Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 130: Inspecting the Jiangshui Navy
Now that the tactics have been decided, the next step is to perfect the details.

Although Chang Yuchun secretly complained about his courage, Lu Jin still paid great attention to details.

Lu Jin thought for a moment before speaking.

“Since it was Yuchun who proposed the tactics and volunteered to fight, then your Ninth Regiment will attack Chuzhou. Chang Yuchun will lead a battalion as the vanguard, and Tonghai will lead the main force of the regiment to follow up five miles behind.

"You have to hide during the day and move at night, and try not to attract attention. It's freezing cold now, so you should bring more meat and cotton clothes. Be well prepared and try to set out before dark tomorrow.

"From Heyang to Chuzhou, it is less than 300 miles. Today is November 22nd. Let's set it there."

Lu Jin was thinking about how to plan the marching distance when Chang Yuchun interrupted again.

"From the time of departure, seven days later, that is the end of the month, or at the latest, the first night of the next month."

Lu Jin raised his eyebrows. "Seven days, nearly three hundred miles. It's almost the end of the month now. The nights are dark and cold. Can you guarantee that you will arrive on time?"

Chang Yuchun immediately assured, "Before I joined the army, I was wandering around Hezhou. I also stayed in Dingyuan for a while. I am very familiar with the surrounding terrain. I know where to go the fastest without being discovered.

"Besides, marching 40 miles a day is not that difficult."

Lu Jin thought about it before nodding his head and agreeing, "Then let's set it for the night of the first day of next month. We will launch an attack on Chuzhou and Quanjiao cities at the same time. This way, we won't have to capture one city and alarm the other.

"And we have to make backup plans. I will have troops from the north send reinforcements. They will stay behind as a reserve force. If you fail, they will take over to avoid any accidents."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jing clapped his hands and praised, "This is a good method. Although it is risky, it is relatively safe. Even if there is a loss, it will not be too great."

Lu Jin then looked at Yang Jing again, "The Ninth Regiment of Tonghai is going to attack Chuzhou, who will attack Quanjiao?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Jing and Zhang Wen looked at each other. The 103rd Division had only three infantry regiments in total. Liao Yongjian's navy certainly could not carry out this mission, and one regiment had to be left behind to guard Hezhou, so this mission could only be chosen between Yang Jing and Zhang Wen.

Without waiting for Zhang Wen to respond, Yang Jing immediately rushed to say, "Let me go. The Sixth Regiment is still full of new recruits, and my Fourth Regiment has three battalions full of veterans. I will go to fight Quanjiao."

Lu Jin nodded, looked at the several thousand households of the Fourth Regiment a few dozen meters away, and then spoke.

"Then wait until four days after Tonghai sets out, and then you set out. Let Wu Fu be the vanguard."

The commander of the Fourth Regiment was Yang Jing, and the captains were Pu Ying, Wu Fu, and Guo Tianxu. The first two were from Luzhou and had defected to Lu Jin. Yang Jing was very familiar with both of them, so it would be no problem for Lu Jin to choose either of them as the vanguard.

Yang Jing immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll follow the Marshal's arrangements." After saying that, he glanced at Zhang Wen.

The defense of Heyang is of top priority, and Zhang Wen is Lu Jin's brother-in-law, so it would be the safest thing to let Zhang Wen stay in Heyang.

In fact, he was just overthinking it. Lu Jin was very confident in the four commanders of the 103rd Division.

Liao Yongjian is one of the original partners. Yu Tonghai is not only a partner, but also a little fan of Lu Jin. Zhang Wen is Lu Jin's original partner and supporter, and is still his brother-in-law. Yang Jing was recruited by Lu Jin himself and was given a commander-in-chief when he first arrived. If these four people have problems, then there is no need to fight for the world.
"Then start preparing now, especially cotton-padded clothes, dry food, meat, and ladders. Don't realize you didn't bring the ladder when you get there." After everything was arranged, Lu Jin looked at Zhang Wen and Liao Yongjian again.

"Zhang Wen, and Brother Yongjian, you will stay in Hezhou Port and Heyang City. What we discussed today must not be disclosed to others."

"Yes!" The five people present immediately responded to the order. Yang Jing took Yu Tonghai and Chang Yuchun to prepare supplies. Only Zhang Wen and Liao Yongjian were left by his side. The two of them accompanied Lu Jin to stand on the top of the city wall and enjoy the river breeze.

