1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 224 The sins of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother are heinous
They worshipped the City God with utmost sincerity and devotion.

Bao Qibao asked the Changsha soldiers and militiamen who were watching the commotion with a serious expression, "Brothers, do you know why the rebels have been able to conquer cities and territories so many times?"

The surrounding Changsha soldiers and militiamen shook their heads, indicating they didn't know, and asked General Bao for clarification.

Although I've heard the term "cult bandits" so many times these past few days that I'm sick of it.

However, apart from Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong, none of the soldiers and militias in the city had actually fought a real battle with the cult bandits.

They only heard rumors about the cult bandits.

Besides, even if they knew, no one would dare to show off in front of the Admiral, lest they spoil his mood and bring about an unexpected disaster.

"The cultists believe in the heretical religions and evil gods of foreigners, and they sacrifice young boys and girls to make their Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother more powerful."

The Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, having consumed the life essence of the young boys and girls sacrificed by the cult, reciprocate in kind. Whenever the cult leaders face battle, they chant some obscure hymns as a signal, beseeching the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother to secretly protect them. Therefore, the cult leaders fight fearlessly, charging into battle and seizing territory with overwhelming force, achieving repeated victories.

With spittle flying from his mouth, Bao Qibao spoke so eloquently that he actually managed to intimidate the soldiers and warriors of Changsha City who were nearby.

The soldiers and brave men responsible for guarding Changsha City felt that Bao Qibao's words made a lot of sense. It turned out that the rebels were protected by the gods and were not afraid of death. No wonder the government troops were repeatedly defeated by the rebels from Guangxi to Hunan.

How can a mortal body contend with a god?

One of Bao Qibao's personal guards chimed in, "General Bao, since the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother's power comes from absorbing the essence and blood of young boys and girls, doesn't that mean they lose power every time they unleash their divine power? How can this lost power be restored?"

"Is that even a question? Of course, we'll capture new boys and girls to continue the blood sacrifice, so that the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother can absorb their essence and blood to restore their magical power!" Bao Qibao said without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the guard exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, no wonder the cult bandits kidnap children from every city they conquer; they want them as sacrifices for the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother!"

As Bao Qibao and his personal guards echoed each other, Bao Qibao's utterly absurd argument somehow managed to become self-consistent.

The soldiers and trainees around him believed Bao Qibao's words without a doubt, but at the same time felt a chill run down their spines: "No wonder the cult bandits keep winning battles! They've been using evil magic! Commander Bao, if that's the case, if the cult bandits take Changsha, won't they capture our children as sacrifices to the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother so that the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother can regain their power and continue to send down their magic to protect them and win battles?"

Upon hearing this, more and more soldiers and trainees in Changsha became uneasy.

Throughout the Qing Dynasty, except for some border areas where a troop rotation system was implemented to prevent border troops from becoming too powerful and independent, such as the Ryukyu Islands.

The soldiers of the Green Standard Army in the mainland were all recruited from locals. The Green Standard Army soldiers in Changsha were all locals, and their families were all in Changsha.

The Lian Yongs, needless to say, were all from Changsha and Shanhua counties.

They were worried that they couldn't defeat the religious bandits from western Guangdong, and they were also worried that their children would be captured by the bandits and used as sacrifices after the fall of Changsha. They were so anxious that they paced around in circles.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Bao Qibao cleared his throat and said loudly, "Gentlemen, do not worry. The religious bandits in western Guangdong have coerced good people into joining the army, destroying countless temples and statues along the way. They are using our Chinese children to support Western evil gods. Their crimes are heinous."

Last night, the City God of Changsha appeared to me in a dream, saying that he had led local deities with grievances to petition the Jade Emperor and the Eastern Peak Emperor. The two emperors were furious and bestowed upon the City God of Changsha boundless power, enabling him to protect us and defend the city.

How could those foreign heretical religions and evil gods possibly be a match for the sacred deities of our Chinese religion?!

