The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 115: Hunan-Jiangxi Border, Underground Society

When the "Northern Expedition Vanguard" led by Luo Yaoguo entered the territory of Hengzhou Prefecture, they clearly felt that the power of the gentry and powerful people had become stronger, and the further north they went, the stronger the power of the gentry became.

Relatively speaking, the power of the Tiandihui seemed relatively weak.

When the Taiping Army was active in the southern part of Yongzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture, most towns could be conquered without a fight. Only some prefectures, states, and counties could resist the Taiping Army. However, most of them were easily conquered by the Taiping Army and the Tiandihui. Only Lingling, where more than 10,000 people were stationed, including He Chun, Jiang Zhongyuan, and Bao Qibao, could stop the troops of Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing.

In Hengzhou, the situation was not as good as in the southern part of Yongzhou, Guiyang, and Chenzhou, but it was still favorable. Needless to say, along the Leishui River in the south, when the Taiping Army arrived, the Qing demons and gentry fled, the poor people lined the streets to welcome them, and the good men rushed to join the army.

Although Luo Yaoguo left a small group of armed forces and several lecturers in every town, the number of strong men who joined was far greater than the number of men he sent out.

So when his troops entered the Xiangjiang River, the number of people had increased from 5,000 when he and Xiao Chaogui split up to more than 8,000! In other words, the number of new brothers who joined the army increased by more than 3,000 people - this was because Luo Yaoguo did not allow his troops to absorb too many new recruits, lest the troops become too numerous and incompetent due to too rapid expansion, otherwise the increase in troops would be even greater.

As Luo Yaoguo led his troops into the area along the Xiangjiang River, the situation was somewhat different. This area had convenient transportation, more flat land, and developed agriculture, which gave rise to more gentry families. Moreover, the Taiping Army had been making trouble in Yongzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture for three or four months, dividing land, beating up local tyrants, and printing two volumes of "Anti-Scripture" and distributing them everywhere. Of course, the gentry in "Northern Hunan" were prepared and started to train militias.

When Luo Yaoguo led his troops to attack the two large towns of Dabu City and Leijia Town on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, they encountered some obstacles. The battle for Dabu City lasted two days, and the battle for Leijia Town lasted three days.

Before Luo Yaoguo's army arrived at these two towns, the local gentry and militia had learned the lessons of Daozhou, Guiyangzhou, Chenzhou and other places that were captured by the Taiping Army through internal and external cooperation, and they "cleaned up" them thoroughly, driving away the Tiandihui and beggars in the town. Therefore, the Taiping Army could not rely on internal support to break into the city, so they had to attack by force.

Although we managed to capture them all and the losses were not great, the gains were small.

These two towns are both on the bank of the Xiangjiang River, and the land on the other side of the Xiangjiang River is temporarily in the hands of local tyrants and evil gentry who "read the Anti-Classics and are loyal to the Qing Dynasty." During the two or three days when Luo Yaoguo led his troops to attack the city, the property and food in Dabu City and Leijia Town were transferred away by them. Finally, when the city was broken, they set it on fire, leaving only two ruins for Luo Tianshi.

Luo Yaoguo had few naval forces and not many soldiers, so it was naturally impossible for him to cross the river to take it.

So he could only keep two Taiping soldiers and a few lecturers from the second period of the crash course, try to mobilize the poor farmers in the local area, and then go deep into the territory of Changsha Prefecture.

And the strength of the gentry militia in Changsha Prefecture is even stronger!
As a result, Luo Yaoguo did not attack the major towns along the Xiangjiang River, such as Zhuting, Tutian, Zhaoling, and Lukou, but bypassed the city all the way. He rushed to Zhuzhou Town, less than 100 miles away from Changsha, and suddenly took action. At the same time, he ordered Jiao Hong, Xu Yuegui, Boyong and others to disguise themselves as refugees from Guiyang Prefecture and sneak into Zhuzhou in advance, and then cooperated internally and externally to catch the local gentry militia off guard.

This time we finally gained something, obtained a lot of supplies, and had the capital and foothold to march into Changsha.

However, before leading his troops to charge towards Changsha, Luo Yaoguo had two more important things to do than attacking Changsha.

"The rent is heavy, the interest is high, and it is hard for the poor to survive these days. Open the door early to pray for peace, and the young and old will be happy."

As the Taiping Army marched into the city in a mighty force, the singing of "Welcome Taiping" gradually became louder and louder. This song was filled with the desire of the poor peasants in Zhuzhou Town for land distribution and debt cancellation!

