Southern Ming Rebel Army

Shilifang in Suzhou City was a place with luxurious decorations. The table was filled with delicious dishes. The prefect Zhong Kuan sat in the main seat, and sitting below were the gentry and wealthy families in Suzhou City.

At this time, the lawyer was raising his glass and said to everyone, "Everyone, the Lord is hosting a banquet here today. On the one hand, it is to build relationships. On the other hand, as you all know, due to some laws and regulations of the court, the people are uneasy recently. There are also some unreasonable rioters in the city who are disturbing the peace of Suzhou City. So the Lord decided to host a banquet for you today to tell you that you can trust Lord Zhong and you can speak freely about anything. You gentry are all the best in Suzhou City. The peace of Suzhou depends on you. Come on, everyone, drink this cup." After speaking, the lawyer drank the contents of the cup in one gulp.

Zhong Kuan saw that everyone around him drank the wine in their glasses. Although the atmosphere was not harmonious, he still said, "This government has received a report from the court yesterday. The Prince's Grand Tutor Hong Chengchou will arrive in Jiangning soon to serve as the governor-general of military affairs and recruit the southern governor-general of military affairs. Lord Hong is familiar with military affairs and has a high position in the court. I believe that as long as Lord Hong arrives in Jiangning, the current chaos will be swept away and Jiangnan will have a stable and peaceful day." After speaking, he asked Zhang Zhuo beside him, "Brother Zhang, don't you think so?"

Zhang Zhe is a prominent family in Suzhou City. Many of their ancestors were officials and they have extensive connections. They are ranked as one of the prominent families in Suzhou City along with the Chen and Su families. Zhang Zhe has two sons and one daughter. His daughter, Zhang Shuer, is very talented and beautiful, and is Zhang Zhe's sweetheart. She is now only 28 years old, and matchmakers from all over the neighborhood are almost demolishing the Zhang family's doorstep for the sake of her little daughter. However, Zhang Zhe is not satisfied yet, so she has not married yet.

Zhang smiled and said, "What Mr. Zhong said makes sense, but the chaos in Jiangnan was ultimately caused by the order to shave the hair. This hairstyle has not changed for thousands of years. The court suddenly issued an order to shave the hair, which is bound to cause controversy. As for Mr. Hong's arrival in Jiangning, I think if the court can change its course, Jiangnan can be stabilized without a single soldier or arrow." The heads of the Chen and Su families and others nodded and said, "Brother Zhang is right."

Zhong Kuan did not expect that bringing up Hong Chengchou did not scare the group of gentry, so he could only comfort them by saying, "The words of the gentry will be reported to His Majesty. Come, come, let's have a feast, a feast..."

In the evening, the prefect Zhong Kuan summoned Suzhou garrison commander Xue Dao and asked him to keep a close eye on the Green Camp while asking him to send someone to investigate the movements of the rebel Meng Jun. Although he knew that Meng Jun did not have many subordinates, he thought that since he could defeat the Eight Banners, he must have some extraordinary qualities. However, Xue Dao was obviously somewhat disdainful of Meng Jun.

Xue Dao saluted and said confidently, "Your Excellency the prefect can rest assured. Meng Jun is just a sneak attack. How can a few hundred civilians threaten Suzhou's defense? Suzhou's defense is strong. There are more than 1,500 soldiers in the city. The situation in Jiangnan has been unstable recently, and 10,000 civilians have been recruited in the city. Suzhou is impregnable. Even if an army of 100,000 is besieged, it can hold out for several months, not to mention a few gentry and common people. As for Meng Jun, he is just a local bandit and is not worth mentioning. I have sent all my trusted aides in the Green Camp to take control. Everything is in place."

Xue Dao patted his chest after he finished speaking, and gave Zhong Kuan a military order, saying that if there was any problem with Suzhou City, he could chop off his head. Zhong Kuan thought that if there was really any problem with Suzhou City, chopping off your head would be useless, but since Xue Dao said so, Zhong Kuan could only nod and say yes.

