1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 9 Plan
"The government's original intention in organizing the local militia was to suppress bandits and keep the people at peace. However, the local militia in your county has been running for five years, and the number of bandits has not decreased. Instead, the local villagers have been disturbed by the militia."

As you just saw, to put it bluntly, the local militia in your county has gathered all the local scoundrels and ruffians together. Respectable young men would rather pay taxes and labor service fees than join the militia and associate with them.

Shi Dakai recounted the story in detail.

"Zhang Jiaxiang, a bandit from Longshan, together with Xu Ayun, gathered more than a thousand people. Before the New Year, they plundered Tongling and used weapons and cannons they had acquired from who-knows-where to loot the home of He Shengyuan in Tongling. They also threatened to attack Qishixu and the county town. The county magistrate was furious and angrily rebuked Zhou Heming in court for being useless."

If Zhou Heming's militia continues to only go through the motions without putting in any real effort, he'll probably have to hand over his position as militia leader to Qiu Gusan.

After Shi Dakai's explanation, Peng Gang understood that Zhou Heming knew his own militia was useless and wanted to recruit the Shi brothers as cannon fodder.

"What are your plans, Brother Dakai?" Peng Gang wanted to know what Shi Dakai's plans were, whether he would join the militia or not.

"If we have the militia as a cover, it will greatly benefit the development of our religion and the training of our followers. The militia even provides food and wages. Using the money and food from the Qing Dynasty to support the followers of my God Worshipping Society is such a good thing, why not do it?" Shi Dakai said with a light smile.

It seems that the thousand or so bandits of Longshan were nothing more than a bunch of chickens and dogs in the eyes of this seventeen-year-old boy, not worth fearing.

The so-called "bandits" were the armed forces of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Zhang Jiaxiang was originally from Gaoyao, Guangdong. He later fled to Guangxi and worked as a laborer. He joined the Heaven and Earth Society, met the leaders of the Heaven and Earth Society in Guangdong and Guangxi, and became a key member.

In 1846, Zhang Jiaxiang led several hundred men in an uprising in Hepu, Guangdong. The uprising was short-lived, and the local Qing army quickly wiped them out.

Zhang Jiaxiang had no choice but to lead his twenty-nine remaining followers in a sorry state to flee into the Ten Thousand Mountains, where they sought refuge with Li Shichang of the Heaven and Earth Society in Qinzhou, Guangdong.

After lying low in the mountains of Guangdong and Guangxi for two years, Zhang Jiaxiang gradually recovered his strength and showed signs of starting another uprising.

Recently, he has colluded with Xu Ayun, a key member of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) in Guixian County, and has been active in the Longshan and Lianhuashan mountainous areas in northwestern Guixian County for a long time.

The Heaven and Earth Society's armed organization was loose and its discipline was lax.

Zhang Jiaxiang claimed to have over a thousand followers, but in reality, his most trusted confidants numbered only a couple hundred at most.

Given the influence of the Shi family in Nabang Village and Qishixu, it wouldn't be a problem for them to gather an armed force of two or three hundred people for self-defense.

Shi Dakai certainly had the ability to not be afraid of Zhang Jiaxiang.

To have such a mindset and insight at the age of seventeen is truly remarkable; it's no wonder that the older Shi brothers and even his uncles would place their hopes for the future of the entire clan on him.

Taking this opportunity, Peng Gang inquired about the specific situation in Gui County from Shi Dakai, who answered all his questions without reservation.

According to Shi Da, there are four armed forces in Guixian County: the Green Standard Army stationed in the county seat and at various strategic passes, the local militia, the Heaven and Earth Society, and the God Worshipping Society.

The identities of the four groups were not clearly defined; many people had multiple identities, and there were quite a few members of the local militia who believed in the God Worshipping Society. Shi Dakai also recruited more than a dozen Green Standard Army soldiers and local militia members into the church in Qishixu. As for the believers who switched from the Heaven and Earth Society to the God Worshipping Society, there were even more.

However, the local militia and the God Worshippers have relatively clear spheres of influence. The barren mountain villages in the Lianhua Mountain and Longshan Mountain valleys north of Guixian County are mostly within the God Worshippers' sphere of influence, with five or six villages having converted to the religion.

