Sweep Yuan

Chapter 74 On the Strategies of Friendship in Defending the City

Runing Prefecture is the later Runan County, which is thousands of miles away from Xuzhou. It was the main area of ​​activity for Liu Futong's Red Turban Army. This information has some value, but Shishan is more concerned with the specific details.

"Who is leading the troops? Where are the reinforcements going? How many troops have been added?"

How could Zhou Wendao possibly discover such military secrets? He could only shake his head awkwardly and honestly reply:

"I heard it's a prime minister leading the troops, but I don't know anything else."

"It really is just a rumor!" Shi Shan was immediately displeased.

"If all you know is this worthless information, then don't waste our time."

"Please wait a moment, Commander, allow me to think about it some more."

Zhou Wendao was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. He dared not hold back any longer and blurted out all the information he knew.

"I heard that there's also a Red Turban Rebellion in Qizhou, and Huai'an Road is recruiting salt workers' sons as salt laborers. It's quite a commotion. Uh—and also, and also, the Yellow River dike is about to be closed after it breaches."

The first message is outdated, but the latter two are quite valuable.

Shi Shan never expected the Yuan court to be so reliable (not sarcastically). Even though the Henan-Jiangbei province was in such a mess, it still didn't forget about river management. No wonder the Xuzhou Circuit caused such a big commotion, but the Yuan court didn't react for a long time.

However, his good days are coming to an end.

The recruitment of salt workers by Huai'an Road at this time was clearly aimed at the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou, and his unit was the first to be targeted.

“We can cooperate, but my army doesn’t accept paper money. With war raging, carrying too many copper coins on the road can easily lead to trouble. Do you have any connections to get medicinal herbs, preferably sulfur, saltpeter, and alum, as well as armor?”

The Yuan Dynasty had a strong commercial atmosphere, and there were many people in the army who traded military equipment. Liang Zhongyi had done this before, but unfortunately, his connections had been cut off in Suzhou, so he was no longer needed.

"The medicinal materials are not a big problem, but the sulfur, saltpeter, and alum are strictly controlled, with a maximum of a hundred or so catties at a time. Armor and bows and arrows are really difficult to obtain, but we can get a few dozen sets of swords and spears."

These supplies are better than nothing, but Hong County has no iron mines. If they want to expand their army and prepare for war, they can only accumulate supplies little by little through various means. Shishan will not mind.

"Row!"

After leaving the East Market and returning to the military camp at Shishan, he reviewed the lists of meritorious service reports submitted by each battalion and then convened a meeting of his generals.

The first item on the agenda was announcing the rewards for each unit's contributions in the siege.

The "Red Heart Battalion" now has more than 2,000 combat soldiers (not counting Li Wu's troops who are still on their way). It would be unrealistic for Ishiyama Kenji to take sole charge and manage everything from start to finish, and it would also affect the enthusiasm of the officers.

Last night's summary meeting discussed and approved the ranking of each unit's combat achievements. Subsequently, each unit independently determined its own list of merits and rewards, which was then submitted to Shishan for approval. The final list of merits and rewards was only slightly adjusted, and it was essentially just a formality.

Of course, Shishan himself still needs to preside over the reward distribution ceremony after the meeting.

The second item on the agenda was to announce a new military reorganization plan, with the following specific adjustments:
1. Shi Shan will no longer serve concurrently as the commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion; Zeng Xing will take over this position.

Second, the provisional battalion was disbanded, and the newly formed 7th and 8th Infantry Battalions were established, with Shao Rong and Fu Youde as their respective commanders.

After taking Hong County, replenishing the manpower was no longer a major problem, but Shishan was now lacking both veteran soldiers and armor. Expanding the ranks would be a waste of money and supplies if they could not be effectively integrated to form a fighting force.

According to "custom," the core members of the new battalion were drawn from the old battalion. However, Shao Rong and Fu Youde each had their own core members. Shi Shan's position gradually became stable. In order to produce combat power as soon as possible, they were allowed to bring some of the original members to form a new battalion.

