1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 121 Testing the Waters [Bonus Chapter for Helmsman Tianjianwu Piaoxiang!]

The evening breeze wafted into the banquet hall from the corridor, carrying the aroma of wine and meat.

The dilapidated interior of the Wuxuan County Government Office.

The table was already laden with delicacies and fine wines.

Although Wuxuan is just a small border town, it still has local delicacies such as deer tendon soup, pickled bamboo shoots and preserved duck, and steamed mandarin fish.

Min Zhengwen wanted Li Mengqun to sit in the main seat.

Li Mengqun refused on the grounds of non-compliance, but after repeated refusals, he still let Min Zhengwen sit in the main seat.

"General Min has traveled a long way to suppress bandits, and his horse has not yet been untied. The people of our county are deeply grateful. Tonight, we offer a cup of wine to comfort you on your journey." Li Mengqun sat on the left, in the second seat according to etiquette, with a smile on his face and gentle words.

Li Mengqun's disdain for Min Zhengwen did not mean he looked down on the Liuzhou soldiers that Min Zhengwen brought. The Liuzhou soldiers had been suppressing rebellious chieftains for many years and were at least more effective than the Xunzhou soldiers, whom even the Heaven and Earth Society could not eradicate.

Min Zhengwen was not a high-ranking official capable of cleaning up the mess in Guangxi.

Given the current state of affairs in Guangxi, it's clear to anyone with eyes to see that Min Zhengwen, and even Zheng Zuchen, have been removed from office.

It is a foregone conclusion that the imperial court will carry out a major reshuffle of the Guangxi officialdom, at least at the top level.

Li Mengqun had no idea who his Qing emperor would send to replace Min Zhengwen as the governor of Guangxi.

But he knew that the situation in Guangxi could not continue to deteriorate before the new Guangxi official took office and took over the mess.

Even though he disliked Min Zhengwen, Li Mengqun still had to present a facade of harmony between them in front of Min Zhengwen's subordinates.

Seeing how much Li Mengqun valued him, Min Zhengwen was in high spirits. After several rounds of toasts, his face was flushed and his laughter echoed throughout the hall.

Min Zhengwen laughed heartily: "I am deeply grateful for Lord Li's kind treatment. I have always admired Lord Li's literary talent and integrity. Let me raise a toast to Lord Li!"

Having said that, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp, the aroma of alcohol filling his nostrils.

As the banquet progressed and music began, Min Zhengwen was soon quite tipsy. Li Mengqun put down his wine cup and asked, "General Min has now entered Xunzhou Prefecture. I wonder what your plans are next?"

"As you command, Governor Zheng, tomorrow we will prepare boats and horses and sail down the Qianjiang River to Guiping, the prefectural capital, to oversee the suppression of the God God Society bandits."

Sailing downstream from Wuxuan, departing from Baidi amidst colorful clouds at dawn, one can return to Jiangling a thousand miles away in a single day. The distance from Wuxuan to Guiping is less than a thousand miles, requiring only half a day's journey by water.

After speaking, Min Zhengwen waved his long sleeves, his poetic spirit soaring, as if he were Li Bai.

Upon hearing this, Li Mengqun remained outwardly calm, merely smiling slightly as he continued to sip his wine, inwardly cursing Min Zhengwen as an incompetent fool.

For the sake of the overall situation of suppressing bandits in Guangxi, Li Mengqun hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking to dissuade Min Zhengwen: "General Min's ambition can be described as thunderous and unstoppable. But please forgive my boldness, taking the Qianjiang waterway is probably not a good strategy."

Min Zhengwen was taken aback, his expression changed slightly, and he put down his cup and asked, "Oh? What makes you say that, Lord Li?"

“The hideout of Peng Gang, the leader of the God Society, is in Honglian Village, Pingzaishan. Xie Bin, the garrison commander of Bitan, and Hou Jiyong, the clerk of Shangdongtang, have all joined the bandits. The waterways of Qianjiang are extremely dangerous,” Li Mengqun advised kindly.

"To be honest, General Min, I did not take the Qianjiang River waterway from Guiping to Wuxuan. Instead, I took a roundabout land route to Wuxuan. In my humble opinion, it would be better for you to take the same land route I used to come to Guiping."

Li Mengqun only knew that the God Society had grown to have over ten thousand followers.

As for how many tens of thousands, he did not know.

However, less than three months after the God Society started its uprising, it captured Wuxuan, took Xinwei, and occupied Jiangkouwei. Its momentum was immense, and wherever it went, the people welcomed it with food and drink.

They were certainly no ordinary bandits.

