Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 148 Yang Puxiong's Experiences in Luzhou (Part )

Yu Tingyu's sarcastic remarks immediately made Yang Puxiong's face darken. He originally wanted to use Li Pusheng and Zhao Pusheng's status in Chaohu to build relationships with the Chaohu generals, but he didn't expect that these Chaohu generals were so disgusted with Zhao and Li.

Previously, Zhang Huan, a surrendered general from the Yuan court, looked down on Zhao Pusheng. Now this general from the Chaohu rebel army also looked down on his two senior brothers. Are Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng so unpopular?

But if you put yourself in their shoes, it is understandable. Anyone who encounters a teammate who only knows how to hide behind will definitely not like him.

However, he was still very unhappy with Zhang Huan and Yu Tingyu's attitude towards their Maitreya Sect.

After hearing Yu Tingyu's sarcastic words, Yang Puxiong immediately retorted.

"The Maitreya religion taught by my master is all about guiding people to be good and saving people from suffering. How can it be an evil magic that curses people and kills them?

"Now that the Yuan Dynasty is about to end, the disasters sent down by heaven are proof that the barbarians are unworthy of the throne. Only a wise ruler like your Majesty can save the people from the dire straits.

"Your Majesty has destroyed the rich and enriched the poor. The people of Huguang have won food and followed his lead. Many people have been inspired. In a few months, we will have a million soldiers. The Yuan Dynasty can be wiped out easily. Why would we need to use spells?"

Yu Tingyu sneered at the words. This guy was just bragging and trying to save face. He even said he had a million soldiers. If Xu Song really had that many soldiers, he would have conquered Jingxiang, Huguang and other places long ago. You have only taken Huangzhou Road now. Why are you so proud? !

However, how to negotiate with the Xu Song envoy was not something Yu Tingyu could decide. He did not need to offend the Xu Song envoy to death, so he said with a fake smile, "Then I wish your army a successful start and wipe out the violent Yuan Dynasty as soon as possible."

"Humph." Yang Puxiong snorted coldly. Seeing Yu Tingyu's surrender, he said, "Then I also hope that your army can stop the Yuan court's counterattack. If you really can't hold on, His Majesty the Song Kingdom will not forget the friendship of being a righteous army. As long as your army is willing to serve, our country will definitely have high positions and generous salaries waiting for you."

Yu Tingyu smiled, "No need to bother with that."

The two men talked for a while and parted unhappily. Yang Puxiong also reflected secretly, wondering why he was so irritated by this Yu guy just now. It was useless to talk to him, because in the end it was still Marshal Lu who had to make the decision.

When they arrived in Lu'an city, Yu Tingyu simply left and handed Yang Puxiong to the county magistrate Qin Li. Qin Li, as a scholar, was naturally more tactful than Yu Tingyu. Together with Yang Puxiong, they were a pair of weasels, neither of them had good intentions. The two of them asked each other questions and got a lot of useful information.

Yang Puxiong was unwilling to give up, and asked Qin Li again for information about Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng. Qin Li just evaded the question of not being in charge of military affairs and not being familiar with the generals. Yang Puxiong then asked Marshal Lu that it seemed that he had accepted many generals who surrendered from the Yuan court. Was it safe to use these people? What if they surrendered and rebelled again? He also "kindly" reminded him to be careful.

Qin Li immediately became alert. He found that this guy might have ulterior motives. It seemed that he wanted to start from within the Shengwu Army and sow discord between the surrendered generals faction and the Chaohu faction. After alienating them, he would divide and win them over. This was very dangerous!

Qin Li pretended to be shocked when he heard this, and immediately said, "How can you say that? As the saying goes, trust your people. All the generals are loyal to the commander. The envoy must not say such things again."

"Hahaha, one must always be on guard against others. It's better to be safe than sorry. I'm just reminding you with good intentions. Blame me, blame me. Since County Magistrate Qin thinks it's inappropriate, I won't say anything more." Yang Puxiong pretended that he didn't mean it and apologized immediately.

