Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 102: Decision to Cross the River

Meng Jun, Han Xiong, Bai Yongfu, Meng Bizhi and others were dressed as ordinary people, followed by dozens of guards, and went south along the Qiantang River. After asking more than ten passers-by along the way, they arrived at the fishing ferry.

The fishing ferry is located at the place where the Fuchun River and Puyang River merge into the Qiantang River. The water flow here is relatively slow and the narrowest part of the river is less than 500 meters.

Several people discussed it, and Bai Yongfu was the first to speak: "Commander-in-chief, do we really want to cross the river? If we are attacked halfway across the river, it will be unbearable to watch."

Several people were worried after hearing this, and Meng Jun also frowned, looking at the open river, feeling uneasy. How could Bolo not notice the army's movement? How could crossing the river be so easy?

There were quite a few ships and small boats on the river. The boatmen were working hard to steer the boats. There were also many ferries transporting travelers. When a ship docked, Meng Jun dismounted and went forward to inquire.

"Father, how long will it take to get to the other side?" Meng Jun asked politely with a smile on his face.

"Oh, you want to cross the river?" Then the boatman looked at the people following him and said, "Ten cents per person, and a maximum of ten people can be carried at a time. There are too many of you. If you want to cross the river, you need two boats."

Meng Jun smiled and said, "Father, we don't want to cross the river. I want to know how long it will take to get to the other side."

"Not taking the boat? Then why are you asking this?" The boatman was stunned and didn't want to answer. Then he thought of so many people and was afraid of getting in trouble. Then he replied, "The time is uncertain. It may take half an hour to go back and forth easily."

Meng Jun nodded and wanted to ask something else, but seeing that the boatman didn't want to answer, he touched his pocket to take out some money, but his pocket was empty. Meng Jun looked at Gao Yi and motioned him to take out some money. Gao Yi hurriedly took out a small piece of silver from his arms, weighing about one or two taels.

Meng Jun took the silver and stuffed it directly into the boatman's hand. The boatman was a little stunned. The money came too quickly. It was a little hot to hold. He waved his hands and said, "Sir, this is not allowed. I just asked a few questions. It's not necessary..."

"It's okay, just take it and I'll just ask a few questions," Meng Jun asked in a friendly manner.

The boatman nodded and said hurriedly: "Excuse me, sir, I will tell you everything in detail."

"Well, how fast can this boat reach the other side, and how many people can it carry at a time?" Meng Jun asked seriously.

"Young man, I'm not exaggerating. The fastest time I ran was within one stick of incense. I ran back and forth, and the incense was still not out. There were only five of us at that time. Normally it takes ten people, and occasionally more than twelve people," the boatman said after thinking for a while.

Meng Jun nodded, and then said: "Thank you, father-in-law, you can get busy now."

The boatman naturally thanked them profusely, then picked up a few more people and rowed the boat away from the river.

After watching for a while, Meng Jun looked at everyone and said, "Let's go back and discuss it."

Back in the camp, all the generals gathered together, and everyone had a solemn look on their faces. Meng Jun frowned, gently stroked his forehead, and said solemnly: "I'm afraid Qian Biao is right this time. It seems that the army really needs to prepare to cross the river."

His voice was not loud, but it caused a commotion in the camp. Everyone was talking and discussing. Some generals expressed their concerns, thinking that crossing the river at this time was too risky.

Qian Biao was stunned when he heard this, and he couldn't help but feel an indescribable joy and surprise in his heart. He never expected that he had always been known for his bravery.

Hearing the governor's praise, Qian Biao felt his face flushed and smiled a little embarrassedly. He scratched his head and said modestly, "Governor, you are too kind. As the ancients said, a wise man will make a thousand mistakes, and a fool will make a thousand mistakes..."

However, Qian Biao had just said half of his words when he suddenly realized that something seemed wrong. Wasn't this calling him stupid? He immediately closed his mouth tightly and said no more.

Meng Jun shook his head and ignored Qian Biao. He then said, "Everyone, if you have any ideas or other strategies, please share them."

After Yang En pondered for a moment, he said, "Commander-in-chief, it will take a long time for the army to cross the river. If Bolo knew about this, he would definitely deploy his troops behind the army and wait for the army to cross the river. The cavalry would suddenly attack. This is too dangerous. Why not leave one to guard Hangzhou, and the rest to conquer Huzhou Prefecture and head straight to Jiangning? How do you think?"

Han Xiong stood up and carefully observed the map. After a while, he said, "From Hangzhou to Jiangning, we must take Deqing, Wukang, Anjizhou, Xiaofeng, Wucheng, Gui'an, and Changxing counties, and then break through Yixing County of Changzhou Prefecture, through Liyang and Lishui, and then reach Jiangning." After saying this, Han Xiong shook his head and said, "It's not a good idea to drive straight in and camp in a fortified city. There will be enemy troops behind us. If we are not careful, the consequences will be disastrous."

Meng Jun also stood up and looked at the map, then said: "Even if we reach Jiangning, I'm afraid that Prince Lu won't be able to hold on until we conquer Jiangning. If Zhejiang is no longer restrained, I'm afraid Zheng Zhilong will surrender to the Qing Dynasty."

The generals were stunned. Gu Yanwu was the first to laugh and said, "Haha, this governor must be worrying too much. Zheng has thousands of ships and tens of thousands of soldiers. He controls Fujian. He is second only to the emperor. What price can the Qing government offer to buy him off?"

Han Xiong, Bai Yongfu, and a group of their subordinates shook their heads and said that they were worrying too much. There was no way Zheng Zhilong would surrender to the Qing Dynasty unless the Qing army invaded Fujian and laid siege to the city.

Afterwards, the generals discussed the matter, some saying it was feasible and some saying it was not.

Meng Jun listened to the discussions of the generals without saying much, but he had already made a decision in his heart to go south to assist Prince Lu in defeating Bolo. Meng Jun knew that if Bolo had not returned to Shaoxing at this time, Zheng Zhilong would have surrendered. If Zhejiang and Fujian were lost again, Meng Jun would look around and see that the Qing court was everywhere, which would make it even more difficult.

After everyone stopped talking, Meng Jun looked at them with a determined look and said firmly: "There is no other way now. If we can't defeat Bolo, we will give up everything." Meng Jun paused and then ordered: "All units move, search for boats, and prepare to cross the river!"

When Yang En heard this, he couldn't help but feel nervous, and asked quickly: "But Bolo attacked us when we were halfway across the river, what should we do?"

Meng Jun frowned slightly, and replied seriously, "We can first create the illusion of a large-scale river crossing in Haining County, pretending to cross the river to attract Bolo's attention. When all the boats are ready, we can move to the fishing ferry and quickly cross the river from there. In this way, even if Bolo wants to attack halfway across the river, he will be too late to react."

Everyone had different expressions, some looked worried, as if full of anxiety, while others had firm eyes, as if they had made up their minds, and solemnly raised their hands in response. They knew that they would go all out in this battle and there would be no retreat.

An hour later, thousands of soldiers sailed out of the camp like a stream, collecting boats along the river, and conscripted both the boats and the people on them. Although the conscripted boatmen were dissatisfied, they did not dare to resist until an order was issued that all the conscripted boatmen would be paid and rewarded. Then everyone looked happy, and some boatmen even ran up to the soldiers and asked if they had a few more boats.