Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 127 Post-War Summary Meeting
"To bring honor to our ancestors and to establish our cause, this is the time. As long as I am alive, no one is allowed to retreat! Follow me and kill!"

The section of the city wall that Yin Congdao stepped onto had just been hit by concentrated fire from the archers on the arrow tower. There were a dozen or so dead bodies and wounded soldiers shot by arrows lying on the ground, but no one came to stop them from climbing the city wall.

But soon, at the urging of Cai Qingyuan, dozens of armored soldiers rushed over from the stairs behind the city wall, each holding a long weapon and a bow and arrow, which brought a lot of pressure to Yin Congdao and others.

Yin Congdao did not dare to hesitate. He raised the shield in his left hand to block in front of him to protect his head and face, and threw the short spear with his right hand. An armored soldier who was rushing towards him was hit in the chest by the spear head and was killed before they even met. Then he led a group of warriors to charge fiercely.

Yin Congdao continued to charge forward, and pulled out an iron mace from his waist. He held a shield in one hand and the mace in the other, and taking advantage of the opportunity when one of his opponents had just fallen, he knocked the opponent's spear away with the shield in his left hand, swung the mace at close range, and then rushed into the enemy's armored soldiers and smashed them hard, causing the enemy's armored soldiers to become confused.

The warriors who followed behind him were also not idle. These people were warriors who volunteered to be selected from various camps. They were wearing double-layer heavy armor and swung their weapons to attack the defenders.

There was a tough guy named Gan Shou. His name was "Skinny", but he was tall and mighty. He held a mace in his hand and knocked down two armored soldiers with one blow. The helmet of the man opposite was deflated. Seeing that the helmet was stuck on the ground and could not be removed, the armored soldiers in the rear of the enemy were stunned.

Immediately afterwards, a long spear suddenly stretched out from behind Gan Shou, like a spirit snake spitting out its tongue. A flash of cold light came first, and then the spear shot out like a dragon, piercing the opponent's face and instantly killing the stunned armored soldier on the opposite side.

The wall of Lujiang city was not very thick and the top of the city wall was not wide. Two or three people were enough to block the width of the wall. Yin Congdao led Gan Shou and another warrior and charged forward fiercely without regard for their lives. Behind them followed a group of old men who held spears and poked forward whenever they had the chance.

Under the continuous attacks, the defenders in the city could not hold on any longer and quickly retreated to the stairs behind the city wall.

Yin Congdao's group was charging eastwards, and at another ladder point behind them, Jin Chaoxing also led a group of people to rush westwards. Between the two groups of people was a group of militiamen guarding the city. They chose to surrender directly, and for a while it became the safest place.

The militiamen that Cai Qingyuan recruited from the city were watching the show from beginning to end. The only ones who really resisted were the armored soldiers he brought from Anqing. However, these people soon couldn't hold on because their leader Cai Qingyuan ran away.
This guy is really just here to gain military merit. He is bold, but also a coward. He is a complete collection of contradictions.

He wanted to gain military merits by using the Red Turban Army, but he did not have the ability like Zhu Liangzu. At least Zhu Liangzu really dared to lead the charge, but he was not as aware of the situation as Miao Daheng, who surrendered directly when he saw that he could not resist.

But Cai Qingyuan did not dare to stay and surrender. He stood at the stairs behind the city wall and kept urging his soldiers to move forward to resist, but he himself kept retreating. Seeing that Yin Congdao was so fierce and the militia on the city did not resist at all, he knew that the city could not be defended.

So while no one was paying attention, he quickly got down from the city wall, quickly got on his horse and ran towards the south gate, summoned his personal soldiers and prepared to flee.
On the north city wall, Yin Congdao and Jin Chaoxing had already gained the advantage and expanded the landing area. The soldiers behind them continuously climbed up the city wall from the ladder vehicles. Some people picked up the battering rams prepared on the top of the city wall and began to smash them at the enemy troops on the stairs inside the city. With their help, Yin Congdao and Jin Chaoxing quickly rushed into the city and bypassed it to attack the north gate.

Only by opening the city gate as soon as possible can the large army enter the city faster.

On the east and west sides of Lujiang County, Wu Guoxing and Miao Youzhen at the East Gate were also actively cooperating.

Miao Youzhen, the 18-year-old general, was a very good fighter. Lu Jin had personally presented him with a set of armor in front of all the generals from Dingyuan. This boy seemed to be a little too excited. After climbing the city wall, he was hit by several arrows and was still charging with a spear. Fortunately, he was wearing thick armor, otherwise he might have died on his first battlefield.
There were also Zhang Desheng and Cao Liangchen at the west gate. Cao Liangchen was the most aggressive and had a high emotional intelligence. This time, he was transferred from the Fourth Regiment to the newly formed Eighth Regiment by Lu Jin. He knew that Lu Jin trusted him, but he had not made much contribution yet, so he could not be promoted. This was a good opportunity to show his ability, so he fought extremely hard.

