1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 201 Searching for Little Paradise

"We have captured thirty-five students and children from Quanzhou at the Quanzhou State School and the Confucian Temple. What should we do with these people?" Li Qi came to the Quanzhou State Government Office to ask Peng Gang for instructions on how to deal with the captured students and children.

“Since they are combatants, then escort them to the prisoner-of-war camp and manage them as prisoners of war,” Peng Gang said without hesitation. “Order all troops not to destroy the state school or Confucian temple, and not to disturb ancestral halls.”

They're just a bunch of hot-blooded young men.

Now, those students and young scholars who consider themselves guardians of the orthodox tradition are in high spirits and have lost their normal ability to reason. Talking to them, debating with them, and doing ideological work at this time is not only a waste of breath, but it is certainly not very effective.

Let them cool off for a while, and after their enthusiasm subsides, talk to them about the Chinese tradition and do some ideological work.

Quanzhou is a small place with limited military supplies, so Peng Gang had no intention of staying in Quanzhou for too long.

After the collection of silver and grain taxes was completed, Peng Gang prepared to leave Quanzhou and continue northward along the Xiang River to officially enter Hunan Province.

Unlike in the past, when the Left Army focused more on collecting grain to ensure its rations, Peng Gang has now intensified the collection of gold and silver.

This was not because the resistance from the military and civilians of the whole prefecture was intense, and Peng Gang deliberately retaliated against them.

Instead, after leaving Guangxi, Peng Gang planned to establish a stable rear base for the future.

Furthermore, once you leave the mountainous area of ​​southern Hunan, other parts of the province are relatively prosperous, and commerce is much more developed than in Guangxi.

When necessary, as long as you can afford the price, you can directly use money to buy grain, salt, and even military supplies.

As for Jiang Zhongyuan's two thousand Chu soldiers in the Shuitang Bay area.

Their troop strength and capabilities were far inferior to those of the Left Army, making it impossible for them to stop the Left Army.

The reason Peng Gang didn't take action against Jiang Zhongyuan after capturing Quanzhou City was that he wanted to keep Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong as bait to lure Li Xingyuan.

According to the message sent back by the Yongzhou Heaven and Earth Society.

After Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing fled back to Yongzhou.

Imperial Commissioner Li Xingyuan was furious and personally led his troops south to Quanzhou to block the Left Army from entering Hunan.

If we were to alert Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu troops at this point, causing them to retreat from Shuitang Bay, it would inevitably frighten Li Xingyuan back to Yongzhou City, thus missing the opportunity to annihilate the main force of the Qing army in Hunan in open battle.

Although Shuitang Bay cannot be dredged, the underwater submerged piles in the Suoyi Ferry section can be cleared and the waterway dredged.

Peng Gang ordered Chen Ajiu, who was stationed near Suoyi Ferry, to lead five battalions of soldiers who were skilled in swimming to go into the water, remove the hidden stakes that Chu Yong had driven into the vicinity of Suoyi Ferry, and dredge the Xiangjiang River waterway.

After making these arrangements, Peng Gang wrote to Luo Dagang, who was stationed in Xing'an County, instructing him to transfer the women's battalion, children's battalion, and old men's battalion to Quanzhou in preparation for the upcoming advance.

Peng Gang's left wing captured Quanzhou on its own, but the main force of the Taiping Army did not have such a smooth attack on Guilin, the capital of Guangxi Province.

Since Lin Fengxiang led his army in a "surprise attack" on Guilin, the Taiping army has been besieging Guilin for 25 days.

Peng Gang had anticipated that the main force of the Taiping Army would make little progress in its attack on Guilin.

For peasant uprising armies, siege warfare, especially the attack on large cities, has always been the most difficult battle.

Despite not lacking heavy weapons, Peng Gang's left wing besieged Quanzhou City for half a month with a force seven or eight times larger than the garrison. Finally, they breached the city walls by digging tunnels and captured Quanzhou City.

The city walls of Guilin were much taller, wider, and more fortified than those of Quanzhou.

The east city wall is 25 feet high, the south city wall is 30 feet high, the west city wall is 26 feet high, and the north city wall is 27 feet high.

It has 1,340 crenellations, 32 fortified positions, 22 gun emplacements with cannons weighing over several thousand catties, 10 city towers, and a city circumference of 12 li.

It is the largest city in Guangxi with the most complete defense system.

If Guilin's garrison is insufficient and its defenses are weak, the Taiping army will still have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

However, by the time Lin Fengxiang reached the outskirts of Guilin, Xiang Rong had already led his remaining troops into the city.

In addition, there were 3,000 Yunnan troops led by the Yunnan general who had previously fled to Guilin.

The Chu army under He Chun stationed in Guilin, the Guilin Green Standard Army, and the local militia recruited and organized by Lao Chongguang.

