Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 287 Chen Zhaoxian's Fury

In the twelfth year of Zhizheng, 1352 AD, on the Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth month, after more than half a year of preparation and planning, the Shengwu Army launched an attack in two directions after the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River was launched. In less than two hours, they respectively captured Dangtu City and Caishiji, and took their first foothold in the south of the Yangtze River.

At around three o'clock in the afternoon of that day, Zhang Wen also led the large landing force, as well as the civil and military officials of the Marshal's Mansion, to the outside of Dangtu City. Lu Jin did not let them enter the city, but set up camp with their backs to the north city.

At the same time, the messenger sent by Lu Jin to report the victory also returned to Hexian, Wuwei, Anqing and other places at noon that day, reporting the victory to various places in Huainan, comforting the military and civilians of Huainan, and reassuring them that their leader was still alive and well, and that the army crossing the river had also been victorious.

However, the scope of reporting victory should be limited. Officials can be informed in some places, but it is not advisable to spread it widely.
At noon on September 9, the news of the capture of Dangtu was transmitted back to Hexian.

In a house in He County, Zhang Yunxiu was holding her sleeping son Gongshu Tan, walking back and forth in front of the door, looking to the east from time to time. Her sister-in-law Qin Shumin was sitting in the main room reading a book with a big belly. Seeing Zhang Yunxiu walking back and forth, she couldn't help but persuade her.

"Madam, don't worry. The Marshal is so well prepared and he is the last one to cross the river. He will be fine. You should sit down and wait for a while. The siege will take at least half a day. We will have news before sunset today at the latest."

Zhang Yunxiu came back and sat down with the child in her arms after hearing this, and asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, my brother also crossed the river with us, aren't you worried at all?"

Qin Shumin said immediately, "What is there to worry about? Your brother and the Marshal were the last group to cross the river. By the time they crossed the river, the battle ahead had already been won. The Marshal also had so many guards around him, so what could possibly happen? Now it all depends on when Dangtu can decide the outcome."

In fact, Qin Shumin wanted to say something else. As the saying goes, a clay pot will break if it is kept out of the well, and a general will inevitably die in battle. Since she married a general who was fighting in a war, she had to be prepared to remain a widow and raise her children alone. She had this awareness on the day she married Zhang Wen, but Zhang Wen was Zhang Yunxiu's biological brother, so she couldn't say these words.

Zhang Yunxiu wanted to say something when she suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard. Not long after, Ma Xiuying came running over and said, "Madams, our army has won! The commander-in-chief led his troops across the river and captured Dangtu City and Caishiji in less than an hour. Now the commander-in-chief is in Dangtu City, and there are troops guarding both inside and outside the city. Our army has won!"

Zhang Yunxiu and Qin Shumin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Even though they said they didn't take it seriously just now, how could they not be worried in their hearts?

Zhang Yunxiu asked again, "Is the news reliable?"

"It's reliable. The Marshal sent someone back to report the victory. Governor Qin also knows about this and is instructing his subordinates to pass on the message to other states and counties. He may come to visit the two ladies later."

"That's good." Zhang Yunxiu smiled immediately. Looking at her son who was sleeping in her arms with his lips pouting unconsciously, she felt that the future was full of hope.

At this time, inside and outside the city of He County, Qin Li was happily arranging people to post notices to announce the victory and to cheer up the soldiers and civilians in the city. He himself was also full of energy and kept directing his men to do this and that.

Now the Shengwu Army only has a temporary Huainan Province, and he has already become the Right Governor. If he can rule the world in the future, he dare not imagine how high his position will climb. Now he is married to Lu Jin's wife's family, which makes him more or less related. It is possible that he will become a prime minister in the future. There is a lot of room for him, a lot of room for him!
But when Hua Gao returned to the Hezhou Port, he looked at the naval ships traveling back and forth on both sides of the Yangtze River without any joy or sadness on his face. There was always some inexplicable worry in Hua Gao's heart.

Because he had been guarding Hanshan with Zhao Pusheng before and was not with the Chaohu navy, and Lu Jin happened to be rising with the Chaohu navy at this time. Hua Gao knew that Zhao Pusheng wanted to seize the throne from Lu Jin, and he also knew that Lu Jin had reasons to deal with Zhao Pusheng. Moreover, Zhao Pusheng really died later. Regardless of whether this matter had anything to do with Lu Jin, it was all in the past, but he always felt that Lu Jin still did not trust him very much.

But if you say that Lu Jin was not kind to him, that’s not the case.

Those thousand-household battalion officers on the shore of Chaohu Lake have now been promoted to the lowest level of regimental commander, and Hua Gao is also a regimental commander of the navy.

