Sweep Yuan

Chapter 140 Fuhong County is like being mired in a quagmire

Huai Dong Marshal's Mansion.

Upon assuming office, Lu Luzeng, who was over sixty years old, disregarded his fatigue from days of travel, and after a quick wash, immediately convened a meeting of his generals.

"I, the commander, am skilled in both civil and military affairs, and am unfamiliar with the geography of Xu and Huai. I am deeply afraid that I may fail His Majesty's grace and waste the court's money and resources. Today, I am holding this meeting specifically to discuss strategies for suppressing the rebels in Xuzhou. I urge everyone to speak freely. I will choose the best advice and will not punish anyone for their words."

Lu Luzeng was a Han Chinese from Xiuwu County, Huaiqing Road. He passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Tianli era (1329) and was appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy of History.

Subsequently, he served successively as Censor of the Censorate in charge of confidential matters, Doctor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Supervising Censor, Director of the Privy Council, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, Director of the Left and Right Offices of Liaoyang Province, Assistant Director of the Office of the Censorate of the Northern Circuit, and Director of the Ministry of Rites.

Despite Lu Lu's scholarly attire and lack of any murderous aura, and even his poor complexion due to old age and fatigue from days of travel, he was an absolute ruthless figure who impeached and brought down countless important Mongol officials in the imperial court in previous years.

None of the generals dared to underestimate him. They looked at each other and then selected one of their boldest comrades to answer.

"Marshal Lu, the rebel army in Xuzhou has occupied three routes and twelve cities, with a total force of over 100,000. Our men are all brave enough to fight, but the imperial court has not provided armor, bows, and crossbows. Relying solely on our men's blood and courage to fight, I'm afraid we won't be able to break through the city."

The imperial court has mobilized three main forces to suppress the bandits in Xuzhou. Their specific deployments and combat missions are as follows:
On the northern front, Yue Kuocha'er, the Privy Councilor, led the Jining Road troops to wipe out the enemy in Feng County and set up defenses along the Yellow River to block the enemy's route northward to wreak havoc in the interior.

On the eastern front, Marshal Lu Lu of Huaidong Road led the recruited salt workers to annihilate the bandit army that had invaded Huai'an Road, blocking the bandit army's eastward advance.

On the southern front, Cheli Buhua, the Assistant Prefect of Huaidong Circuit, led the government troops of Yangzhou Road to suppress the bandits in Dingyuan and block their southward advance.

The remaining local troops strictly guarded the existing defense lines to prevent the rebel army from taking advantage of any gaps and escaping.

Once the three armies have completed their first steps, they will then consolidate their defenses and press forward relentlessly until the bandits of Xuzhou are completely wiped out.

At first glance, the three armies seem to have similar tasks, but the eastern front needs to recapture at least four cities—Wuhe, Hongxian, Lingbi, and Suzhou—before it can capture Xuzhou. The southern front only needs to recapture three cities—Dingyuan, Haozhou, and Suzhou—while the northern front only needs to recapture Fengxian.

The problem is that, putting aside the question of the combat strength of the armies on the southern and northern fronts, they are all regular government-organized troops with complete armor and sufficient supplies; however, the troops on the eastern front, which are the main force for attacking the enemy, are only 5,000 salt workers who were temporarily recruited, and they certainly do not have the bows, crossbows and armor that the government strictly prohibits the private possession of.

Lu Lu was a capable man and had already considered this question, answering:
"There is no need to worry about this. I have already obtained permission from the court to temporarily transfer soldiers and armor from the Huai'an Road Miscellaneous Equipment Bureau. I will certainly not allow the soldiers to break through the city in only their clothes."

Last year, the government troops in Huai'an Road suffered repeated defeats and lost a lot of weapons and armor. In order to prevent the enemy from breaking in, they urgently expanded their troops and requisitioned a lot of weapons and armor. The miscellaneous equipment manufacturing bureau had little stock left.

However, the accurate name for the Huaidong Road Marshal's Office should be the "Huaidong Road Righteous Army Marshal's Office." It was originally set up temporarily to quell the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou. Once the mission was completed, the various righteous armies would be disbanded, and the imperial court would generally not provide equipment during the mission.

