Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 496 Pacifying Shaanxi
As the saying goes, "an army marches on its stomach," and in order to supply the Northern Expeditionary Army with provisions, Lu Jin specially set up three logistics command posts. At this time, Lu Jin's strategy of "occupying the three lakes and sweeping the world" proved to be valuable.

The grain and taxes from Hunan and Hubei, specifically the area around Dongting Lake, along with the Jianghan Plain, could be transported via the Han River, through Jingxiang into Nanyang, Henan, and then from Nanyang to Shaanxi, specifically to supply Yu Tingyu's western army.

The entire western route army's provisions were collected by Zhan Ding, the right governor of Huguang Province, and transported to Nanyang. Then, Tao An, the right governor of Henan Province, was responsible for transporting the provisions from Nanyang to Shanzhou. Finally, the section from Shanzhou to the front line was handled by the army itself.

Grain from the Poyang Lake Plain in Jiangxi Province, along with Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces, first entered the Grand Canal via the Yangtze River. Large granaries were set up in Huai'an to store the grain. Then, the grain was divided into two routes. One route traveled through the Huai River, the Wo River, and other waterways in the Central Plains directly to Kaifeng. From Kaifeng, the grain was transported across the Yellow River to supply the central army in Shanxi Province. This route was entrusted to Yang Heng, the Minister of the General Logistics Department of the Privy Council.

However, this route was too long. Although the entire journey to Kaifeng was by water and the consumption was not high, crossing the Yellow River was too difficult. This resulted in Kaifeng having grain, but the efficiency of transporting it across the river to Shanxi was too low.

Helpless, Lu Jin could only allocate 200,000 yuan in salt and iron certificates to Liao Yong'an's central army. If the grain supply really couldn't keep up, they could use this money to procure grain locally in Shanxi. Shanxi hadn't suffered from famine in recent years, so there was still a lot of grain. It just depended on whether they could collect it.

Although this behavior inevitably smacks of forced buying and selling, at least Lu Jin paid, even if he printed the money himself.
Another route continued northward from Huai'an along the Grand Canal, delivering supplies to Dongchang Road (Liaocheng) for stockpiling. These supplies were specifically intended for Zhu Liangzu's Southern Route Army, which was responsible for the war in Hebei. This route was commanded by Qin Li, the Right Provincial Governor of Jiangsu.

The grain supplies for the entire Zhejiang province were first stockpiled in Taicang, Jiangsu, and then transported by sea directly to Shandong. From Shandong, the grain was transported to Jinzhou to supply the Eastern Route Army in Liaodong. The supply of grain along this route was directed by Wang Guangyang, the Right Provincial Governor of Shandong.

The three major lake grain-producing areas supplied the three main forces respectively. Before the front line even began to advance, the grain from the rear was already being continuously transported to the front line.

Moreover, in order to lull the Yuan court's central government in Dadu into a false sense of security and slow their reaction, Lu Jin did not issue a proclamation for the Northern Expedition before the start of the war, as he had done in previous major battles. Instead, he sent a false message to the Yuan court's prime minister, Hama, through the intelligence bureau.

Because of the previous Song dynasty's failures in several northern expeditions, Lu Jin was very cautious about launching a northern expedition. Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of this year to pacify Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as southern Jiangxi. As for the northern expedition, Lu Jin may have intended to prepare for two more years, making more armor and stockpiling more grain. He had no intention of launching a northern expedition this year, in order to cause the Yuan court to make a strategic misjudgment and lower their guard.

However, this can only be concealed for a while, not forever. This false information can only last until the first day of September at most. Once September arrives and the main force of the Holy Martial Army appears in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, it will probably be impossible to keep it a secret forever.

On the first day of the ninth month of the fourteenth year of the Zhizheng era (4051 AD, 1354 AD), Emperor Gongshu Jin of the Ming Dynasty, who had been on the throne for less than a month, quietly left the capital Jiankang and headed north to Dongchang Prefecture (Liaocheng) in Shandong.

