Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 34: Not Playing by the Rules (Please Read)

The generals from Chaohu, who originally thought that there was plenty of food, looked at each other in confusion when they heard that Luzhou City consumed 20,000 shi of grain every month.

This seems to be not much.
However, Lu Jin couldn't help laughing after hearing this. Why? Because this routine was too familiar. No, it should be the one he had just used, "getting the upper hand"!
When preparing to join an organization, first come up with a bluffing gimmick to attract everyone's attention and thereby elevate your own status. The next step is to demonstrate your own strength, quickly accumulate prestige, and calmly rise to the top.

This is what he did in the Chaohu Navy. On the first day he joined, he said he could lead them to capture Luzhou City, which attracted the attention of the generals. Then he improved his prestige through a series of battles and now he is in power.

There is nothing wrong with taking the lead, but the prerequisite is that you have to have real skills. If you do it well, it's awesome; if you don't do it well, it's just sensationalism.

Lu Jin looked at the clerk and laughed, "What's your name? Where are you from? Stand up and talk."

The clerk then rubbed his sore knees, stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, General. I am Bao Heng, with the courtesy name Yunzhi, and I am a native of Luzhou."

Lu Jin frowned when he heard this and instantly thought of someone.

"He is from Luzhou, and his last name is Bao. Could he be from the Bao family of Feidong? A relative of Bao Longtu, a famous official of the former Song Dynasty, and Bao Zheng?"

Bao Heng smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect that the general had also heard of my ancestors' name. I am the Bao family of Feidong. However, I am now in a low position and serve as a clerk in Luzhou. This is a disgrace to my ancestors' name."

He was modest in words, but very proud in his heart. Look, whoever mentioned our ancestors would be looked up to, even if he was the leader of a rebel.

Next, the general will certainly ask me about the food problem. When the time comes, I will give my advice and will surely be valued!

However, before he could feel secretly happy, Lu Jin's next words made his face turn pale.

"You are scaremongering!"

Bao Heng looked at Lu Jin in astonishment, not knowing what he had said wrong. Upon hearing his words, the generals from Chaohu also looked at him unfriendly.

Lu Jin walked down from upstairs and said this.

"Three hundred thousand dan of grain is enough to feed the people of Luzhou City for only one year, but what does that have to do with me? Do I need to eat for a year? I am not spending money without earning anything. I just need to hold on for half a year, and when the summer harvest comes next year, new grain will be stored in the warehouse.

"Three hundred thousand dan of grain, to last until next summer's harvest, and keep some for emergencies. I can at least take out one hundred thousand dan to use for work."

Lu Jin stared at Bao Heng with his sharp eyes, which immediately put him under great pressure. Sweat covered his forehead and he couldn't help swallowing.

Why doesn't this guy play by the rules?
Bao Heng had a hard time speaking out his pain, but the words had already been said, so he could only continue to force himself to make amends, otherwise wouldn't he be proving himself to be a clown seeking attention?
"But the general still has to maintain the army and prepare for war, and provide relief to the people. One hundred thousand dan is not much."

Lu Jin added, "I can use work as relief. The defense of Luzhou City is not strong. The city wall is less than two feet high and less than one foot wide. Such a low wall makes it easy for me to break in.

"I can recruit poor people to raise the city walls. This is a good way to provide relief. It not only saves food, but also strengthens the city defense and provides relief to the people. Why not do it?"

The sweat on Bao Heng's forehead had already flowed down to his nose, but he continued to speak forcefully.

"But the general has conquered Luzhou City, and this matter has become a big deal. The court will definitely send a large army to attack us. The general needs to expand the army to prepare for war, otherwise how can he resist the court's army? One hundred thousand dan of grain is not enough to help the people, and it is still not enough to expand the army to prepare for war."

Lu Jin countered the move and continued speaking.

"Why do I have to station troops in one place? I only need to take out food to recruit soldiers and expand the army, and immediately attack the nearby states and counties, so that I can fight to support the war and let the army eat in different places. They can eat the food in whichever city they are stationed.

"Is there no food in Lu'an? Is there no food in Chao County? Is there no food in Wuwei? Why do I have to stay here and eat together with Luzhou? Am I waiting to eat up all the food?"

All the generals from Chaohu nodded continuously when they heard this. As expected of Lu Jin, he had plenty of ideas in mind.

Bao Heng was sweating profusely when he heard this, and even his beard was soaked. This lord was so strong and smart. He had a lot of ideas in his mind and didn't need a counselor like him at all.
But the words have been spoken, and in order not to be a clown, he can only hold on.

"But if this happens, the 100,000 shi of grain will be used up. Wouldn't the general be worried if he doesn't have any grain left?"

Lu Jin narrowed his eyes at him and said again.

"Let me guess. You came out to offer advice so confidently, you must have something to rely on. So, in addition to Zuo Junbi's treasury, there must be other grains in this city. It should be the grain merchants in the city, right? Tell me, how much do the grain merchants have?"

Bao Heng was almost unable to stand when he heard this. This lord was too smart and could not be fooled at all. Before he could even explain, the other person had already guessed it. How could he show off?

Bao Heng secretly glanced at Lu Jin and found that Lu Jin was staring at him. He immediately looked away guiltily and then said.

"The general is resourceful, wise and brave, and I cannot deceive him. The general guessed correctly that the four grain merchants in the city still have hundreds of thousands of dan of grain.

"But if the general seizes by trickery and force, he may lose the support of the people, and then Luzhou City may be difficult to defend."

