Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 331 Sweeping Huaidong (Continued)

"The Luzhou troops in the south have already captured Yangzhou and Gaoyou, and I heard they are now marching northwards."

In Xuzhou city, Peng Da hurried into the government office and immediately spoke to Zhima Li and Zhao Junyong.

The two were stunned when they heard this. Zhao Junyong was immediately angry and said, "I have long said that this Lu guy is not a good person. He had no good intentions when he sold those armors to us. First, he asked us to block the Yuan army for him in the north, and he led the army to attack the most prosperous Jiangnan. Now that Tuotuo is coming, it would be fine if he didn't help, but he actually dared to take advantage of the situation and attack Yangzhou and Gaoyou in our east. This is simply too much!"

Peng Da took the tea bowl and took two gulps. Then he said in surprise, "Isn't it normal for the Luzhou soldiers to fight like this? If they don't do it for themselves, will they really come to help us defend the city? Even if it's good for them to defend the city, what do they want? If I were Lu Jin, I would definitely think about myself first. As the saying goes, if a man doesn't do things for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth."

Zhima Li also reacted at this time, and suddenly realized, "So what Zhu Liangzu said before, that he could support us from the side and help us attract the attention of some Yuan troops, turned out to be this meaning, I finally understand.

"But this will indeed be a cover for us. We don't know whether Tuotuo's army can be attracted by them, but since they have captured Yangzhou and Gaoyou, at least when we fight Tuotuo, we don't have to worry about the Yuan army in Huaidong circling behind us from the side and rear.

"Although Lu Jin openly said that he doesn't want to help, but he is not called a friendly force for nothing."

Zhao Junyong was still indignant, "What a shitty friendly army, they are just using us. Now our territory extends to Xuyi in the south and Taoyuan in the east. Li Er, have you ever thought about it?

"It is true that they have captured Huaidong at this time and have helped us cover our flanks, but this has also completely blocked us in Guide Prefecture and Huai'an Road. Gaoyou and Yangzhou should have been our territory, but now we cannot go east, and the salt fields along the eastern coast have fallen into the hands of that man surnamed Lu. I'm afraid we will have trouble getting salt in the future!

"We are now surrounded by Liu Futong and Du Zundao to the west, and Nalu Jin to the south and east. We can only expand to the north, but Tuotuo's army is coming soon. We are not sure whether we can stop them. Do you two understand that we are surrounded on all sides!!!"

Zhima Li and Peng Da were silent for a while after hearing this. Of course they understood the logic, but what could they do now?

Peng Da was silent for a long while before he said, "What's the use of knowing? You said Yangzhou and Gaoyou belong to us, but do you have the strength to fight for them now? If you can't take them down, then what's the point of saying these things now? The Luzhou soldiers will definitely say that it's obviously the territory of the Yuan army, so of course whoever takes it down will own it. Can you still take it by force?"

Zhao Junyong was unable to refute what was said and could only snort coldly. The three of them were silent for a while.

After a while, Zhao Junyong calmed down and asked, "What should we do now?"

"What can we do? We have to prepare to defend the city." Peng Da put the tea bowl heavily on the table, put one foot on the chair, and then said.

"We have made all the preparations to stop Tuotuo's army. We can't just abandon the city and run away, or lead the main force to Huai'an to fight for territory with that Lu guy. Don't you want this big city of Xuzhou anymore?
"Besides, we have built Xuzhou into this state. I don't think Tuotuo can really conquer Xuzhou. Why should we be afraid of him?

"If we are still surrounded on all sides, we can still attack the north. Anyway, all the rebel armies are fighting for the Yuan court's land. Whoever can conquer it will naturally own it. I think the land of Youyan, Qi and Lu in the north is not small. When Tuotuo is defeated at our gate, we can chase the Yuan army to the north. By then, the whole north may be ours!"

Peng Da had his own lofty ambitions, but Zhima Li seemed very worried. Today's Xuzhou could indeed be said to be impregnable and almost impossible to break through from the outside, but Xuzhou also had a fatal weakness, that was that there was too little food stored in the city, and the food was only enough for four months.