Because of the large number of troops involved in this Northern Expedition, and the fact that the various armies were not under each other's command, Lu Jin had to take the lead in command. In addition, it was also to enhance his prestige, as the emperor's presence would boost the morale of the soldiers.

Moreover, he hadn't been on the front lines for a long time. This Northern Expedition might be the last large-scale battle in which the Holy Martial Army mobilized the entire nation. In the future, the battles would be fought further away and on a smaller scale, and Lu Jin would no longer be able to personally lead the troops on the front lines. Therefore, this should be the last battle that he personally commanded on the front lines.

Of the Privy Council members, Feng Guoyong was left in Jiankang to guard the city, while Bao Yu, the intelligence chief, and Xia Yu, the staff officer, stayed with Lu Jin.

On the city wall of Liaocheng, Lu Jin looked at the first light of dawn on the horizon and suddenly asked Bao Yu beside him, "Do you think the people from Shanxi and Shaanxi can stop us?"

Bao Yu thought for a moment before saying, "The one guarding Shaanxi is Zhang Liangbi, the Shaanxi Pacification Commissioner, whose courtesy name is Sidao. Zhang Sidao's grandfather, Zhang Quan, was the Huaiyuan General of the Yuan Dynasty. Since his grandfather's generation, he has always been the Guanzhong Garrison General. Three generations of his family have been hereditary military generals in Shaanxi."

"Zhang Sidao's father, Zhang Yuanyu, had seven sons. Zhang Liangbi was the eldest, and his sons were Liangzuo, Liangchen, Zhang De, Zhang Shan, Zhang Gui, Zhang Junde, and Zhang Shunde. All seven sons were in the army, hence the nickname "Seven Spears of Guanzhong".

"However, Zhang's generals have not participated in the war in recent years, so it is unknown how much of their skills they have. But in my opinion, none of Zhang's generals are worth worrying about."

"Oh, why?" Lu Jin asked curiously.

"Because they have few soldiers," Bao Yu explained again.

"After the tug-of-war between the former Song Dynasty, Western Xia Dynasty, and the Mongols, Shaanxi's population has been reduced to less than one-tenth. It is currently estimated that the population of Shaanxi Province is no more than one million. This is the Shaanxi Province as defined by the Yuan Dynasty, which includes Ganzhou, Suzhou, Liangzhou, Lanzhou, and the population of places like Hanzhong."

"If we follow the division of Shaanxi Province as Your Majesty has made, the population will be even smaller, probably only around 400,000 to 500,000. Even if one in ten men is selected, the Zhang family can only muster a maximum of 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers."

"However, according to intelligence reconnaissance, the Zhang family generals currently only have about 30,000 to 40,000 troops under their command, which is consistent with the General Staff's assessment of its population size."

"So, with only 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers available for battle, and the task of defending such a large area as Guanzhong, which has nearly a hundred cities, if these 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers were evenly distributed, each city would only have a few hundred soldiers at most. So what would be the point of defending them? Therefore, he could only concentrate his forces to defend one or two important passes."

"Our Western Route Army consists of two army groups, two Imperial Guard divisions, and two cavalry regiments, totaling 140,000 men. They are also experienced in actual combat and have hundreds of cannons to assist them. Whether it is attacking a city or fighting in the field, once the 140,000 men are gathered together, there is no way they cannot take down these seven guns in Guanzhong."

"Once we destroy their main force, where in Guanzhong will there be any troops that can withstand our advance? The rest of the land can be pacified with a mere proclamation!"

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, the difference in troop strength was too great. Even if the seven Zhang brothers were made of iron, how many nails could they possibly twist?
However, Xia Yu, who was standing next to him, said, "The biggest advantage of the Zhang brothers in Shaanxi is that the Zhang family has been hereditary generals in Shaanxi for three generations. Their familiarity with the local terrain and military and political affairs is definitely higher than that of our army. Secondly, the Guanzhong region has been known for producing fine horses since ancient times."

