Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 91 Strange

January 13th, Hangzhou City.

At this time, the gates of Hangzhou City were tightly closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. Even messengers could only enter and leave through the hanging basket on the city wall. Those entering and leaving had to be identified and searched before they could enter the city. Unless there was an order from Governor Zhang Cunren, the city gates could not be opened. It was said that when Meng's army arrived, the city gates would be blocked to prevent Meng's army from breaking in. Before Meng's army arrived, a tense atmosphere had spread throughout the city.

The defenders on the city wall were already moving stones and rolling logs in preparation for the defense of the city. The scouts from Hangzhou kept reporting back the approximate route of Meng's army. In the government office of Hangzhou Governor Zhang Cunren, petty officials of all levels were coming in and out frequently. Zhang Cunren kept issuing various orders, conscripting laborers, patrolling the streets, checking spies, and counting granaries. All of them required Zhang Cunren's approval.

Outside the city of Hangzhou, the defenders set up a large number of horse-traps, trenches, and chevaux de frise. At the same time, when Zhang Cunren received the news that Meng Jun was sending a large number of troops, he sent an express horse to report to Bolo. At the same time, he suggested to Jiangning that Meng Jun had already sent out troops and Suzhou was empty. If they could mobilize the army and besiege Suzhou, Meng Jun's defeat would not be far away.

Li Chengdong at this time had mixed feelings. He originally thought that he could make a comeback in Songjiang City, but Huang Yingjie rebelled and forced him to come to Hangzhou City. The feeling of living under someone else's roof was not pleasant. Li Chengdong now only hoped to be able to garrison another place, but he had no intention of rebelling against the Qing and joining the Ming Dynasty again. He did not expect that Meng Jun, whom he had disdained at the beginning, had now gathered a crowd of 100,000.

Whenever Li Chengdong heard his adopted son Li Yuanyin whispering in his ear, "The Ming Dynasty has not lost its destiny," he would refute him mercilessly. Li Yuanyin was like an annoying fly, buzzing in Li Chengdong's ear from time to time, trying to shake his determination. However, Li Chengdong firmly believed in his choice, believing that the Ming Dynasty was dead and the Southern Ming Dynasty was hopeless, and he turned a blind eye to his adopted son's persuasion.

Li Yuanyin, whose original surname was Jia, loved reading since childhood and knew the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period. He was adopted by Li Chengdong since childhood. After the Qing court entered the pass, they shaved their heads and changed their clothes. Li Yuanyin felt disgusted but had to obey. When he arrived in Hangzhou, he witnessed the courage of many people who would rather die than shave their heads. He was even more indignant at the rampant tyranny of the Eight Banners Manchu soldiers in Hangzhou.

"Alas" Upon hearing that Meng Jun was about to besiege Hangzhou, Li Yuanyin was at home, drinking to the point of suppressing his ambition. Until today, he didn't know what to do. After sobering up, he sighed even more. Li Yuanyin no longer wanted to work for the Qing Dynasty, but he was unwilling to betray his adoptive father.

…………

The march was boring, arduous and dangerous, which was the main theme of life in the army. Meng Jun had only been in the army for more than half a year, but his originally smooth and delicate skin had turned bronze. His skin looked a little rough due to wind and sun, and his knuckles and inner thighs were covered with calluses. Life in the army was not an easy job.

The journey was relatively smooth. The official road from Suzhou to Hangzhou was relatively neat and not difficult to travel. The weather was also good. It had not rained since the start. If it had rained during the march, the soldiers would have been even more tired.

At the beginning of the Yin hour in the afternoon every day, the entire army would set up camp and rest. At the Mao hour of the next day, they would cook, pack up supplies, break camp and set off. The scouts' task was even more arduous. They had to keep running in front of the front, rotating their comrades and serving as the eyes and ears of the army. The closer they got to Hangzhou, the more nervous the scouts became. Some scouts and Qing army scouts had already stared at each other from afar.

On the 16th, the army was 20 miles away from Hangzhou, and the city of Hangzhou was within sight.

The army set up camp in the central tent.

"Everyone, we will arrive in Hangzhou tomorrow. The news I received was that Bolo's Eight Banners soldiers returned from Lishui on the 14th, which was the day before yesterday. Given the speed of the Eight Banners soldiers, it will take no more than half a month at the latest. I estimate that Bolo will reach Hangzhou in twelve days. In other words, how can we capture Hangzhou within ten days?" Meng Jun frowned and asked seriously.

The generals were speechless for a moment. Even Qian Biao, who had never taken the Eight Banners seriously, felt it was a bit tricky at this moment. How could they capture Hangzhou in ten days?

After a moment, Han Xiong said hesitantly, "General, if we besiege the city without attacking it, when the Bolo army arrives, we will first defeat Bolo and then attack Hangzhou."

Meng Jun shook his head and said, "Most of Bolo's troops are cavalry. If they attack our supply, even though we have enough food and grass, we can't sustain it for long. We can't afford to delay and can only attack."

At this time, Yang En said, "Governor, have you investigated the details of the garrison in Hangzhou?"

Meng Jun nodded to Zhang Bo, who then took out a secret letter. There was no signature on the letter, and the handwriting on the paper was crooked, so one could barely make out what the words meant.

"Two thousand of the Eight Banners, two thousand of Zhuma La, Wu La Chan, and Li Chengdong, ten thousand of the Green Camp, and twenty thousand civilian laborers have been recruited." Yang En looked at the words carefully, reading them out word by word. Although the words were few, they were extremely crucial.

"We have artillery. We can use more than twenty cannons to bombard one place for three to five days, until the city is destroyed and we can rush in all at once. How about that?" Qian Biao touched his head and said.

"We can try, but we still need a large army to climb the city," Bai Yongfu also interrupted.

"We will start by surrounding the city tomorrow, digging gun positions, and building siege equipment," Meng Jun made the decision.

On the 17th, Meng's soldiers had arrived at the east city of Hangzhou, the artillery had been deployed, and the laborers were already building ladders and siege towers. With tens of thousands of people working together, the construction speed was extremely fast.

Meng Jun asked with a smile, "Changshi Yang, what is your merit for being the first to ascend the battlefield?"

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, being the first to climb the mountain, beheading the general, and seizing the flag are all the best," Yang En said, citing classics.

The bravest warriors will be promoted first if there is a vacancy in the army, and will also receive financial rewards.

"Such a reward for the first to reach the city is still not enough. Pass my order. The first to reach the city will be promoted three levels, and will be given three thousand taels of silver, beauties, and land," Meng Jun said loudly.

After the messenger had informed the entire army, Meng Jun stood up on his horse, galloped in front of the army, and shouted loudly, "If a soldier flees, kill the soldier; if a general flees, kill the general; if the commander flees, kill the commander. I guarantee to all the soldiers with my head that I will live and die with you and will never retreat a single step."

The messenger behind him passed his words on to different people, shouting loudly.

"We live and die together, we live and die together!" the soldiers of the two towns shouted loudly in excitement.

"We will win!" Meng Jun ran back and forth, shouting loudly.

"We must win, we must win, we must win..." the soldiers echoed in unison, and the sound echoed everywhere, making the Hangzhou city defenders panic.

Zhang Cunren held his hands on the battlement, frowning. The morale of the Meng army was high, and it seemed that Hangzhou City would not be so easy to defend. He only hoped that the Bolo army would return to defend as soon as possible and attack Meng Jun together. In a field battle, Zhang Cunren thought that there was no possibility of failure. As for Hangzhou City being captured by Meng Jun within half a month, that was even more impossible. The chance of victory was on my side...