1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 333 A desperate fight

With the Northern Palace occupying Pianshan Water Camp, Pianshan Lake Island became a transit point for supplies for the Northern Palace army.

A steady stream of military supplies and provisions were transported from Yuezhou Prefecture's capital, Baling, through the Dongting Lake waterway to the Pianshan naval camp, and then transported ashore by hundreds of light boats and fast boats to maintain the logistical support for the Northern Army on the shore.

The Northern Army had already established a foothold on the shore, facing the Qing soldiers in the Yuezhou camp thirty miles away.

When Huang Dabiao and his group were about to arrive at the Beidian Army's Beida Camp, it was already noon the next day, and smoke was rising from the camp.

Since the Honglianping period, Peng Gang's military personnel have practiced a three-meal-a-day system, which has been preserved to this day.

If conditions permit, even during wartime, the North Palace supply department will continue to provide three meals a day as long as logistical supplies are adequate.

The garrison outside Yuezhou Camp was only twenty or thirty li away from Baling City, and the waterway of Dongting Lake was unobstructed, so the logistical supply of the soldiers in the northern palace at the front line did not encounter any bottlenecks.

The soldiers who participated in the war not only had three meals a day, but because it was wartime, they actually ate better than when they were stationed at their garrison.

As the soldiers in the Beida Camp were having their meal, plumes of dust rose on the distant horizon. Then, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder as a cavalry unit gradually came into focus. More and more soldiers from behind the camp fences and on the watchtowers witnessed the triumphant return of the training battalion.

Compared to when they went on patrol, this group was clearly much larger. Interspersed in the middle of the group was a long string of dejected, disheveled Qing soldiers, tied together with ropes, staggering forward, numbering as many as forty or fifty.

What is even more striking is that behind the procession were hundreds of captured warhorses, many of which were laden with captured Qing soldiers' waist knives, satchels, ration bags, and even a dozen wounded Qing prisoners.

These wounded Qing prisoners were very lucky. If Huang Dabiao and his men hadn't captured enough warhorses, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to carry a dozen or so wounded prisoners. Given Huang Dabiao's character, he would never have brought back so many wounded prisoners on the side.

Although the soldiers of the victorious training battalion were covered in mud and looked exhausted, with many still bearing the bloodstains of battle, they all stood tall, their faces beaming with barely suppressed pride in victory.

"They're back! Battalion Commander Huang and the others are back!"

"Wow! So many prisoners!"

"Look! So many horses! Wow, they're all tall and magnificent!"

"We've won! We've won another victory!"

When news of the victory reached Beidaying, the entire camp erupted in cheers, whistles, and discussions.

The successive victories had a particularly strong impact on the new recruits.

A significant proportion of the troops deployed this time are new recruits.

Of the five newly formed provisional regiments in the Northern Palace, except for one regiment of new recruits recruited in Huanggang County, Huangzhou Prefecture, which had only been trained for less than two months and had not yet been formally formed, remaining in the Huanggang camp for further training, the other four provisional regiments all participated in the war.

Many new recruits, who had just joined the army and had never even seen blood, stared wide-eyed with curiosity at the dejected Qing army prisoners, and at Huang Dabiao and his men, the spirited veterans of the training battalion.

A new recruit, his face still bearing the innocence of a child, excitedly exclaimed to his company commander, Wang Zhiyuan, "Company commander! Look! Battalion Commander Huang and his men are amazing! They captured so many Qing cavalrymen just like that?!"

This new recruit was from Hanyang County. He had never seen a large-scale, organized cavalry unit before. He had only seen some messengers on horseback, as well as the dozens of cavalrymen from the Cavalry Standard Battalion who accompanied the Governor-General of Huguang, the Governor of Hubei, and the Commander-in-Chief of Hubei on their inspection tours.

Huang Dabiao's force of two hundred men and over three hundred warhorses was quite impressive to him and many of the inexperienced recruits.

Wang Zhiyuan, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, appeared relatively calm as a former squad leader of the First Regiment who had enlisted in Xiangzhou, Guangxi. However, his eyes betrayed his envy for the training camp. He patted the new recruit on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Kid, see that? These are the soldiers of our Prince Bei Wang. This is the training camp. With Prince Bei Wang, the Qing army is nothing to fear. Train hard, obey your officers' orders, and you'll be just like them someday!"

