Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 273 The Birth of the Eldest Son

"Marshal, I found out that the second report sent by Changzhou Station was issued on July 15." On July 20, seven days after Xu Song conquered Hangzhou City, Bao Yu finally sent a second report with more detailed information.

"Bring it to me and see."

Lu Jin immediately went to the map with the information, and looked at the information and the map at the same time, while Bao Yu helped to mark on the map.

Now, based on the information summarized from Huizhou Station and Changzhou Station, we can roughly get a conclusion that Xu Song's Eastern Expedition Army advanced eastward from Jiangxi on the first day of July, and conquered Huizhou Road at an extremely fast speed. Then the troops were divided into two routes. One route, led by Zhou Lu, Kang Shousi, Jiang Erman, Pan Dayuan and others, attacked northward and westward, and successively captured Jixi, Jingde, Taiping, Shidai, Qingyang, Guichi and other places.

Another route was led by Xiang Pulue, Yang Puxiong, Cai Puding, Su Puchang and others. They attacked Yuling Pass by surprise and attacked eastward and northward, successively conquering Changhua, Yuqian, Lin'an, Yuhang, Qiantang (Hangzhou City). After taking Hangzhou, they turned north again and conquered Deqing, Wukang, Anji and other places.

The intelligence from Huizhou Station also said that Yuan Tingyu, the governor of Lingguan, and his brother-in-law Quan De were defeated and captured, and the Xu Song army tied the two to a tree and cut open their stomachs to death.

Intelligence from the Changzhou station said that when the Xu Song army reached Yuhang (still 60 miles away from Hangzhou), Fan Zhijing, a councillor of the Yuan court's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, led his troops to fight against the enemy. However, they did not win a single battle. In the street fighting to defend Yuhang, the Xu Song army blocked the streets with firewood and set fire to the city, causing a major rout of the Yuan army. Subsequently, Fan Zhijing was stabbed to death by Xu Song's army, and his servant Tian Yesen was also stabbed to death.

Later, when Xu Song's army approached Hangzhou City, the senior officials of the Yuan court's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces immediately fled in all directions. The Inspector of Western Zhejiang fled to Shaoxing, south of the Qiantang River, the Third Pingzhang Dingding fled to Jiaxing, the Langzhong Tuotuo retreated to Zhuji, and the Fourth Pingzhang fled to Huzhou.

Then Xu Song's army occupied Hangzhou, an important city in the south of the Yangtze River, with almost no resistance.

After occupying Hangzhou, the Xu Song army enforced strict military discipline and forbade indiscriminate killing or looting of civilians. They simply emptied the treasury of Hangzhou Prefecture and loaded all the treasures onto carts, as if they were ready to run away at any time.

When the local people saw that Xu Song had the air of a "royal army", some cunning local wealthy families immediately came to entertain the troops with cattle and wine. The deputy county magistrate of Hangzhou also surrendered directly and was directly appointed as the magistrate of Hangzhou County by Xu Song's army.

Afterwards, they set up camp in Mingqing Temple outside Hangzhou and Miaoxing Temple outside Beiguan Gate, "preaching Buddhism and claiming that Maitreya Buddha has come to the world", recruiting believers in Hangzhou and young and strong men as soldiers, but stopped advancing further.

At this point, the intelligence stops.

Lu Jin frowned and thought for a while while looking at the map, then asked, "Still no news about Peng Yingyu in the army?"

"Not yet." Bao Yu helped analyze again.

"In fact, the Marshal has no need to worry about where Peng Yingyu is. He has always been a secretive person and never dared to start a rebellion. From Yuanzhou in Jiangxi, to Miss Jinhua in Luzhou, to Xu Shouhui in Huanggang, he has always been encouraging others to rush to the front while he himself hid behind others to manipulate them. It doesn't matter whether he shows up or not."

Lu Jin shook his head and explained, "I just want to confirm whether he is in the army, whether he will die this time, and what impact his death will have on the internal political system of Xu Song."

