Southern Ming Rebel Army

After the battle the day before, Meng Jun felt that burying gunpowder to blow up a city was also a technical job. The miners of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could blow up Jiangning City with one blast, but the city he blew up was as loud as a fart. Meng Jun thought carefully in the camp, was it because he didn't put enough gunpowder? Or did he not use a coffin to blow it up? Or was it because the gunpowder formula was wrong?

Meng Jun's head ached from thinking about it. He hated himself for not studying hard, not studying history seriously, not studying physics seriously. Now that he had traveled through time, it was time for him to use his knowledge. Meng Jun couldn't help but sigh, "You only regret not having enough knowledge when you need it."

At this time, Lin Shiqi walked in, saluted, and whispered: "Commander-in-chief, the troops are stationed in a strong city, and the army is short of gunpowder. Jiangning City is high and thick, and Hong Chengchou is determined to defend it. It will be difficult to break it overnight. It is better to withdraw the troops and wait for Lekedehun to attack. We will first defeat Lekedehun's troops and then besiege Jiangning City."

Meng Jun stood up upon hearing this, but did not respond. He had already used up all his strength in this battle, but even so, he still felt that he was powerless in attacking Jiangning City. Looking at the high city walls, not to mention that there were defenders shooting arrows and throwing logs and rocks, even if there was no one on the city walls, most people would probably tremble with fear while climbing the ladders.

Thinking of this, Meng Jun could not help but curse: "Zuo Liangyu deserves to die, Qian Qianyi deserves to be killed."

Lin Shiqi was stunned. Weren't they talking about withdrawing troops? Why did they mention Zuo Liangyu? Besides, Zuo Liangyu had died a long time ago. As for Qian Qianyi, if they could capture Jiangning City, they could just kill him.

Meng Jun sighed without explaining anything. He didn't know much about the troubles in the Southern Ming Dynasty before, but after coming to this world and reading some documents, these troubles were really infuriating.

To be honest, Meng Jun was a little hesitant. A strong attack would definitely not work. He tried to blow up the city wall, but it didn't collapse. He finally blew up the city gate, but the Qing army blocked the Jinchuan Gate. But if he retreated, it would dampen the morale of the soldiers.

Meng Jun sighed and said, "If we withdraw, we may hurt the morale of the army."

Lin Shiqi advised again: "General, this is better than standing still outside the city. Time is too urgent. Since we can't break the city, we must make a decisive move. If we delay for too long, I'm afraid..." Lin Shiqi stopped talking at the end, but Meng Jun knew his worries.

Meng Jun nodded and said, "Let's get ready first."

At this time, Lu Ping had just arrived outside the Meng army camp. He was covered in dust and was so tired that he could hardly walk. He saw a patrol soldier not far away and shouted, "Come here quickly, urgent military information!"

After a while, Zhang Bo brought Lu Ping to urgently ask to see Meng Jun. As soon as they entered the tent, Zhang Bo said, "Commander-in-chief, this person is a spy from Jiangning City, Lu Ping..."

"Is there any urgent news from inside the city?" Meng Jun was cheered up and asked hurriedly.

"Your Highness, Grand Commander, Lord Liu Guquan from the Intelligence Department has decided to launch a surprise attack on the Dinghuai Gate at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. If you agree, we can bombard the Shen Ce Gate in the afternoon and people in the city will know about it," Lu Ping said excitedly, although he looked tired.

Meng Jun frowned upon hearing this. This was simply impossible to achieve. "Nonsense! The number of spies sent into Jiangning City by the Probe Department is no more than a hundred, and many of them have no experience in battle formations. How can they break through Dinghuai Gate?"

"Commander-in-chief, Tian Xiong, the defender of Dinghuai Gate, is blinded by greed and has been selling quotas for entering the city. At the hour of Yin, there are only more than twenty soldiers guarding the city gate and only a handful of people on the city wall. If the army arrives in time, there is still hope of breaking into the city," Lu Ping explained to Meng Jun.

