Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 56 The Book of War

Since Wu Zhifan agreed to join the army, there would naturally be a distinction between the primary and the secondary. Meng Jun took on a lot of responsibilities and made promises to Jiading's army, saying that any lack of armor would be replenished later, and there was no need to worry about food and fodder. Everyone would sacrifice their lives and shed their blood to drive out the Tartars, and there would definitely be no shortage of money and salaries. In a word, whatever they wanted would be given to them. These words made the rebels excited and they cheered.

Wu Zhifan was also willing to take a lower position and was willing to temporarily appoint Meng Jun as the commander-in-chief. After taking Songjiang City, he would obey the court's arrangements. Meng Jun also generously expressed his understanding of this.

Meng Jun stayed in Jiading City for three days and reorganized the rebel army. Some old and weak who were unable to fight were left in Jiading City, and the rest were transferred to the main camp. A new town was formed. As for the name of the town, Meng Jun wanted to discuss it with Wu Zhifan. However, this was not the military system of the Ming Dynasty after all. Wu Zhifan shook his head and said that this temporary organization could be decided by Governor Meng and he would not get involved. Meng Jun had no choice but to remember that he was now in Jiading City, so he simply named it Dingwu Town. Naturally, Wu Zhifan would be the commander. Wu Zhifan would not be involved in these matters, and of course he did not object.

Early the next morning, the gates of Jiading County were opened, and the rebel troops of Wu Zhifan in the city marched out one after another. Except for a small number of rebel troops who stayed behind in Jiading City, the remaining 18,000 people marched out of the city one after another.

Outside the city, drums were beating as the army marched towards Songjiang Prefecture in a mighty manner. The boring march began again. During the march, Meng Jun took out the Art of War by Sun Tzu, which he had read several times. The more he read it, the more profound it seemed to him.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu: The victory of an army lies in the management of its soldiers, its bravery lies in its discipline, its cleverness lies in its situation, its advantage lies in its trustworthiness, its virtue lies in the way, its wealth lies in its prompt return; its strength lies in resting the people, and its danger of loss lies in repeated battles.

Meng Jun rode on his horse, slowly thinking about the meaning of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Why is it easy for some children of generals to lead troops? It's not that those who are born in a general's family will definitely win a battle, but that these people know how to lead troops. For an ordinary person, managing a hundred people is a very difficult task, not to mention an army of thousands or tens of thousands.

The military books that the children of generals read have detailed annotations by their predecessors, which makes it easier for them to understand. However, the military books and classics that Meng Jun had in his hands were all blank slates. He had to understand everything on his own, and slowly gain insights on the battlefield and in actual command of troops.

The first of the eight points in Sun Tzu's Art of War is the selection of soldiers. The soldiers of the three towns of Meng's army can be considered qualified soldiers. Even if their skills are not sophisticated enough, their morale can make up for the lack of skills under the blessing of national hatred and family feuds.

The second point about the soldiers' bravery was the strict military discipline and sufficient military pay. Meng Jun thought he had achieved this. He had never violated the military law after it was formulated, and the military pay had never been in arrears. He had neither purchased a house nor kept concubines. He could be said to have no extra money and lived and ate with the soldiers.

The third clever point lies in the situation. According to Meng Jun's own understanding, the use of troops must be flexible and changeable, and the generals must judge the situation and command properly. Meng Jun feels that he still has some shortcomings. He is okay in fighting stupid battles, but if the battlefield environment is complicated, he will feel very stressed. Without systematic military training, it is unknown how long it will take to rely solely on reading military books and growing slowly in war. As for growing in war, given the current situation, Meng Jun cannot afford to lose even once.

The fourth point is that the benefit lies in trust. A general should keep his word. Meng Jun is still very confident and asks himself if he can do this.

The fifth point is about virtue in the Tao. Meng Jun was a little puzzled, so he had to make some annotations below. This should not be about asking himself to be a moral gentleman, but should refer to military training, or that generals should be familiar with the art of war and have a wide range of knowledge so that they can better manage the army. Meng Jun had to annotate these two ideas below, hoping to meet someone who can ask for advice in the future.

The sixth and seventh points are, its wealth lies in prompt return, and its strength lies in resting its people. This should be the description at the national level. The meaning is easy to understand, that is, military reserves depend on quick victory, and national strength lies in allowing its people to rest and recuperate. These have little to do with Meng Jun for the time being. If conditions did not allow it, he would have taken a bigger step in expanding his army.

The eighth point means literally that the damage comes from repeated battles. Frequent battles will weaken the army's strength. The loss of supplies in the war and the casualties of soldiers are all realistic problems. Since the establishment of the Meng army, it has indeed fought repeatedly, but these are unavoidable. Meng Jun can feel that although the morale of Han Xiong's Kewu Town is still good, the mental state of the soldiers feels a little tired. This is not physical fatigue, but mental fatigue.

Although Meng Jun knew that the soldiers of Kewu Town were a little too tired after the long journey to attack Li Chengdong just after the war, the Qing army had no time to take care of them at this time. Taking Songjiang would be equivalent to having a small rear base, and all this was a strategic consideration.

In fact, the Art of War by Sun Tzu is generally expounded from the perspective of national strategy, but Meng Jun felt that it was still very helpful to him. A more detailed book on leading troops is Qi Jiguang's Jixiao Xinshu. This book is widely circulated in the Jiangnan region and many people have collected it. However, no general of the Southern Ming Dynasty really practiced according to the book. If they had, the Qing army would not have entered the Jiangnan region as if it were an empty land, and all places would surrender, and those who refused to surrender could not be stopped.

While Meng Jun was studying the art of war during the march, the Songjiang Prefecture was already in a state of panic. The consequences of the battle at Yangcheng Lake were slowly showing up, especially Li Chengdong's subordinates, who were all a little panicked. The soldiers were talking about it, saying all kinds of things, such as "Marshal Li was defeated by Meng Jun under the city of Suzhou, and this time he is here to attack us. It looks dangerous."

"There were more than 100,000 people in the battle of Yangcheng Lake. It sounds scary, but Meng Jun was able to win. Now he is coming to our Songjiang. In my opinion, the Ming Dynasty is not doomed yet, and another figure like Grandpa Yue will appear."

These people were widely known in Songjiang City. Even though Yan Keyi killed several of them, he was still unable to stop the rumors. This was closely related to the fact that the Qing army was unpopular in Jiangnan.

At this time, inside Songjiang City, inside Li's residence, Li Chengdong was sighing. He had been discussing with his close confidants for a long time in recent days, but still at a loss. His subordinates had all kinds of suggestions. Some said to defend the city and wait for reinforcements, some suggested to abandon the city and retreat to Hangzhou, and some people secretly came to Li Chengdong, saying that there was a way to surrender to the Ming again. However, no one had the confidence that they could defeat Meng Jun head-on.

Li Chengdong sent wave after wave of messengers, to Nanjing in the south and Hangzhou in the north. Li Chengdong did not want to retreat, nor did he want to fight. After a few days, his originally black hair began to turn gray.