Sweep Yuan

Chapter 107 A Heroic Spirit Amidst Chaos

Tang He, Cao Zhen, Guo Xing, and others were all locals from Haozhou. Because they shared a common hobby—wielding weapons—they had frequent contact and became familiar faces in the small martial arts circle of Haozhou.

Pu Daoren was an outsider and unaware of the complexities of the martial arts world in Haozhou. He was afraid that contacting too many strangers would expose him, so he focused his energy on Cao Zhen and Tang He during this period.

Cao Zhen was poor and often went hungry. He had no family to support, so his will to rebel was quite firm. After just one drink, he opened his heart to Pu Daoren, expressing his willingness to welcome the Red Flag Battalion into the city and recommending Tang He to Pu Daoren.

Tang He was poor when he was young, but his family became wealthy later, and only then did they have enough money to support him to learn to read and write and to practice martial arts.

However, the imperial court's reckless actions over the years have placed an unbearable burden on the Tang family, leading to their bankruptcy.

Tang He is unrestrained, calm and quick-witted, and good at strategy. He has some reputation in the city and can win over many people. If he is willing to help, the matter of becoming an inside agent will be mostly settled.

For some unknown reason, although this person accepted the wine offered by Master Pu, he hesitated to express his opinion, which frightened Master Pu into thinking that Tang He was going to report him to the authorities and take his reward. He was so afraid that he could not sleep soundly and even considered fleeing the city.

Yesterday, the Red Flag Battalion's army arrived at the city, and Tang He finally took the initiative to contact Master Pu to plan the surrender of the city.

Despite Pu Daoren's repeated emphasis that the Red Flag Battalion was full of valiant generals and that Hongxian could be captured in one fell swoop, and Haozhou would be taken in no time, Tang He believed that Haozhou was an important town in Huaixi, with high walls and deep moats, and could not be compared with the dilapidated small town of Hongxian.

In his view, no matter how capable the Red Flag Battalion was, it would take at least three to five days of continuous attacks to wear down the morale of the defenders.

That would be the best time for these heroes of the city to rise up.

Tang He originally planned to wait a few days until the garrison was nearly exhausted, then contact more people to set fire to several key parts of the city at the same time. While the garrison was in a panic and their firefighting forces were scattered, he would cooperate with the Red Flag Battalion to seize the city gate in one fell swoop.

Today is the first day of the official siege. Considering that there is no hope of breaking through the city, Tang He only contacted six heroes with clear backgrounds and hid in a courtyard near the north city wall to observe the Red Flag Battalion's siege and judge how long the defenders could hold out.

You wouldn't believe it until you see it; the Red Flag Battalion was exceptionally brave and stormed the city walls shortly after the battle began.

The defenders' poor performance was even more unexpected. With the protection of the city walls, the defenders were able to exchange fire with the Red Flag Battalion from their high ground, so it didn't seem like there was much of a problem. However, once the Red Flag Battalion charged up the city walls and engaged in close-quarters combat, they lost all their courage.

Because the defending troops collapsed too quickly, Tang He and his men managed to break apart a small group of Yuan soldiers and were rushing towards Linhuai Gate when Hu Dahai led his men down the city wall. If it weren't for Pu Daoren's timely warning, they would have been mistaken for auxiliary militia and killed.

Although they lost the opportunity to surrender the city due to a misjudgment of the situation, these local Haozhou people still played a role in guiding the army and quickly taking control of key points in the city after the army entered.

After the battle, Ishiyama personally received Tang and the others.

Back then, Shi Shan and Li Wu betrayed their allies at a crucial moment and killed Yang Chaolu, which allowed Zhao Junyong to seize the city gate and thus gain merit in surrendering the city. However, after the battle, Li Wu was reluctant to reward them, which discouraged the surrendered soldiers.

Shishan, naturally, would not repeat the mistake of Sesame Li. After listening to Pu Daoren's report and gaining a general understanding of the battle, and after testing the abilities and knowledge of Tang He and others, he immediately fulfilled the rewards promised to the heroes of Haozhou.

