Sweep Yuan

Chapter 251 How to Control the Flames of War

As May approached, a season when all things should be flourishing, the southern suburbs of Qichun County, the seat of Qizhou Prefecture, presented a desolate scene.

As far as the eye could see, the Yuan army's banners stood like a forest, fluttering and rustling in the wind. Siege engines, including ladders, battering rams, and siege towers, were lined up densely in front of the army like ferocious beasts.

Amidst the billowing dust, reinforcements, chanting low but synchronized commands, continued to push more siege equipment towards the spot. Tension and anxiety filled the air. A fierce siege battle was about to erupt.

In the central army of the Yuan army, on a magnificently decorated chariot, Buyan Temur, the Pingzhang Zhengshi (Chancellor) of the Jiangzhe Province of the Yuan Dynasty, was shading his eyes with his hand, gazing at the somewhat dilapidated Qichun city wall in the distance. His face was solemn, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes revealed worry and anxiety.

Qichun County has a long and narrow terrain, with rolling mountains to the east and north. The highest peak, Yundan Mountain, rises into the clouds, reaching nearly 400 zhang (1244.1 meters above sea level), forming a natural barrier that is difficult to overcome.
To the west, the Qishui River meanders, acting as a natural moat that prevents the Yuan army from attacking. To the southeast lies the expansive Honghu Lake, and further south, the mighty Yangtze River forms a formidable natural barrier.

Such treacherous terrain made Qichun easy to defend and difficult to attack. To engage in a deadly battle with the defenders here, wasting precious manpower and time, was by no means a wise move. As an experienced commander, Buyan Temur knew this well.

However, Qichun's strategic position is simply too important.

It is not only the southeastern gateway to Qishui County, the "capital" of the Xu Song puppet regime, but also a key node guarding the Yangtze River waterway.

If Qichun cannot be captured, even with tens of thousands of troops under his command, Buyan Temur will not be able to directly threaten Qishui County, and the strategic goal of annihilating Xu Shouhui will be out of the question.

What frustrated him even more was that although the Yuan army had a numerical advantage at the walls of Qichun, it was restricted by the narrow terrain and could only barely deploy along the southern city wall. Initially, they also had to be constantly on guard against repeated harassment from Zhao Pusheng's naval forces in Honghu Lake on their flank and rear, and were unable to launch a full-scale attack on the city.

For many days prior, the only option was to employ a siege strategy, amassing a large force there in an attempt to cut off the city's food supplies and force the defenders to surrender. This feeling of being unable to use his strength left the proud and arrogant Buyan Temur feeling extremely frustrated.

In fact, the Yuan central government did not expect to be able to completely wipe out the powerful Xu Song regime by relying solely on the power of the Jiangzhe province.

This was a multi-pronged attack, with large armies deployed from five provinces: Jiangxi, Huguang, Sichuan, Jiangbei, and Jiangzhe, exerting pressure from different directions, and making some progress in each direction.

On the western front, the Yuan armies of Sichuan Province and Jiangbei Province successfully joined forces and first recovered Xiangyang Road in one fell swoop, then destroyed Meng Haima's "Northern Lock Red Turban" army. They then took advantage of the victory and marched south, successively recovering Jingmen Prefecture and Anlu Prefecture.

On the southern front, the Yuan army of Huguang Province was launching a fierce attack on Wuchang Prefecture, a key town on the Yangtze River. Both sides were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war at important strongholds outside the city, fighting repeatedly and resulting in rivers of blood.

Meanwhile, on the flank of Buyan Temur's army in Jiangzhe, the Yuan army in Jiangxi Province had successfully captured Yongxing County (later Yangxin County, Hubei Province), the seat of the Fuxingguo Road. After a brief rest and replenishment of supplies and troops, they would continue westward to besiege their next target—Daye County.

A massive encirclement is gradually tightening, trapping the core area of ​​the Xu Song regime within it.

