Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 245 Xu Song sends another envoy

If someone asks where Xu Shouhui was at the end of April 1352, there is only one answer: Huangpi, north of Wuhan.

As for why he, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, left the capital Wuchang and fled to the valleys of Dabie Mountain, there was only one reason: Wuchang, the capital of the Song Dynasty, had fallen again.
In the 12th year of Zhizheng, Xu Song's development strategy was ridiculous, or it could be said that he had no strategy at all. He just hit things here and there, without any clear strategic plan.

There was no one to manage the conquered areas, and Xu Song did not implement the "imperial examination" like Lu Jin did to select officials to govern the local areas. As a result, the conquered territories could not be effectively transformed into bases. They could neither collect taxes and grain nor provide stable troops. Basically, they recruited soldiers wherever they conquered.

In those newly occupied territories, he would just appoint a local wealthy man who was willing to cooperate as an official, or if there were officials who surrendered from the Yuan Dynasty, Xu Song would directly appoint them as officials of Xu Song on the spot. If he couldn't find a suitable candidate, he would simply let a military general take over the management temporarily.

Such an extensive approach meant that their territory would expand very quickly, but they would not be able to stand firm at all. Just like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong in the late Ming Dynasty, they had just conquered one place when the government troops took it back there. Without a stable base, they could only remain bandits.

This was almost the situation in Xu Song in the first half of the twelfth year of Zhizheng.

During the first month of the year, Xu Song captured Wuchang and Hanyang, and also captured Jingzhou, Jiangling, Anlu, and Yiling in Huguang. They were about to reach Sichuan to the west, and their advance was extremely fast.

In February, Chen Youliang captured Yueyang Road in Huguang and successfully entered the Dongting Lake Plain. In the north of Jiangxi, Zou Pusheng also personally conquered Jiangzhou (Jiujiang), and the situation seemed to be very good.

But Xu Song's fighting style was completely without any fighting style. Xu Shouhui divided his troops into many groups to attack cities and territories everywhere, without any instructions on where they must concentrate their main forces to capture and then who must be sent to defend the place.

No, there was none of these. Each general fought on his own. If they won, they occupied territory. If they lost, they retreated. They all fought on their own, and there was no strategic focus. It seemed that whoever took more territory would win.

But this also brought them bad consequences, that is, the newly occupied territory was unstable and was soon taken back by the Yuan court.

March, leap March, and April were the three months when the Yuan court counterattacked, Xu Song counterattacked again, and the two sides fought back and forth.

In March of that year, the Xu Song army continued to advance rapidly. General Xu Jia captured Hengzhou; Tao Jiu conquered Ruizhou; Xiang Pulue went eastward from Jiujiang and successively captured Raozhou, Huizhou, and Xinzhou. The tentacles of Xu Song finally extended to the Anhui territory on the east bank of the Yangtze River, and even Huangshan was conquered by them.

But soon, the Yuan court's counterattack came.

In April, Tie Jie, the councilor of Huguang Province who had been driven away, recruited soldiers in Hunan to suppress the bandits. He successfully drove away Chen Youliang and conquered Yueyang Road. The Xu Song forces once again withdrew from the Dongting Lake Plain.

In April of the same year, Nie Bing, the governor of Jingzhou who had been driven away by Xu Song, also recruited 70,000 soldiers and fought back, successfully recovering Jingzhou. He then joined forces with the governor of Sichuan Province to recover Jiangling and Zhongxing Road.

In April, Xingji, the governor of Jiangxi Province, who was driven out of Jiangzhou (Jiujiang), and King Weishun, who fled from Wuchang, and their reinforcements from Jiangnan, Manzi Hague, the Chief Censor of the Jiangnan Executive Office, Zi Bo Buhua and others, led the Yuan army in Jiangdong to counterattack Jiangxi. They captured Jiangzhou that month and recovered the entire Nankang Road.

Afterwards, Xingji stationed his troops in Hukou County, north of Poyang Lake, guarding the key water and land routes, and divided his troops into four parts to attack and hunt down the Song army. By the end of April, the Yuan army had successfully recovered a large area of ​​lost territory in Jiangxi, and even the so-called "capital of the Song Dynasty," Wuchang, was recaptured by the Yuan army.

