Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 33: Three Hundred Thousand Stones of Rice Are Not Enough (Seeking Follow-up Reading)
In Luzhou City, in the lobby of the government office, Yu Tonghai was the first to speak up when Lu Jin asked each department to report the situation.

"Brother Lu, in this siege, our army lost 13 soldiers, injured 76, killed 271 enemy soldiers, and captured 4262. It's another great victory!"

The generals of Chaohu looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. Is this a siege? It seems different from what they thought.

Even the petty officials kneeling nearby found this data outrageous.

Yu Tingyu even doubted his son, "You didn't count wrong, did you?"

Yu Tonghai immediately said unhappily, "Dad, your son is not a fool, how could he make a mistake in counting?!"

"Great! Another victory with few casualties and great results!" Liao Yongjian said happily, patting the armrest of his chair.

Upon hearing this, the others also started discussing it with a smile.

Lu Jin knocked on the table.

"Okay, there's nothing to question. In fact, it's normal to have such a record. Why?

“First, we had gone to great lengths to lure Zuo Junbi’s main force outside the city and kill them. Wasn’t it just to reduce casualties when attacking the city?

“Secondly, the defenders were too weak. Most of them were new recruits who didn’t know how to use bows and arrows. Although there were many arrows in stock in the city, there were no people who could draw bows and shoot arrows. We were not covered by the rain of arrows, so our casualties were naturally low.

“If Zuo Junbi’s hundreds of archers were standing on the city wall today, we might have to lose thousands of people before we could capture the city.

"How new can these new soldiers in the city be? Zuo Junbi was only a thousand-man commander before, and he only had a thousand regular soldiers at most. His several thousand soldiers were all newly recruited after the Chaohu uprising.

"The Chaohu uprising started in July. Now it is the eighth day of September. We have recruited new soldiers for less than two months. How can you expect them to fight? The thousand soldiers who can really fight were killed by us outside the city.

"Third, it's the morale of the defenders. The commander-in-chief was killed, the deputy commander-in-chief surrendered to the enemy, the main force was lost, and the reinforcements were captured alive. Do you think they still have morale left?

"The morale of the defenders is completely lost. They have no will to fight. The vanguard commander who came to attack the city was their deputy commander a few days ago, but now he has surrendered to the enemy. If you were a soldier guarding the city on the wall, what would you think?
"Why did I choose Yin Congdao to be the first to capture the city? Because as long as he appears on the city wall, the psychological impact he brings to the defending soldiers is no weaker than his military strength.

"If I were a soldier defending the city, I would definitely drop my weapon and run. The deputy commander has already defected to the enemy, so what can a soldier like me do to defend the city?

"And when they see that Yin Congdao is still alive, they will know that we will not kill prisoners, so they will further give up resistance and wait for us to capture them with peace of mind. After all, they will not die if they are captured."

"Hahahaha, what Big Brother Lu said makes sense."

"No wonder Brother Lu asked Yin Congdao to go first."

All the generals burst into laughter when they heard this.

After listening to Lu Jin's explanation, the clerk next to him actually found it reasonable.

Then I heard Lu Jin say again.

"Okay, let's be serious. This kind of siege is rare, and there are too many prerequisites to be met. Don't treat it as the norm for sieges. When you attack other cities in the future, you must make sufficient preparations.

“Why did Zuo Junbi and Zhu Liangzu lose to us? It’s because they looked down on us, were arrogant and complacent, and thought we didn’t dare to confront them. They never thought we would dare to ambush them, which is why they were defeated by the enemy.

"Remember, pride leads to a fall! Brothers, you must guard against arrogance and impatience. The opponents we will encounter in the future will only become more and more difficult to defeat."

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the generals suddenly became serious and immediately stood up and clasped their fists in response.

Upon hearing this, the clerk next to him could not help but look at Lu Jin with admiration. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been driven crazy after three victories in a row. However, this commander was able to stay sober and warn his subordinates. He was indeed an extraordinary person.

Then he listened to Lu Jin's arrangements.

"More than half of the captured soldiers this time were recruited in the city just these two days. We should separate them, have them hand over their weapons, and then let them go home.

"For those who have been in the army for a month or two, let them report each other. If there are any who kill innocent people outside the city and take credit for it, the leading officers will execute them directly, and the ordinary soldiers will temporarily keep them in custody. When the time comes, we will assign them some hard labor to make them atone for their sins."

"Yes!" Yu Tonghai immediately accepted the order.

Afterwards, Zuo Junfu was also brought over by Zhang Wen. Zhu Shou's eyes were red, and the soldiers following him were carrying a box.

Seeing this, Lu Jin's heart sank, and he asked gently, "Zhu Shou, have your father and brother's heads been found?"

"I found them. Thank you, Brother Lu, for helping me to get revenge. I would like to ask for a leave and go home to bury my father and brother's heads." Zhu Shou said in a hoarse voice with a hint of tears.

"No rush, this must be Zuo Junfu, right? He looks quite similar to his brother. Last time, you killed Jia Chou, but the Zuo family still owes you a life. Kill him here!" Lu Jin said to Zuo Junfu, who was so scared that he could hardly stand.

"Yes!"

