Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 341 Peng Yingyu is dead

That night, Lu Jin received news that Yu Tongyuan's artillery regiment was basically ready, with all the artillery carts now complete, except for horses.

The wheels of the Shengwu Army's artillery are all manufactured uniformly by the Luzhou Arsenal. They have the same size and specifications as the four-wheeled carriage wheels used by the logistics auxiliary barracks. If they are damaged on the battlefield, they can be directly replaced with carriage wheels to ensure the maintenance rate of the artillery carriages.

Therefore, it is not difficult to build dozens of artillery carriages. Luzhou even has a stock of carriage parts. Just make the gun carriage and ammunition cart and assemble the rest directly. The problem now is actually the lack of horses.

The artillery of Yu Tongyuan's artillery regiment was heavy artillery directly removed from the three ships. Among them were 60 23-jin heavy howitzers, the same as those used by the army. Each gun, including the ammunition cart, required eight horses to pull. The remaining 36 14-jin guns were also long-barreled field cannons, heavier than Yang Huan's light howitzers. Together with the ammunition carts, each gun required at least six horses to pull.

These 96 cannons together require at least 700 horses, but Yu Tongyuan has only gathered 500 horses, leaving a gap of horses.

After listening to the report, Lu Jin immediately ordered him to lead the heavy artillery regiment and go north along the canal to Huai'an to report to Zhu Liangzu. As for the missing horses, he asked Zhu Liangzu to find a way to equip him with them.

A group of people fought from Liuhe to Huai'an, expanded so many troops, and seized so much supplies. It is impossible that they could not even get 200 horses together. In this way, they could exchange for the artillery regiment that Yang had exchanged. It is only the first day of the month, and there is still half a month until the fifteenth, which is enough time for him to withdraw from Jiangbei to Zhenjiang.

After sending away the artillery regiment, after the curfew that night, Zhang Wen also quietly delivered Lu Jin's car to the palace. Except for the escorting personal soldiers, almost no one saw it.

By noon the next day, Zhang Yunxiu, the mistress of the house, had already taken charge of the household chores. She sent her maid to the street to buy daily necessities and food ingredients in preparation for a banquet at home to entertain guests. Chang Yuchun and Liao Yongjian also arrived in Jiankang at this time.

The two had been sent to Dangtu by Lu Jin before. Lu Jin also asked Chang Yuchun to inquire about the situation in Wuhu in the south, wait for his orders, and be ready to capture Wuhu at any time. Therefore, when the two had just come back to report this time, Lu Jin asked about this matter.

"How's the situation in Wuhu?"

Chang Yuchun immediately replied, "Reporting to the commander, after I went to Dangtu recently, I also contacted the local intelligence department. According to the information obtained by the intelligence department, Wuhu, Fanchang and Dangtu are all part of Taiping Road. When we crossed the river, the Wanhu of Taiping Road, Nahachu, had already concentrated most of the troops of Taiping Road in Niuzhuji, Caishiji, and Dangtu City. There were not many troops left in Wuhu and Fanchang.

"Wuhu now has about 2,000 soldiers, of which only 1,500 were left before we crossed the river. The remaining 500 were recruited from the city after we conquered Dangtu. Moreover, they are not elite soldiers at all, not even a set of armor. Fanchang behind is even worse, with probably less than 1,000 soldiers, and they are all weak soldiers. As long as the commander-in-chief gives the order, these two cities can be taken in an instant.

"Moreover, since we crossed the river, we have recruited many surrendered Yuan soldiers and promised to distribute land to them. Wuhu is very close to Dangtu, and the spies at the intelligence station have spread the news. Now the Yuan troops in the two cities have no intention of fighting. There is even a great chance that we can directly recruit the surrender of the two cities."

Lu Jin nodded. He had anticipated this situation. It was mainly because of the administrative division. At the beginning, Nahachu was able to get 30,000 soldiers to stop him from crossing the river. Come to think of it, with only Dangtu County, where could he get so many soldiers? He must have concentrated all the troops here. Now that they were defeated, the two cities behind were naturally given away for nothing.

