1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 285 Zeng Guofan

Although Emperor Xianfeng wanted to convince himself and hoped that the Qing army in Anqing could create a miracle.

But reason told him that if even Wuchang couldn't be saved, Anqing would be even more difficult to protect.

Putting everything else aside, the recent case of Akdong'a, a military officer in the Hubei Green Standard Army, faking his death has enraged him.

To save his life, Akdong'a fled the three towns of Wuhan, even fabricating a rumor that he had died in battle.

To cover for Akdong'a, the accomplices in this case, besides Akdong'a's younger brother Batu, the deputy general of Guangdong, were Akdong'a's relative by marriage, Jiang Wenqing, the governor of Anhui, who came from the Han Banner Army.

If a provincial governor dares to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor for personal gain, it goes without saying how corrupt the officialdom of that province has become.

The Manchus are all so useless and hopeless. Is it only the Han Chinese who can be relied upon to suppress the Taiping rebels in western Guangdong?

Thinking of this, Emperor Xianfeng couldn't help but feel uneasy.

During the two years of the uprising of bandits in western Guangdong.

Apart from the two Manchu military officers, Ulantai and Hechun, whose performance was acceptable.

The remaining Manchu officials and generals, from Yiketanbu, the deputy commander of the Qingjiang garrison in Guizhou who fought in Guangxi, and Erjing'a, the deputy commander of the Wuzhou garrison, to Shuangfu, Bolegongwu, and Akdong'a, the admirals of Hubei, and now Jiang Wenqing, the governor of Anhui, are all a bunch of incompetent people who have disgraced the Manchus.

On the contrary, the performance of Han officials such as Lin Zexu, Zhang Bilu, Xiang Rong, Jiang Zhongyuan, Li Mengqun, and Luo Bingzhang was commendable, and they even managed to win a few battles occasionally.

Emperor Xianfeng became increasingly distressed as he thought about it.

“Sai Zhongtang is still in Pingxiang,” Su Shun replied.

"Why is he still in Pingxiang?" Emperor Xianfeng was greatly displeased to learn that Sai Shang'a was still staying in Pingxiang.

Currently, the only two infantry units with field capabilities that can be relied upon in the pursuit and suppression of the bandits in western Guangdong are...

One group consisted of Hunan soldiers led by Xiang Rong and Jiang Zhongyuan, while the other group consisted of Shaanxi and Gansu soldiers led by Sai Shang'a.

Emperor Xianfeng placed high hopes on these two troops.

When the Taiping rebels sailed down the Yangtze River, Emperor Xianfeng could see exactly where they were after: they wanted to take Nanjing.

Knowing something doesn't mean you have a solution. After nearly two years of conscription, the elite troops of the Southern Green Standard Army have suffered heavy losses in various provinces, and now they have reached the point where there are no more troops to deploy.

Faced with the deteriorating situation in the Jiangnan region, Emperor Xianfeng felt helpless.

Xiang Rong and Jiang Zhongyuan wanted to protect Hunan and contain the short-sighted Mao who remained in the three towns of Wuhan.

In the pursuit and suppression of the Taiping rebels, Emperor Xianfeng could only rely on Sai Shang'a's Shaanxi-Gansu garrison.

"The bandits in western Guangdong attacked cities but did not abandon them, leaving troops to garrison them. The bandits in western Guangdong left troops to garrison important towns along the Yangtze River such as Baling, the three towns of Wuhan, Huanggang, Jiujiang, Hukou, Pengze, and Madang, making the Yangtze River waterway impassable."

"The Taiping rebels travel by boat, while Sai Zhongtang can only travel by land along the official roads. Therefore, Sai Zhongtang's Shaanxi and Gansu troops cannot catch up with the Taiping rebels heading east from western Guangdong. However, Sai Zhongtang has already sent Li Mengqun, the prefect in Nanchang, to organize a naval force. With a naval force, he should be able to catch up with the Taiping rebels," Su Shun patiently explained to Emperor Xianfeng.

Su Shun answered fluently, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the war situation in the south.

