Sweep Yuan

Chapter 33 Should Past Grudges Be Forgone?

Wen Sijiu was halfway through his sentence when he saw Shishan engrossed in reviewing the roster again, his expression quite focused. He immediately realized he shouldn't have been so suspicious of the deputy commander, who was so diligent in his work, and promptly changed his words:

"If Marshal Li and General Zhao ask me what the deputy commander has done these past few days, what should I say?"

Shi Shan put down the roster, looked up at Wen Sijiu, and smiled exceptionally brightly.

"Have you forgotten that General Zhao sent you here to keep an eye on us, to see what we say, do, and think? Why ask me about this? Just tell me the truth!"

"what?!"

The road from Chulan Station to Xuzhou City had been "cleared" by Shishan and his men, but it wasn't safe enough for Wen Sijiu to swagger back into the city alone with a large amount of spoils.

Although Xuzhou was in chaos, the Red Turban Army was at least maintaining basic social order.

Even in times of peace, the countryside, which is a "blank area" of government control, is truly "chaotic and turbulent," with lurking deserters, bandits, and usually unruly powerful and scoundrels everywhere.

These people certainly didn't have the guts to attack Xuzhou City or a whole squad of Red Turban Army soldiers, but they didn't mind striking from a secluded spot to rob these twenty horses and the supplies they carried.

To ensure Wen Sijiu's safety on his way back to Xuzhou, Shishan specially assigned him nine soldiers who had initially left the city with him.

With two horses and familiarity with the roads, and without the need to recruit soldiers and gather supplies along the way, Wen Sijiu's return to the city took much less time than Shishan's previous southward campaign to capture Chulan, and he was in a very good mood along the way.

However, as soon as he entered the city, Wen Sijiu noticed that something was wrong.

The number of pedestrians on the street was noticeably sparser, and their expressions were even more tense than in the first few days after the city fell. Some shops and mansions of wealthy families had broken doors and even signs of smoke and fire.

If you look closely, you can still see the dark bloodstains on the ground that haven't been cleaned up.

Recalling the eerie atmosphere in Xuzhou when he left, Wen Sijiu immediately sensed something was wrong:

problem occurs!
Although Sesame Li did not hastily send troops to conquer the surrounding cities after capturing Xuzhou, his army has been expanding rapidly and is no longer the small team where even the lowest-ranking officers knew each other.

Wen Sijiu searched three streets before finding a familiar comrade-in-arms leading a patrol. From this man, he learned roughly what had happened in the past few days.

Since the Red Turban Army occupied Xuzhou, the city's economy has been stagnant. Three days ago, major grain shops simply put up "sold out" signs. Some people who had no food for the next day, under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, spontaneously went to the Marshal's Mansion to "petition".

The initial group was not large, and given Sesame Lee's temperament, he wouldn't hold a grudge against them.

Marshal Li delivered tea and fruit to some of the elderly petitioners, and selected several representatives of the people to enter the Marshal's Mansion. He personally inquired about their needs and promised to resolve the issue of the grain shop's closure as soon as possible.

If things had ended there, it would have been a beautiful story of "harmony between the military and the people," and the crisis could be considered successfully resolved. However, someone secretly spread the word that "food will be distributed in front of the Marshal's Mansion." Starving people rushed to the front of the Marshal's Mansion. Those who petitioned first received the promise and wanted to leave, but those who came later, unaware of the situation, desperately pushed their way in. With the instigation of some people, the scene quickly got out of control.

Even a clay figure has a temper, let alone Sesame Li and his ilk who risk their lives to rebel?

After Marshal Li captured the city, he only killed the Tartars and did not harm the wealthy families. He was very restrained, but he could not win their genuine support. He was on the verge of exploding. How could he tolerate their secret provocations?
As the number of people gathering grew larger and the signs of trouble becoming increasingly obvious, Sesame Li acted decisively, imposing a strict ban on the streets. Red Turban Army troops were dispatched to disperse the starving people and arrest the troublemakers.

After bringing the situation under control, the Red Turban Army began to settle scores with merchants who had maliciously hoarded grain.

If the unarmed garrison soldiers at Chulan Station could cause dozens of deaths through their "spontaneous" revenge, the destruction caused by such organized and planned military operations in Xuzhou City would only be greater.

Of course, the deterrent effect is also more obvious.

Despite the fact that the army was formed in a short time and had lax discipline, and many unsavory things happened during the raids, the final results were not ideal—grain merchants dared to close down, so they had already moved the grain from their shops and warehouses!
However, after suppressing the bloodthirsty and inhumane landlords, the city was brought to order. Some of the Red Turban soldiers' robes were also renewed during the suppression, and when they patrolled the streets with their swords, their aura was three times stronger.

Wen Sijiu, who was originally overjoyed, was in a bad mood - he rushed as fast as he could, but he was still a step too late. The "gift" that Shishan had painstakingly prepared for the marshal was now useless!
When he finally met Zhao Junyong and learned more details about the liquidation of the grain merchants, he realized that it wasn't that he had returned too late, but rather that Marshal Li and the generals in the city had been too eager.

Sesame Li was, after all, a powerful local family. Considering his hometown ties, he acted relatively "respectably" after taking over Xuzhou.

The Red Turban Army's actions this time were justified and well-founded. Although they acted swiftly and decisively, the bloodshed only targeted troublemakers and merchants who maliciously hoarded grain, and at most extended to a few large households that supported them behind the scenes.

The entire operation was well-reasoned and demonstrated the Red Turban Army's organizational capacity, execution ability, and discipline (compared to officials and bandits at the time, the Red Turban Army was indeed disciplined, albeit not much), indicating that the high command of the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou was significantly stronger than that of ordinary peasant groups.

As a result, the wealthy families in the city were intimidated and expressed their desire to "relieve the people's suffering and reward the righteous army." They each donated some grain, and several sons of wealthy families agreed to work for the Red Turban Army. In short, they did indeed back down.

On the surface, through this violent action, Sesame Li broke the political deadlock in the city. On the one hand, he obtained money and food, which would be beneficial for recruiting soldiers in the future. On the other hand, he also gained more "people's hearts". It can be said that he broke the deadlock with violence.

However, with Shi Shan's brilliant strategy as a precedent, Wen Sijiu always felt that Marshal Li, General Zhao, and others' methods were too passive and crude, and the results were far inferior.

But the mistake had already been made. Facing the confident General Zhao, Wen Sijiu consciously refrained from saying anything discouraging. Instead, he honestly reported on the "recruitment" along the Shishan route and the easy capture of the Chulan and Fangcun stations.

When Zhao Junyong learned that Shishan had won the battle, he immediately sent someone back to the city. In addition to repaying Marshal Li, he also prepared a "generous gift" for himself. Zhao Junyong seemed very happy and accepted the gift list on the spot.

Zhao Junyong not only did not pursue the issue of Wen Sijiu's dereliction of duty, but also ordered his personal guards to take off two leather armors on the spot and reward them to the meritorious and conscientious Deputy Commander Shi and Commander Wen.

After Wen Sijiu finished reporting his gains from the trip, General Zhao told him that Marshal Li had decided to send troops to Suzhou soon, with him and Peng Erlang as the commanding generals. He ordered Wen Sijiu to inform Shishan to prepare for the battle.

(End of this chapter)