Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 314 Xuzhou Bunker

Outside the east gate of Lai'an City, the 35th Army's two divisions, six regiments, and troops were ready to go. Zhu Liangzu, wearing a bright silver fish-scale armor, rode his horse to the front of the battle and gave a speech to all the soldiers, making a pre-war mobilization.

"Just last month, the Imperial Guards and the 37th Army followed the Marshal across the river, captured seven cities in a row, and annihilated more than 37 enemies. The troops made great contributions, and everyone in the Imperial Guards and the th Army was promoted.

"The platoon leader was promoted to company commander, the company commander was promoted to battalion commander, the battalion commander was promoted to commander, the commander was promoted to division commander, the division commander was promoted to general manager, and the general manager of the 37th Army, Yang Jing, was even appointed as a general by the Marshal and led the war alone. Now he has ten divisions, 30 regiments, and more than troops under his command!

"In the Imperial Guards' Xianzhen Camp, there was even a small squad leader who captured the chief general of the Yuan army in Taiping Road alive among thousands of soldiers when he captured Dangtu. He was then named the Earl of Danyang by the commander-in-chief. He jumped from a small squad leader to a commander-in-chief! Are you envious? Are you jealous?!"

Wow————

The officers and soldiers of the 35th Army present were shocked when they heard this. Many of them had just learned about this. The grassroots officers were of course envious of the soldiers who crossed the river who were all promoted to the next level. The ordinary soldiers compared themselves with the squad leader who was promoted to commander. If others could be promoted from squad leader to commander, why couldn't they?

Middle and high-level generals, such as Zheng Yong and Feng Sheng, the regiment commanders, hoped to be promoted to the rank of superintendent-general or even chief commander. Of course, they were even more shocked by the current size of the troops under Yang Jing's command. There were actually ten divisions and thirty regiments. How many troops were there?
Right now, their 35th Army only has six regiments combined, and Yang Jing’s strength is five times theirs!
"Why is no one talking? Haven't they eaten yet? Tell me loudly!"

"envious!"

Zhu Liangzu was satisfied and trotted in front of the formation, shouting as he ran.

"Why should we, the 35th Army, envy them?"

"Hahahaha——" the soldiers present burst into laughter.

When the soldiers stopped laughing, Zhu Liangzu shouted again in a serious tone.

"You don't need to envy others, because today we are also going to the battle. As the saying goes, you need to raise an army for a thousand days and deploy it for a moment. Now that their battle of crossing the river is over, it is our 35th Army's turn to gain face!

"Who wants to be promoted? Who wants to be appointed a general? Who wants to have his wife and children given titles? I have no say over this. If you want to get these, you must show me your true abilities on the battlefield!

"In our Shengwu Army, the appointment and dismissal of military officers is decided by the Marshal himself, but your military achievements are judged by me. I have seen how everyone fights in this expedition. Whoever performs outstandingly, is fearless and brave, and kills the enemy courageously, I will commend him to the Marshal first!

"Moreover, the Marshal has granted me the right to expand the army at my convenience for this expedition. If the troops are insufficient, I can appoint temporary military officers first, and then I only need to report to the Marshal afterwards. So those of you who are ambitious, listen carefully. I see everything you do. If you want to make achievements and have a wife and children, you must give it your all on the battlefield!"

"Hahahaha——" the soldiers burst into laughter again upon hearing this.

After completing the pre-war mobilization, Zhu Liangzu shouted again.

"In this Jiangbei Campaign, the Marshal had no other requirements, except one thing he gave me, which was that speed is of the essence!
"In this battle, we must advance quickly, so fast that the Yuan army has no time to react and we don't give the enemy any chance to catch their breath and mobilize their troops. Therefore, we must march at the fastest speed!

"Infantrymen must run at the speed of cavalrymen, and cavalrymen must run faster than hawks and falcons. Whoever can't run any longer must keep up with me, even if he has to drag himself. Whoever dares to hold me back, I will beat him to pieces with this whip. After the battle, I will report him to the Marshal and send him back home to farm, so that he can watch others get promoted and receive rewards!

"We don't want this kind of trash in the 35th Army. It's embarrassing! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" More than 20,000 soldiers responded in unison.

Zhu Liangzu nodded with satisfaction, then ran to the front of the formation and began to deploy his troops.

"Zheng Yong, follow my orders."

"I am here!" Zheng Yong quickly rode out of the line, clasped his fists and waited for orders.

