Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 128 Sun Deya Revolts Again

After listening to Yin Congdao's advice, Lu Jin concluded.

"First, we need to bring more throwing weapons, and we also need to find a way to carry long weapons. This is indeed a problem.

"But the ladder can't be made too heavy, otherwise it will be more difficult to cross the moat. You can try to store a few spears on the ladder in advance, and have the people below pass them up when you climb the city."

Liao Yongan also watched the whole battle today. When he heard Lu Jin talking about the moat problem, he nodded in agreement and said, "This is a good idea. We can find someone to set up a ladder when we have free time. However, crossing the moat mentioned by the Marshal is also a problem.

"The moat in Lujiang County is still narrow. I heard that the moats in some big cities are more than ten feet wide. It would be fine if there was a bridge on it, but if not, it would be difficult to cross the river.

"There are only two ways, either build a bridge or fill the river. Such a city cannot be conquered in a short time."

Crossing the river was indeed a difficult problem that could not be solved immediately. Lu Jin asked again, "Let's write down the moat first. Does anyone have anything else to say?"

At this time, Guo Zixing, who was standing aside, also frowned, hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

"General, I think that chariot may be useful in a field battle, but it is not very suitable for attacking a city. The enemy is on high ground, and the chariot can only block a limited number of arrows. Perhaps we should add a roof to the chariot."

Zhao Yong nodded when he heard this, "That's right, when my regiment was pushing the cart in the east, more than a dozen soldiers from the auxiliary battalion were shot and injured."

After Guo Zixing finished speaking, he stared at Lu Jin, very nervous. The chariot was Lu Jin's secret weapon to defeat Kang Maocai. He was afraid that Lu Jin would be dissatisfied when he made suggestions about the chariot. When he saw Zhao Yong also speak out, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But who knew that Lu Jin was not angry at all, instead he said.

"When attacking a city, a chariot needs to be covered. Remember this. Everyone should be brave enough to review their own mistakes. There is no unchanging method of warfare in this world. Confucius said, 'I examine myself three times a day.' The army should do the same. Where there is something wrong, it should be improved. Who else has anything to say?"

Cao Liangchen also said at this time, "I also think that the role of chariots in sieges is limited, and they are not as useful as arrow towers. I think the method of using pre-made ladders to build arrow towers is very useful. We can let other divisions use it."

This person had just come from the Fourth Regiment not long ago and was still thinking about Yang Jing. He was the first one to propose promoting the technology to other troops.

"Yes, the arrow tower and the first landing water spray are both useful and should be promoted throughout the army. Does anyone else have anything to say?"

Lu Jin nodded, then glanced at the crowd. Seeing that all the generals shook their heads and stopped talking, he spoke again.

"The suggestions you all made just now are all very good, but now you have to think about another question. If you are the defenders and the enemy also uses arrow towers, carts, methods of landing on the water first, and fennel cannons to attack the city, how should you defend?"

"This"

After these words were spoken, all the generals hesitated and remained silent. Since its establishment, the Shengwu Army had indeed never fought a defensive battle to defend a city. The only similar battle was when Kang Maocai attacked Chao County. In that battle, Lu Jin formed a line outside the city and attacked each other. Strictly speaking, it was a field battle, but with the city at its back, so it was not a real battle to defend the city.

At this time, Mr. Miao, who had been silent, finally spoke.

"General, I believe that only by fighting can we stop the war. If we want to repel the enemy, the defenders must be able to fight. It would be best to defeat the enemy directly outside the city.

"If I were to defend the city, I would definitely scout out the movements of the surrounding enemy cities in advance and send people to monitor them at all times. If the enemy dares to attack, it would be best to set up an ambush in advance and defeat them, so that our city can be spared from the flames of war."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately praised.

"Being brave enough to fight and to be courageous in battle is indeed a good thing. The best defense is offense. War is about striving to be the active party. Whoever can seize the initiative in the war will have the advantage.

“But have you ever thought about this? Suppose you are stationed in Lujiang now, with only one regiment under your command, and the Yuan army in Tongcheng attacks. You take the initiative to go out of the city to meet the enemy and destroy the Yuan army in Tongcheng, but this is exactly the bait used by the enemy to lure you to send troops.

