Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 9: Prepare for War
The next day.

Just as the Chaohu Red Army was thinking about how to deal with Zuo Junbi, Zuo Junbi in Luzhou City was also gearing up for a big fight.

In a mansion in the city, Zuo Junbi was looking at his subordinates, led by Ye Sheng, Zhang Huan, Jia Chou, Yin Congdao, the Four Vajras, and Zuo Junbi's brother Zuo Junfu.

"Yesterday I got the news that a man named Zhima Li in Xuzhou rebelled. On the tenth day of this month, eight people seized Xuzhou at night. Overnight, 100,000 soldiers were in the city. In a few days, they captured several surrounding prefectures and counties."

Everyone present was dumbfounded. It seemed outrageous no matter how they listened to it. How could eight people capture the city of Xuzhou with a population of hundreds of thousands?

However, when I think about the minor official Fan Meng who single-handedly wiped out several provincial military and political leaders more than ten years ago, it seems to make sense again. In this magical Yuan Dynasty, what is impossible?

"But the court wants to transfer us to suppress Zhima Li?" Ye Sheng asked immediately.

Zuo Junbi shook his head. "That's not the case. Sesame Li now has hundreds of thousands of mercenaries. What can we do with just a few thousand people? Liu Du's red army is also making a lot of noise now. I guess they will definitely need to transfer a large army from the court to fight against them."

"Then what are we called here for?" Jia Chou muttered in a low voice.

Zuo Junbi glared at him when he heard the voice, and Jia Chou was so scared that he quickly lowered his head.

As one of the few cavalry generals under Zuo Junbi, he had a total of two hundred armored cavalrymen. As a result, the day before yesterday, one of Jia Chou's cavalrymen suddenly disappeared. No one found him alive or dead, and his horse and armor were gone. It was not known whether he had deserted or was killed by the Red Turbans.

Jia Chou was worried about being punished, so he hasn't reported the matter to Zuo Junbi yet, for fear of bringing bad luck to him.

"I called you here to tell you about the news. It's not just Xuzhou. There's also news from the south. In Huangzhou Road, Huguang Province, some people have rebelled under the banner of the Red Turban. It's said that the leader is Peng Yingyu again."

As soon as these words came out, everyone couldn't help but want to complain.

"It's this monster again!"

"Why is he running around rebelling?"

Zuo Junbi was also annoyed. Peng Yingyu, a professional rebel, had started rebelling in Jiangxi ten years ago. After being suppressed by the court, he fled to the Jianghuai region under an assumed name and started the Chaohu Uprising right under his nose.

The rebel army in Chaohu had just been defeated by him and had shrunk into the lake, not daring to come out. But within a month, this monster went to Huguang and opened a new account. He really is addicted to rebellion!
The key point is that this guy incites rebellion everywhere, but he doesn't take the lead himself. Every time he instigates others to be the boss. What do you think he wants to achieve by rebelling?

It's a pity that it's too far away. The main forces of Xu Peng's Red Army are all operating south of the Dabie Mountains, and there are provinces in between. How could he, a small thousand households, have the right to send troops across provinces?

Otherwise, based on the three words "Peng Yingyu", as long as he can be caught, it is unknown how high an official position the court will give him.

Zuo Junbi wants to improve so much!
He gets angry when he talks about this. Last month, the Chaohu Red Army rebelled. Obviously, he was the genuine official army and the hereditary commander of a thousand households appointed by the court. But after the battle, Zhu Liangzu, the militia leader from Lu'an, was named the "Marshal of the Righteous Army".

There was also Kang Maocai from He County, who was also a militia leader, but was appointed as the Huaixi Envoy for his military merits.

On the other hand, Zuo Junbi was a Qian Hu before the Red Turban Rebellion and he was still a Qian Hu after the Red Turban Rebellion. Wasn't the Red Turban Rebellion fought in vain? !
Of course, it is also true that the Red Turbans in Chaohu were not completely wiped out.

This bunch of red-headed guys relied on their boats, and they would disappear into the water as long as he dared to lead his troops over. Chaohu Lake is hundreds of miles in radius, and his men are a bunch of landlubbers. He really has no patience with these guys, so he can only find a way to eliminate them on the shore.

This time the Huguang Red Turban Rebellion is an opportunity!
Thinking of this, Zuo Junbi said again.

“Although the rebels in Xuzhou and Huguang have nothing to do with us, this Chaohu navy was founded by Peng Yingyu’s apprentice. Now they are trapped in the lake and cannot get out. Their master is causing chaos in the south. We may let them come out to cause trouble again to support Monk Peng’s actions.

"They may go ashore to cause trouble again, or they may go south to seek refuge with Monk Peng. I am sure the Chaohu Red Turbans will make some moves recently."

Upon hearing this, everyone perked up and waited for Zuo Junbi's arrangements.

"Ye Sheng, send out more scouts and keep a close eye on them. If they dare to come ashore this time, we will kill them and burn all their boats."

"Yes, I obey your command." Ye Sheng immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"Jia Chou, stop causing trouble recently. There is no point in getting those heads. If you don't destroy the main force of the Chaohu Red Turbans and those leaders, you won't get any reward even if you take their heads.

