Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 1: The Fall of Tianjing
In the summer of the third year of Tongzhi's reign (1864), the city of Tianjing fell.

"General, Commander Quan has issued a strict order. All regiments entering Nanjing City must capture and kill the Taiping rebels within seven days. We would rather kill a hundred than let a single one go. Those who disobey this order will be severely punished."

"Damn it, I don't have the time to deal with this right now."

"General, Commander Quan is a strict commander of the army. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to disobey his orders."

"That's bullshit. The Ji Battalion of the Hunan Army is searching the whole city for treasures, but they leave all the dirty and tiring work to us. Did a donkey kick your head?" Zheng Guohui picked up the horsewhip and was about to whip him. The deputy general Zheng Jiabao beside him was so scared that he shrank his neck and dared not remind him again.

Zheng Guohui, who was riding on a horse, was wearing the hat and feather of a fifth-rank general. He was only in his twenties. He was tall and strong, and his eyes were filled with unquestionable coldness.

Zheng Guohui turned his horse back and pointed his whip at the burning Tianwang Palace in the distance, and said to his men:
"In the capture of Tianjing City, my Tongzhou militia made great contributions. Hundreds of our brothers died in the battle, but we climbed out of the pile of corpses along the way. Our military achievements are not inferior to those of his Xiangjun militia.

Now that we have entered the prosperous Qinhuai area, why should the Ji Camp rob money, food, and women, while my brothers in the Tongzhou militia have to fight to the death?

If you encounter suspected Taiping rebels, just disperse them, or arrest them if you don't mind the trouble. The important thing now is to search for valuables and make some extra money for the brothers.

We can’t come to this prosperous place and get nothing, right, brothers?

"General, you are wise. I will obey you without hesitation."

The Tongzhou militiamen wearing the "Yong" uniforms raised their swords and guns and cheered, and the scene was extremely lively.

Zheng Guohui nodded in satisfaction and directly ordered the militia teams to disperse and plunder along the streets to get the benefits first.

The militia of more than a thousand men quickly dispersed and began to plunder with great enthusiasm.

Zheng Guohui stood at the door of a teahouse, looking at the buildings on the surrounding streets, which were in ruins and corpses were scattered all over the ground. There were more than a dozen fires burning near and far, and the most raging fire was the one burning in Tianwang Palace.

The air was filled with the nauseating stench of corpses and the sounds of crying and screaming. It was truly a doomsday scene.

He couldn't help but sigh, and a deep feeling of powerlessness emerged in his heart.

It has been more than two years since the time travel, and Zheng Guohui feels like he is being swept into an irresistible torrent and cannot break free.

Zheng Guohui traveled through time in the spring of 1860, when Prince Zhong Li Xiucheng adopted the strategy of "encircling Wei to save Zhao" and destroyed the "Jiangnan Camp" for the second time. The imperial commissioner He Chun and the fierce general Zhang Guoliang all died in this battle.

He finally crawled out from the pile of dead bodies, grabbed a horse and broke out.

After this defeat, the Eight Banners and Green Camp troops of the Qing army in the entire Jiangnan region were almost wiped out in one battle. Emperor Xianfeng had no more soldiers available and could only entrust the task of suppressing the Taiping rebels to the local militia.

Zheng Guohui was born into a wealthy family in Tongzhou and was an officer who had survived many battles. Therefore, he was appointed as the garrison commander of Tongzhou. He returned to his hometown to recruit militia and formed an army, recruiting a total of more than 2,000 men.

So far in the campaign, nearly half of the troops have been killed or wounded.

In the past two years
Zheng Guohui witnessed too much killing and his heart became numb and cold.

He did not have many choices. As a descendant of the powerful Zheng family in Tongzhou area and a typical Han landlord, his stance was inherently incompatible with the Taiping rebels.

Recruiting Tongzhou militia is not only to protect the hometown, but also to protect oneself, and it is the only possibility to make a breakthrough in this chaotic world.

Zeng Guoquan's "Ji Camp" was the first Qing army to enter the Heavenly King's Palace. They dug out the hidden gold of the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan and pocketed it. In the end, in order to destroy the evidence, they simply burned down the Heavenly King's palace.

