Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 353: The Yuan Army in Eastern Zhejiang

After Fushou led the Yuan cavalry to retreat, Zhu Liangzu escorted Yesu back to the camp. Zheng Yong immediately came up and asked in confusion.

"Why did the general want to provoke the Yuan army in front of the battle? Wouldn't they know there was a trick on the south bank and not dare to cross the river? Didn't we agree before that we would withdraw to the south bank when the Yuan army came to attack, and then attack them halfway across the river?"

Zhu Liangzu was speechless, "This is a different time. Do you think that after you fought that battle in Huaibei, annihilated 3,000 enemy Qiexues in one battle, and captured Yesu alive, the Yuan army would be easily fooled?"

Zheng Yong was stunned and asked hurriedly, "What should I do? Did I get into trouble for fighting that battle?"

Zhu Liangzu said immediately, "It's not that we're causing trouble. The Marshal's core strategy is to hold the area south of the Huai River and watch Tuotuo fight with Zhima Li. As long as we can hold the south of the Huai River, it doesn't matter whether we lure the enemy deep into our territory, attack them halfway across the river, or fight a cavalry battle in the north of the Huai River, it's all the same. If we don't let the enemy cross the river, our mission is accomplished. As for the rest, we can adapt to circumstances as we see fit."

Zheng Yong nodded thoughtfully, "So what should we do next? My cavalry regiment is resting in Huai'an?"

Zhu Liangzu glanced at the retreating Yuan army in the north, and then said, "You said before that the new Yuan general was very steady. He did not take the initiative to attack even though 5,000 cavalrymen came, but instead marched forward with the infantry. Now it seems to be true. I provoked him in front of the battle, but he did not come. I think he will not take the initiative to attack the camp on the north bank.

“In that case, I will lead the main force to defend the bridgehead camp on the north bank and confront him. You take your second cavalry regiment to Andong (Lianshui) downstream. I have sent Zhao Zhongzhong to lead a detachment to attack Andong. I have asked him to build another pontoon bridge in Andong. You lead the cavalry to cross the river from Andong to the north bank again. While covering Zhao Zhongzhong's siege, you wait for an opportunity to see if you can lure away some of the 5,000 cavalry on the opposite side.

"The Yuan army here has a total of 20,000 infantry and cavalry. Compared with our army, they are not superior in terms of manpower. If we focus on one battlefield, we can still do something. Once the enemy army splits its forces into two battlefields, it will be even more difficult to take care of both ends. In this way, the enemy army will not dare to cross the river to the south. We can also seize Andong, a strong city on the north bank of the Huai River, as a bridgehead, which will facilitate our continued northward advance."

Zheng Yong's eyes lit up after hearing this. "This is a good idea, but will the Marshal agree to continue to attack Andong? Didn't the Marshal say that we are not allowed to attack Huaibei before Tuotuo withdraws his troops?"

"We are just attacking Andong. Andong is right beside the Huai River. It's not Huaibei. Besides, I have already reported to the Marshal and he agreed. He said we can attack Andong, but we are not allowed to advance rashly in Huaibei. If Andong is difficult to defend, we can abandon the city and withdraw to Huainan at any time. If you don't believe me, go ask Instructor Gao." Zhu Liangzu explained immediately.

Zheng Yong nodded. "Since the commander-in-chief has given the nod, I will go. The war horses of the Yuan army's Qiexue are quite good. I will see if I can capture another batch."

"Go ahead, go ahead, and remember to find a good horse for me too." Zhu Liangzu said immediately.

"okay."

So Zheng Yong led the cavalry to the lower reaches of the Huai River again that day and opened up a second battlefield together with Zhao Zhongzhong's detachment.

Although Tuotuo brought a lot of Yuan troops this time, they also had to face many fronts and opponents. With the main force dealing with Xuzhou, they could not spare many troops to contain the Shengwu Army in the Huaiyang area.

In addition, Zhu Liangzu's military strength has expanded greatly. He has no shortage of soldiers, so he can naturally open up more battlefields to mobilize the Yuan army, making them busy and exhausted, and then look for opportunities to annihilate them.

At the same time, unlike the stalemate along the Huai River, the Shengwu Army was unstoppable on the battlefields of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

On the First Army side of the Taihu Lake North Line, Yang Jing captured Changzhou on the 17th, and immediately ordered Zhang Wen to lead a detachment to attack Jiangyin. By the evening of the 19th of that month, Jiangyin was immediately captured by Zhang Wen, and Yang Jing himself was also slowly advancing towards Wuxi with his main force.

