Southern Ming Rebel Army

Bai Yongfu retreated back to the camp, looking at the huge Yangcheng Lake with a gloomy face and unable to speak for a long time. He had lost this battle so miserably.

After returning to the camp for a while, Bai Yongfu sent out cavalry to gather the remnants of the defeated army. By dusk, less than 20,000 people returned to the camp. Bai Yongfu roughly counted the number of people. Almost half of the 50,000-strong army was lost, most of the weapons were abandoned, and his own ten precious artillery pieces were also gone. This almost made him suffocate. In addition to those who died in battle and were captured, there were still many scattered soldiers scattered around the field, and they could only wait for them to be slowly gathered.

After resting for half a day, the Meng army's cavalry scouts slowly and carefully moved towards the Qing army camp for reconnaissance. The Meng army soldiers also rested for half a day and recovered some of their strength. Teams of soldiers left the camp, cleaned up the battlefield, and harvested the heads of the Qing army.

Not long after, scouts reported that the Qing army had withdrawn to the main camp, and the defeated Qing troops were scattered in the countryside. The Qing troops in the main camp were temporarily silent. Only when the scouts were too close would they send out cavalry to drive them away.

After hearing the news, Meng Jun finally felt relieved. Feeling tired, he returned to the tent, lay down on the camp bed, and fell asleep immediately.

Meng Jun slept from the evening till the next morning before he was woken up by Yu An.

Meng Jun's personal guard captain Gao Yi was injured and is currently recuperating in the rear camp, so Yu An is temporarily following him and listening in.

At this time, in the big tent, Meng Jun hurriedly ate something, and Yu An came in and said, "Commander-in-chief, Yang Changshi and others are here."

Meng Jun quickly swallowed half of the pancake in two bites, drank a mouthful of soup, and then said, "Let them in."

Yang En and others came in and saluted Meng Jun, saying "Grand Commander".

Meng Jun waved his hand and asked everyone to sit down, then said to Yu An, "Hurry up and get some tea." Yu An nodded quickly.

Meng Jun looked at the crowd. Almost everyone was injured and looked in a miserable state. However, although everyone was injured, their spirits were exceptionally strong and they looked very happy.

Meng Jun drank a sip of tea, refreshed himself, and then said to everyone, "Go ahead."

Yang En stood up and said, "Commander-in-chief, I have finished the statistics. In this battle, about 11,000 Qing soldiers were killed. Judging from their armor, there were about 1,400 Eight Banner soldiers, and the rest were Green Camp soldiers. More than 15,000 people were captured. We also seized 20 Qing army flags, more than 4,000 sets of armor, more than 40,000 swords and guns, nine cannons, and 867 war horses."

Hearing the statistical results, Meng Jun stood up happily, clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Great, if we don't have cannons, the enemy will make them for us, and if we don't have horses, the enemy will give them to us." After that, Meng Jun paused and said, "Shiqi, have someone cut off the heads of the Qing soldiers who died in the battle and keep them properly. They will be useful when the time comes."

Lin Shiqi stood up with some difficulty and bowed, saying, "Yes, Governor. I will arrange it in a moment."

Meng Jun asked with some concern, "Shiqi, are you okay?"

A smile appeared on Lin Shiqi's cold and pale face, and he said, "It's nothing. I was stabbed in the waist, but it didn't hurt any vital parts. I just need to rest up."

Meng Jun nodded, and quickly asked them to sit down, saying, "Everyone, just sit down and talk. There's no need to stand up."

There was laughter and joy in Meng Jun's tent at this moment. More than 10,000 people were captured, countless weapons and armors were seized, and nine artillery pieces were seized. The most important thing was that after this battle, Bai Yongfu had almost no ability to attack again, which would give Meng Jun a precious opportunity to rest.

"Grand Commander, this battle has shown your prowess. Your reputation will surely spread across the world." Qian Biao, with gauze wrapped around his head, grinned and said

Meng Jun also smiled, feeling quite excited, and then said, "This battle was won by the soldiers who risked their lives. Tell the whole army that if they win this battle, they will be rewarded handsomely, and this commander-in-chief will not be stingy."

After hearing this, the smiles on the faces of all the generals became even brighter, except Yang En, who frowned. Just as he was about to say something to Meng Jun, he was interrupted by Meng Jun with a look.

"Hahaha" everyone laughed out loud, Lin Shiqi also grinned, but the smile touched his wound, and the smile instantly turned into a look of pain.

After seeing everyone's laughter, Yang En stood up and said to Meng Jun solemnly, "Commander-in-chief, after talking about the captured items, I will now talk about our army's losses."

Meng Jun heard this and looked serious. He nodded slightly and said, "Well, go ahead."

Yang En continued with a gloomy face, "Since yesterday's battle, nearly 10,000 soldiers from the three towns of our army were killed, and nearly 4,000 were injured, including 2,500 lightly injured and more than 1,400 seriously injured. Two battalion officers were killed, seven thousand commanders were killed, nineteen battalion commanders were killed, and thirty-six general flags were killed. Among them, 962 heavy armored soldiers were killed and 370 were injured. Among them, Commander Meng of the heavy armored army also suffered internal injuries."

Meng Jun nodded silently. He had been watching the battlefield the whole time. He already had an idea of the casualties of Meng's army, but when he heard the exact news, he still felt a heavy feeling in his heart.

Such a loss is a serious injury to Meng Jun, and for Bai Yongfu, he can no longer fight, and Meng Jun can no longer fight either, and they both need to rest for a while at least.

Meng Jun was silent for a moment and then said, "Resettlement and compensation must be done well. Tell the whole army that those killed in battle will be compensated. This governor will never let the soldiers shed blood and tears."

Han Xiong stood up and said, "Governor, the three towns suffered heavy losses in this battle and need to be replenished as soon as possible. In your opinion, should we withdraw our troops and return to Suzhou to rest?"

"No, we cannot retreat until the Qing army retreats," Lin Shiqi said weakly. "The Qing army's cavalry has not suffered any losses. If we retreat rashly, with so many supplies, wounded soldiers, and prisoners, the Qing army's cavalry will be on the move. Even if we are only a few dozen miles away from Suzhou City, it will not be easy to retreat."

Meng Jun also disagreed with the withdrawal. He had fought desperately in this battle and finally defeated the Qing army. If he hadn't had cavalry, Bai Yongfu's head would be on his desk now.

If I withdraw my troops, let's not talk about whether it is easy or not. The Qing army did not withdraw, but I did. If the news gets out, then the Qing army will win the battle, and I will lose even if I am not defeated. How can Suzhou be defended under such panic? Even if I tell everyone that I have won, the people are honest. If you win, why do you run back? You must have lost, so I must not withdraw, at least not now.

"We must not retreat now. Send the scouts back to Suzhou City to report the victory and stabilize people's hearts. Yang Changshi, you must return to Suzhou City immediately. You must return to the city first to stabilize the situation, recruit soldiers, and organize supplies. After this battle, I will expand the army!"

Although the main forces of the three towns suffered 30% loss, Meng Jun was confident that he could fully recover and even build a stronger army. The 20,000 men in the three towns had all been tempered by the flames of war, and they could completely expand a larger army on this basis.

Expanding the army naturally requires manpower. Due to the current resistance of Jiangnan to the Qing Dynasty's order to shave the hair, now is the time when the people of Jiangnan are most useful. As long as the anti-Qing banner is raised and the people can see the hope of victory, enough manpower will come in waves. Meng Jun believes that wherever the news of the victory at Yangcheng Lake spreads, attention will be focused on Suzhou City, and Meng Jun's name will resound throughout Jiangnan.