1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 363 Prefect Yang, Full of Enthusiasm
Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang already had feelings for each other, and with Peng Gang and Wang Yunheng acting as matchmakers, their marriage was quickly arranged.

Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang were among the original shareholders of Peng Gang's rise to power, with Luo Dagang being the second most important figure in the Northern Palace military after Peng Gang.

Although both of them were remarried, considering their status and influence, Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang's wedding could not be too shabby.

It took more than ten days to prepare and set up.

Two days before the wedding, the Northern Prince's Mansion was brightly lit with candles.

After finishing his military affairs, Peng Gang returned to his residence and saw Wang Yunheng staring blankly at a pair of jade pendants.

"Is Madam still pondering the outline and Third Sister's matter?" Peng Gang asked, taking off his cloak.

Wang Yunheng raised her head, her eyes filled with a smile: "Isn't Your Highness the same? Otherwise, you wouldn't have specially sought out these jade pendants as a gift. Dagang is brave and skilled in battle, an old brother Your Highness made back in Pingzai Mountain, and now he stands alone in command. Sanniang is also a heroine among women, not inferior to any man. The two of them have developed feelings for each other, but because they are both busy with official duties and stubborn, neither of them is willing to make it clear first. If we don't give them a push, this match made in heaven might be missed."

Peng Gang took the jade pendants, touched them, and played with them for a while: "It's not just that. Da Gang and San Niang are both pillars of our Northern Palace. Now that the situation has been stabilized, we need to use such joyous occasions to unite people's hearts and minds, to show that our Northern Palace is not only fierce in battle, but also warm in human relationships. Let the soldiers know that we fight to protect the warmth and order of humanity. This is the way of the king, and also a strategy to consolidate our foundation."

The difference between Peng Gang and Hong Yang lies in the fact that, in order to maintain the divinity and privileges of the Shentian family, Hong Yang and Yang like to act against human nature. To this day, they have not only not abolished the outdated and immoral system of separate camps for men and women, but have also enforced it even more strictly after arriving in Tianjing.

Peng Gang, on the other hand, tends to follow human nature and worldly customs.

On the day of Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang's wedding, the streets in front of Wuchang were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and even the buildings on both sides of the street were cleaned and decorated.

Apart from nominally belonging to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the traces left by the Heavenly Kingdom in the North Palace are becoming increasingly faint.

The wedding ceremony of Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang followed the ancient customs of the Han Dynasty in its entirety. The hall did not even have the tablets of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, nor any flags related to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

The only special feature was a pair of celebratory couplets written by Peng Gang himself on both sides of the auditorium: "Swords and flames unite our hearts, the winds and clouds of Hubei bear witness to our vows."

After the ceremony, Peng Gang rose, holding a golden goblet, and addressed the guests in a loud voice: "Today, General Luo and Director Su are happily married. This is a joyous occasion for our Northern Palace and a blessing for human relationships! May all the soldiers of our Northern Palace be like them, possessing both the courage to defeat the enemy on the battlefield and the fortune to establish a family and career! May they, husband and wife, be of one mind, their strength unbreakable, and achieve new feats! Let us drink this cup to the brim!"

"General He Luo! Councilor He Su! Long live the Northern King!"

Cheers erupted and toasts were exchanged.

After the banquet, Peng Gang and Wang Yunheng personally escorted the newlyweds to the entrance of the meticulously decorated bridal chamber.

Wang Yunheng took Su Sanniang's hand and personally put the pair of jade pendants that had been prepared on their wrists, saying gently, "I hope you will support each other in the future and be a loving couple."

Peng Gang then said to Luo Dagang in a serious tone, "Dagang, now that you have a family, you are not only a pillar of our Northern Palace Army, but also the mainstay of your family. Third Sister is a role model among the women of our Northern Palace, and you must treat her well."

Luo Dagang was so excited that his face turned red. He clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate obeys! I will certainly live up to Your Highness and the Princess's kindness and will not betray Third Sister's affection!"

Su San Niang also bowed gracefully: "Thank you, Your Highness and Your Highness, for your kindness!"

Peng Gang and Wang Yunheng exchanged a smile, then quietly withdrew and closed the door behind them.

The door was closed, shutting out the noise from outside.

Inside the bridal chamber, red candles burned brightly, and curtains hung low, creating a warm and tranquil atmosphere.

