Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 123 Taking Advantage of Xuzhou
"Yes, there is nothing to collect about Yuan Ting's intelligence."

Seeing Bao Yu's surprised look, Lu Jin took out a map, pointed at the forces of the various Red Turban Army units on it and spoke to him.

"Currently, this area north of the Yangtze River is almost entirely under the control of Xuzhou's Zhima Li. The Yuan court no longer has control over it. Even if they send troops here, it will only be a short-term military pressure. As long as we can repel his army, what's the point of planting spies there? Unless you can plant spies in Dadu."

Bao Yu understood a little, "So the spy the Marshal was talking about is targeting Zhima Li, not Yuan Ting?"

"It's not just targeting Sesame Li." Lu Jin explained.

"Spying is not a spy, but it targets a region, not a certain force. Whoever occupies that area will be used to collect intelligence. The Yuan court is like this, Zhima Li is like this, and if there are other rebel forces, it will be the same.

"But some special targets can indeed be contacted in advance."

The reason why Lu Jin made this decision was because he knew that now was not the best time to place spies around Zhang Shicheng.

Now Zhang Shicheng is just a salt smuggler leader. His power and members are relatively stable, and he has no need to expand his power. Even if he is barely inserted into the group, he can only be a salt guard or a small leader and cannot enter the core circle.

The best time should be when Zhang Shicheng officially proclaimed himself king and started an uprising. At that time, he needed a large number of literati officials. If he sent spies at this time and directly surrendered to them as scholars, they could be entrusted with important tasks and take the opportunity to infiltrate the upper echelons, which was much better than ordinary salt officials.

Therefore, the top priority of intelligence work now is to build intelligence stations and information transmission channels, rather than planting moles inside the enemy.

"But, if we just sit and spy, the role we can play is very limited, right?"

Bao Yu was still hesitant. He had never heard of this kind of intelligence tactic. The traditional spy warfare in ancient times was to send spies to infiltrate the interior, or to use counter-espionage, alienation, and self-torture tactics.

In modern intelligence warfare, in addition to traditional spy placement, there is also open source intelligence analysis, which uses information from newspapers and other public media to analyze and judge the enemy's movements.

Of course there were no newspapers in ancient times, but by setting up a station in the enemy's core city, one could obtain basic information such as the number of garrisons, the names of generals, and food reserves.

If we contact the enemy officials, we can obtain even more intelligence.

It is not necessary to lurk in order to obtain intelligence. External reconnaissance like this can also yield a lot of information, and it is safer.

"You don't understand. Being a spy is being a spy, and being a spy is being a spy. These two can be done at the same time. Take your lurking beside Kang Maocai this time, for example. Didn't you say that it would be best if you could be assigned a few people specifically to pass on messages? The intelligence station can take on this responsibility." Lu Jin explained again.

"I see, I understand."

After hearing what Lu Jin said, Bao Yu immediately understood, but he was not a professional intelligence officer after all, and his relevant knowledge was not as much as what Lu Jin had learned from movies, so Lu Jin began to teach him how to set up an intelligence agency.

From the selection of our own personnel to the establishment of sites, as well as safe houses, contact codes, how to set up dead mail boxes, how to choose intelligence targets and other "professional knowledge".

Bao Yu was stunned after hearing this. He didn't expect Lu Jin knew so much about spy warfare. It seemed that this marshal was very familiar with spy warfare.

After explaining the structure of the intelligence organization, Lu Jin began to assign tasks to him.

"I will give you a position in the Military Command Department of the Martial Academy. You will be the director of the Military Command Department and will specialize in intelligence gathering in the future.

"At present, we need to conduct reconnaissance in three main directions. The first is the Huaidong direction. We need to build an intelligence station in Gaoyou, Taizhou, and Tongzhou respectively.

"The second is the Jiangsu and Zhejiang direction, with Jiankang, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huzhou as the focus.

"Third, in the direction of Jiangxi, we will set up intelligence stations in Anqing, Jiangzhou (Jiujiang), and Nanchang.

"A while ago, many scholars came to seek refuge here and were all placed in Chongwen Hall. Some of them were originally just clerks and accountants. They failed to pass the exam, but they have a lot of business experience. You can pick some people from them, those with families and clean backgrounds.

"I will select some soldiers from the Imperial Guard Division for you to build the intelligence station as soon as possible. I will give you special approval for the funds."

Bao Yu was stunned when he heard this, and asked in confusion, "Marshal, don't we need to worry about Dangtu on the other side of the river?"

The intelligence stations set up by Lu Jin in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are too weird. The only one close is Jiankang (Nanjing). The others, such as Hangzhou and Suzhou, are almost at the seaside and cannot be reached in a short time. Dangtu Caishiji, which is the gateway to Jiangsu and Zhejiang and is so close, was missed by Lu Jin. What does this mean?

Lu Jin could only explain.

"I heard that Dangtu is heavily guarded now, and they are afraid that we will cross the river. Since we occupied Heyang, they have been guarding the city defense more strictly. It will be very difficult for you to send people in, so you might as well give up to avoid alerting the enemy.

