Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 257 Preparations before Crossing the River (VI)

When everyone heard Bao Yu's report, they couldn't help but worry about Xu Song.

According to Bao Yu's description, Xu Song had been in a state of retreat for four consecutive months, and it didn't look like they could fight back.

Li Shanchang was a little worried and asked, "General, can Xu Song really attack Hangzhou in July? They have retreated so badly, do they still have the strength to fight back?"

"Of course we can. If Xu Song could be wiped out so easily, they wouldn't have been able to occupy such a large territory in such a short time. We don't need to worry about them. Instead, we should make good use of their sneak attack." Lu Jin looked relaxed and said as a matter of course.

Several people looked at each other, still not having much confidence in Xu Song's current performance.

Seeing this, Lu Jin could only say, "Trust my judgment. This is nothing. Look at the Yellow Turbans and Huang Chao in history. Which one was so easy to wipe out?"

After hearing what Lu Jin said, they could only believe it, so Lu Jin changed the subject and said, "Let's talk about the enemy we are facing."

"Yes."

Bao Yu then picked up another pile of information and distributed some of the maps and character introductions to Feng Guoyong and others, while picking up the baton and pointing at the sand table.

"The enemy commander in front of us in Hezhou is the commander of the Taiping Road of the Yuan court. His name is Nahachu, he is 26 years old this year, and he has soldiers under his command. The original Taiping Road official army has about soldiers, and the remaining soldiers are all newly recruited soldiers in the past six months. They have also been trained for several months and should have some combat effectiveness.
"But their armor cannot be distributed to the entire army. Our spies have roughly calculated that only 8,000 of their men have armor, and a large number of them are wearing leather armor. Among the 30,000 soldiers, there are about 1,000 cavalry and about 2,000 archers."

As they listened to Bao Yu's report, several people secretly thought that this man did a good job in intelligence work. Before he even took action, he had already gotten a rough idea of ​​the enemy's troop strength and combat power. In this way, when the battle comes in the future, they will be able to deal with it more calmly.

However, Lu Jin suddenly stood up from his chair as if he had heard something extraordinary.

"Wait a minute, who do you think the Wan Hu on Taiping Road across the street is?"

"Nahachu." Bao Yu repeated the name again, then looked at Lu Jin with some confusion.

The others also looked at Lu Jin in confusion. Li Shanchang stroked his beard and asked, "Marshal, is there something wrong? Or do you know this Nahachu?"

"Oh, nothing, I just think the name is a bit strange." Lu Jin made up a perfunctory answer.

Feng Guoyong also said, "Most Mongolian names are so strange."

Lu Jin was very shocked because he had heard of the name Nahachu before.

If I remember correctly, Nahachu should be in Liaodong. Historically, after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in the 15th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, and Lan Yu to lead elite Ming troops to Liaodong to conquer Nahachu.

At his peak, Nahachu was the largest warlord in Liaodong. No, he was the largest warlord in the three northeastern provinces. He used Taizhou as his core base (Shuangliao City, Jilin Province in later generations). After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, he gathered the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Liaodong. At his most powerful time, he had 30 soldiers. He was a warlord of the Yuan Dynasty who was even more powerful than Wang Baobao.

But how did Nahachu appear in Dangtu, Jiangnan, and become a Wanhu of Taiping Road?
Lu Jin was shocked and confused, so he asked Bao Yu.

"Do you know where this Nahachu came from? Is he a Mongolian or a Jurchen?"

"This, I have not found out. Why does my lord have this question? My lord suspects that he is a Jurchen? But what is the difference between the Jurchens and the Mongols? Aren't they both northern barbarians?" Bao Yu asked doubtfully.

"The Jurchens are of course different from the Northern Tartars." Lu Jin shook his head and asked, "If I ask you to check this person's origin now, how long will it take you to find out?"