Meanwhile, in a house in the south city, Yang En was earnestly persuading his uncle Yang Can to rebel. Although Yang Can was a small captain, he was from Xue Dao's personal guard and was considered Xue Dao's confidant. Therefore, although he held a low official position, he was in charge of the defense of the south city gate of Suzhou. Although Yang En did not tell Meng Jun that he wanted to persuade his uncle to rebel, he wanted to make a greater contribution to the anti-Qing war. "Uncle, there are rebel armies everywhere in Jiangnan. The Qing Dynasty committed all kinds of atrocities, burning, killing and looting everywhere. Now there is even an evil policy of shaving hair and changing clothes. I don't think the Qing army will last long in Jiangnan."

Yang Gan heard what Yang En said and retorted, "Nonsense, I think you have become stupid because of reading too much. The Eight Banners have been in Liaodong for many years. Has the Ming Dynasty pacified it? Now, high-ranking officials like Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou have surrendered, and so have respected people like Qian Qianyi. Many civil officials and military generals have surrendered. How could they not be smarter than you? Moreover, rebellion is a capital crime. How could you persuade your uncle to do such a dangerous thing?"

Yang Gan waved his hand and said to Yang En, "Since you have come to me from Meng Jun, you should stay at home and don't go out. Those things have nothing to do with you. You are just a scholar, what you should do is read the books of sages, not do things like treason that will bring disaster to your entire clan."

Upon hearing this, Yang En said excitedly, "Books of sages? I rebelled against the Qing Dynasty because I read the books of sages. Did sages tell us to shave our heads? Sages said that the hair on our bodies are given by our parents and we dare not damage them. Sages said that people with loose hair and left-side lapel are barbarians. General Meng is upright and has great talent and strategy. Now he has raised the banner of rebellion and defeated the Eight Banners in one battle. He has countless followers. Shouldn't I follow him?" Yang En was speechless for a moment when he heard this and was asked back.

At this time, Yang, the wife of Yang Can, who was at the door, pushed the door open and came in, scolding Yang Can, "You are a coward, yet you still have the nerve to scold your own nephew. Your nephew has great righteousness in his heart and shows heroic spirit. When everyone surrendered, I didn't persuade you to resign. I was short-sighted. The Tartars slaughtered and plundered everywhere, and forced everyone to wear the barbarian braids. Now there is a hero who is raising an uprising, you should lead his horse and whip him, so that you can redeem your chastity."

After hearing this, Yang Gan murmured, "Captain Xue is my benefactor and has treated me very well. I cannot bear to rebel."

Yang cursed angrily, "This is just a small favor. You don't know the big favor, you are so stupid." After Yang En and Yang's repeated persuasion, Yang Can only temporarily agreed to tell Yang En about the defense situation of Suzhou city and the time to change the city gates. As for really doing that beheading deal, Yang Can would never agree to it.

Yang Can told Yang En that the situation inside the Green Camp was relatively good, except that the soldiers were somewhat dissatisfied with the hair-shaving issue. However, with Xue Dao's generous reward, the situation was temporarily stable. However, the conscripted laborers had long been complaining, but they had no weapons and were under the surveillance of the Green Camp and could do nothing about it.

However, before leaving, Yang Gan told Yang En one thing: "I vaguely felt that someone was colluding with the common people, and I also saw an acquaintance that time. That person was the companion of the second son of the Zhang family, a big family in the city. I don't know what the Zhang family wants to do."

Yang En was writing down the information given by Yang Can at his desk. He wrote for a long time. After finishing, Yang En rolled it up and put it in the pen holder, preparing to give it to Gao Yi, the personal guard, tomorrow. After Yang En finished everything, he thought about what the Zhang family wanted to do. Did the Zhang family also want to rise up in rebellion? Or was it just Yang Can's illusion? Yang En decided to go to the Zhang family tomorrow to test it out...