Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 129 Chang Yuchun's Tactics
Hearing that Sun Deya, who had been beaten into a bandit, had gathered 8,000 soldiers in Chuzhou and stood up again, Lu Jin couldn't help but sigh that this man was really capable of making trouble and deserved to be someone who could leave a mark in history.

He immediately waved his hand and called the guards who had followed him, and ordered them, "Return to Luzhou immediately and ask the Military Command Department to check Sun Deya's movements. Also send someone to Dingyuan to inform Zhu Liangzu and ask him to pay attention to the movements of Sun Deya's troops."

"Yes."

The guard immediately took the order and left, finding two messengers to deliver the message.

Seeing Lu Jin being so serious, Yang Jing asked curiously, "Does the Marshal take this Sun Deya very seriously?"

Lu Jin was stunned when he heard this. He did attach great importance to these historical figures, but he was not only concerned about Sun Deya. He said.

"I don't take it too seriously. It's just a routine scout. This person has a grudge against us. He has clashed with us before, and now he is causing trouble in the area we are about to attack. Such an uncontrollable variable, of course, we must try to figure it out."

Yang Jing nodded without asking any more questions. He immediately stretched out his hand and led the way for Lu Jin.

"Marshal, please come this way. Let's go to the county government office first. It's cold outside."

Lu Jin waved his hand, "No need, let's go directly to the east city wall. I want to see Dangtu Caishiji on the other side of the river."

".Okay." Yang Jing was stunned for a moment, but immediately led Lu Jin to the Heyang city wall.

With guards leading the way, they found a good viewing position before Lu Jin, set up a tripod and telescope, and waited for them to come.

After Lu Jin and a group of generals arrived at the east city wall, Yang Jing continued to explain the situation to him.

"General, Captain Bai of the navy said that the general on the opposite side of Dangtu is named Chen Yexian, who is a military commander from Jiankang. He now has tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. The exact number of soldiers is unknown at the moment, but there are at least 40,000 soldiers, so he should not be underestimated.

"That is to say, they don't have a navy now. If this person has a ship, he may attack at any time. Heyang must not be empty of troops. At least a regiment must be stationed here. Hezhou Port must also have a navy guarding at all times."

At this point, Yang Jing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and said with emotion, "Fortunately, the Marshal led us to fight Heyang in time. If it was delayed for a month, or if the Jiangfang Navy fell into the hands of the enemy, I'm afraid our entire army would have been wasted here today, and the consequences would be disastrous."

Lu Jin set up a telescope and looked at Dangtu City and Caishiji opposite, and felt relieved when he heard the words.

What is luck? The biggest luck is that I hit Heyang in time.

When Lu Jin and Kang Maocai were engaged in a decisive battle, they could only muster 20,000 troops with all their might, and they had to deploy them to multiple battlefields. There were only about 10,000 troops at the main battlefield in Chao County.

If it had been a month later, when Chen Yexian's army from Jiangdong arrived and joined Kang Maocai, he might have had to fight guerrilla warfare in Huaixi for a few years, just like Zhu Yuanzhang in history, and only after he had wiped out the enemy forces in Huaixi would he have had a chance to cross the river.

October 1351 was definitely a rare strategic window period for Luzhou Road.

However, if we really compare him with the historical Zhu Yuanzhang, it is actually difficult to say whether he is good or bad. Lu Jin's current situation is that it will be easier for him to cross the river than the historical Zhu Yuanzhang. Not only did he take control of the Chaohu navy in advance, he also captured the main force of the Yuan court's river defense navy, and he had plenty of ships.

The disadvantage is that if not enough Jiangdong soldiers are consumed on the Jiangbei side, the resistance encountered after crossing the river in the future will be stronger than the resistance Zhu Yuanzhang encountered in history. Seizing this strategic window can only be said to have advantages and disadvantages.

However, there are still some benefits. That is, Lu Jin has taken control of the entire Luzhou Road in advance, which can give him a year of stable development opportunities, so he can accumulate more strength.

Jiangdong soldiers will be stronger than in history, but they will also be stronger.

"We are lucky. The fight against Kang Maocai was a matter of chance. If it was any earlier, the timing would not have been ripe. And if it was any earlier, we would not have been able to mobilize so many soldiers." Lu Jin looked away from the telescope and then commented.

Everyone nodded, and Yang Jing continued.

