Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 30: A Step Up (Please Read)

After Lu Jin decided on the next plan, he immediately took action.

First send cavalry to report the victory to Liao Yongan in Luzhou, saying that the battle was over and they were on their way back, and asked him not to worry.

Then they called back the people from Dongsanshili Pavilion and asked them to help dig pits and bury the bodies of the government troops. Lu Jin and his men had to return to Luzhou as soon as possible and could not stay behind to deal with the aftermath.

The villagers were shocked to see Zhu Liangzu captured alive and the government troops annihilated. It had only been less than two days and Zhu Liangzu was defeated? !

The men who had previously clamored to join the army and rebel were even more excited, and they insisted on going with them to attack Luzhou right away.

There were also those who urged Lu Jin to fulfill his promise as soon as possible. They did not dare to ask for one stone of grain from each household, but they were very much looking forward to the abolition of the official usury of the court and the release of the slaves' relatives. It would be even better if Lu Jin could reduce some taxes for them.

Lu Jin could only comfort these people, and immediately clasped his fists and spoke loudly.

“My fellow countrymen, our army was able to win this time thanks to your help. I, Lu Jin, am a man of my words. I will definitely fulfill my promise.

"It's just that I don't have enough soldiers. Give me a few days. I will go back to Luzhou and mobilize a large army. I will definitely take Liu'an. Even Zhu Liangzu was captured alive by us. Are you still worried that I can't take Liu'an?"

"The General must come back!"

"General Lu, we will help you fight for Lu'an!"

"We are still waiting for the general to make decisions for us Han people. We must come back!"

The team gradually went away. Looking at the villagers who were still standing on the official road, reluctant to leave and looking out with their legs crossed, Zhu Liangzu, who was tied up, felt mixed emotions.

Yu Tingyu even sighed, "This is what the people want!"

Lu Jin said this while looking at the people whose bodies were covered with patches, standing barefoot on the official road, their eyes full of hope and expectation.

"The world has suffered from the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty for a long time!"

"This is called welcoming the royal army!" Yu Tonghai didn't have so many emotions. He just won a battle and was very happy, but at the same time he was puzzled.

"Brother Lu, we have six combat battalions here, and we have Zhu Liangzu and his family. It shouldn't be difficult to capture Lu'an, right? Why don't we attack Lu'an first, and then go back to attack Luzhou?"

Lu Jin glanced at him and asked, "It's easy to take it down, but how many battalions do you want to leave to defend the city? Hmm? How many soldiers do you need to be sure of defending Lu'an?"

"This..." Yu Tonghai was speechless for a moment.

Lu Jin then said, "If you leave four or five battalions behind and let me take one battalion back, will we still fight for Luzhou? Besides, Luzhou has been under siege for two or three days. The siege should not be prolonged, otherwise there may be accidents, which will also be bad for our army's morale.

"And the most crucial point is that if you want to attack the city, you are still missing one thing."

"What is it?" Liao Yongjian had been listening and couldn't help but ask.

"You'll know when we get there." Lu Jin kept it a secret and didn't say it directly.

What's the difference?

Of course, there is a lack of a clear leader!

Lu Jin led them to two great victories in succession and has accumulated enough prestige. In the current Chaohu navy, no matter whether it is the low-level soldiers or the generals, who dares to look down on Lu Jin?

Especially this time, Zhu Liangzu's main force was completely annihilated with zero casualties. What an incredible record! Who can be sure of achieving better results than Lu Jin?
Everyone in the Chaohu navy, from the bottom to the top, knows that only by following Lu Jin can they win the battle, and keep winning!

Now, they are about to have their own territory, and two cities at a time. Since there are two cities, they must garrison troops separately. Who will listen to whom then?
Before, there were few soldiers, so whenever everyone took action together, in principle they would discuss it together, and specifically whoever had the most ideas would be listened to. Lu Jin had the best ideas, and he could lead everyone to victory, so he was able to command the entire army as a thousand households.

But it’s different now that he has territory, he must go one step further!
Whether in name or in fact, he must be the leader of this army!

This is still a political consideration, and there are also military considerations.

No one had any experience in siege warfare, not even Lu Jin himself, so it was a good opportunity for everyone to gather together during the attack on Luzhou to broaden their horizons and learn from experience. In the words of the instructor, they were "learning war in war."

In addition, among the generals of Chaohu, who is capable of taking charge of defending one direction? In other words, who will be stationed in Lu'an in the future?
From Lu Jin's current perspective, they all seem to be unqualified. Some can lead troops in battle, but they can't make up their minds when faced with problems. Some have high emotional intelligence, but don't seem to be very good at fighting.

"The generals are still a little immature and lack talent!" Lu Jin said worriedly.

"Don't worry, General."

On a large ship outside Luzhou City, Liao Yongan had a confident smile on his face and a determined look in his eyes. When he saw every soldier, he would encourage them and tell them "We will win."

But few people noticed that Liao Yongan was actually the one who was most worried and concerned.

He was surrounded by only two combat battalions of soldiers and a newly surrendered Yin Congdao. The lack of troops and the instability of his teammates made him extremely anxious.

The war on Lu Jin's side also made him extremely worried. Zhu Liangzu was very powerful, even harder to fight than Zuo Junbi. Although Lu Jin was also very powerful, Liao Yongan's various speculations also made him full of confidence in Lu Jin.

But what if? What if Lu Jin loses?
In short, it's worry and all kinds of anxiety.

Only the new arrival, Zheng Yong, noticed Liao Yongan's anxiety from his frequently furrowed brows and his occasional glances to the west, and then he comforted him.

"General, you don't need to worry about General Lu. He was calm and composed when he planned to deal with Zuo Junbi before. This time, we have more sophisticated armor and equipment, as well as the experience from the last battle. With General Lu's meticulous planning, we will surely succeed in one fell swoop."

