Sweep Yuan

Chapter 103 Reorganization: First, Secure the Rear Area

"Yu!"

Li Wu led his cavalry in pursuit of the enemy for dozens of miles. The government troops all fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons. Unexpectedly, they were now blocked by a local militia force of nearly a thousand men.

Despite their panic at the sight of the charging warhorses, the disheveled villagers managed to maintain their formation under the shouts of their leaders.

However, cavalry rarely charge into infantry, especially light cavalry.

The cold wind howled, and these local militia could not hold out for long. Sooner or later they would have to move, and once they moved, their formation would break apart, leaving them to be mercilessly slaughtered by the cavalry.

The only concern is that if we hold these people back, we'll have to abandon the government troops who are more valuable to pursue.

As Li Wuzheng hesitated, the enemy formation slowly opened up, and a tall man led three large carts to the front of the formation.

"May I ask the name of the righteous army general? We are salt workers from Huaidong, and our name is Tian Feng. We came to Wuhe with the government army this time only to make money. Could you do us a favor and let us go? We hope to meet again in the future."

The cavalry appeared to be in high spirits, but after more than half a month of marching and bloody battles, they were exhausted and could only chase after the fleeing enemy. If they were to actually fight the enemy, the losses would certainly be great.

Exchanging elite cavalry for poorly armored salt workers is a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.

Li Wu gripped the reins tightly, his face stern, and replied:

"Li Wu of the Red Flag Battalion!"

The tone was stiff, but the fact that he was willing to engage in conversation instead of harassing her with his horse showed goodwill.

"General Li's noble character will be forever etched in my heart. We will meet again someday!"

After paying his respects, Tian Feng left the cart behind and decisively retreated into the formation, leading his salt workers in a slow retreat.

Li Wu ordered his men to inspect the carts, and found that they were full of grain, supplies, and valuables, so he decided not to pursue them.

The vanguard of the Sizhou government army was killed in a battle outside Wudu Village. The people in the city were in a panic. While urgently sending messengers to ask for help, they worked day and night to build city defenses in preparation for the upcoming siege by the enemy army.

Unexpectedly, the situation changed dramatically within a few days.

First, the rebel army launched a large-scale attack. Their scouts arrived at the city of Sizhou, and the main force was less than thirty miles away from the city. However, they suddenly retreated. The defending army suspected that it was a trap set by the rebel army to lure them in, and dared not pursue them rashly.

A day later, Tian Feng led a thousand salt workers to Sizhou.

Another day later, Shenbao sent someone to deliver intelligence: the main force of the rebel army was attacking Sizhou, while a detachment was attacking Wuhe. The road to Hongxian had been cut off by the government army, and both rebel forces would have to hastily return. It was suggested that the government army in Sizhou take advantage of the situation to pursue them.

The main force of the rebel army had already fled far away and could not be pursued. Only the detachment of the rebel army from Wuhe was worth a try.

The garrison commander of Sizhou, eager for merit, mustered three thousand troops that very day and marched westward along the Huai River.

On the way, they learned that Wuhe had fallen and that the number of rebels was "boundless". The government troops dared not confront the rebels' sharp edge and remained stationary for three whole days.

Three days later, scouts discovered that most of the rebel army had retreated to Hong County, leaving only a thousand men to defend Wuhe.

The Yuan general, emboldened by his newfound courage, feared he might miss the easy victory. He immediately dispatched his vanguard to rush to the walls of Wuhe City, determined to hold off the enemy forces until they arrived with their main force. Then he would immediately attack the city and recapture Wuhe.

When Shi Shan led his army back to Wuhe and crossed the Hui River to the south, the vanguard of the government army was challenging them to battle outside the city. Upon learning that the main force of the Red Flag Battalion had arrived, they hastily withdrew their troops.

How could Sun Xun let the Tartars escape right under his nose? He immediately opened the city gates and pursued the fleeing enemy.

The city was bordered by water on the east and north sides, and the government troops were only deployed on the south side. When Han Cheng came out of the east gate and rushed to the dock to seize the government troops' warships that had not left the port in time, the battle was basically over.

Of the thousand vanguard troops of the Sizhou government army, more than a hundred were killed in battle, and nearly a hundred escaped by boat; the rest were captured.