Another recruit stared longingly at the captured warhorses and weapons, murmuring, "Company commander, how wonderful it would be if one day we could ride such horses and wield such fine guns."

The recruits' eyes were filled with anticipation. Their initial fear of war seemed to have been unconsciously replaced by a passion for making a name for themselves and a longing for the future.

As Huang Dabiao rode his horse, looking at the excited crowd cheering in front of the camp gate, especially the excited and admiring expressions on the young faces, his fatigue vanished, replaced by a sense of pride.

He deliberately slowed the troops down in front of the camp gate, allowing the triumphant return of the training battalion soldiers to be displayed to all the soldiers for a longer period of time, in order to boost morale and enhance the confidence of the new recruits.

After all, tangible results of victory are more convincing than any verbal mobilization.

The Northern Army had already established a foothold on the land surrounding the Qing army's Yuezhou camp, and had initially completed the encirclement of the Yuezhou camp.

The command center was also moved from the original Jiangxia ship to Pianshan Island.

After strolling around Beidaying and Xidaying, Huang Dabiao took a boat to the island to report the battle results to Peng Gang.

On the way back, Huang Dabiao had already interrogated the Qing army prisoners of war and found out that the group of Qing cavalry who had deserted the camp were He Chun and his personal guards and elite troops of the Jieying Battalion, and that He Chun had been shot and wounded.

Huang Dabiao reported everything he knew to Peng Gang. After finishing the report, he took the initiative to apologize to Peng Gang: "I failed to annihilate the Qing cavalry, kill or capture the enemy leader, and also lost more than a dozen of my old brothers from the training battalion. I am at Your Highness's mercy and punishment."

He didn't report good news but kept the bad news to himself, and took the initiative to take responsibility. Compared to Chen Ajiu's performance after the Battle of Junshan, the difference was obvious.

Peng Gang gestured for Huang Dabiao to stand up and said, "The Qing cavalry are all fleeing, riding fast horses and traveling light, so it is indeed not easy to annihilate them all."

As he spoke, Peng Gang picked up the list of prisoners provided by Huang Dabiao and examined it carefully.

Upon seeing the name of Feng Zicai, the commander of the Jieying Battalion, prominently listed, his expression softened slightly.

The capture of Feng Zicai somewhat made up for the regret of not being able to kill He Chun and Zhang Guoliang.

Feng Zicai is different from Zhang Guoliang. When Zhang Guoliang was still called Zhang Jiaxiang, he ravaged Guixian County, massacring many villages and even the county seat.

Many of the soldiers under Peng Gang's command were from Guixian County. They were the ones who crossed the Qianjiang River to join Peng Gang after Zhang Guoliang massacred Guixian County. They were like the original shareholders when Peng Gang started his career.

Many of these people had grudges against Zhang Guoliang and had formed a grudge against him.

Even if Zhang Guoliang were willing to surrender to Peng Gang, Peng Gang would not accept Zhang Guoliang.

Feng Zicai was recruited by the Qing government in Bobai, Guangxi, and later joined forces with Zhang Guoliang. He had no blood feud with the people of Xunzhou Prefecture.

Peng Gang ordered Huang Dabiao to hand over the prisoner to the prisoner management office for processing, and wrote a letter for Huang Dabiao to pass on to Chen Nanshan, the deputy director of the prisoner management office, instructing Chen Nanshan to take special care of Feng Zicai and heal Feng Zicai's wounds as soon as possible.

In every major battle, the number of Qing soldiers captured by the Northern Palace far exceeded the number killed directly on the battlefield.

Moreover, the battle in which the Yuezhou camp surrounded and annihilated the Chu army and the Zhengan troops was the largest-scale battle independently organized since the Beidian uprising, and the number of prisoners must have been considerable.

Chen Nanshan, the deputy director of the prisoner-of-war management office, also led his team to accompany the army on the expedition, ready to receive Qing army prisoners at any time.

The prisoner-of-war management office has even selected a campsite for the prisoner-of-war camp, located outside Baling City, not far from the front line. It has already received about a thousand prisoners from the Hunan Green Standard Army's Dongting Water Rescue Battalion.

Although Huang Dabiao didn't understand why Peng Gang was so concerned about a mere commander in the Jieying Battalion, Huang Dabiao had followed Peng Gang for a long time and was very perceptive. He didn't ask too many questions, but simply accepted the task after receiving Peng Gang's letter.

