When the soldiers were captured, they would definitely have all their usable weapons taken away. In other words, these Pyro Company soldiers were truly unarmed.
Meanwhile, the enemy they were facing was the expeditionary army that they might not be able to defeat even if they had guns.
At first, these soldiers did not put up a desperate fight after they were captured. In the Pyro Company's ideology, it was not shameful to be captured. What they should do was preserve their strength and wait for an opportunity in the future.
Preserving a spark of hope for the people of the Central Plains did not mean that all of them would charge forward fearlessly. If the expeditionary army used them as laborers in the future, they would definitely have a chance to create value again.
But after the Wang Clan informed them of what the expeditionary army was going to do, the Pyro Company soldiers realized they no longer had a chance. If they continued to live, they would only cause chaos and casualties to their allies. Over 3,000 of them would also consume a large amount of ammunition from Zuoyun Mount.
Instead of becoming a burden to others, they might as well choose to die.
Therefore, these 3,000 soldiers found an opportunity to resist that very night. No one tried to escape. If they scattered and tried to escape, they would only be effortlessly killed by the expeditionary army once they caught up to them.
They gathered together and operated with the 3rd Division's battalion commander as their highest commander. They only hoped to kill some of the barbarians as much as possible.
If one person could not defeat the barbarians in a one-on-one fight, they would work together in groups of four or five.
Although they did not have their firearms, they could still snatch some of the barbarians' weapons. If they could not snatch them, they would bite them with their teeth.
Wang Run's simple description of this battle did not sound tragic at all. He just said, "All of them died in battle."
But everyone realized what kind of power was hidden behind those simple words.
In a war, there would always be people who would become new heroes. However, these people did not want to be heroes before they died. They were just doing what they were supposed to do.
P5092 stayed silent for a long time before asking, "Their serial numbers …"
Wang Run shook his head. "There were too many of them, so it's impossible to remember everyone's serial numbers."
P5092's expression dimmed a little. That's right, these people died before they could even remember their serial numbers.
At this moment, Wang Run said, "But we know that battalion commander's serial number. It's P 31831. He seems to know that you've joined the Northwest troops, so he wanted our people to pass a message to you."
"What did he say?" P5092 asked.
"He said he wouldn't have the chance to be your soldier again, but he didn't embarrass you," Wang Run said.
"I still remember very clearly when P 31831 joined the 3rd Division." P5092 said with a smile, "At that time, he had just graduated from the NCO Academy. When he arrived, he immediately became a platoon commander. In the end, he was the youngest in his platoon, so he was always teased by the soldiers below him by calling him Little Platoon Commander."
"Later on, he slowly grew up. I once asked him why he joined the Pyro Company. He said he wanted to be a commander like me and fight for the survival of humanity in the Central Plains." P5092 continued, "At that time, I even smiled and patted him on the shoulder. I told him that he was still young and that the world was not that simple. But at least for now, it seems that he has accomplished his dream. "
P5092 was smiling, but everyone could sense the bitterness behind his smile.
P5092 said, "No matter what, this is still good news. This means that the number of refugees we have to face at Mount Zuoyun will be reduced by more than 3,000. We'll have a lot of ammunition left."
"That's not all." Wang Run said, "When they attacked the expeditionary army, they created an opportunity for the other refugees to escape. According to the reports from our men, more than 3,000 refugees escaped into the wilderness tonight. The expeditionary army has already dispatched troops to capture them, but they definitely won't be able to capture all of them."
"So when the expeditionary army arrives at Mount Zuoyun, we'll only have to face about 3,000 to 4,000 refugees." P5092 said, "Where's your man? Did he escape?"
Wang Run shook his head. "He doesn't want to escape because he still needs to report back to the troops. We also told him to retreat, but he insisted on staying behind."
Everyone in the command tent fell silent. If this intelligence agent continued to stay with the troops, it would mean that he would be driven to the battlefield at Mount Zuoyun by the expeditionary army. At that time, the 6th Combat Brigade would not be able to recognize him even if they fired at him. As such, he would only die in a flurry of gunfire.
If he wanted to escape, tonight would be his last chance. If he did not escape tonight, he would definitely die.
This intelligence agent should also be well aware of this outcome. However, he still stayed with the troops and waited to report back at any time.
P5092 said, "It's admirable that the Wang Clan has such a loyalist."
Wang Run said seriously, "Although our Wang Clan's path is different from your Pyro Company's and we're also a little unscrupulous, don't underestimate our Wang Clan. The Central Plains will eventually be unified by our Wang Clan. At that time, everyone will understand the importance of unification. "
"I've always understood the importance of unification. It's just that I don't think your methods are right." P5092 shook his head. "Alright, let's not discuss such things before the war. Whether the Wang Clan can unify the Central Plains or not can only be debated after the war is over. What we have to do now is not let down the lives of those who have died. Now that the situation has taken a turn for the better, we have a better countermeasure to choose from. "
"Why do you say that?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
"Previously, I thought of planting explosives in advance to kill more than 10,000 refugees. But that would actually be a huge waste of explosives. After all, automatic rifle bullets can't pose a threat to the expeditionary army at times, but buried explosives can. That's why I wanted to prioritize using rifle bullets to take care of the refugees. That way, the explosives can be saved to deal with the barbarians."
"But it's different now. Now that there aren't that many refugees, planting a small number of explosives is the best choice. This way, the soldiers at the grassroots level won't have to face the internal struggles. I'm more inclined to let the soldiers maintain sufficient morale." P5092 said, "Moreover, after they survive this war, they won't have to live with a guilty conscience for the rest of their lives."
In that case, the person who pressed the detonation button would have to bear all the guilt alone.
It looked like P5092 wanted to be the person to do it himself.
Ren Xiaosu chuckled and said, "I'm familiar with detonating explosives, so let me do it."
P5092 looked at Ren Xiaosu seriously. "Young Marshal, are you sure?"
Ren Xiaosu took a deep breath and continued smiling. "I've probably killed more people than you've ever led. Don't worry, it'll be fine."
That night, Ren Xiaosu stood at the edge of the defensive position and looked up at the starry sky. Actually, if he had only made this decision verbally or read about it from other people's stories, he would not have personally experienced the dilemma of having to kill thousands of innocent lives with his own hands.
At this moment, Zero walked up to Ren Xiaosu and suddenly asked, "Senior, I don't quite understand why those soldiers suddenly launched a suicidal attack on the expeditionary army tonight."
Ren Xiaosu turned to Zero and said with a smile, "It's because they don't have any hope anymore, so they're leaving it to others."
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