It is already the end of August in the lunar calendar, and the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed! The autumn harvest season is coming soon, and autumn harvest is often the time when conflicts between landlords and tenants and poor farmers in rural areas are most acute.

Because after the autumn harvest, it’s time to pay rent and repay debts! The rent is really heavy, and the interest is really high. I can’t afford it, I can’t pay it back!

After a year of hard work, the harvest is very little. If the rent and interest are paid in full, the remaining food, even if it is all exchanged for dried sweet potatoes, is still not enough for the whole family to survive.

Although the landlords were all "kind-hearted" and could not bear to see the tenants and poor families starve to death, they would always reduce some of the rent and then roll part of the interest back into the capital.

But who wouldn't want to not have to pay rent or debts, and turn the master's land into their own?
So after hearing that farmers in several prefectures in southern Hunan were already living a "good life", the farmers around Zhuzhou Town began to look forward to the Taiping Army's quick arrival. It would be best if they could come before this year's autumn harvest!
This way everyone can always have enough food to eat for one more year!

The feeling of being full. That's so good!
Standing on the city wall, watching the scene gradually boiling under the setting sun for a while, Luo Yaoguo suddenly turned around and cast his gaze to the east, muttering: "The autumn harvest is almost here. The east of Zhuzhou is the border between Hunan and Jiangxi, right?"

"That's right," Zhang San, who was following Luo Yaoguo, nodded and said with a smile, "The east of Zhuzhou is almost the border of Hunan and Jiangxi. There are mountains at the junction of the two provinces. The east-west roads are all mountainous. It would take several days and nights to walk all the way!"

"Are the people there poor? Are the gentry vicious?" Luo Yaoguo asked repeatedly, "Are there many brothers in the Tiandihui?"

Zhang San smiled bitterly and said, "Where in the world are the people not poor? Where in the world are the gentry not vicious? Of course there are many brothers in the Tiandihui. Those who occupy the mountains and act as kings on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi are all from the Hongmen family."

Luo Yaoguo nodded gently, and said with emotion: "Yes, where in the world are the people not suffering, where in the world are the gentry not vicious, and we are going to break this world where the gentry are vicious, the people are all suffering, the corrupt officials are like beasts, and the Manchu emperors are like demons, and then recreate a peaceful world where everyone has food to eat, everyone has clothes to wear, everyone has books to read, everyone has land to cultivate, and everyone has work to do!

As long as we can explain this truth to those suffering people, those heroes who care about the world, and have an army that can smash the dark and gloomy Qing Dynasty, they will definitely stand by our side and defeat the Qing monsters together with us! "

What he was saying now was the true principles in Volume 1 of the Anti-Scripture. Several people on the city wall nodded repeatedly, looking as if they were quite enlightened.

Luo Yaoguo paused and said softly, "But our enemies, the Qing demons and the traitors, are quite cunning and vicious. We won successive victories in Yongzhou, Guiyangzhou, and Chenzhou, and the progress was so smooth because they did not react for a while and did not form a group. But since our army moved north along the Xiangjiang River, the collusion between the Qing demons and the traitors has become increasingly close, so we cannot take it lightly and ignore the difficulties."

His eyes were burning as he glanced at the days in front of him. "If we encounter a temporary setback in Changsha and have to give up the siege and head north, what should our branch church of the God Worshipping Society and the troops left behind in Zhuzhou Town do?"

"Teacher," Wang Yan, Luo Yaoguo's favorite student, immediately understood what he meant, "Do you want the Taiping Army and lecturers who stayed in Zhuzhou Town to develop towards the Hunan-Jiangxi border when the situation is unfavorable?"

Luo Yaoguo nodded gently and said, "This is just one of the reasons. The border between Hunan and Jiangxi is vast and there is a lot to do! When you fight against local tyrants and divide the land in Zhuzhou Town, you will definitely get many backbones.

If the situation is unfavorable, Wang Yan, Xiang Gui, you two will take the backbones and troops pulled out from Zhuzhou to seek development on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi. At that time, the Qing demons will have to besiege the Southern King who is entrenched in southern Hunan and eyeing Guangdong and Guangxi, and at the same time, they will have to guard against the army of the Heavenly Kingdom attacking Wuchang and going east along the river. They will not have spare energy to use the border of Hunan and Jiangxi.

So you will have a lot to offer!

The second is to start setting up an underground society!"

(End of this chapter)