Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 49 Cutting off his retreat
As far as Lu Jin knows, in ancient siege warfare, probably less than half of the cities were conquered by ant attacks.

There are many other ways to break into a city, including false attack, persuasion, sending spies as internal support, siege, and many other incredible ways.

A forced attack would result in heavy casualties, and if the city cannot be taken in a short period of time, the troops would be trapped in a fortified city, which would greatly damage morale. Therefore, if you can avoid a forced attack, it is best not to do so.

Hearing Lu Jin's reminder, Liao Yongan suddenly felt that he had grasped something, but he couldn't put it into words.

Seeing this, Lu Jin could only say simply.

"Brother Yongan is from Chao County. Apart from you who just started the uprising, are there any other people in Chao County who want to revolt but are hesitant? People like Zheng Yong who lured Zuo Junbi out for us?"

Liao Yongan recalled that there was indeed a similar person whom he knew, but they were not familiar with each other and could only say that they knew each other.

"Yes, there is, but didn't the Marshal just say that the method of luring the enemy is no longer useful?"

"The same person can be used in different ways." Lu Jin smiled when he heard this and said.

“If you really have someone you can trust, you can ask Brother Yongjian to lead the navy to Chao County to scare the Chao County garrison, and then let this person lead the troops into the city and pretend to surrender to the Chao County magistrate, saying that he is helping him defend the city.

"You agree on a signal with this person. On the day of the siege, have Brother Yongjian lead the navy to make a feint attack, and you lead the main force of the three regiments to attack from the other side. Then have that person act as an insider in the city.

"It doesn't matter if he burns down the house, spreads rumors, or turns against you in the middle of a battle. If he is guarding a gate alone, he can even open the gate for you directly. Then you can make a feint to the east and attack in the west, and with the help of both sides, the city will be broken, right?"

Liao Yongan's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Great! This plan is feasible!"

Seeing how excited he was, Lu Jin immediately warned him again.

“The key to this plan lies in the insider. He agreed with you on the signal and must know that you are going to attack the city. He knows all your plans. If he pretends to surrender and then tells the Yuan army about it, they can even use your trick against you and set an ambush in the city to wipe out your entire army.

"So this person must be reliable. Can you be sure that he won't lie to you?"

Liao Yongan was excited just now, but when he heard Lu Jin's warning, he immediately broke out in a sweat. He really couldn't rule out this possibility.

People's hearts are hidden, who knows what others are thinking? Besides, Liao Yongan was not familiar with that person. If he was really familiar with him, he would have been involved in the uprising, just like Yu Tingyu's family.

Liao Yongan thought about it, then made up his mind and said, "That man is three years younger than me, the same age as Yongzhong, and has a wife and children. I can ask him to hand over his family as hostages!"

Lu Jin did not object, but continued to help him perfect the plan. "If you ask him to hand over his family before he succeeds, I'm afraid he will be suspicious."

Liao Yongan smiled when he heard this and said confidently.

"That depends on who is trying to persuade him. I can definitely convince him, but I need the Marshal to make a promise in advance. If he helps us break the city, what position can he be given?"

Thinking about Liao Yongan's high emotional intelligence, Lu Jin became confident about this matter. Although Liao Yongan's wisdom in fighting was a little lacking, his ability to deal with people was still good.

So he immediately said, "This man is the same age as Brother Yongzhong, so he is not small. If he can really break the city, I will first promise him a battalion commander of a thousand households. If we expand the army in the future, I will give him priority to be promoted to commander."

Liao Yongan immediately clapped his hands and said happily, "Then it's settled. I'll contact this person today?"

"No hurry." Lu Jin shook his head. "It won't be too late to go after hearing the good news from Lu'an."

Lu Jin calculated the time. It has been four days since Yu Tingyu set out. With Zhu Liangzu in hand, it should not be difficult to break the city. As long as nothing unexpected happens, Lu'an should be stable. The cavalry carrying the message can run for another day and will definitely arrive today.

Sure enough, less than half an hour after Lu Jin finished speaking, a cry of victory came from outside the west gate of Luzhou City. The knight had a triangular flag on his body and shouted along the street after entering the city.

"Great victory! Great victory! Commander Yu broke through Lu'an on September 11 and captured more than 3,000 enemy soldiers. Lu'an is now under the rule of our Shengwu Army!"

The people gave way wherever the riders passed, and the soldiers of the Shengwu Army patrolling the streets heard the news and immediately shouted "Thousand Victory".

When the people in the city heard the news, they felt mixed emotions.

Ever since Lu Jin occupied Luzhou City, the price of grain in the city has dropped rapidly, which is a good thing.

Moreover, the Shengwu Army had strict military discipline. The generals had repeatedly issued orders, but no soldiers bullied the people. The soldiers also bought things at fair prices, without forcing them to buy or sell. Now Lu Jin was using work-for-relief to repair the city wall, and he also recruited craftsmen to make equipment, which instantly provided countless jobs, so that some people in the city who had no livelihoods had a place to eat, and beggars were completely eliminated.

