Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 339 Xia Yu's Countermeasure
After the special recruitment was completed, Lu Jin gained a large number of talents, which greatly alleviated the shortage of staff in the Marshal's Mansion. The new recruits were placed in various departments of the Marshal's Mansion.

A new Mint was established, with Liu Zhang from Danyang as its director. He was responsible for minting copper coins and printing new banknotes. It is still in the preparation stage and is directly under the jurisdiction of Lu Jin, not under the Ministry of Finance.

Zhou Zhen, a native of Jiangning, was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Finance and Households, equivalent to the fourth in command of the Ministry of Households.

Qian Yongren, who came from Guangde County, Anhui Province, was appointed as the director of the Criminal Affairs Department. The previous director of the Criminal Affairs Department had been sent out by Lu Jin to be a prefect, and it was not easy to promote the newcomer to the position of director directly, so he started as a director, and the position of director was temporarily vacant.

Sun Yan, a scholar from Jurong, was arranged to set up the "Zhengfa Court" equivalent to the Supreme Court. His official title was "Tongzhi Zhengfa Court Affairs", which was equivalent to Shaoqing of Dali Temple. He was nominally the second in command, but the actual position of the first in command was vacant.

Yang Xian, a native of Taiyuan who came to Jiankang to "study abroad", was recruited as the Chief Censor of the Inspectorate, equivalent to the fourth in command of the Inspectorate, and was temporarily responsible for improving the system of the Inspectorate.

Qin Conglong and Wang Guangyang, who had served as high-ranking provincial officials in the Yuan court's Mobei region, were recruited into the Secretariat as consultants. They could be retained as reserve prime ministers or sent out to preside over provincial government affairs.

In addition, more than a dozen people were also recruited by the Marshal's Office. Chen Yu was named "Doctor of Chongwenguan" and was responsible for compiling the General History of China with five or six people, with Chen Yu as the editor-in-chief.

The director of the Construction Bureau, Xu Jichuan, stayed in Luzhou temporarily and did not come over. Lu Jin was short of clerks from the Ministry of Works to work for him, so he recruited two directors of the Construction Bureau named "Wang Su" and "Chen Yuangong" to help him and be responsible for finding people and passing on messages.

There were even two people who were good at writing and writing, and he hired them as "Qiju Lang" to be responsible for writing daily notes and helping him draft documents.
In the end, there were still some people with average talents left, and he also stuffed them into various departments to work as assistants and become senior civil servants.

However, among the group of people who were not selected, there was a very special one. He was not eliminated not because he had no talent, but because he was simply not suitable for these civil service positions. His name was Xia Yu, with the courtesy name Yunzhong, and he was also a native of Jiangning. He was recommended by Feng Guoyong himself, who said that he was well-versed in the art of war and knew military strategies, and could be recruited to work in the Military Academy.

Historically, among the large number of literati Zhu Yuanzhang recruited in Jiangnan, only Liu Ji, Liu Bowen and Xia Yu were knowledgeable about military strategies. When Zhu Yuanzhang personally went out to fight, he basically did not bring other civil servants. Only Liu Ji and Xia Yu accompanied him, responsible for giving advice and strategies.

After arranging positions for these people, Lu Jin asked Shuntian prefect Ji Xuan to arrange accommodation and office space for them. Wang Guangyang was taken away by Li Shanchang to familiarize himself with government affairs, and Qin Conglong was called by Lu Jin to mark the map of Mobei. After the map was revised, he called Xia Yu to meet him alone.

In the central hall of the backyard of the Marshal's Mansion, the large map that had just been revised and marked was hanging in the hall. Lu Jin asked Xia Yu directly.

"Mr. Xia, can you understand this map?"

Xia Yu hurried forward to check it out and found that this map was very unusual. It was not an ordinary abstract map, but a flat map similar to the "Yuji Stone Carving Map" of the early Song Dynasty. It not only had longitude and latitude lines, but also scale markings. The most important thing was that the scope of this map was ridiculously large. It not only covered the traditional Chinese concept of Kyushu, but covered the entire "Asia".

It extends east to the Bering Strait, and even to Japan, Ryukyu, Luzon, all the way to Malacca in the South China Sea; north to the Arctic Ocean, south to India, west to the Black Sea, and even Congling in the Han Dynasty and Persia in the Tang Dynasty are marked.

