Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 453 Dragon Fighting in the Wild
Throughout mid-to-late August, the Intelligence Bureau was constantly active. First, under the instructions of Lu Jin, it spread rumors that the Xu Song regime had collapsed, Xu Shouhui was defeated and killed, and his subordinates betrayed and surrendered to the enemy, so as to make the regime lose cohesion and become a loose sand, in order to prevent it from making a comeback.

However, this is only a public opinion offensive against Xu Song. Next there will be a dual political offensive against the Yuan court and Xu Song, that is, a manifesto!

After Lu Jin took the newcomers Song Lian and others to visit the launching of the new ship that day, he immediately asked them to draft a manifesto. The format of the traditional manifesto is generally divided into three parts. The first part scolds the opponent for being irresponsible and why he should be beaten. The second part emphasizes one's own justice, and the last part is how to beat him!

This time, at Lu Jin's request, the format of the manifesto was changed and a part was added.

The part at the beginning that curses the Yuan Dynasty does not need to be changed, and it is also necessary to emphasize the collusion between the Tartars and the Miao and Yao in the south, and enumerate their crimes in Jiangxi and Huguang, especially the Miao army under Yang Tongguan (Yang Wanzhe), and how incompetent they were. "They were fighting with spears and teasing each other." This is what Yang Tongguan's Miao army did in Jiangxi at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Their actions were no different from those of the devils, so they deserved to be conquered by Lu Jin.

Then the second part changes the topic and talks about Xu Song again. First, it emphasizes that it was precisely because of the Yuan court's misdeeds that rebel armies all over the world rose up. The rebel armies rose up to resist the Yuan court's inhumane tyranny, so all the rebel armies in the world are just, or at least their original intentions are not bad. This is to affirm the achievements of Xu Song's Red Turban Army.

Then he talked about the sudden rise and fall of the Xu Song Dynasty. Since Xu Shouhui started the rebellion, he had gained great momentum in just half a year. He swallowed Huguang in the south, Jingxiang in the north, Wuyue in the east, and Kuimen in the west. He was already on the verge of becoming the hegemon. Why did he rise so quickly? It was because he obeyed the will of the people to overthrow the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty. He should move forward courageously as the people wanted.

But why did the Xu Song Dynasty perish in just one year? That was because Xu Shouhui made four major mistakes.

First, if you want to be against the Yuan Dynasty, then you can be against the Yuan Dynasty, but you should not interpret the prophecies at random, and you should not use the banner of the Maitreya cult to mislead the people and turn a good volunteer army into a religious army, wasting the blood of those loyal and righteous men and using the people's hearts in the wrong place.

Secondly, you should not abolish the Secretariat and turn it into the Lotus Platform Province. You also should not have respected Peng Yingyu, a cult monk, as the prime minister in an attempt to turn China into a Buddhist country. This is ruining the orthodoxy of China and destroying the Chinese Taoist tradition. We, the Chinese people, have always respected the Heavens and our ancestors. You set up a Western cult and even created a Holy See. What's going on?

Third, you do not practice moral governance and only know how to fight wars but not how to govern the people. The people want to overthrow the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty, drive out the Tartars and not be bullied by the barbarians. They hope to be governed by a wise monarch and live a good life. But you, Xu Shouhui, only know how to collect grain and expand the army and make indiscriminate conquests. Your territory seems large, but you cannot defend it, and instead make the people's lives even worse.

Fourth, to sum up the above, you spread false words to confuse the people, misuse people's hearts, and attempt to destroy the Chinese Taoist tradition and turn our vast land into a Buddhist country. You also do not practice moral governance. With these three mistakes, how can you possibly be favored by God? You will only be rejected by God.

You have no mandate from heaven but you usurp the title of emperor, which is even more disrespectful to heaven, so you deserve to be punished by heaven. How could you not perish? It's just a pity that those heroes who followed you were led astray by you.

Therefore, the reason why Xu Song failed was not because the Yuan army was so powerful, nor was it the credit of the violent Yuan army, but because Xu Song himself took the wrong path.

The second part is actually to put the final nail in the coffin of Xu Song in politics, and to nail the coffin lid completely to prevent Xu Song from reviving again. At the same time, it also found a reason for Lu Jin to incorporate the remnants of Xu Song.
The third part, of course, is still about boasting. I, Gongshu Jin, respect the Heaven and follow the ancestors. I opened the imperial examination system to recruit talented people. I distributed land to the people for their safety. I established systems and appointed officials. I banned lewd sacrifices and respected rites and music. Culture and education flourished and the granaries were full. The people all hoped that I would govern them, so they all respected me as king.

