Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 275: Xu Song's Defeat in Jiangxi
After arranging a position for Shi Naian, Lu Jin asked Bao Yu to get a latest map, which was drawn on cloth and modified to some extent based on the intelligence bureau's reconnaissance.

After spreading out the map, Lu Jin waved for everyone to come over and take a look.

"Mr. Yuanheng, Mr. Lu Zhen, Mr. Zhao Rui, please come and take a look. Can you understand it?"

"Is this a map?" Lu Zhen could read. When he saw the rivers, cities, place names, and even the troop deployments of various parties marked on it, he immediately realized what a map looked like. As a salt smuggler, this was the first time he had seen what a map looked like.

Bian Yuanheng also came closer to take a closer look and was immediately amazed, "This map is really detailed, even the villages and communities are marked. Is this map accurate?"

Lu Jin nodded. "It is accurate in the general direction, but there may be some errors in the details. However, it is sufficient for strategic planning."

The original version of this map was traced by Lu Jin from an electronic map on his mobile phone. However, the maps of later generations are different from those in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. The names of cities are different, their locations are different, and even the geography of mountains and rivers is very different.

For example, the "bulging belly of a rooster". The Jiangsu part in later generations is still flat. The Yellow River did not flow into the sea from Shandong, but from Jiangsu. The mouth of the Yellow River was located between Funing and Guannan in later generations. Several counties such as Xiangshui, Binhai, Sheyang, Yancheng, Dafeng and Dongtai in later generations are still submerged in the sea. They were all filled with silt when the Yellow River entered the sea from Jiangsu. This was also revised by Lu Jin based on the reconnaissance of the Intelligence Bureau.

Moreover, the city of Sizhou has not yet been submerged in Hongze Lake and turned into a dragon palace. Sizhou was submerged by Hongze Lake and hundreds of thousands of people turned into fish and turtles, but that was during the Qing Dynasty. The current area of ​​Hongze Lake is only two-fifths of its later size.

In addition, the Weishan Lake in Shandong Province has not yet appeared, and the Qiandao Lake in Chun'an, Hangzhou, does not exist now. It is an artificial reservoir created by New China in later generations by cutting off the Xin'an River, which can also generate electricity.

There is also Yuhang. The Yuhang City in the Yuan Dynasty was located directly west of Hangzhou City, while the Yuhang in later generations was located in the northeast of Hangzhou City. Even the city’s address was moved.

There are many similar revisions, but they are only in the areas that Lu Jin can currently detect. There is no way to make revisions to areas farther away. However, he has already made revisions to most of Jiangsu, all of Zhejiang, and all of Jiangxi.

Bian Yuanheng looked at the surrounding friendly and enemy forces marked above, took a breath, and asked, "Does the commander-in-chief want to ask me where I will base my career?"

Lu Jin shook his head. "No need to ask. Mr. Zhao Rui just said it very clearly. It won't work if we only have Luzhou. Luzhou can only play a role in the hands of Central Plains or Jiangnan. Since I only have Luzhou now, I have to find a way to choose one from Central Plains and Jiangnan.

"When the Yuan lost its power, heroes all over the world chased it. But now the power has not been lost, and most of the world is still in the hands of the Yuan court. It is unwise to compete with Liu Futong for the Central Plains at this time. First, the Central Plains is in decline, and second, the Yuan court has not been destroyed. If I take the lead in attacking other rebel forces, I may arouse public anger and be unacceptable to the world. I am not stupid. At this time, my primary goal is to attack the Yuan court and strengthen myself.

"Looking at the current situation, Liu Futong is to my northwest, Zhima Li is to my north, and my north is bordered by them, so there is no place to expand. I have the Dabie Mountains to my south, and I have occupied Anqing in the southeast. I have the key to Jiangxi Province and have cut off the Yangtze River shipping. Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the east are my only way out, and I have no other choice."

Several people nodded when they heard this. Bian Yuanheng said immediately, "When I came here, I just heard that in the middle of this month, Xu Song captured Hangzhou. If the news is true, then Xu Song led the Yuan army on the east coast to Yuhang. Now is the best time for the commander to cross the river to the east. Why not follow the story of Han Qinhu and capture Dangtu and Jiqing? The Purple Mountain is like a dragon, and the Stone City is like a tiger. This place is also the ancient capital of several dynasties. It is just right to use Jiqing Road as the foundation."

