Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 136 Sun Deya appears again
Hearing Zheng Yong's excited words, Lu Jin immediately poured cold water on him.

"Don't be too happy too soon. We have to try it out to see if this musket is useful. Before that, you still have to practice the tactics you should practice, and don't give up archery and horseback archery."

"Yes, Marshal, don't worry, I know everything."

Lu Jin nodded then. Zheng Yong was still very relieved about him. This man joined Zheng Yong when he was commanding a battle for the first time and ambushed Zuo Junbi. He was considered a half-veteran and was very proactive in his work. Lu Jin had confidence in him.

Because Lu Jin also had a battalion of infantry as guards, the infantry held them back and the cavalry could not advance at full speed. It took three days to get from Heyang to Quanjiao, and they did not arrive in Quanjiao until the fourth day of the New Year.

On the way, they encountered a battle report sent from Chuzhou, and learned that Chuzhou had also been captured. Only after receiving this victory report did Lu Jin feel completely relieved.

Moreover, Lu Jin learned a little trick from Zheng Yong on the way. When the cavalry marched for a long time for many consecutive days, they could sit slightly sideways on the horse's back and ride on both sides of the buttocks in turn, which could effectively relieve fatigue.
"General, we have fulfilled our mission. Quanjiao has been conquered by our army!"

When they arrived outside Quanjiao City, Yang Jing immediately came to greet them with the generals of the Fourth Regiment.

"Well done, but I don't have much time to give you a rest this time. Didn't you capture more than 3,000 defenders in the city? Immediately select two battalions of soldiers from them. I will have Chuzhou form two battalions, and you can expand a regiment on the eastern front."

"Yes, it is easy to reorganize the new camp. If you are not in a hurry, give me one day to reorganize it. Then you can take the soldiers away directly." Yang Jing suggested immediately.

"No need." Lu Jin shook his head and refused. He was not here to lead troops for Yang Jing, and immediately shouted to the guards following behind him.

"Where is Wang Zhiyuan?"

"I'm here!" Wang Zhiyuan immediately rode out of the line.

This man is an old man from Zhujiagang, a fellow villager of Zhu Shou. Now he is a senior company commander of a regiment. When Lu Jin was training troops by Chaohu Lake, there was only one battalion and Wang Zhiyuan was only a squad leader at the time, but now he has been promoted.

Lu Jin looked the man up and down before speaking.

"You are also an old man who joined the army with me by Chaohu Lake. It is unbearable to be a company commander in the Imperial Guards. Are you willing to be transferred to other regiments to serve as a thousand-household battalion officer?"

Wang Zhiyuan was stunned when he heard this, and quickly said, "I don't feel that I am wasting my talent to be a company commander beside the Marshal. If the Marshal hadn't taken us to join the army, my whole family might have been beheaded by Zuo Junbi in exchange for military merit. But if the Marshal wants me to be a battalion officer, I will do it."

Seeing this, Lu Jin nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, it's rare that you haven't forgotten your original intention and still remember why you joined the army, then take your company and stay to reorganize the troops.

"I now appoint you as the commander of the newly formed 13th Regiment. All the companies below you will be promoted one level each. After reorganizing the two battalions, you will lead them to Chuzhou for assembly. The commander of the th Regiment is Chang Yuchun, whom you should know. Is there any problem?"

"Report to the Marshal, no problem!"

"Okay, then take your company and stay."

"Yes." Wang Zhiyuan immediately stayed with a company of guards and stood on Yang Jing's side.

Yang Jing opened his mouth when he saw this. It turned out that this was what Lu Jin meant when he said that it was not necessary. However, it was also a good thing. With the addition of the officers of the Guards trained by Lu Jin himself, this unit should be able to form combat effectiveness more quickly, and his 103rd Division would be stronger.

The company commander becomes the battalion commander, the platoon leader becomes the company commander, the squad leader becomes the platoon leader, and senior veterans can be squad leaders. If all 200 people become officers, they can immediately organize the captured soldiers and the framework of half a regiment will be established.

After arranging the issue of expanding the army and leading the troops, Lu Jin glanced at the crowd who came to greet him and asked.

"Where is the Quanjiao County Magistrate?"

