Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 459 The Crisis of the Yuan Dynasty's Central Government

Upon hearing Lu Jin's question, Feng Guoyong immediately recounted in detail Chen Youliang's defection to Wuchang, mainly the conditions Lu Jin had initially offered and Chen Youliang's choice.

Upon learning that Chen Youliang had chosen to lead the navy, Zhang Bixian had chosen to become a civil official in the Privy Council, and Zhang Dingbian, a fierce general, was preparing to become the commander of the vanguard regiment of the Imperial Guard Division, Lu Jin smiled and said.

"That's good. Now that their troops are separated and they've come alone with their families, even if they continue to lead troops in the future, we'll first build up the troops and assign them training officers, giving them only command authority. Plus, their families will stay in Jiankang, so they won't be able to cause any trouble."

Feng Guoyong nodded upon hearing this, but still asked hesitantly, "Does Your Highness really intend to use these people?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "Why not use them? Since they dare to come and join me, I dare to use them, but we can't use them together."

"I heard that these three are sworn brothers, so we can't let them stick together. Zhang Dingbian will be sent to the Second Front Army to lead troops, Chen Youliang will be in charge of the navy and go overseas, and Zhang Bixian will stay in the central government to keep an eye on things. I will support them with high positions and generous salaries. If they are not smart enough and dare to cause trouble under my command, then dealing with them will be a piece of cake."

Feng Guoyong nodded. It seemed that Lu Jin was still very clear-headed. Even if he wanted to use these former generals under Xu Song, he still had to be wary of them and could not completely trust them.

Just then, Lu Jin added, "By the way, if Zhang Bixian comes to the central government, I will let him work as an assistant in your General Political Department to handle paperwork. The General Staff and other departments are still too confidential, so it is not advisable to let him have contact with them for the time being."

“Especially since we are still dealing with Xu Song, we must not let them know. So after he goes there, keep an eye on him. If you don’t have time, find one of your clerks to keep an eye on him, but don’t be too vigilant. Just keep an eye on him.”

Feng Guoyong immediately nodded and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I understand."

"Okay, that's settled then. Let me know when they arrive." After instructing Chen Youliang on his matters, Lu Jin asked again, "How are the battles on other fronts progressing?"

Feng Guoyong glanced at the Privy Council not far away and immediately said, "Your Highness, why don't we go to the Privy Council and talk about it there? There's a map there."

"Alright."

So Lu Jin instructed the guards to take the generator home, and then turned around and followed Feng Guoyong to the Privy Council office to listen to the reports from Bao Yu, Xia Yu and others.

Firstly, regarding Shandong, Zhu Liangzu set off on September 15th, a full half-month later than Jiangxi and the Central Plains in the south. This was mainly because they had too few armors, and the extra half-month was spent waiting for armor replenishment and, incidentally, stockpiling grain and fodder for the front lines.

The half-month delay between the shipments to the south was also to avoid peak transport times. Otherwise, even if Lu Jin had grain in hand, the throughput of the docks and warehouses was limited, so this diversion was the only way to reduce the pressure of transporting grain to three fronts at the same time.

Zhu Liangzu and his men received the last batch of armor on September 12th. From August to early September, the three ironworks produced a total of 40 days' worth of armor, which was given to them. The entire Second Front Army was replenished with 35,000 pieces of armor, which were distributed to various units for re-equipping in three days. They set off on the 15th and have been marching for two days now. News should come from the front soon.

Upon learning that there were no major battles on the northern front for the time being, Lu Jin didn't take it too seriously. He simply asked who the general of the Yuan army in the north was, and Bao Yu, who was in charge of intelligence, immediately answered.

"It's the same group of people who fled back from Xuzhou last time. Xuexue, the Privy Councilor, is the commander-in-chief, Nasuladin, the military advisor, is the left deputy general, and Yuekuochaer, the Grand Commandant, is the right deputy general. This Yuekuochaer is the father of Yesu, the original owner of Your Highness's Crimson Sky Divine Steed."

"There is also a Han Chinese official named Shi Pu, who is from Xuzhou. He is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) of the Yuan Dynasty. He fought in Xuzhou with Tuotuo last time. He is currently the general manager of Daming Road, responsible for covering the right flank of the Yuan army in Shandong. These are the four main generals."

"Moreover, their troop strength is not large. The number of soldiers they brought back from Xuzhou last time was not many to begin with, and this time they temporarily recruited a batch from Shandong, Hebei and other places, totaling only 60,000 to 70,000 men. They are stationed along the Grand Canal, with only a few more troops stationed in Dongchang (Liaocheng), Dongping, Daming (Daming County, Handan City), and Jinan. Jinan has only a few thousand troops, Daming Prefecture has more than 10,000, and the remaining 40,000 to 50,000 are all in Dongping and Dongchang."

