Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 313: Jiangbei Campaign Begins
Seeing that Fu Youde's attitude was quite respectful, Zhu Liangzu immediately stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Fu Youde and the others had no choice but to be respectful. After all, they were asking for help. Apart from Lu Jin, who else would be so generous as to sell them armor at this time? You must know that in this critical moment, if they had one more set of armor, Xuzhou would have more combat power.

Zhu Liangzu did not answer directly, but asked, "Does your Li know that our army has already captured Jiankang?"

Fu Youde and Li Xixi were startled and looked at each other. They were both surprised at the attack speed of the Shengwu Army and told the truth.

"General Li knows that your army has crossed the river, and I also heard that your army is advancing towards Jiqing Road, but I am afraid that you have not yet learned about the capture of Jiankang. I wonder what your army's General Lu has to say?"

"Oh, so that's how it is. Since our two families are allies, and you don't know the situation in Jiangnan yet, why don't I inform you first?

"My commander-in-chief personally led the troops across the river from Dangtu, and won victory after victory. He killed two provincial governors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as several councilors, darughachi, Wanhu, and marshals. Now Jiqing Road, Zhenjiang Road, and Taiping Road have all fallen into the hands of our army. This battle lasted for a month, and nearly 200,000 Yuan troops were annihilated!"

As Zhu Liangzu said these words, he raised his head proudly with an expression of pride, as if he had also participated in this battle.

As expected, when these words came out, Fu Youde and Li Xixi immediately showed even more surprised expressions. Fu Youde hurriedly congratulated, "We were out of touch with the news. We didn't expect your army to achieve such a great victory. Let me congratulate your army on your great victory on behalf of my general Li. However, since your army annihilated so many enemy troops, I think you must have captured a lot of spoils. I wonder if you have any support for them?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Liangzu immediately looked embarrassed and said.

"Hey, the envoy may have misunderstood. This annihilation does not mean killing everyone. My commander-in-chief has captured more than 100,000 prisoners in the past few battles. Now that he has set foot in Jiangnan, he must naturally guard against the counterattack of the Yuan army in Jiangnan. Therefore, he has used these surrendered soldiers to expand a lot of new troops, and recruited some more from the local area. Now, the newly expanded force alone is no less than 200,000.

"You probably know how many of the Yuan army's militiamen are wearing armor? The thirty or forty thousand pieces of armor we captured are not enough to equip the new army. Our army doesn't even have enough armor, so how can we have extra armor to support you, General Li?"

Li Xixi wanted to explode upon hearing this, but was interrupted by Zhu Liangzu who raised his hand.

“But my commander-in-chief also said that once you make a promise to someone, you should not break it easily. A real man’s word is as good as gold. How can you break your promise?

“Besides, the news that Tuotuo was about to go south was originally told by my commander-in-chief, who reminded your army to strengthen its defense. It was also my commander-in-chief who sold the armor to your army. Now that Tuotuo is really coming, he will definitely not do something unjust at this time because of the two thousand pieces of armor that would hinder your army. Otherwise, wouldn’t he be killing friendly forces?
"Therefore, the fifth batch of 2,000 sets of armor will still be sold to your army as originally agreed. All you need to do is bring the corresponding supplies over, and we can trade face to face and settle the money and goods. How do you think?"

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this. Fu Youde clasped his fists again and said, "General Lu is a righteous man who keeps his promises and values ​​trustworthiness. We have heard that. So I would like to thank General Li on behalf of him. But can't your army provide more troops and armor?
"Although your army has expanded a lot of new troops, the Yuan army in the south of the Yangtze River has just been defeated. Your army is in great strength. I think there will be no major war in the short term. However, Toghto's Yuan court central army in the north is right in front of us. We have to prioritize things. I still hope that General Lu can provide assistance. In addition, your army has an iron factory with a large output of armor. The armor for the new army is only a matter of one month earlier or later."

