Southern Ming Rebel Army

The next morning, the weather was fine and cloudless, and the flags of the Meng army fluttered in the wind. They were in neat formation and in high spirits, launching the first attack on Jiangning City. Although the preparations were not sufficient and the auxiliary troops only had time to build pontoon bridges and ladders, the Qing army obviously did not have much intention to defend the outer city.

At Meng Jun's command, the soldiers rushed to the city wall like a tide. It seemed to be just a simple exploratory attack, but the soldiers attacking the city still tried their best and did not dare to take it lightly. After all, even the commanders of both sides knew that the outer city was not the place for a decisive battle, but it was the soldiers who were attacking the city. If they were careless on the battlefield, the price they paid would be their own lives.

Soon, the vanguard of Meng's army rushed to the foot of the wall, set up a pontoon bridge, and placed ladders on the wall. The attacks from the city were sparse, but in just half an hour, Meng's army climbed up several city walls and fought with the Qing army stationed on the outer wall. Although the enemy was not numerous, they still caused some trouble to Meng's army.

However, the Qing army was short of manpower after all. After a fierce battle, the Meng army finally succeeded in opening the Yaohua Gate of the outer city. As the army poured into the city, although they encountered some small-scale resistance on the way into the city, overall, the losses were not great. In the end, the Meng army successfully occupied the outer wall, with less than 300 casualties.

Meng Jun had a solemn look on his face and issued strict military orders, prohibiting disturbance of civilians. Then the armies from various towns passed through the residential areas of the outer city and headed towards the inner city of Jiangning.

The people of Jiangning City closed their doors one after another, and used a lot of debris to prop up the doors. Through the closed doors and windows, many people carefully peeked out of the windows, watching the army entering Jiangning City, their eyes revealing fear of this army and panic about the situation. The army was like a long steel dragon, without any sense of disorder. They were dressed in uniform black armor and weapons shining with cold light, exuding a chilling aura.

Everyone in Meng’s army knew that the real war was about to begin. Wherever Meng’s army passed, there was order and no one was harmed. As the army arrived outside the Shen Ce Gate in the inner city of Jiangning,

Looking at the tall city walls, Meng Jun couldn't help but feel a headache, then he shook his head and ordered the army to station there and build equipment. However, it was inevitable that they would occupy civilian houses. Meng Jun ordered the clerks accompanying the army to register the houses where they were located, big and small, and stated that they would be given subsidies for reconstruction after the war.

However, during the process of demolishing houses and building camps, most residents fearfully accepted the orders, but there were still a small number of old men and women who refused to leave their homes and prevented Meng Jun from demolishing the houses, claiming that they would rather die in their homes.

Qian Biao was furious and ordered his personal guards to drag those resisting people out. Only under the threat of weapons and the clerk's guarantee of reconstruction did they leave crying.

As the auxiliary troops set up camp again, Meng Jun looked at Jiangning City with a thousand thoughts in his mind. If Jiangning City was captured by force, would the exhausted soldiers be able to defeat the invading Lekedehun tribe again, as well as Duoduo's tribe that was about to march south?

Although Meng's army defeated Bolo, the fighting power of the Eight Banners should not be underestimated. Although Meng Jun was unwilling to admit it, he was still wary of the Eight Banners in his heart. The Dashun Army, which once swept thousands of miles, was defeated in one battle with the Eight Banners. Some people might say that it was a sudden defeat due to the cooperation between Wu Sangui and the Qing army. However, as the Dashun Army withdrew to Shaanxi and fought with the Eight Banners, it was defeated six out of ten days. Can it be said that the fighting power of the Eight Banners was just water?

In addition, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, which was once built by the Ming Dynasty with all its national strength, has become a thing of the past and has lost its glory. They have all surrendered to the Qing court. Now, perhaps the Eight Banners that entered the Pass have been corrupted by the world of pleasure within the Pass after several years, but they are still disciplined. Almost most of the Eight Banners soldiers have several years or even more than ten years of combat experience, and there is also a talented leader like Dorgon. Within two years of entering the Pass, they almost conquered the whole country. These Eight Banners soldiers still have the pride of conquerors and would rather die than surrender.

