Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 181 Zhang Desheng's Enlightenment
Among the generals of the Eighth Regiment, Zhang Desheng is a veteran of Chaohu and a business partner. This guy is a fearless warmongerer and extremely brave. Do you think a man who can take the initiative to rebel is a coward?
Cao Liangchen also volunteered to join the army, and he had always been eager to make meritorious service, so his attitude was not outrageous.

On the other hand, Guo Tianjue was simply the stupid son of a landlord. He used to live a life of luxury at home, without worries, and just waited for death. His two elder brothers also helped to manage the family business and fields. He himself had nothing to do all day long: fighting cocks and playing with dogs. But now he suddenly had nearly a thousand soldiers under his command and became a young general. This kid suddenly became a little arrogant.

Young people are impulsive! Besides, which boy didn't dream of becoming a general, commanding thousands of troops, and commanding the world when he was young? Now that he has the opportunity to realize his dream, how can he resist? !
But Guo Zixing couldn't bear it anymore. When he heard Zhang Desheng say that he would take the initiative to find a war even if there was no war, he suddenly felt overwhelmed and scolded his son immediately.

"Shut up, what do you know? Officers Zhang and Cao have fought in major battles. Just listen to them. You have no right to speak here!"

Guo Zixing was openly scolding his own son, but actually he was saying it for Zhang Desheng and the other man to hear.

The two men looked at each other when they heard this, and then looked at the Guo father and son. Zhang Desheng knew what Lu Jin was planning, that is, he did not trust the Guo father and son very much, so he sent himself here as deputy commander just to keep an eye on Guo Zixing. Now he wanted to see what tricks Guo Zixing had.

Sure enough, Guo Zixing continued speaking.

"Both brothers have fought tough battles with the Marshal. I know you are eager to make achievements this time, but Commander Liao's order for us is to hide and wait for an opportunity to annihilate the enemy. If the enemy really sends reinforcements, we are not afraid. But if the enemy does not come, we should not add unnecessary trouble, right?"

Zhang Desheng looked as if he had expected this and he immediately retorted.

"No, how can this be unnecessary? The commander should have read the quick-learning military strategy that the commander-in-chief issued to officers above the battalion level, right?"

"Of course I have read it." Guo Zixing nodded reluctantly.

Zhang Desheng said, "That's it. The Marshal mentioned in the chapter 'Command' in this book that 'when a general is on the battlefield, he may not obey the orders of the emperor'. This does not mean that generals are encouraged to disobey the emperor's orders. Instead, they are limited by the speed of transmitting military information and the real-time changes in the enemy and our own situation on the battlefield. The rear cannot grasp it in time and make quick adjustments.

“Therefore, if the rear still wants to interfere with the front-line command, mistakes are inevitable. This is true for the lord and the general, and the commander-in-chief and the front-line captains.

“Therefore, the Marshal emphasized in the book that in any military command, the commander-in-chief should adjust the deployment in a timely manner and make reasonable tactical changes based on the front-line situation and the enemy’s and our own situation, provided that the general direction and strategy set by the monarch remain unchanged.

"Due to the delay in the transmission of battlefield military intelligence and the ever-changing battlefield situation, when a major enemy situation is discovered that is inconsistent with the prior judgment, the front-line generals should give full play to their subjective initiative, have the power to temporarily assign themselves new tasks, and immediately find ways to convey the battlefield changes to the commander-in-chief so that the commander-in-chief can make timely adjustments. Is this correct?"

"It is indeed written like that, but we haven't set out yet, so there is no change in the enemy situation." Guo Zixing emphasized immediately.

Zhang Desheng said again.

"We didn't set out, but what was the mission that Brother Liao assigned to us? We were to advance in secret and look for an opportunity to annihilate the reinforcements from Qianshan or Anqing heading north. He also suggested that we ambush at Shahe and prepare to attack them halfway across the river, right?"

"That's right." Guo Zixing could only nod, because the order was indeed correct.

"That's right. We just need to complete the mission and annihilate the reinforcements from Qianshan and Anqing. As for how to annihilate them, it is up to us. We can adjust the combat deployment according to the situation on the front line." Zhang Desheng immediately stated his true purpose.

Guo Zixing's eyes widened immediately and he wanted to refute immediately, but was interrupted by Zhang Desheng again.

“When I was in Chaohu, the Marshal had not yet joined the army. We, several thousand people, were hiding on Laoshan Island in Chaohu. We were suppressed and beaten by Zuo Junbi of Luzhou. We had no power to resist. Every time he sent people to sweep, many of our brothers died.