His performance was much better than that of Prince Zheng Duanhua and Prince Yi Zaiyuan, two high-ranking officials who were often clueless when asked questions. Emperor Xianfeng was very satisfied with Su Shun, who had just been promoted.

Finally, there was a capable Manchu by my side.

Su Shun may indeed be suspected of exonerating Sai Shang'a, but it is also true that Duan Mao stayed in the three towns of Wuhan, cutting off the river route from Hunan to Anhui, making it difficult for Hunan's troops to rush to the aid of the Anhui battlefield in time.

"He can wait for Sai Shang'a, but can my empire wait? The Jiangnan garrison is already useless. Does he want to watch the Qing Dynasty's empire be fed to the Taiping rebels inch by inch?" Emperor Xianfeng gasped for breath, his eyes already bloodshot.

"If the Yangtze River waterway is blocked, then we must find a way to open it up! It's better than waiting idly in Pingxiang!"

After speaking, Emperor Xianfeng stood up, limped to the map of the Qing Dynasty hanging in the East Warm Pavilion, stared intently at the three towns of Wuhan, and then shifted his gaze to Changsha Prefecture.

Duanmao remained in the three towns of Wuhan, controlling the Yangtze River waterway from Baling to Jiujiang.

This effectively severed the connection between the main Qing army force in Hunan and the downstream provinces, leaving the Qing army unable to support both ends, which greatly distressed Emperor Xianfeng.

Emperor Xianfeng was eager to open up the Yangtze River waterway and reverse the current extremely unfavorable war situation for the Qing Dynasty.

The group that remained in the three towns of Wuhan turned out to be the short-haired rebels, who were even more difficult to defeat than the long-haired rebels. The goal was to drive the short-haired rebels out of the three towns of Wuhan and open up the Yangtze River waterway.

At present, it seems that the only troops that can be relied upon are Xiang Rong's Zhengan soldiers, Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu soldiers, and Luo Zenan's Xiangxiang soldiers.

The current state of Hunan's military is that they are better able to protect themselves than to make progress.

To realize the goal of recovering the three towns of Wuhan, opening up the Yangtze River waterway, and driving the short-haired barbarians out of Hubei, we still need to recruit and train more Hunan soldiers.

Xiang Rong was a military officer in the Green Standard Army, Jiang Zhongyuan was a registered prefect, and Luo Zenan was a registered student, not even a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). They were not capable of undertaking the heavy responsibility of organizing the local militia in Hunan Province.

Luo Bingzhang performed well in the Battle of Changsha and had sufficient seniority. Unfortunately, Luo Bingzhang was from Guangdong and was already a frontier official. Emperor Xianfeng wanted to promote Luo Bingzhang to the position of Governor-General of Huguang, so he had limited energy.

If we want to quickly establish a militia in Hunan, drive the rebels out of Hubei, and recover the lost prefectures and counties in Hubei, it would be better to appoint a Minister in charge of militia training and have him handle the task personally.

Furthermore, this militia minister must be from Hunan and be a highly respected minister in Hunan.

As he pondered this, the image of Zeng Guofan, the Vice Minister who had recently requested to return to Hunan to observe mourning for his parents, came to Emperor Xianfeng's mind.

Zeng Guofan served as an official in Beijing for fourteen years, eventually rising to the rank of Vice Minister, making him the most influential Hunan native official in the capital.

At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Xianfeng was determined to revitalize the Qing Dynasty and wanted to emulate the previous emperors by opening up channels for advice. He issued an edict to encourage his ministers to speak frankly and offer their remonstrances.

Most officials were perfunctory, but Zeng Guofan, eager to show his progress, took the opportunity to denounce the current abuses and submitted a memorial entitled "Respectfully Presenting Three Aspects of the Emperor's Virtue to Prevent Abuses".

The criticisms include Emperor Xianfeng's obsession with minor details and neglect of major plans; his tendency to cover up his mistakes and lack of practicality; and his stubbornness, arrogance, and refusal to accept advice.

Enraged, Emperor Xianfeng threw the memorial on the ground and immediately summoned the Grand Councilors to punish Zeng Guofan.

