Southern Ming Rebel Army

"Your Highness, I, Meng Jun, bow down to your majesty. Now, the Eastern Tartars have an army of more than 100,000 men who have besieged the city for more than half a month. During this period, they attacked Suzhou several times. However, the people in the city were united and defeated the Eastern Tartars. On the ninth day of November, the Tartars attacked the northern city of Suzhou in a hurry. After two days and nights of bloody fighting, by the early morning, the Tartars' royal family was still alive, but the rebel general Guangchang Bo Liu Liangzuo had all died in Suzhou. The corpses of the Eight Banners of the Real Tartars were tens of thousands, and the number of Green Camp soldiers killed and wounded was innumerable. Now the Tartars' army is old and tired. They have not rested since the expedition to the south of the Yangtze River. Attacking Jiangyin and besieging Suzhou is a good opportunity to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. I humbly hope that Your Highness will quickly send a large army to lift the siege of Suzhou. The people in the city are looking forward to Your Highness like withered seedlings looking forward to rain. On the day the large army arrives, we will attack from both inside and outside, and we will surely be able to defeat Bolo in one fell swoop. The old capital Nanjing is in sight. Once Nanjing is recovered, all the reputation in the world will be on Your Highness. After cleaning up the south of the Yangtze River, the royal army will march north to sweep away the decadent Liao affairs for decades...

Meng Jun wrote a memorial overnight and sent a messenger on horseback to deliver it to Prince Lu. If the Qing army's siege had not been thwarted, Meng Jun estimated that Fang Guoan would not arrive for half a year. However, the Qing army suffered heavy casualties this time. Even Shang Shan was chopped off by Meng Jun, and his head was still hanging on the city wall. Given Fang Guoan's temper, he would probably come. By then, the two sides could attack from both sides and the battle could be fought.

Inside and outside Suzhou city, the two armies were temporarily at peace, and the artillery fire stopped. Both sides were licking their wounds. The Meng army was stepping up efforts to reinforce the city defenses and clean up the city walls, while the Qing army was also cleaning up the corpses. There were a large number of wounded soldiers in the camp, and the number of medical officers carried by the army was too scarce. The only thing they could do was to let these Qing soldiers hold on. Those who could hold on would live, and those who couldn't would be buried.

At this time in the Qing army camp, Bolo said to a middle-aged man with a goatee, "Do you know Meng Jun?"

"Replying to the commander, I know him. He is from Changshu. His surname is Meng, his name is Jun, and his courtesy name is Yuanzhi. His father was a wealthy local man, but he died of illness last year. His father, Meng Jun, got the position of Changshu Qianzong. Later, the royal army conquered Jiangnan, and Meng Jun followed the Changshu prefect to shave his head and surrender. Later, the Changshu garrison ordered Meng Jun to lead the baggage camp to carry supplies to the former king Li Chengdong's troops. For some reason, halfway through the journey, news came that Meng Jun cut his braids and rebelled, and he also said that he wanted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty."

"Oh, then do you know what kind of person Meng Jun is?" Bolo asked again without comment.

"I've seen Meng Jun often before. He's just an ordinary young man from a wealthy family. He's a bit of a scholar and likes to have fun. Oh, and he often hangs out in places of entertainment. There's nothing special about him," Lu Qiao said with some doubt. A rich kid who has already shaved his head would have a good life, but he had to do such a thing. Now, the foundation left by Meng Jun's ancestors has been taken over by Wang Shoubei and his people. Just thinking about it makes her jealous.

"Since you know Meng Jun, then you should go into the city and persuade him to surrender on behalf of the Qing Dynasty. If you can persuade Meng Jun to surrender, you will be the governor of Suzhou, Meng Jun can be granted a title of nobility, and Tian Qianqing and money can be given as you like," Bolo pointed at Lu Qiao and said casually.

Lu Qiao's eyes lit up. He was just a junior master in Changshu City, but he actually had the chance to become the prefect of Suzhou City. Thinking of this, he nodded quickly and said, "Reply to the commander-in-chief, I will go to the city to persuade him immediately."

