1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 318 Jiujiang as a Gift
The detachment of Shi Xiangzhen's troops was defeated at Dagutang in Jiujiang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. News of the fall of Dagutang quickly reached Wuchang.

Peng Gang's staff were quite surprised by this, after all, the last time the Taiping Army suffered such a huge loss was during the siege of Changsha.

"Losing a key location in less than two days is an unprecedented defeat for the Heavenly Army since the Jintian Uprising," Huang Bingxian lamented, attempting to analyze the reasons behind it.

"Could it be that Prime Minister Shi recruited too many new soldiers in Hubei and Jiangxi, and they haven't had time to train them?"

Huang Bingxian's first thought was that Shi Xiangzhen had recruited too many new soldiers in Hubei and Jiangxi, diluting the old comrades in Guangxi and Hunan.

Shi Xiangzhen's official propaganda claimed that he had 10,000 troops. In retrospect, even if the number of troops he claimed to have 10,000 is not inflated, their quality must be significantly compromised.

In the six months since the main force of the Taiping Army withdrew from Wuchang, new recruits from Hubei who had been taken away by the main force of the Taiping Army have been fleeing back to Hubei.

Among the new recruits from various palaces who fled back to Hubei, apart from the East Palace recruits who deserted and risked their lives to return to Hubei during the siege of Anqing, the Wing Palace recruits who fled back to Hubei had the largest number of Hubei natives. The largest proportion of these were the troops of Shi Xiangzhen of the Wing Palace stationed in Jiujiang Prefecture.

After all, the Taiping Army under Shi Xiangzhen was stationed closest to Hubei, right next to Huangzhou Prefecture and Wuchang Prefecture.

Huang Bingxian believes this can also serve as evidence that the combat effectiveness of Shi Xiangzhen's troops was diluted and declined.

Zhang Handai offered another perspective: "Our hall has never fought against the Shaanxi-Gansu troops. Other halls only ambushed and killed some Shaanxi-Gansu troops when they were withdrawing from Changsha. Apart from that, there is no record of any battles with the Shaanxi-Gansu troops. Perhaps we have underestimated the fighting strength of the Shaanxi-Gansu troops."

Although Sai Shang'a led the northern troops, mainly composed of Shaanxi and Gansu soldiers, southward into Hunan and Jiangxi for nearly a year.

However, before the Battle of Dagutang, the Taiping Army and Sai Shang'a's troops had only ambushed the Shaanxi-Gansu Battalion once during the withdrawal from the siege of Changsha, so they did not know much about the Shaanxi-Gansu Battalion under Sai Shang'a.

Of course, it is true that the Henan troops under Sai Shang'a were not very effective. In the battle of besieging the point and attacking the reinforcements at Yuelu Mountain, Peng Gang personally commanded the Beidian troops to annihilate a large number of Henan troops under Wang Lin, the general of Hebei Town.

"The Qing army in Jiangxi is showing signs of advancing north to Jiujiang Prefecture. Jiujiang Prefecture serves as a bulwark for our Wuchang and Huangzhou Prefectures. Should we reinforce Jiujiang Prefecture and assist Prime Minister Shi in defending it?" Huang Bingxian pondered for a long time before proposing.

"Even if we don't enter Jiujiang, we should at least send more troops to Qizhou and Xingguo to guard against the Qing army in Jiangxi advancing westward and threatening the heartland of our three towns of Wuhan."

The Qing army in Jiangxi has already made its move. Huang Bingxian hopes to keep the Qing army in Jiangxi outside Hubei and prevent the war from spreading to Hubei, so that the Qing army in Jiangxi can fight within Jiangxi territory.

Even if we had to settle for second best, we should fight the Qing army in Jiangxi in the prefectures and counties on the border of Hubei and Jiangxi, far from the three towns of Wuhan, so as not to affect the heartland of the three towns of Wuhan.

"We only need to send one additional battalion to each of Qizhou and Xingguo Prefectures," Peng Gang said slowly, gazing at the map on the shelf for a long time.

"Sai Shang'a's advance should follow the route taken by Dong Wang and his men when they went down to Jiangning last year, heading east to rescue Jiangnan. It would be difficult to attack the three towns of Wuhan by going upstream from Jiangxi."

If Sai Shang'a wants to deal with us, he most likely won't do it himself. Instead, he'll act as an imperial envoy to pressure Luo Bingzhang and Zhang Liangji in Changsha, Hunan, to take action against us.

Inform Luo Dagang and Xie Bin of Yuezhou Prefecture to strengthen their defenses in the near future to prevent Qing troops from Hunan from advancing eastward.

