Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 57: The old cunning man's plan (seeking follow-up reading)

Caning is beating with bamboo sticks. It really hurts. In severe cases, the person may be beaten to a bloody mess. It looks scary, but it does not break any bones. It is only a flesh wound that will heal in half a month at most.

Lu Jin had also been hit by a belt dipped in iodine, so he had a deep understanding of this. That time he dismantled the mechanical shutter of his father's camera, and ended up with a bunch of extra parts.
After being punished with 100 strokes of the cane, Zhang Wen's back was torn and flesh was exposed. He was dying and was finally carried home.

Zhang Yunxiu also cried like a tearful person, stopped studying math, and went home to take care of her brother.

Only after dealing with Zhang Wen's matter did Lu Jin begin to summon Liao Yongan and Zhu Liangzu.

"Marshal, I found someone in Chao County this time who is absolutely reliable."

"There's no rush for Chao County. Let's talk about Liang Zu first. Have you brought everyone from Lu'an?"

Liao Yongan immediately talked about the plan to attack Chao County, but he was interrupted by Lu Jin just as he started.

He understood instantly that the matter of Chao County was a secret and Zhu Liangzu should not be made aware of it for the time being.

Zhu Liangzu also heard the meaning and suddenly became depressed, thinking that Lu Jin did not trust him.

Lu Jin knew what they were thinking from their expressions, so he explained.

"Military affairs are matters of life and death, and must be kept secret. If a ruler does not keep secrets, he will lose his subjects; if a subject does not keep secrets, he will lose his life. This is especially true in military affairs. Therefore, keeping secrets is the key to victory.

"People involved in the mission should have the right to know, but if it is not in the mission plan, it is better not to know. Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask, and don't pry. Just do your own thing."

"Yes, I understand." Zhu Liangzu responded immediately.

Lu Jin has made it clear, what else can he do? He can only say that Dachao County never planned to let him go, so don't ask.

"I followed the commander's orders and selected three thousand strong soldiers from Lu'an. I also asked Commander Yu to help organize them. We organized three battalions and brought them all here. We are still short of a deputy general and a combat battalion."

Lu Jin nodded, "Then let's do as we said before, let Liao Yongzhong, the battalion commander of the Third Regiment, be transferred over to serve as your deputy general, deputy commander, and lead a combat battalion.

"Your unit is designated as the Provisional Fifth Regiment, with a total of 4250 personnel. You will be stationed in Liang County to begin training. Supplies will be distributed based on the number of personnel in the unit, and will be replenished once a month."

"Yes." Zhu Liangzu agreed immediately.

Liao Yongan was puzzled and asked, "If Yongzhong is transferred away, won't my Third Regiment lose a battalion?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin immediately laughed and said, "Didn't you bring a child back from Chao County? That's your new battalion commander."

Liao Yongan suddenly realized and understood it instantly.

Zhu Liangzu was confused. What kind of child was the battalion commander? The eight-year-old child just now?

Since the other party didn't intend to let him know, Zhu Liangzu didn't bother himself. After receiving the order, he went to find Liao Yongzhong.

Zhu Liangzu is now 28 years old and Liao Yongzhong is 27. They are about the same age and should be able to get along well.

After Zhu Liangzu left, Liao Yongan started talking about the affairs of Chao County.

Jin Zhen's father, Jin Chaoxing, the original Ming Dynasty Xuan De Hou, was building a stronghold in the countryside of Chao County to protect himself. He was also willing to join the rebel army, but always felt that the Chaohu navy was unreliable.

But now that Lu Jin has led the Chaohu navy to emerge as a powerful force, Jin Chaoxing has different ideas.

Historically, in 1355, just before Zhu Yuanzhang was about to cross the river, Jin Chaoxing was in the same group as the Chaohu navy and defected to Zhu Yuanzhang as an independent. He was from Chao County, but had nothing to do with the Chaohu navy.

But now he was dragged into the water by Liao Yongan in advance, and promised that if he helped to capture Chao County, he would be given the rank of battalion commander of a thousand households.

This is what Lu Jin was talking about, the battalion commander who was vacant from the Third Regiment.

The conditions have been agreed upon, and even the families have been sent here. There is naturally no possibility that the traitor who broke into the city will turn against us. The time is ripe, Lu Jin said immediately.

"At present, Lu'an has been taken. In Luzhou, we have Zhu Shou and Yang Jing. In Liangxian, we have Zhu Liangzu. With tens of thousands of troops guarding us, our base is already stable. You can start the Chaoxian plan now.

"During the battle, you will be the commander-in-chief, and the Chaohu Navy will also be under your command. Let them cooperate with you.

"Brother Yu has already taken Lu'an. This is the first time you command the destruction of a city by yourself. Don't make a fool of yourself."

"Yes, I will definitely take Chao County." Liao Yongzhong agreed immediately. "Go ahead, once you start, don't delay. I have further plans. Don't let me get in the way in Chao County." Lu Jin nodded and instructed.

"Yes."

After Liao Yongan left, Lu Jin took out the information that Bao Yu had sent back and read it carefully.

