Southern Ming Rebel Army

The scouts of both sides have been fighting since they came into contact. The scale of the scout battles is small, but extremely frequent and brutal. Both sides want to spy on the other's military intelligence, but Meng Jun's scouts are no longer the same as when they were just formed.

In the past, the Qing army's scouts could easily block the battlefield. Now, although the Eight Banners' scouts had the advantage in the fighting, the battlefield was still tense. Lekedehun had no idea how Meng Jun arranged the battlefield.

On March 8th, we climbed Mount Wang at dawn. The rising sun shone with blazing light, bringing some warmth to the still cold spring day.

There was a great noise in the Zhou army camp. The army of the Six Garrisons surged out like a tide. The dense and huge army formation trampled the grass and ridges wherever it passed, as if they had been turned over by a huge plow.

The dense military formation was spectacular and shocking. The beautiful Jiangnan was shrouded in the shadow of war at this moment, filled with a murderous atmosphere. Meng Jun's army of the six towns, with a large number of Zhou-character flags fluttering in the wind, the morale of the towns was high and they couldn't wait to go into battle immediately.

In front of Mount Qixia, the Zhou army deployed their troops in a T-shaped formation, with Changlin Town in the center, Ningwu Town on the right, Wuning Town on the left, and Guwu, Wuan, and Wuxing Towns at the back, stacked like fish scales.

The heavy armored troops were in the center, a brigade of five thousand cavalrymen gathered at the left rear, and Meng Jun lined up two thousand musketeers at the front. He wanted to see what kind of results the flintlock muskets, which had taken so long to build, could achieve.

Just as the Zhou army was forming their battle array, the scouts of both sides in front of the formation began to test and fight each other. The scouts of both sides either fought one-on-one or shot at each other on horseback, just like the duels in ancient times.

The soldiers in the front row watched with great interest. When they saw the Qing soldiers fall off their horses, they roared with excitement. When the Zhou army scouts fell to the ground, they either cursed or sighed. However, the scouts fought for only a moment, until a large group of Eight Banners cavalry entered the battlefield. When the two sides could see each other, the scouts of both sides gradually lost contact, leaving only the ownerless horses at a loss on the battlefield.

Meng Jun was in the middle of the army. He had already had a huge platform built so that he could have a better view of the battlefield. Meng Jun was accompanied by Gu Yanwu, Xia Wanchun, and several personal guards. At this moment, he stood on the edge of the platform, gazing down at the battlefield ahead.

He raised a telescope in his hand and observed the Qing army's line in the distance through the lens. He saw that the Qing soldiers were in a tight formation, and the Green Camp soldiers were neatly arranged in front. The Qing army was divided into five formations, one after another.

Meng Jun noticed that in the center of the Qing army, there was a large group of cavalrymen in shining armor, which must be the Eight Banners of Manchuria, while the Mongolian cavalrymen were wandering around on the flanks.

Not only that, Meng Jun also discovered that the Qing army had also brought artillery, and the gunners were busy setting up the artillery positions. Meng Jun looked at the position and thought that the artillery on Qixia Mountain should be able to barely hit the Qing army's artillery positions.

Thinking of this, Meng Jun urgently ordered the artillery on Qixia Mountain to attack the Qing army's artillery. As the flags were waving, the flag messages were transmitted to Qixia Mountain like a beacon tower. A moment later, the Zhou army gunners on the mountain fired the first shot.

Rumbling cannon fire could be heard one after another. The smell of war was no longer strong, but had already begun. The sound of more than fifty cannons was deafening, exploding like thunder across the entire battlefield.

More than fifty projectiles were fired directly towards the Qing army's artillery formation from a high position, but due to the long distance, most of them fell into the Qing army's formation, and only a few hit the Qing army's artillery formation.

Lekedehun was shocked and stared at the mountains not far away. The bandits actually dug a mountain road to transport the artillery to a high place! At this moment, Babutai frowned and said anxiously: "My Lord, should we temporarily withdraw from the artillery range?"

Lekedehun hesitated, his eyes flickering. Just as he was hesitating, another roar came, as if the ground was shaking. Shells fell like raindrops, and dust suddenly rose around. After two rounds of bombardment, the Green Camp soldiers were a little panicked. From time to time, a Qing soldier shouted: "Why don't our cannons fire?"

Upon seeing this, Babutai advised again: "Prince, the two armies have not yet engaged in battle. It will be difficult to retreat if they do!" Lekedehun raised his hand and was about to order the soldiers to retreat hundreds of steps, but at this time Meng Jun on the opposite side had already started to act.

Woo…woo…woo!

The deep sound of the horn rolled in like thunder, echoing in the open field, as if it was the roar of the earth. At the same time, the passionate sound of the war drum also sounded like thunder, deafening.

The flags of the Zhou army fluttered in the wind. The armies of the three towns were like a surging torrent, slowly advancing forward in a V-shaped formation. Their morale was high and their faces were filled with firm determination.

Qian Biao stood in front of the battle formation. He was a burly man, and in his armor, he looked so mighty. He raised his spear high and shouted loudly to the army behind him: "Defeat the enemy army, capture Nandu, and let the king enter Nandu and ascend the throne!"

The generals beside Qian Biao responded loudly one after another. All of them knew the importance of this battle. They were eager to try and wanted to rush into the enemy camp immediately to establish immortal merits and earn wealth and honor for their families and the country.

The soldiers of Wuning Town shouted one after another: "Enter Nando, enter Nando!" The voice was so loud that the soldiers of the three towns all heard it and shouted in unison.

Lin Shiqi frowned. Qian Biao was talking nonsense all day long. This old mouth was really annoying. There were some things that could be done, so why did he brag like a loud speaker? Lin Shiqi shook his head and threw these trivial thoughts out of his mind. The battle in front of him was the most important.

The first blow is a great victory, the second is weak, and the third is exhaustion. Meng Jun knew this truth very well. Since he decided to fight the enemy, it meant that he was ready to go all out. Meng Jun was unwilling to stay on the defensive. After only two rounds of artillery fire, the Zhou army, inspired by the drums, took the lead in launching an attack. When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins! This is not only a belief, but also a manifestation of courage.

Leke Dehun was furious when he saw this and said, "I have fought dozens of battles and I have always fought whenever I wanted. How dare this thief be so arrogant that he dared to attack first and even wanted to enter Nandu. Pass on my order, beat the drums, and attack!"

The Qing army's drums also sounded, and the soldiers in the front camp began to move forward slowly. The two armies were about to engage in battle. As a gust of wind whistled past, it raised a cloud of dust, adding a bit of desolation and fighting spirit.