Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 12: Suzhou Falls 1

At nightfall, Meng Jun and his men had arrived at the outskirts of Suzhou's southern city. More than a hundred cavalrymen led by Lin Shiqi had tied up nearly a hundred passers-by. These passers-by were all terrified, thinking they had met bandits on the road, but their mouths were stuffed and their hands were tied up. Meng Jun looked at these passers-by and had no time to pay attention to them at this time.

"Pass the order down, rest for half an hour and eat some dry food. Shiqi's cavalry should feed the horses quickly. The cavalry will put on armor after half an hour." Meng Jun said to Lin Shiqi while panting. "Yes." Lin Shiqi responded with a fist salute.

At this time in the southern city of Suzhou, the Green Camp soldiers guarding the city gate looked idle. Some were chatting with each other, while others were sleeping against the wall. The soldiers on the top of the city wall did the same, occasionally looking outside the city, but outside the city was still as quiet as usual.

Yang Gan looked outside the city nervously. A familiar soldier next to him teased in an obscene manner, "Captain Yang, why are you sweating so much? Have you done something bad? Otherwise, why would your wife's relatives follow you today?" Gao Yi and the other two were standing not far away. When they heard the soldier's words, they didn't say much. Gao Yi also looked outside the city from time to time, wondering when the torches would be lit.

Yang Can laughed dryly and said, "It's hot, it's hot," then as if he remembered something, he cursed, "Get out, you have nothing to do so stay away. I always have the final say at home, they are just inexperienced. Come here tonight to keep watch with me, and you will go back soon. What do you mean they were sent by my wife to monitor me?" Although Yang Can was nervous inside, there was no sign of anything unusual on his face.

Meng Jun sat on the ground to rest. He estimated that the time was almost up, so he stood up and whispered, "Shiqi, pass the order down. The cavalrymen should put on their armor and the infantrymen should get ready." After a cup of tea, the cavalrymen had all put on their armor. Meng Jun jumped on his horse and said to Bizhi, "Pass the order to light three torches."

Three torches lit up one after another. Gao Yi was the first to see them from the top of the city wall. He immediately came to the city gate and signaled to Yang Can and his bodyguards. The three of them slowly came to the side of the city gate. Gao Yi and the other two suddenly raised the horizontal lever and pushed the city gate open with force. The city gate was pulled open with a humming sound, and the soldiers who were fishing at the city gate turned their heads to look over.

Several Qing soldiers stood up at once and shouted to Gao Yi and the other two, "What are you doing?" The nearby soldiers began to gather around them. At this time, Yang Can drew his sword and pointed it at everyone, saying, "Stop, retreat, brothers, trust me, just disperse. I guarantee everyone's safety. If anyone dares to take a step forward, I will show no mercy." Yang Can has been in the army for many years, and he has many trusted people around him, and there are countless acquaintances. Seeing this situation, several Qing soldiers also stood beside Yang Can, while the rest of the soldiers were uncertain. Some began to disperse to the side, but there were still a dozen people surrounding Yang Can, with Wu Bo taking the lead and raising his sword to ask Yang Can, "Captain Yang, what do you mean by this? Are you going to rebel?"

"Yes, I am rebelling today. I don't want to keep this braid anymore. I don't want to be a slave of the Tartars. With tens of thousands of troops outside the city, Suzhou City can't be defended. Wu Bo, as long as you step aside, I, Yang Can, guarantee that everyone will be fine. I, Yang Can, have been here for so many years, and everyone knows my character. I will never lead you to death," Yang Can said loudly to everyone.

When Meng Jun opened the city gate and it made a humming sound, Meng Jun waved his sword and said, "Go in!" The sound of cavalry hooves rumbled, and the dozen people surrounding Yang Can turned pale when they heard the sound. Yang Can took the opportunity to say, "Don't get out of the way, it's not worth losing your life in vain." After saying that, he moved to the wall next to the city gate. At this time, Gao Yi and the other two had completely opened the city gate. Gao Yi had already seen Meng Jun in front and the cavalry behind him, less than 300 meters away from the city gate.