Although his position was not high among the Chaohu generals, people like Yu Tonghai, Yu Tongyuan, Zhang Desheng, and Zhao Yong were relatively close to Lu Jin. Now he was just a regiment commander. Lu Jin did not treat him unfairly or neglect him in his position, but he was just a little worried.

At this time, Sang Shijie finally commanded the navy, sent the auxiliary troops and horses of the crossing river to the other side, and arranged warships to patrol the river. Then he rushed back to Hezhou Port. As soon as he saw Hua Gao, Sang Shijie immediately came to report the good news.

"Congratulations, Commander! Congratulations, Commander!"

Hua Gao was stunned when he heard this, frowned and asked, "What good news do I have?"

Sang Shijie said immediately, "Just before the Marshal crossed the river, he told me to lead the navy well and that he would give me the Second Regiment of the Navy from now on. He also told me to train the soldiers well, as there will be battles for the navy in the next few months. I asked the Marshal what to do with the commander, and the Marshal said that the commander has the talent to supervise the division, so how could he stay in the navy forever? Doesn't this mean that the commander will be promoted?"

Hua Gao was stunned and frowned, "Did the Marshal really say that?"

Sang Shijie said quickly, "He told me personally, and he also said in the previous meeting that this year we will more than double the strength of our Shengwu Army. So many troops need a general to lead them, and the commander is a veteran from Chaohu, unlike me who joined the army later in Wuwei. If you want to promote a general, who can you trust if you don't trust the commander?"

Hua Gao nodded, then shook his head. "It's better not to talk about this kind of thing before it's confirmed. It's not good if others hear it. They will think that we are dissatisfied with our current positions."

This time it was Sang Shijie's turn to be stunned, then he nodded.

At this moment, a ship reporting victory approached the dock, went ashore to change horses, and galloped towards Hexian. Here in Hezhou Port, Sang Shijie and Hua Gao also received two letters.

"General Hua, this is the Marshal's letter, and the appointment letter from Officer Sang."

"Okay, let me take a look."

The two men each opened the letter and saw that it was a formal appointment document for Sang Shijie, appointing him as the commander of the Second Navy Regiment, and it also had the seal of the Marshal's Office on it.

The letter from Hua Gao was a private letter written by Lu Jin to him, asking him to select some capable core officers from the Second Regiment of the Navy to prepare to build a new force. Hua Gao himself would also be promoted to commander-in-chief and would lead the new troops to move to other places in the future.

The first part of the letter was about official business, but the topic changed in the second part. The letter said that Lu Jin heard that he had no children. It just so happened that Dr. Chi Renping, who had previously treated Zhang Yunxiu, was in He County and was more skilled in medical treatment. He could be asked to see Hua Gao and his wife, and tell them to treat the disease and not to be afraid of seeing a doctor.

If Chi Renping also doesn't understand, I heard that there are many famous doctors in Jiangnan. When you conquer Jiangnan in the future, you can ask those doctors to see him. If that still doesn't work, the worst that can happen is that you can take in a concubine. In short, you have to have a successor. Otherwise, if you are conferred the title in the future, to whom will you pass it on?
Hua Gao felt embarrassed after reading it. Fortunately, this was mentioned in the letter. If Lu Jin told him this in person, he would probably be even more embarrassed.

However, this letter did have an effect. Seeing that Lu Jin cared about him so much, promoted him, and said that he would be conferred a title in the future, and introduced him to a doctor, asking him to have a child as soon as possible, Hua Gao felt warm in his heart. It seemed that he had been overthinking before, and Lu Jin did not mean to distrust him.

Of course, it could also be that he has passed the probation period and finally won Lu Jin's trust, but no matter what, he looks better now than before.

In history, Hua Gao was very powerful before the founding of the Ming Dynasty. When fighting against Zhang Shicheng, he dared to lead his troops to charge Zhang Shicheng's army of tens of thousands of people. But after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Hua Gao became very cowardly. Every time Zhu Yuanzhang sent generals to fight, he asked who dared to go. Others actively fought for it, but Hua Gao kept pretending to be sick and hiding behind.

In fact, a big reason for this was that he had no offspring. The Ming Dynasty had already been established, and Hua Gao had been conferred the title of marquis, but he had no offspring to inherit the title. If he died in battle, wouldn't his title be gone?
In addition, in the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the country was still at war everywhere, and the intensity of the war was even higher than before the founding of the country. Yunnan, Sichuan, and several northern expeditions were launched. Hua Gao finally earned a marquisate. It was understandable that he was afraid of death and dared not go to the battlefield because he had no children. However, this time Lu Jin would not give him the opportunity to hide.

When Sang Shijie saw him finish reading the letter, he immediately asked, "Commander, what did the Marshal say in the letter?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Gao quickly folded the letter to avoid being seen by others as Lu Jin mentioned that he had no children. Hua Gao was quite bothered by this matter.