Although Shishan had decided on the strategy of taking Haozhou to the west, he did not mind weakening the government troops in Sizhou even more. Before the main army crossed the Huai River, he sent Li Wu and Hu Dahai's troops eastward to pursue the defeated soldiers down the Huai River.

In warfare with cold weapons, morale is a mysterious yet very real thing.

During the scouting battles on the way back to Hong County, when the Tatar cavalry were in high spirits, they could still hold their own against the Red Flag Battalion scouts with a score of seven to ten. However, when their morale collapsed, they were chased and beaten by Li Wu.

The government troops in Sizhou were far inferior to the victorious Shenbao troops. Upon learning of the vanguard's defeat, the Yuan general was so frightened that he almost abandoned his army and fled. Fortunately, his subordinates persuaded him to stop and instead offered a large sum of money to salt workers to cover his retreat.

Tian Feng, the leader of the salt smugglers, was a salt smuggler from Huaidong. He already had a large group of desperate men under his command, and the salt smugglers he recruited were also mostly brave and fierce. As expected, he lived up to the Yuan general's high expectations and actually succeeded in "startling the enemy army away".

When Li Wu and Hu Dahai returned to Wuhe with their spoils, Shishan had already begun a new round of military and political reforms.

During this period, the number of people under the control of the Red Flag Battalion increased dramatically, mainly from three sources.

First, there were the people of Hongxian who followed the army south. Their homes were destroyed, and they had no food or shelter to survive the winter. Under the encouragement of Sun Wuben and others, they brought their families to Wuhe for food, totaling nearly two thousand people.

Secondly, as the Red Flag Battalion achieved successive victories and gained fame, more and more people volunteered to join the army. In just two days after the main army returned to Wuhe, more than 500 people had already joined the army.

Third, the total number of government and military prisoners captured in the past few days exceeds one thousand.

After the Red Flag Battalion was formed, it was either fighting or preparing for war. The training was already insufficient. Swallowing so many people whole would definitely cause "indigestion".

Shishan took the opportunity to carry out some military reforms, mainly focusing on four aspects. The first was to upgrade the existing organizational structure.

The cavalry was upgraded to a cavalry battalion, which consisted of five squads equipped with weapons such as bows and crossbows, spears, maces, iron maces, lassos, and spiked clubs, with a total strength of 526 men. The commanding officer was still called the commander.

Due to a shortage of warhorses, the expanded cavalry battalion only had a total of 300 men, and the remaining personnel could only be gradually replenished in the future.

The infantry units were classified and reordered.

When Chulan was reorganized, Shishan set up six teams as one battalion, which was a simple and unprepared arrangement.

At that time, the team had just been formed, and there was a severe shortage of various equipment and training. The officers were not familiar with flags and drums, and the command of the battle formation mainly relied on shouting. The organization could only be set at such a small size, otherwise there would be trouble.

After such a long period of training, especially after numerous combat experiences, officers at all levels have grown rapidly. In addition, the large amount of equipment captured in these battles has made it possible to upgrade the infantry battalion.

Shishan divided his nine battle camps into two levels, A and B.

The second-class battalion maintained its original personnel size, but some of its weapons were replaced to enhance its offensive and defensive capabilities.

The number of Class A battalions increased from six to ten, including four spearmen, three crossbowmen, two sword and shieldmen, and one unit of special troops armed with hammers, axes, and forks. The spearmen were also equipped with ropes, javelins, throwing axes, and other weapons to adapt to the needs of various combat missions.

The first batch of three battalions were upgraded to Class A battalions, namely:

Battalion A, Commander: Fu Youde;

Second Battalion, Commander: Sun Xun;
The commander of the Third Battalion was Wu Liujin.

The training battalion was equipped with the same equipment as a first-class battalion, but with additional personnel such as messengers, flag bearers, and armorers, bringing the total number of personnel to 560.

There are six Class B battalions in total, namely:

Battalion B1, Commander: Zeng Xing;
Battalion B2, Commander Zhou Twelve;

Battalion B3, Commander Han Cheng;
Battalion B4, Commander: Hu Dahai;

Battalion B5, Commander: Fei Ju;
The Sixth Battalion, Commander Geng Zaicheng.

