1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 372 The finishing touch

Emperor Xianfeng felt a metallic sweetness rush to his throat, but in order not to lose face in front of his ministers, he forced himself to swallow it.

The tide of the war in the north gradually turned in favor of the Qing army. With a glimmer of hope, Emperor Xianfeng finally saw a ray of light.

He originally planned to eliminate the Taiping rebels who had fled north outside the capital, then transfer troops from Henan to Xiangfan, and use Xiangfan as a springboard to advance on the three towns of Wuhan and Jingzhou, joining forces with the Qing army in Hunan to attack the Taiping rebels in Hubei from the north and south, compressing their space for activity, and eventually completely annihilating them.

Who would have thought that Xiangfan would be lost so quickly and so completely.

With the loss of Xiangfan, Emperor Xianfeng's original plans were completely thwarted.

According to the urgent document submitted by Qi Junzao, the reason why Xiangyang was lost so quickly was because Hai Ying, the prefect of Xiangyang, and Shao Heling, the general of Xiangyang, colluded with the enemy and defected in the face of battle.

When the short-haired Mao rebels fled west last year, only one prefect and one county magistrate surrendered to them. This time, however, all the civil and military officials have been gathered together.

Who knows where the short-haired tyrants will conquer next? And how many local officials, both civil and military, will surrender to them?
Thinking of this, an unprecedented, bone-chilling cold instantly swept over Emperor Xianfeng's entire body, even overshadowing his fear of the Northern Expeditionary Army outside the city.

"Xiangfan... Xiangfan..."

Emperor Xianfeng first muttered to himself in a daze, and then, his accumulated fear, anxiety, humiliation and raging anger, like a powder keg that had been lit, suddenly erupted.

Where is Chong Lun, the Governor-General of Hubei, now?

Enraged, Emperor Xianfeng slammed his fist on his desk, causing his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to jump up, and demanded to know the whereabouts of Chonglun, the governor of Hubei.

Although Emperor Xianfeng was relatively tolerant of the Manchus, his tolerance had its limits.

Throughout the entire Xiangfan Campaign, Chong Lun, the governor of Hubei, remained completely out of the public eye, which made Emperor Xianfeng truly unable to tolerate him.

"Chonglun is currently in Taiyuan, Shanxi." Su Shun, who had remained silent all along, reported Chonglun's whereabouts to Emperor Xianfeng.

"That lackey Chonglun is the governor of Hubei! What is he doing in Shanxi? Does he want me to appoint him as the governor of Shanxi? I ​​have treated him well! I have entrusted him with an important post in charge of the frontier! His family has received the emperor's favor, and this is how he repays me? Where does this lackey place the Qing Dynasty and its people?! Where does he place the dignity of my ancestors?!"

Emperor Xianfeng suddenly turned to Qi Junzao and the other Grand Councilors who were terrified in the hall, and roared.

"Issue the decree! Issue the decree immediately! Strip Chonglun of all his titles and ranks! Remove his peacock feather and yellow jacket! Lock him up and send him to the capital! Once he is there, there is no need for further trial. Directly hand him over to the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review, and have them quickly determine his sentence! After the sentence is determined, there is no need to wait for the autumn execution! Immediately bind him and take him to the execution ground for beheading! I want all the civil and military officials in the land to see what the consequences are for deserting in the face of battle, abandoning one's post, and abandoning cities and territories!"

The last time Emperor Xianfeng learned of Chonglun's whereabouts was in Luoyang, Henan. Only a few days had passed, and Chonglun had already fled all the way from Luoyang to Taiyuan, Shanxi.

Chonglun was a high-ranking Manchu official personally promoted from a military secretary to the governor of Hubei by Emperor Xianfeng at the beginning of his reign. Chonglun's performance made Emperor Xianfeng feel humiliated, angry at his lack of ambition, and extremely disappointed. He also blamed himself for his poor judgment in recognizing and employing people, which led to Xiang's rapid downfall.

If Chonglun were still in Henan, Emperor Xianfeng would have considered giving him a chance to atone for his crimes and allow him to gather provisions and troops in Henan to prepare for the future recapture of Xiangyang and Fancheng.

They didn't even dare to stay in Henan for long, and fled all the way to Taiyuan, Shanxi. Such people who fear the enemy like tigers, let alone those from the Plain Yellow Banner, could no longer be used even if they were from the Bordered Yellow Banner.

During the Qing Dynasty, it was extremely rare for high-ranking Manchu officials, especially regional governors, to be executed so swiftly and without mercy.

