Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 13: Outstanding Military Achievements
More than two months passed quickly, and it was already late November 1864. The temperature dropped sharply, and the scenery in the fields was bleak.

Beside Taihu Lake

"Raise your gun and shoot."

“Pah pah pah… pah pah pah pah…”

After the crisp sound of volleys of gunfire, the executed bandits fell down in rows, and the swordsmen and shieldmen then stepped forward and finished off the bodies one by one.

A biting cold wind blew as Zheng Guohui personally supervised the large-scale executions, holding the knife handle in his hand. Beside him stood a group of local officials and surrounding residents, who were shocked and speechless as they watched the execution scene before them.

More than 430 bandits were executed at one time, and the water around Taihu Lake was dyed red. It is shocking enough.

This large-scale public execution will also bring General Zheng Guohui's clearing operation to an end.

The campaign lasted for 77 days and covered thousands of miles in continuous battle. More than a dozen gangs of remaining enemies were defeated and annihilated, and notorious bandit leaders such as "Mao Shaver", "Shuang Feiyan", "Ghost-Seeing Sorrow" and "Gao Dadan" were killed. More than 3700 enemies were killed and 6027 were captured. The bandit problem of more than bandits was completely eradicated in Jiangnan Province, and peace and harmony were restored to the region, which was praised by the people.

After every major victory, the relevant military reports were sent to Nanjing at an accelerated speed of 300 miles, and then reported to the Ministry of War by Jiangnan Admiral Fu Zhuhong'a.

Of course, these were all done by the staff advisor Fang Weishan, who reported them in the name of General Fuzhu Hong'a, the governor of Jiangnan.

General Fuzhu Hong'a has recently become infatuated with an actor. The two are inseparable all day long. It is said that he has not returned to the Jiangnan Governor's Mansion for several days and is having a great time outside.

Being an actor is a lowly profession among the lowest class. With such an identity, one certainly cannot be accepted into the Prince's Mansion, even as a slave or concubine.

Otherwise, where would the Minister of Rites, Lord Fuzhu Shoushan, put his reputation?
Only in Jinling, thousands of miles away, could Fuzhu Hong'a dare to play so recklessly, not caring about his reputation at all, and spending day and night with actors.

Zheng Guohui couldn't care less about so many things, as long as it didn't interfere with his own business.

With the military merits accumulated in his hands, the capital secretly sent news
We are working on promoting him to the rank of Second-rank Deputy General of Jiangnan, and there is already some progress.

Zheng Guohui immediately sent people to escort 3 taels of silver, 1200 taels of gold and ten beautiful girls selected from the captives to the residence of Prince Fuzhu in the capital.

With the rank of second-rank deputy general of Jiangnan, he later became the deputy commander of the provincial military region and commander of the main division. He was considered a high-ranking official in the military. There were only more than one hundred people in the entire court.

The only person who could hold such a high position was the Minister of Rites, Lord Fuzhu Shoushan.

Zheng Guohui, who joined the sect, certainly knew how to do things. With this batch of gold, silver and women sent to the Prince's Mansion, plus his accumulated military merits, it would not be a problem for him to get the title of Deputy General of Jiangnan.

The promotion to the rank of Deputy General of Jiangnan is of great significance, especially for the business of selling illegal salt, it is simply a great help.

The current Jinling City Guard can only manage the area of ​​Jiangning Prefecture. He cannot extend his power to Zhenjiang Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture or even Gusu Prefecture, nor can he manage northern Anhui.

If he could be successfully promoted to the rank of Deputy General of Jiangnan, it would be natural to incorporate the power in his hands.

As long as it is the territory of Jiangnan Province, he has a reason to get involved.

As for where Zheng Guohui got so much gold and silver?
There are many stories to tell here. On the surface, the governor of Jiangnan was dissatisfied with the situation where bandits were wreaking havoc in Jiangnan, so he sent the governor's battalion to fight against them.

He was determined to eradicate bandits and gangs, wipe out the remnants of the Changmao rebels who were plaguing the countryside, stabilize the area, and benefit his hometown. This was a major achievement during his tenure as the Governor-General of Jiangnan.

The better Zheng Guohui performs, the better the resume of Jiangnan Governor Fu Zhuhong'a will be, and the more likely he will be promoted, get rich, or be transferred back to the capital. The two complement each other.

The army was clearing out the bandit problem, and it was impossible for the prefectures and counties in Jiangnan not to express their gratitude. The minimum was three to five thousand taels of silver for the departure and some silver for consolation, and the maximum was six to seven thousand taels. The local wealthy businessmen and gentry also had to express their gratitude.

Otherwise, would it be difficult to charge him with colluding with bandits?
A vivid example of this is that several wealthy businessmen in Xishan County had their properties raided, the heads of the families and male family members executed, and the beautiful women divided up by the soldiers.