"I see. Should I send someone to investigate?" Bao Yu asked.

Lu Jin shook his head again, looking at the map and said, "According to the description in the intelligence, Xu Song's Eastern Route Army directly loaded the treasures of Hangzhou treasury onto trucks and transported them away. This clearly shows that they have no intention of staying there for a long time, but are prepared to retreat at any time.

"It seems that they also know that it is very dangerous to advance alone. It is probably because the situation in Jiangxi and Huguang is too bad that they are forced to disrupt the rear of the Yuan army.

"The next step is to keep a close eye on the movements of the Yuan army in Jiangnan. First, send a message to Lai'an, asking them to keep a close eye on Dong Tuanxiao and check if there are any movements of the Yuan army in Jiqing Road and Taiping Road on the other side of the river. Then, keep an eye on the Xu Song army in Hangzhou and have Huizhou Station pay attention. Report back after the Yuan army has passed Yuling Pass."

"Yes." Bao Yu immediately took the order and left.

The developments in the next few days were exactly as Lu Jin had expected. On the second day after Lu Jin asked Bao Yu to inquire about the news, Dong Tuanxiao, who was still confronting Liao Yongzhong's 106th Division in Liuhe, received a call from the Fourth Pingzhang Jiaohua of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province who was hiding in Huzhou, urgently summoning Dong Tuanxiao to lead his troops to rush to Hangzhou for assistance.

Before being transferred to Jining Road, Dong Tuanxiao was the deputy marshal of eastern Zhejiang. He and the senior officials of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were old acquaintances. After receiving Jiaohua's letter for help, he crossed the river from Liuhe and went south to Jiqing Road that day. He then mobilized 50,000 militia troops from Jiqing Road and headed east to Huzhou to meet up with Jiaohua.

Just when Dong Tuanxiao rushed to Hangzhou for support, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Inspector also recruited salt workers from Shaoxing as soldiers, preparing to cross the Qiantang River to recapture Hangzhou. A major battle was about to break out. It was estimated that the Xu Song army would not be able to occupy Hangzhou for even half a month before they had to retreat in defeat.

At the same time, on July 23, Lu Jin received intelligence again that Dong Tuanxiao had withdrawn from Liuhe and crossed the river to the south. News also came from Jiangning Station that when Dong Tuanxiao passed by Jiqing Road, he recruited 50,000 soldiers and militia from the local area. Wanhu Nahachu of Taiping Road opposite also sent out 1,000 cavalry to help.

At this point, Lu Jin's long-awaited strategic vision was finally realized. Xu Song helped him lead away the Yuan army from Jiqing Road and Taiping Road. Although there were only 50,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, this was enough for Lu Jin. Now he just had to wait for them to go further, so that he wouldn't have to cross the river and attract the main force of the Yuan army in Jiangnan. That would actually be a good opportunity for Peng Yingyu and give them a chance to catch their breath. Maybe they would be able to gain a foothold in Jiangnan.

"Congratulations, Marshal. You are truly a man of foresight. Half of the judgment you made last year has now been realized. A total of 50,000 troops have been transferred from Jiqing Road and Taiping Road in front of us. In addition, our army is well prepared and it is just around the corner for us to cross the river, capture Jiankang, and establish our foundation. This is truly God's will!" When Li Shanchang got the news, he immediately ran to congratulate Lu Jin.

Lu Jin also had a smile on his face. He was of course happy that his strategic concept had been realized. However, in addition to the collection and judgment of intelligence, this was largely due to his knowledge of the history of the early Ming Dynasty. Of course, the intelligence system also played an indispensable role.

Although he was modest in his heart, he could not help but nod and agree when he heard Li Shanchang say this, "Those who are righteous have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous have few supporters. When there are few supporters, even relatives will betray them; when there are many supporters, the whole world will obey them. Use what the whole world obeys to attack what relatives betray. Therefore, a gentleman will win even if he does not fight. Mencius really did not deceive me.

