Sweep Yuan

Chapter 51 What's the point of winning public support?

On the same day that Han Si led his men to withdraw from the siege of Chulan, the allied forces of Xue and Shi had already arrived at the west of Lingbi County.

Xue Xian dispatched several cavalry squads to control the roads along the way, trying to delay the news of the troop's movement from leaking out.

Having witnessed the Red Turban Army's bloody methods of "requisitioning grain," Shi Shan, who was previously powerless to do anything about it, could no longer tolerate it in this joint operation between the two units.

The day before the expedition, he discussed the matter with Xue Xian and offered three suggestions.

First, grain requisition should only target wealthy households with plenty of money and grain in each village. Small households struggling to survive will not yield much profit and will remain the main targets of conscription. We should not push them to the opposite side of the Red Turban Army.

Secondly, the villagers' houses must not be burned after entering the village, because smoke from fire travels very far in the plains and would expose the team's whereabouts in advance.

Shishan's real concern was that the world was in chaos, and that bloodshed and flames would ignite the destructive desires hidden in people's hearts. Wherever they went, they would kill and set fires, and the participants would be transformed into bloodthirsty beasts, inevitably leading to the deterioration of military discipline.

Third, all able-bodied men from the villages and communities along the way were taken away to eliminate unstable factors in the rear. However, a promise had to be made beforehand that those who were willing to join the army would be given money and food to settle down on the spot, while those who were unwilling to join the army would be given 50 catties of food each after the city was captured, in order to reassure them.

Xue Xian readily agreed to the first two conditions, but hesitated quite a bit about the third.

Originally, according to the usual practice of rebellion, burning and killing along the way would gather a large number of young men and plunder a lot of money and food. When have we ever heard of the Latins being given money and food after rebelling?
Shishan, however, insisted on his own opinion and advised, "Our journey to Hong County is fraught with uncertainty. Lingbi County is our rear base and must not be lost. If you want to establish a foothold in Lingbi, you must win the hearts of the local people."

Xue Xian had little interest in the "local sentiment" of the people, but he was clear about the importance of stability in Lingbi County. Since the autumn harvest had just begun and the area was not short of food, he accepted Shi Shan's proposal.

The harassment of the people along the way was reduced, and the troops were able to concentrate on marching, so the journey was quite smooth.

Even so, the journey of about 140 li still took five days.

When the convoy reached the west of Lingbi County, it was just approaching dusk.

The soldiers, who had hurriedly climbed the dilapidated city wall, squinted against the light and saw that the rebel army stretched to the horizon, with numerous small boats faintly visible on the distant Bian River, creating an extremely frightening sight.

The garrison was terrified, and some of them immediately took advantage of the officials' inattention to slip down the city wall and escape back home.

Xue Xianneng was entrusted with an important task by Zhao Junyong. He was no fool. Seeing the chaos on the city wall from afar, he knew that the morale of the defending troops was low. He then decided to reorganize his troops and take the city in one fell swoop.

Lingbi has no moat, and there are many houses outside the city. With the cover of these houses, it is easy to get close to the city wall. With the help of simple equipment such as ladders and tables, it is not difficult to climb the dilapidated and low Lingbi city wall.

As dusk approached, Shi Shan worried that the Red Turban Army, whose discipline was already poor, would burn, kill, and loot under the cover of night once they entered the city, and he would have a headache dealing with how to clean up the mess. So he suggested that Liang Zhongyi be sent to persuade them to surrender first.

Although Xue Xian had heard Zhao Junyong say things like "attacking the city is inferior, attacking the mind is superior," he preferred the brutal, life-or-death struggle—how could he wantonly kill and plunder wealth and women without attacking the city?
However, no matter how dilapidated the Lingbi city wall was, it was not something that his men could take down with their bare hands. They needed to prepare some siege equipment first.

Also wanting to see Shishan's methods, Xue Xian agreed to persuade Liang Zhongyi to surrender, thinking it was just to put psychological pressure on the defending troops before the battle, but only gave Liang Zhongyi the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Meanwhile, he continued to reorganize his troops and prepare for the siege, waiting for the opportune moment to launch the attack.

