Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 627 Famous General ~ Admiral Xiang?
"General! Urgent report from Guangdong!"

"Say!"

"A rebellion has broken out in Huaxian County, and its momentum is overwhelming. The governor has informed us that he is unable to send troops to attack Guangxi."

"Crash~"

The wine bowl was smashed on the ground.

With a face full of rage, the Guangxi Governor Xiang Rong jumped up and cursed, "That damn Xu Guangjin, he has no shame at all!"

Xiang Rong, who had been chased by countless people asking about his whereabouts, finally arrived in Guangxi.

However, at this time, almost the entire Guangxi region had fallen, and he could only stay in Quanzhou, the northernmost part of the region.

The dignified Governor of Guangxi is practically reduced to the garrison commander of Quanzhou.

Fortunately, the imperial court supported him and continuously dispatched reinforcements and supplies from various places.

Instead of rushing to fight, the Taiping army dispersed its forces to carry out land redistribution, which gave Xiang Rong an opportunity.

He sent an urgent message to the capital, requesting orders to mobilize troops from Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan to launch a desperate siege.

The original intention was to further disperse the already scattered Taiping army, so as to defeat them one by one.

From a strategic perspective, it is feasible.

As for whether or not they can win, that's a matter of tactics.

But now, Guangdong, which was originally scheduled to send the most troops, is unable to move.

This kind of thing happening at such a critical juncture naturally enraged Xiang Rong, who even cursed the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

"Guangdong has 100,000 troops!"

"One hundred thousand!"

"Even if it were a hundred thousand pigs, they would still run those rebels to death!"

"What nonsense about the rebels being powerful! Over the years, so many rebels have claimed to be powerful!"

Throughout the Qing Dynasty, uprisings against the brutal colonial rule never ceased.

Especially after the foreigners invaded, in the ten years since then, large-scale [projects/initiatives] have sprung up all over the country.
These were large-scale uprisings that extended beyond the boundaries of prefectures and counties. There were over a hundred recorded instances where the imperial court dispatched troops to suppress them.

As for the smaller ones, they are countless.

Xiang Rong rose to power by suppressing rebels, so he naturally understood the intricacies of the situation.

"Xu Guangjin!"

“When there was a rebellion in Guangxi before, he refused to send troops to suppress it and watched the rebels grow stronger.”

"He still refuses to send troops; I think he's the traitor's protector!"

"Huaxian is right under Guangzhou's nose. Even if the Green Standard Army is useless, the Guangzhou General has at least several thousand Banner soldiers. Surely they can't defeat these peasants?!"

"No, I'm going to impeach him!"

There is no doubt that Xiang Rong misunderstood Xu Guangjin this time.

The uprising in Huaxian was led by Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan.

Although Hong Xiuquan was a charlatan who indulged in pleasure, Feng Yunshan was truly capable.

Most importantly, they received substantial financial support from Lin Dao.

Silver, food, weapons, medicine, and countless other supplies.

They returned to Huaxian County and bribed the local government to turn a blind eye.

They used grain to attract displaced people and bankrupt artisans.

After Guangzhou opened as a treaty port, a large influx of foreign goods entered China. The most direct consequence was the bankruptcy of a large number of artisans, which greatly increased the number of migrants, especially in the Guangzhou area, which was at the forefront of the trade.

As long as there is enough food, there are plenty of people willing to risk their lives.

The weapons, including knives, spears, swords, halberds, armor, firearms, etc., were not only numerous but also of extremely high quality.

Lin Dao even provided them with a batch of advanced firearms from the modern world.

Medicines, especially deworming drugs and effective treatments for epidemics such as plague, cholera, malaria, foot plague, and measles, greatly enhanced the mystical nature of the God Worshipping Society and boosted morale and fighting spirit.

As for other supplies, they include clothes, shoes, socks, cloth, towels, headscarves, paper, pens, wheels, tools, leather, and other similar items.

Although it may seem insignificant, it actually has a great boosting effect on combat effectiveness and morale.

As for the Qing army in Guangdong, although it was said to be an army of 100,000, everyone knows what its actual situation was.

The Green Standard Army had a strength of over 83,000 men, but in reality, after accounting for various forms of unpaid salaries, it was lucky to have at least a quarter of them. This was only because the court strictly monitored the situation as the frontline troops directly faced foreigners; otherwise…
The only ones who received full pay were the Manchu soldiers within Guangzhou city, namely the bannermen under the Guangzhou General.

After two hundred years of development, the number of Manchus has increased dramatically.

However, the troop quota has remained largely unchanged.

Only one person from each family could serve in the army; the rest were kept as surplus soldiers.

Most importantly, the Manchus held a high enough status that even the Guangzhou General dared not accept a salary without working, because the Manchus had a complex network of relationships, and if they caused trouble, no one could escape unscathed.

Therefore, the Eight Banners army not only had no vacancies, but also had a large number of surplus soldiers.

After the Huaxian Uprising, the Green Standard Army in Guangzhou quickly came to suppress it, since it was right under their noses.

Undoubtedly, the Green Standard Army, which only showed fighting power when it was harming the common people, was defeated under the bombardment of a large number of firearms.

Xu Guangjin was greatly alarmed and hurriedly requested the Guangzhou General to send troops.

Approximately three thousand Manchu soldiers engaged in a decisive battle with Feng Yunshan's rebel army at Sanyuanli.

As a result, the Manchu soldiers' pride in their archery and horsemanship was completely shattered by the firearms and cannons provided by the forest road.

The Manchu troops suffered a crushing defeat at Sanyuanli, and as a result, they could only rely on the high city walls of Guangzhou to survive.

Fortunately, Feng Yunshan and his men didn't have the heavy hammer of a benevolent father, nor did they have enough gunpowder to blow up the city walls.