"Without a military system, weapons, armor, or strategy, we are doomed to fail. No one knows when Zuo Junbi will hang his head on the city wall."

This was the first time Guo Zixing heard someone talk about the story before Lu Jin joined Chaohu. He did not interrupt and just listened to Zhang Desheng continue.

"But who could have thought that on the day the Marshal first came to join the army, he told us that he would give us a great gift, Luzhou City. At that time, we, Brother Liao, and Uncle Yu thought that the Marshal was just joking. We had thousands of people and couldn't even beat Zuo Junbi, so who could have the ability to capture Luzhou City? But who knew that he would really lead us to victory later!
"I still remember what the commander said at that time. Since ancient times, there have been many casualties in sieges. As long as we attack a city, casualties are inevitable. Especially at that time, we had no armor and no weapons. How could we attack a strong city like Luzhou?

"During the pre-Song Dynasty, the Mongolian Tartars led a large army to attack Luzhou City, but they failed to take it down no matter how many times they fought. In the end, the capital of Hangzhou fell first, and Luzhou surrendered. How did we manage to take it down? It was because of the Marshal's battle strategy at the time!"

At this point, Zhang Desheng's eyes sparkled. Guo Tianjue, who was listening to him, was full of admiration and asked quickly, "Then what? Then what? How did the Marshal fight at that time?"

"The commander-in-chief said that attacking a city is indeed difficult, and we should try not to attack a city if we can. As the saying goes, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's strategy, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack the city. Attacking a city is a last resort, especially since we were short of armored soldiers at the time.

"So the Marshal made a plan. First, we would attack the enemy's plan, then his soldiers, and finally the city. The Marshal said that in any siege, it is best to first find a way to lure the defenders outside the city and annihilate them. On the one hand, this would weaken the defensive forces in the city, and on the other hand, it would dampen the morale of the defenders in the city. No matter how strong the city is, as long as the defenders leave the city, they will no longer be protected by the city and will always find a way to kill them." Later, following this line of thought, we found an opportunity. We took advantage of Zuo Junbi's arrogance and lured his 3,000 main forces outside the city. They were besieged by seven battalions of our army. In the end, we annihilated Zuo Junbi's 3,000 main forces and successfully captured him alive. We also captured two generals under Zuo Junbi, Yin Congdao under Brother Liao of the Third Regiment, and Ye Sheng beside the Marshal. They were all captured alive by us in that battle!
"After that battle, we captured thousands of enemy soldiers, seized 3,000 swords and spears, and more than a thousand sets of armor. The whole army suddenly became stronger. We replaced bamboo poles with iron spears, and had more than a thousand armored soldiers.

"Logically speaking, the main force of the Luzhou garrison was wiped out, and there were only new soldiers who had been recruited less than two months ago. In addition, the main general was beheaded, and two lieutenant generals defected to the enemy. The city should have no morale. Luzhou was within our grasp, and everyone was very happy. Seeing that Luzhou City was ours, several brothers said they wanted to attack Luzhou City, but the commander-in-chief did not allow them to do so at this time."

"Why? Didn't they say to attack the troops first and then the city? Now that we have defeated the troops, why not attack the city?" Guo Tianjue asked immediately.

"Yes, we asked the same question at that time, but the Marshal also said that those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the moment, and those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region. We cannot just focus on Luzhou in front of us.

"There were three Yuan forces besieging us at that time. Luzhou was just one of them. To the west was Zhu Liangzu of Lu'an. He also had several thousand soldiers and was very brave in battle. When we first started the rebellion, he dared to charge into a battle array of 10,000 people on his own. To the east was Kang Maocai of Hezhou. He was even more powerful, with more than 20,000 troops under his command.

"The Marshal said that even if we occupy Luzhou now, we only have a few thousand people, and there are many enemies surrounding us. Although we have occupied the city, we have also trapped ourselves. If we cannot defend it, we will be more easily annihilated by the enemy.

"So the commander proposed a strategy of besieging a point and attacking the reinforcements. He used the remaining enemy troops in Luzhou as bait and sent out the old and weak to feint at Luzhou, bluffing and forcing Luzhou to ask for help from Lu'an. Our main force would then advance westward in secret, wait for the reinforcements from Lu'an to come out, and then lure them back.

“In this way, we will drag Zhu Liangzu’s main force like walking a dog and make it exhausted, while our main force will take advantage of the situation and set up an ambush on the way to annihilate the main force of Lu’an in one fell swoop. In this way, the two cities of Luzhou and Lu’an will be like empty gates, waiting for us to enter.