"The enemy's real main force is in Jiangdong. They can cross the river and attack Lujiang while you are sending out troops. Wouldn't your Lujiang city be left defenseless and easy for the enemy to take advantage of?"

"This..." Upon hearing this, Mr. Miao was speechless. He had heard about the several battles that Lu Jin had led the Chaohu navy to fight. In the beginning, Kang Maocai was lured out of the city and defeated.

It is a good thing to dare to go out of the city to fight, but if you are lured too far out of the city, even if you defeat the enemy, what if the main force of the enemy sneaks into the city?
Miao thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think this will happen. If it does happen, it must be because the defenders did not scout the enemy situation around them and did not know that the main force of the enemy was approaching quietly. They would definitely be defeated."

Liao Yongan also nodded and said at this time.

“Marshal, I think this is the fault of the higher-ranking generals. The strength of the regiment is limited, and the regiment commander is already qualified for being able to defend Lin County.

"For example, the forces outside the battlefield area mentioned in the Marshal's military manual should be actively scouted by generals at the division level. If a large army is gathered on the other side of the river and sneaks over, and I don't notice it in advance, it would be my dereliction of duty.

"The regiment commander should prepare a plan in advance to deal with nearby enemy troops, and the division commander should prepare a plan to deal with the main forces of the enemy in Huguang and Jiangdong."

"very good!"

Lu Jin was very happy after hearing this and immediately praised the two of them.

"With this kind of overall view and strategic thinking, you are a qualified general. I feel relieved to hand over the southern line to you."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and Liao Yongan quickly asked, "Isn't the Marshal waiting to take down Shucheng?"

"No more waiting." Lu Jin shook his head and continued to make arrangements.

"I still have a lot of things to arrange. Now that Lujiang has been taken, you can continue to use troops against Shucheng. At the same time, you must pay attention to Tongcheng in the south and scout for information.

"Wait until Shucheng is captured before attacking Tongcheng. After taking Tongcheng, stop attacking first, train the troops, and scout Anqing's movements. Wait for my order and be ready to attack at any time!"

"Yes, I understand." Liao Yongan agreed immediately.

At this time Lu Jin looked at Miao Daheng and other generals again.

"What Commander Miao said just now is also very good. Only by being able to fight can we stop the war, but the method of defending the city cannot be neglected. You can not use it, but you must know it. So how to defend the city, you still need to think more and have a set of methods for defending the city. Brother Yongan should lead them to discuss and learn more in the future."

"Yes, I will follow the Marshal's instructions!" Liao Yongan accepted the order again.

"Then you can continue your study session. I still need to visit other divisions."

Lu Jin left the county government office immediately, but did not leave directly. He then summoned Lujiang County magistrate Yao Liangchen, chief clerk Fan Hong, and the blacksmith Fu Shicai who came with him to inspect the iron mine.

According to Fu Shicai's report after on-site investigation, the composition of Luohe Iron Mine in Lujiang County is very complex. It is true that there is magnetite here, but there are many other minerals. Pyrite cannot be used to smelt iron, but it can be used to extract sulfur. In addition, there are gold, silver, silver-lead, copper and alum mines.

On the other side of the river from Lujiang County is the famous Tongling. Named after copper, it is clear how rich the copper mines are on the other side of the river. Since there is copper on the other side of the river, there is no reason why there is no copper in Lujiang, which is separated by a river and belongs to the same mineralization belt.

Fu Shicai was very excited. The rich mineral resources in Lujiang opened his eyes. It was a great achievement to find so many mines, but he still reminded Lu Jin.

"Marshal, mining needs to be supervised by someone. It's best to mark out several mining areas and focus on mining magnetite first. Magnetite is a rich iron ore. With my many years of experience in iron smelting, I'm afraid that one thousand kilograms of ore can produce four to five hundred kilograms of pig iron. It only needs to be slightly crushed and can be directly smelted in the furnace. But don't mine other miscellaneous ores, otherwise the iron smelted will be of poor quality."

Lu Jin made a prompt decision, "Since you know those good mines, you will be in charge of dividing the areas, deciding which areas to mine first and which areas to mine later. Then hand it over to Jing Chunlai from Chao County. It just so happens that it will take some time to build the blast furnace in Luzhou, so you should take care of this matter first."

