Sweep Yuan

Chapter 9 What a fine bunch of elite soldiers!

After the Red Turban Army occupied Xuzhou, its numbers increased dramatically, but its organization rapidly declined.

To solve this problem, Sesame Li divided the entire army into the Sharp Battalion and the Strong Soldier Battalion.

The former were elite troops, required to stay in the camp and conduct two drills every three days, with the advantage of being able to eat their fill; the latter were similar to local militia, not required to train daily, not given money or food, and had to bring their own armor and weapons when fighting.

Shishan was unaware of this situation and thought that the so-called "elite soldiers of the Jianzu Battalion" were similar to the Rui Battalion soldiers who were training. He immediately accepted the combat mission.

Seeing Shi Shan's straightforwardness, Zhao Junyong smiled and glanced at Li Wu.

"I am in dire need of a 'standard-bearer' as valiant as Brother Li. Would Brother Shi be willing to step aside?"

Damn it! You utter rubbish "standard-bearer"!
They clearly don't trust us outsiders. Five hundred people watching us isn't enough; they even want to take hostages.

He definitely couldn't agree. Even if Shi Shan didn't intend to run away right now, he wouldn't hand over his good brother to the treacherous Zhao Junyong. But he didn't need to refuse this matter personally.

"Fifth brother, what's your opinion?"

Li Wu didn't even look at Zhao Junyong, and replied in a muffled voice:

"My only acquaintance in Xuzhou is my third brother, so I'll stick with him and not go anywhere else. I'll be his 'flag bearer'!"

Shi Shan gave Li Wu a "well said" look, then bowed to Zhao Jun and said:

"To fight a tiger, you need brothers. My fifth brother and I have never been separated since we left our hometown. If the general takes a liking to my fifth brother, then please keep me here too!"

Zhao Jun suddenly felt a dull pain in the wound on his left arm. He still vividly remembered the ruthlessness and tacit understanding between Shi Shan and Li Wu when they attacked Yang Chaolu on the night the city fell.

These two surrendered soldiers, one cunning and the other reckless, are easy to deal with separately, but keeping them together is a disaster.

Moreover, sending Shishan out of the city to probe the Yuan army's movements was a decision made jointly by the Red Turban Army's high command, which was related to the army's next move. Taking the opportunity to detain Li Wu was Zhao Jun's own little scheme.

Faced with their subtle resistance, Zhao Junyong couldn't really confront them directly, so he could only laugh it off to defuse the awkward situation.

"Hahaha, very well! Brothers are so devoted to each other that they don't want to be separated, and I cannot force them to do so—Wen Sijiu!"

"exist!"

The person who answered was in his early twenties. He used to be quite fat, but for some reason he had lost a lot of weight. His face was sallow and his skin was sagging, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"I hereby appoint you as a centurion to assist Brother Shi in leaving the city and defeating the enemy. You must do your best!"

"My subordinate understands!"

"Take Brother Shi and Brother Li to collect their armor, weapons, flags, and drums now."

"Yes!"

After hearing that Si Jiu had led Shi and Li away, Zhao Junyong's smile finally turned cold.

His subordinate, Tian Qi, witnessed the general's changing expression throughout the entire process. He spat on the ground and angrily cursed:
"You damned Tartar, you won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

Zhao Jun turned his head, his face cold as he shouted:
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Tian Qi had followed Zhao Junyong for many years and knew his general's temperament well. He wasn't intimidated by being scolded and retorted defiantly:

"I just can't stand the pathetic state of these surrendered Tartar soldiers!"

Zhao Jun, being quite shrewd, quickly regained his composure, waved his hand, and said:
"Stop talking nonsense, fighting is the priority. Go and pick out some elite soldiers. Don't worry about this, Wen Sijiu."

Having followed Zhao Junyong for many years, Tian Qi immediately understood the meaning of "elite troops" and patted his chest to assure him:
"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely handle this matter well!"

Shi Shan hasn't been wandering aimlessly in the city these past few days; he has gained a basic understanding of the world and overturned many of his preconceived notions.

For example, the White Lotus Sect had a broad base of followers among the Red Turban Army, rather than the Ming Sect as later misrepresented.

The White Lotus sect originated from the Pure Land school of Buddhism during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty. It spread rapidly because its doctrines were simple and its practice was easy, but it was also feared by the Southern Song court, which exiled its founder, Mao Ziyuan.

When the Yuan Dynasty unified the country, its management of religious beliefs was relatively lax. The White Lotus Sect, a sect that could fully satisfy the cheap faith of the lower classes, was even encouraged by the court, which allowed it to build temples and halls and develop believers throughout the country.

In the decades that followed, Du Wanyi from Duchang in Jiangxi, Gao Xiandao from Liuzhou in Guangxi, and Zhu Zhenbao from Zhangde in Henan, among others, rebelled one after another in the name of the White Lotus Sect, which aroused the vigilance of the Yuan court, which repeatedly cracked down on the White Lotus Sect's missionary activities.

