Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 183: Marching into Anqing (I)

Lu Jin sent people to find Mao Gui, Fu Youde, and Deng Yu, just because he didn't want these people to fall into the hands of the enemy.

In fact, he is not short of generals now, but of soldiers. Historically, before Zhu Yuanzhang crossed the river, there were only three cities, Chuzhou, Quanjiao and Hezhou, but they maintained an army of about 40,000 to 50,000, of which about 20,000 were mobile elite troops that could be used for external attacks, and the rest were local garrisons.

Before crossing the river, Lu Jin had already taken over the entire Luzhou Road, part of Anfeng Road and part of Yangzhou Road, and was about to launch an attack on Anqing Road. His territory in the north of the Yangtze River was much larger than that of Zhu Yuanzhang in history, but his military strength was at most twice that of Zhu Yuanzhang at that time.

The battalion commanders at the level of a thousand households are all well-known generals. It can be said that there are quite a few generals, but the number of troops is still small compared to the territory. However, Huaixi has been exploited to the limit. There is only a small population, but there are many wastelands. There is no shortage of land, only of population. In the future, after gaining a foothold in the south of the Yangtze River, we must move some refugees here to farm.

Land alone cannot grow food; it needs people to cultivate the land for it to be useful. Now the food in the Shengwu Army's territory is actually tight. Fortunately, they now have salt and iron, which can sustain them until they march into the south of the Yangtze River.

Thinking of this, Lu Jin suddenly realized a problem. In previous years, the grain in Jiangnan had to be transported to Dadu. Now that the sea transportation was cut off by Fang Guozhen and the canal transportation was cut off by Zhima Li, would the grain originally intended for Dadu be trapped in Jiangnan? Does this mean that there is a lot of grain stored in Jiangnan?
"How is the grain price in Jiangdong recently?"

Lu Jin suddenly asked such a question, which made Bao Yu stunned. He quickly said, "Replying to the commander, I haven't paid attention to this. Now the treasure notes of the Yuan court are almost like waste paper. Even if the price of grain changes, I'm afraid there is no accurate number. Now even the grain in a county may have several prices."

Lu Jin nodded. This was true. The Yuan Dynasty's financial system had completely collapsed, and prices were in chaos. It was difficult to find a unit to maintain constant prices. Gold and silver were good at preserving value, but China was in great need of them. Now it was impossible to mint silver dollars as currency. There were too few of them, and if they were put on the market, not even a splash would be made.

"What I mean is that Jiangnan has to transport grain to Dadu every year, but since last year, both the canal and sea transportation have been interrupted, and the grain cannot be transported north. All this grain should still be in Jiangnan. So is the price of grain in Jiangnan cheaper now? Is it possible to buy some grain from Jiangnan?"

"Um, this." Bao Yu was immediately shocked by Lu Jin's idea. Go to the enemy-occupied area to buy food? Who to buy from? What to buy with? How to transport it back? Bao Yu thought Lu Jin's idea was a bit whimsical.

He immediately reminded them, "General, now is a time of chaos. Even if the people still have food in their homes, I'm afraid no one will be willing to sell it at the current price. Secondly, the grain that has not been transported north is probably in the government warehouses in Jiangnan. Unless we fight there, who will sell the food to the rebels?

"Even if there are greedy officials who dare to sell, the price of smuggled grain must be extremely high. Otherwise, even corrupt officials would not dare to take the risk of being beheaded. If the price is too high, then what is the original intention of the Marshal to buy cheap grain?"

Lu Jin thought about it and it made sense. He had originally wanted to use the iron to buy some food in Jiangnan. He could use Lu Zhen as a middleman. Salt dealers like them must have channels. He could use the iron to exchange food and salt with Lu Zhen. This should work, but it would be suspected of aiding the enemy. After thinking about it, he decided to give up.

Then he said, "What you said makes sense. I was confused. Let's forget about this matter and talk about the layout of the intelligence station in the Jiangnan area."

"Yes." Bao Yu said this after seeing Lu Jin give up the idea.

"There are currently three stations in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, namely Changzhou Station, Jiqing Station, and Huizhou Station.

"Changzhou Station is responsible for the coastal areas east of Changzhou, north of Hangzhou, and east of Taihu Lake. Suzhou and Hangzhou are both within the jurisdiction of Changzhou Station. The main station is located in Changzhou to facilitate contact with us and is slightly closer.

"There is also Jiqing Station, with its headquarters in Dantu (Zhenjiang City), which is responsible for collecting the vast area west of Changzhou, along the river, and north of Ningguo Road.

“The reason why we set up the headquarters in Dantu is that after getting intelligence, we can cross the river to Yangzhou Road on the north bank. That place is neither our territory nor Zhima Li’s territory. There is no rebel army there, so it is not easy to arouse suspicion.