There are only ninety miles between Changzhou and Wuxi, but this time Yang Jing walked for three full days, marching only thirty miles a day before stopping to rest. This was mainly because he was waiting for Zhang Wen to return to the team after conquering Jiangyin, and also waiting for news from Yu Tonghai's 40th Army in Jiangbei. Although the infantry moved slowly, the cavalry had already gone there and surrounded Wuxi.

On the 40th, upon learning that Jiangyin had been captured, the th Army, which had been making a feint in Kunshan Prefecture (Taicang) for half a month, suddenly made a feint to the east and turned north, landing in a wilderness between the upper reaches of Changshu and Jiangyin in the south of the Yangtze River (near Shazhou County in later generations). Six regiments of fresh troops suddenly poured into the battlefield on the northern line of Taihu Lake, greatly increasing the offensive speed of the Shengwu Army.

After Yu Tonghai and Zhang Desheng landed on the sandbar, they did not join up with Yang Jing, but instead led the main force of six regiments directly to Changshu, and the battlefield north of Taihu Lake started a two-line attack mode.

Yang Jing led his 37th Army, Zhang Wen's 40nd Guard Division, and Zhang Long's st Cavalry Regiment, plus the newly expanded captured troops, to attack Wuxi, Suzhou, and Jiaxing. Yu Tonghai and Zhang Desheng led the th Army to attack Changshu, Kunshan (Taicang), Jiading, Shanghai, and Songjiang Prefecture.

On the 37st of that month, the main force of Yang Jing's th Army captured Wuxi. There were only local troops of the Yuan Army here, and they did not encounter the main force of the Yuan Army in eastern Zhejiang. After taking Wuxi, they left a newly expanded supplementary regiment to guard the city, and the main force continued to advance towards Suzhou.

On the 40nd of that month, Yu Tonghai's th Army arrived in Changshu. The army easily captured Changshu on the day it arrived at the city gates, because there were only defenders, and more than of them were new recruits who had just been recruited by local Yuan court officials after seeing the manifesto. These new recruits had only been there for a few days, so how could they stop the main force of the Shengwu Army that was as fierce as wolves and tigers?
On the 23rd of that month, after the detachment led by Zhang Wen captured Jiangyin, they finally caught up with Yang Jing's main force east of Wuxi. After joining forces, the two marched towards Suzhou together. They arrived at the city of Suzhou the next day and launched a fierce attack on Suzhou on the 25th.

Under the cover of the bombing of the artillery regiment of the Imperial Guards Division and the support of spies in the city, the vanguard regiment led by Zhou Tong was the first to climb to the top of the Suzhou city wall. In this battle, Qiu Chuyi, who had just joined the army in Jiankang, showed bravery. He was born a pure tenant and had never learned any weapons, so he used a long-handled axe as a weapon. He didn't know any moves, but relying on the word "ruthlessness", he rushed into the enemy army and smashed and chopped wildly without caring about life and death, scaring the Yuan army defending the city to turn around and run away.

This guy was wearing heavy armor and had no idea what death was. He was recruited into the army by Zhou Tong because he was attracted by Zhou Tong's fierce fighting skills and was quickly promoted from a deputy squad leader to a regiment commander.

His purpose of joining the army was also very simple, that is, he wanted to stand out! Moreover, this kid often said that there were many brothers in his family, and anyway, there were younger brothers and sisters to take care of their parents, and he was here to fight for his life. Since the Marshal gave him land, what did it matter if he fought for Lu Jin? He would just regard the fifty acres of land as exchanged for his life, and it would be worth it even if he died.

After conquering the capital of Pingjiang Road (Suzhou), Yang Jing also met Yu Yunzhou, the chief intelligence officer of eastern Zhejiang, and the two famous doctors, Dai Sigong and Ge Yinglei.

He gave Yu Yunzhou the letter of appointment as the governor of Suzhou Prefecture issued by the Marshal's Office and asked him to take office immediately to manage Suzhou Prefecture. Dai Sigong took the opportunity to ask for a visit to Lu Jin. Yang Jing immediately sent someone to escort him there, sent him away, and then asked Yu Yunzhou privately.

"Yu Fuyin, I fought all the way here from Zhenjiang Road, and I feel that the Yuan army in eastern Zhejiang is vulnerable. It seems that it is easier to fight than when we crossed the river in September. Why is that?"

Yu Yunzhou, who has been collecting intelligence on eastern Zhejiang for a long time, said immediately.

