Southern Ming Rebel Army

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, it is suitable to go out, clean, move, hire laborers to break ground, pray for blessings, install beds and doors, offer sacrifices, lay the foundation, adopt children, consecrate and raise the beams.

It is taboo to get married, marry livestock, bury livestock, build stoves, hold funerals, break ground, and build beams.

After nearly a month of intensive preparations, all kinds of strategic materials were finally gathered, and Meng Jun's decision to go south finally came to action.

Meng Jun left Lin Shiqi and his Ningwu garrison troops of about 6,000 men to guard Suzhou, and left 10,000 men to assist in the defense. The troops that Bai Yongfu had surrendered to the city were temporarily led by his son Bai Tianchu to help defend Suzhou, while Bai Yongfu followed the army.

The rest of the army was led by Meng Jun himself, with Yang En, Gu Yanwu, and Zhang Bo accompanying him, as well as his subordinates Han Xiong, Gao Yi, Meng Bizhi, Qian Biao, Huang Cheng, Bai Yongfu, Xiao Mingzuo, Wu Shunchang, Du Yonghe, and Guo Hu, a thousand guards, two thousand armored soldiers, two thousand cavalry, twenty thousand regular soldiers from Changlin and Kewu towns, thirty thousand auxiliary soldiers, and twenty thousand conscripted civilians. At the same time, there were twenty-three artillery pieces and hundreds of carriages. All the horses and pack horses in and outside Suzhou city had been requisitioned. The army stretched for dozens of miles and marched south in a mighty manner. In this battle, Meng Jun almost used up all his available strength.

There were nearly 20,000 Green Camp soldiers and Han Eight Banners soldiers who captured Ma Degong and Tian Xiong under the city of Suzhou. Although Ma Degong and Tian Xiong's subordinates were flag bearers, they were just ordinary Nanming garrison troops a few months ago.

Meng Jun had his men cut off the braids on all the captives' heads, and branded their arms with the words "Kill the Tartars".

Han Xiong said to the captives, "You have massacred the people of Jiangyin and killed the villagers. This crime is unforgivable. If it were not for the governor's mercy, you would all be dead under the city. The governor will give you a chance to live. If you capture Hangzhou, all your previous crimes will be forgiven."

Meng Jun organized these captives into an effective army, which was divided into ten battalions. Each battalion was given weapons before the battle. Meng Jun said, "Fight to atone for your sins, and those who retreat will be killed."

In the second year of the Ming Dynasty's Longwu reign, the third year of the Qing Dynasty's Shunzhi reign, on the eighth day of the first lunar month, Meng Jun personally led a large army south to Hangzhou, along with the men and women serving as soldiers and civilians. Meng Jun led nearly 100,000 troops, and almost every household in Suzhou City had a male serving in the army. When Meng's army moved, the Qing court's spies quickly reported the emergency to Hangzhou and Jiangning.

The flags were flying and the drums were beating like thunder. All the soldiers were dressed in black clothes and armor. They carried their bags and weapons and began a long journey, crossing mountains and rivers. Although the weather was cold, their clothes and armor were soaked with sweat.

The generals commanded the troops forward. They rode on their war horses, waving command flags, issuing orders one after another, and adjusting the marching pace at any time.

The army marched southwards, with Huang Cheng's cavalry advancing dozens of miles ahead of the main army, constantly taking turns to replace them.

The Meng army moved relatively quickly, covering a hundred and fifty miles in five days. Meng Jun thought to himself that after this period of training and exercise, the generals' ability to lead troops had indeed improved significantly.

At this time, the scout reported, "Report to the governor, the front has reached Tongxiang Town."

Tongxiang Town, where Fang Guoan was defeated and Zhang Mingzhen died for his country. Meng Jun thought for a moment and said, "Let's go and take a look." Gu Yanwu, Yang En and others beside him nodded in response.

When we arrived at the battlefield, we saw that it had been cleaned up. There was a big mound of earth not far away, which was the burial place of the rebel soldiers. These bodies were all buried by the villagers of Tongxiang Town. Torn flags and broken spears could still be seen on the battlefield.

At this time, two villagers not far away saw Meng Jun and his group, and were so scared that they quickly left, looking as if they were trying to avoid them.

Meng Jun said to Gao Yi, "Gao Yi, go and invite those two villagers over."

Gao Yi immediately bowed and obeyed. He jumped onto a horse swiftly, whipped the horse whip, and the horse galloped away like an arrow.

After a while, two villagers came to Meng Jun tremblingly. Meng Jun said gently, "Don't be afraid, my dear fathers. I just have something to ask you."

One of them said with a trembling voice, "General, if you have any questions, please tell us what we know. We will not hide anything."

Meng Jun nodded and said, "Did a big battle happen here a few days ago?"

The old man nodded quickly and said, "Yes, General. It happened more than a month ago. The shouting and screaming were incredibly loud, and there were also the thumping of drums and the wailing sounds that lasted for almost a whole day. The next day, some brave people came over to take a look, and there were corpses everywhere. There was so much blood that the ground was black. No one came to collect the bodies for two or three days, until Old Master Zhao said that this was not a good idea and that people would get sick, so he organized a lot of people to carry the bodies. Now people in the town don't dare to walk this way. They all say that there are ominous signs. There are wailing sounds here in the middle of the night."

After saying that, the old man seemed to be still frightened and looked towards the wilderness. Then he seemed to have thought of something and said, "Oh, there is another place where there is a crowd. It may be an official."

Meng Jun hurriedly asked, "Where is he buried?"

The old man shook his head and said, "They are all buried together, all in that big tomb. It's really a bit evil here. There are really noises at night, woo woo woo, and if you listen carefully, you can even hear the sound of fighting."

Meng Jun looked towards the battlefield, and heard a long voice: "Old man, those are men who sacrificed their lives for their country. You don't have to be afraid. They will only protect you."

"The people of the vast mountains and rivers are desolate, and the soldiers of the Three Qins are raining down," Gu Yanwu said with emotion, and then he said angrily, "It's hateful that Fang Guoan has brought disaster to the country and the people, causing the fall of Zhejiang. He really deserves to be killed."

"Forget it, now that things have come to this, I can only do my best. In this battle, I am ready to fight Bolo to the death. Let's go back." Meng Jun sighed, and then said in a firm voice

……

At this time, Bolo had already arrived in Lishui. Wherever the Eight Banners went, all the prefectures and counties surrendered. As soon as the army arrived in Lishui, Taizhou, Wenzhou, and Longquan sent envoys to surrender. Bolo was overjoyed and was about to attack Xianxia Pass when the military report from Meng Jun heading south from Suzhou was placed in front of Bolo.

Tulai looked at Bolo solemnly and asked, "Marshal, what should we do next? Should we return to Hangzhou or continue to march to Xianxia Pass!" There was a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Bolo frowned, and after a moment, he slowly raised his head, looked at Tulai and said with a sneer, "Return, this thief Meng finally stuck his head out. This time, I will never let him return to Suzhou alive. After the city of Suzhou is captured, I will slaughter them all to vent my hatred."