"Oh, it's similar to what you just said. The Marshal asked you to take over the navy and asked me to select some capable people from the navy to serve as officers to form a new force. I will also be promoted to commander-in-chief. When the time comes, I will lead the troops to move to another place. The only thing is that the station and the number have not been decided yet. I guess the Marshal hasn't thought about it yet."

"That's settled." Sang Shijie said happily, "No matter which division it is, you have to call the general the commander-in-chief when you see him in the future. Don't forget me when the commander-in-chief comes." "Haha, don't worry. Besides, your navy commander is still in great use. You work hard. As long as you can make achievements, what can be wrong in the future?"

"Yes, then the commander-in-chief should go to the navy to select people first?"

"Well, the sooner the better, let's decide on it sooner." Hua Gao nodded and immediately went to the dock with Sang Shijie, thinking about who would be the suitable officer, but they couldn't transfer all the navy officers away.

On the same day, the news of the Dangtu victory also reached Luzhou and other places. When Yu Tingyu received Lu Jin's letter, he breathed a sigh of relief. With his two sons participating in this battle, they would surely make great contributions and make further progress after the war. As for him, Lu Jin had also promised to promote him and added four regiments to him. With the two regiments in Luzhou now, Yu Tingyu himself could be promoted to military commander.

It seems that it was right for him to support Lu Jin to take the position. At least this general did not forget them, his old brothers.

However, the letter also said that while he should take care of the family, he should also train the soldiers well and read more military books when he has nothing to do. The new army in Luzhou cannot be used only to garrison Luzhou, and will be pulled out to fight in the future. If the soldiers are not well trained, they will suffer losses in the war. After reading it, Yu Tingyu secretly took note and began to inspect the Luzhou military camp to see where to train the troops in the future.

It was already evening when Anqing received the news of the Dangtu victory. Standing on the top of the city wall, Liao Yongzhong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been so worried for a long time. This time when Lu Jin led his troops across the river, it seemed like the two days when he besieged Luzhou City and Lu Jin led his men to ambush Zhu Liangzu. He was obviously worried, but he couldn't help.

Now that he had received the good news, he could finally rest assured. With Lu Jin's wisdom and preparation, as long as he was allowed to get ashore, the Yuan army in Jiangdong would probably have no way out.

As the general in charge of the entire southern front, Lu Jin also wrote him a letter, asking his 35th Army to be on high alert. Once the news of Lu Jin's landing in Jiangdong spreads, the Yuan army from Jiangsu and Zhejiang that has already invaded Jiangxi, as well as the original Yuan army in Jiangxi, will likely quickly return to support. If they use the tactic of besieging Wei to save Zhao at that time, they will definitely come to attack Anqing.

In addition, Lu Jin also reminded him that there was a Miao army in Jiangxi, which was rumored to be quite powerful. He asked them to be careful and alert. If they encountered a war, they must report it as soon as possible so that he could raise troops to support them.

Another thing is that Lu Jin did not ask Anqing to post the victory report. The news of the successful landing in Jiangdong only needed to be reported internally among civil and military officials. After all, their territory was adjacent to the Yuan army in Jiangxi, and it would be bad if the Jiangxi Yuan army knew about it in advance.

The same arrangement was also sent to Zhu Liangzu in Haozhou. Haozhou and Xuzhou Zhima Li's forces border each other, and the two sides still have trading exchanges. Once it is publicized on a large scale, it will easily be known to Zhima Li.

If Zhima Li knew that the purpose of Lu Jin's deal with them was to let them take the blame in the north while he secretly attacked Jiangnan, there was no guarantee that Zhima Li would not cause any trouble.

However, the recent transactions with Xuzhou are not entirely without benefits. The two sides have conducted three transactions from June to now, and the September transaction has not yet been completed. Both parties have gained what they need and have been getting along relatively well.

Although there are no concrete benefits for the Shengwu Army yet, after these transactions, the Shengwu Army's strong reputation has spread within the Xuzhou Red Turban Army. Everyone knows that the Shengwu Army in Luzhou can now produce its own armor and weapons, has sufficient money and food, and has a navy, and has never suffered a defeat.

With this impression and understanding, when the day comes that they are defeated by Tuotuo, perhaps someone will come to surrender. At least compared with the original history, Luzhou in the south provides them with a new choice.

In the letter Lu Jin sent to Zhu Liangzu, he also said that he would be assigned combat tasks in the next few months and asked to train his troops well. When the time came, the troops of other factions would replace him, and he could lead the entire 36th Army to go to war. In addition, Lu Jin also provided him with some intelligence on Yangzhou Road and Gaoyou, and asked him to pay attention to the movements of Xuzhou and Sun Deya, and then he would be the main general to fight in the north.

