Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 276 Sunrise on the Golden Summit
"Have the Xu Song envoys been sent away?"

On the eighth day of September, the eve of the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River, in Hezhou City, Lu Jin was convening a meeting of civil officials and military generals to finally confirm the deployment of all parties.

Qin Li, who had just arrived from Luzhou, immediately reported.

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, I sent him away. The night before yesterday, I informed Chen Puwen of the war situation in Jiangnan. I heard that Xu Song's Eastern Expedition Army had completely withdrawn from Hangzhou and Huizhou. Dong Tuanxiao also fought a big battle with them in Huizhou. Xu Song's Eastern Expedition Army was completely wiped out, and tens of thousands of people died.

"I also told him that the Yuan court announced that they had captured some powerful demon and killed him, and that Dong Tuanxiao had led his troops to attack Raozhou, and that the Xu Song Dynasty was in danger of being destroyed.

"When Chen Puwen heard this, he asked me if the dead person was their military advisor Peng Yingyu. I said I didn't know, as we had heard the news from the people in the south of the Yangtze River and didn't know the details. Chen Puwen insisted on going back that night and even refused to take a car. He rode a horse with a torch all the way to Lu'an.

"I sent people to escort him all the way out of Huoshan County and confirmed that he had left. Then I came to report to the Marshal."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Hearing this, Lu Jin burst into laughter and said, "The Eastern Expedition Army was completely wiped out, and Peng Yingyu is suspected to be dead. Telling him this news will surely fool him away."

In fact, Lu Jin had long wanted to trick Chen Puwen away, and had been avoiding him before, but it was outrageous to avoid him for two months in a row.

Chen Puwen arrived in early July. At that time, Xu Song had just sent troops from Huizhou and was heading towards Hangzhou. Lu Jin had been saying that he was leading the imperial guards to support Haozhou.

In late July, Lu Jin sent someone to inform Chen Puwen that Xu Song had captured Hangzhou. As a result, Chen Puwen not only did not think about going back, but instead asked to see Lu Jin more urgently.

But how could Lu Jin meet him, so he continued to avoid him on the grounds that the war in Haozhou was not over.

Chen Puwen was a little anxious after not seeing his boss for a month. What's more, it was when Xu Song's eastern expedition was victorious and Hangzhou was captured. It was most appropriate to put pressure on Lu Jin at this time, but Lu Jin just avoided him.

There was no other way, Chen Puwen could only vaguely reveal some conditions to Qin Li, hoping that Qin Li could help convey them. The main contents were two: enthronement and marriage.

As a result, Qin Li was shocked. Not only did he not help him convey the message, but he also told him a "good news" that Lu Jin's eldest son had just been born at the end of July.

Chen Puwen was dumbfounded when he heard this, thinking that this child was born at a really bad time. Now that there is a legitimate eldest son, even if Xu Shouhui marries the princess, what reason is there to make her his legal wife? He can't really marry her to be a concubine.

Half a month later, Lu Jin again informed him of Xu Song's defeat and retreat from Hangzhou. Chen Puwen again clamored to see Lu Jin, so Lu Jin sent someone to tell him that he was injured in the battle and was recovering, so it was inconvenient to see guests.

Chen Puwen hurriedly asked if Lu Jin was seriously injured, mainly to find out whether Lu Jin would die. If Lu Jin died and the child was just born, there would definitely be unrest within the Shengwu Army. At this time, perhaps he could start with other people and win them over. As a result, Qin Li told him that Lu Jin was only slightly injured and his life was not in danger.

Chen Puwen naturally didn't believe it. He thought that it might be Lu Jin or Qin Li who concealed the news of Lu Jin's serious injury in order to stabilize the internal situation.

This dragged on for another half a month, and Qin Li sent him news that Xu Song's eastern expedition army was completely wiped out, Peng Yingyu was suspected to have died in battle, the Yuan army entered Jiangxi, and Xu Song was in danger of being destroyed. Finally, this guy could not sit still anymore and left.

Chen Puwen's departure also made Lu Jinchang breathe a sigh of relief. This way, when he crossed the river, he would not have to worry about this guy causing trouble in his old nest, Luzhou.

As for the future? As long as Lu Jin takes Jiankang and stands firm, I'm sorry, who are you, Xu Shouhui? I don't know you. If you dare, come and fight me.
After confirming that the Xu Song envoys had left and Luzhou had no worries for the time being, Lu Jin looked at Feng Guoyong who had just returned from Anqing and asked, "Sir, when we cross the river this time, the Yuan army in Jiangxi may come down the river to support us. If they want to attack Wei to save Zhao, they may attack Anqing first. I wonder how the fortresses in Anqing have been arranged, sir?"

Feng Guoyong nodded and took out a map. "The five bastions have been arranged properly. I have also explained everything to the young generals sent by the lord."

