Sweep Yuan

Chapter 161 The Appointment of the Division Chief Yu and Liao Tong

"Sir, cavalry has been spotted outside the woods, numbering about two hundred."

Not long after Yang Polang led the first group of men to board the ship and leave the shore, Xu Da and Zhang Desheng were engrossed in discussing naval warfare strategies when they suddenly received an urgent report from the patrol.

Located far from Liang County but adjacent to Hefei, the identity of the Linwai cavalry is self-evident.

There are still three hundred soldiers in the forest. Relying on the terrain of the peach forest, which is not conducive to the movement of cavalry, Xu Da is not afraid that the enemy will suddenly rush in. However, if this cavalry continues to patrol outside the forest and does not retreat, the subsequent troops' boarding operation will be hindered.

Xu Da's mind raced, and he quickly made up his mind. He said to Zhang Desheng in a deep voice:
"Commander Zhang, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

He then stood up and loudly commanded his soldiers:
"Don't panic. You all should form ranks and hold your ground in the woods. The cavalry will not dare to enter lightly. I will go and meet them."

"Steward, I'll go with you!"

Inspired by Xu Da's heroic spirit, Zhang Desheng stepped forward and decided to follow him out of the forest.

Xu Da raised his hand to stop them, and said:

"We have both been entrusted with important responsibilities by the Marshal; how can we go to dangerous places together?"

After saying this, Xu Da picked up his gun and bow, and walked steadily out of the forest. Zhang Desheng could only watch as his tall figure emerged into the sunlight.

Outside the forest, the Hefei cavalry also noticed the unusual activity in the woods. Just as they were hesitating whether to send someone to inquire, they suddenly saw a tall figure walking out from the depths of the peach grove.

Xu Da leaned against a lush peach grove, facing hundreds of iron cavalry, his breath deep in his dantian, his voice booming like a bell.

"Are you soldiers from Hefei? I am Xu Da from the Red Flag Battalion! I entered Hefei a month ago and had a long talk with General Zuo. Does anyone recognize me? Please step forward and speak with me!"

It was clear that some of the Hefei cavalry had heard of Xu Da's name, and a murmur of commotion arose in the ranks. After a moment, a leader was chosen.

"So it's General Xu."

The visitor was unfamiliar with the specific military structure of the Red Flag Battalion, and even less aware of Xu Da's current position. He could only arbitrarily bestow upon Xu Da the high title of "General" in order to facilitate communication.

"May I ask General Xu, why have you led so many troops to infiltrate my Hefei territory today?"

Xu Da stood alone at the front of the battle line, his expression calm, and retorted in a loud voice:
"General Zuo has already surrendered the city and even personally went to Liang County to pay homage to Marshal Shi. Hefei should naturally belong to the Red Flag Battalion. I, Xu, was acting on Marshal Shi's orders and was on my own territory. How can you say I 'sneaked in'? Are you all completely unaware, or are you showing contempt for superiors and inferiors and looking for trouble?"

The leader wanted to retort, but when he thought of how his own General Zuo had already bowed down to Marshal Shi, he felt weak and dared not bear the responsibility of provoking a major battle between the two armies. He could only stammer in response:
"I am outspoken and have said the wrong thing. I had no intention of provoking the upper army. I hope General Xu will forgive me! We are very familiar with this area. If General Xu has any needs, please let me know. I am willing to guide you."

Zuo Junbi's elder brother, Zuo Junmei, was entrenched in Chaohu Lake, and was originally a target that the Red Flag Navy was determined to eliminate after its establishment.

But since the Red Flag Battalion's deployment in Chaohu had already been discovered by the Hefei cavalry, Xu Da no longer intended to hide it—there was no way to hide it now.

"No need."

Xu Da stared intently at the cavalry leader and said:
"The Red Flag Battalion has already established a water fortress in Chaohu Lake. I have heard that General Zuo's elder brother also makes a living on the lake and has many heroes under his command. We are all under Marshal Shi's command and should help each other. You should quickly go back and inform General Zuo to ask his brother to move to my water fortress to help with this important matter."

Xu Da only said half of what he meant and did not specify where the Red Flag Battalion's naval camp was located.

Although Chaohu Lake has a vast surface area, there are only a handful of islands in the lake suitable for a large army to establish a camp. Zuo Junmei has been operating in the lake for many years. If he can't even find a camp for the Red Flag Battalion's navy, then he has no value in being recruited.

Xu Da's move was an imitation of Marshal Shi's strategy of stationing troops in Liang County to force Zuo Junbi to come to court. His intention was to "openly" inform the Zuo brothers, Zuo Junmei and Zuo Junbi, that the Red Flag Battalion had entered Chaohu and established a foothold, and that the Zuo brothers could choose their own path.

If Zuo Junmei is pragmatic and "takes the initiative to surrender," then the two sides can maintain harmony, and the navy can also gain a respite and a chance to grow rapidly.

If he remains stubborn and attempts to annihilate the Red Flag Navy, then Xu Da will have a legitimate reason to act, and even if Zuo Junmei is injured in the subsequent battle, Zuo Junbi will have nothing to say.

