Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 206: Expanding the Army Again
In Huaining city, the battle had just ended. Lu Jin and others had already arrived at the Anqing Road government office. Miao Daheng, Zhao Yong, Liao Yongan, Ye Sheng, Yang Huan and others were also there. The Yuan army generals who had been sent out from here before also returned here as surrendered generals. Everyone was very sad for a moment.

When I went out to fight in the past, this place was still the territory of the Yuan court. Looking back, it has become someone else's territory, and even I have become someone else's subordinate.

In addition to these surrendered generals, there were also captured Han Jian, Yang Heng and others, who were also tied up in the hall.

Lu Jin looked at the generals present and asked, "Did the navy of Nancheng surrender?"

Ye Sheng immediately stepped forward and said, "General, the commander of the southern navy, Zhao Boyan, refused to surrender and has been captured by our army. Except for a few ships that escaped into the river, most of them have surrendered. We have seized more than 300 ships, most of which are small boats of more than ten feet."

Lu Jin nodded and said on the spot, "Since you refuse to surrender, then kill him. Deal with his head and keep it for now. It may be useful."

"Yes." Ye Sheng agreed and immediately walked to the door to make arrangements for his personal soldiers.

Lu Jin then looked at Zhao Yong and asked, "How many defenders were captured in the city?"

Zhao Yong immediately stepped out and said, "General Bing, there are 4500 defenders in the city, including 400 infantrymen. More than 4000 of them were killed in battle by our army, and the rest have surrendered. A total of infantrymen were captured, and there were naval soldiers, and about of them were captured."

Lu Jin nodded again, and this time he directly named, "Han Qinglu."

"I am here!" Han Qinglu immediately stepped out and listened to the order.

"Han Qinglu, the commander of the 12th Regiment, was promoted to the commander of the newly formed 15th Regiment for his meritorious service in breaking the enemy's formation at Shahe the day before yesterday. The new regiment will be formed with the original battalion as the backbone."

After saying this, Lu Jin looked at the group of Yuan army generals who had surrendered in Shahe before, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke.

"Hong Bao, Lu Zhong, Jin Siyuan, the three of you have just joined our Shengwu Army and have not yet made any achievements. You will temporarily lead your original squad and remain as officers of the Qianhu Battalion. You will be assigned to the newly formed 15th Regiment. Do you understand?"

The three of them quickly stepped out of the line and clasped their fists, saying, "Understood, thank you, Marshal, for the appointment."

Han Qinglu also knelt on one knee, clasped his hands and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you very much for your support, Marshal. My 15th Regiment will surely make new achievements in the future."

Lu Jin nodded with satisfaction and said, "I will only give you one day. You will help the three of them reorganize their troops. Cut off the remaining troops from their three original battalions and organize them into your auxiliary battalion. You will select and appoint the battalion officers from the company commanders of the original battalions. Report to me after the reorganization is completed. I will assign you new tasks. Be quick."

"Yes!" Han Qinglu immediately took the order and left with his three new subordinates.

Looking at this newly promoted regimental commander, Lu Ding of the 11th Regiment was extremely jealous. He was tempted by Lu Jin's promise of a regimental commander just now, so he ignored his previous injuries and his own life and led the troops to attack the city in person. Fortunately, there were artillery fire to open the way, there was no ant attack this time, and the enemy had no will to fight, so the battle went relatively smoothly.

Seeing Han Qinglu being rewarded and leaving, Lu Ding immediately looked at Lu Jin who was in a higher position, expecting that he would be the next one.

However, Lu Jin just wanted to suppress this guy. This time, with the help of artillery, he was able to quickly attack the city. To be honest, it was too easy for Lu Ding to gain this credit.

At this time, Lu Jin looked at the group of surrendered generals again, glanced at the three people who surrendered in Tongcheng, and called out their names again, "Zhen Yanlong, Brother Yongan promised on my behalf before that each of you would be given a battalion officer of a thousand households. How about you temporarily fill the vacancy in the 12th Regiment and serve as a combat battalion officer in the 12th Regiment?"

Zhen Yanlong was stunned. Hearing that Lu Jin only called him by his name, he immediately asked, "Marshal, what about my two sons?"

Without even thinking, Lu Jin said, "Yuan Ji and Yuan Qi are both relatively young and have great potential. I plan to transfer them to my Imperial Guards and train them into firearms units. They will learn artillery from me. Young people learn quickly, so I won't let them stay with you. What do you think?"