Xu Song perished because of its evil cult, while I prospered because of my virtuous governance. In comparison, I am the righteous dynasty of China and the one chosen by heaven. Therefore, I, Gongshu Jin, will lead the people to continue the unfinished anti-Yuan cause of Xu Song.

Part 4: I heard that the remnants of Xu Song are hiding in the mountains, forests, lakes and swamps, and are barely surviving. The Tartars and Miao barbarians are planning to continue slaughtering you loyal and righteous people. But don't be afraid, because now I, Gongshu Jin, will lead my troops to rescue you and avenge your dead comrades!

You are all great. It was Xu Shouhui who was wrong. He led you astray. Now, as long as you turn over a new leaf, give up the Maitreya cult, and follow me on the right path from now on, I promise to lead you to drive away the Tartars and let the people live a good life.
Well, after reading this whole manifesto, I find it as shameless as Zhu Yuanzhang’s “Ping Zhou Manifesto” when he conquered Zhang Shicheng.

The shameless thing about Zhu Yuanzhang is that he issued this manifesto in 1366, when he had just defeated Chen Youliang and Han Lin'er was still alive in Chuzhou. Then Zhu Yuanzhang was schizophrenic. On the one hand, he respected Han Lin'er as the emperor, and on the other hand, he cursed the Red Turban Army as a demon army. I cursed myself.
Especially the choice of words and sentences describing the Red Turban Army in the "Ping Zhou Edict" is truly unique.

'As a result, the ignorant people were deceived by the evil magic, and did not understand the absurdity of the verses. They believed in the real Maitreya and hoped that he would rule the world. After the evil words were spread, the evil plot was carried out, burning down the city walls, killing scholars and killing people, and poisoning the lives of people in various ways. It became more and more rampant.'

This is what Zhu Yuanzhang used to scold other rebel armies, completely denying the contributions of the Red Turban Army, especially the great achievements of the Longfeng Northern Expedition. As a result, he falsely accused them of "carrying out their evil plot, burning down cities, killing scholars, and poisoning lives."

Liu Futong recovered Kaifeng, and Guan Yu burned down the Yuan Shangdu, avenging the shame of the fall of the former Song Dynasty for more than 70 years. Zhu Yuanzhang turned a blind eye to both of them. After all, he was happy to live in the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhima Li opened granaries in Xuzhou to release grain, Mao Gui governed Shandong in an orderly manner and also developed large-scale military farming, Ming Yuzhen led 500,000 people to immigrate to Sichuan, and "the whole area relied on moderate prosperity", but in Zhu's eyes, all of these were considered to be poisoning the lives of the people.

And the eight crimes he accused Zhang Shicheng of were even more ridiculous. He said that Zhang Shicheng should not have rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty, and should not have rebelled again after being recruited by the Yuan court. Zhang Shicheng's establishment of a regime was treason. This reason was outrageous. Zhang Shicheng should not have rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty and should not have established a regime. Then what were you, Zhu Yuanzhang, doing???
Who wouldn't say this manifesto is shameless after reading it?
What is equally shameless about Lu Jin is that he was able to develop in the gap between Hefei by relying on Liu Futong, Zhima Li, Xu Shouhui and others to attract the attention of the Yuan army from the north and south. Now that he has become a powerful figure, he turns around and scolds Xu Shouhui and Peng Yingyu for misleading the people.

This is the same shamelessness as scolding the cook after dinner and beating the monk after chanting.
However, Lu Jin was not schizophrenic after all. He himself was a rebel, so he also affirmed the contributions of Xu Song's rebel army. He was just critical of Xu Shouhui and Peng Yingyu for misusing public opinion and leading them astray, which resulted in the sacrifice of so many people's blood in vain, and then they were beaten back to their original form in one day. Of course, this was also to lay the public opinion foundation for incorporating the remnants of Xu Song.

