first platoon soldiers in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period naturally could not be deserters, and later some forms of war changed, but for the soldiers in the first platoon, they were still the soldiers with the most trust and ability of the generals, such as those dead soldiers in the Gaopingling coup d'état launched by Sima Yi and Sima Shi's master, which were similar to the nature of the soldiers in the first row, they and the fate of the generals were almost bound together, and the victory was enjoyed with the generals. Failure is accompanied by a tragic fate with the general, or death in battle, or the loss of everything he has.
All in all, the relationship between the soldiers in the first row and the generals is absolutely unusual, the interests of the two sides are the most obvious, the relationship between the soldiers and the generals in the back is not so close, the life and death of the generals, for them, the impact is not too large, so once the danger comes, desertion is the least costly behavior to obtain a new life.
Reality did not allow the first row of soldiers to escape
Although the soldiers of the first platoon are unlikely to be deserters in terms of overall interests and status, we do not rule out that a very small number of greedy and fearful of death will be deserters in dangerous situations, so in order to prevent such a thing from happening, the general has long formulated relevant punishment plans for deserters.
Deserters are the most hated people on the battlefield at any time, so once deserters appear, they will be severely punished, whether it is mentally tortured, or threatened by family, or even worse, directly executed to set an example.
There are too many cases of deserters being killed on the ancient battlefield, which fully shows that generals and leaders still attach enough importance to the phenomenon of soldiers fleeing. Of course, if there are only these punishments, and there is no reward, the enthusiasm of the soldiers is obviously not enough, so for example, the Qin State rewards the soldiers, how many achievements are achieved on the battlefield, how many heads are taken, there is a corresponding reward mechanism, this reward mechanism has been in many dynasties, whether it is to get rich or reward beautiful women, in short, the attraction to soldiers is still very large.
It is under the influence of punishment and various reward mechanisms that the punishment and reward received by the soldiers in the first row are different from the soldiers in the rear, which is a kind of differential treatment, so the enthusiasm of the soldiers in the first row is much stronger than that of the soldiers in the back, and it is not easy to be deserters.
Of course, on the real battlefield, the soldiers in the back want to escape, perhaps it is easier, the soldiers in the first row want to escape, basically a fool's dream, when the war occupies a favorable situation, the soldiers in the first row do not need to be deserters, but when the war is at a disadvantage, the soldiers of the first row want to escape and the conditions are not allowed.
After all, the soldiers in the first row, if you want to escape, you first need to turn around and run backwards, once you turn around, the enemy may instantly stab you into a sieve, even if you are not stabbed by the enemy, many dignified soldiers in the army may also directly correct the deserters, want to break through the siege, and finally escape, the possibility is very small.
For the sake of these practical and ideal factors combined, once you become a soldier in the first row, it means that you have joined the death squad, life and death have long been ignored, why do too much fearless struggle? Besides, if an army of soldiers in the first row wanted to escape, the problem might not be just that of the soldiers of the first row.
epilogue
Ancient wars, most of them still belong to the cold weapon war, the requirements for the first row of soldiers are very high, so the people who can become the first row of soldiers are not ordinary people, they are either talents with outstanding ability, or they are born into famous families, there is a natural resistance to the behavior of deserters, even if occasionally someone wants to be a deserter, the reality is not allowed, maybe you turn around, you will die, why do you have to do unnecessary struggle? Instead of dying as a deserter, it's better to die as a hero!
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