Besides Yang Xiuqing, who possessed the power to control the various kings and was believed to be possessed by the Heavenly Father, the Taiping army's high-ranking officials also wielded considerable power.

The remaining kings do not have a clear hierarchical relationship, at least not at present; each palace is basically a self-governing territory.

Shi Dakai and Shi Xiangzhen did not actively seek help from Peng Gang, and Peng Gang could not directly send troops into the city controlled by Yidian.

The Taiping army had already established its capital in Nanjing and changed the era name. The situation in Jiangnan was in a state of chaos, and Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing were poised to launch a northern expedition against Youzhou and Yanzhou.

Sai Shang'a, this old tortoise, has been dawdling in Jiangxi for four or five months. If he doesn't move soon, he won't be able to explain himself to his master, Emperor Xianfeng.

Peng Gang deduced that Sai Shang'a's purpose in advancing into Jiujiang Prefecture was to move eastward, not westward.

Just two days after Peng Gang dispatched an additional battalion to Qizhou and Xingguo Prefecture, Shi Xiangzhen, who had been stationed in Dehua, the capital of Jiujiang Prefecture for half a year, personally came to Wuchang City to request an audience with Peng Gang.

Peng Gang received Shi Xiangzhen in the main hall of the Northern Prince's Mansion.

The Battle of Dagutang awakened Shi Xiangzhen, who realized that the Wing Palace troops were stationed in various places along the Yangtze River, the battle lines were too long, and the forces were too dispersed.

Sai Shang'a, Li Mengqun, and others not only had a large number of troops, but also concentrated their forces.

In the past, the Qing army was stationed in a dispersed manner, while the Taiping army, as the attacking side, had more initiative and could concentrate its forces to attack the cities it wanted. Now the situation has been reversed.

When the Taiping army dispersed to defend key passes, the Qing army concentrated its forces to attack.

Shi Dakai was tasked with defending Anqing, Wuhu, and other places to prevent Qing troops from being tied down in Anhui and to protect Nanjing.

There is still no clear news about the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing's promised support for Lin Qirong's Eastern Palace troops in Jiangxi.

Shi Xiangzhen did not want to sit idly by and wait for death, so he decided to abandon Dehua, the capital of Jiujiang Prefecture, Ruichang County, and Xiaochikou, all east of Poyang Lake, and concentrate his forces to defend Hukou.

Shi Xiangzhen's main garrisoned cities were all within the territory of Jiujiang Prefecture in Jiangxi Province, including Dehua, Xiaochikou, Hukou, Pengze, Balijiang, and Madang Town.

Since Ruichang County is not directly adjacent to the Yangtze River, Shi Xiangzhen only symbolically dispatched a hundred or so soldiers to garrison the county.

Shi Xiangzhen claimed to have 10,000 troops, but in reality, even after accounting for the 500-600 men lost at Dagutang a few days ago, he still had 7,000 soldiers under his command.

Logically speaking, 7,000 soldiers should be more than enough to guard a relatively small area like Jiujiang Prefecture.

However, of Shi Xiangzhen's 7,000 troops, only 3,000 were veterans from Guangxi and Hunan, while the rest were mostly new recruits from Hubei and Jiangxi.

As for the underlings under Shi Xiangzhen, they were placed in Anqing by Shi Dakai.

Sai Shang'a's forces were several times larger than Shi Xiangzhen's, and he also had the assistance of the Ganzhou garrison.

Shi Xiangzhen was worried that his current deployment in Jiangxi would make him vulnerable to being defeated piecemeal by the troops of Sai Shang'a, Li Mengqun, and others.

Rather than waiting to be trapped, it is better to concentrate our forces and hold Hukou.

Hukou is the throat of Poyang Lake into the Yangtze River. If Sai Shang'a wanted to go east, he had to pass through Hukou.

Concentrating our forces to guard Hukou will at least allow us to hold out for a little longer.

If he can hold out long enough, Shi Xiangzhen will not be too passive, whether it is Shi Dakai from Anqing or Peng Gang from Wuchang who send troops to help.

Of course, Shi Dakai would understand if he abandoned the city, and it would be easy to explain to him. But it wouldn't be so easy to explain to Yang Xiuqing.

Therefore, Shi Xiangzhen came to Wuchang this time hoping that Peng Gang could send troops to take over the two counties of Dehua and Ruichang in Jiujiang Prefecture.

Peng Gang is also a member of the Heavenly Kingdom. As long as Peng Gang takes over Dehua and Ruichang counties, Shi Xiangzhen can absolve himself of responsibility for the lost territory.

Shi Xiangzhen believed that Peng Gang would be interested in Dehua and Ruichang counties.

