Sweep Yuan

Chapter 57: Will Hongxian be persuaded to surrender?

In recent days, refugees from Lingbi and Suining have flocked to Hong County, bringing news that the bandit army is expanding rapidly.

Although the situation is critical, a city lockdown is out of the question.

The daily necessities of officials and civilians in the city are mainly transported from outside the city. Closing the city too early will only deplete the limited reserves and weaken the city's defensive potential.

Before dawn, wealthy families began leading their clansmen to the city gates.

Given the tense situation, even though they knew the city gates wouldn't open well past Chenshi (7-9 AM), these wealthy families dared not make a fuss. They simply kept urging the gatekeeper when the gates would open.

After finally waiting for the city gate to open, they questioned and let in two groups of people, when they heard the soldiers on duty on the city wall scream in alarm.

"Red, the Red Turban rebels are here! Quick, close the city gates!"

"Ah! Don't close it, I haven't come in yet!"

"Don't push me! Ouch—ah—"

It was clear that military preparedness had been neglected. Just a few scouts from the "Red Heart Battalion" appearing on the distant official road caused chaos in Hong County, with more than a dozen people injured in the pushing and shoving at the city gate.

To be fair, compared to Lingbi County, which surrendered at the first sign of persuasion, Hong County was much better equipped with military force.

Upon learning of the fall of Xuzhou, Cao Shixian, the magistrate of Hong County, with the support of Lin Chihudu, the supervising county magistrate, reported the incident to the authorities while mobilizing local wealthy households to donate money and grain to recruit archers.

The day before yesterday, rumors were rampant in the city. The magistrate of Cao County decisively ordered the expulsion of refugees and the strengthening of patrols, which caused Gong Wu, Tong Si'er and others to fail in their plan to set fire to the city while the army was attacking.

Today, the guards discovered that Red Turban Army scouts were approaching, so they quickly dispersed the people and closed the city gates.

When Shishan led his large army into the west of the city, the county magistrate of Hong County had already led some archers to the city walls to defend against the enemy.

If Lingbi County had been on such high alert, it wouldn't have surrendered so easily after Liang Zhongyi's persuasion.

However, as the enemy changes, so do we.

Although the size of the "Red Heart Battalion" was only comparable to that of the Xue-Shi allied forces when they set off from Suzhou, and the rate of iron weapon equipment was even lower than that of the original allied forces, it had the advantage of uniform style. After simple training, the army formation could be quite deceiving from a distance.

Shishan simply ordered each battalion to form ranks by squad, which put immense psychological pressure on the defenders on the city walls.

After observing the defenses of Hong County from afar, Shi Shan judged that the garrison was too small and would not dare to launch a counterattack. So he led some officers out to scout the enemy situation and arranged for a cavalry unit to follow and protect them.

The open-air market outside the city wall was a mess, with trampled baskets, overturned carts, and chicken feathers and vegetable leaves scattered everywhere. Some houses had their doors wide open, and tables and chairs were overturned inside.

Several thatched huts were still emitting thick smoke, likely because the owners fled in haste and failed to extinguish the fires in their stoves.

Fortunately, most of these houses were dilapidated and small. Demolishing the houses around the fire would prevent the fire from spreading, so there was no need to worry about the fire continuing and affecting the subsequent siege.

On the city wall, the militiamen guarding the city, dressed in tattered clothes, mostly had only a sharpened wooden stick in their hands. Their morale was already low, and they were even more panicked when they saw that the Red Turban Army outside the city had the leisure to put out the fire.

The city wall of Hongxian is in better condition than that of Lingbi, with the city gate tower and most of the brickwork still intact, but that's about it.

Over the years, the rammed earth city walls have suffered considerable damage from wind and rain. Gong Wu and Tong Si'er had previously infiltrated the city and discovered two gaps and a hole, and even drew a sketch of the breach.

The garrison made some simple repairs, but due to time constraints, the work was not yet completed and they were currently filling it with sandbags and other materials.

Seeing that the defense of Hong County was as Gong Wu had predicted, Chang Tietou and the others following Shi Shan could hardly contain their joy.

