Sweep Yuan

Chapter 53 The Will of the People Lies in Their Hearts

These archers had at least received some basic training, and their interests were deeply intertwined with those of the local gentry in Lingbi. Simply dismissing them would not only be a waste, but would also sow the seeds of unrest.

The best solution is to break them all up and then integrate them into various battalions to gradually assimilate them.

However, these people had just surrendered and were already terrified. They had little trust in Shishan. Rushing to disperse them would not only fail to improve their overall combat strength, but might also cause chaos due to panic.

Therefore, Shishan had no choice but to organize the Lingbi archers into a battalion called the Provisional Battalion, with Shao Rong as the commander.

Shao Rong is thirty-one years old this year and is the sixth child in his family. He has three older brothers still alive, so he can be considered to have a large family.

This man originally traveled between Huaixi and Huaibei for many years, making a living by trading sheep and horses.

The Ying, Xu, Qi, and Lu regions were in turmoil, and the imperial court levied large-scale conscription of horses and grain, which led to the bankruptcy of the Shao family's business.

When news of the Red Turban Army besieging Suzhou arrived, the people of Lingbi were in turmoil. The county magistrate was worried that the Shao brothers, who had many male members and no property, would take the opportunity to cause trouble, so he assigned Shao Rong and his three brothers, Shao Zhao and Shao Si, to the archer battalion for strict supervision.

Previously, when Liang Zhongyi of Shishan Sect tried to persuade Lingbi County Magistrate to surrender, it was the three Shao brothers who led the commotion on the city wall and captured the magistrate of Lingbi County.

Shao Rong had some prestige among the archers of Lingbi, and he had also tied up the county magistrate, cutting off his own escape route. Making him the commander of the provisional battalion was a way to reassure all parties.

Therefore, including the nearly four hundred able-bodied men already in hand, completing the expansion target within four days should not be a problem.

The provisional battalion is still in its trial period. Although it is short-staffed, it is not advisable to bring in new people now to "mix in the sand".

After the ambush at Huanshui, a new 4th Infantry Battalion was formed, commanded by Sun Xun. Including the original 1st and 2nd Infantry Battalions, there were only three battalion commanders, with more than 1,700 men, which was too bloated.

Taking this opportunity, Shishan newly formed the Fifth and Sixth Infantry Battalions, and the required backbone personnel were drawn from several old battalions. The commanders were Zhou Shier, who came from the Rui Battalion, and Wu Liujin, who came from the Zhan Ding.

In addition to the infantry battalion, he also established a supply battalion and expanded the cavalry.

Tan Youyu, the commander of the supply battalion, and Tan Buwei, who left Huxi Village, were of the same clan, but the two families had a lot of grudges. After Tan Buwei was expelled from the team, Shishan promoted Tan Youyu and others and gradually took control of the young and strong men in Tanyan Village.

Although the cavalry still numbered less than a hundred, they were already a strike force capable of influencing the situation on small battlefields. Huang Quan, the deputy commander who came from a bandit background, had always wanted to advance further and even asked the old leader Chang Tietou to speak on his behalf.

Shishan had already given Chang Tietou the Second Infantry Battalion, whose strength was second only to the First Infantry Battalion, so he naturally wouldn't let his men control the cavalry. He refused Huang Quanxin's request to reorganize the cavalry, citing "Li Wu is coming soon".

In fact, Li Wu was not the most ideal candidate for the cavalry commander in Shi Shan's mind.

For at least a long time, the training and equipment of the cavalry could not compare with the elite cavalry of the government army. It was best to select officers who were exceptionally brave and skilled in combat to make full use of their strengths and ensure that they would not be at a disadvantage in small-scale cavalry battles.

Shishan had a higher opinion of Fu Youde, but unfortunately, he had become a squad leader as soon as he joined the "Red Heart Camp," which had already aroused the dissatisfaction of Chang Tietou, Zhou Shier, Huang Quan and others. It was not appropriate to push him into such a prominent position.

