Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 320 Everyone is dead, what else can I do? (ask for monthly votes)
As the sky gradually darkened, the four city gates outside Tianchang County were firmly blocked by the main force of the 102nd Division. There were also scouts patrolling back and forth on the periphery, and many visible and hidden sentries inside. There were also soldiers patrolling back and forth with dogs, acting as mobile sentries.

In the camp, there were soldiers on duty in armor, ready to fight at any time to guard against possible night raids by the defenders in the city.

Under such a siege, not even a mouse could escape, let alone break out. However, for some people, today was destined to be an extraordinary night.

In the central army tent of the camp outside the city, Zhu Liangzu was discussing the war with his generals while eating. Zheng Yong first reported on the disposal of Yu Shiliang's troops. After Zhao Que, Han Chang and others were incorporated, they had nearly 5,000 more available soldiers.

Although these people have little armor and cannot be used as the main attacker, they are more than enough to guard the city in the back, which can save a lot of main forces.

After talking about the nearly 37 people who surrendered to Yu Shiliang, Zhu Liangzu said to Yang Huan who was eating meat nearby, "Commander Yang, when we were in Jiankang before, the generals of the Imperial Guard and the th Army praised your artillery battalion to the sky, saying how powerful it was. Tomorrow you have to show us your skills and let us open our eyes.

"The Marshal also said that I don't know how to use artillery and asked me to listen to your advice in every battle. So, tell me, do you have any suggestions and plans for the siege tomorrow?"

Hearing this, everyone immediately looked at Yang Huan, who was only fifteen years old. In the past, everyone thought that he was Yang Jing's younger brother, and relied on his brother's relationship to become a battalion officer of the training camp. But unexpectedly, he actually made a big splash during this crossing of the river. He was unanimously praised by the officers of the Imperial Guards and the 37th Army, and was even promoted to regimental commander by the Marshal. However, the organization of his artillery team did not change.

Although his organization was not expanded, his military rank was promoted. This showed that the contribution of the artillery battalion was so great that it could not be suppressed and he had to be rewarded. From then on, even the people on Zhu Liangzu's 36th Army's side no longer dared to look down on him and treat him as a child.

Upon hearing this, Yang Huan immediately put down the lamb leg, clasped his hands, and spoke in the drab duck voice of adolescence, "General Manager Rong, the Marshal has taught us before that with the power of artillery now, it is difficult to directly bombard the city wall. The best way is to use artillery to wash the deck like in a naval battle, oh, that is, to use shells to hit the people on the top of the city.

"The specific method is to build a fort outside the city, move the cannons up there, and let the shells fire along the city wall. This will wipe out all the defenders and defense equipment on the top of the city. In this way, it will be easy to send people to attack the city. This is how we took down Zhenjiang Prefecture and Jiankang City before.

"But if we want to fight like this, it's best to attack from one corner of the city wall. Then, we can attack the city gate. As long as the gate hole inside the city is not completely filled with earth and rocks by the defenders, we can use artillery to blast the gate open. Then we can send in elite infantry and the city will be broken."

Yang Huan spoke eloquently, neither humble nor arrogant, but it was true that he spent every day with Lu Jin, his elder brother was the governor of the front, and he met the senior officials in the Marshal's Mansion every day. He had seen all kinds of big scenes, and these were just officers of a division, which was nothing to him.

But Yang Huan also did not dare to underestimate Zhu Liangzu. This was someone whose position would be on par with his in the future, so Yang Huan was told not to be arrogant in order to avoid being gossiped about.

Zhu Liangzu thought for a moment and asked, "Is this fort easy to build? How long will it take? We can't delay it for too long."

Yang Huan said immediately, "If we only attack from one corner, we only need to build four artillery batteries. I checked today and the city wall of Tianchang County is not very high, at most two meters. This artillery battery can be built in one or two hours, leaving half a day to break the city. One day is enough."

After hearing this, Zhu Liangzu immediately made the decision, "Well, we will start building the artillery at dawn tomorrow. We must capture the city before dark. We don't have time to waste here with a bastard like Sun Deya."

