1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 256 The South Wall Breaks

The Qing army commander in Changsha attached great importance to the defense of Shuiluzhou.

The Qing army deployed at least four or five thousand troops on this small sandbar in the river.

There were more than forty gun emplacements of various sizes.

The Qing army on Shuiluzhou Island was clearly panicked when the Zuo Jun captured Yuelu Mountain.

Although the Qing army's cannons could not reach Yuelu Mountain, the Qing troops on Shuiluzhou Island still fired cannons toward Yuelu Mountain from time to time.

It was like a demonstration, warning the Left Army on Yuelu Mountain not to have any designs on Shuiluzhou.

"The indiscriminate firing of guns and cannons seems to be a problem that exists to some extent among the Qing army, no matter where they are located."

Hearing the booming cannon fire coming from Shuiluzhou, Chen Gan, the commander of the Fifth Regiment, revealed a rather disdainful expression.

Peng Gang calmed down and listened quietly to the cannon fire from Shuiluzhou for a while. He shook his head slightly and said, "The cannon fire doesn't sound chaotic. It doesn't sound like they're firing indiscriminately. It sounds more like the Qing army artillerymen on Shuiluzhou are cramming for the last minute and practicing their artillery skills."

Heavy artillery battalion commander Chen Xuyuan rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "It's too late to practice artillery now! How can artillery skills be mastered overnight? These cannons on Shuiluzhou Island will soon be ours."

Chen Xuyuan did not believe that the Qing army artillerymen on Shuiluzhou Island could improve their skills in a short period of time.

If artillery training were so easy, his heavy artillery battalion wouldn't have been established for a year and still only had a pitiful twenty-one artillery groups.

The heavy artillery battalion was the standing unit with the highest understaffing rate in the Left Army. Although it was called a battalion, it actually did not have two companies of artillerymen.

If he could capture all the Qing army's heavy artillery on the islands, select some good recruits from the reserves, train them for a few months, and he would be able to build a real heavy artillery battalion.

"You make it sound so easy for you," Chen Ajiu, the commander of the Sixth Regiment, rolled his eyes at Chen Xuyuan.

"Do you think attacking Shuiluzhou is like attacking Yuelu Mountain? Shuiluzhou is blocked by the Xiangjiang River, which is more than a mile wide, and the Qing army has blocked the river with heavy artillery. We don't know how many brothers will be lost if we launch a direct attack."

Chen Ajiu felt that Chen Xuyuan was talking without understanding the situation. In any case, it would never be Chen Xuyuan's heavy artillery battalion's turn to attack Shuiluzhou.

"You two stop bickering," Peng Gang said, turning his gaze from the water and land island to Chen Ajiu.

"The force attacking Shuiluzhou will certainly not be limited to the Sixth Regiment. However, Ajiu, the Sixth Regiment is a naval force, and its main mission is to attack Shuiluzhou. The Sixth Regiment will take the lead without hesitation. Just tell me what you need."

River crossing operations are a relatively complex combat situation with a high risk of casualties.

Even though Peng Gang's main opponents were the rotten Green Standard Army and the hastily formed militia, they were not strong in close combat.

As long as Chen Ajiu can lead one or two companies to rush up Shuiluzhou, gain a foothold there, and occupy Shuiluzhou, there will be no suspense.

But the prerequisite is that Chen Ajiu can lead the soldiers of the Sixth Regiment to brave the Qing army's firepower and charge up Shuiluzhou.

“Your Highness, swimming ability is very important if we want to cross the Xiang River, which is more than a mile long.” Chen Ajiu had his eye on the more than 700 Fujian and Chaozhou soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camp, and wanted to use these Fujian and Chaozhou soldiers with excellent swimming skills to form a water battalion.

"The Fujian and Chaozhou soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camp are very good swimmers. They were originally from the naval forces of Fujian and Guangdong. I want to bring them with me to this battle."

Chen Nanshan and others from the prisoner-of-war management office told Peng Gang that Chen Ajiu often went to the prisoner-of-war camp to make empty promises to the Fujian and Chaozhou prisoners.

It seems that Chen Ajiu has had his eye on these high-quality prisoners for a long time.

"If we can capture Shuiluzhou, it wouldn't hurt to add another naval battalion to the Sixth Regiment as a standing force," Peng Gang said to Chen Ajiu.

The Fujian and Chaozhou soldiers were captured in the battle of Daxu, Guilin Prefecture, Guangxi last year.

