Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 63: Marshal Lu knows me? (Please read)
Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper looked at him again and then clasped his fists and said.

"So you are a private school teacher. Excuse me, who is this person to you?" The soldier pointed at Li Shanchang's entourage and asked.

"Oh, this is my neighbor's second brother Deng. He also came to Luzhou with me to find a job. We are traveling together."

As Li Shanchang introduced them, the attendant named Deng Er also nodded quickly.

The soldiers said this after seeing this.

"Then you may go in, but the city gates will be closed at 11:00 p.m. every day, and curfew will be imposed at 11:00 p.m. Every day, the military camp in the northwest of the city is not allowed to enter. You should pay attention to the time, and don't wander around the streets at that time and get caught and forced to do hard labor."

Li Shanchang immediately clasped his fists and thanked him, "Thank you, young general, for telling me."

After the two men entered the city, the soldier guarding the gate shook his head, and immediately other soldiers followed him in to report to their superiors.

The combination of Li Shanchang and these two people is too suspicious. The neighbor Deng Er looks like Li Shanchang's follower. Since Li Shanchang claims that his family is poor, how can he afford to support his followers? Isn't this a contradiction?

Besides, you are from Dingyuan, why do you travel all the way to a city occupied by rebels to make a living?
Suspicious, so suspicious!
The defense of Luzhou City was mainly under the charge of one regiment. Upon hearing the report from the gatekeepers, Zhang Liang, a captain from the auxiliary battalion, immediately perked up.

Lu Jin likes to send people to invade the city or send spies to collect intelligence. Luzhou is his base camp, so how could he not pay attention to anti-espionage?

Most of the people who go in and out of the city gate every day have a stable livelihood, such as those selling firewood or collecting manure. Most soldiers will have an impression of them. But the sudden arrival of a private school teacher from Dingyuan sounds very suspicious.

Zhang Liang immediately sent people to follow him and indeed found something wrong with Li Shanchang.

According to what he said, he came to Luzhou to find a job as a teacher, but he did not go to an inn to find a place to stay, nor did he ask a housekeeper about renting a house, nor did he ask where there were any academies or private schools.

Instead, he wandered around teahouses, restaurants, and food stalls. He also went to the government office to keep an eye out, looking inside constantly. His behavior was suspicious and he didn't look like a good person at first glance!

Zhang Liang immediately led his soldiers to surround them. When he found Li Shanchang again, the man was reading the notice to reassure the people that was posted when Lu Jin first entered the city. It had been posted for more than half a month and no one had read it. Li Shanchang standing there stood out.

Seeing the soldiers surrounding him and the malicious smile on Zhang Liang's face, Li Shanchang knew that he was exposed. It seemed that Marshal Lu's city defense was still tight. However, he was not panicked. He decided to make the best of it.

"Sir, have you come to the city to apply for a position as a private tutor? Have you found a job to make a living? Do you need my help to find a place for you to settle down?" Zhang Liang looked at him with a playful smile.

Li Shanchang also smiled and pointed to the notice on the wall.

"I am fine as a private tutor, but after reading the notice to pacify the people, I learned that Marshal Lu is recruiting wise and brave men. I am not talented, but although I cannot fight in the battlefield, I can do some paperwork. I want to recommend myself to the Marshal's Office. I wonder if this general can introduce me to you?"

"Oh? You still want to go to the Marshal's Mansion to make a living?"

Zhang Liang was a little surprised. He didn't expect Li Shanchang to answer like this.

Li Shanchang laughed again when he heard this, "Isn't it better to find a job in the Marshal's Office than to be a private tutor? If I can be appreciated by the Marshal and get a position, how can I compare with being a private tutor? Do you agree with me, General?"

After hearing this truth, Zhang Liang didn't know what to say. He looked him up and down and asked again.

"It's okay to introduce you, but you must have a name, right? Otherwise, how can I pass the message on for you?"

Li Shanchang then bowed and said, "I am Li Shanchang, with the courtesy name Baishi, from Dingyuan. I am somewhat versed in classics, history, and literature. I would like to recommend myself as a counselor to the shogunate. I hope the general will pass on my message."

Zhang Liang nodded, "Okay, then follow me."