As for cursing the Maitreya Sect and the White Lotus Sect, Lu Jin has been cursing them all the time. He never admitted from the beginning that he was in the same camp as the Red Turban Army. His position was clear from the beginning to the end. So what's wrong with him cursing the cults for spreading rumors and misleading the people? If the people want to overthrow the brutal Yuan Dynasty, then you can just lead them to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. Why do you have to use the banner of a cult?
Of course, it is easy for Lu Jin to talk without any hesitation. If one wanted to successfully plan an uprising in ancient times, religious slogans were indeed very useful and convenient for linking people together. Even he himself developed with the momentum of the Red Turban Army, but this did not stop Lu Jin from scolding them.

I am just shameless, so what? How can I get involved in politics without the ability to be thick-skinned? So this manifesto was quickly sent out.

In the thirteenth year of Zhizheng, on the first day of September, at three o'clock in the morning, the fifth watch had just arrived.

Dang——dang——

"It's dry, be careful with fire, be vigilant, guard the city, it's five o'clock~"

The night watchman in Jiangzhou city was holding a lantern and a clapper in one hand and a gavel in the other. He had just finished beating the fifth watch clapper when he suddenly felt a dark shadow flash on the street behind him. He was immediately frightened. He swallowed his saliva and carefully shone the lantern over there, but found nothing. He thought to himself that he had scared himself and hurriedly continued to beat the clapper and walked away.

However, what he did not realize was that the official notice posted on the wall at the corner of the street had just been covered with another layer of paper, and the words on it had already changed.

Nothing happened that night until two hours later, at five in the morning, when it was bright. Some residents in the city got up early to fetch water and discovered that something was wrong with the notice. In addition, many places in the city where there were no notices before had new notices. Some curious people asked people who could read to read it, and they saw that it read: "The King of Chu ordered:
'Even since the Hu Yuan stole control of China, tore our crown and clothes, and defiled our country, eighty-two years have passed! Recently, I have seen that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the ruler lived in the deep palace, the ministers wielded power, officials were appointed by bribery, and crimes were pardoned by sympathy. They also recruited jackals and tigers from the Yaodong as their minions, abducted women as slaves, slaughtered the elderly as sacrifices, and pierced infants with spears for fun.

'Today, the righteous armies are rising up because the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty has committed atrocities, moral principles have been destroyed, human ethics have been completely lost, and Heaven has forsaken them!
'I have heard that punishing the evil and saving the people is the way of the king. Looking back at the ancient times, this has been clear from generation to generation. Emperor Xuanyuan punished Chiyou, King Tang conquered Ge Bo, and King Wen conquered Chonghou. The three sages raised their armies not to enrich the world, but to save the people.

"In the past, Xu Shouhui, a citizen of Huangzhou, originally followed the will of the people and raised an army to suppress violence. However, he stole the title and proclaimed himself emperor. After more than a year, he rose and fell suddenly, and his army was defeated and his country was destroyed. There were four major mistakes."

The person who read the list only read a few lines before his face turned pale with fear. He said in horror, "Oh no! This is a rebellious manifesto. The rebel army from Jiangdong is coming to attack us. Go home quickly."

"Go tell the authorities!"

The onlookers suddenly woke up as if from a dream and scattered like birds and beasts.

A moment later, Wang Rongzhong, the governor of Jiangzhou Road, and Yu Que, the councillor of Jiangxi Province, came together. They looked at the manifesto on the table with grim expressions on their faces.

Ever since the Jiangxi navy of Manzi Hague was annihilated in Penglangji, Yu Que expected that Lu Jin would definitely attack Jiangxi this autumn, and most likely in September, so he had already made preparations for it. Since the defeat of Manzi Hague in June, he has been preparing supplies for defending the city, strengthening the city, and stockpiling food and fodder.

In August, a total martial law was imposed, and even entry and exit of the city was strictly checked.

Yu Que knew that Lu Jin was particularly fond of using spies, and perhaps Lu Jin's spies had already been planted in Jiangzhou City. So he conducted a comprehensive investigation of suspicious people in the city, and put outsiders under house arrest without any explanation. The rest of the people were also organized into baojia groups. However, even with such strict precautions, Lu Jin was still able to post the manifesto in his Jiangzhou City. How could this not shock and anger the two of them?

Yu Que immediately said, "There is a traitor among us, either in the government office or among the soldiers. There must be a spy from the enemy army. Otherwise, how could a spy from the enemy army sneak in with such strict defense?"