The most typical example is Nabang Village, where Shi Dakai lived. Nabang Village was basically the headquarters of the God Worshipping Society in Guixian County.

The relatively wealthy villages around Guixian County and along the Yushui River were mostly within the sphere of influence of the government and local militias.

Qingfeng Village, where Peng Gang lives, falls within the sphere of influence of the local militia.

Although Qingfeng Village was impoverished in Peng Gang's eyes, it turned out to be a relatively wealthy village in Guixian County.

The local militia's sphere of influence, the clan chief, and the village's most powerful gentry all had long-standing grudges against them.

The multiple negative buffs further strengthened Peng Gang's determination to leave Qingfeng Village and develop his own power by opening up mountains and burning charcoal in Pingzaishan.

At present, the only professions in Xunzhou Prefecture that can provide a living and train soldiers without arousing suspicion, besides the militia, are charcoal burners.

Having benefited greatly, Peng Gang then inquired about the current situation in Xunzhou Prefecture from Feng Yunshan, Shi Dakai, and others.

Based on information provided by Feng, Shi, and others, Peng Gang analyzed that the Heaven and Earth Society bandits currently active and restless in Guangxi were the real threat to the government.

As for the God Worshipping Society, although it competed with local militias and gentry for territory, it did not openly raise its flag in rebellion like the Heaven and Earth Society. The God Worshipping Society was nominally a folk religious organization that encouraged people to do good.

During this period, the government's attitude towards the God Worshipping Society was more one of vigilance than hostility.

In many counties, the local militias were indeed at odds with the God Worshipping Society. For example, in Guiping County, the local militias were even at odds with the God Worshipping Society.

However, the attitude of the local militia did not represent the government; at best, it only represented the attitude of the local gentry, especially the Tujia gentry.

Because Hakka gentry had long been suppressed and marginalized by the government, their attitude towards the government was not as ambiguous as that of Tujia gentry. On the contrary, many Hakka gentry were flirting with the Heaven and Earth Society and the God Worshipping Society.

For example, Wei Changhui from Jintian Village, Guiping County.

Later historical research, influenced by Marxist-Leninist historical views and class narratives, has led mainstream historians to intentionally emphasize the class attributes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom while downplaying the influence and contributions of the Hakka landlords in Guangxi to the uprising.

In fact, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was able to succeed thanks to the support of local Hakka landlords who were frustrated and unsuccessful.

The Heavenly Kingdom's high command issued a command to assemble at Jintian Village in western Guiping, taking into account that their largest financial backer, the Wei Changhui family, resided there. This would provide material support for the followers' military training.

There are generally two types of rebels: one is the impoverished whose basic survival standard is constantly being pushed down, who are forced to reconstruct the order of survival through violence in a materially desperate situation; the other is the speculator who makes a rational calculation on the scale of risk and reward, who hope to achieve a leapfrog leap in power and resources across social classes through violent means.

Xiao Chaogui, Yang Xiuqing, and most of the God Worshipping Society members who responded to the order to launch the uprising in Jintian belonged to the former group. Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and Hu Yihuang belonged to the latter group.

"What are your plans for the future?" Shi Dakai asked Peng Gang. "I can't make it in Qingfeng Village, so I plan to sell my property and develop in Pingzaishan." Peng Gang already had a plan.

Feng Yunshan and Shi Dakai were quite surprised by Peng Gang's decision.

The Peng family's main assets were their land. People in this era valued land even more than people in later generations valued real estate.

Unless it's absolutely necessary and they really can't survive, no one would consider mortgaging or selling their land.

Feng Yunshan praised Peng Gang's decision, believing that Peng Gang was no ordinary person. The principle that Feng Yunshan had spent three or four months figuring out in Guangxi seemed to have been understood by Peng Gang long ago.

Pingzai Mountain is located in a remote area with high mountains and dense forests, beyond the reach of the government. Charcoal burners are the poorest and most hopeless people in the area, and most of them are Hakka.

Taking all factors into account, Pingzai Mountain, like Zijing Mountain, is currently the most suitable place for missionary work in Xunzhou Prefecture.

Although there was no Shi Dakai in Guiping County, where Keping Mountain is located, there were Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing. Both of them were the most influential charcoal burner leaders in Zijing Mountain. Among the more than 3,000 charcoal burners who followed the Zijing Mountain cult, Xiao and Yang were the most influential and had the greatest appeal.