Zhen Yanlong glanced at the artillery commanders standing opposite him. Yang Huan looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, Qin Jinglin was the same age as Yang Huan, and the oldest, Yu Tongyuan and Liu Chuanyi, were only about seventeen or eighteen years old. It seemed that those who were learning artillery techniques around Lu Jin were indeed young people.

Now Lu Jin wants to take his two sons away, saying that they are going to learn artillery skills. On the surface, there seems to be nothing wrong with it, but it is clear that this also means taking hostages.

However, everyone is an adult, and some things do not have to be brought to the surface. Lu Jin took hostages, so that he would dare to employ people with confidence. Zhen Yanlong handed over his son to avoid being suspected by Lu Jin. As long as he had no intention of betraying, this would be better for both the monarch and the minister.

So Zhen Yanlong didn't say anything else and agreed on the spot.

"Yes, I will obey the commander's orders, but my son and I came here alone, without any troops with us, this..."

"There are plenty of soldiers here. If you have any useful officers among your old subordinates, you can write a note and I will send someone to bring him back for you. The rest of the soldiers can be recruited here. What do you think?" Lu Jin put forward another condition.

Zhen Yanlong thought about it and realized that he did have a few trusted confidants in Tongcheng. He would feel more at ease with those people helping him lead the troops, so he agreed on the spot.

A new 12th Regiment was formed to fill the vacancy in the th Regiment. Lu Jin finally turned his attention to Lu Ding, whom he had been waiting for for a long time.

"Lu Ding."

"The general is here!"

"Lu Ding, the battalion commander of the 11th Regiment, had previously made contributions in breaking through the enemy's formation at Shahe. Now he has taken the lead in breaking through the defenses of Huaining City. He has been promoted to the commander of the newly formed 16th Regiment, with four combat battalions and one auxiliary battalion under his command. The battalion commanders Ge Yanling, Wang Ying, and Li Yin are to be reorganized immediately and await deployment."

"Yes!" Lu Ding happily agreed immediately. Li Qin and Ge Yanling, whose names were called, also stepped forward to agree.

However, each of them still had some doubts and anxieties in their hearts.

Li Jin was captured together with Li Sili, Jia Boying and others, but now they are being used separately. On the contrary, Lu Zhong, Hong Bao and Jin Siyuan, because they surrendered together on their own initiative, are now directly arranged into the same regiment by Lu Jin.

It was obvious that Lu Jin was trying to break them up on purpose, but fortunately Li Jin and Li Sili and the others were only slightly familiar with each other, and their relationship was not that close, so they just grumbled about it in their hearts and stopped worrying about it.

The other one is Ge Yanling, who surrendered in Tongcheng together with Shao Yongjian and Zhen Yanlong. Zhen Yanlong was arranged by Lu Jin to fill the vacancy in the old army, and his two sons were transferred away.

Ge Yanling only had a better relationship with Shao Yongjian. He didn't expect that Lu Jin didn't arrange them together either. They were still separated and used separately. However, things have come to this point. Since he has joined Lu Jin's army, he can only listen to his orders.

Fortunately, his new lord seems to be fair and just, and clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments. I heard that Han Qinglu was once a subordinate of Kang Maocai, but later surrendered. Now he has been promoted by Lu Jin. It seems that surrendered generals may not be unable to be promoted. They just need to work hard in the new army in the future.

With the idea of ​​making the best of a new situation, Ge Yanling also accepted his new position.

But the commander of their new regiment was still a little confused. Lu Ding first received the order and then asked.

"General, Li Qin and Ge Yanling are here. Who is this Wang Ying? How come I have never heard of him?"

Lu Jin then explained, "Wang Ying and Xu Yuanyan are also the thousand households of Anqing Wanhu Mansion. They were recruited to surrender in Qianshan County. Now they are still in Qianshan. You should help them reorganize their troops first. After that, take my order and go to Qianshan to find Wang Ying, and reorganize his troops.

"After your newly formed 16th Regiment is reorganized, immediately set out to garrison in Qianshan County. Then let Guo Zixing lead his 8th Regiment and two battalions to continue south to Taihu Lake to assemble and be ready for my dispatch at any time."

