Sweep Yuan

Chapter 75 The Hostage Crisis Resumes

The day after Fu Youde led his troops out of the city, he sent back intelligence that they had encountered Yuan scouts on the way.

The Yuan army's response in Huai'an Road was much faster than expected, and the city's defenses must be built as soon as possible.

Therefore, even though he knew that Fang Zhongwen's secret dealings with wealthy families in the city were unreliable, Shishan could only temporarily retain this old fox, since he was in dire need of administrative talent.
For this reason, Shishan even pulled Liu Xingge into his fold to act as his "advisor".

This old man was quite an oddball. Even after being placed under house arrest again, he continued to eat and sleep as usual. When he met Shi Shan, he would always talk about surrendering to the rebels, as if he was certain that the rebel leader wouldn't dare to do anything to him.

To enhance the persuasiveness of the offer of amnesty, Liu Xingge also showed off his skills, relentlessly mocking Shishan's so-called governance strategies and racking his brains to refute them one by one.

To be fair, Old Liu may have a sharp tongue, but he's a man of substance; he's not just boasting.

At least, Shishan was able to take things in stride and glean a lot of useful information from them, which can be considered as making the best use of his talents.

Fortunately, this situation of "fighting alone" will soon end. Li Wu has sent a messenger, and the people left behind in Chulan should arrive in Hong County in the next few days.

At that time, Chen Cheng, the only "civil official" under Shishan's command and the clerk of the Thousand Household Office, will be able to return to his post.

This young master may lack ability, but he is genuinely eager to get things done, so assigning him specific tasks is relatively worry-free.

The way Chen Cheng handled the mutiny of the three battalions during the march also proved that he was a man of great vision and capable of taking on more responsibilities.

After Li Wu set fire to Chulan Station, fearing that Zhao Junyong and Han Si would collude to intercept him and his men on the way, he ignored Wen Sijiu's advice and decided to bypass the official road and head straight to Hong County through the wilderness.

Hongxian is more than 200 li southeast of Chulan. There is only one rocky mountain over 100 zhang high along the way, and the rest of the terrain is mostly hills and plains, so theoretically it is possible to reach it directly.

However, in recent years, the Yellow River has repeatedly breached its banks, causing floods in the Huai and Si River basins every year. The land is covered with barren beaches and marshes, overgrown with weeds and shrubs. While it is not a big problem for people to walk across, it is very inconvenient for large trucks loaded with supplies to pass through.

The troops had to clear a path while marching, working themselves to the bone, yet they could only travel about ten miles each day.

What's worse is that the trucks often get stuck in sand and mud. Fortunately, there are many people, and they can be pulled out in time. However, after days of hard work, they still can't find Hongxian. Everyone is exhausted and complaints are starting to rise.

They marched for three days without seeing the Red Turban Army who were supposed to intercept them; instead, their ranks fell into disarray.

Having witnessed the infighting within Han Si, Tian Changcai and Liu Feng lost faith in following Shi Shan's rebellion and were unwilling to go to Hong County to their deaths. Taking advantage of their clansmen's exhaustion and discontent, they secretly conspired together.

While crossing the Sui River, some soldiers of the Third Battalion, incited by Tian and Liu, clamored for disbanding and dividing the money and grain among themselves.

Li Wu's cavalry consisted of only thirty-seven men, far fewer than the rioting soldiers. Some of them were related to the rioters and were influenced to varying degrees. Although they were not about to disband, they could not be expected to suppress the rioting soldiers.

Fortunately, this time Wen Sijiu and Chen Cheng firmly stood on Li Wu's side.

The supply battalion led by Wen Sijiu was mainly composed of station guards. Although most of them were old and weak, they had their families behind them. In order to protect the life-saving food and supplies, they were not afraid to fight to the death with the clamoring soldiers.

To prevent the situation from escalating, Wen Sijiu grabbed Li Wu, who was about to go berserk, and promised Tian Changcai that he could leave the team and that each person would receive fifty catties of severance pay, but they had to leave their weapons behind.

If you're still not satisfied, then you'll have to fight it out; only those who survive will be entitled to a share of the money and provisions.

