Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 25 Aftermath 2

Rows of Li's officers were taken to the river. They all knew their fate. Their cries of despair, curses and pleas for mercy were heard everywhere.

"You betrayed me. You said you would not kill those who surrendered, but you actually lied to me. Do you still have a conscience?"

"Don't kill me, I haven't spent the twenty taels of silver hidden under the stove yet, I don't want to die"

"You sons of bitches, you won't live long. You are the only bandits who can defeat the Eight Banners Cavalry. You still dare to rebel? Bah! I'm waiting for you down there to see how you die."

There were also those who hung their heads in silence, as if they had accepted their fate and were taken to the river bank by the rebels. After half an hour, heads were scattered all over the ground, corpses were piled up together, and the river bank was covered with blood, which seeped into the river and dyed the water red.

"In troubled times, human life is worthless. With just one cut of the knife, a person you have raised for more than 20 years is gone just like that." Zhang Shun watched from behind, shaking his head and sighing.

"If we win, they will be the ones who die. If we lose, we will be the ones kneeling there," Qian Biao said disdainfully.

In order to find these officers, several conflicts broke out. Some officers incited the surrendered soldiers to revolt, but the surrendered soldiers with bare hands were no match for the rebels. After several conflicts, more than 200 surrendered soldiers died. Most of the remaining Green Camp auxiliary soldiers surrendered to the rebels, and about 5,000 were incorporated. A new battalion will be formed later.

Meng Jun was looking at these documents in the lobby, and his eyes were getting nervous. The more he looked, the more confused he became. He simply threw down the documents and shouted, "Bi'an, let's take a few people to the Military Equipment Bureau to see how the muskets are made."

"Master, do you want to ride a horse or a car?"

"Take the bus"

Suzhou City is crisscrossed with waterways and was the most densely populated city in the Ming Dynasty. Commerce in the city was extremely developed and there were many skilled craftsmen, but most of them were engaged in making art works such as silk, books, and folding fans, and were not good at military industry.

Meng Jun had not visited the streets of Suzhou since he took Suzhou. This time he was going to the Military Equipment Bureau to check the production of firearms. He specially went there with Meng Bian, Gao Yi and several others in a horse-drawn carriage. The carriage was swaying and not in a hurry to get on the road. The Military Equipment Bureau was located in the north of the city, and it was necessary to cross several streets from the government office. These streets were the most prosperous areas of Suzhou City. This was the first time Meng Jun carefully observed the city. Although the commercial market was a little depressed due to the war, it was a densely populated city after all. The streets were still crowded with people, and the hooves of horses stepped on the stone streets and made a sound. Meng Bian drove the carriage for Meng Jun, and Gao Yi and several guards were dressed in plain clothes and guarded beside him.

Meng Jun opened the window and looked out. The pedestrians around him were walking in a hurry with a bit of sadness on their faces. Almost half of the shops nearby were closed, making the atmosphere in the city even more tense.

The carriage reached the bend beside the river, where a grain store was open for business, and a long line of people lined up outside the door. Seeing this, Meng Jun said to Gao Yidao under the carriage, "Go and see what the current grain price is."

"Yes," Gao Yi responded and went to the grain shop. Meng Jun watched Gao Yi walk over and faintly heard someone in the queue scolding Gao Yi to queue up and not cut in line. However, Gao Yi did not argue too much and just went over to ask the shop owner and returned after a while.

"Governor, I asked the shopkeeper about the current grain price in Suzhou City. It's 300 coins for one stone and two taels of silver. It used to be 800 coins for one stone, but now it's doubled. The shopkeeper said that the surrounding towns and villages haven't shipped in grain, and judging by the current situation, the price will have to go up again."

Meng Jun scratched his head. Food prices are related to people's livelihood and must be stabilized as soon as possible. Meng Jun was thinking about things all the way. The economy in the south of the Yangtze River is developed, but unfortunately he doesn't know much about economics. During these days in Suzhou, he has devoted almost all his body and mind to the military and city defense. The affairs in the city are handled by the original yamen officials, and the officials are not fully staffed. Some people think that Meng Jun's occupation of Suzhou will definitely not last long, so it is better to stay away from it to avoid being affected.

Meng Jun came to the Military Equipment Bureau, and Zhu Tu ran over happily. As soon as he came, he said to Meng Jun in a coy manner, "General, I want to go back to the government office to serve you, is that okay?"

Meng Jun was stunned. "Old Zhu, I think you are doing a good job in the Military Equipment Bureau. You can go back to the government office if you want. Wait for a while. There are too many things to do now. You should stick to your post."

Upon hearing what Meng Jun said, Zhu Tu could only nod. Although he was forced to come to the Military Equipment Bureau and although Zhu Tu was only a legal advisor, he considered himself a scholar. He felt a little uncomfortable hanging out with these craftsmen whom he used to look down upon all day long.

Meng Jun walked around and came to the firearms workshop. After so long, only two muskets were produced. Meng Jun picked up one to check. The first feeling was that it was rough, with some pores on it, and it was somewhat different from the appearance of the musket in his memory. The hole of the musket in Meng Jun's hand was very small, but the barrel was very fat. Meng Jun asked doubtfully, "It's so fat and has so many pores. Won't it explode?"

"No, sir, this is enough material, it won't explode," the craftsman next to him said confidently.

Meng Jun lifted up the musket. It was a bit heavy. If he held it for a long time, his arm would feel sore. Meng Jun asked the craftsman beside him, "What is the range?"

"I haven't tried this gun yet, but it can penetrate armor within at least fifty steps," the craftsman replied after a brief pause.

Fifty steps is about sixty meters, which is a bit short in range and the accuracy is not high. The only feasible way is to equip it on a large scale, but the production speed is too slow, and none of these craftsmen can make cannons, which really gives Meng Jun a headache.

"Let's go to the open space and try this gun out," Meng Jun said after fiddling with the musket for a while.

"There's a shooting range in the back where you can test your guns," Zhu Tu said quickly.

Everyone came to the shooting range. It was called a shooting range, but it was actually an open space with mud on the ground. Dust flew everywhere when the wind blew. Meng Jun and his group stayed there for a while and became covered in dust. Gao Yi ran over and moved the target to fifty steps. The craftsman picked up the musket, loaded it with bullets, and lit the fuse. He stood still, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger. With a bang, a puff of white smoke came out in front of the musket.

The guard ran over and shouted to everyone, "No hole, missed."

The craftsman was a little embarrassed, scratched his head and said, "I'll try again."

After reloading the gunpowder, Meng Jun silently calculated the time. It took about one and a half minutes to fire one shot. A well-trained soldier should be able to fire one shot in one minute.

This time the craftsman aimed for obviously longer. After a moment, the craftsman pulled the trigger. There was another bang, and the musket fired. The smell of gunpowder blew towards Meng Jun in the wind. The smell of gunpowder choked Meng Jun's nose. Meng Jun waved the air to dissipate some of the gunpowder smell.

The guard ran to the target and shouted excitedly, "Hit it!" Then he brought the target in front of everyone.

Meng Jun took a look and saw a hole the size of a finger on the edge of the target. Meng Jun looked at it and asked someone to bring a set of armor and put it on the target, and asked the craftsman to shoot again to see if the armor could be penetrated.

After finishing the shooting again, Meng Jun came to the target. This musket could penetrate armor within fifty steps. He saw a thumb-sized hole in front of the armor.