Meng Jun could already see Gao Yi's face while riding on his horse. Meng Jun said excitedly, "Charge, the city gate is open, the matter is settled, go... go..." Meng Jun whipped his horse faster, and the guards beside him closely guarded Meng Jun, while the infantrymen behind him sprinted forward.

A Green Camp soldier on the distant city wall suddenly shouted in a shrill voice, "Help! There are cavalry charging the city!" The sound was so loud that it broke the silence of Suzhou City. Zhong Kuan, who was sleeping, suddenly woke up, got up and looked out the window. It was still pitch black, but gradually there were sounds coming from far away, getting louder and louder. Zhong Kuan shouted, "Help! Go and see what happened!" A guard immediately clasped his fists and replied yes, then rushed out of the prefectural government office.

When Gao Yi opened the city, the servants sent by Zhang Zhuo to observe the South City immediately rushed to Zhang's house when they saw the city gate opened. Zhang Zhuo was sitting in the study, waiting for news. The servants were all armed and waiting in the courtyard. After a while, the servants ran in sweating. Zhang Zhuo heard that the city gate had been opened, clapped his hands and said to his eldest son Zhang Bo, "Go ahead. You lead the team yourself. The safety of the family depends on this move." After that, he patted Zhang Bo on the shoulder. Zhang Bo didn't say anything, but nodded with a firm look in his eyes. Yang En, who was next to him, said, "Master Zhang, I will go with you." Zhang Bo didn't object. It would be bad if Meng Jun mistakenly thought he was a Qing soldier in the dark night. It would be more appropriate to have Yang En with him.

Yang Can and Gao Yi and several others were still guarding the city gate. The dozen or so people surrounding Yang Can were hesitant without a leader, but time passed quickly while they were hesitating. Meng Jun was less than 50 meters away from the city gate, and it was too late to close the city gate at this moment. They heard the sound of horse hooves getting louder and louder, and the dozen or so people looked at each other and some retreated to the side. Everyone followed the crowd, and Wu Bo also retreated to the side with a grim expression. Yang Can breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, knowing that the matter was settled.

Meng Jun rushed into the city on horseback. As soon as he entered the city, dozens of cavalrymen began to control the city gate. Gao Yi ran up to Meng Jun and said, "General, this is Yang Can, the leader of the uprising." Meng Jun smiled at Yang Can while riding on his horse and said, "Good warrior, when something big happens, we must have a good drink together."

Yang Can nodded excitedly, and Yang Can finally put down his worries. After a while, the infantry began to enter the city one after another, and Zhang Bo, the eldest son, also hurried over with his servants. Meng Jun saw Yang En and said happily, "My peerless talent Mu De is here." After saying that, he turned over and dismounted, holding Yang En's hand tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time.

Yang En also smiled and clasped his fists towards Meng Jun, saying, "General, thank you for your praise. I am a humble man, and it is my honor to be able to follow you in your cause. General, this is Master Zhang Bo, who brought two hundred servants with him to join the rebellion. General, this is not the time to reminisce about the past. Please take over the prefectural government office and other important places as soon as possible."

Meng Jun nodded and said, "Okay, Brother Han, you take a battalion to take down the armory, Bizhi, you take a battalion to take down the silver vault and granary, Shiqi and I will take down the prefectural government office, and Mr. Zhang, you come with me." Everyone clasped their fists and agreed.

"Gao Yi, I'll leave a hundred men in your care. You guard the city gate. As for the green camp at the city gate, those who are willing to surrender will have their braids cut off and be incorporated. Those who are unwilling to surrender will have their weapons confiscated. We'll deal with them after Suzhou is stabilized." After urgently arranging some matters, Meng Jun immediately led cavalry, hundreds of infantry, and a hundred servants to rush to the prefectural government office...