Looking at Su Sanniang, who was even more beautiful and charming without her hairpins and ornaments, Luo Dagang was momentarily at a loss for words. Seeing his dazed expression, Su Sanniang chuckled, took his hand, and said softly, "Silly boy, where did your courage to charge into battle go?"

Luo Dagang grasped her soft hand and began to disarm himself and charge into battle.
After Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang got married.

Considering that Su Sanniang has a position to hold and there are currently no suitable replacements for the two of them, and that the two cannot be by each other's side all the time, Peng Gang specially gave them a month's leave.

Because Luo Dagang's return to Wuchang from the Yuelushan camp to get married was kept secret in the front-line military camps, few people at the front, except for senior officers at the regimental level, knew about Luo Dagang's return to Wuchang to get married.

The Changsha authorities of the Qing court were quite slow to receive information. It wasn't until almost a month after Luo Dagang's wedding that they realized Luo Dagang was not at the Yuelu Mountain or Shuiluzhou camp.

Although the news came somewhat late, the Qing army in Changsha became much bolder upon hearing that Luo Dagang was not stationed at the Yuelu Mountain and Shuiluzhou camps. They even sent troops to cross the river at night to launch a surprise attack, hoping to recapture Shuiluzhou.

Li Qi, who was temporarily in charge of military affairs at the Yuelushan Camp and the Shuiluzhou Camp, had long been prepared for the Qing army's surprise attack. The two camps at Yuelushan and Shuiluzhou, especially the Shuiluzhou Camp, were extremely well-defended against the Qing army.

The Qing army's sneak attack on Changsha failed. After leaving behind more than two hundred corpses and more than one hundred prisoners, they fled back to Changsha in a sorry state, not daring to look westward.

News of the Qing army's failed raid on the Shuiluzhou camp in Changsha, which resulted in heavy losses, quickly reached Wuchang.

Unlike in the past, military intelligence from the Changsha front was previously sent to Wuchang via traditional express courier services.

This time, the military intelligence from the Changsha front was sent to Baling by express courier, and then from the newly established telegraph office in Baling to the telegraph headquarters in Wuchang.

This marked the first time the telegraph was used for military purposes on this land, allowing Peng Gang to grasp the latest developments at the front within a single day.

However, Peng Gang did not stop there. The telegraph line from Baling to the Yuelushan camp was also being set up in full swing. Once the telegraph line was completed, Peng Gang would be able to grasp the military situation on the front line in Changsha in an instant.

After the New Year, Peng Gang successively appointed and promoted three prefects: Guo Kuntao, the magistrate of Jiangxia County, was promoted to prefect of Wuchang Prefecture; Wang Dalei, the magistrate of Hanyang County, was promoted to prefect of Hanyang Prefecture; and Yang Xun, the magistrate of Huangmei County, was promoted to prefect of Huangzhou Prefecture.

Guo Kuntao, Wang Dalei, and Yang Xun thus became the first batch of prefects under Peng Gang.

In March, the spring chill lingered.

Spring plowing is in full swing across Hubei Province.

However, the warmth of spring cannot be felt in the heart of the Dabie Mountains.

Yang Xun, who had just taken office as the prefect of Huangzhou Prefecture, heard that the two counties under his jurisdiction, Huang'an and Macheng, were suffering from a spring famine, and that people had already starved to death.

While swiftly transferring grain from the relatively prosperous Huanggang County, which had ample grain reserves, to Huang'an and Macheng counties in the Dabie Mountains, they also sent people to truthfully report the situation in Huang'an and Macheng counties to Peng Gang.

Yang Xun knew that although Huanggang County had some grain reserves, Huangzhou Prefecture alone could not solve the spring famine problem in the Dabie Mountains.

To get through this crisis temporarily, we still need to rely on the central government in the Northern Palace to coordinate and assist.

He sent someone to report to Peng Gang on the spring famine situation in the Dabie Mountains of Huangzhou Prefecture and requested the central government in the northern palace to allocate grain.

Yang Xun did not remain idle. Instead, he led twenty or thirty followers, traveling lightly on donkeys, along the mountain paths of Huang'an and Macheng counties to conduct on-site research into the spring famine situation in these two counties.

Peng Gang encouraged the county magistrates under his jurisdiction to travel outside the county seat and to the countryside. When Yang Xun was still the county magistrate of Huangmei County, he often traveled outside the county seat and to the countryside. After being promoted to prefect, the energetic Yang Xun still maintained this habit, undeterred by the hardships and dangers of the mountain roads.