"And Dangtu is actually not that difficult to attack. After we capture Dangtu, even if we have a foothold in Jiangnan, the key is how to attack Jiankang afterwards. Therefore, instead of wasting time on Dangtu, it is better to start with Jiankang, where the defense is more lax."

"." Bao Yu was speechless after hearing this. Is Dangtu Caishiji easy to fight? Only Lu Jin could say this. I wonder where this general got such confidence from. Could it be that he is already fully confident?
"Yes, I understand. Then what about the Xuzhou sesame plums in the north? " Bao Yu asked again.

"It's not that we don't care, but there's no need to set up a long-term intelligence station in Xuzhou. They won't be around for a few days anyway, so we can just send some spies over for a short-term reconnaissance.

"As for Xuzhou, we are not trying to spy on their military intelligence, but to prepare for their defeat by the Yuan court and see what we can get from the remnants of the Xuzhou righteous army. I just need to know the movements of a few people."

As Lu Jin spoke, he stood up and read out the names of several people.

"Zhao Junyong, Xue Xian, Mao Gui, and Fu Youde. Zhao Junyong and Xue Xian are both among the Eight Warriors of Xuzhou. After they are defeated by the Yuan court, you should pay attention to where they escape to and find out their movements. You don't need to contact them.

"Mao Gui and Fu Youde, these two are low-level generals. Mao Gui should be close to Xue Xian. You'd better send someone to lurk around Mao Gui and try to poach him after they are defeated by the Yuan court. As for Fu Youde, treat him the same way as Mao Gui."

Upon hearing this, Bao Yu hurriedly asked for paper and pen to start taking notes. Among the names mentioned by Lu Jin, he only knew Zhao Junyong and Xue Xian. After all, these two were generals in Xuzhou. As for Mao Gui and Fu Youde, he had never even heard of them.

It seems that Lu Jin had already started observing the movements in Xuzhou, and he had stayed in Heyang for too long, so he didn't even know that Lu Jin had other plans in Xuzhou.

"Does the Marshal have anything else to tell you?" Bao Yu asked again after he finished recording the relationships between the people. "Nothing for now. I'll tell you when there's something else."

"Yes."

Lu Jin thought about it. He originally wanted to ask Bao Yu to look for Deng Yu and Hu Dahai. These two people should be from Xuyi or Sizhou, but after thinking about it, he decided to give up.

In the original history, the earliest generals in Zhu Yuanzhang's force were not Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. These two people can only be regarded as the second batch.

The earliest batch included Shao Rong and Hu Dahai. Shao Rong was an old subordinate recruited by Guo Zixing in Haozhou. This time, Guo Zixing was poached by him in advance and did not go to Haozhou, so Shao Rong should still be in Haozhou.

Hu Dahai was the number one military general under Zhu Yuanzhang in his early years. If it weren't for the surrendered generals under his command who rebelled again and assassinated him, killing Hu Dahai with a hammer, there would be no chance for Xu Da.

But Lu Jin only knew that Hu Dahai was probably near Xuyi. When he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, he brought his two sons with him. He had no troops or forces under his command. No one knew where he was running around now. He didn't even have any forces, so it was very difficult to find him.

As for Deng Yu, his father and elder brother should still be alive. The three of them have built a stronghold in their hometown to protect themselves. Historically, it took a few years for Deng Yu to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang. He should be only twelve or thirteen years old now. Let's wait for him to grow up.

However, Mao Gui and Fu Youde, whom Lu Jin asked Bao Yu to find, were quite anxious.

In history, during the Dragon and Phoenix Northern Expedition of the Red Turban Army led by Liu Du, in addition to the Central Army's graceful movements, four leaps over Taihang Mountain, a thousand-mile raid on Yuanshangdu, and crossing the 38th parallel, the Eastern Army's achievements were actually not much inferior.

The commander of the Eastern Army, Mao Gui, was even more dashing in his movements. He ran eastward all the way from Henan, all the way to Lianyungang, which was still called Haining Prefecture at that time.

Mao Gui led an army of tens of thousands and first launched a feint attack on Lianyungang, scaring the defenders in the city so that they dared not come out. Then he seized the ships at night and escaped under the noses of the Yuan army in Haining. After that, he crossed the sea and launched a surprise attack on Shandong Peninsula.

The Yuan army in Shandong never dreamed that someone would attack from the sea behind them. They were caught off guard. Within a month or two, the entire Shandong province was conquered by Mao Gui, who completely occupied the province. He was considered the best amphibious landing warrior in the Middle Ages.

The most exciting thing is that Shandong occupied by Mao Gui and Guan Duo's central army in Liaodong formed a pincer attack on Yuan Dadu. The two armies communicated with each other through the Bohai Sea by ships and agreed to jointly launch a general attack on Yuan Dadu.

Mao Gui adopted the tactic of building a strong stronghold and fighting a stupid battle, and he built blockhouses frantically along the way, from Shandong to Hebei, and they were almost under the nose of Dadu.