Liao Yongan nodded and forced a smile, "Brother Lu is a man of heaven and earth. Of course I trust him. We will definitely win!"

At this time, a fast horse suddenly came running on the official road in the west, with a rider shouting along the way on horseback. Wherever it passed, the Chaohu Red Scarfs besieging the city suddenly burst into fierce shouts, and the sound of "Ten Thousand Victories" was deafening!
"Great victory! Great victory! General Lu completely wiped out the main force of the Yuan army in Lu'an, captured the enemy general Zhu Liangzu alive, and our army suffered no casualties!"

Liao Yongan and Zheng Yong's eyes lit up when they heard this, and they quickly stopped the rider. "What did you say?"

"General Liao and General Lu led us to victory. We set up an ambush in Guanting Village and wiped out Zhu Liangzu's 3,000 main forces. The enemy general Zhu Liangzu was captured alive by us, and none of our troops were killed or injured.

"General Lu asked us to come back quickly to report the victory and tell everyone not to worry. He is leading the troops back and will be back in a day at the latest."

"Good good!"

call--

Liao Yongan said three good words in a row, and he heaved a sigh of relief. His spirits lifted, as if the heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart for two days had suddenly disappeared. He immediately waved his hand and said, "Spread this news to the entire army!"

The next moment, a roar like a tsunami erupted outside Luzhou City. The shouts of "Victory! Victory!" were higher and higher, and the defenders on the city wall were trembling with fear, wondering what those red scarves were doing.

Inside the Zuo family mansion, Zuo Junfu heard the noise outside the city and was immediately startled. He quickly asked Zhang Huan.

"Deputy Commander Zhang, have the Red Turbans begun to attack the city?"

Zhang Huan frowned and shook his head, "No, but just now someone outside the city seemed to come to report victory, and then there was the sound of soldiers roaring, maybe they won another victory somewhere else.

"At this time and in this place, there may be reinforcements from Zhu Liangzu."

Zhang Huan said this to himself and suddenly began to worry.

He realized that he had miscalculated. If he could think of asking for help, how could those red scarves outside the city not think of it?

They could even wipe out Zuo Junbi's 3,000 main forces in one bite, so even if Zhu Liangzu is more powerful, how powerful can he be?

The only two thousand defenders left in Luzhou City are all rookies. In the past two days, he has recruited more than a thousand people from the city. These people are even more incompetent. Relying on such an army to defend the city, if they learn that the reinforcements have been destroyed.

Zhang Huan didn't even dare to think about the consequences.
Zuo Junfu's face suddenly turned pale and he muttered.

"No, no, Zhu Liangzu is a man who dares to charge into the battle alone and take the enemy's head in the midst of thousands of troops. How could he be defeated? The Red Scarf outside the city must be deliberately bluffing to undermine the morale of our army!"

However, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to come.

The next morning, on the eighth day of the ninth month of the eleventh year of Zhizheng.

Lu Jin deliberately slowed down the marching speed for fear that the soldiers would be too tired. It took him two days to get back to the outskirts of Luzhou city.

This time they did not hide their bodies, but came from the west of Lu'an in a high-profile manner. In front of the team, there were thousands of captured soldiers tied together with ropes, and leading them was Zhu Liangzu himself.

The triumphant return of the main force once again aroused cheers from the entire army. For a time, outside Luzhou City, there were swords and guns like a forest, the sound of killing shook the sky, flags covered the sky, and morale was as high as a rainbow!
The defenders in the city were trembling with fear, and some of the newly recruited soldiers simply tried to desert and go home.

Yin Congdao also dragged Zhu Liangzu to the city. Zhu Liangzu felt so depressed that he closed his eyes and pretended that he heard nothing.

What can he do? He is helpless.

"Zhang Huan, look who this is? Is this the commander-in-chief of the reinforcements you've been waiting for? We've already sent you reinforcements, hahahaha, why don't you quickly open the city gates and lead your reinforcements in?"

Zhang Huan on the city wall had a pale face and his fingers were trembling slightly. What the hell was this fight about? If the enemy didn't attack the city today, who knows how many people would desert at night.

Outside Luzhou City, all the generals from Chaohu also gathered together. Liao Yongan, Zheng Yong, Zhang Wen, Zhu Shou, Yin Congdao and others all came to welcome Lu Jin with great joy.

"Brother Lu! You played well. I thought you would win, but I didn't expect you to win so beautifully."

"Haha, no big deal." Lu Jin waved his hand to indicate that it was not worth mentioning.

Liao Yongan was also very excited.

"Since the reinforcements have been destroyed, should we attack the city?"

Lu Jin nodded, then asked, "Are the siege equipment I want ready?"

"Everything is ready, just waiting for your order!"

Lu Jin nodded again and said, "Now the time is ripe. It is a good day to attack the city, but I have one more thing to say."

"What's the matter?" Everyone pricked up their ears.

"Have you heard the story of the former Song Dynasty's attack on Liao?" Lu Jin asked back.

"Did the former Song Dynasty also fight against the Liao Kingdom? Didn't it always be beaten by the Liao Kingdom?" Liao Yongan asked puzzledly.

"We did." Lu Jin explained, "There was a perfect opportunity to send troops. The Liao's main force was not there, and the city defenses were empty. The Song army even broke into the city of Beiping, which is now Dadu. It can be said that was the closest the Song Dynasty came to recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."

Everyone was quite surprised.

Yu Tingyu also frowned and said, "The former Song Dynasty also recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun? I haven't heard of it. It should have failed later, right?"

"Yes." Lu Jin nodded.

"Well, Peking has already been taken, how did they lose?" Everyone was puzzled.

"That's what I want to say." Lu Jin emphasized.

(End of this chapter)