1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 210 I have never seen such a shameless person!
Luo Dagang was already in his forties. Looking at the upper echelons of the entire Heavenly Kingdom, Luo Dagang was one of the older ones, and had the most extensive social experience.

He spent most of his life wandering the martial arts world, and more than twenty years of struggling within the Heaven and Earth Society.

Luo Dagang could see right through Li Yantong's little scheme.

Li Yantong's only intention was to lead his Heaven and Earth Society brothers to plunder Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, before the main force of the Left Army, while simultaneously gathering more members of the Heaven and Earth Society in southern Hunan to join the Left Army and gain higher positions by taking credit for capturing Lingling.

Luo Dagang was keenly aware of the lax discipline within the Heaven and Earth Society.

Although the troops Luo Dagang brought this time were elite, they only consisted of three battalions and one company, which was too few in number.

After Zhen and Li Yantong, along with other members of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) from southern Hunan, captured Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, it became difficult to control the Tiandihui after they entered the city.

Having spent more than two years with Peng Gang, Luo Dagang knew that Peng Gang cared extremely much about the discipline and reputation of the military.

Many of Luo Dagang's good brothers who had followed him for many years were turned away by Peng Gang because they could not change their gangster-like ways.

"It is precisely because this is such a great achievement that I, Luo Dagang, cannot take it for granted." Luo Dagang clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the south and said.

"Since the uprising began, our Left Army has been conquering cities and territories with unstoppable momentum, but so far we have not been able to capture a single prefecture city. The glory of capturing the first prefecture city can only belong to the Northern King."

The lax discipline of the Heaven and Earth Society was not the main reason why Luo Dagang was unwilling to lead his troops to attack Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, on his own.

Instead, the credit for the Left Army's capture of the first prefectural city must be given to Peng Gang.

Even if Lingling City, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, were completely deserted, with no soldiers or troops present, Luo Dagang would not have acted on his own initiative to send troops to take it unless he received explicit orders from Peng Gang or if friendly forces nearby were vying for control of the city.

Although Luo Dagang loved fighting and volunteered to be a vanguard many times, he knew exactly what kind of battle he could fight and what kind of battle only Peng Gang could fight.

Furthermore, Huangsha Pass is not far from Shuitang Bay. Given Peng Gang's speed in pursuing the enemy, he could reach Huangsha Pass in another hour or two without missing the opportunity.

Sending troops to attack Lingling City won't make a difference of an hour or two.

"If that's the case, then let's wait for the Northern King to arrive and then join forces to head to Lingling City."

Luo Dagang was unwilling to send troops to Lingling immediately, which displeased Li Yantong, but considering that he still needed to join the group, Li Yantong held back.

After dismissing Li Yantong, Luo Dagang ordered his men to retrieve Li Xingyuan's body from the water and seize the boat.

Even though Li Xingyuan is dead, he is of great value. His body must be retrieved no matter what; we must see his body even if he is dead.

Damaged boats and rafts near Huangshaguan were repaired if possible, and those that were too badly damaged to be repaired were given directly to the local people of Huangshaguan.

The boats and rafts that were mainly damaged were those at the front of the line. The boats and rafts in the middle and rear, although they had some bumps and knocks, were mostly in good condition.

The dozen or so ships of various kinds in the Imperial Envoy's fleet, which Luo Dagang was most concerned about, were basically undamaged.

To Luo Dagang's surprise, Li Xingyuan's imperial envoy's boat contained something even more precious than his own.

Luo Dagang found a map of the unified geography of the Qing Dynasty during the Jiaqing period in the middle cabin.

This map is composed of eight smaller maps, clearly showing the mountains, rivers, borders, cities, and territories. It is a rare and exquisite treasure!
Besides the unified geographical map of the Qing Dynasty, Luo Dagang also found provincial maps of Hunan, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang!

These places, apart from Hunan and Guangxi, are all areas where Li Xingyuan served as a high-ranking official over the past ten years or so, and must be his treasured possessions.

After a rough count, the Left Army captured 245 boats and rafts in good condition from the Battle of Huangsha Pass, and 51 of them were still worth repairing.

With these ships, the logistical burden on the left wing will be greatly reduced.

When Peng Gang arrived at Huangsha Pass, the battle there had already ended. Luo Dagang had even prepared Li Xingyuan's imperial envoy's boat for Peng Gang to use as his royal ship.

"As expected of an imperial envoy, he can still put on such a grand display even in a hurry. Where is Li Xingyuan?"

