Soldiers playing the roles of dozens

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Yun handles an 800,000-strong force. This is fictional but there are cases of honorable courage in actual battles. Zhang Liao led a corps of 800 members against 100,000 forces of Sun Quan and made it close to the center where Sun Quan was. When Cao Cao was in danger, Dian Wei protected the gate with a few of his men. He killed dozens by himself until he died of bleeding.

Though some soldiers do play the roles of dozens in real life, they are extremely rare. As old records were not keen to describe the achievements made by commoners or low-ranking soldiers, there could be more than we know now but they were very limited in number.

Those who transport provisions have a harder than combat troops. Each of them can carry different amounts of food. A strong man cannot carry much more than an average person, especially transporting through long distances and rugged mountains.

Modern troops’ firepower and killing power have increased exponentially thanks to advanced weapons. An average soldier can catch up to Dian Wei or Zhang Liao’s capabilities with basic training alone. A modern Gatling gun can easily shoot 2,000 times per minute. A soldier who cannot climb mountains with 20 kilograms of food on his back can drive a five-ton truck through mountain valleys all day long.

There is a story that we all know yet are strangely confused about. In modern society, a person’s values and human rights are better protected. Some believe that such a change was a result of raised awareness, education, changes in values, and individuals’ realization. It is not the case, however. It was the result of technologies and capital raising a person’s capabilities by far. Those who criticize machines and capital for causing religious materialism and the death of humanity are only looking at the glass half empty or intellectuals whose perspectives are limited.