Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 462 The End of the Battle

Liao Yong'an had previously told Chen Youliang that Lu Jin was very knowledgeable and that he should come over soon so he could learn a lot from Lu Jin.

At the time, Chen Youliang was not quite convinced. He thought that Lu Jin's subordinates were praising their lord. He acknowledged that Lu Jin was good at fighting and developing his army and had a unique strategic vision. However, he scoffed at the idea that Lu Jin had any extraordinary talents. He thought that no matter how good he was, he was just a rebel leader. How much knowledge could he possibly have?
But it wasn't until he met Lu Jin in person today that Chen Youliang realized Liao Yong'an hadn't lied.

Lu Jin gave the three of them a general overview of overseas geography, the origin of Lizhou, and the purpose of going to Lizhou. He even introduced the resume of Wang Dayuan, the envoy in charge of this voyage. Only then did the three of them understand why they needed to build such a ship to cross the ocean.

After explaining the situation, Lu Jin said, "If we can retrieve the grain seeds from Lizhou, it will greatly benefit the Chinese people and help the world recover from the war as soon as possible. Therefore, we must go to Lizhou."

"The ship is now mostly built, with only a few odds and ends yet to be installed. Once everything is installed, I plan to have Mr. Wang go out to sea first, mainly to train the sailors and let them get familiar with the operation of the ship. If there are no problems, it will officially set sail next May."

"We didn't originally plan to take you on this voyage, but this ship will be the mainstay of the navy in the future. If you can come with us to Lizhou, you can broaden your horizons and gain experience. If you don't want to go, you can stay and supervise the construction of the new ship. What do you think?"

Chen Youliang then understood the ins and outs of the matter. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Of course I am willing to go to sea to broaden my horizons. After all, although I am skilled in naval affairs, I have never seen the sea. Moreover, with a naval genius like Mr. Wang at the helm, safety should not be a concern. I just don't know where Your Highness is planning to go this year when you say you will go to sea first?"

Lu Jin immediately said, “I want Mr. Wang to make a trip to Java. He said that when he returned to China from Java last time, he saw the old Han Chinese soldiers left behind by the Yuan Dynasty’s expedition to Java. Their lives were quite miserable. I want to provide them with financial assistance and support so that they can help me establish a foothold in Java.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang's eyes darted around. He couldn't understand why Lu Jin had gone so far to contact the remnants of the Yuan army in Java. If he had planted a seed in Java, then he must have some designs on Java. But what could attract Lu Jin to such a remote and barbaric place as Java?
He couldn't figure it out, so he decided to just make a trip. He asked, "When does Your Highness plan to send Mr. Wang out to sea, and when will he be able to return?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "This voyage to Java is for two reasons: first, to conduct business in Java, and second, to test the new ship. When this ship was designed, it was estimated that its speed could reach three times that of the Fujian ship, but whether it can actually go that fast, no one can say for sure without personally taking a trip."

“I asked those merchants who travel to Southeast Asia. It usually takes about 68 to 70 days to travel from Quanzhou Port to Java. A round trip takes about five months. But if this ship can really run at three times the speed, then a trip will only take about 22 days. A round trip, including the stop in Java, will only take three months in total.”

"The ship is expected to be ready by early October, set sail in mid-October, and return in February next year if all goes well. This will allow it to avoid the typhoon season. After resting and resupplying for two or three months, it will set sail again for Java in May. The trip to Java will not be long, but it will mean not being able to stay at home for the Lunar New Year."

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang quickly replied, "Your Highness need not say more. I am willing to go. When it comes to leading troops into battle, what is there to say about festivals? Besides, if Your Highness had not taken us in, with the Yuan army besieging us on all sides, it would be hard to say whether we brothers would have survived until the next winter solstice. How could we delay Your Highness's mission because of a festival?"

Lu Jin patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, "Hahaha, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. General Chen is indeed a man of courage and responsibility. Then you should get ready. I heard you brought your wife and children with you. I'll have someone settle you in first, and then you can go with Mr. Wang to oversee the construction of the ships, select the crew, and prepare for the voyage."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in my mission!" Chen Youliang immediately clasped his hands in agreement.

On the same day, Lu Jin sent someone to arrange accommodations for Chen Youliang, Zhang Dingbian, and Zhang Bixian in the city. Chen Youliang was given a two-courtyard house, while Zhang Dingbian and Zhang Bixian temporarily lived in the same courtyard, and the two houses were not far apart.

