Sweep Yuan

Chapter 11 You Need to Conscript Men

Many people know the importance of reorganizing troops, but once they start actually doing it, most people are completely lost.

It should be understood that it is better not to use people at all than to use them improperly.

The ability to identify talented individuals from a group of strangers in a very short time, and then optimize and combine them in a suitable way to transform a disorganized group into an orderly one, is itself a remarkable talent.

Although the Rui Battalion soldiers used to monitor Shishan were all scattered during this process, most of them became group leaders and indirectly controlled most of the troops, which surprised the wary Wen Sijiu.

The team, which was originally a collection of strangers and had a chaotic structure, became more clearly organized and its execution was effectively improved after Shi Shan reorganized it.

When we left Xuzhou, we hadn't gone more than a mile when people started complaining, either about stomach aches or numbness in their legs. They were just making excuses to linger and not want to go too far from the city.

After the formation, Shi Shan declared that his position as deputy commander was not just for show, and that the team would be fully formed sooner or later, at which time officers and key personnel at all levels would be selected from today's squads first.

Regardless of whether these group leaders believed the deputy commander, once people were divided into different ranks, they developed a drive to improve. Under their leadership, the marching ability of the troops improved significantly, and they could barely maintain a basic formation even after walking a mile.

However, that's all.

As they travel further, the role of the group leader diminishes dramatically. They must stop to rest and distribute food to boost morale before they can continue on their way.

After all, there was no way the small number of people in front of them could capture the two fortified positions. Everyone knew that going out of the city today was just to play along with Deputy Commander Shi. At most, they would walk around for a while and then go back when they had almost finished eating the flatbread.

It doesn't matter if it's a performance; as long as they're given pancakes, they'll walk as many miles as they want.

The problem is that Deputy Commander Shi acts differently from ordinary people, and no one knows what he is thinking.

What if this guy is stubborn and really wants to walk all the way to Chulan Station?

Walking and stopping intermittently, and seeing that most of the bread in their bags was gone, the group gradually grew weary. Shishan knew this couldn't continue. Just then, there was a large village about a mile ahead, so he said to the group:

"Are you all tired from walking? There's a village up ahead, let's go and ask for some tea."

The Red Turban Army in Xuzhou grew from nothing to nearly 20,000 in less than half a month, with Sesame Li focusing his energy mainly on the city.

During this period, he also sent a small group of people out of the city, asking each village and community to provide manpower and grain to support the rebel army against the Yuan dynasty.

However, with many matters still unresolved in the city, it was not advisable to send out large troops lightly. As a result, little effort was made to exert actual control over the vast countryside, and the status quo of self-governance in each village and community was temporarily maintained.

As a result, apart from the villages on the outskirts of the city that were close by and dared not face the Red Turban Army's blades directly and obediently provided manpower and grain, the villages and communities that were a little further away from the city were basically still watching and waiting, unwilling to easily take sides.

Xuzhou was originally a subordinate prefecture of Guide Prefecture, which only governed Xiao County.

Later, due to the serious threat posed by bandits to the safety of the Grand Canal transport, ministers Xie Zhedu and Cai Shouyi petitioned the court:

"The territory of Xusu and Tengyi is divided into two parts. Xusu belongs to Guide, while Tengyi belongs to Yidu. The distance between them is six or seven hundred li, and the distance between them is one or two hundred li. Whenever a bandit attack is heard, they must request permission from the Grand Prefecture, which in turn requests permission from the Imperial Court. Only then can orders be issued and soldiers mobilized. By then, the bandits have already looted and left."

Emperor Yuan approved his request, upgraded Xuzhou to a circuit, and ceded the four prefectures of Teng, Yi, Pi, and Su to it—this event took place three years earlier in the eighth year of the Zhizheng era (1348).

This place has a long history of fierce and rebellious people, with many rebels.