"We now have five main river defense lines. Our Eastern Division is mainly responsible for Hexian City, Hezhou Port, Liyang Town, and Wujiang Town. The fifth is the Ruxu Water Barrier River Mouth in Wuwei, but that is guarded by the Second Marine Regiment.

"Heyang, a navy must be left in Hezhou Port. Heyang City is not big, so two thousand garrisons are enough. Another major defense area is Wujiang River. I think we should build a city there and send two battalions to garrison there."

Wujiang is the Wujiang County where Xiang Yu committed suicide by slashing his own throat at the Wujiang River. It was a county-level administrative division before the Yuan Dynasty, but Wujiang County was just like Liang County next to Luzhou, which was a larger town, a small county without city walls. It was very similar to Huoshan near Lu'an, both of which were taken when the main city was attacked. Now it has been made into a town under Heyang.

Wujiang River has been an important ferry crossing on the Yangtze River since ancient times. Although the role of Wujiang River ferry crossing has declined since the establishment of Hezhou Port, it is still a key defense focus in military terms. After all, the enemy is likely to choose other places to land when they know that there is a navy in Hezhou Port.

Yang Jing said so much, mainly to explain to Lu Jin the importance of the defense line along the river and the pressure he faced, but Quanjiao and Chuzhou must be fought. Lu Jin allowed him to bargain, but no place that should be fought could be left out.

At this time, Lu Jin also offered his own price.

"I know what you said, but Quanjiao and Chuzhou must be fought. You have a total of four regiments of troops. If you keep one naval regiment and one infantry regiment, can you capture Quanjiao with the strength of two regiments?

"If you can take Quanjiao, when we attack Chuzhou, I can have the troops on the northern front cooperate with you, and Dingyuan can at least send a regiment to help."

"This..." Yang Jing hesitated and said again.

"Marshal, the military strength cannot be calculated that way. The navy will stay in Hezhou Port and leave another regiment to guard Heyang. It is true that two regiments can be used to attack Quanjiao, but Quanjiao will also need to be garrisoned. By the time we reach Chuzhou, I will only have one regiment left.

"Even if we train the local internal guards to defend the city, it will take time. I hope the Marshal can consider it, or send more troops to the north when we reach Chuzhou."

After these words were spoken, all the generals present looked at each other in bewilderment. They did not have enough troops and could not think of any good solution, especially since most of them were new recruits. However, the strategic window was only a few months. If it was another two months until the beginning of next spring, the Yuan army would definitely suppress them.

Lu Jin was thinking about how to mobilize troops. Currently, the 102nd Division on the northern line, Zhu Liangzu's troops also have four regiments, including three infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment. The cavalry regiment is not yet fully staffed and can only be counted as three and a half regiments.

It is definitely more than enough to defend Dingyuan, but the order Lu Jin gave them was to capture Haozhou and Huaiyuan. In this way, perhaps they can only slow down the northern front first, and after finishing the battle on the eastern front, they can slowly plan for the northern front.

Now the Shengwu Army has the Xuzhou Volunteer Army to support it in the north. If the Yuan court really attacks, they will have to attack Xuzhou first. There is no need to rush to the north.

On the contrary, the northeast direction is a loophole. If Chuzhou and Lai'an are not blocked, the Yuan army in Jiangdong can easily cross the river from the lower reaches and then attack from the land route of Yangzhou.

Chuzhou is the southwestern gateway of Yangzhou. This gateway must be seized. If it is not seized, we will be beaten. The enemy can easily break through to our depth and may even reach the city of Luzhou. Lu Jin does not want to fight a battle to defend the "capital".

Lu Jin thought for a while and decided on a strategy of going east first and then north. Then he said, "I can promise to send more troops to the northern division when we attack Chuzhou. Do you have the confidence to take down both Quanjiao and Chuzhou?"

Yang Jing frowned and thought for a moment. Although it was difficult, this condition was much better than before. He nodded with difficulty and said, "I will do my best!"

Just trying your best shows that you still have no confidence. But it is true that Lu Jin urged you too hastily. At the same time, the pressure from the other side of the river is indeed great. There is no way to do it like on the southern front. Liao Yongan dared to leave only the navy to guard Wuwei and lead the main force of four regiments to go out. Yang Jing obviously did not dare to do that.

However, at this moment, Chang Yuchun, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "It's not that troublesome. Give me a battalion of elite soldiers, and I can take one of the two cities, Chuzhou or Quanjiao."

