Chapter 117: Expanding the Army and Reorganizing the Ranks

The prefectural seat of Ji'an was hardly a good place to train troops.

Because it was far too prosperous — even the simple peasant-born soldiers were gradually being corroded by the city's desires.

Zhao Han executed five soldiers in one go: one was a veteran from Wuxing Town, one a soldier recruited along the way, and three were new recruits enlisted in the prefectural seat.

The original plan had been to have veterans lead the new recruits, sending them to the south of the city to maintain order.

Who could have guessed that the three new recruits of vagrant origin, recounting their own miserable experiences, would stir the two veterans to righteous fury. The five men left their patrol sector without authorization, broke into the home of a profiteering merchant, killed every male in the merchant's household, and then, egged on by the new recruits, violated and humiliated the women of the house, immediately afterward looting valuables and hiding them for themselves.

They had violated too many military orders — no one could protect them.

"Carry out the execution!"

At the south city docks, the five soldiers were lined up in a row, kneeling on the ground awaiting beheading.

Countless residents of the prefectural seat came to watch the spectacle. The spurting blood and the rolling heads made the timid cry out in alarm and thrilled the bold.

Zhao Han proclaimed loudly, "These five men disobeyed military orders, abandoned their posts, committed rape, murder, and robbery. They are now executed by law as a warning to all!"

"Good!"

Some among the crowd began to cheer — presumably they had been bullied by Zhao Han's soldiers before.

"Bring them up!"

At Zhao Han's command, another dozen or so men were led onto the docks.

Zhao Han addressed the onlookers: "These men either ate without paying or forcibly bought goods at low prices. They shall be punished with the military rod!"

Originally, Zhao Han had intended to abolish corporal punishments like the military rod, replacing them with confinement, punitive running, and the like. But he gradually discovered that without the rod, discipline could not be maintained, so he had to restore some corporal punishments.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

The executioners were already holding back; otherwise, several dozen strokes of the military rod could cripple or kill a man on the spot.

Even so, some of the soldiers being beaten could barely endure it. The pain was one aspect, but there was also the psychological factor — having their trousers pulled down and their buttocks struck before several thousand people, they had utterly lost face.

After the punishments were complete, Zhao Han immediately reorganized the army and simultaneously promulgated more detailed military law.

With nearly four thousand men in total, they were re-selected, organized, and drilled according to the battalion-picket system of the Jiajing era.

Five men make a file, two files a squad, three squads a platoon, three platoons a picket, five pickets a battalion, and five battalions a regiment.

Zhao Han personally commanded the entire army as Regional Commander.

Fei Ruhe served as regimental vice-commander and concurrently Battalion Commander, assisting Zhao Han in leading the whole army and personally commanding the central army of 500 men.

Jiang Dashan, Huang Yao, Huang Shun, Li Zheng, and Jiang Liang were all made Company Commanders, each leading 500 men.

Li Xiangui was made military judge, leading a military law squad of 50 men.

Chen Maosheng was made propaganda officer, leading a propaganda corps of 120 people, including prostitutes, pimps, and actors.

Men of household slave and military household origin were also selected to form Zhao Han's personal guard, the "Slave Army," which for now numbered only 92 men. Zhang Tieniu was made captain of the personal guard, Liu Zhu its vice-captain. Their banner was a white cloth with the character "Slave" written in blood.

The remaining several hundred men were organized into a baggage train, with Xiao Huan in charge of logistics.

Additionally, Fei Chun actually supervised funds and grain, and Huang Shunde served as Registrar (Zhao Han's military secretary).

Every picket (roughly 100 men) was required to have one propaganda officer, responsible for spreading Datong thought, explaining military law and discipline to the soldiers, and also looking after the ordinary soldiers' daily lives. However, they were forbidden from interfering with the officers' command in battle!

Except for the troops on duty, all others withdrew back into the city for drill. The Assistant Regional Commander's headquarters and the city defense garrison were designated as drill grounds.

After several days of drill, the new recruits could barely form ranks, but unfortunately, the slightest movement would still throw them into disorder.

Why didn't Zhao Han seize the grain and silver of the great households outside the city?

Because throughout the entire Ji'an Prefecture, the autumn grain successively delivered from each county — all the grain was in the west city warehouses, and all the silver was in the Prefect's inner courtyard. This grain and silver was not due to be transported to the capital until the second month of next year; now it all conveniently fell to Zhao Han.

