Sweep Yuan

Chapter 96 The Situation Takes a Sudden Turn, Hongxian County in Danger

In the Battle of Wuhe, thanks to an inside agent who secretly opened the east gate, the "Red Heart Camp" captured the entire city with only a dozen casualties, and also captured a number of civil and military officials in the city.

Having captured three county towns in succession, Shishan was already familiar with the procedures for taking over cities, including inventorying the treasury, sealing the registers, punishing the perpetrators, extinguishing the remaining fires, treating the wounded, persuading officials to surrender, and issuing proclamations to reassure the people.

With a series of orders issued, the chaos in the city was quickly brought under control.

By daybreak the following day, the fires in various locations had been largely extinguished.

The battle yielded a great harvest. Before the supplies had been fully inventoried, the remaining grain alone amounted to 30,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), far exceeding the gains from the battle of Hong County. Including the grain ships that could be intercepted after the battle, Shishan would not have to worry about food for quite some time.

However, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Given the location of Wuhe City, the Yuan court will certainly not sit idly by and watch the rebel army cut off the canal transport again. If they want to hold this place, they must quickly prepare for war.

However, before Shishan could fully sort out the affairs of Wuhe, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Around 5 a.m., an urgent messenger from Hong County rode into the city on horseback.

The messenger's armor was tattered, and his thighs were chafed and bleeding. As soon as he reached the city, his mount collapsed and died, foaming at the mouth. The man could not struggle to get up and only said "Save Hong County" to the gatekeeper who helped him up before fainting.

"This person is just exhausted. I have already given him medicine and sugar water. He will definitely wake up within an hour."

Bu Ciyuan was dressed in the red robe of the "Red Heart Camp," which looked quite masculine at first glance. However, the effeminate manner he inadvertently revealed in his words and actions was nauseating. Coupled with his darting blue eyes, he did not appear to be a kind person.

Fortunately, Shishan has always valued people's strengths and doesn't judge them by their appearance, so he can automatically overlook these shortcomings of Buciyuan.

"Doctor Bu has put in a lot of effort! When the generals discuss matters later, this person will be needed to explain the specific situation."

Bu Ciyuan immediately rolled up his sleeves and pinched his right hand as if performing acupuncture.

“If the governor wants him to wake up immediately, I can give him acupuncture right now.”

To break through the Five Rivers, Shishan barely slept a wink all night, yet his mind remained calm. He waved his hand and said:
"No need. It's only a hundred miles or so, and we have thousands of troops. How can we just leave like that? No matter how urgent the situation, a little more time won't make a difference. It will take me some time to gather the generals. Let this loyal and brave man rest a bit more."

Upon leaving the temporary clinic, Shishan immediately summoned his generals to his main tent for a meeting.

Wen Sijiu and Zeng Xing arrived first. The envoy from Hong County had caused quite a commotion. As soon as Wen Sijiu entered, he asked:

"Commander! What's going on in Hong County?"

Shi Shan and Pu Daoren were pointing and gesturing at the map on the wall, and Shi Shan said without turning his head:

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be Suining that's lost."

"Suining? Han general—Han Si!"

Suining is roughly north of Hongxian. It has been captured by Han Si and belongs to Xuzhou and Huai'an respectively. The Sui River separates the two cities, and there is no official road directly connecting them. It was the least likely direction for the enemy to appear.

Knowing that his own people held the key to his escape route, Xue Xian disregarded Shi Shan's suggestion to launch a phased attack and insisted on a two-pronged approach, simultaneously attacking Wuhe and Sizhou.

Wen Sijiu cursed Han Sijiu inwardly for being a menace, for not sending a messenger to inform friendly forces when he couldn't hold out any longer, yet he still harbored a sliver of hope.

"Could it be in another direction?"

Sun Xun, Hu Dahai, Li Wu, Chen Cheng, Tan Youyu, Fei Ju, Geng Zaicheng and others walked in together. Shi Shan nodded to them and picked up where Wen Sijiu left off.

"It's best if something happens in another direction, otherwise we'll really be trapped in this isolated city."

"Third Brother, has Hong County been lost?"

Li Wu only heard half of what was said before he burst into a tirade of curses:

"We shouldn't have listened to that bastard Xue Xian's nonsense, that son of a bitch from Xiao County—"

"All right!"

Shi Shan glanced at Wen Sijiu, whose face was extremely pale, and raised his hand to interrupt Li Wu's complaints.

"There's no point in saying more now. The cavalry spent most of last night toiling away; will they even be able to march today?"

"can!"

When the topic of war came up, Li Wu became very enthusiastic.

"We've just captured another hundred or so warhorses. At worst, we won't expand the cavalry for now. We can just equip them with more horses and run for a few more days without any problem."

"it is good."

Zhou Shier and Wu Liujin were in charge of maintaining order in the city. When they returned, the messenger had just woken up and was helped into the main tent by Bu Ciyuan.

"This humble servant greets the Commander!"

The messenger was about to pay his respects when he was stopped by Shishan.

"You're injured, no need for formalities, just tell me what happened?"

"Yesterday at noon, seven or eight hundred government cavalry suddenly attacked from the north. There were only five hundred soldiers in the city. Commander Yang immediately ordered us to break out and ask Commander Xue and Commander Shi for help."

During the day, visibility is good, and if the government cavalry really wanted to intercept them, the messengers wouldn't be able to leave the city at all if there weren't enough of them.

