1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 122: Those who fight are the elites
The setting sun, like blood, and the evening glow, like rouge, dyed the Qianjiang River into a winding, crimson ribbon.

Before long, the Qing army fleet under Min Zhengwen's command passed through the section of the river before the flood season at Bitan and came into Peng Gang's view.

Peng Gang raised his binoculars and peered into the distance to observe the Qing army fleet.

At the end of the waterway, sails lined the river like a forest, and banners fluttered in the wind.

Leading the charge were five longboats and three Mayang boats.

Following the first eight boats was the official boat, which was surrounded in the middle and flew the banner with the character "Min".

Sixty-eight boats in total sped along the river, cutting through the water like spears, leaving long trails of white waves in their wake and startling the fishermen and birds on the riverbank.

At first glance, it seemed impressive, but upon closer inspection, it turned out that only one official ship was worth looking at.

The rest were mostly longboats, flower-tailed ferries, hemp boats, and even fishing boats and rafts—commoner vessels.

There were only about a third of the boatmen wearing Qing army uniforms; the majority were civilians in ordinary clothes, barefoot, rowing and propelling the boat.

Such a fleet could not possibly be the main fleet of Min Zhengwen, the Governor of Guangxi.

It must be a detachment sent by Min Zhengwen to test the waters.

Min Zhengwen isn't as stupid as the rumors suggest.

At least they still have some brains.

It was confirmed that this fleet was merely a vanguard force sent by Min Zhengwen to scout ahead.

Peng Gang and Yang Xiuqing looked at each other and shook their heads. They then ordered the flag signalmen to signal the boatmen in charge of the river-blocking ropes to lower the ropes and let the boats pass. They watched the fleet sail eastward to Guiping.

Five hundred soldiers from Liuzhou and one thousand laborers were able to reach Guiping City smoothly.

Liu Yongqing's spies who had been sent to Pingzaishan to investigate also returned to Wuxuan County and reported to Min Zhengwen that there were no God Society bandits lying in ambush on either side of Pingzaishan.

Min Zhengwen was overjoyed.

While I was happy, I was also a little annoyed.

Min Zhengwen regretted listening to Li Mengqun and Liu Yongqing.

If only we had chosen to launch the entire army from the beginning.

He has already arrived in Guiping City.

With this in mind, Min Zhengwen dared not utter a word of complaint to Li Mengqun, but he still couldn't help but grumble and reprimand Liu Yongqing a few times.

Liu Yongqing felt indignant that he was being unjustly blamed and reprimanded by Min Zhengwen despite having done nothing wrong.

However, considering that Min Zhengwen would not be the governor of Guangxi for long, given his character, he would never take the initiative to send troops to suppress the God Worshippers.

They were safe once they reached Guiping City.

Liu Yongqing held back and did not say anything to contradict Min Zhengwen.

Once preparations were complete, the Qing army fleet, led by Min Zhengwen, set off from the Wuxuan South Gate Wharf along the Qianjiang River, dividing into three groups and sailing majestically down the river.

The fleet of 225 ships of various sizes was a magnificent sight, stretching for miles with their sails and banners obscuring the sky, its imposing presence awe-inspiring and earth-shattering.

The vanguard consisted of seventy scout boats modified from Mayang ships, each carrying about twenty soldiers, all of whom were brave sailors recruited from Liuzhou, armed with muskets, spears, and crossbows.

Each scout boat is led by a lookout, wearing a sun hat and with eyes like a hawk, who is always on alert for any movement on both sides of the river.

The scout boats, without sails, are propelled solely by rowing.

The central force consisted of longships that carried the main supply of provisions and military provisions, along with a dozen or so fast crab warships that sailed alongside them.

There were a total of 77 ships, each ranging in length from three to seven zhang.

The cabin contained military supplies such as weapons, gunpowder, lead weights, dry rations, salt, medicine, clothing, and horse feed.

Because Min Zhengwen was a devout Buddhist, there were even several bronze Buddha statues and incense sticks in the cabin.

The provisions and supplies of Min Zhengwen's Qing army were mostly stored in the longships of the central army.

Each ship of the central army was equipped with 25 to 50 soldiers and civilians. The fast crab warships were equipped with dedicated gunners, musketeers, helmsmen, oarsmen, buglers, and flag bearers. The troops were neat and orderly, and moved as smoothly as an arm.

The fast crab warships were mostly equipped with small wooden gun emplacements, on which were mounted medium and small mountain-splitting cannons weighing between 100 and 400 jin (approximately 500-200 kg).

The rear guard was led by General Min Zhengwen's flagship, which was larger than all the other ships, three stories high, with a vermilion hull and a blue canopy.

The admiral's flag was hanging on the flagpole in the center of Min Zhengwen's ship. The flag fluttered in the wind, and the flag cloth made a rustling sound.

Beside the main general's ship were twelve fast crab warships, forty fast boats from Mayang, and twenty-six other miscellaneous vessels.

Min Zhengwen stood on the top of the middle deck, dressed in a plain long robe, his face as calm as water. His gaze passed through the misty waves ahead as he admired the scenery of the Qianjiang River along the banks with great interest.

Although the scenery of Qianjiang is not as beautiful as that of the Li River in Guilin, it has its own unique charm.