Upon hearing this, the leader felt a chill run down his spine. How could he possibly meddle in such a crucial military matter concerning his commander's brothers? He immediately lost all interest in monitoring the Red Flag Battalion's movements, hastily clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:
"Thank you, General Xu, for your honest advice! I will return to the city immediately and inform General Zuo!"

Before he finished speaking, the man had already turned his horse around and returned to his own army. He whispered a few words to the cavalry general, and only a dozen or so of the two hundred cavalrymen remained. The rest rode back to Hefei.

These few men posed no threat to the Red Flag Battalion soldiers in the forest; they could only be used to monitor their movements.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Xu Da and his men disappeared into the vast Chaohu Lake.

Haozhou.

A few days ago, Shishan had just carried out a round of personnel changes among his civil officials.

Chen Cheng, the magistrate of the Commerce Bureau, went to Dingyuan to succeed Li Shanchang as the magistrate of Dingyuan; while the position of magistrate of the Commerce Bureau was taken over by Jiang Juren, who had recently joined the government.

Jiang Juren was originally the magistrate of Lai'an County. During his tenure, he promoted education, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, adjusted taxes and corvée labor, and supported commerce, making Lai'an County "harmonious and prosperous, and all the dilapidated buildings were restored," and the atmosphere was renewed.

Because he was in charge of building the Qingxin Pavilion outside the watchtower, the people of Lai'an respectfully called him "Prefect Qingxin," truly a rare virtuous official of his time.

Last year, Wudu Village suffered a devastating war, and Hu Dahai's elder brother, Hu Dayuan, and other relatives fled to Lai'an County, Chuzhou, for refuge.

After Hu Dahai led his troops to besiege the city, Hu Dayuan risked his life to persuade Jiang Juren to surrender the city.

After the war, Hu Dahai recommended this talented man to Shishan.

The Commerce Bureau was responsible for key tasks such as commercial development, market stability, and grain transport and logistics. Although Chen Cheng laid the foundation during his tenure, he was unable to streamline the overall situation. Although Jiang Juren's tenure was short, the Commerce Bureau had already undergone a complete transformation, which greatly pleased Shishan.

At the same time, after Li Shanchang took charge of the household registration seal, he felt that the government office was short of manpower and many important duties could not be performed effectively.

On this day, he came to Shishan to report on the current situation of the Household Affairs Bureau and earnestly requested that more personnel be added and responsibilities be clarified.

In Li Shanchang's vision, a complete Household Registration Office should have considerable power, managing household registration, collecting taxes, managing finances, managing land, managing warehouses and canal transport, managing the minting and issuance of paper money, managing commerce and trade, distributing officials' salaries, supplying the army with provisions, and so on.
By this calculation, it is practically the most important department under the Marshal's Office, and can be considered the head of all departments.

However, Shishan had long ago assigned the two major tasks of warehousing and transportation and promoting commerce and stabilizing the market to the Shangcao.

Moreover, he was also planning that when copper and iron production increased and there was a surplus in addition to meeting the army's needs, he would set up a special agency to manage the minting of coins, and he did not intend to place this function under the Ministry of Revenue.

Ishiyama's core role in the Hoso department is very clear, consisting of only two points:

First, household registration. Second, finance.

Regarding household registration, the household registration system of the Yuan Dynasty was already completely rotten.

Military households, artisan households, post households, and so on, were called "households" but in reality, they were state slaves, whose status was passed down through generations, and they suffered terribly.

The new regime of the Red Flag Camp must not follow this old path again. It must gradually liberate these "households" and turn them into ordinary people who can live normal lives and pay taxes to the government stably.

As for financial management, Shishan further divided it into two parts.

One is annual income (money collected).

The second is expenditure (spending money).

Regarding the collection of money, Shishan emphasized that we should not focus solely on land taxes.

After a new dynasty is established, land taxes often increase rapidly with population growth and land reclamation. However, due to inevitable land annexation and tax evasion by privileged individuals, taxes will gradually decrease, and the dynasty will inevitably enter a period of decline.

The Commerce Bureau is working hard to revitalize commerce and expand market scale, and the Household Bureau must also keep up and gradually make commercial tax revenue bigger and stronger.

The Yuan Dynasty's commercial tax system, inherited from the Song and Jin dynasties, had too many unreasonable aspects.

Some taxes are too heavy, such as salt, which is an essential part of people's daily lives. When salt taxes are too high, poor families can't afford salt, and salt smugglers, driven by greed, take risks and are impossible to eradicate no matter how the government tries to stop them.

Some taxes are levied too lightly, such as on tea and luxury goods like jewelry and jade, allowing large sums of tax revenue to slip away unnoticed.

These unreasonable commercial tax systems must be gradually adjusted when the opportunity arises.

Regarding spending money, Shishan believed that one should not only focus on officials' salaries and military expenditures.

A responsible regime must shoulder its social responsibilities and allocate a portion of its annual budget for public affairs such as education, scientific research, sports, culture, and health.

Of course, he also knew that one must take things one step at a time, and eat one bite at a time.

