Lu Xiangsheng knew very well how difficult Zu Dashou was to deal with, and how hard Jinzhou would be to capture.
During the Battle of Daling River, how many troops had the Jianzhou forces mobilized? How long had they besieged the city before finally defeating Zu Dashou?
And now he was supposed to rush over with this tiny force and take Jinzhou in a surprise attack?
That sounded a bit… overly optimistic.
He hesitated.
Hu Dawei, however, clenched his fists.
"The blood feud of Instructor He must be avenged."
Lu Xiangsheng blinked.
"…What?"
Hu Dawei froze for a moment.
"Ah… right. I forgot you haven't read A Small Border Soldier at the Daling River."
Lu Xiangsheng looked puzzled.
"What is A Small Border Soldier at the Daling River?"
Hu Dawei scratched his head.
"A movie… uh… well, movies are not very convenient to watch. So instead I brought the novel version adapted from the film. Written personally by the famous author Sun Chuanting. Want to read it?"
Lu Xiangsheng had absolutely no interest in novels at the moment.
But the moment he heard the name Sun Chuanting, his interest rose immediately.
Sun Chuanting's essays were extremely famous in the court.
So he accepted the book.
On the cover were several bold characters:
"A Small Border Soldier at the Daling River."
Below that it said:
Adapted from the film of the same name. Authorized by Huahua World Celebrity Agency. Written by Sun Chuanting.
He flipped open the cover and saw the publisher.
Puzhou Publishing House.
A string of question marks spun slowly inside Lu Xiangsheng's head.
What exactly was going on with this book?
Why did it look so… official?
What movie? What celebrity agency? Why did a book need so many strange labels printed on the cover?
Still…
Since Sun Chuanting had written it, he might as well take a look.
So he opened it.
And within seconds he was pulled into the story.
Sun Chuanting's writing was excellent. The novel was vivid and gripping, and the story itself was based on real events.
The reading experience was intense.
When Lu Xiangsheng reached the part where Zu Dashou killed He Kegang, he became so furious that he nearly fell off his horse.
He roared in anger.
"Move out!"
"We march on Jinzhou and twist Zu Dashou's head off his neck."
Hu Dawei blinked.
"Lord Lu… just a moment ago you said Jinzhou would be difficult to attack. We only have six thousand men. That is not enough."
Lu Xiangsheng snorted.
"I do not care!"
"That two faced snake Zu Dashou must die."
He shouted twice.
Then he gradually calmed down.
The emotions from the novel slowly faded, and reality returned.
His voice lowered again.
"Zu Dashou may be despicable, but he is still one of the three great generals of Liaodong."
"Jinzhou has strong walls and many troops. It is not a place we can attack lightly."
"We must consider this carefully."
Hu Dawei secretly admired him.
As expected of Lord Lu. He could shout in anger one moment and regain calm rational judgment the next. That was the bearing of a true general.
Hu Dawei spoke quietly.
"Lord Lu, we do not actually have only six thousand soldiers."
Lu Xiangsheng looked over.
"Oh? Who else?"
Hu Dawei replied.
"We also have the coastal commander Cao Wenzhao."
"If he sends ships to transport us to Jinzhou, his troops can naturally join the battle as well."
"You are the Minister of War. You can simply order him to cooperate."
Lu Xiangsheng's spirits immediately lifted.
"Cao Wenzhao is one of the great generals of our age. With his help, our strength will increase considerably."
Hu Dawei continued.
"And once General Cao arrives, the garrison of Pi Island will surely join us as well."
Lu Xiangsheng gave a surprised sound.
"Wait… if that is the case…"
He quickly calculated in his head.
"Our total force could reach fifteen thousand men?"
"And Cao Wenzhao's Guanning cavalry, along with Shen Shikui's Pi Island garrison, are all battle hardened elite troops. They are far superior to the interior garrison soldiers."
Lu Xiangsheng's mind began racing.
