Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 384 Five Major Fronts

Things like reorganizing the army became easier once the overall framework was set. It was just a matter of filling in the boxes. Moreover, many of the positions were promised by Lu Jin in advance, which made it easier to deploy troops.

The first was the First Front Army in the Anqing direction, which formed the new Third and Fourth Armies based on the original 35th Army of Liao Yongan and Miao Daheng.

The commander-in-chief of the Third Army was Liao Yongan, and it was under the command of the original 35th Army and the newly formed 47th Army.

The commander of the 35st Division of the 101th Army was originally Liao Yongan, but now he has been handed over to Jin Chaoxing, the general who joined the army when Chao County was attacked. He also expanded the 120th Division, and the commander was Yin Congdao, a surrendered general who was conquered by Lu Jin when he fought Zuo Junbi. He has been in the army for quite some time and had been promoted to regimental commander before. This time he was promoted to another level.

In addition, the generals in Anqing lacked experience in organizing and commanding large-scale battles, and Lu Jin was afraid that they would not be able to handle it. The main force of the East China Front Army was composed of generals who had followed him through the crossing of the river and participated in the entire campaign to the east, and they had rich practical experience in large-scale battles.

It just so happened that they had just finished fighting in eastern Zhejiang, and almost everyone had made a contribution, so it was time to promote some people.

So Lu Jin transferred Hua Yunlong and Xu Da's 42nd Army and split it into two parts. Xu Da of the 119th Division was promoted to commander-in-chief of the 47th Army, and another 121st Division was expanded. Its commander was Zhang Liang, a cousin of Zhang Wen. He was promoted from battalion officer of the Imperial Guard to regiment commander, and after the battle in eastern Zhejiang, he was promoted to commander-in-chief.

In this way, the sequence of the Third Army became: 35th Army, under which were the 101st Division led by Jin Chaoxing and the 120th Division led by Yin Congdao; 47th Army, under which were the 119th Division led by Xu Da and the 121st Division led by Zhang Liang.

Let Xu Da serve as deputy to Liao Yongan, a senior officer, to enhance the Third Army's combat command capability.

The commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army was Miao Daheng, who was in charge of the newly formed 48th and 42nd Armies.

The newly formed 48th Army was expanded based on the original 104th Division of Miao Daheng. The supervision of the 104th Division was handed over to Wu Guobao, who was one of the generals of Huaixi who changed his name to Wu Zhen in order to avoid Zhu's name in history.

A new 122nd Division was formed, with Han Qinglu, formerly from the 101st Division, as its commander. Han Qinglu was a surrendered general under Kang Maocai and had been stationed in Wuwei County. Later, the entire city surrendered. He had also served in the army for quite some time and was promoted to acting commander-in-chief this time.

The foundation of the 42nd Army was still Hua Yunlong's 118th Division, but Xu Da of another division was transferred away, so a new 123rd Division was formed. The commander-in-chief was Xia Xinghou. He was originally a surrendered general of the Yuan army's Anqing Wanhu Mansion, but later he also followed the army to cross the river and march east. When crossing the river, he was only a battalion officer of a thousand households. During the Eastern Expedition, he was promoted to a regiment commander under Hua Yunlong. This time he was promoted to commander-in-chief.

Therefore, the sequence of the Fourth Army Group became the 48th Army, which was composed of Wu Guobao's 104th Division and Han Qinglu's 122nd Division; the 42nd Army was composed of Hua Yunlong's 118th Division and Xia Xinghou's 123rd Division.

In addition to the infantry of the 35th, 47th, 48th and 42nd armies, the inland navy gunboats from Liujiagang were transferred to reinforce Miao Youzhen's Lei Chi Navy, that is, the Third Navy Regiment, together with Sang Shijie's Second Navy Regiment, all of which were assigned to the First Front Army to attack Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake.

The situation on the Second Front Army side in North China is a little simpler. There are several forces that have voluntarily surrendered or been persuaded to surrender, and they are all here.

First of all, there were the hundreds of thousands of Yuan troops who were gathered together. Among them, there were two largest factions, whose leaders were named Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng.

This Tian Feng is not that Tian Feng. He is not the strategist who helped Yuan Shao destroy Gongsun Zan in the late Han Dynasty, but a big landlord and salt smuggler in Hebei in the late Yuan Dynasty. And that Wang Shicheng is also a salt smuggler from Hebei.

These two people were salt soldiers recruited by Tuotuo at the salt fields near Dadu in the first half of the 12th year of Zhizheng. There were more than 30,000 of them in total. They wore yellow scarves on their heads and were called the Yellow Army. Their nature was similar to that of the earlier Zhu Liangzu and Chen Yexian. They all belonged to the militia, but their militia was directly commanded by Tuotuo.

