Sweep Yuan

Chapter 93 Five Waters Converge at a Perilous Location

After Sesame Li occupied Xuzhou and cut off the Yellow River's grain transport, the Yuan court used the Huai River-Wo River as a grain transport route. Shishan only learned of this situation after he captured Hong County.

This also resolved a question in his mind: according to the original historical trajectory, the small city of Haozhou was able to support tens of thousands of rebels for several years, all because it guarded the Huai River-Wo River waterway, a vital transportation hub.

Wuhe is located between Haozhou and Sizhou. Its function as a transportation hub is far inferior to that of the two places, but due to the meandering Huai River, many cargo ships stop here on a daily basis.

Because the crossing of the river caused some delay, by the time Li Wu led his cavalry to the city, the cargo ships had already set sail and left the port. However, some warehouse owners outside the east gate were unable to react in time, and a large amount of goods that had not yet been transferred were intercepted by Li Wu.

This alone makes the army's trip worthwhile.

After Shi Shan led his troops to the scene, he immediately ordered Chen Cheng and Tan Youyu to receive the supplies and to lead a survey of the terrain.

Wuhe controls the throat of the Huai River, locking the gateway to the five streams of Hui, Chong, Tong, Tuo and Huai. Its strategic location is far superior to that of Hong County. It was one of the key cities that Kublai Khan ordered officials to "destroy the fortifications along the Huai River".

The city's barbican, corner towers, and ramparts have all been demolished, leaving only the city walls and four city gates for defense against bandits and thieves. However, the north gate is a water gate, and the east gate is less than a mile from the Huai River, meaning that only the west and south sides can actually be used to deploy attacking forces.

But as long as we are not afraid of casualties and are willing to trade lives for lives, it is not difficult to break through the city.

Because of its proximity to the Huai River waterway, Wuhe had a heavy responsibility to defend against bandits and thieves. The city originally had 300 archers, but after the fall of Hong County, it hastily recruited another 1,000 local militia.

Zhou Xiongwu, the county magistrate of Wuhe County, was not a reckless man. It was precisely because he knew that the city's defenses were too weak that he deployed defenses along the Hui River in an attempt to prevent the "Red Heart Camp" from crossing the river, but he lost nearly four hundred soldiers in vain.

When the thousands of "Red Heart Camp" crossed the Hui River and arrived at the city, the people in the city were thrown into chaos.

Zhou Xiongwu mobilized archers and local militia to defend the city walls, while also ordering He Baihu's troops to patrol the city and deter lawbreakers.

Geng Zaicheng was patrolling with his soldiers when he spotted a familiar figure flashing by at a street corner.

"You guys rest here for a while, my stomach hurts, I need to go take a dump."

Although Geng Pai Tou was strict in his administration, he was able to share weal and woe with his subordinates and was quite popular. Someone immediately chimed in:
"The city is in chaos. What if there are bad guys over there? I'll go with you, sir."

Geng Zaicheng punched the soldier in the chest twice and laughed:

"With your build, you'd better stay right here. If you keep talking nonsense, I'm going to poop in my pants."

"Hahaha!"

Amidst the soldiers' laughter, Geng Zaicheng quickly crossed the alley and, turning the corner, saw Fei Ju hiding behind a large willow tree, peering in their direction.

"Brother Geng, Commander Shi has arrived?"

"Well, here we come."

Geng Zaicheng strode closer to the big willow tree, unzipped his pants, and said while relieving himself:

"Less than fifty soldiers who fled the city have returned. The magistrate is so frightened that he doesn't even dare to leave the yamen. If we want to surrender the city, tonight is the best time. Once the rebels are ready, we may not get any credit."

Fei Ju felt a surge of excitement in his heart, wishing he could welcome the "Red Heart Camp" into the city right now.

"You still patrol these streets at night?"

After relieving himself, Geng Zaicheng fastened his pants and turned to look out of the alley.

"It's hard to say, I might be taken away. If I can still leave the camp tonight, I'll peel off the bark from the old locust tree on the east side of the crossroads, and then you can find me and act together. If I can't leave the camp, then don't worry about me."

"Brother Geng! You take this."

