Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 534 Pacifying Guangdong and Guangxi
"Another battle? Where, in Yunnan?" Everyone was taken aback and immediately asked.

Zhu Liangzu nodded. "Isn't this obvious? After this battle, Fujian, Guangdong, and Sichuan will be pacified. Only Yunnan has not yet submitted. I heard that King Liang still has nearly 100,000 troops under his command, and the Duan family of Dali is no pushover either. How could they easily submit?"

"As for our five army groups, the First Army Group is stationed in the Hetao region, Shanxi, and Sichuan, and must be on guard against the remnants of the Yuan forces in the northern desert. Yang Jing's Third Army Group is stationed in Liaodong, and must keep an eye on the remnants of the Yuan, Jurchen, and Goryeo forces in Liaodong. The Fourth Army Group is focused on the Northwest, and it is estimated that they will not have time to spare."

"The Fifth Front Army is responsible for guarding Guangdong and Guangxi, and also needs to keep a close eye on Annam in the south. Only our Second Front Army has finished fighting in Fujian and is in the hinterland with no defensive tasks. If we don't use us to fight in Yunnan, who else can we use? At most, we can send a detachment from Chang Yuchun's Fifth Front Army to provide some cover for us from the flank of Guangxi. The main force to fight in Yunnan still has to be us."

Everyone nodded in agreement; Zhu Liangzu's analysis was indeed reasonable and well-founded.

However, Feng Sheng suddenly asked, "But if that's the case, after we finish fighting in Yunnan, won't we also have to be stationed in Yunnan for a long time? The five army groups all have their own defense tasks, so how can we carry out military reform?"

"What's so difficult about that? At worst, we can just draw half the troops from each army group, send one army group back to the capital, and then, after the reorganization is complete, we can switch the other army group back to its original location and rotate the reorganization," Liao Yongzhong said immediately upon hearing this.

"Moreover, I think military reform will definitely not happen so quickly. Putting aside everything else, just according to the method of reorganizing the entire army into firearms, you have to first build hundreds of thousands of muskets and tens of thousands of artillery pieces, otherwise how can you reform without weapons?"
"And as for the shortcomings of firearms that Brother Zhongzhong just mentioned, don't forget who made those firearms in our army. His Majesty personally crafted the flintlock muskets and various cannons, and His Majesty also personally trained the firearms tactics of the Imperial Guards. In this world, if His Majesty claims to be second in the mastery and use of firearms, who would dare to claim to be first? Even you can think of the shortcomings of firearms, so how could His Majesty not think of them?"
“We’ve been stationed in Jiankang for about half a year, and there have been rumors that His Majesty is having Tao Guangyi from the General Armament Department improve a new type of firearm. Improving a new type of firearm and then waiting for it to be manufactured and mass-produced will take at least a year or two. If the new firearm can’t be manufactured, military reform is not something that can be done so quickly.”

"That's true." Everyone nodded in agreement. Considering the upcoming battles in Yunnan, they stopped discussing the military reforms.

Fang Guozhen, who shared a room with them, was a later surrendered general and had not had much contact with the people of the Second Front Army, which made them rather unfamiliar with each other. If Yang Jing were here, Fang Guozhen could chat with him for a bit, since the two had met in Hangzhou before, but now...
Seeing that the group was chatting enthusiastically, Fang Guozhen thought for a moment and then asked, "Speaking of this military reform, have any of you generals heard any news about the navy?"

"do not know."

"Never heard of it." Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. They really didn't know anything about it, and being a group of army officers, they weren't particularly interested in such matters.

Seeing everyone shaking their heads, Fang Guozhen said awkwardly, "If you don't know, then forget it."

Just then, Gao Yao, who was sitting at the head of the table, said something.

"It's normal that they don't know about the navy. However, during the Northern Expedition, I did hear His Majesty and several ministers of the Privy Council mention it in Dadu. The navy was originally a newly formed army, so there is no such thing as military reform."

"If you are asking about the arrangements for positions, General Fang need not worry. In terms of naval commanders, in addition to the three naval forces that General Fang and our army already have, as well as General Chen Youliang who defected from Xu Song, there will definitely be arrangements for them."

"His Majesty intends to establish three naval fleets, each of which is at the army group level, and the naval headquarters is at the field army level. Each of the three major fleets will be further divided into several smaller fleets. Given General Fang's qualifications and merits, I remember that you already held the position of military commander. Once you join the navy, you will at least be serving in one of the three major fleets."