"Yes, I'll keep it in mind." Fu Shicai agreed immediately.

At this time, Lu Jin looked at Lujiang County Magistrate Yao Liangchen and Chief Clerk Fan Hong.

"You two are the local officials. Iron smelting is the top priority now. You must cooperate with the mining. In the future, if there are criminals in Lujiang County, they will be sent to mine first. If there are not enough prisoners, we will organize civilians to mine. However, the food supply must be sufficient, and I don't want to hear the civilians complain. "I will let Jing Chunlai be responsible for this matter, but you should also pay attention to it from time to time."

"Yes, we will definitely cooperate with you with all our strength." Yao Liangchen and Fan Hong agreed immediately.

After arranging the mining affairs in Lujiang, Lu Jin finally got rid of a big worry. In the future, he could make iron by himself, and many of his ideas could be implemented.

They stayed in Lujiang that night. The next morning, Lu Jin watched Guo Zixing lead the main force of the Eighth Regiment and escort the captured county magistrate Wang Xiaocheng to Shucheng to persuade them to surrender. Then he took his own personal battalion and set off for the eastern front.

The next stop is Yang Jing’s 103rd Division stationed in Hezhou.

Lu Jin's itinerary was to first take the water route back to Chao County, and then take the land route from Chao County to Heyang. Before his troops arrived, the news of the capture of Lujiang had already arrived before him.

Now that the territory has expanded, the news of each battle is not only sent to Luzhou, but also to all the counties. Only if the Shengwu Army wins battles one after another and the territory becomes larger and larger can the morale of the military and civilians under his rule be boosted and those officials can see the hope of promotion by following him.

When he passed by Hanshan, the news had indeed been received here.

The magistrate of Hanshan was named Jiang Yue, and the chief clerk was Hu Weiyong, who was arranged by Lu Jin to build the city. When Lu Jin passed by, he had no intention of entering the city, but Hu Weiyong "happened" to appear on the construction site outside the city.

This guy didn't share the joys and sorrows with the laborers, but he still did a good job in supporting the work. He built a greenhouse next to the construction site outside the city, with an earthen stove inside to cook fish soup. The fragrance of the fish soup could be smelled from a long distance away.

Teams of workers pushed carts to deliver soil to the city wall. There were people tamping the soil with stone pestles on top of the wall, and some were taking turns drinking soup. The rammed earth wall had already been built to a height of more than three meters.

Lu Jin was passing by on his horse and was immediately amused when he saw this. It was rare for Hu Weiyong to work so hard, so he immediately asked the guards to call this man over.

"Your humble servant Hu Weiyong greets the Marshal and congratulates him on his victory."

"Have you also received the good news?" Lu Jin asked knowingly.

Hu Weiyong hurriedly flattered, "That's right. The victory report arrived yesterday. I was so happy to hear it that I had people copy it and post it inside and outside the city early this morning. Now everyone in Hanshan County knows about it.

"Our Shengwu Army is invincible. Wherever you go, we will conquer the city. Previously, the county magistrate ordered all villages and towns to send men to serve as patrol soldiers, but the people were reluctant. But after the victory report came out this morning, some of the civilians who came to build the city wanted to join the army on their own initiative. This is all due to the Marshal's military prestige."

"Haha, you are good at talking. How is the construction of the city going? Why do I smell that you seem to have cooked fish soup for the civilians?" Lu Jin asked with a smile.

Hu Weiyong was worried that he had no chance to show his abilities, so he spoke up upon hearing this.

"General, it's cold today and the ground is hard. Many laborers are complaining about digging and building the city now, but fortunately, there is enough rice and food, so some people are willing to come and work.

"However, there are many poor people in Hanshan who lack food and clothing. Building the city is also very tiring. I am worried that the laborers will not be able to support it, so I have people build a warm shed and provide fish soup so that the laborers can rest and keep warm."

While boasting to Lu Jin, he whispered.

"The money and grain used were donated by local gentry, and some was contributed by the county government. In addition, this place is close to Chaohu Lake, so the fish is cheap. In fact, there is not much fish in the soup, but the salt is enough to make the people drink a bowl of salty soup, which can also warm their bodies and prevent them from getting sick."