It's hard to say whether the garrison in Guilin City numbered over ten thousand, but it certainly numbered several thousand.

Xiang Rong and Lao Chongguang, who organized the defense of Guilin, were very pragmatic.

Lao Chongguang originally intended to build defensive lines in Yangshuo, Jiutang, Liutang and other places within the territory of Guilin Prefecture, and resist step by step in order to wear down the Taiping Army's strength and blunt the Taiping Army's offensive.

After Xiang Rong entered Guilin, Lao Chongguang adopted Xiang Rong's suggestion and ordered the Qing army to withdraw from Yangshuo, Jiutang, Liutang and other places and return to Guilin.

They abandoned even Elephant Trunk Hill, Dongzhou, Guniu Mountain, General Bridge, and the streets outside the city walls of Guilin, and directly concentrated their limited troops inside the provincial city walls, focusing solely on guarding the Guilin city walls.

With the strength of the Qing army in Guilin, which was also responsible for defending the strategic points and streets outside the city and building a deep defense system, the Qing army in Guilin was definitely stretched thin and not enough.

By consolidating its forces and focusing solely on defending the city walls, the Qing army in Guilin not only no longer faced the problem of insufficient manpower, but could even free up three to four thousand reserves to rotate and defend the city.

After all, even if all the crenellations, outposts, gun emplacements, and towers of Guilin City were staffed with troops, only a little over 5,000 men would be needed.

To ensure the absolute safety of Guilin, Xiang Rong even prepared for the worst-case scenario of losing the outer city and using the Guangxi Examination Hall (formerly the Jingjiang Prince's Palace of the Ming Dynasty) as the inner city to continue defending Guilin.

More than the slow progress of the Taiping Army's attack on Guilin, Peng Gang was worried about how long the logistics of the main Taiping Army force could hold out.

Upon entering Guilin Prefecture, the main force of the Taiping Army and the Left Army extensively recruited soldiers and absorbed new members.

Over the course of nearly a month.

After recruiting new members and absorbing the last batch of old Guangxi people, the total number of Zuo Jun's troops swelled to 60,000.

The main force of the Taiping army swelled to 160,000 to 170,000 men.

Although Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui and others did not reveal to Peng Gang how many days the grain reserves in the main Taiping Army's treasury could last.

But Peng Gang was certain that the main force of the Taiping Army should have very little food left.

Although the main force had previously captured the wealthy city of Cangwu, two and a half months had passed since the main force of the Taiping Army captured the city.

It would take two and a half months for over 100,000 men and horses to feed themselves and their animals. The grain reserves of a wealthy prefecture could only last for one quarter, no matter how abundant they were.

Peng Gang wrote to his several brothers and brothers-in-law, advising them not to forcefully attack cities they couldn't conquer.

Zuo Jun has already captured Quanzhou City. Considering the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people, the best course of action now is to consider heading north to Hunan, where the Qing army's forces are relatively weak and food supplies are relatively plentiful.

This was not the first time Peng Gang had written to urge the main force of the Taiping Army to move north into Hunan.

Previously, it was said that the main force of the Taiping Army had not had a smooth attack on Guilin, the provincial capital. Peng Gang had also written twice to persuade Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan and others to go north to Hunan.

It was only when Peng Gang wrote to them twice before, urging them to go north to Hunan.

The situation facing the main force of the Taiping Army was not so bad yet; Xiao Chaogui, Yang Xiuqing, and others were still confident of capturing Guilin.

With the Taiping army reducing the rations for soldiers and their families, the imperial granary can only last for fourteen days.

Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, and others organized more than twenty attacks on the city, but all of them were thwarted by the Guilin defenders and ended in failure, with heavy losses of soldiers and generals.

When Yang Xiuqing learned that the Left Army was attacking Quanzhou using the method of tunneling, he also followed the Left Army's example and ordered the Holy Soldiers from the Longshan Silver Mine of the Central Army to dig tunnels in order to carry out targeted blasting on the tall and sturdy city walls of Guilin and destroy them.

Unfortunately, the area around Guilin is mostly karst topography with numerous underground rivers and caves, making it difficult to excavate tunnels as scheduled, thus hindering the implementation of the siege tactic of attacking the city from underground.

The attack on Guilin City has made little progress, and the morale and enthusiasm of the main Taiping army forces have long since faded from what they were at the beginning of the siege.

Now, the Qing troops garrison in Guilin, under the organization of Xiang Rong, Lao Chongguang and others, even dare to sneak out of the city at night to raid the Taiping Army's camp.

To make matters worse, two other Qing army groups in Guangxi were also poised to make a move.

The Guangxi Qing army, originally stationed in Liuzhou Prefecture under Qin Dingsan and Zhou Fengqi, moved to Suqiao Market, about 27 or 28 miles northeast of Yongfu County.