"Although their forces are small, they cannot stop the main force of the Western Route Army in either open field battles or city sieges. However, if Zhang Sidao has a brave cavalry force, which does not need to be large, just a few thousand cavalry, relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they can completely abandon the defense of the city, preserve their strength, lure our army deep into the territory, and lengthen our supply lines. Then, they can use the high mobility of the cavalry to maneuver around and launch surprise attacks on our supply lines."

“Once our army’s supply lines are cut off, and Shaanxi itself does not produce much grain, then our advantage of having a large number of troops will become a disadvantage. If our 140,000 troops are cut off from their food supply, they will become a dead army. I really can’t think of any other way for our army to lose.”

Lu Jin stroked his chin. "Abandon the city and fight a guerrilla war? That's probably difficult. Guerrilla warfare requires high morale, otherwise it's hard to sustain. Moreover, if they only have a few thousand cavalry, our western army also has two cavalry regiments, which is enough to deal with their cavalry harassment. Unless their 30,000 to 40,000 troops are all cavalry, and they don't fight any city or territory, but focus on using these tens of thousands of cavalry to fight a guerrilla war against us, then there is no possibility of victory."

"But if he really has tens of thousands of cavalry, then I won't fight like that. I will definitely let the Western Route Army fight steadily, take a city and hold it, wipe out the remaining enemy and continue to advance slowly, squeeze the enemy's living space, and fight a war of attrition with national strength. He definitely can't beat us."

Xia Yu and Bao Yu both nodded, and then Xia Yu said, "If I were Zhang Sidao, this would be the only way to fight. If this still doesn't win, and he doesn't surrender, he can only flee to the Lanzhou area or escape to the Hehuang Western Regions. But I estimate that he probably won't flee too far, at most to Lanzhou."

"Why?" Lu Jin suddenly asked.

“Because he is Han Chinese,” Xia Yu said matter-of-factly.

Lu Jin clicked his tongue but didn't reply. In the original history, Zhang Sidao was indeed no match for Xu Da and retreated to the Lanzhou area. However, he was a die-hard who refused to surrender or serve Zhu Yuanzhang. He did not go to the Western Regions. So when the Ming army continued to attack Qinghai, Zhang Sidao simply ran away quietly and returned to his ancestral home of Pei County to live a secluded life. He changed his name and went back to farming. There are no more records of him since.

Lu Jin then asked, "What about Shanxi?"

Bao Yu then explained the situation again, "According to news from Dadu, the general in charge of guarding Shanxi is the Chief of the Privy Council of the Yuan court, Shuo Sijian. This person comes from the Kheshig army and has served as the Grand Marshal of the Fujian Pacification Commission. Later, he served as the Councilor of the Jiangzhe Province, in charge of supervising maritime transport. In the sixth year of Zhiyuan, he was promoted to Right Vice Minister of Fujian, in charge of reforming the salt laws in Fujian."

"Two years ago, he followed Tuotuo to fight in Xuzhou. After Tuotuo was demoted, he and Xuexue returned to Dadu. Last year, Shuo Sijian was appointed as the Pingzhang Zhengshi of Shaanxi Province. This year, he was recalled to Dadu to serve as the Zhishumiyuan and was transferred to guard Shanxi."

"This man is willing to lead from the front in battle and has some strategies. After all, he comes from the Kheshig army and cannot be ignorant of military affairs. However, he has a flaw: he is extremely greedy."

"The intelligence agency discovered that this guy may have stolen the printing plates of the Yuan Dynasty's banknotes and was printing counterfeit banknotes on a large scale in Shanxi to make money. As a result, counterfeit banknotes are rampant in Shanxi and Hebei, inflation is severe, the military and civilians in Shanxi are struggling to make ends meet, prices are rising three times a day, the people are complaining, and the morale of the army is unstable."