Many officials in the Yuan court believed that as long as they proceeded steadily and cautiously, they could easily quell the rebellion at a relatively low cost in at most six months, once the cities in Qizhou were out of food and supplies and the morale of the troops was low.

Buyan Temur had previously accumulated considerable military achievements by successfully recapturing places such as Huizhou Road, Chizhou Road, and Jiangzhou Road.

Logically, such a tremendous achievement as conquering the Xu Song regime should not be solely attributed to him. Buyan Temur could have slowed down his offensive and waited for allied forces from Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Huguang provinces to gradually encircle and complete the encirclement before launching a general offensive together, thus sharing the risks and the credit.

The problem lies with Shi Shan, the bandit chieftain of Jiangbei! This cunning and fierce man took advantage of the fact that the main force of the Yuan army in Jiangzhe was deeply mired in the quagmire of Qizhou Road and that their rear was extremely vulnerable, and suddenly led his troops across the Yangtze River to the south, catching Buyan Temur completely off guard!
He is now in a dilemma:

Advancing would mean taking the fortified city of Qichun with heavy casualties; retreating would have unimaginable consequences.

In reality, at this time, the troops from Jiangsu and Zhejiang could not withdraw at all, let alone dared to withdraw!

After all, the position of Pingzhang Zhengshi (Chief Administrator) of Jiangzhe Province was merely an important stop on Buyan Temur's long career path. Even if Jiangzhe Province were to fall, the court would inevitably focus on those officials who remained behind to guard the rear when investigating the matter.

As the Grand Councilor in charge of military affairs, he was "fighting" on the front lines against bandits, so his responsibilities were relatively small. If things went well, he could most likely retain his position and wait for the future. If he could successfully quell Xu Shouhui's rebellion, none of this would be a problem.

However, if, at the crucial moment of the siege against the Xu Song regime, he were to arbitrarily lift the siege, allowing Xu Shouhui to seize the opportunity to withdraw elite troops and defeat the Yuan armies in the other provinces one by one, the court would be furious. Forget about his official position; whether Buyan Temur could even keep his head would be a serious question!

At that time, Buyan Temur could only pray that the arrangements he made in the rear before the expedition would have some effect and slow down Shishan's advance.

But Shishan's determination far exceeded their expectations. Tens of thousands of Red Flag Battalion troops stormed into Jiangnan as if it were empty land. In less than a month, they swept through and captured cities such as Dangtu, Lishui, Jurong, and Liyang in quick succession!
The provincial navy, the troops stationed on Taiping Road and Jiqing Road, and the temporarily conscripted local militia were all of little use against the ferocious Red Flag Battalion, and were basically routed at the first touch.

The war progressed at a breathtaking pace. At first, Jiangning City was able to send out urgent messengers one after another. However, after the Red Flag Battalion won a great victory in the naval battle on the outskirts of Jiangning and successively captured Jurong County and Liyang Prefecture, the land route for Jiangning City to send out information was completely blocked.

After that, all Buyan Temur could receive were inquiries about the Red Flag Battalion's movements from more peripheral areas such as Zhenjiang and Chizhou.

The soldiers under Buyan Temur were mainly from various routes in the Jiangzhe Province, and some of them even had their families in Taiping Road and Jiqing Road!
Even though they rationally knew that Jiangning was a well-fortified city with ample food reserves, and that the Red Flag Battalion would find it difficult to capture in a short time, they could not rest easy until they had wiped out the Xu Song regime and returned to Jiangzhe.

Anxiety about the safety of their families back home spread like a plague through the army, severely eroding the fighting capacity of the Yuan army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

To make matters worse, the Red Flag Battalion's navy had already taken control of the Yangtze River's Jiangning section, and the grain ships that were originally supplying the front-line army from Pingjiang Road (Suzhou) were repeatedly intercepted by them.