Afterwards, Lu Jin sent his guards to purchase bedding, furniture and other daily necessities for them. He also hired people to do a thorough cleaning for them and had his guards deliver pork, mutton, chicken and duck and other meat and wine. He even had the central government issue two months' worth of rice and monthly salary to the three of them so that they could start living immediately. He also rewarded them with a lot of official robes and silk fabrics.

Lu Jin knew, of course, that Chen Youliang still had a lot of gold and silver, but what belonged to Chen Youliang was his own. Whether he gave it to Chen Youliang or not was a matter of his attitude. Lu Jin would do his best to do what he could and should do. If Chen Youliang was still ungrateful after all that, then killing him in the future wouldn't be a bad thing, and no one would be able to say anything about it.

That evening, Chen Youliang hosted a banquet at his home, inviting all his trusted confidants who had come from Xianning to his house for a feast. He discussed future plans with them before letting them go to rest.

After the banquet, the three brothers gathered together to talk. Chen Youliang's wife, Lady She, served them tea and then said, "That Prince Chu is quite good to you, sir. He has given you so many rewards. He even has people arrange things like bedding and daily necessities, keeping the house in perfect order. This shows how much he values ​​you. You must serve His Highness well."

Chen Youliang retorted, "What do you know, you're just a woman? This is nothing but a way to win people's hearts. They're giving us these things because they hope we'll risk our lives for them."

Lady Zha immediately replied, “Since you have already submitted to the King of Chu and received his salary, shouldn’t you serve His Highness?”

Chen Youliang was too lazy to argue with her, so he said, "I'm going on a long trip next month or in the winter, and I might not be back until February or March next year. I'll give you some more gold and silver later. Take good care of Shan'er and Li'er, okay?"

Mrs. Zha was stunned. "Going on a long trip so soon?"

Chen Youliang immediately laughed and said, "Didn't you just say that you wanted me to serve that King of Chu? He gave us all these things, so of course he won't let us be idle. But you don't need to worry. Bixian and Dingbian will stay in Jiankang for the time being. If you encounter any difficulties, just go and find them."

Madam Zha nodded and said, "I will certainly take good care of the two young masters." After saying that, she left.

Chen Youliang originally had four wives, but the first three died unexpectedly, and only this Lady She survived. Moreover, Chen Shan and Chen Li were not her biological children, so Lady She should be considered a stepmother to the two children.

However, Lady Zha was the most beautiful of the four wives. In the original history, after Chen Youliang died, Chen Shan was captured and beheaded, and Chen Li was exiled to Goryeo. Lady Zha, Chen Youliang's wife, was also taken into Zhu Yuanzhang's household as a concubine. She also gave birth to a son for Zhu Yuanzhang, named Zhu Zi, who was given the title of Prince Tan.

After the He family left, the three brothers talked about what they had seen and heard at Lu Jin's place during the day. Lu Jin said that the rumor that Xu Shouhui was dead was spread by Yu Que with the aim of sowing discord among the various Xu and Song forces so that they could be defeated one by one. However, the three brothers did not quite believe it, because this plan of sowing discord would not only benefit the Yuan army, but, given the current situation, it was clear that Lu Jin would gain more.

But Yu Que is now dead, and there's no way to verify his story. They have no evidence either, so they can't do anything about it.

However, this incident served as a wake-up call for the three of them. Based on their interactions today, Lu Jin was indeed a man of great knowledge, courage, and learning. He was also skilled in craftsmanship, capable of building firearms and warships. Most importantly, Lu Jin was treacherous and cunning, full of tricks, and definitely not as kind as he appeared on the surface. He was not someone to be trifled with. They had to be extra careful when working under Lu Jin in the future.

After realizing their current situation, the three of them went home to rest. The next morning, they went to the central government to report to Lu Jin, who then had someone lead them to carry out their tasks.

Zhang Dingbian went to Zhang Wen's Second Imperial Guard Division for an internship, Zhang Bixian went to the Privy Council, and Chen Youliang went to the shipyard to find Wang Dayuan to see the ship.

Meanwhile, Lu Jin was still busy with classes and handling military and political affairs every day. As for the Yuanwang's departure, manpower should be prepared now. He had fifty experienced sailors and helmsmen selected from the navy sent by Fang Guozhen, and mid-level officers with gunnery experience were transferred from Bai Guangtai's navy.

Then, the 300 students with the worst grades in the artillery class from Jiankang were directly transferred to the Yuanwang ship to serve as trainee gunners. Although they didn't have cannons at the moment, they still had to go to sea to gain experience.