This discussion on the war made Lu Jin realize a problem, and he couldn't help but start to reflect on himself.

The Chaohu elders who rose up with Lu Jin first were influenced by him and became accustomed to Lu Jin's combat habits of gathering superior forces to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

Yang Jing, the highest commander on the Eastern Front, was an orthodox Confucian scholar. He had read a lot of military strategies and belonged to the orthodox military strategy school. He always wanted to use the majority to defeat the minority and bully the enemy, but he did not have much practical experience.

But if you think about the history of the late Yuan Dynasty, there were indeed many incredible war examples. Chang Yuchun, a bandit with a low level of education, might be more feasible in his suggestions. This is why Lu Jin decided to support him to give it a try.

But then again, those who are good at fighting do not have glorious achievements. The more capable a general is, the more plain and simple his fighting style and moves are. From this point of view, it is not wrong to pursue the military strategy of using the majority to defeat the minority and taking advantage of the situation to bully the enemy. The right way is to use both the normal and the unusual to win.

Therefore, he did not remind Yang Jing to change his thinking. As a capable commander, there was nothing wrong in being more stable.

"What are you thinking, Marshal? The wind is so strong on the top of the city, let's go down quickly."

Just as Lu Jin was lost in thought, Liao Yongjian noticed that Lu Jin was looking at the river, but his eyes were empty, so he immediately asked.

"Oh, I was wondering how to play against the opponent's Dangtu."

After these words were spoken, Liao Yongjian and Zhang Wen looked at each other and then looked towards Dangtu on the other side of the river.

Dangtu City was not big, nor was it very high, but it was covered with bricks, which made it much stronger than ordinary city walls of that era. The attack was naturally difficult because they had to cross the river.

As a naval commander, Liao Yongjian was well aware of the importance of the navy in the future crossing of the river. He had also studied the enemy forces opposite in recent days, so he said immediately.

"General, if we want to capture Dangtu, the key is Caishiji. Caishiji is a beach protruding from the river, but it is also connected to the river bank. As long as we can occupy Caishiji, we can continuously transport infantry to the shore. This way, it will be no different from capturing a city on land."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard this. What Liao Yongjian said was the traditional way of fighting. The reason why ancient military strategists considered Nanjing Yanziji and Dangtu Caishiji to be important was that after the Yangtze River passes through the Wuhan section and the Jiangxi section, after sufficient bends to slow down, by the time it reaches the Nanjing Dangtu section, the water flow has become flat, making it easy to cross the river.

Although the river here is wide, there are several "peninsulas" protruding from the middle of the river, which are called "jios". By occupying these places, troops can be continuously transported to the other side. This is how Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the river in history.

But Lu Jin knew that this was not the method used in the later Battle of Longwan between Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang. Chen Youliang had very tall and huge ships, so tall that even when floating on the river, the stern of the ship was as high as the Dangtu city wall. Then he directly docked the ship and climbed directly onto the city wall from the ship. His means of siege were outrageous.

Of course, the most crucial thing is that the Dangtu city wall was built close to the river. Otherwise, no matter how big Chen Youliang’s ship was, it could not reach the city wall. Both conditions are indispensable.

After the Battle of Longwan, Zhu Yuanzhang heard the details of Chen Youliang's siege and immediately ordered the city wall along the river in Dangtu to be demolished and moved inward 30 steps, so that it would no longer be possible to climb the city directly from the boat.
What a coincidence! Lu Jin now has seven captured large ships in his hands. Although they may still not be able to catch up with Chen Youliang's giant ships, with some improvements, he can replicate Chen Youliang's siege method.

Lu Jin looked across the river through the telescope. Dangtu City stood on the shore. It was obvious that it had not moved inland yet. Then he smiled and said.

"Brother Yongjian, I heard that the seven large ships are in your naval division?"

"That's right. Those seven ships are more than ten meters long. They can't stop at the Zhajiangkou in Wuwei, so they are all left in my Hezhou Port. Marshal, do you want to go and take a look?" Liao Yongjian thought that Lu Jin wanted to see the giant boats.

"There's no rush to see the boat. You can accompany me to the Wu River tomorrow."

Of course, Lu Jin would not reveal the method of siege now. Otherwise, if it was leaked in advance and reached the enemy's ears, the city wall would be moved inward, which would be counterproductive.