Under siege from three sides, the defenders of Lujiang City were quickly defeated. Not long after, the North Gate, which was captured first, was opened from the inside. Liao Yongan immediately sent a large force into the city. Teams of Shengwu Army soldiers, holding long spears, entered the city in groups to fight in the streets. Thanks to the previous training in the Mandarin Duck Formation and the small group gun formation, this kind of street fighting was their forte, and they soon drove the enemy towards the South Gate.

Moreover, because Liao Yongan had made sufficient preparations in advance and had asked the people outside the city to draw a map of the city streets, the soldiers who entered the city for street fighting had divided the combat areas in advance, so the city was captured very quickly.

On the observation tower in the north of the city, Liao Yongan said happily as he saw the north gate being opened and the large army rushing in.

"Marshal, the city has been breached!"

"Well, it seems that your judgment is correct. The Yuan army in these places is indeed not strong. We were too hesitant before. We must attack forcefully and cannot delay for so long." Lu Jin said with emotion as he looked at the broken city gate.

Liao Yongan smiled when he heard this and immediately spoke.

"No, what you said is biased. It's not that the local Yuan army is not strong, but our army is no longer what it used to be. We have more and more weapons and armor, and our soldiers are getting better and better. We also have more powerful generals than before. If we were still the Chaohu navy that had no weapons and armor but only hoes by the Chaohu Lake, how could we dare to covet this Lujiang City?"

"Hahahaha, you actually learned this trick too. Come on, let's go into the city too."

Lu Jin pointed at Liao Yongan with his finger. This man is indeed a man with high emotional intelligence. What Lu Jin originally meant was that Liao Yongan made the correct judgment and decisive decision, and that he was too cautious. This was originally intended to affirm Liao Yongan's contribution.

But Liao Yongan started from the Chaohu Navy, implying that everyone could have what they have today, thanks to Lu Jin who led them to open up the situation first, and the credit still goes to Lu Jin.

How can people not like a general who is not greedy for merit and has high emotional intelligence?

As for abilities, just practice and learn slowly, and you will naturally get them if you win more battles.

Half an hour later, the remaining enemies in Lujiang City were completely wiped out, the South Gate was opened, and Cai Qingyuan fled out of the city with more than 400 remaining soldiers.

Liao Yongan didn't care about him. He had already arranged for Mr. Miao to intercept them outside the South City. It depended on him whether they could be intercepted. Even if hundreds of people ran away, it would not affect the subsequent plans.

Cai Qingyuan, who had said before the war that he wanted to stay and earn military merit, ran away. Instead, the terrified Lujiang County Magistrate Wang Xiaocheng was blocked in the county government office. Before he could even run away, he and his family were captured alive.

Lu Jin led the guards and took Liao Yongan into the city. A group of generals gathered at the county government office. Not long after, they saw Yin Congdao and Jin Chaoxing and others, wrapped in quilts, entering the lobby of the county government office.

Seeing this, Lu Jin smiled and asked quickly, "Are Congdao and Chaoxing injured?"

Yin Congdao grinned, "Thank you for your concern, Marshal. I only suffered a minor flesh wound on my arm. It's nothing serious. I just need to wrap it up and I'll be fine."

Jin Chaoxing also laughed and said, "I was lucky. There was no staircase on the side of the city gate I attacked, so there were not many enemy soldiers and no one was injured."

"That's good. I just had someone boil some ginger soup. You should drink it first to drive away the cold. Don't catch a cold and fall ill while you are not seriously injured." Lu Jin immediately asked the guards to bring a pot of ginger soup.

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Marshal." After the two men responded, they wrapped themselves in quilts and each took a bowl to serve the food.

Not long after, Miao Daheng also rode up on horseback, holding a bloody head in his hand, which was the head of Cai Qingyuan. It seems that Miao Daheng is quite capable, no wonder he was able to lead troops to conquer so many cities in Yangzhou Road in history.

"Your Excellency, this is Cai Qingyuan's head. I have wiped out the remaining enemy troops, killing more than sixty of them and capturing more than three hundred."

"Well done. Let's find the Lujiang County magistrate first." Lu Jin nodded and gave the order immediately.

Wang Xiaocheng was brought up quickly. When he saw Cai Qingyuan's head on the ground, he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground, staring at the head in a daze, unable to speak.

"Your name is Wang Xiaocheng, right? I heard that you are from Shandong and your family is here. Do you want to survive?" Lu Jin asked immediately without giving him a chance to be stunned.

Wang Xiaocheng came back to his senses after hearing this and nodded quickly like a chick pecking at rice.

"Marshal, please spare my life. I wish to live! I wish to live!"

“Hahahaha.” Lu Jin laughed immediately upon seeing this, “Then I’ll give you a chance. Whether you can survive depends on your performance.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaocheng immediately stared at Lu Jin, as if begging for a life-saving straw.

Lu Jin then stood up and walked to the middle of the lobby. He kicked the head with his foot and then spoke.

"Tomorrow you will take Cai Qingyuan's head and go to Shucheng to persuade them to surrender. I will send a large army to support you. If they are willing to surrender, I will definitely leave them a way out. If they are willing to work for me, I will also give them an official position. If they are unwilling to surrender to me, they can surrender the city. I will allow them to leave Shucheng with their families and go wherever they want.