Zhu Shou drew out his sword with a clang and swung it without saying a word. Before Zuo Junfu could even scream, his head flew up into the sky.

With a plop, the body fell to the ground.

The petty officials nearby were frightened so much that their faces turned pale and they remained silent.

Zhu Shou turned around, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed three times to Lu Jin.

"Brother Lu, my revenge has been achieved. From now on, my life belongs to you!"

Lu Jin hurried over and helped him up.

"Nothing belongs to me, but your life belongs to you. You have to live well. You haven't passed down the family line yet. You have to marry a wife and have children. You have to raise Sijiu to adulthood. You also have to fight for the world with us. You still have a lot to do." "Go back. I'll give you three days off. Take a platoon of soldiers back to bury your father and brother. There are many things to do today. I will go to pay tribute to my uncle and brother tomorrow if I have time."

"Wow, woo, woo, woo, Brother Lu." Zhu Shou couldn't help sobbing when he heard that, which made the surrounding Chaohu generals feel depressed.

Lu Jin patted his shoulder and winked at Zhang Wen, "Go back, I'll let Zhang Wen take you back."

"Yes."

After saying this, Zhang Wen took the heartbroken Zhu Shou and the box away.

Then Yin Congdao came in escorting Zhang Huan.

Zhang Huan was tied up and saw the body lying in the lobby and Zuo Junfu's head rolling on the ground. His face turned pale.

That's not what Yin Congdao said just now. Didn't he say that if he surrendered, he could live?
"Kneel down!" Yin Congdao kicked Zhang Huan in the leg from behind, and he knelt down immediately.

hiss--

Zhang Huan gasped in pain and couldn't help but turn his head to glare at Yin Congdao, muttering softly, "You bastard, you've hurt me!"

"Are you Zhang Huan, Zuo Junbi's deputy general?"

Hearing Lu Jin's question, Zhang Huan quickly turned around and said honestly, "It was me."

Lu Jin stood up and walked in front of him, walked around him, and said in a deep voice, "Ye Sheng and Yin Congdao have both changed their ways, surrendered to me, and made military achievements. Are you willing to turn over a new leaf and follow me to drive out the Tartars?"

"I am willing to surrender. I did not recognize your majesty before and offended you. I am sorry for the sins you committed. If you do not abandon me, I am willing to serve you." Zhang Huan said hurriedly.

"Very well, do you know my rules?"

"I know. In the past, we each served our own masters and I have offended many of you brothers. I am willing to accept the punishment."

"It seems that Yin Congdao has told you a lot. Then let Congdao carry out the execution. Twenty military sticks." Lu Jin glared at Yin Congdao.

"Ah?" Yin Congdao was stunned. This was not the case when he was beaten before.

"What? Don't you understand? Want me to say it again?"

"Yes, I will obey your order!"

After saying that, he let Zhang Huan go, kicked him to the ground, picked up a water and fire stick from the lobby of the government office, and started fighting with him.

A stick hit Zhang Huan's buttocks, causing him to groan in pain. He turned around and glared at Yin Congdao, muttering, "You bastard, do you want to beat me to death?"

"Don't talk nonsense. The brothers are watching us. Do you still want us to cheat for personal gain? If I hit you too lightly, I will be the next one to be beaten."

Bang——Bang——

The muffled thuds made Zhang Huan's eyebrows jump. He suddenly began to regret why he was not the one who followed Zuo Junbi out of the city that day, and let Yin Congdao stay to guard the city. He would beat him to death when the time comes! !
Seeing this pair of funny guys finished their punishment and stood aside, all the Chaohu generals couldn't help laughing out loud.

Lu Jin then asked, "Zhongzhong, I asked you to take over the treasury. Have you found any food?"

Zhao Zhongzhong was immediately cheered up when he heard this, and he said happily.

"Brother Lu, there is a lot of food in the treasury. I asked the soldiers in the treasury, and they said there are 300,000 dan of rice. Zuo Junbi is really a piece of shit. He actually looted so much food!"

"How many?"

"Three hundred thousand shi of rice? My goodness, how long will it take to finish this!"

"Yes, I made a lot of money. I still make more money from attacking cities."

When the Chaohu generals heard that there were 300,000 dan of rice in the treasury, they all became excited, like old farmers who had never seen money before.

However, at this moment, one of the dozen or so clerks kneeling nearby suddenly spoke up.

"General, three hundred thousand dan of rice is not a lot. Since you are determined to help the people, you must not squander it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked over.

Lu Jin also looked over and found a minor official who was about thirty years old, with a short beard and wearing a Taoist robe and a Confucian cap.

"Oh? Three hundred thousand shi of rice isn't enough? What's the story behind this?"

The clerk hurriedly bowed and clasped his hands.

"General Rong reported, this Luzhou City has 10,000 households and more than 60,000 people. Each of the 60,000 people eats two catties of rice every day, which means 600 to 700 dan of grain a day, and 20,000 dan of rice a month.

“Three hundred thousand shi sounds like a lot, but it’s only enough to feed the people of the city for a year and three months. If we squander more, I’m afraid we won’t be able to sustain it for a year.

"Besides, the general has to support the army and provide relief to the people. How can this food be enough?"

(End of this chapter)