"Our army can use this as a breakthrough point to intensify its political propaganda offensive against the people and soldiers of Shanxi, expose the evil deeds of the Yuan court and the Shuo Si Jian, and further promote the salt and iron certificates of our dynasty to stabilize the currency in Shanxi. If we can achieve one or two more major military victories, then Shanxi can be pacified."

A high-ranking official in the Privy Council of the People's Republic of China, he actually printed counterfeit money on a large scale in Shanxi to amass wealth. What's even more outrageous is that Lu Jin actually believed it, because in the original history, this guy had actually done this.
Historically, after Hama's failed coup attempt with Queen Qi, Hama and his brother Xuexue were executed by being flogged in court. Hama's successor as prime minister was Shuo Sijian, a powerful minister who not only eliminated his political opponents and wielded immense power, but also cultivated relationships with generals like Bolotemur. Most outrageously, this prime minister stole printing plates from the Ministry of Revenue to print money at home. Who says Shuo Sijian printed counterfeit money? He clearly printed genuine banknotes.
Upon hearing this, Lu Jin couldn't help but smile and said, "It is said that when a country is about to perish, there will be monsters. Today I have learned something new. The high-ranking officials of Hu Yuan are all more inhuman than the last. The fall of the Great Yuan was not unjust."

"Your Majesty is wise," the two men quickly bowed and flattered.

Lu Jin waved his hand and changed the subject, "However, your suggestion is still very good. Immediately draft a military order and send it to Liao Yong'an's central army and Ning Anqing, the right governor of Shanxi, and tell them to pay attention to using this matter to undermine the morale of the Shanxi army and people through political offensive."

"Also, have Ning Anqing pay attention to the salt lakes and iron smelting in Shanxi, and have Liao Yong'an leave a troop of soldiers to guard the salt lakes in Yuncheng. If you want to use salt and iron certificates to stabilize the currency, you must first control the salt and iron. Otherwise, the salt and iron certificates will become worthless in Shanxi."

"Yes!" Xia Yu responded and immediately began drafting the military order.

Lu Jin then added, “Send another order to Liu Zhang of the printing press, instructing him to increase the printing of salt and iron certificates for distribution in the north over the next two years. The exchange rate for certificates in Shanxi and Hebei provinces must be determined only after we have ascertained exactly how many banknotes and counterfeit coins the Yuan court has issued. Ning Anqing must pay close attention to this matter.”

“This time is different from the past. The imperial court is short of money now and cannot give as much benefit to the people as it did in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. When exchanging currency in Shanxi and Hebei, we must make sure to suffer as little loss as possible.”

"Yes." Bao Yu also quickly took notes.

At the same time, just as Lu Jin was analyzing the possible victories and defeats at the front and the countermeasures, as the sun gradually rose on the first day of September and the sky became bright, the main forces of the four army groups of the Shengwu Army on the western and central routes also launched a large-scale offensive against Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces!

Yu Tingyu and Hua Gao led 14 men of the Fourth Army westward out of Tongguan and marched toward Huayin, the first city in front of them.

Bao Yu's analysis was indeed correct. Because Zhang Sidao's forces were too small, totaling less than 40,000 men, he could not possibly disperse his troops for defense. Defending everywhere would be tantamount to having no defense at all. Therefore, he could only concentrate his forces to defend important passes.

With Tongguan already lost and occupied by the Shengwu Army, Huayin, which is adjacent to Tongguan to the west, became the eastern gateway to the Guanzhong Plain. Huayin City is bordered by the Wei River to the north and Mount Hua to the south. A narrow passage runs between these two mountains and the river, and Huayin is located in the middle of this narrow passage. It is considered the best place to defend in eastern Guanzhong, apart from Tongguan.

If Huayin cannot be defended, then there is basically no point in defending the rest of the area. The area behind Huayin is flat and open, and it is no match for the 140,000-strong army of the Western Route Army.

