The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 16 One general succeeds and thousands of bones wither
As night fell, the camp of the Later Zhou army was still noisy.

Although the war was over, it still took a lot of effort to clean up the battlefield, bury the bodies, and treat the wounded.

Li Yi put his hands behind his head and lay on the ground next to the fire.

He sniffed, and there seemed to be a faint smell of blood in the air, which didn't smell very pleasant.

Looking back on what happened throughout the day, Li Yi felt relieved but also a little sad.

Since ancient times, one general's success has always been achieved at the cost of thousands of lives.

After the great battle, countless people died on both sides and countless were injured.

Those who were still alive when they set out from Tokyo are now left forever on this ancient battlefield.

In the future, perhaps more people will bury their bodies and souls here.

Looking back at the past and present, the bloody roads of struggle for hegemony and competition among heroes were all built with human lives.

However, these were brutal battles.

In the end, they are just stories that are talked about by later generations.

Li Yi felt that he was lucky that he did not become one of those buried here, and he also fought for wealth.

I think the reward promised by Chai Rong himself should be a sure thing... otherwise who would be willing to work for him?
Thinking of this, Li Yi's melancholy was dispelled a lot, and he felt a little excited.

That’s the commander-in-chief!

During the Five Dynasties period, the commander-in-chief of all generals was called the Commander-in-Chief. At this level, he was considered a mid-to-high-level military general.

Of course, this level is also divided into high and low levels.

Take the two main forces of the Imperial Guard, Long Jie and Hu Jie, as examples.

It is divided into several levels: wing, army, command (battalion), city, team, gang and squad.

They correspond to the military positions of Xiangdu Commander-in-Chief, Jundu Commander-in-Chief, Commander, Dutou (the cavalry is called Junshi), Ten Generals, Cook Captain and Squad Leader.

In other words, Li Yi could at least become a military commander.

However, he can only reach this level at most. After all, the commander of the Xiangdu Command is a real high-level military general.

Li Yi is not qualified for this position given his age and qualifications.

But he was already very satisfied with it, even more satisfied than he expected.

After all, Li Yi's current rank is still at the level of a captain. Counting the deputy positions at various levels, he was promoted five or six levels at once and directly became the commander of the army.

It's like he's soaring up like a rocket... What else could he be dissatisfied with?
As he thought about it, the corners of Li Yi's mouth widened, and he felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

I was born in the second year of Qingtai in the Later Tang Dynasty. Now it is the first year of Xiande in the Later Zhou Dynasty. At most, I am only twenty years old.

If he can become a military commander at this age, he would at least be a brigade commander in the future, right?
No wonder it is said that in ancient times, going to the battlefield was the fastest way for ordinary people to change their destiny...but the prerequisite is that they can survive.

At this moment, Ma Renyu's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Li Yi's beautiful imagination of the future.

"Brother Yi, Wang Du is dead!"

"What?" Li Yi didn't react for a moment.

When he realized what Ma Renyu was talking about, he sat up suddenly.

"The commander of the inner palace guards in the royal capital?"

"Yes, otherwise which king could be the envoy?"

What Ma Renyu said was the same as if he hadn't said anything, because there was more than one commander-in-chief with the surname Wang in the imperial guards.

But Li Yi didn't bother to argue with him and quickly asked, "When did it happen? How did he die?"

"It seems he died not long after being brought back. It is said that he was shot in the neck by an arrow. There was no way he could be saved."

As he spoke, Ma Renyu muttered again, "No wonder I saw him being carried without making much noise..."

Is Wang Kuangye dead?
Li Yi ignored what Ma Renyu muttered. He was a little surprised to hear the news.

He had a good impression of Wang Kuangye. After all, it was he who promoted him to be the yamen supervisor.

So when he first heard the news of Wang Kuangye's death, he couldn't help feeling a little sad.

Alas! Such a good person is gone...

However, while feeling sad, Li Yi was more grateful that he had withdrawn from the battlefield in time.

Otherwise, who can guarantee that he will not be as unlucky as Wang Kuangye when pursuing the remnants of the Northern Han army?

"I thought I was unlucky enough, but now compared to Wang Du, I think I'm lucky..."

Ma Renyu probably thought the same thing as Li Yi, and a rare look of fear appeared on his face.

Are you still afraid? Li Yi secretly complained in his heart.

This guy disappeared after finishing his meal, and no one knew where he was wandering off to. He was clearly more seriously injured than Li Yi, but he looked like nothing had happened. It was as if the injured arm wasn't his.

