Sweep Yuan

Chapter 27 To Retain Talent

Having learned from the chaos in Huxi Village, Shishan clearly defined the tasks of each department and the order of entry before entering the station.

Deng Li was in charge of clearing the battlefield outside the station, Tian Changcai and Wen Sijiu were in charge of guarding the prisoners of war, Chang Tietou drove the station residents from house to house to gather at the large threshing ground, and Li Wu led his men to take over the Chiguan Hall and warehouse of Chulan Station.

Tong Si'er assisted Chen Cheng in sealing up the warehouse, counting the spoils of war, and registering them.

Sun Xun had learned the art of bone setting and trauma treatment in his early years, and was responsible for directing the army doctor (who was actually a half-baked veterinarian) to boil water to disinfect gauze and knives.

Although the previous battle was short and of limited intensity, it resulted in more than fifty casualties on both sides (nearly half of whom were caused by being crushed and trampled at the gate).

Ishiyama was well aware of the absurdly low survival rate of combat wounded soldiers at the time, so he did not expect to save all the wounded. This move was to use the wounded prisoners as practice to gradually develop a combat wound treatment system that was ahead of its time.

However, the Red Turban Army's immediate cessation of killing and active treatment of wounded enemy soldiers as soon as they laid down their weapons and surrendered still deeply impressed the captured soldiers.

Despite the lack of anesthesia, the wounded soldier, biting on a tree branch, was still being tormented by Sun Xun and the veterinarian, causing him to groan in pain. However, everyone could still tell whether the Red Turban Army medic was saving lives or killing people.

Therefore, when Shishan arrived at the high platform in the center of the large field and delivered a speech to his soldiers and prisoners, the prisoners, who were originally uneasy, actually had some expectations.

"Three months ago, Marshal Liu raised an army in Yingzhou and attacked cities and strongholds all the way. The imperial court hastily mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to surround and intercept him, but they could not hurt Marshal Liu at all. Instead, Marshal Liu became stronger and stronger with each battle."

Half a month ago, Marshal Li raised troops in Xiao County again. The government troops in Xuzhou City, several times larger than the city's own, were so frightened that they closed the city gates and did not come out. Instead, our Red Turban Army took the city lightly under cover of night.

To this day, the imperial court has not sent a single soldier to conquer them.

What does this mean?
This means the Yuan Dynasty is finished!
This means the world is about to change!
This means it's time for us Han Chinese to rule the world again!

Station guards, who escorted goods to various places year-round, had a much broader perspective than ordinary farmers, despite not having much formal education. They were also more aware of the corrupt officialdom and the people's suffering in the Yuan Dynasty.

Some of them had already vaguely guessed that the Yuan Dynasty was not normal and that the Mongols would lose the country sooner or later, but they just couldn't believe that the Yuan Dynasty was facing a crisis of destruction so quickly.

Ishiyama's words were just a conventional rhetorical tactic, but because they "accurately predicted" the "general trend of the world" that the station residents could see, they resonated more with these people.

"Our Red Turban Army was established specifically to build a bright world, to overthrow this utterly corrupt Yuan Dynasty. But overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty cannot be done with just our small numbers; we need more people, and we need—you!"

No sooner had Shishan finished speaking than one of the prisoners came to his senses and mustered his courage to ask:
"My lord, do you really want us?"

Ishiyama nodded approvingly at the prisoner who had asked the question and replied:

"Yes! Why wouldn't I want it?"

The world belongs to all people. The Mongol Tartars took advantage of the century of war between the Jin and Song dynasties, when the country was weak, to seize this world. However, they did not know how to cherish it and treated all people as slaves, cattle, and horses, wantonly humiliating and plundering them. It should have been overthrown long ago!

But if we cannot get everyone in the world, including you, to stand up and rebel against the Tartars, how can we possibly return the world to the people relying solely on the White Lotus Sect and the Red Turban Army?

Wen Sijiu stood in the crowd, her feelings extremely complicated.

In the previous battle, the Red Cavalrymen fired arrows in a panic. By sheer coincidence, one arrow came straight at Wen Sijiu's temple. If Shishan hadn't blocked it, he would most likely be dead.

Swords and spears have no eyes, and it is common for disliked military supervisors to die on the battlefield. It would be normal for Shishan to deliberately kill him, but he saved his life at the critical moment.

Hearing Shi Shan's words, Wen Sijiu vaguely felt that it was inappropriate to put the White Lotus Sect, the Red Turban Army, and the people of the world together, but he did not want to think about it any further.

The prisoners below the stage, however, were oblivious to Si Jiu's many nonsensical thoughts. To them, while being beheaded for a failed rebellion was terrifying, the fact that they could survive a defeat without being killed and devoured by the rebels, and could even join the army to save their own lives and those of their families, was something to be desired.
"My lord, I am willing to follow you in rebellion and kill the Tartars!"

"I would like it too!"

"I——"

Once someone took the lead, the prisoners who didn't want to die all followed suit, kneeling down to express their loyalty, fearing that if they were a step too slow, they would become a negative example and be taken out by the Red Turban Demons—the rebel army—to have their hearts and livers ripped out as a sacrifice to the flag.

It doesn't matter what the White Lotus sect believes in, it doesn't matter what the Red Turban Army does, and it doesn't even matter if the government troops will cut off their heads when they come back.

Right now, the most important thing is to avoid surgery and continue to live.

In this battle, due to a series of mindless actions by the postmaster Wang Baiyin, the battle started inexplicably and ended in a muddled manner. One of the negative consequences was that it caused hardship for the management of Zhan Chi.

The postmaster Wang Zhenye, who died in battle, and the commander Liu Ji'an, who committed suicide, were relieved of their suffering ahead of time. However, the postmaster Wang Baiyin and the three clerks who were still alive had to wait for the righteous army's judgment.

Shishan tied these people up separately and ordered them to kneel in front of the captured lower-class residents. Although he did not explain how he would deal with them next, his intention was quite clear.

Having witnessed the tragic state of Liu Ji'an, Wang Zhenye, and others, Wang Baiyin was even more terrified. Seeing that Shishan had already incited the stationed households to rebel and was about to kill them as a sacrifice to the flag, he hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy.

“My lord, I am a Han Chinese, not a Tartar. I can persuade the Red Army of Fangcun to surrender. I am still useful. I am willing to serve you like a beast of burden.”

Reminded of this, several clerks also cried out for their lives:

"Sir, I am skilled in deed and contract verification, and adept at handling official documents. I am also capable of serving you, sir. Please take me in—"

"My lord, there's me too. I'm skilled in archery and horsemanship, and I can fight for you in battle. Please take me in, my lord."

"big--"

What's most important when conquering the world?

Talent!

These men have a basic understanding of literature and a relatively broad perspective. They are talents that Shishan can use right now. He can even tolerate bandits who are hard to change their ways, so it's not that he can't accept these people joining his cause.

Unfortunately, his rebellion was still in its infancy and he was not yet qualified to embrace all under heaven.

Back then, killing Yang Chaolu in order to survive made Shishan, who had just transmigrated, hesitate a bit;

The day before yesterday, he ruthlessly dealt with Hu Pingren's family, which was his decisive abandonment of the few remaining views on good and evil of later generations.

At this moment, facing the cowardly officials who feared death, Shi Shan's heart had become cold and hard enough that he only cared about gains and losses.

Shi Shan thought to himself, "It's a pity that I need to borrow your heads today to forge the fighting spirit of the station guards." He then looked past the station guards who were kowtowing and begging for mercy and looked at the group of low-level station guards behind them who had expressed their support.

"It's up to you whether you want to keep them or not."

(End of this chapter)