"However, the commander in charge of the front line is Grand Commandant Yue Kuocha'er. Last time, his son died at the hands of our army during the attack on Xuzhou. This time, he intends to seek revenge. The Yuan army commander Xue Xue, who is currently at the rear of them in Hejian Road, seems to be recruiting soldiers everywhere and preparing to build a second line of defense in Hejian Road."

"They must have known that with only 60,000 to 70,000 troops suffering from food shortages, they would not be able to stop our offensive. Therefore, they made preparations in advance for the breach of the defensive line, which is why they set up a second line of defense in Hejian behind the front."

Looking at the map, Lu Jin realized that the Hejian Road at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was different from the Hejian Road of later times. The northernmost point even reached Renqiu. At that time, even Tianjin was under the jurisdiction of Hejian Road. After reading it, Lu Jin couldn't help but complain in his heart, "Good heavens, where did you draw your second line of defense? It's right at Beijing's doorstep!"
So he asked again, "What was the reaction of the Yuan court's central government? Were they still planning to continue their resistance in Hejian? Didn't they even consider fleeing?"

Upon hearing this, Bao Yu immediately frowned and said, "This cannot be confirmed for the time being. However, I have already followed His Highness's instructions and ordered the intelligence bureau to sell another batch of 50,000 shi of grain to Dadu to whet their appetites. We will also subtly reveal some information to them, saying that we do not intend to directly attack Dadu this time. As for how the Yuan court will react, we do not know yet."

"However, in my judgment, even if Emperor Yuan doesn't run away this time, he will definitely be preparing to escape now. The main reason is that the Yuan court has no soldiers or food available. Even if we finish our campaign in Shandong this time, they still won't be able to resist us next time. So if he doesn't want to die or be captured by us, he has no choice but to prepare to run away."

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Jin nodded, agreeing with Bao Yu's assessment that the current situation had deviated significantly from the original historical trajectory.

The main reason is that Lu Jin seized several favorable strategic windows in succession and expanded rapidly, which made him develop faster than any other force in the original history. He seized Dingyuan and Haozhou before Guo Zixing, and occupied Jiangsu before Zhang Shicheng started his uprising. Then he successively annexed Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, which made him the most powerful warlord in the country.

In the original history, Zhu Chongba, Zhang Shicheng, and Chen Youliang were all swallowed up by Lu Jin before they could even develop their strength. In fact, this was the case not only for the rebel army but also for the Yuan army.

Warlords like Richard Khan, who dominated the north during the late Yuan Dynasty, and Bolot Timur, had not yet developed their power, leading to a strange situation.

After the Yuan court's main force was wiped out in the Battle of Xuzhou, it could no longer muster so many troops directly under its command. Even if it wanted to rely on warlords to resist Lu Jin's army, the warlords themselves were not yet fully developed, and the forces of Li Chahan and Boluo were no match for Lu Jin. Most importantly, Lu Jin had cut off the food supply to Dadu (Beijing). Although Zhu Yuanzhang had crossed the Yangtze River in the original history, the grain-producing areas around Taihu Lake were still in the hands of Yuan officials Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen, who at least supplied the Yuan court with food.

Lu Jin is currently supplying grain to the Yuan court, but he's strictly controlling the quantity, just enough to keep the powerful and wealthy in Dadu afloat. As for gathering enough grain to build a large army? That's simply impossible.
So the current situation is that the Yuan court has no soldiers or food, and no warlords to rely on. Once Lu Jin conquers Shandong this time, he will be close to the capital. If he launches another offensive next year, the Yuan court will definitely not be able to stop him. So even if he doesn't run away this year, he will definitely have to run away next year.

So Lu Jin instructed Bao Yu, "Have the intelligence bureau keep an eye on the central government in Dadu, especially Xiao Tieguo and Hama, and pay attention to whether they are discussing where to run. If you get any information, send it back to us immediately."

"Yes, I'll send someone to contact them later."

Lu Jin added, "Also, have the intelligence station in Dadu select capable personnel who can retreat with the Yuan Emperor in critical moments and continue to infiltrate the Yuan court's central government as spies. Just in case, we need to prepare in advance. You personally select a reliable person, and I will reward you handsomely after the mission is accomplished."

"Yes, I will arrange this matter personally," Bao Yu solemnly agreed again.

Then Xia Yu and Zhan Ding reported on the battle on the southern front. Liao Yong'an's First Army was delayed in Wuchang for three days and only continued its attack on Hanyang on the 17th. There was no news yet, so it should not have started fighting.
Chang Yuchun's Ninth Army Group arrived in Nanchang on the 15th. Without stopping, they immediately searched for boats to build a pontoon bridge. The army crossed the Gan River on the 16th and is currently marching upstream along the Qing River, heading straight for Yichun and Pingxiang on the Yuanzhou Road. They are still on the march and there is no news yet.