"Gather all your soldiers. When the military order comes, you must be the first to charge!"

"Yes." Jia Chou also hurriedly accepted the order.

Zuo Junbi glanced at everyone at last and said, "Lead the soldiers for me during this period of time, so that you won't be unable to find anyone when I call upon you to go up." After saying that, he turned around and looked at his brothers.

"Jun Fu, don't sit idle either. From today on, urge those craftsmen to prepare more equipment for defending the city. When we go out, you have to look after the house for us. Don't wait for me to take the main force away and let those Red Scarves steal the city." "Don't worry, brother." Zuo Jun Fu patted his chest and promised.

"Of course I'm worried. That's a precious chariot that can defeat cavalry. How can we just leave it in the wild? What if someone picks it up?" Yu Tonghai said anxiously.

This boy and his father worked all night and just brought people from Zhangjiawa and Zhujiagang villages. Before the families were settled, he couldn't wait to urge Lu Jin to get the "tank" back.

The other generals from Chaohu had the same idea. Otherwise, they would still be somewhat afraid of just relying on the Mandarin Duck Formation. After all, they had never won a battle before. There was no other way, so Lu Jin could only take them to find a car.

Liao Yongan, Yu Tonghai, Zhao Zhongzhong and Zhang Wen, these four people, as representatives, rushed to work as laborers for Lu Jin. In fact, they just wanted to see the car. The four of them were carrying hoes, hatchets, axes, hemp ropes and other things, and looked like farmers who were going to chop wood together.

According to his memory, Lu Jin walked to the place where he met Zhu Sijiu, then turned west and headed towards Chaohu Lake.

Liao Yongan couldn't help but ask, "We still need to go west? Isn't this just going in circles?"

Lu Jin helplessly spread his hands, "I don't know how to go either, but I can remember the way I came here. As long as it is the road I have walked, I will definitely be able to find my way back along the way."

After all, the topography has changed a lot between modern times and ancient times, and Lu Jin is not a native of Hefei, so he can only use this stupid method.

"Brother Lu, what does your car look like?" Yu Tonghai asked curiously.

"Well, it has four big wheels, windows and doors on all four sides, and is painted black. There are chairs in the car and it can seat five people. It's something like that." Lu Jin didn't know whether they could imagine it, but they would know when they saw it.

Zhao Zhongzhong was also curious and asked, "But how can a car run on its own without using oxen and horses?"

This question is really hard to explain, so I'll just ask it back.

“Waterwheels don’t need oxen or horses, so how can they turn? Sailboats don’t need oxen or horses, so how can they run with sails?”

Liao Yongan was puzzled when he heard this, "Do we need to put a water truck on the car? But the car needs to be driven everywhere, where does the water come from? You can't put a mast and a sail on the car, it won't be able to move."

Lu Jin really admired their imagination and thought about it before speaking.

"Brother Yongan, have you ever seen a bellows that burns fire and blows air?"

"I've seen it. The blacksmith shop in the city uses that thing to make fire. It seems that by pushing and pulling the wooden pole, wind will come out. The fire in the furnace is blown very vigorously."

"That's it!" Lu Jin nodded. "Since the bellows can produce air by pushing and pulling the wooden pole, why not use it the other way around and blow air into it so that the wooden pole can be pushed and pulled automatically?"

Several people were stunned. "Is this even possible? Using bellows to push the cart? Can it be pushed?"

Zhang Wen was able to draw inferences from one example, "If one bellows can't move, why not install a few more?"

"Where does the air come from? You can't ask someone to hold a blowgun and blow air into it, wouldn't that be tiring?" Zhao Zhongzhong still couldn't figure it out.

Lu Jin continued to enlighten him, "Who says that only people can blow air? When you cook, does the pot emit hot steam? When you light a fire, does the fire also emit hot steam? Then if you put a stove on the cart and use a bamboo tube to guide the hot air into the bellows, can't you let the bellows replace the oxen and horses to pull the cart?"

"So that's it!" Everyone suddenly realized and were shocked by Lu Jin's imagination.

Lu Jin also secretly felt regretful. In fact, the technological level in ancient China was not low, and there was no shortage of skilled craftsmen. However, there were no professionals to study it, and there was a lack of systematic scientific theories. All of this was delayed by the Confucian idea of ​​strange and tricky skills.

Take the steam engine for example. The cylinder-piston structure appeared very early, such as the bellows, which is a reciprocating cylinder that can produce air by pushing or pulling. When it first appeared, it was more advanced than the one improved by Watt.

The connecting rod structure is even earlier and can be seen everywhere on waterwheel millstones. Unfortunately, no one has thought of combining these two structures and using them in reverse.

The five of them chatted and walked for about an hour. Finally, Lu Jin found a piece of Shuanghui King of Kings red plastic casing on the branch of a small tree.

"What is this?" Zhao Zhongzhong asked puzzledly.

"It's used to wrap sausages. I threw it here after eating. Now we're here."

After that, he led everyone through a woods and came to a lakeside beach with dense reeds. Sure enough, the black Tank 300 off-road vehicle was there!
“That’s my car!”

(End of this chapter)