Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 475 Huge Political Gains

On the fourteenth day of the eleventh lunar month, as battle reports from all fronts were relayed back to Jiankang, the second phase of the campaign mission assigned by Lu Jin had been completed.

In the Central Plains, they conquered Luoyang to the west, reached Tongguan, and blockaded Shaanxi; to the north, they occupied Huaiqing (Jiaozuo) and the north bank of the Yellow River on the Bianliang Road, completing the strategic encirclement of northern Henan.
In Shandong and Hebei, the battle line was pushed to the abandoned Yellow River line, only 700 li away from Dadu (Beijing). The troops set off from Liaocheng, Shandong, and the infantry could reach the city of Dadu in half a month.

In the south, they occupied the entire Hubei province, captured Yichang, blockaded Sichuan, recovered the Dongting Lake Plain to the south, and occupied half of Hunan province.

If we continue to send troops from Chenzhou in southeastern Hunan, we only need to pass through six cities—Yizhang, Lechang, Shaoguan, Yingde, Qingyuan, and Sihui—to reach the gates of Guangzhou. Once we capture Guangzhou, we can easily subdue the other prefectures and counties in Guangdong.

Oh, by the way, another intelligence report recently came from Dadu (Beijing). In view of the serious collapse of the country and the great power of the Red Turban Army, in order to strengthen the leadership of the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, the Yuan court has added a new province, Guangxi Province, with its capital in Guilin, based on the existing "Guangxi Liangjiang Circuit Pacification Commission".

During this period, Guilin was the only capital of Guangxi. Other places were not as developed as Guilin. Moreover, Guilin had a waterway that led directly to Hengyang in Hunan. From Hengyang, one could travel through Changning, Lingling, Quanzhou, Xing'an, and Lingchuan to reach Guilin. The post stations along the way also followed this route. Then, the Central Plains civilization radiated to the whole of Guangxi through Guilin.

Historically, Guangxi was first established as a province in China at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty inherited this practice and established the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission and the Guangxi Provincial Administration Commission respectively.

This major battle, which took place in the autumn and winter of the thirteenth year of the Zhizheng era, was later referred to by Lu Jin as the "Henan-Hunan-Jiangxi-Shandong Campaign." It involved five army groups and mobilized more than 600,000 troops, and was divided into three major battlefields that were interconnected.

The entire campaign lasted 72 days, from the beginning of September to the end of November 12. It annihilated the main forces of the Yuan army in Jiangxi, Huguang and Sichuan provinces, and pacified the remnants of Xu Song. It can be said that the entire south, except for a few low-value mountainous areas, has been pacified by the Shengwu Army in the high-value plains with large populations and high grain production.

Although the Central Plains have not been completely pacified, a favorable situation has been achieved for the Holy Martial Army. The strategic encirclement of Li Chahan and Liu Futong has been completed, with 200,000 troops on all sides ready to launch a decisive battle against them at any time.

In light of this situation, Lu Jin immediately convened a meeting with several staff officers from the Privy Council, as well as the two prime ministers, Feng Guoyong and Li Shanchang, to discuss the next step, or rather, the plan for the advance next year.

At the meeting, Feng Guoyong was the first to speak, "There are no main Yuan army corps left in Jiangxi and Huguang, so there is no need to keep so many troops in Huguang after the war. We can consider transferring some troops to fight in the north or the eastern coast."

Feng Guoyong pointed to the map with his baton and said, "First is Sichuan. Pingzhang of Sichuan Province is in charge, and Prime Minister Dashibadulu is in charge. One of them is dead and the other has surrendered. The main force of the Yuan army in Sichuan is also either dead or has surrendered. Now, at most, we only need one army group to enter Sichuan from Zigui and go straight to Chengdu. The rest of the places can be pacified by issuing proclamations, and then the entire Sichuan Province can be brought into our territory."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Before Lu Jin could speak, Li Shanchang asked, "Only one army is going west? Shouldn't we first conquer Shaanxi and then march south from Hanzhong to attack from both sides?"

