Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 448 Three Rules (asking for monthly tickets)

Why did Lu Jin design the route of advance in this way, attacking Dongchang (Liaocheng) first, instead of giving priority to attacking some "strategic location" Jinan? Because the times were different, you cannot mechanically apply the battles of other dynasties to the late Yuan Dynasty.

The title of "strategic location" is constantly changing with the changes in the environment. Just because you are a strategic location now does not mean it was a strategic location before.

If the Song Dynasty wanted to march north to Liaodong, could it take the Liaoxi Corridor? No!
Because the Liaoxi Corridor had not yet been formed during the Song Dynasty, there was only a sea route more than one meter wide, which was submerged in the sea for half a year, making it impossible to march. The Liaoxi Corridor was gradually formed from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty.

Shi Dakai was defeated at the Dadu River, but the teacher won the battle at the Dadu River. So can the teacher's battle at the Dadu River be replicated at the end of the Yuan Dynasty? No!

Because the Luding Bridge on the Dadu River was not built until the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. If you went to the Dadu River at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, you would be surrounded and blocked by the enemy from all directions. You would have no way out. You wanted to seize the Luding Bridge, but the problem is that there is no bridge now.
If we attacked Shaanxi at this time in the late Yuan Dynasty, could we encircle and annihilate the Shaanxi Yuan army in Chaoyi (Dali County)? No!
Because at that time the Tieniu Floating Bridge at Pubanjin on the Yellow River was still intact, the Yuan army could use the Floating Bridge to cross the Yellow River and escape to Yongji, Shanxi.

Whether in ancient times or modern times, what are wars fought for? Logistics and transportation lines!

Only a city that blocks the main logistics and transportation routes can be considered a "strategic location". Why was Jinan a strategic location during the War of Liberation? That's because Jinan had the amazing Jinpu Railway! It could transport troops, food, and ammunition!

Did Jinan have the Jinpu Railway at the end of the Yuan Dynasty? If you can't block the transportation line, what kind of strategic location are you? !
Luzhou (Hefei) was a strategic location before the Yuan Dynasty. Sun Quan dreamed of conquering Hefei because Hefei had Chaohu Lake and Feishui River, which could be used to transport grain to the Central Plains! But in the Yuan Dynasty, was Luzhou still a strategic location? It was no longer a strategic location because the Yuan Dynasty opened the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and Hefei's status as a transportation line was taken away by Yangzhou. In other words, the title of a strategic location depends on whether you have a transportation line!

Similarly, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty in 1353, if you were going to attack Jinan, a "strategic location" without the Jinpu Railway, or Dongchang (Liaocheng) which was blocking the canal, then Lu Jin would definitely choose Dongchang. Is there any need to think about it?
If there was the Jinpu Railway in Jinan today, he would definitely attack Jinan without saying a word.

During this period at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Dongchang ranked first among the strategic locations in Shandong; Yidu (Qingzhou), which connects central and southern Shandong and the Jiaozhou Peninsula, ranked second; Jinan might not even be ranked third, and might have to give way to Linyi, because Linyi is the southern gate of Jiangsu to the central Shandong region.

There were several major battles in Shandong area at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Mao Gui conquered Shandong, Li Chahan fought Mao Gui, and Li Chahan fought Tian Feng. All of them were fought around Yidu (Qingzhou). None of them was fought in Jinan. After Yidu was taken down, Jinan sent a detachment to conquer the city.

After Mao Gui conquered Shandong, Han Song also gave him the title of "Yidu Xingsheng Pingzhang". If Jinan was so important, why didn't he give him the title of Jinan Xingsheng Pingzhang?
What's more, they said that they would destroy the enemy's heavy troops and decide the outcome by issuing orders from other places. That's right, the problem is that Jinan is now a fucking empty city. The Yuan army's heavy troops have set up checkpoints along the canal and are not in Jinan at all!
In history, Mao Gui landed in Jiaozhou Bay. Why was he able to sweep eastern Shandong in just one month? That was because eastern Shandong was very empty. The main force of the Yuan army was on the canal. There were few Yuan soldiers in the place where he attacked. So why did he attack Jinan now? Occupy an empty city and let the Yuan army continue to guard the canal transportation line with heavy troops? ? ?