"Haozhou has just been captured, and we are all outsiders, unfamiliar with the local customs and traditions. We will need your help in the future. Brother Cao is quite brave and strong. Would you be willing to join my Jiaowei Camp and serve as a squad leader?"

After Pu Daoren gave a brief introduction to the organization of the Red Flag Battalion, Cao Zhen was overjoyed to find himself in the Training and Guard Battalion, which was training officers, as a squad leader, having just joined Shi Zhenfu's forces. He immediately knelt down.

“The governor trusts me, so I’ll sell these hundred or so catties to him.”

Cao Zhen may not be very knowledgeable, but he is honest and has decent strength. With proper training, he could be of great use in the future.

"Get up and get to work!"

Shi Shan nodded and then looked at the Guo brothers.

Among the heroes of Haozhou, the brothers Guo Xing and Guo Ying came from the best family. All four siblings were famous, and Guo Xing was also skilled in riding and archery.

Therefore, although Park Dao-in knew that Guo Xingquan was strong and powerful, he did not dare to contact him rashly because he suspected Guo Xingquan's determination to rebel due to his good family background.

Unexpectedly, Tang, whom they had the highest hopes for, and the Guo brothers, whom they had initially distrusted, took the initiative to rebel.

"Brother Guo has volunteered to join the cause of driving out the enemy and restoring the Han dynasty, which is commendable! I intend to ask Guo Xing to take the position of captain of the Third Battalion and arrange for Brother Guo Ying to join the Imperial Guard Battalion to serve as my bodyguard. Are you willing?"

"Thank you for your appreciation, Commander! We brothers are willing to go through fire and water for you!"

After the Guo brothers, Shishan arranged the whereabouts of the others one by one, but he forgot about Tang He.

He should have become a guest of honor of Governor Shi because of his merit in surrendering the city, but because of his hesitation and caution, things have turned out like this. When Tang He thinks about the choices he made during this period, he wishes he could slap himself twice.

The reason he hesitated was that before Pu Daoren contacted him, Guo Zixing, a powerful figure in Dingyuan, sent someone to Haozhou to scout out the area. Guo had contacted Tang He and hinted that the Guo family was about to launch an uprising, hoping that Tang He could be an inside agent at that time.

Tang He was unaware of the conflict between Shi Shan and Guo Zixing, but he knew that the Guo family of Dingyuan was deeply entrenched and powerful. If Guo Zixing and Shi Shan were to take Haozhou at the same time, the local strongman would definitely have an advantage over the foreign dragon.

Who knew that Shi Shan's actions would be even more decisive? Just as Pu Daoren established contact with the heroes of Haozhou, his troops had already been dispatched. What was even more infuriating was the incompetence of the Haozhou garrison; despite their fortified city, they couldn't hold out for even a day. Knowing this would be the outcome, why did Tang He hesitate and miss such a golden opportunity?

"...Zhi Ren? Brother Tang?"

Tang He suddenly woke up, realizing he hadn't heard what Shi Shan had just said, and quickly bowed and apologized.

"I was distracted, please forgive me, Governor."

"Haha, it doesn't matter."

Shishan didn't take it to heart and patiently repeated what he had said.

"Haozhou is a large city that requires heavy defense. Our army is scattered in Wuhe and Haozhou, and our strength is already insufficient. We need to expand our forces. Brother Tang is brave and intelligent, and has a lot of popularity. Would you dare to take on the role of commander of the new camp?"

Although the Red Flag Battalion had several battalion leaders, the position of Commander was second only to Zhenfu Shishan, holding a high position and great power. Although Tang He was ambitious, he knew his own limitations and was even more aware that his achievements were insufficient. How could he dare to hope to rise to the top in one step?
"Don't dare!"

Fearing that his refusal would anger Ishiyama, Tanghe added:
“You are a petty, narrow-minded man. You used to lead a dozen or so villagers to do corvée labor and repair the river, but you still managed to make a mess of things. Now you have only made a small contribution and you are still apprehensive about being a squad leader. You don’t even know the flags and drums of the army. How dare you take on such an important task?”

