1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 138 It’s better to leave the remaining brave men to chase the poor bandits

Peng Gang's village, Mocun, is not far from Sanlixu, only fifteen li away.

After marching for one hour and twenty-two minutes, the rest of the troops arrived at Sanlixu, except for the artillery company, which carried heavy weapons and marched at a slightly slower pace.

After a short rest, Peng Gang led his troops to Linghu Village and Tai Village, which are located six or seven miles northwest of Sanlixu, serving as a natural barrier for Sanlixu.

They planned to use Linghu Village and Tai Village as a defensive line to receive Lin Qirong's troops who were breaking through and retreating to Dongxiang.

At the same time, it blocked Xiang Rong's Qing troops, buying time for the transfer of supplies from Sanlixu.

Set up the defenses and send out scouts to scout.

Peng Gang arrived at a small hill near Taicun, looked north, and waited for the Chu army to arrive.

About four hours later, smoke and dust billowed from the north, accompanied by the sounds of shouts of battle and the clamor of drums and horns.

As the saying goes, "When there are thousands of soldiers, there is no limit; when there are tens of thousands of soldiers, there is no end."

Looking out, one could see a vast expanse of Qing troops relentlessly pursuing Lin Qirong's Taiping army, hacking and slashing at Lin Qirong's three hundred or so men.

This is the first time since the Taiping Rebellion began that Taiping soldiers have been chased and hacked down by Qing troops.

However, Lin Qirong cannot be blamed for this. The two sides were vastly different in strength. The Qing army was more than ten times the size of Lin Qirong's Taiping army. It seems that Xiang Rong's Qing army was not a rabble.

If Lin Qirong didn't run away, then he would be out of his mind.

If you can win, fight; if you can't, run. There's nothing shameful about it.

Peng Gang raised his banner with the character "Peng" in Taicun to meet up with the Taiping Army under Lin Qirong.

The Taiping soldiers under Lin Qirong were deeply moved to see the Peng banner rising near Taicun in the south.

Having been chased by Xiang Rong's Chu army all the way, they were almost in despair. Suddenly seeing their allies coming to their aid gave them hope for survival. How could they not be moved?

The Chu army was pursuing closely, and Peng Gang was worried that artillery fire might accidentally injure friendly forces, so he did not order the artillery company to fire solid shot. Instead, he ordered the artillery company to fill the shells with grapeshot, preparing to let the Chu army get close.

The musketeer battalion and the pike battalion stood in formation, ready for battle.

The flag bearers of the left wing waved their flags to signal Lin Qirong's central army not to charge the battle formation, but to run into the village to the sides of the formation.

When Peng Gang was meeting Lin Qirong, his biggest worry was not fighting Xiang Rong's Chu army, but that the remnants of Lin Qirong's troops would scatter and disrupt his well-organized battle formation.

If the army's formation is broken up by Lin Qirong's Taiping army, Peng Gang will have no choice but to directly deploy a long spear battalion, which is a reserve force, into the battle to repel the Chu army.

Fortunately, Lin Qirong's Taiping army did not suffer a complete rout; it could be considered a somewhat organized retreat.

Most of the Taiping soldiers who withdrew bypassed Peng Gang's army formation and entered the village.

Only a few clueless players, in their panic, stumbled into the left flank of the army.

Fortunately, only a dozen or so men charged into the enemy lines, and they couldn't disrupt his formation.

Lin Qirong was furious. Before he could even catch his breath, he captured more than a dozen of the last men who had charged into the fray and interrogated them.

Peng Gang witnessed this scene, but he had no time to pay attention to it.

Xiang Rong's Chu army had already charged to within fifty or sixty paces of his formation.

Xiang Rong always believed in the principle that a generous reward would surely attract brave men.

He does indeed have enough money to generously reward his soldiers.

Xiang Rong offered generous rewards to the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers: forty taels for the head of an ordinary religious bandit, one hundred and twenty taels for a minor leader, five hundred taels for a medium-sized leader, and one thousand taels for a major leader.

As for how to define the leaders of the Taiping Army, Xiang Rong was also unclear and could only wait and see.

At this time, not only Xiang Rong, but even Li Mengqun and Li Dianyuan, two old rivals of the Taiping Army, were unaware of the Taiping Army's organizational structure and official ranks.

Xiang Rong's generous reward did indeed have an effect.

Upon seeing Peng Gang's reinforcements to Lin Qirong's troops, the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers showed no intention of retreating.

Instead, they regarded the heads of the Left Army soldiers as pure silver and continued to charge forward with great fanfare.

Xiang Rong's Chu army and Zhengan soldiers were honored to become the first Qing army to charge to the front of the left flank since the start of the battle.

The Chu army and the Zhengan soldiers fought scrambled to cut off the heads of the Taiping soldiers under Lin Qirong's command and claim the reward.