When the group arrived outside the Marshal's Mansion, Zhang Liang went in to report, and Li Shanchang stroked his beard and looked around.

He had just wandered around the city, and had gained something. For example, there were two royal palaces in the city, but Lu Jin sealed up the palaces and lived in the government office himself. As soon as he entered Luzhou City, he began to build the city wall, as if he was ready to resist the counterattack of the Yuan court.

Such behavior can be regarded as a sobering act. Coupled with the propaganda slogans on the notice to reassure the people, such as "expel the Tartars, restore China, establish laws and disciplines, and save the people", it can also be seen that he has great ambitions and is indeed a hero, far from being comparable to characters like Xuzhou Sesame Li.

The most interesting thing is the political slogan proposed by Lu Jin, "expel the Tartars and save the people". It combines the righteousness of opposing the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty with the kindness of saving the people. However, when it comes to reality, it is basically empty words!
The reason why this slogan is so clever is that it is all empty talk!
Compared with the slogan of Liu Futong's army in the northwest, their slogan is "Three thousand tiger soldiers, straight to the land of Youyan; the dragon flies to the sky, reopening the sky of the Song Dynasty!"

Liu Futong's slogan has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that there are still many people who miss the Song Dynasty. The slogan of "Reopening the Song Dynasty" can indeed call on a large number of people to participate in the anti-Yuan movement.

The shortcoming was that he set the goal of "reaching the land of Youyan" from the beginning. It was normal to launch a Northern Expedition against the Yuan Dynasty, but he used the Northern Expedition as a political slogan.

In other words, as long as they put forward this slogan, they would have to keep fighting the Yuan Dynasty and would have basically no time to develop.

I want to stop and grow, but that's not possible, because your political slogan is the Northern Expedition. If you don't fight the Northern Expedition, why should I stay with you? I joined your rebel army just to fight the Northern Expedition with you.

As for Lu Jin's slogan, he only proposed to fight against the violent Yuan Dynasty. No matter how to fight, I was fighting against the Yuan Dynasty when I attacked Jiangnan. Of course, I would also march north to fight, but I didn't say when to go.

The advantage of empty words is that you can be more flexible in doing things without being bound by political slogans. Li Shanchang felt that the person who helped Lu Jin come up with this slogan was also a talent, and he must meet this expert when he goes in.

Marshal's Mansion, backyard.

Lu Jin is instructing the craftsmen to improve the looms. After all, the grain has been harvested, and it is not a big deal to always owe others machines.

When he heard the guards report that someone named Li Shanchang had recommended himself, a playful smile immediately appeared on his face.

Historically, Li Shanchang took the initiative to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang when he captured Dingyuan. Unexpectedly, this time, before he could even fight, Li Shanchang arrived first.

This was the man whom Zhu Yuanzhang commented on as "far better than Xiao He in terms of supplying food and fodder". He never let the front line lack food and fodder, but his death in the end was ridiculous.

Li Shanchang had retired and returned home to enjoy his old age, but Zhu Yuanzhang said that he knew about Hu Weiyong's rebellion but did not report it. It happened that the astronomical official of the Imperial Observatory said that the stars were changing and that an important official might fall. In order to "follow the stars", Zhu Yuanzhang killed Li Shanchang, who had already retired and returned home to enjoy his old age.
Lu Jin really couldn't understand what kind of threat an old man who had retired and returned home to enjoy his retirement could pose?
Moreover, after Li Shanchang's death, someone in the court submitted a memorial to Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that Li Shanchang was wronged. Your Majesty, think about it. He was granted the title of duke when he was alive, and was granted the title of king after his death. He was the prime minister, the highest position among officials. His son also married a princess and became a royal relative.

He had already obtained the highest honor except for being the emperor. You said he helped Hu Weiyong to rebel. What benefit could Hu Weiyong give him? Could Hu Weiyong give Li Shanchang more by becoming the emperor? What kind of benefit could make him give up his current status and help Hu Weiyong to rebel?
Interestingly, after receiving this memorial, Zhu Yuanzhang neither replied nor punished the person. This attitude is very interesting.