"If they dare to raise an army to resist, this will be Cai Qingyuan's fate! If they don't surrender the city, then let them clean their necks and wait. I will lead the army to take it myself!"

"Yes, I will go there in person to persuade them to surrender. Thank you for giving me the chance! Thank you for sparing my life." Wang Xiaocheng kowtowed quickly to express his gratitude.

Lu Jin reached out and patted his shoulder again, reminding him, "Don't be too happy yet. I will hold your family in Lujiang. If you fail to persuade Shucheng to surrender, I won't promise you a life."

Wang Xiaocheng's expression froze, and he was so frightened that he couldn't speak, and his whole body began to tremble. This man is really not very courageous.

Lu Jin shook his head and said, "Go down and prepare to leave tomorrow."

Then he waved his hand and asked the guards to take him away.

After Wang Xiaocheng left, Lu Jin glanced at the generals present and finally looked at Guo Zixing of the Eighth Regiment.

"Let Commander Guo go tomorrow and escort Wang Xiaocheng to Shucheng. If Shucheng is willing to surrender, you will lead the Eighth Regiment to take over the city. If it is not willing to surrender, you will camp outside the city and send people to recruit troops. Before the end of the year, we must capture the entire line from Wuwei to Liu'an."

"Yes, I will obey your order!" Guo Zixing and Liao Yongan both stood up to receive the order.

After a while, when all the generals arrived, the newly appointed Lujiang County Magistrate Yao Liangchen also came running over. He had written a notice to reassure the people outside the city in advance, and sent soldiers to post it everywhere as soon as he entered the city. The militiamen who were summoned from the city to defend the city were also sent home directly.

At the same time, the policies of the Holy Army were announced, which mainly focused on abolishing usury, abolishing slavery and human trafficking, cracking down on human traffickers, urging the release of domestic slaves, or replacing employment contracts, etc.

This man was very busy with his chief clerk Fan Hong, while Lu Jin was in the lobby of the county government office, holding a post-war summary meeting with other generals.

"Many of the generals present here have never read a military book. Some have read it, but it's just theory. Today may be the first time you see a real war. So how can you improve your ability to fight and lead troops?"

Lu Jin stood up and glanced at everyone. The generals present were also in deep thought after hearing what he said, or looked directly at Lu Jin, and then listened to what he said.

"I have a way, which is to learn war from war. After each battle, we have to hold a post-war summary meeting. The division commander leads the commanders, the commander leads the battalion officers and company commanders, and the company commander leads the squad and platoon leaders. What should we discuss at this meeting? We discuss the gains and losses of this battle.

"If there are any good things, things that everyone thinks are useful, or tactics, they should be summarized and promoted to the whole army for learning. If there are any shortcomings, we should also summarize the experience and lessons. This is not to punish anyone, but to figure out how to avoid the lessons. It should also be promoted to the whole army to prevent everyone from making similar mistakes in the future.

"Only by continuous learning can we make continuous progress and become stronger and stronger, rather than playing in a muddleheaded way without knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are. If we make the same mistakes again next time, then even if we play ten or a hundred times, we will still not improve at all."

Lu Jin glanced at the generals present, and they nodded frequently when they heard his words. Then Lu Jin spoke again.

"Today is the first time we have held such a meeting. Let me start by saying that Jin Chaoxing proposed that the first warriors to climb the mountain can soak their clothes with water to prevent burns from boiling oil and gold juice. This is a good idea. I think it is worth promoting throughout the army.

“Although it doesn’t seem to be used this time, it may be used in the future. If we prepare a little more, we can save a few brave generals from dying on the battlefield!
“But when you use this method next time, you must be well prepared and prepare things to keep warm and ward off the cold in advance. You should have heard about the power of the armor-removing wind. Don’t die on your sickbed instead of on the city wall.

"If anyone else wants to say anything, feel free to speak up. Don't be afraid of being laughed at."

Lu Jin encouraged them in a joking tone, and the generals relaxed a lot. They all started to think about the gains and losses of this battle.

Yin Congdao said immediately, "General, I think we don't need archers for the first batch of soldiers to climb the city. The city wall is not wide to begin with, and it will be filled up with just a few people. The width for fighting is very limited. Sending archers up would be a waste of the opportunity to climb the city, and they wouldn't be able to help.

“Also, the first row to climb up the city walls must bring a few more throwing weapons, such as bone clubs, flying axes, javelins, and short spears. After climbing up the city walls, throwing a round of short weapons will be very helpful for gaining a firm foothold and forming a battle formation.

"Also, even if we climb the city wall first, I think spears are more useful, but the ladder is narrow and it's not easy for everyone to carry spears. We should find a way to bring spears to the top of the city wall, otherwise we will be at a disadvantage in a fight with the defenders."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard this, but he felt that the suggestion of carrying throwing weapons was necessary. But it didn't necessarily have to be throwing axes. He had already conquered Lujiang and had iron mines. Maybe he could also get some grenades. Wouldn't that be better than throwing axes?

(End of this chapter)