Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 329: Immediate Action (Continued)

Zhang Wen and Wang Dayuan were soon called in, and Lu Jin made arrangements immediately.

"Yangzhou has sent a thousand prisoners of war and forced labor, as well as the bodies of Sun Deya and Yu Shiliang. Zhang Wen, send a battalion to Zhenjiang to pick them up and hand them over to Mr. Wang. Chop off all of Sun Deya and Yu Shiliang, leaving only their heads.

"Then you take the heads of these two men and the musket regiment of the Second Imperial Guard Division across the river to Hezhou, and send someone to deliver the heads to Lu Ding in Anqing, and tell him that I have done what I promised to do to avenge him, and you don't have to worry about the rest.

"This time when you cross the river, go and personally bring everyone's families to Shuntian Prefecture. Be sure to pay attention to safety. As for my car on the ship, do not bring it ashore just like before. Arrange the people and horses, and bring the car up after the curfew. Then enter the city through the south gate of Jiankang and deliver it directly to the palace. The fewer people see it, the better."

Hearing that he was going to pick up his wife and sister, Zhang Wen immediately said happily, "Okay, I'll take note of it."

Lu Jin also instructed, "Go quickly and come back quickly, and be careful. The Eastern Expedition will be on the 15th of next month, and you must get everything done before then, so as not to miss the date."

"Yes."

"Go."

Zhang Wen is Lu Jin's elder brother-in-law, Lu Jin's wife is his sister, and he is also Lu Jin's absolute confidant, so it is most appropriate to let him handle the task of picking up the person.

Then it was Wang Dayuan. Lu Jin asked him again, "Mr. Huanzhang went to survey the terrain. How did it go?"

Wang Dayuan immediately showed a strange expression and said, "The Long Bay that the lord mentioned is really good. I went to measure the water depth myself. There is almost no silt there, the water is very deep, and the river bank is relatively steep. It is indeed suitable for mooring large ships.

"There aren't many rocks on the shore, just mud, so it should be easy to dig. But my lord has never been there, so how did he know that this place is suitable for building a dock?"

How did Lu Jin know this? Of course, it was because he knew history. In the original history, the Longjiang Shipyard built by Zhu Yuanzhang was located there. Later, during the Yongle period, Zheng He's ships for the voyages to the West were also built there. Later generations also dug up the remains of a dock and an iron anchor from the early Ming Dynasty there. How could Lu Jin not know this?
"I also heard it from others." Lu Jin said casually.

"Since the terrain is suitable, let's settle it quickly. The 1,000 laborers in Jiangbei had a fight with my subordinates in Dingyuan before, and they also committed murder, arson, and the extermination of entire families. It's reasonable to kill them all, but now is the time to use people, and I don't want to kill people in vain, so let them do five years of hard labor to atone for their sins, and after five years, give them 20 acres of land each to settle down.

"Take these 1,000 people with you and arrange for them to dig docks and build a shipyard. They will work in the shipyard from now on. If you need to requisition surrounding land and relocate people, ask Shuntian Prefecture Governor Ji Xuan to help you solve it. If you need money and food, ask the Ministry of Finance of the Academy of Literature. If you need any craftsmen, ask the Construction Department to help you find them. No problem."

Wang Dayuan said with some embarrassment, "It's good to have enough manpower, money and food, but the dry dock that the lord mentioned has never been built before, especially the herringbone gate. I'm afraid it will be difficult to repair it."

"It's not difficult to repair. First, use bamboo and wood to drive two layers of piles in the water by the river, put bamboo cages and stones between the two rows of piles, and finally pile sandbags from the shore side to build a cofferdam. After scooping out the water in the cofferdam, you can start excavating.

"After the excavation, we will build the sluice gate and water diversion channel, compact it with cement, lay a layer of blue bricks on the outside, and finally install the gate. We will lay rails on the shore above the dock, and install gantry cranes and scaffolding cranes on the rails.

