1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 246 "The Fierce General of the Plain White Banner"

"The Guangdong Navy is the ballast of Guangdong and should not be moved lightly," Xu Guangjin said, shaking his head slightly.

"Since Fuxing is willing to be the vanguard and pave the way for us, let Fuxing go. We will observe the situation in Chenzhou and make our move when the time is right."

Last autumn, the Guangdong troops and the Taiping rebels clashed on the West River in Wuzhou. In the land battle, neither the Guangdong troops nor the naval infantry could defeat the Taiping rebels.

Based on the battle reports gathered from all sides, it is clear that the short-haired tribes are more difficult to defeat than the long-haired tribes.

Xu Guangjin was forced into Hunan this time, and was even working as an assistant to Sai Shang'a, yet his attitude remained as indifferent as ever.

“The Governor’s arrangements are very appropriate, but the religious bandits in western Guangdong are a major concern for the Emperor. The Emperor is urging our Guangdong army to fight harder every day,” Hong Mingxiang reminded him.

Hong Mingxiang was promoted by Xu Guangjin; their fates were intertwined, one prospered and the other suffered.

Recently, Emperor Xianfeng has been very dissatisfied with Xu Guangjin's passive approach to suppressing bandits, and the tone of his imperial edicts has become increasingly severe.

Hong Mingxiang was worried that Emperor Xianfeng would actually arrest Xu Guangjin, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

"His Majesty ordered me to enter Hunan. Not only did I enter Hunan, but I also recovered some cities. With the lost territory newly recovered, the soldiers of the Guangdong garrison are exhausted and need a good rest before making any further plans." Xu Guangjin had already prepared his words to Emperor Xianfeng and spoke slowly and deliberately.

Located on the banks of the Lei River, Shangbao City, under the jurisdiction of Leiyang County, is situated at the junction of Hengyang and Chenzhou, and is a large market town in Leiyang County.

In the past, Shangbao City was bustling with people and prosperous in commerce.

Cattle shops, pharmacies, taverns, blacksmith shops, and bamboo ware shops stood side by side, their cries of vendors, shouts, the rumble of carts and horses, and the gongs and drums of the stage blending together in a harmonious whole.

The rising sun now shines not on the bustling Shangbao City of the past, but only on the ruins and ashes.

Most of the shops along the street had closed their doors, with tattered banners hanging askew above the entrances, whistling and swaying weakly in the wind.

Every day, corpses are brought downstream from the Leishui River. Most of them are headless bodies with bloated bodies and barely clothed.

"No fewer than a hundred corpses float down from upstream every day. Just how many civilians did those damned Qing soldiers slaughter in Chenzhou upstream?!"

Peng Yong, who volunteered to go to Shangbao City as bait, looked at the captured corpses on the Lei River and cursed the Qing army.

Shortly after, Wang Yinan, who was in charge of guarding the area outside Taipei, reported: "Boss."

“How many times have I told you? We are now a righteous army, with proper ranks. Stop calling us ‘boss’ all the time; that’s just江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world) behavior, it’s beneath us! A proper army should act like a proper army.” Peng Yong said sternly. “What is it?”

"Deputy Regiment Commander, the Qing troops from Yongxing County are approaching Shangbao City." Wang Yinan, who was used to calling the leader by his name, quickly corrected himself after being reprimanded by Peng Yong and said.

"How many people?" Peng Yong asked.

“There aren’t many, just about a hundred men, plus thirty or forty Qing soldiers on horseback. We can take them down. Should we lure them in and annihilate them?” Wang Yinan was eager to try.

"Look at your cowardice! His Highness sent us here to catch big fish. If we scare away the small fish and shrimp, how can we catch the big fish?" Although the hundred or so Qing soldiers on the outskirts of Shangbao City were very tempting, Peng Yong remembered Peng Gang and Lu Qin's instructions and barely managed to refrain from making a move.

"Gather all the brothers outside. Except for weapons, cooking utensils, food, and everything else, leave them all behind and retreat north with me."

"Deputy Regiment Commander, are you going to lose grain too? Grain is very precious these days." Wang Yinan was reluctant to part with the grain.

