Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 268 Combat Deployment (Part )

Just as Bao Yu was about to introduce the enemy's situation, Lu Jin suddenly pressed his shoulder from behind, then glanced at the generals and said.

"Before the formal deployment, I emphasize once again the confidentiality discipline. No paper records are allowed for this meeting. Everything you hear must be kept to yourself. If anyone leaks this combat plan, I will find out. Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The generals were startled when they heard this, and they all became serious, then shouted in unison, "Yes."

"let's start."

Bao Yu nodded and began to introduce.

"The commander of the Taiping Road garrison in front of us is Nahachu, the commander of the Taiping Road. He is 26 years old this year and has soldiers, including about armored soldiers, deployed in
". This Chen Ye was the Marshal of the Yibing Army in Jiqing Road. He was born into a powerful family. After the Red Turban Uprising, he recruited local militiamen and formed an army. He was quite famous in Jiqing Road. The Yuan army in nearby counties and prefectures were willing to obey his orders. If the militias in Shangyuan, Jiangning, Jurong, Jintan, Lishui, Liyang and other places were included, the total number of troops he could mobilize would be around 200,000.

"But most of his soldiers are ordinary civilians, and the army is huge, but the armor is insufficient. Therefore, even if the leather armor is included, there are at most 30,000 armored soldiers among the 200,000 people, and their combat effectiveness is not very strong."

hiss--

Everyone couldn't help but gasp when they heard this. Some were surprised that the enemy's strength on the other side was so exaggerated. Chen Yesian's 200,000, plus Nahachu's 30,000, that's 230,000 people, more than double their entire Shengwu Army combined. This is simply outrageous. Is the population of Jiangnan so large?
Some people were surprised at the detailed intelligence Bao Yu had, including the enemy's number, equipment, training time, arms composition, where they were deployed, the origins of their generals, and the relationships between the enemy's various divisions. It was like a full-map cheat, with no fog of war at all. Especially when combined with the sand table, the enemy's deployment was completely visible.
In fact, many of them didn’t know what the Military Command Department did before. They thought it was similar to the Privy Council or the Ministry of Personnel, responsible for reviewing and issuing military orders. They didn’t expect that the Military Command Department was also in charge of intelligence work.

This time, reporting the enemy situation in front of so many generals made Bao Yu proud, and all the generals couldn't help but look at him differently. If they could successfully cross the river, Bao Yu would definitely have made a great contribution.

However, Yang Jing, the commander-in-chief of the 37th Army, was not too surprised. When he was the commander of the th Regiment, he was ordered to launch a surprise attack on Hezhou City. It was Bao Yu who was lurking in the city to support him. He had long known that Bao Yu was in charge of the work of spies. He just didn't know how large the intelligence system of the Military Command Department was now.
"My lord, aren't there too many troops on the other side? How many troops do we have to cross the river?" Yang Jing asked with a frown after listening to the enemy situation report.

Upon hearing this, the generals also looked over and had the same idea. Regardless of how a battle would unfold, an army of 230,000 strong was still an intimidating number to hear.

Lu Jin then took over the baton and said.

"It is precisely because I know how many troops the enemy has and the generals are clamoring for a fight that I did not agree. I have been suppressing you and letting you train and prepare for war, because now is not the best time to send troops.

"I used to say that those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region, and those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the moment. As officers, you can just focus on the enemy in front of you, but as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, I have to look at the general trend of the world. Only by following the will of heaven and taking advantage of the trend can we succeed.

"Last September, not long after I conquered Luzhou, Xu Shouhui usurped the throne in Huanggang in October and restored the Song Dynasty. He then went on expeditions everywhere. In the first month of this year, he conquered Wuchang and Hanyang, and established his capital in Wuchang. He then sent troops to attack from all sides. From the first month to the second month, in just two months, he expanded his territory by a thousand miles.

"To the south, they will attack Yueyang and reach Dongting Lake. To the west, they will attack Jiangling and aim at Bashu. To the north, they will attack Jingzhou and look at the Central Plains. To the east, they will attack Jiangzhou and eye Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The situation looks very good."

The generals were stunned when they heard this. They were not very familiar with this information. Only after listening to Lu Jin's introduction did they realize that Xu Song was so powerful in fighting at the beginning of this year.

Yang Jing was also very nervous after listening to this. He could not help but secretly clench his fists and sweat for Lu Jin. He knew Lu Jin's strategy of taking over the three lakes and ruling the world. However, at the beginning of this year, Xu Song was about to control Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, but they had not yet controlled a single lake.

However, Lu Jin took a turn at this time.

"At the beginning of this year, the reason why Xu Song was able to develop so smoothly was that, first, the enemy was not prepared, and most of the Yuan court officials directly abandoned the city and fled, so Xu Song did not encounter any strong resistance at all. Second, Peng Yingyu used the evil cult to deceive the people and deployed people in various places early on. With uprisings everywhere, the Yuan court was distracted and lost its way, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage of.

