Sweep Yuan

Chapter 137 The Battle of Haozhou: A Perilous Situation
The intelligence Zhou Wendao brought this time was very important. The Xu Song regime was launching attacks on all sides, and the White Lotus Sect in the south was about to rise up in various parts of Jiangnan. This would surely cause a sensation throughout the country and would inevitably affect the next strategy of the Red Flag Camp. However, Shi Shan did not reveal any information to his civil and military officers.

The reason is simple: this is not the era of the knowledge explosion that followed, and ordinary people have very limited access to information.

In fields such as astronomy, geography, history, politics, military affairs, and logistics, anyone who can specialize in one or two areas is a rare talent.

To try to cover everything in depth would be too much of a challenge given the current knowledge system and talent cultivation model.

At least at this stage, neither the civil nor military officers of the Red Flag Battalion, including Feng Guoyong and Li Shanchang, possessed the ability to analyze the underlying reasons for the dramatic changes in the world, let alone formulate correct response strategies based on these changes.

In this situation, blindly giving subordinates "vision boosters" will not only fail to help them cope with the impending changes, but may also lead some people to envy the explosive expansion of the Xu Song regime and be inclined to adopt more radical development strategies.

However, passively waiting for a change to occur is not in Shishan's nature.

During this period, he had actually been preparing for the impending crisis.

First, we must intensify troop training, especially drills targeting localized battlefield operations.

With the increasing number of battalion-level units in the Red Flag Battalion, relying solely on Shi Shan's top-down command is becoming less flexible.

Shishan's approach was to use the model of established top-tier battalions leading second-tier battalions, and then further subdivide the command structure—in fact, this was to prepare for the next step of increasing the number of battalions and above in the team and continuing to expand its size.

Secondly, they used the rest time after dinner each day to give lectures to middle and senior officers in rotation.

Since the formation of his army, Shishan has been teaching his subordinates in order to subtly influence and transform their perceptions.

Previously, due to tight combat missions, the lectures were mainly conducted in the form of discussions, and the content focused on geographical information of the surrounding counties and prefectures in the Red Flag Battalion's controlled area, as well as specific tactical studies, which were all relatively superficial.

Whether it's Ishiyama himself or the civil and military officials under his command, there's a process of gradually accumulating knowledge until the final leap forward.

At that time, the geographical situation of various circuits and prefectures along the Huai River in Shishan was vague, and their understanding of the history and politics of the Yuan Dynasty was pitifully small. The topics were too broad and not only were they not explained clearly, but they would also mislead their subordinates with wrong information.

As the Red Flag Battalion's controlled area gradually expanded, Shi Shan's command of the army and population increased, his vision broadened, and the information gathered in his hands became more and more abundant. He gradually corrected some of his misconceptions and gained a preliminary understanding of the entire Yuan Dynasty territory.

During this period, Shishan took advantage of the rare peace before the big battle to give a long lecture to his generals.

The lectures mainly covered history and geography, but they weren't just dry, common-sense instruction. If they had done that, most of the generals would probably have been completely lost. The fact that no one dared to slack off in front of Marshal Shi was a testament to his formidable reputation.

Shishan begins with the folk tales of the Three Kingdoms period, and then expands upon them by combining contemporary geography, historical records from the Records of the Three Kingdoms, and some research findings from later generations.

For example, where is Hulao Pass from the Three Kingdoms period now, and why did it lose its importance later? What legendary figures and stories from the Three Kingdoms period are associated with the areas where Liu Futong and Xu Shouhui are currently active? Why couldn't Sun Quan conquer Huaixi with 100,000 troops? And so on.

The Three Kingdoms stories have a wide audience among the people. Even if ordinary people don't have the opportunity to hear storytellers recite the stories in person, they must have heard secondhand Three Kingdoms stories from their elders, relatives and friends. Conducting education in the form of storytelling sessions can easily immerse the audience in the stories.

Through stories and discussions, Shishan helps them to initially establish a global perspective and a method for analyzing contradictions.

Today, Shishan once again posed the question, "Where should we start to overthrow the Han Dynasty and establish the Yellow Turban Empire?" He led the generals to travel through a thousand years of time and space, playing the role of a Yellow Turban army leader, which indeed sparked a heated discussion among the generals.

The Chinese military tent.

Feng Guosheng stood before a sketch map of the thirteen provinces of the late Han Dynasty, pointed to the upper right corner of the map, and began to speak eloquently.

"If you ask me, we should take Youzhou first. It's a golden corner with silver edges and a grassy belly. Youzhou is the golden corner. We just need to hold off the government army while we attack, and then we can go north to conquer the Wuhuan and Xianbei, seize horses, and train soldiers. In three to five years at most, we can get 100,000 Youzhou cavalry. With such a strong army in hand, where in the world can't we take it?"