In the original history, these two people are also very interesting. They were first recruited into the army by Tuotuo, and followed him to attack Xuzhou. The next year, they were taken to attack Gaoyou occupied by Zhang Shicheng. Then Tuotuo was demoted, and the "million-dollar army" collapsed overnight. After that, the two of them went to join Liu Futong together.

Later, when the Longfeng Army was on the Northern Expedition, Wang Shicheng was assigned to Guan Duo's Central Army and followed him to Liaodong. Tian Feng followed Mao Gui to Shandong. Because of his meritorious service in the war, Tian Feng was appointed Prime Minister of Yidu Province by the Han Song regime.

After the central army was annihilated by Goryeo and the remaining troops retreated to Liaodong Peninsula, Zhao Junyong fled to Shandong to seize power and killed Mao Gui. Then Tian Feng, the prime minister of Yidu Province, suddenly became the most prestigious person in Shandong rebel army and had a tendency to control Shandong.

But at this time, Chagan Temur, who had just captured Bianliang, Henan and drove Liu Futong to Anfeng, heard the news and immediately led his troops to attack Shandong.

The Shandong rebel army had just suffered a dramatic change with the killing of Mao Gui, and the people were in chaos. Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng were outnumbered and finally surrendered to Chagan Temur. However, this was not the end. Taking advantage of the opportunity when Chagan Temur came to Shandong for inspection, these two people suddenly assassinated Chagan Temur and rebelled against the rebel army again.

However, they did not hold out for long after this rebellion, as Chagan Temur's adopted son, Kuyuk Temur, also known as Wang Baobao, led his troops to Shandong to avenge his father. He killed both Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng, and also took over the entire Shandong province.

At this point, all the territories north of Xuzhou fell into the hands of Wang Baobao. At that time, Xuzhou was in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang and was garrisoned by Feng Sheng.

Looking at the experiences of Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng, they initially helped the Yuan army fight very hard, but after seeing Toghto, who was dedicated to the country, being demoted, the two resolutely joined the rebel army. After Mao Gui's death, they were still able to try their best to preside over the overall situation in Shandong. Although they surrendered very quickly, they were able to successfully assassinate Chagan Temur and return to the rebel camp.

Judging from their actions rather than their hearts, these two men are still good guys and have some sense of loyalty.

In this time and space, the two witnessed the corruption and darkness of the Yuan court more than half a year earlier than the original history. The soldiers who truly worked for the court not only received no rewards or pensions, but were framed by treacherous officials in the court and forced to disband their troops. Under such circumstances, only a fool would continue to work for the Yuan court.

In addition, Zhu Liangzu's timely military advance gathered the defeated Yuan army, so the two naturally joined the Shengwu Army instead of Liu Futong as in the original history.

Feng Guoyong was in charge of the reorganization work in the north. He came back and reported to Lu Jin that when Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng came to surrender, they each controlled an army of more than 10,000 people, which added up to less than 30,000. The two had great influence in the army, and they certainly could not be sent away by just giving them a regimental commander or something. They had to at least be appointed as commander-in-chief or deputy general manager.

It was also a good deal to buy horse bones, telling the surrendered Yuan army soldiers that the Shengwu Army did not treat them differently.

Therefore, when reorganizing the Second Front Army this time, we must also consider incorporating them. These two people happen to be from the north, and the Second Front Army is specifically used in the North China battlefield, so they will definitely be used in the future.

Therefore, according to the old rules, the Second Front Army of North China was formed based on the original 36th Army of Zhu Liangzu and Liao Yongzhong, which was under the command of the 5th and 6th Army Groups.

Among them, the 5th Army Group, with Zhu Liangzu as the general and Feng Sheng and Zhao Zhongzhong as deputy generals, was under the command of the original 36th Army and the newly formed 49th Army.

The position of commander of the 36nd Division of the 102th Army, formerly held by Zhu Liangzu, was handed over to Feng Sheng. A new 124th Division was formed, and its commander was Wang Shicheng, who had just defected and concurrently served as deputy chief of the 36th Army. Well, it was the Wang Shicheng in the Yuan army.

The newly formed 49th Army had the newly formed 125th Division under its command, and its commander-in-chief was Zhao Zhongzhong, a veteran from Chaohu. Another newly formed 126th Division had its commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief being Tian Feng, who had just surrendered.

It’s a mix of newcomers and veterans, making it easy to integrate and control.