"Liu Futong and Xu Shouhui, although they were the first to start an uprising, did not follow the right path, but used evil teachings to confuse the people. If their names are not right, their words will not flow, and if their words are not flowing, their deeds will not be accomplished, so they are not favored by the will of heaven. Xuzhou Zhima Li and his ilk have no ambitions, occupying several states but not engaging in production, not keeping the people safe, not building cities, and not defending against the Yuan invaders. If I do not warn them and support them, I am afraid they will die at the hands of Tuotuo next month.

"On the other hand, since we took over Luzhou, our Shengwu Army has been settling refugees, reducing taxes, using work instead of relief, allocating land for reclamation, setting up ironworks, running animal husbandry supervision, opening up imperial examinations, preparing for war, and recruiting talents. Such righteous behavior is in line with the saying that those who have achieved the right path will have many supporters, and when they have many supporters, the world will follow them. With the world following their will, we will surely win the war!

"But, the Book of Changes also says, 'Heaven moves with vigor, and a gentleman should constantly strive to improve himself; opportunities only come to those who are prepared, and now the opportunity has come, and we are the ones who are most prepared. As the saying goes, fate is unpredictable, and even if fate favors us, we have to seize it ourselves. If I have no soldiers, no armor, no food, and no ships today, even if there is no soldier on the other side, how can I cross the river?"

At this point, Lu Jin turned around and bowed to Li Shanchang, "Thank you very much for your planning and support for me over the past year. This has enabled me to have the capital to cross the river and fight for destiny."

Li Shanchang quickly dodged to the side when he saw this, and at the same time bowed to Lu Jin and said, "This is all due to the general's overall planning. I just did my duty. What merit do I have? I don't deserve such a great honor from the lord."

"Hahahaha, Mr. Bai Shi is too modest." Lu Jin immediately pointed at him and laughed.

Li Shanchang also smiled and said, "When it comes to being humble, my lord is my role model."

Just as the two were looking at each other and smiling, Bao Yu also ran over with a happy face. Seeing Lu Jin and the other man smiling, he asked, "My lord and Mr. Baishi, do you have any good news?"

"Of course, I heard that the enemy in front of us was led to Hangzhou. Our six-month plan is now half successful. Of course, it can be considered a happy event." Lu Jin explained immediately.

Bao Yu immediately presented a piece of information and a letter, "What a coincidence! Today is probably a double celebration. I also have a piece of good news to tell you."

"Oh? What's the matter?" "Min Zishun, the stationmaster of Taizhou Station, has recruited another general for the lord." Bao Yu explained immediately.

Lu Jin immediately thought of it, "You mean the matter of Li Huafu? Didn't we agree to let him be the commander-in-chief? What other generals can he have?"

Bao Yu immediately explained, "Li Huafu felt that he was not qualified for the position, so he voluntarily abdicated and recommended the famous scholar Bian Yuanheng from Yancheng as the general. In his letter, he said that if the commander-in-chief appointed this man as the general, he would be willing to serve as Bian Yuanheng's deputy general. By the way, the Taizhou salt smuggler Lü Zhen, who had been doing private salt business with us, was also familiar with Li Huafu and was also brought over by him."

"Oh? Are you still dissatisfied with your high-ranking position?" Lu Jin quickly opened the intelligence and took a look.

It turned out that before, Lu Jin sent Min Zishun to follow Li Huafu's approach and ask him to help submit a memorial to Tuotuo and persuade Tuotuo to engage in farming. After the success, he was promised that he could start as a commander-in-chief. So Min Zishun asked him to select three commanders. As a result, Li Huafu immediately thought of the famous scholar in Yancheng, Bian Yuanheng, who was famous for killing a tiger with his bare hands, and recommended him to Min Zishun.

Afterwards, the two of them went together to look for an opportunity to visit Bian Yuanheng. Bian Yuanheng was a man of both civil and military talents, and was even more of a Confucian general. He had met Li Huafu once before, and they were just acquaintances. Last year, Li Huafu led an army to break into the prison in an attempt to save Wang Kerou. Such a chivalrous act made Li Huafu's name heard again by Bian Yuanheng, and he praised Li Huafu as a hero behind his back.

