Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 406: The Trouble with Attacking Zhongyuan
At the Marshal's Mansion in Jiankang, a highly secret military meeting was going on. There were only five people attending the meeting. In addition to Lu Jin, there were Feng Guoyong, Bao Yu, Xia Yu, and Zhan Ding. The four major staff officers were all present.

The Second Front Army in Huaibei had been reorganized, and now all it needed was additional equipment and training. There was no point in staying there any longer, so Feng Guoyong returned from Huaibei.

Looking at the sand table and maps that had been set up in the room, as well as the various intelligence and files placed on the table beside, Lu Jin said to the four people, "Let's talk about the deployment and arrival of various fronts first, and then discuss the arrangements for this year's three-party battle."

"Yes!" Everyone immediately agreed, and Feng Guoyong took the lead in reporting, "Let me first talk about the Second Front Army in Huaibei.

"At present, the Second Front Army has been fully reorganized and stationed in various places in Huaibei in regiments. The Fifth Army is deployed in the front. The two divisions of Feng Sheng's 36th Army are now stationed in Fengxian, Peixian, and Yizhou. Zhao Zhongzhong's 49th Army controls Hainingzhou (Lianyungang) and Ganyu.
"The Sixth Army is deployed in the rear, Hu Hai's 50th Army is still in Huai'an, and Mao Gui's 51st Army is still in the vicinity of Xuzhou south of the Huai River."

As Feng Guoyong spoke, he stuck small red paper flags on the sand table and marked the map with a pen.

Lu Jin looked at the troop deployment on the map, studied it for a while, and then asked, "What about Gaoyou and Yangzhou? Are there any troops stationed there now?"

Feng Guoyong immediately said, "There are no regular field troops stationed here anymore. Gaoyou and Yangzhou are now all handed over to the newly formed local internal guards for garrison."

"Have Bian Yuanheng and Li Huafu, who were originally stationed in Gaoyou, and Fu Youde who came from Xuzhou, all been deployed to their positions now?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu immediately stepped out and said, "My lord, I am keeping an eye on the reorganization of the Fourth Front Army.

"At present, the 7th Army of the Fourth Front Army has been fully reorganized, and Zhao Yong's 111th Division has been transferred back from the Anqing front and has now returned to the base.

"The two divisions of the 38th Army led by Yu Tingyu and Zhao Yong are currently stationed in Luzhou. The newly formed 53rd Army led by Bian Yuanheng and Li Huafu has also been transferred to Lu'an. Now there are four divisions and 12 regiments of troops on the front line of Luzhou and Lu'an.

"It's just that the 8th Army has not yet been fully reorganized. Hua Gao's troops are still stationed in Hexian County, and Yu Tongyuan's troops are still in Haozhou. The other half of their two armies, Fu Youde and Li Xixi, are now in Tianchang.

"Li Xixi is currently still short of a division of troops. The plan is to prepare to launch an attack on Zhao Junyong in Suzhou. After this battle, he can reorganize Zhao Junyong's old troops and give Li Xixi a new division. Only in this way can the 8th Army be reorganized.

"However, Zhang Long's cavalry regiment has been transferred from eastern Zhejiang to the front line in Haozhou and is also preparing to participate in this battle, but it is currently lacking an artillery regiment."

Xia Yu made marks on the sand table and said, "I suggest borrowing an artillery battalion from the Second Front Army to assist in this offensive operation, and then return it after the battle of Suzhou."

"Okay." Lu Jin nodded and asked, "How many soldiers does Zhao Junyong have in Suzhou? Have you found out now?"

"We've found out. Fu Youde and Mao Gui already knew their approximate deployment. Even if Zhao Junyong tried to recruit more soldiers during this period, it would be too late. Moreover, he is short of food. Even with the existing force, he can only barely maintain it. It is absolutely impossible for him to expand the army." Xia Yu introduced the situation while picking up a baton and pointing at the sand table.

"Currently, Zhao Junyong's Suzhou base camp has 20,000 soldiers stationed there, and the other bases have a maximum of 3,000 soldiers, and the smallest base in Mengcheng has only 1,000 soldiers. Besides Suzhou, other peripheral cities can be directly surrendered by Fu Youde and Li Xixi. The generals of these branches will not resist stubbornly when they see that Zhao Junyong is doomed. Even if they really have to fight, it is easier to attack a city with only a few thousand soldiers stationed there."

Lu Jin nodded after hearing this, and after thinking for a while after looking at the markings on the map, he said, "Since it's easy to fight, let's fight quickly and early, and don't delay the reorganization of the Fourth Front Army. Remember, I will make the following deployment, order!"