If the enemy lays siege for a long time and does not retreat after four months, if they are not prepared to rely on cannibalism to continue to hold out, they can only voluntarily abandon the city and retreat.

In order to fortify the city and evacuate the people of Xuzhou to the rear this year, he also had to trade armor with Lu Jin and complete many large-scale projects, such as the renovation of Xuzhou City. He also had to spend a lot of money to buy salt from private salt dealers in Huaidong. Zhima Li used up a lot of food reserves, and the local food in Xuzhou was not abundant. However, this year's expenditure was so high that although his city of Xuzhou was strong, the food reserves were scarce.

When Zhao Junyong heard Peng Da's plan to attack the north, he immediately curled his lips in disdain. The north is close to the core of the Yuan court. Is it as easy to attack as you say?

And if you want to march north, you need money. How much supplies can you prepare and how many troops can you support with just the dozen cities in Guide Prefecture and Huai'an Road?
Only Li Er did not join in the argument, but asked directly, "Where is Tuotuo now?"

Peng Da immediately replied, "The most recent news was three days ago. At that time, Tuotuo's vanguard had already reached Linqing. At a speed of thirty miles a day, they might have almost reached Liaocheng now."

Because the most convenient marching route from Dadu to the south is along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which is convenient for transporting logistical supplies, so as long as you know the enemy's marching route, it will not be difficult to find a way to send people to monitor it. As long as you send spies along the canal, you can know the speed of Tuotuo's advance.

After hearing this, Zhima Li did some calculations and found that the next city to the south of Liaocheng was Shouzhang (Liangshan County, Shandong), and further south was Jining. After Jining, they would reach Pei County, which was now controlled by Zhima Li.

Pei County, Feng County, and Dangshan County to the west, these three cities are the northernmost territories currently controlled by the Xuzhou Group. However, the three men had already made plans and decided to voluntarily give up these three cities.

Most of Xuzhou's forces are south of the Huanghuai River, with only these three county towns isolated in the north of the river, separated by the Yellow River. The three cities are isolated and helpless, and it is impossible for them to stop Tuotuo's army alone. Li Er and his men want to send main force support but are unable to do so, so it is better to just give up.

According to the advice Lu Jin had given them before, the main force took the initiative to cross the river and retreat south, and then left a part of the elite troops to hide near Dangshan in the west, staying north of the Yellow River and not withdrawing. After Tuotuo's main force crossed the river, this part of the elite troops would go around Tuotuo's side and rear, launch a sneak attack and harass his food supply route.

According to the previously planned plan, there were almost no people in these three counties in Hebei at this time.
Li Er calculated the distance. "From Linqing to Xuzhou, isn't that only 400 miles? This was three days ago. If we start counting from Liaocheng, it will take at most ten days for Tuotuo to arrive at the gates of the city. It is already October 20th, which means that Tuotuo will definitely arrive at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. We have at most ten days."

After figuring out the specific date of Tuotuo's arrival, Li Er said solemnly, "Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, let's not worry about where they are going to fight, but take care of ourselves first. Lu Jin's dispatch of troops to Gaoyou has at least helped us protect our flanks. Now we don't have to worry about the flanks and rear, and we only need to concentrate on dealing with Tuotuo in the north. Everyone, start preparing for yourselves."

Peng Da and Zhao Junyong nodded when they heard this. Peng Da immediately said, "Then I will go to guard the military camps behind Xuzhou as planned."

Zhao Junyong also said, "I will go to guard Suzhou and wait for you to come. If you really can't hold on, don't try to hold on. If things really don't work, I can send troops from Suzhou to support you."

Li Er shook his head, "No need to support, just guard Suzhou, I will be in charge of Xuzhou, there are many soldiers in Xuzhou, if so many soldiers can't stop them, what's the point of you coming to support?" Zhao Junyong glanced at him, then nodded and said, "Okay, take care of yourself."

"Yeah." Zhima Li nodded. Seeing the two turning around to leave, he suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, when exactly will Tuotuo come over? Do you think we should tell Haozhou?"