As glorious as Xu Song was in January and February, how miserable he is now in March and April. He has almost lost all the results he had achieved in the first two months of the year, from moving the capital to Wuchang to abandoning his base and running back to Huangpi County in the Dabie Mountains.

Seeing the current situation, Bao Yu was immediately full of admiration for Lu Jin. Lu Jin had made a strategic prediction at the beginning, saying that Xu Song would definitely expand rapidly, thereby attracting most of the attention of the Yuan army. When they led away all the Yuan troops in Jiangnan, it would be the time for the Shengwu Army to cross the river.

Now it seems to be true, but the time is a little earlier than Lu Jin expected, which makes Bao Yu a little anxious, fearing that he will miss the opportunity.

However, Lu Jin told them that they should keep calm and not be anxious. It would be difficult for the government troops to completely wipe out Xu Song's bandit-like fighting style. As long as their core personnel were not wiped out, they could always move to another place to raise another army. The battle between Xu Song and the Yuan army in Huguang and Jiangxi would take several months.

When both sides are evenly matched, each occupying some territory and stuck in a stalemate, Xu Song will take a risky move and open up a new battlefield. As long as Xu Song dares to interfere in Jiangnan, most of the Yuan army in Jiangnan can be transferred away. Then it will be the best time for the Shengwu Army to cross the river.

According to Lu Jin's judgment, Xu Song would probably attack Jiangnan in July. The counterattack of the Yuan army was generally slow, and would take at least two months. Therefore, the Yuan army in Jiangnan should leave around September, and by then Luzhou would have just completed the autumn harvest and would be able to send troops across the river.

If this prediction goes as it is, the current territory of Jiangxi will change hands at least once more, which means that Xu Song will soon come back and retake these territories.

Lu Jin was very optimistic about Xu Song's prediction, but the people within Xu Song did not think so. A group of people were hiding in Huangpi. Some were feeling indignant and thinking about how to retake their capitals of Wuchang and Jiangzhou. Others were full of pessimism and felt that this time they would fail again like Peng Yingyu's previous uprisings.

When Chen Pulue heard that Lu Jin had conquered the entire Anqing Road, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your Majesty, Military Advisor, we conquered so much territory, but it was all taken away by the Yuan army. Why can the Luzhou rebels hold their ground in the new territory they conquered?"

Everyone was also confused about this question. You said that Xu Song's combat effectiveness was not good, but they expanded their territory by thousands of miles in the first two months of the year. But you said that Xu Song was very powerful, but they could hardly defend any territory. Now they even lost the capital. It's embarrassing to tell others about it.

Xu Shouhui also couldn't understand why Lu Jin could stand so steadily, so he looked at Yang Puxiong and said, "Puxiong, you have been on a diplomatic mission to Luzhou before, do you have any insights?"

Yang Puxiong immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think there are three main reasons why Lu Jin was able to hold on to its territory.

"The first is the geographical advantage. To the north of Luzhou Road, there are 100,000 Xuzhou volunteers as a barrier, to the west, there are hundreds of thousands of Liu Futong's volunteers as a fence, to the south, there is the Dabie Mountains, and our army is in the south of the mountains to contain the Yuan army. Only the east side along the river faces the enemy.

"But the Yangtze River is a natural barrier. Moreover, the Luzhou rebels were originally from the Chaohu navy. Now they have captured the Yuan court's river defense navy. The powerful navy plus the natural barrier of the Yangtze River are enough to prevent the Yuan army from crossing the river and invading the border easily. In addition, there are no strong enemies around Luzhou, which allows them to hold their territory firmly."

"Puxiong's words make sense."

"Tsk, if that's the case, then the territory occupied by the Luzhou rebels is a gift from heaven. Liu Futong, Xuzhou Zhima Li and I will all become servants and guards of the Luzhou family."

When everyone heard this, they started talking about it, feeling that Lu Jin had taken advantage of them for nothing.

Xu Shouhui pressed his hand, motioning Yang Puxiong to continue, and Yang Puxiong then continued.