Seeing this, Feng Sheng immediately clasped his fists and said, "Manager, I am willing to be the vanguard tomorrow!"

Zhu Liangzu nodded, "You are so brave. Let Feng Sheng take the lead. There is no need for others to rush. There are many more big battles ahead, and everyone has a role to play."

"Thank you, butler!"

However, their plan was good, but they did not expect that Zhu Liangzu's conspiracy and psychological offensive in the afternoon would directly provoke internal strife among the defenders in the city, completely disrupting their plan.
In Tianchang County, Tu Hai followed Liu Minhua's plan and first detained Liu Minhua's wife and children as hostages. He then took out most of his own property and asked Liu Minhua to use the money to appease those officers and soldiers who were not from Dingyuan and asked them not to cause trouble.

On his own side, he falsely passed on Sun Deya's military order, saying that he was summoning the thousand and hundred households from Dingyuan to the government office for a meeting. However, as soon as they arrived at the courtyard, they were controlled by Tu Hai and his personal soldiers.

Then he sent his fourth brother Tu Dian to confiscate the property of those officers' homes. He personally took these properties and his trusted soldiers to appease the old soldiers from Dingyuan. While paying them salaries to win over their hearts, he promoted and placed his own trusted men in positions of power. Soon he took over the command of the old camp from Dingyuan.

He controlled the troops that should be controlled in the city, and won over those that should be won over. After Tu Hai and Liu Minhua had completely taken over the troops in the city, he sent his third brother Tu Huai out of the city as an envoy to negotiate surrender with Zhu Liangzu.

It was not yet midnight, and Zhu Liangzu had just returned from patrolling the camp and was about to rest when a soldier outside reported, "General, an envoy has come from the city, saying they want to negotiate surrender. As long as you agree to their terms, they can directly surrender the city."

Zhu Liangzu raised his eyebrows when he heard this. "Surrender? Who is that man? Can he represent tens of thousands of defenders in the city? It can't be that Sun Deya has gone crazy and wants to surrender to us, right?"

The soldiers were at a loss, and Zhu Liangzu just complained, then waved his hand and said, "Go and call a few commanders, and bring the messenger over as well."

"Yes."

Not long after, the lights in the central army tent were on again. Feng Sheng, Zheng Yong, and Yang Huan were all called over, and Tu Huai was also brought into the tent. Zhu Liangzu immediately asked

"Who are you? Who are you delivering this message for? How can the people behind you negotiate surrender on behalf of nearly 10,000 soldiers in the city?"

Tu Huai looked at the four generals on his left and right, and immediately said to Zhu Liangzu, who was in the lead, "I am Tu Huai. My elder brother Tu Hai is the commander of Sun Deya's personal soldiers. Now half of the soldiers in the city are under the control of my elder brother, and the other half are under the control of Liu Minhua. You must have heard of Liu Minhua, right? He has already discussed it with my elder brother. As long as you can agree to our conditions, the two of them will immediately surrender the city with 10,000 soldiers."

Feng Sheng and Zheng Yong looked at each other when they heard this. They were both a little surprised. They didn't expect such a thing to happen in the city.

Zhu Liangzu also raised his eyebrows and asked curiously, "Did you kill Sun Deya?"

"Not yet." Tu Huai said immediately.

Zhu Liangzu continued to ask, "Sun Deya is still alive. How can your elder brother Tu Hai and Liu Minhua make the decision? Will Sun Deya agree?"

"What if he doesn't agree? He can't make the decision now anyway." Tu Huai remembered his eldest brother's instructions firmly and told him not to reveal the matter of Sun Deya during the negotiation and to give a vague answer so that they would have an extra bargaining chip.

Zhu Liangzu saw that this man was quite smart and would not say anything no matter how he asked. However, he roughly guessed that Liu Minhua and the other man must have controlled Sun Deya and undermined his authority, so they controlled the army in the city to come out and negotiate with him. So he stopped asking questions and spoke directly.

"Then tell me your conditions."

Tu Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then said.

"The general shouted in broad daylight under the city that if we capture Sun Deya, he will be promoted to the commander of a regiment. Do you really take that seriously?"