It seems that Li Shanchang is really not good at military affairs, or rather, he has not put his mind to military affairs, Feng Guoyong immediately explained upon hearing this.

"During the Song Dynasty, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty first attacked Sichuan when it destroyed the Song Dynasty. The two armies fought a stalemate in Sichuan for decades, leaving the province almost deserted. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty did not relocate people to Sichuan, so the population of Sichuan never recovered. The registered population of Sichuan today is probably less than that of Shuntian Prefecture (Nanjing). There was simply no army to resist. Why would you need to attack from two directions to conquer such a place?"

Li Shanchang then nodded in realization, "I understand, please continue."

Then Feng Guoyong looked at Lu Jin and said again, "Sichuan needs an army group to sweep away the remaining mountainous areas of Hunan. At most, only one army group is needed. In that case, only one field army can be left in Hubei and Sichuan. Then the south can free up a field army of 100,000 men."

"The next step is to see whether Your Highness plans to fight on the south front first, then the north, or the north front first, or even fight on two fronts, north and south."
"If we fight on two fronts, north and south, then the army group freed up in Hubei and Hunan can be used in Fujian and Guangdong. It can be divided into two army groups to act independently. One group will advance directly from Chenzhou in Hunan to Guangzhou, while the other group will first take over the mountainous area in southern Zhejiang, and then be transported by the navy to attack Fujian by sea from eastern Zhejiang. After taking Fujian, it will continue to sail south to attack Guangzhou. Finally, the two armies will meet in Guangdong and continue to wipe out the remaining forces in Guangdong and Guangxi."

"If Your Highness intends to attack the north first and then the south, then this freed-up army can be used for the Northern Expedition. This way, the Northern Expedition will have an additional force of over 100,000 men, which will be more secure. The southern coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian can be left for later."

After speaking, Feng Guoyong looked at Lu Jin, wanting to hear Lu Jin's opinion.

Upon seeing this, Lu Jin immediately countered, "What if I want to launch a northern expedition first? What are your plans?"

Bao Yu immediately stood up and said, "If we launch the Northern Expedition first, and use the army group freed up in the south for the north, then the Northern Expedition will have four army groups, with more than 500,000 troops. This will be more secure and will also make it easier to realize Your Highness's idea of ​​keeping Emperor Yuan in Guanzhong."

"Oh? How exactly?" Lu Jin immediately became interested.

Bao Yu then explained in detail, “Your Highness’s original plan to keep Emperor Yuan in Guanzhong was to send one army to attack Hebei and put pressure on Dadu from the front, and then send another army to cross the sea to attack Liaodong. Based in Liaodong, the army would blockade the northern foothills of Yanshan to the west, which would be to flank the emperor and prevent him from escaping to Dadu on the grasslands. In the end, the army would intercept him somewhere in Yanshan.”

"But to be honest, this strategic plan is difficult to implement for three reasons. First, if the pressure from Hebei is too early, and the flanking force in Liaodong is not yet in place, then Emperor Yuan will immediately retreat to the Shangdu grassland. Once he enters the grassland and desert, it will be difficult to capture him again."

"Secondly, if we send a large army to land in Liaodong first, and the Shandong army does not go north first, the result will be the same. The Yuan court's central government is not stupid. As long as our Shengwu Army lands on Liaodong, they will know that we are preparing to surround them. If they are not stupid, they will definitely retreat to the Shangdu grassland immediately."

"Thirdly, even if Your Highness's strategic plan is completed and Emperor Yuan does not withdraw in time, there are still loopholes in this encirclement. As long as Emperor Yuan is determined to escape, he still has a chance to escape."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately named a place, "Wild Fox Ridge?"

Bao Yu immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is wise, it is indeed Yehuling." Yehuling is the Zhangjiakou and Zhangbei area of ​​later generations. This place was once the battlefield of the decisive battle between the Mongols and the Jin Dynasty, and it was also one of the four important passages from Youzhou, Hebei to the grasslands. From Beijing to Juyongguan, Huailai, Xuanhua, Zhangjiakou and Zhangbei, this Yanshan Pass was the famous Jundu Pass, which was also the westernmost of the four passages.

