In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 913 Spring is Coming to an End Outside the Fallen Flowers Gate

The dawn in Shun'an City arrives late.

After the snow cleared, the pale golden light had just turned the snow on the city wall translucent when it was shattered by the sound of horses' hooves coming from below the city gate.

The sound wasn't the scattered rustling of snowflakes.
It was the dull rumble of thousands of warhorses treading on the frozen, hard mud!

The defenders on the city wall first saw the flags, then the outline of the troops.
A dark mass surged along the official road; they were clearly men who had just finished fighting, yet they showed no signs of fatigue.

The soldiers marched shoulder to shoulder in perfect unison, their spears pointing diagonally at the ground.
The blood on the gun barrel froze into ice crystals, swaying gently with each step.

The cavalrymen reined in their horses, which puffed out thick white breaths from their nostrils.
Horse hooves trod through the black mud from the melting snow.
The mud splattered onto the armor, but no one reached out to wipe it off.

At the very front was Lu Yunyi; the black armor he wore had long lost its original luster.

His chest and arms were covered in dried bloodstains, some of which had congealed into hard lumps.
A few stray hairs hung down her forehead, frozen stiff with blood.
As he dismounted from his horse at the foot of the city wall, a snapping sound rang out, like dried rice crust being broken apart!

He was exhausted from the long journey.

But his eyes were surprisingly bright.

As they looked up and swept their gaze across the city walls, the soldiers instinctively straightened their backs.

"General!"

The city gates opened, and Tuoluhuchaer, Azashili, and others quickly came out of the gate to greet them.
They had only taken a couple of steps when they slowed down.

His gaze swept back and forth over the soldiers in front of him.

In the past, the cavalry of the Duoyan Guard always wore their helmets askew and walked loosely, exuding a messy and disorderly demeanor, which was no match for the elite troops of the Commandery.

But now, these people in front of me,
Although the movements haven't changed much, the overall demeanor is completely different.

Everyone exuded an indescribable energy!

His shoulders were taut, his eyes were resolute, and even his breathing was heavier than before!
Tuoluhuchaer stepped forward and grabbed a Doyan guard soldier.

The boy had a new scar on his face, running from his brow bone to his cheek, but he was grinning.

"My lord, this battle was exhilarating!"

Charging into battle alongside the general is even more exhilarating than hunting on the grasslands!

Tuoluhuchaer didn't reply, but turned to look at Lu Yunyi, his tone carrying a hint of disbelief:

"General, this troop... they've only been gone three days, but they look completely different!"

Lu Yunyi patted his arm:

"After fighting two tough battles, you'll become stronger. That's how it is in military campaigns—the more you win, the stronger you become!"

He looked up at the city gate of Shun'an City; snow was still falling from the eaves.

"How's it going on your end? Has Yi Seong-gye pulled any other tricks?"

"no!"

Tuoluhuchaer immediately perked up and followed Lu Yunyi slowly into the city.
"As you instructed, I will lead two thousand men to provoke him."
Li Chenggui and his men chased us for a whole day.
They didn't even manage to touch the hem of our clothes, while suffering heavy losses. Finally, he couldn't pursue them any longer and withdrew his troops.

He paused and added,
"We didn't suffer many losses, just about a hundred wounded, and we also retrieved several dozen of their lost warhorses."

Lu Yunyi smiled:

"good."

He looked at Azashiri, his tone relaxed:

"You arrange for the brothers to enter the city. They've been through two major battles and are exhausted. Bring out the best wine and food, don't be stingy!"

Azashiri, standing to the side, laughed continuously.

"Yes, General!"

Before long, Lu Yunyi led his men back to the county government office.
A charcoal fire burned in the main hall, its embers warming the air.
Upon entering this place, the smell of blood became much stronger.

Azashili, Zou Jing, and several other generals were already waiting inside the hall.
Upon seeing Lu Yunyi enter, they all stood up and bowed.
Lu Yunyi waved his hand:
"Sit down, sit down, everyone. You can read this military report first. I'm going to wash up."

As he spoke, he looked at Qin Yuanfang, who had followed him.

His appearance was even more disheveled; although his armor was intact, the gaps were filled with ice, snow, weeds, and mud.

His young face was etched with fatigue, and his eyes were sunken to the extreme.

Everyone was startled when they saw his appearance.

"Yuanfang, you should go and wash up too. This battle has been tough, don't ruin your health."