Yuezhou Camp.

The dying general Xiang Rong, in a sudden burst of energy before death, sat up abruptly and donned his full armor.

The heavy armor pressed down on Xiang Rong's withered body, appearing somewhat out of place.

Xiang Rong, whose face was still as pale as paper, staggered towards his mount with difficulty. General Deng Shaoliang, who was acting as a rank-and-file general, was about to step forward to help him when Xiang Rong unceremoniously pushed him away.

Xiang Rong rode his white horse alone to the training ground of the Yuezhou camp.

The Yuezhou military training ground was filled with over three thousand elite soldiers selected from various battalions who still possessed courage.

Of the more than 3,000 elite troops in the Yuezhou camp, half were veterans of the Chu army who had followed Xiang Rong in his campaigns in southern Hunan and Guangxi, and the other half were carefully selected fierce soldiers from Zhengan.

The Yuezhou camp claimed to have over 70,000 to 80,000 troops, but in reality, it had over 20,000 soldiers in the camp.

However, apart from the elite troops that were taken away by He Chun and Zhang Guoliang, the rest of the truly capable soldiers who can fight tough battles are all on the training ground.

The more than three thousand elite soldiers of the Yuezhou camp, who had been summoned, looked at Xiang Rong, who was slowly approaching on horseback, with a mixture of panic and bewilderment.

Such a major event as the escape of He Chun and Zhang Guoliang could not be suppressed. The Jieying camp was in an uproar, and the Jieying soldiers who were not taken away by Zhang Guoliang were constantly cursing Zhang Guoliang's relatives.

News of He Chun and Zhang Guoliang's escape had already spread throughout the entire Yuezhou camp.

Two of our generals fled with their personal guards before the battle even began, taking their most prized warhorses with them.

This move inevitably shook the morale of the Yuezhou camp and had a very negative impact.

As Xiang Rong's gaze swept over these bewildered and confused elites, a sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.

Back then, he personally led the Chu army into southern Hunan and northern Guangxi to suppress the Heaven and Earth Society. He won one battle after another and was constantly rewarded by the imperial court. He was a force to be reckoned with in the southern border region. How glorious he was!

He had thought that heading south to Xunyang to help suppress the God Society and the Heaven and Earth Society would be as smooth as pursuing them, but unexpectedly, he suffered a major setback as soon as he arrived in Wuxuan, losing many soldiers and generals. Now, he was besieged in his Yuezhou camp by the same bandits he had previously looked down upon, finding himself in a desperate situation.

Xiang Rong took a deep breath, mustered all his strength, and shouted to the three thousand veteran Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers on the training ground: "Brothers!"

Xiang Rong still held considerable prestige among the Chu army and the Zhengan soldiers, and was able to keep these new and old soldiers in check.

As soon as Xiang Rong spoke, the entire room fell silent, and all eyes were focused on him.

"The traitor Peng Gang has besieged our Yuezhou camp, intending to trap us here to our deaths! And there are even more shameless scoundrels, like He Chun and Zhang Guoliang, who deserted their posts and abandoned tens of thousands of brothers!" Xiang Rong's voice was filled with deep hatred and indignation. His words immediately resonated with the veteran Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers present, and a commotion and low curses broke out in the ranks.

Most of them didn't hate He Chun, Zhang Guoliang, and others for fleeing; rather, they hated that they weren't the ones who fled earlier.

"However, there's always a way out!"

At this point, Xiang Rong abruptly changed the subject and waved his hand.

Deng Shaoliang directed his personal guards to carry out dozens of heavy wooden crates, which were then opened in front of everyone.

In an instant, the jewels shone brightly, dazzling the eyes.

The box was filled with gold and silver ingots, jade and pearls.

Some of these gold and silver treasures were military pay stored in the Yuezhou camp, some were Xiang Rong's own savings accumulated over the years, and some were gold and silver treasures found after searching the camps of He Chun, Zhang Guoliang, and others.

He Chun, Zhang Guoliang, and others fled lightly, taking mostly valuable and easily portable gold and jewelry. They only took some loose silver coins, and even the large official ingots were too heavy to carry much of.

Xiang Rong pointed to several boxes and said, “These are all my belongings. These are the military pay embezzled by He Chun, Zhang Guoliang, and their deserters, and the wealth they plundered! Today, I will not take a single penny, but distribute them all to you loyal and brave men! Anyone who is willing to follow me to the death to break through the encirclement and fight for a glimmer of hope will receive a share!”

