Southern Ming Rebel Army

As Meng Jun was busy preparing for war, time passed day by day. Meng Jun and everyone had prepared everything they could think of. One day, when Meng Jun was patrolling the top of the city as usual, a rider came galloping from the bottom of the city. Meng Jun's heart tightened when he saw this, but then he relaxed again. What is coming will come. Meng Jun went down the tower and the scout took a breath and said, "Report to the governor, fifty miles away from the east city, we found Qing scouts. Several of us brothers went around to the hillside next to us and looked from a high place. The Qing army is about 20,000 people."

"Send the order, gather all the generals, all captains and above, to participate," Meng Jun ordered Gao Yi.

"Your Majesty," Gao Yi said with a fist salute.

After returning to the prefectural hall, more than a dozen generals arrived one after another. Meng Jun looked at them one by one and saw Meng Bizhi, Lin Shiqi, Yang Gan, Xu Biao, some newly promoted brave men, Wang Defu, Zhang Shun, Qian Biao, Zhang Bo, Wu Tai, and some scholars from the Governor's Office were all present.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Meng Jun looked at them and said, "Since the Liao incident, the Eastern Tartars have massacred millions of Liao people. During the Chongzhen period, the Eastern Tartars invaded northern Zhili, Shandong and other places several times. Wherever they passed, the people were looted. Just a few months ago, Yangzhou and Jiading were massacred. Now the murderous Li Chengdong is about to come to Suzhou. If we can't defend Suzhou, then Suzhou will fall into hell. Although Suzhou is strong, we must not relax at all. We also have reinforcements outside. Officer Han is gathering the rebels outside the city, and Yang En is contacting Prince Lu. Although the Qing troops are heavily pressing on the border, as long as we defend Suzhou, the world will pay attention to us. A single call from a high place will attract the attention of thousands of people. The Eastern Tartars will no longer be able to fight enough in the south of the Yangtze River. We can take half of the country in one fell swoop. Only when the Cangjiang River flows can the true qualities of a hero be revealed." Meng Jun encouraged everyone.

After an inspiring meeting and detailed arrangements for the guard positions of each general, Meng Jun came to the east city wall and watched the Qing army slowly approaching.

The army was approaching, and everywhere you looked, there was a blood-red color. The Qing soldiers' hats were piled up one after another, spreading like a sea of blood. Some of the new recruits on the city walls turned pale, and an atmosphere of panic filled the entire army. Seeing this, Meng Jun took off his shirt and personally beat the drum to boost morale.

"Dong Dong Dong...Dong Dong Dong" the drum beats spread throughout the city, and the soldiers shouted "Hu...Ha, Hu...Ha" for a while, and the shouts shook the sky. Everyone on the city wall was excited, and morale began to recover. Although the morale of the rebel soldiers gradually recovered, they were facing the invincible Qing army after all, and everyone felt a little insecure. It was strange that these Qing army green camps were very weak when they were the Ming army, but after changing their skin, their combat effectiveness soared.

Watching the Qing army setting up camp in an orderly manner under the city, and looking down from the top of the city, the Qing army in the distance was crawling like ants, with more than ten thousand people, endless. This was the first time Meng Jun had seen such a scene, and he couldn't help feeling a little hesitant in his heart, but on the surface, Meng Jun still had a firm look on his face. At this time, there were four or five riders in the Qing army camp galloping towards Suzhou City.

"Those who open the city and surrender will be spared, and those who refuse to surrender will be beheaded after the city is captured." After saying this, several cavalrymen turned their horses and returned to the Qing army camp without waiting for any reaction from the people on the city wall.

Standing on the ancient city wall of Suzhou, feeling the breath of dusk, Meng Jun suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if he was in a fantasy. Touching the blue bricks on the top of the city and feeling the breath of the battlefield, Meng Jun came to his senses. He was already a player in the game, he was in history. What was recorded in the book was different from the reality. The book was cold. Who died for the country, who hanged himself, and who died in battle when the city was breached? These people might be beside Meng Jun, and they might be looking at Meng Jun at this moment.

Since the Mongolian cavalry drank water from the Yangtze River, more than 300 years later, the iron hooves of the Qing army once again came to the south of the Yangtze River. Nandu surrendered without a fight, and hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly became accomplices of the Eastern Tartars. Dorgon thought that the world was settled, and brazenly issued an order to shave the hair. For the sake of national heritage and pride, countless people in the south of the Yangtze River rose up to resist.

The north is now extremely devastated. If the Qing army completely controls Jiangnan, and with the financial and material resources of Jiangnan, the Qing army will sweep across the world as in history. Meng Jun is determined to turn Jiangnan into a scorched earth, and never let the Qing army easily get this land of fish and rice. Let all this start from Suzhou.

......

After returning to the government office, Meng Jun issued a notice to reassure the people, telling them that the Qing army led by Li Chengdong, who was slaughtering people everywhere, was coming to attack Suzhou, and that he would absolutely defend Suzhou and would never surrender. Meng Jun also asked the propaganda team to publicize the atrocities of the Qing army everywhere in the city, calling on everyone to actively join the militia.

"Bi'an, I'll send a team to you. You patrol the city and arrest any suspicious people first. Ensure the stability of the city. At the same time, declare a curfew and organize militia reserves in each city." Meng Jun arranged everything in an orderly manner.

There were only about twenty cannons on each wall of Suzhou City. The Suzhou City Wall was nearly thirty miles long, but there were only a hundred cannons, most of which were made in the Ming Dynasty. The oldest could be Meng Jun's great-grandfather. At the same time, the arrows in the city were also carried to the top of the city in bundles. Rolling logs, stones, and shields were all arranged in place. Meng Jun and the others had done everything they could think of. Everything would be revealed when the Qing army attacked the city.

Inside the Qing army camp, Li Chengdong looked at Suzhou City. The drumbeats and soldiers' shouts from the top of Suzhou City made Li Chengdong feel a little uneasy. He realized that there might not be many elite soldiers in the city, but the soldiers' morale was very high and the city was well defended. Perhaps it would not be easy for him to take Suzhou City.

Li Chengdong was discussing with his generals in the camp at this moment, and decided to attack the city immediately tomorrow. Hao Shangjiu's 3,000 troops would attack in the vanguard, and there were many new soldiers in the city, so they would try to capture Suzhou City in one day. After the discussion, the generals dispersed, and Li Chengdong kept Li Yuanyin.

"Father has received news that a group of bannermen from Nanjing will come to Suzhou in two or three days. The leader is called Fu Ni, and he was sent by Beile Bolo to Suzhou to supervise the army," Li Chengdong said meaningfully to Li Yuanyin.

"What are the flag soldiers doing here?" Li Yuanyin asked in confusion

"If we take over Suzhou City, we will be watched by others, and most of the money and food in the city will be gone," Li Chengdong said in annoyance.

"Don't worry, foster father. How can a mere team of flag soldiers cause any trouble? If they piss us off, it will be easy for us to find a chance to kill them," Li Yuanyin said disdainfully.

Listening to his adopted son's words, Li Chengdong said angrily, "Am I worried about that team of flag soldiers? What's the point of killing them? Don't cause me trouble, go away."

After watching Li Yuanyin leave, Li Chengdong could only hope that Suzhou City could be captured within three days. In this way, he would have the final say on how much money there was in Suzhou City.

Li Yuanyin came out of the tent and sighed. In fact, he had always been against Li Chengdong's surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but his adoptive father did not listen to him and he could do nothing about it. Li Chengdong had been very kind to him and he could only follow him to the end.