The 6th Army Group, led by General Liao Yongzhong, and Deputy Generals Hu Hai and Mao Gui, was composed of the newly formed 50th Army and the newly formed 51st Army. The 50th Army was expanded based on Liao Yongzhong's original 106th Division. The position of the commander of the 106th Division was transferred to Hu Hai, who also served as the general manager of the 50th Army. Another new 127th Division was formed, with Zhang Shicheng as the commander. This guy brought three regiments of troops to surrender, and Lu Jin promised to give him a position as the commander, which satisfied him.

Another newly formed 51st Army had the newly formed 128th Division under its command, and its commander was Mao Gui from Xuzhou, who also served as the trial chief, which meant the trainee acting chief. The newly formed 129th Division had its commander Xue Xian, who was also from Xuzhou.

Others from Xuzhou included Peng Zaozhu and Cheng Liangbi. They were arranged under the command of Mao Gui and Xue Xian as regiment commanders and deputy commanders, which was considered a promise Lu Jin agreed to.

Fu Youde and Li Xixi were thrown by Lu Jin to the Fourth Front Army in Central Plains.

The entire Second Front Army, with Zhu Liangzu as the governor-general and Liao Yongzhong as the deputy governor-general, had the 36th Army led by Feng Sheng and Wang Shicheng, the 49th Army led by Zhao Zhongzhong and Tian Feng, the 50th Army led by Hu Hai and Zhang Shicheng, and the 51st Army led by Mao Gui and Xue Xian.

In addition, there was Zheng Yong from the original 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Lu Jin also transferred the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of his adopted son Lu Pojun, and then asked Zheng to use his subordinate Zhang Huzi to form a 4th Cavalry Regiment, to gather the strength of the three cavalry regiments and upgrade it to an independent cavalry division. Zheng Yong was the commander-in-chief and Zhang Huzi was the deputy commander-in-chief, and they were directly under the command of the front headquarters.

There was also an independent heavy artillery regiment of Yu Tongyuan, which used artillery removed from the three ships. There were 96 guns in total, 60 of which were heavy artillery, more than other artillery regiments, but less than two regiments. A normal artillery regiment should have 64 guns, but his had half more.

This independent heavy artillery regiment is also directly under the jurisdiction of the front headquarters. In the future, it will continue to replenish the number of artillery and strive to increase the size to two artillery regiments.

There were not many changes on Yang Jing's East China Front Army. Apart from changing the name to the Third Front Army, it mainly made some internal adjustments. In addition, the vacancy left by Hua Yunlong and Xu Da's 42nd Army being transferred to Anqing needed to be filled by a new army.

Based on the original 40th Army of Yu Tonghai and Zhang Desheng, it was split up, supplemented with new soldiers, and expanded into a 52nd Army.

Yang Jing himself no longer served as the commander of the 103rd Division, and was replaced by Pu Ying, who joined the army in Luzhou at the same time.

After the adjustment, the Third Front Army was composed of the First and Second Army Groups.

The 1st Army Group, led by General Yang Jing, and deputy generals Ye Sheng and Xu Yong, consisted of the 37th Army led by Pu Ying and Ye Sheng, and the 41st Army led by Xu Yong and Guo Zixing.

The 2nd Army Group, with Yu Tonghai as the general and Zhang Desheng as the deputy general, is under the command of the 40th Army and the newly formed 52nd Army.

The 40th Army retained Yu Tonghai's original 114th Division and formed a new 130th Division, with Wu Fu, the former regimental commander of the 110th Division, as the commander.

The newly formed 52nd Army was based on Zhang Desheng's 115th Division, and expanded into a 131st Division. The commander of the division was Cao Liangchen, the regimental commander under Guo Zixing of the former 117th Division.

Wu Fu was the thousand-household general who came to watch the show and then surrendered on his own initiative when Lu Jin attacked Luzhou. Cao Liangchen was also an old man. Yang Jing personally went to Anfeng to recruit soldiers. This time, the two of them took the opportunity to move up to the next level and were promoted to the position of commander-in-chief.

Originally, Zhu Shou was the commander-in-chief of the Second Army Group, but Zhu Shou was in the Imperial Guard. Now that the Eastern Expedition was over, if he was transferred back, he would not be suitable to continue serving as the commander-in-chief of the Second Army Group. Therefore, this adjustment was made, allowing Yu Tonghai and Zhang Desheng to be promoted one level each, and their subordinates were also promoted at the same time.

The Fourth Front Army in the Central Plains has the simplest troop composition and basically does not require any adjustments, just pull them over and make up the whole force.

