Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 455: Chen Youliang's Submission

In September, as the fronts continued to advance, good news from the front continued to flow into the rear.

On the third day of September, Jiujiang was captured, and Yu Que committed suicide.

On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Shangrao, the capital of Xinzhou Road, was captured, and the Tenth Army rushed to Qianshan;
On the fifth day, Ruichang, Qichun and Poyang on the southern front were captured at the same time. Chang Yuchun was planning to fight against the main force of Dong Tuanxiao's Jiangxi Yuan army; on the same day, the Fourth Front Army in the Central Plains direction captured Gushi, and the army was still 240 miles away from Xinyang.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the Fourth Front Army of the Central Plains captured Guangshan and Guangzhou (Huangchuan), and was only seventy or eighty miles away from Xinyang. Li Siqi, the prefect of Runing, felt something was wrong and quickly sent people to ask Li Chahan and Wang Baobao for help, but it was too late. The two were still in the northernmost Bianliang Road in Henan, and the Fourth Front Army was only two days away from Xinyang. How could they make it in time?
There was no other way. Li Siqi could only make two plans: defend the city or run away. If he could defend it, he would hold on and wait for Li Chahan to come back. If he couldn't hold on any longer, he would run to northern Henan to meet up with Li Chahan. But he didn't know if he would regret his decision when he saw Yu Tingyu's 200,000 troops. If he wanted to run away, where else could he run to?

On the tenth day, the decisive battle between Chang Yuchun and Dong Tuanxiao broke out outside Yugan City. The main force of the Jiangxi Yuan army led by Dong Tuanxiao was completely wiped out. Yugan opened the city and surrendered. Three days later, Pingding took the lead in sending troops to recapture Nanchang.

On the 12th, the Battle of Xinyang broke out. Li Siqi stood on the top of Xinyang City and saw the mighty army of 200,000 soldiers of the Fourth Front Army. He swallowed his saliva unconsciously and thought to himself that he had miscalculated. Now he didn't have to think about running away. He just hoped to hold on for a few more days, preferably until Richard Han led his troops back. If not, he could only sacrifice his life for his country.

He still underestimated Lu Jin's strength. He didn't expect that Lu Jin could start fighting on three fronts and still deploy so many troops in the Central Plains. But it's too late to say anything now.

As for Yu Tingyu, he was not afraid of Li Chahan and Wang Baobao coming back. He even hoped that they could come immediately, because Xinyang was not too far from the Luzhou base camp. In fact, the Fourth Front Army had an advantage in a decisive battle here. Otherwise, when they arrived in Nanyang, not only would the supply line be lengthened, but they would also have to divide their troops to attack Jingxiang, and then they would have no military advantage over Li Chahan.

It's a pity that neither Richard Han nor Wang Baobao came. They are thousands of miles away now. Even if they travel a hundred miles a day, they will definitely not be able to catch up with the battle in Xinyang. Maybe Li Siqi's letter for help has not arrived in Kaifeng yet.

So, without a doubt, Xinyang was captured on the 13th, the same day as Nanchang was liberated. Li Siqi, who was considered a top figure in the original history, died in a hail of bullets from the Shengwu Army before he could grow up.

On the 14th, on the southern front in Huguang, Liao Yongan and Miao Daheng led an army of more than 90,000 and began to take down the key cities around Wuchang from the 8th day of the first lunar month. They successively conquered Huanggang, Yongxing (Yangxin), Daye, Jiangxia and other cities, forcing the main force of Yang Guantong's Miao army to the vicinity of Wuchang. Finally, on the 14th, the two sides launched a decisive battle under the city of Wuchang.

Yang Guantong's Miao army was no pushover either. They did not hide in the city and prepare to defend it to the death. Instead, they chose to set up camp and fight in the field with their backs to the city. Unfortunately, they encountered the Shengwu Army, which was most fond of fighting siege battles. No matter what kind of fortifications they had, they were no match for the cannons.

In the end, Yang Tongguan's 50,000 Miao troops were wiped out under the siege of Liao Yongan's 90,000 troops.