"I want you to lead three battalions of cavalry to destroy the Shiliangzhai camp northwest of Tianchang. There are 6,000 bandit infantry led by Yu Shiliang there. Can you defeat them?"

"I will definitely do it!"

"Okay, there is no joking in the army. When I went to Jiankang, the commander specifically asked for the traitor Yu Shiliang. No matter if he is dead or alive, whether it is his head or a prisoner, I have to bring him back. And as for Yu Shiliang's 6,000 soldiers, whatever is left after the battle will be captured and taken to Tianchang County. I will meet you in Tianchang." Zhu Liangzu made further arrangements.

"Yes, I will obey your order!"

Seeing Zheng Yong taking the order and retreating, Zhu Liangzu nodded with relief. Three battalions were almost three thousand cavalry. Three thousand cavalry against six thousand unarmored infantry was just a piece of cake. Zhu Liangzu did not take Yu Shiliang's several thousand men seriously at all.

After explaining things to Zheng Yong, he then spoke to the rest of the people.

"The 14th Regiment, Feng Sheng's 14th Regiment, and the Mountain Artillery Battalion will follow me to attack Tianchang County. The remaining cavalry battalion will lead the way. The th Regiment will be in the front, the artillery battalion will be in the middle, and the th Regiment will be the rear guard. Set off immediately!

"The 106th Division will follow Commander Liao's orders and attack Liuhe County on its own. Once I capture Tianchang, we will join forces with you and march eastward. You must be quick!"

"Yes!" Everyone immediately took orders.

After assigning tasks to each unit and giving an order, the army will immediately take action.

On October 35, the fifth day after Jiankang was captured, the Jiangbei Campaign began. Zhu Liangzu led the main force of the th Army and began to attack Tianchang and Liuhe in the east.

At the same time, when Zhu Liangzu led his troops to break camp, Li Xixi and Fu Youde, who had left Haozhou, also returned to Xuzhou with two thousand sets of armor, and reported Lu Jin's reply to Zhima Li.

"So, they are now expanding their army and are in urgent need of armor, so they don't have any extra armor to help us?" Sesame Li confirmed again.

"Yes." Li Xixi nodded, "But what those two said was even more unpleasant. They said it was a fair trade and that we could exchange what we have, but even if we have armor, we won't give it to us for free, and our soldiers won't listen to their commander Lu's orders."

"Haha." Sesame Li burst out laughing when he heard that, but he was not angry. Instead, he said.

"What they said is true. What's there to be angry about? I, Li Er, have lived an upright life. I was able to give out a warehouse of sesame seeds to help the people without asking for anything in return. Naturally, I would not do something that would turn a small amount of kindness into a grudge.

"Besides, the Holy Martial Army has already helped us a lot. Helping us again is out of friendship, and not giving back is also their duty. There is nothing to complain about."

Li Xixi and Fu Youde both nodded and showed great respect for General Li.

Sesame Li asked again, "What about sending troops to assist in the defense? Didn't they agree to that either?"

"Well, they didn't agree. That's what they said. They said that if they send troops, they will be responsible for supplying the military rations and managing the city. They also said that unless they recruit soldiers, collect grain and taxes on our territory, they will never send troops to help. Isn't it obvious that they want us to hand over our territory to them?" Li Xixi said with some indignation.

Fu Youde added on the side.

“I don’t think so. The one stationed in Haozhou before was Zhu Liangzu. According to the numbering of the Shengwu Army, it was called the Fifth Regiment. But when I went there, they had already undergone large-scale mobilization.

"Zhu Liangzu's two infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment have all arrived in Haozhou. The baggage carts are also filled with food and military supplies. The 113th Regiment has also arrived to take over the defense of Haozhou. The general is the second son of the Yu family, a veteran general from Chaohu. His subordinates call him the commander-in-chief. I heard that he is the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the th Division."

Sesame Li was shocked when he heard this, "They have already expanded to 13 divisions? Three regiments, to people each?"

Fu Youde thought about it and said, "There should be more than 13 divisions. Although the th Regiment has a relatively high number, I noticed that there are many new recruits in their regiment, and their armor is incomplete. Many soldiers have Jiangnan accents. They should be newly expanded troops from Jiangnan."

Zhima Li nodded, indicating that he agreed with this judgment.

Fu Youde continued, "What I mean is that General Lu of the Shengwu Army sent people to take over the defense of Haozhou City, and Zhu Liangzu's three regiments of troops gathered in Haozhou, loaded with supplies. It is obvious that they are preparing to go to war or redeploy. Moreover, when we came back, Zhu Liangzu also said that if we have contact in the future, we can just send someone to Haozhou to find Yu Laoer. It is clear that he wants to leave."