Entering the Dabie Mountains, what Yang Xun saw along the way made him feel as if a huge boulder was pressing on his heart.

It should be the season of renewal and busy planting, but the fields are deserted.

In the village, in front of the low, dilapidated thatched huts, villagers with sallow complexions leaned against the doorways, staring blankly at Yang Xun and his group, unwilling to move. The children's cries were weak and feeble, mostly from those lying on straw mats, who had exhausted even the strength to cry.

The bark of the nearby trees had been stripped away, and all the edible wild vegetables in the mountains had been plundered.

A sense of despair permeated the air; this was the annual, shocking spring famine that plagued the Dabie Mountains. Starving corpses rushed to the soup kitchens in each village, desperately seeking thin porridge.

The rice porridge distributed by the porridge sheds set up by the farmers' associations in various villages was very thin. This was not because the farmers' associations were embezzling, but because the farmers' associations in Huang'an and Macheng counties were newly established and the two counties were not major grain-producing counties, so their grain reserves were already very limited.

With porridge scarce and many starving people, the only option was to cook the porridge as thin as possible to keep people alive while waiting for grain to be transferred from Huangzhou Prefecture, Huanggang, and Wuchang for relief.

Yang Xun arrived at a village porridge stall and looked at the bubbling porridge in the pot, which was so thin that you could almost see your reflection in it. It was mixed with indescribable grass roots and tree bark.

Qiu Ersao, a director of the Huangzhou Prefecture Farmers' Association who was accompanying Yang Xun, said: "Prefect Yang, last year's harvest was not enough to eat, and even the seeds were used up. Most villagers in Huang'an and Macheng counties do not even have the strength to work in the fields. Before the grain transferred from the prefecture and the three towns of Wuhan arrives, the Farmers' Association can only temporarily keep the starving people alive."

Qiu Ersao was one of the elders of Pingzaishan and had a very long tenure, but she still addressed Yang Xun respectfully as Prefect.

“The mountain roads are rugged and difficult to travel. Even if grain from Huanggang is transported into the mountains, it will take time. During this period, I thank Director Qiu for his help.”

Respect between people is mutual. Yang Xun didn't mind that Qiu Ersao was a woman, and cupped his hands in greeting. Just then, several white-haired old men knelt down before Yang Xun, tears streaming down their faces: "Your Honor! Save us! In previous years at this time, they had already... they had already resorted to cannibalism!"

Although there were landlords in the Dabie Mountains in the past, ordinary landlords did not have much surplus grain. As for large landlords, there were some, but not many.

The reason why the ruling order in Huang'an and Macheng counties has been able to be maintained without collapsing and without large-scale starvation is because of the grain confiscated from local wealthy households during last year's land reform.

With trembling hands, Yang Xun helped several elderly people up. If the spring famine in the Dabie Mountains were left unchecked as the Qing government had done in the past, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Starvation was inevitable, and those young men who were lucky enough to survive had no choice but to take risks and become bandits in the mountains in order to live.

At that time, the security situation in Huangzhou Prefecture and even the entire eastern Hubei region will deteriorate completely, and banditry will spread like wildfire. Even the originally peaceful Huanggang County will probably not be able to escape unscathed.

Yang Xun mounted his donkey and said to his attendants, "Immediately return to the government office to prepare the documents. I must go to Wuchang at once to meet His Highness the Northern King!"

When Peng Gang promoted Yang Xun to the position of prefect of Huangzhou, he rewarded Yang Xun with a fine horse. However, Yang Xun cherished the horse and only rode it on flat ground within the territory of Huangzhou. When traveling long distances, Yang Xun preferred to ride a donkey.

Furthermore, donkeys are more convenient for traversing mountain paths, so Yang Xun chose to ride a donkey in and out of the Dabie Mountains.

Within a few days, Yang Xun arrived in Wuchang and went directly to the West Flower Hall of the Northern Prince's Mansion to meet Peng Gang without even changing his clothes.

Peng Gang was already aware of the spring famine in the Dabie Mountains of Huangzhou Prefecture and had already requested grain from Huangzhou Prefecture. When he saw Yang Xun come to Wuchang to see him in person, Peng Gang's heart sank.

The famine in the Dabie Mountains is probably much more severe than he anticipated.