"Of course I take it seriously."

"Okay, we can hand over Sun Deya and surrender the city, but the general has to give my eldest brother a regiment commander, and Liu Minhua also has to be given a commander. Moreover, they must continue to lead their old subordinates and promise not to break up our army." Tu Huai immediately put forward his conditions.

Zhu Liangzu raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and immediately corrected him, "Sun Deya only has one head, and I only promised one commander. Little brother, you asked for two right away. Doesn't that seem unreasonable?"

Tu Huai followed his elder brother's instructions and immediately explained, "Except for Sun Deya himself, Liu Minhua has the highest position and the greatest prestige in the army. He is the only one who can control those generals who are not from Dingyuan. If he is not given some benefits, how can he cooperate with my brother to surrender the city? So this one is not negotiable. If he does not agree, we can only defend the city with our lives.

“Besides, there are 10,000 soldiers in the city now, but your army’s regiment is commanded by only 4,000 soldiers. That’s only half of the army. If you don’t give a commander to the other half, how are you going to manage the soldiers?

"Although your army is brave, if our 10,000 soldiers really want to defend to the death, I'm afraid they can cause some casualties to your army. We can just surrender the city instead of making it so ugly. Both sides of us are righteous armies. If your army relies on its strength to bully the weak and insists on fighting with us, it won't sound good if it gets out."

Feng Sheng interrupted and said disdainfully, "What's so bad about that? You were the first to fight with our generals in Dingyuan. Our army went there just to seek revenge. We are not afraid of what others say. People in the world will have their own opinions and will be able to distinguish right from wrong."

Tu Huai was speechless immediately, so he just brushed aside the issue and asked again, "So do you two commanders agree or not? We promise not to separate our soldiers. In the future, we will join your army and obey your orders. In other aspects, we will be treated the same as yours. If you agree, I will go back and report. If you don't agree, I'm afraid we will have to fight under the city." "Tsk..." Zhu Liangzu sneered when he heard this, and then replied.

"Honestly speaking, you have no room for bargaining. You can't expect to get what you can't get on the battlefield at the negotiation table. You have to understand that I am trying to persuade you to surrender not because our army can't take down Tianchang County, but because I want to give you a chance to survive."

Tu Huai wanted to refute immediately after hearing this, but Zhu Liangzu quickly raised his hand to interrupt him and continued speaking.

"Last month, our General Lu led 30,000 main forces across the river, and within a few months, he swept through Jiqing, Taiping, and Zhenjiang, annihilating 180,000 Yuan troops. The 100,000-strong army of Yuelu Timur, Pingzhang of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, was defeated by our army with only 30,000 main forces, and he himself lost his head. How many troops do you have, a mere Tianchang?

"Jiankang City, the capital of Jiqing Road, is a huge city with high walls and deep moats, and a circumference of thirty miles. There are also 40,000 soldiers guarding the city, but it was also taken down by our main force in one go. Is your Tianchang County City more difficult to attack than Jiankang City?

"Although I don't have 30,000 main forces here, I have at least 20,000. Why don't you just not surrender? Let's set up our battle formations and fight. If you win, let alone command a regiment, I will give you the position of the army chief."

At this point, Zhu Liangzu's tone suddenly changed, and he warned with a cold face, "Don't bargain with me by saying that you can get something if you hold on. To tell you the truth, even if you don't surrender, our army won't have to spend much effort to attack, and there won't be many casualties."

After saying that, he pointed at Yang Huan next to him and said, "This kid is only 15 years old this year. He is the direct disciple of our commander. He has only a few hundred soldiers under his command, but he made great contributions during the crossing of the river and was promoted to the commander of the Imperial Army. Jiankang City was captured by him, and Yue Lu's -strong army was also defeated by his subordinates. Do you want to go back and learn from his methods?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Huai immediately looked at Yang Huan, who had been silent, and at first thought that the man was young and was the son of a general in the Shengwu Army. He did not expect that the young man had such a prominent background, so he did not dare to underestimate him.