When Xia Yu heard the word "command", he quickly took out paper and pen to take notes.

"Yu Tongyuan's 54th Army set out from Haozhou, divided its troops to capture Wuhe and Huaiyuan, then turned north and headed straight to Suzhou; Zhang Long's st Cavalry Division moved westward, surrendered the defenders of Mengcheng, and turned to the west of Suzhou, hiding and waiting, ready to intercept the fleeing enemy.

"Fu Youde's 134th Division set out from Tianchang to the west, recruiting Xuyi, Hongxian, Lingbi and attacking the east of Suzhou. Mao Gui led the main two divisions of the 51st Army from Xuzhou to the south, directly reaching the north of Suzhou.

"After all the troops arrive at the designated positions, we will launch a general attack on Suzhou, encircle three of its points and leave one, and completely annihilate the enemy in Suzhou.

"In this battle, Yu Tongyuan will be the main general and Mao Gui will be the deputy general. They will attack Suzhou from all sides. The deadline is to capture Suzhou before April. I want to see Zhao Junyong's head. Food and fodder will be transported to Gaoyou via the Grand Canal and then transported to the battlefield from Gaoyou.

"After the battle, everyone will return to their respective units, and the Fourth Front Army will complete the reorganization and assembly as soon as possible. Have you written it down?"

"I've got it down. Please sign and seal it, my lord." Xia Yu immediately handed over the order and said.

Lu Jin glanced at it and saw that he remembered it correctly, so he signed and stamped it immediately, then returned it to Xia Yu and said, "Send it out immediately after the meeting, don't delay."

"Yes!"

"What about the other armies? Have they been deployed to their positions?" Lu Jin asked again.

Upon hearing this, Bao Yu immediately stepped forward and said, "My Lord, I am watching the reorganization and deployment of the 135th Front Army.

"At present, the Third Front Army, which was the former East China Front Army, has been adjusted and is temporarily stationed in eastern Zhejiang to cooperate in the implementation of the new policy.

"The First Front Army in Anqing has also been mobilized. Xu Da and Hua Yunlong have already arrived at the front line of Susong and Anqing. The First Front Army's reinforcements are also from the captured soldiers in eastern Zhejiang. Now, not counting the two naval regiments in Anqing, there are already 24 regiments, people.

"The Fifth Front Army has now been fully replenished. The composition of Chang Yuchun's and Liao Yongjian's troops is relatively simple. We can simply transfer the replenishment regiment captured from eastern Zhejiang. There are also 180,000 people now."

Lu Jin nodded, looked at the mark on the map and asked, "Where is Chang Yuchun's army fighting now?"

Bao Yu immediately pointed to the map and said, "It's still in the area between Tongling and Jingxian."

Hearing this, Lu Jin frowned and said in dissatisfaction, "What's wrong with this Chang Yuchun? He always said that he could lead 100,000 soldiers. Now he has 100,000 soldiers, but he hasn't moved for two months. Didn't I tell him not to worry about anything and just go to Huizhou to fight?"

Bao Yu immediately explained, "My lord, although the Fifth Army has enough soldiers, many of the new troops have just arrived. These soldiers are of varying quality and have not yet been trained. Their internal relationships have not yet been sorted out, and their weapons and armor are seriously insufficient. Among the five armies, the Fifth Army has the least armor.

"In addition, he does not have enough artillery. He lacks a complete artillery unit. The south is full of mountains and rivers. The 60 heavy guns removed from the tower ship are not very suitable for the south. He has already decided to transfer the heavy guns to the navy.

"In view of the current situation, I suggest that the Fifth Front Army should wait until May to send out troops. It is now early March, and March and April are the time for spring ploughing. Launching an offensive now will inevitably affect spring ploughing.

"These two months are just the right time for him to train his soldiers and get familiar with his generals. The Dangtu Iron Works has already started production. Together with the output of the Luzhou Iron Works, it can produce at least 17,000 sets of armor per month, which means 34,000 sets in two months. If he is given two more months of armor, the armor coverage rate of the Fifth Front Army can be at least increased to 40%.

"As for the artillery, I suggest that we quickly form a few new imperial guard divisions to support various fronts. There are more than 50,000 captured soldiers transferred from Huaibei and eastern Zhejiang, all piled up outside Jiankang City. It would be best to quickly reorganize them and send them to various places.