"The open space on both sides of the dock will be used for arrangement. A brick-making yard will be set up. The excavated soil will be used to make bricks on the spot to build factories and workshops. There will also be a lumber yard, a wood drying workshop, a wood processing workshop, as well as cables, sails, ironware, office buildings, and workers' dormitories. You can decide what you need.

"If you don't know how to build a cofferdam, you can find a bridge builder. They will definitely know how to build it. Do you have any other questions?"

Lu Jin had explained it in such detail that Wang Dayuan naturally did not dare to continue to refuse, so he finally asked, "How many dry docks do you want to build in total?"

Lu Jin thought for a while and said, "Look at the terrain nearby and you can build a few. At least two are needed. Build one first and use it while you build ships and build a new dock. Also, leave some space behind the current dock so that it can be extended in the future to build bigger ships."

"I understand. I'll do it right away and measure the land today." Wang Dayuan said goodbye and left immediately.

Lu Jin looked at Feng Guoyong again, "Someone has accepted the 1,000 hard labors. Is there anything else on the military front?"

"No more." Feng Guoyong shook his head.

"Then go and make arrangements quickly, and invite Mr. Baishi and the Grand Duke over."

"Yes!"

When Li Shanchang and Bao Yu came in, they both looked happy. Lu Jin asked, "Did you hear the good news and come here to share the good news?"

Li Shanchang immediately bowed and said, "Of course I want to congratulate you on the victory in Yangzhou, but I still have a few old things to discuss with you. First, the commander's office is short of manpower, and second, we need to win the hearts of the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. When will you have time to summon those scholars in the south of the Yangtze River and select one or two talented people to serve you?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment and said, "Just these two days, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Just let me know when you have made the arrangements, sir."

Li Shanchang nodded and said, "The second thing is that this year, the lord has expanded his territory by a thousand miles. He first gathered the three routes of Qing, Zhenjiang, and Taiping, and also swallowed up several counties in the east of Huai River. Next month, he will also march east to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If the war goes smoothly, he can occupy all the lands of the Three Wus. With such momentum, it may be difficult for him to hide his strength and bide his time. The whole world will surely pay attention to him."

Lu Jin glanced at him and guessed what Li Shanchang was going to say, so he listened to what he continued.

"If the civil and military officials of the Marshal's Mansion have made meritorious contributions, the lord will have the power to reward or punish them. However, the lord has recovered thousands of miles of the Han Dynasty and has made contributions to rebuilding the country. Heaven should favor you. But where should the reward come from? Why don't you take this opportunity to promote him to the title of king? This will also boost the morale of the civil and military officials and win the hearts of the people in the Three Wus."

For a moment, Lu Jin was really tempted. Indeed, becoming a king could boost morale. The boss was already a king, so how long would it take for him to become an emperor? Once Lu Jin ascended the throne, the people below would naturally follow him and would be more motivated.

However, after proclaiming himself emperor, he would obviously become the target of public criticism. Not only would he face even more brutal suppression from the Yuan court, but he would also be looked down upon by other rebel forces. We are all rebels, so why should you be the emperor first and what should we be?
Does the current Shengwu Army have the strength to single-handedly challenge the main force of the Yuan army, wipe out all the rebel forces, and march north to drive out the Yuan Dynasty?

Indeed, the complete Shengwu Army is very powerful. Lu Jin spent more than half a year in Luzhou to build more than 30,000 mobile main forces. Not only does everyone have armor, but they also have firearms that are beyond this era to help them. After crossing the river, they can be said to have swept all the way. More than 30,000 armored soldiers defeated an army of 180,000, and they only suffered more than 1,000 casualties. This incredible record is naturally eye-catching.

But each of us knows our own business. Relying on only 30,000 main forces, it is ok to act as a vanguard, but it is impossible to conquer the whole world. And now the Shengwu Army is in the stage of expansion. The newly recruited soldiers need to be trained, and the urgently needed weapons and firearms need time to be manufactured.

Although the Shengwu Army has expanded its strength by more than 100,000 since crossing the river, the armor rate has dropped from 100% to less than half. Although its size has expanded, it can only be said to be bloated. Not only is the current Shengwu Army not strong, but every time it expands, it is the most dangerous time. The quality of the army and the quality of the soldiers have dropped rapidly, and the original elite have been diluted by new recruits.