However, there is another interesting aspect of this battle, that is Chen Youliang who was hiding near Xianning.

Chen Youliang had heard the rumors spread by Lu Jin and was immediately in a panic, fearing that Ni Wenjun would lead the Yuan army to find him. He was planning to lead the remaining troops to move. However, just a few days after hearing the rumors, he saw Lu Jin's manifesto again, which immediately made him have different ideas.

He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Yuan army's attention was attracted by the Shengwu Army and find a place where the Yuan army was short of manpower to conquer another place and prepare for a comeback, such as going to Yueyang or near Dongting Lake.

Chen Youliang had captured Yueyang before, although he was later driven away by the Yuan army, he still left many of his old subordinates there. As long as he returned to Yueyang and called on his old subordinates to capture a few cities, while Lu Jin was attracting the main force of the Yuan army in the north and both sides were too busy to look south, he might be able to capture the entire area around Dongting Lake and make it the foundation of his own survival.

However, just as he expressed this idea, a disagreement arose within his team. Zhang Bixin, the prime minister who later became Chen Youliang and the one who brought the rumor back to him, disagreed with his idea. Zhang Bixin also saw Lu Jin's manifesto, and seeing that Lu Jin called on Xu Song's former subordinates to join his army in the manifesto, he wanted to suggest joining Lu Jin.

Chen Youliang himself was naturally unwilling to do so. How could a real man be depressed and under someone else's command for long?

Zhang Bixin also had his own reasons. He thought that among all the rebel forces in the world, Lu Jin had the greatest power. The manifesto claimed to have sent 120 million soldiers to fight on three fronts at the same time. Although there was definitely a lot of water in this, the battle line could not be faked.

If you want to attack Huguang, Jiangxi, Central Plains, Jingxiang, and Shandong at the same time, it is impossible without hundreds of thousands of troops. Even if you cut it in half, there must be at least 500,000 or 600,000 real soldiers.

So the question is, even if you, Chen Youliang, can take over Yueyang and the surrounding areas of Dongting Lake while Lu Jin and the Yuan army are fighting to the death, what will happen in the future? After the battle between Lu Jin and the Yuan army is over, if Lu Jin wins, there will be 500,000 or 600,000 troops coming together to deal with us! Can you still stop them then?

Moreover, Lu Jin has almost occupied all the good places in the world. Even if you conquer the southern part of Huguang, what is the place Lu Jin occupies? How many people, soldiers and food do you have? How many people, soldiers and food do you, Chen Youliang have? You will not be able to win even if we compete in national strength.

In this case, why bother? It is better to join Lu Jin now. Relying on the influence and foundation he still has in Hunan, he can then volunteer to be the vanguard of the Shengwu Army's attack on Huguang. He will surely make great contributions. Not to mention whether he can be granted the title of duke, it will definitely be no problem for him to be granted the title of marquis. Otherwise, Lu Jin is too stingy.

Join Lu Jin? Chen Youliang was naturally unwilling to do so. Apart from anything else, the article Lu Jin sent out alone made him furious.

If it weren't for us and Liu Futong tying up the main forces of the Yuan army in the north and south, would you have been able to grow and develop in the middle? If it weren't for Peng Yingyu's surprise attack on Hangzhou, which led away the main forces of the Yuan army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, would you have been able to cross the river and capture Jiankang so easily?
Now that you have become famous, you turn around and say in your manifesto that the failure of the Xu-Song alliance was due to the four major mistakes made by Xu Shouhui. Bah! How shameless! You are still ungrateful after getting the advantage!

Although Chen Youliang himself did not believe in Maitreya, it did not stop him from scolding Lu Jin for being shameless. Although he also planned to take advantage of the battle between Lu Jin and the Yuan army to launch a sneak attack on Yueyang, it did not stop him from despising Lu Jin for stealing chickens. To put it bluntly, they were all the same foxes, birds of a feather.
Now Chen Youliang could not convince Zhang Bixin, and Zhang Bixin could not convince him either, so they both looked at the third core member of the team, Zhang Dingbian, the number one general under Chen Youliang.