After these words were spoken, everyone couldn't help but look at him. Chang Yuchun's direct superior, Yu Tonghai, even slapped himself on the forehead and was speechless.

"What are you talking about? This is a military matter, not a place for you to show off your abilities. You are going to attack the city with only one battalion. Do you think you are Xiang Yu resurrected or a god from heaven? There is no joking in the army. Be careful that the commander will punish you." Yu Tonghai knew that Chang Yuchun was a fierce general who came to surrender in person. It was said that he surrendered directly to Lu Jin and had fought with Zhu Liangzu in a duel. He was not much inferior to Zhu Liangzu. He was an absolute fierce general.

Lu Jin asked him to set up a new troupe and transferred Chang Yuchun to him. He was very happy and liked and respected Chang Yuchun, a peer of his.

But this guy just likes to brag, and he always mentions 100,000 soldiers, which makes him speechless. What kind of occasion is this now, and he actually comes out to brag again.

Chang Yuchun didn't care. He was a carefree person and didn't pay attention to Yu Tonghai's words. He just looked at Lu Jin confidently with an expression as if he was eager to try.

Lu Jin naturally knew Chang Yuchun's abilities and was very interested in his ideas, so he asked immediately.

"One battalion conquers a city? What do you think? Tell me in detail."

When Lu Jin came to ask in person, Chang Yuchun stopped talking. He looked at the other generals around him and then kept silent.

Everyone looked down upon them when they saw this. What a fellow! They were actually on guard against them. The Marshal summoned all the generals to a meeting and didn't even avoid them. Why should a mere captain like you avoid them?
Lu Jin waved his hand and said.

“Even if we go to attack Quanjiao, you can’t send out the entire army. There must be troops left behind. Since they are not the main attackers, there is no need to know the specific details. Four commanders stay, Chang Yuchun stays, and the others retreat fifty steps away.

"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask, and pay attention to confidentiality!"

Since Lu Jin had said so, the other generals had no idea what to say and could only retreat in a depressed mood.

However, it makes sense that Chang Yuchun did not trust them. In the 103rd Division there were Li Jun, Bai Guangtai, Kang Maocai's former surrendered subordinates, as well as Guo Tianxu and Hua Yunlong from the Dingyuan faction. Chang Yuchun was not on the same side as them, so it was normal for him not to trust them.

When everyone else had left and only four commanders were left, Lu Jin asked, "What do you think? Tell me. Don't make me think you're bragging."

Chang Yuchun immediately said in a low voice.

"Marshal, I haven't read many military books, but I know that the most dangerous thing in a military conflict is to be cut off from food. These days I've read your quick-learning military strategy, and there's a kind of 'interspersed detours' in the tactical section. I think this is the same as cutting off from food.

"The Marshal's book also said that the most ruthless tactic is to go from behind. As long as you suddenly appear behind the enemy, no matter how strong you are, you can cause panic in the enemy's mind. The enemy will be weakened by three points before the battle. I think we should do the same when attacking Quanjiao and Chuzhou."

"Oh?" Lu Jin became more interested. He didn't expect that Chang Yuchun had gained something from reading military books recently.

"Tell me in detail how you are going to get around us, and how you are going to use your battalion of elite troops?"

Chang Yuchun immediately squatted down and drew a picture on the ground.

"Look, Marshal, we have occupied Heyang, which is south of Quanjiao and Chuzhou. Dingyuan's northern army is west of Chuzhou. If I were the defender of Quanjiao, I would definitely keep an eye on Heyang's movements, because according to the normal way of fighting, we must send troops north from Heyang to attack Quanjiao.

"In this case, the enemy's defense focus must be in the south. If we do the opposite and send an elite force to secretly go around to the northeast side of the city, they will never expect that there is an enemy behind them. This way we will have an opportunity to take advantage of them."

Of course Lu Jin knew the benefits of flanking maneuvers. This theory was proposed by his teacher. Lu Jin had watched so many military movies that he naturally knew this tactic.

After all, "When you are in a desperate situation, you should use tactics of infiltration; when you are successful, you should bomb me" has become a famous Internet meme. Whether you are a military fan or not, you know this sentence. This shows the great influence of our army's tactics of infiltration and roundabout.

But that is a field battle tactic. This is a siege. Even if you can successfully hide behind the enemy and suddenly appear behind them, you still have to attack the city. If you can win by making a detour, Lu Jin would have done it that way long ago.
For a city, there is nothing behind it, because it has walls on all four sides!

