Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 490 A Glimpse into the Future: Preparations for the Northern Expedition

On the eighth day of the fifth month of the fourteenth year of the Zhizheng era (4051 AD, 1354 AD), Lu Jin was leading civil and military officials in a sacrifice to Heaven and Earth at the altar in the southern suburbs of Jiankang City.

The firewood burning in front of the altar crackled as it burned. Li Shanchang, as the sacrificial official, shouted "The gods have arrived!" and Lu Jin immediately stepped forward and bowed sincerely.

"Your subject, Gongshu Jin, kowtows to the Heavenly Emperor, the Sun and Moon, the Mountains and Rivers, the State and the State, as well as the ancestors of the Gongshu clan and the sages of past generations."

"Since the reigns of the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor, through the rise and fall of dynasties, our Chinese civilization has been passed down to future generations for 4,051 years. Although the Song Dynasty lost its territory, causing the land to fall into the hands of barbarians and the land to be filled with blood and gore, fortunately, countless people of virtue and patriotism followed one after another to save the nation and preserve the flame of our civilization."

"Your humble servant, following the will of Heaven and the wishes of the people, raised an army on the shores of Chaohu Lake and annihilated the enemy across the land. We worked tirelessly day and night, never daring to slacken our efforts. Fortunately, with the protection of Heaven, after three years, we have conquered half of the country and rekindled the flame of our civilization across the land."

"However, in the present world, the barbarians have caused great harm, the country is in ruins and the people are starving. I have read through the history books to find a good way to save the world. I saw the words 'Great famine in the year, people eat each other' in the book. I can't bear to read it every time I see it."

"Fortunately, our ancestors protected us and left us with a map of the world and local chronicles. We heard that on the other side of the East China Sea, there was a superior variety of grains that were different from the grains of China. This variety could save the people from their suffering and relieve the country from its exhaustion. So we built a giant ship and ordered Wang Dayuan, the ocean explorer, to lead six hundred brave warriors to cross the sea for 100,000 miles to Lizhou to seek this exotic variety."

"Today, we offer sacrifices in the southern suburbs of the capital, hoping that the gods of heaven and earth, our ancestors, and all the sages of the past will protect our precious ship, ensuring its smooth sailing, peace, and safe return, so that it may soon find its worthy offspring and bless our descendants of Yan and Huang, the land of China, so that the flame of civilization may burn eternally and prosper for ten thousand generations."

"If our wish is fulfilled, we will surely build a temple to worship you and enjoy your sacrifices forever!"

After Lu Jin finished reciting the memorial, Li Shanchang continued to preside over the second and third offerings of the sacrifice, presenting all the offerings in turn. He then led Lu Jin to the position of receiving blessings, where they drank the blessed wine and ate the sacrificial meat. Afterward, Lu Jin returned to his original position and led the officials to respectfully send off the deity. Li Shanchang then shouted from the side, "Bow, kowtow, kowtow again, kowtow three times."

"Xing bows again!"

Lu Jin led the officials in performing the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. Then, Li Shanchang, as the master of ceremonies, led Wang Dayuan, Chen Youliang, Zhang Chao, and more than 600 crew members to kowtow again. After everyone had sent the gods away, he led them to the Wangliao Temple. He himself sealed the memorial into the memorial tube and lit it to send to Heaven.

The watch face turned into a wisp of smoke with two loud thuds, rising straight into the sky. Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, and the smoke drifted slowly northward.

Lu Jin immediately pointed to the wisp of smoke and said, "It's the trade wind; the southeast trade wind has risen."

Upon hearing the sound, everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the smoke from the burning firewood being blown northward by the wind. They then began to pray.

"To cross the sea to Lizhou, this is the will of Heaven, may Heaven protect us."

"Amitabha Buddha, Infinite Heavenly Venerable, our ancestors have manifested their power!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin turned around and glanced back, but still couldn't tell who it was. Goodness, you're quite the believer, believing everything since it's free, huh?

Just then, Wang Dayuan immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty."