Tulai watched Lu Qiao walk out of the tent and then bowed to Bolo and said, "General, Meng Jun killed Shang Shan, a member of the royal family. Is it inappropriate to ask him to surrender?"

Bolo sneered and said, "It's just a chess piece. If Meng Jun really surrenders, it's up to us to decide who will win." Then he waved his hand and said, "Fang Guoan's troops have gathered in Shaoxing. Hangzhou is short of troops. If Fang Guoan attacks Hangzhou first, our Eight Banners cavalry will take advantage of his siege and attack from both sides. It will be easy to break him. If they don't attack Hangzhou and come to Suzhou, haha, besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements is exactly our Manchuria's specialty."

"The Marshal is wise..."

"Is there an old friend who wants to see me?" Meng Jun asked doubtfully.

"Yes, commander-in-chief. I heard from the soldiers guarding the city that the man claimed to be an old friend of the commander-in-chief. After arriving at the foot of the city, he was pulled up in a basket by the soldiers and searched. Everything was normal, but this man came from the Tartar camp." Gao Yi said to Meng Jun.

"Then let's meet and see what Bolo has to say," Meng Jun said with a smile.

When Lu Qiao saw Meng Jun, he hurried forward, but was blocked by Gao Yi with a wave of his hand. Lu Qiao shouted to Meng Jun nonchalantly, "Brother Meng, it's me, Old Lu, Master Lu. We drank together before, remember?"

"Oh, it's Master Lu. It's been a long time since we last met. You're still as charming and elegant as ever." Meng Jun was stunned for a moment. He didn't recognize him. He might have just recognized his original identity. Then he smiled and replied, waving to Gao Yi to let him go.

"Oh, Brother Meng is really a capable person. I, Old Lu, have seen that Brother Meng is definitely not an ordinary person. He can transform into a dragon when encountering wind and clouds. Unexpectedly, in just a few months, Brother Meng's reputation has spread throughout the world. Oh, look at my mouth. How can I still call you Brother Meng now? Marshal Meng, Marshal Meng," Lu Qiao bowed and said with a smile.

"Haha, Master Lu didn't come here specially to praise me today, did he?"

I came here specially to praise you, bah, you lucky guy, Lu Qiao cursed in his heart, but the smile on his face remained, and he said with a smile, "Marshal Meng, we are all from the same village. We are definitely doing this for your own good and will not harm you. Lord Bolo has promised us that as long as Marshal Meng is willing to surrender, we can make any conditions, such as being granted a title of nobility, land, gold and silver. As long as you open your mouth, everything can be negotiated."

Meng Jun's face was serious, and he said, "Bo Luo asked you to come here to persuade him to surrender, so I can tell him now that I, Meng Jun, will never surrender."

"Oh, my brother Meng, the Qing Dynasty is like the rising sun, unstoppable. Just think about it, it has been less than two years since the Qing Dynasty entered the country, sweeping the world from north to south. The Ming Dynasty has already fallen." Seeing that his dream of becoming a prefect was about to be shattered, Lu Qiao continued to persuade him earnestly.

Meng Jun snorted and said, "The Prince of Lu is the regent in Shaoxing, and the Prince of Tang is in Fuzhou. The Ming Dynasty has never been destroyed. Even if we take a step back, as long as there is still a Han Chinese who resists, the Tartars will not be able to maintain their rule."

Lu Qiao added, "Going against the trend is the way to self-destruction. Brother Meng, for the sake of our past friendship, let me give you a piece of advice. As the old saying goes, a man who knows the current affairs is a hero. In life, money, land, fame, fortune and status are what we should pursue most. Everything else is false."

"To go against the tide is to show one's true heroic qualities. And this tide does not necessarily lie in Manchuria, but in our Han people. The number of Manchu males is only a few hundred thousand, while the Han people number tens of millions. Going against the tide, I believe we will be able to sweep away the hundreds of years of bad rules and restore order to the world."

Lu Qiao looked at him as if he were a fool, with an expression of disbelief. He opened his mouth and didn't know what to say. Then Lu Qiao turned around and was about to leave. At this time, Meng Jun said, "As we are old acquaintances, if you can turn back from your wrong path, I will keep you safe."

Lu Qiao grinned and said, "Thank you then."