He had been used to a hard life in Simenzhou, where it was difficult to even get a full meal, so he was reluctant to throw away food.

"You can't get the Qing army if you're unwilling to part with the grain," Peng Yong said through gritted teeth. "Look at your pathetic self. It's not like we're really losing it; we're just letting the Qing army hold onto it for us temporarily."

"Yes." Wang Yinan felt much more at ease after Peng Yong said that. He responded and turned to gather the troops for a retreat.

The order had just been given when Peng Yong felt something was amiss. He hurriedly called Wang Yinan back, who hadn't gone far, and specifically instructed him: "If you're going to flee at the first sign of trouble, you should do it in a manner that is. Besides not losing your muskets, leave some broken guns and knives for the Qing army as well."

After the two or three hundred Taiping soldiers stationed in Shangbao City withdrew, the Qing scouts immediately reported the matter to Fuxing, the general of Gaozhou Town.

Fu Xing was overjoyed and ordered his troops, including the Gaozhou Town Garrison Commander, the Gaozhou Town Left Battalion, the Gaozhou Town Huashi Battalion, the Gaozhou Town Wuchuan Battalion, the Gaozhou Town Luoding Right Battalion, the Gaozhou Prefecture Militia, and Zhang Guoliang's Ever Victorious Battalion, totaling over a thousand men, for a total force of over five thousand.

Riding on the momentum of their victory in retaking Yongxing County, they marched in a mighty force towards Shangbao City within Leiyang County.

Before setting off, the triumphant Fuxing did not forget to report his victory to Xu Guangjin in the rear of Chenzhou. He said that he had led the brave soldiers of Gaozhou Town to recapture Shangbao City and would soon capture Leiyang County, and even recover Hengyang, the capital of Hengzhou Prefecture. He also said that he had captured the leader of the Western Guangdong religious bandits and that the Western Guangdong religious bandits were nothing but a name, not even as good as Ling Shiba, and could be defeated easily. He urged Xu Guangjin to come quickly.

Led by Fuxing, the Qing army troops of Gaozhou Town advanced slowly and easily "recaptured" Shangbao City, establishing a foothold in Leiyang County.

Fuxing sat high on his horse, looking self-satisfied.

Fuxing was known as a "brave and skilled Manchu general" since the Daoguang era, but in reality he had never led troops into a tough battle on his own and mostly relied on others to report his victories.

Because of his broad shoulders and thick waist, loud voice, and appearance that fits the image of a fierce general, and his outstanding archery and horsemanship among the Manchu nobles, he was praised by the Manchus as a fierce general of Lingnan.

Even Mutten, the Guangzhou general who was also a member of the Manchu Plain White Banner, praised Fuxing highly.

As a favored Manchu general, Fuxing was used to being arrogant and surrounded by a group of sycophants, which fostered his haughty and self-important personality.

Seeing that Shangbao City, which had once been a refuge for the Taiping Army, was completely defended by no soldiers, he felt a sense of contempt.

"Hahaha, the cult bandits in western Guangdong are indeed a bunch of rabble!"

Fuxing rode forward, looking around with disdain. He saw that iron pots, tents, and firewood were still left in the streets and alleys. Even a few bags of coarse rice and some inferior gunpowder were left behind. There were even some knives and guns left behind.

Before the snort from his nose had subsided, he raised his voice triumphantly, "Before this town has even drawn its sword, the rebels of western Guangdong have already fled in disarray. Do they even deserve to be called fierce bandits? If this town does not annihilate them in one fell swoop today, wouldn't that be an insult to the imperial court's majesty?"

Zhang Guoliang, the commander of the Guangxi Green Standard Army who was accompanying him, looked solemn as he examined the footprints and relics on the ground.

Zhang Guoliang spent over a year fighting in Guangxi, gaining a deep understanding of the Taiping Army's unpredictable and surprising tactics.

Seeing this, his brows furrowed even deeper. Not only Zhang Guoliang, but also his trusted and beloved general, Qianzong Feng Zicai, who had investigated the campfires left behind by the Left Army during their retreat and carefully observed the Left Army's camp, also felt that something was amiss.