Xishan County alone paid tribute of 14000 taels of silver. This was Zheng Guohui's punishment for the Xishan County Magistrate's indifference to the tribute. He collected countless gold and silver.
In addition, the army was not ruthless when it passed through the border. Among the captured Taiping rebels, those who could afford the money were mostly quietly released to their original owners and reunited with their families.

The starting salary for ordinary bandits is 300 taels of silver, the starting salary for small leaders is or taels, and the starting salary for big leaders is taels of silver.

Even if it is a big bandit from Taihu Lake, as long as he can afford the ransom, there is room for negotiation.

Dong Huanzhang, the chief advisor, has been working on this matter. The threshold of his temporary residence in Xishan City was almost trampled down by people. It was as lively as a market.
The bandit leader nicknamed "Water Dragon King" and more than 30 of his confidants and their families took advantage of the guards' inattention and quietly escaped in the night. This was a small regret during this expedition.

It is said that General Zheng Guohui was furious when he heard this and issued a gag order, forcing the matter to never be mentioned again.

Execution completed
Zheng Guohui led his troops back to his base in Xishan County amid the flattery and welcome of local officials.

The Du Biao Battalion under the command of the Jiangnan Governor went out in the name of clearing out banditry. In the past two months, they swept across and annihilated more than a dozen remnants of the Taiping Rebellion, and their reputation spread throughout the country.

This brave and battle-hardened Du Biao Battalion gained fame and reputation, and also attracted the attention of many high-ranking officials in the imperial court, leaving a deep impression on them.

This served as a wake-up call to the Huai Army stationed in Suzhou City. Li Hongzhang was a smart man, so how could he watch the peaches in his yard being picked by others?
So as early as a month ago

The Huai Army stationed in Gusu City took action and launched a large-scale crackdown on bandits in the areas around Gusu Prefecture, even as far as northern Zhejiang, and achieved considerable success.

Military reports of victory flew to the capital like snowflakes. The Huai Army once again made a name for itself, and rewards from the court were naturally indispensable.

According to news from Beijing
At least tens of thousands of Huai Army troops will be stationed in the area around Gusu Prefecture in Jiangnan Province for a long time and transformed into Green Camp soldiers.

This situation is similar to that of the Du Biaoying Camp, that is, they transformed from local militia into regular troops, and received a fixed salary and food every month, and of course they also had to obey the military orders of the court.

Li Hongzhang was an extremely shrewd and experienced person. He was completely different from Zeng Guofan. He did not resist the court's reorganization of his Huai Army militia, but instead cooperated very well.

Tens of thousands of Huai Army troops were being reorganized into Green Camp soldiers, stationed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan and South Zhili provinces. This was the predecessor of the Beiyang Army.

This cooperative attitude won him unanimous praise from the Manchu officials in the court, and promotion to a higher rank was imminent, probably between the New Year and the New Year.

compare with

Zeng Guofan's troops, which resisted the reorganization of the Hunan Brave Army, were being transferred to the north to encircle and suppress the Nian Army. At the same time, they were subjected to large-scale layoffs, and many generals with outstanding military achievements had to retire.

By the end of the year
About half of the Hunan Army had to disband and return to their hometowns. The court's attitude of suppression was very obvious.

After all, the Nian Army was different from the Taiping rebels who had swept across half of the southeastern part of the country. They were much smaller in scale, and the area affected by the war was also much smaller, so they did not need so many imperial troops.

A large number of Huai troops were reorganized into the Green Camp Army. Li Hongzhang's cooperative attitude pleased the emperor greatly. It was said that he would be transferred to the central government and go to the capital to take up an important position soon.

In comparison, Zeng Guofan was still the Minister of Rites, and although he was given the hereditary and demoted title of "Marquis Yiyong", what did it matter?
Living in this era, Zheng Guohui is truly filled with emotion.

Zeng Guofan commanded hundreds of thousands of troops and was the backbone of the fight against the Taiping rebels. His achievements were unparalleled.

However, he still could not gain the full trust of the court. He never entered the Central Military Affairs Office or served in the capital in his life.

At best, his career as the Governor-General of Liangjiang would only last for a dozen years.

The most important thing was that he did not follow the court's wishes and reorganized the Hunan Army into garrisoned Green Camp soldiers on a large scale, which aroused the court's suspicion.

Li Hongzhang was a disciple of Zeng Guofan, but he was able to bypass his teacher and go straight to the central government. He ruled the court for decades and made a significant contribution to the late Qing Dynasty.

His ability to judge the situation is a big plus.

Giving up military power in exchange for a rapid promotion is a worthwhile exchange.

Now that he has entered the center of the imperial court and holds great power, is he still afraid that his former subordinates will cause a rebellion?
After careful consideration, Zheng Guohui felt that he had learned something new.

He is not a person with moral puristism. As long as the method is useful and can help him climb up and expand his power, he will borrow and use it.

Judging from the fact that the remnants of the Taiping Rebellion were willing to pay money to redeem people, we know that this person is not that simple, and is a cruel and ruthless person.

(End of this chapter)