Southern Ming Rebel Army

Meng Jun sat in front of the window and held another military meeting during the day. The dispute over whether to hold on or to fight a decisive battle remained the same. In the end, Meng Jun got angry and forcibly interrupted the military meeting. After the generals left, Yang En said to Meng Jun solemnly that whether to fight or to defend should be decided as soon as possible. If it was delayed any further, the morale of the army would be unstable. Meng Jun also knew that dragging it on like this was not a solution, but he was also undecided now.

"Oh," Meng Jun sighed, then stood up, walked to the door, stopped several guards who wanted to follow him, and wanted to walk around alone.

The weather was clear and the moon was bright. The gentle breeze blew, and the leaves swayed slightly. Meng Jun walked casually outside the main tent for a while, looking at the densely packed tents in the camp. Only a team of patrol soldiers passed by from time to time, while the rest of the soldiers were all fast asleep. Meng Jun simply sat on a mat beside him, staring at the camp in a daze.

As for defense, although the walls of Suzhou are thick, Meng Jun is confident that he can defend the city. He is just afraid that the Qing army will not be able to capture the city after a long siege, dig deep trenches and lock the city. In that case, no matter how strong the city is, it cannot be defended and the food in the city will be eaten up. The Qing army besieging the city has no risk of food shortage, and the Qing soldiers are not fools. They will not give Meng Jun another chance to attack at night. However, if it comes to a decisive battle, the Meng army soldiers have never fought a big battle, and the outcome of this battle is unpredictable. Thousands of lives depend on Meng Jun's thoughts. Such a heavy burden depends on his own decision.

"In troubled times, life and death are commonplace. In the past, the Overlord of Chu fought a desperate battle and won nine battles in a row. Only then did he gain the prestige to rule the world. How can one achieve great things if he is timid? Now that we have come to this point today, let's fight a decisive battle. Life and death will depend on this one," Meng Jun muttered to himself.

The next morning, Meng Jun sat in the tent with dark circles under his eyes but in high spirits, and at the same time ordered all the generals to gather.

"Grand Commander, everyone is here," Gao Yi walked into the hall and said to Meng Jun.

"Gather the generals," Meng Jun said in a deep voice

After a while, the three generals in the army came to the tent. Meng Jun looked up and saw Meng Bizhi, Han Xiong, and Lin Shiqi. All three of them were wearing armor and looked majestic.

After seeing that everyone was gathered, Meng Jun was the first to speak, "I have decided to gather the army and attack Bai Yongfu directly."

After Meng Jun finished speaking, Han Xiong had a complicated expression, his lips slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Meng Jun's resolute eyes, he lowered his head. Lin Shiqi was in high spirits, looking eager to try, while Meng Bizhi had a worried look on his face, but he didn't say anything.

Seeing that no one objected, Meng Jun continued, "Today's discussion is where to fight the war."

The three of them looked at each other, and after a moment it was Lin Shiqi who spoke first, "Governor, in my opinion, we should fight outside Suzhou City. The enemy has come from afar, and our army is well-rested. A decisive battle outside the city will give us more advantages."

After listening to this, Han Xiong also said, "Since the Grand Commander has decided not to defend Su City, then a decisive battle under the city is naturally the best option."

"Our army is more familiar with the terrain of Suzhou, and we have the advantage of terrain." Meng Bizhi thought about it and agreed to have a decisive battle under the city of Suzhou.

After listening to this, Meng Jun stood up and said, "Then let's have the final battle outside Suzhou City. Gao Yi, bring us the map."

After a while, Gao Yi came in holding a map. Gao Yi unfolded the map and spread it in front of Meng Jun. Meng Jun looked at the map and said

"Come and take a look. What can we see standing so far away?" After hearing this, several people immediately gathered around and the four of them discussed the map.

"The open area west of Yangcheng Lake is suitable for the deployment of the army." Meng Jun looked at the densely packed river tributaries on the map, scratched his head, and could only find a location that was slightly suitable for the deployment of the army. This place is slightly narrow on the north and wide on the south, and the river is in an eight-shaped shape, which gives them a slight advantage. However, the presence of many rivers also has its advantages. The Qing army's cavalry advantage was infinitely reduced.

After looking at the map, Meng Jun said to the generals, "Let's go to the west of Yangcheng Lake to take a look at the terrain."

After about two hours, Meng Jun and his men arrived at the west side of Yangcheng Lake with dozens of cavalrymen. Their faces were covered with sweat and dust. Meng Jun raised his arm to wipe his face, took a breath and said, "The army will be lined up here. The east side is blocked by Yangcheng Lake, so there is no need to worry about the Qing army going around. There is a canal to the west, so the cavalry will have no place to use their skills here."

Lin Shiqi raised his hand to block the sunlight and said, "As long as the Eight Banners Cavalry can't charge, we can smash this hard bone into pieces even if we hit it."

Meng Bizhi narrowed his eyes, looked up at the sun and said, "General, it is best to start the battle in the afternoon. In the morning, the sun is slightly slanted towards us, and in the afternoon, the sunlight will turn towards the Qing army."

Meng Jun looked up at the sun and nodded, "Yes, Bizhi is right. As long as we can weaken the Qing army's fighting power, our army will have a better chance of winning. Let's go and take a look ahead."

……

A few days later, the vanguard of the Qing army had arrived in Wuxi, and the situation became increasingly tense. Some well-informed people in the city had already begun to flee the city for refuge. The price of grain in the city rose three times a day, and even opening the warehouses could not calm the situation down. Yang En was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He had already informed Meng Jun of the situation in the city, but Meng Jun had no time to take care of the city at the moment. As long as this battle was won, Suzhou City would naturally return to normal. But if they lost, Suzhou City would be in chaos again and it would have nothing to do with them. The soldiers in the army had all assembled, waiting for Meng Jun's order.

There were 30,000 soldiers from the three towns, 2,000 armored soldiers, 400 scout cavalry, and 20,000 auxiliary soldiers. This was all Meng Jun could muster.

Gao Yi opened the tent and said to Meng Jun, "General, the army has assembled outside the city."

Meng Jun nodded and walked out of the tent. Dozens of personal guards wearing iron armor and holding swords and spears were waiting beside him.

Seeing this, Meng Jun suddenly felt heroic, smiled slightly, waved his hand and said, "Let's go."

Outside Suzhou City, 50,000 troops have assembled and are deployed at the foot of the city. Meng Jun stands on a high platform, enumerating the ten major atrocities of the Qing army, giving speeches to the soldiers and unifying their thoughts.

"Since the Eastern Tartars started the rebellion in Liaodong, they have exhausted China's treasury. The cities in Northern Zhili were destroyed and the people were all looted. In Hebei, Shandong, and Huguang, they massacred the people. Their crimes are heinous and too numerous to list. How many people have been separated from their wives and children, and their families have been destroyed. If you think these things are too far away from you, then what about Yangzhou? What about Jiading? Are these places still far away? The Eastern Tartars are right before our eyes. What should we do?"

Tens of thousands of soldiers gathered under the city, but it was quiet. The expressions of the soldiers became more and more solemn. After a moment of silence, someone suddenly raised a spear and shouted "Drive out the Eastern Tartars".

"Drive out the Eastern Tartars, drive out the Eastern Tartars!" Tens of thousands of soldiers raised their weapons high, shouting in a huge and boiling voice.

"Let's go!" Meng Jun waved his hand vigorously and shouted loudly.