1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 137 Xiang Rong Enters Xun
Before sunset, the battlefield near the entrance of Mo Village had been mostly cleared up.

Teams that went out to capture large livestock would either drive or forcibly drag the captured animals back to Mocun.

In addition to the live animals that were captured, there were also 52 large animals that were accidentally killed or injured in the battle.

It's summer, the weather is scorching, and food spoils easily.

The large livestock that were killed or seriously injured could only be slaughtered quickly to supplement the diet. Those that could not be eaten in a short time were made into smoked or cured meat for storage.

While cooking, Peng Gang arrested and interrogated several Green Standard Army officers and local militia leaders.

These Green Standard Army officers and local militia leaders behaved as weakly in the interrogation room as they did on the battlefield during the day.

Peng Gang didn't even subject them to torture before they all confessed everything.

We learned this from their confessions.

The commander of this Qing army was indeed the newly appointed governor of Guangxi, Zhou Tianjue.

Accompanying Zhou Tianjue were Qin Dingsan, the general of Guizhou, and Li Rui, the general of Guzhou Town. However, Li Rui, the general of Guzhou Town, had already led four hundred soldiers back to Sanlixu for training.

The Guizhou and Yunnan armies were weak in combat. After a series of battles, Peng Gang felt that the Guizhou and Yunnan armies were even inferior to Li Dianyuan's Xunzhou detachment.

The prisoners also revealed the current undefended situation at Sanlixu. Peng Gang was not too worried about the 400 soldiers that Li Rui, the general of Guzhou Town, had sent to reinforce Sanlixu. They would cause Xie Bin and Lin Qirong a lot of trouble.

Around midnight, good news came from the direction of Sanlixu: Xie Bin and Lin Qirong not only defeated the 400 soldiers and militia of Li Rui, the general of Guzhou Town, but also captured Li Rui alive and took 250 Qing soldiers and militia prisoner.

On the way, they also encountered the group of Zhou Tianjue, Qin Dingsan, Li Mengqun and others who were hastily retreating.

Xie Bin and Lin Qirong then joined forces with Lu Qin's musket battalion to attack the remnants of the defeated army from both sides.

Zhou Tianjue, Qin Dingsan, Li Mengqun and others abandoned the corpses of 118 of their close followers, as well as all their ceremonial guards and sedan chairs, and desperately tried to break through the encirclement on horseback. Only then did they manage to escape back to Wuxuan County with 170 or 180 personal guards in a sorry state.

After this battle, the Guizhou army, Yunnan soldiers, and local militias of various ethnic groups brought by Zhou Tianjue and Qin Dingsan suffered heavy losses and were no longer able to fight.

As a result, the Qing government once again found itself in a predicament of insufficient military strength in the Wuxuan and Xiangzhou areas.

Li Mengqun and Qin Dingsan had no choice but to write to Xiang Rong, informing him of the defeat in Dongxiang and pleading with him to quickly lead Chu and Zhengan troops to reinforce Xun, so as to prevent the situation in Wuxuan and Xiangzhou from deteriorating further.

The Battle of Togo ended on the second day.

Seeing Lu Qin and his men carrying an official sedan chair back to Mo Village, Peng Gang assumed that Lu Qin and his men had captured Zhou Tianjue and was somewhat angry.

Didn't I tell him not to arrest Zhou Tianjue before we set off yesterday?

Why doesn't this kid listen to orders?

Just as Peng Gang was about to question him, Lu Qin excitedly told him that they had seized Zhou Tianjue's governor's regalia, and that Zhou Tianjue, Li Mengqun, and Qin Dingsan had fled back to Wuxuan County with only about 170 or 180 followers. Peng Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief. "You're a smart kid."

"The Qing army didn't have much of the weapons and ammunition they had stockpiled at Sanlixu left. Most of them were taken by Zhou Tianjue to attack our Dongxiang. However, they still had more than 18,000 shi of grain and 362 shi of salt."

"Commander Xie is currently stationed at Sanlixu. He asked me to come back and consult with the general: should we continue the attack to expand our gains, or should we lead our troops back to Dongxiang?" Lu Qin asked.

“The area around Sanlixu is too flat. Apart from a small river to the north and a terrace in Taicun to the northwest, which is relatively high, it has no other advantages and is not suitable for defense.” Peng Gang shook his head slightly and then asked.