Feng Zicai's experience was similar to Zhang Guoliang's. In 1850, he gathered a crowd in Bobai, Guangxi to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Later, he was recruited by the county magistrate You Changling and incorporated into the Yongying Army. He followed the Guangxi Governor Xiang Rong to suppress the Taiping Army.

The Qing army basically allocated positions to bandit leaders who were granted amnesty based on how much trouble they caused; the more trouble they caused, the higher the official rank they were given.

Feng Zicai didn't cause as much of a stir as Zhang Guoliang, and initially only received the rank of battalion commander after being released from prison.

After joining Xiang Rong, Zhang Guoliang quickly took a liking to Feng Zicai, who had a similar background, and brought Feng Zicai under his wing.

Not long after the battle of Guilin ended, he used his merits to ask Xiang Rong for a real position as a centurion for Feng Zicai.

After inspecting the camp left behind by Zuo Jun, Feng Zicai shared his thoughts with Zhang Guoliang: "Commander, the ashes left behind by the cult bandits are still warm, which shows that they retreated in a hurry. However, the cult bandits' camp is relatively well-organized. This group of cult bandits does not seem like the rabble that Commander Gao described... I believe that this is not a hasty retreat, but rather a deliberate act by the cult bandits to feign weakness and lure our army deeper into their territory."

Feng Zicai's words were exactly what Zhang Guoliang was worried about. After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Guoliang caught up with Fuxing, looked up at Fuxing, and said with his hands clasped, "General, the rebels in western Guangdong are extremely cunning. I believe that they are very likely to lure our army deep into their territory. The area around Leishui is full of hills and forests, making it easy to set up an ambush. I hope that you will be cautious and not advance rashly."

Fu Xing was taking a sip of water when he heard this and immediately laughed angrily: "Zhang Guoliang, have you fallen for the cultists' scare tactics? A few pots and a little bit of rations are enough to make you think all sorts of nonsense? Are you cowardly and that's why you made up such an excuse?"

Zhang Guoliang remained unfazed: "This humble servant dares not. However, this place was occupied by the rebel army just a few days ago. It is truly unusual that they have abandoned the city. The rebels have always been cunning, and we must be on guard."

Fu Xing smiled contemptuously and said, "I have served in the army for ten years and have never been afraid of bandits. Unlike you Han people, who are always cowardly and afraid of blood. I do not believe in evil! If the bandits dare to submit to me, then they are courting death!"
"This isn't the first time we've dealt with religious bandits. Last year, Ling Shiba from Daliao, Xinyi, Guangdong, was also a religious bandit, and we wiped him out with a single move. I even personally cut off Ling Shiba's head."

Before Xu Guangjin led the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong to Shaozhou Prefecture under pressure, he gave the credit for the annihilation of Ling Shiba to Fuxing in order to curry favor with the Guangzhou General Mu Te'en.

Ling Shiba's God Society troops were indeed suppressed by Fu Xing.

However, since the Taiping Rebellion began, Xu Guangjin had been gathering the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong to hunt down Ling Shiba. When Fuxing led the Gaozhou garrison to suppress Ling Shiba's God Society troops, Ling Shiba's anti-Qing forces were left with only a sliver of life left, and thus the God Society troops under Ling Shiba were wiped out relatively easily.

The annihilation of Ling Shiba's God Society forces was Fuxing's proudest achievement, which he often boasted about.

Little did he know that this enormous achievement was deliberately bestowed upon Fuxing by Xu Guangjin in order to maintain unity within the Guangdong officialdom.

Since Ling Shiba was also a member of the God Worshippers Society, the Qing government's official reports referred to Ling Shiba's troops as "religious bandits."

Fuxing then treated the other members of the God Worship Society as the same as the eighteen groups under Ling.

Since entering Hunan, they have easily "recaptured" lost territory, further fueling Fuxing's arrogance.

He believed that the religious bandits in western Guangdong were nothing special, and that their previous victories were simply because they hadn't encountered him, the "Baturu."

They completely ignored the fact that Ling Shiba's God Society armed company, regiment, and battalion had never participated in any of his operations.

Their combat strength was on a completely different level from that of the Taiping Army's regular army.

Zhang Guoliang opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately swallowed his words.

