1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 155 Long live Military Advisor Peng!
The Battle of Sanlixu was the biggest defeat Xiang Rong had experienced since joining the army.

Xiang Rong's mood had plummeted to rock bottom.

In the battle of Taicun-Zhangzhong Bridge, at least the rebel army voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield.

Xiang Rong could still deceive himself by claiming that he had fought and defeated the cult bandits, or at the very least, he could comfort himself by saying that he had fought to a draw with the cult bandits.

In the Battle of Sanlixu, the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers, along with the Yunnan army, local militia, Guizhou army, and even the artillery battalion of the Eight Banners, suffered a very ugly defeat.

They were defeated head-on by the short-haired cult bandits in what they excelled at: defensive warfare. Xiang Rong couldn't find any reason or excuse to absolve himself of his defeat.

Xiang Rong knew exactly what Zhou Tianjue was thinking with this attitude; he simply wanted to take control of the Qing army on the western front in the Wuxuan and Xiangzhou areas.

Xiang Rong bowed and cupped his hands in greeting to Zhou Tianjue, his chest heaving violently.

For the sake of the overall situation, Xiang Rong did not lash out at Zhou Tianjue in front of all the generals.

Xiang Rong bowed to Zhou Tianjue, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately swallowed his anger.

Respect is earned through performance on the battlefield, not through verbal sparring.

Following Xiang Rong into the Wuxuan County government office were Yiketanbu, deputy commander of the Qingjiang County government in Guizhou, and Han Yongqi, garrison commander of Guzhou Town.

At this moment, both of them were as pale as paper. Iktambu had been injured during the retreat, his right arm wrapped in a blood-stained cloth, and he was staggering.

The atmosphere inside the main hall of Wuxuan County Government was extremely oppressive; no one dared to speak at this time, for fear of angering Zhou Tianjue.

After a long silence, Xiang Rong, who had been standing there without saying a word, finally broke the silence: "The rebels launched a surprise attack from three directions, and the Zhengan soldiers and the Chu army are surrounded and fighting bitterly. This humble servant... is powerless to reverse the situation."

Zhou Tianjue delayed offering Xiang Rong a seat, waiting for Xiang Rong to speak so he could ridicule her.

As soon as Xiang Rong finished speaking, Zhou Tianjue's old body suddenly trembled. He waved his sleeves, slammed the memorial in his hand onto the desk, and shouted angrily in a deep voice: "Tens of thousands of troops, three towns at once, were defeated in one fell swoop by the God Society bandits! Xiang Rong, you are a famous general of the Green Standard Army, yet you have been humiliated like this by the bandit leader Peng Gang?"

Xiang Rong bowed and replied in a trembling voice, "The rebels are fierce and brave, and our army is at a disadvantage... It's not that we were incompetent in battle, but rather that their weapons are superior, their formations are tight, and they fight with a fearless and reckless spirit, making it difficult to withstand them..."

This wasn't Xiang Rong trying to justify himself; it was what he truly felt.

In the Battle of Sanlixu, he did lead the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers to fight as hard as he could, but they were defeated.

"Shut up!" Zhou Tianjue interrupted Xiang Rong angrily. "Xiang Rong! You're still boosting the morale of others while diminishing your own. Saying that the cult bandits are brave and fearless! It's clearly your incompetence as leaders that's the problem!"
You're a veteran of the Green Standard Army, leading troops in battle for decades. How come you ended up getting utterly humiliated by Peng Gang and his gang of traitors?!

Xiang Rong was generally a kind and honest person, and he got along well with the visiting military commanders.

Iktambu stepped forward, wanting to say a few words of justice for Xiang Rong, but was stopped by Zhou Tianjue in a cold voice as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Shut up! Iktambu! You're just a deputy general hiding at the back of the ranks, you've never even been on the front lines! Who caused the Guizhou army to desert in the face of battle? Who caused the local militia to collapse at the first contact? Who sat in the rear and did nothing, missing the opportunity to win?"

Zhou Tianjue pressed on aggressively, his voice rising from low to high: "This governor dispatched over ten thousand elite troops from your three towns, with hundreds of cannons, and they crumbled in less than an hour! Did you come here to suppress bandits, or to be suppressed by them?!"

Zhou Tianjue always prided himself on being a loyal minister and was never afraid of offending people.

Don't even mention that Yiketanbu was just a mere bannerman deputy general. If given the chance, he would have dared to curse Emperor Xianfeng and Mu Zhang'a as well.

This is perhaps one of the few shining qualities of Zhou Tianjue.