Lu Jin looked at the map. From Dangtu to the south, along the Yangtze River, there are six cities, namely Wuhu, Fanchang, Tongling, Guichi, Dongliu and Jiande (Dongzhi). Among them, Dongliu and Jiande are across the river from Wangjiang County of Anqing Prefecture on the other side of the river. Wangjiang County is also the territory of the Shengwu Army. Therefore, as long as Dongliu and Jiande are captured, it would be equivalent to blocking the key point of Anqing from both sides of the river at the same time, and completely locking the enemy in Jiangxi.

Going upstream from Dongliu County for another hundred miles, you will reach Pengze County, which is in Jiangxi Province.

Therefore, these six cities along the river must be captured, but we cannot just attack the cities along the river, because there are several cities not far behind these cities. Once they are occupied by the enemy, it will be very disadvantageous to us, such as Nanling between Fanchang and Tongling, and Qingyang between Tongling and Guichi.

Nanling and Qingyang pose a great threat to the cities along the river. What's more, behind these two cities are Jingxian, which produces rice paper and coal mines, as well as Taiping, Shidai and other cities. Adding up, there are more than a dozen cities. We have to attack them, but the problem now is that Lu Jin cannot mobilize too many troops for the time being.

So he asked the two men, "How is the training of your troops now? Are they capable of fighting?"

Chang Yuchun immediately patted his chest and said, "My 109th Division was the first to be expanded and trained after crossing the river. The backbone officers are all from my old 13th Regiment. Now each recruit class has at least two or three elite veterans who have fought in many actual combats. The armor is also the standard armor replaced after crossing the river. All three regiments of the division are wearing armor. With the command of the Marshal, they can be pulled into battle immediately!"

Liao Yongjian said with some difficulty, "My 107th Division was rebuilt. The 38th Regiment was reorganized by naval officers and prisoners. The 39th and 40th Regiments were simply prisoners transferred here. Now we have enough manpower and weapons, but we lack armor. The various armors of the three regiments combined cannot even make up sets. And I don't know how strong those prisoners would be if they really started fighting."

Lu Jin understood. After all, the 107th Division was formed too recently and had not gone through any running-in period. It is no exaggeration to say that the soldiers do not know their generals and the generals do not know their soldiers. It is difficult for such a unit to exert much combat effectiveness without long-term training.

So he thought for a while and said, "I can't supply you with armor for the time being. You know how many troops we have expanded after crossing the river. The armor of more than 100,000 soldiers in the East China Front was gathered together by scraping together. Even the armor that was just produced in October has to be given to them. It is estimated that the troops in Jiangbei now have more than 100,000, and those soldiers are also in need of armor.

"So at this time, you have to fight even harder. If you don't take over the iron mines in Wuhu, the coal mines in Jingxian and Xuancheng, and we only have one iron factory in Luzhou, how can we forge so many weapons and armors?"

Chang Yuchun straightened his chest immediately upon hearing this, "General, please give the order, I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Lu Jin nodded, and then said, "From now on, your 107th Division and 109th Division will be combined into the 43rd Army, with Chang Yuchun as the army commander and Brother Yongjian as the deputy commander."

When this appointment was made, both of them were stunned, and then looked at each other. Chang Yuchun was a little surprised, while Liao Yongjian was a little dissatisfied. After all, he was a veteran, so how could he be Chang Yuchun's deputy?

Lu Jin naturally knew this truth. Liao Yongjian was old enough, but his level was still a little behind Chang Yuchun, so he had to explain.

"I have high expectations for you in forming the 43rd Army this time. I intend to develop it into a front army based on your 43rd Army, just like Yang Jing's 37th Army and Zhu Liangzu's 36th Army.