Looking at the billowing smoke rising into the sky from the raging fire in the distance, Zheng Guohui's heart was deeply hurt at this moment.

he knows

This peasant uprising, which lasted for 14 years and affected more than 500 states and counties, unveiled the weakness and suffering of the Chinese nation.

This laid the foundation for the collapse of the Qing Dynasty's rule and the rise of warlords, and was only the beginning of the Chinese nation's century-long decline.

After this phoenix-like rebirth, this great nation will surely rise again with a majestic posture that will attract the attention of the world and spread its national prestige to the whole world.

what can i do

Zheng Guohui had a plan in mind. He planned to lead his people to Southeast Asia to open up a new world.

As for the target
Zheng Guohui was still undecided whether to choose the Luzon Islands, the Dutch East Indies or Burma.

The Luzon Islands are certainly the best choice, but the Spanish colonists entrenched in the Luzon Islands are no pushovers, and their naval sailing fleet is quite powerful.

The current time is not ripe, and my own strength is not strong enough. I need to accumulate strength quietly.

"Reporting to the General, it is understood that Li Xiucheng failed to break out and was captured. He was carrying several carts of gold and silver valuables, all of which were seized by the Weiyang militia. A large number of gold coins, silver ingots, gems, gold ruyi and mutton-fat jade bi were all looted by the militia.

Among them, Weiyang militia leader Tao Jinben looted the most and hid it in the mansion..." A soldier on horseback reported the information he had gathered.

"Okay, I got it." Zheng Guohui waved his hand indifferently and said.

The city of Jinling was filled with huge wealth swept away by the Taiping rebels. How much could Li Xiucheng, the loyal king, take away?

Zheng Guohui remembered a legendary treasure clue.
It is said that the rise of Jiang Shoushan, a wealthy businessman in Nanjing in the late Qing Dynasty, originated from the Tianjing Rebellion.

Jiang Shoushan was from northern Jiangsu. He came to Nanjing with his father and used to make a living by driving donkeys.

After the Taiping rebels occupied Nanjing, he joined the Taiping Army to raise horses, was appreciated by Li Xiucheng, the King of Loyalty, and was promoted to the chief manager of donkeys and horses.

After the fall of Tianjing, he dug out 24 boxes of treasures buried by the Taiping Army in Qingliang Mountain. Since then, he became the richest man in Jinling and was called "Jiang Bancheng".

Thought of here
Zheng Guohui sneered, what a bullshit "Jiang Bancheng"?
The young master has taken a fancy to this batch of treasures. Whether purchasing a large Western sailing ship or building a ship, it will cost a lot of money, so you can only contribute it.

It didn't take long

The Tongzhou militiamen under Zheng Guohui returned with bags and bags of loot. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear, and their pockets were bulging. It was obvious that they had made a great harvest.

Hundreds of young and middle-aged men were also seized. Following orders from their superiors, all suspected Taiping rebels were to be executed. Zheng Guohui waved his hand and took them all away. The Tongzhou militia drove dozens of seized horse-drawn and donkey-drawn carts, each loaded to the brim with goods, and quickly escorted them away.

Several consecutive days
Near the Xuanwu Gate camp where the Tongzhou militia was stationed, there were more than 700 donkey and horse carts gathered together, the looted supplies were piled up like a mountain, and more than 6300 young and middle-aged men were seized.

According to the order from the superiors, all of them were killed on the spot.

this day

More than a thousand Tongzhou militiamen escorted more than 6,300 prisoners and did not arrive at Yanziji Wharf on the Yangtze River until noon, ready to carry out the execution order from their superiors.

All the prisoners have been screened over the past few days.

Basically, all those who served in the Taiping rebel army were identified, a total of 733 people.

There were also 30 people over the age of 1262, totaling 1995 people, all of whom were beheaded without mercy.

The former are the backbone of the Taiping rebels, and the latter are basically old bandits. They have taken countless lives and are not good people.

Of the tens of millions who perished in the Taiping Rebellion, how many were officials, how many were Manchus, and how many were landlords and bullies who oppressed the good?