Lu Jin immediately laughed and said, "If you can think of something, can't the Yuan court think of it? Don't you think the Yuan court officials are fools? Grand Duke, come and tell them the latest intelligence."

"Yes."

Bao Yu immediately recounted the recent situation, including the deployment of 23 heavy troops on the other side of the strait, the date and month on which Xu and Song captured Hangzhou, and the deployments made by the Yuan court. At the beginning of the month, Dong Tuanxiao came to attack Lai'an, but was repelled by the 106th Division. He then crossed the river and headed south, dispatching troops from Jiqing Road to Huzhou for support in preparing to recapture Hangzhou.

But what they don’t know yet is that today, the day when Lu Jin’s eldest son was born, Xu Song had been driven out of Hangzhou. The Changzhou Intelligence Station naturally knew about it, and they sent people to keep an eye on him, but it would take two or three days for the news to get back.

Lu Zhen took a deep breath when he heard this. "So, there are still 180,000 troops on the other side. Otherwise, we should not rush into their hands. Since they also know that we want to cross the river, they must have been ready and waiting for us.

"Why don't we start an uprising in Taizhou and gather a large army to cross the river from Jiangyin or Zhenjiang to the south? My brothers and I have a lot of ships carrying salt, so crossing the river won't be a problem. If we can attract part of the enemy troops, the Marshal can cross the river from Dangtu. If we cross the river together, it will be difficult for the enemy to defend both ends."

Shi Naian also pondered, "Since the Marshal has been sending people to watch the other side, I think he has already started planning to cross the river. I don't see that the Marshal has a worried look on his face, so he must have a plan for crossing the river. I wonder how many troops the Marshal has prepared?"

"There are a total of 50,000 infantry and cavalry on land and sea, 10,000 in the navy, and 40,000 infantry and cavalry on land." Lu Jin said immediately.

"Isn't 40,000 not enough? Perhaps we can consider Commander Lu's suggestion to cross the river in two directions, make a feint to the east and attack in the west, and make it difficult for the enemy to take care of both ends."

Shi Nai'an hesitated when he heard this. A war in reality is not like writing a novel. The more troops the better. The other side has 18 troops. Even if you can't be evenly matched with them, you should at least get . However, Lu Jin said in the next sentence.

"These 40 soldiers are all armored soldiers, wearing our army's homemade iron leaf armor, each weighing kilograms. They have been trained for at least four months, and some for half a year. At least % of the soldiers have seen blood in actual combat. I worked hard for half a year to save up this capital!"

hiss----

Several people gasped again and gained a new understanding of Lu Jin's strength.

Bian Yuanheng said immediately, "With 18 elite soldiers, crossing the river should not be a problem. Although the enemy has soldiers, the terrain of Niuzhu and Caishi is narrow and cannot accommodate so many people. There are only about soldiers here at most.

"As for landing, we need to be steady and cautious. If we can withstand two or three counterattacks from the enemy, then it will not be difficult to capture Jiankang. The commander has been planning for half a year and has deployed spies on the other side of the river. I think it should not be difficult to cross the river. So what does the commander want to test me on?"

Lu Jin nodded, "Yuanheng is knowledgeable about military strategy. I have indeed planned to cross the river. What I want to test you on is to let you see where our army's weaknesses are now. In addition to crossing the river and taking Jiankang as our base, are there any other places where we need to deploy troops?"

"This." Bian Yuanheng immediately looked at the map, frowned and thought for a moment before analyzing.

"The Marshal's troops are now on the front lines, along the Huai River from Haozhou to Lai'an in the north, and along the line from Anqing to Wuwei in the south. If the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Army are brought across the river, the biggest flaw will naturally be that the area around Luzhou is too empty. Fortunately, there are no strong enemies near Luzhou. As long as there is no conflict with Liu Futong, Luzhou will be safe in the short term. But it cannot be ignored. After crossing the river, the Marshal needs to mobilize troops to defend Luzhou as soon as possible, even if they are just new recruits to bluff."