They chased him all the way from Ertang to Taicun, a distance of more than twenty li.

At this point, the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers' formations were in complete disarray, charging forward in a chaotic frenzy, almost like a gang fight.

The formation looks intimidating, but in reality, it has long lost its order and structure.

When the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers rushed to within thirty paces of the front line.

The left flank's musket battalion fired a hundred muskets at once!

"put!"

bang bang bang~
The 192 muskets in the front row of the musket battalion spewed fire almost simultaneously, sending a plume of white smoke crashing against the surface like waves.

A large number of the Zhengan soldiers at the forefront were immediately hit by bullets and fell to the ground. Some had a large hole blown in their chest, some had their kneecaps shattered and screamed as they knelt down, and some had iron balls piercing their cheeks, with teeth and blood spurting out.

Before the exclamations could be heard, the musketeers of the Second Company of the Left Army's musket battalion took over with kneeling fire.

The third and fourth companies followed closely behind, unleashing wave after wave of crossfire, like thunderbolts, leaving the hordes of Chu and Zhengan soldiers, who were charging and howling in disarray, littered with corpses.

The Qing soldiers who rushed within forty paces became human targets, falling one after another, their blood and mud mingling on the ground.

The musket battalion was engaged in fierce fighting, and the artillery company also began to unleash its power.

Artillery company commander Chen Xuyuan shouted the order to fire: "Fire!"

Boom——Boom——Boom——

Sixteen mountain-splitting cannons roared in succession, scattering countless iron balls, nails, and gravel in mid-air, creating a rain of iron that swept across the dense Qing army ranks within dozens of paces.

The Chu army captain at the forefront, along with his shield-bearers, was almost blown away, his limbs scattered, blood splattered everywhere, and screams and cries filled the air.

The Qing army's charging formation was suddenly disrupted by the dense firepower, and they quickly revealed their true nature. Infantrymen and musketeers were mixed together, those who moved forward were tripped up, and those who retreated were trampled on one another.

It wasn't until Xiang Rong personally rode his horse, whipping it and shouting incessantly, leading his elite troops to oversee the battle and maintain order, that the Chu army's rout was barely halted.

The Chu army and Zhengan troops were numerous and powerful. Seeing that they had repelled the Chu army, Xie Bin felt that it was enough and suggested that Peng Gang sound the retreat, hold Taicun and Linghucun, confront the Chu army and Zhengan troops, and buy time for the transfer of supplies to Sanlixu in the rear.

Peng Gang did not take Xie Bin's advice, and shook his head, saying, "We should press the enemy to the bitter end and launch a full-scale attack! Pursue the Chu army! Send the reserves as well!" The Chu army and the Zhengan soldiers were not as formidable as the Qian and Yunnan armies that they had fought four days ago.

The Chu army and Zhengan soldiers were significantly better organized and disciplined than the Qian army and Yunnan army.

Both the Guizhou and Yunnan armies were driven back by the left army's guns and cannons, but they couldn't even hold their troops back.

The Chu army in front of them gradually regrouped, and their commander-in-chief was personally overseeing the rear, preventing a rout.

Peng Gang had no time to explain to Xie Bin; he simply ordered the entire army to attack and pursue the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers who were still regrouping and forming ranks.

The order to charge was given, and the bugle call to charge sounded.

In addition to the artillery company, a battalion of musketeers and two battalions of pikemen, totaling more than 2,300 men, poured out of Taicun and Linghucun villages and charged towards the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers who were arranging their troops, to the beat of drums.

Seeing that his side was gaining the upper hand, Lin Qirong, driven by the desire to avenge his brothers who died at Ertang and those who perished at the hands of the Qing army during the retreat, took the lead and led more than 300 Taiping soldiers from the central army to join the charge.

The two sides clashed in close combat, and before Xiang Rong's army could even set up its formation, it was once again scattered by the Taiping army.

Xiang Rong had no choice but to lead the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers in a fighting retreat until they reached Zhangzhong Bridge, two miles away, before the tide of defeat was finally stopped.

Upon hearing the news, Qin Dingsan, Li Mengqun, and others led the soldiers and trainees from Wuxuan County to join the battle.

The Taiping reinforcements, namely Qin Richang's Taiping troops, had not yet arrived at the battlefield due to the long distance.

As it was getting late, Peng Gang worried that continuing the battle with the Qing army would lead to their encirclement and entanglement, so he gathered his troops and led the wounded back to Taicun and Linghucun.

After returning to Taicun and Linghucun, Peng Gang finally explained the situation to Xie Bin.

Xiang Rong was always cautious in his military operations, and having just arrived in Wuxuan, he was still unaware of the true strength of the Taiping army.

