Chapter 22: Everything is for survival! None of it is wrong!

"It's fine."

"I've already been in the army for half a year. According to the two-year term of service, I'll be able to go home in another year and a half," Zhao Feng said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned.

The reason he had questioned Wang Yan was with a hint of playfulness; if she truly could help him return early, that would be wonderful, but if not, there was nothing he could do.

He couldn't exactly become a deserter; the punishment was severe, involving being sentenced to hard labor.

Wang Yan asked, somewhat puzzled, "With your skills and strength, you should have been assigned as an elite soldier during the initial distribution. Why were you assigned to the logistics corps?"

"What skills could I possibly have? I only forced them out of myself just to stay alive," Zhao Feng chuckled dismissively.

Of course, back in the recruit camp, Zhao Feng had intentionally hidden his true abilities.

Hearing his answer, Wang Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes.

If Zhao Feng had killed a few enemies, perhaps one could say it was "forced out of him," but he had killed nearly three hundred enemy soldiers and even charged into the enemy ranks to slay Baoyuan. Could that really be described as merely "forced out"?

"Do you not wish to establish great achievements?"

"With your strength, you could definitely reach the highest ranks of officialdom in the future," Wang Yan couldn't help but ask.

Deep down, she truly did not understand what Zhao Feng was thinking. He clearly possessed the strength to build a legacy, yet he had no desire to do so.

Zhao Feng did not answer. Instead, he continued eating the roasted mutton.

Since joining the army, Zhao Feng had not eaten meat for a long time. Although the State of Qin treated its military well, that treatment was reserved for true elite soldiers; the rations for the logistics corps were only enough to ensure basic satiety.

King Zheng of Qin placed immense importance on the elite soldiers who risked their lives for him, whereas the logistics corps, who were not required to fight on the front lines, were not held in such high regard.

To use the terminology of a later era, the elite soldiers were the regular army, while the logistics corps were merely irregular troops.

After eating a few pieces of meat, Zhao Feng took a satisfying sip of the wine provided by Master Chen.

Then, Zhao Feng looked at Wang Yan and said, "Compared to establishing achievements, I would rather live."

Wang Yan frowned and said, "As a man of Great Qin, shouldn't you be expanding the borders for the country and remaining loyal to your monarch?"

To these words, Zhao Feng merely gave a faint smile. "Loyalty to the monarch and the country... perhaps. If an enemy were to invade my home, I would take up arms and fight them to the death!"

"But expanding the borders is something the nobility, who are tied to royal power, desire. The larger the territory of Qin, the more the nobility gains, and the greater the benefits from expansion. But for us ordinary people, what does expanding the borders have to do with us? What can we gain? We do nothing but fill the gaps with our lives, ultimately becoming stepping stones for the interests of the high-ranking nobility."

"As the territory expands, the nobility rejoices."

"But for the vast majority of ordinary people, all they receive is some compensation for their death in battle, and their families gain nothing more than a tombstone to weep over."

"Heh."

These words caused Wang Yan's expression to change; they were entirely different from the education she had received since childhood. Or rather, this was the first time Wang Yan had encountered a perspective from that of a commoner.

She wanted to argue, but for a moment, she did not know how.

After a long silence, she said, "Great Qin expands its borders for the sake of the world. Once the six states are destroyed, there will be no more wars in the world, and the people can live in peace and prosperity. Once the world is unified, everyone can live a tranquil life. This is the great aspiration of the Qin people through the generations. For this great aspiration, everyone can die. Do you not understand?"

After much thought, Wang Yan gazed at Zhao Feng and spoke.

"That is merely what those in power think."

"In the past, the Qin people fought to the death to establish their own foundations and to protect their homes, so naturally, everyone was willing to die for it."

"Of course," Zhao Feng continued, "the unification of the world you speak of might indeed end the wars and bring stability to the world. But for the common people, the best thing is not to go to the battlefield to die."

"Not everyone seeks fame or wealth; it is simply that they have no choice. Take me, for example. I had no desire to enlist; I was simply conscripted because I reached the required age. If I had a choice, I would have fulfilled my filial duties first," Zhao Feng said with a faint, helpless smile.

If it weren't for the mother he left behind, perhaps Zhao Feng wouldn't have been so resistant.

Unifying the world!

As a person from a later era, he truly admired the monumental, unparalleled achievements of Qin Shi Huang. Zhao Feng held a great deal of awe and respect for the First Emperor. Because for the future of China, if Qin Shi Huang had not unified the world, the nation would have remained fragmented, failing to achieve ethnic integration and cultural unity.

In short, the evaluation of Qin Shi Huang in later generations was that of an "Emperor for the Ages," whose merits would last forever.

But before "merits lasting forever," there was another phrase: "sins felt in the present!"

Because the people of that era suffered too much.

The name "Tyrannical Qin"!

Perhaps some people after the fall of Qin cast aspersions on Qin Shi Huang, but there was also a large reason for it: the people truly could not survive, and "Tyrannical Qin" was what the commoners called it.

Only those living in that era knew how difficult it truly was.

Having been reborn into this era, becoming a man of Qin, and being forced to serve on the battlefield, Zhao Feng knew deeply how cruel it was. Human life was truly worthless. Given his current situation, Zhao Feng kept a respectful distance from the battlefield. He had only gone there because he had no choice.

Even though Zhao Feng's current strength was considerable, he was not certain he could survive amidst thousands of troops and horses; if even he felt this way, what of the ordinary soldiers?

This era was too cruel!

Some people might be unwilling to remain obscure and might seek fame, hoping to use military merit to join the nobility, but that was too difficult. The vast majority were forcibly conscripted and had no choice but to go to war.

Listening to Zhao Feng's words, Wang Yan fell silent again. At this moment, she truly did not know how to speak.

Their meeting had lasted only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but Wang Yan's heart was filled with a strange feeling.

"Judging by your appearance, Military Commander, you must come from a noble family. You are protected by personal guards, which only commanders possess. Naturally, you are filled with ambition, wanting to expand the borders for the court and earn merit for your clan. To you, there is nothing wrong with that."

"But for me, and for countless soldiers of common origin, the greatest pursuit is not power, but survival—to not let my mother weep, and to fulfill my filial duties to her."

"A single general's success is built upon ten thousand withered bones. For a commoner, to not starve and to provide for one's family; for a conscripted soldier, to not die on the battlefield—that is what I, as a commoner, and perhaps what countless others think."

"In summary," Zhao Feng said with a sigh of emotion, "as a monarch, wanting to unify the world and achieve a victory never before accomplished is not wrong. As a noble official, wanting to expand the borders and serve the country is not wrong. But as a commoner, as a soldier, having the desire to survive, to live, and to fulfill one's duty to one's mother—that is also not wrong."

Hearing his words, Wang Yan's gaze became complicated, as if she were beginning to understand.

Zhao Feng did not speak further, instead quietly eating the meat over the campfire.

Once he was full, Zhao Feng slowly stood up and looked at Wang Yan with a meaningful gaze.