The Qing troops under Zhou Tianjue and Wulantai also advanced through Lipu and Pingluo to Daxu, where the Taiping army had withdrawn.

If the main force of the Taiping army could not capture Guilin, the provincial capital, in the short term, it would not only face the predicament of running out of ammunition and food, but also the risk of being surrounded by the Qing army from three directions. Outside Anding Gate north of Guilin, Yang Xiuqing, who had once again failed in his attack on the city, had a grim face and remained silent. He stepped down from his yellow sedan chair and went straight into the command tent to discuss matters.

Inside the tent, generals including Hong Xiuquan, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, Qin Rigang, and Hu Yihuang sat in a circle, each with an uncertain expression.

Previous attempts to launch a strong attack on Guilin not only failed to capture the city, but also resulted in heavy losses of soldiers and generals, and a significant drop in morale.

The movements of the two Qing reinforcements have become apparent; if there is any further hesitation, there is a risk of being surrounded.

These heavenly generals and soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom originally marched east to Tengxian and Cangwu, and north to Pingluo and Lipu, advancing smoothly and with high morale.

They thought that Guilin, the provincial capital, could be easily taken, at most a little more difficult than Wuzhou or Cangwu, the prefectural capital. They figured it would take at least half a month.

Unexpectedly, after fighting for a full twenty-five days and breaching the city walls on the north, south, and west sides, no substantial progress has been made.

Instead, they lost about two thousand men at the foot of Guilin.

As for the eastern city wall of Guilin, it wasn't that they were unwilling to attack it, but rather that the eastern side of Guilin was bordered by the wide Li River, and the Qing army in Guilin had deployed naval forces along the Li River. The main force of the Taiping army's navy was weak and unable to gain control of the Li River.

Attacking Guilin City from the five gates of the east wall is obviously out of the question.

"The Qing demons under Qin Dingsan, Zhou Fengqi, Zhou Tianjue, and Wulantai are not to be feared. If they invade, we can send some troops to stop them. We might as well attack Guilin Little Paradise for another ten days. If we can't take Guilin, then we'll make further plans."

Seeing that Yang Xiuqing had returned and everyone was present, Feng Yunshan broke the silence in the command tent.

Feng Yunshan believed that the Qing army under Qin Dingsan, Zhou Fengqi, Zhou Tianjue, and Wulantai was not to be feared, and advocated attacking Guilin for another ten days to take it over as a small paradise.

Heaven is the ultimate and perfect afterlife in Christianity, and it was also the high heaven that Hong Xiuquan saw in his dream.

According to Christian doctrine, believers can only ascend to heaven and enjoy bliss after death after undergoing purification.

It's just that Chinese people are more pragmatic and pursue immediate rewards.

As the Taiping army expanded, more and more members of the God God Society became indifferent to the God God Society's original propaganda about ascending to heaven and enjoying bliss in the afterlife.

They felt that the next life was too uncertain and that they should enjoy the blessings of this life.

Especially after entering Cangwu, more and more believers felt increasingly unbalanced as they saw the princes wearing gold and having large harems.

Disciplinary violations, failure to hand over confiscated goods to the imperial treasury, and the hoarding of silver and money within the army are becoming increasingly common.

The Zhou Xineng case is a case in point.

To stabilize morale and ensure that the Heavenly Army soldiers continue to maintain good discipline and high morale, they must fight bravely.

Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui, and others put forward a more specific concept of a small paradise, painting a picture for believers that could be realized in this lifetime.

Calling on believers to work together to overcome the difficulties, to enjoy blessings first and then help others to enjoy them, and to create a little paradise on earth.

Life may be tough now, but once we reach the Little Paradise, we can all enjoy happiness there in this world.

To appease the morale of the army, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui descended to earth one after another, calling on all believers in the name of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother to abide by the Heavenly Laws, obey commands, live in harmony, and cultivate themselves righteously. They were forbidden from entering villages to search people's property; any money must be properly accounted for and kept separate. They were urged to unite as one, work together to conquer the land, and diligently follow the path to the Little Heaven. They acknowledged the present hardships, but assured that high rewards would follow.

Guilin, the capital of Guangxi Province, is the little paradise promised to believers by God's son-in-law, the son of God in the small family of God.

Out of consideration for maintaining morale, Feng Yunshan decided to hold out for another ten days and continue the attack on Guilin.

Wei Changhui, who was in charge of the Holy Treasury, shook his head helplessly and disagreed with continuing to attack Guilin: "If we attack Guilin again, we will be throwing our lives onto the city walls! This dog city has plenty of food and strong artillery, and all the gates are dangerous. If we attack for another ten days, I'm afraid we will run out of food and starve to death under the walls of Guilin."

Although the morale of the main Taiping army had declined, overall, the army's morale remained high.

