Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 304: Sweeping Jinling (Part )

On the second day of October, when Yang Jing was still on his way from Zhenjiang to Jurong, Ye Sheng's cavalry regiment had already arrived. Lu Jin did not let them sit idle and immediately sent a cavalry regiment to scout the battlefield.

Jiankang is located in a strategic position with many large and small mountains surrounding it and not far from the city walls, all of which are good places to ambush and hide troops. This is the last battle of the fight against Nanjing, and Lu Jin does not want to suffer a setback.

So he asked Ye Sheng to search all the places within a day's journey within a thirty-mile radius around Jiankang where soldiers might be hidden, to ensure that they would not be accidentally disturbed when attacking the city.

At the same time, Bian Yuanheng's imperial cavalry battalion was sent to Dangtu to pick up the civil and military officials of the Marshal's Mansion.

He also sent people to convey the order to Sang Shijie and Yu Tongyuan, asking them to lead the main force of the Second Navy Regiment to block the river around Jiankang to prevent the defenders from escaping into the river.

Then he sent people across the river to Chuzhou and Haozhou to pass on the order, asking Zhu Liangzu and Liao Yongzhong to come to Jiankang to find him. Lu Jin was to assign them combat tasks, the sooner the better, and they were to set off immediately after receiving the order.

After arranging all this, on the third day of October, Yang Jing finally brought a large army to meet Lu Jin.

However, this time, in addition to Yang Jing's own 103rd Division and Zhang Wen's nd Brigade of the Imperial Guard, they also brought more than surrendered soldiers, who were prisoners captured in the three cities of Jintan, Danyang and Zhenjiang. In order to prevent these people from staying in the local area and causing trouble, Yang Jing brought them all here.

"The guilty generals Duan Wu, Peng Jun and Jin Xuan pay their respects to the Marshal!" The three surrendered generals were brought in front of Lu Jin and immediately paid their respects.

Lu Jin hurriedly stepped forward and helped the three men up. "Please stand up quickly. You were able to wake up at the critical moment and stop aiding the tyrant. You have clearly done a great deed without any fault. How can you be called a guilty general?"

The three of them stood up and looked at each other, then said in unison, "I dare not claim credit."

"Hahaha, why not?" Lu Jin smiled and said again.

"When you see my Shengwu Army coming, you immediately open the gates and surrender the city, so that the Chinese people will not fight against each other. This is the greatest loyalty. It is not loyalty to me, nor loyalty to the barbarians, but loyalty to your ancestral tradition and loyalty to the bloodline of you, the descendants of Yan and Huang!
"It can be seen that you three are still good sons of my Han family. You are not like Chen Yesian and his son who forgot their ancestors. They clearly have a Han surname, but chose a barbarian name. They assisted the tyrant and harmed their compatriots. Even if such people become ghosts, their ancestors will not recognize them.

"You have even disregarded your personal reputation and taken the initiative to open the gates and surrender the city, saving the soldiers and civilians in the city from the disaster. I don't know how many lives you have saved. You are able to do such a selfless act, which is a great cause!
"I am so delighted that three of you, such loyal and righteous men of the Han family, have come at once. I wonder if you three are willing to join my Holy Martial Army, follow me in obeying the will of heaven, expel the Tartars, and restore China?"

Duan Wu and the other two were dumbfounded. Wow! It was clearly a matter of surrender, but when this great commander spoke, he managed to portray it as a matter of unparalleled loyalty and righteousness. He made people feel so comfortable listening to it, as if he had really done something great. It was really amazing.

Peng Jun was the most educated of the three, so he took the lead and said, "The Marshal is wise and brave. He raised an army to drive out the Tartars and rebuild China. We have long admired him, so we did not dare to raise an army to resist. Now we can follow the Marshal, which is our blessing. It is what we want, but we dare not ask for it."

Hearing this, Lu Jin looked at the other two with a smile. Jin Xuan held back for a long time before saying, "I am willing to do so."

Duan Wu also said, "Me too!"