The two were stunned when they heard this. Peng Da immediately expressed his neutrality. "It doesn't matter whether you tell him or not. Even if Lu Jin is not our ally, he is definitely not our enemy. He did help us. It's okay to tell him. There's no loss anyway. Just a word and he can still do us a favor."

Zhao Junyong frowned. He wanted to refuse directly, but Li Er was the boss of Xuzhou after all, so he frowned and asked, "What good will it do us if we tell them?"

Li Er explained, "If we inform them of Tuotuo's advancing speed, they will have a better idea of ​​the war in Jiangbei. When Tuotuo really arrives, they will be more prepared. If they can effectively contain him, we can suffer less losses."

At this point, Li Er paused and said, "All our wealth is here. If we still can't stop Tuotuo, when the most critical moment comes, we may have to ask them for help. After all, the two families are neighbors. Even if you don't like them, you can't ask this neighbor to move away, right? Besides, he is not a bad neighbor."

Although Zhao Junyong was still unwilling in his heart, he still gave Li Er a chance to save face, so he said, "Anyway, I won't tell anyone. If you want to go, you can send someone to tell them yourself."

After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

Li Er looked at them from behind, sighed, and finally sent someone to Haozhou to inform Yu Tongyuan of Tuotuo's advancing speed.

On the other hand, after the 36th Army won the Battle of Gaoyou, all the Yuan court officials in Gaoyou Prefecture were killed. Li Qi, the prefect of Gaoyou, a die-hard traitor who originally died at the hands of Zhang Shicheng in history, originally wanted to hang himself in the government office when the city was finally broken, but failed.

When the main force of the Shengwu Army rushed to the gate of the government office, the Yuan court officials in the government office surrendered immediately, led the way in and captured Li Qi who was hanging himself alive, and after the battle, dragged him to the street and beheaded him in public!

Gaoyou Wanhu Yilasi was hit by cannonballs in the street fighting and was beaten into pieces. Darughachi Yuxi Timur was stabbed into a hornet's nest by a spear in the street fighting. There was also Jiangbei Province Pingzhang Dashi Temur. After the city was captured, he wanted to break out from the west of the city through the canal waterway. As a result, he was captured alive by boatmen and boatmen organized by the intelligence station and beaten to death by angry people. He was the one who died the most miserably.
After Gaoyou City was captured, Zhu Liangzu and Gao Yao asked Chen Shida's Sixth Supplementary Regiment to stay and defend the city, and then asked Zhao Zhongzhong of the 106th Division to lead the main force of the Tenth Regiment, the Seventh Supplementary Regiment, the Eighth Supplementary Regiment, and Tu Hai's Independent Second Regiment, plus a light howitzer battalion. Four regiments plus an artillery battalion formed a detachment of more than people. They also asked them to take the heads of the Tartar officials who had just been captured, and set out from Gaoyou to attack Xinghua to the east. After taking Xinghua, they would continue to attack Yancheng, and finally go to Huai'an to join the main force.

Zhu Liangzu continued to lead the main forces of the remaining eight regiments, escorting more than 17,000 prisoners just captured from Gaoyou, and continued northward along the canal towards Baoying.

On October 36, the main force of the th Army captured Gaoyou.

On the 36st, the th Army continued to march in two directions, advancing towards Baoying and Xinghua at the same time. They also sent Zheng Yong's Second Cavalry Regiment to advance ahead, preparing to replicate the previous siege of Yangzhou and Gaoyou.

At the same time, on the same day of the 108st, the main force of Bian Yuanheng's th Division, after three days of trekking, finally arrived at the city of Rugao and launched an attack on Rugao.

Bian Yuanheng's 108th Division now has five regiments. Although they are almost all rookies, fortunately all the thousand-household battalion-level officers of this division have followed Lu Jin to complete the entire Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River. The trainee officers' training was not in vain. Now these people have fully mastered the practical organizational experience of marching, fighting and sieges. The only thing they have not yet learned is the actual practice.