As for Zhang Dingbian's attitude, well, first of all, he certainly didn't think about establishing himself. Zhang Dingbian's ambition was not that big. Otherwise, in the original history, he would not have gone back to help Chen Youliang's son ascend the throne after Chen Youliang died in battle. Wouldn't it be better for him to take the throne himself? But he didn't do that.

Since he has no ambition, who can he vote for? He could vote for Xu Shouhui before, and now that Xu Shouhui is dead, why not vote for Lu Jin? In his heart, Zhang Dingbian was actually more inclined to Zhang Bixian's opinion.

But Chen Youliang was his sworn brother, and he could not go against Chen Youliang's wishes, so he chose to remain neutral.
You guys can argue among yourselves. Anyway, I will follow Chen Youliang. If he surrenders, I will surrender. If he wants to attack Yueyang, then I will follow.

Chen Youliang and Zhang Bixin were both speechless. Finally, Zhang Dingbian suggested that since they were in Xianning and not far from Wuchang, Lu Jin would definitely attack Wuchang. Why don't they go and watch the battle secretly to see how strong the Shengwu Army is.

If they are really strong and the Yuan army is no match for them, then we can't even defeat the Yuan army now. Do you, Chen Youliang, think you can defeat the Shengwu Army in the future? It's better to surrender early.

This proposal actually favored Zhang Bixian's plan. Chen Youliang was a smart man, so how could he not understand what Zhang Dingbian meant? He sighed in his heart and agreed to let the two of them take a look first.

So when the day of the decisive battle between Liao Yongan and Yang Tongguan came under the city of Wuchang, the three of them quietly came to the edge of the battlefield to watch the battle. When they saw the Shengwu Army's hundreds of artillery pieces and nearly ten thousand flintlock rifles firing at the same time, which left Yang Tongguan's Miao army with corpses all over the ground, the faces of the three of them instantly became solemn.

They finally understood why Lu Jin always won and never lost. Lu Jin's firearms were too powerful. This was not something that could be compensated by ordinary tactics. Unless they could make the same firearms and train the same soldiers, no matter what tactics they used, both sides would line up their battle arrays and they would have no choice but to watch the bombardment and it would be difficult for them to avoid losing.

They also noticed a phenomenon, that is, the armor rate of the Shengwu Army was very high. Although only about half of them are now armored and not all of them are armored, those armors looked very new and of uniform style. The Yuan army had never had this kind of armor, so it must have been made by Lu Jin himself.

Lu Jin was able to create so many armors and so many powerful firearms in just two years. Although it was because Xu Song and Liu Futong distracted the Yuan army's attention in the north and south that gave him time for development, it was also a great skill for Lu Jin to be able to create them. He cannot help but admit it.

Just like Chen Youliang, if you give him time, can he build it? Maybe he is a first-class shipbuilder and has no problem making armor, but he really doesn't know how to make firearms.

I don't know where Lu Jin found the craftsman who could make such a sharp firearm. Why didn't such a talent join Chen Youliang's army? Was it because I didn't pay him enough?
Seeing Yang Tongguan's Miao army defeated by Liao Yongan at the gate of Wuchang, and then using the old siege tactics to attack Wuchang, Chen Youliang and the other two looked at each other and made a decision. Maybe Lu Jin was really destined to be his, otherwise why would he get so many talented people to help him? In the end, the three of them chose to take the initiative to surrender to Lu Jin.

Apart from anything else, even if you want to rebel against Lu Jin in the future, you have to learn how to use that kind of firearm first.
Lu Jin also achieved an epic achievement, recruiting all of the three great leaders of the late Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Shicheng, and Chen Youliang, before they became powerful.
On the 15th, the day when Liao Yongan captured Wuchang, Chen Youliang and the other two requested to see Liao Yongan. Chen Youliang was an important figure that Lu Jin had specifically mentioned in the previous meeting. Liao Yongan did not dare to underestimate him. After taking Wuchang, he immediately summoned the three men without even taking off his armor.