Geng Zaicheng took the bamboo plaque handed to him by Fei Ju. Four characters were engraved on it in red paint, but he only recognized the last two characters: "Restore Han".

“This is a token given to me by Governor Shi. If you encounter the rebel army, you should hold up this token and shout ‘When the stone man appears, the world will be at peace.’”

"Okay, I got it, Brother Fei, take care!" "Brother Geng, take care!"

Not long after, Fei Ju returned to his own house.

"As soon as the Zhenfu army arrived in Wuhe, they wiped out several hundred government troops outside the city. Brother Geng suggested that we take action tonight."

The Taoist priest's robe was covered in stains, making him look rather disheveled, but his spirits were exceptionally high.

"I have just thought of a way, but it requires the cooperation of a large army and I also need to send someone out of the city to report to the garrison commander."

"That's easy, I'll arrange it right away."

Outside the city, Shishan has completed his survey of the Wuhe city.

The supply battalion and some civilian laborers, under the cover of the soldiers of the Fifth Battalion, were rapidly moving supplies from the warehouse.

The main force has been deployed, with cavalry positioned in the southwest corner, ready to launch a surprise attack on any government troops that dare to leave the city; the third and seventh battalions have moved forward, taking turns to launch probing attacks on the west and south walls in squads.

Following closely behind, the laborers, chanting slogans, destroyed buildings outside the city and dragged roof beams and pillars to the designated army camp in the west of the city. Before the camp was even set up, the supply train craftsmen had already begun to build siege weapons.

Both sides knew that time was the key to this battle.

If the defenders can hold out until reinforcements arrive, the rebels will have no choice but to retreat. However, there are rebel troops constantly moving around outside the city, all busy preparing to attack, as if they want to repeat the story of Hong County and break through the city in one fell swoop.

The Battle of Huishui shattered Zhou Xiongwu's illusion of blocking the enemy on the other side. After the crushing defeat, no one dared to suggest sending envoys to seek peace and buy time. They could only do their best to mobilize the able-bodied men in the city in order to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

At the hour of You (5-7 PM), the rebel army finished dismantling the buildings outside the city and took a short break.

Before retreating back to camp, Shi Shan escorted some prisoners to the city walls and shouted to the defending troops that the Sizhou army had been decimated in the battle of Wudu Village, and that the Red Turban Army was attacking Sizhou and Wuhe simultaneously from two directions. He advised the defending troops to recognize the situation and not to put up futile resistance.

Zhou Xiongwu initially thought the rebel army was spreading rumors to demoralize the government troops, so he simply ordered the garrison to beat drums and gongs to suppress the shouts of the prisoners outside the city.

Unexpectedly, not long after, more details about the Battle of Wudu Village, such as the fact that the government troops were commanded by Zhang Yangui and Zhao Kang, began to circulate in the city. These details were described in great detail and made it even more suspicious that County Magistrate Zhou was covering up the news.

Although Haozhou is closer to Wuhe, it belongs to Anfeng Road and can only play a supporting role. The key to repelling the enemy is the reinforcements from Sizhou.

Whether Sizhou could send reinforcements became a point of contention among the government troops, and even before the battle officially began, the defenders of Wuhe were already filled with anxiety.

To boost morale, someone suggested taking advantage of the enemy's day of fighting and launching a night raid on the camp. Zhou Xiongwu was somewhat tempted, but after dark, the enemy had piled up a large amount of firewood in the open space west of the city and set it on fire, illuminating half the sky.

Zhou Xiongwu knew that the enemy army was prepared, so he had no choice but to abandon his plan to raid the camp.

In a courtyard in the city, Park San-in gazed at the thick smoke and flames rising into the sky to the west, silently reciting something to himself.

"It's done!"

The fire was not completely extinguished until 9 PM. Zhou Xiongwu had been standing on the city wall for most of the day, his nerves were on edge, and he was so tired that he fell asleep, only to be woken up by his personal guards.

Boom!dong dong!

"what sound?"

"My lord, it's the sound of war drums!"

Judging from the noise, it was probably twenty or thirty large drums beating at the same time, their sound like muffled thunder, rolling endlessly. Zhou Xiongwu was so frightened that he was wide awake.

"Enemy attack?! Quickly get to the city walls to defend against the enemy."

(End of this chapter)