Lu Jin nodded, "Yes, there is more, go on."

Bian Yuanheng analyzed, "The commander-in-chief said that he does not want to fight with other rebel armies, and that the primary goal should be to attack the Yuan court and expand our territory. This is a good strategy. If we follow this strategy, in addition to taking over the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces as a base, I think we should focus on occupying points."

"What does it mean to occupy a point?" Lu Jin asked.

"It's just like playing chess. Now is not the time to capture pieces, but we should place as many spare pieces as possible to occupy advantageous and key positions. This way, when we compete for the world in the future, we will be able to gain a greater advantage." Bian Yuanheng explained immediately.

"Then tell me, which points do you want to occupy?"

Bian Yuanheng thought for a moment and said, "Anqing is a good place. The Marshal's southern army has already occupied Susong. If we march south from Leichi, Jiangzhou is less than 50 miles away. As long as we take Jiangzhou, we can take the whole of Jiangxi.

"In the north, I suggest taking Xuzhou, Xiapi and Haining. This will make it easier to march north in the future. Secondly, since ancient times, if you want to defend the Yangtze River, you must defend the Huai River. In all dynasties, whenever there was a situation of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it depended on who controlled Xuzhou. If the Southern Dynasty had Xuzhou, they could march north. If the Northern Dynasty had Xuzhou, the Southern Dynasty would surely perish."

"That's a good point. Anything else?"

"There is also Xiangyang." Bian Yuanheng said, pointing west along the map.

"We will advance westward along the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains. This will protect the flank of Luzhou. Otherwise, there is only Lu'an to the west of Luzhou as a barrier. It would be ok if no one attacks, but once the enemy attacks, it will be too empty.

"Secondly, Xiangyang is an important place. Its status is similar to that of Luzhou. It controls the Central Plains in the north, Jingxiang in the south, Huguang in the east, and Sichuan in the west. We must take control of this place while it is not in the hands of other rebel forces."

Papapapa————Lu Jin immediately applauded, "Well said. Among my civil and military officers, some suggested that I take Jiankang in the east as my base, some suggested that I take Anqing and march into Jiangxi, and some suggested that I go west to seize Xiangyang. You are the first one."

Lu Jin pointed at him with his finger and said, "Yuanheng is indeed a handsome man."

Bian Yuanheng clasped his fists and said modestly, "General, you are too kind. Since you asked me about the strategies of the four directions, how could I not have thought of Xiangyang? The other generals did not say anything because there are priorities. Now it is indeed time to take Jiankang as the base, so no one said it first."

"Hahahaha, not only do you understand military strategy, you're also good at talking. You're indeed a talented person, but you've never led troops in person, nor have you ever led them into battle. No matter how many military and history books you read, they're just talk on paper. Right now, you're just a rough diamond. If you want to achieve something, you need more experience."

"Yes, I will definitely learn our army's tactics as soon as possible." Bian Yuanheng said immediately.

Lu Jin asked again, "Do you have a courtesy name?"

Bian Yuanheng is the same age as Lu Jin, also 24 this year, and has passed the age of twenty-year-old, but has not yet taken a name, so he said, "I haven't taken one yet."

Lu Jin thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give you a courtesy name. I heard that jade has five virtues. Gentle and elegant is benevolence, righteousness is righteousness, unyielding is courage, fame is wisdom, and integrity is clean. From now on, your courtesy name will be Yude. Be a person who is benevolent, righteous, wise, brave, and clean. Okay?"

Upon hearing this, Bian Yuanheng immediately knelt down and said, "Yude thanks the lord for the gift of a name. I will be diligent and loyal in the future and will not dare to disappoint the lord's expectations."

"Hahahaha, get up." Lu Jin stepped forward and helped him up, and said, "You and Lu Zhen stay with me first, cross the river with me, learn more and see more, and after we capture Jiankang, I will let you go to Jiangbei to recruit soldiers."

"Yes." Bian Yuanheng agreed immediately.

Lu Zhen also stepped forward and asked, "Marshal, are we about to cross the river?"

