The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 154 Zeng Guofan heard it and said, you are surrounded on five sides!
The small county town of Xiangxiang would soon be surrounded by the Taiping Army on five sides - east, north, west, south, and inside!
Near the south gate of Xiangxiang County, in a narrow and dilapidated alley, in a small courtyard with a tightly closed door, dozens of Taiping Army soldiers, holding torches in one hand, steel knives in the other, with pistols on their belts and red scarves on their heads, were crowded together that night, quietly waiting for something.

The Taiping Army has entered the city!
The "Sister Xu" who came from Hengyang yesterday was Xu Yuegui, the deputy leader of the secret hall of the God Worshipping Society. According to Luo Yaoguo's instructions, she disguised herself as a fleeing landlord's wife and went to Zeng Guofan's hometown, Baiyangping, Heyetang, in search of her relatives. She also found out the location of Zeng Guofan's big house.

Unfortunately, the effort was in vain. Zeng Guofan's family had left long ago, leaving only some clansmen who were looking after the house and land for his family, and they were captured by Xiao Chaogui's Taiping Army.

However, Xu Yuegui did not give up. She soon found out that Zeng Guofan had "run" to Xiangxiang County, and had "kidnapped" a little boy from the Zeng family with the surname "Ji". It was said that he often went in and out of the Zeng family mansion and was very familiar with several masters of the Zeng family. Now she was no longer afraid of not recognizing Zeng Guofan!

Afterwards, she persuaded Xiao Chaogui, who originally wanted to avoid Changsha, to attack Xiangxiang County again, and she also devised a plan of internal and external cooperation!
However, after using this strategy of internal and external cooperation many times, the Qing demons also learned their lesson. There were originally many beggars and strong men with Tiandihui background in Xiangxiang City, but when Master Huang came with Daozhou militia, they were all driven out of the city.

Originally, those guarding the city gates were all local strong men, who were all disciples of the Tiandihui. After Master Huang came, they all lost their jobs and were replaced by Daozhou militia.

After all the turmoil, the Tiandihui organization in Xiangxiang City was half destroyed, and outside the city, only the chain-smoking boss Liu Shiba was left in charge - this was because almost all of Hunan's shipowners, boatmen, and dock workers were disciples of the Tiandihui, and without the Tiandihui's people, Xiangxiang's docks would be useless.

However, Liu Shiba and his disciples were not allowed to spend the night in Xiangxiang City. They could only live in sheds on the pier outside the city, which made life very difficult for these men who made a living on the pier.

However, for Xu Yuegui and the more than 100 Dark Hall soldiers she brought with her, who were disguised as militiamen from a certain town in Hengyang, Mr. Huang's efforts were of no use, and they still managed to sneak into Xiangxiang County very smoothly.

Although Mr. Huang's Daozhou militia were not members of the Tiandihui, they had never been involved in society or worked for the government, so they could not recognize the Dark Hall warriors who were good at disguise.

Moreover, after these Daozhou militiamen gained some power, they immediately learned how to accept bribes without any instruction. After receiving money from Xu Yuegui, they naturally felt relieved and bold enough to release people into the city.
"Big brother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother. It's bad. The Tai-Mao are coming!"

Inside the Zeng family's main house, the people who were packing their luggage stopped what they were doing at the same time when they heard the shout, and a look of panic appeared in everyone's eyes.

Zeng Guofan was sitting with several brothers in a room lit only by an oil lamp. They were discussing what to do after retreating to Changde Prefecture.
Although Zeng Guofan was appointed by Emperor Xianfeng as the Minister of Hunan Tuanlian, he was not the Governor-General of Huguang, the Governor of Hunan, or the Manchu general of Jingzhou City. This was not a permanent position, but a temporary one, with unclear powers, jurisdiction, and funding sources. How much could be accomplished depended on the ability of the person sitting in this position.
This was also the main reason why Zeng Guofan was reluctant to come out of retirement before. This job is really not easy!

And now, of course, it's even more difficult!

Not only did the war situation in Hunan suddenly collapse, but Zuo Zongtang also emerged. Relying on Luo Bingzhang's trust, he exercised the power of the Minister of Militia despite being a commoner. He also used Zeng Guofan's influence to mobilize thousands of militiamen to Changsha to participate in the war. If he were allowed to continue to expand his power, would the Minister of Militia in Hunan be named Zuo?
Although becoming a minister in one step was not in line with the Qing Dynasty's system, could he go to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to be a minister?

So after Zeng Guofan fled to Changde, the first person he had to deal with was not the Taiping Army, but Zuo Zongtang!
When Zeng Guofan was discussing in a low voice with several brothers, his youngest brother Zeng Guobao suddenly pushed the door open and rushed in, his face full of panic.

Zeng Guofan remained calm and asked, "How many of them came? Where did they go?"

Zeng Guobao replied, "There are three to four thousand men outside the city, marching with torches. They have split into two groups, one heading towards the east gate, and the other heading north. It seems they are going to outflank the north and west gates!"

Zeng Guohua said anxiously: "Brother, hurry up and leave from the west of the city!"

Zeng Guofan still looked confident: "If we can't go west of the city, let's go south by water!"

Zeng Guobao interjected: "It has to be done as soon as possible. There are also Taiping troops in the city!"

"What? Inside the city?" Zeng Guofan's face changed slightly.

At this time, there were bursts of noise coming from outside the door, and the song of "Welcome Taiping" could be faintly heard.