After a long period of division and suppression, the White Lotus sect split into many sects, some of which began to organize anti-Yuan activities.

Among them, the Southern sect, which believed in the "descent of Maitreya," was the most active, frequently organizing uprisings and almost becoming synonymous with anti-Yuan organizations.

Sesame Li lacked prestige, so he started an uprising under the name of the White Lotus Sect, while at the same time being wary of them.

For example, the White Lotus sect members in Xuzhou City did not receive financial and food support from the rebel army when they preached. They were also restricted to gatherings of no more than 100 people and had to report to the rebel army's marshal's office in advance.

For example, when Shi Shan and Li Wu became officers of the Red Turban Army, the first thing they did was not to burn incense and worship the Ming King, but to go to the armory to select and change the armor and flags that represented their officer status.

Actually, there's not much to choose from.

As the seat of Lu Prefecture, Xuzhou naturally had military equipment, but the good stuff had long been divided up by the Red Turban Army generals and their personal guards.

Shi Shan and Li Wu searched the armory so empty that mice could run through it, but found only a dozen or so broken gun barrels. However, they did find some flags, drums, and other items used for commanding troops.

This is because most of the Red Turban Army officers came from humble backgrounds and were not yet proficient in using these more specialized operational methods.

These flags and drums have been covered in dust and faded due to improper storage; otherwise, they wouldn't still be standing.

When Wen Sijiu returned to the South City Camp with Shishan and Li Wu, Zhao Junyong had already gone to the Marshal's Mansion.

Shi Shan was certain that Zhao Junyong was deliberately making fun of him, but he never thought of confronting him. The reason was simple: the two were worlds apart in status, and Shi Shan had no "bargaining power" at all.

Because Sesame Li had bigger goals, he paid attention to "decency" and was able to tolerate the lack of cooperation from wealthy families in the city, the wait-and-see attitude of merchants, and the demands of surrendered soldiers.

However, it would be a grave mistake to assume that these people are easy to talk to and can be easily bullied.

Which ruthless person who rose to power through rebellion has not stained their hands with the blood of innocent people?

To put it bluntly, the knife is in someone else's hands, and Zhao Junyong and his gang can manipulate it at will. If you don't know what's good for you and push your luck, you'll anger these ruthless people, and they'll kill you without even needing a reason.

Therefore, when Shi Shan waited for a long time in the camp and finally saw Tian Qi send over his own troops, he remained very calm.

The group standing in front of the stone mountain numbered about three to five hundred people, roughly the same number Zhao Junyong had mentioned earlier.

The reason why it is an approximation of "three to five hundred people" instead of an exact number is not because Shishan is bad at math and cannot count hundreds of people, but because he has no way to count them.

Faced with a large group of ragged, varying heights and builds, young and old, it would be difficult for anyone to quickly give an accurate number.

Yes, these are the "elite troops" that Zhao Junyong handed over to Shishan.

Therefore, Tian Qi even went so far as to "organize the team" before solemnly handing over command to Shi Shan. Shi Shan knew his situation and understood that even if the team in front of him was utterly rotten, he did not have the right to refuse to take it over on the spot. He even stopped Li Wu, who was about to start cursing, with a look.

Stepping to the front of the stage, Shishan briefly introduced his mission.

"By order of Marshal Li and General Zhao, I—your deputy commander Shishan—will lead you brothers out of the city to eliminate the Tartars' strongholds in Chulan and Fangcun."

The soldiers below the stage automatically ignored the nonsense Shi Shan had just uttered, only catching the key words in the second half of the sentence: "out of the city," "capture," and "fortify the stronghold," and immediately began to shout.

"Didn't we agree that we wouldn't receive military rations or train? Even if we went out of the city to fight, we would just follow the Rui Battalion, waving flags and shouting as they transported supplies? How come things have changed so suddenly?"

"Young general, we're not afraid to fight, but at least give us some handy weapons and a few good meals first. We can't be expected to fight the Tartars on an empty stomach with just a stick, can we?"

"That's right, the emperor doesn't need starving soldiers. Even if he sends us to our deaths, we should at least die well-fed."

"Pah, pah, pah, what a damn bad luck! What are you talking about, dying or not? If you want to die, don't drag us down with you."

"Pah my ass, starving five meals a day for three days, you're going to die sooner or later anyway..."

They were called soldiers, but they were really just a mob, with no organization or discipline. They first questioned Shishan's orders, and then they started shouting at each other. Fortunately, they were all so hungry that they were dizzy and weak, so although they shouted fiercely, they did not actually fight.

Shi Shan remained calm and watched the group of guys make a fuss until they got tired of shouting. Then he raised his hand to suppress their noise and continued speaking.

"Brothers, now that you've eaten military rations and joined the army, you must obey orders. General Zhao obeys Marshal Li's orders, and I obey General Zhao's orders. Since you've been placed under my command, you must obey my orders. Isn't that the logic?"

"That makes sense, but we were in the elite infantry battalion, and we didn't eat much military rations!"

"Yeah, my stomach is still burning with hunger."