Even today, the people of Wuxuan City still remember the kindness of bandit leader Peng Gang in providing porridge and remain devoted to him.

Someone must have already tipped off Peng Gang, informing him of the whereabouts of Peng Gang and Min Zhengwen's army.

Ordinary bandits, on their first uprising, would at most attack villages or raid ponds.

Peng Gang was different; his first uprising was to attack the county seat directly.

Such a person, upon learning that the provincial governor's troops were about to cross the Qianjiang waterway, would certainly take action.

“Our army’s weapons, ammunition, grain, salt, medicine and supplies totaled 27 heavy ships, which are difficult to transport by carts and horses, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. If we take the land route? We would have to unpack and unload the goods and then find vehicles to transport them. After all that trouble, it might not even take seven days to reach Guiping City. Wouldn’t that delay Governor Zheng’s plan to suppress the bandits?” Min Zhengwen shook his head upon hearing this.

Although he intended to get closer to Li Mengqun and build a good relationship, he felt that going overland instead of the convenient waterway was too much of a hardship and too absurd.

"Although the mountain roads are difficult, the dangers can be controlled. Although the river roads are fast, the enemy can be ambushed." Li Mengqun then suggested that Min Zhengwen be stationed directly in Wuxuan.

“Min Jun has already arrived in Xunzhou Prefecture and can also take command in Wuxuan.”

Anyway, Min Zhengwen has already arrived in Xunzhou Prefecture. With his cowardly appearance, no one expects him to be able to wipe out the God Society bandits. So what difference does it make where he sits?

Min Zhengwen shook his head repeatedly. Wuxuan County was not only small, but also easy to attack and difficult to defend. It had just been occupied by the God Society bandits not long ago, and the city had little money and food.

He may be willing to stay in Wuxuan City, but his officers and soldiers are probably not.

Where in Wuxuan is there a place as safe and happy as Guiping, the capital of Guizhou?

“Governor Zheng’s orders cannot be disobeyed. If I halt my troops at Wuxuan City and fail to advance, I fear Governor Zheng will blame me.” Min Zhengwen used Zheng Zuchen as an excuse to deflect the blame.

Seeing that Min Zhengwen was determined to leave, Li Mengqun knew that there was no point in saying anything more, so he stopped wasting his breath and just sighed repeatedly.

However, it's fine to leave, but the discipline of the Liuzhou Green Standard Army is extremely poor, and staying in Wuxuan City would also be a troublesome matter.

After a hearty meal, feeling drowsy, Min Zhengwen took his leave to rest.

Min Zhengwen did not completely ignore what Li Mengqun said.

The following morning, before setting off, Min Zhengwen hesitated. "What Magistrate Li said makes sense, General Min. Why don't we test the waters first? If the Qianjiang waterway is safe, then we can set off. It won't make a difference if we wait a couple more days," Liu Yongqing suggested.

"I will send some more capable soldiers disguised as mountain dwellers to investigate in the mountains, to find out if the God God Society has set up an ambush on both sides of the Xunjiang River."

"As you say, let five hundred soldiers and a thousand laborers act as our vanguard, carrying my command flag and marching ahead. You send your men into the mountains to scout ahead. If there are no ambushes, then the main army can set off for Guiping Prefecture City later," Min Zhengwen said to Liu Yongqing after considering the situation.

The words are divided into two parts.

Before Min Zhengwen's army arrived in Wuxuan, Yang Xiuqing, Peng Gang, Feng Yunshan and others had already completed the deployment.

Because the Taiping army lacked weapons and supplies, Yang Xiuqing did not intend to adopt Luo Dagang's strategy of attacking enemy ships with fire.

The ambush site was chosen at the bend of the Qianjiang River, not far from Bitan Flood Control Station.

Yang Xiuqing deployed his central army, along with 1,000 men and Peng Gang's left flank, totaling over 5,500 men, on the north bank.

Shi Dakai's Central Army, Wei Changhui's Right Army, and the two battalions of Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang, totaling more than 4,100 men, were deployed on the south bank.

Feng Yunshan's rear guard, as a reserve force, remained at Bitan garrison in case of emergency.

Everything was ready; all that was left was for Min Zhengwen to fall into the trap.

As expected, Min Zhengwen still chose to take the Qianjiang waterway.

Peng Gang's reconnaissance troops, traveling by fast boat, discovered that Min Zhengwen's army had already set sail.

Chen Ajiu left the scouts behind to continue monitoring Min Zhengwen's army's movements, while he himself personally delivered the message to Beida Tengxia, informing Peng Gang and Yang Xiuqing, who were lying in ambush there.