Over the past century, the combined effects of its pivotal location connecting the north and south, east and west, the natural disasters of alternating floods and droughts, and the black market profit chain of the canal transport industry have further fueled its fierce and valiant spirit.

As long as there is enough profit, what does it matter if it's highway robbery, double-crossing, or even plundering official ships to steal tribute from the imperial court? There's nothing the fierce villagers of Xuzhou wouldn't dare to do. Not long after Shi Shan and his group left the city, they encountered a group of young men who claimed to have joined the Red Turban Army. The two sides were roughly equal in number and dressed in mixed attire, so neither side was sure of the other's identity or purpose. They simply exchanged greetings from a distance and then went their separate ways.

The team passed through three villages along the way, and to prevent any accidents, Shishan led his men to detour around them at a distance.

According to the Yuan system, five households formed a neighborhood, and five neighborhoods formed a guarantor, who checked each other's property. Every hundred households formed a community, with one community leader, to work diligently in agriculture to prevent it from falling into disuse, and to strictly prohibit members of the community from engaging in irrational activities or gatherings.

The village in front of everyone was larger than the previous three combined. Shi Shan not only did not avoid it, but also took the initiative to enter. Wen Sijiu could not believe that he really wanted to "ask for some tea".

“Deputy Commander Shi, ahead is Chengezhuang. Most of the villagers are from the Chen clan. The head of the village, Chen Taigong, was once a student of the Lu Xue (a government-funded school) and enjoyed the privilege of being exempt from corvée labor. I'm afraid he won't welcome us. Perhaps we should go to another village?”

Before Shishan could answer, Li Wu, who had long been displeased with Sijiu, mocked:
"Or else? Or else my ass! My third brother and I, outsiders, aren't afraid of anything, so what are you, a local, afraid of?!"

“Brother Li, I’m not afraid. I’m doing this for the good of the deputy commander, and also for the sake of the lives of our brothers.”

The soldiers had never intended to fight the Tartars to the death, and upon hearing Wen Sijiu's words, they panicked. Several Ruizi Battalion squad leaders exchanged glances.

Seeing this, Li Wu could easily see that Wen Sijiu was secretly trying to shift the blame and isolate him and his third brother. He knew he was in trouble, but he refused to back down.

"Hmph! You're the one who chickened out, insisting on dragging everyone else into it—"

"All right!"

As soon as Shi Shan spoke, Li Wu immediately shut up.

"Commander Wen is right that he doesn't want to cause any trouble. But I want to ask you brothers, with just our small force, can we really defeat the Tartars and capture two fortified posts by sneaking all the way to Chulan Station?"

The soldiers were a little confused. You were the one who insisted on going out of the city to fight even though you knew there weren't enough men. Now you're the one making excuses and saying you can't win. What do you mean by that?

Wen Sijiu, standing at a higher position, suddenly seemed to realize something and looked at Shishan with a puzzled expression.

"You wouldn't be thinking of borrowing troops from Chengezhuang, would you?"

"Borrowing soldiers" is not what it sounds like literally; it refers to the forced conscription of soldiers.

To put it more politely, it's called conscription;

If it's not respectable, then it's about taking advantage of young and strong people.

At the beginning of the uprising, in order to quickly expand their ranks, killing wealthy households, distributing grain, and coercing able-bodied men was a common practice.

However, coercion is a skill, and it depends on the relative strength of the coercing and the coerced.

After all, everyone has a sense of justice. No matter how hard life is for ordinary people, they can still barely survive. Why would they let you burn down their own house and then do business with you that could cost them their lives?
Moreover, Shishan only had a small team of less than thirty people, lacking armor and weapons, and their morale was not united. How could they dare to coerce nearly a thousand people of the same surname and clan in Chengezhuang?
"No!"

Shishan understood the impact of morale on combat effectiveness. Although recruiting able-bodied men could quickly expand the ranks, such a rabble, no matter how large in number, would have little fighting power.

"We won't borrow troops, we'll recruit them!"

(End of this chapter)