In the end, it was Grand Councilor Qi Junzao who exonerated Zeng Guofan by saying "the emperor is wise and the minister is upright," thus sparing Zeng Guofan's life.

Although Zeng Guofan was so frightened after this incident that he dared not submit any more memorials criticizing Emperor Xianfeng, he still left Emperor Xianfeng with the impression of being an upright official.

It is said that Zeng Guofan's entire clan, except for his two brothers, all died at the hands of the Mao Zedong rebels. The Zeng family and the Mao Zedong rebels were sworn enemies.

Let this upright official, whom Qi Junzao spoke of, give it a try. Let him go to Hunan to train local militias and clean up the mess in Hubei.

Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict summoning Zeng Guofan to the East Warm Pavilion to meet him.

Not long after, Zeng Guofan, who had been summoned by Emperor Xianfeng, hurriedly arrived at the East Warm Pavilion to meet the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I, Zeng Guofan, respectfully wish you good health!"

Emperor Xianfeng leaned back on the bright yellow cushion, his fingertips twirling a string of cool pearls. He squinted at Zeng Guofan kneeling below the steps, his voice like a dusty jade chime.

"Zeng Guofan, the memorials from the south are more urgent than the snowflakes outside the palace."

As he spoke, Emperor Xianfeng suddenly grabbed a report from his desk and threw it down the steps, the pages scattering in front of the kneeling officials.

Emperor Xianfeng's move terrified Zeng Guofan, who dared not utter a word. The emperor's wrath was unpredictable; had the matter of his memorial criticizing the emperor and exposing the ills of the time not been forgotten?

The Emperor still harbors resentment over this matter and wants to settle scores later.

"That shouldn't be the case. More than a year has passed since then." Zeng Guofan glanced at Su Shun, who was standing beside Emperor Xianfeng, out of the corner of his eye. Su Shun gestured for Zeng Guofan to relax, indicating that Emperor Xianfeng was not going to bring up old grievances. Only then did Zeng Guofan calm down, still somewhat doubtful, and look down at the memorial on the ground.

The memorials were filled with phrases like "Anqing is in dire need of help," "The Green Standard Army is collapsing," "The treasury is empty," and "Requests for military pay and grain requisition."

"The Green Standard Army in Hubei, Jiangxi, and Anhui fled at the mere sight of us!" The pale-faced Emperor Xianfeng coughed violently. "Your memorial on reducing the number of soldiers at the beginning of my reign sounded like you were making fun of me!"

Zeng Guofan's heart tightened, and his bald forehead pressed against the floor tiles: "Your subject deserves to die ten thousand times!"

"Ten thousand deaths? What crime have you committed that I would want you to die ten thousand times?" Emperor Xianfeng said expressionlessly.

"Luo Zenan from your hometown of Xiangxiang led the local militia to recapture Hengzhou Prefecture. Your two brothers were among them. Of all the local militias, those in Hunan are the most effective, even more so than my regular soldiers."

At this point, Emperor Xianfeng paused and continued, "The short-haired rebels have occupied the three towns of Wuhan, and the long-haired rebels have gone south to the south of the Yangtze River. The situation in Hubei, Jiangxi, and Anhui has deteriorated. I need someone who can clean up the situation in Hubei for me. I want you to go to Hunan to organize local militias and wipe out the short-haired rebels in Hubei."

Upon hearing the words "short hair," Zeng Guofan, who was kneeling on the ground, involuntarily clenched his fists.

When the short-haired serpent passed through Heyetang in Xiangxiang County, it almost wiped out his entire family.

When this devastating news reached the capital, Zeng Guofan was struck as if by a bolt from the blue. He felt as if the sky was about to collapse. Overwhelmed with grief and indignation, he fell seriously ill and remained bedridden for three months until recently when he was able to get out of bed and walk around again.

At the beginning of the year, Emperor Xianfeng wanted to send Zeng Guofan to Nanchang as the chief examiner for the provincial examination. However, at that time, the rebels in western Guangdong had already invaded Hunan, and the Hunan provincial examination was forced to be postponed, so Zeng Guofan was unable to go.