The old Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers on the drill ground stared at the gleaming silver and gleaming gold, their breathing suddenly becoming heavy.

As for how Xiang Rong, He Chun, and Zhang Guoliang came to have so much gold and silver jewelry, no one really thought about it or investigated it deeply.

Deng Shaoliang immediately led his men to distribute the gold and silver jewelry to each soldier according to the roster and sequence.

Holding the heavy silver ingots, gold bars, and jewels, many soldiers' hands trembled, and their morale began to rise at a visible speed.

Xiang Rong seized the opportunity. Having led troops for many years, he knew that in addition to generous rewards, he also needed to give these people a clear hope before they would truly risk their lives, even if that hope was illusory.

Xiang Rong pointed south with one hand and waved the official document he had fabricated out of thin air with the other, saying loudly in an extremely confident tone: "Brothers! The main force of the enemy army is tied down in the north and east! According to reliable intelligence, their southern camp is undefended!"
A report has come from Changsha that Prefect Jiang has led the Chu troops north to meet us. If we concentrate all our forces and break through the southern enemy camp in one fell swoop, there will be no trace of the enemy! Once we cross the Xinqiang River, the Chu troops will be there to meet us, and the road to Changsha will be smooth! Once we reach Changsha, we can all return alive!

Xiang Rong spoke with such conviction that he almost believed his own fabricated story.

These words were like a shot of adrenaline, injecting strength into the hearts of these three thousand elite soldiers.

When in dire straits, no one dislikes hearing pleasant words.

"I am willing to break through the encirclement with General Xiang!"

"Fight your way out!"

"Back to Changsha!"

The shouts were initially somewhat chaotic, but gradually became more orderly.

Xiang Rong looked at the group of soldiers who had been temporarily inspired, but he felt no relief whatsoever.

He knew better than anyone that, given Peng Gang's cunning and meticulous military tactics, the southern camp could not possibly be truly undefended. Natural strongholds such as the Xinqiang River and the Miluo River were most likely blocked and intercepted by short-haired soldiers.

As for the origin of Jiang Zhongyuan leading the Chu troops, that is entirely unfounded.

This argument is nothing but self-deception.

But he had no other choice.

Being trapped in a deserted camp is tantamount to waiting for death, but taking a gamble might offer a tiny chance of survival.

Xiang Rong turned to look at Deng Shaoliang and said resolutely, "Chenruo, according to our agreed plan, slaughter the livestock and poultry, give the whole army a good meal, distribute rations, with your unit as the vanguard, and I personally oversee the battle from the center. We will break out from the south camp!"

"I will obey your orders!"

With tears in his eyes, Deng Shaoliang clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

Deng Shaoliang knew that breaking through the encirclement was likely a one-way street, but being able to follow Xiang Rong, who had shown him kindness, to the very end was not necessarily a bad outcome.

The only thing he and Xiang Rong are grateful for now is that their families are all in Changsha. Even if they die in battle, their families will still benefit from it.

In the Pianshan Water Camp, Peng Gang was discussing the battle plan for attacking the Yuezhou camp the day after tomorrow with senior officers such as Luo Dagang, Huang Bingxian, Zhang Ze, and Qiu Zhongmin.

Lu Qin, who was originally responsible for observing enemy movements and keeping an eye on the Qing army's movements at the front line, was rushed in by Xie Bin. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and reported loudly to Peng Gang: "Your Highness! There is something unusual about the situation at the Yuezhou camp!"

The tent fell silent immediately, and everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Qin and Xie Bin.

Peng Gang put down the baton in his hand and said, "Speak."

"Your Highness! About half an hour ago, the observation post discovered a large amount of smoke rising from Xiang Rong's Yuezhou camp, especially in its eastern area! Much more than usual, and the smoke was concentrated and thick, indicating that a large-scale cooking operation was taking place. Logically, the enemy is likely to make a move after their meal, most likely preparing to break out. However, we are not sure, so we have come to ask Your Highness for instructions."

This news, like a stone thrown into water, stirred up ripples.

Qiu Zhongmin raised his thick eyebrows and said excitedly, "Old Xiang really can't sit still! Trying to run away? Not so easy! Your Highness, it seems we need to tighten the encirclement, especially to the east, they're trying to slip away towards Jiangxi."

