Southern Ming Rebel Army

The summer wind blew across the earth, and the ground was covered with green grass. At this time, the ground began to vibrate slightly. It was the vibration sound made by tens of thousands of pairs of shoes stepping on the grass. Wherever the cavalry's iron hooves trampled, the grass flew up and down.

The army gradually approached Songjiang City, but the atmosphere in the army was still the same as during a normal march. Meng Jun had not yet felt the atmosphere of war.

The current cavalry scale of Meng Jun is no match for Li Chengdong. The vanguard scouts have suppressed the scouts of Songjiang City, which makes Li Chengdong get less and less information. This also confirms that Meng Jun is already very close to Songjiang City.

At noon, the sky was gloomy and the weather was not good. It was going to rain. It looked like the rain would not be too light. Meng Jun frowned and looked at the weather, and said helplessly, "Distribute the raincoats and prepare to set up camp on the spot."

If a thunderstorm occurs during a march, the march will be stopped immediately unless necessary. Soldiers and livestock may catch a cold if exposed to the rain, which will lead to loss of combat effectiveness and additional casualties, which will require additional manpower to take care of. In addition, the rain will damage military equipment such as bows and arrows, as well as food and supplies.

Just as the auxiliary troops began to set up camp, a cry for help was heard from not far away. Meng Jun and everyone turned around and saw a woman rushing out from a small woods 500 meters away. The woman was a little disheveled and one of her cloth shoes had fallen off. She was running and calling for help.

Behind her were two men in short coats, who were following closely behind her. Just as they were about to catch the woman, a large number of soldiers appeared in front of them. The two men were stunned and hesitated for a moment, allowing the woman to escape the fate of being caught.

The moment the three men appeared, several cavalrymen headed towards the woods. At this time, the woman also heard the sound of horse hooves. Looking around, she saw endless soldiers with flags like clouds, and several soldiers riding tall horses rushing towards her. All this was beyond the woman's imagination. Not only the woman, but also the two men behind her were frightened and stood still, not daring to move, until the leading cavalryman asked, the two men hesitated and could not utter a complete sentence. The knight shook his head and said, "Take them all back."

One of the men yelled in shock, "I'm not going, don't arrest me, I'm from Li Shilang's family, my master is Li Shilang!"

The leading cavalryman impatiently picked up the handle of his knife and hit the man on the shoulder. The man covered his shoulder with his hand in pain and dared not say anything. He could only let him be driven away with a look of horror.

Meng Jun's face was a little uncertain. The army was setting up camp and the soldiers had not yet formed a battle array. If it were not these few people who came out at this time, but an enemy surprise attack, then to say that he suffered heavy losses would be an understatement.

"Huang Cheng," Meng Jun's face was as gloomy as water and he shouted in a stern voice.

Huang Cheng hurriedly replied, "I'm here."

"This is the forest. Have any scouts entered to search?"

Huang Cheng hesitated and said, "Report to the Governor, we need to ask the scouts of today's army to come and report."

"Who is in charge of the military's scouts today?"

"Ba Zong Xin Kang"

"Legend," Meng Jun said coldly.

In war, when the army is dispatched, it is in the dark. What kind of mountain is ahead, what kind of cave is in the mountain, and who lives in the cave, all these need scouts to find out. When two armies are facing each other, scouts need to be sent out continuously, some go forward for reconnaissance, some surround the periphery to block the enemy's reconnaissance, and some are responsible for early warning of the troops to avoid sudden attacks by the enemy. At this time, when the army was setting up camp, people suddenly rushed out of the woods, and the scouts did not report any situation. If the three people came to the woods after reconnaissance, it would be understandable, but if the scouts did not enter the woods for reconnaissance at all, it would be a serious mistake.

"Commander-in-chief, people are coming," Huang Cheng bowed to Meng Jun, then turned sideways and let Xin Kang come forward.

"Greetings, Governor," Xin Kang bowed.

Meng Jun looked at him. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked handsome. At this moment, his face was a little uneasy. Meng Jun slowly said, "Captain Xin, have you explored this forest before?"

Xin Kang was a little stunned. He didn't expect that the commander-in-chief called him here just to ask such a question. The forest was not too big, and it was not suitable for hiding soldiers. There were countless small forests in the south of the Yangtze River. It would be too troublesome to explore every one of them. Therefore, Xin Kang naturally had never entered this forest. However, hearing that Meng Jun's tone was not very good, Xin Kang felt a little uneasy. Could there be something wrong with this forest?

He wanted to lie and get away with it, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, Xin Kang remembered that there were so many scouts in the team, and he would not be able to hide it if they just checked.

After a while, Xin Kang hesitated and said, "Reporting to the governor, the forest here is small and cannot hide the army, so I have not explored this forest yet."

"Someone come and capture him," Meng Jun shouted sternly.

Hearing this, several guards stepped forward and held Xin Kang down without hesitation.

At this moment, Xin Kang was so frightened that his face turned pale. He quickly begged for mercy, "General, please spare my life. I was careless for a moment. Please forgive me." Seeing that Meng Jun was still furious, Xin Kang hurriedly said, "I fought bravely in the battle of Yangcheng Lake and killed two Qing army sentinels. General, please spare my life."

"A kind man cannot command an army, and a righteous man cannot command wealth" lingered in Meng Jun's mind like a curse. Looking at Xin Kang's pale face, Meng Jun's murderous intent grew stronger.

"Search every forest you see. This is a strict rule for scouts. Military orders are as heavy as a mountain. If I don't kill you today, it will not be in accordance with military law. Come on, behead you on the spot and show your head to the three armies."

Hearing this, Xin Kang collapsed to the ground. Two bodyguards pulled Xin Kang up by the shoulders and straightened him up. Then Yu An drew out his sword and pointed it at his neck, leaning hard against it. It might have hit the gap between the bones at the back of his neck. With one strike, his head rolled out and blood splattered three feet away.

Is Xin Kang guilty? Yes, is it a capital crime? In fact, he can be killed or not. It's just that the army lacks solemnity and the soldiers have become a little slack. Not only the soldiers, but also the officers are the same. This kind of slackness cannot be eliminated by repeated orders. Only blood and heads can eliminate the atmosphere of arrogance in the army.

"Huang Cheng, you are the commander of the scouts and you have neglected your duty when your subordinates are so lazy. Come, drag Huang Cheng away. He will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane at the most severe level," Meng Jun shouted angrily.

At this time, Han Xiong beside him advised, "General, the war is imminent. It is not appropriate to punish the generals with a stick at this moment. Why not record it for now and enforce military law after the war?"

After a while, Meng Jun calmed down a little, nodded and said, "Then I'll remember this for now. If you do it again, I won't let you off easily."

"Thank you, Governor," Huang Chengchang said with a bow.

"Send an order to the three armies. A great battle is imminent. No one should slack off. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed."

After dealing with all this, Meng Jun looked at the three people. He saw that the woman had hands as smooth as catkins, skin as white as cream, a delicate forehead and beautiful eyebrows. Although she was wearing coarse cloth, her beauty could not be concealed.