Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 235 Divine Calculation

In fact, Meng Jun had no fear of Jin Shengheng. In the past three years, Meng Jun's opponents had fallen in front of him one by one. With the current strength of the Zhou army, could it not deal with Jin Shengheng, who had a large number of troops on paper and had forced conscripts? Only the Qing army on the other side of the river was Meng Jun's concern. For this reason, Meng Jun issued several military orders, ordering Bai Yongfu, Gao Jinku, and Zhao Yongping to guard the city strictly and not to take it lightly.

Meng Jun was very confident in these three people. Needless to say, Zhao Yongping was a veteran general, and Bai Yongfu was the biggest loophole in Bolo's siege of Suzhou. The Qing court wanted to kill Bai Yongfu as soon as possible. Although Gao Jinku was a general who had just surrendered, he captured Prince Lekedehun. Even if Gao Jinku went crazy, he would not think that the Qing court would spare him.

At the same time, Meng Jun ordered the navy under Shen Tingyang to patrol the river day and night. Although the Qing army built a fort at the Guazhou ferry and Geng Zhongming's navy took the opportunity to anchor in Guazhou, the Qing army could not easily cross the river with only Shen Tingyang's navy.

Later, he ordered Meng Bian to secretly send spies to try to observe Bai Yintu's actions, but this was difficult as Yangzhou had almost become an empty city. The only chance was for the laborers from various places to transport food and supplies. However, Bai Yintu was extremely cautious and did not allow laborers from various places to enter the camp. The laborers were only transported from the periphery by auxiliary troops in the camp. At the same time, the Eight Banners soldiers were sent to monitor closely.

After receiving the order, Meng Bian responded with a wry smile and could only send people to try to infiltrate. During these few months, Meng Bian wanted to reconnect with Wu Weiye and Mao Xiang who were far away in Beijing.

Therefore, Meng Bian's Qingluan Guard invested a lot of manpower and material resources to infiltrate the north, all the way through Huainan, Suzhou, Xuzhou, entering Shandong, Tai'an, Jinan, Dezhou, and then passing Hebei, Cangzhou, and entering Beijing. There were dozens of large cities and more than a hundred small cities along the way, and secret agents were deployed along the way.

But it was not a smooth journey. There were countless emergencies. Either the spies who had just been deployed were killed by bandits, or some spies were forcibly conscripted, or there were diseases and accidents. So far, half of the deployment has not been completed, and we still have to find a way to investigate Baiyintu's actions.

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The sun was rising, golden light was spreading all over the land, and a mighty army was winding like a giant dragon. Six thousand fire musketeers were lined up in front, and the fire muskets in their hands were reflecting the light in the sun. These fire musketeers were dressed in black uniforms and were all without armor. On the one hand, the armor production was insufficient, and on the other hand, the fire musketeers fought at a distance. Meng Jun did not intend to let these fire musketeers fight in close combat.

It’s not that Meng Jun didn’t think about adding a bayonet to the musket. The main reason is that if the bayonet is installed at the muzzle of the musket, it will be difficult to insert it if it is too tight, and the bayonet will fall off if it is too loose. Moreover, the current bayonet itself is not strong enough to penetrate the armor of the enemy. It can only be said to be useless now.

Following them were 3,000 heavy armored soldiers. These soldiers were all elite soldiers selected from various towns. They were strong and tall. These heavy armored soldiers only had thin single clothes on their bodies. This was because their armor was placed on the auxiliary soldiers beside them. Each heavy armored soldier was equipped with at least two auxiliary soldiers, who took turns carrying the heavy armor to reduce the burden on the heavy armored soldiers.

The newly formed 10,000-man Wusheng Town Army followed the pace of the front. During the march, the formation was inevitably a little uneven, and Liang Sanhu was busy running back and forth beside the formation, scolding the soldiers. At the side of the army, scouts or messengers rushed past from time to time, either to convey military orders or to report the situation ahead.

In the rear camp, a large number of auxiliary troops were transporting artillery, baggage, fodder, and gunpowder. The team stretched for miles. Because Meng Jun was worried about the defense of the river, not only were all the new artillery cast this year transferred to Bai Yongfu and Zhao Yongping, but also more than 20 of the original 50 or so artillery pieces were allocated to strengthen the artillery strength of the two towns. Therefore, there were only 32 artillery pieces accompanying the army in this battle, and there were nearly 100 small artillery pieces such as the tiger squat cannon.

In this battle, Meng Jun wanted to defeat the enemy with firearms, but he rarely encountered Jin Shengheng, who was the second to Zuo Liangyu and tried to win with human wave tactics. When they engaged in a head-on battle, the cannons would fire first, and then the small cannons would fire when they were closer. When they were within range, the five rows of the Po Lu Army would fire continuously. If Jin Shengheng was really the reincarnation of Sun Wu, these conscripted soldiers could still rush up with murderous intent, and there were also the archers in the back row. If that didn't work, then the heavy armored army would go into battle and fight face to face.

During the march, Meng Jun looked at Li Wendao who was following him and said with a smile: "I heard that the Taoist's divine divination is famous throughout Jinling. So today, please calculate for me whether our army can win this battle!"

Li Wendao smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty's face is so noble that I cannot even describe it! However, I have observed that many of your subordinates have noble faces, so I infer that your Majesty will win!"

Hearing this, Meng Jun smiled and nodded, saying, "The Taoist priest is indeed a master of divination!"

Regardless of whether it is true or false, fantasy or not, it is fun to listen to. No wonder emperors since ancient times have liked flatterers rather than upright ministers. Even the Heavenly Khan Li Shimin smashed Wei Zheng's tomb after his death.

However, looking at Li Wendao with a serious face, Meng Jun felt that he was not a flatterer. To be honest, Meng Jun still couldn't understand why this Taoist followed him. He didn't want money, nor did he seek power, nor did he love beauty. He had no requirements for a house, and his three meals a day were very simple.

Meng Jun shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He just let this Taoist go. The war was imminent. Even if the troops recruited by Jin Shengheng were poor, he still had the headquarters from when he conquered Jiangxi and Fujian in the past. What's more, there were so many people. If he underestimated them, he would be like an ant biting an elephant to death.

Li Wenda looked at Meng Jun's back on the horse with a faint smile on his face. How great a person's achievements are depends on how big the stage is given to him. With more than 100,000 soldiers and occupying the rich land of Jiangnan, he already has an advantage in the chessboard of this world. Who dares to say that he will not be another Zhu Yuanzhang? Meng Jun's experience is not as miserable as Zhu Yuanzhang's, and he will never kill meritorious officials in the future.

For himself, he does not seek wealth or power. Beautiful women and luxurious houses are nothing but passing clouds to him, and they will be gone in a flash. The only thing he hopes for is eternal fame. When he retires after achieving success in the future, he will find a bamboo forest, practice Buddhism with concentration, and hide his achievements and fame!