I'm afraid most of them are civilians. What crime have they committed?
Zheng Guohui waved his hand, and the young men who were also captives were given swords and guns. They rushed forward and started killing, and the bright red blood dyed the river red.

After the killing, the bodies were thrown directly into the river.

Those young captives were all under the age of 22, with a total of 2117 people. After paying their letters of surrender, they were soon given a jacket with the word "Yong" on it from the mule and horse carts and became a member of the Tongzhou militia.

Zheng Guohui needs these new forces. Accepting these people is equivalent to giving them a second life.

Otherwise, in such a big world, these long-haired remnants would really have nowhere to go.

You should know that nowadays in the Qing Dynasty, there are checkpoints everywhere on the roads and waterways of provinces, prefectures and counties. Those who are caught as Taiping rebels will be executed without mercy.

It's very simple, just look up the accent and you will know.

The accents of several southern provinces are like candlelight in the dark night near Jinling City, and there is no way to hide them at all.

In addition, are there any travel permits issued by local government offices? If not, and the origin cannot be explained, then they are naturally the remnants of the Taiping Rebellion.

Zheng Guohui accepted these people despite the serious charges, of course he had selfish motives, which was to build his own team.

In an instant

The Tongzhou militia suddenly increased from over a thousand people to more than 3300 people. Not only did it regain its strength, but it became even stronger than before.

Don't look at the young age of these guys, they are all elite soldiers who have survived hundreds of battles. After they were disrupted and assigned to the Tongzhou militia, their strength immediately increased dramatically.

After completing these tasks, there were still more than 22 people left. These were the young and strong men between the ages of 30 and who were selected.

Zheng Guohui also didn't want to kill innocent people indiscriminately, and he had prepared for this matter.

Waited for a while by the river
Soon a fleet came with the wind and docked at Yanziji Wharf one after another.

A wealthy middle-aged man came down from the boat. Zheng Guohui immediately went to greet him, smiling and saying, "Fourth Uncle, thank you for coming here. I am honored to meet you."

"Guohui, after receiving the letter, my family immediately asked the fleet to put aside everything and rush here day and night. I hope there will be no delay." Fourth uncle Zheng Shouye replied with a smile.

"Haha, you've come just in time. I'm afraid our fleet will be busy these past two months, traveling back and forth to Jinling."

Zheng Guohui pointed to the carriage team at the back, which was piled high with goods. Those were all looted silks, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold, silver, pearls, jade and other items, which were extremely valuable.

some of

There were also many belongings of the militiamen, which were also escorted back to their hometown in Tongzhou.

According to military rules

Soldiers were allowed to loot 30% of the gold and silver, officers took 20%, and the rest had to be handed over, which meant it belonged to Zheng Guohui.

Zheng Guohui instructed the accountant to give him a symbolic two small coins for all the silks, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and pocketed them all.

In fact, he took the lion's share of the proceeds from the looting.

Seeing so much wealth, Fourth Uncle Zheng Shouye was already grinning from ear to ear, saying repeatedly, "It's okay, it's okay, Fourth Uncle, I'm just running errands. As for these people, should we just send them back to their old place?"

"Yes, send them there and follow the old rules. Let them build houses and cultivate wasteland for farming. I don't need to explain more about this."

"Uncle, don't worry. Chongming Island is a big place anyway. There's not a single ghost there. It can accommodate as many people as you want."

"Well, this needs to be kept secret."

"I know the rules, don't worry."

"Then hurry up and load the ship. After unloading, come here quickly. I guess we'll have to make several trips."

"Hahaha... this kind of good thing, no matter how much running I do, I won't feel tired."

There is strength in numbers. Everyone worked together to transport the supplies onto the ship, and the loading was completed quickly.

The fleet had more than 40 ships, and more than ten ships were used to transport the treasures. Zheng Guohui dispatched 300 Tongzhou militiamen to escort them all the way back to Tongzhou.

There were more than 30 ships left, which almost carried all the more than prisoners. They set sail in the evening and sailed down the river to Tongzhou.

(End of this chapter)