The three-pronged attack strategy proposed by the Privy Council is to use one central army to contain the enemy's heavy forces along the canal, and then send two routes from the east and west to attack the flanks of the canal from the left and right. The target is to attack the enemy's heavy forces and annihilate their manpower. Then, issue orders and conduct sweeps in other places. What's the problem with this?
After explaining the battle arrangements of the Privy Council to the generals of the Second and Third Front Armies, Lu Jin began to talk to people as he did before in Hezhou. The first one was naturally Zhu Liangzu.

What were Zhu Liangzu's shortcomings? He was greedy, lustful, and lacked political acumen. He had no shortcomings in fighting wars. He had been very active in several battles in history and had not made any mistakes. The strategy he proposed to attack Shandong from the front and attack its two wings also coincided with the plan of the Privy Council, but there were some differences in the details.

How did he die in history? During his stay in Guangzhou, he accepted bribes from local gentry and took their daughter as a concubine. He impeached (framed) the magistrate of Panyu County to Zhu Yuanzhang, who killed him. After Zhu Yuanzhang knew the truth, he summoned Zhu Liangzu and his son to Nanjing and beat them to death with an iron whip.

Knowing this person's temperament, the conversation can be carried out in a targeted manner.

After calling Zhu Liangzu over, Lu Jin took the initiative to chat with him and asked, "If I remember correctly, you are thirty years old this year, right?"

Zhu Liangzu nodded immediately and said, "I am exactly thirty years old. I was 28 when I surrendered to Your Highness. It has been exactly two years now."

Lu Jin nodded, "It is said that a man should be established at the age of 30, which is the time to establish himself, build a career, and build a family. You already have a family, a wife and children, and your parents are still alive, so your family is considered happy.
"Speaking of establishing a career, our anti-Yuan cause is now on the right track. Last year when we attacked Jiangbei, I could only gather 30,000 troops for you. Now we can gather 200,000 troops for the battle in Shandong. In a few years, we will be able to drive out the Tartars and recover Yanyun. Is there any greater cause in the world than this?
"But since you are independent, you still need to continue studying."

Zhu Liangzu raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He was also educated. Confucianism talks about the cultivation of personal morals. Lu Jin said that he still needs to learn to establish himself. Doesn't that mean he is morally flawed?

He was immediately filled with questions. What had he done wrong? How did it become a moral failure?

Zhu Liangzu was puzzled and asked, "What does your Highness mean by this? Did I do something wrong again?"

Lu Jin immediately asked back, "I heard that you took another concubine in Huai'an?"

Zhu Liangzu thought about it and suddenly realized what was going on. He took the initiative to explain, "Yes, it is true. She is the daughter of a gentry family. My father-in-law even asked me if I could be lenient with him so that he could keep more land and pay less tax.

"But Your Highness, you know me. Generals of our Shengwu Army are not allowed to interfere in local government affairs. This is a rule set by Your Highness himself. The amount of tax paid is controlled by local officials, and we have no control over it. So I did not agree to this."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin directly exposed the truth, "You listened to the concubine's pillow talk and wanted to plead for your father-in-law, but you were persuaded by Gao Xunshi, right?"

Zhu Liangzu opened his mouth, then fell silent, muttering, "What a dog-faced Lao Gao, accusing me of something!"

Lu Jin pretended not to hear and continued to ask, "Is this true?"

Zhu Liangzu immediately admitted, "That is true, but Your Highness, I didn't intervene in the end."

"I know you didn't care, otherwise you wouldn't be wearing this flying fish suit today." Lu Jin turned around and stared at him and said.