"The second reason is that Lu Jin is a very cautious man. He has a lot of troops under his command. According to the division organization, each regiment has four or five battalions, about 5,000 soldiers, and a general called the commander.

"With such an organization, five thousand elite soldiers can be regarded as the main force of our army. However, in Lujin, almost every county has such a regiment stationed, and some even have two or three regiments. With so many heavy troops concentrated in the fortified city, how many soldiers will the Yuan army have to prepare if they want to take it down?" As soon as Yang Puxiong said this, everyone started to discuss it again. They had never seen such a war. Five thousand elite soldiers were stationed in a broken county. Isn't this stupid? Look at other places. Everyone only leaves a few hundred or thousands of soldiers in each city. Wouldn't it be better to gather so many main forces and go out to expand the territory?

No wonder Lu Jin was able to hold on to his territory. If they had done the same as Lu Jin and left 5,000 men in each city, they would certainly not have been so easily counterattacked by the Yuan army.

Yang Puxiong continued, "As for the third one, I personally think it is Lu Jin's way of governing."

"Oh? This method of governance is related to defending the city?" After hearing what Yang Puxiong said, others immediately raised objections. Xu Song has now established a country. If they openly discuss how well others govern, doesn't this mean that their own country has no governance?
Xu Shouhui waved his hand and said, "Puxiong, please go ahead."

Yang Puxiong then said, "The governance of Lu Jin is different from that of our country. Its commander's office consists of two academies, the civil and military. The military officers are only responsible for defending the city and fighting, not local government affairs, while the government officials of the civil academy handle the government affairs.

"Luzhou has a large number of civil officials such as county magistrates, chief clerks, and prefects. None of these civil officials are former officials of the Yuan court. They are all talented people who have passed the imperial examinations held by Lu Jin. Only then are they granted official positions. The officials appointed by our country are either former officials of the Yuan court or military generals who temporarily hold the position. I think this is also the reason why he can hold the city, but our army cannot."

Everyone was puzzled when they heard this, and Xiang Pulue frowned and asked directly, "What does this have to do with whether we can defend the city?"

Yang Puxiong said immediately, "Of course it matters. We are using former officials from the Yuan court. Who knows what these people are thinking? Maybe they still have feelings for their old master? Then when the Yuan army arrives, won't they immediately turn against us?

"But it's different in Luzhou. Their civil servants are all scholars who are not favored by the Yuan court. But now they are highly valued by Lu Jin. All the favors are tied to one person. Even the official positions were granted by Lu Jin. Do you think their civil servants dare to work without following orders?
"If the Yuan army attacks, they will not benefit from surrendering. If they are willing to defend the city with their lives, they will be promoted and reused by Lu Jin. If it were you, what would you choose?"

Xiang Pulue was speechless for a moment and felt that what he said did make sense.

Yang Puxiong continued, "Also, they have a division of responsibilities between civil and military. Military officers only need to guard the city, train soldiers and fight wars, and don't need to worry about food, grass, building cities, governing the people and other messy things. Civil officials don't need to know how to fight wars, they just need to govern the people, encourage farming, build cities, collect food and grass, and recruit young men. Civil and military officials each perform their duties and are content with their own positions.

"So, every time Lu Jin captured a city, the civil officials immediately opened the granaries to release food, used work as relief to repair the city, registered the people, distributed land to settle down, and encouraged farming. In this way, the city was strong, the soldiers and food were sufficient, and there were military generals leading heavy troops to defend the city. There were no powerful enemies from the Yuan court around, so how could they lose the city and the land?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone started chattering again.

Yang Puxiong only talked about the advantages of Lu Jin's governance, but did not dare to talk about Xu Song's own shortcomings, because there was no way to say it. Lu Jin could hold an imperial examination to recruit scholars to take the exam and become officials, but Xu Song could not, because they were a combination of politics and religion. If you ask Confucian scholars to believe in the coming of heavenly calamity and the birth of Maitreya Buddha, isn't that nonsense? How many serious Confucian disciples would support them?

