"Well, that makes sense. In the battle against Aruhui in Qingyuan Town, if you hadn't rescued everyone in time, our army might have been broken by the Tatars." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said.
"So, I have an idea, that is to organize and train the new army in Chuzhou!" Zhu Han stated his purpose.
"Training a new army? What kind of new army?" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly became interested.
"I have just made a preliminary charter. The new army focuses on standardized training. Whether it is marching drills or combat command, it has a complete set of standard procedures. The weapons used are also extremely streamlined to facilitate command, and they are equipped with the latest weapons.
"Zhu Han said.
"It makes sense, the new weapons are great! The victory at Qingyuan Town was thanks to your new artillery, otherwise it would be really difficult to deal with the Tatar armored soldiers!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"So, when we are in Chuzhou, we not only need to organize and train the new army, but also set up a new weapons workshop. All craftsmen agree to deploy." Zhu Han said.
"No problem, all these things are up to you!" Brother Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, taking this issue very seriously.
Zhu Yuanzhang also gave full authority to Zhu Han on how to organize and train the new army.
Among the 50,000 to 60,000 surrendered rebels, Zhu Han carefully selected more than 3,000 recruits.
They all follow the old method and take honesty and reliability as the principle of selecting soldiers.
These more than 3,000 new troops are divided into four parts.
There are 1,000 spearmen, 1,000 musketeers, 800 sword and shield soldiers, and 200 cavalry.
Since capturing Chuzhou City, the rebel army has captured a large number of horses left behind by the Mongols, and the number of the rebel cavalry has finally reached thousands.
In addition, Zhu Han also expanded the original engineering team to 500 people, including an engineering team of 300 people and an artillery team of 200 people.
As new arms added, the musketeers and artillery are all unarmed and can only do some basic drills.
Zhu Han, on the other hand, was busy experimenting with making muskets and artillery in Chuzhou City.
Although there are many craftsmen in Chuzhou, they lack manufacturing experience, and the guns and artillery they make have many problems, and they must be tried and tested again and again.
Just when Zhu Han and others were focusing on development in Dingyuan and Chuzhou.
Under the leadership of Liu Futong, the Northern Red Scarf Army developed in full swing.
Yingzhou.
Red Turban Army Base Camp.
"Generalissimo, I just received the news that Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to capture Chuzhou, and the Tatar Prime Minister Alu Hui was killed!"
A thin-looking rebel general said.
"Mr. Guan, do you think Zhu Yuanzhang's ability is a little too powerful?"
The expression on Liu Futong's face changed uncertainly, with some joy and some worry.
The general known as Mr. Guan, whose given name was Guan Duo, was the general of the Red Scarf Army and Liu Futong's right-hand man.
"Generalissimo, this is a good thing after all. Our Tatar soldiers in the south have been wiped out, and we can rest assured about the Northern Expedition." Guan Duo said.
The current strategy of the Red Turban Army can be said to be spreading everywhere and attacking in all directions.
They not only attacked Shandong to the east, Bianliang and Kaifeng to the north, Shaanxi to the west, but also attacked the Hefei and Luzhou areas to the south.
This resulted in being surrounded by enemies on all sides. Now that the Yuan soldiers in Huainan and Jiangbei have been wiped out, the pressure on one aspect has been relatively reduced.
"Chuzhou is a good place. There is plenty of food there and there are a lot of people there. I visited it back then and it is much better than here in Yingzhou. At least there is no drought." Liu Futong suddenly said.
When Mr. Guan heard this, he immediately understood what Liu Futong meant.
"Generalissimo, should we ask Zhu Yuanzhang for some food and money?" Guan Duo said.
Liu Futong chuckled, "Hey, you still understand what I'm thinking!"
Guan Duo also smiled, "Zhu Yuanzhang has occupied a new territory, so it is appropriate to show some filial respect to the generalissimo."
The Red Turban Army numbered nearly one million in the Central Plains.
But there is a fundamental problem that has never been solved, and that is the lack of food.
Whether it is Xuzhou, Yingzhou, Bozhou, or Haozhou, they are all suffering from food shortages.
Especially in the Yingzhou area occupied by Liu Futong, there was almost no harvest this year. If the Red Scarf Army had not won successive victories, seized some stored grain, and barely fed their stomachs, hundreds of thousands of troops might have gone hungry.
Autumn is gradually approaching now, and winter will begin soon.
If the Red Scarf Army doesn't accumulate more food, it will be really difficult.
"However, we can't ask for this food for free. We still have to give Zhu Yuanzhang some benefits." Guan Duo said.
He can be called Mr. Guan by the Red Scarf Army, so he naturally has some skills and is not such a straightforward and reckless man.
"What benefits should I give him? Gold, silver, or promotion?" Liu Futong asked.
Although the Red Scarf Army was huge, they also captured a lot of gold and silver treasures.
However, now that the war is in chaos, no matter how much gold and silver we have, we cannot eat or drink it. Only food is the hard currency.
Moreover, various official positions in the Red Scarf Army have gradually become more and more valuable and become less and less valuable.
There are nearly a hundred rebel leaders in the Red Scarf Army who hold the titles of Capital Marshal, Deputy Capital Marshal and Marshal alone!
It is almost a county town with several marshals.
"Lao Peng and others from Xuzhou all call themselves kings. Why not give Zhu Yuanzhang a king? The majesty and majesty will definitely satisfy him." Guan Duo suggested.
When Liu Futong heard this, he immediately became very angry.
Although the leaders of the various departments in the Red Scarf Army all respected Liu Futong as the chief leader, everyone did their own thing within their territory.
Because of the proliferation of marshal titles, many rebel leaders have become so inflated that they call themselves various "kings".
From a large military leader with tens of thousands of people to a bandit with only more than a thousand people, they all call themselves King XX.
Liu Futong, a great leader, only has the title of Grand Marshal.
"If his name is not right, his words will not be right. There is no harm in giving him a king's title." Liu Futong said.
As long as Zhu Yuanzhang can support him with some food, it doesn't matter if he is given a royal title.
When Liu Futong said this, he suddenly thought of another question.
"By the way, how is the investigation about Han Lin'er going?" Liu Futong asked.
Han Lin'er is the son of Han Shantong, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, and the son of the real founder of the Red Scarf Army.
After Han Shantong was killed by the Yuan army, Han Lin'er and others fled and hid.
Liu Futong has been searching hard to help protect Han Lin'er.
"I just got some insights. It seems that someone has seen him in the Yangshan area of Bozhou!" Mr. Guan said.
"Hurry up and send people to look for it. If you have any news, tell me immediately!" Liu Futong said.
Now that the Red Turban Army is strong, it must have a legitimate origin.
Liu Futong had already thought about it. Didn't Han Shantong claim to be a descendant of the Zhao Song royal family? When he found Han Lin'er, he would let Han Lin'er restore the Zhao surname and reopen the Song Dynasty.
