Sweep Yuan

Chapter 31 Talking about war on paper is easy

The next morning, after a hearty meal of rice soaked in meat broth, the group left Chulan and headed straight for Fangcun Station.

Including the newly joined Zhan Ding, Shi Shan's forces numbered nearly nine hundred. For such a large force to march a long distance, it was necessary to divide them into front, rear, left, and right sequences.

The vanguard consisted of thirty cavalrymen, who served as scouts for the entire army and were led by Chang Tietou.

The central army consisted of four hundred "veterans," with most of their weapons made of iron. They were the main force for the assault in this battle, with Shi Shan personally overseeing the operation and Sun Xun, Zhou Shier, Tian Changcai, and others assisting them.

The rear army consisted of "new recruits" converted from soldiers stationed at Chulan Station. They were mainly equipped with bamboo and wooden guns, and their numbers were used to enhance their prestige and to transport supplies. They were commanded by Wen Sijiu and Deng Li.

The remaining troops and the wounded, both lightly and seriously injured, were all handed over to Li Wu to guard Chulan Station.

Around noon, the central army arrived at a point about ten li from Fangcun Station, where a scout from the vanguard returned with the latest intelligence.

"Fangcun, Fangcun—ah—"

The scout was covered in mud and his horse was exhausted, but neither of them had a drop of blood on them. Shi Shan guessed that there was no urgent military situation, and that the scout was just in a hurry, so he gently reassured him:
"Gong Wu, take a break, don't rush, speak slowly."

"Hoo—the corrupt officials of Fangcun hurriedly closed the gate when they saw us. After a while, the gate opened again, and forty or fifty people on horseback came out to chase us. We were outnumbered, so we hid. These people didn't dare to get too close, they just shouted at us from a distance."

The scout rambled on and on, never getting to the point, but Shishan patiently listened to him until the end.

Unfortunately, apart from a very few exceptionally talented individuals, most people living at the bottom of society don't have much knowledge. Being able to remember important matters and express them clearly in a short time is a challenge for most people.

It is unrealistic to expect newly recruited soldiers to convey military intelligence concisely and clearly when given the role of scouts without systematic training. Only through actual, cumulative training and ample practice can elite troops be forged.

"...There were only a few of us, and we didn't dare get too close. We didn't know what was going on inside the station, but we could see boats moving on the Yellow River."

Fangcun Station is right next to the Yellow River, so it's normal to have boats on the river. The real concern is troop transport ships. If the troops from Pizhou on the other side of the Yellow River were to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Red Turban Army at this time, the situation would become complicated.

Thinking of the possible unexpected events, Shishan immediately became serious.

"What kind of boat? How many are there? Which way are they rowing?"

"Commander Chang said it was a sampan, four in total, rowing towards the opposite bank."

The sampan, also called "three planks," originally meant a small boat made of three planks. The boat was not large and could only carry a few people. If four sampans were rowing towards the opposite bank, it would basically rule out the possibility of government troops coming to the rescue from the direction of Pizhou.

"Alright! I'll remember this achievement for now. You take my horse back and tell Old Chang to keep the enemy in suspense and not to fight recklessly!"

"Did that little man go back?"

"Well, let's go."

The gossipy scout Gong Wu changed horses before leaving, and Chen Cheng, who was following behind Shi Shan, came over.

"Deputy Commander, are the enemies from Fang Village trying to escape?"

"Hmm." Shi Shan nodded, acknowledging Chen Cheng's guess.

Chulan and Fangcun stations are not far apart. The former is the main station and the latter is the secondary station. Since the Red Turban Army was able to easily capture Chulan Station, which had more people and stronger defenses, it would only be easier to capture the relatively weaker Fangcun Station.

The upper echelons of Fangcun Station had no will to fight and had long ago secretly hidden ferries to prepare an escape route for themselves.

In yesterday's battle, the Red Turban Cavalry were not completely annihilated. Some of them escaped in the chaos. These defeated soldiers will surely spread the news of the attack on Chulan Station. Fangcun did not send reinforcements, and most likely they would have no reason to stay and fight the Red Turban Army to the death.

Based on the above information, it is not difficult to conclude that the enemy in Fangcun wanted to escape.

Although Chen Cheng had suffered some hardship yesterday, he had successfully persuaded Shi Shan and felt he had grasped a bit of the deputy commander's temperament. Now in high spirits, seeing that Shi Shan had confirmed his judgment, he added:
"In that case, why don't we speed up our march and pursue the enemy while they are fleeing? We're sure to achieve a great victory!"

What Chen Cheng was really concerned about was not the escaped Fangcun Station management, but the supplies inside the station. He was in charge of counting the spoils yesterday, and he knew best that a quick victory was the only way to seize more spoils.

Shishan naturally wanted to take advantage of the situation, but after a moment's thought, he shook his head and rejected Chen Cheng's suggestion.

"No good! The corrupt official has already prepared boats for our escape. We are still ten miles away from Fangcun. The Tartars are determined to escape, and even if our soldiers had two more legs, they wouldn't be able to catch up."

As for the valuables inside the station, take as much as you can. Don't be too greedy. If you really push these corrupt officials too far, they'll set fire to the station before they flee, leaving nothing for us.

Another issue is that our team has been formed for too short a time and has been severely undertrained. Look how slowly we are walking, stopping every five li and then stopping every ten li. It's all very disorganized. If we were to run ten li in one go, I'm afraid most of us would break up before we even reach the halfway point.

If Fangcun has someone knowledgeable in military affairs, they could feign weakness to trap us, then launch a counterattack while our formation is scattered and our strength is low. Do you think we could do better than that Wang Baiyan?

Before Shi Shan could finish speaking, Chen Cheng's face turned deathly pale. He recalled the scene of being ambushed, scattering and fleeing with his clansmen, and falling one after another in the pursuit of the enemy. He felt his hands and feet go cold and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"I have been reckless. Please punish me, Deputy Commander!"

Chen Cheng has offered suggestions and advice on several occasions in the past few days. Regardless of his motives, his work attitude is still very positive. Although he lacks experience in administrative affairs and his ideas are not very brilliant, he only has a few capable people under him, so we should focus on encouraging him.

“I heard the Confucian master from my hometown say that every inch has its strengths and weaknesses. I don’t know much about warfare, but you can learn from me slowly. I also want to learn from you about studying the classics and handling government affairs.”

Chen Cheng was not punished, his face was saved, and he was very pleased. He bowed and said:

"I humbly accept your instruction!"

As Shi Shan had predicted, by the time he and his men arrived at Fangcun, the garrison had already evacuated key personnel and some supplies to the other side of the Yellow River, leaving only nearly a thousand low-level residents awaiting their unknown fate.

To prevent the Red Turban Army from crossing the river to pursue them, the defending troops not only rowed all the ferries to the other side of the river, but also set fire to the dock on the west bank before leaving.

The enemy has boats. Although they burned down the dock, they can escape across the river and sneak back. Fangcun Station is not safe.

However, the team was newly formed and had very weak long-distance marching ability. This trip had already exposed many problems. Although the road back to Chulan Station was only thirty li, it was already late. Traveling overnight was too dangerous, and camping outside was not an option.

After careful consideration, Shi Shan decided to stay at Fangcun Station to reorganize the newly recruited station residents, and ordered Chang Tietou and Sun Xun to lead men to search for enemy movements in both the north and south directions along the west bank of the Yellow River.

(End of this chapter)