Lu Jin may not know about Jundu Pass, but he certainly knows about Zhan Tianyou and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, which runs along Jundu Pass.

The other three routes include Pinggang Road, which runs from Gubeikou, Luanping, Shuangluan, Longhua, Weichang, and finally to Chifeng. This was also the route that the Yuan Dynasty emperors would take every year when they went to Shangdu.

In addition, there is another road to the east of Yanshan, namely the Lulong Road, which runs from Jixian to Xifengkou, Kuancheng, Pingquan, and finally to Chifeng. It was also the route for the Sui and Tang dynasties to advance their troops when they conquered Goguryeo.

The last one is the Liaoxi Corridor along the coast, formerly known as the Banghai Road. However, it was only formed during the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Banghai Road was not suitable for military operations.

If we follow Lu Jin's plan, landing in Liaodong and encircling the area from the north along the northern foothills of the Yanshan Mountains, we can at most block the Liaoxi Corridor, Lulong Road, and Pinggang Road—the three roads leading to Chifeng and Liaodong. We cannot stop the road leading to Zhangjiakou because it is blocked by the remaining ridges of the Yanshan Mountains.

Then Bao Yu said, "Your Highness also knows that Yehuling, or rather Junduxing, is a loophole. That's only because the number of troops deployed was not enough, and only the eastern encirclement was completed."

"If we could deploy four army groups during the Northern Expedition, we would have more than enough troops. We could send one army group to attack Shanxi, march out of Datong, block Yefuling, and even strike directly at Shangdu and take it down as well. This way, we could encircle the capital from the east and west. Once the encirclement is complete, the Shandong army group could then attack Hebei from the front and pressure Dadu. Then Emperor Yuan would be trapped like a turtle in a jar."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin looked at the map and sand table, and his eyes lit up. Bao Yu's statement reminded him of the Dragon and Phoenix Northern Expedition in the original history. Guan Duo's central army marched out of Datong and destroyed Shangdu in one fell swoop. Since someone in history had done it, it meant that this plan was feasible.

Moreover, Lu Jin had always had a question in his mind: how did Guan Duo's central army manage to cross the vast grasslands from Datong to Shangdu? How many troops did he actually have? Didn't he need supplies?

It wasn't until this era, with the gradual improvement of intelligence in the north, that Lu Jin understood that the Central Route Army's surprise attack on Shangdu was not as exaggerated as later literary works portrayed. Shangdu was actually Kaiping, and the actual distance from Zhangjiakou to Kaiping was only 175 kilometers, or 350 li. Even without cavalry, relying solely on infantry, it would take seven days to reach the city of Shangdu, even if they traveled fifty li a day.

As for the army's supplies, the 350-mile distance was not just a barren grassland as Lu Jin had imagined. There were three counties in between: Baochang Prefecture, Yunxu Prefecture, and Heng Prefecture. There might not be city walls there, but at least there were towns and people living there. Since there were people, why would there be any worry about supplies?
They could either rob the people directly, or if all else failed, they could use sheep as supplies. Moreover, there were several lakes of all sizes along the way, so there was no shortage of water. There was a supply point almost every few dozen miles. Crossing the grasslands from Zhangjiakou to attack Shangdu was not as difficult as Lu Jin had originally thought.

In that case, this tactic can be considered.

As for why Lu Jin was so insistent on keeping the small iron pot inside the pass, it was because it would bring huge political benefits. Whether Emperor Yuan Shundi was captured or beheaded, it represented one thing: the complete end of the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty's name would be gone, and things would be easier from then on.

Historically, Goryeo was able to play both sides because of the Northern Yuan dynasty, submitting to both the Ming and the Northern Yuan. Goryeo wasn't stupid; it managed to avoid offending either side.