Zhima Li frowned when he heard this. "You mean, they didn't send troops to help because they have their own war? Is it in Jiangnan or somewhere else?"

Fu Youde nodded, and then speculated, "We will definitely send troops, but it's hard to say where to attack. Zhu Liangzu said before he left that although they can't send troops to help us defend, the two families are still friendly neighbors and friendly armies. It was their commander Lu who first said that the lips and teeth are cold, and they will never sit back and watch us get beaten.

"So they will also send troops. Maybe they can attract some of Tuotuo's Yuan army and help us share some of the pressure from the side. So according to what he said, I tend to think that they will attack Yangzhou Road in Jiangbei."

Sesame Li frowned and thought for a moment, then asked solemnly, "Why Jiangbei?"

Fu Youde analyzed, "First, Zhu Liangzu said that their Lu Shuai had already captured Jiqing Road, Zhenjiang Road, and Taiping Road. Given the cautious style of the Shengwu Army, they would send heavy troops to garrison each place they conquered. If they want to hold on to Jiankang, it is not enough to just take Zhenjiang and Dangtu.

"If it were me, I would definitely attack Chizhou in the south, and coordinate with Anqing in the east and west to completely block the waterway in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. As for the lower reaches, since Zhenjiang has already been captured, why not take down Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River? The enemy will have no place to counterattack. Wouldn't Jiankang be more secure this way?
"Moreover, since ancient times, to guard the Yangtze River, one must guard the Huai River. If they want to defend the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, then Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River cannot be ignored in any way." Of course, there is another possibility, which is to use new soldiers to guard the old city and transfer elite old soldiers to the south of the Yangtze River to capture more prefectures and counties. The south of the Yangtze River is much richer than the north of the Yangtze River. Since they have already occupied Jiankang, it is natural for them to march eastward to attack the south of the Yangtze River.

"But in this way, it will be difficult to play the role of restraining our army from the side. If they attack Jiangnan, it will only attract the Yuan army from eastern Zhejiang. How can they help us share the pressure from Tuotuo in the north? Therefore, as long as they are not lying, they must attack Yangzhou."

Upon hearing this, Sesame Li nodded immediately, "Weixue (Fu Youde's pen name) is right. It seems that they are really going to attack Yangzhou."

Then he smiled bitterly and said, "This Lu Jin is really a man who won't give up his own interests even if he wants to help us. He sold us 10,000 sets of armor and gave us so many tricks, but in the end he let us block the north while he took the opportunity to cross the river and occupy the rich land in the south of the Yangtze River.

"Even if they want to help us share the pressure from the side, they will still have to take another bite of meat from Jiangbei. I wonder where they will expand to in Jiangbei this time. This guy is really a man who will not do anything without profit."

Fu Youde did not comment. In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with what Lu Jin did. Personally, he had kept his word for the five transactions of 10,000 sets of armor as promised before. He did not break his promise. This was keeping his promise. Publicly, of course, he had to ensure his own interests first. He could provide you with cover while expanding his own territory. This was more righteous than most of the current rebel forces.

And look at how well the Shengwu Army has developed. They started the rebellion at almost the same time as Xuzhou, and it was also a year. Look at how many soldiers they have and how many counties they have conquered. If Lu Jin hadn't seized every opportunity, how could they have expanded so quickly?

"Alas," Li Er sighed and said again.

"Lu Jin was able to warn us several months ago and was willing to sell us 10,000 sets of armor. We can say that he has done his utmost. If it were any other rebel army, it would be absolutely impossible. We can't expect more. If we rely on them for everything, we might as well surrender to them directly.

“What they said is true. If we can recruit soldiers, collect grain and taxes here, we will naturally send troops to defend the city.

"Anyway, this person is a good person. Although he helped us for some purpose, those 10,000 sets of armor are real things, as well as these fennel cannons.

"This man is really good at fighting. Not only did he conquer Luzhou, Anfeng and Anqing, but he also chose a good time to cross the river. If he doesn't move, he will be fine. But if he moves, he will invade like a fire. I read the letter he wrote to me in June, and the several tactics he mentioned in it are very useful.

"For example, regarding the use of cannons to make cannons, I have asked someone about it. When the Song Dynasty fought against the Jin and Yuan armies, they used the method of using cannons to make cannons, and they won many battles. The model of the Huihui cannon he sent was a great help. If we follow this method, we will be able to hold out for a longer time.