By this time, Chang Yuchun's army had already cut Jiangxi Province in half from the east and west. The main force of the Yuan army in Jiangxi had been exhausted in the battles of Jiujiang and Yugan, and all that was left was to slowly sweep them away.

The four armies of the Central Plains are advancing towards Nanyang after conquering Xinyang. However, this is all land route with few cities in between, so they have been marching through wind and rain. It will take some time before they reach Nanyang, so there is no news for the time being.

After listening, Lu Jin asked Xia Yu, "In the Central Plains, have Li Chahan and Wang Baobao made any moves?"

Xia Yu immediately replied, "Not yet. However, a few days ago, after capturing Xinyang, General Yu obtained intelligence from prisoners that Li Siqi had sent someone to ask Li Chahan for help before Xinyang was captured. So Li Chahan should soon know the situation in Xinyang, but whether he will come and how many people he will send are unclear."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately ordered, "Send orders to Liao Yongzhong's Sixth Army Group to advance ostentatiously towards Daming Road. At the same time, send out scouts to search along the north bank of the Yellow River and to carry out as many flags as possible."

"Don't they have a cavalry regiment? Send out the entire cavalry regiment to create the impression that my Shandong Army Corps could march south across the Yellow River to attack Bianliang at any time, thus restraining him and preventing him from using all his strength to deal with the Four Front Armies in the Central Plains."

"Although this battle is large-scale and involves multiple attacks, coordination between the different routes is still essential. Immediately send orders to Liao Yongzhong and also inform Zhu Liangzu of the Privy Council's decision."

"Yes," Xia Yu immediately agreed.

Having arranged everything, Lu Jin instructed the others to keep a close eye on the battle reports from the front lines, and then left it to their own devices. He had done all he could do, and now he could only wait for news from the front.

In the following days, Lu Jin continued to teach half a day and handle military and political affairs for the other half. After finishing the introductory courses in physics and chemistry, because many experimental equipment could not be found, Lu Jin could only teach them selectively. If that was not possible, he could only teach pure theory. Then he began to move towards practical applications and led his students to tackle the problems.

After teaching geometry, logarithms, spirals, machine tool principles, and steam engine principles for two consecutive days, Lu Jin began to divide the students into groups and let them be responsible for tackling technical challenges in different projects.

First, find a place along the Qinhuai River and build a hydraulic machining workshop. Then, use a hand-operated lathe to machine a few high-precision brass lead screws. With the lead screws, you can upgrade to a higher-precision cast iron lathe. With calipers and micrometers for measurement, you can improve the machine tool's precision step by step. After you have built a higher-precision hydraulic boring machine, then you can manufacture a steam engine.

Meanwhile, on September 20th, Chen Youliang and his party finally arrived at Longwan Wharf in Jiankang by boat. When they saw a uniquely shaped, white-painted giant ship with masts that almost reached the sky, the three of them couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"What a huge ship! What a tall mast!" Chen Youliang exclaimed, looking up at the mast that pierced the sky.

Zhang Bixian and Zhang Dingbian exclaimed with delight, “Brother, it seems you made the right choice! Such a giant ship, and a new one under construction, must be being built by His Highness the King of Chu for the navy. The King of Chu values ​​the navy so much, it seems you will be given an important position in the future!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang said, "It's hard to say whether he can be given an important position, but this ship is indeed beautiful. I've never seen this type of ship before. It seems that the King of Chu is indeed quite capable and values ​​the navy. In any case, let's go into the city first and meet him."

"Well, when you meet the King of Chu, don't be too arrogant. Don't reveal those words you used to say to him in private, or you might incur his wrath. After all, he's been treating us well now." Before they went ashore, Zhang Bixian pulled Chen Youliang and the other man aside again and whispered his advice.

Chen Youliang nodded, "I'm not stupid, don't worry."

As they were talking, the three of them went to the dock in Jiankang. The soldiers of the Holy Martial Army who were escorting them immediately sent someone into the city to report.

Meanwhile, Lu Jin, who was in the city, had just returned from school when he heard a guard report that Chen Youliang had arrived. So he went directly to the central government and asked the guard to bring them over. He also arranged accommodations for Chen Youliang and his party.

To be honest, although both Zhu Chongba and Zhang Shicheng were under Lu Jin's command, he had never actually met Zhang Shicheng in person, only Zhu Chongba. This time, Lu Jin wanted to see what kind of person Chen Youliang really was.

(End of this chapter)