"I am Cai Qiwen, the magistrate of Quanjiao County, and I am here to see the commander-in-chief." The county magistrate, who was also admitted through the exam, immediately stepped out to report.

Lu Jin still had an impression of this man. After all, he was the one who interviewed all the candidates personally. Seeing that Cai Qiwen had already taken office, he gave him instructions.

"You have just arrived here, so you must sort out the county government as soon as possible, implement our military policy, register the people, and form an internal guard. In addition, you must do your best to recruit craftsmen and send them all to Luzhou. All these matters must be settled before the spring plowing, and you must not miss the farming season."

"Yes, I will do my best." Cai Qiwen immediately bowed and promised.

"Go ahead. If you have any difficulties, you can submit a petition to the Marshal's Office."

"Yes."

After the man left, Lu Jin looked at Yang Jing and asked, "Did you seize any war horses in Quanjiao?"

Yang Jing looked at Zheng Yong beside Lu Jin and knew that this guy was here to rob, but their infantry regiments were fixed in organization and they really couldn't raise so many war horses, so he said immediately.

"Reporting to the commander, there are only about 300 cavalrymen in the city. If you give me some more time to buy horses from the people, I should be able to gather some."

"Then gather them slowly and take away the available war horses now. If there are any who are willing to join the army as cavalry, take them with you. I will take them away today."

"Okay."

Yang Jing was very reluctant to give up those war horses, but since Lu Jin asked for them, he had no choice but to agree. It was not that he was unwilling to give them. The key point was that this cavalry regiment belonged to the 102nd Division on the northern front. If it was in the sequence of his 103rd Division, he would definitely help to get the war horses without saying a word.

However, although he had no cavalry on the Eastern Front, he had a powerful river defense navy, so he was not at a disadvantage.

He stayed in Quanjiao for another half a day, gathering 400 war horses and plundering the entire Quanjiao county. Then he set off again with Zheng Yong, who was so happy that his teeth were showing.

By the time the group arrived in Chuzhou, it was already the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month.

"Commander."

"Marshal, you are finally here."

Both brothers Yu Tonghai and Yu Tongyuan came to greet them, and Chang Yuchun also followed in the team.

Seeing this, Lu Jin immediately smiled and said, "You did a good job this time. I read the battle report. You fought better than Quanjiao. You didn't alert the defenders when you first stole the city. Chang Yuchun did a great job and should be credited with the first achievement in this battle!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the two Yu brothers looked at Chang Yuchun, knowing that this new guy was going to be promoted.

Chang Yuchun was very excited when he heard this. He had an agreement with Lu Jin at the beginning. Lu Jin personally promised him that if he made military achievements in the battle of Quanjiao and Chuzhou, he would be promoted.

"This is my duty. It is my great wisdom that the commander dares to use my strategy. If it were someone else, I am afraid they would not dare to let me steal the city. Then they would have to fight a siege."

After listening to this, Lu Jin nodded and said, "I have already written clearly in the military manual about making up one's mind. No matter what military strategy there is in the world, it is impossible to have a 100% chance of success. If there is a 60% or 70% chance of success, it is worth a try. As long as the conditions are met, why not dare to try it?
"But then again, after what you guys did, I'm afraid we won't be able to steal Lai'an County. Have you thought about how to capture Lai'an County?"

"This..." Yu Tonghai and Yu Tongyuan looked at each other, and Chang Yuchun had no idea for a moment. Lu Jin simply said.

"For now, the only solution is to storm. Fortunately, Lai'an is not a big city. If we concentrate our superior forces and storm, the defenders will not be spared. There are no enemy reinforcements around, so it should not be difficult to capture it."

Upon hearing this, Chang Yuchun immediately asked for battle again, "Marshal, let me be the vanguard this time!"

"No, you have made great contributions this time by offering suggestions and leading the troops by example. I promised you at the beginning that if you have made contributions in this battle, I will promote you. You are now the commander of the newly formed 13th Regiment, which is affiliated with the 103rd Division on the Eastern Front and is under the jurisdiction of Yang Jing. What you have to do now is to train the soldiers and set up the framework of the new regiment as soon as possible. At the same time, you have to defend Chuzhou." Lu Jin immediately made arrangements.

"This is another military training. All right then."