Kang Maocai, 37 years old this year, was born in Qizhou Road, Jiangbei Province, Henan Province, later called Qichun. He was born into a gentry landlord family. He was married, but his wife died early and he had no children.

Historically, his son was born after he surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang and married a second wife. He is currently a single man.

This man was well-educated and knowledgeable about military affairs. At the beginning of this year, he gathered a "rebel army" in his hometown and formed a militia to help the court suppress the peasant uprising. Because of his meritorious service in suppressing the uprising, he was appointed an official by the court.

Seeing this, Lu Jin suddenly thought, who was Kang Maocai suppressing? Could it be Chen Youliang? Chen Youliang rebelled last year. Could this be how they knew each other?

Reading on, Kang Maocai understood naval warfare, and was therefore entrusted with important tasks by the court. He was appointed as the envoy of Huaixi and commander-in-chief, stationed in Heyang, Caishiji, Taipingfu, and Wuweizhou, leading an army of 18,000 soldiers and sailors to garrison Huaixi.

Among them, there were 12,000 land troops and 6,000 naval troops.

My goodness, as soon as you see this configuration and this garrison, you will know what Yuan Tingan is thinking.

Han Qinhu, a famous general of the Sui Dynasty, was appointed as the governor of Luzhou after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, which is the position where Lu Jin is sitting now.

Han Qinhu used Hefei as a base, trained his navy, attacked Caishiji directly, crossed the river to capture Nanjing, destroyed the Southern Chen regime, and captured Chen Shubao, the last emperor of the Chen Dynasty, alive. From then on, the Sui Dynasty unified the country, ending the division that began with the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China.

If Lu Jin knows it, do you think the Mongolian nobles in the Yuan court don’t know it?
They also knew what consequences would result from the appearance of rebels in Chaohu and the navy.

Jiangnan is the main source of grain for Dadu. If the rebels conquer Jiangnan, all the powerful people in Dadu will starve.

The Red Turban Army and the navy appeared in Chaohu Lake. Can we tolerate this? We must strike hard!
So when Miss Jinhua just started the rebellion, the court dispatched Kang Maocai, Zhu Liangzu, and Zuo Junbi from Luzhou to launch a heavy attack on Liao Yongan and his men until they were too afraid to even jump ashore.

That was not all. The Yuan court also sent Kang Maocai, who was good at water warfare, to take charge of river defense affairs and station him in Heyang, an important port city on the Yangtze River. Across the river from Heyang was Dangtu Caishiji, which was also Kang Maocai's defense area.

Not only did he occupy the important ports on both sides of the Yangtze River, he also sent a detachment to station in Wuwei, downstream of Chaohu Lake, and built a water fort at the mouth of Rushu River where Chaohu Lake enters the river. It was obvious that he was determined to defend the area to the death and not let the rebels cross the river.

Among them, Heyang has 7,000 land troops and 4,000 naval troops stationed, with the navy stationed in Hezhou Port. Wuwei has 3,000 land troops stationed, and Rushu River has 2,000 naval troops stationed. There are also 2,000 land troops stationed in Dangtu and Caishiji on the other side of the river, while the naval troops are all on this side of the river.

The military force is indeed not small, but it is too dispersed, and its main force is basically in Heyang.

There are 7,000 garrisons in a city, and 4,000 naval forces in the nearby port. It won't be a big problem if the naval forces don't go ashore.

But a city garrisoned by 7,000 people is not so easy to attack, so Lu Jin decided to use the old tactics and transfer the main force of the enemy troops out of the city to attack.

This time when Kang Maocai came out to ambush Zhao Pusheng, he brought 6,000 soldiers with him and only left 1,000 to defend the city. This was considered a full effort.

However, there are still two thousand troops in Dangtu across the river, who can be transported across the river by the navy at any time, so this must be taken into account when calculating the troop strength.

Be lenient with your enemy!

If we add another two thousand or nine thousand men, and leave one or two thousand men to guard the city, we can have seven or eight thousand troops available for mobile operations.

Seven or eight thousand people are really not a small number. If it was when he just traveled through time, Lu Jin would definitely not dare to move. But now it is different. He has five regiments and a navy of nearly 30,000 troops.

I can gather 20,000 men at a time to besiege your 7,000 or 8,000 men. With three times the strength, I don’t believe I can’t defeat you.

The key point is that Kang Mao had just been beaten and injured. He is now like a frightened bird. The difficult problem is how to lure him out and let him use his main force.

Lu Jin took out the map he had traced from the offline map on his phone and studied it carefully.

After looking at it for half an hour and deducing several options, I finally decided that Chao County was the key.

If you ask him to attack Luzhou directly, he doesn't have the courage to do so. Chao County is closest to Heyang and quite far away from Luzhou. It is possible that Kang Maocai will come to attack.

The key is to create an opportunity for him.

After thinking about it, Lu Jin suddenly thought of his own marriage. Could he make something of his marriage?
It stands to reason that it's normal for me to let my guard down on a wedding, a happy occasion. Will you take advantage of my wedding to beat me up?

No, Lu Jin doesn't have a wife yet. Not only does he not have a wife, he just beat up his brother-in-law. Is this the rhythm of chasing his wife to the crematorium?
(End of this chapter)