So it’s not that Xu Song didn’t want to hold the imperial examination, but that even if they held it, no one came. It’s not that they had to use the old officials of the Yuan court, but simply that they had no one to use.

As for military generals being in charge of government affairs, this was learned from the Yuan Dynasty. There were examples of civil officials in charge of wars in the Yuan Dynasty, such as Nie Bing, who led the counterattack this time, who was the governor of Jingzhou.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked. Xu Song was not straight from the root, so even if they knew that Lu Jin's way of doing it was better, they could not learn it.

After everyone discussed for a while, the cruel Ou Puxiang immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think this Lu Jin is definitely not a good person. It is better to get rid of him as soon as possible to avoid raising a tiger to cause trouble in the future."

Ou Puxiang was the typical example of a military general supervising local government affairs as Yang Puxiong mentioned. This fellow was called Ou Daoren. He followed Xu Shouhui to burn incense and raise an army. During the attack on Yuanzhou, he did a lot of bad things in the local area. He liked to burn people's houses and force men to join the army.

Yang Puxiong heard this and said, "Now that our army is facing fierce counterattacks from the Yuan army everywhere, it is time to absorb more rebel forces from all over the country as reinforcements and strengthen ourselves. How can we be enemies with the Luzhou rebels at this time?
"If we become enemies with Lu Jin at this time, we will not only be branded as the first to attack our allies, but will also be unacceptable to the righteous armies of the world. Besides, even if we ask you to conquer Luzhou now, can you really defeat them? Lu Jin has a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, and there are strong cities everywhere. If you attack them one by one, how long will it take you to finish the war?"

Ou Puxiang immediately frowned and said, "Mr. Yang, you were not bribed by Lu Jin during your diplomatic mission to Luzhou, were you?"

"Bullshit! This is really hurtful." Yang Puxiong said angrily.

"Okay, stop arguing." Xu Shouhui scolded the two of them, then turned to look at Peng Yingyu and asked, "What do you think, military advisor?"

Peng Yingyu immediately said, "Your Majesty, before our army conquered Jiangzhou, and Lu Jin conquered Anqing, the two armies were actually bordering each other, but it's a pity that Jiangzhou has now been taken back by the Yuan army.

"In my opinion, it is better not to make an enemy of Lu Jin for now. If we can subdue him, then we can use the 100,000 soldiers under his command. Then Lu Jin will be in the north and we will be in the south. By attacking from both sides, we can take Jiangzhou back and then the whole of Jiangxi can be ours.

"Even if Lu Jin doesn't obey orders in the future, by then our army will have already captured Jiangzhou, and the army can continue to march north from Jiangzhou to force Lu Jin to obey."

Everyone nodded when they heard this. This was indeed a good idea. It would be good if Lu Jin obeyed the instructions and accepted the reorganization, but if he didn't obey, they could deal with him later.

Xu Shouhui knew this was a good idea, so he said, "Yang Puxiong was sent as an envoy to Luzhou last time, but unfortunately the negotiations failed. Who can we send as an envoy this time to persuade Lu Jin to submit?"

Peng Yingyu immediately said, "Your Majesty, I think we should let Yang Puxiong go. He has been there once and is more familiar with the situation in Luzhou. It would be most appropriate for Puxiong to go."

"No." Xu Shouhui shook his head immediately.

If Yang Puxiong were to conquer Lu Jin, then these 100,000 soldiers would become Peng Yingyu's faction again, and Xu Shouhui would still be a mascot. He did not want to make wedding dresses for Peng Yingyu, so he listened to Xu Shouhui's explanation.

"The last time Puxiong went on a diplomatic mission, the negotiations failed and he offended Lu Jin. If we let Puxiong go again this time, Lu Jin will inevitably doubt our sincerity. It's better to change someone."

Peng Yingyu couldn't find any reason to refute Xu Shouhui's words, so she could only nod and say, "That's fine."

At this time, Xu Shouhui looked at the people in the hall again, "Who is willing to go to Luzhou and persuade Lu Jin to surrender?"

Xu Shouhui winked at someone in the crowd, and one of them immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go."

Everyone looked back and saw that it was Chen Puwen who had recently defected.

(End of this chapter)