Moreover, Zhang Sidao himself was born in Huayin County, which is considered his hometown and a key area managed by the Zhang family in Guanzhong for three generations. If he were to withdraw without even fighting in his hometown, the morale of the army would basically collapse, and there would be no need to fight any further.

Therefore, Zhang Sidao placed most of his troops, 25,000 men, in Huayin to defend the city. The city was also specially fortified, and heavy weapons such as catapults were deployed in the city. He had heard that the Shengwu Army's cannons were powerful, and he also planned to use catapults to counter the cannons.

The other five thousand elite troops, led by his second brother Zhang Liangzuo, were deployed by him in Chaoyi County, dozens of miles north of Huayin, on the opposite bank of the Yellow River from Yongji, Shanxi, at Pubanjin, an important ancient ferry crossing on the Yellow River.

The reason for placing these 5,000 men here is that Pubanjin has the Yellow River Iron Ox Pontoon Bridge built by the Tang Dynasty. At this time, the pontoon bridge has not been destroyed. Zhang Sidao was worried that the Shengwu Army would take advantage of its large number of troops to cross the Yellow River from the lower reaches, then detour through Yongji, Shanxi, and cross the Yellow River again through the pontoon bridge at Pubanjin, thus outmaneuvering him from behind. If he were to be attacked from both sides, he would be in a difficult situation.

That's why he sent his own brother with 5,000 elite troops to guard the pontoon bridge. If the Holy Martial Army dared to maneuver here, he could launch a surprise attack on the halfway across the river at Pubanjin, thus crushing the Holy Martial Army's morale. In that case, the defense of his own city would be much easier. Moreover, the task of guarding the bridge and launching a surprise attack on the halfway across the river didn't require too many soldiers; 5,000 elite troops would be enough.

Finally, he still had 5,000 cavalrymen, which were his trump cards. However, cavalrymen were hardly needed in the defense of the city, so he handed these 5,000 cavalrymen over to his third brother, Zhang Liangchen, to lead and garrison them in Weinan, behind Huayin.

If I can use the fortified city to thwart the Holy Martial Army's momentum, then I can have my brothers lead cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Holy Martial Army's flanks and rear outside the city, thereby forcing the Holy Martial Army to retreat.

His troop deployment was indeed flawless; he had considered almost everything he could think of. However, what he hadn't anticipated was that Yu Tingyu disdained to take a detour through Shanxi and instead sent 140,000 men in one group to the walls of Huayin.

This is a typical tactic of building strongholds and fighting a protracted war. However, because the Holy Martial Army has cannons, a very high rate of armor wearing, and a large number of firearms, the Holy Martial Army is extremely good at attacking fortified positions and is least afraid of siege warfare.

In open field battles, with over 100,000 men huddled together, armed with muskets and cannons, and 9,000 cavalry, frankly speaking, in ancient times, virtually no army could have wiped out this Western Route Army in one fell swoop. Not to mention annihilating them completely, even just defeating them would have been difficult. Faced with such rigid tactics, Zhang Sidao, who was already at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength, really had no way to deal with them.

The Yuan soldiers guarding the walls of Huayin City couldn't help but swallow hard and their legs trembled when they saw the densely packed army stretching for miles outside the city. Even Zhang Sidao himself couldn't help but wonder just how many soldiers Lu Jin had sent to attack him; there were just too many.
However, attacking a small city like Huayin did not require so many troops. So, as soon as the army arrived at the city of Huayin, Yu Tingyu and Hua Gao divided their forces. Yu Tingyu personally led the Seventh Army Group and two Imperial Guard Divisions to besiege Huayin, while Hua Gao led the Eighth Army Group and two independent cavalry regiments to continue westward toward Huazhou.