Qin Li naturally would not just suffer losses, and he flattered Yang Puxiong, saying how great a job Xu Song did in Huguang. Yang Puxiong was flattered and immediately boasted about a lot of valuable information.

For example, the current core team of Xu Song, Xu Shouhui founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor. Zou Pusheng from Macheng, who was an old acquaintance of Xu Shouhui, was appointed as the Grand Tutor, and Ni Wenjun from Huangpi was appointed as the General.

The court of Xu Song Dynasty consisted of three provinces and six ministries, among which there was a Liantai Province, which was equivalent to the Zhongshu Province of the normal court. The evil cult leader Peng Yingyu was the military advisor of Liantai Province. Liantai Province also had an imperial army, or it could be called the "protecting religion army". It was obvious that Xu Song Dynasty was a political and religious system.
This can be seen not only from the 'Liantai Province', but also at present, the main generals of the entire Xu Song are mainly Peng Yingyu's disciples. Xu Shouhui is equivalent to a mascot. Although Zou Pusheng and Ni Wenjun occupy high positions, their main grassroots military forces are in the hands of Peng Yingyu's disciples.

Among the generals who led troops in Xu Song’s army alone, there were Chen Puwen, Chen Pulue, Ding Puluan, Ou Puxiang, Xiang Pulue, Kuang Putian, Yang Puxiong, and so on. All of his disciples were named Pu, including Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng who were previously in Chaohu.

Simply put, Peng Yingyu has a huge influence on this army!
When Yang Puxiong heard Qin Li say that when Lu Jin attacked Luzhou before, he captured a vassal king of the Yuan Dynasty and killed him in the street, he was unwilling to be outdone and immediately said that their general Ni Wenjun had also captured the son of a vassal king of the Yuan Dynasty in September last year.

Qin Li immediately wrote this information into a secret report and sent someone to deliver it to Lu Jin overnight. However, what he didn't know was that Ye Sheng was also rushing here with his cavalry.

Yang Puxiong waited in Lu'an for another two days and found that a large amount of timber was transported to Luzhou in the east every day. He immediately became curious and asked about the purpose of the timber.

There was nothing to hide about this question. The purpose of cutting wood was of course to build weapons and warships. Qin Li said immediately, "Our army's territory is adjacent to the river bank, and the Yuan army is on the other side. If the Yuan court sends the Jiangdong navy to attack, our army can only passively fight back.

"Although the Chaohu navy had many ships before, they were too small to compete with the main force of the Yuan Dynasty navy. That's why they cut down trees and built ships to resist the enemy in the river."

Qin Li's words were half true and half false. In fact, he was mainly showing weakness. Shipbuilding was indeed necessary, but the contrast between the Shengwu Army Navy and the Yuan Ting Navy was definitely not that great.

After all, the main force of the official army's river defense naval force was seized by Lu Jin in Hezhou Port, and the official ships at the mouth of the Yangtze River were damaged by Fang Guozhen. It is not so easy for the Yuan court to gather a superior navy now.

Who would have thought that this statement would be approved by Yang Puxiong, who immediately praised, "Great minds think alike. Our country is also cutting down trees and building ships. Jiangnan is full of waterways. The real battle depends on the navy."

Wow, what a coincidence! Xu Song is also cutting down trees and building ships. They are cutting down trees in the south of Dabie Mountains, and Lu Jin is cutting down trees in the north of Dabie Mountains. Both sides are building ships, so there will definitely be a battle on the Yangtze River in the future!

Yang Puxiong waited in Lu'an for another two days and finally waited for Ye Sheng's cavalry battalion to arrive. Qin Li also took advantage of these few days to write many secret reports to Lu Jin.