Shi Shan nodded to himself. No wonder this person followed Zhu Yuanzhang in history and was able to die a peaceful death.

The generals of the Red Flag Battalion were all afraid that their official rank was not high enough and that they would command too few troops. No one had ever declined to ask for less troops because they felt they were not capable enough.

Let alone "history proves" that Tang He has the ability to command troops, a mere second-class battalion of about three hundred men is by no means the upper limit of his command. Just based on this cautiousness of knowing his own strengths and weaknesses, he is worthy of being entrusted with important responsibilities by Shishan.

"Brother Tang is too modest. Which of us didn't start from humble beginnings and didn't have much knowledge before the rebellion? Who dares to boast about how many soldiers they can lead?"
"Don't worry, the new battalion will draw key personnel from the old battalion to assist you in commanding the troops. They will undergo rigorous training before being sent into battle. As for flags, drums, and commands, the training battalion also provides specialized training. As long as you are willing to learn, you will definitely master the methods of command."

Having said that, Tang He knew he could no longer refuse, so he immediately knelt down and stated:

"This humble general will diligently practice the methods of command and drill, strive to kill the enemy, and repay the kindness and favor shown by the garrison commander."

"Hahaha, good!"

Suppressing his question, "Don't you have a good brother named Chongba?", Shishan helped Tang He up, took his hand, and looked at Guo Xing, Cao Zhen, and the others, saying:
"Haozhou is an important town in Huaixi. The imperial court will not sit idly by and watch this city fall. It will not be long before they send a large army to take it back. I urge you all to train hard. Soon, you brothers will have the opportunity to make new contributions."

"How dare this humble general disobey orders!"

Even before Wuhe launched his campaign, Shishan had seriously considered whether he would have any dealings with Haozhou heroes like Tang He after capturing Haozhou, and how to deal with them.

After all, Tang He and the others are locals from Haozhou, so they can't avoid it, nor should they.

If this outsider wanted to stabilize Haozhou as soon as possible, he couldn't avoid cooperating with the locals and abandon staunch anti-Yuan figures like Tang He. So, he could only choose to cooperate with strangers whose names and stances were unknown.

Of course, there are risks involved in cooperating with anyone, especially with Tang He.

Even if Shishan was not familiar with the history of the late Yuan Dynasty, he knew that Tang He was no ordinary person and had a close relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang, the final victor in the struggle for supremacy at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Will appointing Tang He attract Zhu Chongba? Will it be like in the original historical timeline, where all my hard work only benefits others and ultimately Zhu Chongba?

Shishan originally had some doubts about changing the "historical plot," worrying that if he interfered too much, he would completely change the fate of the "key figures" and lose the biggest advantage of a time traveler: "understanding the general trend of the world."

Therefore, when he learned that Shao and Guo were acquainted, he sent Shao Rong to Dingyuan to assist Guo Zixing in his uprising.

But after experiencing the chaos in Hong County, Shishan understood that if you don't try to control the general trend, you will be controlled by it.

Rather than letting these "historically proven" losers take center stage and waste a great opportunity, it would be better for him, the time traveler, to unite all forces, end the chaos as soon as possible, and try his best to correct some historical mistakes that could have been avoided.

As for Zhu Chongba, the ultimate victor in the original historical timeline?

Let alone the fact that this person is currently just a lowly monk who spends his days eating vegetarian meals and striking the bell, with no great ambitions whatsoever, he certainly doesn't imagine how he could contend for the world.

Even if Zhu Chongba had already raised an army and had the strength to compete with him.

What if there is no such thing?

As a time traveler, having laid out plans months in advance and commanding a powerful army, he is already ahead of many heroes. If he still doesn't have the courage to face someone squarely, then he should stop talking about conquering the world and ending the chaos. He should just go to sleep!

(End of this chapter)