There are three main things to do on this trip to Java. First, we need to utilize the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty's expeditionary force in Java, arm them, and ideally, help them establish a foothold there, especially in Java's oil fields.

The second task was to extract oil, but this required drilling wells. So Lu Jin sent people to find several craftsmen who had previously drilled salt wells from the salt fields in Dingyuan, and asked them to bring a full set of well-drilling tools. They were to travel with the ship this time as well.

Thirdly, look for Guta rubber from Southeast Asia. Although Southeast Asia does not have native rubber, it has a specialty product called Guta rubber. This is also a natural high-molecular polymer. If rubber is an elastic natural rubber material, then Guta rubber is more like the eucommia gum from China. Its properties at room temperature are more like plastic. It has good thermoplasticity, softens when heated, making it easy to shape, and is very hard at room temperature.

The West once used this stuff to wrap transatlantic cables and sink them to the seabed to lay transatlantic submarine telegraph lines. However, in their pursuit of gutta-rubber, they recklessly cut down trees, causing the trees to become extinct and resulting in the loss of a natural plastic for humankind.
Local aborigines also use this kind of rubber to make tools such as knife handles, so it shouldn't be hard to find. Although Lu Jin doesn't need this stuff now, we can send someone to find it first, and then try to cultivate seedlings and transplant them. If it works, perhaps Southeast Asia will have another economic crop that is no less valuable than rubber in the future.

Only by revitalizing the economy of Southeast Asia can we easily control it directly in the future. At that time, Southeast Asia will be full of rubber plantations and oil palms, but only China will have the industrial strength to process them. They will then have no choice but to depend on China. If they dare to rebel, even if we don't directly send troops to suppress them, we will at least have another trump card: economic sanctions. This can be considered Lu Jin's strategic layout for future generations.

After explaining the arrangements for assembling the crew on the ship, Lu Jin didn't rest either in his own science class. After teaching them basic physics and chemistry, Lu Jin gave them a few extra days of intensive math and geometry lessons. Then he explained what involute gears are, the principles of gear transmission, and the structure of threads and nuts.

Then they drew a schematic diagram and asked them to design a machine tool for a constant-speed feed lathe controlled by gears and racks. Once this thing was made, a standard brass threaded screw could be machined. With the threaded screw, manufacturing a more precise lathe would no longer be a problem.

At the same time, a small hydraulic machinery processing workshop along the Qinhuai River has also started construction. Once this industrial machine is completed, it can be put here for use, which will also make it convenient for science students to practice in the city, saving them from having to travel back and forth to Dangtu.

While Lu Jin was leading his students in building industrial machine tools, and Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang were renovating ships and gathering crew members, the war on the front lines was also continuing and making great progress in all directions.

After arriving in Nanchang on September 16, Chang Yuchun immediately sailed upstream along the Qingjiang and Yushui rivers, leading his troops westward to attack Yichun on Yuanzhou Road.

On September 18, the vanguard of the Ninth Army Group broke through Fuzhou (Fengcheng) and continued to advance towards Qingjiang. On the 21st, it captured Qingjiang and sent a detachment led by Hu Dahai to attack Xinganzhou (Xingan).

Chang Yuchun, meanwhile, led the main force of the Ninth Army Group to continue attacking Xinyu (Xinyu). On the 24th, they captured Fenyi, and on the 27th, they captured Yichun, the capital of Yuanzhou Road. By this time, Jiangxi had been cut in two, and it was only a matter of time before they were swept away.

Since the main force of the Yuan army in Jiangxi had been completely wiped out in Yugan, Chang Yuchun encountered almost no serious resistance when he marched into the interior of Jiangxi. Thus, on the first day of the tenth month, the Ninth Army officially captured Pingxiang and reached the predetermined end of the battle.

Since the first day of September, when the Shengwu Army launched its multi-pronged attack, Chang Yuchun's force took 31 days to complete its strategic objective and capture Pingxiang. This puts the Shengwu Army's blade at the back of Changsha. If they can then attack Changsha from both the north and south with Jingxiang, they can pierce through Changsha!

Chang Yuchun, who had just captured Pingxiang, saw that his soldiers still had some strength left, so he sent a fast ship to Jiankang to ask Lu Jin whether they should press on and continue to attack Xiangtan and Changsha, and take Huguang into their hands in one battle.