"Well." Bao Yu frowned again. "It will probably take at least half a month to send letters back and forth, plus the investigation, and we may not be able to find it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately said, "Forget it, let's not investigate. Let's clean this up first. Someone, go and get Mr. Ai Yan over. I want to ask him something."

"Yes." A guard immediately took the order and went to find someone.

The people present looked at Lu Jin in confusion, and Lu Jin explained, "Ai Yan and his son surrendered in Wuwei. They are also Mongolians, so they might know Wanhu of Taiping Road across the street."

Several people nodded. After a while, Lu Jin came to the outer room. The others were leaning their heads inside to listen. Lu Jin's Mongolian teacher was also hurriedly called over.

"What does the commander-in-chief want to ask me for?"

"Oh, that's right. I heard that the captain of Taiping Road on the other side of the river is called Nahachu. Sir, do you know anything about him? For example, where is he from? Is he related to the Jurchens in Liaoyang Province?"

Ai Yan was stunned when he heard this. "Nahachu, the Wanhu of Taiping Road? This minister actually knows this man. This man is a descendant of a nobleman."

"Oh? Which nobleman?"

Ai Yan immediately introduced, "The four heroes under Genghis Khan were Borshu, Borchu, Chilaowen, and Muhuali. Among them, Muhuali was known for his calmness, wisdom, bravery and good fighting skills. He followed the emperor to fight in all directions and made great military achievements. He was once named the Grand Tutor and King, and the governor of the northern border. Nahachu is a descendant of Muhuali."

When Ai Yan said this, the people who were eavesdropping in the corner were all surprised. They looked at each other and thought that Lu Jin had guessed it right. This Nahachu really had some skills.

At this time, Lu Jin asked again, "Does he have any relationship with the Jurchens in Liaoyang Province?"

"This." Ai Yan was a little confused. He didn't know why Lu Jin was obsessed with the Jurchens, but after thinking about it, he still said.

"Of course there is a connection. They have been in charge of the northern border since the time of Mu Huali. Liaoyang Province is also under their jurisdiction. The Mu Huali clan has been in charge of Liaoyang for generations and has a lot of influence on the power in Liaoyang. But this prestige should not only belong to Nahachu, but to his clan as a whole."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for clearing up my confusion today. Please go back and have a rest." "Yes, I'll take my leave."

Ai Yan was called over in a daze and asked about Nahachu. He had no idea what Lu Jin wanted to do. Maybe he was planning to attack Nahachu, but that was not right. If he wanted to attack, why did he ask him whether he had any relationship with the Jurchens in Liaoyang?
Ai Yan returned to his residence puzzled. On the other side, in the second hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Lu Jin finally confirmed his guess.

As soon as I heard that Nahachu was a descendant of Muhuali and that his family had a huge influence in the Northeast, there was no doubt about it. The Nahachu who later dominated Liaodong and had an army of 300,000 was immediately overlapped with the current Nahachu, the Wanhu of Taiping Road. These two are the same person!

But Lu Jin still couldn't understand why the great warlord Nahachu came to Jiangnan to become a captain.

In fact, this is the reason why Lu Jin is not familiar with the history of the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty.

In the original history, during this period, Nahachu was indeed a Wanhu in Taiping Road. As for how he later fled to Liaodong and became a warlord? You have to ask Zhu Yuanzhang.
Historically, when Zhu Yuanzhang led his troops across the Yangtze River, he first captured Caishiji and Dangtu, took the bridgehead on the east bank, and then attacked Jiankang (Nanjing). Among the Yuan army generals who retreated to Jiankang at that time was Nahachu, and Nahachu was captured alive by Zhu Yuanzhang during the battle to attack Jiankang.
Afterwards, for some unknown reason, Zhu Yuanzhang released Nahachu.

There is a saying in later generations that Zhu Yuanzhang once asked Nahachu who his ancestor was, and Nahachu replied that it was Mu Huali. Zhu Yuanzhang admired such a loyal, brave and capable minister like Mu Huali very much, so he released Nahachu.

