Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 246 Sacrifice

After the Battle of Nanling, Meng Jun had more than 100,000 captives who surrendered. These people consumed more than 500 dan of food a day, and this was the minimum consumption, a necessary condition to ensure that these captives could stay alive. Meng Jun could not feed these people for a long time.

Many of these captives were farmers, craftsmen, and merchants who were forcibly conscripted by Jin Shenghuan and had no military experience. For this reason, Meng Jun ordered his subordinates to screen them. All the craftsmen were requisitioned, and those farmers and merchants who were willing to go home were given food rations and allowed to return home.

After the order was given, many captives breathed a sigh of relief and were willing to let go. Regardless of whether it was because King Zhou looked down on them or for some other reason, being able to leave this bloody killing field was naturally a good thing.

These prisoners received rations one after another, left the POW camps and embarked on their journey home. However, there were still nearly 30,000 people who had nowhere to go for various reasons. Most of these people were widows and orphans, or had no land at home, or had no one at home at all. Their homes were completely destroyed. Where could they go in this chaotic world?

Meng Jun could only let these surrendered soldiers stay in the camp temporarily while he prepared to select able-bodied men to join the Service Camp. The former Service Camp soldiers who had made meritorious contributions would either become officers or regular soldiers.

At this time, the battlefield on the outskirts of Nanling City was littered with corpses. The blood that had originally trickled out had dried up, and the blood had soaked the land into a dark brown color.

On the battlefield, countless civilians were busy shuttling back and forth. They looked exhausted and nauseous. The cruel battlefield made their hands and feet cold and their faces pale, but they dared not stop moving. They had to separate and carry the bodies of the dead soldiers. They had to clean up the battlefield as soon as possible to avoid causing a greater plague and disaster. It took two full days to clean up the bodies on the battlefield.

The sun was rising, and the newly-risen sun was like a gentle tentacle, shining on the battlefield of Nanling City. After two days of cleaning the battlefield, these auxiliary soldiers separated the soldiers of both sides who died on this land. The list of Zhou army's fallen soldiers had been recorded. The families of these fallen martyrs would receive a pension, and those with children would also be admitted to new-style schools.

The weather in July was hot, and the bodies had to be buried as soon as possible. The Zhou army looted all the coffin shops in Nanling City, cut down some nearby trees, and made some coffins for the martyrs.

Although the number of casualties of the Zhou army was not large in this battle, and most of the casualties were surrendered soldiers, Meng Jun still ordered his subordinates to raise coffins to bury these brave soldiers who died in battle. As for the remains of the Jin army, they simply dug a few large pits and buried them.

After the battlefield was cleared, the invisible man Li Wendao found Meng Jun and said, "The soldiers died under the swords. I wish to pray for them and bless them in their afterlife!"

Meng Jun naturally had no objection to this. Then he saw Li Wendao wearing a Taoist robe and holding a whisk, coming to the place where the soldiers were buried. Li Wendao waved the whisk and began to recite "Tai Shang Dong Xuan Ling Bao Jiu Ku Miao Jing" and "Nirvana Sutra".

As the scriptures were recited, a peaceful force seemed to gather in the air. Li Wendao's voice was melodious and solemn. Gu Yanwu, Shen Congwen, and Gao Yi beside him all had solemn expressions. Even Qian Biao, who was usually carefree, had a look of awe on his face.

Half an hour later, Li Wendao stopped reciting the scriptures, and then slowly unfolded the yellow paper in his hand, which was the eulogy he prepared for the fallen soldiers.

"The universe is vast, the years are long, the heroic souls live forever, the loyal bones rest forever. Today, I, Li Wendao, am here to recite a eulogy for you brave soldiers to comfort your souls in heaven. You were born in troubled times and died on the battlefield. Although your names may not be recorded in history, your achievements will last forever.

I pray again now, praying that you will live in a prosperous era in your next life, live and work in peace and contentment, without suffering from the pain of war or the danger of swords and weapons.

May you enjoy the happiness of family, a harmonious family, a loving spouse, filial children, and the blessing of a long life in your next life.

May you see peace in the world, people living in peace, the country prospering, the four seas peaceful, and celebrate the prosperity in your next life.

May the gods of heaven and earth hear my prayers and grant you blessings in the next life, so that you can fulfill your wishes and live up to your aspirations in this life."

After the worship was over, Meng Jun led his army back to Nanjing. He originally wanted to wipe out Hu Zhan, but Wang Fugui's military report came, saying that Hu Zhan had abandoned his baggage and fled with his army, making it impossible to catch up with him.

On the way back, Shen Congwen recalled the piles of corpses and felt a lot of emotion in his heart. Because of Jin Shenghuan's selfish desire, tens of thousands of lives died in the battle. Shen Congwen looked at Meng Jun's back in front of him, thought for a moment, and drove his horse forward.

"Your Majesty, all the soldiers killed in this battle were Chinese. Now that Jin Shenghuan has been defeated and his army has been lost, why don't you send an envoy to persuade him to surrender?" Shen Congwen said to Meng Jun on his horse.

Meng Jun heard this and replied indifferently: "The Jin thieves killed the people, massacred the city and looted the people. I am unwilling to pardon them."

"Your Majesty, although Jin Shenghuan is guilty, if he is willing to surrender, we can take over Gan without spending a single soldier or consuming any food. If we send a large army to attack, even if we can win, there will definitely be losses." Shen Congwen advised again.

Seeing Meng Jun's thoughtful expression, Shen Congwen continued, "Your Majesty, it has been said since ancient times that the best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Nanchang's defenses are strong. Although Jin Shengheng was defeated, his troops from several routes, when combined, still have 100,000 people. If he insists on holding on, even though General Lin's troops are elite, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat them easily. Moreover, the Tartars are eyeing us covetously. If we delay for too long, it may not be a good idea!"

Meng Jun hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Tong Wenyan's words make sense, maybe we can give it a try. If Jin Shenghuan is willing to surrender, I will pardon him."

Shen Congwen smiled with satisfaction and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

……

Outside the city of Jing County, General Zhengnan, Lin Shiqi's army had just arrived in Jing County when they saw a large number of people gathered outside the city. Their faces were filled with grief. Those outside the city were still relatively okay, but those whose homes were in the city had basically lost their homes. These people watched another army arrive. Although they knew that this was not the army of the Jin thieves, they were still panicked and looked at the approaching army with fear.

Lin Shiqi looked at these ragged people, pondered for a moment, sighed, and decided to allocate some military rations and provide porridge as relief. At the same time, he sent someone to report to Meng Jun and ask the shogunate to transfer some officials to settle the people. If these people were not settled well, they would probably soon become refugees and bandits.

The military situation was urgent and they could not stay in Jing County. The next day, Lin Shiqi left some food and allocated a team of soldiers to maintain local law and order. Then he led his troops south to hunt down Jin Shenghuan.