During his many years as an official in Beijing, Zeng Guofan's main source of income was accepting bribes from local officials and candidates when he went out to serve as an examiner.

The bandits in western Guangdong prevented Zeng Guofan from going to Hunan to preside over the provincial examination, and Zeng Guofan already harbored resentment towards them.

Several months ago, the bandits in western Guangdong nearly wiped out the Zeng family, thus cementing the feud between Zeng Guofan and the bandits in western Guangdong.

Returning to his hometown to organize local militias and suppress bandits in western Guangdong, especially the "short-haired" bandits, was something Zeng Guofan longed for.

However, with both his parents having passed away, he was currently in mourning. It would be against etiquette for him to take the lead in organizing the local militia in Hunan. He could not agree to it on his own initiative. He had to get Emperor Xianfeng to take the initiative to appoint him in order to avoid giving others grounds for criticism and to maintain his image as a potential rebel.

“It is a subject’s duty to share the burdens of his sovereign and father. However, my parents were both slaughtered by the short-haired tyrants a few months ago, and I have not yet completed my mourning period.”

"Observing mourning?" Emperor Xianfeng seemed to see through Zeng Guofan's thoughts.

"Do you think the bandits in western Guangdong will wait for you to observe mourning? Do you think Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and Peng Gang will listen to your sense of propriety?! They want my head! They want the foundation of our ancestors to be reduced to ashes!"
In your memorial, "A Comprehensive Account of the People's Sufferings," you wrote that "the nation's wealth and strength are exhausted"—and now this festering sore is about to rot through the very lifeblood of my Great Qing Dynasty.

"I know you are a very filial son. Since ancient times, loyalty to the country and filial piety have been difficult to reconcile. However, loyalty comes before filial piety. You are hereby reinstated despite the mourning period. Return to Hunan and do a good job in organizing the local militia. Do not disappoint my expectations."

Zeng Guofan was waiting for Emperor Xianfeng to say these words. He had learned about the situation of local militias in various places. Before accepting the task assigned to him by Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan discussed the terms with Emperor Xianfeng: "I have two requests. If Your Majesty agrees, I am willing to return to Hunan to help organize local militias."

"Speak," Emperor Xianfeng said, frowning and somewhat impatiently.

"First, I will not transfer veterans of the Green Standard Army; I will select local militia myself. Second," Zeng Guofan slightly raised his head, glanced at Emperor Xianfeng on the throne, carefully observed Xianfeng's face and expression, his throat bobbed, and he mustered his courage to speak.

"Please grant me the power to submit memorials to the emperor exclusively, and... the power to execute on the spot those who desert in the face of battle!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xianfeng's pupils contracted sharply, and he stared intently at the seemingly submissive but upright-backed minister below the steps. After a long silence, the only sound in the deathly quiet East Warm Pavilion was their heavy breathing.

Even Su Shun was worried for Zeng Guofan. Although he had a good impression of Han officials and felt that the Manchus were useless, he believed that to overcome the current difficulties and eliminate the bandits in western Guangdong, he had to make good use of capable Han officials, even at the cost of offending the Manchus.

Zeng Guofan was far too audacious, directly demanding the power to make decisions on his own in front of Emperor Xianfeng.

Zeng Guofan was usually a prudent person, so why did he act so rashly this time?
Su Shun once suspected that Zeng Guofan might be blinded by hatred and acting too hastily.

Finally, Emperor Xianfeng took off the string of pearls he was playing with and threw it onto the floor tiles in front of Zeng Guofan. The sound was crisp and hollow, breaking the silence in the warm pavilion.

"Take it." Emperor Xianfeng's voice was so tired, as if all his strength had been drained away.

"Among the Han officials of Hunan, except for Luo Bingzhang... seeing this pearl is as if seeing the Emperor himself."

Emperor Xianfeng was not at ease with Zeng Guofan's appointment as Minister of Military Training in Hunan to oversee the local militia.

After much deliberation, the emperor issued an edict ordering that Guangdong Commander-in-Chief Wulantai need not accompany Saishang'a into Jiangxi to pursue and suppress the short-haired rebels. Instead, he was to stay in Changsha, Hunan, with the newly appointed Hubei Governor-General Hechun, to focus on dealing with the short-haired rebels and to regularly submit secret reports to him on the situation in Hunan and Hubei, without any slackening or negligence.