Chang Yuchun scratched his head. Although there was no war to fight for the time being, he couldn't refuse Lu Jin's offer of promotion. Besides, he was still looking forward to commanding 100,000 soldiers in the future. Being promoted to regiment commander was just the beginning.
Yu Tonghai and Yu Tongyuan looked at each other, and then Yu Tonghai asked Lu Jin.

"General, Chang Yuchun is guarding Chuzhou, who will come to fight?"

Lu Jin had thought it through on the way. Now they were training troops while fighting, using fighting as training, so they should try their best to give each unit some opportunities for actual combat. Even if they were just pulled to the battlefield and watched from the side, it would always be better than just doing training.

So he immediately made arrangements for the two brothers Yu Tonghai.

"Tong Hai, make some adjustments to your Ninth Regiment. Chang Yuchun will take a combat battalion and detach from your Ninth Regiment to form a new 13th Regiment to defend the city. You can then recruit a new battalion from the prisoners captured this time, and then your Ninth Regiment will assist in the assault on Lai'an.

"The main attack will be led by the Seventh Regiment of Tongyuan. I will also transfer Zhao Zhongzhong from the Tenth Regiment. With more than 10,000 people from the three regiments, it should be no problem to attack Lai'an from both sides, right? If the troops are not enough, I can leave you a cavalry battalion to take charge of the periphery.

"This attack on Lai'an will be under the full command of Tonghai."

Lu Jin looked at Zheng Yong beside him and said.

"No problem. Three regiments with 15,000 men and a cavalry battalion are enough to capture the small town of Lai'an. When do we set off?"

Yu Tonghai immediately became excited. Commanding three regiments and a cavalry battalion at a time, this was a chance given to him by Lu Jin. With more experience, he might be the next division commander.

"There's no rush. You have to wait for Chang Yuchun to organize the new regiment, and you have to replenish your own combat battalion. You also have to wait for Zhao Zhongzhong's tenth regiment to join you. Otherwise, how can you fight?"

"Yes, I understand." Yu Tonghai calmed down after hearing this.

Lu Jin looked at the men and said, "Complete the reorganization as soon as possible. I have appointed Wang Zhiyuan as the battalion commander. You can pick a few battalion officers, otherwise we won't even have enough officers."

Appointing military officers was a big deal, so Yu Tonghai immediately discussed it with Chang Yuchun. They captured Chuzhou on the first day of the new year and collected prisoners on the same day. The next day, many people voluntarily joined the army. Among them, two people were highly regarded by them, namely Pingding and Li Xin.

After Yu Tonghai explained the situation of the two men to Lu Jin, Lu Jin did not hesitate and met the two men in person. Pingding was a loyal and righteous person with some leadership skills. He strongly supported Lu Jin's policy of abolishing slavery and usury. He was his wild supporter. He also had some culture and could read and do math. He was a talented person with great potential.

Lu Jin immediately appointed Pingding as the battalion officer of the newly formed 13th Regiment, to serve under Chang Yuchun.

As for Li Xin, he is a complaining person, has good martial arts skills, is courageous, has a rough character and is simple-minded. He speaks directly and is a fighter of the general type, but he cannot make decisions alone and is easily impulsive. Therefore, he was appointed as the battalion officer of the 9th Regiment to fill the vacancy left by Chang Yuchun.

In this way, the establishment of the 9th Regiment was fully filled, but Chang Yuchun's regiment was still short of a battalion officer. Lu Jin simply spent a lot of money and transferred a company from his own guards. He appointed Zhou Xing, the company commander of the 1st Regiment, and promoted him to the battalion officer of the 13th Regiment.

In this way, the framework of the newly formed 13th Regiment was set up, with Chang Yuchun as the commander, and the battalion officers being Wang Zhiyuan, Zhou Xing, and Pingding. There was also an auxiliary battalion, which was also led by Chang Yuchun.

After the military structure was set up, Lu Jin followed the same method and rearranged the system in Quanjiao. He asked Ding Haifeng, the magistrate of Chuzhou, to register the people, recruit craftsmen, train the internal guards, and establish both civil and military teams to digest Chuzhou as soon as possible and incorporate it into the actual control system of the Shengwu Army.