"The areas you will attack in the future include the entire South China region. In the short term, it will be Taiping Road, Chizhou Road, and Ningguo Road. After you take these places, there will also be Huizhou Road, Raozhou Road, Xinzhou Road, Quzhou Road, Wuzhou Road, etc. You can even penetrate Huguang and go all the way to Guangzhou and Qiongzhou Island."

The two of them became excited upon hearing this. This was what it meant to lead a large army alone. With this military achievement, what was a marquisate? Were they still afraid that they would not be able to be granted the title of duke or king in the future?

Lu Jin stood up, walked around the table and patted Chang Yuchun on the shoulder, "I've given you the chance to command 100,000 soldiers, but I don't have that many soldiers to give you, so you have to fight forward while expanding the army and training soldiers."

"Thank you, Marshal, for your cultivation!" Chang Yuchun bowed excitedly.

Lu Jin patted Liao Yongjian on the shoulder and said, "Brother Yongjian, you have not commanded many major battles on land since you started the rebellion. You don't have enough experience in commanding land battles. Naval battles are your area of ​​expertise, and the navy is definitely indispensable for fighting the South. Therefore, I am worried if Brother Yongjian is not in charge of the South."

Lu Jin praised him first, which was considered as giving Liao Yongjian face. Liao Yongjian also felt better and immediately bowed and said, "Don't worry, Marshal. With the warships you have modified for us, we will never let other navies take advantage of us."

"Well, I believe you." Lu Jin nodded and said.

"The reason why I'm letting you be the deputy chief this time is mainly because the new recruits under your command are not yet able to serve as the main force, and you are good at naval warfare, so I plan to let Chang Yuchun's 109th Division fight in the front, and you lead the 107th Division to follow up and occupy the cities along the river. By the way, I'm also going to give you Liu Chuanyi's three tower ships and gunboats, as well as Sang Shijie's command of the Second Naval Regiment. Not only do you have to defend the city and train the troops, but you also have to use the navy to block the Yuan army's navy coming from upstream. Can you do it?"

"I can do it!" Liao Yongjian nodded immediately.

Chang Yuchun also asked at this time, "Marshal, where should our 43rd Army attack now?"

Lu Jin called the two of them to the map and pointed along the Yangtze River.

"Didn't you just say that Wuhu and Fanchang can be easily taken? Then take these two cities first. After occupying these two cities, let Brother Yongjian's 107th Division and the Navy garrison them. You take the rest of the troops and attack Tongling, Nanling, and Xuancheng, the capital of Ningguo Road. This is the first stage of this battle, a total of five cities.

"After taking these five cities, recruit prisoners, expand the new army to garrison in the rear, free up the main force, and then continue to attack southward. You go to attack Guichi, Qingyang, Jingxian, Ningguo, Shidai, Taiping, and Jingde, and take down these seven cities and the entire Ningguo Road." Brother Yongjian will lead the navy and the main force of the 107th Division, upstream, attack Dongliu and Jiande (Dongzhi), take down the entire Chizhou Road, and control the river with Anqing Road on the opposite bank, one east and one west. This is the second phase of the battle.

"After the second phase, we will see how much force you can expand or how much force you can transfer from other directions, and then make a decision based on the situation at that time."

After Lu Jin told them the mission of this battle, the two men became serious. The two divisions had a total of six regiments, but they had to capture 14 cities. Although there was a navy to help, the navy could not go ashore. Liao Yongjian then understood why Lu Jin did not appoint him as the commander-in-chief. If he really made him the commander-in-chief, would he have the ability to lead six regiments to capture so many cities?

What about Chang Yuchun?
Chang Yuchun didn't say anything. He looked at the map carefully and pondered for a while before asking, "The Marshal said that our 43rd Army will be developed into a front army in the future. Can we be equipped with a cavalry unit?"