The leader of the righteous army had only said it casually, but he was overjoyed that Lu actually distributed equipment to his men. He bowed and said:
"The Marshal has stood up for his men; the men of Huaidong dare not disobey and die for him!"

Lu Lu was quite satisfied with the generals' statements, and the anxiety he had felt since leaving the capital eased somewhat.

If the latter half of the eleventh year of the Zhizheng reign was marked by widespread rebellion and misfortune, then the beginning of the twelfth year of the Zhizheng reign, with war raging everywhere, caused even more heartache and regret among the loyal ministers and righteous men of the Great Yuan Dynasty. They wished they could turn back time to the previous year and resolve the many hidden dangers before the world descended into chaos.

Lu Lu was such a loyal minister. He came from a proper family through the imperial examination system, was upright, and dared to speak his mind.

When Lu Zeng first took office as a censor, a supervising censor impeached the Grand Chancellor Xianfu for being arrogant. Although some of his colleagues disagreed, none of them dared to speak out. Only Lu Zeng stepped forward to refute the supervising censor for "obstructing official business with personal feelings."

During his tenure as a supervising censor, Lu Lu impeached Grand Commandant Dashihaiya, Ajila, Right Chancellor Gongbuban, Minister of Justice Wutuman, Supervising Censor Mingjidangpu, Court Censor Halawanzhe, Yuelubuhua, and Secretary Lü Guocheng, among others.

The emperor accepted his suggestion and dismissed all the high-ranking officials above that level, and for a time the court was solemn.

With his personality, Lu Luzeng was naturally out of step with many of his colleagues in the current Yuan Dynasty court and was ostracized. Although he was a veteran official of three dynasties and had extensive experience in both the court and local government, he was still only promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

However, he remained loyal only to the king and did not care about his future.

When it came to suppressing the rebellion, all the officials avoided it like the plague, but Lu Luzeng bravely accepted the appointment, disregarding his ailing and disabled body, and took on the heavy responsibility of suppressing the bandits in Huaidong Road.

Before he even took office, Cheli Buhua, the Assistant Prefect of Huaidong Circuit, presented Lu Luzeng with a difficult problem, demanding that the Huaidong Circuit militia cooperate with the southern troops to first break through Haozhou, and then join forces to attack Xuzhou.

The Huaidong Circuit Pacification Commissioner's Office governed Yangzhou, Huai'an, and Gaoyou Prefectures, as well as eight prefectures including Zhenzhou, Chuzhou, Taizhou, Tongzhou, Chongming Prefecture, Haining Prefecture, Sizhou, and Andong Prefecture. It did indeed have the authority to issue orders to the Huaidong Marshal's Office.

Although Lu Lu had no experience in commanding troops, he also felt that this move was inappropriate.

Why were the bandits in Yingzhou so difficult to subdue? It was because the government troops could not effectively encircle them. Every time the imperial court gathered a large force, the bandits could find a weak point to break through. Once they scattered, the government troops had to divide their forces to intercept them, and then the bandits would find an opportunity to bite them.

There are no tricks or shortcuts to quelling bandits; the only way is to honestly construct an encirclement, then press forward step by step, resolutely giving them no room to maneuver.

Having served as an official for many years, Lu Lu had brought down numerous high-ranking officials and was not afraid to disobey Cheli Buhua's orders. However, considering the difference in information between the local authorities and the imperial court, and that the strategy of first destroying Haozhou was reasonable, he was not unwilling to cooperate with Cheli Buhua. He decided to first listen to the opinions of his subordinates. "Our troops can immediately recapture Hongxian and Wuhe. Which place should we attack first? Do any of you have any suggestions?"

The generals had long studied the cities of Huai'an Road controlled by the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou, specifically the areas of Hongxian and Wuhe, and immediately expressed their opinions.

“Hong County, the city was breached by King Shenbao just before the New Year. Its defenses are in disrepair, making it a good place for the young men to practice.”

