The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 444 Raid, Hunan Army Death Soldiers (Please subscribe, please vote)
It was deep night, and the county town of Hengshan, located in Hengzhou Prefecture in Hunan Province, was sleeping in the darkness.

Feng Yunshan lay in bed with his clothes on, about to fall asleep.

This was a habit he developed during his two battles in southern Hunan, southern Jiangxi, northern Guangxi and northern Guangdong, so that he could get up at night at any time.

He had not had an easy time in the past two years. On the battlefield in Hunan, the opponent was Jiang Zhongyuan, the most capable fighter in the Hunan Army! The Hengzhou, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Guiyangzhou, Youxian and Chalingzhou in the east of Changsha Prefecture that he was assigned were not rich. The property he obtained from beating the local tyrants was given to the main force of the Taiping Army on the northern expedition, so Feng Yunshan's rear army had always been in trouble.

This year, Feng Yunshan's territory was hit by a severe drought. Not only was the land barren and no crops were harvested, but the production was also reduced by 40% to 50%! The Taiping Army's plan to march into Guangdong and Guangxi could not be stopped because of Feng Yunshan's difficulties.

Because the Holy Angel King Wu Luo Yaoguo had already asked the higher-ups, and the answer was that things would become increasingly difficult in the future, and the last thing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lacked was difficulties!
Therefore, Feng Yunshan and the Southern Prince's Palace had to rise to the challenge and complete at least half of the annual grain collection plan, and mobilize enough civilians to support the Second Army and the Rear Army in their march towards Guangdong.

The consequence of Feng Yunshan rising to the challenge and resolutely carrying out the instructions of the Zongli Yamen and the military advisory conference was that at the same time as the main force of the rear army commanded by Luo Dagang, about 30,000 people, attacked Shaozhou Prefecture in Guangdong, a peasant uprising broke out in the territory ruled by the Southern Prince's Palace. No, it should be said that it was a rebellion launched by the remnants of the gentry and landlords under the instigation of Jiang Zhongyuan, the demon Jiang!
These days, he has been leading a part of the elite rear army and local militia who stayed behind to quell rebellions and bandits and appease the people in southern Hunan. It has been really hard work. Three days ago, he heard that a large-scale civil uprising broke out in Xiangxiang County under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. He then rushed north all the way from Guiyang Prefecture to Hengshan County. The journey was bumpy and he urgently needed to rest tonight.

But not long after he lay down, he suddenly heard a dull roar, as if it was thunder, or
Feng Yunshan quickly got up and ran to the window, opened it and looked out:
The fire is soaring!

Hengshan County is very close to Hengyang, where the Southern Prince's Palace is located, and is also close to the Xiangjiang River. Its geographical location is very important, so Feng Yunshan often comes to Hengshan for inspection. He is very familiar with the situation in the city. After a little thought, he knew that the fire was in the county government office and the armory. His heart suddenly skipped a beat:
Oops.

They raided these two locations at the same time and it seemed to be successful. The people who could do such a thing were definitely not ordinary rioters, but the Hunan Army's death squads!

The Xiang army was composed of "bastards" who had fled from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to the homes of landlords and gentry under Jiang Zhongyuan. They all had a blood feud with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! They often sneaked into the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's territory to sabotage and assassinate, and also acted as internal support or selected fronts when the Xiang army attacked the city. Hengshan was close to the Xiang army's territory, so...
Alas, it seems that I have been fooled by Jiang Zhongyuan again. That Xiangxiang uprising must be fake news released by this damned demon!

One of Feng Yunshan's personal female officials pushed open the door and rushed in. She was relieved to see that Feng Yunshan was safe and sound. She took the dragon robe from the hanger and started to help Feng Yunshan put it on. Then the two of them quickly went out and into the yard outside.

Feng Yunshan has encountered more than one assassination attempt in the past two years, so he dares not be careless anymore. Even in his own territory, he is extremely careful. His residence is kept secret from the outside world, and there are dense sentries and hidden sentries around him, all of whom are elite soldiers of the Prince of Nan's Palace.

When Feng Yunshan arrived at the courtyard, his personal soldiers had already gathered quickly. There were 500 foreign riflemen and 30 pistolmen. The foreign riflemen were all veterans from Guangxi, while the pistolmen were all Hakka female soldiers from Guangxi. This 530-man guard had a "division" designation, and Feng Yunshan's confidant, Zeng Zhaoyang, a general of the Taiping Army, was the division commander.

Seeing that all his men had arrived, Feng Yunshan immediately ordered, "Follow me to find Magistrate Hu!"

The county magistrate of Hu County was named Yi Yang, and he was the brother of Hu Yi Huang. Because he did not support the rebellion of Prince of Yu Hu Yi Huang, he did not participate in the Jintian Uprising. But later, seeing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's power, he brought his family to join Feng Yunshan, and was appointed as the magistrate of Hengshan County by Feng Yunshan.

"Your Highness, the Southern Prince, please send someone to guard the north and south gates of Hengshan Mountain." Zeng Zhaoyang stepped forward and reminded in a low voice. Zeng Zhaoyang was a man of both civil and military talents, with a meticulous mind. He was not only Feng Yunshan's chief guard, but also his staff and military advisor.

Yes, Feng Yunshan nodded. He had previously analyzed that the ones causing the trouble were Jiang Zhongyuan's Hunan Army fighters.

