Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 149

Fan Meng, the man who forged an imperial decree and killed all the high-ranking officials in Henan and Jiangbei provinces, was undoubtedly a legendary figure in the late Yuan Dynasty.

Lu Jin seized on the typos in the diplomatic letters and accused them of being a mistake that a country should not make, and thus began to question Yang Puxiong's true identity.

Yang Puxiong was stunned when he heard this. He thought that Lu Jin would refuse to recruit him and might even kill him directly and turn against Xu Song. If this was true, even if he died, his master Peng Yingyu would avenge him.

But if Lu Jin did not admit that he was the envoy of Xu Song and killed him, then his death would be in vain. If Xu Song made a fuss afterwards, Lu Jin would at most apologize and say that he had killed the wrong person. Xu Song would probably have no choice but to admit it for the sake of the overall situation.

The most crucial thing is that Xu Song is just a makeshift team now, and everything is simple and new. They have official seals but no official uniforms. If Lu Jin really insists that he is a fake, Yang Puxiong really has nothing to prove his identity, so he panicked and hurriedly explained.

"Marshal, this letter is really from the Song State. There are only typos in it, but it is absolutely true. There is also the 'Emperor's Treasure' of our Majesty on it. Who has the guts to pretend to be an envoy of a country? Aren't you afraid of death? Marshal, please do not question it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin sneered and looked at Yang Puxiong with a bad face. He never had a good impression of these cult members. Of course he knew it was true, but he just wanted to deliberately make things difficult for Yang Puxiong, so Lu Jin spoke again indifferently.

"When Fan Meng forged the edict to kill people, he also kept saying that he was being authentic."

Yang Puxiong wanted to cry, but the key point was that he really had nothing to prove his identity. After hearing what Lu Jin said, he had to grit his teeth and speak.

"Marshal, you'd better think twice. Even if you really don't trust me, you can send someone to follow me back to the country. When I meet our emperor, the truth will be known. But if the Marshal does something to me, my death will be a small matter, but destroying the friendship between the two armies will be a big matter. I'm afraid it will not end well in the end."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin pretended to be angry, stood up on the spot, pointed at Yang Puxiong's nose and shouted.

"I destroyed the friendship between the two armies? Fine, fine, I will believe you for now. You said I destroyed the friendship between the two armies, so what is your sinister intention?!"

Yang Puxiong was stunned again, not knowing why Lu Jin suddenly got angry. He was at a loss and said, "Marshal, what do you mean by this? When has the Song Kingdom ever had any evil intentions? You can't say such things carelessly!"

Lu Jin glanced behind him and saw that Li Shanchang had finished reading the letter and handed it to Feng Guoyong, who had also finished reading it. He immediately snatched the letter back from Feng Guoyong's hand and threw it in Yang Puxiong's face.

"You still say you don't have evil intentions? Who in the world doesn't know that my Shengwu Army is now in Luzhou Road, and there is Liu Du's righteous army in the north between us and Bianliang. But Xu Song appointed me as the governor of Bianliang. What is his intention?

"Do you want me to fly over Liu Du's army and fight with them for Bianliang? Bianliang is so far away from me, how can your country let me govern it?

"Or maybe you just want to sow discord and force me to fight against Liu Du's righteous army?

"The Yuan Dynasty has not yet been destroyed, and the anti-Yuan cause of various righteous armies is still in full swing. To sow discord at this time will only make the relatives sad and the enemies happy! What exactly is your country thinking? Or do you want the Yuan army to massacre the entire Jianghuai righteous army so that you, Xu Song, can reap the benefits?"

'what'

Yang Puxiong was shocked like a toad struck by lightning, with his mouth wide open in shock. My God, what on earth is wrong with this guy's brain? The letter only said that he was appointed as the governor of Bianliang Province, but Lu Jin could understand so many things.
"No, no, no, Marshal, what you said is wrong. Our emperor definitely did not mean that!" Yang Puxiong waved his hands and immediately defended himself. It would be disastrous if Lu Jin misunderstood.