As Lu Yunyi spoke, he waved his hand, turned around, and went to the back hall.

After handing the documents to the officials, Qin Yuanfang also ran off in a flash.

As soon as he stepped out of the main hall, he stomped his foot hard at the doorway, melting the snow on the soles of his boots and dripping water onto the bluestone slabs.
He shook his head helplessly and quickly ran to wash up.

Inside the main hall, Toruhuchar pulled up a chair and sat down.

He flipped through the documents, his eyes suddenly widening, and read aloud:

"A rough count of the battle shows that 3,247 Goryeo soldiers were killed, including eight generals."
1,526 people were captured, including Kim Seung-woo, the deputy commander of the northern route.
They captured 1,213 warhorses, 30,000 shi of grain, and 22 siege weapons.

The convoy included five battering chariots, seventeen siege ladders, 1,860 sets of armor, and over 5,300 bows and arrows.
More than thirty muskets and seven thousand taels of silver were found in the camp of a Goryeo general.

Temutengge's eyes widened suddenly, his expression strange:
"Why is the Goryeo army so poor?"

"That's already pretty good."

Ariza, standing nearby, remarked:

“In the past, when the military command didn’t provide us with weapons and armor, we were worse off than them; we didn’t even have many pieces of iron armor.”

Tuoluhuchar nodded:
"With so much weaponry, they can be considered the elite of the Goryeo border army."

Azali revealed her excitement:

"These soldiers are getting better and better with each battle! They're at least 50% more elite than when they left the command post!"

This expedition was very fruitful; not only did we acquire a full set of weapons and armor, but our soldiers also improved so much!

Later, tribes rebelled in the Fishing Lake area.
They don't need to wait for the commander's troops; they can pacify the area on their own!
Tuoluhuchar nodded with deep emotion:

"Fighting is better; it's much more effective than training in the barracks all day long."

Long Baiqiu, standing to the side, said with a smile:

"The general has said countless times that without daily drills to build a foundation,

Even the most sophisticated weaponry is useless if you hold it in your hands.
Among the military supplies seized this time,

Goryeo also had muskets, but they caused very little damage.

"Yes, the weapons are the same; the key is who uses them."

Azashiri nodded repeatedly in agreement.

At this moment, Lu Yunyi, dressed in casual clothes, came out from the back room, holding a towel to dry his wet hair.

When the group saw him approaching, they all stood up.

"Sit down, sit down, there's no need for such formalities." Lu Yunyi sat down at the head of the table and continued:

"Tell me, what are your thoughts on the subsequent deployment?"

Although everyone was a little unaccustomed to the fast pace, they quickly got into the zone.
Azashiri pursed his lips and said in a deep voice:

"General, Yi Seong-gye is a very cunning man. To deal with him, we must lead him by the nose."
It saves effort and also wears down his morale.

Your subordinate believes that we should continue to pressure Yi Seong-gye's camp, making them hesitant to act rashly.

When the opportunity arises, we will advance towards the Goryeo army in the northwest and clear their path in one fell swoop.

At this moment, Zou Jing handed over a slip of paper with a simple topographical map drawn on it:
"General, according to the scouts' reports this morning..."
The Goryeo army on the Northwest Route remained encamped in place, not daring to move.

They seemed to already know about the defeat on the Northeast Road.
There was half as much smoke from the camp's cooking fires as yesterday, which suggests that morale among the troops was wavering.

They believe news of the defeat in the northern campaign will soon reach their ears.

"At that point, they might retreat."

Lu Yunyi nodded, took the inventory document, and examined it carefully.

"Zou Jing, what do you think we should do next?"

Zou Jing stepped forward and pointed to the northwest camp on the topographic map:

"The Northwest Route is now like a frightened bird."
If we send troops, they will most likely flee, but I think there's no need to rush.
The soldiers had just fought two tough battles.

Although morale is high, physical strength is also greatly depleted, and a day of rest is needed.

Tomorrow, we will send scouts to investigate further and ascertain their food supplies and troop deployment.

We can send troops out early the day after tomorrow and force them to retreat.

As for Yi Seong-gye's central army

After these two crushing defeats, they dare not make any further moves for a short period of time.
We can stabilize the Northwest Route first, and then negotiate terms with them.

Azashiri echoed:

"Lord Zou is right. We have no shortage of food or morale."

It's better to play it safe. If there's an ambush on the northwest road, it would be a losing proposition.