After failing to capture the target, they quickly moved their forces to another location.

The English, who had been keeping a close watch on the situation, also began to have ulterior motives and secretly started contacting Hong Xiuquan. As for Xu Guangjin, with Guangzhou almost lost and the Heavenly Father Society still rampaging across the country, he had neither the mind nor the troops to send troops to support Guangxi.

Therefore, Xiang Rong really misunderstood.

He just doesn't know that yet.

After venting his frustrations and writing a memorial impeaching Xu Guangjin, Xiang Rong asked again, "Where is Lord Xu?"

Xu, the Imperial Commissioner and Acting Governor of Guangxi, is now receiving the same treatment as Xiang Rong had, and everyone is asking him where he is.

"Breaking news: Lord Xu is still recuperating in his hometown."

Xiang Rong rolled his eyes at these words.

He doesn't know if he's really sick, but right now he has to bear it on his own in Guangxi.

Merit doesn't necessarily belong to you, but if there's wrongdoing, you'll inevitably have to take the blame.

To be honest, it's very stressful.

"All the reinforcements are converging on Quanzhou."

"And the grain and provisions, please send them over as soon as possible."

The situation in Qinghai was no different from that at the end of the Ming Dynasty; half of the silver allocated by the imperial court was lost before it even left the capital.

After being skimmed off along the way, it would be considered good if he could get two or three tenths of it by the time it reached him.

But this kind of thing had long become a habit, and Xiang Rong couldn't change it.

He has no other way to go now.

The multi-pronged attack was clearly not going to work. Without the main force of the Guangdong troops, Xiang Rong could only try his best to gather reinforcements to Quanzhou.

The sole objective was to block the Taiping army's northward advance.

To the south of Guangxi is Vietnam, which was called Annam a few decades ago.

During the Jiaqing era, Annam wanted to change its name to Nanyue, secretly hoping to legally seize a large area of ​​land, including Guangdong and Guangxi.

However, it didn't work, so I changed it to Vietnam.

If the Taiping army marched south, Xiang Rong would be very happy, because then it would be troublesome for the vassal states.

To the west is Yunnan, and the roads are extremely difficult to travel, consisting entirely of mountains upon mountains, with more mountains beyond mountains.

Xiang Rong would be happy if the Taiping army went to Yunnan.

With so many people, they were starving to death traversing rugged, roadless mountains.

After all, none of these mountains have a Tiger Head Mountain where you can get a million pounds of meat!
As for the east, that is Guangdong.

Xiang Rong felt that it would be a good thing if the Taiping Army went to Guangdong.

After all, if he went to Guangdong, it would be trouble for the civil and military officials there, and it would have nothing to do with him, the Governor of Guangxi.

If Xu Guangjin were to request military assistance in suppressing the bandits, he would simply claim that Guangxi was plagued by bandits and he was unable to leave his post.
Finally, the most likely direction for the Taiping army to attack was Quanzhou.

This is the northernmost point of Guangxi, with Yongzhou Prefecture in Hunan Province behind it.

Xiang Rong knew very well that the combat effectiveness of the troops stationed in inland provinces like Hunan was not as good as that of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou.

Once the rebels enter Hunan, they will inevitably stir up a huge upheaval.

Further north and east of Hunan lies a major tax-paying region of the Qing Dynasty!
He was determined to defend Quanzhou to the death and block the Taiping army's northward advance before the imperial envoy arrived.

"The Qing demons haven't made a move yet?"

Inside Guilin City, Lin Dao inquired about Xiao Chaogui, who had sent people to gather information.

"Chief." Xiao Chaogui hurriedly bowed. "The brothers have been keeping an eye on things for many days. Reinforcements from various regions to clear the demons, as well as grain and supplies, are constantly being transported to Quanzhou, but there is absolutely no sign of them heading south."

"Not moving?" Lin Dao frowned. "What is Xiang Rong thinking?"

“I prepared a big meal for him, but he won’t be able to eat it if he doesn’t come.”

Lin Dao had extensive battlefield experience and had previously deduced that the Qing army would launch a counterattack.

To this end, they even deliberately dispersed their troops to strengthen the work teams, luring the Qing army to attack.

He had even chosen the battlefield, which was halfway between Quanzhou and Guilin.

Once the Qing army is mobilized, a brilliant ambush will be launched, eliminating the Qing army's manpower and clearing obstacles for the subsequent Northern Expedition.

The table was set out, and the dishes were laid out.

But the guests didn't come.
emmmm~~~
“Xiang Rong is quite capable.” Lin Dao tapped the table. “He figured out that I had set a trap for him.”

"Among a group of misfit Qing generals, he was considered capable."

Xiang Rong's original intention was to abandon the multi-pronged attack because he no longer had troops in Guangdong.

It wasn't that he had anticipated Lin Dao setting a trap for him.

Unexpectedly, he escaped a calamity by sheer coincidence and even received a few words of praise from Lin Dao.

Having traversed countless realms, those who have earned Lin Dao's praise are basically all renowned generals.

"That's it."

Lin Dao's gaze swept over the group of generals. "If he doesn't come, then we'll attack him."

It's time to send troops.

The work of equal land distribution and bandit suppression in various parts of Guangxi, the dismantling and resettlement of Hakka and Tujia clans, the cleanup of local government offices and landlords and gentry, personnel adjustments and redistribution of resources, etc., has been basically completed.

After capturing Quanzhou, Lin Daohui would choose a general to stay behind and protect the spoils of war and the people of Guangxi.

As for himself, he would lead a large army to break into Hunan.

Before that, he was going to meet Xiang Rong, the Admiral, who had seen through his ambush!

(End of this chapter)