Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 146 Yang Puxiong's Experiences in Luzhou (I)

Before Zhang Huan came to see Yang Puxiong, he had already sent someone to Lu'an to inform Yu Tingyu, but the distance between the two places was not close, and there was no way to reply immediately, so Zhang Huan could only wait here.

Of course, it is not a good idea for the two groups to continue confronting each other in the mountains, Zhang Huan said immediately.

"Your Excellency is a guest from afar. Lu'an is still far away, and there is no need to wait for news in a moment. Why don't you come with me to the town to rest for a few days?"

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you, General. May I ask what position you hold under Commander Lu? What should I address you as?"

Yang Puxiong came to win over Lu Jin and recruit him. As the saying goes, courtesy comes before force. Since they had just met, he appeared to be extremely polite.

What's more, he is now on someone else's territory, and there are nearly a thousand soldiers stationed in a small mountain town. It can be seen that Marshal Lu of Luzhou is really "strong in both soldiers and horses", and his power may be even stronger than Xu Song.

As the saying goes, strength is the backing of diplomacy. Chen Youliang can become the commander-in-chief of a region with only a few thousand men, while Lu Jin has at least tens of thousands of people. The comparison in strength made Yang Puxiong secretly groan, thinking that the task assigned to him by Xu Shouhui was simply a fantasy.

But since we are here, we might as well make the best of it. No matter whether things succeed or not, we must bring back a result.

"I am Zhang Huan, a small officer of the Thousand Households Battalion under General Lu. May I know your name?"

"So it's Captain Zhang here. My name is Yang Puxiong, and I'm the director of the Ministry of Rites of the Shangshu Province of the Great Song Dynasty. Captain Zhang is able to lead a unit to guard the pass alone. I think he must be a very trusted and powerful general under General Lu. But I wonder who the chief officer here is?" Yang Puxiong asked as he followed Zhang Huan to the town.

"I am just a small commander of a thousand households. I can guard this important place only because of the trust of the general. As for the chief officers here, there is the magistrate of Lu'an in civil affairs and the commander-in-chief in military affairs. Please wait for a few days, and I will definitely give you a reply." As Zhang Huan spoke, he bowed towards the east and appeared extremely respectful when addressing the general.

Yang Puxiong originally wanted to ask more questions, such as the organization and strength of the Luzhou soldiers, but Zhang Huan was unmoved and acted like he was doing his job and was unwilling to say more, so there was nothing he could do.

However, these conversations obviously yielded some results. For example, Marshal Lu has now appointed local magistrates, including both civil and military officials. It looks very formal and is no longer a simple military government.

This would make things complicated. If one wanted to persuade Lu Jin to join Xu Song, then the county magistrates and generals under him must obviously be included as well, and they must be treated a little more favorably. Otherwise, they would be doing well here, so why would they join your camp? Could they get the credit of being a dragon's follower by following Marshal Lu, and could they get a good position by following you?

But before Yang Puxiong set out, Xu Shouhui did not give him the power and only promised Lu Jin an official position. Who knew that he actually had civil servants under him? It seemed that this time, it was impossible to reach an agreement in one go.
After following Zhang Huan and walking towards Gubu Town for a while, Yang Puxiong also observed along the way and found that there were a lot of laborers cutting down trees here. It seemed that Luzhou was carrying out a large-scale construction project. No one knew what they were cutting down so much wood for.

Not long after, the group finally arrived at Gubu Town. It turned out that there were even more laborers here, with thousands of people building the city here.

Yang Puxiong's face suddenly turned ugly. This is a mountain road in Dabie Mountains. The area outside the mountains to the north is all Lu Jin's territory, and the area outside the mountains to the south is all Xu Song's territory. Lu Jin went to great lengths to build a city in the mountains. Need I say more about who they are defending against?

Yang Puxiong laughed dryly and said, "Haha, I heard that Marshal Lu of Luzhou has already occupied the entire Luzhou Road, and the northern foothills of Dabie Mountain have been occupied by Marshal Lu. I wonder who your army is defending against by building a city in the mountains?"

Zhang Huan certainly wouldn't say it was used to defend against Xu Song. Upon hearing this, he immediately said, "Of course it's to defend against the Yuan army. Our army took over the entire Lu'an Prefecture last September. I heard that your army had just started the uprising at that time. Who knows if it can stop the violent Yuan army? Our army built a city here to prepare for a rainy day.

"Besides, this Gubu Town was Huoshan County in the pre-Song Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty abolished the county and established a town. After the city wall here is repaired and the population grows, it will definitely be changed. If a county seat does not even have a city, how can it be a county?"

Zhang Huan's words immediately choked Yang Puxiong, because according to the time, the Chaohu navy did start its uprising earlier than Xu Song. When Lu Jin took over Luzhou and Lu'an counties, Xu Song was still just a younger brother.

Although you founded your country earlier, I started my army earlier than you, so don't use your Song Dynasty to pressure me!