Peng Gang, dismounting and boarding the imperial envoy's boat, stepped into the middle cabin, which resembled a miniature official residence, and remarked with emotion.

The only drawback of the imperial envoy Li Xingyuan's ship was that it was a bit small, with a displacement of just over two hundred tons.

Peng Gang noticed that the cabin was made of brand-new wood, with excellent workmanship and exquisite carvings, clearly the work of a master craftsman.

Under certain circumstances, the Qing Dynasty's massive and sluggish bureaucratic machine could still operate at a high efficiency.

The reason why Li Xingyuan's imperial envoy traveled in a small boat was not because Hunan could not find larger vessels to modify, but because of the hydrological conditions of the upper reaches of the Xiang River.

The upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River are not deep, and ships with large displacements are prone to running aground.

"Li Xingyuan has sunk into the river with the silver, and the soldiers of the boat battalion are still searching for him," Luo Dagang reported.

"Make sure you get him out of there; I have a great use for his body," Peng Gang nodded and said.

"Let me show you some treasures!" Luo Dagang hurriedly and carefully took out the Great Qing Dynasty's Unified Geographical Map and eight provincial maps, which he had recently saved for fear of losing or getting dirty.

"It really is a treasure!" Peng Gang's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed with delight.

"Dagang, you've done a great job! Such a fine map is hard to come by."

The Great Qing Dynasty's Unified Geographical Map was a map of the entire country drawn by Huang Qianren, the grandson of Huang Zongxi, in the thirty-second year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign.

However, this complete map of the unified geography of the Qing Dynasty is not the original version from the thirty-second year of the Qianlong reign. Instead, it was drawn by the still-living cartographer Xu Zhidao during the Jiaqing reign. The map is marked with the scale of 100 li per square inch.

From a modern perspective, the Qing Dynasty's unified geographical map for ten thousand years is quite crude, riddled with errors and omissions. The Yangtze River is depicted as originating from the Min River, and its length is only slightly more than half that of the Yellow River. The boundaries are also drawn rather hastily, especially in areas outside the eighteen provinces of Han China. However, the overall administrative divisions of the country are generally correct.

Regardless, this is the best map of the world that Peng Gang has obtained so far.

Peng Gang then examined the provincial maps one by one. The provincial maps were not particularly detailed; their main purpose was to show the administrative divisions and major rivers and passes.

Peng Gang summoned five staff officers and instructed them to use good paper and ink to first make a copy of a map.

"Before the Northern King arrived, I asked the laborers and members of the Heaven and Earth Society in Lingling City. They all said that Lingling City was poorly defended and that there was discord between the civil and military officials. Should we take advantage of the victory and attack Lingling City?" Luo Dagang asked as he followed Peng Gang. Peng Gang stopped, took out a map of Hunan Province, and stared at it: "Yongzhou Prefecture is the first prefecture our Left Army entered since entering Hunan. When Li Xingyuan was the Imperial Envoy, he always stationed his troops in Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture. There should be a lot of food and supplies in Lingling City. We must attack Lingling City no matter what."

In addition, let's send two battalions to capture Dong'an County, which is about 60 or 70 li north of Huangsha Pass, so we can replenish our food supplies."

"I will lead two battalions to attack Dong'an County," Luo Dagang volunteered.

“You’re going to attack Dong’an County? Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?” Peng Gang shook his head slightly and said, “I’ll have Li Qi take two battalions and a mountain-splitting artillery company to attack Dong’an County. You should come with me to attack Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture.”

The Heaven and Earth Society was very active in the southern Hunan region. Luo Dagang was a former leader of the Heaven and Earth Society in Guangxi and had some contact with the Heaven and Earth Society in southern Hunan. Luo Dagang knew more about the Heaven and Earth Society in southern Hunan than Peng Gang did.

Taking Luo Dagang with him to Lingling will be beneficial and harmless.

In Hunan's geographical situation, the Yangtze River and the lake are the most important.

The river refers to the Xiang River, and the lake refers to Dongting Lake.

The Xiang River originates from Haiyang Mountain in Xing'an County, Guangxi, enters Yongzhou Prefecture, runs diagonally through the entire territory of Hunan in a southwest-northeast direction, and finally flows into Dongting Lake.

Hunan is named for its location south of Dongting Lake, while Hubei is named for its location north of Dongting Lake.

Having captured Quanzhou, defeated the Chu Yong, and annihilated the main force of the Qing army in southern Hunan under Li Xingyuan, Peng Gang's main force of the left wing was unstoppable. After clearing the waterway at Huangsha Pass, they boarded the captured boats and rafts and traveled down the Xiangjiang River, heading straight for Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture.