"Secondly, after entering the river from Dantu, you can take a boat directly into the Chushui River, and go upstream to Chuzhou, Quanjiao, or even take a boat all the way to Liang County next to Luzhou. In this way, you can rely on water transportation along the way, which is fast and concealed.

"We will also set up a Huizhou station, which will be responsible for Ningguo Road, Chizhou Road, Huizhou Road, and Jiande Road in central Zhejiang. The main station will be located west of Xuancheng City, near the Qingyi River, so that intelligence can be transmitted along the Qingyi River in the future.

"However, Huizhou Station has not yet been fully built. I have also told them to find a way to settle down and collect intelligence for the time being. There is no need to rush to contact the headquarters. Anyway, even if our army crosses the river, it will definitely attack Jiqing Road and Taiping Road first. It will not be too late to contact them when we get there."

Lu Jin nodded and affirmed Bao Yu's arrangement. "You did a good job. Apart from anything else, even if we can get the same city defense map as this time in Anqing, it will be a great achievement. It will save us some trouble when we attack the city after crossing the river in the future.

"But I still want to say one thing. There is a priority for work. In the future, we must first conduct reconnaissance along the river. Before crossing the river, I need to obtain the city defense and troop deployment of all the cities in Taiping Road, Jiqing Road, Zhenjiang Road, and Changzhou Road, as well as the information of the chief officers of each city, including Yangzhou Road in Jiangbei."

Bao Yu rolled his eyes when he heard this, and asked tentatively, "Does the Marshal mean that after we cross the river in the future, we should fight along the river first, instead of fighting to the southeast?"

"Yes, that's about it. The main purpose is to prevent someone from Yangzhou Road in Jiangbei from competing with us for Jiangnan. Jiangnan can only belong to our army. I don't want anyone to be our neighbor at that time.

"So you have to pay special attention to Tongzhou, Taizhou, and Jiangdu. Don't wait until we cross the river before someone else crosses the river and occupies Suzhou and Hangzhou. This is why I asked you to keep an eye on Lu Zhen."

Bao Yu digested the huge amount of information in these words, and then asked in confusion, "The Marshal is worried that Lu Zhen will start a rebellion and then capture Suzhou and Hangzhou? This is unlikely, right?"

Lu Jin glanced at him and said, "I'm not worried about Lu Zhen, but the salt gang behind him. These people have money, people, ships, and organization. Even if they don't start a rebellion on their own, they are likely to be recruited by the Yuan court and become our enemy. Whether they are the rebels or the Yuan army, they have the strength to do so. We must be on guard."

Bao Yu nodded immediately, understanding Lu Jin's intention, and immediately agreed, "Don't worry, Marshal, I've got it all down. The most urgent task is to scout the defenses on the other side to lay the foundation for our army to cross the river. The second is to keep an eye on the Yangzhou Road downstream to prevent them from crossing the river as well.

"But what if we just occupied Jiankang and they headed south to Tongzhou? I'm afraid we won't be able to stop them even if we want to."

"Oh, if that's the case, then let the Northern Army attack Yangzhou Road, and let the navy block the Yangtze River. I want to see how many troops they can send south!" Lu Jin said bluntly.

Lu Jin didn't know whether Zhang Shicheng would start an uprising as he did in history, and he couldn't control it, but this time he would definitely not let Zhang Shicheng occupy Suzhou and Hangzhou, and would never allow him to get involved in his Jiangnan! "Yes, I understand. I will tell you now."

"Go."

After asking about the progress of the intelligence system, Lu Jin picked up the intelligence on the remaining three cities in Anqing Road. Looking at the city defense maps, he was immediately very satisfied. With these, was he still worried about not being able to capture the city?

On the other side, in Lujiang County, Liao Yongan was also preparing for the departure of the army. He asked each unit to prepare food and equipment. Some siege equipment used to attack Lujiang last time was also prepared and would be taken to Tongcheng.

Only one day had passed, and before he set out, Lu Jin sent him another piece of intelligence from Luzhou. When he opened it, he saw a defense map of the city to be attacked, with details like the size of the city gates and walls, the width and depth of the moat, the location of towns outside the city, official roads, post stations, etc. He was immediately surprised.

It turned out that not only he, the commander-in-chief of the war zone, was collecting information from the front line, but Lu Jin was also collecting information from nearby cities. No, Lu Jin never fought an unprepared battle. I'm afraid that not only in Anqing Road, there must be spies sent by the Marshal in other directions!

It is truly a blessing for a frontline general to have the full support of such a lord.

Liao Yongan immediately had someone copy all the map information, and then sent a copy to Miao Daheng and Guo Zixing respectively, so that the two armies could fight with more confidence.

Sure enough, when the two received the information from Liao Yongan, they were greatly surprised. They did not expect that the information Liao Yongan had detected was so detailed!

“My goodness, even with this kind of map and city defense arrangement, if we still can’t win, we should just jump into the river.” Guo Tianjue said in surprise.