Fifteen thousand soldiers.
His own three thousand Tianxiong Army were highly capable fighters.
Cao Wenzhao's Guanning cavalry were also famous.
If Shen Shikui's Pi Island troops joined them, that would be another powerful reinforcement.
The only slightly weaker force would be Hu Dawei's three thousand Shanxi soldiers.
But that was not a serious problem. They could simply stay close to the stronger units.
With this many troops…
If they launched a surprise attack, capturing Jinzhou might actually be possible.
At the very least, it was worth trying.
"Good!"
Lu Xiangsheng issued the order immediately.
"The entire army will march to Tianjin."
"Send a messenger to Cao Wenzhao. Tell him to dispatch ships to Tianjin Port to pick up our forces. We will travel by sea and launch a surprise attack on Jinzhou."
The messenger galloped off at full speed to notify the coastal commander Cao Wenzhao.
Officially, Cao Wenzhao claimed to be stationed with the navy at Dengzhou.
Meanwhile Lu Xiangsheng led his army toward Tianjin Port.
The distance from the capital to Tianjin was roughly three hundred li by land. The army marched for several days before finally arriving.
When they reached the harbor, Lu Xiangsheng looked out over the sea.
Not a single ship was visible.
His heart tightened slightly.
Would Cao Wenzhao actually obey the order?
These days many regional generals commanded their own armies and ignored court authority. Cao Wenzhao had always been fairly obedient, but who knew when someone might suddenly change their mind?
Just as he was thinking about these possibilities, Hu Dawei suddenly shouted.
"Lord Lu, look! General Cao's fleet has arrived!"
Lu Xiangsheng looked out over the sea again.
This time he saw it clearly.
A vast fleet of ships was approaching from the horizon.
The ships had actually been nearby earlier. But none of them had sails, so when Lu Xiangsheng glanced across the water before, he had assumed the sea was empty.
Now that he looked carefully, there were ships everywhere.
And they were enormous.
Even the smallest vessels were as large as the Ming navy's Cangshan ships.
The largest stretched more than twenty zhang in length.
Lu Xiangsheng stared in astonishment.
"Wait… Cao Wenzhao commands such a massive fleet?"
"And these ships are so large."
"Has the Ming navy really become this powerful? Why does the Minister of War know nothing about it?"
Hu Dawei coughed lightly.
"You only just took office recently. It is normal that there are things you do not yet know."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded slowly.
"That… is reasonable."
After all, he had been appointed Minister of War during a crisis. Only a few days after arriving in the capital he was already leading troops into battle again. He had never had time to study the situation of military forces across the empire.
The enormous fleet soon arrived before them.
On the deck of the leading ship stood two energetic generals.
Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, uncle and nephew.
They cupped their fists in greeting.
"Lord Lu!"
Back when Lu Xiangsheng had been suppressing rebel forces in Henan and Huguang, he had fought alongside the Cao family uncle and nephew. They had worked together to encircle roving rebels, so they were old comrades.
Lu Xiangsheng trusted them deeply.
He laughed and called out.
"General Cao, it has been a long time!"
"You are doing quite well as the coastal commander. Just look at this fleet of yours. The scale is incredible."
"These ships are enormous. Where did you get them?"
"And how can they sail without sails?"
Cao Wenzhao laughed.
"We captured them from the Westerners. The foreigners have all sorts of strange contraptions."
"Oh!"
Since they were captured from foreigners, Lu Xiangsheng did not ask further questions.
He waved his hand and ordered his troops to board the ships.
Three thousand Tianxiong Army soldiers began boarding.
Three thousand Shanxi troops followed.
The Tianxiong soldiers stepped onto the ships cautiously.
But the Shanxi soldiers…
They were exchanging glances with the Gao Village militia sailors aboard the ships.
Eyebrows raised.
Eyes flashing.
They looked like people who had just spotted long lost relatives.
They were only one step away from hugging each other on the spot.