1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 268 Holy crap! It was Qing Yao!

Leaving the Dongwangfu, one arrives at Qianjie, the main thoroughfare connecting Zhongxiaomen and Hanyangmen in the north of Wuchang.

South of Qianjie Street is Snake Hill, a famous mountain in Wuchang City, while to the west is the Yellow Crane Tower, a famous tower near Hanyang Gate, overlooking the Yangtze River.

The governor's office (Eastern Prince's Mansion), the education administration office (Assistant Prince's Mansion), and the vassal's office (Western Prince's Mansion) in Wuchang City were all located on the north side of the front street.

Surrounded by guards, Peng Gang headed west, intending to exit through Hanyang Gate and go to the ferry to take a boat back to Hanyang.

Along the way, apart from the Western King's Mansion, where the main force had not yet arrived, the young Western King Xiao Youhe was unable to take charge of the Western Palace's military and political affairs, and the Heavenly King, who was temporarily in charge of the Western Palace's military and political affairs, was busy selecting candidates in the provincial capital and had no time to take care of the Western Palace, the area in front of the gate was desolate and only a few birds could be seen.

The other palaces were all quite lively.

Many people in Wuchang, especially refugees and the poor outside the city, eagerly signed up to join the various halls and were enrolled.

After entering Wuchang City, Yang Xiuqing implemented a branch system to facilitate the management of the city.

The so-called branch residences refer to separating residents from their original families and having them live together in order to facilitate unified management.

The most important aspect was the separation of men and women, with separate male and female wards. Regardless of age, gender, or social status, everyone was assigned to their respective ward according to their gender.

Each pavilion consists of 25 people and is directly managed by two Sima (chief administrators) of the pavilion.

After entering the museum, the basic supplies needed for survival are provided by the Holy Treasury. The supplies provided are one cup of oil and three measures of rice per person per day.

At present, the Taiping Army has newly occupied the three towns of Wuhan, and supplies are more abundant than ever before, which can guarantee the full distribution of these supplies.

According to Yang Xiuqing's branch office regulations, each branch office not only prevented couples from meeting in private, but also fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, and brothers and sisters, prohibiting them from having any private contact. Young boys and girls were also required to live separately from their adoptive parents in the branch offices.

The Taiping Army dealt with family members' private meetings extremely strictly; once discovered, they would be beheaded as a warning to others.

The branch camp system was essentially a refined extension of the order to separate men and women into different camps, attempting to transform Wuchang into a super-sized military camp.

Historically, the Taiping Army also implemented a system of separate dormitories for men and women in the cities they occupied, especially in Tianjing, where they controlled the city for the longest period and had the most stable rule.

Wuchang was merely the Taiping Army's first attempt to control and manage a major city.

“The palaces are all bustling with activity. Your Highness, why don’t we implement this system in Hanyang and Hankou as well?” Xiao Maoling asked, puzzled.

The combined population of Hanyang and Hankou was not much smaller than that of Wuchang.

If the North Hall were to establish branch schools in Hanyang and Hankou, it could significantly expand its workforce.

Xiao Maoling didn't understand why Peng Gang's enthusiasm and efforts in recruiting and absorbing new talent were not as great as before when he arrived in Wuhan.

Aside from accepting 20,000 refugees from the outer city of Wuchang, there were no further major actions taken.

"If you can't see your parents even once a year, can you bear it?" Peng Gang asked Xiao Maoling as he rode his leopard-patterned horse slowly forward.

"How can we bear this? If my parents were to fall ill, there would be no one to talk to or take care of them," Xiao Maoling said hastily, shaking his little head without thinking.

"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Why impose a system that you yourself cannot accept on the people of Hanyang and Hankou?" Peng Gang said solemnly.

"The quality of soldiers is more important than the quantity. Those who are not of one mind with our Northern Palace should not be made to suffer the pain of separation from their families. Incorporating them into our Northern Palace would only increase our burden and cause trouble."

Peng Gang was unwilling to implement a branch system in Hanyang and Hankou.

This is due to a variety of factors.

Firstly, Peng Gang believed that this system of having soldiers but no civilians was completely divorced from the actual situation of productivity, and that implementing the branch system in cities was impractical.

Secondly, the citizens of big cities were not a source of high-quality soldiers, and most of those who joined the Taiping Army after Wuchang were opportunists. Their fighting spirit, ability, and loyalty were far inferior to those of their old comrades in Guangxi and Hunan.

The best examples in history are Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, two pillars of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in its later period.

Chen Yucheng's generals were mostly from Guangxi, and few of them defected to the Qing court.

Li Xiucheng's subordinates were divided into several factions, which can be roughly divided into the relatives faction, the Guangdong and Guangxi faction, the Hunan and Hubei faction, and the Henan and Anhui faction.

The Henan-Anhui clique had long been involved with the Qing government, the Nian Rebellion, and the Taiping Rebellion, and its actions were constantly changing, which goes without saying.

The loyalty of the Hubei and Hunan faction, led by Gao Yongkuan and Wang Anjun, is also questionable.

In the Battle of Suzhou, Gao Yongkuan and Wang Anjun assassinated Tan Shaoguang, the Prince of Mu of the Guangdong and Guangxi clique, and surrendered the city to Li Hongzhang.

It would be more suitable to recruit large numbers of soldiers, or to recruit honest and simple farmers from the countryside, or to recruit miners from the mines who have a sense of teamwork and are fierce and combative.

It is relatively easy and worry-free to train with and use.

"Your Highness is right. I was too impatient," Xiao Maoling said, nodding as if he had just realized something.

As they were talking, the two arrived outside Hanyang Gate.

Compared to the orderly arrangement of the various palace plaques within Wuchang city, the order outside the city was far worse.