"How many messengers did Commander Yang send out of the city?"

"Ten in total, five on each side."

"Yes, you'll have to work hard again when my troops are dispatched. Doctor Bu, help this brother down to rest."

As soon as the two men left, Master Pu noticed that Shi Shan's expression was becoming increasingly solemn, so he approached him.

"Does the garrison commander suspect that the government troops deliberately let the messenger go, intending to besiege the city and intercept reinforcements?"

"Hmm!" Shi Shan nodded in response, quickly analyzing the current situation in his mind.

After the government troops captured Suining, they were already able to threaten Xuzhou, but they quickly moved south and went straight to Hong County to cut off the Red Turban Army's wings. The timing and direction of the military action were just right, and the commander was no ordinary person.

With six or seven hundred cavalrymen, plus several times that number of infantry, they could single-handedly defeat either of the two exhausted armies attacking Wuhe and Sizhou.

Conversely, if Xue and Shi proceed steadily, it won't be difficult for them to reach Hong County and join forces.

"Li Wu!"

"exist!"

"Your unit will select twenty elite cavalrymen, each with two horses, and immediately proceed to Qingyang Station. If Fu Youde is still at the station, notify him to cover Xue Wanhu's return to Hong County;"

If Fu Youde has already joined Commander Xue's troops, then find Commander Xue again and inform him that our forces have set off, asking him not to advance rashly. We should wait for our two forces to join forces before jointly driving away the government troops.

"Order!"

Li Wu immediately left the tent upon receiving the order, but Fei Ju and Geng Zaicheng were terrified that Shi Shan would abandon Wuhe, and their faces turned pale with fright.

"Commander, are you going to abandon Wuhe?"

Geng Zaicheng's voice was dry and sharp from excitement, and he realized he had misspoke as soon as he said it.

Fortunately, Shi Zhenfu did not blame him.

"Don't worry, brothers! Wuhe will definitely not give up, but Hongxian is the rear of the army. If Hongxian is lost, Wuhe will become an isolated city and will be difficult to defend. Defending Hongxian is defending Wuhe!"

"I, I'm also willing to go to Hong County to fight the Tartars, not because I don't trust the garrison commander, but simply—"

Shi Shan knew what Geng Zaicheng wanted to say, so he stepped forward, took his hand, and said:

"To be honest, Brother Geng, in the two battles yesterday, our army captured nearly a thousand government soldiers. We originally planned to disperse them and distribute them to various camps, but with the big battle imminent, there is no time to slowly digest them. Brother Geng, do you have any ideas on how to make good use of these prisoners?"

"Have!"

Geng Zaicheng answered resolutely:

“The army is rife with bullying and the soldiers are deeply resentful. If the commander is willing to stand up for them, kill corrupt officials and scoundrels, and promote some prestigious officers and soldiers, he will surely be able to stabilize the morale of the army.”

The solution is actually quite simple; Shishan himself has done it before. However, the county town is not a battleground, and excessive killing would alienate the people.

Geng Zaicheng, however, had no such psychological burden. He joined Fei Juying's army to enter the city and captured Shangguan Zhouxiongwu. He had no way out and was willing to sacrifice more people in order to defend Wuhe.

"Haha, the perfect candidates are right in front of us! Geng Zaicheng and Fei Ju!"

"exist!"

"I appoint you two as commanders, each with twenty elite soldiers from the Imperial Guard Battalion, to each command three hundred and fifty prisoners. Are you confident?"

Of the nearly one thousand people, only seven hundred were to be killed. Although Geng Zaicheng had thought of killing a group of people to establish his authority, he never dared to think of killing so many.

Excessive killing would ruin his reputation, and he could no longer expect to remain in the army. After much deliberation, Geng Zaicheng couldn't help but ask.

"What about the rest?"

"His addition to the Religious Guard Battalion is equivalent to my personal guards."

Geng Zaicheng breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"This humble general will do his best to handle this matter well!"

After arranging the prisoners' destination, Shishan began to make arrangements for those left behind.

"Sun Xun!"

"The general is here!"

"You stay here. Fei Ju will be under your temporary command. The veterans' association, the supply battalion, and the wounded soldiers of each battalion will also remain here. You can call them up if necessary. Wuhe is now in your hands!"

Sun Xun knew that his talent and ability were inferior to those of Wu Liujin and Hu Dahai, but since following Shishan, he had repeatedly taken on heavy responsibilities and felt deeply trusted. He immediately expressed his gratitude:

"Please rest assured, Commander, as long as I am here, Wuhe will be here!"

Sun Xun's statement made Shi Shan somewhat uneasy.

"I will be gone for at most half a month. If Wuhe can be defended, then defend it. If it really cannot be defended, then retreat back to Suzhou along the Hui River. As long as we are alive, we will fight again. Do not force yourself, understand?"

Seeing Shi Shan's earnest and earnest gaze, Sun Xun knew his own standing in the garrison commander's eyes, and solemnly replied:

"I will finally understand!"

After arranging the matters for those who remained behind, Shishan turned to look at Pu Daoren.

"Real person!"

"This humble Taoist is here!"

"Regardless of victory or defeat in this battle, our army needs to choose another location to ensure its safety. I have a secret mission to entrust to you..."

……

P.S.: The recapture of Suining and Hongxian by Zongwang Shenbao is a historical event recorded in the History of Yuan Dynasty, and was not intentionally made more difficult for the sake of making the plot more engaging.

(End of this chapter)