However, Zhu Liangzu's criticism also put him under increased pressure, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his head. Hearing about the battle record of the Shengwu Army, they swallowed up three routes of land in a month, and the main force of 30,000 was able to annihilate 180,000 Yuan troops. How could he fight against them?

Just like Zhu Liangzu said, even if they fought to the death to defend the city, could they really cause many casualties to the Shengwu Army?
But when the time came, he had to bite the bullet and said, "But what the general said this afternoon in front of tens of thousands of people inside and outside the city, does it mean that it will not count? Do you want to break your promise?"

Zhu Liangzu immediately stood up, turned around and waved his hand, saying, "What I said was that if we catch Sun Deya, I would recommend him to be the regiment commander. It was a recommendation, but I didn't say it would definitely work out. And I only agreed to one, not two."

Tu Huai's eyes widened when he heard this. They were discussing one or two issues before, but now he stood up and didn't even guarantee one. He wanted to remind them immediately.

But Zhu Liangzu said again.

"Do you think our Shengwu Army is just a makeshift team like yours? We have hundreds of thousands of troops, and there are almost a hundred regiment commanders.

"We have two courts, the civil and military, and the secretariat that oversees military affairs. Local governments are governed by civil officials such as county magistrates and prefects. Military officers are not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Military officers can only be appointed by the commander himself. Let alone a regiment commander, even if it is a battalion commander of a thousand households, I only have the right to make suggestions, not the right to appoint."

Tu Huai was stunned. He thought that the two armies could negotiate surrender and it would be fine as long as the generals on both sides made it clear. He didn't expect that the Shengwu Army had so many twists and turns. It was also the first time that he had a vague impression of the scale and system of the Shengwu Army.

Zhu Liangzu continued, "However, I can still do what I promised before. Although I don't have the right to appoint regular military commanders, the Marshal allowed me to do what he wants before the expedition, so I can appoint temporary military positions. As long as I report to the Marshal's Office for approval afterwards, the Marshal will basically give me face and agree. In other words, I have the right to recommend.

"According to the Marshal, the army that our generals recruited young and strong to form an army is called a temporary supplementary regiment, the army that the rural volunteers took the initiative to join is called a temporary reserve regiment, and the army that the enemy generals directly brought to join is called a temporary independent regiment."

At this point, Zhu Liangzu turned around and looked at Tu Huai seriously and said, "If Liu Minhua and your brother can really surrender the city, I can decide to grant them the position of temporary independent regiment commanders, but this is only a temporary appointment, not a formal military position. If you want the Marshal's Office to approve and grant you a formal number, they will have to do more meritorious service."

Tu Huai immediately asked, "What kind of merit is this? Handing over Sun Deya and offering a city, isn't this considered a merit?"

Zhu Liangzu immediately said, "Of course not, because whether you surrender or not, I can take down Tianchang County. How can it be counted as their achievement?"

Tu Huai wanted to refute, but he also knew that what Zhu Liangzu said was true. After all, they had conquered Jiankang, which was garrisoned by 40,000 people, so how could they not conquer a small county like Tianchang? So he asked again, "Then what does it mean to have made a contribution?"

Zhu Liangzu then explained his purpose.

"To tell you the truth, this attack on your Tianchang is just incidental. It is just the beginning of the Jiangbei Campaign planned by our commander-in-chief. After taking Tianchang, we will also sweep across the entire Yangzhou Road, Gaoyou Prefecture, and Huai'an Road. There are many battles to fight next. Whether you can perform meritorious service depends on your brother and Liu Minhua.

"It is true that I can appoint temporary military positions, but whether they can secure the positions depends on their own ability."

Tu Huai was stunned and shocked. "What a big deal! Didn't Tuotuo's Yuan army arrive soon? Isn't it a way to die if we go north to attack Gaoyou and Huai'an at this time?"

Zhu Liangzu curled his lips in disdain when he heard this. "How many soldiers does Sun Deya have? How many soldiers does my Shengwu Army have? He is just a Tuotuo. How could we be afraid of him? Do you think everyone is like you? It took half a year to defeat Tianchang, but it only took our Marshal a month to conquer the three routes of Jiangnan.