This indicates that Emperor Xianfeng's fear and anger had reached their peak at this moment.

The last time Emperor Xianfeng was so furious with Manchu officials was when Akdong'a, a Hubei Green Standard Army brigade commander, and his brother Batu, a Guangdong Green Standard Army deputy commander, faked their deaths and fled to Anqing during the Battle of Wuchang, committing the crime of deceiving the emperor.

Last time, despite his anger, Emperor Xianfeng ultimately showed leniency in sentencing, ordering them to be hanged immediately and leaving them with intact corpses. This time, however, Xianfeng showed absolutely no mercy.

Several Manchu officials were about to step forward to plead for Chonglun when, unsurprisingly, they were rebuffed by the furious Emperor Xianfeng.

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Qi Junzao trembled all over and kowtowed repeatedly to accept the order.

"All of you, step back," Emperor Xianfeng said impatiently, waving his hand.

After the officials took their leave, Emperor Xianfeng kept only Su Shun behind to discuss matters.

"Xiangfan is a crucial point between the North and the South. If Xiangfan is in the hands of our Great Qing, then our Great Qing can station troops and supplies in Xiangfan and advance down the Han River to the three towns of Wuhan. Now that Xiangfan has fallen into the hands of the short-haired rebels, I am worried that the short-haired rebels will take the opportunity to flee north. Who do you think should be sent to lead the recapture of Xiangfan?"

Emperor Xianfeng looked at Su Shun and asked anxiously.

Su Shun was one of the few capable and pillar-bearing officials among the Manchu bannermen, and Emperor Xianfeng trusted and relied on him greatly.

Xiangfan was extremely important in the struggle between the North and the South, and Emperor Xianfeng was eager to recover Xiangfan before the Maoist regime could establish a firm foothold.

Emperor Xianfeng did not want to experience a second time that the battle lines had been pushed to the gates of the capital by the rebels in western Guangdong.

Emperor Xianfeng mobilized all the cavalry from outside the Great Wall and all the troops that could be mobilized from the north to defend the capital, but even then, he could not hold Tongzhou.

It wasn't until they reached the outskirts of Beijing that they were able to halt the northward advance of the Taiping rebels, thanks to their superior heavy artillery and cavalry.

Emperor Xianfeng dared not even think about what would happen if the short-haired man fled north to the capital.

"Your Majesty, this servant believes it is not advisable to divide our forces in Xiangfan at this time," Su Shun said frankly.

"It is currently the rainy season. Our Qing Dynasty's inland waterway navy is no match for the short-haired rebels. During the rainy season, we will march south to attack Xiangfan, using our weakness to defeat the short-haired rebels' strength."

Our Great Qing Dynasty is no match for the short-haired rebels. Our cavalry is our strength. Even if we were to launch a southern expedition against Xiangfan, it would be best to do so after winter, when the rivers are frozen and the land is firm.

In my humble opinion, the most urgent task is to concentrate our forces to suppress the Taiping rebels in the outskirts of Beijing, in order to stabilize the hearts and minds of the people in the capital and even the entire nation.

Su Shun was well aware of the importance of Xiangfan, and he also longed to recapture Xiangfan as soon as possible, but Su Shun did not think it was a good idea to launch a southern expedition against Xiangfan during the rainy season.

Acting too hastily will only backfire.

Furthermore, compared to the long-term concerns of Xiangfan, the immediate worries of the outskirts of Beijing are the problems that urgently need to be addressed.

The battle in the outskirts of Beijing is currently at a critical stage. If troops are diverted to the south to attack Xiangfan now, it will inevitably lead to one problem being solved only to create another, resulting in a situation where one cannot attend to one thing while another is being dealt with.

"What if the short-haired rebels use Xiangfan as a springboard to move north and merge with the long-haired rebels who are fleeing north?" Emperor Xianfeng expressed his concern.

“The short-haired Mao are cautious in their military operations. They won’t rashly rush north without thorough preparation. Furthermore, with figures like Wulantai, Luo Bingzhang, Zhang Liangji, and Jiang Zhongyuan in Changsha keeping the short-haired Mao in check, they dare not launch a large-scale northward offensive,” Su Shun said.

Su Shun not only read all the battle reports on both the Taiping Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion, but also had them compiled and bound into a book for his frequent reference.

Therefore, although Su Shun was far away in the capital and did not personally go to the front line, he had a certain understanding of both the Taiping Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the military styles of the long-haired and short-haired tribes were two extremes.