Xia Yu swept his eyes to the northeast and found that there was Sakhalin Island above Japan, and above Sakhalin Island there was a place marked as Liugui Country (Kamchatka Peninsula), and above that there was the Chukchi Peninsula, extending eastwards into the depths of the sea.

He was a little surprised and said, "This map is very similar to the 'Yuji Stone Carving Map' from the pre-Song Dynasty. There was a famous scholar in the pre-Song Dynasty named Shen Kuo, who was good at geography. He mapped a similar map based on the six map elements created by Pei Xiu of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, using the scale, direction, distance, elevation, slope, and curvature. However, the scope was not as wide as the Marshal's map, and it only recorded the Kyushu area."

Finally, Xia Yu stared at a large island marked as 'Chengzhou' in the north of Japan and asked, "Is this map accurate, Marshal?"

"There must be some errors, but it is roughly accurate. What's wrong?" Lu Jin also followed his gaze and looked towards Hokkaido in the north of Japan.

Xia Yu asked again, "There is a big island in the north of Japan, which is connected to Sakhalin Island of Liaoyang Province of the Yuan Dynasty. It belongs neither to the Yuan Dynasty nor to Japan. Its area is as large as the ten roads of eastern Zhejiang. Is there no country and population on this island?"

Lu Jin introduced, "There are tribes of wild people, but no country. They are the same race as those on Sakhalin Island. They call themselves Ainu people. They make a living by hunting and gathering, or crossing the sea to rob the Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates call them Ainu people. There is also a general who is responsible for conquering these people."

Xia Yu was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Since there are only wild tribes, no small countries, and no big countries governing it, then where did the Chengzhou, Sapporo, and Hot Springs marked on the map come from?"

Lu Jin explained, "I named Chengzhou because there are many volcanoes on this island, and some of the volcanoes that have been extinguished have formed natural lakes. There are many such alpine lakes on the island, and there are also several large rivers. There is plenty of fresh water and the water is clear, so I named this place after the meaning of clear water.

"As for Sapporo, it is the local Ainu dialect, meaning the riverbank at the mouth of a large river. This Sapporo is the estuary of a large river. There is no town, but a wilderness. The hot springs on the east side of the island are named hot springs because there are many volcanoes and natural hot springs. You can enjoy the snow and bathe in the winter, so I named it hot springs."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu immediately pounded his hands and stamped his feet, "What a pity! I never thought there would be such a precious land in the East China Sea. What a pity."

Lu Jin smiled and said, "What a pity?"

Xia Yu came back to his senses and quickly bowed, "Oh, to report to the commander-in-chief, I think that if Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty knew that there was such a large island to the north of Japan and that it was connected to Liaoyang Province, then when he went on the Eastern Expedition, he might have taken the northern route, and the tragedy of heavy losses and failure in the two Eastern Expeditions would not have happened."

Lu Jin said meaningfully, "Oh, really? Then let me tell you that the climate here is pleasant, with four distinct seasons. There is a lot of snow in winter, but it is not as cold as in the northern desert, nor is there any snake, insect or miasma like in the south. The land is fertile and suitable for growing rice and grains. The forests are dense and the grass is abundant. If it is used for farming, it can support tens of millions of people. If it is used for herding horses, it can support hundreds of thousands of war horses.

"Moreover, this island is as large as four Qiongzhou Islands. It is less than a hundred miles away from Sakhalin Island in the north and only seventy or eighty miles away from Japan in the south. It only takes less than an hour to land in Japan by boat. What do you think?"

Xia Yu narrowed his eyes, "Are you serious, Marshal?"

"Of course it's true. What good would it do me to lie to you?"

Xia Yu said immediately, "Then we must incorporate this island into our territory, settle people there, cultivate the land, and raise horses."

Lu Jin asked curiously, "You want to fight Japan?"

Xia Yu added, "Let's not talk about whether to attack Japan or not. This island is located at the crossroads between the north and the south, between China and Japan, and there is no strong country on the island. As long as we take this place, we can use it to balance Japan. If the Japanese dare to send pirates to plunder China's coast again, we can use this island as a base, store up a large number of troops and directly land to destroy their country. With this island in hand, Japan will never dare to be an enemy of China again."