Qiu Zhongmin believes that the large amount of smoke rising from the chimneys in the east is a clear signal that Xiang Rong has chosen to break through to the eastern mountainous area.

Peng Gang did not agree with Qiu Zhongmin's deduction. The morale of the Qing army in Yuezhou camp was unstable and low. Xiang Rong would take at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops with him when he broke out of the encirclement. Even if he only took the elite troops, there would still be several thousand men.

Xiang Rong could not possibly choose to flee towards Jiangxi like He Chun and Zhang Guoliang's small group.

He Chun and Zhang Guoliang both led cavalry, which not only carried a lot of rations, but also allowed them to kill horses for meat even if they ran out of food.

Even if all else fails, a few hundred people can survive to reach Jiangxi by eating the locals and digging up tree bark and wild grass to fill their stomachs.

Xiang Rong's tens of thousands of infantrymen wanted to break through to Jiangxi, but they couldn't do it with just the dry rations they carried.

"That old bastard Xiang Rong, even at the end of his road, is still trying to pull some tricks on us."

Peng Gang walked back to the table, lifted his robe, sat down, and continued speaking.

"The smoke from the eastern part of the Yuezhou camp is the heaviest, seemingly the main direction of attack, but it is actually a feint, a smokescreen released by Xiang Rong to mislead us."

Breaking out to the east might seem like a way to avoid our main force, but it would require immediately entering the rolling hills and mountains bordering Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces. How much food could Xiang Rong possibly carry if he were leading a breakout? With no supplies, a large force hastily venturing into unfamiliar mountains would be tantamount to suicide. Even without our pursuit, they would likely collapse and perish from getting lost, hunger, and disease. Xiang Rong, a seasoned military man, surely knows this.
If a breakout to the south succeeded, the terrain would be relatively flat and easy to traverse. Crossing the Xinqiang River and the Miluo River would lead directly to Changsha. Changsha would have reinforcements and fortified walls. This was the only relatively plausible escape route that Xiang Rong and his Chu and Zhengan troops could possibly see.

Luo Dagang also agreed with Peng Gang's view. Xiang Rong was an old general, and a veteran who had often fought mountain battles in the south in recent years. He couldn't be so stupid as to lead tens of thousands of men straight into the mountains at the junction of Hunan, Jiangxi and Hubei: "Xiang Rong made a big show of cooking in the east, just to lure our army to transfer the main force to the eastern front for defense. His real elite troops would definitely choose to break out from the south, which seemed dangerous but was actually the only way out. Xiang Rong had no other choice."

After listening, Qiu Zhongmin suddenly understood and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Your Highness and General Luo are both very insightful! That old man Xiang Rong is still trying to outsmart us even when he's about to die!"

There are reasons why Hsiang Jung was able to stand out from the crowd of incompetent members of the pro-independence camp and become a pillar of the camp.

If it were any other, more mediocre Green Camp general, they would probably either surrender or give up, not even bothering to play mind games with you.

Peng Gang, with a resolute expression, immediately ordered: "Pass down the order! The original deployment remains unchanged. All battalions shall increase their vigilance and strictly prevent the enemy from breaking through."

Peng Gang trusted his judgment and did not change the current deployment, preparing to meet the breakout of the Chu army and Zhengan troops.

In the afternoon, the atmosphere in the fields surrounding the Yuezhou camp became increasingly heavy, as if the air itself had frozen.

Suddenly, the eastern gate of the Yuezhou camp opened, and a force of about two thousand Qing soldiers, raising their flags and shouting, launched a powerful attack on the eastern perimeter of the Beidian camp.

Smoke billowed and cannons roared; at first glance, it certainly looked like a prelude to the main force's breakout.

Because it was anticipated that the Chu army and Zhengan troops in the Yuezhou camp would launch a feint attack on the eastern camp, the soldiers on all fronts remained unmoved and firmly held their positions.

The commander of the Fourth Regiment, Cheng Dashun, was in charge of commanding the troops on the eastern front. Cheng Dashun calmly directed his soldiers and easily drove the more than two thousand Qing troops who had launched a feigned attack back to the Yuezhou camp.

The Qing troops who launched the feigned attack left behind more than a hundred corpses and dozens of wounded soldiers in front of the encirclement camp on the eastern side of Beidian, and then retreated in disgrace into the Yuezhou camp.

(End of this chapter)