Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 122: Spy and Espionage

"Can you tell what instrument is playing this song?" Lu Jin asked Guo Huirong.

"Reporting to the commander, there are drums, trumpets, cymbals, suona, and another instrument I haven't heard of. It sounds like a trumpet, but I don't know what kind of trumpet it is." Guo Huirong frowned.

Lu Jin also knew that it was the sound of a horn, but it must be a modern trombone, cornet, French horn or something like that. He couldn't tell what it was, so he just said it.

"Then find a similar one to replace it, and start notating the music."

"Yes."

So Lu Jin played it again several times, asking Guo Huirong to memorize one instrument each time, and finally compose them into a song.

Then he played two more songs, "Sunrise at Emei Mountain" and "One Breath Moves Mountains and Rivers". These two songs are martial music from Pili Puppet Show, and are also pure ancient music without lyrics.

Among them, Sunrise on Emei Mountain is the easiest to remember. Except for the drum set at the end, there are no other musical instruments that are beyond this era. The drum set in that section was also replaced by cymbals and high cymbals.

There is a long section in the middle of the song "Yi Qi Dong Shan He" that sounds like an electric guitar, so Lu Jin asked to replace it with a pipa. The rest was easy to handle, as it is not particularly difficult to change ancient music into folk music.

These three songs are all pure ancient music, suitable for military parades and boosting morale. A military band can be established under the Military Education Department of the Martial Academy to perform for soldiers in various places, but they are not suitable for singing.

At present, Lu Jin has also prepared three military songs with lyrics that are suitable for singing. One is the Shengwu Army Song, which is an adaptation of the modern Red Turban Army Song. The music of the modern version is sad and mournful, which makes people feel depressing when listening to it. Lu Jin slightly modified the lyrics and then set the tune of the Anti-Japanese War Broadsword Song, and it instantly became different.

There is also the song "Loyalty to the Country", which praises Yue Fei, a famous general who fought against the Jin Dynasty during the Song Dynasty, awakens the consciousness of expelling the Tartars, and calls on more people to fight against the Yuan Dynasty.

The last song was about ignition that he learned during military training. It was originally a song of the Rocket Force, but Lu Jin planned to leave it to the artillery. The Second Artillery Corps is also artillery, so there is nothing wrong with it. The most important thing is that the lyrics are extremely suitable.

There is no need to write down the music for these three songs with lyrics. Lu Jin can teach them himself when the time comes.

After playing it dozens of times and working for a whole morning, Guo Huirong finally memorized all three songs. Lu Jin listened to her playing a section on the pipa and felt that she really had the idea, so he spoke.

"Miss Guo, can you help me pass these three pieces of music to the musicians?"

Guo Huirong had expected this result a long time ago, so she naturally couldn't refuse. "I will do my best to fulfill your request."

"Then I'll trouble you, Miss Guo. When you have finished teaching me, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

Guo Huirong quickly said modestly, "I dare not thank you."

Lu Jin then looked at Guo Zhang and said, "Thanks to the two young ladies for helping me today. It's getting late. I have asked someone to prepare a meal. Please don't refuse, madam."

"Thank you for the food, Marshal. My husband is stationed abroad to fight and cannot serve you faithfully. We women and family members are here to help you. This is our duty as a subject. If you have any further orders, please call me."

Guo Zhang was overjoyed. She wished this could happen more often. If her daughter could frequently visit the Marshal's Mansion, it would surely attract Lu Jin's attention, which would also be good for Guo Zixing and her sons.

But later when they were having dinner, Lu Jin just left and asked Zhang Yunxiu to entertain them, which made Guo Zhang a little disappointed.

In the following days, Guo Huirong went to teach the musicians new songs every day, and the troops in Luzhou City were also reorganized and mobilized.

Miao Daheng's 12th Regiment was the first to be reorganized. It set out from Luzhou, took a boat via Chaohu Lake, and assembled in Wuwei County.

After Zhao Yong attended Guo Zixing's family dinner, he also reorganized his troops and set off. His subordinates, Lu Ding, Wu Guoxing, and Miao Youzhen, were originally in Luzhou. The personnel were also selected and reorganized from the new recruits from Dingyuan and Kang Maocai's previous captives. The troops were fully staffed when they set out.