Lu Ding suddenly realized that he was going to use the new troops to garrison the Qianshan front line and gather the main force of the old troops to continue to move south. It seemed that Lu Jin was going to continue to use troops against Susong, so he immediately agreed. After the formation of the new 16th Regiment, there was another vacancy in the original 11th Regiment. Lu Jin looked at the remaining surrendered generals and thought about it before continuing to call out their names.

"Li Sili, you go to the 11th Regiment and serve as a battalion commander. Let Zhao Yong help you reorganize the troops."

"Yes!" This general who had been bombarded and captured on the front battlefield of Shahe was relatively sensible. When he saw that Lu Jin had given him a position, he immediately agreed.

After arranging the organizational lists of the 15th and 16th Regiments, Lu Jin looked at the few remaining surrendered generals in the field, Jia Boying, Zhen Yuanji, Zhen Yuanqi, Shao Yongjian, and Xu Yuanyan who was temporarily staying in Qianshan and had not come over. There were a total of five thousand households, enough to form a new regiment.

However, the 11th and 12th Regiments were separated from the th and th Regiments, leaving Liao Yongan's three regiments. Yin Congdao was injured in Tongcheng and did not come, and Zhang Tianyou had just joined and was not yet able to take charge of his own affairs. There was only one capable fighter, Jin Chaoxing, left. If Jin Chaoxing was taken out and another regiment was formed, Liao Yongan would have no one available, which would be equivalent to wasting the combat effectiveness of a main regiment. This was something Lu Jin did not want to see.

They could only think of a way from Guo Zixing's Eighth Regiment. It happened that Guo Zixing's performance was not good this time, and it was not a good idea to let Zhang Desheng, a veteran and powerful general from Chaohu, always assist Guo Zixing. Therefore, Lu Jin decided to take Zhang Desheng out and form another regiment, and the remaining surrendered generals would be assigned to Zhang Desheng.

But the Eighth Regiment has now gone to Taihu Lake, and may attack Susong next, so it is not appropriate to transfer people from the Eighth Regiment now, and we can only wait.

Then he heard Lu Jin say, "Jia Boying, Shao Yongjian, you two should each organize a battalion and wait for the use. Brother Yongan, you come and help them organize it."

"Yes!" The three of them immediately stepped forward and responded.

Lu Jin then waved his hand and said, "Everyone, disperse now. Reorganize as quickly as possible. Han Qinglu, give me the roster of your newly formed 15th Regiment before dark today. Lu Ding, send someone to give me the roster of your 16th Regiment after you gather them in Qianshan."

"Yes." The two newly appointed commanders also quickly agreed.

Over the next two days, the troops were undergoing a reorganization. Some deputies were transferred from the old army to be promoted to grassroots officers in the new camp, and some new recruits were sent to the old camp to serve as ordinary soldiers. After the reorganization, each squad in the new camp had a veteran of the Shengwu Army as squad leader.

Then they will select the best and strongest among the captives and eliminate the old and weak, with priority given to the landless ones. After these people are absorbed into the army, it will be convenient to give them land for their meritorious service in the future. For these soldiers, serving as a soldier for Lu Jin is also a hope.

As a result, of the more than 17,000 surrendered soldiers in the city, 10,000 were lost in just one day. Among them, 9,000 were absorbed into the new troops, and more than 1,000 old and weak were laid off, leaving 7,000 people, including more than 1,000 navy and more than 5,000 infantry, enough to form another regiment.

The next day, after Han Qinglu's 15th Regiment completed its reorganization and submitted a roster, Lu Jin immediately ordered them to move south to seize Wangjiang County.

There are not many soldiers in Wangjiang County now. In addition, Han Qinglu's 15th Regiment also includes Lu Zhong, Jin Siyuan and other generals from Wangjiang County who are familiar with the situation in the city. If nothing unexpected happens, they will be able to take it easily.

The order given by Lu Jin was also very simple. After taking Wangjiang, do not make any long-term deployment plans for the time being. First maintain public order, control the city, and check the treasury. If you receive an order from Lu Jin to withdraw troops, find a way to empty the treasury and withdraw.

Han Qinglu said he understood, and then he led the newly formed 15th Regiment south.

The same was true for Lu Ding. His newly formed 16th Regiment was tasked with taking over Qianshan, freeing up the main force of the 8th Regiment and allowing Guo Zixing and Cao Liangchen to assemble at Taihu Lake.