Second, establish combat training camps.

The combat training battalion is currently primarily responsible for training new recruits, with the task of rotating training within the battalion to be expanded in the future. It is currently staffed with 180 people to "train new and veteran soldiers," and the commander is Liang Zhongyi.

Newly recruited soldiers must undergo training in the combat training camp before becoming supplementary soldiers, ready to replenish the losses of the combat camp at any time.

Due to the frequent fighting, the training cycle of the combat training camp is temporarily set at half a month. After the war situation stabilizes, the training time will be extended. The supplementary soldiers are temporarily required to be familiar with the formation and the flag and drum signals at the squad level. Training with long spears and swords and shields will be organized as appropriate.

It should be noted that archers and crossbowmen and special troops are "technical troops". Except for a very few exceptionally talented individuals, they cannot be trained effectively in ten days or half a month. Their recruitment mainly relies on prisoners and those who join the army with skills.

Third, the functions of the supply battalion were separated to form a combat support battalion.

The commander of the Zhanbao Battalion was Wen Sijiu, who was in charge of tasks such as the manufacture and maintenance of armor and weapons, the issuance of production quotas for military supplies, and preparation.

His duties at the Veterans Affairs Society were temporarily taken over by Shi Shan, with assistance from Shao Zhao, Sun Wuben, and others.

The Veterans' Association was established not long ago, and its main businesses, such as sewing military uniforms, forging weapons, and processing military rations, actually operate independently. The management is still relatively simple, and it will take time to effectively integrate them.

After returning to Wuhe, Shishan had a frank talk with Wen Sijiu, making it clear that he planned to break away from Xuzhou and establish his own independent entity. He asked Wen Sijiu to choose which way to go, and said that if he returned to Xuzhou, he would prepare wine to send him off, and if he wanted to stay, he would continue to entrust him with important responsibilities.

Perhaps out of utter disappointment with the performance of the Xuzhou leadership, or perhaps wanting to maintain a bond so that the two armies could continue to cooperate in the future, Wen Sijiu agreed to continue serving Shishan without much hesitation.

The difference between the duties of the combat support battalion and the supply battalion is that the combat support battalion is in charge of manufacturing, while the supply battalion is in charge of using, in order to avoid the problems arising from over-concentration of functions.

The reorganized Red Flag Battalion consisted of three Class A battalions, six Class B battalions, one cavalry battalion, one training battalion, one combat training battalion, one supply battalion, and one combat support battalion, totaling more than 4,800 combat soldiers.

A small portion of the able-bodied men who were laid off during this reorganization were reassigned to the supply battalion to meet the logistical needs of the expanded force.

The remaining majority will be used for city defense for the time being, and will be converted into civilian settlements after the spring.

In the past few days, besides being busy with military affairs, Shi Shan, along with Fang Zhongwen, Chen Cheng, and others, has also made initial progress in streamlining the administration of Wuhe.

As a "bridgehead," in the foreseeable future, the half-large county east of the Five Rivers, close to Linhuai (the seat of Sizhou), will be completely destroyed in repeated campaigns by government troops. The people here will either flee or be wiped out by government troops.

However, the area west of Wuhe City was under the actual control of the Red Flag Camp. Even though there was grain transported from the Huai River that could be used for military purposes, a large amount of cultivated land could not be abandoned and had to be planted.

The people who did not flee were comforted and appeased, while the land of the landlords who fled or whose families were exterminated was confiscated and used as civilian settlements.

Before the battle, Pu Daoren, who had been sent to Haozhou, had already sent people back to the city to report the situation. The army was about to set off, and once Haozhou fell, Wuhe would become the "rear area" that the Red Flag Battalion had to secure.

The Wuhe River basin was severely flooded, and the agricultural base was weak. Shishan did not expect these settlements to produce large quantities of grain to supply the army for its campaigns.

This move was mainly to reassure the people, to clearly inform the people under its jurisdiction that the Red Flag Battalion was not a rebel that only caused destruction, nor would it cause trouble in Wuhe and then run away, but rather a righteous army willing to give the people a way to live.

(End of this chapter)