Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 271 The Master of the Four Military Schools

"After listening to the Marshal's words today, I finally understood the purpose of setting up the position of training officer. It turns out that in addition to military supervisors, quartermasters, and military judges, the training officer can also be used in this wonderful way. If we use the method the Marshal just mentioned, there will definitely be no situation where they surrender and then rebel again, and those soldiers on the other side will really become ours."

After the meeting, Lu Jin brought all the generals to Chaohu Lake to watch the navy's tower ships and gunboats, as well as the artillery camp and the trap camp of the Imperial Guard's combined brigade. While waiting for the tower ships to arrive, the generals gathered together to discuss the contents of the meeting.

"That's right. I thought so before. Bringing a group of scholars here is nothing but military supervisors. Now I know that the instructors are also very useful."

"What do you know? The commander is a direct descendant of the Gongshu clan. He has inherited the family's military tactics. Naturally, his way of leading troops is different from that of other clans.

"However, with this instructor, the soldiers can really train and fight in a down-to-earth manner, which is good for improving the morale of the army. This is different from other military books. Other military books talk about leading soldiers, and they all require generals to establish authority and show grace, and enforce strict military discipline. The commander-in-chief uses the instructor to do this, and it doesn't feel as harsh as described in the military books, which often use beheading to intimidate soldiers and reward soldiers, but it has a different effect."

"That's right. I heard that in ancient times, military strategists were divided into four schools, namely, military strategy, military situation, military skills, and military yin and yang. What do you think, which school does our Marshal's family of military tactics belong to?"

"Which faction?" Xu Da, who had been standing in the crowd without saying anything, asked immediately after hearing this.

"The Marshal is good at using spies, secret agents, and strategies. When he first started his army, he was able to win three battles and establish his capital in Luzhou. I heard that he used strategies. There is also the military commander who is beside the Marshal. He usually doesn't talk much, but he has done so many things quietly. He has a clear understanding of the troop deployment on the other side and the city defense situation.

"This man is the Marshal's clairvoyant and clairaudient. This man alone is worth a hundred thousand soldiers. He is the first to achieve the goal of crossing the river.

"According to the Marshal's good use of strategies and spies, that is a complete military strategy. But just now at the meeting, the Marshal also talked about Xu Shouhui of Huguang, the general situation in the world and the best time to send troops. We should use the situation to send troops, but even if there is no situation to rely on, we can force Xu Shouhui to be our vanguard through exchanges with the Xu Song envoys. This is to cultivate momentum, create momentum, and then send troops according to the situation. It is obviously a military strategy.

"Besides, the warships, the muskets and cannons of the Imperial Guards, the four-wheeled carriages, and even the armor on you and me, as well as the mandarin duck formation, the three-talent formation, the cannon shooting technique used by the Marshal when he first started the army, and the sharp-angled bastions in Anqing, all of them reflect extraordinary skills, which is a typical military skill style.

"Finally, there is the Yin and Yang of the army. Yin and Yang, such as divination, looking at the weather, observing the stars, offering sacrifices, praying, cursing and other arts, are about following the time, deducing punishment and virtue, fighting and attacking, and winning by the five elements, and relying on ghosts and gods for help.

"The Marshal is the direct descendant of Gongshu. Gongshu does not seem to believe in ghosts and gods, but I know that the Marshal's attainments in astronomy, geography and astrology are probably unmatched. I heard that the Marshal returned from overseas and knows the art of star-pulling. Could he be someone who does not understand yin and yang?

“Although Gongshuzi did not believe in ghosts and gods, I remember a saying of Gongshuzi: Borrowing the power of heaven and earth, and acting as ghosts and gods, if people regard themselves as ghosts and gods, why do they need to borrow the power of ghosts and gods?
"So if you ask what school of military strategy the Marshal belongs to, I think he belongs to none of them. The Marshal is the master of all four schools of military strategy."

"Tsk!"

"hiss--"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise when they heard this. Xu Da's words immediately made the generals present feel awe-inspiring.

Some generals who had followed Lu Jin for a long time knew some of the things Lu Jin had done, but they had not learned any military tactics and could not say what Xu Da said. Some generals who came from Anqing later were not so familiar with Lu Jin and did not know how powerful Lu Jin was. It was not until they heard Xu Da's words at this time that they felt so terrified.

Jia Boying, the captain of Zhang Desheng's 17th Regiment, immediately asked, "Brother Xu, have you studied the art of war?"

Xu Da, who is only 20 years old and still a little immature, immediately said modestly, "I don't deserve it. I just watched some of it at home."

"It's a pity for you. How can you only be a car camp officer? If Brother Xu had come half a year earlier, you might have been at the same level as Yang."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuanyan, who was also from the 17th Regiment, poked him with his arm, signaling him not to talk nonsense.

Xu Da also said modestly, "General Manager Yang is familiar with the Art of War and can lead troops. He also followed the Marshal when he captured Luzhou. How can I compare with General Manager Yang? I am just good at talking about military strategy on paper. I still need to learn more from General Manager Yang."