Today, the tens of thousands of Jiangsu and Zhejiang troops trapped in Qizhou Road can only rely on the western Zhejiang routes for their logistical lifeline. Although the distance is shorter, the roads are difficult, transportation is troublesome, losses are huge along the way, and the supply line is extremely fragile.

After nearly two months of siege, the troops were exhausted and morale was steadily declining. If Qichun City could not be captured, the arrival of the rainy season would make the roads muddy and logistics even more difficult. Diseases might also break out in the army, and the tide of war could turn against them.

In short, the longer the situation drags on, the more unfavorable it becomes for Buyan Temur.

But the bad news doesn't stop there.

The Yuan court concentrated the elite troops from various provinces to besiege the Xu Song regime, which gave the Yingzhou Red Turban Army, which was originally confined to narrow areas such as Queshan County and Xinyang Prefecture, a precious respite.

According to the latest official report, Liu Futong reorganized his troops in late April, suddenly marched north, and once again captured Shangcai County. He then besieged Ruyang County, the seat of Runing Prefecture, and his momentum was restored.

In Huaidong, salt smuggler Zhang Shicheng's power expanded rapidly after capturing Gaoyou County, the seat of Gaoyou Prefecture. He then successively captured Baoying County and Yancheng County in Huai'an Road, completely cutting off the main canal transport line. His troops quickly expanded to tens of thousands, becoming a major threat to Huaidong.

This fellow then made an extremely arrogant and rebellious decision: he openly established the state of "Great Zhou", proclaimed himself "King Cheng", and changed the era name to "Tianyou", clearly showing that he wanted to rival the Great Yuan.

However, Zhang Shicheng was also extremely cunning and knew how to choose his timing.

His current territory is located right behind the two major rebel forces, Xuzhou Zhima Li and Huainan Shishan. If the Yuan court wants to launch a campaign against Zhang Shicheng from the north, it must first take down this tough nut of Xuzhou Zhima Li.

After a period of silence, the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou seemed to be encouraged and successively captured Yongcheng and Suining. Peng Erlang's troops took advantage of the fact that the Yuan army in Huai'an Road was distracted by Zhang Shicheng and had its forces undefended, and went straight down the Bian River, capturing Xuyi County, the seat of Sizhou.

In an instant, war broke out again in Jiangbei and Jiangnan, and chaos ensued, putting the Yuan Dynasty's rule in grave danger.

It is conceivable that in the capital's imperial court, the officials would once again engage in a fierce debate and wrangling over the question of "who should bear the responsibility for the unfavorable outcome of the war."

According to information from clandestine sources, the current Left Chancellor, Tuotuo, has been cornered and has repeatedly petitioned the emperor to personally lead troops south to quell the bandits in Xuzhou, Huaidong, and Huainan in order to salvage the critical situation.

However, based on his understanding of the current state of the court, Buyan Temur judged that it would be difficult for Toqto'a to truly organize a large army for an expedition in a short period of time.

The reason was simple, yet fatal—the imperial court did not have enough food to support a large-scale expedition.

Since Li Zhima occupied Xuzhou and cut off the main artery of the north-south grain transport, Dadu Road and its surrounding areas have not received sufficient tax grain from the south for two years. The national treasury has long been in deficit and its grain reserves have been exhausted.

Although the imperial court had begun organizing large-scale land reclamation near the capital last year, it was a case of water from afar not being able to quench immediate thirst, and the output was ultimately limited. It is said that many people in the capital had starved to death last winter and this spring, and the people's hearts were already unsettled.

Without first solving the most basic food problem, even if the Yuan court tightened its belt and managed to cobble together an army, its size would be at most tens of thousands. With such a small force, it was uncertain whether it could successfully open up the Xuzhou passage, let alone march south to pacify Huaidong and Huainan.

Therefore, in the view of Buyan Temur and others, the Yuan court's current strategy for breaking the deadlock has actually been restricted - the only option is to concentrate troops and eliminate the most powerful "number one rebel" Xu Shouhui as quickly as possible.