This can be confirmed by the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang later set up the Temple of Emperors of All Dynasties, where he not only worshipped Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, but also placed Mu Huali in there as a companion. Moreover, in history, when Zhu Yuanzhang evaluated the military commanders of all dynasties, he also attached great importance to Mu Huali's loyalty and bravery, and encouraged the military commanders of the Ming Dynasty to learn from Mu Huali and be both loyal and brave.

Regardless of whether this statement is credible or not, and for what purpose Zhu Yuanzhang released Nahachu, let's not talk about the impact of Zhu's actions. It was really a huge one.

Later, Han, Song, Longfeng and others launched the Northern Expedition. Guan Duo, the commander of the Central Army, led his troops to launch a surprise attack on Taihang Mountain four times. They jumped back and forth on the left and right of Taihang Mountain, and pierced the eight passes of Taihang Mountain like a sieve. Then they broke into the outer area of ​​the Shanhai Pass from Datong, Shanxi, crossed the desert for thousands of miles, and attacked Shangdu City directly, burning it to the ground.

Afterwards, the Central Army fought for thousands of miles, reached Liaodong, attacked the Goryeo Peninsula, and captured the Goryeo capital of Kaesong. Afterwards, it was driven out by the Goryeo army and stationed troops in Liaodong, attacked Dadu in the interior, and was also attacked by the Yuan army from Liaoyang Province.

After several years of fierce fighting, the central army of the Longfeng Northern Expedition was completely wiped out in the Liaodong and Liaoxi Corridors, with no food or reinforcements, and was besieged by the three major regions of Hebei, Northeast China, and the Korean Peninsula.

In this battle to wipe out the Red Turban Army in the Central Route, the one who contributed the most was Nahachu, who was released by Zhu Yuanzhang and returned to Liaoyang to lead the troops again. It can be said that the reason why Nahachu later became a Northeastern warlord with 300,000 troops was that he carved out his military exploits and the ladder of promotion by fighting against the Red Turban Army in the Central Route.

Although this was not Zhu's original intention, in fact, Zhu played a major role in the annihilation of the Red Turban Army in the middle of the Longfeng Northern Expedition. After all, it was he who released Nahachu.
Some people may say that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to show goodwill to Nahachu, hoping to influence this Mongolian nobleman so that he could recover Liaodong without any harm in the future. But in fact, not only did Nahachu not appreciate Zhu Yuanzhang's kindness, he also led hundreds of thousands of troops, refused to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, repeatedly opposed the Ming Dynasty, and still served the Northern Yuan Dynasty as his master.

Indeed, Nahachu finally surrendered when three great generals, Feng Sheng, Fu Youde and Lan Yu, led 15 elite Ming troops to attack him. But Nahachu was already over 70 years old and was about to die. What was the point of his surrender?

Zhu Yuanzhang also appointed Nahachu as Marquis of Haixi and asked him to accompany him to conquer Yunnan. However, Nahachu, who was over 70 years old, died of old age on the way to conquer Yunnan, and he did not even touch the border of Yunnan.
However, no matter what the original history was, Lu Jin now knew that the enemy general in front of him was Nahachu, who later had 300,000 troops in the Northeast. Although he didn't know how he ran to the Northeast, Lu Jin would never let him go no matter what!

This time when we cross the river, we must keep Nahachu here no matter what and resolutely not leave any trouble for the future!

When Lu Jin made this decision, another great historical change occurred. Without Nahachu in the Northeast, would the Red Turban Army in the central route of the Longfeng Northern Expedition be completely wiped out?

If the Red Turban Army intercepted the enemy in the north, when Lu Jin sent troops to the north, the two armies would attack from both sides. Would Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty, Toghan Temur, be able to escape back to the north alive? Would the Northern Yuan Dynasty still exist? All of this became unknown.
Lu Jin returned to the back hall and said to the others, "We have found out that this Nahachu does have some influence in Liaoyang."