Lu Jin quickly grabbed his hand and shouted, "Someone, bring some wine to send off the brave warrior!"

"Yes."

Immediately, guards carried out several tables, set out the wine bowls, and began pouring wine. Soldiers also brought over hundreds of wine jars, while Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang led all the crew members to line up under the altar.

Lu Jin then called out to those behind him, "Where is the historian?"

The Imperial Diarist Zhao Nian hurriedly stepped forward with his pen, saying, "Your Majesty, I am here."

Lu Jin then said, “Remember, I built this ship and ordered Mr. Huanzhang to go to sea. Some people are unaware of the details and mistakenly think that I am imitating the First Emperor and sending people to sea to seek immortality. It is not my fault that you are unaware, but today I still want to make it clear to you.”

"I am not a foolish ruler, nor do I seek immortality. I only care about the well-being of the people and the state, not about ghosts and gods."

"In the past, when Zhang Qian, an envoy of the Han Dynasty, went to the Western Regions, he brought to China many foreign varieties such as cucumbers, cumin, walnuts, and grapes. During the Song Dynasty, he introduced Champa rice from Southeast Asia, which enabled Jiangnan to have two harvests a year and double the grain production. The same will be true when we go to Lizhou!"

"I am not listening to others' nonsense. The secrets of Lizhou are a family tradition of my Gongshu clan. They are clearly recorded in the world map and local chronicles, and the four poles map guides the way. This trip is not an adventure, but a well-planned move. However, the journey is long, a round trip of 100,000 miles by sea. Only someone with great wisdom and courage can undertake this task."

"Wang Dayuan of Nanchang, courtesy name Huanzhang, is known for his skill in navigating the sea. In his early twenties, he set sail alone to cross the ocean. Over the course of twenty years, he traversed more than 100,000 li of sea and crossed the Western Ocean twice. This important task is undoubtedly his responsibility."

"Today I appoint him as an envoy to explore the ocean, grant him a map of the four extreme seas, and lead more than 600 brave men to explore Lizhou. This is to save the people from their suffering and the nation from its exhaustion. If he can find the good seeds of Lizhou and bring them back, he will be granted a noble title. The brave men on the same ship will also be rewarded, and a monument will be erected to record his deeds in history."

"Today you must write down their names one by one. In the future, when the people of the world have a bowl of rice or a gourd of water, they must not forget who crossed the sea and endured hardships to ensure that the people can have enough to eat every day and not know hunger."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly remember it," Zhao Nian replied hastily.

"Come with me."

Lu Jin immediately led his guards to serve wine to the crew. Each time a drink was handed to someone, Zhao Nian would register it, noting down the person's name and place of origin, until the last person. Even the ship's cook was not exempt.

Finally, Lu Jincai himself carried a bowl of wine to Wang Dayuan.

"His Majesty."

"Well, are you all ready?"

“We can set sail at any time,” Wang Dayuan said immediately.

“Okay.” Lu Jin nodded, then bent down and picked up a handful of yellow soil from the ground, putting it into Wang Dayuan’s wine bowl.

Wang Dayuan was puzzled. "What's going on, Your Majesty?"

"Lizhou is full of gold and silver, and its treasures are tempting. I want to tell you that it is better to cherish a handful of soil in your own homeland than to covet ten thousand taels of gold in another place. I don't lack that money, but my people are waiting for the grain seeds that you bring back, sir. Please don't make me wait too long."

Wang Dayuan then solemnly replied, "Your Majesty's instructions will never be forgotten!"

Lu Jin nodded, then raised his glass to invite everyone, "Gentlemen, drink to your hearts' content! After drinking this cup, I wish you all good fortune, smooth sailing, turning misfortune into good luck, and a speedy return!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The crowd immediately picked up their wine bowls and drank them down in one gulp.

"Someone, distribute the wine jars."

The soldiers immediately gave each of them a jar of wine, and then Lu Jin addressed the group.

"Do you know what it means to give each of you a jar of wine?" Everyone shook their heads, and Lu Jin continued.