Then, they could focus all their efforts on unblocking the Grand Canal and quickly transporting grain from Jiangnan to Dadu (Beijing) to save lives. Only after the court had recovered somewhat and stabilized its base could it calmly mobilize troops to quell the rebellions in all directions.

There is no other way.

In this strategy concerning the life and death of the Yuan Dynasty, the Jiangzhe Province will play a crucial role, and can be said to be the lifeline of the Yuan Dynasty.

First, it must undertake the arduous task of supplying provisions to Dadu (Beijing), ensuring the court can weather this most difficult hurdle. Second, if eastern Zhejiang remains unconquered, the army can advance westward from Hangzhou to curb Shishan's further expansion in Jiangnan; or cross the river northward to reinforce the precarious Yangzhou and cut off Zhang Shicheng's retreat.

To achieve these two crucial objectives, Buyan Temur could not remain stationed at Qichun indefinitely. He had to quickly recapture Qichun and Qishui, completely annihilate Xu Shouhui, and then swiftly return to Hangzhou to stabilize the situation in the southeast.

However, it was clear that his exhausted and demoralized troops from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were not capable of accomplishing such a difficult task.

Prime Minister Toqto'a also took into account the practical difficulties at the front. After some maneuvering and consulting with the emperor, he issued twenty blank official documents to Buyan Temur, granting him the power to appoint officials on the spot.

Buyan Temur made full use of this authorization and quickly promoted and appointed a group of "righteous soldiers" leaders, including Kang Maocai, who were from Qichun and neighboring Jiangzhou.

These people were familiar with the local geography and customs. More importantly, most of their property and land had been confiscated or destroyed by the Xu Song regime, which made them deeply resentful. Their fighting spirit was quite resolute, far surpassing that of the Jiangzhe soldiers who were eager to go home.

It was with the strong support of these local powerful militias filled with hatred that Buyan Temur was able to gradually eliminate the strongholds outside Qichun City and seize the opportunity to defeat Zhao Pusheng's navy in one fell swoop, thus completing the encirclement of Qichun County.

Today marks the day their troops officially launch their general offensive against Qichun County.

To boost morale, Buyan Temur spared no expense before the battle, ordering the slaughter of pigs and sheep to reward the army and provide the soldiers with several good meals. However, he knew that for these tired and worried soldiers, a few good meals were far from enough.

Once all the siege troops had assembled and formed their ranks, Buyan Temur, escorted by a group of elite personal guards, arrived at the front of the formation. With his back to the Qichun city walls and facing the vast, dark army, he gathered his strength and shouted loudly to his soldiers:

"My comrades! Once this city is breached, the rebel army will be left with only Qishui, an isolated city! If Qishui falls, Xu Shouhui will be beheaded, and this war will be over! At that time, the army will return in triumph, and you will be able to return home with me to protect your parents and families!"

With tens of thousands of troops stretching out in a long line, the commander's shouts naturally needed to be relayed by his personal guards, who acted as human megaphones.

The Jiangzhe soldiers in front of Buyan Temur had actually heard it twice. Although they longed to end the war as soon as possible and return to their hometowns, their reaction to the formidable city that they had been besieging for so long seemed somewhat numb and indifferent.

After all, if Qichun County were easy to conquer, it wouldn't have stood for so long.

Do you think you can motivate soldiers and get them to fight to the death by shouting a few empty slogans? Impossible!

Bu Yan Temur observed the crowd's reactions and knew that slogans alone wouldn't be enough to boost morale. Determined to win this crucial battle, he went all out, immediately offering an even more tempting reward:
"Whoever is the first to scale the walls in this battle, regardless of their background, will be promoted three ranks! He will be rewarded with two thousand strings of copper coins! In addition, he will be granted five hundred acres of prime farmland!"

As the saying goes, a great reward will surely bring forth brave men. Such a generous reward, even if only half of what was promised is ultimately received, is enough to elevate an ordinary soldier or low-ranking officer to a position of great power.