Zhu Liangzu was originally drinking in Haozhou. Ever since he surrendered to Lu Jin, although Lu Jin had treated him well in terms of official position and his position was no lower than that of the generals of the Chaohu faction, he had no battles to fight. The only action he had taken was the attack on Haozhou. After that, he had been completely idle. Now, after receiving this letter from Lu Jin, Zhu Liangzu suddenly turned over and sat up.

"Damn it, there's finally a war to fight!"

The news of the Shengwu Army's victory in crossing the river was spread everywhere in Huainan. Lu Jin also assigned tasks to the generals of each unit. On the Taiping Road in Jiangdong, the news of the annihilation of the Yuan army in Dangtu was also spreading in all directions.

Before that, Lu Jin deliberately humiliated Chen Yexian, and then found a few idiots who were unwilling to surrender among the captives and carried Chen Yexian to the Yuan army to report the news. Along the way, there were also white-armored cavalrymen under Ye Sheng watching them to prevent them from abandoning Chen Yexian halfway and running away. They were sent all the way to the Yuan army's territory near Lishui, and then the cavalrymen left.

The Yuan army in Jiqing Road then received the specific news of the fall of Dangtu, the capture of Nahachu, and the humiliation of Chen Yesian. The news spread everywhere in the Yuan army, and Chen Yesian, who had become disabled, had only one request, which was for his son Chen Zhaoxian to come quickly.

Chen Zhaoxian received the news and rushed to Lishui without stopping. When he saw his father's miserable condition, he cried out, "Dad, who has made you like this? I will catch that guy and skin him alive to make you apologize!"

Chen Yexian lay on the bed, shook his head weakly, and then spoke.

"That bandit Lu attacked fiercely, attacking on two fronts. Relying on the large number of ships in the navy, he attacked Cai Shi and Dangtu at the same time. After my father was captured, I wanted to pretend to surrender to him first, and then find an opportunity to rebel later. But that bandit Lu Jin was cruel by nature. He humiliated me in public before I could say anything, and called my father a traitor, leaving me in this state in public."

Chen Yesian gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, "Dad, just rest and recover. I will lead the troops to capture that thief and let you deal with him when the time comes."

Chen Yexian was about to stand up, but his father grabbed his wrist and quickly told him, "Son, don't be reckless. Lu Jin is cruel and cunning, full of tricks, and has always been known for his good strategy. Zuo Junbi of Luzhou died at his hands, and Kang Maocai of Hexian was also killed by him. The key is that he can keep his composure and is definitely not a person who acts on impulse.

"He has a powerful navy, but he has never crossed the river. Instead, he has been preparing secretly. If he doesn't take action, it's fine. If he does, he will make a big splash. Just like this time when he crossed the river, he took Caishi and Dangtu in less than an hour. He insulted me this time, it was definitely intentional. Maybe he wanted to lure you to your death."

Chen Zhaoxian was shocked when he heard this. His father then said, "After I die, if you want to avenge me, I won't stop you, but you must not take the lead. Let others be the commander-in-chief, and always be vigilant against the Lu thief for any ambush."

"Dad!" Chen Yesian was interrupted by his son before he finished speaking. Chen Zhaoxian hurriedly said, "I asked the doctor, Dad's injury is not fatal, just need to recuperate for a few days."

Chen Yesian firmly grasped his son's wrist and said, "Listen to me. When you fight against the Lu thief, you must not go first. Wait for others to go first. If the Yuan army wins, you will pursue them. If the Yuan army loses, you will run for your life. Don't even think about surrendering. Find a place to hide your identity and save your family.

"Then Lu Jin will never take you in. Since he has made an enemy of our family, he will definitely not let you go. Find a place to hide and never mention revenge again. You are no match for him."

"Woo woo woo, the child remembers it all."

"Go ahead and leave the knife behind."

"father!?"

Chen Yexian smiled bitterly and said, "If you become like your father, how can you live in this world with dignity? I am in so much pain now. If you still have filial piety, give your father some relief. I know you can't do it, so leave the knife behind and get out."

"Woo woo woo, Dad."

"Go out and take care of your mother."

Chen Zhaoxian put down his sword tremblingly and walked out of the room in a daze. As soon as he closed the door, he heard the sound of a steel knife falling to the ground. Chen Zhaoxian immediately turned around, opened the door and rushed in, only to see that his father Chen Yetian had committed suicide with a sword, and his broken body was lying beside the bed.

"Ahhhh~ You bastard named Lu, if I don't avenge this, I, Chen Zhaoxian, will not be a human being!"

(End of this chapter)