Southern Ming Rebel Army

On a hillside outside Xiangcheng.

Meng Jun looked at the Eight Banners soldiers lined up in the distance. There were about four or five hundred Green Camp soldiers in front of the Eight Banners. The Eight Banners had fewer people, but looked extremely elite. There were only more than a hundred of them, exuding a bloodthirsty and fascinating aura. On the opposite side, nearly two thousand people were attacking the Qing army line in a disorderly manner. There were no more than a hundred armored men, and the rest were holding knives, spears or muskets, and some were holding kitchen knives, hoes, sickles, iron forks, etc. It seemed that these were villagers from various villages and townships who fought back under the organization of the gentry to resist the shaving of their heads and changing of clothes.

Although Meng Jun and others were standing a little far away from the battlefield, the smell of blood and the sulfur smell of gunpowder wafting from the battlefield kept entering Meng Jun's nostrils. The cruelty of the battlefield was suffocating. Meng Jun actually felt fear and a hint of excitement when looking at the battlefield.

"These people are so fearless of death, they don't care about their lives, tut tut tut," Song Jianping said as he looked at the battlefield.

"People do not fear death, so why scare them with death?" came the scholar's trembling voice.

Song Jianping and Lin Shiqi, who were standing nearby, looked at the scholar when they heard this, but the scholar was staring at the battlefield.

Meng Jun looked at the battlefield. Each of these villagers was fearless and no one retreated. However, this suicidal charge did not cause too many casualties to the Qing army. The Green Camp soldiers in the front row looked well-trained, while these village soldiers were just a mob. Their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the Qing army when they rushed to the front. In Meng Jun's opinion, these village soldiers were loyal and brave but had no strategy. However, looking at the flag of the Ming Dynasty among the village soldiers, Meng Jun's heart was inevitably agitated. It was not for the Ming Dynasty, but for that culture, the sense of glory and pride since the Han and Tang Dynasties. For thousands of years, who dared to force the Han people to shave their heads, change their clothes, and wear their hair loose on the left side? This was the greatest harm to this nation.

Less than half an hour later, the local soldiers were already unable to hold on, and the Eight Banners cavalry in the rear immediately seized the opportunity and rushed forward like an arrow from a bow. The Eight Banners soldiers slaughtered these local soldiers wantonly, and none of the villagers could stop them. They wailed in pain, and soon the Eight Banners cavalry plowed through the rebel army's line. The Eight Banners cavalry reorganized their formation and turned around to attack the rebel army again. This time, the rebel army immediately collapsed and fled in all directions.

"It's so vulnerable." The scholar frowned, and a desperate voice came from his ears with trembling pale lips.

Meng Jun felt a chill throughout his body as he looked at the battlefield. They were slaughtered so quickly. Only a hundred people escaped from the battlefield while the rest died. Those who were injured but not dead were all killed by the Green Camp soldiers. Life was so cheap at this time.

"The reputation of the Eight Banners is well-deserved. Even the elite border troops could not stop them, let alone the gathered masses of villagers," Meng Bizhi also said.

"It is unwise to use such a scattered mob to kill the elite cavalry of the Eight Banners," Lin Shiqi said coldly.

Hearing this, Meng Jun turned to Lin Shiqi and said, "Then in your opinion, how should these villagers deal with the Eight Banners Army?" Meng Jun took the opportunity to test Lin Shiqi's attitude towards the Qing Dynasty. Lin Shiqi was from the Guanning Army and did not follow Wu Sangui, but instead became a small captain of a local county soldier. There must be a reason for this.

"These local soldiers have no training, their armor is incomplete, and they are all supported by their own spirit. If they can rely on the strong city to defend, they can still hold on. However, there is no reinforcement in the rear, like a tree without roots, and they will eventually die." Lin Shiqi shook his head and said

Although Meng Jun knew that there were some things he could do but was powerless to do anything about, when he heard Lin Shiqi's words, he realized that he was right. Thinking about himself, he was silent and thoughtful for a while. Meng Jun looked west at the setting sun. The sunset was beautiful, but the devastated battlefield in the distance broke this beauty.

After Meng Jun and his men came down the mountain, they came to the baggage camp. Seeing these soldiers chatting and playing in groups of three or five, Meng Jun sighed. If the army was all like this, even if they were ten times stronger, they would not be able to defeat the attack of the Eight Banners Cavalry. Meng Jun would rather the local soldiers attack his baggage camp in a roundabout way. Meng Jun believed that with the performance of these soldiers, they would definitely flee. Meng Jun also tended to agree with the scholar's idea. However, at present, if he decided to rebel, these people would not support him. At most, they would be his confidants, and he would be a commander without troops. Meng Jun thought hard but had no idea. He could only sigh and curse in his heart, "It's really hard to fuck."

Da... Da... Da... Da... Da... Da, a series of horse hoof sounds came. It turned out that the messenger of the Eight Banners came again, still as domineering and arrogant, but after a bloodbath, this messenger was covered in blood, as if he had just been bathed in a bloody rain. The murderous aura on his body was chilling, and several soldiers in the surrounding camps were even frightened and stepped back. "Let me tell you that the rebellion ahead has been pacified, and you can continue to move forward." After saying this, he turned his horse and galloped away without even looking at Meng Jun.

"How arrogant and domineering!" Meng Jun turned his eyes and saw Lin Shiqi squinting at the direction where the Eight Banners soldiers left. Meng Jun looked at the backs of the Eight Banners soldiers who left in a hurry, and suddenly asked, "Captain Lin, you said that the Green Camp soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, so where are the Eight Banners soldiers?"

"The Eight Banners will surely plunder the countryside with the power of a great victory," Lin Shiqi said coldly. At this time, the scholar was shocked and said, "Will they plunder and slaughter the neighbors again?" After saying that, he turned to Meng Jun and said, "Sir, can you...save those people?" Meng Jun looked into the distance with a wry smile and then said loudly, "Captain Meng, the baggage camp is leaving."

The setting sun was blood-red. Meng Jun looked up at the sky, letting the hot summer wind dry his eyes, trying hard not to let others notice his loss of composure.

Ahead, more than a hundred Eight Banner soldiers were raping and looting in a village. At the entrance of the village, there were a dozen headless corpses lying in disorder. From the village came the wild howling of the Eight Banner soldiers and the wailing of women. The crying spread like wildfire...

Meng Jun, the scholar, Meng Bian, Meng Bizhi, Song Jianping, Lin Shiqi and the soldiers behind him all stared blankly at the tragic scene in the village. This was a scene that could not be described in any words. Only when you were there in person could you feel the possibility. Meng Jun's hands were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, but Meng Jun didn't notice it. He turned around and looked around, and everyone was filled with indignation.

At this time, the Eight Banners soldiers in the village saw Meng Jun and others in the distance, and soon they rode towards Meng Jun and others. After a while, the cavalry came to Meng Jun, without any extra nonsense, raised the whip, and whipped Lin Shiqi and Meng Jun twice, and then said, "Nikan, get out!"

Lin Shiqi looked at the scar on his face with a gloomy expression, and Meng Jun's expression was also very ugly. His face felt burning with pain, and he was even more furious inside.

At this time, the scholar said again, "Sir, let's rebel."