If he could train an army of 200,000, let alone become a king, he could directly become an emperor. At that time, Lu Jin would not be afraid of anyone. But now these 200,000 troops are not trained yet, so he just thought about it for a moment.

Then he shook his head and said, "Outsiders don't know our situation, but how can you not know it? Although we have expanded our army by 100,000 or 200,000 after crossing the river, these new troops are far from being elite. If I were given another year to train these soldiers for half a year and put them all in armor, why would I have to keep a low profile?
"Don't mention the matter of becoming king this year. At least we have to wait until we occupy all the three Wu regions, open the Dangtu Iron Factory, and increase the armor rate of the entire army." "Okay." Li Shanchang responded helplessly. He thought Lu Jin would humbly refuse or agree directly, but he didn't expect that although Lu Jin did not agree to become king, he was also very polite. The reason for the refusal was that the soldiers were not strong enough.

But it can't be considered wrong. After all, since ancient times, 'the one with the strongest soldiers and horses is the king'. Although the army has more people now, it is still not strong enough.

"The third thing is, we will be marching east next month. The scale of this expedition is unprecedented. My lord, would you like to issue a letter of proclamation? Anyway, such a large-scale expedition cannot be hidden. It is better to seize the initiative and boost momentum."

"This time, you and I have the same idea. Well, I have already written the draft of the manifesto, but my writing is not good. Since you asked me about this, why don't you polish it and then give it to the Duke to distribute in Zhejiang."

This time, Lu Jin nodded without hesitation and handed the draft, which had just been written and the ink was not yet dry, to Li Shanchang.

Although Lu Jin could not write classical Chinese, he had a basic understanding of the structure of such articles. He would start by scolding the enemy, listing the enemy's faults that angered the heavens and the people, and then publicize his own justice. Then he would say what he was going to do, such as who to attack, and finally tell the people in the area to attack what to do, and then make everyone hear it.
This is an important part of ancient public opinion warfare and also a political declaration that can not only undermine the morale of the enemy and boost the morale of one's own side, but also win the hearts of the people.

The later Lu Jin is not very good at writing, but after being influenced by the Internet in later generations, he is very good at cursing.
So Li Shanchang saw this draft, which began with listing the ten crimes of the Yuan Dynasty. Wow, Lu Jin actually came up with ten of them. With these ten crimes, there is no need to worry about the country's demise!
Li Shanchang smiled. This lord was not very good at writing, but he was really bad at scolding people. He immediately joked, "If this lord's article spreads, I'm afraid it will really become famous all over the world."

Lu Jin spread his hands and said indifferently, "It's not what you said, sir. Anyway, such a large-scale military deployment cannot be hidden, so why don't you just scold them out loud?"

Li Shanchang nodded. "Then what about the one about Tuotuo among the ten deadly sins?"

Lu Jin took the initiative to explain, "It's half true and half false. It's just a small plot to sow discord. Who knows, maybe there will be some unexpected gains after sending out this manifesto?"

Li Shanchang said, "If half of what the lord said is true, then once this proclamation is issued, it will surely spread throughout the world. Rumors are terrifying. By then, Tuotuo will be speechless. Who knows, the lord's plan of sowing discord may really work."

Lu Jin immediately revealed a sly smile, "I just want to make him speechless!"

Li Shanchang nodded, "Since the Lord has already made preparations, the civil officials will not interfere with this edict. I remember that the Duke is also very talented in writing. Why not let the Duke polish it for the Lord?"

After saying this, Lu Jin and Bao Yu looked at him. Lu Jin immediately understood that the proclamation was something that must be known all over the world. If he lost, there would be nothing to say, but if he won, it would definitely go down in history. Perhaps Li Shanchang felt that he had made greater contributions and there was no need to compete with the people below for such a small matter? Why not give it to Bao Yu?
However, according to what history has said about Li Shanchang's style, this person was good at monopolizing power and obsessed with power, but he really had no obsession with things like "fame".