Zhu Liangzu was silent for a while before speaking frankly, "Your Highness, when it comes to fighting, I, Zhu Liangzu, admire you. Your Highness has led us brothers in so many battles and has never lost. When it comes to strategy, I can't compare with you. I don't have as many tricks as Your Highness. When it comes to business, I also admire you. Your Highness has built such a big family business in just two years, with hundreds of thousands of troops and sufficient food.

"But I really don't understand this tiered tax. Your Highness, if you do this, my brothers won't even be landlords anymore. The thousands of acres of land my family has in Lu'an can't even produce enough food to pay taxes to the government. I can see that I won't be able to keep this land.

"Then why do we follow His Highness to conquer the world? If the new dynasty is established and our brothers live worse than before, then wouldn't it be a waste of effort?"

Lu Jin didn't get angry after hearing this, but asked, "Anything else? If you have any dissatisfaction, please say it today. Anyway, no one else knows about it, and I won't punish you. Please continue."

Seeing this, Zhu Liangzu pursed his lips awkwardly, then muttered, "No, that's all. His Highness is good in every other way, and he treats us brothers well. I have no complaints." Seeing that he stopped talking, Lu Jin lectured him.

“Why do we need to set up a tiered tax? You don’t understand. I don’t blame you. You can read the history books and see how dynasties perished due to land annexation. If you don’t understand, that’s okay. I don’t need you to understand. You just need to remember that this is the rule I set and don’t violate it.

"What do you think we are trying to achieve by conquering the world? To put it more noblely, our goal is to drive out the Tartars, restore the Han people's country, and save our Han compatriots from having to work like slaves for the Tartars.

"To put it bluntly, you want wealth and glory. Okay, that's fine."

Lu Jin pointed at the Feiyu suit he was wearing and continued, "If you want to wear fancy clothes, I'll give them to you. If you want a beautiful house, I can ask the Ministry of Industry to build a mansion for you. If you want a woman, as long as it's your will and she's not forcibly snatched from the people, I won't bother with you.

"If you want money, you can tell me directly and I will teach you how to open a factory to make money. If you want a title, you can go to the battlefield and exchange it for your military exploits.

"Even if you want low-tax land, I can give it to you, but not in this Kyushu!

"The land and tiered taxes on this piece of land in Jiuzhou are my bottom line. If anyone dares to take advantage of the land and taxes, I will chop off one of his hands if he dares to raise his hand, and I will chop off his head if he dares to raise his head! Let's talk it out today, you better remember it, don't say I didn't tell you later."

Lu Jin took a breath and said, "I like to finish what I start. I hope that our monarch and ministers can also finish what they start. In the future, we can leave a good story of a saintly monarch and virtuous ministers who are of one mind and one heart in the history books. Please don't force me to have the bad reputation of killing meritorious officials. I don't like this name, but don't force me!"

Zhu Liangzu opened his mouth when he heard this. He didn't expect Lu Jin to react so strongly to the land annexation and the tiered tax, and actually said something as cruel as killing the meritorious officials. He immediately shrank his neck in fear, and then he muttered, "Then I don't want the land anymore, and Your Highness doesn't have to be angry about it.
"But the low-tax land that Your Highness just mentioned is not in Kyushu. What does that mean?"

Lu Jin gestured with his hand and said, "This is the land under our feet. Don't try to annex the land here. It's absolutely not allowed in China, but it's allowed overseas.

"You want land, do you want the land of Japan? I will allocate 10,000 acres to you, and you only have to pay a tax of 10%, so that you can pass it down to your family. As long as the new dynasty survives, this piece of land will always count. Or the land of Luzon Island is fine. I will give you 10,000 acres, and pay a low tax of 10%, so that you can open a rubber plantation. I guarantee that your descendants will enjoy wealth forever.

"But for the land within the sea, don't even think about it. If you dare to raise your hand, I will kill you. Do you understand?"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Liangzu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and his attention was not on this at all. Instead, he asked, "Your Highness, are you going to attack Japan?"

"Of course. Otherwise, can we just ignore the Japanese pirates along the coast who often harass our sea borders?" Lu Jin asked back.