"But this group of people is not on the right path. Since ancient times, no one in China has ever achieved success with a cult. But this group of people is trying to combine politics and religion. They have built a weird Lotus Platform Province to replace the Secretariat. They want to let monks and novices sit in the court. After they capture the city, they don't send civil officials to govern, or they directly retain the old officials of the Yuan court. They founded a country with a cult, and few scholars have joined them.

"Thus, although they expanded their territory by thousands of miles, they were like rootless duckweed, unable to take root and secure themselves. Since March of this year, the Yuan court reacted and recruited soldiers from all over to counterattack, and in an instant, they defeated Xu and Song.

"From March to May, in just four months, they lost the capital Wuchang, then Hanyang, and later even their hometown Huanggang. Then they lost Jiangzhou, Yuezhou, Jingzhou, Yuanzhou, and Xiazhou. It can be said that they were in a state of collapse. Now only Huangpi, Anlu, Raozhou, Huizhou, and part of Ganzhou are left. They are divided into three parts and it is difficult to contact each other."

Yang Jing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. Fortunately, it seemed that Xu Song could not pose a threat to the Shengwu Army for the time being.

The other generals were also sighing after hearing what they heard. Xu Song had experienced so many ups and downs in just half a year. It seemed that this group of evil cult monsters would never accomplish anything.

In fact, this was what Lu Jin said deliberately in front of them. There was some exaggeration and slander in it, but the purpose was only one, to tell the generals that following this bunch of evil people would not accomplish anything, and that following me was the right path.

Lu Jin then said, "So, what does all this talk about Xu and Song have to do with our crossing of the river? I tell you, not only does it have something to do with us, but it's also very important.

"I'll tell you one more thing. At the beginning of this year, when Xu and Song expanded their territory by a thousand miles, they thought they were very powerful. The false emperor Xu Shouhui actually sent an envoy to find me, wanting me to submit to him, and even said that he would appoint me as the governor of Bianliang."

Everyone was surprised again when they heard this. Some of them joined after Anqing, or were stationed on the eastern front for a long time. Except for Zhu Shou who followed Lu Jin and knew more, many others did not know that Xu Song had sent an envoy.

"Where is Bianliang? It is north of the Red Turbans of Liu Futong's army. He appointed me as the governor of Bianliang. Let's not talk about the rank of the official. Let's look at this position. What do they want? If I accept this position, won't I have to fight with Liu Futong first? Otherwise, how can I take office? This is to provoke internal strife among our rebels. They will reap the benefits while the snipe and the clam fight.

“Besides, I, Gongshu Jin, have lived an upright life and have inherited family traditions. I never burn incense or worship Buddha. How can I associate with a demon cult? Naturally, I rejected him.

"But leaving aside his attempt to recruit me, just looking at this place, Bianliang, what can you imagine Xu Song's intentions are?"

Yang Jing thought for a moment and answered immediately, "They established a fake name to restore the Song Dynasty, which means they want to recover the old capital of the former Song Dynasty. Their troops are all in the south, and only the lord's Luzhou is to the north of them, so they want the lord to help them recover the old capital." "That's right, without Bianliang, can it still be called the Song Dynasty? How many people in the world recognize his fake country?"

Lu Jin nodded in praise, and then continued, "In the following months, Xu Song was defeated and no longer as calm as before. Just last month, he sent an envoy to visit me again and persuaded me to surrender. I refused, and he asked me to send troops from Anqing to attack Jiangzhou together with him.

"Attacking Jiangzhou from both sides sounds good, but the soldiers who die in the battle are my soldiers, but the city we capture is theirs. I'm not stupid, so of course I refuse again.

"Now that Xu and Song have lost their troops and territory, it is a critical moment for their survival. If my guess is correct, he will definitely send envoys again in the next two months to persuade me to help. Of course, I will not agree, and I will force them to take risks.

"Look at the sand table. Now the easternmost force of the Xu Song has occupied the Huizhou area and is eyeing She County. Hangzhou, the former capital of the Song Dynasty, is nearby. What do you think they will do if they are forced into a corner?"

Yang Jing was so shocked that he stood up on the spot. "Forcefully cross Yuling Pass and attack Hangzhou? But this is not the right way to fight. This area is all mountainous in western Zhejiang, with ravines and gullies everywhere. It is a taboo for a lone army to march straight in. To attack Jiangsu and Zhejiang from Jiangxi, the normal way to fight should be to capture Quzhou and Jinhua first, and open up the passage to northern Zhejiang. Only in this way can they steadily capture Hangzhou. It is too risky for them to fight this way."

Lu Jin retorted, "The normal way of fighting should be to attack with the main force and win with the surprise force. Send a large army to attack the Qujin Basin in the mountains. This is the main force. Then send a surprise force to cross the Yuling Pass and unexpectedly attack Hangzhou. Then, we can go around from the plains of western Zhejiang and attack Jinhua from the east together with the main army. This is the surprise force.