Fu Youde changed the subject and hinted, "Besides, your army's General Lu also said in his letter that 'the lips and teeth are cold'. I don't need to say more. Now our army is in the north and your army is in the south. If our army is defeated by Tuotuo and Tuotuo is at the gate of the city, how can your army have the opportunity to calmly send troops to attack everywhere? Isn't this the truth, Chief Steward Zhu?"

"Hahahaha." Zhu Liangzu laughed loudly upon hearing this. "I don't know if it makes sense or not, but I know that no one in this world can be as generous as my commander-in-chief. He doesn't even have enough armor, but he still kept his promise to sell 2,000 sets to your army. If our armies were in the same position, would you keep your promise and sell it to us?"

Li Xixi and Fu Youde were both silent after hearing this. If they were to put themselves in their shoes, if it was Zhima Li who made the decision, he might sell it. But if it was Zhao Junyong who made the decision, he would definitely not keep his promise to sell the armor. You need armor, and I need it even more. At this moment, Lu Jin has indeed done his best by not breaking his promise.

Zhu Liangzu continued, "Besides, the lips and teeth are cold. Your army should not think that our army has taken advantage. You did block the enemy in the north for our army, but didn't our army block the enemy in the south for you? If our army was not there to contain the enemy in the south, how many troops could the Yuan court in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huainan, and Jiangsu mobilize to attack you from behind?

"Our two armies don't owe each other anything. If my commander-in-chief hadn't said that the Yuan court had not been destroyed and all the righteous armies in the world were brothers, he would never have sold armor to you, right?

"But then again, brothers have to settle accounts. It's fine for our armies to trade fairly and each take what it needs, but it's impossible for us to use our captured troops to support your army for free. Let me ask you one question. My General Lu will provide armor to equip your army. Are your soldiers willing to obey our General Lu's orders?"

Li Xixi and Fu Youde looked at each other again. It was naturally impossible for the Shengwu Army to send out armed forces and for Zhima Li to obey Lu Jin's orders. It seemed that there was no hope for aid. They were just testing the waters. It would be better if Lu Jin could provide support, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

So Li Xixi asked again, "Since General Lu is unwilling to support the troops, that's fine. The two armies are friendly forces, so don't let this matter hurt our friendship.

"It's just that I have been in Haozhou for nearly half a month. I have personally seen your army increase its troops in Haozhou, and General Lu has also increased his troops by 200,000 in Jiangnan. Since your army has so many troops, I wonder if your army can send troops to Xuzhou to assist in the defense at the critical moment?"

"Tsk——" Yu Tongyuan, who had been silent all the time, sneered when he heard this and said immediately.

"Messenger, please don't joke with us. You want our army to send troops to help defend? Who will provide our army with food and grass? Who will govern the city we defend? We send troops to help you defend the city, so can we recruit soldiers, collect food and taxes in your territory? If not, who will compensate the casualties of our troops? If you can't do all these, please don't make such jokes."

Yu Tongyuan's words were very blunt, which immediately made Li Xixi and Fu Youde look unhappy. Seeing this, Zhu Liangzu quickly tried to smooth things over.

"It is definitely not possible to send troops directly to help you defend the city, but at the critical moment, our army can also send troops from the side to help you contain Tuotuo's Yuan army. Maybe we can lead away some Yuan troops and share the pressure of Xuzhou." Zhu Liangzu said immediately.

Li Xixi and Fu Youde were shocked when they heard this. Fu Youde quickly asked, "I saw that General Zhu's troops are gathering these days. Yesterday, a regiment of your army came, but they are going to send troops out. I wonder who they are going to fight?"

Zhu Liangzu stroked his beard and smiled, "Don't worry about this, envoy. Anyway, our Shengwu Army is an anti-Yuan army. If we send troops, it will definitely be to deal with the Yuan army. As for who we will fight, I have no idea, but in a few days, your army will definitely get wind of it."

Fu Youde glanced at Li Xixi and asked one last question, "My Li Shuai wants to meet your Lu Shuai. He has something to discuss with him. Could you help pass the message on?"