After the two men left, only Miao Daheng's 12th Regiment, Liao Yongan's rd Regiment, and the captured surrendered soldiers were left in Anqing. Lu Jin asked Liao Yongan to make plans to stay in Anqing for a long time, and asked him to start checking the treasury and prepare to organize the repair of Anqing city walls.

They waited for another day, and on the third day after conquering Anqing City, Feng Guoyong finally arrived here with civil servants and ammunition supplies.

Feng Guoyong had been thinking about the issue that Lu Jin had raised these past two days, whether or not to take over Taihu and Wangjiang counties, and analyzing the pros and cons. He hadn't paid attention to anything else while sitting in the car, but the other civil servants who had followed him behaved differently.

Especially Hu Weiyong. When he and his companions entered the north gate of the city, they saw bloodstains on the walls and the ground, and even unknown pieces of meat hanging on the side walls of the gate. Thinking of the bloody fight that might have taken place here a few days ago, Hu Weiyong almost vomited on the spot.

"啕~"

Hu Weiyong looked grim, and he held his knees and retched twice, which made Feng Guoyong come back to his senses.

Feng Guoyong immediately asked with concern, "Is Hu Zhubu tired from the journey and feeling unwell?"

Hu Weiyong covered his mouth with one hand, and pointed with his other hand at the minced meat hanging on the doorway with a pale face. Feng Guoyong looked in the direction of his finger and immediately understood.

Then he said, "The world is in chaos now, and human lives are worthless. Wherever the army goes, there will be constant fighting. Hu Zhubu should get used to it as soon as possible."

After they walked out of the doorway, Hu Weiyong took a few deep breaths to slow down, then he bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, sir. I have something I don't understand. Didn't the commander-in-chief transfer us here to be the magistrate of Xin County? Then why didn't he keep us in Tongcheng before?"

Feng Guoyong turned around and looked at Hu Weiyong, Ou Shiheng, and Qian Guangdao who were following him, and asked, "The Marshal wants to appoint county magistrates in the newly annexed areas. Do you know why he picked you three?"

Hu Weiyong immediately became alert upon hearing this, and said respectfully, "We are stupid, please tell me more, sir."

Feng Guoyong did not hide it from them and said immediately, "You, Hu Weiyong, have built a city in Hanshan County before, Ou Shiheng has built a city in Liang County, and Qian Guangdao has worked as a clerk in the port city of Heyang.

"Now Anqing has a port by the river, and its status is similar to that of Hezhou. The cities on the southern line are the front line against foreign enemies, but the cities are very dilapidated. Even the capital of Anqing in front of you is missing a southern city wall. So why I asked the three of you to come here, do you understand?"

"So that's how it is." The three of them suddenly realized that Lu Jin had taken a fancy to their ability to build cities and asked them to build a new city.

The three of them bowed quickly and said, "Thank you for your advice, sir."

Feng Guoyong waved his hand, "Don't thank me. When you meet the Marshal later, he will personally instruct you all. Just work hard and complete the tasks assigned by the Marshal."

"Yes."

After the four of them finished talking, Feng Guoyong took them to the government office to meet Lu Jin. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the gate of the government office, they saw Lu Jin waiting for them there.

Lu Jin hurried down the steps and stepped forward to greet him.

"Finally, Mr. Feng is here. Is everything going well? Have you figured out what I asked you to think about?"

"I have thought a lot, but I am still unclear about the situation on the front line. I need to ask the commander-in-chief for advice before I dare to offer suggestions." Feng Guoyong said immediately.

"Okay, this is not the place to talk. Follow me into the mansion first and we'll talk inside."

Lu Jin immediately took Feng Guoyong's arm and led him and his party into the mansion. After entering the lobby, Feng Guoyong did not waste any words and immediately asked.

"General, please tell me, if our army takes over the entire Anqing Road, will we plan to attack Jiangxi or Jiangdong next?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment, "Of course it's Jiangdong. If we don't want Jiangdong and directly attack Jiangxi from Huainan, the battle line will be too long, like a gourd, and Anqing will be the waist of the gourd. Once it is cut off from the middle by the enemy, our army will not be able to take care of the north and south, and it will be dangerous. Therefore, we should take steady steps and attack Jiangdong first, so that the left and right sides of the river can be connected, and we can plan to attack Jiangxi after we have no worries."

(End of this chapter)