In addition to the help of the artillery regiment temporarily loaned in, the intelligence station also arranged dozens of spies in Rugao City in advance, and there were also heads of Yangzhou Road officials sent by Zhu Liangzu for surrender. Under attacks from multiple parties and the roar of heavy artillery, Rugao, a small county in Huaidong that didn't even have a moat, was captured by the 108th Division on the st!
On the same day, the main force of the 40th Army, led by Yu Tonghai and Zhang Desheng, was first transported in batches by navy to the outskirts of Tongzhou (Nantong). After the main forces of the six regiments all arrived in Tongzhou, Yu Tonghai also launched an attack on Tongzhou on the same day.

The six regiments of the 40th Army were all main forces transferred from Jiangnan. Although the proportion of new recruits among them was not small, more than % of them were armored. Moreover, all the officers were practical officers who had fought in the Battle of Crossing the Yangtze River from Luzhou. With the help of artillery battalions and intelligence stations, Tongzhou, a strategic town connecting the north and the south on the Yangtze River, was also captured by the Shengwu Army on the st.

Yu Tonghai left the main force of his 114th Division stationed in Tongzhou, and ordered the navy to take the three regiments of Zhang Desheng's 115th Division and the mountain artillery battalion left by Bian Yuanheng, and continue to move eastward along the river towards Haimen County.

At this point, four of the five cities east of Yangzhou had been captured in just five days, and the only thing left was Haimen County, which would allow them to occupy the entire Yangzhou Road.

However, the Haimen at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was not the Haimen in later generations. The Haimen in the Yuan Dynasty was probably a little further inland from Qidong in later generations. Qidong was still in the sea at that time, and the Haimen in later generations had not yet been established as a county.

After taking Haimen, the Shengwu Army controlled almost all areas along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River from Jiujiang, Jiangxi to the estuary.

By October 108, Bian Yuanheng recruited another 36 soldiers in various salt fields in the coastal areas near Rugao. Together with the prisoners captured from Rugao, he formed a total of three new regiments. However, these three regiments did not belong to the 36th Division, but were formed for Zhu Liangzu's th Army. The th Army would have to reallocate their numbers in the future.

After leaving a new regiment and the head of the local intelligence station to guard the city, Bian Yuanheng took the main force of the 108th Division and the remaining two newly formed regiments back to Taizhou to reorganize the troops. These two regiments would then be divided into Taizhou and Taixing. Then he used the new recruits recruited by Li Huafu and Lu Zhen to reorganize six regiments of troops and took the main force of the 108th Division to garrison in Gaoyou.

On the same night of the 22nd, four regiments led by Zhao Zhongzhong arrived at Xinghua County and surrounded the county. The artillery battalion began to build artillery positions. Zhao Zhongzhong took several commanders to contact local intelligence stations and began to discuss tomorrow's siege plan.

Due to the rapid advance of the Shengwu Army in the Huaidong area, since the two core cities of Yangzhou and Gaoyou in the Huaidong area were captured, the cities and people in the remaining areas also became restless. The Yuan army defending the remaining small counties were in a state of panic, while the oppressed people in the Huaidong area rose up one after another.

On the night when Zhao Zhongzhong led his troops to besiege Xinghua, two large and small rebel armies that had just started an uprising came to surrender. One of them was a rebel leader named Du Hei'er who had started an uprising in Furongzhai, northeast of Xinghua, and came with an army of 3,000 to surrender. There was also a small rebel leader named Gao Si who came with 600 soldiers to surrender. These two people were combined into one unit by Zhao Zhongzhong and temporarily organized into the First Reserve Regiment.

At the same time that these two rebel forces joined Zhao Zhongzhong, a young man from Zhang Jiusi's village in Baijumachang Village, east of Furongzhai, also hurried back home.

"Brother, I have found out that Lü Zhen rebelled with Taizhou Magistrate Li Huafu. The two of them had already joined the Shengwu Army of Luzhou and are now officers of Luzhou."

"What? Lu Zhen also joined the army to rebel?!" Zhang Jiusi jumped up from the bench.

(End of this chapter)