After all, the acquisition of Dehua and Ruichang counties by the Northern Palace would expand its strategic depth, serving as a buffer zone to protect the three prefectures in southeastern Hubei that the Northern Palace occupied. Furthermore, if the Northern Palace were to be stationed in Dehua and Ruichang counties, it would more or less tie down some of the Qing troops in Jiangxi, relieving some of the pressure from Jiangxi on the Wing Palace.

Upon entering the main hall of the Northern Prince's Mansion, Shi Xiangzhen clapped his hands, and his personal guards carried ten heavy chests into the mansion and opened them on the spot.

"His Highness the Northern King is about to get married, so I have prepared some small gifts to send as a token of my respect."

These ten large boxes contained porcelain and antiques that Shi Xiangzhen had confiscated from wealthy households in Jiujiang Prefecture, including several pieces that were actually from official kilns.

When Peng Gang was in Wuchang, he spent money and grain to exchange for antiques and rare treasures from various palaces. Shi Xiangzhen knew that Peng Gang liked these things, so he catered to Peng Gang's tastes and gave these things to Peng Gang as a congratulatory gift.

"A small gift? This gift is anything but small," Peng Gang said with a smile, glancing at the ten full boxes of porcelain and antique treasures.

His wedding is on the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, and it's only mid-March now, more than a month away. Shi Xiangzhen's gifts are definitely not just for Peng Gang's wedding.

"These are just small tokens of my appreciation. I have two more generous gifts to present. I wonder if Your Highness the Northern King would be interested?" Shi Xiangzhen said with a smile.

"Tell me about it." Peng Gang gestured for Shi Xiangzhen to sit down and asked Cheng Lingnan to serve him tea.

"Dehua County and Ruichang County are gifts for the Northern King's wedding. I wonder if the Northern King is interested?" Shi Xiangzhen sat down, lifting his robe, and looked at Peng Gang as he spoke.

Before it was opened as a port, Jiujiang Prefecture was already the economic center of northern Jiangxi, relying on agriculture and waterway trade.

Jiujiang Prefecture is located at the junction of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain and the hills of northern Jiangxi. It connects the Yangtze River, Poyang Lake and Gan River, and has a well-developed shipping industry, making it an important distribution center for goods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Relying on the well-developed Yangtze River shipping network, Jiujiang connects the waterways of Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, and Jiangsu, and communicates with Guangdong via the Ganjiang-Dayuling trade route. It is a key node for the transshipment of goods between the north and south, and one of the three major tea markets in the country (the other two being Fuzhou and Hankou), with a thriving trade.

Although Jiujiang Prefecture's economy was not as developed as that of Nanchang in central Jiangxi or Raozhou Prefecture in northeastern Jiangxi, which had Jingdezhen, it was still a relatively wealthy prefecture.

Before being exploited and plundered by Zeng Guofan and the Xiang Army, Jiangxi was a province with complete industries and extremely wealthy, incomparable to the obscure Akarin province of later times.

Although Shi Xiangzhen only offered half of Jiujiang Prefecture east of Poyang Lake, and the Northern Palace would have to bear the cost of being drawn into Jiangxi, Peng Gang was still very interested.

"Since it is Prime Minister Shi's kind offer, I will accept it without being impolite." Peng Gang accepted Shi Xiangzhen's gift. "When can the defense of Dehua and Ruichang be handed over?"

"The handover can be completed at any time." Seeing that Peng Gang was willing to take over Dehua and Ruichang counties, Shi Xiangzhen felt as if he had gotten rid of two heavy burdens, and was relieved.

Shi Xiangzhen had come from afar, and Peng Gang invited this fellow townsman to have a meal in the inner courtyard.

After finishing his meal, Shi Xiangzhen, concerned about the defense of Jiujiang Prefecture, had no intention of staying overnight in Wuchang and bid farewell to Peng Gang.

Peng Gang did not force Shi Xiangzhen to stay, and ordered Peng Yi to escort Shi Xiangzhen to the ferry outside Hanyang Gate.

After Shi Xiangzhen left, Peng Gang drafted a transfer order, ordering the commander of the Fourth Regiment stationed in Huanggang, the capital of Huangzhou Prefecture, to lead two battalions of the Fourth Regiment and two provisional battalions originally assigned to Qizhou and Xingguo Prefecture to relocate to the county towns of Dehua and Ruichang in Jiujiang Prefecture, to take over the defense of Dehua and Ruichang counties, leaving two companies to guard Ruichang County, and the rest of the troops to be stationed in Dehua, the capital of Jiujiang Prefecture, to focus on the defense of Dehua City.