"Even if you can't become a fleet commander, you should at least be an adjutant, probably like a deputy commander of an army group, which would correspond to your rank of lieutenant general."

Upon hearing this, Fang Guozhen suddenly understood and immediately cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "I see, thank you for informing me, Instructor Gao."

Gao Yao waved his hand, "It's nothing. It wasn't a secret to you anyway. Even if I didn't tell you, you would probably find out soon enough. But there's one thing I need to remind General Fang."

"Please enlighten me, Instructor Gao. I am all ears," Fang Guozhen said humbly.

Gao Yao immediately said, "The navy built by His Majesty is quite different from the traditional navy. The general has also fought against our navy and knows that our navy is good at using firearms."

"And that Yuanwang warship that sailed across the ocean. Even if General Fang hasn't seen it, he should have seen the two new ships docked at the Jiankang dock when he went to Jiankang for the war meeting. All the navy's warships will be replaced with new gunboats. All the ships in the navy, whether riverboats or seaboats, will be phased out and replaced with specially built gunboats."

"However, the construction speed of Jiankang Shipyard is not very fast. It will take a lot of time to fill the ranks of the three naval fleets. If the warships under your command are not equipped in time, please do not worry too much. After all, the court will carefully consider which fleet to equip first."

"For example, in the north, we are close to Korea and have to guard against Japanese pirates. In the South Seas, we have to fight pirates, protect our maritime merchants, and deter small countries in the South Seas such as Sulu. The tasks in both the north and the south are heavy and time is tight. Naturally, the branch in the middle will be slower to change its uniforms."

There was a lot of information in those words. Fang Guozhen was a shrewd person and immediately understood the meaning. It meant that Lu Jin was planning to build three fleets, all of them gunboats. One fleet in the north would be dedicated to dealing with Japanese pirates, another in the south would be used to fight pirates in Southeast Asia, and the third fleet in the middle would have a lighter defensive mission and would be equipped with new ships more slowly.

The fact that Gao Yao specifically brought this up to him means that he is very likely to be assigned to the middle fleet.

However, this is for the best. Fang Guozhen never intended to stand out in the Holy Martial Army. After all, he was not Lu Jin's direct subordinate, and keeping a low profile was more in line with his original intention. Moreover, being close to the center is the East China Sea, which is exactly where he is from. He is familiar with the waters around here, and being able to serve in his hometown, holding a good position, and enjoying his old age in peace is simply the best thing.

Thinking of this, Fang Guozhen immediately cupped his hands again and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Instructor Gao, but I don't have any great ambitions. I don't care about the speed of changing clothes. It would be better to be more stable. Instructor Gao is overthinking this."

Gao Yao immediately nodded, "It's good that General Fang is mentally prepared for this."

Meanwhile, while the generals of the Second Front Army were discussing military reforms, Chang Yuchun's Fifth Front Army and Miao Daheng's Fourth Army in the Sichuan direction were also busy advancing towards their target areas according to plan.

Chang Yuchun's Ninth Army departed from Nanjing at the end of March and arrived in Nankang, Ganzhou in early May. After joining forces with Xiong Tianrui in Ganzhou, they sent people to contact the Tenth Army in Chenzhou, Hunan, which was located nearby. After making contact with Liao Yongjian and Deng Shunxing, the two sides agreed on an offensive plan and decided to send troops in two routes.

Chang Yuchun personally led the Ninth Army Group from southern Jiangxi to attack Meiling Pass and advance towards Nanxiong, Guangdong; Liao Yongjian and Deng Shunxing's Tenth Army Group set off from Yizhang, Chenzhou, Hunan, and advanced along the Wushui River to attack Shaoguan, Guangdong.

The two armies were not of primary or secondary importance; both were their main forces. Whoever made a breakthrough first would go around to the enemy's rear and join forces with the other army to attack from both sides, defeat the enemy's main force, and then go to Yingde to join forces before heading straight for Panyu City in Guangzhou.