Lu Jin laughed when he heard this, "Hahahaha, what do you mean by robbing? Can the rebels' business be called robbery? The knife handle is in my hand. If they have a little brain, they should 'take the initiative to help with the military expenditure'." "Besides, I'm not an unreasonable person. Merchants pursue profits. As long as they are willing to help with the military expenditure, I can exchange things with them and ensure that they will not suffer any loss."

Bao Heng was completely defeated when he heard this. Why did he use the issue of grain to gain the upper hand? In fact, he was taking advantage of the fact that Lu Jin and his men had just entered the city and were not familiar with the situation there, so he used the grain merchants' inventory as his trump card.

In addition to the prestige of the Feidong Bao family in the local area, as long as Lu Jin is willing to use him, he will certainly be able to persuade those grain merchants to hand over the grain and raise hundreds of thousands of shi of grain for the new boss. With this great achievement and being a loyal minister, he will surely hold a high position in the future.

However, Lu Jin did not play by the rules. Every move he made was easily blocked by Lu Jin. Lu Jin can do things by himself, so why do I need you?

Doesn't this prove that Bao Heng is a waste and is of no use at all?
Even if Lu Jin is still willing to take him in, the level of importance he attaches to him will be different, which will greatly lower his reputation!

Bao Heng swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and found that Lu Jin was looking at him with a smile. He immediately knelt on the ground with a plop.

"The general is a man of genius, wise and brave, with a thousand wise plans, which is beyond the reach of a villain. A villain, a villain."

"Hahahaha." Lu Jin looked at his appearance and suddenly laughed, thinking in his heart, 'I, Lu Jin, will not allow others to show off in front of me! '

"Get up."

"Thank you, General."

Bao Heng stood up, feeling gloomy in his heart. He had not been able to prove his worth and had failed in his application. It seemed that the wise ruler would not want him anymore.

However, Lu Jin did not play by the rules. Under normal circumstances, if the application failed, he would have left in disgrace, but he heard what Lu Jin said.

"You are the first scholar to come to my army to give advice, but I have not yet established a system. Are you willing to come to my army and work as a clerk for a while?"

Bao Heng raised his head and looked at Lu Jin stupidly.

Then Lu Jin looked at him playfully and said.

"In the future, stop showing off in front of me. If you have something to say, just say it directly. If you have any ability, just show it directly. Don't make me guess. This is a waste of time and affects work efficiency.

"Mencius said, 'The grace of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations.' I don't care about the reputation of my ancestors. I don't care if your ancestor is Bao Longtu or the prime minister of the previous dynasty. I only care about your own ability. Remember?"

Bao Heng quickly bowed and said, "I'll keep it in mind."

In his heart, he sighed repeatedly, this lord was too powerful. Although the process was not right, he had at least infiltrated this emerging force. However, his position was far from what he expected.

Sun Ziyun said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger." Alas, it was a mistake. I didn't find out Lu Jin's style of doing things in advance, and I came out to pretend to be cool but ended up being an idiot. I didn't leave a good impression on him on our first meeting. What should I do in the future?

Bao Heng stood dejectedly at the 'teacher's seat' next to Lu Jin's desk, and listened to what Lu Jin said.

"Mr. Bao, please write a notice for us to reassure the people and post it everywhere in the city to calm the people as soon as possible. Then find some craftsmen for us to be in charge of directing the construction of the city. Then invite the grain merchants in the city and I will meet them in person."

Bao Heng cheered up after hearing this. As long as he had work to do, it would be fine. Even though he made a fool of himself at the beginning, as long as he did the things assigned by his master well, wouldn't he still be appreciated?

I am the first civil official under my lord. As long as I work diligently, even if I don’t achieve any credit in the future, I will at least have made some contributions!

Bao Heng immediately became motivated and quickly expressed his opinion, "Don't worry, my lord. I am a native of Luzhou and a clerk in Luzhou. I am familiar with the situation here and will definitely get the job done."

Lu Jin nodded. This was the reason why he was willing to accept Bao Heng. It was not because this man had any extraordinary talents, but simply because he was an expert on the local area. Lu Jin really needed such a person to do his work.

At this moment, Ye Sheng, who was arranged by Lu Jin to intercept the fleeing enemy outside the north city, finally came back.

"My lord, I have captured that Darughachi and a Tartar prince."

"Tartar Prince?" Lu Jin looked at the old man who was tied up and had two pigtails and was being held in the hall.

Bao Heng, who had just surrendered, immediately introduced, "My lord, this is the 'King Xuanrang' in Luzhou City, Timur Buhua."

"Oh~"

If you say Timur Buhua, I don't know, but if you say King Xuanrang, I know.

Lu Jin immediately thought of this person's deeds, but there was only one. In history, after Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he sent Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to the north to fight. The Yuan Shun Emperor Toghon Temur was so scared that he abandoned the city and went to the grassland. From then on, the Yuan Dynasty perished and became the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

But since the emperor had fled, someone had to stay in Dadu to act as regent. Song Huizong fled but still left his son to take the blame. Toghon Temur fled, and the person who stayed in Dadu to act as regent was King Xuanrang, Temur Buhua, who was captured alive by Xu Da but died unyieldingly.

However, when this guy was caught by Xu Da, he was probably over 80 years old. He must be in his 60s or 70s now, right?

I actually finished writing Chapter 34 yesterday, but I was not satisfied with it, so I revised it several times and posted it late. I still have at least one more chapter today. I will see how much I can write. The draft I submitted was rejected by the editor. This book is rewritten. It’s so sad that I don’t have any drafts. It’s bad~
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(End of this chapter)