Southern Ming Rebel Army

"I have decided to form a third town, named Kewu Town, and Han Xiong will be the commander. We must replenish the military equipment as soon as possible during these days, and the soldiers will be drawn from the auxiliary barracks again."

Meng Jun was sitting in front of the desk and spoke to Yang En who was sitting below. Yang En was sitting below and raised his head to look at Meng Jun after hearing it, but the pile of documents in front of the desk was too high, so Yang En could not see Meng Jun's expression.

"We are setting up a new town again. The military pay and food can be maintained, but there is a severe shortage of armor and officers," Yang En stopped writing.

"If the armor is incomplete, then we can slowly equip it. Let's set up the framework first, and let Han Xiong promote the officers himself," Meng Jun replied without raising his head after hearing Yang En's words.

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate for one person to have the power over personnel and military affairs?" Yang En said hesitantly after hearing this.

"Don't worry about these things in advance. The Qing army may launch a large-scale attack soon. Everything should be based on the overall situation. Besides, where can we find so many qualified officers?"

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief. Then I will arrange for the armory to count the equipment and prepare them in advance," Yang En nodded.

After a while, Yang En seemed to remember something and said, "By the way, Commander-in-Chief, how do we deal with the two Lieutenant Generals we captured earlier?"

"Commander-in-Chief? Oh, oh, those two people?" Meng Jun slapped his forehead. There were too many things to do and he forgot about those two people. "One is called Du Yonghe, and the other one is called what?"

"Grand Commander, the other one is called Guo Hu. These two have been detained for so long. What do you plan to do?"

"Gao Yi, come in," Meng Jun shouted towards the door.

"Grand Commander"

"Go and bring Du Yonghe and Guo Hu over here."

Gao Yi looked up at Meng Jun and asked in confusion, "Who are Guo Hu and Du Yonghe, and where are they?"

"They are the two lieutenant generals who defeated Li Chengdong that night. They are captured and are in prison," Yang En explained.

After listening to this, Gao Yi suddenly realized and said, "Yes, I'll go right away."

After a while, Du Yonghe and Guo Hu were brought to Meng Jun. They were dishevelled and filthy. It was hot in summer and they hadn't washed for a long time, so they gave off an unpleasant odor. When they saw Meng Jun, they looked a little aggrieved. Seeing this, Meng Jun said awkwardly, "Gao Yi will take you two to wash up and change into clean clothes. We'll meet again in the evening to talk in detail."

"This Gao Yi, he doesn't even know how to take them to wash up. How can we talk to him when he brings them here in this state?" Meng Jun rolled his eyes and said casually.

"How does the governor want to use them?" Yang En asked curiously.

"Let's take him with us to assist in military affairs first." Meng Jun thought for a moment and said, "After all, he is a veteran soldier for many years, so let's take him with us to see how it goes."

"Gao Yi..." Meng Jun just shouted outside and then remembered that Gao Yi was not around at this time. He went out with two surrendered generals. Meng Jun simply stood up and said to Yang En, "Mu De, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go out for a while."

Yang En immediately stood up, bowed to Meng Jun and said, "Governor, please make yourself at your convenience." Meng Jun nodded and walked out the door.

Since Gao Yi was not around, Meng Jun called a few familiar guards to guard him. He was supposed to go to the Military Equipment Supervision to see the craftsmen who were making cannons a few days ago, but he had never been there. Today he just happened to find some time to go and take a look.

Arriving at the Military Equipment Bureau, Meng Jun, under the guidance of Zhu Tu, met the cannon casting master. A strong man in his forties was squatting beside the furnace, looking at it, holding a piece of paper in his hand and calculating something. Several apprentices were pouring bronze into the furnace. The master looked back at Meng Jun, and seeing Zhu Tu standing beside him, he stood up and looked at Zhu Tu with a puzzled look.

Seeing this, Meng Jun asked, "Excuse me, sir, what is your name?"