"The reason is very simple, because there is no standing army of the Yuan army in eastern Zhejiang. In fact, the governor can see from the previous Xu Song's conquest of Hangzhou and the subsequent response of the Yuan court that when Xu Song first attacked in July, the Yuan army had been retreating, and Yuan court officials from all over the country were abandoning the city and fleeing, so it seemed that Xu Song was unstoppable.

"This was because the Yuan court had no standing army in eastern Zhejiang. When the rebels suddenly attacked, they had no soldiers to use, so they could only run away. The reason why Xu Song was later defeated was because the officials who abandoned the city and fled recruited temporary militia from the rear, who counterattacked and drove Xu Song away.

"The Governor's Eastern Expedition this time is no exception. The Governor has discovered that, except for Changzhou where the first battle was fought, there are only a few thousand Yuan soldiers and militiamen in the following cities, including a large number of young and strong civilians recruited temporarily. These people are untrained and have little combat effectiveness, so they are naturally vulnerable."

"So that's it." Yang Jing suddenly realized, he felt like something was wrong.

The previous battle of crossing the river with Lu Jin went smoothly, but it was not easy. Firstly, the number of troops crossing the river was limited at that time. Secondly, Jiqing and Taiping bordered Lu Jin's Luzhou, and the Yuan troops there had been confronting Lu Jin for more than half a year. Even if they were not standing troops, they were at least trained, and their organization was not comparable to that of the young and strong militiamen temporarily recruited in eastern Zhejiang. That was why the Yuan army in eastern Zhejiang seemed so weak.

Seeing Yang Jing looking thoughtful, Yu Yunzhou immediately reminded him.

"Although the general is now unstoppable, he must not allow his troops to become complacent and must not underestimate the Yuan army. The Yuan court's senior officials from Zhejiang Province are now gathered in Jiaxing. The general is attacking too fast, and they have no time to react in the front. However, Jiaxing must have deployed heavy troops, and there are provincial officials from the Yuan court stationed there. We must be more careful as the battle progresses."

Yang Jing nodded immediately and clasped his fists, saying, "Yu Fuyin is right. I will definitely pay attention to it."

Yu Yunzhou quickly returned the greeting and continued, "The reason why Xu Song's last expedition to the east failed was because of insufficient troops. After taking Hangzhou, they could not continue the attack, and they also left a way for the Yuan army to retreat. Those provincial officials could naturally retreat to the back and recruit soldiers to fight back. This is the biggest reason.

"This time, our army will march eastward in two routes, north and south, advancing simultaneously. We will attack eastern Zhejiang from both sides, leaving no way for the enemy to retreat. Just pay attention. The Yuan army has no way to retreat, and will fight desperately. Therefore, as long as the general is not arrogant or impatient, and advances steadily, we will be able to easily occupy eastern Zhejiang."

Yang Jing nodded, "I know this. The Marshal calls this strategic depth. Thank you, Yu Fuyin, for telling me. I will not keep you company any longer. I also ask Yu Fuyin to appease the people of Suzhou as soon as possible and prepare for the transportation of food and grass for the army. I will continue to march forward now."

Yu Yunzhou immediately bowed and said, "I wish the general a safe journey and a speedy return!"

"Thank you!"

Yang Jing also clasped his fists, and then ordered his troops to continue to march south, heading for Wujiang, fifty miles away, where Zhang Long's cavalry regiment had surrounded in advance. On the same day, news came from Kunshan (Taicang) in the east that Yu Tonghai's 40th Army had captured Kunshan and was attacking Jiading, and the situation was very good.

At the same time, on the southern front of Taihu Lake, the Second Army led by Zhu Shou was also advancing with great momentum.

The 41st Army led by Zhu Shou, plus the main forces of the three divisions of the st Imperial Guard Division, after capturing Liyang, captured Yixing on the th of the same month, and Changxing on the th. They are now attacking Huzhou.

The 42nd Army led by Hua Yunlong and Xu Da also captured Langxi (Jianping) on ​​the st and Guangde on the th. They are now marching towards Anji. Once both sides capture Anji and Huzhou at the same time, they will be able to meet up with Zhu Shou in Wukang and Deqing.

In other words, as long as they each captured two more cities, they could march directly to the city of Hangzhou. However, Hangzhou had already been burned to the ground, and it would probably be an empty city if they went there.

