Sweep Yuan

Chapter 135 The World Has Become a Wildfire

Upon hearing this, a flicker of panic crossed Zhou Wendao's eyes. Marshal Shi, with his keen insight, could discern Zhou's predicament from the slightest clue. Knowing he couldn't hide it from Shi Shan, he smiled wryly:
"Not yet, but it's almost there. In recent days, many wealthy merchants from Jingzhou and Xiangyang have fled by boat, and I have learned some news that Xu Song's army has been besieging Wuchang for a long time without success and has already divided its forces."

To the east, they attacked Xingguo Road; to the west, they attacked Hanyang Prefecture, Mianyang Prefecture, Zhongxing Road, Anlu Prefecture, Jingmen Prefecture, and other places.

The Yuan court strictly controlled military maps, and even the local government offices in various prefectures and counties did not have corresponding maps, let alone allow them to fall into the hands of the people.

Shi Shan has been collecting maps for so long, but he has only managed to find some maps of the area from Xuzhou to Huaixi. For areas further away, he can only draw rough sketches by combining information provided by traveling merchants, station occupants and other groups, as well as his own memories from later generations. Therefore, he has some impressions of these areas.

Xingguo Road is located southeast of Wuchang Road, and it governs the three counties of Yongxing, Daye and Tongshan. It faces Qizhou Road, the old stronghold of the Xu Song regime, across the river.

Hanyang Prefecture was located west of Wuchang Road, governing Hanyang and Hanchuan counties. Its seat, Hanyang, was across the river from Jiangxia, the seat of Wuchang Road.

Following the Han River westward, past the Han River Valley, lies Mianyang Prefecture (which encompasses present-day Xiantao and Tianmen).

Zhongxing Road (roughly the present-day Jingzhou prefecture-level city), Anlu Prefecture (roughly the present-day Anlu City and Jingshan County), and Jingmen Prefecture (roughly the present-day Jingmen prefecture-level city) were located to the west and north of Mianyang Prefecture, and all were connected to the Han River.

Both Mianyangfu and the southern end of Zhongxing Road connect to the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Based on the map in his mind, Shishan roughly understood Xu Shouhui's strategic intention: to cut off the outer barriers of Wuchang Road, cut off its troop and material support routes, and then capture Wuchang Road in one fell swoop.

The route map of Xu Song's army was very clear, which indirectly proved that the intelligence provided by Zhou Wendao was highly credible.

However, an analysis of this intelligence raises another question: Xu Shouhui was the first to establish an regime and declare himself emperor, and the Yuan court launched the most powerful attack against him. While the Xu Song regime was directly resisting the Yuan army, it also conquered at least seven circuits and prefectures. Where did it get so many troops?

Immediately, a thought flashed through Shi Shan's mind. He chuckled to himself, realizing that he was projecting his own ideas onto others. He was thinking that conquering a place would allow him to control and digest it. Even if the Xu Song regime's leadership had this idea, what internal or external conditions did they have?

Their so-called large army probably doesn't consist of many well-organized veterans; most of them are likely local civilians they coerced, otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for multiple outbreaks to occur simultaneously.

Even so, it is terrifying that the Xu Song regime was able to coerce so many people at the same time. Besides the Yuan court's own inhumane actions, it must have also relied heavily on highly inflammatory political slogans.

In chaotic times, what wealthy merchants fear most is the refugees who are swept up in the chaos.

After all, when you encounter an army like the Red Flag Battalion, which has a clear political line and strict discipline, you can choose to cooperate by giving up some benefits; but when you encounter a large army of refugees, if you don't run away decisively, you're gambling that they'll spare your life after looting all your property.

Thinking of this, Shishan tried to comfort Zhou Wen in a relaxed manner:
"They haven't taken Wuchang Road yet, have they? Even if they do, they're still a long way from Taiping Road. What's there to worry about?"