"Wuhe, Wuhe has the Huai River for transporting supplies. If we break through Wuhe first, then attack Hongxian, the distance for our troops will be shorter."

"The rebel army from Haozhou is coming to reinforce Wuhe. It's much closer than our troops are coming from Sizhou. Plus, we have the advantage of the current and the wind. This is not a good idea."

The generals each held their own opinion, arguing endlessly. Only Tian Feng, the commander of the righteous army, remained silent until Marshal Lu's gaze fell upon him. Only then did Tian Feng bow and say:

"Last year, I fought against the bandits in Haozhou. Their unit was called the 'Red Flag Battalion,' and their military system and uniforms were very different from those of the bandits in Xuzhou."

Afterwards, I questioned the refugees and defeated soldiers who had fled from Xuzhou, and interrogated several captured bandits. I learned that although the bandits of Haozhou originated from Xuzhou and claimed to be part of the Red Turban Army, they had long since established a separate banner and had no further connection with the bandits of Xuzhou.

During the Battle of Wuhe at the end of last year, Tian Feng successfully covered the retreat of the main force of the government army in Sizhou while being pursued by the rebel army, thus becoming famous in one battle. Although he did not explicitly say which city to attack first, the intelligence he provided about the rebel army was very useful.

Lu Lu recalled the battle at the end of last year when the rebel army first forced Shenbao to retreat in Hong County, then returned to Wuhe to repel the government army's attack, and subsequently marched west to attack Haozhou. Combining this with the intelligence provided by Tian Feng, he realized the key points and said:

"Which faction does the bandit army of Hong County belong to?"

Tian Feng secretly praised Marshal Lu for his keen insight and replied:

"I sent men to infiltrate Hong County to investigate. The Wuhe bandits had transported grain to Hong County, but the Hong County bandits did not have uniforms like the Wuhe bandits. It seems that they were a separate unit, but they were closer to the Haozhou bandits."

"Tian Wanhu is indeed diligent; no wonder he was able to defeat the bandits. Very good!"

Lu Lu felt much more at ease and quickly made up his mind. He stood up and said:
"Generals, listen!"

The generals quickly stood up straight and listened attentively to the orders.

"Quickly muster the troops, change into their new uniforms today, break camp early tomorrow morning, and head straight for Hong County!"

"Your humble servants obey!"

……

Hong County.

After the Red Flag Battalion withdrew to Wuhe, Deng Shunxing reorganized his troops and pacified the villagers. Once the situation had stabilized somewhat, he led his men to infiltrate Suining County, sweeping away villages and communities along the route, driving out villagers to plunder grain, and clearing out nearly a hundred miles of desert to prevent government troops from passing through this route again to the south.

Due to insufficient manpower and resources, Deng Shunxing did not attempt to repair the city walls damaged by the Jinbo Army.

They also cut down all the trees on the north bank of the Bian River, proactively contracted their defenses, and concentrated most of the population on the south bank of the Bian River, merging villages into fortresses. Their plan was to rely on the Five Rivers for support should the government army launch a large-scale attack, and fight and retreat simultaneously.

More than ten days ago, Shishan sent a messenger with intelligence that the government troops might make unusual moves recently, and Deng Shunxing made preparations to go south.

When the garrison at Qingyang Station reported that the vanguard of the government army had been discovered, Deng Shunxing did not hesitate and quickly moved the remaining troops and supplies in the city.

Before leaving, he personally took a torch and started setting fire to the north of the city. The remaining houses in the city collapsed under the impact of the wooden beams, and even the stone bridge over the Bian River was broken.

The next day, the Huaidong army arrived, only to find Hong County reduced to scorched earth.
The ruins collapsed, burying wells and stoves.

The broken walls were covered with excrement and filth, and the stench filled the air.

The charred beams and logs were stuck diagonally into the ruins, standing like a forest of summoning banners.

Wisps of smoke seeped from the cracks in the ground, like the breath of a ghost town.

Lu Lu once ordered his men to ride around the city three times, but they could not find even a single intact wall to set up camp.

(End of this chapter)