Compared to the morale of the troops, Wei Changhui was more worried about the problem of insufficient grain reserves.

We can't exactly reduce the regular army's rations and force them to attack Guilin on an empty stomach.

Wei Changhui believed that they should cut their losses in time and save some food to eat elsewhere.

After a long silence, Yang Xiuqing finally spoke up: "It is a foregone conclusion that Guilin City cannot be taken by force. We have used all the available methods of attack. The Qing demons in Guilin City are well-trained and have powerful artillery. If our Heavenly Army continues to attack Guilin, we will inevitably be drawn into a war of attrition with the Qing demons."

We can't afford to waste time. We should take the advice of our compatriots and head north to Hunan for food. Guilin is the provincial capital, and so is Changsha. Guilin can be a mini-paradise, and so can Changsha.

Our Heavenly Army should not be trapped in this stalemate and restrain itself.

Although the Xiang-Gui Corridor is narrow, it connects Hengyang and Yongzhou, linking Changsha and Wuchang. If our army marches north into Hunan, we can seize the prosperous lands of Hunan.

For twenty-five days, all available siege tactics were employed, including direct assault, surprise attacks, artillery duels, tunnel digging, and naval warfare, but Guilin City still could not be captured.

Yang Xiuqing also believed that continuing the stalemate with the Qing army in Guilin would not only be meaningless, but would also make the Tianjun army's situation increasingly passive.

We must now seriously consider the suggestion that Peng Gang made to them long ago: to go north to Hunan for food and then to the two lakes and two rivers.

As for the retreat, it included Pingluo, Lipu, Cangwu, Xunzhou, and even most of Liuzhou, which was traversed by the Left Army.

Apart from Maping in Liuzhou and Guilin in Xunzhou, the Taiping Army had already eaten their way through every city along the way where they could find food.

If we turn back now, even if the Heavenly Army can capture Maping City and Guiping City, the food supplies of the two cities will not be enough to support their 160,000 to 170,000 people.

Only by continuing to head north into Hunan without hesitation can there be a glimmer of hope.

Of course, Yang Xiuqing also had his own selfish motives in going north to Hunan.

Yang Xiuqing's ancestral home was in Chenzhou, southern Hunan. He wanted to recruit soldiers in Chenzhou to further expand his power and consolidate his position in the Heavenly Kingdom.

"The people of Hunan are living better than the people of Guangxi. I am worried that the people of Hunan are not of one mind with us and are unwilling to follow us."

Recalling his early failures in missionary work in Guangdong, Hong Xiuquan expressed his concerns.

The reason why the God Society has no market and cannot develop in Guangdong is largely because the people of Guangdong are better off than the people of Guangxi. They are not yet at the point of not being able to survive, so they do not need too much spiritual sustenance.

In Hong Xiuquan's mind, Hunan was a land of plenty, where the people lived a prosperous life.

Hong Xiuquan worried that the God Society's theories would have no market in Hunan, and that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would have no room to survive in Hunan.

Most of the Taiping Army's soldiers were from Guangxi.

No one knows whether the Taiping army could maintain the same morale if they left Guangxi and went to fight in other provinces.

In addition, the Chu Army of Xiang Rong, one of the Taiping Army's two major rivals, and the Chu Braves of Jiang Zhongyuan, both recruited soldiers from Hunan and performed remarkably well.

Hong Xiuquan was unsure whether the Taiping army could achieve the same unstoppable momentum in Hunan as it had in Guangxi.

"Whether the people of Hunan are willing to follow us or not, we will only know once we get to Hunan. The situation is pressing, so it is best to leave Guilin as soon as possible."

Xiao Chaogui, who had always advocated attacking Guilin and making it his little paradise, also changed his attitude and supported the strategy of heading north into Hunan.

The most urgent task is to solve the food problem for 160,000 to 170,000 people.

If it can't support these 160,000 to 170,000 people, then all the talk about Little Paradise is just a mirage.

The two kings with the most influence, the Eastern King and the Western King, reached a consensus and both agreed to go north to Hunan, so the opinions of others were not so important.

Besides the several thousand garrison troops in Guilin, the provincial capital, the troops of Qin Dingsan, Zhou Fengqi, Zhou Tianjue, and Wulantai were also located within Guilin Prefecture, not far from the Taiping Army.

If the Taiping army were to lift the siege of Guilin...

The Qing troops within Guilin Prefecture would inevitably pursue and attack.

Yang Xiuqing decided to personally lead the central and rear armies to continue besieging Guilin City to cover the rear and protect the majority of the Taiping army and their families as they marched north.

After the central and rear armies repelled the pursuing Qing troops, they headed north.

　I've been away on business these past few days and have been very busy with little personal time. Please forgive me. I'll make up for the missed updates gradually at the beginning of the month at the latest.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)