Even Feng Yunshan could hardly control Xiao Yang and the other two. Could Peng Gang, an outsider, succeed in developing in Guiping County?

Feng Yunshan was skeptical of this, believing that Peng Gang could not compete with Xiao and Yang in their home turf.

Xiao and Yang are a pair that give Feng Yunshan a lot of headaches.

The reason why Feng Yunshan has focused on missionary work in Guixian County since June of last year is largely because he has been gradually sidelined by Xiao Yang and others in Zijing Mountain.

Therefore, Feng Yunshan went to Guixian County to develop Protestant followers in order to counterbalance the Zijingshan faction led by Xiao Yang and others, and to balance the power within the sect.

Shi Dakai appeared somewhat disappointed.

Peng Gang could easily discern Shi Dakai's thoughts from his disappointed expression.

Shi Dakai hoped that he could stay in Guixian County and play a role similar to that of his cousin Shi Xiangzhen, assisting him in handling the county's educational affairs.

Unfortunately, having been given a second chance at life, Peng Gang was not content to remain subordinate to others; he wanted to cultivate and develop his own power.

Feng Yunshan, Shi Dakai, and others only stayed at Peng Gang's house for one night and left early in the morning.

Before leaving Qingfeng Village, Feng Yunshan led the Shi brothers to Peng Gang's ancestral home to give Peng Xianzhong's family a good talking-to.

They were warned that Peng Gang and his sister had joined the church and were now under the protection of the God Worshipping Society, and that they should stop trying to harm the Peng family.

The following afternoon, Peng Gang's three maternal uncles, Xiao Guoying, Xiao Guowei, and Xiao Guoda, traveled day and night, crossing mountains and valleys, and finally arrived at Qingfeng Village from Pingzai Mountain.

When the three uncles arrived at Peng Gang's courtyard, Peng Gang and his two siblings were smoking meat and fish.

Peng Gang picked up a piece of pork weighing about three pounds from the door panel, strung it with straw, and gave it to Wei Changgong as a thank you for Wei Changgong delivering a message to their family.

Seeing Peng standing alive and well in front of them, the three uncles were overjoyed.

Peng Gang and Peng Yi told their three uncles what had happened in the past few days. The three uncles were all indignant and comforted the three Peng siblings.

"When your father was alive, he not only owed our family nothing, but also helped us a lot. These beasts actually wanted to eat your family's bloodline! They've had no conscience at all!"

"Don't be afraid! Your uncle is here!"

“You have half the blood of the Xiao family flowing in your veins. Your mother died early, and your uncle will risk his life to protect your land and property.”

His own clansmen made him feel disheartened, but his three maternal uncles from his maternal grandfather's side offered him some comfort, and he felt a touch of warmth that should exist among family members.

When Peng Gang expressed his idea of ​​taking his younger siblings to Pingzaishan to make a living by burning charcoal, he unsurprisingly met with collective opposition from his three uncles.

For over two thousand years, the hierarchical ideology of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants has been deeply ingrained.

Even though the three uncles had little formal education, it didn't stop them from understanding the principle that all other pursuits are inferior except for studying.

"You're a scholar, how can you go and burn charcoal!"

"You should focus on your studies. If you're worried that your family might covet your land, your uncle can work as a long-term laborer for you!"

"Yes, what kind of scholar would go and burn charcoal! Doesn't he fear being ridiculed!"

Peng Gang had anticipated his uncles' reaction: "What's wrong with burning charcoal? There are 360 ​​professions, and every profession can produce an expert. Earning your own living is not shameful."

Besides, what kind of logic is it for an uncle to work as a long-term laborer for his nephew? Uncles all have families; if you all came to work for me, what would happen to my aunts and cousins?

Peng Gang was very close to his maternal grandparents' family and knew his three uncles well; they all had their own families.

Having his three uncles work as long-term laborers in their home was neither a long-term solution nor what he desired.

These days, all the charcoal burners in Pingzai Mountain are talented, and they speak very nicely.

Going to Pingzaishan to burn charcoal is more promising than staying in Qingfeng Village to farm and study.

(End of this chapter)