Lu Jin spread his hands, "Not yet. You know how much we need horses now. There are only three cavalry regiments in the army of hundreds of thousands, with a total of more than 10,000 cavalry. And you are fighting in the south. The further south you go, the more mountains there are, and the more rivers and lakes there are. If we assign the limited cavalry to you, it would be better for you to stay in the Central Plains and Hebei to play a greater role. Don't you think so?"

Chang Yuchun nodded. Although he wanted to refute, it was obviously more useful for the cavalry to stay in the north, after all, there were ships in the south and horses in the north.

"Can you give me an artillery piece?"

Lu Jin spread his hands again, "I can't take out the artillery for the time being. At most, I will allow you to dismantle one of Liu Chuanyi's three ships. There are 32 heavy artillery on his ship, which is enough for your main force to attack the city. After the iron factory builds new artillery, I will give you more, but that will be a matter for the future."

Chang Yuchun nodded. There were no cavalry and only 32 artillery pieces for the time being, which were barely enough for attacking cities, but if they were to follow the scale of Lu Jin's previous attack on Xiaomaoshan, it would obviously not be enough. Fortunately, they could be replenished later.

So he asked again, "Can I get other support?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "We have intelligence support. Ningguo Road, Chizhou Road, Huizhou Road, Raozhou Road, Xinzhou Road, Quzhou Road, and Wuzhou Road are all covered by our intelligence network. The chief intelligence officer in charge of this area is He Jingchuan, the head of the Huizhou Intelligence Station. I can give you his contact information, and you will communicate with him directly in the future."

Chang Yuchun heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. With so many spy intelligence networks, he could be unilaterally transparent to the enemy, and the battle would be much easier to fight. Maybe when he led the main force to the city, the spies in the city could cooperate with him to capture the city.

"That's fine with me. When are we going to send out our troops?"

Lu Jin patted their shoulders and said, "Don't worry. Zhang Wen brought everyone's family members here from Hezhou yesterday. I'm going to hold a hundred-day party for my eldest son. There's also your wife Lan Caiyun and Yongjian's nephew Liao Sheng. Let's all get together. It won't be too late to send troops after we have a feast and go back."

Chang Yuchun was stunned when he heard this, and said quickly, "Ah? The Marshal's son is holding a hundred-day banquet, why didn't he tell me in advance? I came here in a hurry and didn't prepare any gifts."

"Hahaha." Lu Jin laughed immediately, "We are all brothers, why bother talking about etiquette? Let's go and have a drink together. It's a good opportunity for you to meet Yang Jing and his group. After this drink, you will have to send troops separately. I don't know when you will meet again."

"Okay then." Chang Yuchun had no choice but to go to the banquet empty-handed.

On the way, Lu Jin was still talking about personal matters with Liao Yongjian, asking him when he would get married since he was already in his 30s. Liao Yongjian said that he had no such plans for the time being, but he could adopt Liao Sheng, the nephew left by his eldest brother, as his son.

Lu Jin nodded in agreement, which actually meant promising him that if Liao Yongjian unfortunately died, Liao Sheng could inherit his title in the future, wear mourning clothes for him, and continue the family line. However, Lu Jin still urged him to find a wife as soon as possible, and if he met a suitable candidate, he would also help him look for one.

The two of them followed him all the way to the palace. Many generals of the East China Front Army had already arrived, as well as many newly recruited civil officials who came to the banquet, mainly to get to know the generals under Lu Jin. Before the banquet began, a group of civil officials and generals had already started drinking tea and chatting.

Guo Zixing was also with his two sons, Guo Tianxu and Guo Tianjue. The three of them gathered together to chat in private, mainly discussing the marriages of their two daughters.

When Guo Zixing's wife and daughter came yesterday, they mentioned this matter to him. Ever since he led his family to join Lu Jin, his adopted daughter Ma Xiuying has been serving Zhang Yunxiu and often went to the backyard of the mansion. It was said that she and Zhang Yunxiu helped Lu Jin organize manuscripts and compile the "Gongshu Secret Classic". His biological daughter Guo Huirong rarely went to the mansion except for the job of helping Lu Jin train the band when she first went there.