"Hahahaha, good, good, you are all good men. The three of you and Dong Xingyao are all old acquaintances. Just follow him first. After we finish the battle in Jiankang, I will assign you official military positions."

"Thank you, Marshal!" The three of them breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Lu Jin ask them to follow Dong Xingyao temporarily. It seemed that the rebel leader still trusted them and was not deliberately on guard against them.

Just when the three of them were about to leave, Lu Jin, who had been so amiable and smiling just now, immediately changed his expression.

"Yang Jing!"

"The end will be here."

"Where is Fan Shizhong?"

"The thief has been captured alive and is now being held in the army. Would you like to see him, Marshal?" Yang Jing replied immediately.

Lu Jin waved his hands, his face grim, "Since this fellow has betrayed his ancestors and wants to be buried with the Tartar court, then let him do what he wants. Behead him and put his head on display in public. Send his wives and concubines to the Luzhou Textile Factory and remarry within a certain period of time. All his children will be sent to the Chao County Coal Mine and exiled overseas in the future!"

"Yes!" Yang Jing immediately accepted the order and agreed.

Jin Xuan and the other two hadn't left yet. Lu Jin had just praised them for their loyalty and said he would assign them military posts, but then he killed Fan Shizhong. This frightened them. It seemed that this commander was easy to talk to, but he was ruthless to his enemies.

Peng Jun surrendered in Jintan, Jin Xuan surrendered in Danyang. Duan Wu was a bit special. He was Fan Shizhong's subordinate and followed Fan Shizhong to defend Zhenjiang.

At first, Fan Shizhong refused to surrender and was determined to defend the city. But when Yang Jing officially attacked the city the next day, he attacked directly, allowing the Xianzhen Camp and Chang Yuchun to rush into the city. Fan Shizhong was captured alive by Chang Yuchun, and Duan Wu led the rest of the people to surrender directly, so he was also brought here.

After all, Fan Shizhong was Duan Wu's old boss and was usually pretty nice to him. Now, when he heard how Lu Jin dealt with him, he immediately wanted to step forward and plead for mercy, but was held back by Peng Jun next to him, who quietly shook his head at him.

Naturally, this little action did not escape Lu Jin's eyes. Lu Jin immediately looked at Duan Wu and asked with a cold face.

"Why, do you want to plead for Fan Shizhong? Since he is determined to raise an army to fight against me, he must be prepared to die. Death in battle is his best fate. Being captured can only mean that he is weak. Killing him is also helping him.

"Besides, I didn't kill any of his wives and children. Exiling him overseas at least left him a descendant. It's better than wiping out the roots and killing his entire family, don't you think? Not sending his wives and concubines to prostitution is already the greatest mercy I could show."

Duan Wu lowered his head after hearing this. What Lu Jin said was indeed right. If it were someone else, they would probably do something even more outrageous. Although exile was also miserable, at least they still had a family to rely on.

Peng Jun immediately flattered him, "The Marshal is kindhearted, and Fan Shizhong is ignorant of the current situation. He deserves this fate."

Lu Jin immediately raised his hand to interrupt, "Stop, kindness has nothing to do with me. Fighting on the battlefield is like this. If I don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill me. Being kind to the enemy is irresponsible to our soldiers. The only thing to blame is that he chose the wrong path."

After sending the three away, Lu Jin gave another order, "Order the entire army to break camp tomorrow and march toward Jiankang!"

The next morning, October 4500, the army set out from Jurong and marched along the upper reaches of the Qinhuai River toward Jiankang in the west. The battle sequence for the Battle of Jiankang included two imperial guard brigades with about 103 people, a cavalry regiment with 13500 people, three regiments of Yang Jing's 37rd Division with 4500 people, Dong Xingyao's newly formed 88500th Regiment with people, and captured and surrendered soldiers, totaling about people, almost reaching . The march was truly magnificent.