The next day, Lu Jin used the same old tricks to deceive the world. Although he didn't know whether the Quanjiao garrison had sent people to scout, he still had to make the necessary preparations and act. He took Yang Jing, Yu Tonghai, Liao Yongjian, Zhang Wen, and a large group of people, as well as Heyang County Magistrate Li Xu and Chief Clerk Qian Guangdao, and went to Wujiang with great fanfare. First, they paid homage to Xiang Yu's Overlord Temple, then asked Zhang Wen to divide his troops to garrison Wujiang, and then asked Chief Clerk Qian Guangdao to be responsible for building a city at Wujiang.

On the same day, notices were posted in every village and town around Wujiang River to recruit laborers to build the city. This was done with great fanfare, so if there were really Yuan army spies nearby, they would definitely know about it.

Lu Jin deliberately released the news that he was going to build a city on the Wujiang River, showing a defensive posture and creating a false impression for the enemy, making them think that he had no plans to expand in the near future. However, in fact, as soon as night fell that day, Yu Tonghai set out with Chang Yuchun and began to march towards Chuzhou in the dark.

Yang Jing was not in a hurry. He could still perform in Wujiang for a few more days to let the Yuan army spies know as much as possible that he, the main general on the eastern front, had not left.

After performing a trick to confuse the enemy at Wujiang River, Lu Jin followed Liao Yongjian to Hezhou Port with great fanfare to see the navy's large ships.

This was Lu Jin's first time to visit an ancient Yangtze River port. Hezhou Port was not small, and the tower ships anchored on the shore were enormous.

How big is a ship that is more than 30 meters long and has a three-story superstructure?

Let me put it this way. According to modern normal houses, each room has a width of more than three meters. This boat is as long as ten houses. When people stand beside it, it is as big as two townhouses connected together.
There are two main masts on it, with bamboo-framed sails, long oars on the deck, and huge rowing oars at the stern. Even if there is no wind, the boat can be rowed with the oars.

"Does this ship have a keel?" Lu Jin asked curiously as he looked at the ship.

"Of course there is a keel. How can it be so big without a keel?" Liao Yongjian asked back, then scratched his head and asked Lu Jin again.

"Hasn't the Marshal ever been across the sea? He should be more familiar with ships, right?"

Lu Jin nodded. Of course he couldn't reveal his true identity at this time. He had to establish his character, he said immediately.

"I have seen Western ships and they have their own advantages and disadvantages compared to our Chinese ships. Maybe we can combine their strengths in the future."

"Oh? What do Western ships look like?" Liao Yongjian asked curiously.

Only then did Lu Jin introduce them in detail.

"There are four types of seagoing ships in the world. China mainly uses the Fuzhou ship, which has a keel at the bottom, compartments inside, no ribs, anti-roll fins outside, a stern rudder, and bamboo-bone longitudinal sails. Its advantages are stability, flexible steering, large loads, easy sailing, and long life. Its disadvantages are slow sailing.

"The Persian ships of the Semites are similar to those of China, but most of them use triangular soft sails. The ships of the Japanese pirates are called Antaku ships, which are like sampans without even a keel. They also don't know how to caulk the seams to make them waterproof. The planks are overlapped, with one plank on top of another, like tiles. They are very weak. If you encounter a Japanese pirate ship at sea, you can smash it into pieces with a collision."

The two were stunned when they heard this, and Liao Yongjian was even more surprised.

"So the pirates' ships were so bad, so why were they still able to wreak havoc on China's coast?"

Lu Jin spread his hands and said, "Because Mongolia is even less good at naval warfare."

"." The two were speechless for a while, but thinking about the Yuan Dynasty's expedition to Japan in the early years, it was not surprising.

Zhang Wen asked again, "What about the Western ship? Didn't the Marshal come back from the West?"

“Western sailing ships have keels and ribs, no watertight compartments, no rudders, and no fins to stabilize the ship.

"But their ships had a lot of space inside, and their masts were extremely tall, with double-section masts, with the main mast connected to the secondary mast, and the two sides were tied to the side with sail locks. There were also several cross masts in the middle, with soft sails on them. When the entire sail was fully deployed, it was twice as high as the sails of the same size in China, and the sails were one section wider than the hull.

"The advantage of this is that the sails are large enough to catch the wind and sail fast. The disadvantage is that sailing is complicated and requires ten times more sailors than Fuzhou ships. There is no stern rudder, and the steering is not flexible. It is not as sturdy as Fuzhou ships, and there are no anti-roll fins. In addition, because their masts are too high, the life of the ship is relatively short. They need to be overhauled every ten years or even have their keels replaced."

