Southern Ming Rebel Army

Outside Jiangning City, Bai Yongfu looked at the endless stream of supplies being transported to the camp, and a smile appeared on his face. His subordinate Wu Shunchang also smiled and said to Bai Yongfu, "Marshal, Nanjing is really rich. There are so many money and food. We have never been so rich before."

"It's called Jiangning now. Don't mention the word Nanjing anymore. Besides, this little money is nothing. Only when you conquer Suzhou can you be called rich," Bai Yongfu corrected casually.

"Yes, Marshal, I was wrong," Wu Shunchang said with a smile on his face.

"Let everyone get ready. The army will set out tomorrow. Liang Heming and your unit will be the vanguard. The rear camp will stay to receive the remaining supplies. The rest of the army will set out from Suzhou," Bai Yongfu said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Marshal," the generals around him bowed and shouted.

The next day, in the Qing army camp, Bai Yongfu's troops had already assembled. Outside the camp, there was a crowd of people, and the whole field was filled with Qing soldiers holding guns and swords. The cavalry had already attacked in advance to clear the way for the army.

Bai Yongfu looked at the huge army, his heart full of pride, and said loudly to the generals beside him, "After we capture Suzhou, you can take all the money, food, and beauties in the city as you like, hahahaha"

Just as Bai Yongfu finished speaking and his laughter had not yet stopped, he heard the voice of his subordinate Wu Shunchang, "Marshal, that Jiala Ezhen Funi is here!"

Bai Yongfu stopped laughing all of a sudden and looked carefully. In the distance, a group of flag soldiers on war horses were galloping towards them.

At first glance, Fu Ni is a veteran general. He exudes a fierce aura. The flag bearers behind him are all brave soldiers. Their surging momentum is a world apart from the Green Camp soldiers under Bai Yongfu.

As soon as Fu Ni saw Bai Yongfu, he acted like a general and gave him orders. He spoke in a bird-like voice and showed a cruel smile. Fu Ni was a pure Manchu Eight Banners, so he spoke Manchu. After Fu Ni finished speaking, a bannerman beside him stood up and translated Fu Ni's instructions word by word.

"Meng Jun, this barbarian, dared to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. I must capture him alive, kill all his nine clans, and execute him by slow slicing. I will slaughter everyone in Suzhou. I want to see if there is any other barbarian who dares to rebel."

Bai Yongfu and the other generals all showed an unnatural look after hearing this. Bai Yongfu couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. What did he mean by talking about massacring the city? Although he was the main general, was he trying to compete with him for the right to speak?

The Qing army's large-scale deployment could not be concealed from the gentry of Jiangning. Some gentry who missed their homeland secretly passed the information on, and the Qing army's actions would soon reach Meng Jun's ears.

…………

Outside the city of Suzhou, on the parade ground, Meng Jun and his generals were conducting an experiment.

Meng Jun said to the generals, "Since the Chongzhen period, the government army has been defeated time and time again in battles with the Eastern Tartars. The armor seized from the Eastern Tartars is enough to equip the entire Eight Banners. What's more, the Eight Banners have now swept across the north. The armor of the Eight Banners is sophisticated. The Eight Banners are now generally equipped with iron armor and cotton armor. When the weather is cold, they also wear a battle jacket." After Meng Jun finished speaking, he asked a soldier to put an Eight Banners iron armor on the wooden man.

Han Xiong frowned and asked, "Are all the Eight Banners soldiers wearing iron armor? Wouldn't that make them invulnerable to arrows, swords and spears?"

Meng Jun waved his hand and said, "That's not the case. Let's give it a try."

I saw a group of soldiers standing on one side, holding bows, muskets, swords, and spears. Yu Youtian was also standing at the back of the queue at this moment. Yu Youtian was holding a musket. The musket was in the last test, but Yu Youtian was a little nervous and kept reciting the process of musket shooting.

Soon, the archers had finished shooting, a total of three rounds. The observing soldier ran over to report, "The arrows failed to penetrate the defense at 50 steps, and the arrows were deflected. At 30 steps, the armor was slightly damaged. At 10 steps, the armor was broken, penetrating one inch, causing minor injuries."

The rest of the equipment was also tested one by one. "The waist knife cannot penetrate the defense, and the armor is slightly damaged."

"The spear cannot penetrate the defense, and the armor is slightly damaged."

"Musketeers, move forward and fire," an officer shouted to Yu Youtian.

Yu Youtian swallowed his saliva, walked to the designated line, picked up the musket, and began to load it according to the procedure. When everything was ready, Yu Youtian raised the musket, aimed at the wooden man, pulled the trigger, and there was a "bang" sound. The armor fifty steps away moved in response.

The observer checked the armor and shouted, "Fifty steps, the musket cannot penetrate the armor, and there are bullet holes in the armor."

"30 steps to keep trying"

Yu Youtian walked to the second line and reloaded. After a moment, Yu Youtian pulled the trigger again.

"Thirty steps, the musket breaks the armor, causing fatal injuries"

After hearing the inspection results, all the generals frowned. Han Xiong was a little shocked and said, "Only fire guns can penetrate armor. Archers at a distance of ten steps would already be close to the face. It's too close."

"If bows and arrows can't penetrate armor, then we should manufacture firearms and use blunt instruments to smash them." Meng Jun's face was not good. The production of firearms was insufficient to meet military needs. Meng Jun continued, "Zhu Tu, since the production of firearms cannot be increased, the Military Equipment Supervisor must vigorously manufacture blunt instruments, such as maces, bone clubs, and long axes, to meet the equipment needs of the heavy armor battalion as soon as possible."

Zhu Tu nodded and said, "I obey your orders. The Military Equipment Supervisor will do his best to make these blunt weapons. They are easy to make and will be ready soon."

Meng Jun’s idea now is to create weapons that can penetrate armor and at the same time improve the army’s defense.

"Huang Cheng, the scouts must keep a close eye. The sooner we can find out the movements of the Qing army, the sooner we can prepare," Meng Jun instructed the scout captain Huang Cheng.

"Yes, the governor," Huang Cheng replied in a low voice.

At this time, Meng Bian hurriedly squeezed in from the side, came to Meng Jun's side, and whispered something into Meng Jun's ear. After speaking, Meng Bian took a step back and stood beside Meng Jun. After Meng Jun stopped, there was no change on his face.

At this moment, there was a muffled thunder in the sky, and a loud bang came without any warning.

Meng Jun couldn't help but look up at the sky. It was covered with dark clouds. Suddenly, raindrops began to fall. Meng Jun stretched out his hand to catch the raindrops and murmured, "The weather has changed. A fierce battle is about to begin."

"Grand Commander, it's time to go." Meng Bian looked at the rain which was getting heavier and heavier, stretched out his hand to block the rain for Meng Jun, and hurriedly urged Meng Jun.

Meng Jun pushed away Meng Bian's hand that was shielding him from the rain and said softly, "Let's go back to the camp."