With military pay given in full and meals guaranteed to fill the belly, even though the drill was grueling and the military law severe, the soldiers were brimming with motivation.

Whenever rest time came, the propaganda officers of each picket would begin to inquire after the soldiers' well-being. Once they had drawn closer to the soldiers, the propaganda officers would expound on military law and preach various popularized versions of Datong thought.

Truth be told, these propaganda officers were themselves a bit muddled.

When the soldiers trained, they listened to Chen Maosheng's lectures. When the soldiers rested, they taught what they had just learned, explaining the principles they had only just grasped to the soldiers.

Sometimes, the propaganda officers were even stumped by the soldiers' questions and had to run off, full of questions themselves, to consult Chen Maosheng — to the roaring laughter of the soldiers in each picket.

Just as the new recruit training was getting on track, Zhao Han suddenly received word that Governor Xie Xuelong was coming with troops.

Zhao Han immediately halted training, ordered the soldiers to take defensive positions, and summoned all officers of Picket Commander (Company Commander) rank and above for a meeting.

Fei Ruhe now independently commanded the 500-man central army and also assisted Zhao Han in leading the whole force. This fellow was at the height of his swagger. He slammed the table and said, "We should just hold the prefectural seat. We've got over 3,000 men now, just shy of 4,000. With troops and provisions, what's there to fear from some damn Governor?"

Xiao Huan said, "In my humble opinion, we should abandon the city and leave, giving the prefectural seat back to the eunuch. To shirk his own culpability, the eunuch will surely impeach the Governor, and the imperial court will help us by dismissing that Governor from office. Those government troops right now are actually all local militia, raised by Xie Xuelong. Once the Governor is dismissed, those militiamen will automatically disperse. If we can win by wit, there's no need to fight a hard battle. We may seem to have nearly 4,000 men, but more than half are new recruits who haven't even finished drilling in formation yet."

As soon as these words were spoken, the majority of the officers expressed agreement.

Whether they admitted it or not, these officers of peasant origin all harbored a hidden fear of the government in their hearts.

They feared the Governor; they feared the government troops. If they could avoid fighting, best not to fight.

Seeing that everyone was silent, seemingly persuaded by Xiao Huan, Fei Ruhe said angrily, "You spineless lot, your balls shrivel up the moment you see government troops. What the hell are you rebelling for? Go home and farm!"

Including Chen Maosheng, they all couldn't help but lower their heads. They were indeed afraid. The higher the rank of the official sent by the court, the greater their fear inside.

Zhang Tieniu chimed in, "Fight, just fight. I'm not afraid."

Chen Maosheng spoke up: "I think what Squad Captain Xiao (of the baggage train) says makes sense. Since the court will deal with the Governor and those militiamen will disperse on their own, why should we go and fight it out?"

Fei Ruhe sneered, "Then let's never fight a battle again. Just wait for the Emperor to help us out — best if he just abdicates the throne to us himself."

No one spoke; they all looked toward Zhao Han.

Zhao Han smiled slightly. "Squad Captain Xiao's stratagem is indeed the best of the best. Squad Captain Xiao's wisdom and resourcefulness are matchless — he is the Zhang Liang, the Zhuge of our army."

Xiao Huan felt quite gratified inwardly, but showed nothing on his face, calmly accepting the others' admiration with a placid expression.

"However!"

Zhao Han suddenly stood up. "Battalion Commander Zhao (Fei Ruhe) may be crude, but his reasoning is sound. He seems rash and foolish, yet he has exposed our army's fatal weakness. You are all afraid; none of you dare face the Governor directly! A mere Governor, bringing only a few thousand militia, with forces comparable to ours — and we have a prefectural seat to rely on. What on earth is there to be afraid of?"

Except for a few, the rest of the officers all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Zhao Han's blazing anger.

"Originally, after hearing Squad Captain Xiao's plan, I intended to withdraw from the prefectural seat quickly," Zhao Han said, slamming the table. "But now, I've decided we're not leaving. I'm going to train your courage! We will hold this city!"

"Good!"

Fei Ruhe was overjoyed.

"Regional Commander," Xiao Huan said hastily, "Regional Commander, please think this through. Do not fight for the sake of momentary pride."

Zhao Han shook his head. "Squad Captain Xiao, you don't understand. Sometimes, the best tactic is not necessarily the best choice. We are in rebellion. We must forge our army's prestige. Otherwise, who knows when these officers before us will ever dare to face government troops head-on!"