If Zhao Junyong had not suddenly jumped out at this time to snatch the command of the Eastern Army from Mao Gui, and killed Mao Gui in an internal fight, causing the Eastern Army to be leaderless and completely collapsed, there would have been no need to wait until Zhu Yuanzhang launched the Northern Expedition, Mao Gui and Guan Duo would have joined forces to flatten Dadu.

After all, they have reached Lugou Bridge, so how far can they be from Yuandu?

Judging from his battle record, Mao Gui is definitely a top-notch general who is not inferior to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. Lu Jin certainly hopes to recruit such a person.

There is also Yingchuan Marquis Fu Youde, whose experience is quite dramatic, like the prototype of Lu Bu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, not that he also killed his adoptive father, but he is like a slave of three surnames.
Fu Youde was indeed a bit unlucky. He was originally under the command of Li Xixi of Zhima Li in Xuzhou. After Xuzhou was defeated by Tuotuo, most of the generals from the original Xuzhou faction went their separate ways. Zhima Li somehow ran to Sichuan, and most of the rest were basically absorbed by Liu Futong's troops. Mao Gui went to the Eastern Route Army, and Fu Youde and Li Xixi went to the Western Route Army.

The Central Army and the Eastern Army of the Longfeng Northern Expedition were both very powerful, but the Western Army was too weak.

After Fu Youde joined the Western Route Army, he was defeated by the Yuan court's Northwest warlords, so he joined the Red Turban Army in Hanzhong, and then went to Sichuan under Ming Yuzhen, but was not valued by Ming Yuzhen. He then joined Chen Youliang, but was not given a position, and finally joined Zhu Yuanzhang.
This is no longer a case of being a slave of three surnames. Among the major forces at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, except for Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen, Fu Youde had almost surrendered to all the other rebel forces. Only in the end was he reused by Zhu Yuanzhang and made great contributions in the campaign to eliminate Chen Youliang.

It can only be said that Fu Youde was too unlucky. If Lu Jin could have poached Fu Youde, he would have definitely put him to important positions directly, and Fu Youde would have avoided wasting so many years as happened in history, which would have been such a waste of talent.

It is now mid-November, and by the beginning of next year at the latest, that is, one or two months later, the imperial court will begin to suppress the Jianghuai rebels.

If the historical node had not changed, it would take another half a year for Tuotuo to personally go to Xuzhou, until the second half of the twelfth year of Zhizheng.

Lu Jin had no way to influence that great battle. He could only try his best to find a way to see if he could change the fate of Xuzhou being massacred. However, he would not care if Tuotuo fought against Zhima Li.

After Xuzhou Sesame Li was crushed, a lot of God General Cards exploded. Picking up any one of them would make people laugh. Instead of letting Liu Futong get the advantage, it is better to take the benefits of Xuzhou yourself.

As for Xuzhou, he just needs to find the generals he needs and find a way to recruit them. As for Zhang Shicheng, ignore him for the time being, but you can set up an intelligence station in his territory to see if he will attack again.

In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the focus is on Jiankang, which is Nanjing. As for Dangtu and Caishiji, Lu Jin has plenty of ways to attack it. Whether it is learning from Zhu Yuanzhang's tactics or from Chen Youliang's tactics in attacking Dangtu in history, he can easily conquer this city.

There is really no need to place spies among the enemy's heavy troops, and it is not safe either.

As for Jiangxi, we only need to control the three node cities of Anqing, Jiujiang and Nanchang, and almost the entire Jiangxi can be taken over. There is no need to waste energy building intelligence stations in other places.

After watching Bao Yu write down the tasks in these four directions and the names of the people he was looking for, Lu Jin said this.

"What about those craftsmen you recruited from Jiangnan?"

Bao Yu immediately replied, "The Marshal asked my brother to find an iron smelter before. We don't have any iron mines in Luzhou Road, and we are not famous for iron smelting. We really don't have any iron smelters in this field. I happen to be in Heyang, and Dangtu and Wuhu across the way are famous iron smelting cities. Of course, I have to find a way to recruit people there.

"It just so happened that I met the Gaoyou Salt Gang again this time, so I borrowed their boat to go find a few craftsmen, and then went directly to the iron smelter after crossing the river, and it was easy to find people there."

Lu Jin nodded and asked suddenly.

"Are you familiar with the leader of the Salt Gang named Lu Zhen?"

Bao Yu shook his head. "Not familiar, what do you think, Marshal?"

"If there is a chance, you can investigate this person, and then choose someone to work as a spy beside him. Remember, the identity of the person who is lurking there cannot be related to our side. It is best to find someone from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, or Xuzhou to lurk there." Lu Jin suggested.

"Well, didn't the Marshal say that they would not be recruited as soldiers by the Yuan court? Does he think that the Gaoyou Salt Gang would rebel on their own?" Bao Yu was puzzled.

Lu Jin nodded, "It's very likely. Anyway, it's not a big deal to lay an ambush first. Just treat it as a leisurely move."

(End of this chapter)