Seeing this, Xu Yuanyan hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Hahahaha, yes, yes, Brother Xu has such talent, he will definitely achieve extraordinary success in the future. Even if he is a battalion commander of the Chariot Battalion, he is still a battalion commander of the Imperial Guard. Besides, the great generals Xue Li and Xue Rengui who conquered Tianshan with three arrows during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty were also firemen. As long as you have the ability, there is no need to worry about not being able to make a name for yourself."

"Thank you, Brother Xu, for your kind words." Xu Da also hurriedly clasped his fists.

On the other side, Lu Jin, who didn't know that he had 'gathered the best of the four schools of military strategists', was holding a national map and discussing general strategic issues with Yang Jing, Liao Yongjian, Zhu Shou, Zhang Wen, Li Shanchang and Bao Yu.

"In addition to Xu Song in the south, there is also news that Tuotuo will go south in September to open up the canal transportation channel. However, their main goal is the sesame plums in Xuzhou, but now they have been delayed by me."

Lu Jin briefly talked about the transaction with Zhima Li, and how he tricked Tuotuo into farming in Dadu, and then he spoke.

"At this time in Dadu, if we start farming now, we won't be able to harvest the grain until the end of September at the earliest. By the time Tuotuo has harvested the grain and gathered the grain from all over the place, it will be November at the earliest. Then we will go south from Dadu, pass Shandong, and fight to the city of Xuzhou, which will take at least the twelfth lunar month. If Zhima Li can hold out for another two months in the twelfth lunar month, we can buy three to four months.

"Tuotuo has been stationed in a strong city for a long time and has been fighting for two months. His division is old and his soldiers are tired. He probably doesn't have enough food. Therefore, even if he can defeat Zhima Li, he will definitely not be able to continue to move south. At most, he will only leave a small division to continue to pursue the remaining enemies in Xuzhou and our Haozhou Lai'an defense line.

"Therefore, the 36th Army on the northern front will not participate in this crossing of the river. They have to stay to deal with Tuotuo and the possible collapse of the troops in Xuzhou."

Yang Jing and Liao Yongjian all nodded. It was the first time they heard about this.

Then Lu Jin said, "When we cross the river this time, we should first capture a city called Dangtu and drive out the enemy. We should let as many of them go as possible, but not too many, so that they can go back and report back.

"The enemy forces in Jiankang will definitely want to drive us off the shore while we are still unstable. We can fight them a few more battles in the field and try to destroy as many of their manpower as possible in the field, so as to avoid encountering too much resistance in the subsequent siege." "After destroying most of the Yuan army in Jiqing Road, we will take over the entire Jiankang Road. I estimate that the entire battle will take about a month. We must not delay it too long, otherwise it may affect the situation in Haozhou."

Several people nodded again, "Understood."

"Then let me talk about the expansion of the army. You have followed me for so long, and you know how we expand the army. We draw two people from the old unit and add two more. After a little training, with the old soldiers leading them, the combat effectiveness will not drop too much. However, if the newly formed troops want to form combat effectiveness, they must go through at least three to four months of training. Therefore, the newly formed troops are not capable of fighting, but can be used to defend the city.

“So I decided to form four regiments of new soldiers from the first batch of prisoners after crossing the river and send them back to Luzhou to distribute the land. This would fill the gap in the rear and train the soldiers. In the meantime, we could replenish equipment at the nearby Luzhou Iron Factory.

"Then there will be the second batch of prisoners, which will be about four to six regiments. They will be transferred to Haozhou, Dingyuan, Chuzhou, and Lai'an to defend the city while training, replacing the main force of Zhu Liangzu's 36th Army as a mobile combat force.

"Let me say something else. Zhu Shou and Zhang Wen, your two Imperial Guard Brigades will not participate in this military expansion, because the combat effectiveness of the troops will be greatly reduced during the expansion, and we must keep one or two fully-powered divisions to maintain combat effectiveness. Before the new troops are trained, your two Imperial Guard Brigades will be responsible for repelling all invading enemies. Do you understand?"

"clear."

Zhu Shou and Zhang Wen nodded immediately, and Zhang Wen added.

"In fact, we all understand this without the Marshal having to say it specifically. I have been discussing the combined brigade with Zhu Shou recently. I think the organization of our Imperial Guard Brigade is quite good, and it is not suitable to be expanded into a pure firearms organization of the size of a division. It would be better to organize a separate firearms brigade in an infantry and cavalry army and use it as a fist to overcome difficulties. This is more appropriate and cheaper.

"Besides, it's not that easy to train a firearms brigade. The Marshal has put so much effort into forming our two brigades. Not to mention other things, it will take at least half a year to make those muskets and cannons. How can we expand without weapons? And it's not as easy to train people who know how to use artillery as ordinary thousand households. The Marshal has to train them personally. Therefore, I have already made plans not to expand."

"Hahahaha." Hearing this, Lu Jin couldn't help but point his finger at Zhang Wen with relief.

