Sweep Yuan

Chapter 34 Strategic Timing in Reorganization

As he left the military camp, holding the leather armor still warm from the general's personal guards, Wen Sijiu was overwhelmed with emotions. Only a few days had passed, and the world had become something he didn't recognize.

The wise and brave Zhao Junyong was somewhat narrow-minded because he was too thoughtful, but after serving as a general of the Red Turban Army for a period of time, he had developed a "general's demeanor" in his every move.

It should be noted that Zhao Jun had just set a series of traps for Shishan and even sent Wen Sijiu to monitor Shishan, which clearly showed that he had ill intentions.

Shi Shan had long seen through the trap Zhao Jun had set for him, and by turning the tables, he successfully shook off the "elite soldiers of the Jianzu Camp" who were destined to only cause trouble, and in just a few days, he built up a team that obeyed his orders.

After the Chulan matter was settled, Shishan and Zhao Junyong seemed to have forgotten the previous unpleasantness. The two sides exchanged gifts in a tacit manner, which made Wen Sijiu even more confused.

Despite not understanding, Wen Sijiu, caught in the middle, would naturally be happy to see Zhao Junyong and Shishan reconcile.

After bidding farewell to his elder brother Zhao Junyong, Wen Sijiu rushed to the Marshal's Mansion to report on the gains of his trip. Marshal Li was naturally pleased to have talented people under his command who were good at training troops, daring to fight, and skilled in battle, and immediately rewarded them with a batch of military equipment.

Compared to Zhao Jun's stingy approach, Marshal Li was much more generous, bestowing upon him ten sets of leather armor, twenty ox-horn bows (with sixty bags of arrows), and fifty each of short spears, steel swords, and rattan shields.

In this way, including the previous spoils, officers from Shishan down to the rank of deputy centurion and above could be equipped with leather armor. Coupled with the much-needed bows and arrows, the troops' ability to break through enemy lines and attack fortified positions was significantly improved, which can be described as a complete upgrade from ragtag weapons.

More importantly, through this interaction between superiors and subordinates, his unit was officially incorporated into the Xuzhou Red Turban Army, and at least on the surface, it was no longer considered an "outcast."

It was quite late when Wen Sijiu left the Marshal's Mansion. After traveling for several days, he was quite tired and did not return to Chulan Station overnight.

He first went to the South City Camp, where he deposited the armor and weapons he had received as rewards from Marshal Li and General Zhao. He agreed to meet them outside the South Gate before dawn the next day, and then released the nine soldiers who had returned with him to go home.

Afterwards, Wen Sijiu paid out of his own pocket to invite a few old brothers to Tianxiang Restaurant for a drink, and also to inquire about the major and minor events that had occurred in the city during his absence.

The next morning, the soldiers arrived at the south gate as scheduled, but unexpectedly, there were thirty-two more soldiers.

These people were all soldiers and neighbors who had been released home before. They heard that Commander Shi was good at fighting and that he would reward those who made merits by giving money and meat on the spot. They were all tempted and wanted to follow Shi Shan and have a few good meals.

After spending the last few days together, Wen Sijiu had developed a sense of belonging to the Shishan team, which had grown from nothing. However, he was also worried that Shishan might fall out of the control of the Red Turban Army and was in dire need of these young men with "clear roots" from the city. So he was happy to take them all in.

Without horses, their journey back was much slower. The group traveled at a snail's pace, finally arriving back at Chulan Station on the third day.

Upon seeing the sentry cavalry outside the station in the distance, Wen Sijiu knew that Deputy Commander Shi was strict in disciplining his troops, so he quickly raised his own flag and restrained the troops behind him, waiting for the sentry cavalry to inspect and allow him to pass.

Such caution is necessary.

Shishan's forces grew from nothing to over two thousand (most of whom were stationed households with their families) in just a few days. Such rapid expansion of the force was not entirely a good thing; mishandling it could easily lead to management chaos.

For example, consider this simple problem: no one can remember everyone in such a short time. Let alone the lower-ranking soldiers of different squads being strangers to each other, even mid-level officers are doing well if they can recognize all the soldiers under their command. As a result, when a group of soldiers with mixed uniforms are mixed together, very few people can quickly find their own men.

At the moment, Wen Sijiu had no recollection of the two cavalrymen who came to inspect the tokens. Fortunately, he held a high position in the ranks, and some of the lower-ranking soldiers recognized him.

After exchanging greetings, one of the cavalrymen turned and signaled to the distant cavalry to allow them to pass.

"Team leader, it's Commander Wen who's back."

Team rate?

Our team only has a leader, centurion, deputy centurion, and deputy commander, so when did we get a "team leader"?
Wen Sijiu pondered the unfamiliar word, realizing that he had misjudged the situation—General Zhao was right, Shishan was indeed cunning, deliberately sending him to Xuzhou City to deliver spoils of war, and there was really something big going on behind the scenes!
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the patrol leader, Wen Sijiu was basically certain of his guess: Shishan deliberately sent him, the supervisor, back to Xuzhou in order to take the opportunity to reorganize the troops.

The management hierarchy of the Xuzhou Red Turban Army was simple and crude. To put it bluntly, people like Sesame Li did not have a strict concept of "organizational structure".

For example, the number of troops commanded by the generals under Sesame Li depended entirely on how much military equipment and supplies they could raise and how many men they could recruit, rather than on how many units Marshal Li assigned to them.

For example, Shishan was appointed as the deputy commander of a thousand households by Sesame Li, and theoretically he did not have the right to recruit soldiers independently.

However, this fellow seized the opportunity to recruit soldiers and successfully completed the combat mission. Afterwards, neither Sesame Li nor Zhao Junyong pursued the matter, and even rewarded each other with military equipment, which was tantamount to acknowledging Shishan's control of the military.

In comparison, the Red Turban Army, which was still in its infancy, had relatively "standardized" titles for its middle and lower-ranking officers, which were largely based on the Yuan army's system of chiliarchs, centurions, and bannermen.

Everyone here is a rough and uncultured man with little knowledge. It's simple and convenient to just copy the official and military job system. If you really ask them to rack their brains and create their own system, it will not only be incongruous but also look very amateurish and unappealing.

After all, even if ordinary people are not clear about the specific military system of the government army, as long as they put the positions of Wanhu (ten thousand households), Qianhu (thousand households), Baihu (hundred households), and Paizitou (head of the guard) together, it is immediately clear who has a higher rank and who has a lower rank, and who leads more soldiers and who leads fewer soldiers.

When someone comes to you eagerly seeking refuge, and you give them a squad leader position, what kind of official are you?

Longer than a thousand men?
Is he still smaller than a centurion?
Wen Sijiu was, after all, an "old-timer" who had followed Zhao Junyong in the uprising. He knew that there was a fundamental difference between the army and the militia, and that any unit would be difficult to form combat effectiveness without training. Therefore, he did not oppose the reorganization of the troops in Shishan.

However, as Zhao Junyong's "supervisor" stationed in Shishan, he naturally favored the high command of the Xuzhou Red Turban Army and paid special attention to the procedures and forms of the reorganization of the troops.

On the one hand, Shi Shan worked diligently and conscientiously, even flattering General Zhao who had tricked him before. On the other hand, he repeatedly seized opportunities to act independently. What exactly was this guy up to?
Despite being filled with doubts, in order to keep Shishan from revealing any signs of rebellion, Wen Sijiu was determined to pretend that he knew nothing about the reorganization and not to question the other party upon meeting him.

At the very least, we must thoroughly understand Deputy Commander Shi's true intentions before making any plans.

(End of this chapter)