The long-haired Khmer were aggressive in their military tactics, while the short-haired Khmer were more cautious and preferred a steady, methodical approach.

Su Shun believed that given the Mao's fighting style, they would not rashly march north and attack the capital without adequate preparation and with the Qing army in Changsha threatening their rear.

The Qing army performed terribly on the southern battlefield, especially in the Hunan and Hubei regions, but the initiative on the northern battlefield remained with the Qing court. "Issue an imperial edict to quickly eliminate the Taiping rebels in the outskirts of Beijing and to end the fighting in the outskirts of Beijing before winter." After much deliberation, Emperor Xianfeng finally made his decision.

Meanwhile, at the Northern Expeditionary Army's main camp in the eastern suburbs of the capital.

Because they were in the front-line war zone, in order to prevent the Qing army from concentrating its forces to break through, the more than 50,000 Taiping soldiers set up a triangular camp in the eastern suburbs of the capital, with each camp supporting the others.

This deployment increased the depth of the camp, making it difficult for the Qing army to break through. Even if the Qing army occasionally breached one or two camps, the entire eastern suburban camp would not collapse completely, and there would still be room for recovery.

Of course, the disadvantages are also obvious, namely, the sacrifice of the frontal width of the camp makes it difficult to encircle a city of the scale of the capital.

Wei Changhui, Lin Fengxiang, and others did not lack the desire to extend their camp to encircle the capital, but rather the inability to do so.

Apart from the cities that had to be defended, such as Tongzhou, Dong'an, Wuqing, and Tianjin, the troops that could be transferred from the rear were basically transferred to the front lines by Wei Changhui and Lin Fengxiang.

Li Kaifang once proposed a radical suggestion: to send all troops directly to the capital and achieve victory in one battle.

However, Wei Changhui did not adopt his suggestion.

A city that 50,000 men cannot be besieged may not be besieged by 70,000 men, and it does not change the fact that they are outnumbered.

Furthermore, most of the old comrades in the south have already been transferred to the front lines. Adding more than 20,000 new recruits from the north would have a very limited effect and would not change the course of the war.

Last year, Wei Changhui suffered greatly from the lack of a rear base, enduring hunger and loss of manpower since the beginning of winter. This year, Wei Changhui did not want to suffer the same fate, so he insisted on staying in Tianjin, leaving a way out for himself and the Northern Expeditionary Army.

Inside the central military tent on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Prince Wei Changhui frowned, his gaze fixed on the rough sand table in the center of the tent.

Li Kaifang stood to one side, arms crossed, staring silently at the gray sky outside the tent.

The incessant gunfire outside the tent irritated him.

"He's been resigned again!"

As the gunfire outside the tent gradually subsided, the tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a pungent smell of gunpowder and blood rushed into the tent. Lin Fengxiang strode in, his face showing undisguised exhaustion and resentment.

"Our brothers charged three times, but were pushed back by the Qing demons' guns and cannons! Senggelinqin and Shengbao's cavalry were patrolling the flanks. As soon as our brothers broke formation, their cavalry rushed up and fired arrows. Without enough artillery fire, they couldn't get close to the city walls at all!"

With gunpowder running out, the number of veterans was severely reduced.

The Northern Expeditionary Army was finding it increasingly difficult to counter the Qing cavalry in open field battles.

At the beginning of the attack on the capital, facing the raids and harassment of the Qing army cavalry, the Northern Expeditionary Army was still able to resist the raids of the Qing army cavalry by relying on the experienced veterans in the army and the limited gunpowder, with the pikemen and musketeers forming formations to cover each other, and inflicting casualties on the Qing army cavalry no less than their own.

Now, facing the harassment of the Qing army's cavalry, they are becoming increasingly powerless.

Lacking veteran soldiers to lead the charge, they often couldn't even form a proper square formation. Even when they did, their formations were not as solid as they used to be when facing attacks from Qing cavalry.

Wei Changhui looked up at Lin Fengxiang, whose face was covered in dust, and asked, "What about the casualties?"

As for the battle situation, Wei Changhui had already gotten the answer from Lin Fengxiang's performance and the sound of gunfire that had just reached the tent, so there was no need to ask any further questions.

Lin Fengxiang, his mouth parched, grabbed the water jug ​​on the table and took a big gulp. Water mixed with sweat dripped from his chin: "It's another 30% more than yesterday! Especially the old brothers, the losses are too great. The Qing devils are hiding in the trenches, houses in the suburbs, and behind the arrow towers, firing guns and cannons."