A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He decided not to waste any more words with Fuxing and turned back to his horse. He gathered his officers and instructed them, "This time we are facing the Short Hairs. The Short Hairs are more formidable than the Long Hairs, so don't underestimate them. Be quick-witted on the battlefield."

Zhang Guoliang's team may be small, but it has all the essential components.

Not only did he have Red Sticks and Double Red Flower Sticks under his command who were more capable of fighting than ordinary Green Standard Army officers, but he also had White Paper Fan from the Heaven and Earth Society serving as his advisors and strategists.

Although Zhang Guoliang has been promoted to the rank of Green Standard Army Commander, he has a thousand or so men under his command.

However, he only had 300 soldiers under his command who were officially paid by the government, and more than half of his captains and lieutenants were outsourced. Although it was called the Green Standard Army, it was more like a self-funded local militia.

Zhang Guoliang was willing to risk his life to fight alongside Fuxing into Leiyang County, simply to raise funds and supplies. However, he felt it was not worth risking his brothers' lives for the sake of raising funds and supplies.

After listening to Zhang Guoliang's instructions, the thousand-man squad members under Zhang Guoliang nodded and kept them in mind.

At the same time, Fuxing moved into the old camp of the Left Army, sat in the central command tent, and ordered people to stew chicken and cook wine, and feasted and drank merrily.

During this time, news arrived that the short-haired rebels were still retreating north, having abandoned a great deal of military supplies along the way. Fuxing laughed wildly and said, "The rebels are terrified of our town's reputation. Tomorrow I will personally lead a large army to pursue and wipe them out, and show them what a mighty general of the Eight Banners is all about!"

After a brief rest in Shangbao City, Fuxing, having eaten and drunk his fill, led the Gaozhou garrison to continue the pursuit of the "defeated troops" of the Left Army. They chased them for over sixty li in one go, reaching Zaotou City, seven li southwest of Leiyang County, where they camped.

Inside the Leiyang County government office, they learned that the Qing army was so brave that they dared to pursue them all the way to Zaotou City, advancing faster than the Zuo army had anticipated.

Peng Gang was quite surprised: "Which Qing army unit is this? How dare they be so audacious? Such recklessness is not like Xu Guangjin's style."

"We did not see the governor's entourage, so they are not Xu Guangjin's direct troops," Lu Qin, the second regimental commander who had compiled the enemy's intelligence, reported to Peng Gang.

"According to reports from the soldiers at the front, the Qing army was flying the banner of Gaozhou Town. Behind the Qing army in Gaozhou Town, there was another Qing army flying the banner of Changsheng Camp."

"There are still some smart people in the Qing army. The Ever-Victorious Battalion is Zhang Guoliang's troops. How far apart are the two Qing armies?" Peng Gang turned around and stared at the map of Hunan Province on the wall, asking.

Feng Yunshan, Hu Yihuang, Wei Changhui, Wei Zhijun, Shi Dakai, Shi Xiangzhen, and other princes and generals of the South Palace, Auxiliary Palace, and Wing Palace who had fought against Zhang Guoliang's Qing army shared information about Zhang Guoliang's Qing army with the North Palace.

Therefore, Peng Gang knew that Changsheng Camp was Zhang Guoliang's team.

“It’s more than 20 li away. Zhang Guoliang is very cunning. He sends two or three scouts to guard every li,” Lu Qin replied.

“I reckon Zhang Guoliang won’t be going to Zaotou City,” Peng Gang said after a moment of thought.

"It would be good if we could take down this battalion of soldiers from Gaozhou Town. Zhang Guoliang's thousand or so men can be pursued and annihilated by a regiment. Kill as many as you can, and tighten the encirclement and annihilate the Qing army's battalion from Gaozhou Town."

Peng Gang was somewhat disappointed that Xu Guangjin did not personally lead the Guangdong troops into Leiyang territory.

The thought that nearly four thousand soldiers from Gaozhou Town in Guangdong had entered the encirclement set up by the Left Army in Zaotou City and were able to wipe out nearly four thousand Qing soldiers made the trip worthwhile. It also gave the new recruits from Hunan a chance to practice in actual combat, which made him feel much better.

(End of this chapter)