The last unit of the Southern Front Group was Guo Zixing's Eighth Regiment. He only needed to take his youngest son Guo Tianjue with him. The deputy commander of the Eighth Regiment, Zhang Desheng, was already with the Third Regiment, and the battalion officer Cao Liangchen was with the Fourth Regiment in Heyang, so they could go directly from Heyang.

On November 13, when Guo Zixing was taking his son to Wuwei, when the fleet arrived at the mouth of Chaohu Lake, they happened to encounter an inconspicuous small boat going upstream to Luzhou.

A young scholar was standing at the bow of the boat, and in the awning were a dozen craftsmen and their families. They were Bao Yu who had rushed back from Heyang.

This intelligence spy, who has worked well with Lu Jin for a long time but has never met him, is finally going to meet him.

At noon, Lu Jin was giving a training class to several craftsmen, and they were thinking together about how to build a hydraulic boring machine to bore gun barrels. At this moment, a guard suddenly came to report.

"General, Chief Bao and his brother come to see you."

"Oh? They're back? Take them to the front hall. I'll be right there."

"Yes."

Lu Jin looked at the dozen or so craftsmen again and gave them instructions.

“There are several key points to boring a cannon. First, the barrel must be annealed to soften it and make it easier to cut. After the boring is completed, the barrel must be quenched to make it self-tight and increase the hardness of the chamber.

“Secondly, we need to improve the hardness and toughness of the boring tool, preferably using crucible steel, and then it needs to be dipped in fire and normalized.

"Third, the mechanical structure of the entire boring machine must have a stable foundation, because the objects to be cut are all heavy pieces, such as cannons and cylinders. If there is a slight shake, the error will be very large. You guys study it carefully first, and I will come back later."

However, before he left, Su Qing, the carpenter who had helped him modify the loom, spoke.

"Marshal, I think we can install the low-profile marine gun carriage you mentioned on the base of the boring machine, and then use rails to fix the guide of the gun wheels underneath, so that the gun can be fixed on the boring machine, just like the gantry crane you mentioned.

"When boring, if you want the tool to be precise, it is best if the tool does not need to move back and forth. The tool rod only needs to rotate in place, and the feed amount is controlled by sliding the cannon workpiece. This way, with one less movement, the tool can rotate more steadily." Lu Jin was stunned when he heard this, and thought about that structure. It is indeed very feasible. Modern deep hole boring machines generally do not move the workpiece, but the tool moves, and the tool rod has to rotate while the tool is feeding in. Su Qing does the opposite. The tool does not move, and the boring depth is controlled by moving the cannon. This is indeed the best way under current technical conditions.

"Your idea is good, but the boring machine needs to drill several specifications of artillery. How to coordinate the height of the gun carriage and the tool bar, and how to control the center line, you need to think about it carefully, I will be back soon."

"Yes."

After instructing the craftsmen, Lu Jin turned and headed for the front yard.

In the lobby of the front yard of the Marshal's Mansion, Bao Heng and Bao Yu waited for a moment before Lu Jin came quickly. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Bao Yu. The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Lu Jin joked with him, "Should I call you Bao Yu or Sui Xueyi?"

Bao Yu's answer is also very interesting. "If the Marshal wants me to be Bao Yu, then I will be Bao Yu. If the Marshal wants me to be Sui Xueyi, then I can also be Sui Xueyi."

"Hahaha, you are really an interesting person. You are good and know how to handle things flexibly. You can respond to situations in the heart of the enemy camp. You are worthy of being the one who misled Kang Maocai and made the first contribution for me." Lu Jin walked forward, took Bao Yu's hand and said affectionately.

Bao Yu quickly cupped his hands and said, "It was the Marshal who came up with the plan. Yingda was just cooperating. How dare he take the credit?"

"Is Yingda your courtesy name? It is indeed a good name because it means you are talented, intelligent and experienced. However, Yingda is still too modest. With your talent, it is not an exaggeration to say that you are on par with Ban Dingyuan. If I say you are the first to make the contribution, then you are the first to make the contribution.