He searched for war horses and cavalry again, and then led his troops to Dingyuan.

Lu Jin has never been to Dingyuan City in person since it was jointly offered by the Li and Feng families. This time he came to take a look, of course, his main purpose was to look for the salt mine.

As soon as Zhu Liangzu saw Lu Jin, he couldn't help but complain.

"General, why didn't you ask me to go with you in the attack on Lai'an?"

Lu Jin rolled his eyes at him and asked, "You are the commander-in-chief. Even if I ask you to attack Lai'an, do you really want to go to the city and capture it yourself? Even if you go, you will just watch from the bottom of the city. What difference does it make whether you go or not?"
"As a division commander, your greatest responsibility should be to give your regiments more opportunities for actual combat training. If they can fight, your division will naturally be able to fight. In addition, you must also pay attention to the movements of the enemy forces throughout the north.

"I've told you long ago that Haozhou is also one of the targets on the northern front. Do you have a grasp of the situation in Haozhou? Do you have an attack plan? Where did Sun Deya, who you chased away, go? Do you have a grasp of all these situations? If you are only willing to charge into battle, then I'll let someone else be the division commander."

Zhu Liangzu got angry when he heard Sun Deya's name. He had beaten this guy up before, but he still ran away. He didn't expect that he would stand up again in such a short time. He heard that he had gathered 8,000 soldiers and marched north from Chuzhou, which made him grit his teeth in hatred.

After all, it was he who ran away. It would be so embarrassing to tell others about it.

However, after staying in Dingyuan for so many days, Zhu Liangzu was not just a idler. After all, he was a commander-in-chief who conquered two provinces in history. Although he did not send troops abroad recently, he still did the necessary intelligence gathering.

Hearing Lu Jin's question at this time, Zhu Liangzu immediately said

"How dare I forget what the Marshal said? Since we captured Dingyuan, the defense of Haozhou has become quite tight. Although I cannot enter the city, I have arranged spies outside the city, figured out the layout of the city, and had people draw a map of the city. As long as the Marshal gives the order, we can attack at any time, and we will conquer the city within three days.

"As for Sun Deya, I have already found out his whereabouts. He seems to have noticed our attack on Chuzhou a few days ago. He is now quite afraid of us and dares not be our neighbor. He dares neither go to Haozhou nor Lai'an.

"On the third day of the first lunar month, he looted again in the countryside of Lai'an County, taking many civilians with him. Now his army has exceeded 10,000 and is heading east.

“I expect his target should be Yangzhou Road, but with his military strength and combat power, he certainly cannot take down big cities like Gaoyou and Jiangdu (Yangzhou), so the most likely destination is Liuhe or Tianchang County.

"It could also be Zhenzhou or Yangzi County on the river bank, but it's unlikely. He has no navy. If he occupies a city along the river, he will likely be attacked by the Jiangdong Yuan army. He will be attacked from both land and sea, and he will have nowhere to escape."

"What you said makes sense." Lu Jin nodded.

Sun Deya's movements were really beyond Lu Jin's expectations. He didn't expect that this man's activities would change so much from his historical trajectory and he actually started to play the bandit style.

However, Zhu Liangzu was right. Although Sun Deya had a lot of troops at present, they were all ordinary people. He was in urgent need of a stable territory to provide him with food and a training base. Only by training his troops steadily for a while and having a combat-ready army could he truly gain a foothold among the heroes. Otherwise, he would just be a group of bandits who would be eliminated or annexed sooner or later.

However, Lu Jin did not expect that this guy would run to Yangzhou, and he did not know whether this would cause any butterfly effect on Zhang Shicheng.

If Sun Deya occupied the north of the Yangtze River and blocked Zhang Shicheng's way south, how would the situation develop in the future? If Sun Deya went south to the east of the Yangtze River and occupied the coastal areas that Zhang Shicheng had occupied in history, what would be the result?
Lu Jin shook his head secretly and immediately rejected this outrageous idea in his mind.

"No, no, no, that's overestimating Sun Deya. He is not worthy of being compared with Zhang Shicheng. Apart from anything else, Zhang Shicheng's salt gang, in terms of organization alone, is not comparable to Sun Deya's bandit army."

(End of this chapter)