Without artillery cover or any cover, our men charging forward would be sitting ducks! Even if they dug trenches and forked ahead, the Qing devils would send troops to harass our soldiers who were working on the earthworks; it would be impossible to defend against them.

A deathly silence fell over the tent.

The only saving grace is that our situation is much better now than it was before we attacked Tianjin at the end of last year, when we were living in the open and lacking food and clothing.

Li Kaifang broke the silence: "The grain supplies can last for more than three months. It's all thanks to the capture of Tongzhou in early April, otherwise we would be worrying about not only the women but also the grain supplies."

Although at the beginning of the year, after the Qing army discovered that the Northern Expeditionary Army's advance was aimed directly at Tongzhou, a key transportation hub, they frantically organized manpower and vehicles to transport grain from Tongzhou's granaries to the capital day and night. What could not be transported was even set on fire in a mad frenzy, preferring to burn it all rather than leave it to the Taiping Army.

Fortunately, the Taiping army advanced quickly enough to capture Tongzhou and salvage a batch of grain; otherwise, tens of thousands of people would be without food or provisions.

"Thinking about that fire in Tongzhou still hurts my heart!" Lin Fengxiang said bitterly.

"Dozens of granaries burned for days and nights, the flames turning half the sky red! We fought desperately to save them, but we only managed to salvage a little over 80,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) from the fire..."

Li Kaifang chimed in, his tone tinged with lingering fear and relief: "Yes, it was these 80,000 shi of grain that kept us going from the beginning of the year until now, ensuring that the brothers had enough to eat and stabilizing morale."

The Battle of Tongzhou marked the first time since the Northern Expedition that they had gained a respite regarding the food issue and no longer had to fight for food.

However, while the food problem was temporarily solved, another fatal problem followed: the shortage of rouge.

“Grain can be grown and requisitioned, but how do we requisition women?” Wei Changhui sighed deeply, his face full of worry.

"Zhili is not like Jiangnan, nor is it like when we were in Hunan and Hubei. We are unfamiliar with this place, and the Qing dynasty has extremely strict control over rouge. We simply cannot find a stable source of sulfur and saltpeter. The little rouge we seized was a drop in the ocean. Meanwhile, the Qing dynasty seems to have an inexhaustible supply of rouge, and they can use it freely every day."

Li Kaifang slammed his fist on the table: "Damn it! Our old brothers are not afraid of fighting to the death with knives against knives and guns against guns! But now, we have all the strength, but we can't get to Qing Yao!"

Our cannons dared not fire rashly; we meticulously calculated the powder dosage with each shot! Our muskets and matchlock guns were practically useless; we could only watch helplessly as the Qing forces suppressed us with firearms!

The Northern Expeditionary Army marched north and fought continuously, consuming a huge amount of gunpowder. Its supply lines had long been cut off by the Qing army, and it had to raise its own food and military supplies.

Limited gunpowder had to be prioritized for the most critical battles, leaving the frontline troops with far less firepower than the Qing army. The Qing army recognized this advantage, which allowed them to rely on fortifications to continuously fire cannons and muskets, greatly increasing the difficulty and casualties for the Taiping army in their assaults.

Li Kaifang was not afraid to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Qing army, even though the Qing army had a numerical advantage.

The Qing army was hesitant to advance and engage in combat, a trait shared by both the southern and northern Qing armies.

As long as he could charge to the front of the Qing army, even if eight or nine out of ten of his brothers were new recruits, Li Kaifang was confident that he could rout the Qing army.

The key issue is that the veterans of the Northern Expeditionary Army are gradually dying out, making it difficult for them to charge into the Qing army's lines despite heavy casualties, as they did at the beginning of the year.

The current tactic is that the Qing army stays behind fortifications and fires cannons from a distance, making it difficult for the Northern Expeditionary Army to charge to the front lines.

It was the Qing army's favorite and most comfortable fighting style, but it was the most difficult fighting style for the Northern Expeditionary Army.

This feeling of having strength but being unable to use it is incredibly frustrating.

Wei Changhui stood up, walked to the tent entrance, and looked at the distant, indistinct outline of the capital city. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Food has kept us alive, but without gunpowder, the capital city will be hard to breach."

The Northern Expedition was just one step away from completion, but it was precisely this final step that had been so difficult to break through.

(End of this chapter)