"You helped me induce Kang Maocai to send troops, eliminated Zhao Pusheng, and helped Yang Jing capture Heyang City. I must reward you for such a great contribution.

"Tell me, what do you want to do this time? If you want to govern a region, I can let you start as a prefect, or you can directly be in charge of a department in the civil and military departments of the Marshal's Office. What do you want to do?"

Lu Jin forcibly took credit for his contribution, which immediately made Bao Yu very happy. He felt that it was worth it for him to lurk beside the enemy for so long and work hard for Lu Jin.

However, when he heard that Lu Jin was going to give him an official position, Bao Yu immediately became serious and spoke in a low voice.

"Thank you for your kindness, Marshal, but I have something important to report to you when I come back this time."

At this point, Bao Yu turned his head and looked at his elder brother Bao Heng. Bao Heng was speechless for a moment. Damn it, I was the one who helped you deliver the message before, but now you are on guard against me.

However, Bao Heng was of course happy to see his brother being reused, and he quickly said with great insight, "General, I still have some accounts to settle, so I'll take my leave first."

"Well, let's go."

After watching Bao Heng retreat, he asked Bao Yu, "Does Yingda want to talk about the Gaoyou Salt Gang?"

Bao Yu was stunned when he heard this, and said quickly, "The commander is really smart, this is exactly what happened.

"Before I came back, I was thinking that our army was able to win battles time and time again. The soldiers' devotion is important, but knowing the enemy's movements and misleading them is also important. The art of war says that only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. Training soldiers is about knowing yourself, and knowing the enemy requires espionage.

"I was lurking beside Kang Maocai before, handling court documents for him. I have also received some news these days. The former Deputy Marshal of East Zhejiang, Dong Tuanxiao, has been transferred to the Marshal of Jining Road. He is raising troops there to suppress the Xuzhou rebels. Most of his troops are salt farmers. These people usually sell private salt and have great power. They should not be underestimated.

"The Gaoyou Salt Gang we encountered this time is the same. I am worried that Dong Tuanxiao will come here later and recruit Gaoyou salt miners as soldiers to use them to suppress our army. In this case, why don't we take advantage of our good relationship with the Gaoyou Salt Gang and send people to infiltrate them first. When the Yuan court attacks in the future, we can also get information from the enemy."

After hearing this, Lu Jin opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to comment.

You said Bao Yu's analysis was correct, right? Zhang Shicheng later rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty and was also considered one of the righteous forces.

You said that Zhang Shicheng was an anti-Yuan righteous army. Later, he was indeed recruited by the court and opposed the righteous army. He even almost killed Liu Futong and Han Lin'er. It was Zhu Yuanzhang who used a trick to deceive Zhang Shicheng's men and rescued the young Ming King Han Lin'er from Zhang Shicheng's encirclement.

Judging from the results, Bao Yu’s judgment was correct. Zhang Shicheng did become a thug of the Yuan court, but the process was a bit bumpy.

"Yingda means that we should send spies into the Salt Gang through Lu Zhen now, and then wait for them to be recruited by the Yuan court?"

"That's right." Bao Yu nodded seriously.

Lu Jin suddenly retorted.

"I don't think this is a good plan."

"Huh?" Bao Yu was stunned when he heard this. He didn't know why Lu Jin objected. With the wit that Lu Jin had shown before, he should have been able to see that now was a good time to plant a spy, right?

"What does the Marshal mean?"

"It's right to plant spies, but I think the target you chose is not right. The Gaoyou Salt Gang has its own organization. Even if we plant someone there now, we can't be the leader. What valuable intelligence can we obtain?"

"Then what solution does the Marshal have?" Bao Yu asked humbly.

Lu Jin had been thinking about this for several days and had already made up his mind. "We should plant spies and directly open intelligence stations in various places in Jiangbei instead of sending spies into their territory. Now is not the best time to plant spies!"

Bao Yu said a little confused.

"I am stupid and don't quite understand. What the Marshal means is that the intelligence we collected is not from the Yuan court?"

(End of this chapter)