Upon reaching a bend in the river, Liu Yongqing would order the bugler to sound three long blasts, the military flag to turn, the entire crew to change positions, and the sails to adjust to the current. The sailors would then sing work chants, the sound of their oars like war drums, startling waterbirds, fish, and snakes on both banks of the Qianjiang River into flight.

As Min Zhengwen's fleet sailed to the waters near Bitanxun, it gradually came into view of Peng Gang, Yang Xiuqing, Luo Dagang, and others.

"The boats moved in an orderly manner. Some of the soldiers brought by Min Zhengwen must have been boatmen from Guilin and Liuzhou. It would have been impossible for the fleet to move so neatly and orderly if it were just boatmen who were forcibly conscripted."

Luo Dagang raised his telescope and observed Min Zhengwen's fleet, discerning some clues.

Min Zhengwen's Green Standard Army was definitely an army division, but the militia he led must have included a considerable proportion of naval troops.

Peng Gang also noticed that this fleet was more orderly and disciplined than the detached ships that had passed through here three days earlier.

The soldiers and sailors on board were also quite different in spirit, and they were even equipped with more than twenty fast crab warships that looked somewhat decent.

The fast crab warship has rows of oars on both sides of its hull, and its shape is very similar to that of a centipede and a crab. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, it was called a "centipede ship", and during the Qing dynasty, it was called a "fast crab". The name sounds intimidating, but it is actually a kind of oar-powered sailing ship.

Min Zhengwen's fast crab warships were probably modified civilian ships into a budget version. They were smaller than the fast crab warships that Luo Dagang and others had seen when they were pirates in the Pearl River Delta, and the workmanship of the ships was also relatively crude from a distance.

Luo Dagang was very familiar with this type of oar-powered sailing ship. His submarine force had originally entered Guangxi in smuggling speedboats and wreaked havoc in the Guangxi waters.

This included some former Guangdong-born members of the submarine force who had seen the powerful ships and cannons of foreigners, as well as Xie Bin and others who had participated in the Opium War.

These basic, low-end Crab warships were naturally beneath their notice.

Peng Gang, needless to say, had seen not only the powerful ships and cannons of foreigners, but also the powerful ships and cannons of his own people in later generations.

However, these rather menacing-looking, rudimentary versions of the Crab-shaped warships still managed to fool some of the Taiping soldiers who had never seen much of the world.

In any case, the Green Standard Army militias of Liuzhou and Guilin appeared to be much more elite than those of Xunzhou.

"Is this the essence of the Guangxi Green Standard Army's militia?" After observing for a while, Peng Gang put down his binoculars and asked.

"Such a military bearing undoubtedly indicates that they are Guangxi's elite troops." Xie Bin frowned slightly and nodded as he spoke.

"This team is only slightly inferior to the elite troops from Guangdong that I saw when I fought in Guangdong ten years ago. These soldiers from Liuzhou and local militias may have terrible discipline, but they should still be able to fight."

"Our Taiping Army is fighting the Qing devils' elite!" Yang Xiuqing shouted in a deep voice, issuing the order.

"Prepare to pull the river-blocking ropes! Prepare for battle!"

Min Zhengwen personally led the fleet into the gorge from the north. When they entered the ambush zone, it was already 9 a.m. (11 a.m.) and the sun was high in the sky.

But the canyon remained gloomy as dusk fell, and the river breeze carried a dampness.

As the lead scout boat entered the gorge, it noticed unusual movement in the water ahead. Immediately, the lookout on the scout boat couldn't help but exclaim in alarm:

"There's a rope ahead! An iron chain blocking the river!"

"Stop! Stop the boat!"

"receive!!!!"

"Damn it! It's going to crash into us!"

Before the shout had even faded, a huge cable, as thick as a child's arm, rose from the water ten zhang away, stretching across the Qianjiang River, its two ends tightly fastened to the cliff face.

The scout boat tried to stop in time, but it was too late. It was traveling on the rapids and couldn't stop in time, so it crashed into the river-blocking cable.

With a loud creak, the bow of the boat exploded, and the Qing soldiers on the scout boat were thrown into the water.

"Stop the boat! Turn around!" Liu Yongqing hurriedly ordered the boat to stop upon seeing the situation.

But it's too late.

Just as the scout boat struck the cable, a second cable suddenly appeared downstream.

Amidst the surging river, the central army's longboats and fast crab boats were about to turn to avoid the scout boats ahead, but their bows were firmly caught by the second rope.

Dozens of Chinese warships were cut off and stuck in the water, unable to move forward or backward.

The sounds of ships colliding with iron chains, soldiers shouting in alarm, and wood breaking and shattering mingled together, creating a continuous cacophony.

Just then, thunderous drumbeats suddenly resounded from both sides of the Dateng Gorge.

Tens of thousands of Taiping soldiers, dressed in yellow turbans, red caps, and shoulder scarves, emerged from both sides of the Dateng Gorge like weeds.

thump—

thump—

thump—

Accompanied by the rapid sound of military drums and the shouts of waving flags, the Taiping soldiers, who had been lying in ambush for a long time and heard the orders of the drums and flags, all rose up and leaped out.

"Kill the Qing demon! Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother have commanded you to slay the demon and achieve merit!"

(End of this chapter)