Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 66 Persuading Surrender

The letter that Bolo wrote to Meng Jun did not contain any temptations of official titles or promises. In the few words, he only praised Meng Jun, saying that heroes all over the world come from the grassroots, and Meng Jun was originally a small captain. It was a talent that the court buried. It was rare for him to reach his current position after many twists and turns. He advised Meng Jun to surrender as soon as possible and not lose his title of marquis, otherwise the city would be destroyed when the army surrounded it.

Meng Jun placed the letter on the table with his backhand and looked at the man who was trying to persuade the general to surrender. The man was tall and slender, wearing a long robe, with a confident and calm face. He was talking at this moment. He showed no fear in front of the generals of Meng's army and acted in a domineering manner.

"The Qing dynasty obeyed the will of heaven. Wherever the army went, all the strong cities and strong passes surrendered. In just a few months, the Hongguang Emperor was captured, and the four towns in Jiangnan all surrendered. The land of Jiangnan was all in the hands of the court. If the general surrendered, how could his title be missing?

"Now that the Ming court has fallen, it is useless to defend it. Hundreds of thousands of troops are ready to go. How can the mere city of Suzhou stop them? Wherever they pass, everything will be destroyed. Even if the general does not worry about his own wealth, he should still seek a way out for his subordinates. What's more, Suzhou is a thousand-year-old ancient city and a prosperous place. It would be a pity if it was destroyed in one day. The general would surrender only if he could. Don't you see that Marshal Wu has been named King of Pingxi, Governor Hong is in charge of Zhenjiang South, and Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, and Zuo Menggeng have a million troops bowing their heads and obeying his orders? The general's territory is only a hundred miles, and he has less than a hundred generals and tens of thousands of soldiers. How can he stop Marshal Bolo's tiger and wolf army? The lives of millions of people in Suzhou are in the hands of General Meng. I hope the general will think twice before acting."

After hearing this, several generals of Meng Jun in the hall looked worried, angry, and indifferent. Meng Jun glanced at them.

Then Meng Jun smiled faintly and said, "A man who knows the current situation is a hero. Unfortunately, I, Meng Jun, am not a hero. When two countries are at war, envoys will not be killed. You don't need to waste your words. Go back and tell Bolo that I, Meng Jun, am willing to shed blood for my homeland."

The Qing envoy was not angry either. He just bowed to Meng Jun and said, "General, you are a man of high moral character and loyalty. However, the struggle for the throne between the Prince of Lu in Zhejiang and the Longwu in Fujian is getting more and more intense. I don't know who will come to rescue you when my army arrives. You are trapped in an isolated city and in a desperate situation. You are unwise."

Meng Jun waved his hands, not wanting to bother with this person any more. Seeing this, the messenger said nothing more, turned around and swaggered out of the hall.

After the messenger left, Meng Jun said, "Everyone, please sit down. One person can make a plan, while the other three can make a plan. Let's discuss how to fight this war. Let's talk about it."

There were only a few people in the hall: Yang En, Meng Bian, Meng Bizhi, Lin Shiqi, Han Xiong, Gao Yi, and Zhao Yongping, all of whom could be considered Meng Jun's confidants.

Meng Bian sighed and said, "These days there have been rumors that the Tartar prince is going to send troops to the border. Although the people in the city are panicking, it is still relatively stable."

"Governor, should we evacuate some people to Songjiang area and leave only the strong and healthy people in the city?" Zhao Yongping asked hesitantly.

"Not appropriate." Before Meng Jun could speak, Yang En stood up and refuted loudly.

Meng Jun was a little confused. There was no use keeping the old and weak in the city. He thought yesterday that he would disperse a group of elite troops out of the city and form a new army in Songjiang and Taicang to serve as reinforcements.

"Well, Muzhi, you can go ahead and speak." Meng Jun wanted to hear Yang En's opinion.

"Governor, Songjiang, Taicang, Jiaxing and Kunshan are all secondary. Suzhou is where the governor started his career. Suzhou has high walls and deep moats. If Suzhou cannot be defended, the rest of the places will not be able to resist Bolo's army."

Yang En paused and continued, "Commander-in-chief, if the skin is gone, the hair will not be attached. If the people are evacuated, the soldiers will not have the determination to die. From top to bottom, there is a trace of retreat. The only way is to defend Suzhou and wait for the situation to change."