The City God is known for his efficacy. With the City God's protection, the power of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother will surely be rendered ineffective, helping us to defend Changsha City and defeat the cult bandits!

With the protection of the City God and the two Great Emperors, we will surely overcome the foreign heretics' so-called Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother!

Bao Qibao's trick really worked. Most of the soldiers and trainees in Changsha believed Bao Qibao's story, thinking that they were protected by local gods, and that the local god Chenghuang, who was fighting on their home turf, was more powerful than the foreign gods who protected the Taiping Army.

In an instant, the morale of the Changsha garrison soared. Many soldiers became bolder and more courageous, no longer so resistant to defending the city walls, and no longer thinking about how to escape all day long.

Of course, Bao Qibao wasn't completely immersed in the role; he remained quite pragmatic.

Taking advantage of the current high morale of the army and the people, Bao Qibao organized his soldiers to fill cloth bags with chaff and place them on the walls of Changsha to defend against the Taiping army's cannons.

Bao Qibao had inquired with Jiang Zhongyuan about the situation of the religious bandits in western Guangdong. The bandits had a large number of firearms, especially the short-haired bandits, whose guns and cannons were more complete and sophisticated than those of the government troops. They had to be careful.

With a formidable enemy at hand, Jiang Zhongyuan had no interest in watching Bao Qibao invite the City God. Instead, he inspected the defenses around the Changsha city walls, checking the city's troop strength and firepower deployment.

After the inspection, Jiang Zhongyuan came to find Bao Qibao.

Bao Qibao was the highest-ranking military officer in Changsha, and he was in charge of the city's specific defenses.

Jiang Zhongyuan led Bao Qibao to Tianxin Pavilion in the southeast corner of Changsha City. He raised his hand and pointed to Miaogaofeng, a high ground in the south of the city, about two miles away, where they could see each other from Tianxin Pavilion: "Miaogaofeng is quite high. The rebels have heavy artillery and will definitely go up Miaogaofeng to set up cannons to bombard Changsha City."

"Thank you for the reminder, Prefect Jiang. Does Prefect Jiang mean to send more soldiers to garrison Miaogaofeng?" Bao Qibao, who had already changed into his official robes, looked up at Miaogaofeng in the direction Jiang Zhongyuan pointed.

The mountain-splitting cannon would struggle to hit targets even a mile away, let alone a distance of two miles. However, the rebels had heavy artillery that could fire directly from Miaogaofeng to the south wall. Jiang Zhongyuan's words made sense, and Bao Qibao thought it would be good to send more soldiers to garrison Miaogaofeng.

Jiang Zhongyuan shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no, no, General Bao misunderstood me. Miaogaofeng is only two miles away from the south wall, but it is actually three miles away. Miaogaofeng is isolated outside the city, and it is difficult for the garrison of Changsha to go out of the city to help the garrison of Miaogaofeng. My humble opinion is that it is better to gather the troops than to divide them. We should bring all the garrison of Miaogaofeng into Changsha and leave not a single soldier behind."

The religious bandit army, especially the short-haired religious bandit army, has always adhered to the combat principle that it is better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers of the enemy.

The Guangxi government troops suffered many losses in this regard; when fighting against religious bandits, dividing forces was a major taboo.

Sending a large number of troops to Miaogaofeng will allow the Taiping army to besiege the garrison. Whether they annihilate the entire garrison or besiege the city and attack reinforcements, the garrison of Changsha will be in an extremely passive position.

“Prefect Jiang, you’ve confused me. You just said that the cult bandits would definitely go to Miaogaofeng to set up cannons and bombard Changsha City. Why did you say that you wouldn’t leave a single soldier to defend Miaogaofeng? Wouldn’t doing that be handing Miaogaofeng over to the cult bandits and letting them bombard Changsha City with heavy artillery?” Bao Qibao frowned.

(End of this chapter)