"But now Jinqu is in the hands of the Yuan court. They certainly didn't expect Xu Song to abandon the main road, sneak out of the mountains, and attack Hangzhou. Because such a lone army deep into the mountains is tantamount to suicide. Without the support of the frontal army, it is very dangerous.

"But now Xu Song is short of troops. They are unable to break through the Jinqu Basin from the front, and Hangzhou is nearby. They are all in a stalemate in Jiangxi and Huguang, confronting the Yuan army. They urgently need to open up the situation from other places. Faced with the temptation of recovering the former Song Dynasty capital of Lin'an, they must be unable to resist.

"I just said that they want to recover Bianliang. Since Bianliang cannot be recovered, it would be good to recover Lin'an first. After all, they created a fake name called Song."

All the generals were confused. Even Yu Tonghai, Zhang Desheng and Liao Yongjian found it difficult to understand. After all, they were of humble origins and had low cultural levels. They were not as serious and well-versed in military tactics and history as Yang Jing. Therefore, only Yang Jing could discuss it with Lu Jin.

Liao Yongjian asked directly, "Then their plan to attack Hangzhou has anything to do with our crossing of the river?"

"Of course it does." Yang Jing suddenly reacted.

"Hangzhou is an important city in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the starting point of the grain transport, and the former capital of the Song Dynasty. The Yuan court will never sit idly by and watch the Xu Song Dynasty seize Hangzhou. Moreover, this is a group of isolated enemies deep in the territory. If we don't eat them, we will be doing a disservice to these daring people. The Yuan court will definitely mobilize all the troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to counterattack, and even chase them all the way back to Jiangxi.

"In this way, Xu Song can transfer a large number of troops from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be short of troops. This is the best time for us to cross the river!"

Yang Jing immediately clapped his hands excitedly, then looked at Lu Jin and asked, "My lord, is Xu Song going to send troops?"

Lu Jin nodded, "According to the intelligence I have, it will probably be in the next few days. We will definitely hear the news within ten days. When Xu Song breaks through Hangzhou in July and the Yuan army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang begins to counterattack, we will suddenly cross the river and kill them when they are far away from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In this way, even if they know, they will not be able to come back to rescue so quickly. By the time they come back, we will have already established a firm foothold in Jiangnan."

"So that's how it is. It turns out that the Marshal is waiting for Xu Song to take action first and lure the Yuan army away for us." Zhang Desheng and Yu Tonghai also suddenly realized.

"That's right." Lu Jin nodded.

"Then how many troops can they divert away?" Liao Yongjian asked again.

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "It's hard for me to judge a place that's too far away, but we should at least withdraw 50,000 to 100,000 troops from Taiping Road and Jiqing Road in front of us, so that the number of enemy troops in front of us can be reduced by half."

Liao Yongjian frowned upon hearing this and said, "That still leaves about 13 to 18 soldiers. Where are the troops we need to cross the river?"

Lu Jin pointed at the generals present and said, "The entire 37th Army, a total of 4 infantry regiments, naval regiments, a total of people, plus two brigades of the Imperial Guard, each brigade has about people, a total of people, plus Ye Sheng's cavalry regiment, more than people, the total force is just over , but the navy will not go ashore, the infantry and cavalry that will go ashore add up to ."

"Forty thousand against one hundred and eighty thousand, isn't that more than one against four?!" Liao Yongjian said in surprise again, and everyone looked at each other in surprise when they heard it.

Lu Jin then added, "In fact, it would be better if he only transferred 50,000. If all of them were transferred, where would I go to expand the army? Those soldiers on the other side are all my soldiers! I was still counting on using these prisoners to expand another 20 regiments."

"."

All the generals were speechless after hearing this. Good fellow, you're already thinking about the enemy's soldiers before the battle even begins. They're all enemy soldiers! Enemy soldiers who want to kill you as soon as possible! !
Lu Jin looked at their reactions and said indifferently, "Why are you all looking at me? All of you present are officers in the army. You are all wearing armor made by ourselves. Don't you know that one armored soldier can fight against a few unarmored old farmers? Is one against four too many? I think it's too little.

"Besides, Niuzhuji, Caishiji, and Dangtucheng are just small places. It's a big deal if they can accommodate 20,000 or 30,000 people. We have to fight one battle at a time. It's impossible for the enemy to rush in with more than 100,000 people. In the local battlefield, we may have the advantage in manpower.

"So there is nothing to be afraid of these hundreds of thousands of people. They are just dishes on our plate. We will fight one battle in Caishiji, one battle in Dangtu City, one battle outside the city, and finally two more battles in Jiqing Road. We can annihilate tens of thousands of enemy troops at a time. After several consecutive battles, these hundreds of thousands of people will be wiped out."

When the generals saw how confident Lu Jin was, and thought of his past undefeated record, although they still felt that the gap in strength between the enemy and us was a bit exaggerated, they gained some confidence.

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Lu Jin clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention. "Okay, I've introduced the enemy's situation, our situation, and the possible movements of other surrounding forces. Now I'll teach you how to fight these 180,000 people. It's actually not as difficult as you think."

(End of this chapter)