Thinking of this, Lu Jin nodded immediately, "It's fine for the Duke to write it, so let's do it."

Bao Yu immediately took the draft and looked at the contents. He couldn't help but wonder, "My lord, do you have other intelligence channels to find out what's going on in the Yuan court?"

Lu Jin pretended to be profound, "Of course there are, but they are all hearsay, nothing more than hearsay, there is no concrete evidence, it cannot be counted. Some of it is true and some is false, but I am sure that most of it is true."

Bao Yu did not ask any more questions, but nodded and said yes, and then asked, "Then how should the opening and closing dates of this manifesto be written? Should we write the second year of Chu?"

Lu Jin thought for a while before saying, "Mr. Baishi just advised me to add the title of king. I thought about it and it's too early to add the title of king now, but it's okay to change the reign title. Didn't you say that you will summon those Jiangnan scholars in the next two days? The issue of the reign title can be brought up for discussion by then.

"You should write the main text first, and then add the year of the signature in a few days. Anyway, there is still nearly a month until the fifteenth of next month, so half a month should be enough to spread it."

Bao Yu nodded immediately, "I understand."

Lu Jin then looked at Li Shanchang and asked, "Mr. Baishi, do you have anything else to say?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang immediately took his leave, "Then I will go and arrange for the Lord to summon the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River, and then I will take my leave."

"it is good."

When Li Shanchang left and only Lu Jin and Bao Yu were left, Lu Jin took out the map and said.

"The fighting in Huaidong will be over in half a month, and the fighting in Zhejiang East will probably be quelled before the beginning of next spring. The Intelligence Bureau must prepare for the fighting next year and even the year after in advance.

"First, the direction north of the Yellow River, especially north of Huai'an, from Haining Prefecture (Lianyungang) to Shandong Qilu, the density of intelligence stations should be enough to control the entire Shandong Peninsula, and even develop towards Hebei Dadu.

"The other direction is the Central Plains. I need to know every move of Liu Futong's army. Also, we need to develop westward from Luzhou, along the entire northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains, all the way to Nanyang, Xiangyang, and Jingmen Prefecture. These are the key areas for development.

“After taking over eastern Zhejiang, if there is a suitable opportunity next year, we will concentrate our superior forces and divide them into two routes. One route will advance from Anqing and Huizhou to Jiangxi, and the other route will go west from Luzhou, deep into the Central Plains, take over the Nanyang Basin and the Jingxiang Pass, and go deep into the Jianghan Plain from the north. Then, we will attack Huguang from both sides with Jiangxi and launch a pincer attack.

"You can start arranging intelligence stations in these places now. If you don't have enough talent, I will hold an examination for scholars from Jiangnan this month. You can choose people from them then. If you have suitable candidates, you can also recommend them to me.

"This has to be done quickly, safely, and covertly. You decide."

"Understood, my lord. Please rest assured that I will arrange it as soon as possible. Since we are determined to develop in the south next year, can we arrange the Central Plains and Shandong regions in the north later? Especially Shandong and Hebei. The north has been abandoned by the former Song Dynasty for hundreds of years. The people in the north are different from those in the south. If we want to place spies there without attracting attention, we must carefully consider the selection of people.

"The intelligence station in Jiangxi has also been set up, so I will first manage Nanyang and Jingxiang?"

"Okay, let's do it." Lu Jin nodded immediately, and then couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Especially when Bao Yu said that the north had been abandoned by the former Song Dynasty for hundreds of years and that the hearts of the northerners were different from those of the southerners, he felt sad. It is difficult to conquer the world and even more difficult to rule the world. How to make up for the hearts of the north and south in the future is also a big deal.

Haven't you seen how many heads were lost in the early Ming Dynasty because of the North-South list of the imperial examination?
Bao Yu was a little overwhelmed when he saw Lu Jin sigh suddenly. He was about to encourage Lu Jin and say that he would be able to make up for people's hearts after the Northern Expedition, but Lu Jin didn't wait for him to say anything and just waved his hand, "Go and do it quickly."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)