Feng Guoyong immediately asked, "Then how does the Marshal plan to deal with this person?"

"It would be best if we can capture him alive, but killing him is also fine. In any case, we cannot let him get away. Okay, Grand Duke, please continue." Lu Jin waved his hand, indicating to turn the page.

"Yes." Then Bao Yu continued to introduce the intelligence of the other side.

"Nahachu's 30,000 troops were deployed in two places. The port on the opposite bank of Hezhou, the outer port is called Niuzhuji, and the inner port is called Caishiji. Together with Yanziji in Nanjing, they are known as the three major reefs of the Yangtze River. They have been a battleground for military strategists in the past dynasties to attack Jiangnan and defend Jiangdong.

"Nahachu had a total of 20,000 troops stationed in Niuzhuji and Caishiji. Of his 2,000 archers, 1,500 were stationed in Niuzhuji, the outer port. His 1,000 cavalry were also deployed behind Caishiji. The remaining 10,000 troops, including 500 archers, were stationed in Dangtu City. He himself also stayed in Dangtu City for a long time.

"In addition to Nahachu's 30,000 troops, there is another large force on the opposite coast, which is Chen Yexian's army.

"This Chen Yexian is a native of Jiankang. Since the Red Turban Rebellion began, he has recruited local warriors to form an army. After the flag was raised, many gentry from the south of the Yangtze River responded by recruiting soldiers and joined his army. Now he is the Marshal of the Jiqing Road Volunteer Army appointed by the Yuan court, and his son Chen Zhaoxian is also leading troops in the army as his deputy general."

While introducing the situation, Bao Yu pointed at the sand table with his baton.

"If we take into account the troops of the counties in Taiping Road and Jiqing Road, as well as the militias in Lishui, Jiangning, Shangyuan, Jurong, Jintan, Liyang, and Danyang, then the number of troops that Chen Yexian can mobilize will be no less than 200,000!"

hiss--

Several people gasped when they heard this. Chen Yesian's 200,000 troops, plus Nahachu's 30,000 troops, with such a large number of troops guarding the city of Jinling, would be really difficult to defeat.

Feng Guoyong stared at the sand table with a frown and said nothing, while Li Shanchang said.

"General, even if after September, as you predicted, the Yuan army in Jiangnan is led away by Xu Song, even if we remove half of the 230,000 troops in front of us, there are still 110,000 or 120,000 enemies in front of us, and our army's force crossing the river may be only 30,000 or 40,000 at most. We can fight one against three, or even more. Do you have confidence in this?"

Upon hearing this, several people couldn't help but look at Lu Jin at the same time.

Seeing this, Lu Jin laughed and said, "There's nothing good about having more people. Among the 23 troops, only Nahachu has elite soldiers. I don't care about the other . Chen Yexian's troops are just chickens and dogs. They are useless.

"A group of tenants gathered by gentry carrying hoes dare to call for an army? How much armor do they have? How many weapons do they have? How many officers have led troops, fought in battles, trained troops, understood military tactics, and formed battle arrays? Are they worthy of comparing with me? It's not like we haven't fought against Yuan Dynasty militia like this before, and I know how powerful they are.

"If more people means victory, then the Former Song Dynasty would not have been destroyed. The enemy troops on the other side of the river are indeed numerous. If they gather a large number of troops to defend the city, it will be difficult to deal with them. But as long as they dare to set up a battle array and fight us in the field, I guarantee that no matter how many come, they will be killed. There is no match for them at all!
"What a coincidence. Look at which city on the other side can hold 20 troops. They have a large number of people and we have a small population and a small area. I don't believe they won't come out to fight us in the field. As long as we capture a city as a foundation, and then fight a few field battles, we can annihilate tens of thousands of enemy troops, even if it's only %. The remaining enemy soldiers will be terrified and their morale will be completely lost. It will be as easy to sweep away the remaining enemies as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves!"

(End of this chapter)