The progress on the northern route was a little slower. After Yang Jing captured Suzhou, he had to capture at least three cities, Wujiang, Jiaxing, and Chongde (between Tongxiang and Yuhang in later generations) before he could reach Hangzhou and join forces with Zhu Shou's Second Army. However, for this eastern expedition, they had already conquered nearly half of the goals and were not far from Hangzhou.

In this situation, what were the Yuan court officials in eastern Zhejiang doing?

They are playing it down, or in other words, they are throwing in the towel.
Previously, Dingding, the Minister of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, Dalantemur, the Right Prime Minister, Fan Zhijing, the Councillor, Liu Bowen, the Chief of the Marshal's Office and others had discussed the countermeasure of sending reinforcements from the north and the south.

The northern route was led by Hangzhou Volunteer Marshal Fang Jianu to support Fujialu in Changzhou. If they failed to reach Changzhou and it was conquered, they would continue to defend Wuxi in the rear. At the same time, they had to be careful of the Shengwu Army crossing the river from the north and heading south to cut off Wuxi's retreat.

In the south, the councillor Fan Zhijing and the left and right secretaries Zhen Bao were ordered to recruit 10,000 soldiers to provide support, at least to keep the Shengwu Army north of Huzhou.

Then, just as Liu Ji had expected, Changzhou could not be held for three days. To be specific, Changzhou, which was garrisoned by Fu Jialu with 20,000 troops, could not even hold out for a day before it was conquered by the main force led by Yang Jing.

This achievement greatly shocked Dingding and his group of senior officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

They saw the manifesto on the 15th and began to discuss countermeasures. As a result, Changzhou fell on the 17th. Even if Fang Jianu ran as fast as he could, he would not have had time to provide support.

However, they had already made a plan. Even if they could not support Changzhou in time, they had to go to Wuxi to stop the Shengwu Army.

As a result, when Fang Jianu was leading 20,000 troops to the north, the news of Wuxi's fall came. Fang Jianu was at a loss. How could the enemy army attack so quickly? Should he go to the front to support?

While he was hesitating, news came from Kunshan in the north that the bandit army in Jiangbei had crossed the river and headed south. They had already captured Changshu and were attacking Kunshan. The Kunshan County Magistrate requested support.

Fang Jianu was shocked. Was Liu Bowen right again? The bandit troops in Jiangbei also crossed the river and headed south? If he continued to move forward, wouldn't he be attacked from both sides by the bandit troops?

While he was hesitating, Wu County (Suzhou), the capital of Pingjiang Road, was also surrounded by the vanguard of the Shengwu Army, Zhang Long's cavalry, and now he could no longer go north.

Now, there is only one small city, Wujiang, between Jiaxing and Suzhou. So many big cities ahead could not defend it, so it is even more impossible to defend this small city, Wujiang.

What should he do? Should he retreat to Jiaxing now? Dingding and Daran Temur would definitely scold him to death, and they might even kill him directly. But he couldn't go to Wujiang County. If he went there, he would die. He might be surrounded and killed in the city by the two armies of the enemy army.

Fang Jianu hesitated for a while, and then made a decision that he thought was smart. He led 20,000 troops to Huating, the capital of Songjiang Prefecture.
After knowing this, Dingding was so angry that he started cursing and sent someone to ask him why he didn't go to the front to meet the enemy. However, Fang's slave said that the bandits from Jiangbei were more powerful and he had to resist the bandits from Jiangbei in Songjiang Prefecture, Jiaxing and Wujiang, so he let Dingding figure out a way himself.

When Liu Ji heard the news, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He couldn't lead the team. He really couldn't lead the team.

The rebel army is divided into two groups and is heading straight for Hangzhou. Do you think you can be safe if you hide in Songjiang? They want the whole eastern Zhejiang!!!
You don’t even dare to defend Suzhou, what the hell are you doing?

Liu Bowen was so angry that he wanted to resign. Seeing that the Yuan army was bound to lose, if he didn't jump out now, when would he jump out? Would he wait until he was captured alive by the enemy and then be treated as a traitor? He had heard that Lu Jin never showed mercy to traitors, especially Han people like him who served the Yuan army.

However, Liu Bowen wanted to jump out of the car and run away, but Ding Ding refused to let him go. Although Liu Ji could not think of a way to defeat the Shengwu Army now, his previous analysis and predictions had all come true. The enemy army really divided into two groups and attacked from the north and south of Taihu Lake at the same time. Liu Ji also predicted that the enemy army might march south from the north of the Yangtze River, and he guessed this right.