"It will be soon. I won't keep you waiting too long."

In the following days, Zhang Yunxiu's health had recovered a little and she could get out of bed and walk indoors. The child was fed by a wet nurse that Zhang Wen found from his hometown Zhangjiawa, and there were no accidents.

Shi Nai'an took a job from Lu Jin, asking him to write a few plays like The Injustice of Dou E to publicize the tyranny of the Yuan court and the harm it caused to the people. So he went to the Shengwu Army to collect folk songs and asked the soldiers and instructors about the persecution they had suffered from the Yuan court's policies.

Lu Zhen and Bian Yuanheng each received a set of armor, and Lu Jin asked the iron factory to make special weapons for them. During this period, they studied the quick-learning military strategy while communicating and consulting with Zhang Wen, Zhu Shou, Zhang Desheng, and Ye Sheng to familiarize themselves with the Shengwu Army's tactics and how to lead troops.

Lu Jin and Bao Yu were also keeping a close eye on developments in Jiangnan.

Dong Tuanxiao, after retreating from Liuhe, took 50,000 troops to Jiankang to train militia, and went to Huzhou to meet with Siping Zhang Jiaohua. He immediately suggested to Jiaohua, "The bandits are all barbarians. When they see the children and jade in Hangzhou, they will indulge in lust and have no time to prepare. We should attack them immediately. If we retreat to Huzhou now, the bandits will take advantage of the situation and go straight to Jingkou, and Jiangnan will be unstoppable."

Jiaohua thought this made sense, so he and Dong Tuanxiao immediately counterattacked Hangzhou. Xiang Pulue led his troops to Yanqiao to fight. As a result, they fought seven battles with Dong Tuanxiao, all of which were lost. The remaining troops of Xu Song in Hangzhou were chased all the way to Qinghefang and hid in a temple. Dong Tuanxiao immediately ordered people to block the temple gate and set fire to the temple, burning the last group of rebels in the city to death.

Hangzhou was occupied for less than half a month before it was recaptured by the Yuan court.

What's funny is that Dong Tuanxiao said that Xu Song's Red Army were all country bumpkins who had never seen the world, and would definitely indulge in lust and rob the people when they arrived in the wealthy city of Hangzhou. But in fact, Xu Song's Red Army did not commit adultery or murder, they only took away the treasury property, set up camps in temples outside the city to recruit soldiers, and compiled rosters for the soldiers. During the more than ten days of occupying Hangzhou, they did not do anything evil from beginning to end.

In contrast, Dong Tuanxiao's Yuan army launched a brutal counterattack against the people of Hangzhou. Local landlords and gentry who took the initiative to reward the Red Army soldiers of Xu Song, such as Shi Zunli and Gu Ba, were dragged out to the streets and tortured alive, and all their property was confiscated. The deputy county magistrate Fan Xianyin who surrendered to Xu Song was dragged out to the streets and beheaded as a public display. The two temples that were used as military camps by the rebels, Mingqing Temple and Miaoxing Temple, had all their property confiscated, and the monks inside were slaughtered. Finally, the temples were burned to the ground.

Even so, Siping Zhang Jiaohua still felt unsatisfied and set fire to Hangzhou City. The original text of "Nancun Chuogenglu" records: "Siping Zhang Jiaohua returned from Huzhou with his troops and set fire to the city, killing and wounding almost everyone."

In this way, Hangzhou, the once prosperous city in the south of the Yangtze River, remained unscathed during the more than ten days of occupation by the Red Turban Army, but was burned down after being recaptured by the Yuan court.

The Xu-Song Red Army withdrew from Hangzhou on July 28 and then retreated all the way. The Changzhou Intelligence Station worked as fast as it could and transferred several ships, finally delivering the news to Lu Jin on August 2.

In the south of the Yangtze River, the tug-of-war between the Yuan army and the Xu Song army continued.

After the loss of Hangzhou, Xu Song's army in Huizhou crossed Yuling Pass again and attacked Yuqian again, trying to recapture Hangzhou.