When he was in Guangxi, Peng Gang only had twelve battalions of regular troops, which was not a large force.

Therefore, Peng Gang was always very cautious in accepting prisoners.

They worried that if the proportion of prisoners in the team was too high, they would be unable to assimilate these prisoners and suffer a backlash.

He now has seven regiments, more than 20,000 regular soldiers, and can easily manage a battalion of old prisoners of war. With the successful examples of recruiting Li Rui and Chang Sheng, Peng Gang is even more confident in incorporating and using Qing army prisoners of war.

Furthermore, the casualties from attacking the Shuiluzhou region would be considerable, and some high-quality cannon fodder would indeed be needed.

"Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the Eastern King."

Just then, Chen Wenjin hurried over to find Peng Gang, carrying a letter from Yang Xiuqing.

Peng Gang opened Yang Xiuqing's letter, and after reading its contents, he was overjoyed. He said to the senior officers of the Northern Palace beside him, "Quickly prepare! Use the explosion at the south wall of Changsha as a signal to attack Shuiluzhou! We must take Shuiluzhou in one battle!"

More than 6,000 soldiers were lost in three days.

This was the greatest loss suffered by the Qing army in the Changsha battlefield since the start of the war.

Although the Taiping rebels had previously attacked the city and raided the camps outside the city, causing considerable casualties to the Qing army on the Changsha battlefield.

The highest number of casualties the Taiping rebels inflicted on them in a single day was only over four hundred, most of whom were local militia members.

Such casualties are something that Sai Shang'a, Luo Bingzhang, and others can still afford.

After all, there were over 100,000 Qing soldiers on the Changsha battlefield.

In just three days, they lost 4,000 soldiers from Xinlaozhen in western Hunan and 2,000 soldiers from Henan, and also lost Yuelu Mountain.

Such losses have far exceeded what Saishanga and Luo Bingzhang can bear.

After this battle, Saishana learned firsthand how formidable the short-haired tribe was.

The only thing he feels fortunate about now is that he didn't send the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Standard Army across the river to support Yuelu Mountain.

Having just suffered a major defeat, the atmosphere in the Hunan Provincial Governor's Office was exceptionally somber.

All the Qing officers and generals lowered their heads and remained silent, fearing they might offend Sai Shang'a.

Finally, Luo Bingzhang spoke first: "Prefect Cang has sent a letter requesting reinforcements to Shuiluzhou to defend against the Taiping rebels. Which general is willing to go to Shuiluzhou to garrison and assist Prefect Cang in defending Shuiluzhou?"

Less than a day after Yuelu Mountain fell, Cang Jingtian, the prefect of Changsha Prefecture who was stationed at Shuiluzhou and in charge of its defense, had already sent three letters requesting reinforcements.

He emphasized the importance of Shuiluzhou and stated that with the fall of Yuelu Mountain, the Maoist forces would definitely launch a full-scale attack on Shuiluzhou to cut off the Qing army in Changsha from the outside world.

Whoever controls Shuiluzhou holds the power to control the Xiangjiang River waterway.

Which of the high-ranking officials sitting upright in the main hall of the governor's office doesn't understand such a simple and easy-to-understand principle?

Understanding something doesn't mean you have the courage to do it.

Most of those present witnessed the fate of Wang Lin, the general of the Henan-Hebei garrison, who was forced by Sai Shang'a to lead 5,000 Henan soldiers across the river to reinforce Yuelu Mountain three days ago.

The officials in the governor's office either lowered their heads and remained silent or looked around, pretending not to have heard Luo Bingzhang's words.

The cowardly behavior of the officials infuriated Luo Bingzhang.

Luo Bingzhang finally couldn't suppress his anger. Uncharacteristically, he disregarded official decorum and cursed, "You eat the emperor's food and share his burdens, yet you all look like cowards. How can you be worthy of the emperor and the people who support you?"

Luo Bingzhang had just begun to increase the intensity when a loud thud came from the south, abruptly interrupting his words.

The muffled thud startled everyone present.

Damn it, the short-haired rebels on the west bank haven't calmed down yet. Could it be that the long-haired rebels on the east bank have breached the city walls and stormed into Changsha?
Shortly after, a messenger rushed into the governor's office with devastating news: "Sir, it's terrible! The Taiping rebels in the east have blown up a section of the city wall near Kui Xing Gate and are about to storm the city! They're charging into Changsha like madmen, and Commander Ma, Commander Han, and Commander Liu are about to be overwhelmed!"

(End of this chapter)