"But it is not enough to just withstand Tuotuo's attack. If we cannot defeat him in a field battle, Tuotuo will not retreat. So we have to use the flexible defense method he mentioned."

As Zhima Li spoke, he found a map from the table. The map was drawn very sloppily, like an ink painting. He then pointed at the map and spoke to the two of them.

"Use the strong city of Xuzhou to weaken the enemy's morale. After the enemy's offensive is weakened, we can consider abandoning Xuzhou, luring the enemy deep into our territory, lengthening their food supply routes, and then sending out surprise troops to attack the Yuan army's food supply routes from behind.

"The Yuan army has come all the way from Dadu, and they have been transporting food for thousands of miles. Although they can use the canal to transport food, they have lost the grain supply from Jiangnan, so their food is definitely limited. As long as we burn their food, we will definitely force them to retreat. The enemy may even panic after losing their food. Maybe we can find an opportunity to launch a counterattack and leave some of the Yuan army behind."

After saying this, Sesame Li immediately turned around and took Fu Youde's hand, saying solemnly, "The army often says that Weixue is the bravest, but I know that you are both wise and brave. At this point, I can't trust anyone else, so why not let Weixue be the surprise soldier, you come."

Zhima Li pulled Fu Youde to the map and pointed to Mangshan and Dangshan to the west of Xiaoxian.

"I will give you 3,000 elite soldiers and 1,500 sets of armor. You need to prepare more fire starters and ferries. You don't need too many, just enough for yourself. You take these 3,000 elite soldiers and lie in ambush between Mangshan and Dangshan in the west. Wait for me to send you a message. If I abandon Xuzhou and retreat, you must set out immediately and find a way to burn the enemy's food and grass."

Fu Youde looked at the map and quickly agreed, "Don't worry, Marshal. I can definitely do it. I will make sure that not a grain of Tuotuo's food is left."

Zhima Li nodded, and then said to Li Xixi beside him, "I will also give you 500 armored cavalry. You must lie in wait at Jishan, upstream of Huanshui (Huihe River). When I lead the army to retreat to Suzhou, you must find a way to go around the Yuan army's rear and attack their rear troop's food supply. You don't have to fight with their main force, and you should focus on preserving yourself.

"Even if you miss, you must retreat immediately and never let Tuotuo catch you. You must remember that as long as your 500 cavalry hide behind him, you will always be a threat to Tuotuo. He will have to slow down his pursuit of me to buy me more time. As long as your 500 cavalry are still alive, they will be of the greatest use."

"Yes, please rest assured, Marshal. I will hold on for a few more days even if it costs my life to buy enough time for the army to retreat." Li Xixi immediately agreed solemnly.

Zhima Li didn't say anything more. He patted the two men on the shoulders and said, "Let's get ready now. I heard that Tuotuo has led his troops south. The ambush should be arranged sooner rather than later. Try to act at night and hide early to avoid revealing any traces."

"Yes!"

"Ugh"

After the two men took the order and left, Zhima Li looked at the Xuzhou city outside the yamen and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Xuzhou was originally a big city with a population of more than 400,000, but in preparation for the battle with Tuotuo, now there are less than 100,000 people left, including 60,000 volunteers and nearly 40,000 young and strong civilians. As for the elderly, the weak, women and children, they have all been relocated and evacuated to various prefectures and counties in the south for resettlement according to Lu Jin's suggestion.

The rebellion was originally intended to save the people, but now no one knows whether it has saved them or harmed them. After such a large-scale migration, even if this battle is won, it will definitely cause great losses.

However, there are also benefits. If Tuotuo still wanted to take Xuzhou as easily as in the original history, it would be impossible, let alone massacring the city of Xuzhou. All the old and weak had been moved away in advance, and only the young and strong were left to defend the city. Even if Tuotuo wanted to massacre the city, he would probably be left with an empty city.

In this dimension's time and space, Zhima Li received Lu Jin's warning four months in advance. With these four months of preparation time, he had completely turned Xuzhou into a fortress and a bunker.

The city walls were thickened, raised and widened, with the main wall raised to a height of fifty zhang, sixteen or seventeen meters, eighteen meters wide at the bottom and ten meters wide at the top, with an urn and arrow tower built on top.

Several city gates that were difficult to defend were completely blocked, leaving only four city gates in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest. There were four urn cities built inside and outside each city gate. There was an urn city outside the main city gate, and there were three urn cities inside. There were urn cities within urn cities. Arrow towers were built on the city gates of each urn city. There were five arrow towers in the front and back, which could shoot at the enemy troops trapped in the urn city from both sides and launch cross fire. The defense capability was abnormal.