Everyone has something to do, and even the public security situation has improved a lot.

To be honest, if Lu Jin could continue to control Luzhou, the people in the city would be very happy. What they were worried about was whether Lu Jin could hold on if the imperial army attacked. If not, they didn't know what the situation would be like at that time. What if the Tartar army massacred the city?

It's not like the Mongols haven't done this before.
Hearing the loud shouts of the soldiers outside the government office, until the rider arrived at the gate of the government office and heard the victory report with his own ears, Liao Yongan and Lu Jin looked at each other and both laughed.

"The Marshal is really good at predicting things. I was just looking forward to the victory news from Lu'an, but it came so soon."

Lu Jin also smiled and said, "With Zhu Liangzu in hand, as long as nothing unexpected happens, the date should be accurate."

When Liao Yongan heard Lu Jin mention Zhu Liangzu, he immediately felt regretful again.

"It's a pity for Zhu Liangzu. The Marshal wanted to recruit him, but he didn't show any tact. Now he's released. Isn't the Marshal worried that he will go against us again?"

"Hahahaha." Lu Jin burst into laughter upon hearing that.

"Go against me? He doesn't have that ability! Why did I let him go to the fraudulent city and let him personally persuade his own people to surrender? It was to cut off his escape route.

"He handed over Lu'an, which was considered a token of his surrender. If this matter were to spread, the Yuan court would certainly want to kill him. How could they allow him to lead the army?
"We have captured thousands of his soldiers. If we keep them and don't return them to him, and let Brother Yu open the warehouses to release grain, provide relief to the people, and reduce taxes, who do you think the people will support?
"How much benefit can we bring to the people? What can Zhu Liangzu bring to the people? I can guarantee that he will not be able to recruit even one soldier in Lu'an in the future. What can he use to oppose me?
"Now he has only two options left. Either stay at home or come and surrender to me. It is absolutely impossible for him to go against me. Even if he wants to, the Yuan court will not agree."

Liao Yongan suddenly realized and laughed after hearing it, "So the Marshal had already made plans. Then it is possible that Zhu Liangzu will come to surrender."

Lu Jin smiled and said nothing. Of course he wanted Zhu Liangzu to vote, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

If he didn't come, Zhu Liangzu would have directly withdrawn from the stage of history, and he would have had nothing to do with the end of the Yuan Dynasty in this time and space. If he came to surrender, Lu Jin would have nothing more than an extra powerful general.

It doesn’t matter whether you come or not, as long as you have a relaxed attitude.

At this time, the soldiers who reported the victory were also brought in and handed the military intelligence documents to Lu Jin. Lu Jin roughly looked at the siege process and found that there were no accidents. However, there were only about two thousand prisoners, while the number shouted outside was more than three thousand just now.

This is normal. When reporting a victory, people will exaggerate a little to boost morale and public confidence. As for how much to exaggerate, that is up to you.

Lu Jin casually handed the battle report to Liao Yongan, and immediately asked someone to call Bao Heng and gave him instructions.

"Immediately draft a proclamation of victory and post it everywhere in the city. I want everyone to know that it was Zhu Liangzu who handed the city to me."

"Yes!" Bao Heng was overjoyed to see Lu'an being captured, and was glad for his decisive surrender that day.

Just as he turned to leave, Lu Jin ordered again, "Post it outside the city and at Feixi Wharf. I want everyone to know that Zhu Liangzu sent Lu'an!"

"Yes!"

Bao Heng instantly understood what Lu Jin meant. This was to cut off Zhu Liangzu's retreat. As long as this matter spread, he would be finished whether the Yuan court would do anything or not. It would be impossible for him to go back. Once this was done, there would be no turning back.

Seeing Bao Heng taking orders and leaving, Liao Yongan also handed the military report back and stood up.

"Since Lu'an has been conquered, shall I go and plan for Chao County now?"

This time, Lu Jin finally nodded and said, "Go ahead. This plan depends on the reliability of the insiders. Brother Yongan should be very careful in selecting people."

"Don't worry, Marshal. I know what I'm doing." Liao Yongan agreed and immediately bowed and took his leave.

After he left, Lu Jin finally sat down on the chair and couldn't help rubbing his eyebrows.

Lu'an was taken, Chao County was preparing, Yang Jing went to Anfeng to recruit soldiers, and Zhang Wen was preparing to kill Zhao Pusheng. It seemed that all the arrangements had been made, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What he didn't expect was that on the afternoon of the day when the good news came, Yang Jing also came back. This guy actually recruited hundreds of soldiers from the countryside of Anfeng, and also brought him a big treasure.

In the original history, the Marquis of Xuanning of the Ming Dynasty was responsible for guarding Beiping and used the strategy of false troops to scare off the Anfeng people, the main force of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Cao Liangchen
(End of this chapter)