In front of the government office of Wuchang Prefecture, on the street, the captured Miao generals, such as Li Fu, Xun Chaozuo, Xu Cheng, Liu Halabuhua, etc., were all pulled out to the street and lined up for shooting. Lu Jin said that these Miao generals were not trustworthy, and even if some surrendered, they had to be guarded against. Liao Yongan didn't have so many concerns. Since he couldn't trust them, he simply killed them all without leaving any hidden dangers. Anyway, these people were still prisoners of war, not surrendered generals, and he did have the power to deal with them directly. As for Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen and others who personally assassinated Hu Dahai in history, they were killed on the battlefield long ago.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang————

After a round of musket fire, the Miao army generals who were brought over fell down in a row, and were then dragged away by the soldiers, followed by the next batch. All the Miao army generals who were executed this time, from top to bottom, even to the centurions, were all put to death. All of these guys would be killed without any injustice, and they must have done bad things in Jiangxi and Huguang.

After Chen Youliang and the other two paid their respects to Liao Yongan, they followed him and stood in front of the government office to watch the execution. In fact, Liao Yongan made this arrangement with the intention of intimidating the three men.

After seeing the Miao army generals who had chased them and fought against them in the past being shot one after another, Chen Youliang said to Liao Yongan while muttering in his heart that they deserved it.

"I've heard that the Shengwu Army's firearms are very powerful and they have never been defeated since they started the uprising. Today I see that they are indeed extraordinary. I didn't expect that His Royal Highness the King of Chu's fire gun is so ingenious. It can be fired without open flames and loaded so quickly. No wonder it can fire so quickly."

Liao Yongan suddenly thought of something and asked, "I just captured the city and General Chen is here. I guess he arrived yesterday. Did General Chen see the decisive battle between our army and the Miao army yesterday?"

Chen Youliang realized that he had let something slip and immediately laughed, "I came late yesterday. My men were all in Xianning. When I arrived, I saw Marshal Liao fighting the Miao army. I saw that the army was on high alert and I was afraid that I would be affected. That's why I didn't dare to surrender immediately."

Liao Yongan nodded, but did not expose him. He thought that this man was indeed not honest, and then he spoke.

"I have also heard of General Chen's name. I heard that General Chen had conquered Yueyang and Mianyang last year. I admire him very much. Even His Highness has heard of General Chen's name and told me to find out the whereabouts of General Chen when I attack Huguang.

"If General Chen were still alive, we would definitely treat you well. Although you are not our soldiers, you are also meritorious officials who have contributed to the anti-Yuan war."

"Oh? Did His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu really say that?" Chen Youliang's anger subsided a lot after hearing that, and he secretly thought that Lu Jin had good vision.

"Of course. How dare I falsely convey your highness's order?" Liao Yongan immediately said seriously.

Chen Youliang then asked, "Now that we have come here to surrender, I wonder how His Majesty the King of Chu plans to accommodate us?"

"this one"

When it comes to the issue of treatment, Liao Yongan suddenly became more serious, and then said, "Our military system is slightly different from yours. General Chen was previously the Marshal of the Army under Xu Song, but in our army, the Marshal is a formal military rank and cannot be awarded casually."

So Liao Yongan introduced the military system and ranks of the Shengwu Army to them, and then said, "At present, our entire army, including me, has only five marshals in total, so General Chen will probably suffer some grievances if he joins our army."

Chen Youliang smiled bitterly when he heard this. The five major fronts of the Shengwu Army, each commander of a front had hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command. Only those who led an army themselves could be called marshals. How could he not understand this?

Last year, when Xu Song was still powerful, he was actually similar to the Shengwu Army. The core generals of Xu Song included Ni Wenjun, Zou Pusheng, Ming Yuzhen, Peng Yingyu, and Chen Youliang. If you really want to count, Chen Youliang can also be ranked in the top five of Xu Song, similar to Liao Yongan's current position.

But the past is the past, and the present is the present. Both Xu and Song were destroyed by the Yuan army. What’s the point of talking about this now?
So he nodded and said, "I understand. General Liao is straightforward. We are all straightforward people who lead troops in battle. Even if our positions are lower, I can understand."