Of course, the 50,000 prisoners can only serve as cheerleaders and atmosphere creators for the time being. When it comes time to attack the city, they still have to rely on the core 30,000-plus members of the Shengwu Army.

Jurong was more than 70 miles away from Jiankang City. The army took two days to arrive at the city of Jiankang on October th.

It just so happened that the civil and military officials of the Marshal's Mansion also rushed over from Dangtu, and Ji Xuan, the chief of the Jiangning Intelligence Station who had completed his mission, also came to Lu Jin to report the situation.

Lu Jin set up a temporary command post on Yuhuatai Mountain in the south of the city, from where he could overlook the entire southern area of ​​the city. However, even so, it was difficult to get a glimpse of the entire picture of Jinling.

Although the Jiankang City at this time was not as large as the one expanded by Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty, it was also a huge city with a circumference of 30 miles, a population of about 500,000, and eight city gates. The Qinhuai River ran through it, and there was a lake in the north and east of the city. The north of the city was Xuanwu Lake, and the east of the city was Yanque Lake.

The Forbidden City in Nanjing in the early Ming Dynasty was located at the present-day Yanque Lake. It is not known who was so smart that Zhu Yuanzhang filled up the Yanque Lake to build the imperial palace. As a result, the Forbidden City in Nanjing was extremely humid. Moisture came out of the ground every year, and the floor and palace walls were wet all year round. Zhu Yuanzhang was very annoyed and he repeatedly planned to move the capital. First, he asked people to build the Zhongdu Fengyang, and then he asked Zhu Biao to inspect Xi'an and Luoyang to select a site for the capital.

Li Shanchang, Feng Guoyong, Bao Heng and Bao Yu brothers were all very excited. They had been planning and preparing for the capture of Nanjing since this time last year. Now, a year has passed, and everyone has finally brought their army to this long-dreamed-of city.

Wang Dayuan also crossed the river and sighed as he looked at the city ahead. When Lu Jin sent people to recruit him with the title of Marquis, he just came to take a look. He never thought that in just a few months, Lu Jin had already reached the city of Jiankang and was about to capture this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties.

Lu Jin looked at Zhongshan Mountain in the northeast, and a puzzlement arose in his mind. He immediately asked, "Why do some people call Zhongshan Mountain Purple Gold Mountain? Is there any explanation?"

Tao An, a newcomer from Jiangnan, immediately explained to Lu Jin.

"My lord, Zhongshan was first called Jinling Mountain, so there was Jinling Town. Jinling Town was later changed to Shitou City. During the Han Dynasty, it was said that there was a dragon vein here, and Jinling Mountain was the place where the dragon vein was 'centered', so it was changed to Zhongshan.

"During the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, the Eastern Wu established its capital here. Because Jiang Ziwen died here chasing away bandits, it was later renamed Jiang Mountain. As for the name Purple Gold Mountain, it was because local people often said that there were purple clouds surrounding Zhongshan Mountain, so they called it Purple Gold Mountain."

"I see." Lu Jin smiled and asked, "Then the Purple Gold Mountain should be the highest mountain around Jiankang, right?"

Tao An nodded, "That's true, but the highest point is still Toudao Ridge, the main peak of Zijin Mountain."

Lu Jin nodded, looked at Wang Dayuan beside him and said, "Mr. Huanzhang, after we conquer Jiankang, I will ask you to build an observatory on the top of Purple Mountain to determine the prime meridian. From now on, the world will use Purple Mountain Observatory as the zero degree longitude, so that we can draw a detailed globe."

Tao An didn't quite understand what he said, but Wang Dayuan stroked his beard and thought, "Jiankang is not too far from the sea, so it's appropriate to use this place as the zero degree longitude. But according to what the lord said, won't the whole country have to follow the time of Purple Mountain in the future?"

"Not only the whole country, but the whole world has to keep time according to our time!" Lu Jin said in a firm tone.

He didn't want to travel through time and then continue to use the time standard of the Greenwich Observatory in London, England. Why should a small island country in the Atlantic Ocean use London as the zero degree longitude?
Wang Dayuan asked again, "Do we need to build the astronomical telescope that the master mentioned in the future?"

