Sweep Yuan

Chapter 86 Talking about the Country, Brothers Open Their Hearts

The military camp in the east of the city, the large tent on Shishan Mountain.

"Third Brother, that scoundrel Xue Xian has detained our men and even dared to seize our city. I'm going to go and kill him!"

When Li Wu saw Shi Shan, he was able to refrain from showing off his achievements, which clearly showed that he was really seething with anger.

"Nonsense!"

The Red Turban Army of Lingbi was exhausted from their journey and did not take over the defense of the city walls. The guarding of the east gate was the responsibility of the Sixth Battalion.

Li Wu and his group of over five hundred people made quite a commotion by traveling at night with torches. The only way to bring Li Wu and his group back to the city without alerting Xue Xian was for Wu Liujin to personally take charge.

After a moment's thought, Shishan understood what was going on and immediately put on a stern face.

"What did Wu Liujin say to you?"

When Li Wu saw his third brother lose his temper, he felt a sudden pang of anxiety, and the anger he had been holding in vanished.

"No, he didn't say much, just how difficult it was to capture the city, and how his wounds hadn't fully healed. Then, as soon as Xue Xian entered the city, he looted the county government office and the treasury. I was furious—"

"that's it?"

"Really, that's all."

Shi Shan breathed a sigh of relief, took out a paper package from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a roasted lamb leg that was still warm.

"What are you standing there for? Come sit over by the brazier. Are you hungry?"

"Hey."

Li Wu took the lamb leg, sat down and started gnawing on it, muttering to himself all the while.

"Third Brother, are we really going to hand over Hong County to Xue Xian?"

After winter set in, the temperature in Hong County plummeted. Shi Shan poured himself a small bowl of wine, took a sip, and handed it to Li Wu.

"This wine is a bit icy; you should moisten your throat first, and then drink it after I warm it up. What's so great about Hongxian that you insist on staying here?"

Li Wu took the bowl of wine and downed it in one gulp. The wine had a very low alcohol content and was indeed very cold, making him shiver involuntarily.

"Hiss—I don't think Hong County is any better either. I just feel that Third Brother worked so hard to build it up, so why should it be given to Xue Xian?"

Shi Shan sat down next to him, looking at Li Wu with amusement.

"According to you, if we take Hong County, it will belong to us. If Fu Youde takes Qingyang Station, will it also belong to him? If we have to personally lead every battle to every city, even if we brothers have ten hands, how can we hold onto this vast land?"
Li Wu, with a piece of mutton in his mouth, stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.

"Third brother, do you think we can conquer this land in the future?"

Shishan was used to keeping his secrets from others, but he tried his best to explain his strategy to Li Wu so that Li Wu would not make a mistake at a crucial moment.

"What's wrong? You want us to keep hanging around with these people from Xiao County?"

That's not what I meant. I—

It has only been a little over two months since Shishan came back to life, but Li Wu's experiences during this time have been richer than the past eighteen years combined—all thanks to the changes his third brother brought to him.

Whenever Li Wu recalls the past, he feels as if he is in a dream, afraid that when he wakes up, his third brother will be dead and he will have to endure Yang Chaolu's bullying alone.

Li Wu was just a low-ranking military household with little knowledge. Even though he firmly believed that following his third brother was the right thing to do, he never dared to imagine that he could help his third brother conquer the vast country.

Upon hearing Shi Shan's words, Li Wu felt a mixture of doubt, excitement, and apprehension.

"I'm just afraid that I'm not capable enough to do anything great, and that my third brother will look down on me."

"Haha!" Shi Shan put his arm around Li Wu's shoulder and patted him hard twice.

"Fifth brother, you must remember, we are brothers who have risked our lives for each other. As long as you don't betray me, I will never let you have to drink water if there is a mountain of fresh water to drink."

"Third Brother!"

Li Wu became increasingly agitated, his eyes even turning red.

"I'll listen to you for the rest of my life, and I won't listen to any outsiders gossiping."

The wine in the pot had warmed up a bit. Shi Shan picked up the pot, filled Li Wu's cup, and said with a smile:

"Is Third Brother someone who can't listen to honest advice? You should listen to what others say, and if I do something wrong, you should also speak up. If you don't even dare to speak frankly, who else in this world can tell me the truth?"
You must also study. Otherwise, when our business grows big in the future, and you can't even write a letter, how can I trust you to guard this region?

"I'll learn, I'll learn tomorrow."

Speaking of writing letters, Li Wu remembered the important matter he had rushed back overnight.

"Third Brother, we've won a great victory! This is the battle report that Brother Fu asked me to bring back."

Shi Shan received the battle report, and Fu Youde began by reporting the spoils of war.

In this battle, Fu Youde and Li Wu jointly destroyed an enemy camp, beheaded 276 people, and captured 527 government soldiers. Some government soldiers, in their panic, jumped into the icy Bian River and drowned, the exact number of whom is unknown.

They captured 173 sets of iron armor, 261 sets of leather armor, 392 bows and crossbows, 74 warhorses, and nearly 100 draft horses, mules, donkeys, etc., as well as countless other weapons, tents, and supplies.

In addition, the righteous people of Wudu Village held back three hundred government troops. Their kills were reported by Hu Dahai in person and were not included in the statistics.

Fu Youde then gave a brief report on the battle, focusing on how to observe changes in the situation and adjust the battle plan in a timely manner, and summarized the contributions of Li Wu and Hu Dahai's units in this battle.

After the war, Fu Youde interrogated some of the prisoners and learned that there were originally three thousand regular soldiers in Sizhou City, and some local militia were temporarily recruited before the war, bringing the total number to nearly five thousand.

In the Battle of Wudu Village, the vanguard of the government army, numbering 1,500, was almost completely wiped out. In a short period of time, the government army of Sizhou was no longer able to advance on Hong County and advised Shishan to adjust his strategy as soon as possible.

To avoid missing the opportunity, Fu Youde ordered Li Wu and Hu Dahai to escort 60% of the spoils back to Hong County day and night.

Shishan originally opposed Xue Xian's rash advance, but with the victory in the Battle of Wudu Village and the arrival of reinforcements from Lingbi, the balance of power in the local area of ​​Huai'an Road had been reversed, and it was time to consider taking the initiative to attack.

However, there's no rush. Even if we agree on the deployment of troops with Xue Xian tomorrow, we still need to spend some time preparing military supplies and coordinating matters related to the departure.

Putting down the battle report, Shishan put aside his thoughts of the rich spoils and praised Li Wu.

"Hmm, that was a very good battle! Fifth brother, you've improved a lot, you even knew about night raids!"

Li Wu was a little embarrassed and answered while scratching his head:

"It's a pity we didn't get a chance. The government troops raided the camp in the middle of the night, and by the time we got there, it was too late. If it weren't for Brother Fu's good timing, we could have at most killed the three hundred people who came out of the camp to massacre the village."

The villagers of Wudu Village played a crucial role in annihilating the vanguard of the government troops in this battle, and Hu Dahai, who led the villagers to hold back three hundred government troops, was truly a rare military talent.

Unfortunately, although Hu Dahai joined the "Red Heart Camp," he dared not risk all his wealth. Not only did he not send anyone to bring back the clansmen who had fled that night, he also dismissed all the villagers and only took twelve trusted clansmen with him to join the army.

Even so, Shishan was quite satisfied. With a valiant general, why fear a lack of strong soldiers?

Where is Hu Dahai now?

"It's in the east wing barracks. Brother Hu is a real hero. Third Brother, you must meet him when you have time."

"What free time do you have? Take him—no, I'll go see him right now."

(End of this chapter)