Well, Zhang Sidao's pre-battle arrangements have been completely wasted. With only 25,000 men and a small city, he thought he could withstand the strong attack of Yu Tingyu and Bian Yuanheng's 70,000 troops and hundreds of cannons? Isn't that absurd?
Meanwhile, the five thousand cavalry he had deployed in the rear were now being actively pursued by the two cavalry regiments of the Holy Martial Army, totaling nine thousand cavalrymen. Now, Zhang Sidao could forget about them supporting Huayin or launching a surprise attack on the Holy Martial Army's flanks and rear. It was even uncertain whether the five thousand cavalrymen could withstand the Holy Martial Army's cavalry attack on their own.

The five thousand elite troops he had deployed in Chaoyi were now completely useless, ignored by Yu Tingyu. Zhang Liangzuo could only watch helplessly as his elder brother and brothers were surrounded in the city, powerless to provide any assistance.

The besieging army numbered 70,000. Zhang Liangzuo claimed to have 5,000 elite troops, but if they were to arrive now, they would only be easy prey.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom —

With the continuous cannon fire from the outer forts of Huayin City, the Northern Expedition's offensive against Shaanxi officially began.

Under the relentless onslaught of dozens of cannons, the parapets of Huayin City were utterly vulnerable. Bricks and stones flew everywhere, and the walls crumbled piece by piece. The defenders on the city walls went from being completely helpless at the beginning to suffering heavy casualties, with no one daring to stand on the walls anymore. The entire process took only a dozen minutes.

Zhang Sidao was greatly shocked by this situation. He had heard that the Holy Martial Army's artillery was very powerful, but he never expected it to be this powerful.

He then tried to retaliate with the cannon, but even with all his might, he could only throw the stone more than 300 meters away, which was at least 150 paces away from the cannon platform built by the Holy Martial Army outside the city. He couldn't hit it at all!
However, while Zhang Sidao could not reach the city, Yu Tingyu outside the city was already preparing to attack. Just as dozens of cannons were suppressing the defenders on the city wall, the heavy armored vanguard regiments of two Imperial Guards Divisions had already carried ladders to the city and climbed up the Huayin city wall without any hindrance. They then occupied the city wall and entered the street fighting mode that the Holy Martial Army was most familiar with.

The Yuan army, which had never received any specific training, was quickly routed by the Holy Martial Army's professional street fighting tactics of "dismantling buildings and breaching walls," occupying high ground, and dividing, encircling, and annihilating the enemy.

Less than two days later, the day after the Western Route Army marched west from Tongguan, Huayin City, known as the eastern gateway of Shaanxi, was successfully captured by Yu Tingyu's Seventh Army Group.

Of the five Zhang brothers who were defending the city, Zhang Shan and Zhang Gui died in street fighting. Zhang Sidao, Zhang Shunde, and Zhang Junde led the remaining troops to break out from the west gate, but they were ultimately unable to escape and were surrounded by the ambush troops hidden outside the west gate.

Zhang Sidao, who had fled for a long time in history and eventually returned to his hometown of Pei County to live as a farmer under an assumed name, ultimately did not have the awareness to die for the Yuan Dynasty in this time and space. Surrounded by the Shengwu Army, he chose to become a prisoner without hesitation.

Afterwards, Yu Tingyu gave him a choice: either Zhang Sidao would try to persuade his other two brothers to surrender, or he would have their entire family executed.

Zhang Sidao sighed. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Yuan court was powerless to reverse the decline, and Shaanxi had no soldiers available, he agreed to persuade his brothers, Zhang Liangzuo, who was guarding the pontoon bridge, and Zhang Liangchen, who was leading cavalry, to surrender in order to save their lives.

With the seven Zhang brothers either dead or surrendering, the Yuan court had no soldiers left to use in the entire Shaanxi province. Wherever the Shengwu Army passed, all the cities immediately opened their gates and surrendered. Some places even surrendered at the mere sound of the front lines, raising red flags on the city walls and sending envoys to Yu Tingyu and Hua Gao to offer their surrender.

The Western Route Army pacified Shaanxi with almost no effort. Starting from the first day of September, it took less than half a month for dozens of cities in the Guanzhong Plain to submit.

(End of this chapter)