Southern Ming Rebel Army

In the main camp, inside the central military tent.

Meng Jun spoke at this time: "History will remember this day. The Qing leader was captured alive and his troops were defeated. For the sake of victory, no matter how great the price... "Meng Jun's voice unconsciously became low when he spoke to the end.

Qian Biao said loudly: "Since you have become a soldier and have entered this battlefield, your life or death depends entirely on your luck."

The generals tried to comfort him, but Meng Jun waved his hand, signaling that they should stop talking. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "I know that fighting on the battlefield is the duty of a warrior. As a general, you are responsible for the safety of more than 100,000 troops! My wife, children, old and young are looking forward to their return. I am walking on thin ice and I am afraid that I will make a mistake. If so, the generals should tell me everything."

There was a silence in the tent for a while. After a while, Lin Shiqi broke the silence and said, "My king, we have gathered 30,000 surrendered soldiers. Yang Wulie and Gao Jinku also led more than 13,000 surrendered soldiers. How should we deal with such a large number of surrendered soldiers?"

Meng Jun nodded slightly, his eyes passed through the curtain of the tent, as if he could see the surrendered soldiers gathered outside the camp. His brows were furrowed, and it was obvious that this question had been lingering in his mind for a long time. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly said: "With so many people, in addition to Yang Wulie and Gao Jinku's troops, I propose to organize ten battalions of service troops, and each town will select meritorious soldiers to serve as grassroots officers of the service army."

At this time, Bai Yongfu said, "Will these surrendered troops be unstable? In my opinion, we need to keep a close eye on them."

After finishing speaking, Meng Jun thought for a moment and asked Xia Wanchun, "Where is Meng Bi'an?"

Xia Wanchun said: "Commander Meng is still in Suzhou"

"Send an order, ordering them to come quickly. Our army will only stay here for three days to reorganize the army. On March 11th, the entire army will march to Jiangning!" Meng Jun said in a deep voice.

Just as Meng Jun's army stayed at Dengwang Mountain to reorganize the troops and organize the surrendered troops, there were three shocks in Jiangning City a day. Ever since Lekedehun sent out his troops, Hong Chengchou had been uneasy, just as he felt in Songshan in the past. Until the scouts who were closely watching the battlefield came running to report the news of the army's defeat, Hong Chengchou felt like he was struck by lightning and collapsed to the ground.

As the defeated soldiers fled back to Jiangning City in an endless stream, this city that the Qing court had high hopes for and hoped would bring peace to the south of the Yangtze River was no longer peaceful. After Meng Jun withdrew from Jiangning City, the price of grain in the city began to fall, and shops gradually opened for business. However, when the news of the defeat came, the price of grain in the city changed every moment, and tripled in one day.

The streets and lanes of Jiangning City were no longer prosperous and bustling, but were replaced by a dead silence and gloom. The news that the army had been defeated and the Prince of Qing had been captured spread quickly to every corner like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, and people's hearts were filled with panic and anxiety.

At dawn, residents in the city began to whisper, and low voices of discussion could be heard from the streets from time to time. The vendors were not in the mood to do business and hurriedly closed their stalls, fearing that the next moment there would be chaos and disorder. The elderly sat silently in front of the door, looking into the distance, their faces full of sorrow. The chaos and disorder were coming again.

Rumors were spreading in the city. Some said that the enemy was about to break into the city, some said that there would be civil unrest in the city, some said that Hong Chengchou was preparing to surrender to Meng again, and some said that King Meng had issued an order that if they did not surrender, he would massacre the city of Jiangning. The rumors confused people's hearts, and Hong Chengchou could not stop them despite his repeated attempts to stop them.

As the evening approached, the atmosphere in the city became increasingly tense. The soldiers guarding the city looked nervous, and the frequency of patrols increased significantly. From time to time, the sound of metal colliding could be heard from the city walls, as the soldiers were reinforcing the fortifications. Only the occasional barking of dogs or the cries of children could be heard.

In such a tense atmosphere, Jiangning City fell into chaos. Shocking things happened every day, such as defeated soldiers looting property or hooligans setting fires in the streets. Everyone in the city was in danger, and those who fled the city to seek refuge poured in like a tide, even blocking the city gates.

When Babutai fled back to Jiangning, he received news on the way that the newly-appointed Prince Duolo Shuncheng was captured by Gao Jinku. Babutai was panicked and didn't know what to do. Facing Hong Chengchou's inquiry, Babutai just smiled bitterly and said, "The Green Camp has collapsed, and everything is over."

Hong Chengchou no longer had much hope of holding on to Jiangning. After Babutai returned to the city, Hong Chengchou urgently reported the critical situation in Jiangning to Beijing, but Hong Chengchou still cheered up and reorganized the city's defenses.

Hong Chengchou, wearing armor, shuttled on the city wall. His voice rang in the soldiers' ears, and he said with no doubt: "No matter what the battlefield ahead is like, Jiangning is a strong city, an important city. This governor has sent letters to various places to mobilize reinforcements. The court will also send troops to the south. We can only defend Jiangning to the death and wait for strong reinforcements. With the height and thickness of Jiangning City, the enemy will have no hope of breaking through the city!"

Hong Chengchou ordered to increase the frequency and scope of patrols to ensure that every corner of the city was under close surveillance to prevent any more enemy spies from attacking the city gates.

He opened the granaries, checked the food reserves, ensured the safety of water sources, and mobilized the people. He understood that the city could not be defended by the remaining troops alone. Hong Chengchou was well aware of the importance of defending the city's hearts. He ordered officials at all levels to publicize the solidity of the city's defense to the people and strictly prohibited rumors. If anyone spread rumors, the punishment would be beating at the lightest and beheading at the worst.

However, Hong Chengchou clearly felt that the enthusiasm of officials at all levels was not high. Those who had some connections did not seek to be transferred to other places, and those who did not have any connections would delay the orders of the Governor's Office as much as possible, and would only deal with it if it was really impossible. The people stopped talking about it on the surface, but they continued to talk about it behind their backs.

There were only 10,000 men under Lin Guangyuan's command in Jiangning City at that time, 3,000 local troops stationed in Jiangning, 1,000 guards of the governor, more than 4,000 men under Wu Tiao, a subordinate of Tian Xiong, more than 2,000 men under Babutai who retreated to Jiangning City, and more than 15,000 defeated soldiers including Ma Degong and Zhang Guoliang. However, the morale of these defeated soldiers was low, and less than 500 of the Eight Banners soldiers who went to the expedition returned alive.

Hong Chengchou was well aware of the difficulty of relying on only these people to defend Jiangning City against the Meng bandits who had just won a great victory and whose morale was high. However, despite facing such tremendous pressure and difficulties, Hong Chengchou did not retreat or give up. He still had one last confidence, which was the powerful Jiangning City.

On March 11, Meng Jun officially sent out his troops and beheaded a hundred surrendered soldiers from the Eight Banners to shock the military. The army moved forward in a rush, with dust flying and flags fluttering, blocking out the sky and the sun. The morale was high and the murderous intent was overwhelming. The army moved towards Jiangning City like a dark cloud pressing down on one's head.

Soon, the sentinels in Jiangning received an alarm about the approach of the Zhou army. This news instantly caused an uproar in the city, and the streets and alleys of the city were filled with anxious conversations. The vendors hurriedly packed up their goods, and every household closed their doors and windows. Even Hong Chengchou's repeated orders to ban rumors were useless.

The bells of Jiangning City rang rapidly. This was a signal for assembly and also a prelude to battle, because cavalry holding large flags with the word "Zhou" on them had already appeared at the foot of Jiangning's outer city.