"Reporting to the two commanders! Min Yaotou's army has set off from Wuxuan City and is expected to arrive at Dateng Gorge in another two hours, or one hour, by water."

"Does the fleet fly Min Zhengwen's command flag?" Peng Gang asked Chen Ajiu.

"Yes! The lead ship is flying the banner with the character 'Min' on it! I saw it clearly!" Chen Ajiu said confidently.

"How many ships are in the fleet? How many people do you estimate there are?" Peng Gang continued to ask.

"Sixty or seventy ships? Several thousand people?" Chen Ajiu was somewhat uncertain.

He was very excited when he saw Min Zhengwen's army set sail from the South Gate Wharf of Wuxuan City, and rushed back to report this important military news to Peng Gang immediately.

"I asked you to do reconnaissance, and this is how you do reconnaissance work?" Peng Gang was very dissatisfied with Chen Ajiu's work.

Chen Ajiu's investigation was very inadequate; he didn't even figure out basic information such as the exact number of ships and the approximate number of people on board.

How did he determine whether the fleet was sent by Min Zhengwen to scout the way?

"I'll go back and investigate further!" Chen Ajiu said through gritted teeth, his head bowed.

"Go and come back quickly," Peng Gang ordered coldly.

After Chen Ajiu left, Peng Gang said to Yang Xiuqing, "Fourth Brother, Min Yaotou's team has as many as seven thousand people. If what Chen Ajiu said is true, sixty or seventy ships, unless they are all large official ships, cannot carry so many people."

Min Zhengwen's team numbered as many as 7,000, and most of the ships he requisitioned were civilian vessels.

Moreover, it is impossible for all ships to be used for carrying people; some ships must be set aside for loading food and military supplies.

Peng Gang suspected that this fleet was not Min Zhengwen's main force.

Guangxi is mountainous with relatively rapid rivers, and the boats that travel on the Liujiang and Qianjiang rivers are mostly small boats.

Longboats are already large vessels on the Qianjiang and Liujiang rivers, and Peng Gang also owns seven or eight longboats.

These flat-bottomed, wide-cabin cargo ships have a carrying capacity of only eighty to one hundred and twenty shi (a unit of dry measure), and can carry twenty to thirty people.

Even if there are sixty or seventy ships, let's say seventy, all of them are long ships and all used to carry people, they can only carry a maximum of two thousand one hundred people.

Peng Gang suspected that this fleet was not Min Zhengwen's main force.

"If it's not Min Yaotou's main force, it's fine to let them pass," Yang Xiuqing said after a moment's thought.

They were after Min Zhengwen and his main force. If they could ambush Min Zhengwen's main force, letting a detachment escape would be insignificant.

Peng Gang took out his binoculars and said, "I have binoculars, which can clearly see the situation on the boats in the river in the distance. If it is not Min Yaotou's main force that has come this time, we will lower the river lock and let them pass."

“That’s what I think too.” Yang Xiuqing nodded, his eyes fixed on the telescope in Peng Gang’s hand. He was very envious of Peng Gang’s telescope. Telescopes were good things, but unfortunately, there were only two in the entire Taiping Army, and both were in the Left Army.

Peng Gang is one, and Luo Dagang is one.

Peng Gang noticed that Yang Xiuqing really wanted his telescope and laughed, "If Fourth Brother wants a telescope, Min Yaotou definitely has one. When Min Yaotou comes, have him give Fourth Brother a telescope. Min Yaotou's telescope is definitely better than the one I have."

Another hour and a half later, Chen Ajiu finally appeared before Peng Gang again, panting, and reported: "Sixty-eight ships, only one of which is an official ship. The rest are longboats, fishing boats, flower-tailed ferries, and Mayang boats. The number of people will not exceed two thousand at most!"

Huawei Ferry is a common passenger boat in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, with a carrying capacity roughly equivalent to that of a longboat.

The Mayang boat is a mountain rapids boat specifically designed for the rapids of the Liujiang River. It has a raised bow, a narrow and long hull, and its load capacity is generally half that of a long boat.

With fewer than two thousand men, most of them are probably not Min Zhengwen's main force.

After discussing with Yang Xiuqing, Peng Gang gave orders to the boatmen in charge of the river-blocking rope at the bottom of Dateng Gorge, instructing them to use the command flag on the gorge as a signal to be ready to lower the river-blocking rope at any time to allow passage.

Datengxia is situated at a high elevation, and from its highest point, one can see the section of the river near Bitanxun.

　Thank you to readers Tianjianwu Piaoxiang and 160330161918817 for the generous donations!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)