1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 132 Advisor
Qin Richang was overjoyed that his family was able to reunite.

Qin Richang's main purpose in coming to Pingnan City this time was to bring his family to Liuwu Village; receiving the reward was secondary.

On the way back, Qin Richang, intending to establish his own naval camp, hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Military Advisor Peng, I know you have more than four hundred skilled swimmers who are proficient in naval warfare but have not yet been incorporated into the regular army. Could I exchange one thousand able-bodied men for these four hundred of your men?"

Qin Richang looked up expectantly at Peng Gang, who was half a head taller than him.

Peng Gang now holds two positions in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Commander of the Left Army and Deputy Commander of the Rear Guard. Qin Richang then addressed him as the higher-ranking military advisor.

“I can’t exchange all 460 cards with you, but I can give you half in exchange for 500 able-bodied young men from our Guixian County,” Peng Gang replied to Qin Richang after a moment of contemplation.

His two boat battalions also needed reserve soldiers. Peng Gang couldn't possibly exchange all four hundred of Luo Dagang's old boat troops, whom he had painstakingly won over, with Qin Richang.

Qin Richang was satisfied with the result.

Two hundred and thirty people are enough for him to set up half a naval camp.

At least I'll feel more confident the next time I meet Tian Fang, the big carp, in Qianjiang.

Qin Richang was unaware that Peng Gang had already set his sights on Tian Fang, the big carp.

Perhaps Qin Richang will never have the chance to meet Tian Fang again.

Peng Gang moored his boat on the water near Xia Dong and rode his horse back to Honglian Village.

Now his riding skills have become increasingly refined, and at least he won't fall off his horse anymore.

Luo Dagang reported to Peng Gang on the situation in the base area over the past few days. Tian Fang, the big carp, had entered the base area in the mountains from the upper reaches of the Qianjiang River four days ago.

Luo Dagang led six battalions to defeat the invading Xunzhou Prefecture naval forces under Tian Fang, nicknamed "Big Carp".

Tian Fang, the "Big Carp," dared not covet their Left Army's Pingzaishan base, and instead cooperated with Li Mengqun's Wuxuan militia to harass Qin Richang's Longshan base.

"As a result, Li Mengqun's 800 Wuxuan militiamen failed miserably, losing more than 40 men. Fortunately, they were rescued by Da Liyu's naval forces and fled back to Wuxuan County in disgrace."

When this topic came up, Luo Dagang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Peng Gang couldn't help but show a look of disdain; it seemed he had overestimated Li Mengqun.

Qin Richang's fighting strength is formidable; even a true model of the Green Camp might not be able to easily defeat him. It's understandable that some might not be able to beat him.

The last card of the attack on Qin Richang hasn't been played yet, so it's indeed difficult to hold on.

Li Mengqun trained in group training for two months and produced this bunch of things?

"Did the Guizhou soldiers in Wuxuan City participate in this operation? When I set off for Pingnan, General Li Rui of Guzhou Town had already led four hundred Guizhou soldiers to Wuxuan." Peng Gang asked about the Guizhou soldiers in Wuxuan City.

Peng Gang had never fought against the Guizhou soldiers before, so he didn't know their combat strength or how formidable they were.

“Aside from their daily routine of plundering nearby villages and transporting the looted grain and supplies to Sanli Market, the Guizhou soldiers haven’t done anything else. They seem to be waiting for the newly appointed Guangxi governor, Zhou Tianjue, to come to Wuxuan to take charge.” Luo Dagang walked to the sand table and pointed to the small blue paper flag planted in Sanli Market that read “Guizhou Army Guzhou Town Li Rui (1200)”.

"The Guizhou troops have already entered Sanlixu. In the days you've been gone, the Guizhou troops have been arriving in Wuxuan one after another. Their numbers are no longer the original four hundred, but twelve hundred. And that's a rather conservative estimate."

