Sweep Yuan

Chapter 56 Han Cheng's Enlistment

Shi Shan stepped forward and helped the man up from the ground, looking him over. He saw that the man was about twenty years old, with a well-proportioned figure, fine eyebrows, large eyes, a straight nose, and long lips. Even though his skin was purplish-brown from years of sun exposure, it couldn't hide his good looks.

"What's your name? Where are you from?"

Shi Shan spoke very kindly, and the young men eager to join the army knew that a turning point was just around the corner, so they were very respectful.

"Your Honor, I am Han Cheng, from Xiao Han Village, Haoxi."

"There are no adults in the Red Turban Army, just call me Commander Shi."

Before sending troops to Suzhou, Shishan began to draw a map of Xuzhou Road, paying particular attention to the geography of Suzhou and Lingbi. He quickly remembered that Xiao Hanzhuang was located on the south bank of the Huan River, near Haozhou.

"Xiao Han Village by the Huan River? That's quite far!"

The fact that a high-ranking figure in the Red Turban Army knew about his village made Han Cheng feel increasingly confident about joining the army, and he was quite excited.

"Has Commander Shi visited our village before?"

"No, not at all. We scouted the terrain on both sides of the Huan River before, in order to ambush the Tartars at Luzhu Ferry, and we roughly know the location of Xiaohanzhuang. Tell me why you want to join the army!"

Han Cheng scratched his scalp and said:
"The word has spread in our area that 'the Red-Robed Army will not harm a single thing,' and that the Great Thousand Households have a treasure bowl that can conjure up grain out of thin air. I don't believe it, but I'm going to Suzhou to sell dried fish anyway, so I want to see for myself."

Upon arriving in Suzhou, I learned that the commander had come to Lingbi. Having heard many rumors about the Red Robe Army along the way, my curiosity grew, and I followed them.

That's quite persistent!

Shi Shan felt that he hadn't yet made a name for himself and wasn't worth the government going to such lengths to send an inside man, but he was still somewhat suspicious of Han Cheng's actions.

"Since that's the case, and you've gone to so much trouble to find us, why don't you just join the army?"

"I left in a hurry, and my family hasn't been settled yet."

After finishing his sentence, Han Cheng, fearing that Shi Shan might suspect him of deceiving him about the grain, added:

“The harvests have been poor these past few years, and the government keeps increasing taxes every year. Many families in the village are struggling to make ends meet. I wanted to take some grain back to show them that there is still a way for us poor people to survive in this world!”

"Brother Han is a true hero! Captain Zeng also did a great job following the rules!"

Regardless of how much truth the young man's words held, once they spread, it would benefit the positive image of the "Red Heart Camp." After praising the two, Shi Shan asked:
"Brother Han, this journey is not going to be peaceful. How many kilograms of grain can you carry?"

Han Cheng knew that his enlistment was settled, and honestly replied:

“I’m strong enough that two or three petty thieves can’t do anything to me. I can carry 150 pounds and run, and I can carry even more than 100 pounds, but I can’t walk fast, so I’m afraid it will take me a few more days to get there.”

The wealthy households in Lingbi County had pledged a considerable amount of grain this time. Although the "Red Heart Battalion" only took a small share, as long as they could capture Hong County, they wouldn't lack grain in the short term; at least a hundred or two hundred catties wouldn't be a problem. Shi Shan took a bamboo token from his pocket and handed it to Han Cheng. He then pointed to the stacks of grain at the recruitment point and laughed:
“We’re setting off early tomorrow morning, so you definitely won’t make it. Don’t rush. Take as much of this grain as you can. Once you’ve settled your family, just take this bamboo token and go to Hong County to find us.”

"Good Le!"

The man was honest; he really only carried 150 jin (75 kg). He thanked Shishan and Zengxing, picked up his load, and left.

Seeing that it was getting late, Shi Shan instructed Zeng Xing to recruit for another half an hour before wrapping things up. If there were any more people who wanted to join the army, they should register their names and hometowns and then go to find Steward Xue to collect their "settlement rations".

Back in the city, Shishan sought out Xue Xian to discuss the cooperation between the two armies after the "Red Heart Battalion" left Lingbi. Chief Steward Xue readily agreed, but Shishan felt that this guy was only trying to trick him into leaving quickly.

When he returned to the camp, Zeng Xing also came back.

According to statistics, a total of 579 new recruits were recruited in the past few days, far exceeding the previous estimate. The number of "Red Heart Battalion" members also reached 2,186 (excluding the accompanying craftsmen).

The next day, after breakfast, Shishan led his army away from Lingbi to Hongxian, leaving very decisively.

Seeing that half of the rebel army had left the city, the wealthy families who had been tormented by Xue Xian in the past few days breathed a sigh of relief and secretly prayed that the rebels who had split up to attack would die outside and that the imperial army would soon recover Lingbi.

Those with ulterior motives began to secretly make connections, but then they received a shocking message: the Liu family of six, from the east of the city, had apparently been kidnapped by bandits who had just left the city, and everyone immediately became fearful again.

Liu Xingge's family was indeed kidnapped by the "Red Heart Camp." Shi Shan did this on the surface to help Xue Xian vent his anger, but in reality, it was just a convenient thing to do and he didn't have any special purpose.

As for forcing this stubborn old man to work for him, Shishan had absolutely no illusions.

Don't you even know your own limitations?
How big of a face can you have!
Even Sesame Li, a Red Turban Army marshal who rose from local power in Xiao County, couldn't handle this type of person. So why should you, a nobody outsider, be able to?
Therefore, although Shishan abducted Liu Xingge's family, he only tied them to a cart to restrict their movement.

During this period, Liu Weng's young son developed a high fever due to fright, and Shi Shan also ordered the accompanying doctor to treat him well, but he never came into contact with this highly respected "elder of Lingbi" from beginning to end.

He faced the enemy army along the entire Huai'an Road, and had thousands of comrades behind him. He had to march and train at the same time, and also plan the upcoming siege. He was busy all day long, so he had no time or energy to play mind games with this stubborn old man.
Although they extorted more than forty carts and nearly two hundred horses and mules from the wealthy households in Lingbi, Shishan only received 30% of them. There were not enough carts to transport grain and supplies, and some small boats were also given, which made the marching speed slow.

In addition to maintaining the distance between the front, rear and the main force to prevent enemy surprise attacks, Shishan also conducted training on flag and drum signal transmission and formation deployment along the way.

For troops filled with a large number of new recruits, these training exercises, though simple, are more difficult to organize than the march itself.

However, if the team wants to withstand the test of the upcoming major battle and avoid accumulating low-level combat experience with lives and bloodshed, it must endure these hardships and fatigue.

Simple training is not enough to transform a mob, but as long as they seize every opportunity and persevere, they will eventually accumulate quantitative changes into qualitative ones.

Lingbi is about 80 li away from Hongxian. After traveling and stopping frequently, the army finally arrived at Longmiao Village, about 12 li west of Hongxian City, on the third day at Shenshi (3-5 PM). Gong Wu, Tong Si'er, and others, who had disguised themselves as refugees and come to Hongxian to gather information, were already waiting there.

It was still early, so Shishan dispatched a large number of scouts to control the comings and goings of people to prevent the news from leaking out, and summoned officers of the rank of squad leader and above to discuss issues such as attacking Hongxian the next day.

(End of this chapter)