"Then what do you mean?" Lu Jin looked at him coldly, putting great pressure on Yang Puxiong.

Yang Puxiong was sweating in the middle of winter. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and explained quickly.

"You have misunderstood, Your Majesty definitely did not mean that. You should know that the capital of Song was in Bianliang. Now that Your Majesty has restored Song, it is natural that the capital should be returned to Bianjing.

"If the Marshal is willing to lead his troops to surrender, then he will naturally become the northernmost army of our Song State. Of course, he should also take charge of Bianliang. This move is not to alienate the Marshal from the righteous army, but is a sign of His Majesty's appreciation of the Marshal! It is such an honor to directly lead the capital. Other generals have never had the chance to receive this honor!

"Besides, what the letter said was not 'Bianliang is in charge', but 'Bianliang Province is in charge'. His Majesty of the Song Kingdom has assigned all the land south of the Yellow River, north of the Dabie Mountains, and west of the Yangtze River to the Bianliang Province. As long as the Marshal is willing to submit, he will be the highest official here, and the seat of government will of course be in Luzhou where the Marshal is. As for when to move the seat of government back to Bianliang, we can discuss it later depending on the situation!"

Then Yang Puxiong looked at Lu Jin with a flattering smile, hoping that Lu Jin could understand what he meant.

Lu Jin could actually understand Xu Song's intention. He was just looking for trouble on purpose.

Lu Jin was a rebel leader in Luzhou Road. Why did Xu Song appoint him as the governor of Bianliang Province? In fact, it was more out of political purposes.

Since the Yuan Dynasty was established less than a hundred years ago and the Song Dynasty had just perished a few decades ago, the Song Dynasty still had a lot of appeal in the hearts of the people in the south, even among the older people who were still alive and former Song immigrants.

However, the Liu-Du Red Army, which was the first to revolt, had the upper hand in their propaganda plan by describing Han Lin'er as a descendant of the former Song royal family. However, Xu Shouhui also wanted to take advantage of the Song Dynasty's appeal, so he was the first to proclaim himself emperor and restore the Song Dynasty, calling himself the Kingdom of Song.

However, Xu Song's power is mainly in the south, and they have no power in the Central Plains. If they can recruit Lu Jin at this time and announce that they have captured "Bianliang", there is still hope, and they will definitely be able to gain greater popular appeal in the south.

A Song State with Bianliang is the real Song State, even if this Bianliang is not that Bianliang.

You should know that even Lin'an (Hangzhou) of the Southern Song Dynasty was only defined as the "temporary capital" by the Southern Song Dynasty, and the capital of the Song Dynasty had always been Bianjing!

To put it bluntly, Xu Song just wanted an excuse for publicity.

Of course, you may ask whether this move will lead to enmity with Liu Du’s rebel army. The answer is yes, of course.

Liu Du calls himself the Song Dynasty, and you also call yourself the Song Dynasty, so who is the real Song Dynasty?

Xu Shouhui wanted to win over Lu Jin's Shengwu Army and give him the title of Bianliang Guan Gou, so as to obtain a "legitimacy" when competing with Liu Du. It was a nice idea, but Lu Jin would not play the role of being neither a human nor a villain.

"Haha, do you believe what you said?" Lu Jin sneered and ridiculed again.

“I don’t care what your purpose and reasons are, you cannot divide us like this. This will only sow discord between our Shengwu Army and Liu Duyi Army.

"At this difficult time in the fight against the Yuan Dynasty, I will not risk the wrath of the world and start a conflict with my friendly forces. Anyone who attacks the anti-Yuan army at this time will be stabbed in the back.

"So I, Lu, cannot obey your country's appointment of this title!

"I might as well tell you clearly that you call yourself the State of Song, and the Liu Du righteous army in the north also calls itself the State of Song. I don't care which of you is the State of Song, but don't try to involve me in your dispute."

