1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 14 More money is needed

The garrison soldiers at Bitan said that the garrison commander Chen Xingwang had gone to Xunzhou Prefecture on official business and was not at Bitan. Shi Zhenlun was unable to meet Chen Xingwang.

When Shi Zhenlun and the others came out of Chen Xingwang's courtyard, it was already late. The group could only pool their money to find a room to stay at a small inn in Bitanxun.

It was called an inn room, but it was actually just a simple mud-walled and thatched hut with no bedding, only straw to wrap around and keep warm.

Fortunately, the shed was big enough to accommodate everyone, and there was a communal stove in the yard that could provide a hot meal, although the cost of firewood was extra.

Needless to say, this small inn is also owned by Biyang Xun, the general manager.

This junior officer, who came from a family that donated money to his class, is quite good at business.

The next morning, Peng Gang and his group woke up to the crowing of roosters, had breakfast, and then set off for Honglianping.

The area around Bitan Xun is sparsely populated and lush with vegetation.

Lianhuaping, nestled deep in the mountains, is characterized by its interlacing peaks, crisscrossing valleys, and rugged terrain. Even the road into the mountains was carved out on the spot by the villagers using machetes to clear the way through the brambles.

The tall trees in Lianhuaping are numerous and dense, forming a stark contrast to the barren landscape around Qingfeng Village, where trees are scarce.

“Master Peng, you have a good eye. There is a lot of hardwood here, which can produce a lot of good charcoal.”

The Shi family runs a charcoal business, and Shi Zhenlun can be considered a semi-expert in charcoal making. He stroked a beech tree that would take two people to encircle and said.

"Aside from the difficulty of transporting the charcoal out, Lianhuaping has excellent conditions in all other aspects."

Peng Gang was also very satisfied with Lianhuaping. He took out the fine brush and mulberry paper he had bought at Qishixu and sketched along the way, outlining the rough contours of the surrounding area.

As the sun began to set, they realized they would have to spend the night in the mountains if they didn't leave soon, so they reluctantly hurried down the mountain back to Bitanxun.

They mostly took downhill paths when they went down the mountain, and the path had already been cleared when they went up the mountain, so the way down was much easier and faster than the way up.

When the group returned to Bitan Flood Control Station, the sun had already set. The garrison soldiers on duty told Shi Zhenlun that Commander Chen Xingwang had returned and led them to Chen Xingwang's residence.

Chen Xingwang's residence was built next to the small yamen of the Bitan Flood Control Headquarters.

Although the courtyard was small, it was full of brick and tile houses. Chen Xingwang’s private courtyard and the garrison’s small office next to it were the only two tile-roofed houses in the entire Bitan garrison.

Chen Xingwang is not very old, probably around twenty-eight years old.

For a professionally trained officer like Ba Zong, 28 years old is a very young age, and he can be considered a promising young man.

However, Chen Xingwang was a captain who rose through the ranks by donation, and a captain who rose through the ranks by donation is not considered very young.

During the Qing Dynasty, the practice of purchasing official positions was prevalent. The threshold for purchasing official positions for military officers was much lower than that for civil officials, and the practice was even more prevalent. In Guangxi, more than 70% of the Green Standard Army military officers were promoted through purchasing their positions.

Those who came from military examinations and were promoted from the grassroots level were actually a minority of Green Standard Army military officers.

It's no wonder that the Green Standard Army in Guangxi has become so corrupt that even the loosely organized mob of the Heaven and Earth Society can't be controlled.

Peng Gang saw no trace of a soldier's courage in Chen Xingwang's eyes, only the shrewdness and worldliness of a merchant.

"I appreciate the Shi family's kindness. I've heard that Master Shi has now joined the local militia and is highly regarded by Commander Zhou and Magistrate Wang. I would be grateful if Brother Zhenlun could convey my congratulations to Master Shi upon my return." Chen Xingwang said to Shi Zhenlun with a squinting eye and an ambiguous expression of apology.

“My subordinates were ignorant and failed to provide proper hospitality yesterday, even making our distinguished guests stay in a lower-class room at the inn. I apologize to everyone for this.”

Most of the Shi family members were rough and uncultured, and only Shi Dakai was worthy of the title "Master".

Since Chen Xingwang knows so much about the Shi family in that village, and also knows the latest news that Shi Dakai has joined the Guixian militia, he must also know that the entire village of that village has joined the God Worshipping Society.

But Chen Xingwang didn't care about any of that.

As the saying goes, "A monk does his job every day, but he does it all the time." Chen Xingwang only wanted to be a garrison commander for a day, make money for a day, run his small business at Bitan garrison, live a comfortable life, and get back the money he was supposed to donate to become a garrison commander as soon as possible.

Whether it's the God Worshipping Society or the Heaven and Earth Society, as long as they don't cause him trouble or affect his business, Chen Xingwang doesn't mind making friends with these people from the underworld.