Liao Yongan nodded and said, "Then I will speak frankly. I wonder how many troops General Chen has now?"

Chen Youliang was shocked when he heard this. Are they going to give him a position based on the number of troops he has? He only has less than 2,000 soldiers now. If he really wants to give him a position based on this, he can only be a 1,000-household official. Isn't this an insult?

However, he decided to tell the truth. First, to test Lu Jin's sincerity, and second, all his people were here. If Liao Yongan proposed to send someone to go back with him to count the soldiers, it would be embarrassing for him if he didn't have so many people at that time. He couldn't recruit so many soldiers right away.

So he simply said, "To be honest with you, General Liao, when I broke out of Mianyang, I had more than 10,000 soldiers with me, but now that I have fled to Xianning, I have less than 2,000 soldiers with me."

After saying that, he stared at Liao Yongan, wanting to see what Liao Yongan would say.

Liao Yongan had already received Lu Jin's instructions, so he said without hesitation, "If we count by the number of troops, a thousand-household battalion commander in our army has 900 men under his command. If General Chen's remaining troops are reorganized, they will only be enough to form two battalions."

Chen Youliang didn't say anything, but continued to stare at him. Even Zhang Bixin and Zhang Dingbian pricked up their ears and listened carefully.

As expected, Liao Yongan changed his tone and said, "But General Chen was a general who led an army before. If he is only given a battalion commander in our army, it will be laughed at and people will accuse Your Highness of being stingy and intolerant.

"So His Highness specifically instructed me that if General Chen brings the remnants of his army to surrender, no matter how many soldiers he has, he should at least be given the rank of Lieutenant General, which is the same rank and salary as our army's chief military officer. And even if General Chen does not make any new contributions in the future, he will still have a title in the future. This is His Highness's recognition of General Chen's previous contributions under Xu Song. I wonder if General Chen is satisfied with this treatment?"

Chen Youliang and the other two finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu would think so highly of me. I would like to thank His Royal Highness for his grace."

As Chen Youliang spoke, he bowed in the direction of Jiankang.

Zhang Bixian also said, "I have heard that His Royal Highness the King of Chu is kind and righteous. Today I saw His Royal Highness's grace. It is indeed true. I didn't expect His Royal Highness to have such an explanation."

In fact, this method of resettlement is very clever. Official positions and titles are not valuable, and even the ranks and salaries can be supported by Lu Jinhua with high salaries for free. Not only can she gain a good reputation, but she can also win the hearts of these old subordinates of Xu Song.

Moreover, even if they did not make any new contributions, giving them titles was the fulfillment of Lu Jin's promise in the manifesto, which was that "Xu Shouhui was the one who made the mistakes, but the generals and soldiers of Xu Song were all meritorious officials."

Since you have acknowledged that they are meritorious officials, you should naturally treat them as such. Of course, they should be conferred titles for their contributions. I will give you what Xu Shouhui could not give you.

Aren't they fighting for a title? As long as Lu Jin gives it to them, who cares whether it was conferred by Xu Shouhui or Lu Jin? They will fight for whoever gives them the title. Then who will remember Xu Shouhui?
But there is one thing, the title is the title, the treatment is the treatment, but the real job cannot be given casually. Lu Jin can spend money to support them for free, but he cannot let them interfere in his military and government affairs at will!
Then Liao Yongan smiled and changed the subject, saying, "But there is one thing I still need to make clear to you all."

Chen Youliang immediately asked, "I wonder if your Highness has any other instructions for General Liao, General Liao, just tell me directly."

"Then I'll be frank. Our military organization is very strict. We have five fronts and eight imperial guard divisions directly under your Highness, totaling more than 600,000 troops. Your Highness feels that this is enough and has no intention of expanding it further. So it's difficult to place you in positions."

Chen Youliang and the other two frowned upon hearing this. It seemed that they were too happy just now. Zhang Bixian even asked directly, "What exactly does this mean?"

(End of this chapter)