Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 161 Another 1 years

Meng Jun was wearing a green Confucian robe, looking somewhat elegant, but the aura of someone who had been in a high position for a long time could not be concealed. At this moment, many generals were gathering around him, sitting or standing, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Everyone has been busy for so long, and on New Year's Day, everyone puts down their work and waits until after the New Year to get back to work.

The barracks were filled with the sound of soldiers talking and laughing. The rear camp continuously sent various dishes to each camp, most of which were big fish and meat, such as chicken, duck, fish and meat, and the amount of each dish was quite astonishing.

"It's true that the commander-in-chief likes us, his group of big soldiers, the most. He accompanies us, a group of rough guys, every New Year," a brave soldier said to Meng Jun in a teasing tone.

"Hahahaha" Meng Jun laughed loudly, and then responded: "Who made you look so handsome?"

For a moment, the scene was extremely heated. The military camp was full of rough men. They were sitting or standing, holding wine glasses in their hands, their faces filled with generosity and excitement.

After they drank a little, they became drunk and became even more rough. They blurted out dirty jokes and foul language without any scruples.

Xia Wanchun was accompanying Meng Jun. He never expected that the governor, who was usually serious and acted decisively and dignified, would speak so many dirty words, which left Xia Wanchun stunned.

Meng Jun walked along the way, greeting the soldiers, patting their chests from time to time and boasting, "Good man!" The soldiers who were praised looked proud.

However, the military camp was so vast that Meng Jun walked around for an hour and a half, but he probably didn't even finish one-tenth of the walk. He only saw endless tents and military flags fluttering.

…………

A few days later, Meng Bian just returned to Suzhou from Jiangning. As soon as he entered the city, he went straight to the Governor's Mansion.

"Young Master, I'm back." There were still some beads of sweat on Meng Bian's forehead. As soon as he entered the door, he knelt on the ground and said to Meng Jun.

Meng Jun quickly stood up, walked forward quickly, helped Meng Bian up, and said, "There's no outsider here, why are you kneeling?" After that, he looked at Meng Bian and said with a smile, "It's been a long time since we last met. You've become stronger and darker. Come sit down and talk."

Meng Bian smiled and touched his head, saying, "It's the sun."

The two chatted for a while, and Meng Bian told Meng Jun about the various arrangements he had made in Jiangning in recent days. Finally, he handed the 30,000 taels of bills donated by Wu Weiye to Meng Jun. Meng Jun looked at the bills and had an idea. Perhaps when the time is right, he could reform the economy, reserve gold, and print paper money. However, it was too early, so Meng Jun shook his head and dismissed the idea.

Then Meng Jun looked at the bill and said to Meng Bian, "Bian, I know that the money needed to set up branches in various places must be quite a lot. I haven't allocated any money in recent days. I'm afraid you are also worried about money. You can give this money to the Investigation Department."

Meng Bian said a little embarrassedly: "Master, actually there is more. When we recaptured Huzhou last time, we got a lot of silver. In addition to handing it over to the governor, the Investigation Department also saved a lot of silver."

Meng Jun was stunned and frowned, "Why didn't you tell me this?"

Meng Bian's eyes widened when he heard this, and he cried out, "Master, why didn't I tell you? Didn't I write a letter to report it?"

Meng Jun thought about it and it seemed that he had said it before, but it was the time when Yu Bolo was fighting, so he didn't pay attention. Then Meng Jun smiled and said, "Okay, let's do it this way for now. You keep the money. The Intelligence Bureau needs to set up branches not only in Jiangnan, but also in Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, and even Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Beijing. People need to be sent there gradually."

Meng Bian nodded and replied with a smile: "Yes, Master, I will arrange it."

Then Meng Jun began to ask about the main business: "Bi'an, you have been in Jiangning for such a long time. In your opinion, the defense of Jiangning City is stable."

Meng Bian also put away his smile and replied seriously: "The city of Jiangning is high and thick. Even the ladders built by the army have to be thickened and lengthened before they can be placed on the top of the city. If we attack by force, the casualties will be incalculable."

Meng Jun was somewhat silent. How could he not know that Jiangning City was high and the moat was thick? Wuxi, Changzhou, Zhenjiang and other places were not difficult to be conquered by a large army. But how could Jiangning City be conquered? He knew that the Taiping Army had used coffins to blow up the city all the way from Guangxi, but he didn't know whether the wall of Jiangning could be blown open with its thickness. It seemed that even if it couldn't be blown open, it would waste some gunpowder and have to try.

Meng Bian continued, "Most of the Green Camp soldiers stationed in Jiangning were transferred from various cities in the north. Judging from their appearance, they should be slightly stronger than the Green Camp in the south of the Yangtze River, but they are not without weaknesses. These transferred soldiers are not subordinate to each other, so their coordination is definitely insufficient."

"Okay, I know."

"Master, how about I dispatch a group of spies from the Eavesdropping Department to sneak into Jiangning? When the army attacks the city, we can attack from both inside and outside, which may be very effective."

Meng Jun thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "Hong Chengchou is stationed in Jiangning. Is the city gate so wide?"

"Not really. The Qing army would check everyone entering and leaving the city gate, and also check their palms. If there was anyone suspicious, they would arrest him immediately. Even if they arrested the wrong person, they would not release him," Meng Bian said, shaking his head.

Although Meng Bian had held a knife and chopped people, he did not carry a knife or a gun every day like the soldiers in the army. In addition, his face looked handsome, so he did not arouse suspicion when he went in and out of the city. Compared with Meng Jun, Meng Bian at this moment was even more like a young master.

"Since we are setting up defenses like this, the people you call out must not be elite soldiers. It's fine if there are a few of them, but if there are too many of them, there's no guarantee that there won't be trouble. There's no need to do that for now. I think I should have a plan to break through Jiangning."

Meng Bian was stunned. Jiangning was such a majestic city, how could the young master say that he had a plan to break the city? However, he felt that the young master would not act without a purpose, and perhaps he really had a brilliant plan to break the city.

"Bi'an, now that Jiangning's business is done, there's no need to go back for now."

"Yes, Master"

After Meng Bian finished speaking, he was silent for a while, with a hesitant look on his face, as if he didn't know how to start the conversation.

Meng Jun glanced at Meng Bian and scolded him with a smile: "Just say whatever you want to say, why are you hesitating?"

"Master, I want to get married," Meng Bian said shyly. After all, although Meng Bian now holds great power, he is still a servant of the Meng family. Logically, the matter of marrying a wife should be decided by the Meng family.

"Oh, young master, I haven't married yet, but you have to get married first. Tell me, which girl do you like?" Meng Jun was stunned, then said with a smile. He didn't have to make the decision for Meng Bian, as long as he was willing, it would be fine.

"Gu Qingmei, I want to marry her"

After asking carefully, Meng Jun finally found out who Gu Qingmei was. After hesitating for a moment, Meng Jun slowly said, "Although this woman is righteous, she is from a prostitute family after all. You have to think it through."

"Master, I have thought it through. I only want to marry her in this life?" Meng Bian said with a firm face.

"Okay, a man's promise is worth a thousand gold. Since you want to marry her, I have no objection," Meng Jun said, and patted Meng Bian's shoulder.