Emperor Xianfeng's assessment of the situation in Anhui and that of the Anhui governor, Jiang Wenqing, was accurate.

Jiang Wenqing was indeed unable to create a miracle and defend Anqing for Emperor Xianfeng.

The 6,000 mobile troops cobbled together by the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Lu Jianying, the Governor of Jiangxi, Zhang Fei, the Governor of Anhui, and Jiang Wenqing from the three provinces south of the Yangtze River were simply no match for the already formidable Taiping Army.

Following the swift breach of the Jiujiang defense line painstakingly built by Lu Jianying and Zhang Fei by the Taiping Army.

The Anqing defense line, hastily organized by Lu Jianying and Jiang Wenqing, collapsed before the first batch of militia training ministers, headed by Zeng Guofan and selected by Emperor Xianfeng, even left the capital.

The performance of the Qing officials in Anqing was even worse than that in Wuchang.

Upon hearing the news, Wang Pengfei, the general of Langshan Town in Anhui who was the first to bear the brunt of the Taiping army's attack, fled, abandoning his camp. His five battalions of soldiers threw down their armor and weapons and scattered in all directions.

Fu Jixun, the prefect of Anqing, was ordered by Jiang Wenqing to leave the city under the pretext of delivering military pay. In reality, he did not take a single soldier or pay with him, nor did he care about his family. He disguised himself as a refugee and slipped out of Anqing empty-handed.

Fu Jixun's successful escape inspired Li Benren, the provincial governor of Anhui.

Li Benren declared that he would also personally escort the funds away, and he changed his clothes and mingled with the residents to escape from the city by lowering himself down the city wall, eventually reaching Shucheng.

Once this trend started, it became unstoppable. Hundreds of officials, both high and low-ranking, in the city formed a group of escape companions and fled together.

In his panic, Anhui Governor Jiang Wenqing saw Qing soldiers abandoning the city and fleeing. Knowing that the situation was hopeless, he returned to his residence to write a will and hang himself. However, when he returned to the governor's office, all his advisors had run away, and he couldn't even find someone to write the will for him.

With civil and military officials fleeing from Anqing, the Qing soldiers defending the city were naturally unwilling to fight for the Qing Dynasty. Some fled, some surrendered, and Anqing's defenses collapsed on their own.

Before the Taiping army had even fully exerted its strength, it had already captured Anqing, the capital of Anhui province.

The attack on Anqing went so smoothly that Yang Xiuqing and others found it unbelievable.

Lu Jianying, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, who had been reduced to a lone commander in Jiujiang and was observing the situation from outside Anqing, immediately fled with the remaining three or four hundred of his troops when he saw the dire circumstances.

Having narrowly escaped death, Lu Jianying was so frightened that he dared not even travel by water, fearing that he would be captured by the Taiping Army's navy.

He dared only to ride his horse overland, fleeing in panic back to Jiangning, where he simultaneously deployed defenses for the city and sought aid from surrounding areas.

With the fall of Anqing, the Qing army in the entire Jiangnan region had no more mobile forces available.

Within a short period of ten days, major towns along the Yangtze River in Anhui, such as Chizhou, Tongling, Wuhu, Wuwei Prefecture, and Hezhou, were successively captured by the Taiping Army.

In some cities, the Qing soldiers had already looted the city and fled before the Taiping army even arrived.

The prefectural and state cities that would normally require an attack in Guangxi, Hunan, or even Hubei could be easily conquered in Anhui without any effort required.

The main force of the Taiping army took only one month to directly break through the entire Anhui province along the Yangtze River. The Qing army along the way fled at the mere sight of them, suffering a complete rout.

Such a situation can only be described as utterly devastating.

The Taiping army's vanguard, lightly equipped and with minimal resistance, advanced rapidly into Jiangsu province, advancing unimpeded until they reached the outskirts of Jiangning.

The little paradise in the hearts of Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and others is finally within reach!

(End of this chapter)