Although Wang Kerou was not rescued and Li Huafu was recruited, Bian Yuanheng still remembered this person.

This time, Li Huafu and Min Zishun went to visit together and were immediately warmly received by Bian Yuanheng, who also called his cousin Shi Nai'an to accompany them. After that, Min Zishun always mentioned what Lu Jin had done in Luzhou, especially the examinations and various policies he held, which immediately made Shi Nai'an admire him very much.

Shi Nai'an himself was a good official who stood up for the people. When he was young, he took the imperial examination to become an official and upheld justice for the poor people. As a result, he was suppressed by his superiors. He resigned in anger and never took part in the imperial examination again.

Now, after hearing that Lu Jin had opened the "Imperial Examination" in Luzhou, abolished the tyranny of the Yuan court, abolished the usury of Yuan court officials, and abolished slavery, he immediately admired Lu Jin even more.

Let's look at the pair of Min Zishun and Li Huafu. One of them started a rebellion and was just recruited less than a year ago, and the other came from the rebel's territory and has been praising the rebels all the time. You can guess their identities without thinking.

Bian Yuanheng also saw it, so he asked the two of them directly. Min Zishun and Li Huafu immediately admitted their identities and stated their purpose. They wanted to hire Bian Yuanheng as a general to join in the anti-Yuan cause, expel the Tartars, and restore China.

Bian Yuanheng asked about the official position but did not agree immediately. Li Huafu thought about it again and again and said on the spot that if Bian Yuanheng was willing to join, he could give the position of commander-in-chief given by Lu Jin to Bian Yuanheng and serve as Bian Yuanheng's deputy.

Min Zishun was very surprised at that time, because Li Huafu had never told him about this before.

However, Li Huafu had thought it over carefully. Ever since he helped the Shengwu Army to submit the memorial to Tuotuo, less than half a month later he heard the news that Tuotuo was going to set up military farm in Dadu. He admired Lu Jin very much. Later, Min Zishun asked him to choose three commanders, and he recommended Bian Yuanheng on the spot. But after he went back, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong.

Li Huafu knew Bian Yuanheng's talent, and because of that, he felt that he was not as good as Bian Yuanheng. So how could he recruit Bian Yuanheng to be his general? When the battle came, he would be at a loss and would have to ask Bian Yuanheng for everything. It would be better for him not to be the main general, so that Bian Yuanheng would not feel resentful.

And his companion, Zhang Si, who was recruited to become a captain of Taizhou, has very limited talents. How can he be the commander-in-chief? If he is forced to appoint him, his subordinates will inevitably be dissatisfied in the future.

Li Huafu was a righteous and open-minded person. As long as he was in the right mood, he would be willing to risk his life for others, such as raising an army to rebel and rescue Wang Kerou from prison.

So Li Huafu made a decision. Since Lu Jin had given him a division, if Bian Yuanheng was willing to join, he was willing to give up the position of commander-in-chief to Bian Yuanheng, and he himself would be the deputy commander-in-chief, directly leading a regiment, and let Zhang Si serve as his deputy commander and concurrently the commander of a thousand households.

In this way, he would lead a regiment, Bian Yuanheng would lead a regiment, and then he would recruit a commander, and the framework of his division would be set up.

Seeing that Li Huafu was so sincere and loyal, Bian Yuanheng agreed to join and also made an appointment with his cousin Shi Nai'an to visit Luzhou together.

After persuading Bian Yuanheng, Min Zishun asked Li Huafu to recommend another person, so he recommended Lu Zhen, the salt smuggler from Taizhou.

Li Huafu himself is a knight-errant who knows all kinds of people. Lu Zhen is a salt merchant and has a certain influence. Moreover, the two are from Taizhou. Li Huafu is now the magistrate of Taizhou, and Lu Zhen is smuggling salt under his noses. It is impossible for them not to know each other.