"If we wait until May to send troops, we can avoid spring ploughing and summer harvest, and also avoid the enemy taking away the grain in the fields and transporting it elsewhere."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "Then quickly expand the artillery of the five bastions in Anqing into a division and distribute them to various places. Do you have any suggestions for the reorganization of the Imperial Guard Division?"

Hearing that the Imperial Guard Division was going to be expanded, Feng Guoyong immediately said, "The previous three-regiment system of the Imperial Guard Division was very useful, with a musket regiment, a vanguard regiment, and an artillery regiment, totaling 10,000 people. Each front army is equipped with one or two divisions to serve as the spearhead of the attack. They performed very well in this Eastern Expedition, so we just need to continue to reorganize them like this. As for the generals, didn't the lord just ask for a few young generals from Hong County?" Lu Jin nodded and was about to say something. Zhan Ding, who had just arrived for two months and was still familiar with military affairs, had been unable to interrupt before, but now he finally found a chance to say, "My lord, this is a report sent by Zhang Dushi of the Imperial Guard Second Division, requesting a batch of weapons to be made to re-equip the vanguard regiment."

Lu Jin took it and looked at it, and found that it was written by Zhou Tong, the commander of the vanguard regiment of the 2nd Imperial Guard Division, and Zhang Wen just signed his name.

Zhou Tong said in his report that the vanguard regiment was mainly used for sieges and street fighting, and was not used for field battles. It would be useless and inconvenient to equip them with spears that were too long.

Moreover, the previous Imperial Guards' Formation was an elite force, and there were regular competitions within the camp. The winner of the competition could obtain a customized exclusive weapon. This resulted in the weapons of the heavy armored soldiers being too diverse. It would be better to uniformly equip three or four types of weapons.

He suggested that it would be best to use a lance, a long-handled saber, and a three-pointed long-handled axe, and recommended that they be popularized in all the vanguard regiments of the Imperial Guards Division. He also drew a sample diagram to explain the advantages of the three weapons.

Both the lance and the saber are powerful weapons for close combat, and the Imperial Guards are equipped with a large number of them. Zhu Yuanzhang is now using the lance, and Zhou Tong himself is using a long-handled saber. The two commanders happen to be representatives of them.

As for the so-called three-pointed long-handled axe, Lu Jin took a closer look and realized that this was the Swiss halberd from Europe, with an axe blade on one side, a pickaxe head on the other, and a spear tip on the top, which could be used for chopping, splitting, chiseling, and stabbing.

This thing isn't very good for battle, but it's a magic weapon for one-on-one can opening. No matter if it's an axe blade, a gun tip, or a pickaxe head, each hit will make a bloody hole in the armor and helmet. It is indeed very suitable for close combat between heavily armored infantry on narrow city walls and streets. It seems that the soldiers on the front line have fought more actual combat and have discovered which weapon is more suitable.

Lu Jin held the report and asked, "What is this three-pointed long-handled axe, or axe-gun? Do you have a sample of this thing?"

Zhan Ding immediately said, "Yes, I asked a blacksmith in the army to make one according to the design. The head of the axe and spear weighs only two pounds, and the handle is a flat pole made of mulberry wood. The total length is only five feet, reaching the height of a person's shoulder."

Zhan Ding took a sample axe gun from the corner and gave it to Lu Jin. Lu Jin played with it for a while, then used both hands to chop and stab. He felt that this thing was not bad, so he asked again, "What do you think of this weapon?"

Feng Guoyong took it and gestured, saying, "When the former Song Dynasty fought against the Jin army, they were equipped with heavy-armored axemen. This thing is indeed more useful against heavy-armored soldiers. Compared with the axe, this axe spear has more uses such as stabbing and chiseling. It seems very suitable for breaking armor, and it is definitely more durable than a sword."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "Then send it to the Luzhou Iron Works and make 20,000 of them first."

"Yes." Zhan Ding immediately began to draft the military order.

Lu Jin said, "Mr. Feng will be in charge of the formation of the Imperial Guard Division. I will give you the list of generals after the meeting. You can have them select soldiers from the prisoners outside the city for training. The strong ones will be organized into the advance regiment, and the rest will be organized into the musket regiment. The artillery regiment will be dispatched from the bastion in Anqing."

"Yes." Feng Guoyong agreed immediately.

Seeing that the reorganization and deployment of the five fronts had been discussed, and the reorganization of the Imperial Guard Division had also been planned, Lu Jin said, "Then let's talk about the layout of the intelligence station."

Upon hearing this, Bao Yu immediately said, "Jiangxi and Huizhou are currently playing a role. As for the new intelligence stations, I suggest that it would be better to set up three new intelligence stations in the west, which would be more reasonable."