Yes, Meng Jun only thought that he could not defend the isolated city to death, and always wanted external reinforcements, but his strength was insufficient. It was also unknown how much help the newly established division could provide in rescuing Suzhou.

After hearing what Yang En said, everyone was silent. Seeing this, Meng Jun laughed and said to everyone around him, "There is always a way out. A few months ago, we had no more than a thousand soldiers, no food or weapons, and no place to stand. Now, in just a few months, we have destroyed Li Chengdong and defeated Bai Yongfu. We have tens of thousands of soldiers. Suzhou City is high and the moat is deep. The food in the city can supply the army for three years. What is there to be afraid of?"

After saying that, Meng Jun looked at everyone, and everyone looked a little excited, and then said, "How strong are the Qing soldiers? In the Battle of Yangcheng Lake, there were only more than a thousand Eight Banners soldiers. We had the advantage of time and place, but still paid nearly twice as much. However, we were ready to die. In the field battle, we almost wiped out all the Eight Banners soldiers. There were only a few Eight Banners soldiers. Think about how the Ming Dynasty was able to stop the Qing Dynasty in Liaodong. Defending a city is not a field battle. No matter how the Qing Dynasty claimed to be invincible, one Manchu soldier was equivalent to several Green Camp soldiers, but when they got off their horses and climbed the ladders, they were still the same as those Green Camp soldiers. On the city wall, even a naughty boy throwing a brick could kill them. Under the arrows, stones and artillery on the top of the city, they are still flesh and blood. So even if Bolo's army arrives in Suzhou, I believe that we can make them return in defeat. We must let these Tartars know that Jiangnan is not only a place of prosperity in literature, but also a place of bravery and strength for men."

Meng Jun's confidence immediately boosted everyone's spirits. After a moment, Lin Shiqi said, "If the Qing army fails to capture the city after a long siege, what about besieging it?"

Hearing this, Meng Bizhi said with a sullen face, "If the Qing soldiers want to besiege the city, then let them do it. Suzhou has enough food and grass now, so why should we be afraid of them? The north is in ruins, and I wonder how much food and grass the Tartars can gather to keep the siege going for a few years."

At this time, Han Xiong also said, "We use cannons to defend the city, and the Qing army must have cannons as well. As long as we destroy a part of the city wall, the Qing soldiers can swarm in and slaughter us."

"Yes, nowadays artillery is indeed a powerful weapon for siege. When the Qing army broke into Yangzhou City, they waited until the artillery arrived before launching a large-scale attack. Although the walls of Suzhou are thick, if the red cannon bombards day and night, I am afraid it will not be able to withstand it. But don't forget that the red cannon weighs thousands of pounds. It is the rainy season in Jiangnan now, and the roads are muddy. It is definitely not so lucky to come here."

Yang En first explained slowly, and then said, "In terms of time, location, and people, we have more advantages than the Qing army. In terms of time, those Manchu Eight Banners are all northerners. They just came to the south of the Yangtze River and are not used to the climate and water. What's more, the soldiers of Bolo who besieged Jiangyin were exhausted, which is a big disadvantage. In terms of location, the south of the Yangtze River is densely covered with water networks and lakes, which is not conducive to long-distance raids by cavalry. Our army is protected by city walls, so we have the advantage. Finally, let's talk about people. Under Dorgon's order to shave his hair, the Jiangnan rebel army surged. The 81 days in Jiangyin are ironclad evidence. How many people surrendered and rebelled again? In Yangzhou in 10 days, 800,000 people were massacred. Is there such a brutal tribe in the world that has gained the world?"

Meng Jun stood up, clenched his fists, slammed them heavily on the table, and laughed coldly, "How many people are there in total in the Manchus? Only a few million. This is just the population of our city of Suzhou. The real elite Eight Banners cavalry in armor is only more than 100,000. Bolo's main force is said to be 100,000, but the real elite among them is at most 20,000. The rest are mostly Mongolian Eight Banners, Han Eight Banners, and a large number of surrendered troops. As long as we are united and dare to fight the Tartars to the death, they are just a paper tiger. Otherwise, would he, Bolo, come to recruit us?"