There is also a circle of horse-blocking wall outside the main city wall, which is three meters high and two meters thick. It is used to block the Yuan army's horse cavalry, so that only infantry can come to attack the city.

Moreover, the distance between the horse-blocking wall and the city wall is only eighty meters, and it is completely within the range of arrows from the top of the city wall. As long as the enemy infantry dare to enter the range of the horse-blocking wall, they will be directly shot by the arrows from the top of the city wall.

In addition, many trenches were dug crisscrossingly in this 80-meter-wide area, and the excavated soil was used to build some low walls of varying heights, which mainly served as dividing walls.

Even if the enemy entered the range of the horse-blocking wall, it would be difficult for them to deploy their troops under the city because there was no flat land in this area. If they wanted to fill the 80 meters between the horse-blocking wall and the main city wall, they would have to fill the trench under direct attack from arrows from the top of the city wall.

Moreover, it is impossible to cram too many troops into such a small area at once, which directly limits the size of the enemy's siege force. If Tuotuo sends waves of troops to attack the city, it will only become a tactic of adding fuel to the fire. In addition, due to the narrow space, heavy siege equipment will not be able to get in at all.

It's a great effort for Zhima Li to come up with something like this.
Not only that, outside the horse-blocking wall, there is also a circle of moat, which is widened and deepened on the basis of the original moat, and then the Yellow River water is diverted into it to pass around the city. The defense system of the entire city is impregnable.

Apart from anything else, if Tuotuo just wanted to fill up the two circles of trenches and moats outside, it would take more time than the battle of Xuzhou in the original history.

You may ask where did the soil go after digging so many trenches?

A: In addition to building a new wall to block horses, raising the city wall, and adding a urn city, Zhima Li also built an inner city within Xuzhou City, a big city within a small city.
This inner city is connected to the South Gate, which makes it convenient to escape from the South Gate during retreat. At that time, the army can abandon the outer city first, continue to defend the inner city, and leave the city from the South Gate.

The interior of the entire Xuzhou city is divided into two areas by this circle of newly built city walls. The north city is a big city and the south city is a small city.

The houses in the south city were still preserved to accommodate the soldiers and civilians defending the city, but the defenses of the north city were completely dismantled by Zhima Li, and dozens of artillery batteries were built, on which were mounted heavy gravity pendulum catapults, also known as fennel cannons, which were made according to the model given by Lu Jin.

The rest of the place was converted into warehouses and barracks to store rolling logs, thunder stones, stone bullets for catapults, firewood, kerosene, gold juice, and food. They even built a large animal pen to raise many livestock to provide meat for the army.

Many wells were dug in the city to provide water to the defenders, and the stored food and fodder was enough to feed the 100,000-strong army for four months.

If Tuotuo dares to attack Xuzhou, his teeth will definitely fall out.
And this is only the first line of defense. Once Xuzhou is lost, the second line of defense can be formed with Suzhou.

Suzhou’s city defenses were also reinforced. Although not as exaggerated as Xuzhou, it would not be easily conquered.

However, there is a 150-mile vacuum zone between Xuzhou and Suzhou. The area is flat and there is no city to rest. Once the defeated army of Xuzhou retreats to Suzhou, they will have no support in the 150 miles in between and are likely to be caught up by the Yuan cavalry, which will result in a major defeat.

So Zhima Li had four large military camps built between Xuzhou and Suzhou. They were made up of wooden walls, watchtowers, plank roads and arrow towers. There were also trenches, pits, tripwires and chevaux de frise outside the camps.

There was a large military camp like this, every thirty or forty miles, storing seven days' worth of food and fodder for the retreating troops. They would use these military camps to resist step by step and wear down Tuotuo's morale.

It extended all the way from Xuzhou to Suzhou, and the retreat route was also arranged.

Then he deployed special forces to hide in the mountains outside the two wings. As long as the main army withdrew from Xuzhou, the special forces on the two wings could go around and destroy Tuotuo's food supply to see whether he would retreat.

They had made all the necessary plans, just waiting for Tuotuo to attack. With the warning and assistance of Lu Jin, the Xuzhou Sesame Li in this dimension built the defense line of Xuzhou to be so strong that it was hard to tell how many of Tuotuo's front teeth would be broken.

With such a strong teammate beside them to actively support the troops, the Shengwu Army had no reason to miss the opportunity and began to expand their territory in Jiangbei frantically.
(End of this chapter)