"Afterwards, the commander-in-chief led us, with Yin Congdao, a surrendered general from Luzhou, as the vanguard. We were the first to climb up Luzhou City and break into the city. Luzhou fell in one blow. Then, he sent a detachment of troops to take Zhu Liangzu as a hostage, pretending to be the defeated army of Lu'an. At night, they opened the gate of Lu'an and captured another city!
"After taking these two cities, two of the three enemy armies around us have been eliminated. Our army will use Lu'an as the rear, Luzhou as the base, and Chaohu Navy as the flank. We will concentrate on training and preparing for war and confront the 20,000 troops of Kang Maocai's army in Hezhou. When our army has trained 20,000 to 30,000 elite soldiers, we will fight a decisive battle with Kang Maocai in Chao County, and then wipe out several cities along the river and capture the entire Luzhou Road!"

Guo Tianjue's eyes sparkled as he listened, and he exclaimed, "Too amazing! The Marshal is truly a rare talent. He has won battle after battle without a single defeat. His strategies are ingenious, his tactics are varied, and his vision is far-sighted. I wish I could have followed him back then!"

Guo Tianjue had been fooled into almost becoming Lu Jin's little fanboy at this time, and these words coming from Zhang Desheng's mouth could also prove Lu Jin's supreme status in the minds of this group of Chaohu veterans!

But Guo Zixing frowned, not quite understanding. I know the Marshal is not confident about us from Dingyuan, so he sent you, the veteran from Chaohu, to serve as the deputy commander. But why are you saying this at this time? Are you trying to use the Marshal to put pressure on me?

Guo Zixing immediately asked, "I have also heard what Officer Zhang said. Does Officer Zhang mean that we must follow the example of the Marshal and lead the enemy out of the city?"

When he really wanted to say it, Guo Zixing changed his tone again. In the end, he didn't dare to directly reveal the guess in his heart.

Zhang Desheng said this upon seeing this.

"Commander, what I meant by what I said just now is that the Marshal has told us that we should learn war in war, and learn while fighting. The Marshal often says that he has never fought in a war, let alone had any experience in leading troops. He has only read a few more military books than others, and still needs to learn. Of course, we all know that the Marshal is just being modest.

“Compared to the Marshal, we are the ones who should learn the most.

"I, Zhang Desheng, did not know how to fight a war before, and I have never read any military books, but I think what the Marshal said makes sense, because he can lead us to win battles all the time. As long as we listen to the Marshal, we can always win.

"The Marshal also said that we should learn together, so that our Shengwu Army can become stronger and stronger.

"The Marshal said that it is best to lure the enemies outside the city and annihilate them before attacking the city. Only when there is no other way will we consider forcibly attacking the city. Now that we have such an opportunity, why don't we do it?
“Commander, you are a lieutenant leading troops alone, not an ordinary captain of a thousand households. Commander Liao is approaching Tongcheng to create an opportunity for us to attack reinforcements and clear obstacles for the subsequent attack on Qianshan and Anqing.

"The main force of the Central Army has provided us with a stage to perform, shouldn't we try to perform well?
"If the enemy doesn't want to come out and play a supporting role, then we should find ways to force them out! If we can kill one more enemy soldier outside the city, we can save ten of our brothers from dying when we climb the city in the future. This is not only for our own merit, but also for the sake of saving the lives of our brothers!"

Zhang Desheng used Lu Jin's military book as a guarantee and threatened to save his brothers' lives to pressure Guo Zixing. Guo Zixing didn't know what to say and just asked.

"But the mission that Commander Liao gave us was to fight the reinforcements. If the enemy army came out of the city to rescue, there would be less trouble. But if the enemy army does not come out, what can we do? Isn't this also helpless?"

"That's not necessarily true." Zhang Desheng immediately retorted, "When the Marshal surrounded and attacked the reinforcements in Luzhou to lure Zhu Liangzu to send troops, when Zhu Liangzu was about to reach Luzhou, he led this guy back to Lu'an, making him go for nothing. How did the Marshal lure the enemy at that time? He used Ye Sheng, who had already surrendered, to deceive him alone.

"Although we don't have any surrendered enemy generals, we can intercept the enemy's messengers asking for help. Then we can send people to pretend to be messengers to ask for help in Qianshan and Anqing. If the enemy doesn't come out, we will send fake messengers to ask for help. We don't believe that the enemy won't send troops!"

"This is a good idea. I can do this. When I followed Commander Yang to launch a surprise attack on Hezhou City, I was the first to enter the city to contact the insiders. I am good at this and I guarantee that I can lure the enemy out!" Upon hearing this, Cao Liangchen clapped his hands and agreed excitedly.

(End of this chapter)