Whether we actually receive the money or spend it where it's truly needed, we must first cultivate the relevant talent, seize the right opportunity, and steadily implement reforms. We must never be too hasty, otherwise, we risk causing major problems.

There is only one thing that must be implemented as soon as possible—the salaries of the Red Flag Battalion soldiers.

The Red Flag Battalion had been busy conquering cities and territories. Even after capturing several cities, it had not established a stable rule. In addition, it had been less than half a year since it occupied Haozhou, and tax revenue was limited. The Red Flag Battalion had not yet established a system for distributing salaries.

After the formation of each guard, they will gradually take on many independent combat missions.

If the Marshal's Office cannot distribute the salaries on a monthly basis and firmly control the "money bags" of each guard, and relies solely on temporary rewards during battles to maintain morale, serious problems such as the growing power of the troops will inevitably arise in the long run.

Li Shanchang originally came seeking personnel and power, but he was stunned by Shishan's sweeping reforms and functional restructuring.

However, after Shishan made such a clear statement, it became much clearer what the Hucao (household officials) should and shouldn't do.

Moreover, Li Shanchang had been keeping the matter of determining the standard for the army's pay as soon as possible in mind. Having received the marshal's clear instructions, he immediately returned to the Ministry of Revenue with renewed vigor to study the specific implementation plan.

On the same day, Xu Da also sent good news: the naval officers and soldiers had successfully arrived and landed on Laoshan Island!

Xu Da was always cautious and thorough in his work. In his letter, he not only reported that he had successfully landed on the island, but also truthfully reported that he had encountered the Hefei cavalry on the way. In particular, he mentioned that he had "taken it upon his own authority" to order Zuo Junmei to submit to the Red Flag Battalion Navy, and took the initiative to ask Marshal Shi to punish him for this.

Shishan was well aware of the principle that "a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders."

Although Xu Da had never been to Chaohu before and his understanding of the various forces in the lake was far inferior to that of Zhang Desheng, his strategic idea of ​​"first forcing Zuo Junmei to surrender, and then taking advantage of the situation to incorporate the Chaoxian navy" was clearly more brilliant and farsighted than Zhang Desheng's previous ideas.

Shi Shan was very pleased and immediately wrote a reply, highly praising Xu Da's decisiveness, keen insight and strategic vision, and encouraging him not to have any worries and to boldly go ahead and do it!
At the same time, Shi Shan also ordered Shao Rong to lead his troops out of the city in a feigned offensive posture to tie down the troops in Hefei, so that Zuo Junbi would not dare to make any rash moves, thus forcing Zuo Junmei in Chaohu to make a "wise" choice as soon as possible.

However, the situation changes much faster than the messenger can travel.

On the third day after Xu Da led his troops to Laoshan Island, the soldiers were practicing rowing and boarding skills enthusiastically in the water fortress. Suddenly, a fast boat that had been sent out on patrol rushed back to the water fortress.

"Sir! A lot of boats are coming from the eastern lake, and judging from their direction, they're heading straight for our water fortress. There are at least a hundred of them! Judging from the style of the leading boats, they look like Yu Tingyu's and Liao Yong'an's boats!"

Yu Tingyu and Liao Yong'an were both prominent figures in Chaohu, each leading a group of men and considered local tyrants.

However, they haven't openly raised their flags in rebellion yet, so their ships naturally won't display any identifying flags or markings. It's perfectly normal that the sentry ship, observing from a distance, can't be 100% certain it's them.

"Could it be that they heard our Red Flag Battalion raised its flag on Laoshan Island and came here specifically to join us?"

Zhang Desheng had dealt with Yu Tingyu and Liao Yong'an quite a bit and knew that the two were not bad people, so although the matter was sudden, he was not flustered at all, but rather somewhat expectant.

"wrong!"

Xu Da had already stood on a rock overlooking the water, shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed into the distance. The outlines of the fleet on the lake were becoming increasingly clear. His brow was furrowed, and his tone was grave.

"Yu Tingyu and Liao Yong'an's two groups combined only have about sixty boats at most, but this scene shows almost half that number. Something's definitely up here!"

His sharp gaze swept across the lake surface as he continued his analysis:

"If they were truly coming to join us, wouldn't it have been simpler for them to sail directly to us? Why did they need to meet up first and bring so many ships to make a show of force? Besides, the island is less than seven miles away, and the fleet is still moving at full speed as a whole. This kind of behavior... doesn't seem like they're coming with goodwill at all."

Even in peaceful times, Chaohu is a lawless place beyond the reach of the government.

Those who make a living on the lake believe in the law of the jungle: big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, and might makes right. Often, the line between fishermen and pirates is very blurred; the difference lies only in whether they encounter an easy target.

Zhang Desheng suddenly remembered Yu Tingyu and the others, especially the Liao Yong'an brothers' usual ways of doing things. Combined with the current situation, a thought flashed through his mind! Enraged, he slapped his thigh hard and cursed:

"Could it be that they've also set their sights on Laoshan Island? Are they trying to use their superior numbers to intimidate us and force us out?!"

(End of this chapter)