Lu Yunyi leaned back in his chair.
Looking at the location of Yi Seong-gye's central army on the map, he shook his head:

"After two consecutive crushing defeats, the morale of Yi Seong-gye's central army must have been completely shattered."

If we launch a fierce attack now, they certainly won't be able to stop us.

Tuoluhucha'er's eyes widened suddenly, and he hurriedly said:
"General! We can't fight anymore!"
If we were to ruin Yi Seong-gye's reputation...

"The money we discussed earlier is now nowhere to be found!" Azashiri, standing nearby, suddenly realized this and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, General!"

Yi Seong-gye's 20,000-strong central army was relatively well-organized.

If we anger him and he refuses to cooperate, that would be counterproductive.

As soon as the two spoke, the generals present all had strange expressions and awkwardly scratched their heads.
This was the first time they had fought a battle where they needed to control the outcome.

Lu Yunyi blinked blankly, then remembered their previous agreement. He coughed lightly and said calmly:
"I am here to teach you the correct order and strategy for attacking the enemy."

In the future, if you encounter this situation again, remember to attack the enemy whose morale is low first!

Seeing his expression, everyone clearly realized that he had forgotten...
But he dared not point it out, and quickly lowered his head in response:

"Yes, General!"

They were all holding back laughter, their shoulders twitching slightly.

Just as Lu Yunyi was about to continue speaking, a guard's voice suddenly came from outside the door:
"General, there is an envoy from Goryeo outside the city requesting an audience. He says he was sent by Yi Seong-gye to deliver a message!"

Everyone in the main hall was stunned.

Wang Xingbang raised an eyebrow: "He gave in so quickly? I thought he could hold out for another two days."

Tuoluhuchaer was also somewhat surprised:

"Yesterday they sent men to challenge us outside the city, how come they've changed their minds today?"

"Bring it in."

Lu Yunyi's voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

A short while later, a Goryeo man dressed in a blue official robe was brought in.

His official robes were wrinkled and stained with mud and snow, his hat was askew, his hair was disheveled, and he was clutching a letter wrapped in silk tightly in his hands.

Upon entering the main hall, he forced himself to remain calm, his voice trembling:

"May I ask which one of you is Lord Lu? Prime Minister Li has sent me with this message."

The guard took the letter, examined it carefully, and then handed it to Lu Yunyi.

Lu Yunyi raised his chin:

"Take him downstairs first, settle him in properly, give him some hot soup to warm him up, and then bring him a letter back later."

"Yes!"

The guards took the person away, and Lu Yunyi opened the envelope.

The letter paper inside is made of Korean Xuan paper, which feels very rough to the touch.

The handwriting was also very messy, with obvious tremors in the strokes, far less neat than the first letter.

He handed the letter to Gong Xianzhi:
"Read it aloud."

Gong Xianzhi took the letter and slowly read it aloud:

"General Lu, since the battle at Shun'an began..."

The elite troops under his command in the northeast and north routes have been completely wiped out. Soldiers have scattered, laborers have fled, and food supplies have run out. He no longer has the strength to fight.

Northwest Province is the former territory of Goryeo.

The people are displaced and I cannot bear to see them suffer from war again.

I am willing to hand over the previously agreed-upon 500,000 taels of silver in full.

They also ordered an additional 50,000 shi of grain and 2,000 warhorses, asking only that the general withdraw his troops and cease the pursuit.

If the general agrees, I will immediately send people to prepare and send it to the Beiping Regional Military Command in the summer.

If the general still wishes to fight, though I am no match for him...

"We should also lead our remaining troops in a desperate battle, for we fear that the people of both countries will suffer and that this will only increase casualties."

As soon as Gong Xianzhi finished speaking, the main hall erupted into chaos, as if a spark had been thrown into it.

Tuoluhuchaer suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the blue brick floor with a harsh sound:
"Li Chenggui is truly afraid! He's even willing to give up supplies and warhorses!"

Azashiri stroked his beard and smiled.
Fingers tapped lightly on the profit ledger on the table:

“Li Chenggui is a man who can be tough or soft, and he can be considered a hero. He was just unlucky and ran into a general.”

Even the usually composed Zou Jing couldn't help but smile slightly.

He picked up Yi Seong-gye's letter and looked at the hastily written handwriting:

"The excuse of not wanting to suffer from war again" is just that—an excuse.
What he truly feared was that if the fighting continued, he wouldn't even be able to retain control of the Northwest Circuit, and thus wouldn't be able to maintain his foothold in the imperial court.