When Yang Puxiong heard that Ye Sheng asked him to only bring ten soldiers, he was immediately dissatisfied, but he had already left more than two hundred soldiers, so it didn't matter if he left a few dozen more. Yu Tingyu was right, he was in Lu Jin's territory anyway, and even if something really happened, it would only make Xu Song hostile to Lu Jin.

He came to recruit Lu Jin, and he couldn't break up with Lu Jin before Lu Jin clearly refused, so this guy followed Ye Sheng on the road alone.

Ye Sheng even prepared a carriage for him, but Yang Puxiong was unwilling to sit in it.

"Thank you for your kindness, Marshal Lu. However, I am not a delicate scholar. I am carrying out the emperor's order and dare not delay. Let's ride on horseback with the general." "Please do as you please, envoy." Ye Sheng didn't care about it. He could ride if he wanted.

So Yang Puxiong followed on horseback with ten armored soldiers. Looking at the elite cavalry under Ye Sheng, Yang Puxiong was very envious.

Xu Song is located in Huguang and focuses more on the navy. However, if they want to fight in Jianghuai and the north, they still have to use cavalry. With such elite cavalry, they can also mobilize hundreds of cavalry at a time to carry out the task of receiving envoys. It seems that Marshal Lu has a lot of cavalry under his command.

Yang Puxiong's evaluation of Lu Jin's military strength has risen to a higher level. With cavalry and navy, there should be a lot of infantry as well. This Shengwu Army should definitely not be underestimated.

While resting on the road, Yang Puxiong was still asking Ye Sheng for information, "Commander Ye, I would like to ask you a question. I met a commander named Yu in Lu'an. You two are both commanders. I wonder which of you has a higher official rank?"

Ye Sheng glanced at him and said immediately, "Since we are both commanders, we are naturally equally important. However, Commander Yu is a veteran general from Chaohu, and I am a surrendered general. I was able to get this position thanks to the Marshal's trust. Otherwise, how could I be compared with General Yu?"

Yang Puxiong was a little dumbfounded. "You are also a surrendered general? I wonder if Commander Ye was originally under Zuo Junbi's command or Kang Maocai's command?"

Ye Sheng said indifferently, "I am a Han Chinese general!"

"Uh." Yang Puxiong was choked and speechless, but he was also even more surprised. It seemed that there were quite a few Yuan court surrendered generals under Lu Jin's command.

Ye Sheng was originally a quiet and cold person who didn't like to talk. Unless Yang Puxiong took the initiative to talk to him, he would never say much. Seeing that this man was so cold, Yang Puxiong lost interest in talking. The group rode for three days and finally arrived in Luzhou City.

Naturally, it was not Lu Jin's turn to receive a foreign envoy. Instead, Bao Yu led his men to receive him. They temporarily found an empty house to accommodate Yang Puxiong and his soldiers, and also hired some servants and clerks to take care of the group's daily life, and also planted some spies.

Yang Puxiong already knew that Lu Jin had killed a vassal king of the Yuan Dynasty and seized two royal palaces. When he was taken past the gate of the palace, he found that the gate was closed and there was not even a soldier standing guard at the door. He was immediately puzzled.

"Why is Marshal Lu closing the door to visitors in broad daylight? Where is your army working?"

"Oh, my commander-in-chief is honest and frugal. The generals are still fighting in all directions and have no fixed place to live. How can the lord live alone in a luxurious palace? The commander-in-chief sets an example, so he lives in the government office." Bao Yu immediately bowed in the direction of the government office and said.

"My apologies, my apologies." Yang Puxiong was immediately surprised when he heard this. In his opinion, rebellion was for the purpose of becoming a superior person. He would definitely not live in a government office instead of a palace, but that did not stop him from respecting such a person.

It seems that this mission cannot be negotiated. How can a person with such ambitions be willing to be a subject?

After Yang Puxiong rested for half a day, he was finally taken to see Lu Jin. Looking at the tall and handsome young man sitting high in the hall, he could not believe that this was the marshal who led tens of thousands of troops to capture the entire Luzhou Road.