Zhou Wendao's face showed even more worry. After hesitating for a moment, he moved slightly closer to the rocky hill and said:
"I've also heard that the White Lotus sect members in Longxing Road, Yuanzhou Road, Jiangzhou Road, Raozhou Road, and Xinzhou Road have begun open activities, spreading the Xu-Song slogan of 'destroying the rich and benefiting the poor.' Many people have been misled by them and have started making weapons. They should be launching an uprising soon,"

The Xu Song regime is currently conquering areas in the Jiangbei Henan Province and the Huguang Province.

However, Longxing (present-day Nanchang), Yuanzhou (present-day Yichun), and Jiangzhou (present-day Jiujiang) were located within the Jiangxi Province, while Raozhou (present-day Jingdezhen City and Poyang, Yugan and other counties) and Xinzhou (present-day Shangrao City) were located further east, under the jurisdiction of the Jiangzhe Province.

Especially Jiangzhou Road and Raozhou Road, which are only separated from Taiping Road by Anqing Road, and across the river from Pengzu's family in Luzhou, the Xu Song regime explicitly proposed "destroying the rich and benefiting the poor," directly targeting all wealthy households and merchants. No wonder Zhou Wendao was in such a hurry.

The Xu Song regime's move was no ordinary military campaign; it resembled the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty. Regardless of the fighting capabilities of its troops, the destructive power of the regime, coupled with the political slogan of "destroying the rich and benefiting the poor," was absolutely astonishing.

The Southern White Lotus sect has been deeply rooted in the Jianghuai region for many years, constantly proselytizing and repeatedly rebelling. Now it has finally blossomed and is about to bear fruit. Multiple dioceses have launched a joint uprising. No wonder they can disregard military principles and open up so many battlefields simultaneously behind enemy lines.

If Zhou Wendao's report is true, it is likely that not only the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but the entire Jiangnan region will be plunged into war and chaos in a very short time. Coupled with the already chaotic Jiangbei region, there will be no more peaceful land in the world.

No wonder Zhou Wendao rushed to Haozhou to seek the protection of Shishan, this rebel.

Now, Shishan couldn't sit still any longer and immediately asked:
"Is this true?"

With his life and fortune at stake, Zhou Wendao dared not deceive Shishan any longer and replied solemnly:

"The White Lotus sect members openly operate in the countryside. Jiangnan is already weak in terms of military strength, and a large number of them have been drawn to Jiangbei. The government dares not stop them. This information was provided by merchants and refugee gentry from various places. I have screened and cross-verified it. I cannot guarantee that it is 100% true, but it is 90% true."

If Zhou Wendao is so certain, then it can be basically confirmed to be true.

Shi Shan rose and paced back and forth in the room, rapidly considering the Red Flag Battalion's response strategy. If the Xu Song regime's large-scale operation succeeded, the great chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty might very well end sooner.

The question is, can it succeed?

The Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty far surpassed the Xu and Song regimes in both scale and organization. At its peak, it had a million soldiers. However, when the Eastern Han regime, beset by internal and external troubles, exerted its strength, the million Yellow Turbans were wiped out by the joint efforts of the court and local powerful families.

Of course, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was able to scale up in such a large-scale manner due to the internal power struggles within the ruling group of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The fact that the Southern White Lotus Sect of the Great Yuan could operate openly under the noses of local officials suggests that there was a power struggle among various interest groups within the Great Yuan behind the scenes.

Ultimately, they will be ruthlessly abandoned as the power struggle among interest groups comes to a conclusion.

At that time, the tragic scene of a million rebels bleeding profusely and their corpses piling up like mountains will be repeated.

The Yuan Dynasty was riddled with internal contradictions, and the massive uprisings that erupted were merely the outward manifestation of these contradictions. If these contradictions were not resolved, no one could stop what was bound to happen.

The White Lotus sect members in various parts of Jiangnan had been planning their uprising for a long time, and it was already time to act. Shishan had neither the strength nor the position to prevent this tragedy from happening, so he could only try to take advantage of this major event to maximize his own interests.