Xiao Huan said anxiously, "Army prestige can be forged gradually. Are you afraid there won't be battles to fight in the future?"

"If we shrink back now, won't we shrink back later?" Zhao Han's tone was resolute. "These officers in this room, those soldiers out in the city — they are the seeds of our rebellion. If even the seeds are not full and strong, can the crops that grow from them be sturdy? We fight. We must fight. Fight until our seeds grow confident, fight until the Jiangxi authorities tremble at the mere rumor of us."

"This..." Xiao Huan started to speak, then stopped.

Zhao Han said, "Squad Captain Xiao, you are a clever man, and clever men often like to take shortcuts. But sometimes, we cannot take shortcuts. Knowing there are tigers on the mountain, we march straight up the tiger's mountain!"

Xiao Huan sighed and asked, "How does the Regional Commander plan to fight?"

Zhao Han laughed. "We hold a strong city. We have ample provisions. Most of the autumn grain tax that Ji'an Prefecture collected this year, apart from what Xie Xuelong took with him, is in our hands. What is there to fear? The anxious one should be Xie Xuelong. He lost the prefectural seat; he dare not drag this out. First, he fears the court will hold him accountable. Second, the boats he commandeered must be returned to the gentry and merchants. Third, if he drags this on, he'll have to worry about provisions."

"That is indeed the case." Xiao Huan had to admit that the one truly anxious should be Xie Xuelong.

Xie Xuelong was already frantic.

The Ji'an prefectural seat dated back to the Tang dynasty. In those days, the south was sparsely populated, and cities were built primarily for military purposes — high walls, deep moats, but a small footprint. Moreover, except for the gate facing the Gan River, every other city gate had a barbican. Each gate tower also had arrow towers, and there were even several cannon towers — though Zhao Han's army currently had no cannoneers or archers.

Over three thousand rebels, as long as their provisions held out, occupying a fortress-like city of this kind — even several thousand government troops could besiege it for a decade without hope of taking it.

They did not even need to expend effort maintaining public order, because over eighty percent of the residents lived clustered in the market districts outside the city walls.

Xie Xuelong's only advantage was that Zhao Han had no naval force. The large merchant vessels outside the city had all fled; Zhao Han had only managed to seize a few large boats. That man used his boats to blockade the prefectural seat, encamped his own troops on White Egret Isle, and began conscripting laborers to build siege engines.

Then he discovered that blacksmiths and carpenters were in critically short supply — Zhao Han had already brought them all into the city to forge weapons.

Then he could only conscript from the surrounding towns and villages!

The artisans and common folk groaned under bitter suffering, their hearts filled with resentment. They had not been oppressed by the rebels, but instead faced the crushing demands of the government.

Government-conscripted laborers were not paid; it was all corvée labor in nature. They even had to bring their own dry rations and tools. Furthermore, Xie Xuelong's supply lines were temporarily cut. He was sending boats to other prefectures to requisition grain, and for the moment had no spare money or grain to pay the laborers.

The laborers were seething with rage, so naturally they slacked off at work. The speed at which siege engines were being built was dismal.

Xie Xuelong was frantic, and could only keep pressing them. The clerks and underlings below followed suit in hurrying the work, beatings and curses as commonplace as daily meals.

The gentry and merchants whose boats had been commandeered pressed Xie Xuelong to return their vessels quickly. They still needed to sail their boats elsewhere to do business; every extra day's delay meant gleaming silver slipping away.

The eunuch's impeachment memorial was already on the road to the capital.

Nor were these gentry and merchants to be underestimated, for Jiangxi had an abundance of jinshi, and far too many of them held office at court. One after another, they mobilized their connections, and impeachment memorials drifted toward the capital like snowflakes.

In order to exterminate the rebels, Xie Xuelong had requisitioned grain and conscripted labor, making the common people gnash their teeth in hatred as well.

This Governor Xie had managed to offend every single group — the eunuchs, the gentry, the merchants, and the common people!

Whether or not he could retake the prefectural seat, his official career was certainly finished.

(Thanks to This Is A Monster, Yan Han Wuxin, and Wei Xi Shi Gu for their alliance-leader tips, and thanks to all readers for your support and tips. Also, shamelessly begging for monthly tickets.)

(End of chapter)