Peng Gang and his group even witnessed more than a dozen Taiping soldiers, their heads wrapped in red turbans, skillfully breaking into poor people's homes and committing acts of rape and plunder right under his nose.

The Taiping army was known for its excellent discipline, especially among the poor.

Although the Taiping army's corruption and decadence in its upper echelons became unstoppable after entering Cangwu, the first prefectural city it captured.

However, the old brothers in Guangxi at the grassroots level, and even the new brothers who later joined the Taiping Army in southern Hunan, maintained good discipline.

This kind of thing was unimaginable in the past.

It's true that the Taiping army preyed on wealthy and powerful families, but they never targeted the poor. As for adultery, this was a grave taboo for the Taiping army, which adhered to asceticism.

Peng Gang merely glanced at Xiao Maoling beside him, and Xiao Maoling immediately understood, leading a row of guards to capture these scoundrels and bring them to Peng Gang and his vicinity.

"What are you doing to us?!"

"I am also a holy soldier of the Heavenly Army! What right do you have to arrest us!"

"We are Prime Minister Hu's men! You can't arrest us!"

"Brothers, come and be the judge! These short-haired guys are bullying us long-haired guys!"

"Short hair fighting long hair~"

The dozen or so Taiping soldiers captured by Xiao Maoling, who claimed to be under Hu Yihuang's command, loudly protested their innocence, quickly attracting the attention of other Taiping soldiers nearby.

Not to mention that these people's accents are different from those of the veterans from Guangxi and southern Hunan, the very words they speak have already given them away.

"Short hair" and "long hair" were derogatory terms used by the Qing government to refer to the Taiping Army. How could they possibly call themselves "long hair"?

Even so, their clumsy acting skills still fooled many of the Taiping soldiers in the surrounding area.

Many Taiping soldiers stood up to speak out in defense of these scoundrels.

"Why arrest people without speaking up when there's something to discuss?"

"Let them go!"

"We're all brothers who fought to kill the Qing demons, so let's not make things too ugly."

"You people from the Northern Palace are too much! How can you arrest someone from the Southern Palace in the street?"

As more and more people gathered around, the dozen or so captured Taiping soldiers who claimed to be under Hu Yihuang's command showed a smug expression.

Even Xiao Maoling was a little panicked. The Northern Palace's headquarters were in Hanyang and Hankou. If a fight really broke out, they would definitely suffer losses because they were outnumbered.

Peng Gang, however, remained calm and said to Xiao Maoling in a nonchalant manner, "Maoling, remove their headscarves."

Xiao Maoling, following orders, reached out and removed the headscarves from the dozen or so scoundrels.

The red headscarves covering their heads were removed, exposing the bald heads of these dozen or so scoundrels in full view of everyone.

The Taiping Army soldiers grew their hair long, with varying lengths depending on their length of service.

These bald-headed men were clearly not Taiping soldiers; to be more precise, they were definitely not the old Taiping soldiers.

"Holy crap! It was a Qing demon!"

"I was almost fooled by those dozen or so Qing demons!"

"Brothers of the Northern Palace, I apologize for what happened earlier!"

"Give these Qing demons a good beating!"

"Fight to death!"

The truth came to light. Some of the Taiping soldiers who had been indignant about their comrades being bullied by the Northern Palace rushed forward and beat up the dozen or so scoundrels, while others apologized to the soldiers of the Northern Palace.

After the beating was nearly over, Peng Gang ordered Xiao Maoling to send the dozen or so scoundrels to Hu Yihuang's residence for Hu Yihuang to deal with.

The short jackets worn by these dozen or so scoundrels, and the red headscarves wrapped around their heads, were indeed the attire of the Taiping Army.

The Taiping army occupied Wuchang only a few days ago, so these items could only have been issued by the Taiping army's treasury.

These dozen or so scoundrels were mostly street ruffians newly recruited by the Southern Palace in Wuchang.

Hu Yihuang was furious upon learning of this.

This is a crucial moment for his promotion. If this incident happens, wouldn't it give the Eastern King a handle to use against him?
Hu Yihuang asked Xiao Maoling to convey his gratitude to Peng Gang. He then immediately executed the dozen or so scoundrels who had infiltrated the South Palace as a warning to others, so that his soldiers would be more discerning when recruiting new members.

After this incident, Xiao Maoling deeply understood why Peng Gang did not recruit a large number of new people in Hanyang and Hankou.

Back in Hanyang, Peng Gang instructed Xiao Maoling to use this incident as a case study, telling the recruiting officers of each regiment and battalion to carefully examine and screen new recruits, and not to allow local ruffians and scoundrels from Hanyang and Hankou to infiltrate the Beidian army.

At the same time, military discipline was reiterated, requiring all soldiers of the Northern Palace to strictly abide by the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention.

The allure of bustling big cities is far greater than that of small villages and markets.

The soldiers in the North Palace mostly come from mountainous rural areas, and it is hard to guarantee that some of them will not be able to resist temptations and tests and will go astray.

Reiterating discipline is merely a temporary solution and does not address the root cause.

Peng Gang did not expect that by emphasizing military discipline, all the soldiers of the Northern Palace would strictly abide by it.

To maintain the good military discipline of the soldiers in the Northern Palace, a corresponding supervision and punishment mechanism must be in place.

It is time to establish a military police force.

Peng Gang entered the Northern King's Mansion, formerly the Hanyang Prefecture Office, and sat down in the West Flower Hall, where he usually conducted his business. He asked Li Ruzhao to bring him the roster of the first and third batches of trainees from his box to check.

After flipping through the roster several times, Peng Gang circled a few names on it.

(End of this chapter)