Liao Yongjian opened his mouth when he heard this, not daring to imagine, "How to turn without a tail rudder?"

"You use the sails to control the wind and steer the boat, or you use a small boat to pull the boat, or you use the anchor-dragging method to steer the boat. When sailing, you can only rely on the sails to steer the boat," Lu Jin explained.

"It's really strange. A ship like this can actually run faster than our sea vessels? It's incredible." Zhang Wen also complained.

“Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.”

Lu Jin made a final comment, then took the lead in boarding the ship and walked around the building.

What surprised him more was that this tower ship had a keel and ribs, but no watertight bulkheads. However, considering that tower ships can only sail on inland rivers or near the coast, it was not surprising. Watertight bulkheads require a lot of materials and are expensive to build. There is really no need to add that thing to an inland warship.

This building ship has four decks. Although the bottom cabin has a keel and ribs, it is relatively flat overall and not as sharp as imagined. This type of ship bottom is indeed more suitable for inland rivers.

The most amazing thing is that the rudder of this ship can be raised and lowered to adapt to different draft depths. When encountering a shallow draft channel, the rudder can be raised to avoid running aground. In a deep water channel, the rudder can be lowered to increase the effectiveness of the rudder surface. This design is really awesome.

It can also be seen from here that China's shipbuilding technology, at least before the mid-Ming Dynasty, was ahead of Europe. Even the steering mechanism such as the rudder was learned by Europe from China.

After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the only thing to say about the comparison between European and Chinese ships is that each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The full-length deck of Europe is more suitable for mounting artillery, but the price is that its anti-sinking ability is not as good as that of Chinese Fuzhou ships.

Tall masts do achieve high speeds, but according to the principle of leverage, the longer the lever arm, the greater the force applied. The price of having a mast that is too high is that the ship has a short lifespan and the keel is easily deformed. The ship needs to be completely dismantled for a major overhaul every ten years or so, which is almost equivalent to a rebuild.

Lu Jin took them to the third floor. Each of the three floors of the ship had a wooden "parapet", or battlements, on the outside, which made it convenient to shoot arrows from a high vantage point. The top floor of the third floor was a huge terrace, which was convenient for observation and command, as well as for releasing the baton.

There are three rackets on each side of the ship's side, and two large rackets at the bow and stern. There are a total of 10 rackets on each ship. The head of the racket is equipped with a stone hammer weighing hundreds of pounds. The stone hammer is as big as a stone mill and can be called a powerful weapon in ancient naval battles. If it is dropped from a close distance, it can directly smash the small boat into pieces, like a giant iron bone.

You can imagine what the effect would be if a huge iron bone about ten meters tall with a stone roller on its head fell from the third floor.

But Lu Jin found that thing very annoying.

It is obviously impossible for such a large ship to chase and smash others because it is not flexible enough. The only thing it can do is to lower the racket for self-defense when enemy boats besiege it. Ten rackets can smash all the small boats around it.

But in this case, it doesn't matter whether you have the battering ram installed or not. If you are besieged, the enemy will naturally have plenty of ways to attack you, such as loading a boat with gunpowder and blasting it close to you. But if you are not besieged, the battering ram is of no use at all.

Lu Jin thought about it and decided that the six poles on both sides of the ship's side could be left behind, while the four large poles in the front and back could be removed and replaced with a folding ladder, which could then be used to directly climb up to the top of the city wall of Dangtu from the tower ship.

However, if such a large modification is carried out on the riverside, it will be difficult to hide it from the enemy's prying eyes, which will make the enemy prepared. It is best to find a hidden water area where outsiders cannot see it to carry out the modification.

So Lu Jin asked, "Can these ships enter Chaohu Lake? I want to modify them. If we modify them on the riverside, it will be difficult to hide from the enemy."

Liao Yongjian thought for a moment before saying, "These large ships have too deep a draft. If they want to enter Chaohu Lake, they can only wait until the water level rises next summer. They must be relocated before autumn arrives."

Lu Jin thought about it and decided that the time should be about the same. Next summer, if history does not change much, it will be the time when Xu Song captures Hangzhou and Dong Tuanxiao moves to the south of the Yangtze River. By that time, Peng Yingyu will be dead!
But before that, Lu Jin would have to bear the brunt of Dong Tuanxiao, the warmonger, for at least half a year. That was why he was anxious to capture Quanjiao and Chuzhou before the spring and seal the loophole in the northeast.

(End of this chapter)