Immediately, not only did many soldiers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang begin to gleam with greed, but even the "righteous soldiers" under Kang Maocai and others, who were already eager for battle, were all itching to fight and were ready to move. A noticeable commotion arose in the crowd.

Buyan Temur was very satisfied with the effect of this drastic measure. But he knew very well that only one person could ultimately claim the credit for being the first to scale the walls, and many troops, due to their own type of service, mission, or location, would simply not have the chance to compete for that prize.

He decided to add fuel to the fire, to ignite the soldiers' most primal desires and brutality. Buyan Temur drew his sword, pointed it at the Qichun city wall, and roared with all his might:

"After the city falls, your swords will not be sheathed for five days! All the gold, silver, treasures, women, and jade within the city are yours to take!"

boom!
This order was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the emotions of tens of thousands of soldiers to their peak! The fatigue of the past few days and the fear of attacking the city were instantly transformed into a frenzied anticipation of wanton looting and venting their bestial desires after the city was breached!

The eyes of most soldiers were filled with naked excitement and greed. Their whispers merged into a buzzing sound, which then coalesced into a deafening, savage roar:
"kill--!!!"

Almost simultaneously, thousands of miles away in Jiangning, the Red Flag Battalion completed all preparations for launching a general offensive.

After winning over a large number of people's hearts with his flood control and disaster relief efforts in Nanhe, Shishan divided his main force into three parts and stationed them outside the east, south and west gates of Jiangning City, respectively, under the command of Chang Yuchun, Gong Wu and Zuo Junbi.

Except during rainy weather, each unit would take turns organizing siege operations of varying scales. However, the intensity of these attacks was kept very low, serving more as drills and pressure tactics. In some cases, no one actually scaled the city walls, and casualties on both sides were kept to a low level.

The main purpose of this move is
First, continuously demoralize the defending troops, preventing them from resting;
Second, gradually remove obstacles and defensive fortifications set up by the garrison outside the city;

Third, we use real combat to train and integrate new recruits converted from prisoners of war, so that they can quickly integrate into the Red Flag Battalion.

The more intense and deadly "battle" is not actually fought beneath the city walls, but rather at the level of people's hearts and wills.

When Shi Shan personally led more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians to join hands in jumping into the icy flood to fight against the natural disaster and work hard to close the dike, and then went deep into the homes of the disaster-stricken people to distribute food and supplies and receive the "sincere support" of the local gentry and people.

When Zhang Desheng and Sang Shijie escorted boatloads of grain to the city of Jiangning via the Lishui River and Jurong River, the guards unloaded the grain onto supply wagons in front of the garrison and transported it to various camps, showing off that the Red Flag Battalion had ample supplies and strong reserves.
When Sun Yan, Xia Yu and others who had recently joined the army led the clerks of the Household Department to go deep into the countryside to measure the fields, divide the Chen family's land that had been "exiled" to Xuzhou, and issue new land deeds bearing the seal of the Jiangning County Magistrate of the Red Flag Camp to the former Jiangning local militia who had joined the Red Flag Camp and performed well.
When those local militia who had recently collapsed at the first sign of the enemy were, after a brief period of education and training by the Red Flag Battalion, able to stand under the protection of large shields and shield carts, braving a hail of arrows and flying stones, and shout loudly in the local dialect of Jiangning to the defenders on the city wall, trying to persuade them to surrender or to shake their morale.

As the people outside Jiangning City, led by elders, carried baskets filled with food, they went to the Red Flag Camp to offer food to the troops...

The disadvantages of high city walls were now fully apparent. All the psychological warfare tactics employed by the Red Flag Battalion outside the city were unlikely to escape the notice of the defending troops. Moreover, these actions were intentionally planned by Shi Shan as a psychological tactic to intimidate the defenders.

What was even more terrifying than the complete severing of external aid was that the enemy was right under their noses, slowly winning over the local people. A sense of powerlessness and despair, of being utterly abandoned by the outside world and becoming like a tree without roots, spread uncontrollably among the defending troops.