Lu Jin nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then he praised, "You are aware of the sufferings of the people and have made such detailed arrangements. You have done a good job. I have made a note of it. Work hard and complete the construction of the city as soon as possible. Don't miss the farming season next spring."

"Yes, I will definitely keep it in mind. Marshal, do you want to go into the city to check the defenses?"

"I won't go. Inspections at this time will inevitably disrupt the construction of the city. Let's wait until your city is built."

Lu Jin was just passing by, and he stopped to ask to give Hu Weiyong face. It was rare that this guy worked so hard, how could he not praise him.

When Hu Weiyong heard that Lu Jin refused to inspect, he was a little disappointed, but he still quickly apologized.

"I am sorry for being rude. The Marshal must be well protected when he is inspecting. There are so many civilians now, and it is inevitable that someone will bump into the Marshal. When the new city is built, I will wait for the Marshal to come and inspect."

"Okay, I'll come over to take a look then, and you can go back to your work."

"Yes, I respectfully send you off, Marshal!"

"Ah, this guy still can't change his habit of flattering others."

Lu Jin sighed in his heart, and then continued to move forward with his personal guards. Hu Weiyong stood on the side of the road for a long time with his back bent. When he could no longer see Lu Jin, he turned around and went back to Hanshan City. It was hard for him to work so hard.

In the evening of the same day, Lu Jin arrived in Heyang. This time Yang Jing personally led the team to greet him. In addition to the generals of the Fourth Regiment, Lu Jin's brother-in-law Zhang Wen, Yu Tonghai and Chang Yuchun, and Liao Yongjian of the navy were also present.

"See the Marshal!"

Seeing Lu Jin riding over on horseback, the generals hurriedly saluted and greeted him.

"We are all brothers in the army, no need to be polite." Lu Jin also dismounted and came over. He was the first to look at Liao Yongjian, "Brother Yongjian, long time no see. Are you used to being stationed at the river defense recently?"

Liao Yongjian felt honored that Lu Jin spoke to him first, and said immediately.

"That's great. Now we have a strong army and many large ships. The Jiangdong soldiers on the other side don't dare to come over. Every day when our Jiangmen naval patrol boats go out, the other side is scared and trembles, fearing that we will suddenly attack across the river."

"Hahaha, Brother Yongjian's navy is still so mighty." Lu Jin laughed immediately.

"Marshal, when will you lead our brothers across the river?" Liao Yongjian said excitedly.

"There is no rush to cross the river. Brother Yongan's 101st Division just captured Lujiang yesterday. Next, they will attack Shucheng and Tongcheng. You also need to take Quanjiao and Chuzhou along the river first. Dingyuan also needs to take Haozhou and Huaiyuan.

"We haven't taken over all the land north of the Yangtze River yet, so why are we in such a hurry to cross the river?" Lu Jin asked with a smile.

Yang Jing also interrupted and said, "Marshal, we still have too few troops on the eastern front. If we want to take Quanjiao and Chuzhou, I am worried that we don't have enough troops. We may also need the support of troops from the northern front. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to capture these places."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Lu Jin asked Yang Jing in surprise as he led the generals into the city. This was the first time he heard Yang Jing say such unconfident words.

Yang Jing explained immediately.

"General, Hezhou is too important. I only have three infantry regiments and one navy regiment, but there are tens of thousands of troops on the other side of the river eyeing us covetously. I dare not attack Quanjiao with all my strength. I must leave enough troops to garrison Hezhou, otherwise I may be taken advantage of by Jiangdong. But if I leave enough troops, there will be too few troops to attack Quanjiao.

"In addition, the recent scout report said that the Sun Deya rebel army in Dingyuan is in Chuzhou and caused a big commotion there. That's why I said that if we attack Chuzhou, it would be best if we have the cooperation of the northern army."

Lu Jin immediately became interested when he heard this.

"Sun Deya caused a big fuss in Chuzhou? What did he do in Chuzhou?"

Yang Jing immediately said, "According to the scouts, this man looted villages and towns in Chuzhou, robbed and killed wealthy families, and robbed money and food and instigated the people to join him in rebellion. Now he has gathered 8,000 soldiers and is heading north.

"We don't know whether they have left Chuzhou or gone to Lai'an or Liuhe. We are still waiting for the scouts to report."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately sighed, "This guy is really capable of making trouble!"

(End of this chapter)