Southern Ming Rebel Army

The sky gradually darkened. Outside the city of Jiading, war horses were neighing, soldiers were like clouds, Meng Jun's general flag was held high, and cheers were heard everywhere. The auxiliary soldiers in the army had begun to set up camp. They had set up camp many times in recent days, and their carpentry work was obviously more skilled. The fence around the camp looked quite beautiful.

On the city wall, Wu Zhifan looked outside the city nervously, only to see Wu Jinwen slowly walking towards the front of the battle formation. A knight from the opposite camp pulled the reins and said something to Wu Jinwen. Then he saw Wu Jinwen taking off his sword and following the knight into the battle formation.

"Marshal, were they sent by the court to rescue Jiading?" Wu Jinwen asked cautiously, looking around, trying to find some clues.

Meng Jun knew what he was thinking, so he didn't interrupt him and let him observe. After a moment, he smiled and said, "I am also a righteous soldier like you. Is there anyone in the city who is the general of Wu Zhifan who has raised an uprising?"

Wu Jinwen was shocked. Such a large number of people were not government troops, but rebel troops. The Ming army in the south had already been rotten to the core. How could he see such a neat army? Wu Jinwen remembered his uncle's worries, and organized his words and said, "Reply to the commander, it is General Wu in the city."

Then he said with some envy, "What a magnificent army, General. I wonder what the army is doing here, and whether they are going to enter Jiading City."

Meng Jun shook his head and said, "We will not enter Jiading City. Since you asked, I have no need to hide it from you. The army is just passing through Jiading. Our goal is to kill Li Chengdong. Our army must break through Songjiang Prefecture in this battle. You go back and tell General Wu that staying in Jiading will not benefit the overall situation. It is better to unite the army and work together to wipe out the Hu Chen."

Meng Jun has recruited more than a thousand defeated soldiers along the way. Most of these people have experienced battles and can be sent back to the battlefield after a little reorganization. The only concern is the morale, but this is not a big problem. The Meng army has gone through several battles and has never been defeated. The morale of the army is high, and there is no pressure at all to recruit some defeated soldiers.

Throughout history, when a general went to war, the first priority was to weaken the enemy, either by cutting off their food supplies, making it difficult for them to get water and firewood, or by disrupting their morale. In short, the goal was to make the enemy not in the best condition and to strengthen one's own side. When one has more people defeats the enemy with fewer, one has a greater chance of winning. Some people may ask why those well-known wars were all lost by the side with more troops. That's because losing despite having the advantage is considered a classic battle. In most wars, the majority of troops defeat the minority. Of course, this cannot be compared with the peasant uprising army in the late Ming Dynasty. The degree of military training, the level of equipment, and the overall morale are all crucial. At the same level, or when the gap is not big, the number of troops is definitely a very important factor.

Therefore, Meng Jun accepted all the rebels who came to him. This time, when he saw the rebels in Jiading City, he became itchy again and asked to recruit them.

As soon as these words came out, Wu Jinwen didn't know how to respond, so he had to make an excuse, "General, I have to report this to my general."

Meng Jun nodded. This matter was indeed not something he could decide. He then said, "Well, when you go back, tell me that I want to meet General Wu."

……

"General Meng, please," Wu Zhifan bowed to Meng Jun.

Meng Jun also returned the greeting and said, "General Wu." After that, Meng Jun looked at Wu Zhifan, a middle-aged man in his forties, with a square face. He looked extremely steady, and what was impressive was his shiny forehead.

After the two sat down, Wu Zhifan complimented, "General Meng is really young and promising. I am ashamed to be compared with you."

"I once said that anyone who rises up for rebellion is a hero. I admire General Wu very much. With a small army and few generals, you recaptured Jiading. People from all over the country all trust you and are willing to follow you until death. General, you must not be modest," Meng Jun said to him in a serious tone.

Although Meng Jun was younger than Wu Zhifan, his military strength was much stronger than Wu Zhifan, so Meng Jun sat in the main seat while Wu Zhifan sat beside him.

After a brief greeting, some dishes were served. Meng Jun took a look and found that they were all ordinary meals. Judging from the cooking style, they should have been cooked by the cooks in the army. Meng Jun did not think there was anything wrong with it. Jiading City had experienced two massacres, and there were no restaurants in the city for a long time. Even food was extremely scarce.

"Alas, I am in this Jiading city, feeling uneasy day and night. Food, fodder, weapons, and armor are all in short supply, and there is no news from the court. Li Chengdong in Songjiang Prefecture sends scouts here from time to time, causing panic in the city. My personal life and death is a trivial matter, but so many people and volunteers are entrusted to my hands. To be honest with you, general, if you hadn't come, I really don't know what to do. I can only do my best and leave the rest to fate," Wu Zhifan said to Meng Jun with a frown.

After Wu Jinwen returned to the city, he told Wu Zhifan everything Meng Jun had told him. Wu Zhifan remained silent after hearing this. He also knew that being trapped in an isolated city, the final outcome would be the city's fall, and all he could do was to die with the city. But now there was a better choice, and Wu Zhifan was willing to accept Meng Jun's suggestion.

"The world cannot be defended. Only by conquering it can peace be guaranteed. If Songjiang Prefecture is taken, Jiading City will naturally be at peace." Meng Jun glanced at Wu Zhifan and saw that he was still listening, so he continued, "General Wu, why don't you join the Jiading army and march to Songjiang with me? Together we will have more strength, but apart we will be isolated. What do you think?"

Wu Zhifan pondered for a moment and said, "Most of Jiading's troops are nearby villagers. If they are asked to defend their hometown, they will naturally be full of fighting spirit and will risk their lives. But if they go out to fight, I'm afraid their morale will be low."

Meng Jun heard this and waved his hands, "The villagers are not fools. If the whole country is occupied by the Tartars, only Jiading City can be defended. These principles should be explained to them. I believe that most people are sensible. Of course, the general needs to coordinate this."

"Okay, I'm willing to follow the general." Wu Zhifan made up his mind, clenched his fists tightly, and said seriously to Meng Jun.

"Okay, General, you understand the big picture," Meng Jun stood up happily and said excitedly.

The next day, Meng Jun inspected the rebel army in the city. The villagers in Jiading City gathered together, and there were nearly 20,000 rebels gathered from the surrounding areas. However, their equipment was very poor. They had all kinds of weapons, including muskets, spears, knives and forks, kitchen knives and even wooden sticks. Only the 600 people around Wu Zhifan had relatively uniform weapons, which looked barely orderly.

Although they looked like a mob, and they were indeed a mob, everyone was in high spirits. When they heard that they were going to fight Li Chengdong, they all shared the same hatred and shouted loudly. They could take it slow if the equipment was not good enough, and they could take it slow if the training was not good enough, but it was this momentum that Meng Jun valued the most.

"They are all good soldiers. They can be of great use after being reorganized," Meng Jun said excitedly to Han Xiong beside him.