Since the day his "heart ailment" flared up, the highest-ranking official of Jiqing Road, Darughachi Danidas, had reduced the frequency of his city patrols. Without the personal supervision of the highest-ranking official, various rumors spread rapidly on the city walls, and the already low morale plummeted to rock bottom.

All the preparations for the "siege" were actually made before the big battle.

The days of "training" and the powerful psychological offensive had already ignited the fighting spirit of the Red Flag Battalion soldiers. With all units already deployed, Shi Shan didn't give any further pre-battle mobilization to the troops, and everything proceeded according to plan.

The weather was fine that day. After breakfast, the soldiers of each guard left the camp in order, shouting rousing battle cries, pushing various siege weapons, and heading to their respective pre-arranged attack positions.

Under the sunlight, swords and spears gleamed coldly, and flags fluttered in the wind. They were just waiting for the third quarter of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM) to launch a general attack from the east, south, and west, making it difficult for the defending army to defend both ends.

This time, Shishan chose to focus his attack on the west city wall.

Because there are no bridges blocking the way, the navy's large gunboats can sail directly through the Qinhuai River to the outside of Shicheng Gate.

Although the river was still some distance from the city wall, the Red Flag Battalion archers, standing on the boats, could only barely reach the wall with their powerful bows, but the damage would be greatly reduced. Conversely, the archers defending the city wall posed a similar limited threat to the boats.

However, the Red Flag Battalion's specially modified gunboats, at this distance, were able to bombard the western city wall, especially the area around the city gate tower, with their decks higher than the waterline, using their broadside cannons.

At 3:45 AM, with a command given, the gunboats deployed on the western front of the Qinhuai River roared out!

The siege has officially begun!
The defending troops were clearly aware that the Red Flag Battalion's main attack direction today would likely be the west city wall, and had deployed more troops and defensive equipment there in advance. Danidas, despite being ill, even climbed the stone city gate tower to boost the morale of the defending troops.

At such a close distance, the accuracy of artillery fire is greatly improved.

Although the existing artillery caliber is still too small, theoretically it would take at least three to five days of continuous bombardment to completely collapse the sturdy brick and stone city gate tower.

However, Shishan's objective at this moment was not to destroy buildings, but to strike at the defenders' manpower. It was not necessary for every shell to hit the target accurately. Any shell that hit a densely populated area would cause a bloody mess and create a great psychological shock to the defenders.

Sure enough, after just two salvos, chaos erupted on the west city wall. Whether by luck or the gunners' exceptional performance, a heavy iron ball struck Danidas squarely in the face, who was determined not to leave the city to "take refuge"!

The ornate helmet, crafted from fine iron, was as fragile as paper in the face of such terrifying kinetic energy. The head of this highest-ranking Yuan officer in Jiqing Road exploded instantly, like a ripe watermelon struck by a heavy hammer, scattering red and white fragments everywhere!

Danidas himself did not experience any pain; he died the instant he was hit by the shell.

But this extremely bloody and visually shocking scene terrified the civil and military officials around him, who screamed in panic and fled in all directions. The already demoralized soldiers on the city wall also screamed and hid, and the order on the city wall collapsed instantly!

Meanwhile, the soldiers responsible for the main attack on Zhongwuwei had already rushed to the city walls. Just as the ladders were being placed on the walls, Bian Yuanheng keenly heard unusual noises coming from the walls and realized that the defenders might be in disarray.

He immediately climbed the ladder and, surprisingly, encountered no significant resistance, easily reaching the top of the west city wall.

Three Yuan soldiers saw someone scaling the city wall and instinctively thrust their spears at him. Bian Yuanheng snorted coldly, closed in, and within a few rounds, the three Yuan soldiers fell to the ground one after another. Looking around the city wall, the defending soldiers were already fleeing in panic...

(End of this chapter)