When Lu Jin thought of Li Shanchang running to recommend himself, he wanted to laugh. This man's ability was outstanding. Although he had some minor shortcomings, no one was perfect. However, whether he could win this man over depended on Lu Jin's performance, so he decided to pretend.

"Tell him to come in."

"Yes."

In less than a moment, Li Shanchang was brought in. Lu Jin didn't look at him at first, but was still watching the craftsman adjusting the loom.

Li Shanchang was also watching nearby. He had no idea what a rebel marshal like Lu Jin was doing with the craftsmen tinkering with the loom, but he did not say anything to disturb them.

When the craftsman finally threaded the shuttle, Lu Jin immediately said, "Try weaving it quickly."

The craftsman immediately sat on it and started to operate it, stepping on a pedal with each foot to control the lifting device of the warp thread, so that the two groups of warp threads A and B were stretched up and down alternately. With one hand he pushed the weft knife and with the other hand he pulled the rope and shook it left and right to control the shuttle to throw left and right.

A clicking sound was heard, and the craftsman suddenly shouted excitedly.

"The shuttle that the commander has modified is really amazing. It does not require manual shuttle insertion, and can at least increase production by three times. In the past, a woman could only weave ten feet at most from morning to night, but with this flying shuttle loom, she can weave at least three feet!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang looked at the loom in surprise, and then at Lu Jin. It turned out that the marshal was concerned about the people's livelihood and improving production, which was indeed a serious matter.

Lu Jin looked at the loom and nodded with satisfaction. Some people always say that the flying shuttle loom needs springs. There are indeed versions with springs, but there are also versions without springs. All you need to do is add two wooden poles on both sides of the flying shuttle track of the weft knife, and then hit the flying shuttle left and right under the control of the rope.

The principle is like two people each holding a baseball bat and hitting the ball. The shuttle is the baseball in the middle, which is hit and runs back and forth.

Lu Jin said immediately, "Only three times? You underestimate this shuttle. The significance of the shuttle is not only to increase the speed of throwing the shuttle, but also to free the hands from the width limit.

"That is to say, by simply widening the loom and using a flying shuttle, one person can weave a five-foot or even ten-foot wide piece of cloth, but the speed of weft insertion remains unchanged. If calculated based on the weaving area, the efficiency is at least increased by more than nine times.

"The common cloth on the market now is only two feet and two inches wide. To make a quilt, you need to stitch several pieces of cloth together. In the future, when we use this flying shuttle loom to weave cloth, there will be no seams in the middle of the quilt!"

"Your Excellency is worthy of being the descendant of Gongshu. Gongshu's mechanical skills are indeed well-deserved. They really make us, the descendants of carpenters, ashamed." The craftsman flattered hurriedly.

"Stop flattering me. This is just a technology verification machine. It still needs to be improved. Build a five-foot wide loom and use the flying shuttle. If there are no problems, all cotton and linen fabrics will be measured according to this size in the future." Lu Jin scolded.

"Yes."

After the craftsman carried the loom away, Lu Jin turned and looked at Li Shanchang.

"Mr. Li, you are so brave that you traveled hundreds of miles to my Luzhou to recommend yourself as a counselor? Do you want to give Dingyuan City to me?"

This time it was Li Shanchang's turn to be surprised. He looked at Lu Jin in disbelief and said, "The Marshal actually recognized me?"

Lu Jin looked mysterious and profound.

"I occupy Luzhou, and Dingyuan is right beside me, how can I ignore it? Dingyuan County Magistrate Li Xu, my brother Li Shanchang, Li Cunyi, such simple information, can't I find out? You underestimate me too much.

"Tell me, are you here to deliver a message for your brother? Or do you have some other intention? He is a county magistrate in an official position, so he must know that you are here to help the thieves, right?"

Li Shanchang felt a little embarrassed when he heard this. He didn't expect that Lu Jin would reveal his identity in an instant.

He had indeed underestimated Lu Jin before. He did not expect that Lu Jin had only occupied Luzhou for half a month and had already extended its tentacles to Dingyuan, and even got to know the family situations of the main officials of the county.

From the looks of it, who knows how many spies Lu Jin has lurked in Dingyuan City.
(End of this chapter)