In addition to assassinations and sabotage, the Xiang Army's death squads often acted as internal supporters of the Xiang Army to attack the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's cities. The west gate of Hengshan City facing the mountain had been sealed, and the east gate faced the Xiangjiang River. If the Xiang Army wanted to break in through the city gate, they could only go through the south and north gates.

Therefore, no matter how these Hunan Army soldiers stir up trouble, as long as we guard the north and south gates of Hengshan City and prevent their reinforcements from coming in, the chaos in the city will be quelled sooner or later.

"Ji Qingyuan! Tan Shaoguang!"

Ji Qingyuan, a general of the Ji family of the Taiping Army, and Tan Shaoguang, a former boy soldier, stepped out upon hearing the call. Both of them were brigade commanders under Zeng Zhaoyang, and were also the number one and number two generals in Feng Yunshan's guard division.

"You two will each lead a hundred men to guard the north gate and the south gate!"

The two men received the order and each led a team of men to the north gate and the south gate.

Here, Feng Yunshan and Zeng Zhaoyang led the remaining 330 people to the county government office, only to see officials and soldiers running around like headless flies, but there was no sign of the magistrate Hu Yiyang.

He grabbed a petty official and asked, "Where is Magistrate Hu?"

Feng Yunshan was wearing a dragon robe and was accompanied by a female guard holding a pistol. The clerk knew that he was the Southern King and immediately calmed down: "County Magistrate Hu is not here!"

Feng Yunshan frowned and raised his chin to a female guard beside him: "Go to the Hu family to find him!"

The female guard left in response, but before she had gone far, a lawyer from Hengshan County rushed over, his face pale: "Your Highness, Prince Nan, Your Highness! Magistrate Hu was beheaded at home!" Is Hu Yihuang's brother gone? Feng Yunshan's heart tightened: "Who did it?"

"The family of Magistrate Hu said that several sturdy men with Hengshan accents climbed over the wall and broke into the house, stabbing him to death!"

Feng Yunshan immediately took out his Southern King token from his bosom, held it high, and said in a loud voice: "The affairs of Hengshan County will be temporarily taken over by this king. Where are the Hengshan County Brigade Commander and the Hengshan County Datong Association Branch Master?"

The fire in the Hengshan County Government Office had not yet been extinguished, and the nearby gunpowder depot under the jurisdiction of the Hengshan County Brigade Commander had been blown to ruins. However, the prestige of King Nan Feng Yunshan was still high enough. After he shouted a few times, people's panic was greatly reduced and they began to act according to his orders.

After another half a quarter of an hour, the chaotic situation had improved significantly. The local brigade commanders and branch hall masters of Hengshan County came to meet and report the latest situation to Feng Yunshan.

But Feng Yunshan's face did not look relaxed.

The other party took advantage of the fact that I was in Hengshan City and dared to send out assassins to infiltrate, setting fire and killing people. They must be trying to make a big move.

Now Luo Dagang has led the main force of the rear army into Guangdong. If something goes wrong in southern Hunan, the battle of Guangdong may be difficult to fight.

At this moment, a sharp and rapid bell rang from the north gate:

"Dang-dang-dang!"

Then there was another burst of gunfire!

The panic in Hengshan City, which had finally subsided, rose again. Because Hengshan County was adjacent to the territory of the Hunan Army, the sound of bells and gunfire had only one meaning:
The Hunan Army is invading!

Feng Yunshan immediately led his men to the north gate of Hengshan Mountain.

The area of ​​Hengshan County is not large, and it takes less than an incense stick of time to run from the county government office to the north gate.

As soon as the city gate came into view, shouts were heard from the front. Feng Yunshan looked closely and saw that it was his personal soldiers holding foreign rifles and chasing a few men into the residential area.

There was chaos and shouting along the way.

Feng Yunshan listened attentively and frowned. He heard someone shouting in a Hunan accent: "Confucius bless us, the false God is dead!"

This is the slogan that the famous Hunan teacher Dafang has been shouting everywhere recently!

This famous religion is now learning from the Datong Society of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and starting to establish an organizational system in which each level manages its own level.

Although the Mingjiao organization cannot be compared with the Datong Society, it is much stronger than having no organization at all.

Feng Yunshan walked a hundred steps forward and arrived at the north gate. Here was another chaotic scene:
The city gate was closed, but it was slammed against by something, making a loud bang.

This means that the drawbridge over the moat has been lowered, and the Hunan Army has already reached the city gate. They are coming so fast!
Ji Qingyuan strode forward and said, "Your Highness, the Southern Prince, a group of Hunan Army soldiers took advantage of the chaos to kill the gate guards and tried to open the gate, but I came to stop them. However, the drawbridge was lowered!"

After saying this, he pointed towards the stairs leading to the city wall, and everyone saw many corpses lying there, some of them were Taiping soldiers, and some were thieves in plain clothes.

The stairs were covered in blood, showing how fierce the battle that just took place here was!
Feng Yunshan was secretly frightened. If Ji Qingyuan had not arrived in time, the north gate of Hengshan would have been wide open and the Hunan Army would have entered the city.

Just as he thought of this, someone suddenly shouted in his ear: "East Gate, there is a fire outside the East Gate!"

Feng Yunshan was shocked again: Outside the East Gate was the Hengshan Pier! There were dozens of wooden boats moored at the pier, all loaded with grain shipped from Changsha. Could it be that they were all burned in the fire?
(End of this chapter)