Guo Zixing obviously still wanted to use marriage to consolidate his position. Ma Xiuying often went to Lu Jin's mansion and was close to Zhang Yunxiu. It would definitely not work to marry her to someone else. It would be best if she could marry Lu Jin. But I don't know if Lu Jin would be interested in her since she was just an adopted daughter after all.

His own daughter, Guo Huirong, is now 16 years old. Lu Jin seems to have no interest in this girl. Should he find someone else to take action?

He is now affiliated with the Second Army led by Zhu Shou. His immediate superior Zhu Shou is also Lu Jin's confidant. He is definitely a good marriage candidate, but Zhu Shou has already married a wife, who was arranged by Lu Jin himself, the daughter of Wang Dayuan.

What about Yang Jing, the governor of the East China Front Army? He is only 19 years old now and has not married yet. Yang Jing also has a younger brother who is the commander of the artillery regiment and is also Lu Jin's direct disciple and the number one artillery general of the Shengwu Army. These two Yang brothers are simply invaluable. Yang Jing is 19 years old and his daughter is 16 years old. What a perfect match!

If he could marry both Lu Jin and Yang Jing at the same time, who would dare to bully him in the future?

So Guo Zixing did one thing. He visited Li Shanchang in person last night, gave Li Shanchang gifts and bribes, and asked Li Shanchang to mention the matter of taking a concubine in front of Lu Jin. After all, Lu Jin is so young, he has only one wife, and his son is just a hundred days old. As the lord, how can he do this with so few children? Taking more concubines and having more children is also a political task. Why not consider Ma Xiuying?
By the way, he also tried to test Yang Jing himself and asked what Yang Jing's attitude was.

Don't think this is outrageous. In history, Li Shanchang accepted bribes from Hu Weiyong and promoted Hu Weiyong in violation of regulations.
Sure enough, at the banquet that day, when everyone was drinking happily, Li Shanchang proposed to Lu Jin the idea of ​​taking a concubine. Although the first child was a son, which meant there would be a successor, but as Lu Jin was the lord, one child was not enough to be safe. This was a political task.

When the new civil servants learned that Lu Jin only had one wife and one son, they lamented that this wise ruler "did not like women" and followed suit, suggesting that Lu Jin take more concubines and have more children, otherwise the country would be unstable.

However, Lu Jin refused on the grounds that it was a big wedding day and his eldest son had just turned 100 days old, and postponed the matter to later.

On Guo Zixing's side, the banquet was halfway through when his own daughter Guo Huirong 'happened' to come over for something. Then Guo Zixing took her to meet Yang Jing, and asked Guo Huirong to toast Yang Jing. Then he asked about Yang Jing's family affairs and praised his own daughter. The meaning could not be more obvious.

However, Yang Jing politely declined, saying that it was his parents' orders and he still had to discuss it with his father.

Well, at least I didn't reject it outright.

Just as the banquet was about to end, Li Dingbang, a personal soldier outside the door, suddenly ran in hurriedly, came to Lu Jin without saying a word, and handed him a letter of urgent military intelligence.

Lu Jin opened it and took a look calmly, his expression suddenly became solemn, and then he immediately covered it up.

Li Shanchang, who had been observing the situation, immediately asked, "General, what happened?"

"Yes, there is something, but it's not a big deal. We have already made preparations. In Jiangxi, Xu Shouhui was defeated and Peng Yingyu was killed. The Yuan army in Jiangxi has freed up its hands and is turning around to attack our Anqing Road. The Yuan army navy in Jiangxi is also coming towards Anqing."

Yang Jing, who was sitting next to Lu Jin, sobered up after hearing this and said seriously, "Marshal, will the Eastern Expedition be postponed?"

"No, we have already prepared the Anqing defense line. Even if we don't have enough troops, I can transfer troops from Luzhou and Hezhou for support. The Eastern Expedition will remain as planned!"

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)