With such a talented person, and at a time of crisis, how could Dingding let him resign? Are you resigning? You are running away!

Ding Ding suppressed his anger and asked Liu Ji what other options he had. Liu Ji immediately said.

"I really don't have any other options now. The enemy troops in the north have already conquered Pingjiang (Suzhou), and the enemy troops in the south are at the gates of Huzhou. Once these two cities are breached, the enemy troops will be able to march straight into Jiaxing. There is no time left. It is too late to make any arrangements now.

"Unless we can hold out in Jiaxing and Huzhou and stop the enemy troops, and then send people to Hangzhou, Shaoxing, and Qingyuan (Ningbo) to recruit soldiers, we may be able to fight back before Jiaxing is captured."

As soon as this suggestion came out, Right Prime Minister Daran Temur immediately volunteered, "I will go to Shaoxing and Hangzhou to recruit soldiers. The Wanhu Quan Juer of Qingyuan Road and his son Puxiannu, the Wanhu of Luomuying in Hangzhou, have at least 10,000 soldiers. After I go there, I will recruit some more from Shaoxing and rush back to rescue Jiaxing!"

Dong Shouqu, the inspector of East Zhejiang, also rushed to say, "I am familiar with the salt fields in Shaoxing. I can go there to recruit soldiers from the salt workers."

However, Ding Ding could see that the two men actually wanted to run away, but he also wanted to run away.
So he said immediately, "Dalantemur stays here, and you, the right chancellor, if you go now, I'm afraid Quanjuer and Puxiannu won't obey your orders. It's better for me, the chancellor, to go myself. I don't think they dare not come. You and Liu Ji stay here to defend the city, and you must hold out until I bring the army back to help."

Dalan Temur opened his mouth but didn't say anything, while Liu Ji nodded resignedly.

So Dingding and Dong Shouqun immediately ran away. They went to Haiyan together and then took a boat across Hangzhou Bay to Shaoxing.

But even in such a critical situation, they are still making trouble. Dingding and Dong Shouqun are not of the same mind and belong to two different factions.

Pingzhang Dingding and Youcheng Dalan Temur were both promoted by Toghto and were considered Toghto's men. However, Dong Shouqun, the Inspector of East Zhejiang, was a Han Chinese and was sent by Emperor Shundi of Yuan Dynasty, so he was considered to be the emperor's party.

The system of supervising local areas, the Suzheng Lianfangshi, was first created by Xiao Tieguo. It was later learned by Zhu Yuanzhang, and then the system of inspectors in the Ming Dynasty was established. Those who could be sent to supervise local areas were naturally the emperor's confidants.

As soon as the two men arrived in Shaoxing, Dong Shouqu submitted a memorial to the emperor to denounce Dingding and his group, and copied the contents of Lu Jin's letter in the memorial, saying that Dingding and his group were not effective in suppressing the bandits, and that they had a large army but did not dare to fight, thus missing the opportunity to fight and causing the situation to deteriorate to this point.

He also scolded Tuotuo in his memorial, saying that Tuotuo's advance was not going well and that they had not even been able to capture Xuzhou for such a long time. If they had made a breakthrough in the north, how would the rebel army dare to be so arrogant and attack eastern Zhejiang at this time? He also mentioned the contents of the letter and suggested that the emperor conduct a thorough investigation to see whether Tuotuo really had the intention of usurping the throne.

After the memorial was written, he immediately sent someone to deliver it to Dadu by sea. Dong Shouque also arranged a ship for himself. If Jiaxing could not be defended, he would immediately escape by ship and wait until he reached the sea to see how the Shengwu Army would pursue him.

As for Ding Ding, as soon as he arrived in Shaoxing, he sent people to find the Wanhu Quanjuer of Qingyuan Road and asked him to lead troops to rescue Jiaxing as soon as possible, but he himself stayed in Shaoxing and did not go north.
Just at this time, Tuotuo's order also came from Haining Prefecture (Lianyungang), asking him to raise military rations and transport them to Haining by sea. This was even better. Dingding had a reason not to go north. He now had to follow the prime minister's order and raise food and fodder for the army in Huaibei!

As for the Shengwu Army that was marching east, who cares? They can't win anyway, so they just ran away.
At this point, Liu Ji was the only one who was still thinking about fighting the enemy.

So what was Liu Ji doing? He was contacting his former mortal enemy, hoping to get Fang Guozhen's navy to help, to see if he could use the strategy of "encircling Wei to save Zhao" to force the Shengwu Army to retreat.

(End of this chapter)