Lu Jin took the map and looked at it. "That's good. Now Anqing won't have to worry about anything."

As soon as Lu Jin captured Anqing, he asked Feng Guoyong to supervise the construction of the bastion. Now it has been half a year, and he completed the whole work in mid-August. Then he asked Lu Jin for people. After all, only muskets and artillery can bring out the advantages of bastions. If cold weapons are used, it will not be as good as ordinary city walls. However, muskets and artillery require professional talents.

There was no other way, Lu Jin could only select another group from the artillery class of his own training camp. Taihu Fort in the valley on the west side of Taihu County was guarded by Yao Kai, who was born in Chaohu. This guy used to be the squad leader of an artillery squad and was considered the best student. He was now 15 years old.

It would be better not to use anyone else to guard the Lei Chi Fort between Susong and Lei Chi. Susong was guarded by Miao Daheng himself, and the Lei Chi navy was led by his eldest son Miao Youzhen. The Lei Chi Fort in the middle was simply handed over to his second son Miao Yi to guard. Lu Jin also sent an additional deputy general, who was mainly responsible for technical matters.

Now the entire Susong and Lei Chi line at the southernmost tip of Anqing is guarded entirely by Miao Daheng and his two sons.

Then the three large forts along the river in Anqing Road were also the most likely places to be attacked, so Lu Jin sent Qin Jinglin, the son of Qin Li, who had better skills, to guard the Wanshui Fort next to the Anqing Prefecture City;
He was given the name Zhu Shouqian by Lu Jin. In history, Zhu Wenzheng, the nephew of Zhu Chongba, who guarded Nanchang, went to guard Wangjiang Fort, which was built at the mouth of the Leichi River.
Wang Dayuan's son Wang Zhiyuan went to guard Congyang Fort at the mouth of Congyang River north of Anqing.

All five of them were good at artillery, but they had never learned the bastion's defense system, so Lu Jin took a model and gave them two days of intensive training. The five children immediately realized that this was a new type of fortress specially adapted for muskets and artillery. It had no dead angles or blind spots for shooting, and the shooting range of muskets and artillery was maximized. They immediately admired Lu Jin.

After understanding the defensive principles of the bastion, Feng Guoyong took them to see the fortress they were to defend, told them the local terrain key points, defensive focus, and the direction from which the enemy might come, and then hurried back.

Feng Guoyong reported again, "My lord, I have built granaries, coal bunkers and wells in those bastions. The stored food is enough for the defenders to eat for half a year. Coal is more durable than firewood. One hundred tons of coal is enough for them to burn for more than half a year. The wells also have clean water sources and will not be cut off by the enemy. I have also built pig pens and sheep pens in the bastions and opened up vegetable gardens. When there is nothing to do, the livestock can be grazed around the bastions. In wartime, the livestock can also be used for food.

“There is also a smoke tower inside. If we really can’t hold the city, we can also send out smoke signals to ask for help from the surrounding cities. But I don’t think it will be used.

"It is now September. Before the beginning of next spring, the rain will be less and less, and the weather will be drier and drier. This will also be conducive to the effectiveness of muskets and artillery. If the Yuan army in Jiangxi really dares to attack Anqing, we will make them bleed to death under the fort!

"As long as these fortresses can hold out for half a year, we will be able to seize most of the land in western Zhejiang. By then, we will no longer be afraid of the enemy coming to attack Anqing. It is time for us to take the initiative to attack from Anqing."

"Haha, you are right. However, we must fight hard after crossing the river. We cannot waste the time that the Northern and Southern armies have bought for us to cross the river." Lu Jin laughed immediately.

"Yes." Everyone present responded in unison.

Lu Jin then looked at Liu Chuanyi and Yu Tongyuan, "Have you taken all the fire prevention measures for the ship?" "Yes, we have laid wet sand on the deck, smeared wet mud on the hull, and hung wet fire and arrow curtains on both sides. The enemy's rockets will never burn our ship."

"Well, well done." Lu Jin nodded, and then looked at Li Shanchang, "Mr. Baishi, is the altar at Hezhou Port ready?"

"If you are well prepared, you will never miss tomorrow's event."

"That's good."

Lu Jin stood up and looked towards the east. Tomorrow, he would offer sacrifices to the great god of Jiangdu there, hold a swearing-in ceremony, and then send troops across the river.

As for concealing it? How could he conceal it? With so many ships gathered at the port, it was impossible to hide his intention to cross the river. Since he could only attack by force, why not hold a swearing-in ceremony openly?

At the same time, on the other side of the river, Chen Yesian and Nahachu were also standing on the top of Dangtu City. They frowned and looked at the Hezhou Port on the opposite bank. In the dark night there, the moonlight was swaying in the ripples of the river. The masts of the ships floating on the water were shadowy and dark like a forest. The number was terrifying, and there were probably thousands of ships.