"Yes, but it's not the kind I use. It's a reflecting telescope. If you magnify it 300 times, you can see the undulating craters on the moon. If you magnify it 500 times, you can see the jade-shaped atmosphere of Saturn. If you magnify it 1,000 times, you can even see the wind and sand blowing on Mars."

Wang Dayuan looked towards the Purple Mountain and was immediately filled with longing. "The thought of being able to see such a wonder on an extraterrestrial planet makes me yearn for it. I really hope to see that day soon."

Tao An was stunned. What on earth were these two talking about? There are mountains on the moon? What is the jade-shaped atmosphere of Saturn? There is also wind and sand on Mars? Is this something that humans can see?
Although he didn't understand what Lu Jin said, he couldn't help but remind him, "My lord, there are tigers deep in Zijin Mountain. Don't go into the mountain easily."

Lu Jin was stunned when he heard this. He only knew that there were a lot of wild boars in Nanjing in later generations, and he almost forgot that this was ancient times and the South China tiger had not yet become extinct. It was normal to have tigers in Zijin Mountain.

But Lu Jin didn't care and said, "It doesn't matter. At worst, after we capture the city, we can send a large army to search the mountain and wipe out all the big insects in the mountain."

At this time, he looked at the generals present and asked Ji Xuan.

"Are Sang Shijie's navy in place?"

"Reporting to the Marshal, the navy has arrived near Longwan, and Commander Sang is leading the gunboats to patrol the river to ensure that not a single fish escapes from the river." Feng Guoyong replied immediately.

"Okay." Lu Jin nodded, then looked at Yang Jing and asked, "Has Ye Sheng's cavalry arrived outside the Xuanwu Gate?"

Yang Jing immediately clasped his fists and replied, "The cavalry is already in place. The entire army will surround three sides and leave one side open. Only the west side will not be attacked. The other three walls are ready. Marshal, give the order. How should we fight this battle?"

"Map." Lu Jin waved his hand, and Ji Xuan immediately brought a detailed map of Jiankang City drawn by the intelligence station.

Jiankang City originally had more than 30,000 defenders, of which 20,000 were stationed outside the city. However, two days ago, when Lu Jin sent Ye Sheng's cavalry regiment to conduct a large-scale reconnaissance, Wanzhebuhua, the second Pingzhang of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, Bo Jianu, the councilor, and Danidasi, the Darughachi of Jiqing Road, saw that Lu Jin's cavalry was attacking in large numbers. Considering Lu Jin's possible military strength, they decided to move the 20,000 troops outside the city into the city for the sake of caution.

The Jiankang City of the Yuan Dynasty was actually built by the Southern Tang. After the Northern Song Dynasty destroyed the Southern Tang, Zhao Kuangyin did not order the city to be destroyed, but preserved it. It was still preserved in the Yuan Dynasty, so this was a city built by the Southern Tang.

The city has a circumference of 30 li, with rammed earth walls without bricks. There are eight gates in total, six of which are main gates. There is only one gate in the north and south. The north gate is called Xuanwu Gate, and the south gate is called Nanmen, which was later called Zhonghua Gate.

There are two city gates in the East City, namely the East Gate and the Water East Gate. The West City has the most city gates, with four in total. In addition, there are rivers and lakes everywhere outside the city, and Mochou Lake is also outside the West Gate. There is no place for the army to line up, and it is difficult to attack. Therefore, Lu Jin decided to attack from the East Gate, and then advance from the north and south.

He immediately called all the generals over and began to deploy the tasks.

"I will use two imperial guard brigades to drive in from the east gate, cut off Jiankang City in half, and then attack from the middle to both ends. Yang Jing, you will lead the three regiments of the 103rd Division and Dong Xingyao's 37th Regiment to attack from the north and south, with two regiments in each direction. After entering the city, drive the enemy troops to the west gate."

(End of this chapter)