Yang Puxiong felt it was difficult to hear this. It was not that Marshal Lu did not understand, he saw it very clearly. He even saw Xu Song's true intention. He also said that attacking friendly forces would be stabbed in the spine. This was clearly a hint at Xu Song!

Now that the Yuan Dynasty has not been destroyed, whoever takes action against other rebel forces first will be condemned by the world, will be stabbed in the back, and will be ruined. In this way, he dare not take out the letter threatening to send troops from his sleeve. Now that Lu Jin has revealed his cards directly, Yang Puxiong cannot decide what to do next. He must go back and ask Xu Shouhui for instructions on how to discuss it next.

Fortunately, Yang Puxiong had made mental preparations in Lu'an before, and he didn't expect to reach an agreement in one go, so he asked.

"This matter is beyond my power to decide. Marshal, can you allow me to go back and report first, so that His Majesty can draft a new title? I already know that the Marshal is loyal and righteous. I will definitely report to His Majesty and create a new title. I will never embarrass the Marshal. Please believe that our Majesty has no intention of alienating the Marshal from other rebel forces."

"Haha, then please do as you please, Your Excellency. However, my Shengwu Army now leads the Luzhou Road alone. We have an army of 200,000 soldiers and cavalry. We cannot be dealt with by just one officer. Your country is underestimating me, Lu, humph."

Lu Jin said something, shook his sleeves, turned around and walked towards the backyard. Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong hurriedly followed, leaving Yang Puxiong standing stupidly in the hall in a daze.

"Hey" Yang Puxiong was still waving at Lu Jin's back, wanting to say something, but seeing that Lu Jin ignored him, he kept silent.

Bao Yu stood aside, looked at the few pages of letter paper thrown on the ground, then bent down to pick them up and handed them to Yang Puxiong. Then he smiled and said, "Messenger, please go back to the guesthouse. I'm afraid the Marshal can't see you today."

Yang Puxiong looked at the letter in his hand, gritted his teeth secretly, and then followed Bao Yu back to the guesthouse.

On the other side, in the second hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Lu Jin looked at Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong who were following behind him, and immediately asked, "Gentlemen, what is the position of this Guan Gou?"

The two were stunned when they heard this and looked at each other. They had just heard Lu Jin scolding so fiercely and with such disdain that they thought Lu Jin knew that the Marshal didn't know Guan Gou.
"Ahem." Li Shanchang cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment, then explained.

"General, this Guan Gou was originally called Guan Gou Suo, an official position established by the former Song Dynasty. Initially, it was similar to the Honglu Temple, responsible for receiving and communicating with foreign envoys. The chief officer of the Guan Gou Suo was called Guan Gou.

"Later, the power of the Guan Gou Suo gradually expanded, and it was able to manage the Imperial Medical Bureau and even the Censorate."

Lu Jin raised his eyebrows when he heard this. The Song Dynasty had a serious problem of redundant officials and staff, with many useless and idle officials. This kind of "Guang Gou" was the first time he heard of it. But it was quite outrageous that such a "Guang Gou" could also control the Censorate, which was the supervisory power of a country.

Just as Lu Jin was surprised at the official position of Guan Gou, he heard Li Shanchang continue to speak.

"This system of management was different during the Yuan Dynasty, with more diverse responsibilities and powers. Sometimes even iron smelting was managed by a special management office.

"But no matter what the authority set by Xu Song is, it seems too stingy. If he really intends to appoint the Marshal as the provincial chief, he should at least give him the title of Provincial Prime Minister. If he cannot get this position, the Marshal can refuse it. I believe that the rulers and ministers of Xu Song know this well."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard that. That's right. You are the head of a province, and you are in charge of something I've never heard of. How can it be as formal as being the Prime Minister?

