Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 427 Killing Zhou Envoy

When the Qing envoy returned, Dorgon knew that his invitation to fight had failed when he saw his face before he even heard what the envoy said. After listening to the envoy's detailed accusation of the thief Qian's evil deeds, Dorgon waved his hand to signal the envoy to retreat and recuperate.

The Zhou army had been building a strong camp and fighting this stupid battle which Dorgon looked down upon. However, it was this stupid battle that exhausted Dorgon and he lost his temper. It took more than half a month and more than 90,000 troops, including more than 50,000 cavalry. The daily fodder and fine grains were consumed like water.

Dorgon knew that the Zhou army would certainly suffer much greater casualties than the Qing army if they fought like this, but the problem was that the Qing court had almost lost all of its wealthy territories in the past few years.

Hebei and Henan have been the lands of refugees and Ming officials and soldiers for more than ten years. Fortunately, the weather has been good in the past few years, and the land of northern Zhili and Henan can still support itself. Dorgon didn't know how long he could continue to fight with Meng Jun like this.

Suksaha has already sent someone to report to Dorgon, saying that his army has more than 40,000 cavalrymen. If time is delayed too long, even if the news is blocked, they may not be able to hide their whereabouts.

It was not until the end of June that the place where Suksaha was stationed was spied on by a Qingluan Guard, who reported it to the higher authorities. Meng Jun knew that the Qing army still had a cavalry unit that had not left the border. Since Dorgon was leading the army in person, this cavalry unit would certainly follow him south, but where they were hiding was still unknown.

When Meng Jun learned that the whereabouts of the Qing army's hidden cavalry had been discovered by the Qingluan Guard, Meng Jun thought about it, picked up his pen and wrote quickly, and ordered someone to send it to Dorgon.

There were only a few words on the letter, which was the name of the place where Suksaha was stationed at the time.

There were only a few words, but each one was heart-piercing. Even though the envoy was humiliated, Dorgon did not get angry. But after reading the letter, he flew into a rage and shouted, "Meng Jun, you little brat, how dare you humiliate me like this!"

But after cursing, he was helpless. Seeing that the news had leaked, Dorgon had no choice but to order Suksaha to lead his troops to reunite with him.

After Dorgon conquered three small camps north of Cangzhou and turned south, the Zhou army set up camps again at the original location. This time, the camps were bigger and stronger, and the number of people in each camp doubled to more than two thousand.

Dorgon no longer had the desire to attack these villages. It would be useless to do so as it would be a pure war of attrition.

The two armies confronted each other for several days. Although Meng Jun's main force did not move, small-scale actions continued. Moreover, after Dorgon personally led his army south, Jiang Xiang also began to lead a large army out of Datong Town from the Hunyuan area to threaten Beijing.

When the news came back, Dorgon became more and more anxious, and his anxiety grew day by day. Although Dorgon believed that Baiyintu would be able to stop Jiang Xiang, even if a small-scale army appeared outside the capital, it could cause panic in the capital.

Late at night, Dorgon paced alone in the general's tent with a frown on his face. The heavy pressure made him unable to sleep at all. As for the imperial physician's suggestion to rest, Dorgon had long forgotten it.

After a long moment, he stopped, a gleam in his eyes, and an idea formed in his mind.

"Since Meng Jun doesn't want to fight, then let's lure the enemy deep into our territory." Dorgon muttered to himself.

The next morning, Dorgon summoned his generals and announced his plan. Most of the Qing army pretended to retreat, leaving behind 5,000 elite Eight Banners soldiers to cooperate with the defenders in guarding Cangzhou City.

Most of Dorgon's troops pretended to evacuate and returned to attack Jiang Xiang in order to lure the Zhou army to attack the city, and then deliver a fatal blow to the Zhou army when they attacked the city.

The next day, Dorgon ordered people to spread rumors in Cangzhou, which were indeed true. The rumors spread that Jiang Xiang was about to arrive at the capital, and the army was preparing to return and defeat Jiang Xiang first.

Rumors were spreading everywhere, and Meng Jun naturally received reports from spies. Although Meng Jun found Dorgon's actions a bit strange, he still decided to continue with the original plan.

Initially, Zhou's army did not encounter any obstacles in its movement and construction of camps, and the Qing army seemed to be really withdrawing. But when they reached the city of Cangzhou, Meng Jun sent someone to shoot a letter from under the city, and someone on the city wall actually sent a letter back to Meng Jun.

The letter simply stated that Cangzhou was willing to surrender, but wanted to have a detailed conversation with the Zhou army envoys on the issue of treatment.

Meng Jun always felt something was strange, but many of the clerks accompanying the army were excited and volunteered to emulate Meng Hong's actions and achieve some meritorious service.

Meng Jun picked a scholar who looked elegant. His name was Hou Weikang. Before leaving, Meng Jun patted Hou Weikang on the shoulder and said, "Be careful."

But after he left, Meng Jun sighed. There is an old saying that when two armies are fighting, they do not kill envoys. However, in actual wars, the death rate of envoys is extremely high. Meng Jun's words of comfort and caution to him are really just comfort.

Meng Jun was in the large camp outside the city, watching with a telescope as Hou Weikang got on the hanging basket and climbed to the top of the city wall until he disappeared over the wall.

However, the good times did not last long. Soon after, a sharp cry broke the silence. Then, a headless body and a package were thrown down from the top of the city wall. Someone on the top of the city wall shouted, "This is a gift to the King of Zhou."

Meng Jun's heart tightened and he immediately ordered people to go forward and check. Two cavalrymen quickly brought back the body and the package. When the package was opened, it turned out to be Hou Weikang's ears and head, covered in blood, obviously having just been brutally cut off.

On the city wall, the Qing soldiers burst into laughter, and their laughter was particularly harsh in the quiet afternoon. A man who looked like a general stood up and shouted loudly: "Meng thief, you cut off the ears of my Qing envoy, this is my gift to you in return!"

This scene filled the Zhou army with righteous indignation. Qian Biao was even more furious. He had never expected the defenders to be so shameless. He growled, "Once we capture Cangzhou City, I will kill all the armed ones!"

Meng Jun's tone was also somewhat hostile. He said in a deep voice: "Pass the order down to strengthen the vigilance to prevent the Qing army from taking advantage of the chaos to attack. The army should build equipment and construct artillery positions."

Then orders began to be passed down, and Gulbuha and Huang Cheng's cavalry became scouts, conducting close inspections outside Cangzhou.

At the beginning of his career, as the leader of an emerging force, Meng Jun remained calm and composed in the face of major events, and once a decision was made, he would execute it decisively and efficiently.

But in fact, deep down, Meng Jun is a person who likes quietness. The life that Meng Jun has always longed for is a life of picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and leisurely enjoying the view of the southern mountains.

However, the career that Meng Jun was engaged in required him to have peace and quiet all the time. He needed a place to settle down, an army to protect his security, a large team of civil servants, a wife, children and concubines. The leisurely thoughts in his nature would wear down his temper from time to time.

Most people in the world yearn for a leisurely and comfortable life, but most of them have almost no way to live the life they yearn for. However, Meng Jun knows that he is not qualified to live a leisurely life before his great cause is accomplished!