With the plan finalized, the two armies officially set out in mid-May. Chang Yuchun's army had Xiong Tianrui stationed in southern Jiangxi for a long time and had long harbored the idea of ​​attacking Guangzhou, but had failed several times. Seeing that Chang Yuchun wanted to attack Meiguan, Xiong Tianrui immediately told him that the Yuan army in Guangdong had deployed a lot of troops in Meiguan, and it would definitely not be easy to break through the pass. He suggested that it would be better to go to Hunan to join forces with the 10th Army Group and attack together from Shaoguan. With so many of their own troops, the Yuan army in Guangdong would definitely not be able to stop them.

But Chang Yuchun didn't care about that. So what if someone was stationed there? Since he had cannons, he had never seen a city or pass that couldn't be breached.

Furthermore, the entire Fifth Army, plus two Imperial Guard divisions and Xiong Tianrui's division, totals over 140,000 troops. Sending two armies together to Shaoguan would be too cumbersome and prevent them from deploying effectively, a pure waste of manpower. It would be better to split them into two routes. Moreover, it would be even better if the enemy's main force could be drawn to Meiling. This would allow Liao Yongjian and Deng Shunxing's forces to achieve a breakthrough. If either direction succeeds, the other will flank the enemy from the rear, creating a pincer attack. Once the main Yuan army forces in Guangdong and Guangxi are defeated, the remaining territory will be easily secured.

Seeing that Chang Yuchun was so stubborn, Xiong Tianrui didn't dare to persuade him any further. He just thought to himself, "So what if you're from the Holy Martial Army? Once we actually see Meiling Pass, we'll make you back down."
A few days later, the army arrived at the foot of Meiling. Chang Yuchun immediately dispatched a division of soldiers as scouts to search the mountains under the guidance of local guides, in order to prevent the enemy from hiding in the mountains and ambushing his main force when they entered the mountains. Only then did he continue to lead the main force along the ancient Meiling road.

Soon after, the scouts ahead brought news that the Meiling Ancient Road was very narrow, only wide enough for one horse-drawn carriage to pass through. Both sides of the road were sheer cliffs, as if carved by a knife and axe. There were several stone-built fortresses in the middle, with many flags planted on them, and soldiers could be seen indistinctly on the walls of the fortresses.

Chang Yuchun immediately went to the front line to investigate. Looking at the cliffs on both sides and the stone-built fortress in the middle, he burst out laughing.

Pointing to the words on the city gate, he asked Xiong Tianrui, "What does it say?"

"The First Pass of Lingnan!"

Chang Yuchun burst into laughter, “What a load of bull, the first pass of Lingnan! It’s nothing special. I think these people from Lingnan have never seen what Tongguan and Yanmenguan look like. These few stone and brick walls are no more than two zhang high and a few chi thick. How dare they call themselves the first pass?”

Upon hearing this, Xiong Tianrui choked. He had suffered a lot at Meiguan Pass, losing troops and generals several times without success. Yet, in Chang Yuchun's eyes, such a treacherous terrain was nothing to mention.

Chang Yuchun waved his hand and immediately ordered, "Bring up the heavy artillery and keep bombarding this fortress until it collapses. Let these Lingnan people learn a lesson and not think they can resist the heavenly army and establish their own territory with just a few broken stone walls!"

"Yes!"

The messenger immediately went to the rear to call for heavy artillery, but the ancient road was too narrow. The long marching column squeezed to the side of the road to make way for the cannons, and only then were a few heavy cannons brought up. However, this poor place really limited the effectiveness of the artillery. At most, only two heavy cannons could be placed side by side on the narrow ancient road.

But that's enough. For smoothbore cannons that fire solid shot, the most feared thing is the traditional Chinese rammed earth city wall. Because the rammed earth, which is often several meters thick, can absorb a great deal of the kinetic energy of the shell. It is wishful thinking to use solid shot to smash down a rammed earth city wall. But the city wall built of stone bricks in front of us is no match for solid shot. No matter how hard your stone is, can it be as hard as iron?

The two heavy cannons were immediately moved to 300 meters in front of the city gate and bombarded the city wall. There was another artillery position behind them, which used high-angle trajectories to fire exploding grenades into the city gate to kill enemy personnel.

In an instant, thunder rumbled deep within Meiling, startling birds and beasts scattered in terror. The Meiguan Pass was also filled with deafening roars, and the enormous cannon fire echoed back and forth in the valley, terrifying the Yuan army in Guangdong on the other side of Meiling.

Boom—Whoosh—

With a loud bang, a solid iron ball weighing over ten kilograms whistled as it crashed into the stone wall of Meiguan, instantly smashing down a large section of bricks and rubble. These rubble fragments, like shrapnel from an explosion, mercilessly claimed the lives of the surrounding defenders.