Moreover, Zhang Huan built a city in the mountains on the grounds of restoring the old system of the former Song Dynasty and the administrative divisions of Huoshan County. You really can't say that there was anything wrong with Luzhou. After all, everyone was fighting under the banner of expelling the Tartars and restoring the Han people's country, so restoring the administrative divisions of the former Song Dynasty was politically correct.

Yang Puxiong really had nothing to say about Zhang Huan's statement, but if you say that he started his rebellion earlier than Xu Song, that's something to argue about!

Yang Puxiong immediately retorted, "Haha, our Song army did start later than Lu Shuai, but I heard that Lu Shuai started his army from Chaohu Lake and changed his name to Shengwu after he captured Luzhou. If we count the Chaohu navy, then our two armies are related.

"Captain Zhang, do you know that the Chaohu Navy was founded by my master Peng Zu, and its leaders were my senior brothers Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng? Now my master has been appointed as the military advisor of the Liantai Province by His Majesty. So, your army should also be under the jurisdiction of my Song State."

Zhang Huan was immediately disdainful when he heard this. What a bullshit Lotus Platform Province! I've only heard of Shangshu Province, Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province. This Lotus Platform Province sounds like a cult thing. Moreover, you even use Zhao Pusheng to build a relationship. The grass on this brother's grave must be so tall. However, he pretended to be surprised.

"Oh? So Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng are your senior brothers. This is really an offense. I beat these two senior brothers of yours so badly that they dared not even stay in Chaohu Lake and hid in Hanshan and Wuwei. If I had known this would happen, I should have let them go."

Yang Puxiong was stunned when he heard this. His face darkened immediately. He stopped and frowned at Zhang Huan and asked, "Captain Zhang, what do you mean by this?"

Zhang Huan pretended to be surprised. "Don't you think your Excellency doesn't know? Oh, that's no wonder. To be honest with you, I was originally a centurion under Zuo Junbi, a thousand-householder in Luzhou. At that time, your two senior brothers started a rebellion, but they were beaten up by Zuo Junbi. They fled to other places and didn't dare to fight me. They also abandoned the Chaohu navy.

“If it weren’t for General Lu who led the Chaohu navy to victory after victory in the critical moment, killed Zuo Junbi, and subdued Zhu Liangzu, and not only spared my life but also promoted and reused surrendered generals like me, how could we be in the current situation?

"If it weren't for General Lu, relying on your two brothers, the Chaohu Navy would have been wiped out by Zuo Junbi and Zhu Liangzu."

Yang Puxiong was stunned. "You are a surrendered general from Luzhou of the Yuan Dynasty? Marshal Lu actually asked you to lead troops to guard the important pass?"

Zhang Huan straightened his chest and raised his head when he heard this, and bowed towards the east, "General Lu has a great mind. He led the army to revolt just to drive out the Tartars and save the people. He has no grudges against Han generals like us. The general just doesn't want to commit murder in vain.

"Since the Marshal trusts me so much and has saved my life, I should repay his kindness with my life. The Marshal trusts me and uses me. Not to mention letting me lead a thousand soldiers to garrison the pass, even the former Lu'an Marshal Zhu Liangzu was surrendered and used by the Marshal. Now I lead tens of thousands of troops and can take charge of things on my own. What's wrong with that?" Yang Puxiong was really shocked this time. No wonder Lu Jin's power developed so fast. It turned out that he used a large number of surrendered soldiers and generals from the Yuan court, and he even had surrendered generals leading tens of thousands of troops under his command. Xu Song didn't have this information before, and now he has solved a doubt in his heart.

Yang Puxiong was surprised and then asked, "Then where are my two brothers now?"

Zhang Huan said again, "I have only heard of Zhao Pusheng. He wanted to surrender after Marshal Lu occupied Luzhou, but he was too far away from Luzhou and too close to Heyang. Kang Maocai, the envoy of Huaixi of the Yuan court who occupied Heyang, learned of his whereabouts and ambushed him. He killed Zhao Pusheng in battle and took his head back."

Yang Puxiong was stunned when he heard this, and then he gritted his teeth, but before he could say anything, Zhang Huan spoke again.

"Your Excellency, please accept my condolences. Although your senior brother died in battle, Marshal Lu has personally led his troops to avenge him and annihilated Kang Maocai's army of tens of thousands in one battle. Now Heyang is under the rule of our army. General Zhao's head has been recovered and buried with his body. The Marshal has also built a tomb for him. If your Excellency misses your senior brother, you can go to pay homage to him in the future."

Yang Puxiong took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his heart, and then asked, "What about my other senior brother Li Pusheng?"

Zhang Huan shook his head. "I don't know. I am of low rank and have been stationed here since the conquest of Lu'an. I don't know about the Marshal's deployment. If your envoy can meet the Marshal, you can ask him then."