The sand table that Peng Gang and his team made was very intuitive and easy to use, making the enemy and friendly forces around the base area clear at a glance.

The place where the red paper flag is planted represents the garrison of the Left Army. The paper flag is written with the garrison number, number of troops, and the name of the military commander.

Yellow paper flags represented allied forces of the Taiping Army, while blue flags represented enemy forces, namely the Qing army's Green Standard Army.

If the flags are moved, simply remove the old flags and replace them with new ones; it's very convenient.

"This is what they mean by 'commanding the world,'" Luo Dagang remarked.

Peng Gang braced his hands on the wooden strips at the edge of the sand table, observing the enemy and friendly forces on the sand table from a god-like perspective.

The changes in the Qing army's garrison and troop movements in recent days have all revolved around one place, and the intention is very clear. It is not difficult to see the Qing army's intentions.

Combined with the previous invasion of Pingzaishan base area by Tian Fang's Xunzhou Prefecture water camp along the upper reaches of the Qianjiang River, this was in line with the previous strategy.

Peng Gang judged that Tian Fang's purpose in invading the Pingzaishan base area was not just to harass, but to conduct reconnaissance and probe the strength and weakness of the Pingzaishan base area.

Tian Fang and Luo Dagang were old acquaintances. Tian Fang couldn't possibly be unaware of the combat strength of the submarine battalion trained based on Luo Dagang's submarine force.

Knowing full well that the Xunzhou Prefecture naval force was no match for the Zuo Jun boat battalion, Tian Fang, nicknamed "Big Carp," still brazenly ventured into the waters controlled by the boat battalion.

There is only one explanation: Tian Fang, the "Big Carp," was pressured by someone above him and ordered to conduct a human investigation in the Pingzaishan section of Qianjiang.

The superior who put pressure on Tian Fang, the "Big Carp," may be Liu Jizu, the newly appointed prefect of Xunzhou, or Zhou Tianjue, the newly appointed governor of Guangxi.

After two months of silence, the Qing army was finally about to take action.

Peng Gang didn't directly state the Qing army's intentions. Instead, he summoned Huang Bingxian, Zhang Ze, Qiu Zhongmin, and others responsible for updating the sand table to the front of it and asked them, "What can you see from the sand table? I'm establishing a general staff. Whoever speaks most logically and accurately will become the chief of staff." Peng Gang had drawn Huang Bingxian, Zhang Ze, Qiu Zhongmin, and others from the front-line troops specifically to organize intelligence and update the sand table. His aim was to train them as staff officers.

Zhang Ze's eyes lit up, and he was mentally preparing his speech when Huang Bingxian spoke first.

"Are the Qing army going to attack Dongxiang, the western gateway to our base?"

Huang Bingxian picked up the command pole from the stand, pointed to the Qing army's deployment on the sand table, and expressed his thoughts.

"Sanlixu is a major market town and a key node between Wuxuan County and Dongxiang."

Thirty li west of Sanli Market lies Wuxuan County. The road along the way is flat and can be traveled by oxcart. Twenty-five li east of Sanli Market is Dongxiang, where the road is half flat and half mountainous.

Li Rui, the commander of the Guizhou Army in Guzhou Town, stationed his troops in Sanlixu. Following closely behind Li Rui, the Guizhou Army, Miao Army, and Zhuang Army, which arrived in Wuxuan one after another, also continued to move closer to Sanlixu. Recently, they have been transporting grain and military supplies to Sanlixu, which I think is to prepare for the subsequent assembly of the main army.

The previous attack by Tian Fang, the "Big Carp," on my Pingzai Mountain base was not for harassment, but for reconnaissance.

Before we defeated Tian Fang, the Qing army was transporting stockpiled grain and supplies to Lema. Now they are transporting stockpiled grain and supplies to Sanlixu instead. I think the Qing army is intimidated by the strong fighting power of our naval force and has abandoned the idea of ​​invading our base through the Qianjiang waterway. Instead, they are seeking to break through from the land.