"You seem to have made a lot of progress in recent times. I told you two this in advance because I was afraid that when others are promoted and the staff is expanded, you two will not be promoted, and you will be forced to fight all the time. I am afraid that you will feel resentful, but since you understand it in your heart, I will not say more.

"But don't worry, although your guard brigade will not be expanded and your positions will not be changed, I will give you higher ranks and record your military achievements. I will never treat you unfairly. As for the thousand households under your command, you two must explain it clearly when you go back."

"Yes, thank you, Marshal!" The two responded in unison.

After talking about the military expansion, Lu Jin pointed at the map and spoke to a few people.

“After we take over Jiqing Road and Taiping Road and expand the army, and transfer Zhu Liangzu’s 36th Army, we will split our troops into two routes. On the northern route, Yang Jing, you will be the commander-in-chief. We will fight eastward from Zhenjiang Road, Changzhou Road, Pingjiang Road, Songjiang Prefecture to the East China Sea and seize all areas north of Taihu Lake.

"I will let Zhu Liangzu coordinate in the north of the Yangtze River. He has always sent troops from Lai'an and swept eastward all the way to Tongzhou Haimen, occupying both sides of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and cutting off the passage of the Yuan army or other rebel forces to the south. Jiangnan can only be our Jiangnan, and we will never allow anyone to compete with us for it."

Yang Jing looked at Lu Jin's gestures on the map and nodded repeatedly, but then frowned and said, "Yes, but with the Marshal's arrangement, isn't the battle line of our northern army stretched too long? The southern flank lacks cover and may be cut off by the enemy from the west bank of Taihu Lake."

"So there is also the Southern Route Army." Lu Jin said immediately, "I will send the Southern Route Army to cooperate with you to capture Guangde Road and Changxing Prefecture on Huzhou Road, cut off the passage from the west bank of Taihu Lake to the north, protect your flank, and then attack Ningguo Road, Chizhou Road, and Huizhou Road.

"We must attack Chizhou in the southwest and cooperate with Anqing on the other side to cut off the Yangtze River waterway from both sides. No one will be able to come down from the upper reaches in the future.

"To the south, we must first take over Ningguo Road. There are coal mines in Xuancheng and Jingxian along Ningguo Road, and iron mines in Dangtu and Wuhu. If we take over these two places, we can build an iron factory like Luzhou to speed up the production of weapons and armor.

"After we take over the entire northern Zhejiang plain and western Zhejiang, we will rest and expand our army again, and then we will see the current situation in the world and decide on the next strategy."

Several people nodded their heads, only Li Shanchang asked, "Then has the commander decided who will be the commander of the southern army?"

Lu Jin thought about it and realized that he didn't have many talented generals under his command. The only one who could lead an army alone was Zhu Liangzu, who was on the north bank. In the future, he had to break through the entire Jiangsu province and move northward to Shandong. Yang Jing could lead the army alone, but he had to break through the entire Zhejiang province and then advance to Fujian.

Liao Yongan and Miao Daheng are both good, but the task assigned to them by Lu Jin is to cooperate with each other to conquer the entire territory of Jiangxi and then advance into Huguang.

In fact, Luzhou also lacks a general. After recruiting new soldiers to Luzhou this time, when the new soldiers are trained, they should attack westward from Luzhou, occupy the entire northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains, capture Xiangyang, and cut off Xu Song’s passage to the north from Jingxiang and Anqing, east and west of the Dabie Mountains, and then attack the Jianghan Plain and Sichuan to the south.

However, Yu Tingyu's command ability and experience are insufficient to meet this task, so Lu Jin is still considering who to appoint as the general. However, he does not need to be too anxious, and it will not be too late to wait for half a year before heading west.

But the situation in the south of the Yangtze River is more urgent. The southern army lacks a main general. Deng Yu in history is still a child. Hu Dahai has not been found yet. Xu Da and Chang Yuchun are in his hands, but Xu Da's position is too low now. It is impossible for a battalion commander of the Imperial Guard Brigade to climb so quickly, and Xu Da lacks experience.

Since joining the Shengwu Army, Xu Da has not fought in an actual combat yet. He has learned a lot of theories from Lu Jin and has his own understanding of the use of firearms units. His future achievements will certainly be higher than in the original history, but he is still a little immature now. To be honest, Chang Yuchun is the most suitable one now.

Chang Yuchun already had some experience in leading troops. In the past six months, he learned a lot from Lu Jin's quick-study military strategy. He became familiar with the military system and fighting style of the Shengwu Army, and had a good working relationship with his training officer Shi Heng. His current position is regiment commander. After crossing the river and fighting a few battles, he can be promoted to commander-in-chief and then to army chief. In this way, it will be natural for him to lead a large army alone.

Lu Jin was selecting the candidate for the main general of the southern route in his mind, but he did not say it out loud now. What he didn't know yet was that Min Zishun had also brought a talented general to Lu Jin that he had never expected.

(End of this chapter)