Sweep Yuan

Chapter 37 The Essence of Reorganization

Why else?

No matter how well the organization is structured, it still needs to be implemented by specific individuals, because people have different abilities and different interests.

Reorganization is a readjustment of interests, which will reduce the power of some military commanders.

The reason why Shishan repeatedly adjusted the organizational structure and deliberately sent Wen Sijiu away was not only due to the circumstances, but also had a deeper logic—to unify command!

To put it bluntly, it means breaking the balance of power among all parties and the interest structure where he acts as the mediator, dismantling and reorganizing the haphazardly assembled "disorganized team" into a private army that obeys only his command.

Would a hero like Sesame Lee, living in turbulent times, not have considered these issues?
It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't.

But faced with Wen Sijiu's yearning gaze, Shishan still didn't say these words.

"We're a small boat, so we can turn around easily. But isn't Marshal Li about to send troops to attack Suzhou?"

"We're also fighting and reorganizing at the same time—"

Halfway through his sentence, Wen Sijiu thought of the complex power structure at the top in Xuzhou and immediately understood the meaning of "a small boat is easy to turn around," so he quickly steered the conversation away from this sensitive topic.

"So how many battalions do we have now, and how many men?"

"There are three infantry battalions. I will temporarily command the first battalion, Chang Tietou will command the second battalion, and the third battalion is vacant, so Tian Changcai will be the commander. Including the cavalry and the thirty-two brothers you brought back from the city, there are a total of one thousand and seventy-two people."

Where is Chen Cheng?

Chang Tietou, the bandit leader, "invested with his own capital" and made great contributions in the Huxi Village and Chulan operations. It is understandable that he surpassed Sun Xun, who had pledged his loyalty to Shishan earlier, to become the commander.

Chen Cheng and Tian Changcai were both landlords and centurions who were coerced by Shishan. The former was even a "former subordinate" of Shishan, and his performance was better than that of the mediocre and incompetent latter. Wen Sijiu really couldn't think of a reason to promote Tian Changcai and suppress Chen Cheng.

"Chen Cheng is not skilled in battle. With his consent, I have appointed him as the head of the thousand-household garrison to assist me in handling various administrative matters. He has been busy procuring military supplies these past few days."

The position of "Zhaomo" was not created by Shishan himself; the Yuan army already had this position, which was a subordinate official in charge of records and money. In addition, Shishan also assigned Chen Cheng the responsibility of assisting in military affairs.

Wen Sijiu's attention was focused on the Thousand Household Office, thinking to himself, "You haven't been promoted to Thousand Household yet!"
This idea only flashed through his mind briefly, and his attention quickly shifted to the matter of "procuring military supplies".

He was the "supervisor" centurion appointed by General Zhao. He was quite dissatisfied with being assigned to the incongruous quartermaster team. When Shi Shan introduced the organization of the Third Battalion, First Company, he did not remind the latter that the quartermaster team had been overlooked.

Now the authority to procure military supplies has been delegated, and Zhou Shier has also been impressed by Shishan. When Wen Sijiu realized that he was all alone and couldn't manage anything, he became anxious.

"And what about me?"

Shi Shan had no intention of leaving the Xuzhou Red Turban Army now, so he naturally couldn't really leave Wen Sijiu aside. However, he was secretly pleased to see that this guy could no longer pretend to be profound.

"Here's the thing, those who were reorganized and laid off were mainly the old and weak stationed households. Although they couldn't be soldiers, they were no worse than the 'elite soldiers of the strong soldiers' that Tian Qi selected for us. So I reorganized these people into the supply battalion, which you will command."

Whether it was the quartermaster team or the supply battalion, they were all old and weak soldiers who couldn't go into battle. Although Wen Sijiu had long accepted the fact that Shishan was deliberately guarding against them, he was still extremely unhappy.

"That scoundrel Tian Qi is a heartless bastard. He shoved a bunch of rotten soldiers into your army. I didn't do anything wrong; I even advised General Zhao to give you more men. Now that you've turned the tables and are trying to vent your anger, don't take it out on me, Lao Wen. These station vagrants have been doing cart and freight work all year round. What use do I have for training them?"

In fact, Wen Sijiu really wronged Shishan.

The imperial army could launch a counterattack on Xuzhou at any time, and Chulan Station, which is adjacent to Xuzhou, would have to be abandoned sooner or later. Whether it was to stabilize the hearts of the station soldiers who had families to support, or to facilitate the rapid transfer of troops in the future, it was imperative to form a supply battalion.

But Shishan couldn't be frank with Wen Sijiu. He couldn't very well say that he didn't think highly of Marshal Li and that the purpose of setting up the supply battalion was to make it easier for him to pack up and run away at any time, could he?

"We just captured Chulan, and Marshal Li is now attacking Suzhou. It's clear he wants to expand southward. The Huai River is crisscrossed by waterways, making marching difficult and combat extremely vulnerable to various terrain limitations."

Besides following the imperial transport system to move grain and military supplies, the supply battalion also had to train in bridge construction, road clearing, well digging, and the rapid deployment of wagons to defend against cavalry charges. Such a crucial task is perfect for you!

"But--"

"No buts! Here, this is the training manual I drafted. Take a look and see if there are any omissions."

Wen Sijiu's words were cut off by Shishan, and he accepted the training manual that Shishan forced on him in a daze. He wanted to say something more, but then Gong Wu came in to report.

"Deputy Commander Chen Zhaomo requests an audience."

"Let him in."

Before long, Chen Cheng led three soldiers dressed in red robes inside. Upon seeing Wen Sijiu, he nodded in greeting, then bowed to Shishan and said:
"Deputy Commander, the sample of the military uniform is ready."

Although he knew that everything was arranged by Shishan, Wen Sijiu was still annoyed that Chen Cheng had taken away his already meager duties. Seeing Chen Cheng's smugness made him even more upset. He did not want to stay there any longer and got up to take his leave.

"Old Wen, don't rush off. Let's standardize the uniform style. Take a look and see which one you prefer?"

The most valuable item among the seized goods was this batch of high-quality red cotton cloth from Jiangnan.

During the two days that Shi Shan spent wandering around Xuzhou, in addition to studying the situation related to the White Lotus Sect, he also inquired about the prices of various goods.

It is said that during the Zhongtong era (Kublai Khan's first reign title), the people were prosperous and the economy was good. One string of cash could buy one bolt of silk (ten feet made one bolt), and fifty or sixty cash could buy one ounce of silk.

However, as the imperial court continued to over-issue paper money, the currency system collapsed and prices soared. Before the uprising of Han Shantong and Liu Futong, prices in Xuzhou were already several times higher than at the beginning of the dynasty.

After the Yingzhou Uprising, the chaos of war in various places further accelerated the rise in prices. The price of cloth rose to ten strings of cash for a bolt of fine silk, while cotton cloth from Jiangnan cost fifteen strings of cash.

Sesame Li also had businesses in Xiaoxian County. After occupying Xuzhou, he paid close attention to prices. The cloth merchants in the city did not dare to go too far, and the overall price only increased by 30%, but they quickly put up "sold out" signs.

If the unrest continues, the time-consuming agricultural and livestock production and related handicrafts will inevitably be severely affected, and in the foreseeable future, this price will continue to rise wildly.

Without a doubt, in times of chaos, food, cloth, and other such items are strategic resources that are "more valuable than money." Stockpile them if you can, and stockpile as much as you can; you will definitely not lose money.

However, Shishan did not hide the batch of red cotton cloth to collect dust. Apart from sending a small portion to Sesame Li, he prepared to use the rest to make military uniforms and flags.

(End of this chapter)