"I don't deserve the title of Mr., my surname is Mi, and my given name is Shun." Mi Shun was a little flattered and quickly bent down to reply.

"Master Mi, how long does it take to cast a cannon?" Meng Jun asked directly.

"Normally it takes about three months to cast a cannon from scratch, but if you can make more molds, you can produce multiple cannons at once in three months."

Although Meng Jun was mentally prepared after hearing that it had been a long time, he still couldn't bear the disappointment. All things are difficult at the beginning, and this was the only way Meng Jun could comfort himself.

Meng Jun then asked Mi Shun about the production process in detail, and found out that it was a clay-cast cannon, and it was not an iron cannon, but a bronze cannon. After Meng Jun asked why the cannon was not cast with an iron cannon, Mi Shun explained that the iron cannon was too brittle and would explode after only a few shots. Although the bronze cannon was several times more expensive, it was more stable.

The so-called mud mold casting method is to use highly cooked clay to make a mold and then slowly dry it in the shade, or slowly bake it over charcoal fire. The mold making time is at least one month and at most three months, which is extremely time-consuming. Moreover, one mold can only be used for one cannon and cannot be reused. If the mold is not completely dry or the clay is not cooked, a defective product will be cast and the cannon will easily explode.

The cannon that Mi Shun had built had a barrel of six and a half feet (196 cm) and a range of five hundred steps. It weighed one thousand two hundred kilograms and anyone who was hit would die. There was no chance of survival. When Meng Jun asked him if he had a short-range cannon weighing four or five hundred kilograms that could be used in the field, Mi Shun scratched his head and said, "I have seen that kind of small cannon. I have never built one, but I should be able to make one if I try."

Finally, before leaving, Mi Shun assured that as long as there were enough materials, ten cannons could be produced in three months. However, there would definitely be some defective products that needed to be sent back for remaking, but based on Mi Shun's experience, the maximum loss would be 30%. Hearing this, Meng Jun nodded with satisfaction. Having seven cannons in three months would not be bad.

Meng Jun had just returned to the government office when he saw Zhang Bo sitting in the hall. As soon as Meng Jun stepped into the door, Zhang Bo stood up and bowed, saying, "Grand Commander."

When Meng Jun saw Zhang Bo, he was startled, but he still nodded and said to him, "Come to the study."

When he got to the study, Zhang Bo hurriedly said, "General, my father's best friend sent another secret letter, saying that Hong Chengchou opened the treasury in Jiangning and transported a large amount of money, grain and armor out of the city. At the same time, Bai Yongfu met with Hong Chengchou and the two talked for a long time. My father's best friend said frankly that Hong Chengchou would definitely come to attack Suzhou this time."

Hearing this, Meng Jun nodded and said, "Ji Kang (Zhang Bo's courtesy name), thank your father for me. The military intelligence you brought is very important."

Meng Jun felt a little ashamed. He set up an intelligence agency by himself and paid 30,000 taels of silver. However, he didn't get any news back. Not even gossip. The news he got was not as fast as that from Zhang Zhe's friend.

Meng Jun was not particularly surprised when he heard this. He knew that the Qing army would definitely come, but he had no idea what kind of person Bai Yongfu was. Thinking of this, Meng Jun said

"I have set up an intelligence agency to specifically investigate the movements of the Qing army in Jiangnan. However, the agency has just been established and there is a lot of work to be done. Bi'an doesn't know much about the gentry in various parts of Jiangnan. I would like to ask Ji Kang to help first. What do you think?" Meng Jun stood up and said to Zhang Bo sincerely.

"That's what I wish for. I would rather die than refuse," Zhang Bo said in a deep voice, bowing his hands.

"Okay, Ji Kang will temporarily serve as the deputy commander of the Intelligence Department. Intelligence is my eyes. With clairvoyance, fighting will be twice as effective with half the effort. I'll leave the layout of Jiangnan to Ji Kang." Meng Jun looked at Zhang Bo and said

"Yes, Grand Commander, I will do my best."