In fact, Lu Jin didn't really understand how much power the Pingzhang Zhengshi had, but he knew that in history, Zhu Yuanzhang was once named Pingzhang of Jiangnan by Han Lin'er, the Little Ming King.

After all, I have occupied the entire Luzhou Prefecture now, and I have quite a few soldiers under my command, but Xu Shouhui is really stingy for not even giving me a Pingzhang. You have proclaimed yourself an emperor, but you are still reluctant to confer a few titles. You think you can get tens of thousands of soldiers for free by just being a Guangou. It's too wishful.

But Lu Jin still said.

"We have gotten rid of him this time, but didn't you say you wanted to buy time? If he really gives us a seal next time, how can we refuse?"

"This"

Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong looked at each other, and Feng Guoyong then spoke.

"If he really gives Pingzhang, the Marshal can ask for a title, and at least a duke, preferably a king. Xu Song will definitely not agree to it easily. Secondly, the army cannot be disbanded. If he wants to order the Marshal to fight for Xu Song, he must first allocate food, weapons, armor, and a sum of money for the expedition that he cannot afford. Anyway, he has to ask for more conditions that Xu Song will never agree to."

Li Shanchang also added, "In this case, the envoys will have to go back to discuss, and this round trip will take at least half a year."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard it. Half a year would probably be the time when Xu Song and the Yuan army in Huguang would be in a stalemate and it would be time for them to launch a surprise attack on Hangzhou. At that time, Xu Song would fight to the death with the Yuan army, while he would harvest the summer grain, store it, and sow seeds.

By that time, Xuzhou's Zhima Li should have been defeated by the Yuan court, so it was a good opportunity to gather a wave of Xuzhou's defeated soldiers and take advantage of the situation.

After storing up enough food and gathering troops, he waited for Xu Song to lead the main force of the Yuan army in Jiangnan to Huguang. In the second half of the year, at the earliest after the autumn harvest, it would be time for him to attack Jiangnan.

Lu Jin calculated the schedule in his mind and then said this.

"Okay, let's make it like this. It takes at least two or three months for the Xu Song envoy to come and go. If he is rejected the second time, it will be after the summer harvest at the earliest. If he comes a third time, then we should also cross the river.

"Once we cross the river and become a big deal, as long as Xu Song is not stupid, he will not mention the matter of winning over. By then, it is really uncertain who will be strong and who will be weak."

"Exactly that."

"The handsome man is wise."

Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong quickly nodded in agreement.

Lu Jin waved his hand, indicating that they didn't need to be so flattering.

On the other side, Yang Puxiong was also sulking in the guesthouse. He reviewed the meeting process with Lu Jin in his mind and found that Lu Jin had been finding faults on purpose from the very beginning. He first found faults and let him defend himself, thus putting him in a disadvantageous position. Then he made one wrong step after another and was always trapped in Lu Jin's questioning. He could only keep explaining, thus falling into a passive position.

Moreover, Lu Jin's understanding of the letter was amazing. He clearly understood everything, but he was able to find some strange angles to interpret it, thus forming a topic that was beneficial to Lu Jin and forced him into a corner.

This loss was really not a loss, but it also revealed three of Lu Jin's intentions. First, Lu Jin did not want to be involved in the competition between Xu Song and Han Song; second, this marshal had strong troops and it would be difficult for a single Guan Gou to satisfy him; third, this man was extremely smart and difficult to deal with, a very difficult character to deal with, and definitely not a reckless man who only knew how to fight.

Thinking of this, Yang Puxiong relaxed a little. Although he did not succeed in winning over the enemy this time, it was worth it to get this information.

Since Lu Jin has agreed to let him go back, the subsequent negotiations have nothing to do with him. However, before leaving, he still has to confirm the true whereabouts of Li Pusheng and Zhao Pusheng.

So Yang Puxiong found Bao Yu again. Qin Li had said before that he could go to pay homage to Zhao Pusheng's tomb, but he didn't know if this still counted.

(End of this chapter)