Moreover, Fu Youde has just recruited a group of relatives and fellow villagers in his ancestral home and is intensifying training. He may not be willing to abandon these trustworthy "close friends" and transfer to a cavalry team where he has no roots.

After the formation was finalized, the soldiers were given a hearty meal, including slaughtering pigs and sheep, before the intense training began.

Things like three-person coordinated attacks and formation discipline were handled by veterans training new recruits. Shishan focused primarily on training the use of the golden flag and drums, as well as basic marching and camp-building skills. The unit had grown to over two thousand people, with more than thirty "team"-level units (some exceeding the authorized size). Compared to the initial few hundred people, the difficulty of commanding operations was now incomparable.

On the battlefield, the enemy and our forces are intertwined, clashing and cutting each other, with the sounds of battle deafening. Relying on messengers to pass on combat orders level by level is not only inefficient, but also prone to serious problems such as miscommunication and failure to deliver orders. It is necessary to strengthen the training of the golden flag, drum and bugle.

Four days is not enough to train much, but if the troops want to get rid of their rabble mentality and improve their organization and command, they must lay a solid foundation. Training early is definitely better than training late.

Even so, Shishan was unable to fully devote his energy to the team's training.

The next day at 9:00 AM, Shishan was discussing simplified flag signals with Liang Zhongyi when Xue Xian sent someone to invite him to the county government office for a "meeting".

Snap!

As soon as Shi Shan entered the backyard of the county government office, he saw Xue Xian kick over an embroidered stool and start cursing:

"You ungrateful old dog! Yangba, take some men and see if that old bastard is alive or dead. If he's alive, tie him up and bring him here; if he's dead, damn it, chop up his whole family and feed them to the dogs!"

"Order!"

The centurion named Yangba turned to leave, but Shishan stopped him.

"Wait a minute! Steward, what's going on?"

"What are you still lying on the ground for? Do you think Grandpa will eat you? Get up and pour some tea for my brother Shi!"

Xue Xian angrily berated the trembling maid kneeling on the ground, then waved for Yang Ba to step aside before inviting Shi Shan to sit down.

"It's Liu Xingge from the east of the city. My grandfather respected his good reputation as an official and wanted to promote him to maintain the county's administration. But this old scoundrel actually called us thieves and drove our men back. That old bastard!"

Liu Xingge was a famous figure in Suzhou whom Liang Zhongyi admired. He was said to be skilled in government affairs and honest in his official duties. However, he was ostracized due to the corruption in the officialdom and resigned from his post more than ten years ago to return to his hometown. But by a twist of fate, he escaped the chaos caused by Fan Meng and Huo Bashi.

In order to restore local order as soon as possible, the imperial court had reinstated retired officials several times, including Liu Xingge. However, he only wanted to be a private tutor and refused to be reinstated, which earned him a lot of prestige.

This person is quite similar to Qin Yicheng, a famous scholar from Xuzhou. It is basically impossible to force him to submit through strong means. Moreover, both of them are "face" that the Red Turban Army urgently needs. Regardless of whether they are useful after being summoned, the consequences of killing them in a moment of anger would be very serious.

"Steward, this man is like the Duke of Qin of Xuzhou. Killing him rashly might be detrimental to our foothold in Lingbi."

Xue Xian was merely a general under Zhao Junyong; fighting and killing were his duties. He didn't need to consider the complex issues at Marshal Li's level. Furthermore, he was furious, his eyes wide and his beard bristling as he cursed:
"It's just a sour pig, isn't it? I'm going to kill it anyway. What can a Lingbi person do to me?!"

Even so, Xue Xian's tone was not as harsh as before.

Xue and Shi are currently cooperating well and have a relatively harmonious relationship. Shi Shan sees no need to compete with Xue Xian for the sake of an unrelated outsider, so he offers Xue a way out, suggesting:

"If the steward is angry, why not hand this old man over to me to deal with? What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)