Zhu Liangzu said, "It's a deal. If we fight Japan in the future, I must go. Your Highness also promised me 10,000 acres of low-tax land. Don't go back on your word."

Lu Jin rolled his eyes at him, "When have I ever broken my promise? Not to mention the promises I made to you, even to outsiders, I said that if Tuotuo dared to lead his troops south, he would be deposed by the Yuan Emperor. What's going on now? Has it all come true?"

Zhu Liangzu nodded quickly and said admiringly, "Your Highness is very wise and far-sighted. I admire your ability to judge people. I didn't expect that your prediction two years ago would come true."

Lu Jin added, "As for whether we will use you in the future battle against Japan, it depends on your performance."

"Ah? What kind of performance does this depend on?" Zhu Liangzu asked anxiously.

Lu Jin then said, "Today I promise to give you 10,000 acres of low-tax land, but you have to promise me a few things. If you break them, not only will I not allow you to fight Japan, I will also punish you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Liangzu immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

"First, you are not allowed to interfere in local government affairs, collude with civil servants, or interfere in any government affairs. Second, you are not allowed to covet domestic land and tiered taxes. Whether you hide land yourself or help others hide land, you are not allowed to evade taxes. Third, I treat you well, and I hope you will not betray me. You can tell me directly what you want. If you ask me for it and I don't give it to you, you can call me stingy, but you are not allowed to rob people's property or oppress the people.

"Can you do these three?"

"Yes, I am willing to make three rules with Your Highness. If I break this promise, I will be punished by Your Highness!" Zhu Liangzu immediately agreed solemnly.

Lu Jin nodded in satisfaction, and then said, "You are already thirty years old, remember your promise today, and keep your word. I trust you in terms of military strategy, and you are still good at fighting. Okay, if there is nothing else, go back and prepare for the war in Shandong and wait for my order."

"Yes, I will keep your teachings in mind!"

"Go."

"Then I will take my leave first."

Looking at Zhu Liangzu's leaving back, Lu Jin's eyes were deep. He didn't like Zhu's way of doing things. He knew clearly what kind of people his subordinates were, but he didn't care. He always condoned their mistakes first, and then punished them severely after they made mistakes. How many people had he killed for this?

Moreover, the Huaixi nobles in history did do many inhuman things, such as oppressing the people and robbing their property, but wasn't that also condoned by Zhu Yuanzhang?

Don’t you see what Zhu Yuanzhang did? He built palaces for his sons, each one bigger than the last, and their salaries were higher than the last. He didn’t care at all when his own son, Prince of Lu, Zhu Tan, captured young boys and girls to make elixirs. He didn’t care at all when Prince of Qin, Zhu Chong, levied heavy taxes, abducted women, castrated boys, and abused private punishment. He also didn’t care at all when Prince of Dai, Zhu Gui, was even more arrogant. He killed people in the street with a copper hammer. Did Zhu Yuanzhang kill him?
You set a good example yourself. If the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. You don't care when your sons rob the people. When the nobles occupy some of the people's land, you call for killing. Where is your face? They do this because you set the example. The county officials are allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps.
Lu Jin really doesn't like this way of doing things. He prefers to take precautions before things happen. Knowing what kind of person Zhu Liangzu is, why didn't he discipline him in advance before he made any big mistakes?
Yang Xian, Hu Weiyong, even Li Shanchang and the Huaixi nobles in history were all like this. They were first allowed to make mistakes, and then they were severely disciplined and killed. It has to be said that Zhu's method of disciplining people was really... Lu Jin was powerless to complain.

After warning Zhu Liangzu, Lu Jin called Yang Jing over again. Yang Jing did not have those messy problems. He had a similar temperament to Xu Da. The reason why Xu Da was so respected among generals of all dynasties was not only because Xu Da was good at fighting, but mainly because Xu Da abided by the rules, was very loyal, had a good sense of the overall situation and knew his limits, and did not do things that he should not do. This is why he was praised.

Yang Jing is also such a person, so he can make Lu Jin worry less.
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PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)