Southern Ming Rebel Army

Jiangyin County.

Outside the county town, teams of laborers threw the corpses in the city into the large pit that had just been dug. At this time, the city of Jiangyin was filled with countless corpses. The laborers who were carrying the corpses had wooden expressions, as if they were carrying not corpses but wood. The tragic scenes everywhere had made these laborers somewhat numb.

Yang Lin was carrying the corpse, looking at the young face, feeling a little pity in his heart and said: "We are all fellow villagers, it's so tragic, so many families, all died, is it worth it just for the hair?"

At this time, in the Qing army tent outside the city, Duolo Beile Bolo, Zhenguo General Baiyintu, Gushan Ezhen Turai, Beizi Tunqi, Gongshun King Kong Youde, Guangchang Earl Liu Liangzuo, and a group of Han army Green Camp generals gathered in the tent.

"Jiangyin is a tiny city, but it actually blocked the Qing cavalry for several months. General Liu, if it weren't for the arrival of my Eight Banners soldiers, would you have planned to besiege the city for ten months and attack it from the ground?" Bolo said, looking at Liu Liangzuo with his triangular eyes gloomily.

Liu Liangzuo's heart trembled, and he quickly stepped out of the line and prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "General, my soldiers are naturally not as strong as the Eight Banners Army. Once the Eight Banners soldiers arrive, Jiangyin City will fall overnight. I can't catch up with them even if I ride my horse."

In the second year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1645), Prince Duoduo of Yu led his army to the south of the Yangtze River. Liu Liangzuo surrendered with soldiers. He participated in suppressing the Jiangnan rebel army many times and followed the Qing army to attack Danyang, Jintan, and Jiangyin. His troops were killed by %, and now he still has more than soldiers.

Hearing Liu Liangzuo's flattering words, Bolo smiled complacently and said, "My Great Qing Dynasty swept across the world, and that Meng Jun was ignorant of life and death, occupying the important city of Suzhou like a thief. The army will rest for a few days and then march south to wipe out Meng Jun, Zhu Yihai and other rats in one fell swoop."

After Bolo finished speaking, he glanced at Liu Liangzuo. After all, they still needed to rely on these Han troops as cannon fodder. Liu Liangzuo still had tens of thousands of troops under his command. He could just give them a beating and there was no need to humiliate them too much. He waved his hand and let Liu Liangzuo stand up.

At this time, General Baiyintu bowed to Bolo and said, "Lord Beile, the army's food and grass can be used for a month, but the weapons and gunpowder are running out. Should we urge that old man Hong Chengchou to transport them over as soon as possible?"

"It can be transported directly to Wuxi, and the county magistrate of Wuxi can recruit more laborers. They will be very useful for filling trenches and destroying the city. There are a lot of people in Jiangnan anyway. Damn, why are there people everywhere?" Tulai said in a muffled voice.

Bolo stroked his chin and said, "Wuxi City still has Bai Yongfu there. That rubbish still has about 30,000 troops under his command. If they were to unite their forces, they would have nearly 150,000 troops. It would be a piece of cake to besiege Suzhou City. Old man Hong still wants to appease them, but what the hell is that?"

Today, corpses are piled up like mountains in Jiangyin City. Every well in the city is filled with corpses. Countless houses have people who have hanged themselves. The whole city is like a ghost town. Apart from the laborers who are cleaning up the corpses, there is no trace of living people.

In Suzhou City, the Meng army leaders were also holding a meeting. Meng Jun said in a deep voice, "Bi'an, what's the news about the Qing army in Jiangyin City?"

Meng Bian shook his head and said, "Reporting to the governor, since the fall of Jiangyin City, Bolo's army has been stationed outside Jiangyin City. There has been no movement in the past five days. However, according to intelligence reports from Nanjing, the Nanjing Treasury has begun to transport a large amount of gunpowder and military equipment to Wuxi."

"What's going on with Bai Yongfu in Wuxi?"

"No, it's very quiet. Even the scouts rarely go out. But the Eavesdropping Department can't find out what's going on in Wuxi City."

Suzhou is located in the southeast. Although it has captured Songjiang Prefecture, it can be considered to have a rear base, but there are enemies on both sides and the friendly forces are really weak. Looking at this situation, Meng Jun really feels at a loss as to where to start.

Han Xiong looked at Meng Jun frowning and looking at the map of Jiangnan. He didn't speak for a long time and said, "Governor, why don't we just attack Wuxi City?"

"Haha" Lin Shiqi sneered before Meng Jun could speak.

Han Xiong was furious, "Lin Shiqi, what do you mean, what are you laughing at?"

Lin Shiqi said innocently, "What's wrong with me? Did I say anything?"

"Okay." Meng Jun then shifted his attention from the map and casually stopped the quarrel between the two. For some reason, Lin Shiqi and Han Xiong looked down on each other, and unpleasant things often happened between them. As the superiors followed suit, frictions gradually arose between Ningwu Town and Kewu Town.

"If we attack Wuxi, Bolo will certainly move south. The Qing has a large number of cavalry and many soldiers and generals. This strategy is too risky." Meng Jun shook his head and ruled out this option. The same goes for attacking Hangzhou. If the city is not taken, Bolo will definitely move south. If the main force is not in Suzhou, then the city will not be defended.

"Is this the only way to defend? Defend Suzhou City to the death," Yang En said nervously.

Meng Jun felt helpless, he had always been thinking about fighting and creating a favorable situation, but the situation forced him to do so. He was not Xiang Yu, and he could not fight a desperate battle and win nine battles in a row. Judging from the current situation, the only way was to defend Suzhou City to the death.

If Suzhou City was gone, Meng Jun would not be able to support the soldiers of the three towns, as well as the many auxiliary troops, artillery, and cavalry. There were no conditions for guerrilla warfare in those days.

After a military meeting, everyone racked their brains but could not come up with a better strategy than defending Suzhou to the death. Meng Jun made the decision to defend Suzhou to the death. The entire city went into combat readiness and armed Suzhou like a hedgehog, which would definitely break Bolo's teeth.

After taking Kunshan, Jiading and Songjiang cities, Meng Jun left behind a part of the volunteer soldiers and some literate young people, and asked them to organize grassroots units on the spot. The main force of Meng's army defended Suzhou City. If the Qing army attacked the other three cities, they would definitely not be able to defend them. If they ignored it, Meng Jun would have worked in vain for a month with more than 20,000 people.

Meng Jun decided that he must send someone to organize the people of the three cities and must not let the Qing army occupy them easily. This person must have leadership and organizational skills as well as experience in guerrilla warfare in the countryside.

Thinking of this, Meng Jun carefully considered everyone in the army to see who would be suitable. Suddenly, Meng Jun's eyes lit up and he had an idea.

"Gao Yi" Meng Jun shouted towards the door.

The "Governor" saw that Gao Yi's face was pale and his steps were unsteady. The injuries from the last battle of Yangcheng Lake had not yet healed.

Meng Jun frowned and said, "I told you to have a good rest, why do you have to follow me?"

Gao Yi hurriedly said, "Commander-in-chief, I'll be fine soon. There's no problem." After saying that, he patted his chest, but as soon as he finished patting, he started coughing uncontrollably.

"Alright, alright, go back and recuperate. Heal your wounds. The big battle is not far away. I'll rely on you to protect me then."

"Yes, the governor." Gao Yi was a little touched. He bowed to Meng Jun and was about to leave. Meng Jun hurriedly called Gao Yi and asked, "Is Zhao Yongping's injury healed?"

"He should be fine now. His injuries are less serious than mine," Gao Yi said, touching his head.

"Well, tell Zhao Yongping."