Li Huafu also considered that if he invited Lu Zhen to join, he could recruit people from the salt field, and the problem of recruiting soldiers would be solved. Moreover, Lu Zhen's own ability to organize so many people to resell private salt made him capable of being a regiment commander.

Min Zishun was very surprised when he heard this. Isn't this a coincidence? The private salt business of the Shengwu Army and Yangzhou Road has always been done with Lu Zhen. The two sides are old acquaintances. Although Lu Zhen has never met Lu Jin in person, he has dealt with the Shengwu Army a lot.

So the two of them plus Bian Yuanheng made three people go to find Lu Zhen together. Lu Zhen saw that even Taizhou magistrate Li Huafu and Yancheng tiger-killing hero Bian Yuanheng had surrendered, so he knew that Taizhou would be in danger sooner or later. By then, Lu Jin would occupy the road to Yangzhou, and his private salt business would probably not be able to continue.

Lu Jin occupied the salt-producing land, so how could he condone them to continue smuggling salt? For the sake of his own future, and because Min Zishun offered him a high salary, he was directly promoted to the position of regiment commander. Lu Zhen had dealt with the Shengwu Army before, and he knew what a regiment commander was. He was a general who had thousands of soldiers under his command and guarded a city alone. Although he was not a general, he had just joined the group, so this treatment was already good, so he readily agreed.

So, the three regiment commanders of this temporary division came together. Bian Yuanheng was the commander-in-chief and led a regiment, Li Huafu was the deputy commander-in-chief and led a regiment, and Lu Zhen was the regiment commander and led a regiment.

After the commanders gathered, the three of them each looked for the thousand-household battalion officers under their command. Lu Zhen was easier to deal with, as he had many brothers who followed him in selling salt, so they simply found a few reliable and capable ones and reported their names.

Bian Yuanheng also knew some relatives and friends, and after much thought, he was able to put together a few candidates for the position of thousand households. Needless to say, Li Huafu was a social man who knew everyone. With the addition of his old brother Zhang Si, he only needed to select three or four more thousand households.

So in late July, the three men finally gathered their officers together and asked Min Zishun to report to Lu Jin. At the same time, Li Huafu also wrote a personal letter to Lu Jin, explaining why he gave up his position to Bian Yuanheng and begging Lu Jin to agree to his conditions.

Lu Jin didn't know who Bian Yuanheng was at all, but Min Zishun gave him a detailed introduction to this person. Lu Jin was also shocked by this guy who killed a tiger with such brutal force. Of course, he was even more shocked when he saw that this person's cousin was Shi Nai'an.

After reading all the letters, he said, "Since Li Huafu strongly recommended this person, let's call him over first to see if he has the real talent. In addition, notify Min Zishun to place spies in the cities of Yangzhou Road and Gaoyou Prefecture to collect intelligence and be ready to assist the main force in breaking the city at any time.

"Also, except for Li Huafu and Zhang Si who will not move for the time being, have Bian Yuanheng, Lu Zhen and others bring their selected battalion commanders, company and platoon leaders, and other candidates to come for training in advance. You go and arrange the reception yourself and don't let the Yuan army find out."

"Yes." Bao Yu agreed immediately.

A few days later, on July 28, the situation in Jiangnan changed again. The Inspector of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province led the salt army from Shaoxing across the river to the north, and Dong Tuanxiao also led troops from Huzhou to the south. The two sides attacked Hangzhou from the north and the south. Xiang Pulue was defeated seven times and was driven out of Hangzhou. The Xu Song Eastern Expedition Army began its retreat.

On the 28th, Bian Yuanheng, Lu Zhen, Shi Nai'an and others also came to Chao County to wait for Lu Jin's reception, but Lu Jin rarely broke the appointment that day.

Only a baby's cry was heard in the Qin's mansion. On the afternoon of the 28th, the day Xu Song was driven out of Hangzhou, Lu Jin's first legitimate son was born in Chao County.

(End of this chapter)