The Fourth Front Army was commanded by Yu Tingyu, the governor-general, and Hua Gao, the deputy governor-general. It had under its command the 7th and 8th Army Groups, as well as Zhang Long's Cavalry Regiment, which was directly under the command of the Front Army.

The 7th Army Group, led by General Yu Tingyu and Deputy General Bian Yuanheng, consisted of the 38th Army led by Yu Tingyu and Zhao Yong, and the 108rd Army composed of the 132th Division led by Bian Yuanheng and the newly formed 53nd Division led by Li Huafu.

The 8th Army Group, led by Hua Gao as the commander-in-chief and Fu Youde as the deputy commander-in-chief, was composed of the 112th Army consisting of Hua Gao's 133th Division and Li Xixi's newly formed 39rd Division, as well as the newly formed 134th Army consisting of Fu Youde's 113th Division and Yu Tongyuan's 54th Division.

Yu Tingyu, Zhao Yong, Hua Gao and Yu Tongyuan are all veteran generals of Chaohu. Their qualifications are at the ceiling level, but their command ability does not seem to be top-notch in the original history. Therefore, Lu Jincai specially sent Bian Yuanheng and Fu Youde, two generals who had commanded large-scale battles in history, to strengthen the Central Plains direction in order to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Front Army.

Finally, only the Fifth Front Army in South China remained, with Governor Chang Yuchun and Deputy Governor Liao Yongjian.

The personnel configuration of their front army was pretty mediocre, with Chang Yuchun and Hu Dahai being the core output. So in order to balance the strength of the two armies, Lu Jin deliberately separated them.

The 9th Army Group, led by General Chang Yuchun and Deputy General Wang Zhiyuan, had under its command the 109rd Army consisting of Chang Yuchun's 135th Division and Zhou Xing's newly formed 43th Division; and the 136th Army consisting of Wang Zhiyuan's newly formed 137th Division and Zheng Yuchun's newly formed 44th Division.

The 10th Group Army, with Liao Yongjian as the general and Deng Shunxing as the deputy general, was composed of the 107th Army consisting of Liao Yongjian's 138th Division and Liu Chuanyi's newly formed 45th Division; and the 139th Army consisting of Deng Shunxing's 140th Division and Qin Rong's 46th Division.

Because Hu Dahai came from a relatively low-class family, he had not yet been promoted and could only serve as deputy commander of Deng Shunxing's 139th Division. Since he was originally a subordinate brought by Deng Shunxing, it was not easy for Lu Jin to promote him above Deng Shunxing.

At the same time, Deng Yu was too young, so he was left with Lu Jin. Lu Jin planned to put him in the Imperial Guard to form a new Imperial Guard division.

After the reorganization, the Shengwu Army, in addition to auxiliary forces such as the navy, cavalry, navy, and imperial guards, has a total of 20 armies, 40 divisions, 120 regiments, and a total strength of 54. If the cavalry and imperial guards are included, the number should exceed 60. The scale of this field army is already very large, and the establishment of the field army should not be increased in the future. Even if prisoners are captured, they can only be placed in the internal guards or the garrison soldiers.

As for how to deal with the surrendered generals in the future, there is a way to deal with this. After the world is pacified and the country is unified, there will definitely be another round of large-scale disarmament. There is no need to maintain so many field armies in peacetime, so we can start with the troop organization at that time.

The battalion was compressed to about 1500 people, the regiment to about people, and then the brigade and division levels were increased, and the three-three system was changed. By the way, firearms were replaced on a large scale, and some staff positions were added to accommodate officers. This was equivalent to taking another step towards a modern army. In this way, a lot of positions could be added to accommodate those surrendered generals and the meritorious generals on their side.

Some grassroots officers can also be laid off from the military and sent to local areas to form a police system.

Lu Jin, Feng Guoyong and Bao Yu completed the reorganization plan for the five army fronts and immediately sent it to various locations, asking them to start implementing it. They would first reorganize the five army fronts, and then count the remaining people and form other auxiliary arms.
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PS: I will briefly talk about the main generals of the five fronts and the considerations for personnel appointments, only up to the division level. I will not go into detail at the regiment level. It would be too watery to write about all 120 regiments. The plot of this reorganization is almost over. Next, I will write about the personal lives of some grassroots people and the public’s feedback on the policies.

If you want to see the complete compilation, I'll post a free chapter for you when I have time.

PS: I have asked the editor for a recommendation from the editor-in-chief, and it will be posted at midnight on the 8th. I will try to start updating twice a day. I beg all book friends to support me with monthly tickets when the time comes. Thank you.

(End of this chapter)