Lu Jin looked at the map and asked curiously, "Isn't the west the direction of Nanyang? Why are there three?"

Bao Yu immediately explained, "Nanyang is an important stronghold in the Central Plains direction, and it is also a core city that must be captured this year. Nanyang must have a large station, but Nanyang is too far from Lu'an. There is also Xinyang in the middle, which is also an important node city. I think we can set up a Central Plains sub-station in Xinyang, which can be one level lower than Nanyang.

"Similarly, the Jingxiang area is not close to Nanyang. Compared with the Jianghan Plain, Nanyang is actually closer to Shaanxi. If the intelligence in the Jingxiang area is also handed over to Nanyang for unified command, it will be very inconvenient. So I think we should set up a separate intelligence station in Xiangyang and try to infiltrate Jingmen and Anlu to facilitate future operations."

Lu Jin looked at the map and thought for a while before saying, "Okay, let's do as you wish. What about other directions?"

Bao Yu then continued, "These are the ones in the south and the Central Plains. The other four major stations are Shandong, Hebei, Liaodong, and Goryeo. I suggest that you start arranging them now.

"Tuotuo has been demoted, and the Yuan court is in the process of getting a new prime minister. There must be loopholes to exploit during the transition between the old and the new. In addition, Dadu is in a period of shortage of food and grass this spring. We can take this opportunity to sell food to Dadu and buy a batch of war horses."

Lu Jin nodded, "Okay, you draw up a detailed plan, and we can talk about this alone later."

"Yes."

Although Bao Yu would talk about some things related to intelligence, they were all about the general direction. He would not talk about the specific personnel and composition of the intelligence station. If he didn't say it, Lu Jin wouldn't ask, and no one else would ask. Everyone had a tacit understanding.

After finalizing the setting of the intelligence station, Lu Jin said, "There is only one month left in the first quarter. We must formulate this year's combat plan before September. What suggestions do you have?"

Feng Guoyong immediately said, "My lord, I suggest that the three of them be responsible for the planning and tracking of the battle in one direction respectively, and I will take charge of the overall situation and remind and convey the progress of the battle to you, so as to avoid a war on three fronts that you cannot handle alone."

Lu Jin nodded, "That's a good idea, then why don't you three each choose one?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu immediately said, "Then I will choose the direction of Nanyang and Jingxiang. It just so happens that I have something else to say about the Battle of Nanyang."

"Okay, what about you two?" Lu Jin looked at Zhan Ding and Bao Yu and asked again.

Bao Yu immediately said, "The construction of intelligence stations in the north is more important. I must focus on the north. I will choose Shandong and Liaodong."

After choosing these two, Zhan Ding had no choice but to say, "Then I will focus on the battlefields of Huizhou and Jiangxi."

Lu Jin nodded, "You all know how many troops there are in each direction, and it's clearly marked on the map. Now start thinking about it. If you are given hundreds of thousands of troops each, how are you going to formulate an offensive plan?

"Xia Yu, go ahead. Didn't you say you had some thoughts about the Central Plains battlefield?"

"Yes." Xia Yu immediately stepped out, picked up the baton and pointed at the map and said.

"This year's battle on the western front of the Central Plains, in the direction of Nanyang and Xiangyang, there are about 20 cities that need to be captured. For our army, attacking cities and killing enemies are not a problem. The biggest problem is that the land is vast and sparsely populated. The cities are intermittent and cannot be connected. In addition, there is no waterway that runs through this road, which is very unfavorable for the garrison defense and logistics transportation.

"First, we have to attack from Lu'an to the west. Not counting Gushi in the north, the nearest city in the west is Guangshan, which is 360 miles away from Lu'an. There is no shelter along the way. Soldiers can't even find a city to rest and can only camp in the wild. There are no warehouses to store grain when transporting it to the west. If an enemy army attacks, there is no place to station troops in this nearly -mile route.

"Except for the blank section between Lu'an and Guangshan, there is also a 240-li section from Xinyang and Queshan to Tangzhou (Tanghe), which is completely deserted. A new city should be built on the bank of the Biyang River in the middle, and it is called Biyang.

"So I think that we should combine immigration and military attack to attack the Central Plains. It would be best to first dispatch three to four garrison divisions to build cities and open up wasteland. Then, after the battle line is stabilized, we can migrate more people from eastern Zhejiang."

Everyone frowned as they looked at the discontinuous city. Henan was ravaged by the Yuan Dynasty.
(End of this chapter)