Chen Yesian immediately said worriedly, "I'm afraid this Lu thief has taken out all his wealth. His two naval divisions are here. With so many ships, it seems that they will be able to cross the river in the next few days."

Nahachu stared at the other side of the river in a trance and said, "I have a feeling it will happen tomorrow."

"Why?" Chen Ye was puzzled.

"Because tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival for you Han people."

"."

Chen Yesian was speechless for a moment. In order to please the Mongols, he had changed his name to "Yesen", but Nahachu obviously still did not consider him as one of his own.

Nahachu then said, "It is also related to the war in Jiangnan. Don't forget that Dong Tuanxiao just borrowed 50,000 soldiers from you, and he also took away all my 1,000 cavalrymen."

"You mean, the Lu bandits chose this time to cross the river specifically because they had already discussed it with the Huangzhou bandits. Are they cooperating with them?" Chen Yesian asked immediately.

Nahachu shook his head. "I don't think so. If they really cooperated, they should have crossed the river when the Huangzhou bandits captured Hangzhou and Dong Tuanxiao had just transferred troops from our side. That's called cooperation. They attacked from both sides, making the court lose sight of one thing while focusing on the other. At least one of them could gain a foothold in Jiangnan.

"But now the Huangzhou bandits have been driven away, and now the Lu bandits are crossing the river. What kind of cooperation is this? I think the Lu bandits want to take advantage of the situation and use the Huangzhou Xu bandits as their vanguard."

Seeing that he was fine, Chen Yexian immediately said, "No matter what, the soldiers that Dong Tuanxiao borrowed from us won't be back in a short time. If the Lu thieves really cross the river tomorrow, can you and I stop them?"

"Stop? Why should we?" Nahachu licked his lips suddenly and said, "Before, the Lu thief had a solid control over the other side of the river. There were a lot of troops stationed in various places, and two naval forces came to support each other. They didn't give us any chance to cross the river and retake Luzhou.

“Now that he is coming to cross the river, maybe this will be a chance for us to make a contribution.

"That bandit Lu has at most 18 soldiers under his command. He certainly can't send his entire army, only half at most. Otherwise, he won't be able to defend Luzhou. And we currently have troops, at least a four-to-one advantage.

“If we can wipe out half of his troops crossing the river this time, his Luzhou will be depleted of troops. Then we won’t have to worry about him crossing the river, but we will have to cross the river to retake Luzhou.

"Once we recover Luzhou, we can join hands with the Prime Minister to attack from both north and south and completely wipe out Liu Futong and Zhima Li in the Central Plains. This will be a great military achievement!"

Chen Ye was stunned by what he said, and then he took a breath of cold air. What Nahachu said made sense. Even if 50,000 soldiers were transferred away, they still had 180,000.

"But I heard that the bandit Lu opened an iron factory and produced his own armor. He has accumulated a lot of armor now. I'm afraid we don't have as many armors as he does." Chen Yesian couldn't help but remind him.

Nahachu waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "That's enough. We are now the defenders of the city. Iron armor is not very useful to the defenders. Instead, we should prepare more arrows and crossbows.

"He has the Luzhou Iron Works, and I also have the Dangtu Iron Works behind me. He has made a lot of armor, but my iron arrows are not for show. Let me see, which is harder, his armor or my arrows!"

The next day was the ninth day of the ninth month of the twelfth year of Zhizheng, the Double Ninth Festival.

In the Hezhou and Dangtu sections of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, war clouds were looming on both sides of the river, and both the Shengwu Army and the Yuan Army were preparing for war.

After breakfast and going to the toilet, tens of thousands of soldiers put on their armor and weapons, moved out of the camp and began to line up in the harbor.

In Hezhou Harbor, tens of thousands of soldiers were wearing heavy armor, with thousands of spears like a forest and flags covering the sun. Dewdrops hung on the tips of the spears and flowed slowly along the blades. Before they reached the bottom, it was already noon. The sun rose to mid-sky, and the scorching sunlight evaporated all the dewdrops on the spear tips, leaving only a faint watermark. The spear tips, shining with cold light, shone brightly in the sunlight.

Lu Jin, surrounded by other generals, came to the altar by the river, which was also the platform for selecting generals. He set up a tablet for the river god, offered three sacrificial animals, and looked down at the endless army below. This was his capital for crossing the river and his confidence in fighting for the world.

At this moment, the sun gradually rose high in the sky, rising from the hill outside Niuzhuji on the opposite bank, illuminating the entire Niuzhuji in golden color. The sun rises over the golden top, that is where he is about to go.

Li Shanchang looked at the shadow of the wooden pole and walked up to remind him.

"My lord, the time has come."

Lu Jin immediately waved his hand, "Blow the horn!"

(End of this chapter)