Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 244 Burning Food

As soon as Jin Shenghuan entered Jing County, he rested for a while before he recovered a little. He managed to muster up his strength and looked around. He saw that the troops who had entered the city had no fighting spirit and their morale was low. Many soldiers were slumped on the ground, and the wailing of injured soldiers filled Jing County.

On both sides of the street, some were sitting or lying, all with their heads down, their expressions dull. Some soldiers were celebrating their escape, while others looked confused. Weren't they going to fight? How come they had walked for such a long time, and heard that they were defeated before they even saw the enemy? They ran away without knowing what was happening, and now they were hungry, thirsty, and sleepy. How miserable!

The cavalry chased too fiercely, and the Jin army's infantry could not outrun the horses at all. They suffered heavy casualties during the retreat, and most of the soldiers who fled back to the city were also injured. These soldiers still had lingering fears when they recalled the scene of being chased by the cavalry.

After a rough count, it was found that of the more than 200,000 Jin troops, only 40,000 escaped back to the city. Together with the garrison troops left behind in Jing County, there were barely more than 50,000 people. Many of these people had thrown away their armor and weapons, not to mention that their morale had dropped to the lowest point.

Hearing this, Jin Shenghuan only felt dizzy, but at this critical moment, he pinched his thigh hard to make himself more sober. Although he had entered Jing County, he was still full of dangers.

Jin Shenghuan summoned his energy and asked, "Have all the generals entered the city? Where are Zhang Yingwei? Lu Xingzu? Wu Yuanzhong and Xu Bin?"

Zhang Yingwei stood up from the crowd and said, "Marshal, I am here." Zhang Yingwei's armor was torn, his face was covered in blood, and he looked miserable.

"Where are the others?" Seeing that no one responded, Jin Shenghuan asked again: "Where are Lu Xingzu and the others? Does anyone know?"

At this time, a general stood up and said, "General, I saw Xu Bin was killed."

Another person replied: "I saw Wu Yuanzhong surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Shengheng's mouth twitched and he cursed inwardly, "What a treacherous villain!"

Jin Shenghuan lost miserably in this battle, but he was very anxious. According to what Jin Shenghuan thought, all the armies advanced together to contain Meng Jun's forces. With his huge numerical advantage, how could he lose in this situation? It was like two kings and four twos. Before he could play them, the opponent had already played a straight.

Jin Shenghuan felt mixed emotions. He sat back in his chair and sighed as he ordered Zhang Yingwei and the rest of his troops to gather up the remaining soldiers. He could no longer stay in Jing County. Jin Shenghuan felt very aggrieved. If Meng Jun continued to chase him, he might not be able to defend his home. The only option now was to ask Li Chengdong for help.

As the night faded and the sky turned pale, Jin Shenghuan led his army to withdraw from Jing County. At the same time, he left a group of personal guards in the city. Their mission was to burn the piles of food and grass to cut off the supply of Meng's army and buy more time for their own retreat.

As soon as Jin Shenghuan withdrew, his personal guards went to the granary, which was full of grain and fodder. They lit the torches in their hands, and the flames illuminated their faces red. With an order, they threw the torches towards the pile of grain and fodder, and the flames immediately roared like wild beasts, devouring everything that could burn.

As time went by, the fire spread rapidly, and the raging flames rolled and jumped like an angry dragon, turning the entire granary into a huge furnace. Thick smoke billowed, flames shot up into the sky, and the heat wave was overwhelming. Even the trees in the distance swayed in the flames.

Seeing that the fire had already started, the guards did not dare to stay for long and hurriedly ran towards Jin Shenghuan's retreat route. The fire lasted for a long time. Until Liu Kun's cavalry arrived, the fire was still burning. Liu Kun stared in amazement at the sky full of thick smoke. The scorching flames burned all the food and grass.

Liu Kun wanted to put out the fire, but unfortunately there was nothing he could do. He could only watch the food being burned. The fire gradually subsided. Jing County had become a ruin. The air was filled with the smell of burnt rice. Liu Kun was furious and cursed, "You thieves, you are wasting food!" Then he mounted his horse and led his troops to continue the pursuit.

In the Battle of Nanling City, Meng Jun defeated Jin Shenghuan's army of more than 200,000. He killed no less than 20,000 people on the battlefield alone, and took countless prisoners. Jin Shenghuan and his generals abandoned their troops and fled. Liu Kun led the cavalry in pursuit all the way from Nanling City to Jing County. The road was littered with the corpses of Jin soldiers and a large number of lost weapons and armor.

Except for Liu Kun's cavalry who were still chasing Jin Shenghuan, the rest of the generals gathered together. The Zhou army won a great victory in the decisive battle, and Jin Shenghuan's army was defeated. After this battle, the situation changed drastically. Gan was already in their pockets. In the tent, the generals were laughing and the atmosphere was extremely warm.

Liang Sanhu, a burly man with a heroic look on his face, said, "The Jin thieves are really vulnerable. They dare to show off their might!"

Qian Biao curled his lips, stretched his waist again, and said disdainfully: "It's almost there. It's gone just after warming up. I don't know how far behind the Eight Banners."

Gu Yanwu laughed loudly and said, "Generals, you are so heroic and brave. How can the Jin thieves not be defeated?"

Meng Jun looked at the generals, his heart filled with relief and gratitude. He stroked his beard, smiled and continued: "This great victory is the result of the bloody battles and the sacrifice of the soldiers. After the merits of the whole army are carefully calculated, I will reward the three armies and reward them according to their merits. All those who have made contributions, no matter how big or small, will get what they deserve. Promote them to higher positions and grant them land and houses to honor their merits and to comfort their hard work."

The soldiers' dedication and sacrifice cannot be just a passion, but also require tangible rewards to keep them going. Although Meng Jun also longs for the fearlessness of hardships and the willingness to face death as in the Republic period, in this era, although there are many righteous men, they are still a minority after all. There are more simple soldiers who also need material rewards.

When the generals heard this, they were all cheered up and smiled happily. Next to them, two painters were busy painting in the hall. Their pens were brilliant as they recorded these heroic scenes.

After all the generals left, Lin Shiqi returned and asked Meng Jun, "Your Majesty, Jin Shenghuan's troops are now in great disarray. We should take advantage of the victory and pursue them!"

Meng Jun nodded and said, "Jin Shenghuan has been levying heavy taxes and extorting money in Jiangxi, which has greatly lost the support of the people. It should not be difficult to take over Jiangxi. Shiqi, I suggest that you lead the army into Jiangxi to hunt down Jin Shenghuan."

Lin Shiqi nodded upon hearing this and said firmly: "As you command, I will kill the Jin thieves."

"Well, Shiqi, when our army enters Jiangxi, we should not harm the people, but settle the common people and win their hearts. The faster we can fight, the better. The longer it drags on, the more serious the damage will be, and the more difficult it will be to recover in the future." Meng Jun said to Lin Shiqi earnestly.

Lin Shiqi nodded and saluted. Meng Jun looked outside the tent with some worry and sighed, "I don't know how the battle situation in Fujian is going, but I guess it should be fine. Jin Shenghuan was defeated so quickly, but Li Chengdong can't be so fast!"