Not long after the transfer order was sent out of the Northern Prince's residence, Peng Yi returned to the residence and carefully examined the porcelain sent by Shi Xiangzhen.

During his acquisition of antiques and curios in Wuchang last year, Peng Yi learned a little about porcelain and antiques and showed off to Peng Gang: "The porcelain that Prime Minister Shi sent includes not only fine pieces from Jingdezhen's folk kilns, but also quite a few from official kilns. Prime Minister Shi is certainly willing to spend a lot to get us involved in this messy business in Jiangxi."

As he spoke, Peng Yi carefully picked up a vase with a cowpea-red hue shaped like a willow leaf and examined it closely, praising, "Green like the first rays of spring water, red like the rising sun. This vase is truly beautiful."

"Ayi, when was this bottle in your hand made?" Peng Gang asked with great interest.

“From the Kangxi era,” Peng Yi replied without hesitation.

"Find a few connoisseurs and pick out all the fine folk kiln pieces and official kiln pieces from the period after Qianlong from here and the porcelain we acquired in Wuchang last year. Gold is precious in times of chaos, antiques are precious in times of prosperity. These porcelains we traded for with grain will finally come in handy," Peng Gang instructed Peng Yi.

According to Tang Zhengcai's letter, representatives from England, France, and the United States all arrived in Wuchang by steamship.

Judging by the timeline, the delegations from the three countries should arrive in Wuchang within the next few days.

During this period, international trade was mainly settled in precious metals. Foreigners did not recognize copper coins, but only gold and silver.

Although Peng Gang's treasury still has enough gold and silver, it's best to avoid using it for bartering as much as possible, since there are many places in the North Palace where silver is needed.

"Third Brother, you want to trade these porcelains for the foreigners' guns and cannons? Will the foreigners even trade them?" Peng Yi gently placed the cowpea-red willow-leaf bottle back into the straw-filled wooden box and asked.

As one of the key figures in the North Palace, Peng Yi already knew about Peng Gang's plan to purchase foreign guns and cannons from foreigners.

Peng Gang then asked him to select official kiln wares from the Qianlong era onwards, saying that these porcelains would come in handy, mostly because they would be used to exchange silver for trade with foreigners.

"Foreigners have already stolen our porcelain-making techniques, so they won't be very interested in ordinary porcelain. But official kilns and fine folk kilns can still fetch a good price," Peng Gang instructed Peng Yi.

"We've sorted out the silks, satins, and tea that we confiscated from wealthy households all along the way. Also, have you received the tea that I asked you to send to Tongshan County a few days ago?"

During the late Kangxi period, French Jesuit missionary Jean-François de Saint-Exupéry spent ten years stealing detailed production techniques for Jingdezhen porcelain and successfully sending out letters.

After more than a century of experimentation, Europe is now able to manufacture porcelain.

By the 1850s, the overall competitiveness of Chinese porcelain in Western markets had declined significantly, especially for low-end everyday porcelain, which no longer held any advantage compared to European semi-mechanized porcelain production. It only maintained a relatively high market share in a few traditional markets with deep influence: Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, and Southeast Asia.

However, high-end fine art porcelain, such as export porcelain from the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods, still enjoys a high reputation in the European collecting world and is a luxury item that the upper class in Europe and America flocks to.

After all, nobles and capitalists disdain using cheap industrial products of the same quality as peasants; only imported masterpieces are worthy of their noble status and taste.

They need expensive and stylish luxury items to showcase their wealth and distinctiveness. Exquisite porcelain is a very suitable luxury item.

In Europe and America, especially in the United States, a country that has recently become wealthy, even the middle class is happy to spend hundreds of dollars to buy a beautiful piece of Chinese porcelain, carefully display it in a glass case, and put it in the most conspicuous place in the living room so as to show it off to guests.

At that time, the popularity of Chinese luxury goods in the world surpassed that of French luxury goods in later generations.

“Eighteen hundred dan of Tongshan tea have already been stored,” Peng Yi said after a moment’s thought.

“That’s too little. Just keep buying, don’t worry about selling. It’s too slow for Shengku to send people to buy tea. Just buy tea directly from the tea merchants in Hankou and let them buy it.” Peng Gang was not satisfied with the number. “We not only buy tea from Tongshan, but also tea from other places.”

Although it is porcelain, or more accurately, low-grade porcelain.

China no longer has complete control over pricing and has lost its monopoly position.

However, tea did not rise to prominence until the end of this century, when England stole Chinese tea seeds and introduced them to India, Ceylon, and other places.

The tea trade remains monopolized by China, which holds the power to set prices and enjoys extremely high profits.

(End of this chapter)