Lu Jin immediately stood up and praised, "You have a good vision. You can see that this place is a strategic point. You are not like other Confucian scholars who are pedantic and conservative and unwilling to expand the territory." Zhuge Wuhou once said that if a general does not know astronomy and geography, how can he be a general? The Yuan court did not understand the geography around Japan, let alone the ocean climate. Every time they sent troops out during the hurricane season, they suffered two disastrous defeats and lost more than 100,000 soldiers. This shows the importance of geography and climate to the military.

"You didn't say anything when Zhongtang asked three questions just now. Mr. Feng told me that these three questions are not your forte. He recommended you to me, saying that you are familiar with the art of war and are proficient in military strategies. You may be able to join the military academy as an official. So I will test you. What do you think about the current situation in the world? Where should our Shengwu Army develop next?"

Xia Yu hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Marshal, for not disliking my dullness and being willing to meet me alone. I think that in today's world, although the Yuan court is in a critical condition, it still has some strength left. As the saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and it still has 60% of its strength left.

"Although the rebel army is strong, it is still weak compared to the Yuan court. Not to mention those who have thousands of soldiers and defend themselves in the countryside, let's just talk about the three families of the Marshal, Liu Futong, and Xu Shouhui. The three rebel armies together only account for 40%, which is not enough for the Northern Expedition to completely destroy the Yuan court.

“Although the Xu and Liu families are weak at this moment, their fighting spirit is high and they should not be underestimated. If we fight them at this moment, not only will we not gain any advantage, but we will also be criticized and easily taken advantage of by the Yuan court, who will eventually defeat the rebel army one by one.

“On the other hand, although the Yuan court still exists, the land under its jurisdiction is in decline and the people are dissatisfied, so it is easy to take over. Therefore, I think the commander-in-chief should first take over the Yuan land. Not only can he weaken the remnants of the Yuan court, but he can also devour its flesh and blood to strengthen himself.

"The Book of Changes says in the Kun hexagram that when a dragon fights in the wild, its blood turns dark yellow, and the Yuan court goes from prosperity to decline. This is the time when this old dragon, who is terminally ill, fights in the wild. As long as we continue to devour its flesh and blood to strengthen ourselves, the strength of the righteous army will decline. When the righteous army has 70% of its strength and turns into a dragon, and the Yuan court is left with only 10% of its body, then it is time to take advantage of the victory to march north and destroy it in one fell swoop."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard this. "It's similar to what I thought. So how about the details? Now our army is in Huainan, Luzhou, and Anqing in the west, Huaiyang in the north, and Jinling and Zhenjiang in the south. Which piece of flesh and blood of the Yuan court should we devour next?"

Xia Yu immediately said, "Fighting for the world is like playing chess. We are still at the beginning of the game, it is the time to lay out and seize points and territory. There is a saying about playing chess: golden horns, silver edges and grass belly.

"Now, Liu Futong and Du Zundao's forces are separatist in the Central Plains, which is a place surrounded by enemies. They have no support on all sides, so they are just the lowest-ranking soldiers. Xu Shouhui's forces are separatist in Jinghu, which is also a place surrounded by enemies, but they have the Dabie Mountains behind them to rely on. Although it is also difficult, they always have a way out and will not be easily destroyed.

"Our army has the exclusive possession of Huaiyang, Luzhou, Anqing, and Jinling. Although this is also a battleground, we have at least touched the edge of the chessboard, and the prospects are brighter. Therefore, I think the most urgent task is to take over eastern Zhejiang and the East China Sea, and completely occupy this silver edge of the chessboard. Then we can have no worries and focus on the internal strategy.

"Eastern Zhejiang is a fertile land. It supplies millions of shi of grain and fodder to Dadu every year. The population has sufficient food. It is also located in a border area. If we can swallow it all in one gulp, the old dragon of the Yuan court will lose at least 20% of its vitality and completely decline. From then on, it will no longer have the power to actively attack the rebel army and can only passively defend itself.

"But our army is two times stronger. If you can't take over eastern Zhejiang, our army, though strong, will be like a rootless duckweed. Only by taking over this fertile land of eastern Zhejiang can we truly have the foundation to conquer the world."

Lu Jin looked at him with interest and asked, "Dragon Slaying Technique?"

Xia Yu quickly cupped his hands and said, "I dare not call it a dragon-slaying technique, it's just a trick to kill a big dragon in Go."

Lu Jin nodded and did not dwell on the wording. As a modern man, he really didn't care about whether to slay the dragon or not, so he asked again.