"If you ever reach a critical moment when there is absolutely no fresh water to drink, this jar of wine can be used to save your life. If you are injured, you can also use this wine to clean your wounds. If any of you die outside, the others who survive, remember to cremate your bodies into ashes and put them in this jar. When you return, not one of you should be missing. I will certainly give them a grand funeral and provide compensation to their families. This is an order, do you understand?"

"Understood!" everyone shouted in unison.

"Then let's board the ship."

Wang Dayuan took the lead in placing the wine jar at his feet, and then respectfully kowtowed to Lu Jin. Lu Jin did not stop him. After hundreds of people had paid their respects, Lu Jin helped Wang Dayuan up and said, "Take care, sir."

"Your Majesty, please take care. I wish Your Majesty a triumphant return from the Northern Expedition and the restoration of our lost lands of Yan and Yun."

"Hahaha, sir too. Then let us, ruler and subject, encourage each other and strive together."

"Let's encourage each other. Then I'll be off now."

"Go."

Wang Dayuan bid farewell to Lu Jin, and then shouted to the hundreds of crew members, "All crew members of the Yuanwang, board the ship and set sail!"

Hundreds of crew members set off in formation, with Lu Jin and his officials following behind. They escorted them to the dock, watched them board the ship one by one, and worked for quite a while before finally weighing anchor, raising the sails, and setting sail.

Only after the Yuanwang ship had rounded the bend in the Yangtze River and disappeared from the surface of the river did Feng Guoyong approach Lu Jin and say, "Your Majesty, we should also prepare for the Northern Expedition."

Lu Jin looked at the river and nodded slightly before saying, "Transfer Chang Yuchun's Ninth Army Group northward to Jiankang to assemble and await orders."

"All officers of the rank of commander-in-chief and above of the front-line forces shall return to Beijing before the first day of July to hold a campaign deployment meeting."

"Transfer to the Provisional 11th Army Group and proceed to Xuzhou for reorganization and re-equipment, awaiting further orders."

"Yes." Feng Guoyong quickly took out a piece of paper and wrote it down, asked Lu Jin to sign it, and then had his subordinates draft military orders and distribute them to the various armies.

The so-called Provisional Eleventh Army Group was actually a temporary formation of surrendered troops from various regions. It included two divisions from Liu Futong's Central Plains forces, three men—Tujian Temur, Zhuzhen, and Dailu—who had surrendered to the Shengwu Army in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, as well as the remnants of Xu Song's forces under Ming Yuzhen.

Liu Futong was appointed as the general, leading two divisions. Ming Yuzhen was appointed as the deputy general, leading two other divisions. Tujian Temur was appointed as the commander-in-chief because of his active surrender and great merit. Dailu was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief. Zhuzhen and Ming Yuzhen were assigned to form a division together. There were a total of four divisions with more than 50,000 troops.

They can be used temporarily during the Northern Expedition, but once the Northern Expedition ends, they can be transferred to different places and separated to become agricultural reclamation divisions.

After Lu Jin led the officials back to the city, he summoned Li Shanchang and inquired about the logistical preparations, asking, "How are the cotton-padded clothes and shoes being prepared?"

Li Shanchang flipped through the ledger and immediately said, "We have prepared 420,000 pairs of shoes, and it is estimated that we can double that number by September. As for cotton-padded clothes, we have 370,000 pieces, and it is estimated that we can only gather about 500,000 pieces by September. That's all we can do."

"It's not that we don't have enough manpower, but the cotton production is limited each year. With so much cotton purchased this year, even the production of cotton cloth by ordinary people will probably plummet."

"Your Majesty, should we issue an edict urging the people and local officials to plant cotton extensively?"

Lu Jin frowned and shook his head. "No, let's leave it at that for now. As for promoting cotton planting, we'll talk about it when the Yuanwang ship returns. The cotton being planted in various places now is actually tree cotton, which originated in India. This kind of cotton grows too tall and the quality is not good, so it is not suitable for large-scale planting. Let's wait until the Yuanwang ship brings back the grass cotton from Lizhou, and then we can promote it."

"I see." Li Shanchang suddenly realized that there were many intricacies involved in cotton.