However, Goryeo also committed some unethical acts in history. Goryeo envoys came to the Ming Dynasty from Liaodong to pay tribute, and then revealed the Ming army's military deployment in Liaodong to the Mongols, which led to the Northern Yuan army launching a surprise attack on Liaodong. As a result, the Ming army suffered heavy losses when it first landed in Liaodong, and it was only in the second battle that it regained its advantage and made Naghachu suffer a great loss.

From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the Goryeo people were spying for the Northern Yuan. From then on, he stopped allowing Goryeo to pay tribute by land and only allowed them to go directly to Nanjing by sea, so as to save them from spying on military affairs in Liaodong.

There's also Nahachu, who commanded 200,000 troops in Liaoning and Jilin. How did he build such a powerful force? It was because he had the Northern Yuan name on him, which allowed him to recruit various remnants of the Yuan army under the banner of the Northern Yuan.

The Liang King of Yunnan Province and the Duan family of Dali were initially unwilling to surrender because of the Northern Yuan's reputation.

If Emperor Shun of Yuan were captured or beheaded, the Yuan court's reputation would be completely destroyed, and then these troubles would be irrelevant.
Even if Emperor Yuan Shundi died, it would be impossible for anyone on the grasslands to immediately reunite the remaining forces of the Yuan court. Those Mongol princes would have to fight among themselves for the right to succeed the Great Khan. By the time they elected a new leader, who knows how many years would have passed. During this time, Lu Jin could also prepare his army for war, take advantage of the internal strife among the Mongol tribes, and seize the opportunity when they were both exhausted from fighting.

Why did the Ming army fail to keep Emperor Shun of Yuan within the Great Wall in the original history? Do you think it was because Zhu Yuanzhang didn't want to? No, he simply couldn't do it at the time.

Before the Ming army's northern expedition, Xu Da had been thinking about this problem: how to keep Emperor Yuan Shundi in the pass and capture him. Zhu Yuanzhang also racked his brains, but firstly, Liaodong was not in the hands of the Ming Dynasty at that time, so it was impossible to block Emperor Yuan Shundi's way from the east. Secondly, Shanxi in the west was in the hands of Wang Baobao, who still had 100,000 troops in Shanxi at that time, which was not easy to take down.

With neither Liaodong nor Shanxi in his hands, and without being surrounded from both sides, you can only attack from the front in Hebei. But Emperor Yuan Shundi is not stupid. If you attack from the front, of course he will run away. If he doesn't run away, is he just waiting to die?

Old Zhu had no choice but to let it go. Then the Ming army launched a frontal attack on Hebei. They had only reached Tongzhou when Emperor Shun of Yuan ran away. This led to the establishment of the Northern Yuan, the 200,000-strong army of Nahachu in the Northeast, the double-dealing of Goryeo, and the refusal of the Liang King of Yunnan and the Duan family of Dali to surrender. This led to the Hongwu Emperor's several northern expeditions to the grasslands and southern expeditions to Yunnan.

Although these things will still happen even if Emperor Yuan Shundi is captured, the situation will be much better. Even if Goryeo continues to fight against China, at least it will lose the Northern Yuan as a backer, so it will have to think twice before doing anything.

Yunnan will still be conquered, but the Yuan army's will to resist will be much weaker, because the country is gone and they only have a few remnants left, so what can they do to resist?

The 200,000-strong remnant Yuan army in the Northeast would also cease to exist. They would either fight amongst themselves or be defeated one by one by Lu Jin. Without the banner of the Northern Yuan, the other remaining forces would become a disorganized mess, losing their cohesion, and would be easier to deal with.

If Zhu Yuanzhang was helpless when Emperor Shun of Yuan escaped, then in the Lu Jin era, the conditions were readily available. Li Chahan and Wang Baobao were both surrounded by him in Henan. Shanxi at that time did not have Wang Baobao's 100,000-strong army. He could completely flank Hebei from Shanxi and Liaodong, and surround it from the left and right. Since there were such great benefits and he had the conditions, why not do it?

(End of this chapter)