"Chen Balong, what are you saying?" Shi Zhenlun said to Chen Xingwang, remembering what Shi Xiangzhen had told him before he left.

"Chen Balong joined the army in his prime and has long served in the military, so he is well-versed in military affairs. Chen Balong must also know the situation of that village. To the left is Lotus Mountain and to the right is Dragon Mountain, and neither of these mountains is peaceful. But our village happens to be sandwiched between these two mountains."

Those villagers have joined the local militia, and the bandits from the two mountains will surely come to retaliate sooner or later. My brothers all say that among the thousand-strong garrison commanders of Xunzhou, only Commander Chen is the most loyal. They asked me to come and ask Commander Chen to buy some gunpowder and lead bullets.”

The more someone lacks something, the more they like others to praise that thing.

Chen Xingwang, a mere battalion commander who rose through the ranks by donation, knew absolutely nothing about military affairs, but when he heard Shi Zhenlun praise him like that, even though he knew it was flattery, he still felt very pleased.

After all, flattery will get you everywhere.

Of course, what truly made Chen Xingwang happy wasn't Shi Zhenlun flattering him, but rather the business coming his way.

Chen Xingwang's smile was brighter than an autumn chrysanthemum, but soon he showed a very troubled look: "The Green Standard Army is an army established by the imperial court. Although the local militia is just a local army, it is still an army."

We are all brothers in the same army, and the Green Standard Army is composed of all the same people. However, according to military regulations, gunpowder and lead bullets are important national weapons, and selling them privately is a serious crime.

If I follow the rules and don't sell to you, I can't bear to watch those villagers be ravaged and bullied by bandits. I, too, am caught in the middle, torn between two powerful forces.

Shi Zhenlun knew exactly what the Green Camp was like. As long as they paid enough money, they would sell anything, not just gunpowder and lead bullets, but also muskets, cannons, and even large cannons.

Chen Xingwang's words were nothing more than an attempt to raise the price; he practically had the words "I have to pay more" written all over his face.

“We brothers understand Chen Balong’s difficulties. As long as Chen Balong is willing to lend a helping hand to my village militia, it is only right for the villagers and us brothers to show our appreciation to Chen Balong.”

"We don't have lead, but we do have some gunpowder. It's 1.4 taels of silver per pound, so I'll give you 20 pounds." Chen Xingwang's price was twice the official price and far higher than the black market price.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. Gunpowder in Guangxi was scarce and expensive, so Shi Zhenlun, who desperately needed it, had no choice but to accept the exorbitant price.

After paying for the gunpowder, Shi Zhenlun introduced Peng Gang to Chen Xingwang: "This is Master Peng, a classmate and sworn brother of Da Kai. He may be working on charcoal production in Honglianping in the future, and I hope Chen can help him out then."

Peng Gang spent a day in the deep mountains and forests. His clothes, which were originally quite decent with only four patches, were now torn to shreds by the thorns and sharp branches in the mountains, leaving him in a very sorry state.

Chen Xingwang glanced at Peng Gang, and seeing that Peng Gang didn't react at all, he was a little displeased. He just said lazily, "You are an educated man, yet you are so ignorant. Honglianping is far from Bitan Xun, but it is closer to Shangdongtang under my command. You should go and talk to the chief of Shangdongtang about your matter."

Chen Xingwang, who had nothing to gain, didn't even bother to look at Peng Gang, but he didn't want to offend the Shi brothers in person, so he casually passed the matter on to his subordinates in the local defense division.

Peng Gang was not ignorant of social etiquette; he still had some loose change on him.

However, the matter of renting or buying the Honglianping mountain area has not yet been finalized, so it is not the time to feed this DPP officer.

It makes little difference whether you give Chen Xingwang money early or late. Giving him money early won't make a difference; he won't appreciate it anyway.

After spending another night at Bitanxun, Peng Gang and his group crossed the Qianjiang River southward at dawn.

The ferrymen were a father and son, soldiers from Bitan Flood Control. Peng Gang gave them some dried fish and asked them about the situation of Bitan Flood Control's division of the garrison.

An old soldier wearing the uniform of the Xunzhou garrison told Peng Gang that Shangdongtang was a branch garrison more than 20 miles north of Bitan garrison. Since the 24th year of the Daoguang reign, due to the increasingly serious banditry in Pingzai Mountain, a garrison was set up deep in Pingzai Mountain to defend against bandits.

There were eleven soldiers in Shangdongtang, led by a man named Xie, who was a graduate of a military academy and possessed genuine skills.

Every time Xie Li dispatched soldiers from various outposts to clear out bandits in the mountains, even if it was just for show, Chen Xingwang would only dare to go into the mountains with this subordinate and the soldiers from Shangdongtang.

(End of this chapter)