"If the young general can produce some military rations, how about I, Old Sun, hand over these hundred or so catties to you?"

"And me—"

Another uproar erupted from the audience.

Ishiyama waited until these guys had made enough of a ruckus before confidently saying:
"It's easy to get a full meal."

Hearing that there would be plenty of food, everyone perked up, perked up their ears, and stopped making a fuss. Someone asked:

How is it easy?

Shishan, with a sincere expression, replied:
"It's simple. Follow me to break down the Tartars' stronghold, rob their granary, and we'll have no trouble getting enough to eat!"

"Hey, this commander must be a fool."

"Hahaha--"

Seeing that these bastards were getting more and more outrageous, Li Wu could no longer tolerate it and stepped forward to shout:
"You mustn't dare to do that in front of Third Brother—"

Before Li Wu could finish speaking, Shi Shan grabbed him.

Shi Shan shook his head solemnly, signaling Li Wu not to act impulsively and that he should make his own decisions.

Seeing how cowardly the deputy commander on the stage was, the crowd laughed even more unrestrainedly.

These people were making such a scene that even Wen Sijiu couldn't stand it anymore and kept giving Tian Qi a reproachful look. However, Tian Qi was only interested in watching Shishan make a fool of himself and completely ignored Wen Sijiu.

Shi Shan let his soldiers make a ruckus, but never made any attempt to ask Wen Sijiu and Tian Qi for help.

This was, after all, a military camp. No matter how cowardly Shi Shan was, he was still a deputy commander of the Red Turban Army. After being stared at for so long, the soldiers finally felt a chill in their hearts. In addition, they were so hungry that they had no strength left, and they finally calmed down again.

Shishan then raised his head, looked at the sky, and said:
"It's getting late, so we can't go out to fight today. Let's reschedule for tomorrow. Meet at the south gate at 3:45 AM tomorrow morning. Do you understand?"

The group arrived full of hope for a good meal, only to encounter a foolish deputy commander. They had been standing there for half a day without getting a single grain of rice and had only listened to a lot of nonsense. Already hungry and thirsty, they were impatient and quickly replied:
"Understood--"

"Okay, disband!"

Hula la——

Don't be fooled by how slow these guys were when they assembled; they were incredibly fast when they ran out of the camp. In no time, three to five hundred of them had vanished without a trace.

Shi Shan seemed completely unaware that these ragtag people were the very soldiers he was leading out of the city to fight the enemy to the death. He even looked at Tian Qi with a smile and nodded in "praise":

"Their challenge was loud and clear, and their retreat was swift and decisive. Not bad at all. Brother Tian certainly knows how to select elite troops."

“Deputy Commander Shi, military orders are absolute and cannot be delayed. Brother Tian Qi has finally managed to gather these few hundred men. If you just let them go home like this, it will probably take a lot of time to get them all together again tomorrow.”

Wen Sijiu's words were somewhat tactful; he simply didn't believe that all these people could be gathered by tomorrow morning.

Although he was Zhao Jun's man, he was going to follow Shi Shan out of the city to fight. Seeing that his temporary superior was so unreliable, he had to remind him, even if it was for his own life.

"fine."

Seeing Tian Qi smiling at him, Shi Shan first nodded to Tian Qi, then turned to Wen Sijiu and said meaningfully:
"What problems could there be with the elite soldiers that Brother Tian Qi selected for us on General Zhao's orders?"

Wen Sijiu certainly couldn't speak ill of General Zhao, but he could tell that Shishan's words had a hidden meaning. He knew that Shishan was pretending to be ignorant, and as the saying goes, the one who tied the knot must untie it. This matter still needed to be resolved by General Zhao.

After giving Tian Qi a look that said, "Look what you've done," Wen Sijiu abandoned the rocky hill and went to find Zhao Junyong.

Unexpectedly, upon learning that Shishan had disbanded five hundred elite soldiers, General Zhao merely said indifferently, "I know about this," without giving any further instructions.

Wen Sijiu had followed Zhao Junyong for quite some time. Although he couldn't compare to true loyalists like Tian Qi and Xue Xian, he understood his leader's temperament and knew he couldn't dwell on the matter any longer. So, he had to compromise and subtly remind him:

"General, if we just let Shishan go out of the city to fight the Tartars, what if he runs away halfway?"

"Well?"

Zhao Jun remained silent for a few moments. He didn't really care whether Shi Shan would take the opportunity to escape; in fact, he thought it would be better if this cunning traitor dared to escape.

However, since he and Peng Erlang were the ones who spearheaded the southern expedition, they couldn't afford to make things too ugly.

"Here's a unit of soldiers with a badge; keep a close eye on things for us."

With ten men per sign, it would be impossible to conquer a city or fortress with such a small force, but as personal guards, they could easily control Shishan, a place without real power, at crucial moments.

"General, please rest assured, I will not let those surrendered soldiers ruin our great cause!"

……

P.S.: Today's two chapters are combined into one long chapter, so please don't wait until 12 o'clock.

(End of this chapter)