"No, no, that's not right."

As soon as Feng Guosheng finished speaking, Li Song stepped forward and shook his head, saying:
"Emperor Wu of Wei unified Jiangbei, and even with the combined strength of the eleven richest provinces at the time, he could only support a few thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the warlord wars had caused the people's livelihood to decline and the situation was not as good as before, Youzhou was still bitterly cold. Even in the early years of Guanghe, how could it afford to support 100,000 elite cavalry?"

Feng Guosheng realized he had exaggerated and felt somewhat embarrassed, so he stepped back and asked in return:
"Then tell me, which one is good?"

Unlike Feng Guosheng, whose mind was full of cavalry flanking and assault tactics, Li Song, who came from a humble background and had witnessed his sworn brother's dying wish for a meager meal, was more concerned with the army's supplies and immediately replied:

"Yizhou, the land of abundance, has beautiful fields and rich people. It is also rich in salt and iron. During the Guanghe era, it would not have been a problem to easily support an army of 100,000."

After Li Song finished speaking, Wang Bi stepped forward and said:
"Although Yizhou is not short of money, food and soldiers, the roads out of Sichuan are steep and narrow, making it difficult to transport supplies. Even heroes like Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, with the support of powerful families in Shu, could not accomplish this in decades."

"We are the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a thorn in the side of the powerful clans. They will inevitably try to trip us up behind the scenes. How can we possibly succeed?"

Wang Bi's words made Li Song somewhat unsure, so he chuckled dryly and sat down to reorganize his thoughts.

Fei Ju had been guarding Wuhe City since joining the Red Flag Battalion, and had only recently been transferred back to Haozhou. He was still a little unaccustomed to this novel discussion experience, and fearing that Marshal Shi might misunderstand that he wasn't paying attention, he quickly took over the conversation when everyone was silent. "Emperor Gaozu of Han also started his career in Shu, and when he entered Shu, he burned the plank roads, making the transport of grain even more difficult. So how was he able to conquer Guanzhong and pacify the world?"

"I know that."

Feng Guosheng enjoyed reading military books and knew some stories about the Chu-Han Contention. He replied:
"When Xiang Yu divided Guanzhong into three parts, his strength was weakened. In addition, Emperor Gaozu of Han adopted Han Xin's strategy of openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing Chencang, so he was able to get out of the pass."

Although Fu Youde had some formal education, his current knowledge was limited, and he had many questions. He replied:
"Then why couldn't the Shu Kingdom launch a surprise attack via the Ziwu Road?"

The generals were stumped by the question. They whispered among themselves for a while but could not come up with a unified opinion. Seeing that the discussion could not continue, they could only turn to look at the marshal.

Shishan stood up, walked closer to the hanging map, and said:

"To understand the general trend of the world, one must look at the whole world. The fact that Emperor Gaozu of Han was able to emerge from Hanzhong, Han Xin came up with a brilliant strategy, and Hegemon-King divided Guanzhong were all important reasons. But more important was the fact that there were many warlords in Guandong, most of whom did not obey Hegemon-King's orders, which tied down a large number of Western Chu troops."

The Shu Kingdom, occupying most of the land from a small corner, could launch a surprise attack from the Ziwu Pass with a small, exhausted force to reach Chang'an, but it would be difficult to breach the city quickly. Even if the Wei Kingdom lost Chang'an, it could easily regroup and annihilate the Shu army that had entered the pass.

The similarities and differences in how Shu and Han broke the deadlock are certainly not something that can be explained in a few words, but Shishan's purpose was not simply to tell a story, so he immediately turned the topic to the current situation.

"The Red Flag Battalion was able to survive in the cracks not because we were so strong that we could defeat the government troops without any chance to fight back, but because of the general trend of the world."

After saying this, Shi Shan ordered Guo Ying and others to remove the map from the late Han Dynasty and replace it with a rough map of the Yuan Dynasty's territory. As soon as the generals saw this, they knew that the main event was about to begin, so they quickly sat up straight, focused their attention, and listened attentively to the marshal's discourse on the general situation of the world.

"The Mongols, a small ethnic group, ruled a large country. The foundation of their power and dominance was the Mongol cavalry living in the northern desert. However, the northern desert was bitterly cold and lacked the grain supply from the south of the Yangtze River, so it was impossible to support many people. In order to maintain their power, they had to transport huge amounts of grain from the south of the Yangtze River every year."