Sun Xun, the most senior and recently promoted to commander, considered himself Shi Qianhu's top henchman besides Li Wu, and was the first to volunteer for battle. "I see that the walls of Hong County are as dilapidated as those of Lingbi County, so it shouldn't be too difficult to take. Qianhu, should we still send Liang Zhongyi to persuade them to surrender?"

"What, are you afraid Liang Zhongyi will steal your credit?"

Sun Xun, having his little scheme exposed by Shi Shan's words, didn't mince words and replied:

“Liang Zhongyi is stationed in Suzhou, so his reputation in Huai’an Road is probably not very effective. Besides, we have the trust of the commander, and we haven’t really fought a battle with the Tartars since we took command. This Hong County is a good opportunity to test our skills.”

Shi Shan surveyed the generals, and Chang Tietou, Wu Liujin, and others were all eager to try.

These people were originally either guards, bandits, farmers, or station servants, all from the lowest rungs of society. They were promoted to high positions by Shishan because they were eager to make a name for themselves. You don't need to ask what they were thinking.

Shi Shan looked at the silent Shao Rong and asked:
"Commander Shao, what's your opinion?"

The archers from Lingbi are the most independent and have only been with the group for a short time. Shao Rong has not yet integrated into the "Red Heart Battalion" officer circle and needs military merits to prove his loyalty.

"If we are to attack the city, the temporary battalion is willing to be the first to charge."

Shi Shan nodded, not expecting Shao Rongzhen to be the first to ascend, but that it was good that he had the awareness. He then looked at Fu Youde.

"Captain Fu, what are your thoughts?"

Apart from Fu Youde, all the officers who went out to scout the enemy were commanders.

Shishan's reason was that Fu Youde was an excellent archer and he needed Fu Youde to assist the cavalry in protecting the safety of the generals, but anyone with discerning eyes could see that the commander valued him highly.

Fu Youde lived up to Shishan's expectations, not only working diligently in training troops but also thinking hard during military discussions.

"This subordinate agrees with Commander Sun's opinion. Our army is newly established and its combat strength is weak. There is no time for slow training. Only through repeated bloody battles can we quickly hone our elite troops."

These words not only pointed out the shortcomings of the "Red Heart Battalion" but also provided a way to break the deadlock. They were a step further than Sun Xun, who was eager to kill the enemy and make merit. Even Chang Tietou, who did not get along with Fu Youde in the past, subconsciously nodded after hearing this.

"Very good! Hong County must be taken by force."

With opinions largely agreed upon, Shi Shan stopped being secretive and decided to launch a full-scale attack on Hong County, emphasizing:

"The reason is not only to temper the soldiers' fighting spirit, but also because Hong County is not like Lingbi, which is located in the rear. After we take this city, we will not have time to slowly win back the hearts of the people. We cannot destroy the will of the soldiers and civilians in the city to resist without taking it by force."

Therefore, this offensive must be fierce to avoid protracted fighting and attracting reinforcements from Huai'an Road. The faster we capture Hong County and establish a foothold, the sooner we can reorganize our troops and continue our conquests.

The Red Turban Army in Xuzhou is expanding rapidly. The number of soldiers and the amount of land they can occupy depend entirely on the abilities of each unit. Considering that the army is sweeping through Huai'an Road, each of them will have the opportunity to command thousands of troops, and the generals are all somewhat excited.

Only Chang Tietou understood the risks of attacking the city and raised his own concerns.

"That's good, but forcing my son to lead the soldiers in a desperate siege will likely result in heavy casualties."

Shi Shan knew why Chang Tie Tou had become conservative, but he didn't point it out.

"Old Chang's words are wise, so we must make sure we are fully equipped before attacking the city."

The city wall of Hongxian was only a little over two zhang high, with no moat or ramparts outside and no barbican inside. Originally, there were only fifty archers from the Bureau of Bandit Suppression in the city. After the fall of Xuzhou, some more were recruited, so the total number should be less than five hundred.

But even such a poorly defended city was not one that the "Hearts" could conquer with their bare hands.

(End of this chapter)