Above them, iron bullets emitting white smoke flew by from time to time. Some exploded as soon as they reached their heads, the huge explosions making their heads spin, their ears ring and blood flow. There was also choking smoke and shrapnel flying everywhere, making it impossible for them to stand.

The Yuan general guarding the pass was even more shocked, never expecting that the Ming army, which had transformed from the Red Turbans, was really as powerful as rumored.

The booming sound of cannons echoed incessantly in the valley. In less than half an hour, the first fortress collapsed under the continuous bombardment, leaving only half-person-high ruins standing there. Behind the collapsed fortress lay the corpses of Yuan soldiers killed by rubble and grenades. Many more Yuan soldiers had already retreated to the back of the second fortress.

The terrifying scene left Xiong Tianrui speechless. He finally understood why Lu Jin had been able to pacify most of the country in just three years. Who the hell could withstand such a bizarre firearm?

Ignoring the warnings, Chang Yuchun continued to order the artillery to bombard the second fortress. However, after only a few rounds, they could no longer hear any movement from the fortress. Suspicious, Chang Yuchun immediately ordered the bombardment to cease and sent scouts to investigate.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the Yuan army defending the city had abandoned it and fled. With such terrifying artillery fire, the stone walls were as fragile as paper in the face of heavy artillery. Who could possibly hold it?
Let whoever wants to guard it guard it; I'm not serving you anymore.
Thus, Meiling Pass, which Xiong Tianrui feared so much, was breached by the Ming army in less than an hour, leaving Xiong Tianrui dumbfounded.

After this battle, Xiong Tianrui's morale soared. With such a powerful weapon, wouldn't it be a sure thing to recover Guangdong and Guangxi? So he immediately volunteered to be the vanguard of the entire army.

Chang Yuchun readily agreed to his request. After crossing Meiling, Xiong Tianrui changed his usual lazy style and always took the lead in every battle. Without the protection of the narrow pass, the Yuan army in Guangdong was no match for the Shengwu Army. By early June, Chang Yuchun's Ninth Army Group had crossed Shixing and was advancing towards Wengyuan in Yingde.

Meanwhile, Guangdong warlord He Zhen personally led his main force to Shaoguan to meet the enemy. He thought that Meiling had the advantage of terrain and that blocking one of the Ming army's routes should not be a problem. He could then lead his main force to attack the other route.

To his surprise, Chang Yuchun made a breakthrough so quickly.

Meanwhile, Liao Yongjian and Deng Shunxing on the other side did not give him a good time either. The two sides fought a great battle at Lechang on Shaozhou Road. The two sides lined up and engaged in open battle. Liao Yongjian commanded the central army on the front, while Deng Shunxing broke through from the flank and easily defeated He Zhen's main force of the Yuan army in Guangdong.

After the war, He Zhen rallied his defeated troops and fled towards Guangzhou. Deng Shunxing and Liao Yongjian pursued him closely. When he reached Yingde, Chang Yuchun's army arrived just in time. The two armies joined forces and surrounded He Zhen in Qingyuan City before he could return to Guangzhou.

Knowing he was no match for Lu Jin, He Zhen sent someone out of the city to beg for surrender. He said he was willing to surrender the city and cooperate in pacifying the various regions of Guangdong and Guangxi, provided that Lu Jin did not kill him.

Lu Jin hadn't originally intended to kill him; he only wanted Chang Yuchun to teach him a lesson and use war to promote peace. Now that his goal had been achieved, there was no need to exterminate him completely.

After the two sides agreed on the terms, He Zhen then carried a bundle of thorns on his back and went out of the city to apologize and surrender.

Afterwards, the two armies escorted He Zhen's remaining troops to Panyu, Guangzhou. With He Zhen, a local powerful figure, acting as an envoy, Guangzhou indeed did not continue to resist stubbornly.

With this, the capital of Guangdong was recovered by the Ming army. Shi Heng, the chief instructor of the Five Army Groups, immediately sent people to issue proclamations to pacify the region. Within a month, all the routes in Guangdong and Guangxi were recovered.

In 4052 AD, 1355 AD, the second year of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in mid-July, Guangdong and Guangxi were completely pacified by Chang Yuchun's Fifth Army!

(End of this chapter)