Seeing everyone's excited expressions, Lu Yunyi also smiled slightly:
"Don't be too happy yet. We still need to confirm whether this letter was written by Yi Seong-gye himself."

What if it was a trick he played?

If they use fake letters to buy time while waiting for reinforcements, we'll be at a disadvantage.

He looked at Zou Jing,
"Go find the previous letter and compare it to see if this handwriting is his."

Also, let the people in the General Staff take a look.

Judging from the pressure and sloppiness of his handwriting, we can infer his current psychological state.

"Yes!"

Lu Yunyi continued:

"The morale of the Goryeo army is now wavering, and they have lost all their elite troops. They simply dare not waste any more time with us."

The order was issued: the entire army should immediately regroup and prepare for battle.
The commanders of the Duoyan Guard and Xincheng Guard were responsible for distributing the captured provisions and warhorses, prioritizing supplies to the troops that had suffered heavy losses.
The logistics department distributed armor and bows and arrows to replenish the losses of each unit.
Tomorrow morning, the entire army will head northwest towards Dingzhou.

He paused, his tone serious.
"Alright, everyone get back to work. Make sure everything is ready before dawn tomorrow, without any delays."

"Yes!"

The generals responded in unison and turned to leave. Only Lu Yunyi and Gong Xianzhi remained in the main hall.

Looking at the profit ledger on the table, Gong Xianzhi couldn't help but say:

"General, this time we not only won the battle, but also gained so many benefits."
"We have plenty of provisions, warhorses, and weapons, plus 500,000 taels of silver. This trip has been incredibly profitable!"

"This is a win-win-win situation."

Lu Yunyi smiled and picked up the account book:
"Let's go see Wang Junping."

Wasn't he always hoping we would suppress Yi Seong-gye?

Now it's time to let him know that we've succeeded.

As the two walked out of the county government office, the streets of Shun'an City were already bustling with activity.

The soldiers were busy moving provisions and weapons, their faces beaming with the joy of victory.

The temporary laborers were also packing up the camp, preparing to depart tomorrow.

Sunlight streamed through the clouds, falling on the remaining snow and bringing warmth to the entire city.

Wang Junping's residence was in a small courtyard next to the county government office.

He was sitting in the courtyard, lost in thought.
A cup of tea, long since cooled, sits motionless at the bottom of the cup, the tea leaves sinking to the ground.

He had been restless ever since he learned of the outbreak of war.
They both hoped the Ming army would win, but also feared that if the fighting was too fierce, it would severely damage Goryeo's strength.

Hearing footsteps outside the courtyard gate,
He looked up and saw it was Lu Yunyi. He quickly stood up, his face full of anxiety.

"General Lu, is there any news? Has the battle been won at Shun'an?"

Lu Yunyi walked into the courtyard and handed him the ledger of the spoils:
"Lord Wang, see for yourself."
Yi Seong-gye's northeastern and northern armies have been completely annihilated.
He has already sent envoys to sue for peace.

Wang Junping took the ledger, his hands trembling slightly.

He first turned to the page detailing the spoils, and when he saw the accounts there...

His eyes widened instantly, and his breathing became rapid:

"They really won! Yi Seong-gye has really surrendered!"

"Not only that."

Lu Yunyi sat down on the stone bench, looking at Wang Junping's excited expression, and slowly said,

"Li Chenggui's elite troops suffered heavy losses, and his prestige in the Northwest Province has declined significantly."

Now is the perfect time for the Goryeo royal family to reclaim power.

This general previously promised to help the royal family suppress Yi Seong-gye, and now he has done so.

"Shouldn't you keep your promise?"

Wang Junping then came to his senses and quickly nodded:
"Yes! Yes! General Lu, rest assured!"

The royal family had previously promised that as long as Yi Seong-gye could be suppressed, 500,000 taels of silver would be awarded without hesitation!

Lu Yunyi smiled:

"It's good that Lord Wang understands. I always keep my word."

Most will depart for Dingzhou tomorrow.

Upon arriving in Dingzhou, I demand to see the silver; not a single penny less.

"Don't worry, sir! When we arrive in Dingzhou, I will immediately have someone prepare the silver and personally deliver it to you, not a penny less!" Wang Junping said firmly.

"That's good. You can rest now. You can set off with us tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)