1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 111 Divisional Army
After the order to organize the camp was issued, the bases of the God Church branches took action.

The various teams gradually converged on Jintian Village.

Such a large-scale relocation operation could not possibly be concealed or evaded by the local government and the Communist Party.

Since the fall of Wuxuan County, Zheng Zuchen, the governor of Guangxi, finally began to take the God Worshippers Society seriously.

Upon learning of the group's activities, Zheng Zuchen issued a strict order to all prefectures and counties to intercept the God Worshippers' bandit group heading to Jintian Village. Anyone found neglecting their duties or failing in their duties would be severely punished!

This was the most severe order issued by Zheng Zuchen in the more than three years since he took office as the governor of Guangxi, bar none.

Although the officials in charge of various prefectures and counties in Guangxi were generally mediocre in their governance.

But their ability to understand their superiors' intentions is top-notch.

After all, in an era of rule by man, achieving political success does not necessarily guarantee advancement.

But once you figure out your boss's intentions and make him happy, you're sure to get promoted.

No matter how fiercely the Heaven and Earth Society caused trouble, the official documents and decrees issued to them by Zheng Zuchen were never this harsh.

This shows that the governor-general's regard for and hatred of the God Society cult far exceeded that of the Heaven and Earth Society cult.

Upon receiving Zheng Zuchen's instructions, the principal officials of various prefectures, states, and counties in Guangxi dared not neglect their duties.

They all rose up in militia to cooperate with the local Green Standard Army in blocking and intercepting the God Society's bandit-suppressing team, preventing them from going to Jintian Village.

The operations of the Zijingshan headquarters and Peng Gang's side went smoothly.

Of the other divisions' operations, only the two teams led by Shi Dakai and Qin Richang in Guixian County made a successful advance.

Shi Dakai and Qin Richang's two forces successfully joined forces at Liuwu Village, the place where the two men first met.

They quickly defeated the Guixian militia who came to stop them from leaving Liuwu Pass, and captured and killed their former superior, Zhou Heming, the head of the Guixian Lianhuashan militia.

After defeating the local militia in Guixian County, Shi Dakai and Qin Richang's nearly 3,000-strong force marched out of Liuwu Pass and arrived at Cigu Village, where Hong Xiuquan's cousin was located, and gathered the God Society members near Cigu Village.

In Cigu Village, Shi Dakai and Qin Richang's team expanded to more than 4,000 people.

But it's not over yet.

Shi Dakai and Qin Richang went down to Daxu again, obtained the money and grain from Daxu, and swaggered down to Baishaxu on the left bank of the Yujiang River, under the watchful eyes of the Green Standard Army in Guixian County.

They set up camp at Baisha Market and started casting cannons.

In just one month, Shi Dakai and Qin Richang's team, including the elderly, women and children, suddenly expanded from more than 3,000 people to more than 8,000 people.

The scale of the event was so great that even Gu Yuankai, the prefect of Xunzhou in Guiping City, was shocked.

Not long ago, Peng Gang emerged in Guixian County, which was already a headache for him. Now, two more figures, Shi Dakai and Qin Richang, have appeared!

It's really a headache.

As for the armed forces of the other major branches of the God Society, their performance was less than satisfactory.

The God Society's internal fighting capabilities can steadily suppress the local pro-independence forces and militia groups.

Aside from the troops at headquarters, there were actually only three groups: Peng Gang, Shi Dakai, and Qin Richang.

If Shi Dakai and Qin Richang haven't arrived at the Jintian regimental camp yet, it's because they don't want to go so early. They want to stay in their hometown of Guixian for a longer period to recruit soldiers, expand their ranks, and strengthen their power, so as to enhance the Shi family's voice within the God Worshippers Society after the regimental camp is established.

The people from other branches simply can't arrive in the short term, not because they're unwilling to come.

Tan Yao, the leader of the Catholic Church in Xiangzhou, gathered more than two thousand local Catholic Church members in Shilong Village at the foot of Yaoshan Mountain.

Upon hearing the news, the nearby Tai Lok Inspectorate, together with local militia, went to suppress the unrest.

If Tan was outnumbered, he would break through the encirclement under cover of night and hide in the mountains.

Finally, the God-worshipping members in Xiangzhou managed to join forces with Yang Xiuqing, who was attacking Huangjiatubao in Dongxiang, after sending troops to meet him in Wuxuan.

The Da Le Patrol Inspectorate and the local militia of Xiangzhou saw that these members of the God Society had no intention of fighting and were only focused on running towards Zijing Mountain.

They thought Yang Xiuqing was just like Tan Yao, and that their chance to make a name for themselves and receive a reward had come. So they gathered three hundred wolf soldiers from the Wei clan, the chieftain of Wuxuan.

Under the hospitality of the Wei family in Wuxuan, they ate and drank to their hearts' content. After the meal, they set off towards Dongxiang, intending to defeat Yang Xiuqing and relieve the siege of Dongxiang.

Yang Xiuqing was only focused on attacking the Huang family's earthen fortress and didn't want to get entangled with them.

Seeing that the other party was so ungrateful, Yang Xiuqing was enraged by the Da Le Patrol Inspectorate, the militia of Xiangzhou, and the wolf soldiers of the Wei clan of Wuxuan.

They then abandoned Huangjia Tubao and concentrated their forces to ambush the troops of the Dale Patrol Inspectorate, Xiangzhou Militia, and Wuxuan Wei Clan Wolf Soldiers on the official road near Sanlixu.