"After taking over eastern Zhejiang, where should we advance our troops?"

Xia Yu added, "Since we have occupied the border of Jianghuai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, we should start to expand our territory. Liu Futong is in the north, Xu Shouhui is in the south, our army is in the east and Luzhou stretches towards the Central Plains. The Yuan court is still alive, so the three families can still show some sympathy. Once the Yuan court dies, or only has one last breath left, the three families will turn against each other, and then it will be a three-way confrontation again.

“As one of the three pillars, the Marshal should try to prevent the other two from joining together, otherwise it will be disadvantageous to the Marshal. Therefore, we must take advantage of Luzhou’s extension to the Central Plains to separate the two and defeat them one by one.

“Since ancient times, if the Northern Dynasty wanted to invade the Southern Dynasty, there were only four routes to the south, or the connection between the north and the south: Hanzhong to Bashu, Nanyang to Jingxiang, Luzhou to Dangtu, and Yangzhou to Zhenjiang.

"Of the four passages, the Marshal has already occupied two in the east. Hanzhong and Bashu are geographically isolated and too far from our army, so we won't mention them for now. However, the Xu and Liu families have not yet intervened in the route from Nanyang to Jingxiang. The Marshal should capture this place as soon as possible after taking over eastern Zhejiang, severing the connection between the north and the south and preventing Xu and Liu from making peace.

"On the east side, there is Anqing to the south, which is the gateway to the Yangtze River, but the Marshal only got half of it. We should take Huizhou and Raozhou on the east bank of the Yangtze River as soon as possible, and echo Anqing in the east and west to completely block the Yangtze River channel. To the north, we can march into Qi and Lu from Huai'an. In this way, we can own the fertile border areas of Sanwu, Jianghuai, Qi and Lu, forming three spearheads extending inland, like a trident or a halberd, controlling the entire situation in the world.

"Once the situation is established, we can send troops from Jingxiang and Jiangxi in the south at the same time, and attack Xu Shouhui in Jinghu from both directions. We can also send troops from Nanyang to Shanzhou and Qilu to the Central Plains in the north, and attack Liu Futong in the Central Plains from both directions. Defeat them one by one, and once we unify them, we can march north to unify the world."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin glanced at him. This guy actually guessed most of what he was thinking. He had just ordered Bao Yu to set up intelligence stations in Nanyang and Jingxiang a few days ago, so as to attack Xu Shouhui in Hubei from both sides from the Jianghan Plain and Jiangxi.

Why didn't Xia Yu give Zhu Yuanzhang this idea in the original history? It was probably because Zuo Junbi blocked him in Luzhou and Hefei for more than ten years, which prevented Zhu Yuanzhang's power from expanding westward to Nanyang.

But now it is different. Luzhou is the birthplace of Lu Jin. With this springboard leading to the Central Plains, Nanyang, which Zhu Yuanzhang could not conquer, has its doors open to Lu Jin. With one more road, different tactics can naturally be used.

Lu Jin nodded, without commenting on whether what he said was right or not, but directly said, "Your geography and vision are indeed good, and you have some level, but it seems that there is no position suitable for you in the various departments of the Martial Academy. Now there is only one vacant position in the Armament Department, but you are definitely not good at making equipment, and you probably don't understand muskets and artillery.

"Why don't you work as a palace attendant in the Wuyuan attendant room, accompanying the emperor so that you can be consulted and run errands for me, sending and receiving documents from the Wuyuan drivers."

Xia Yu quickly bowed deeply, "Thank you, my lord, for your appreciation!"

Just as the two of them were getting along, Li Dingbang, a personal soldier of Lu Jin, suddenly rushed in from outside the door. "General, good news, and there are two of them. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin cursed, "Get lost, they are all good news, why do you need to sort them out? And even if you don't tell me, I can guess it."

Li Dingbang tilted his head and asked in confusion, "Really?"

Lu Jin sneered, "Nonsense, if you count the days, you will know what it is. Either Zhang Wen has brought my wife and children here, or Jiangbei has sent a victory report that Huai'an and Qinghe have been conquered, right?"

Li Dingbang, who was only 13 years old, was immediately surprised and said, "The Marshal really guessed it right. This is the victory report from Jiangbei. Commander Zhang has already landed by boat. He just sent someone to report that he wanted to send a carriage to the shore to pick up his wife and son."

(End of this chapter)