Zhu Liangzu frowned upon hearing this. "Well, I can send someone to help you pass the message, but I think it will be difficult for us to meet. The Marshal is very busy now, and he has no time to go to your Xuzhou. I guess your Marshal Li is also unlikely to go to Jiankang, so where should we meet?"
"If there is really something to discuss, I think it would be better for your Li Shuai to send an envoy to cross the river directly to Jiankang to meet with Lu Shuai, or we can send an envoy to Xuzhou. If that doesn't work, we can still exchange letters. Now that Tuotuo is coming soon, isn't your Li Shuai busy? Does he have time to meet with my Marshal?"

Fu Youde thought for a moment and said, "In this case, can you allow me to go back and report to Li Shuai first, and then make a decision?"

Zhu Liangzu immediately nodded and agreed, "Of course, although our armies are not allies, we are both righteous armies and friendly neighbors. It is not an exaggeration to call us friendly armies. If your army's Li has any problems, you can send an envoy to find our general. Whether it will succeed or not, we can let them discuss it."

Upon hearing this, Fu Youde immediately clasped his fists and said, "What General Manager Zhu said is right. Of course, our armies are friendly. In this case, I have brought the supplies for October. I wonder if we can trade armor today. I will take the armor back and explain the matter to General Li. Then I will send someone to contact you."

"Sure, but I'm about to be transferred. If your army wants to contact you in the future, you can come to Haozhou and find this Commander Yu. He will help you get through."

Li Xixi and Fu Youde both glanced at Yu Tongyuan and nodded, "Then I'll trouble you from now on."

"It's okay, it's just sending someone to pass the message." Yu Tongyuan also nodded and agreed.

So everyone immediately began to count the supplies and trade armor.

Although Fu Youde and Li Xixi failed to reach an agreement on aid and military assistance this time, they at least completed the fifth transaction and brought back two thousand sets of armor, which was an explanation in any case. Moreover, for the upcoming war, these two thousand additional soldiers were a force that could not be underestimated.

After the two parties completed the transaction, Fu Youde and Li Xixi immediately left with their armor. Yu Tongyuan also sent people to escort the supplies to Luzhou. The collected oxen were to be distributed to the immigrants, the mares were to be sent to the horse farm in Maotanchang, and the cotton was to be sent to the textile factory in Luzhou.

Although the Shengwu Army sold a lot of armor, it was not a loss, as they were able to exchange them for some scarce supplies.

After finishing the work in Haozhou, Zhu Liangzu did not stay for a day longer. He immediately led the 102nd Division to break camp and march towards Lai'an to assemble at the starting point of the battle. In the next few days, the river from Hezhou to Caishiji was very busy, with ships constantly coming and going, transporting various supplies and troops. Lu Jin was also here to keep an eye on the expansion of the army and the deployment of troops.

After reorganization, Yu Tonghai and Zhang Desheng's 40th Army was transferred to Zhenjiang to assemble in preparation for crossing the river.

After the reorganization of Ye Sheng's 116th Division, Lu Jin transferred it to the renamed Zhenjiang Prefecture. The three regiments were stationed in Zhenjiang, Danyang and Jintan respectively, training troops while guarding the cities. In this way, when the Eastern Expedition was launched, there was no need to transfer the troops frequently, and they could set out directly from Danyang.

Bian Yuanheng also brought troops from Dingyuan, and after a brief training, they went to Zhenjiang to assemble.

After Lü Zhen and Yan Duxian received their respective 1,000 new recruits, they also secretly crossed the river from Taixing at night with the help of the navy. Lü Zhen directly ordered his generals to take these new recruits to hide in the villages outside Taixing City. He also privately summoned some of his subordinates who used to follow him to sell salt, and asked them to go to the countryside to gather troops without making any noise.

Then they contacted the local intelligence team in Taixing, and with the help of intelligence personnel, hid more than 300 people in the city in batches. They also asked these people to bring in 100 grenades and some weapons such as bone spears and spear heads. They hid the spear shafts in bundles of firewood and sent them into the city. After arriving in the city, they assembled them together, ready to support the troops outside the city in an uprising at any time.