Zeng Guoquan, the most violent of the Zeng brothers, said angrily: "We should have killed all the members of the Tiandihui long ago!"

Zeng Guofan's face was gloomy, and he shook his head and said, "How easy is it to kill them all? Xiangxiang has always had a large population and a small land area. There are simply too many people!"

How could a person like Zeng Guofan not know that the root cause of the current unrest in the world lies in the contradiction between people and land? He himself is well-read and familiar with the rise and fall of dynasties. He is also a gentry landlord and knows how hard it is for the poor at the bottom!

"Master, there are two houses on the street on fire. The burning is very fierce, and it seems that the fire is about to spread!" At this time, another member of the Zeng family ran over in a panic to report.

Zeng Guofan frowned and whispered, "Let's go! Laojiu, take a few people to the county government office and tell Shi Qiao not to panic. Open the west gate and ask the rich families in the city to flee west first. Then bring the militia to the south of the city to meet me and escape together by water."

"Go by water?" Zeng Guoquan was stunned. "But we don't have many boats!"

"Yes!" Zeng Guofan said, "There are so many boats blocking the stream. It's enough!" He turned back and said to Zeng Guohua, "Fifth brother, go and gather the clan soldiers immediately, and escort father, the women and children first. I, the second brother, and the fifth brother will go to Huang Ziying's camp, and then lead the troops out of the south gate!"

"Report"

At the south gate of Xiangxiang County, in the small courtyard crowded with secret sect members of the God Worshipping Society, the sound of hurried footsteps and muffled “report” calls suddenly rang out.

Inside the small house, a light was dim. Xu Yuegui, who was gently wiping an English-made flintlock pistol, raised her head with her almond-shaped eyes wide open, looking at the person who came.

"Report to the deputy hall master, Zeng Guofan has arrived. He is coming to the south gate with his family, under the protection of one or two hundred clan soldiers!"

"Oh," Xu Yuegui narrowed her eyes slightly, "Are you sure it's Zeng Guofan?"

"Report"

At this time, another person rushed in and said, "Deputy Hall Master, County Magistrate Zhu opened the west gate of Xiangxiang and sent out runners to beat gongs everywhere, ordering the rich families in the city to escape through the west gate!"

"Haha." Xu Yuegui laughed, stood up suddenly, put away the flintlock pistol, picked up a pair of Taiping swords on a square table beside him, rushed to the yard outside the house like the wind, and said four words to the group of Dark Hall warriors who had been eager to try, "Send troops to the South Gate!"

Zeng Guohua, wearing a blue robe and a small hat, was holding an old man who looked very much like him, with a flintlock pistol in one hand. Surrounded by a large group of Zeng clan soldiers and Zeng family women and children, he walked quickly towards the south gate along the narrow alleys in Xiangxiang City.

At this moment, Xiangxiang City was in chaos. The streets and alleys were full of people. Some were wealthy people who were fleeing, and some were poor people who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to make some money. There were constant sounds of crying and fighting, as well as bursts of "crackling" noises. No one knew if they were gunshots or firecrackers.

Fires also broke out in various places in the city. The blazing flames illuminated the people running back and forth, making them look even more panic-stricken, as if it was the end of the world.

The Zeng family soldiers were still loyal. They held swords and spears, cleared the way in front, guarded the rear, and protected the troops on the left and right. They shouted all the way: "Minister Zeng is here. Anyone who stands in our way will be killed!"

After they shouted like this, the people blocking the way disappeared, but many gentry and wealthy families followed them, wanting to escape from the city that was about to fall into the hands of the Taiping Army. A large group of people poured into the south gate of Xiangxiang County.

The south gate of Xiangxiang County was closed. The Daozhou militiamen guarding the gate had experience in abandoning the city and fleeing, so they did not seem to be in a panic. They even set up a cordon inside the south gate, with broadsword blades and sharp spears displayed, scaring a group of wealthy families who wanted to leave the city and escape by boat.

This time they finally saw Zeng Guofan, and they felt like they had met their savior. They all shouted in unison: "Minister Zeng is here, open the door quickly!"

The officers of Daozhou Camp who were guarding the gate had received Huang Shijie's order long ago. When they saw the Zeng family coming, they immediately ordered the city gate to be opened and escorted out of the city. Outside the city was the river wharf, where many open boats were moored in all directions. As long as they boarded the boat, they could escape to Baoqing Prefecture along the river and Yongfeng River.
With a way out in front of them, Zeng Guohua and Zeng Linshu, father and son, quickened their pace and rushed towards the South Gate. At the same time, the wealthy families and common people who were originally blocked at the South Gate also fled out like crazy.

Just when they were about to escape, a dozen or so sparks of fire suddenly flashed on the open boats that were moored at the pier of the stream, without making any movement, followed by a series of crackling sounds!

Several Daozhou militiamen who had just left the city to clear the way for the Zeng family suddenly fell down and let out shrill screams.

There is an ambush!
Zeng Guohua reacted immediately and realized that there were long-haired soldiers lurking at the pier outside the city - this road was blocked!
He quickly helped the old man and turned to flee, but he saw a scene that frightened him - more than a hundred "red-headed men" had rushed to the south gate of Xiangxiang without knowing when. In the firelight, he saw that everyone of them was holding a steel knife and a pistol. The leader was a female general. She pointed a Taiping sword at him and shouted angrily: "Zeng Guofan, where are you going!"

(End of this chapter)