Wang Rongzhong, the governor of Jiangzhou, also said solemnly, "If we still can't find the spy, it means that the spy is not from outside the city. The Lu bandit must have planted him long ago. The spy may have been in the city for almost two years. Even if there is only one spy, I don't know how many locals he can lead to join the bandits in two years. This will be difficult. It is difficult for us to catch all the spies.

"And even if there are spies among the government officials and soldiers, we can't investigate them in a big way. Otherwise, the soldiers will be in danger. How can we defend the city? I'm afraid that before the enemy army attacks the city, the soldiers defending the city will be in chaos."

Woo————

Yu Que nodded and was about to say something else when, at this moment, a dull horn sounded suddenly from outside the city. A moment later, a man hurried to the government office to report the news.

"Uncle, Chief Steward Wang, it's bad. The enemy's fleet is blocking the river and heading towards Jiangzhou!"

The man who came was Li Zongke, a passerby from Qizhou. He was Yu Que's nephew-in-law and the marshal of the volunteers appointed by the Yuan court. He had 10,000 soldiers under his command and was specially transferred by Yu Que to guard Jiangzhou City.

Yu Que frowned upon hearing this and said, "Then why are you still standing there? Why don't you go and mobilize troops to defend the city?"

"Yes, that's right, I will go to defend the city now."

Li Zongke's forehead was covered with sweat and he was speaking incoherently. He was simply frightened because he had just seen Lu Jin's manifesto outside. It said that Lu Jin sent 1.2 million soldiers to attack Shandong, Central Plains and Jiangxi and Huguang in three routes at the same time. There were 600,000 troops in Jiangxi alone. Although this was definitely an imaginary number, he had seen with his own eyes the huge naval fleet that filled the river. Could it be fake?
However, he only had 10,000 men under his command, and the total number of defenders in the entire Jiangzhou City was less than 30,000. He had no idea if he could hold the city, but at this point, he had to defend it even if he couldn't.
Yu Que also climbed up to the top of the city wall at this time, frowning and looking outside the city. He saw that on the river outside Jiujiang City, there were more than 2,000 warships of the two naval divisions of the Shengwu Army, covering the river surface tightly. The colorful flags erected on the ships and on the shore covered the sky, and war drums were beating and trumpets were blaring on the river.

The Yuan army in Jiujiang City was already trembling on the top of the city wall. They didn't even have the courage to go out of the city to form a battle line and fight the Shengwu Army in the field. They had heard that Lu Jin's firearms were powerful, which frightened them so much that they dared not go out of the city to fight. They could only hide behind the seemingly solid parapet on the top of the city wall and leave it to fate.

Yu Que knew that Lu Jin never fought an unprepared battle, so how many surprises did Lu Jin prepare for them in this long-planned war?
In the south, Chang Yuchun led an army of 130,000 to the battlefield in a mighty manner. The army stretching for dozens of miles was like a long winding dragon. The vanguard was almost reaching Poyang (Boyang), the capital of Raozhou Road, while the rear team remained in Wuyuan, Zhejiang and did not move.

In the Central Plains, the 200,000-strong army led by Yu Tingyu was even larger in scale. However, the journey from Lu'an to the first target of attack, Xinyang, was more than 300 miles, and the march alone would take nearly ten days. The 1,500 four-wheeled carriages transporting food and fodder along the way raised up dust that blocked out the sun.

The cavalry regiment led by Zhang Long took the lead and blazed the trail for the army. Yu Tingyu and the civil servant Tao An, the Right Governor of Henan, who was accompanying the army, were in charge of the central army. The two of them rode in the middle. Yu Tingyu suddenly asked.

"I heard that Tao Buzheng majored in the Book of Changes. I wonder if he can tell fortunes. Can he predict the outcome of this battle for our army?"

Tao An laughed when he heard that.

"This battle is easy to predict. The name of the Yuanlu nation comes from the Book of Changes. I think the fortune of the Yuanlu nation right now corresponds to the sixth line of the Kun hexagram, 'Dragons fight in the wild, their blood is dark yellow.'

"And Your Majesty has already leapt over the Dragon Gate and transformed from a dragon. Now that the four armies are out together, it is time for the new dragon to kill the old dragon. The Yuan invaders will undoubtedly lose this battle. Once we kill the dragon's body, cut off its limbs, and drain its blood, it will be time to march north to behead it. Our army will win this battle!"

(End of this chapter)