Compared with Lu Zhen's side, Yan Duxian's Taizhou was relatively simple. Li Huafu was originally the magistrate of Taizhou, and Zhang Si was the captain of Taizhou. They already had soldiers in the city. With the cover of Li Huafu, an official, it was easy to send some weapons and firearms into the city. The one thousand new recruits brought by Yan Duxian were also hidden in a farm outside Taizhou. They only had to wait for an uprising in the city, and then they could recruit soldiers outside the city to respond.

At the same time, Chang Yuchun's 109th Division, which was originally guarding Zhenjiang Road, and Liao Yongjian's 107th Division, which had just been rebuilt, with a total of six regiments, were also transferred to Dangtu County by Lu Jin, where they were temporarily stationed for training.

At the same time, he asked Chang Yuchun to send out scouts to investigate the situation in Wuhu, and asked them to prepare to march towards Wuhu and Chizhou, and fight all the way along the banks of the Yangtze River.

This is the foundation that Lu Jin prepared for the South China Front Army. It would be a pity if a great general like Chang Yuchun could not be used to lead a large army alone.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Guo Zixing, who had received the order, crossed the river and arrived in Jiankang. Lu Jin summoned Guo Zixing and Cao Liangchen to the government office.

"Those who were promoted during this expansion are all meritorious officials who crossed the river with me. Logically speaking, the Eighth Regiment should not be promoted because they have no military merits."

Guo Zixing remained calm when he heard this. Didn't Lu Jin call them here to expand the army? Now he said this just to put pressure on them, or to show them kindness and make them appreciate it, so he didn't say anything.

Lu Jin then said, "But we will need a lot of troops to attack eastern Zhejiang, and the newly expanded troops will not be enough, so after much thought, I still think that your Eighth Regiment is the most suitable for expansion.

"Commander Guo has been in our Shengwu Army for quite some time. The Eighth Regiment is ranked high, and Liangchen is a veteran of the former Fourth Regiment. Now Tonghai, Tongyuan, and Zhang Desheng have all been promoted to commanders. We can't let you veterans just sit there and watch, so I plan to expand your Eighth Regiment into the 117th Division.

“But let me make it clear in advance that you have no military merits. If you are directly granted the position of commander-in-chief, it will inevitably lead to gossip. Therefore, after the expansion of the 117th Division, Mr. Guo will serve as the acting commander-in-chief, and Liang Chen will serve as the acting deputy commander-in-chief.

"Your positions are all temporary. If you want to remove the word 'acting', you have to show your true abilities in this Eastern Expedition. Then, when you are promoted, others won't be able to gossip about you. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Cao Liangchen immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.

Guo Zixing also expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Marshal, for giving us this opportunity. We will definitely perform well this time."

Lu Jin understood what he meant and said with a smile, "This time Guo Tianxu followed the 4th Regiment across the river and performed very well. He was promoted to the rank of regiment commander during the army expansion. Mr. Guo, you must work hard to improve yourself, otherwise your son will surpass you in the future."

What Guo Zixing meant was that Lu Jin deliberately didn't give him a chance before and was suppressing him. Although he didn't say it, it didn't mean he didn't understand.

Lu Jin also replied to him with the matter of Guo Tianxu. Although I suppressed you, I did not suppress your son. As long as you fight well and fight with your life, I can't suppress you even if I want to. After all, how can you convince the people if you don't reward them for your merits? You yourself have never had a chance. Isn't it because you were not active enough in the last battle?
"Hahaha." Guo Zixing laughed awkwardly upon hearing this, and immediately said, "It's not a bad thing that the disciple surpasses the master. I'm old, and I don't know how many more years I can fight for the Marshal. It would be better if these boys in our family could be put to use sooner rather than later. Anyway, no matter how fast they are promoted, I'm still their father."

Lu Jin nodded, "It just so happens that Guo Tianxu has been expanding his army and training soldiers these days, and is temporarily living in the camp outside the city. When he heard that I summoned you, he was really happy for the whole day. I heard that he even prepared some good wine for you yesterday. When you and your son meet later, you must have a good reunion."