There were two people who looked like civil servants beside him, but it was unknown what positions they held.

Lu Jin sat high up in the hall, not taking the initiative to greet him. Yang Puxiong cursed inwardly and could only take the initiative to say, "Yang Puxiong, the head of the Ministry of Rites of the Song Dynasty, is entrusted by His Majesty to deliver a letter to the Marshal."

Yang Puxiong just stood there with his hands clasped, and did not kneel down. He thought Lu Jin would embarrass him, but he did not. The commander did not seem to care about etiquette. He just raised his hand and asked, "Where is the letter? Present it to me."

Yang Puxiong immediately took out a letter from his arms, checked it to make sure it was correct, and handed it to Bao Yu, who then quickly gave it to Lu Jin.

In fact, this guy had two letters on him. After all, one has to use courtesy before force. One letter was a sign of goodwill and recruitment, promising an official position. The other one was hidden in his sleeve and was a letter threatening to send troops. I don't know if he dared to take it out.

Lu Jin opened the letter and read it quickly, frowning as the contents were beyond his knowledge. It was not that he could not understand the classical Chinese, but the official positions mentioned in it.

The letter was written in the tone of Xu Shouhui. It first affirmed the righteousness of Lu Jin's rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty, and then talked about the relationship between the Chaohu Navy and Xu Song, indicating that the two sides were originally one family. In terms of seniority, the Chaohu Navy should have been a branch of Xu Song.

He also said that now that he had restored the Song Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor, the people of the world had suffered from the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty for a long time and all wanted to return to the embrace of the Song Dynasty. He hoped that Lu Jin could also see the situation clearly. If Lu Jin was willing to lead his troops to surrender, Xu Song could appoint him as the "Governor of Bianliang Province."

Lu Jin could understand the first part, but what was this Guan Gou at the end? As a science student, he was not familiar with ancient official positions and had never heard of the official title Guan Gou.

After reading the letter, Lu Jin casually handed it to Li Shanchang behind him. This made Yang Puxiong raise his eyebrows. It seems that the two civil servants behind him are not ordinary people. How could they just read such an important letter?
"Cough." Lu Jin coughed lightly. Although he didn't know what a guan hook was, he would not show his weakness at this time. At worst, he could find other faults first, so he said immediately.

"May I ask the envoy of Song, does your country want to jointly fight against Yuan?"

"Of course we want to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. Why does the Marshal ask this question?" Yang Puxiong raised his eyebrows, feeling that Lu Jin himself seemed not easy to deal with.

"Since your country is an anti-Yuan army and my Shengwu Army is also an anti-Yuan righteous army, and the two sides are not enemies, then why do you want me to surrender to your country? Are we enemies? I wonder if this letter is a declaration of war from your country? Or is your country and the Yuan court in cahoots with each other and want to be an enemy of my anti-Yuan righteous army?" Lu Jin asked back immediately.

"Well, this must be a misunderstanding, Marshal. Our Majesty definitely did not mean that. This is to recruit. We hope that Marshal can see the situation in the world clearly. Now that the Yuan Dynasty is coming to an end and an outstanding leader has emerged, our Majesty hopes that Marshal can lead his troops to submit, not surrender. It must be that the official who drafted the letter made a typo. It is definitely not what you meant." Yang Puxiong explained hurriedly.

However, Lu Jin was unyielding. It was common in the diplomatic field to nitpick on words. No matter if you did it on purpose or accidentally, Lu Jin could always make use of it. Hadn't you decided to delay before? This was just an excuse.

Lu Jin immediately stood up, flicked his sleeves, and snorted, "Such an important letter can be wrong, is this what a leader of a country would do? How can I believe in your country's sincerity? Or is your envoy also a fake, who came out of nowhere to deceive me?

"Do you also want to emulate Fan Meng?"

(End of this chapter)