The breakthrough the Qing army wanted to make was Dongxiang, the gateway to the Zijingshan base area.

"If Dongxiang falls, the gateway to our Zijingshan base will be wide open, and the Qing army can advance unimpeded into Mengchong! They could even march south to attack our Honglian Village and Bitanxun!"

Huang Bingxian's analysis and judgment were basically consistent with Peng Gang's thoughts, with no major discrepancies.

However, there is one point that Huang Bingxian made that was not entirely accurate.

That is, even if Dongxiang falls, the Zijingshan base area will not be completely exposed.

Yang Xiuqing was not a careless person; she had considered the issues they were worried about.

After Dongxiang, Shuangjishan and Zhuzaixia, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack, serve as the last line of defense.

Overall, Peng Gang was quite satisfied with Huang Bingxian's performance.

Huang Bingxian's analysis was reasonable, well-founded, and meticulous, even noting details such as the change of the Qing army's grain storage location from Lema to Sanlixu.

Needless to say, Peng Gang used Qiu Ersao's water fortress in Lema Sandbar as a springboard when he attacked Wuxuan.

Before Qiu Ersao went up the mountain to seek refuge with Peng Gang, she set fire to the Lema Water Village.

The Lema Sandbar Water Village was thus left vacant until it was occupied by Tian Fang's half-camp of the Xunzhou Prefecture Water Camp, which then changed hands.

Peng Gang did consider controlling Le Ma.

Kelema is too close to Wuxuan County and too far from Bitanxun and Honglian Village. Although it is surrounded by reed marshes, it is flat and has no natural defenses.

Controlling Lema proved too costly, so they abandoned the plan. They then concentrated their forces in the opposite river valley, centered around Bitanxun and Honglian Village.

As for Sanlixu, Yang Xiuqing also controlled Sanlixu for a period of time when he attacked Dongxiang.

However, after the Battle of Dateng Gorge, Yang Xiuqing was busy attacking Pingnan County with Xiao Chaogui and others, leaving his central army with very limited manpower.

They then withdrew from Sanlixu, which was difficult to defend, and concentrated their forces to defend Shuangjishan and Zhuzaixia, which were easier to defend.

“To correct you, even if Dongxiang is lost, the Zijingshan base can still rely on the strategic passes of Shuangjishan and Zhuzaixia as its gateways. It won’t be completely exposed. You’ve underestimated Commander Yang,” Peng Gang corrected. “He’s not that careless.”

"Yes! It was my carelessness." Huang Bingxian humbly accepted the correction.

"Huang Bingxian, you will temporarily serve as the Chief of Staff of the General Staff Department." Peng Gang appointed Huang Bingxian as the Chief of Staff of the General Staff Department.

"Thank you for your promotion and cultivation, Mr. Xie!" Huang Bingxian was overjoyed, and stood at attention, leaning on his command pole, and saluted Peng Gang.

The chief of staff doesn't have the same authority over a large number of people as the frontline military commander.

But the few people he could manage were all high-ranking officers at the company commander level or above before entering the General Staff Department, and many of them were veteran students from the first class, or even the Honglianping period.

Huang Bingxian felt a sense of relief upon being able to manage these people.

Zhang Ze, on the other hand, looked somewhat disappointed and unconvinced.

In terms of seniority, he was an old-timer from the Honglianping period, and one of the first young men to follow Peng Gang up the mountain.

Huang Bingxian followed Peng Gang up the mountain during the Xunjiang Water Village period in the 28th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, about half a year later than him.

The problem that Huang Bingxian thought of was actually something he had also thought of.

However, his cultural background was not as good as Huang Bingxian's, his ability to organize his language was not as good as Huang Bingxian's, and his speech was not as organized and logical as Huang Bingxian's, which is why Huang Bingxian got there first.

(End of this chapter)