"And then?" Lu Jin still gave him some face, wanting to hear what else he had to say.

Chang Yuchun continued excitedly.

"Then the enemy will definitely not have any defenses behind them. We can send a battalion of elite soldiers to sneak behind the enemy and launch a surprise attack at night. We can set up light ladders and sneak into the city directly. After we control the city gates, we can call in a large force and take the city. It's not as difficult as you think."

After these words came out, Lu Jin and the four commanders looked at each other in bewilderment. Isn't this too much of a joke? A battalion directly set up ladders to steal the city in the middle of the night. Do you think the defenders are blind and can't see it?
Seeing that no one spoke, Chang Yuchun became anxious, thinking that Lu Jin didn't believe him, and immediately spoke again.

"General, stealing a city is not as difficult as you think. I used to do this. When I was robbing houses under Liu Ju, I often led people to climb over the walls and break into houses at night. I am very good at this. A city is just a bigger house."

Chang Yuchun was afraid that Lu Jin would not believe it, so he emphasized it again.

"General, the time to attack the city will come soon. It is already mid-November. If we start now and go around the enemy, the enemy will never expect that there is an enemy behind us. By the end of this month, when the moon is at its waning phase, it will be pitch dark at night. It is the end of the year again, and the night wind is biting cold. How many sentinels will really guard the city seriously?
"When the time comes, take advantage of the dark night, cold weather, and when the enemy is fast asleep, I guarantee that no one will notice me climbing up the city wall with a ladder."

Lu Jin's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this. Damn, I almost forgot that Chang Yuchun was a robber who broke into houses and killed people. He is indeed very experienced in climbing over walls at night.
Moreover, Lu Jin felt that the other conditions mentioned by Chang Yuchun were very reliable. First, it was cold at night in the middle of winter, and the defenders might not seriously guard the city walls. In addition, it would be dark at the end of the month.

Modern urban residents may not have much idea about this. Anyway, there are bright lights everywhere and you can't feel the darkness at night at all. But it was different in ancient times. The moon was brightest only around the fifteenth day of the middle of each month. At the beginning and end of the month, there was only a very thin crescent moon. It was so dark at night that you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

Ancient people were very sensitive about the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. Ordinary people didn't have much of a calendar, so they relied on looking at the sun and the moon to calculate the date. Lu Jin fell into the same misunderstanding as modern people.

Another thing that made Lu Jin think it was feasible was that this kind of thing had indeed happened before in history. Bah, this was the later example.

He didn't know whether there was a precedent or not, but Lu Jin knew for sure that the Qing Dynasty in the late Ming Dynasty had used this tactic, setting up a ladder and quietly climbing up the side wall in the middle of the night. This tactic even had a special term, called "stealth leap."

Since there are successful cases and the conditions are right, you can give it a try.

"This method is indeed feasible. We can give it a try. What do you think?"

Lu Jin raised his head and looked at the others, and found that commanders Yang Jing, Zhang Wen and others also had gleams in their eyes, obviously having the same idea as Lu Jin.

"I think we can give it a try." Zhang Wen nodded immediately.

"It would be even better if it snows or is cloudy by then. The colder the better!" Yang Jing also agreed with this opinion.

Liao Yongjian, the oldest among the group, also said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the first snow on Luzhou Road every year is really around the end of November or the beginning of December. Maybe it will really snow then."

Yu Tonghai said excitedly, "Then it's worth a try!"

Lu Jin then looked at Chang Yuchun again, "Which city do you think is better to attack first, Chuzhou or Quanjiao?"

Chang Yuchun was about to speak when he suddenly realized what was going on. Wasn't Lu Jin asking him a question? Was he testing him? If he was thinking in a normal way, he would definitely attack Quanjiao first. Since he asked this question, did he mean he was going to attack the faraway place instead of the near one?

Chang Yuchun then said, "Since we have to go around the rear, why not go directly around Chuzhou? Chuzhou is further back than Quanjiao. They certainly won't expect us to leave Quanjiao in the middle and attack Chuzhou across a county. This way, we will have a better chance of success."

Lu Jin smiled and said, "This is a rare opportunity that only comes once a year. If you are brave enough, why not attack both cities at the same time? After all, it is the same if you attack one city or two cities. They are both stealing cities, so there is not much difference."

Chang Yuchun opened his mouth. This general is really braver than him.
(End of this chapter)