Sometimes, Li Yi really envies Ma Renyu's open-mindedness.

Afterwards, the two of them expressed their feelings about Wang Kuangye's experience, and then sat by the fire and chatted.

As they were chatting, Ma Renyu seemed to remember something and suddenly leaned close to Li Yi and said, "Hey, Brother Yi, I heard that His Majesty has promised you the title of Commander-in-Chief."

I don't know where he heard this from, but he looked so excited, as if he was even more excited than if he had received the reward himself.

"Your Majesty, it was just a casual remark and you may not take it seriously..." Li Yi pretended to be calm, but he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't excited about the reward. Even now he still feels a little elated when he thinks about it.

Power and status are right in front of him. If there is someone who can remain unmoved, Li Yi will definitely give that person a thumbs up: You are amazing, you are noble!
"Brother Yi, what are you talking about?" Ma Renyu was anxious. "His Majesty has promised you in public, and he will definitely give you the title of Commander-in-Chief."

Li Yi could only agree helplessly: "Okay, okay, your Majesty's words are golden, and I, the commander, cannot escape."

"I don't know what kind of reward I can get..." Ma Renyu turned and began to think about his own reward.

"When we charged, I followed behind your men and killed several Han cavalrymen along the way. Later, when we were chasing the remaining soldiers, I killed a dozen more. At least I could have been a commander... Alas, Brother Yi, where have you been?"

Li Yi ignored Ma Renyu's question, stood up and walked quickly in one direction.

When he heard Ma Renyu mention the second team under his command, he remembered that he was only thinking about the reward and forgot about his brothers.

They followed me in the charge, so there must be some of them injured. I think I can find them where the wounded are gathered.

Seeing that Li Yi ignored him, Ma Renyu had no choice but to get up and chase after him.

Soon, the two found a place to accommodate the wounded.

……

"It hurts..."

"I want to go home……"

There was wailing in the wounded camp, mixed with the groans of the dying, and the air was filled with a thick and pungent smell of blood.

Li Yi walked around for a long time and finally found several wounded soldiers from his second squad.

But they heard some bad news.

"More than a dozen people died..." Li Yi felt a little heavy.

He didn't expect that so many of the second squad of cavalrymen who followed him in the charge would die, and half of the survivors were injured.

At this moment, the excitement he had been looking forward to the reward disappeared.

More than a dozen comrades who had been with him day and night and fought side by side, their wives, children and elders at home could no longer wait for them.

Even the corpses could not return to their roots, and their souls remained on this battlefield forever.

"Boss, I won't die, will I?" At this time, a weak voice sounded beside Li Yi.

Following the voice, I saw that the speaker was a young man in his twenties. He had a pale face and purple lips. He was lying on a worn and dirty felt mat, with several layers of coarse linen wrapped tightly around his waist, and blood was constantly oozing out.

Li Yi recognized at a glance that this was one of his ten generals. His name was Guo Zhao, the eldest in his family, and everyone he knew in the army called him Guo Da.

"Guo Da, you'll be fine!"

Li Yi quickly leaned over and comforted him, "Your wife gave birth to a big fat boy for you last month, and you still have to go back and treat everyone to a full moon banquet."

"Okay, I'll definitely treat everyone to a big drink when I get back, ahem..."

Guo Zhao tried to smile but ended up coughing violently.

"There's no rush for this. We'll talk about it later. You should take good care of your injuries now."

After comforting Guo Zhao, Li Yi chatted with a few others for a while, and then prepared to leave the wounded camp.

However, before he left, he specifically went to the military doctor to ask about Guo Zhao's injury.

But the answer he received was not optimistic: "The general has a cut on his abdomen. We can only clean the wound and wrap it with cloth to stop the bleeding temporarily. But if we delay any longer... Sigh!"

Although the doctor's words were not explicit, the meaning was already very clear...it would be difficult for Guo Zhao to survive.

War is cruel, especially the close combat in the era of cold weapons. The scene of broken limbs and flying flesh and blood is like hell on earth.

And surviving the battlefield is not necessarily the end.

Even if a small wound is not handled properly, there is a risk of purulent infection, and the life that has been saved by a narrow escape may be over.

Of course, more wounded soldiers bled to death after being carried back.

As for the current battlefield conditions, talking about stitching the wound... I'm afraid you'll die faster!
"This fucked up world..."

Li Yi cursed under his breath.

(End of this chapter)