Peng Gang listened to Yang Xun's report.

When Yang Xun described in detail the dire situation in the Dabie Mountains and bluntly pointed out the serious consequences that the spring famine might cause, with starving people everywhere and bandits rising up everywhere, Peng Gang frowned deeply.

"The situation in Huang'an and Macheng is so dire." Peng Gang surveyed the officials in the West Flower Hall and asked in a deep voice.

"What good ideas do you all have?"

Wang Dalei replied, "Of course, we will open the granaries and distribute relief to the disaster victims. Hanyang Prefecture has already collected more than 13,000 shi of various grains for Huangzhou Prefecture, and some of the grains have already been loaded onto ships and transported to Huanggang City."

Opening granaries and distributing relief to disaster victims was the most common practice in dealing with famine relief throughout history.

Wang Dalei emphasized the matter of Hanyang Prefecture raising grain for Huangzhou Prefecture, while glossing over how to solve the spring famine in Huangzhou Prefecture. Clearly, his speech was more like seeking credit than offering advice.

Peng Gang was not satisfied with this answer. He looked at Yang Xun and asked, "Yang Xun, what are your thoughts? Just say it."

Of the three newly promoted prefects, only Yang Xun had been away from the three towns of Wuhan for a long time, but Peng Gang knew Yang Xun quite well.

He knew perfectly well that of his three prefects, Yang Xun was the one with the most ideas and the strongest abilities.

Yang Xunxian had already prepared a plan. He stepped forward and said clearly, "Your Highness is wise! Opening granaries and distributing relief can certainly solve the immediate crisis and save lives, but it is not a long-term solution. Unconditional relief will not only deplete the huge treasury reserves, but may also create some lazy people, and it will not be beneficial to the long-term development of Huangzhou. I believe that at this time, we should adopt a work-for-relief policy."

At this point, Yang Xun paused, glancing up slightly to observe Peng Gang's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

Peng Gang gestured for Yang Xun to continue explaining in detail: "Explain in detail."

"Your Highness, the official roads within Huangzhou Prefecture have been in disrepair for many years, making them rugged and difficult to traverse. This greatly hinders the movement of merchants and goods in and out of the Dabie Mountains, and also restricts the deployment of troops," Yang Xun explained clearly.

“There are many starving people in the Dabie Mountains now, and young and middle-aged laborers are idle. We can take this opportunity to provide relief to the disaster victims in the name of the government, and at the same time recruit these starving people as laborers to repair and widen the main official roads within Huangzhou Prefecture! In this way, we can ensure spring planting this year and also plan for the long term.”

As Yang Xun spoke, his thoughts became clearer and his tone more forceful: "We can provide rations to the laborers who participated in the road construction according to the standards for laborers recruited by His Highness during his western expedition, ensuring that their families do not starve. At the same time, we will pay them a certain amount of wages so that they will have surplus money to buy seeds and store grain after returning home, preparing for the resumption of production in the future. In this way, the money and grain paid by the government will not be a mere consumption, which is one benefit."

Secondly, with smoother roads, business travel will inevitably become more frequent, which can revitalize local commerce, increase tax revenue, and in the long run, the investment made today will surely be recouped in the future.

Thirdly, and this is also a point that I believe is extremely important, Your Highness has the ambition to conquer the world. In the future, whether you launch a western expedition to Xiangfan, a northern expedition to the Central Plains, or an eastern expedition to Anhui, the mobilization of your army and the transportation of provisions will all depend on convenient transportation.

At this time, the laborers were organized, given initial training and management, and an effective recruitment and deployment system was established to cultivate talent. When the prince needed to wage war in the future, the strongest and most capable could be selected directly from these laborers who had experience in road construction and were familiar with organizational discipline. This was far more efficient than temporarily conscripting laborers, and in effect, it was preparation for future military operations, honing the strength of the people.

Although there have been recent reports that Wei Changhui's Northern Expeditionary Army has marched toward the capital and is gradually advancing towards it, Yang Xun has always been a local official and knows nothing about military affairs.

However, Yang Xun believed from the bottom of his heart that with the Northern Expeditionary Army's bandit-like behavior, it would be difficult for them to capture the capital. He was more optimistic about Peng Gang's future Northern Expedition.

This is also why, when various forces of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom passed through Huangmei County in turn, Yang Xun, who was then the magistrate of Huangmei County, chose Peng Gang over everyone else and surrendered to Peng Gang.