Upon receiving the news, Lu Jin immediately wrote him a personal letter, warning him not to be greedy for merit and to advance rashly. He stressed that the attack on Changsha must be carried out simultaneously from both the north and south, and that it was not advisable to advance alone.

The Shengwu Army has a clear advantage now. After this battle, there will be no strong enemies in Huguang that can contend with them. They can easily sweep through the south with a steady and methodical approach, so why take the risk now? If your Ninth Army is defeated in Changsha, not only will you not be able to take Huguang, but you might even have to give up Jiangxi, which you just conquered. Lu Jin will not do a losing business.

However, in order not to dampen Chang Yuchun's enthusiasm, Lu Jin also said that if the Ninth Army Group still had spare capacity, Chang Yuchun could lead his troops to Pingxiang to assemble, and send scouts to Xiangtan in the north, Hengshan and Hengyang in the south to scout out the situation in Hunan, and then wait for news from him.

If Liao Yong'an finishes fighting in Hubei and the First Front Army still has spare strength, they can continue to exert their efforts and launch a pincer attack from the north and south to take Changsha!
After receiving the news, Chang Yuchun, though unwilling, had no choice but to follow Lu Jin's orders and have the army assemble in Pingxiang, while sending out a large number of scouts to Hunan to investigate the situation.

Meanwhile, Liao Yong'an, to the north, faced the most difficult journey.

They captured Jiujiang in one battle and Wuchang in another. They first defeated the main force of the Jiangxi Yuan army in Jiujiang, and then defeated the main force of the Miao army in Wuchang. Next, they went to attack Hanyang, but attacking Hanyang was not easy either.

Hanyang is very close to Anlu and Jingmen. Jingxiang is to the northwest of Hanyang. Anlu and Jingmen are now the strongholds of Dashibadulu and Bolotemur. The main force of the Yuan army in Sichuan under the command of this father and son has more than 70,000 men. Even if some are left to garrison Jingxiang, at least 50,000 men can be used to deal with Liao Yong'an's First Army. Therefore, they should not be underestimated.

Southwest of Hanyang, in Jiangling and Yidu, there is also a main force of the Huguang Yuan army, led by Asilan, the Pingzhang of Huguang Province, along with his generals Wuduman and Huangtulundai, as well as 40,000 Huguang Yuan troops led by Weishun King Kuanchepuhua. They are also not to be underestimated.

So, just as Liao Yong'an was attacking Hanyang, Aslan's Yuan army from Huguang and Dashibadulu's Yuan army from Sichuan attacked from the south and north at the same time. These two enemy forces were both brave and skilled main forces, totaling 90,000 men, which was roughly equal to Liao Yong'an's strength.

Liao Yong'an then encountered the same problem as when 101 attacked Jinzhou: he had only prepared one table of food, but now two tables of guests had arrived. How should they eat?
Whether it was Aslan's 40,000 Yuan troops from Huguang or Dashibadulu's 50,000 Yuan troops from Sichuan, he was confident that he could defeat Liao Yong'an's First Army if they were to fight each other individually. But now these two enemy forces had come together.
Liao Yong'an immediately convened a meeting of his generals, and they came up with several suggestions.

First, taking advantage of the Holy Martial Army's strong attack capabilities, we should capture Hanyang before the enemy's main force arrives. Once Hanyang is captured, they will no longer be rootless duckweed, but will have a city to rely on and be able to establish a foothold here.

Even if he couldn't defeat Aslan and Dashibadulu, he was confident that he could repel the Yuan army by gathering his tens of thousands of troops under the walls of Hanyang and forming a defensive battle. In this way, even if he couldn't continue to advance westward, he could at least preserve the gains he had just made east of Hanyang and tie down the main force of the Yuan army in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, creating an opportunity for the Fourth Front Army to attack Jingzhou and Xiangyang from the Central Plains. This was his bottom-line strategy.

Second, concentrate the main forces of two naval regiments and sail upstream along the Han River to block the Han River waterway from Qianjiang to Mianyang. Utilize the advantages of our own navy to divide the enemy and prevent Aslan and Dashibadulu from joining forces.

Third, first divide the enemy forces into two halves, then send a small number of troops to block one of them, while concentrating the main force to deal with the other, and defeat the enemy forces one by one!

After the strategy for dealing with the enemy was finalized, the epic battle that would determine the ownership of the two lakes soon broke out. At the same time, the Henan-Hunan-Jiangxi Campaign gradually came to an end. If these two main Yuan forces were defeated, then there would be no opponent in the entire south who could compete with the Holy Martial Army!
(End of this chapter)