"It seems that our Commander Liao is not just a title for nothing. The Marshal appointed him as the commander-in-chief. He must be capable." Guo Zixing also muttered.

Unexpectedly, Cao Liangchen looked strange after reading it and said, "I think this is more like the work of the Marshal."

"Why?" Guo Zixing was puzzled.

Cao Liangchen immediately analyzed, "Think about it, when the Marshal attacked Chao County, Hezhou, and Dingyuan before, he had already planted spies in the city. This time, the attack on Anqing took several months to prepare. Our preparations were based on training troops, and the Marshal's preparations were naturally to send spies and scouts.

"This map shows the streets, government offices and warehouses in the city clearly. Do you think it's possible if no one went into the city to scout?"

"Well, that makes sense. In that case, we will be more confident in this battle!" Guo Zixing nodded in agreement immediately. At the same time, his confidence increased a lot. Since it was a sure win, it was not impossible to strive for some credit. At this time, Guo Zixing also had the idea of ​​taking a risk with Zhang Desheng.

Zhang Desheng finally said, "I said that the Marshal never fights a battle without preparation. He said that a battle that can be fought can be won. We just need to obey orders. Let's go. We should set out tonight. We will march at night and rest during the day. We must move forward in secret and move fast. The earlier we reach Shahe, the earlier we will have time to prepare."

"Okay, let's set off tonight!" Guo Zixing didn't want to hold them back and agreed immediately.

In the twelfth year of Zhizheng, on the night of February 21st, the moon was waning. Taking advantage of the moon's illumination at night, the Eighth Regiment of the Right Army, which was fighting on the southern front, was the first to move out. After coming out of Shucheng, they went straight into the Dabie Mountains and marched stealthily upstream towards Shahe along the edge of the eastern foot of the Dabie Mountains.

In the entire marching column, the spearhead squad led the way, followed by Zhang Desheng's combat battalion, and then the two battalions of Guo Zixing and Guo Tianjue, father and son, plus a baggage auxiliary battalion. Cao Liangchen led a battalion to cover the rear. Each soldier carried five days' rations, and the remaining food and grass were carried by the baggage battalion.

On the east side of the plain near the marching column, there were more than ten cavalry patrols sent out by the entire regiment to be responsible for the safety of the entire army's left wing.

Each of these main infantry regiments only had thirty or forty horses, which were usually equipped to generals and messengers. Sending out half of the cavalry to stand guard on the periphery at one time was considered a "big deal".

From Shucheng to the upper reaches of Shahe River, it is about 130 miles in total. The main force of the Eighth Regiment travels at night and rests in the morning, marching forty to fifty miles a day. Even if they go through mountainous areas, they can arrive in three or four days at most.

Before setting out, Guo Zixing left someone to deliver a message to Liao Yongan, telling them that he had set out and expected to arrive at the combat area in four days at the latest, allowing the Central Army to arrange its own time of advance.

After receiving the news, Liao Yongan was not idle either. He set out half a day later than Guo Zixing. Guo Zixing left at night, but he set out the next morning. In addition, Liao Yongan led two regiments of the central army, as well as more than a thousand civilians and craftsmen who transported supplies, a total of tens of thousands of troops. They had no intention of hiding their tracks and marched towards Tongcheng in a swagger.

They marched directly on the official road along the way. Every time they passed a village, they would take charge of the villagers and implement Lu Jin's policy of abolishing usury and slavery. For any people who owed usury to landlords, their IOUs would be invalidated and the landlords would be forced to release the slaves.

Landlords with foresight would even offer food and livestock meat on their own initiative. Those who were foolish enough and dared to confront the army would have their property confiscated on the spot. Part of it would be used as military rations, and part of it would be distributed to the local poor people by opening warehouses and distributing it to the local poor.

As a result, the poor people in Tongcheng also enthusiastically joined the army. Some landless tenants immediately followed the army with their families and took the initiative to serve as laborers to transport supplies for the army, just because the Shengwu Army provided food for the laborers.
Such a high-profile march, advancing towards Tongcheng while sweeping the towns and villages outside the city, immediately frightened the Tongcheng defenders!

Lujiang is not far from Tongcheng. The two cities are only about eighty miles apart. It will take at most two days for the enemy to arrive at the city. Lujiang has been trying to find out the news about Tongcheng. Tongcheng is naturally worried about Lujiang, and they have long been keeping an eye on the every move of the Lujiang rebels.

Liao Yongan had just swept two villages when Tongcheng had already received the news. They immediately closed the city gates and guarded the area tightly, but the people were also in a panic.

There is no river around Tongcheng, only a circle of moat, but there is no water in the moat, and the city wall is not very tall. There are only three to five thousand troops stationed in this small city. Now tens of thousands of troops from Lujiang are coming to kill, and they will sweep the towns and villages first. It is obvious that they are determined to win. They are not going to leave this time. How can the people in the city not be afraid?
(End of this chapter)