Chen Cheng, speaking as a distant cousin, rebuked Liu Fengli for being blinded by greed. He bluntly stated, "Even if you steal all the money and grain, you'll live to take it but not to spend it. Commander Shi will surely ask Marshal Li to send troops to capture you. Do you intend to abandon your families and become bandits?"

Tan Buwei, who relinquished his military power and returned to his hometown to live a wealthy life, still had room for maneuver if he deserted the ranks. But if he were to slaughter his comrades, he would truly isolate himself from the entire Red Turban Army of Xuzhou. Moreover, in a real battle, they might not even be able to defeat the cannibalistic Zhanhu.

Tian and Liu only dared to secretly incite the soldiers to cause trouble, but in the end they didn't have the guts to completely turn against them. They could only accept Wen Sijiu's mediation, lay down their weapons, take the severance pay, and lead their clansmen back to their hometown in a sorry state.

However, after this commotion, six or seven out of ten soldiers of the three battalions were lost, leaving only a hundred men. The morale of the men was low, and they were unwilling to continue fighting in the wilderness. They insisted on finding the nearest official road to Hong County.

Seeing that the morale of the army had collapsed, Li Wu, despite his thousand reluctances, had no choice but to comply with the wishes of the people.

However, he remained cautious and immediately dispatched a fast horse to Hong County via a back road to report his encounter on the way to Shishan.

When the messenger arrived in Hong County, it was already the third day after the city fell.

Shishan was not short of people at the time, but Chulan Station was the original foundation of the "Red Heart Camp". The safety of the remaining personnel was related to the stability of the team. So Sun Xun was sent to Lingbi with people to meet them that day.

Li Wu and his group of several hundred people were already quite a target. Although they increased their speed after crossing the road, they could no longer hide their whereabouts. When they reached the northern outskirts of Lingbi County, they were discovered and stopped by a patrol team of the Red Turban Army.

The leader of the group told Li Wu that the Yuan army had besieged Hong County. He was ordered by General Xue to have his troops rest in Lingbi City first, and then proceed to Hong County after repelling the Yuan army's counterattack.

Li Wu naturally didn't believe the nonsense from the signboard, and took out the general's order that Zhao Jun had previously issued, insisting on rushing to Hong County.

The patrol team consisted of only ten people, and they dared not detain them. The leader immediately sent someone back to the city to report the news.

Li Wu was not about to let them leak the news, so he suddenly attacked and tied up the card holder, but two of them managed to escape in the chaos.

The situation had escalated, and Li Wu no longer cared about the supplies on the vehicle. He ordered all the elderly and weak to get on board and abandon the baggage as they ran, attempting to slow down the pursuers.

Unfortunately, they could not escape for more than twenty miles before being caught up by more than a hundred cavalrymen.

If they stopped and formed a wagon formation at this point, they might be able to hold out for a while, but they would also be held back by the cavalry. Once Lingbi's reinforcements arrived, everyone would be captured.

Seeing Li Wu hesitate, Wen Sijiu worried that the conflict would escalate further and suggested that the elderly, the weak, and the bound card holders be handed over to him.

He was, after all, an old comrade from Xiao County, and should be able to establish a relationship with the garrison commander of Lingbi. Although that wouldn't necessarily make the pursuers give up, it should be able to protect the elderly and weak from humiliation.

Li Wu had no better choice. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, and in the end, he had no choice but to cruelly abandon the old and weak.

Seeing this, the pursuers quickly split into two groups.

One team rescued the kidnapped leader and guarded Wen Sijiu and others; the other team continued to trail behind Li Wu, whose target was exhausted and unable to escape far. They waited for someone to fall behind before leaving them behind.

After escaping for another four or five miles, some of the stationed soldiers began to fall behind. Just as Li Wu was hesitating whether to turn back and launch a counterattack, dozens of fresh troops suddenly emerged from the woods by the roadside, each wielding a long spear, forming a dense formation and pressing directly at the pursuers.

The leader was about twenty years old, with a well-proportioned build, fine eyebrows, large eyes, a straight nose, and long lips. He shouted:

"You all stand still! Han Cheng, the commander of the Red Robe Army, is here!"

(End of this chapter)