Dong Tuanxiao regarded Lin'an and Xinxi as the western gate of the mountain road into Hangzhou. He first divided his troops to guard Lin'an and Xinxi and guard the key points. Then he continued to advance to Jiaokou and Hukan, where he encountered Xu Song's army. The two sides fought another fierce battle. Xu Song's army was defeated again. Dong Tuanxiao took the opportunity to recapture Yu Qian.

Afterwards, Dong Tuanxiao took advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy, sweeping all the way, following the defeated troops of Xu Song, successively conquered Changhua County and Yuling Pass, and forced the surrender of more than 2,000 people including Xu Song general Pan Dayuan. Dong Tuanxiao's troops arrived at Huizhou.

At this point, the Yuan court finally consolidated its defenses west of Hangzhou, and the time came to August 12.

By the time Lu Jin received the news, it was already August 16th. The various units of the Shengwu Army had just celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, and all parts of the temporary Huainan Province were carrying out autumn harvest or planting.

On August 37, just three days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lu Jin ordered the entire th Army, two brigades of the Imperial Guard, two regiments of the Navy, and Ye Sheng's cavalry regiment, a total of troops to assemble and wait at Hezhou Port. The rest of the Shengwu Army was to be on high alert, guard against enemy attacks, and prepare to cross the river!
At the same time, on August 16, Xu Song's Eastern Route Army, unwilling to accept defeat, fled north from Huizhou again, ran to Guangde Road, and attacked the three passes of Dusong, Baizhang and Youling in Yuhang from the northwest, intending to attack Hangzhou again.

Dong Tuanxiao first ordered his men to guard Duoxi and control the three key passes, and then divided his troops into three groups, each of which went out of the three passes and advanced northward, and attacked the Xu Song East Route Army camp directly, defeating the Xu Song army again. Then, he followed the Xu Song's defeated troops and pursued them relentlessly, taking advantage of the victory to recapture Anji County and Guangde Road, and completely annihilating the Xu Song Red Turban Army that had flowed into the northern part of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province.

By this time, it was already August 27th, and Xu Song's eastward advance plan was almost a complete failure.

Lu Jin did not receive the intelligence from Huizhou Station until two days later, at the end of August. By then, his eldest son was already one month old.

However, Peng Yingyu, who was hiding in Jiangxi, was still unwilling to give up, and sent a second batch of troops from Raozhou and Xinzhou Road in Jiangxi to attack Huizhou again from the north.

However, this time Dong Tuanxiao was well prepared and immediately led his troops to Huizhou to confront Xu Song's army, but there was heavy fog for several days and they could not engage in battle.

Dong Tuanxiao therefore took advantage of the heavy fog to dispatch ambushes to various places. On the second day of September, when the fog dissipated, Dong Tuanxiao took advantage of the situation and led his troops forward quickly. The ambush troops were all mobilized and the Xu Song army was immediately defeated. Tens of thousands of heads were beheaded and the corpses of the Red Turban Army were scattered all over the ground. Huizhou Road was recaptured by the Yuan army, and Dong Tuanxiao also took advantage of the situation to attack into Jiangxi and recapture Jingdezhen.

At this point, Xu Song's eastward advance plan completely failed. From the first day of July to the second day of September, they fought a tug-of-war with the Yuan army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces for two months. In the end, Xu Song completely withdrew from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Not only did they fail to open up an inch of land, but they also allowed the Yuan army to enter Raozhou Road.

When Lu Jin received this news, it was already the seventh day of September. The time for the Shengwu Army to finally cross the river was also determined, which was September 9, the Double Ninth Festival!
(End of Volume 2, next volume: Sunrise on the Golden Summit)

"The bandits from Qi, Rao, and Chi recaptured Huizhou. Among the bandits, there was a Taoist priest who could create a twelve-mile fog. Tuanxiao led his troops to attack them, and the magic fog cleared. All the ambushes rose up, attacked the bandits, beheaded tens of thousands of them, captured the Taoist priest, burned his magic book and beheaded him. Huizhou was then pacified." - "History of the Yuan Dynasty·Biography of Dong Tuanxiao"

This is too outrageous, so I made a slight modification and changed it to natural foggy weather.

I will publish a summary at the end of the volume later to explain the recent plot and updates.

(End of this chapter)