"How we fight and who we fight is none of your business. In a word, whether we surrender or not, you go back and ask. I will give you an answer within an hour. If you do not surrender, you do not need to come out again. Go back and clean your neck and wait for death at dawn."

Tu Huai was stunned after hearing this. In their eyes, Tuotuo's Yuan court central army was an inviolable behemoth, but the Shengwu Army simply did not take Tuotuo seriously. But it was understandable that they would directly take over three routes and more than a dozen cities as soon as the war started. Tianchang was indeed not worthy of being taken seriously by them.

After figuring out the key, Tu Huai nodded and asked, "General, why don't you keep me as a hostage? I brought an attendant with me, and I can send him back to deliver the message."

Zhu Liangzu was speechless and said, "Your entire city is under my siege. If I don't give the order, none of you can leave. What's the point of having you as a hostage?

"Hurry up and ask your brother and Liu Minhua to reply immediately. After conquering Tianchang, I still have to fight Yangzhou and Gaoyou. If time is not urgent, I don't have time to waste with you. Just based on Sun Deya's behavior, I will never allow you to surrender. I must capture that guy with my own hands!"

Tu Huai's forehead immediately broke out in sweat when he heard this. Well, it seemed that the other party really didn't take Tian Chang seriously. So he immediately clasped his fists and said yes, then returned to the city with his entourage.

When Tu Huai arrived at the foot of the city, he took a hanging basket back to the city and told Tu Hai and Liu Minhua everything Zhu Liangzu said. The two suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the Shengwu Army had not made any moves for half a year, but now suddenly launched an attack. It turned out that they were just incidental, and their goal was the entire Huainan area in Jiangbei.
After learning the truth, the two felt even more embarrassed. They had fought with all their might, but the other party didn't take them seriously, which made them feel frustrated.

But from another perspective, this is not a bad thing. The Shengwu Army is looking at the overall situation of the world and will naturally not haggle over small figures like them. Now that the Shengwu Army is developing so rapidly, maybe they will have a better time boarding this speedboat than staying on Sun Deya's broken ship.

As for whether the commander of the temporary independent regiment can be converted to a regular commander, I'm afraid it's really like what Zhu Liangzu said, they can only rely on themselves.

The two men discussed it in detail again and immediately decided to surrender. However, the matters in the city still had to be dealt with first. They had to have an explanation on how to explain to the 10,000 soldiers why they had to surrender and where Sun Deya had gone.

So not long after, Tu Huai went out of the city again and brought some outrageous news.

Sun Deya knew his mistakes and knew that Lu Jin would not let him go, nor would he let go of those generals who had fought with Lu Ding. But they also knew that they would definitely not be able to defeat the Shengwu Army. So in order to save more soldiers and keep everyone alive, and also to prevent the righteous armies from fighting each other and to avoid being laughed at by the Tartars, Sun Deya decided to end his life as a revenge for Lu Ding's extermination of his family.

He first summoned Dingyuan's old subordinates and ordered his personal soldiers to execute these old men to prevent them from being sent to Lu Ding to be humiliated. Then he handed over the command of the army to Liu Minhua and his confidant Tu Hai. After committing suicide, he asked the two to open the gates and surrender the city, and bring their troops to surrender to the Shengwu Army.

Zhu Liangzu, Feng Sheng, Zheng Yong and others looked at each other in surprise.

Well, these two people put the blame for killing their comrades on Sun Deya, and even the order to surrender the army became Sun Deya's decision. Liu Minhua and Tu Hai became good people who followed the order. In the end, they killed Sun Deya so that there was no evidence, and created an image of a good man who was righteous and repentant. This saved Sun Deya's reputation after his death, and it can be regarded as a righteous act.
Zheng Yong still felt that this was outrageous, and immediately asked, "Manager, do we really accept their statement?"

Zhu Liangzu also frowned. "What else can we do? People are dead. If we want to stabilize the 10,000 soldiers in the city and get them to return immediately, we have to admit what they said. What else can we do?"

PS: I am begging for monthly votes, please. Can you get one thousand? Today’s daily limit is ten thousand.

(End of this chapter)