Third, a training battalion will be established, primarily responsible for two tasks: guarding Shishan's personal guard and training officers. The commander will be Gong Wu, and the deputy commander will be Liang Zhongyi. The tentatively set size is two hundred men. Liang Zhongyi, a surrendered officer of a thousand men, has decent professional skills, but his loyalty is questionable. However, all the generals under Shishan are temporary outsiders; even bandits can serve as commanders, so one more surrendered officer as deputy commander won't make a difference.

The equipment of the local militia was mainly raised by Deng Shunxing himself and was not included in the "Red Heart Battalion" sequence. Shi Shan simply reported it together with the absorption of Bu Ciyuan into the supply battalion, which did not cause an excessive reaction from his subordinates.

The third topic was the defense strategy for Hongxian County, which led to disagreements among the generals.

Looking at the simple map that had been drawn recently on the table, Sun Xun was the first to express his opinion.

"Wuhe County is only a hundred li away from Hong County, and can be reached by fast horse in a day. Scouts should be sent to closely monitor the enemy's movements."

Chang Tietou believed that offense was better than defense, and he was quite dismissive of Sun Xun's caution, patting his chest and saying:
"I just finished cleaning goods in Wuhe three months ago. There are only a few dozen archers in the city. Let me bring a cavalry team, and I guarantee I'll bring back the head of the Wuhe County Magistrate within three days!"

"You also know it was three months ago?"

Sun Xun increasingly disapproved of Chang Tietou's behavior of being unwilling to fight and only thinking about benefits, and retorted sharply:

"Wuhe is right next to the Huai River, only a hundred li upstream from Haozhou and downstream from Sizhou, making it easier for the government troops to counterattack. Even though the number of troops in Wuhe city has not increased these days, and you managed to take it by trickery, do you think you can hold it?"

"Why should I defend it? I'll just grab some money and food and leave!"

"Are you going to remain a bandit? If you can't alleviate the pressure on Hong County, why take this risk for nothing?"

Shi Shan slammed his hand on the table to stop the two men from arguing, and said:
"Liu Jin, what's your opinion?"

Wu Liujin displayed great prowess in the siege, and despite being bandaged, he was full of energy.

"This humble general believes that we must guard against the Five Rivers, but the threat from Sizhou is greater. Sizhou is the prefecture capital, with a large garrison, and the Tartar officials bear a heavier responsibility in recovering Hong County; furthermore, Sizhou and Hong County are connected by the Bian River, which facilitates the transport of grain and supplies by the government troops."

Zhou Shier, Zeng Xing, and Shao Rong nodded repeatedly at these words, but Fu Youde frowned as he looked at the map.

"Although the cities of Suining and Suqian are tied down by Xuzhou and dare not easily send troops, we must still be on guard. There are also Taoyuan and Qinghe. Although they are far away, it is not impossible for the Tatar officials of Huai'an Road to send troops at the same time if they are determined to wipe us out."

Shi Shan nodded in agreement with Fu Youde's opinion and then asked:
"How do you think we should defend against this?"

"Qingyang Station!"

Qingyang Station is located 100 li east of Hong County. The Bian River flows east through Hong County to Qingyang Station, then turns southeast and reaches Sizhou where it merges with the Huai River.

The map on the table, drawn with Qingyang Station as the center point, actually reveals Shishan's intentions. With Fu Youde's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for him to understand this. The key is how much he can understand it thoroughly.

"Okay, tell me your reasons!"

Fu Youde stepped forward and began gesturing on the map while explaining.

"The six cities of Suining, Suqian, Taoyuan, Qinghe, Sizhou, and Wuhe circle around to the right (i.e., clockwise), connecting the Sui River, the Yellow River, and the Huai River to form a semi-encirclement around Hongxian County. Qingyang stands in the center, guarding the only waterway connecting Hongxian County—the Bian River."

If the government troops control Qingyang Station, they can use the Bian River to quickly transport grain and supplies, thus reducing the scope of our army's activities and enabling a long-term siege of Hong County.

If our army controls Qingyang Station, we can cut off the government troops' supply route via the Bian River, and together with Hongxian, we can form a strategic defensive line, hindering the enemy's movements in all directions.

"very good!"

(End of this chapter)