The Chu army and Zhengan soldiers continued their pursuit of Lin Qirong's troops, chasing them from Ertang to Taicun and Linghucun, covering a distance of about twenty li in one go. They were bound to be exhausted.

At this moment, launching a charge would not only give the rested Left Army an advantage in close combat, but also confuse the enemy and make it difficult for Xiang Rong to figure out how many troops he actually had.

Having just suffered a defeat and unsure of the Taiping Army's true strength, Xiang Rong would certainly not dare to launch a preemptive attack on Taicun, Linghucun, and Sanlixu in the coming days.

The supply train at Sanlixu will also have more time to move supplies.

Xie Bin suddenly realized.

Although we won this battle, it was a pity that we failed to capture or kill Xiang Rong.

Hsiang Jung is one of the few capable generals in the Green Camp.

Peng Gang's attitude towards Xiang Rong was different from Zhou Tianjue's. He genuinely wanted to capture and kill Xiang Rong, thus eliminating a formidable enemy for the Taiping Army.

However, by the time they reached Zhangzhong Bridge, the Taiping Army was already exhausted. In addition, the Taiping Army was already at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, and the Qing army had fresh troops coming from Wuxuan to join the battle. Peng Gang had no choice but to withdraw his troops.

Although the Taiping army failed to completely annihilate Xiang Rong's Chu and Zhengan troops in this battle, it still achieved considerable results.

Not only did they successfully rescue Lin Qirong's allied troops, but they also killed more than 850 Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers, and wounded countless others.

Although the Chu army had not lost its fighting capacity, it had been severely weakened.

The pressure on the Dongxiang defense line area will ease considerably in the future.

However, Peng Gang also suffered significant casualties in this battle.

It must be admitted that Xiang Rong's Chu army and Zhengan soldiers were indeed much stronger in fighting spirit and close combat ability than the Qing army he had encountered before.

For the first time since its formation, Peng Gang's Taiping Army Left Wing suffered more than 100 casualties.

Sixty-nine officers and soldiers were killed in action, including a company commander, a platoon leader, and two squad leaders.

There were as many as 182 injured.

Lin Qirong's troops also suffered as many as sixty or seventy casualties.

Xiang Rong's army had three or four hundred archers, and the casualties of the left wing were mainly caused by the Chu army's archers and the Zhengan soldiers' spearmen.

As Peng Gang predicted, Xiang Rong, due to the heavy casualties suffered by the Chu army and the uncertainty about the Taiping army's strength, dared not continue to launch an attack on the Taiping army.

Even though Zhou Tianjue repeatedly urged Xiang Rong to send troops to suppress the bandits, Xiang Rong pretended not to hear and continued to hold his troops at Zhangzhong Bridge.

On the third day, Qin Richang's 2,300 fresh Taiping Army troops finally arrived at Sanlixu and joined the Wuxuan battlefield.

Upon learning that new cult members had entered Wuxuan, Xiang Rong became even more hesitant to take any rash actions.

The two sides thus entered a stalemate, occasionally harassing each other.

However, both sides were already on guard, and their results were minimal.

On the seventh day, 1,500 soldiers from Liuzhou and 3,000 local militiamen from Liuzhou successively entered the battlefields of Xiangzhou and Wuxuan.

The Qing army thus regained its numerical advantage.

Zhou Tianjue and Xiang Rong were able to mobilize so many people from their own province and neighboring provinces to the Wuxuan battlefield in such a short period of time.

After several probing contacts, the Qing army's combat effectiveness and fighting spirit have significantly improved compared to the Dongxiang Campaign.

Peng Gang realized that Emperor Xianfeng had probably delivered the supplies to the Qing army, and there was no point in continuing to entangle with the Qing army in Wuxuan.

This is the severe test that peasant uprisings throughout history have had to face.

The rebels faced not only the encirclement and suppression by a few armies, but also the confrontation with the state apparatus that could mobilize the entire nation's army and resources.

Even after winning several battles, they were unable to fundamentally reverse their disadvantage.

In less than half a month, the Taiping Army led by Peng Gang successively annihilated most of the Qing army under Zhou Tianjue and Qin Dingsan, and severely damaged Xiang Rong's Chu Army Zhengan troops.

Undoubtedly, he had achieved brilliant military victories and done his utmost within his capabilities, putting the Qing army in the Wuxuan and Xiangzhou areas at a disadvantage twice.

The Qing army managed to overcome this disadvantage in just one week.

All the grain, fodder, and military supplies from Sanlixu were transported to Dongxiang and Dachong.

Peng Gang then ordered a scorched-earth policy for Sanlixu and the surrounding villages, and led his troops back into the mountains.

With the victory on the western front, Peng Gang thought that the main force of the Taiping Army should also be performing well on the eastern front.

I don't want bad news to keep coming.

(End of this chapter)