Yongzhou was the first stop for Zuo's army when it entered Hunan.

News of Li Xingyuan's defeat and the Left Army's entry into Hunan reached Lingling.

Huang Wenchen felt like the sky was falling. Li Xingyuan's defeat was far too fast, so fast that Huang Wenchen had no time to react.

To be fair, Huang Wenchen, the prefect of Yongzhou, was not incompetent. He made ample preparations to deal with the Left Army's attack on Lingling.

Unfortunately, most of the troops in Yongzhou City were transferred south by Li Xingyuan to block the Left Army.

The most formidable force remaining in Lingling was a thousand Sichuan troops under the command of Yu Wanqing, the General of Northern Sichuan, who had a strained relationship with Huang Wenchen.

Huang Wenchen had only a little over one hundred old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers from the Yongzhou Garrison Green Standard Army and over four hundred local militia members available to defend Lingling.

Huang Wenchen then set his sights on the large yamen runners.

The situation in government offices is the opposite of that in the Green Camp; government offices have fewer official staff on paper but more actual personnel.

This was also a major characteristic of the Qing Dynasty.

There are 83 legally appointed yamen runners in Lingling City, 208 of whom actually receive salaries, and more than 400 unofficial yamen runners on duty.

Unofficial servants were extra-official personnel who assisted regular yamen runners in carrying out their duties. They did not receive a salary, and most of them were local thugs and ruffians whose income came entirely from extortion. They were usually organized into one head and five assistants, that is, one bailiff leading five unofficial servants.

These white-collar workers are masters of extortion and blackmail, capable of squeezing every last drop of profit from even the poorest beggar.

Upon hearing that the short-haired rebels were coming and that the prefect was ordering them to defend the city, these white-clad servants packed their bags and fled the city to seek refuge.

In the end, Huang Wenchen could only actually command a little over seventy yamen runners from three shifts.

With only a few armed personnel at hand, even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients.

Huang Wenchen wrote to Luo Bingzhang, the Hunan governor in Changsha, informing him of the dire situation that Li Xingyuan had been defeated and his whereabouts were unknown, and that the Taiping rebels had already advanced into Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, making southern Hunan extremely vulnerable. He earnestly requested Luo Bingzhang to send troops to aid Lingling.

After writing the letter, I mailed it.

Huang Wenchen went to the Sichuan Army's camp, intending to humble himself, repair his relationship with Yu Wanqing, and work together to defend Lingling City.

Yu Wanqing had scouts whose intelligence network was even more advanced than Huang Wenchen's.

Yu Wanqing knew about Li Xingyuan's defeat and the Short-haired Mao's advance into Lingling City even earlier than Huang Wenchen.

They ran even faster than the white-clad servants of Lingling City.

When Huang Wenchen arrived at the Sichuan Army camp, it was already deserted, not a single soldier remained. Yu Wanqing had only left Huang Wenchen a letter.

In his letter, Yu Wanqing stated righteously that he was acting on the orders of Emperor Xianfeng to lead troops to assist Xiang Rong.

He was forcibly detained in Yongzhou Prefecture by Li Xingyuan, which was against the rules and regulations. He was only there to assist in the defense of Yongzhou Town because of Li Xingyuan's influence.

Now that Li Xingyuan has disappeared, Yu Wanqing should obey the imperial decree and head south to report to Xiang Rong.

After reading Yu Wanqing's letter, Huang Wenchen was so angry that his face turned red, his hands trembled, and he couldn't help but curse, "I have never seen such a shameless person!"

When Xiang Rong was besieged by the Taiping rebels in Guilin, Yu Wanqing, fearing battle, did a favor and stayed in the relatively safe Lingling.

Lingling City is currently in grave danger, and it's understandable that this guy would run away without even saying goodbye.

And he's so self-righteous, acting like he's done Lingling City a favor, or Huang Wenchen a favor.

The Sichuan soldiers brought by Yu Wanqing were all fed and clothed by the people of Lingling, and they often harassed the people of Lingling.

When you need him in a critical moment, he runs faster than a rabbit.

No matter who the local official is, they would find it unbearable and would inevitably curse a few times.

Huang Wenchen was disheartened.

Unfortunately, Yu Wanqing was just a guest soldier, and he could simply pack up and leave.

He was a local official responsible for protecting the territory, and he couldn't simply leave.

(End of this chapter)