"There is a moat at Dinghuai Gate, how can we get through it?"

"To reply to the governor, the army did not surround the city on all sides. There is a small floating bridge outside Dinghuai Gate. The Qing army did not destroy it, but it is only two people wide and horses cannot run on it." Lu Ping had just walked past it last night and knew it well.

At this time, Lin Shiqi also said: "Governor, maybe you can give it a try."

Although Meng Jun knew that if he agreed, the safety of more than a hundred spies in the Intelligence Bureau would be in jeopardy, but he had experienced dozens of battles of varying sizes in the past three years, and countless soldiers had died on the battlefield. Meng Jun had already hardened his heart. He knew that if he could succeed, there would be no need for the bloody battle of Jiangning in the future, and countless soldiers could survive, and the army would not have to retreat. With Jiangning City as a base, the situation in the world would inevitably change drastically. If he failed, it would only be the lives of more than a hundred spies. What was more important!

Meng Jun thought about this and said in a deep voice: "Okay, since Liu Guquan has the courage, I agree to fire at Shen Ce Gate in the afternoon."

Since the decision has been made, Meng Jun summoned all the generals to discuss the matter. At the meeting, all the generals agreed that they could give it a try. Meng Jun then sent Huang Cheng's 1,000 cavalrymen to set off first, bypass Jiangning City, and sneak to the outside of Dinghuai Gate after nightfall tomorrow. Meng Jun ordered Qian Biao to lead the Wuning Town to bypass the outer city of Jiangning tomorrow night. If Huang Cheng can capture the city gate, then they will be able to hold out until Qian Biao arrives.

As the roar of artillery sounded outside the Shen Ce Gate, the spies who had been lurking nearby already knew that the Grand Commander had agreed, so the plan to capture the city could be put into action.

The next evening, Shopkeeper Fang looked at the fifteen people, feeling a little nervous but also a little excited. This was really a big business. It was just a little strange that all fifteen people were men. But Shopkeeper Fang didn't care. No matter whether they were men or women, even if they were dogs, as long as the money was in place, everything would be fine.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Shopkeeper Fang brought fifteen people secretly to a place not far from Dinghuai Gate. Shopkeeper Fang first stepped forward and talked to his cousin, but it was a little far away and the voices could not be heard clearly. It was not until Shopkeeper Fang waved his hand that Sun Qi and the other fifteen people began to run over quickly.

In the surrounding residential houses, Liu Guquan had gathered all the capable fighters from the Investigation Department, except for those who were unable to lift a knife, a total of seventy-three people.

As Sun Qi approached, the commander whispered, "Next time, leave the city in groups of five at most. A dozen people will make you too conspicuous. If you are discovered, you will be finished."

"Yes, yes, I understand," Shopkeeper Fang agreed quickly.

Seeing that they were approaching the city gate, Sun Qi ignored Manager Fang's look that was signaling them to go up to the city, and instead quickly took out a knife from his bosom and swung it towards Captain Fang.

Mr. Fang was caught off guard and was hit on the neck by a knife, killing him instantly. Shopkeeper Fang was so frightened that he stood there motionless.

The rest of the spies drew their swords and attacked the defenders. The Qing soldiers at the city gate were horrified, but still fought back and shouted loudly. The flashes of swords and the shouts of killing echoed in the night sky.

As soon as Sun Qi made a move, Liu Guquan and all the spies swarmed out. At once, they had a large number of people and gradually gained the upper hand. Sun Qi opened the city gate with a bloody face. Huang Cheng outside the city saw the city gate opened, and led the cavalry straight to the gate. When they reached the pontoon bridge, they jumped off their horses and rushed straight to the city gate on foot.

But just when Huang Cheng approached the city gate, the Qing army had already arrived to support him. A large number of Qing soldiers stood behind him, led by none other than Tian Xiong. Tian Xiong's face was distorted. A large group of Qing soldiers were crowding towards the city gate, and the Qing soldiers on the city wall were gradually gathering together!