"Hahahaha, that boy is quite filial." Guo Zixing said with a smile while stroking his beard.

Cao Liangchen asked about the main business, "General, when will the troops be dispatched for this Eastern Expedition? What are the specific rules?"

Lu Jin explained, "You only have one month to expand your army and train. You should expand your army first after I leave. As for the specific arrangements for the Eastern Expedition, this Eastern Expedition will be divided into two routes, the southern route and the northern route, and the troops will advance at the same time. Your 117th Division will be under the southern route army sequence, and the commander will be Zhu Shou. You can ask Zhu Shou to make arrangements for you when the time comes. He will hold a meeting to explain everything to you."

"Yes, then I have no problem."

The two of them immediately took their leave and went to work on expanding the army.

Lu Jin was also discussing the issue of equipment for the new recruits with Feng Guoyong, Yang Heng and others. With so many troops being expanded this time, the gap in weapons and armor was a big problem.

There was no great shortage of weapons. After crossing the river this time, Luzhou sent over 70,000 to 80,000 rifles that had been accumulated for half a year. Together with the weapons captured from more than 100,000 soldiers, it was not difficult for the newly expanded troops to have a weapon for each member. The key was still armor.

During this battle of crossing the Yangtze River, starting from Dangtu and Caishiji and ending with the capture of Jiankang City, a total of more than 43,000 sets of armor of various types were seized, with almost half each being iron armor and leather armor.

Nearly 30,000 sets of standard cloth armor were delivered from Luzhou before. More than half of them had been distributed during the first round of military expansion, leaving more than 10,000 sets, which was only enough to equip three more regiments.

The total strength of the East China Front Army, excluding the cavalry regiment and the artillery regiment, was 28 infantry regiments. The artillery regiment and the cavalry regiment were already equipped with armor. In addition, the five regiments of Yang Jing, Yu Tonghai, Zhang Desheng, as well as the musket regiments of Zhu Shou and Zhang Wen were also equipped with armor.

The remaining armor delivered after crossing the river can be used to equip three more regiments, which means there are eight regiments in total, and there is still a shortage of armor for twenty regiments.

Among these 20 regiments, two were newly expanded vanguard regiments. They originally had one battalion's worth of armor each, and were only short of six battalions' worth of armor, which was a gap of one and a half regiments.

There are still two months between the replenishment of iron armor on the tenth day of September last month and the start of the Eastern Expedition on the fifteenth day of November. During these two months, the iron factory can produce about 16,000 to 17,000 sets of standard iron armor. If they are only distributed to the four combat battalions of each regiment and the auxiliary battalions are not issued armor, then five more regiments can be equipped.

In this way, there is only a gap of about 14 regiments left.

If the 43000 captured sets of armor of various types were only used to equip the combat soldiers without including auxiliary soldiers or even miscellaneous personnel, then the combat soldiers in each regiment's four battalions would be 3200 people. The more than 13 sets of armor captured would be just enough to equip regiments, leaving only a gap of one or two regiments.

This is the only way for now. No matter how many armors and Lu Jin can produce out of thin air, it is impossible.

Then, the more than 20,000 sets of Yuan army iron armor seized were given priority to the main attacking forces, and the remaining leather armor was distributed to the second-line troops. Finally, the garrison troops used to fill the line would not be given armor for the time being. For example, the troops guarding Changzhou and Liyang were closest to the rear, so these two regiments did not need to be equipped with armor. Anyway, they were close, and when new armor was produced in the future, they could be replenished nearby.

In this way, the gap in armor and weapons of the East China Front Army could be almost made up, but now it was not only Yang Jing's troops that needed armor.

The Jiangbei Campaign, which is about to begin, will certainly require the expansion of many troops, and Lu Jin has already pre-paid for the production of armor for more than a month.
Time passed day by day in such intense preparations, and finally on October 35, Zhu Liangzu and Liao Yongzhong, who had arrived at the Lai'an front, sent a letter to Lu Jin. The six regiments of the th Army assembled and began to march eastward towards Yangzhou Road. The Jiangbei Campaign officially began!
(End of this chapter)