After surrendering, Liang Zhongyi not only honestly confessed all the intelligence he knew, but also, at Shishan's request, explained in detail how to use flags and drums for command and some military techniques. These included things like, "When setting up a camp, first count the number of people, how many layers of camp to arrange, how much land to allocate, and ensure that there is room between squads; it's better to have extra squads than fewer squads," and "Each squad should have five tents, with a five-step interval between tents; when facing the enemy, or in narrow spaces, the interval should be four steps between tents."

To be honest, Liang Zhongyi was competent at commanding troops, but his theoretical knowledge was only so-so.

However, the theories summarized by these soldiers throughout history, even if they are just fragments, are far superior to those that Shishan slowly figured out by trial and error.

Before squeezing every last drop of value out of Liang Zhongyi, Shishan was naturally reluctant to let anything happen to him. Therefore, he specially arranged for Fu Youde to escort him, and specifically instructed him not to get too close, lest he be shot by the guards.

As it turns out, Shishan was overthinking it.

The city wall of Lingbi County is only about ten feet high, made of rammed earth and half bricks, without gate towers or crenellations. Due to years of disrepair, there are two gaps in the wall. Although it was reinforced after learning that Suzhou was besieged, its defensive capabilities are still very weak.

The garrison consisted of only three hundred archers recruited recently. They were already terrified by the strength of the Red Turban Army, and their morale plummeted when they saw that even a high-ranking official like Liang Zhongyi had defected to the enemy.

Upon learning the news, the magistrate of Lingbi County, Darughachi, secretly opened the east gate and fled with his family.

The city was leaderless and immediately descended into chaos.

County Lieutenant Liu Qingsong went up the city wall to suppress the unrest, but was instead controlled by the clamoring soldiers. Seeing that things were not going well, the Registrar fled the city alone. County Magistrate Yan Li dared not escape. Before he died, he set fire to the city, burning himself and all the books and records in the yamen.

The only remaining official, who could not escape and did not want to die, had no choice but to bind himself and leave the city to surrender to the Red Turban Army.

Xue Xian personally beheaded Liu, the county magistrate, and hung his head under the neck of his horse. Ignoring Shi Shan's strong objections, he tied the clerk to the back of the horse and dragged him into the city with disheveled hair to be watched by the people.

"Hahaha, Brother Shi, your strategy is truly brilliant! You've captured a city without losing a single soldier!"

Riding his tall horse, Xue Xian occasionally tugged at the ropes binding the corrupt official. In high spirits, he immediately began to chat with Shi Shan about strategies for conquering Hong County.

"The government troops are all cowards. How about we take a short rest and then send troops to capture Hong County again?"

Huai'an Road is located southeast of Xuzhou Road. In addition to the busy canal, there are also salt fields and seaports within its territory. It is an important financial center and a vital transportation route for the Yuan Dynasty. Both officials and civilians have sufficient motivation to suppress the Red Turban Army.

For the local officials of the Yuan Dynasty, who preferred to avoid trouble, it didn't matter if they were passive in dealing with the enemy when they were outside their jurisdiction. But when the Red Turban Army came knocking on their door, they could no longer remain indifferent.

Perhaps this was the real intention behind Peng Erlang and Zhao Junyong's arrangement for Shishan to follow Xue Xian eastward—to have this hothead block the Yuan army in Huai'an for the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou, so that Peng and Zhao could continue to conquer cities and territories.

Shi Shan had little confidence in the integrity of his two superiors. He was determined to attack Hong County, but the prerequisite was to secure his retreat first.

"General, Lingbi County was forced to surrender because our army captured both the county seat and the prefectural seat, and reinforcements were cut off. The soldiers and civilians had no confidence to defend the county, so we had to deal with the situation. Hong County is in another region. Even if we take the city, we will still have to deal with the counterattack of the government troops in Huai'an."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Continue—"

(End of this chapter)