Are there still people living in Sanlixu?

"Don't even mention Sanlixu, all the people in the vicinity have fled. When we stormed into Sanlixu, we only saw soldiers, not civilians," Lu Qin replied.

"After bringing all the supplies back from Sanlixu, implement a scorched-earth policy. Burn or demolish any houses in Sanlixu that can be burned. Don't leave the Qing army with a single wall or brick," Peng Gang instructed.

Peng Gang had considered whether to stay in Sanlixu.

Actually, if we wanted to defend it, Sanlixu wasn't impossible to defend.

They simply couldn't hold onto Sanlixu like the Qing army.

Instead, it should, like Togo, build a well-structured, hierarchical, and layered defense system.

Using Taicun and Linghu, located five or six li northwest of Sanlixu, as a defensive barrier, and Dongling, a high point two li southwest of Sanlixu, as a beacon tower, they could observe the movements of the surrounding Qing troops.

The reserve force was then deployed at Sanlixu to deal with the Qing army's attack.

However, such a configuration requires a large amount of manpower and resources to build supporting defense facilities.

It will take at least two thousand troops to get this defensive line up and operational.

Peng Gang's base was in Honglian Village and Bitanxun in Pingzaishan. Even with a forced march, it would take a day and a night to reach Sanlixu.

Sanlixu was too far from the base area, and the main force of Yang Xiuqing and others was still in the Jintian, Xinwei, and Jiangkouwei areas, and had not yet returned to Mengchong.

In this situation, it would be unwise to divide our forces to defend Sanlixu. It would be better to destroy Sanlixu directly and withdraw to the Zijingshan and Pingzaishan base areas.

After giving his instructions, Peng Gang ordered the musket battalion to take the repaired and usable supply wagons to Sanli Market to transport supplies.

To speed up the delivery of supplies, Peng Gang also mobilized the people in Dongxiang and Dachong to help transport the grain.

Dachong area was originally Peng Gang's sphere of influence. Before long, Wang Dalei organized about 800 local young men to respond to the mobilization and come to Dongxiang.

After the central army occupied Dongxiang, it maintained excellent military discipline and did not harm the people in any way, thus winning the hearts of the local people.

Most of the people near Dongxiang had already joined the God Worshippers Society and were incorporated into the central army. Thanks to the strong popular support, Peng Gang also mobilized more than 1,600 people from Dongxiang to go to Sanli Market to help transport supplies.

After defeating Zhou Tianjue's Qing army, Peng Gang's left wing remained stationed in Dongxiang.

Lin Qirong was somewhat greedy for credit, so he led his troops to attack in all directions, chasing down scattered Qing soldiers and even reaching outside Wuxuan City.

Seeing that the Qing soldiers inside Wuxuan City were holding firm and not coming out, Lin Qirong took the gold and silver he had captured and went around buying supplies.

There is no longer any threat from the Qing army in Wuxuan and Xiangzhou.

Peng Gang, on the other hand, followed the original plan and, together with Qin Richang and Luo Dagang, besieged the Xunzhou Prefecture water camp and water fortress that had been reined in.

Tian Fang, nicknamed "Big Carp," held firm at Lema Water Village, refusing to leave, while simultaneously sending men to break out and seek reinforcements.

But where could they find reinforcements in Wuxuan and Xiangzhou at this time?
The waterways and land routes near Lema have been completely blocked by Qin Richang and Luo Dagang.

Tian Fang, the big carp, could only desperately hold back his horse.

Seeing that Tian Fang, nicknamed "Big Carp," was holding firm and not coming out, Luo Dagang and Qin Richang set fire to Lema Water Village, smoking Big Carp into a giant smoked fish. They then launched a fierce attack on Lema Water Village, using their superior numbers to defeat the weaker enemy and wipe out half of the Xunzhou Prefecture Water Camp, which was the pride of Prefect Liu Jizu of Xunzhou Prefecture.

Tian Fang, fearing that Luo Dagang would torture him, committed suicide.

Two months later, the waterway in the upper reaches of the Qianjiang River was reopened.

There are several ferry crossings along the Qianjiang River within Wuxuan County. These ferry crossings were the main transportation routes for goods such as grain, salt, and cloth to be transported into Wuxuan.