The transport of grain from the south to the north relied on the Grand Canal and coastal shipping routes; the Grand Canal was the lifeline of the Yuan Dynasty. However, grain transport by sea was affected by the monsoon and could only be carried out twice a year. Furthermore, the unpredictable defection of Fang Guozhen in Taizhou greatly increased the risks of maritime transport, so the Grand Canal could not afford any more disruptions.

After Liu Futong's uprising, the Tartar court, while mobilizing a large army to suppress the rebels in Yingzhou, also continued to expend considerable manpower and resources on canal repairs. This was because the unrest in Henan was a minor matter compared to the disruption of the canal, which prevented the transport of grain from the south to the north, potentially leading to the downfall of the Yuan dynasty.

As Shi Shan's bamboo whip swept across the northern desert, through the south, and then from Yingzhou to Taizhou, the generals gradually became engrossed in the moment.

The Tartar cavalry of the northern deserts, Liu Futong of Yingzhou, Fang Guozhen of Taizhou, the section of the Yellow River that breached its banks, the canal transport routes, the grain-producing areas of Jiangnan... the abstract concept of "the world" gradually became concrete in the minds of the generals.

The world is so vast that the hundreds of miles stretching from Xuzhou to Haozhou are merely an insignificant little part of the entire world. Yet, every little thing that happens in other places can affect this small area.

"The timing of Sesame Li's uprising was excellent. It was precisely when the government troops in various places were all mobilized to besiege the Red Turban Army in Yingzhou and Qizhou, which allowed the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou to seize the opportunity, expand in all directions, and gradually reach its current size."

But I predict that the Tartar court will soon adjust its plans, and within a month at most, it will deploy a large force to besiege Xuzhou.

Shishan first presented his conclusion, then looked at everyone and asked:
Do you know why this is?

"Cao, canal transport?"

Li Song replied weakly, but no one echoed him.

The answer was actually hidden in the marshal's statement, but the generals were still somewhat bewildered—hadn't the imperial court always targeted the Red Turban Army in Yingzhou and the Xu-Song regime as its main targets? Why would it suddenly turn to besiege Xuzhou?

Seeing the confusion in the eyes of his generals, Shishan continued:
"Yes! It's the Grand Canal. The Tartar court didn't have the energy to deal with Xuzhou before because it had to repair the canal and quell the rebel armies in Ying and Qi. It lacked both manpower and resources."

But now the breached section of the Yellow River has been dredged and closed. In at most a month, as the weather warms up, the Yellow River will thaw. Xuzhou happens to be a crucial point for the grain transport. If this obstacle cannot be removed and the grain transport restored, wouldn't all the manpower and resources spent on building the Yellow River dikes have been wasted?

Looking at the contiguous Xuzhou and Haozhou on the map, Fu Youde asked:
"If the Tartars focus their attack on Xuzhou, will we also be targeted?"

Although the Xu and Hao Red Turban armies had long since separated, they were still considered as one entity by outsiders. When the Yuan army besieged Xuzhou, Haozhou was no exception.

A few days ago, Shi Shan sent a message to Deng Shunxing of Hongxian, Sun Xun of Wuhe, Shao Rong of Dingyuan, and Wu Liujin of Huaiyuan, saying that the Yuan army might be eager to open up the canal transport route and would mobilize a large force to invade the area controlled by the Red Flag Camp.

All units were instructed to thoroughly investigate the enemy's situation and prepare for defense in advance. If the enemy was too powerful and could not be defeated, the principle of preserving lives over lost territory would be upheld, and the enemy units would be allowed to voluntarily withdraw their defenses and wait for the main force to arrive before launching a counterattack.

Dingyuan faces threats from the east and south. Shao Rong wanted to take the offensive as a form of defense. He had just submitted his battle plan a few days ago. Shi Shan not only agreed to his request to send troops, but also sent the Xiaoji Battalion and the Second Cavalry Battalion to patrol south in shifts, so that Shao Rong could act with peace of mind.

Historically, the fact that Sesame Li and Guo Zixing were able to escape this calamity was largely due to the chaos caused by the Xu Song regime in Jiangnan.

The Red Flag Battalion is facing the same situation. It cannot afford to fight the Yuan army head-on and wear them down. It should first rely on the existing cities to organize defenses. As long as it can withstand the first few waves of attacks and stabilize the front line, the Yuan army will not have the energy to continue to wear down the Red Flag Battalion when the Jiangnan region is in chaos.

But no one can predict what will happen before it happens, and Shishan didn't want his generals to become complacent because of this, so he nodded and said:
"This is inevitable. This battle is different from the past. The Tartars have launched a large-scale invasion with the goal of annihilating the Red Turban Army of Xu and Hao. How can we escape unscathed!"

(End of this chapter)