The 1,500 men that Yang Xiuqing brought to attack Huangjiatubao in Dongxiang were purely armed personnel from the God Worshippers Society; there were no elderly, weak, women, or children in the ranks. Furthermore, Yang Xiuqing's troops had undergone more than a year of reorganization and training after the Battle of Mengchong, and their combat effectiveness was incomparable to the ragtag group of families under Tan Yao's command.

The result was obvious: the Da Le Patrol Inspectorate and the Wu Xuan Wei Clan's wolf soldiers suffered more than half their losses in the battle and fled in disgrace.

Since the Xiangzhou militia was the rear guard, they had already fled towards Xiangzhou when they saw the situation was bad, completely disregarding the lives of the Dale Patrol Inspectorate and the Wuxuan Wei Clan Wolf Soldiers, who had been drinking and eating meat together and calling each other brothers the day before.

After winning the battle and returning to Dongxiang, Yang Xiuqing was overjoyed, just as he had predicted.

The Huang family members and their guards in Huangjia Tubao in Dongxiang saw Yang Xiuqing leading his troops to withdraw from the siege and head towards Sanlixu.

No sooner had Yang Xiuqing left than Huang Shengtong, along with his family and guards, packed up some valuables and provisions and hastily fled Huang Family Fortress.

This battle was a triple victory, not only rescuing the members of Tan Yao's branch and capturing the Huangjia Tubao, which had been under siege for a long time, but also severely damaging the wolf soldiers of the Wuxuan Wei clan.

With more than half of the wolf soldiers of the Wei clan in Wuxuan lost, it will definitely be much easier to attack their stronghold next.

Another branch within Xunzhou Prefecture was Hu Yihuang's team in Huazhoushanren Village, Pingnan County.

They were completely blocked by the Green Standard Army militia of Pingnan County near Guancun and Siwangcun, and were unable to break out of Penghua Mountain.

The last three main branches are far from Zijing Mountain, all located at the border of Guangxi and Guangdong.

One was Lai Jiu, the leader of the God Worshippers Society in Luchuan. Lai Jiu's performance was better than Tan's.

He gathered two or three thousand men and thwarted the militia led by Gu Xiegeng, the prefect of Yulin, who came to surround him.

Lai Jiu originally intended to recruit more people in the Yulin area to expand his team, just like Shi Dakai and Qin Richang, before heading to Jintian.

However, Lai Jiu also suffered considerable losses.

Gu Xiegeng quickly organized another eight or nine hundred militiamen, along with mountain-splitting cannons, who chased after him like a leech.

Lai Jiu had no choice but to give up and retreat while fighting, heading to the Xiawan area on the banks of the Yujiang River, hoping to seize boats in the Xiawan area and travel downstream to Jintian Village.

Huang Wenjin, the leader of the God Worshippers Society in Bobai, left Yulin, passed through Guiping Dayang, crossed Dingziqiao and Hanlei Ridge, and finally rested at Niuerling before crossing the river to Jintian Village. He had no intention of engaging in a prolonged battle with the government troops who were pursuing him.

The most pessimistic situation is that of Ling Shiba's unit in Daliaowei, Xinyi, Guangdong, which is the farthest from Jintian Village.

Ling Shibabu is the God Society branch that faces the greatest difficulty in carrying out the regimental orders.

Ling Shiba's force was quite large, with two to three thousand able-bodied men under his command.

However, Ling Shiba's two or three thousand men were completely different from the two or three thousand men under Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui.

Ling Shiba's two or three thousand men had not undergone proper training and had limited combat effectiveness.

To make matters worse, Ling Shiba was too flamboyant and didn't know the art of keeping a low profile.

Ling Shiba had long been targeted by Gong Buxiao, the magistrate of Xinyi County.

Gong Buxiao dared not delay after learning about the God Society's order to organize the camp.

He directly mobilized all the more than 2,000 trained soldiers within Xinyi County and personally led them to Daliaowei to encircle and suppress Ling Shiba.

Moreover, the Guangdong region was not affected by the Heaven and Earth Society uprising in Guangxi.

In addition, Guangdong has more military spending than Guangxi, and the local Green Standard Army militia is also more effective in combat than Guangxi.

Both sides had their victories and defeats, and Ling Shiba was thus plunged into a bitter battle.

We have learned about the recent situation of each branch.

Peng Gang believes that the decision to issue the order for the group camp by the core decision-making level of the God Society was a very wise one.

This shows that Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, and others were very aware of the current situation and the varying combat strengths of the different branches of the God Society.

Admittedly, the Great Uprising of the Heaven and Earth Society in Guangxi, which began last year when Zhang Jiaxiang captured Guixian County, did weaken the Guangxi Green Standard Army, putting the local forces in a passive position and keeping them busy with various tasks.

However, the Green Standard Army system still exists in Guangxi.

If the troops from each division are not integrated and trained together.

After the Guangxi authorities suppressed the Heaven and Earth Society, in addition to the Zijingshan headquarters, there were four armed groups: Peng Gang's troops in Lianhua Village, and Shi Dakai and Qin Richang's troops in Guixian County.

The remaining armed forces were divided and surrounded by the Qing army in Guangxi, and it was only a matter of time before they were defeated one by one.

From this perspective alone, the leaders of the God Society have a longer-term vision than the Heaven and Earth Society, and seem more like people capable of accomplishing great things.

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(End of this chapter)