Regaining control of this waterway meant being able to procure supplies from these riverside ports, thus alleviating the supply shortage in the base area.

After all, Peng Gang now has to support more than 11,000 people in the Pingzaishan base area.

The daily consumption of resources was astronomical, and the Pingzai Mountain base had no valuable output other than wood.

Peng Gang could only maintain the base's operation by consuming its existing stockpiles of supplies.

However, this favorable situation did not last long.

After receiving the letters from Li Mengqun and Qin Dingsan, Xiang Rong was extremely anxious and desperate to salvage the precarious situation in Wuxuan and Xiangzhou.

He left only a small number of troops for his son, Xiang Jixiong.

The plan was to leave Xiang Jixiong in Guilin Prefecture to pursue and eliminate the remnants of Chen Yagui's army, paving the way for Xiang Jixiong's future.

Xiang Rong himself led 3,200 main Chu troops and 1,500 Zhengan soldiers into Wuxuan and Xiangzhou.

Xiang Rong brought not only his Chu army and Zhengan soldiers, but also gold and silver allocated by the imperial court, as well as gold and silver he had raised, seized, or plundered in Guilin, totaling more than 600,000 taels.

The Chu army and the Zhengan troops marched by land and water, covering more than 200 li in a day and night, and rushed to Wuxuan Xiangzhou.

With over 600,000 taels of silver, Xiang Rong was able to easily recruit local militias in Wuxuan and Xiangzhou.

Xiang Rong can now finally mobilize the Liuzhou troops that Zhou Tianjue couldn't previously command.

When Xiang Rong's Chu army and Zhengan troops entered Wuxuan territory.

Lin Qirong is purchasing supplies in Ertang, a market town about 17 or 18 miles north of Wuxuan County.

Lin Qirong did not expect the Qing army to arrive so quickly, and hastily engaged Xiang Rong's Chu army and Zhengan troops in battle.

The two sides engaged in a fierce battle at Ertang. In less than an hour, Lin Qirong was outnumbered and had to abandon the more than 110 corpses of Taiping soldiers and the supplies he had just purchased. He led the remaining 370-plus Taiping soldiers to break out towards Sanlixu. At the same time, he sent scouts to inform Peng Gang that the Qing army was coming to their aid from Xiangzhou.

Peng Gang was also surprised to learn that a large number of Qing troops had come to his aid.

The troops coming from the direction of Xiangzhou to reinforce Wuxuan were no fewer than Zhou Tianjue's troops.

Based on information from various sources, the Qing army that came to Wuxuan's aid could only be the Chu army and Zhengan troops of Xiang Rong, the Hunan Provincial Governor.

The fact that Xiang Rong's main force entered Wuxuan indicates that the Heaven and Earth Society in Guilin Prefecture has been almost completely wiped out, and Xiang Rong is now finally able to free up his resources to focus on suppressing the Taiping Army.

Xiang Rong arrived too quickly; Peng Gang hadn't even finished unloading the supplies that were almost at Sanli Market.

Half of the four or five hundred men that Lin Qirong led to Ertang to purchase supplies were regular soldiers from the Central Army.

The Chu army and Zhengan soldiers, who marched rapidly, were able to defeat Lin Qirong's Taiping army in a short time, so their combat strength must have been stronger than the Guizhou army, Yunnan army, and local militias brought by Zhou Tianjue.

Peng Gang attached great importance to Xiang Rong's arrival as part of the aid effort.

He transferred Luo Dagang's boat battalion, which was still transferring supplies in Lema, to Mocun as a reserve force to defend the entrance to Dongxiang.

At the same time, they sought help from the Taiping Army under Qin Richang, who had just returned to their base in Lianhua Mountain and Longshan.

After making these arrangements, Peng Gang personally led the musket battalion, two rifle battalions, and an artillery company to Sanlixu to meet Lin Qirong and cover the transport of supplies to Sanlixu.

He dispatched scouts to Jintian and Xinwei to inform Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui, and others that Xiang Rong's Qing troops had entered Xunzhou Prefecture, so that they could make preparations as soon as possible.

There has been no news from the main force of the Taiping Army for ten days. We don't know how they are doing or whether they have safely withdrawn from Pingnan County.

Even Xiang Rong has already entered the territory of Xunzhou Prefecture, so the reinforcements from Guangdong should be arriving soon.

(End of this chapter)