Shishan quickly sorted out his thoughts, sat down again, and said:
"Boss Zhou, which route did you take to get here?"

The land distance from Dangtu, the seat of Taiping Road, to Haozhou is only 500 li. However, the transport of large goods usually takes the route of the Yangtze River, the Grand Canal, and the Huai River. Although it is a long detour, the logistics costs are reduced a lot, and the risks along the way are also much smaller.

That's why Zhou Wendao appeared in Hong County back then.

Because the Red Flag Battalion occupies Haozhou and Wuhe, this route has now become a smuggling route, which is inaccessible to ordinary people. Zhou Wendao's caravan, with twenty mules and horses, must have been traveling by land.

However, the land route was also difficult to traverse. When news spread that the Red Flag Battalion had annihilated Dong Tuanxiao's elite troops, the "Peng Zu Family" rebel army, which had been compressed into Hanshan and Wuwei by the government forces, was encouraged and took the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

It is said that the "Peng Zu family" has won several consecutive battles, but their troops have not yet established contact with the Red Flag Battalion, and the specific situation is still unclear.

Zhou Wendao indeed did not go into the battle zone between the two armies, and replied:
"I'm in a hurry. After the New Year, I'll land at Hezhou (a prefecture under the jurisdiction of Luzhou Road), pass through Quanjiao (a county under the jurisdiction of Chuzhou), Dingyuan, and arrive at Haozhou."

This trip confirmed that a land route still exists between Taiping Road and Haozhou, which is also very useful intelligence. Shishan nodded and said:

“Very good, the intelligence provided by Mr. Zhou is very useful. It just so happens that our army has accumulated quite a lot of spoils of war recently, which can all be handed over to you for processing. If you don’t have enough pack animals, you can also arrange cargo ships. Don’t worry, the liaisons along the way will be taken care of, and you can go straight to Yangzhou.”

Zhou Wendao had been trading goods across various regions for many years and valued logistics information the most. He had actually heard of this smuggling route, but with the current situation so critical, he had no intention of leisurely traveling back by water. He immediately explained his purpose.

"Wherever the Red Flag Battalion goes, the people are at peace, and the markets are bustling. I have come here hoping to buy property in Haozhou. We will discuss the trade after the battle."

The term "property purchase" is actually a euphemism for settling down, but merchants like Zhou Wendao are usually from large families. In times of chaos, they would typically purchase properties separately to mitigate the risk of the family's demise. It's impossible for them to really put all their eggs in one basket with Shi Shan, this rebel.

Shi Shan was also aware of this. He had no intention of blackmailing Zhou Wendao. The cooperation between the two parties should be based on mutual benefit. Coincidentally, he did have something he needed the other party's help with.

“Very good, I will arrange for Governor Chen to fully cooperate. There is another matter I would also like to trouble Mr. Zhou with.”

Zhou Wendao was a very capable businessman. He firmly believed that the basis of cooperation between the two parties was mutual benefit. Fearing that Shishan might not need him, he became more enthusiastic when he saw that the marshal wanted to "trouble" him, and said:
"Marshal, please speak!"

Shi Shan thought of Huaiyuan's outdated iron smelting industry, realizing that relying on local resources, it would be difficult to achieve significant results in three to five years. Fortunately, Taiping Road and the adjacent Jiqing Road had relatively developed iron smelting and other industries. He said:
"Jiangnan is likely to descend into chaos soon, with widespread refugees and a significant reduction in the government's control. You need to find a way to recruit some craftsmen for me, especially master craftsmen and skilled artisans proficient in ore selection, iron smelting, bell casting, mirror polishing, and mechanical devices. I'm willing to pay three times the cost. What do you say?"

Zhou Wendao was involved in the smuggling of contraband and had a lot of contact with these industries. He was well aware of how strict the government was in controlling artisans. However, Marshal Shi also said that taking advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters was risky, but the profit was also high.

"The key to this matter lies in timing; I must go back and plan ahead."

"It doesn't matter."

(End of this chapter)