Lu Jin frowned and continued, "But we still don't have enough shoes. We are mainly infantry, and our feet are the most important weapon for infantry. One pair of shoes per person is not enough. On a long march, each person will wear out at least three pairs of shoes. We need to prepare more."

"Send orders to all prefectures and counties: if there is a shortage of cotton cloth, regardless of whether it is cotton, hemp, or shoes made from old clothes, the imperial court shall purchase them all. Before September, purchase as many as you can, and prepare at least one million pairs. In addition, each soldier on the front line should have two extra pairs to replace their shoes."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will make the arrangements immediately." Li Shanchang replied without hesitation.

After handing over the preparatory work, Lu Jin spent the next few months constantly checking on the progress of preparations in all aspects.

The Privy Council's General Staff Intelligence Bureau reported almost monthly on the situation in Shangdu and Dadu. However, by July, Xiao Tieguo had not made any preparations to go to Shangdu, while Dadu was almost at its wit's end.

With grain prices soaring, a bushel of rice costing thousands of coins, coupled with the Yuan court's abstract practices—still printing their large Yuanbao banknotes to this day, thinking these worthless pieces of paper could be used as money—inflation and food shortages led to widespread cannibalism, literally cannibalism.
Due to the dire situation, Xiao Tieguo finally rallied a bit, preventing Hama from finding an opportunity to stage a coup and oust him. Instead, under Xiao Tieguo's urging, Hama went every day to the ostensible office in Dadu, which was actually a spy from Lu Jin's Privy Council Intelligence Bureau, to ask when Fang Guozhen's grain would be delivered.

The spies kept making excuses, saying that no matter how anxious you were, you had to wait for the right time. The summer grain in Jiangnan could not be harvested until July. Even if the rice was harvested now, it would take at least until August to gather the grain together, secretly sell it to Fang Guozhen, and then have Fang Guozhen deliver it to Dadu.

Hama was extremely worried about the food situation, so he had to urgently transfer another batch of grain from Goryeo. Although it was only a few thousand shi (a unit of dry measure), it was enough to tide him over.

However, Lu Jin's spies were not idle. Instead, they took the opportunity to ask Hama to raise the price so that he could raise another batch of warhorses to sell to the south.

Hama immediately questioned Fang Guozhen, asking why he hadn't returned to Jiangsu and Zhejiang after buying so many horses, and where all those horses had gone.

The spy said that there was a severe shortage of horses in the south, so they were sold to the people to exchange for grain. Otherwise, where do you think Fang Guozhen got so much grain from, given that he was only guarding the Taiwen region?

As for the horses sold to the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, who ended up in their hands? Is there any need to ask?

In reality, it was a roundabout way of telling Hama who these warhorses were for. He had no choice but to sell them, even though he knew it was aiding the enemy, because he had to grit his teeth and sell them for the sake of food.

Hama had no choice but to write a note to the spy, telling him to go to Liaodong and buy it himself.

After obtaining the permission to buy horses, the intelligence agency immediately organized ships and personnel to set off from Dengzhou and Yantai in Shandong, cross the Bohai Sea to Jinzhou, Jinzhou and other places, plant spies in various cities in Liaodong, draw up city defense maps, find out the shipping routes, and then send the intelligence back to Jiankang without stopping.

In June, two major events occurred in Jiankang: Chang Yuchun led the Ninth Army Group northward to Jiankang.

Ma Xiuying and Fan Qiuchan, who were taken into Lu Jin's household last July, each gave birth to a son for Lu Jin in early and late June this year. In addition, Gongshu Tan, who will be two years old in two months, now has three sons. At the same time, his principal wife Zhang Yunxiu is pregnant again.

With Chang Yuchun leading his army to Jiankang, the somber atmosphere before the Northern Expedition reached its peak. At this time, the news that the lord had two new princes finally brought some joy to the civil and military officials of the royal palace.

And so it came to the first day of the seventh lunar month, when the generals of all front-line armies finally returned to Jiankang for a meeting.

(End of this chapter)