Meng Jun naturally knew that after the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass, their combat effectiveness declined quickly. Without the bitter cold days outside the Pass, the glamorous world and prosperous place would naturally erode the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners. Dorgon and Duoduo did not seem to live long either. Although Meng Jun knew the general context of history and had knowledge beyond this era, as long as he dragged on and gave them time, Meng Jun was confident that he could recover the country again.

But the problem is, if Meng Jun does not take the initiative to attack and allows the Qing army to gather strength, how can he hold on until that time?

Meng Jun's mind was in turmoil, but he showed no expression on his face. He remained upright, staring at the inner city of Jiangning. The inner city was crowded with people and on high alert. There were a large number of fortifications outside the city and the city walls were high. A stormy attack would inevitably result in heavy casualties. Although the Lekedehun tribe had few Eight Banners, those in the Green Camp had been fighting with the army for a long time. If he attacked Jiangning by force, even if he captured it, it would be hard to predict the outcome of a tired army facing an invading enemy.

At this time, Yu An came to Meng Jun's side and whispered, "Commander-in-chief, General Shen has come to report."

Meng Jun took the military report and scanned it at a glance. The gist of the letter was that Shen Tingyang had defeated Geng Zhongming's navy. Due to insufficient gunpowder and weapons, Shen Tingyang had retreated to Jiangyin for rest, but he left small boats along the way to serve as the army's eyes and ears.

"Pass the order to the military meeting," Meng Jun said to Yu An beside him after reading the military report.

Yu An nodded, and led a team of personal guards to rush to the various towns.

Inside the Meng army’s tent.

A group of generals gathered in the tent, all in silence, each thinking about how to capture Jiangning City.

It was Bai Yongfu who spoke first, and said to Meng Jun in a deep voice: "Commander-in-chief, no matter what tactics we use, we must take down the Purple Mountain Camp. Once we take down the camp, we can directly deploy artillery there and bombard Jiangning City from a high position."

Meng Jun said to Zhang Bo: "Send the news of the defense of Jiangning City to all the generals."

Zhang Bo nodded, stood up, and handed the letter in his arms to Lin Shiqi in front of him.

Lin Shiqi unfolded it and found that the information was vague. It was just a general information about Hong Chengchou's defense deployment in Jiangning City. Ke Yongsheng's troops were stationed on Zijin Mountain. The exact number of people was unclear. However, when they were transferred to Jiangning, the number should have been less than 5,000. The exact number of troops was unknown.

There were generals of various levels in charge on each city wall, and there were also a large number of reserve troops behind the city. At this time, the famous generals in Jiangning City included Tian Xiong, Ma Degong, Gao Jinku, Yang Wulie, Lin Guangyuan, and the Eight Banners Commander Fulesheng.

After the generals read the intelligence, Qian Biao could not help but say, "Grand Commander, why don't we first capture Purple Mountain with all our strength and pull up the artillery? We will attack day and night and attack Taiping Gate. We will not stop fighting and will take turns attacking one battalion after another. We will definitely be able to take it down."

"The battlefield at Taiping Gate is not wide enough. Besides, if you continue to fight like this, at least 80% of the army will be killed," Bai Yongfu said with a cold snort.

Someone took the lead and all the generals began to discuss the matter. Wang Fugui suggested digging the city wall, Zhao Yongping suggested building an earthen platform under the city wall, and Lin Shiqi was frowning, as if there was no other better way except to storm it.

At this time, Meng Jun signaled everyone to be quiet. He had an idea in his mind. Meng Jun looked at the generals and said in a deep voice: "Dig the ground under the city and blow up the city with gunpowder!"