Yang Puxiong's heart sank when he heard this. He then realized that things seemed to be more difficult than he thought. Before leaving, Peng Yingyu specifically told him to find out the relationship between Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng. If Lu Jin was difficult to control, then he could support Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng to compete with Lu Jin for power and indirectly take control of the command of this army.

But now it seems that this Marshal Lu is very tough. Not only did he subdue a large number of surrendered soldiers and generals, he also had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. He also watched Zhao Pusheng die in the hands of the Yuan court and Li Pusheng's whereabouts are unknown. In this way, it will be difficult to seize power from Lu Jin. If the covert approach doesn't work, then the only option is to use open diplomatic channels. This is a difficult matter.
"Then when can I meet Marshal Lu?"

Zhang Huan spread his hands and said, "I have already reported it to my superiors. As for when the Marshal will receive your envoy, I don't know. I am of low rank and my words are not taken seriously. Please bear with me. Your superiors will definitely not ignore the news once they receive it."

Just as Zhang Huan was receiving Yang Puxiong, a small boat sailed down the Qin River and headed straight for Lu'an. It quickly passed the news to Qin Li, the magistrate of Lu'an County, and Yu Tingyu, the commander of the Second Regiment.

"An envoy from Xu Song?" Qin Li asked in surprise.

"Well, Zhang Huan also said that the other party brought 300 armored soldiers, saying that they were ordered by the Emperor of Song to deliver a letter to the Marshal. Now Zhang Huan is watching them with his combat battalion. Let's ask us whether to let them enter the country." Yu Tingyu handed the report to Qin Li and said.

"And the letter?"

"That person said he would personally hand it over to the Marshal."

Qin Li thought about it after reading the report and made a decision immediately, "We have no say in this matter. We have to report it to the Marshal. Everything is up to the Marshal to arrange. However, the most urgent task now is to guard against Xu Song's sneak attack.

"Are the 300 soldiers with the envoy the vanguard? Are there any large troops behind them? Commander Yu should go and see them in person, and then send troops to investigate. If there is no large army behind them, leave the 300 soldiers in Gubu Town and invite the envoy to Lu'an. He can only be accompanied by 50 soldiers at most, and the rest must stay in Gubu Town to guard. Please ask Commander Yu to make the arrangements."

Yu Tingyu nodded and said, "The county magistrate's words make sense. You stay here first, and I will go meet the Xu Song envoy."

"Wait a minute!"

After Yu Tingyu finished speaking, he turned around and was about to leave, but Qin Li quickly called him back.

"What else does the county magistrate want?"

Qin Li lowered his voice and instructed, "Commander Yu, please find out more about the purpose of the envoy, as well as the true situation of Xu and Song. If you have any news, please report it quickly and I will pass it on to the Marshal. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. The more you know, the more calm you will be when summoning the envoy. I hope Commander Yu will take more care of it. It would be best if you report every half a day. If you have important information, you can report it at any time and I will definitely pass it on to the Marshal as soon as possible."

Yu Tingyu was stunned when he heard this, and immediately nodded, "The county magistrate is indeed thoughtful. I will definitely pay more attention to this."

When Yu Tingyu left Lu'an and ordered a battalion of soldiers to head to Gubu Town, a fast horse also galloped towards Luzhou and delivered the news to Lu Jin. Half a day later, another fast horse rushed out from Lu'an and delivered the content of Zhang Huan's first conversation with Yang Puxiong. With the basic information about Yang Puxiong, Lu Jin's countermeasures would be easier.

For example, Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng, don't make any mistakes with these two people, so that Lu Jin can be prepared in advance.

On the other hand, Lu Jin stayed in the iron factory in Feixi for another three days. There was no problem with the iron factory's technology now. The only problem was production.

The two furnaces produced a little over two tons of iron a day. This amount of iron could be used to cast three six-pound cannons at most. If used to make armor, assuming that a set of armor weighed 40 kilograms, two tons of iron would be just enough to equip a hundred people.

Lu Jin has tens of thousands of soldiers waiting to be equipped. Not counting the time for making armor, just based on the iron production, it takes one and a half months to reequip a regiment. It will take more than a year to reequip more than a dozen regiments. He also has to make swords, guns and firearms. How can such a small amount of iron production be enough?

So Lu Jin ordered the ironworks to continue building blast furnaces, and in the future at least ten furnaces must be in operation at the same time.

He only set out to return to Luzhou City after making arrangements for the iron factory. However, he received this news just one day after returning to the city.

Lu Jin reacted immediately. In history, Xu Song had indeed been sent to Luzhou once, but that time it was Peng Yingyu who came to persuade Zuo Junbi to surrender. And in the original history, the surrender was indeed successful, so that Zuo Junbi was no longer an enemy of the Chaohu navy.

But now history has changed. Zuo Junbi was killed in advance by Lu Jin, who took his place and occupied Luzhou. However, Xu Song's envoy for surrender was not late, but this time the target of surrender was changed from Zuo Junbi to him.

Lu Jin immediately called Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong over to ask for their opinions.

(End of this chapter)