Although Peng Gang knew that Yang Xun had said so much, and that his words were incredibly persuasive, implementing Yang Xun's ideas would require a huge amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.

However, Yang Xun's remarks were indeed pleasing to the ear and, among all the suggestions so far, best aligned with Peng Gang's pragmatic and long-term governance philosophy, making him the most satisfied with the proposal.

“This is an excellent plan!” Peng Gang pondered for a moment and made his decision.

"In the past, the Qing government was incompetent and ignorant, treating the people like dirt and ignoring the famine in the Dabie Mountains! But we cannot do that, the people of the Dabie Mountains are also my children."

Effective immediately, the road repair project within Huangzhou Prefecture will commence in the form of a work-for-relief program. The necessary funds and provisions will be directly allocated by the Imperial Treasury. I will assign a group of officials skilled in project calculation and laborer management, as well as scholars who passed the imperial examination last year, to your command to be specifically responsible for this matter.

"Yang Xun, this matter concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Go forth and do it. Do not fail my trust, nor the hopes of the people of Huangzhou."

"Your humble servant obeys! I will do my utmost to repay Your Highness's kindness and relieve the people from their suffering!" Yang Xun bowed excitedly and accepted the order.

After the meeting, upon hearing that Peng Gang was going to transfer funds and grain to Huangzhou Prefecture for work relief, Peng Yi found Peng Gang and said, "The imperial treasury still has a large surplus of silver and money, which is sufficient to meet the work relief policy for road construction in Xiangfan and Huangzhou Prefecture."

However, with the Holy Treasury's current reserves, dealing with both situations simultaneously is somewhat strained. Moreover, the Holy Treasury also needs to maintain food reserves for unforeseen circumstances.

The introduction of commercial taxes in Hankou facilitated tea and silk trade with Western countries, in addition to the silver and money seized from enemy forces during historical investigations.

Saint Cull has no shortage of money for the time being, but it is relatively short of food.

Peng Gang has two major tasks to undertake soon: to levy taxes on Xiangfan and Huangzhou prefectures to build roads as a form of work-for-relief, which will require astronomical amounts of grain.

And this doesn't even include the grain needed for land reform, the garrisoning of troops in various places, especially the Yuelushan Camp and the Shuiluzhou Camp.

“Since we still have enough money, we can send people to purchase grain from other places, even if the price is higher. There are many major grain-producing prefectures around us. If we can’t buy enough in Hubei, we can buy from the major grain-producing prefectures in Hunan. If we can’t buy enough in Hunan, we can buy from Jiangxi. We can’t let ourselves be held back by our own bladders,” Peng Gang said.

"Don't be stingy with money. Money lying in the vault is just inanimate. Only money that is in circulation can play a greater role."

At present, Peng Gang has only integrated four prefectures in the Hunan region, and has not yet started collecting land tax.

The fact that the imperial granary could not simultaneously support the work-for-relief projects in Xiangfan and Huangzhou was only temporary.

Hunan is the granary of the world. Once more production areas in Hunan are integrated this year, and some prefectures and counties begin to levy land taxes, Peng Gang will no longer be troubled by food problems in the short term.

After the civil service examinations were held last year and the administrative school was put on the right track, the number of literate officials under Peng Gang increased significantly, and their administrative capabilities were greatly enhanced.

Back in his study in the inner quarters, Peng Gang summoned Liu Rong and Liu Fan, the brothers.

In addition to selecting a group of officials who were proficient in engineering calculations and laborer management for Yang Xun, fifteen scholars from Huangmei County who had passed the imperial examinations the previous year were also specially selected for Yang Xun.

Even Liu Fan and Peng Gang were assigned to Yang Xun to be in charge of the work-for-relief projects and the recruitment of laborers in Huangzhou Prefecture.

After all, it is already March, and in just over a month, we will be sending troops to Xiangfan. It is time to put the matter of recruiting laborers on the agenda.

The Dabie Mountains in Huangzhou Prefecture suffered a spring famine, and Peng Gang's large-scale requisition of money and grain from Huangzhou Prefecture and the large-scale conscription of laborers could not be kept secret.

The news soon reached Changsha and Nanchang.

The reactions varied among officials at all levels in Changsha, Nanchang, and Hefei, which can also be interpreted as the Qing government's Hunan, Jiangxi, and Anhui authorities.

(End of this chapter)