Xiang Rong's face was ashen, his knuckles white. He remained silent for a moment, his voice already somewhat hoarse: "The enemy's formation is unusual, their firearms are highly skilled, their muskets are densely packed, and their firepower is fierce, leaving our soldiers no time to dodge... Although our army is brave, we are no match for their strength. I dare not presume to say that the defeat was due to human error."

"You actually know shame?" Zhou Tianjue flicked his sleeves, still maintaining an aggressive posture, and cupped his hands in a gesture towards the north as he spoke.

"Look at your soldiers! They're neither human nor ghost. How can the people of this city have any faith in our Great Qing? Xiang Rong, you rose from the ranks of a common soldier. If you cannot win, you should fight to the death to atone for your sins. Kneel back and return. How can you live up to the Emperor's boundless grace?"

Xiang Rong lowered his head and remained silent, his fists clenched tightly.

He was able to consider the bigger picture and, out of respect for Lin Zexu's instructions and his own face, he showed some leniency towards Zhou Tianjue.

But that doesn’t mean Zhou Tianjue can recklessly ridicule and humiliate him in front of so many people, or even the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers who are actually fighting and bleeding on the front lines.

Xiang Rong could no longer bear it. This time, he didn't even bother to bow to Zhou Tianjue. He snorted coldly and retorted, "Hmph! If it weren't for these Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers who were neither human nor ghost when they entered the city, Governor Zhou probably wouldn't even have the chance to sit in his official hall and humiliate me. I take my leave!"

Having said that, Xiang Rong, no longer wanting to make a fool of himself, turned and left the Wuxuan County government office with a flourish.

"Xiang Rong! You! I'm going to submit a memorial to the throne to impeach you!"

Before he could finish his humiliation, Zhou Tianjue slammed his fist on the table in anger and pointed at Xiang Rong's departing figure, cursing.

As soon as Xiang Rong left, Iktambu and Han Yongqi also gave Zhou Tianjue a cold shoulder and stormed off.

Compared to Zhou Tianjue, who made sarcastic remarks at the Wuxuan County government office, the two of them preferred to work with Xiang Rong.

Zijing Mountain is shrouded in heavy clouds and deep in the mountains, where the sound of the forest is like a surging tide.

Thousands of tents were scattered densely throughout the valley centered on Mengchong, with banners fluttering and flags waving.

As the main force of the Taiping Army withdrew into Zijing Mountain, the Qing army blocked Fengmen'ao, the eastern exit of Zijing Mountain, completely severing the God Society's trade with the outside world.

Ensuring the basic living needs of the more than 80,000 members of the God Worship Society has become an extremely serious problem.

The God's Church was not lacking food, but salt.

Apart from the fact that regular military officers in each army can afford to eat salt freely.

The women's battalion, at the end of the line, could only receive a pitifully small amount of salt from the Saint Ku each day. Lunchtime, at the Mengchong headquarters.

Several shirtless soldiers were cooking porridge around a large pot when suddenly a rapid hoofbeat came from the mountain path. A fast horse galloped like a shooting star, carrying a messenger covered in dust, who shouted as he rode:

"Great victory! Great victory! Military Advisor Peng personally led the Left Army to a great victory over tens of thousands of Qing demons! Countless enemies were killed, and countless heavy artillery and supplies were captured. The Qing demons led by the demon leader fled back to Wuxuan in disarray!"

This news struck like a thunderbolt in the Taiping army's camp at Zijing Mountain, injecting a strong boost into the Taiping army's morale, which was beginning to decline.

The Qing army's encirclement was not impregnable!
The left wing broke through the encirclement of the Qing army on the western front!
In one corner of the camp, some people stopped chopping wood, and then the cooks put down their wooden spoons and stood up abruptly. More and more God's Church members peered at the messenger rushing to the Mengchong headquarters, discussing among themselves.

"Military Advisor Peng's left wing has utterly defeated the Qing forces?!"

"Really? Don't the Qing demons in the west also have heavy artillery? The Qing demons' heavy artillery is very powerful; they've made it so we can't even get out of Fengmen'ao."

"How could a detachment of the Left Army defeat tens of thousands of Qing demons? Could it be a false report?"

"It's hard to say. I fought alongside Zuo Jun, and Peng Junshi has always been very reliable in his military strategy."

Initially, the Taiping army in Mengchong camp were skeptical of the news that Peng Gang's left wing had defeated tens of thousands of Qing troops.

By the afternoon, when the first group of people delivering salt and gunpowder to the Mengchong headquarters arrived in Mengchong on unusually tall horses, the doubts completely disappeared.

As the God Society was besieged in a corner of Zijing Mountain, the God Society's main salt and saltpeter supply was cut off.

Salt and gunpowder were extremely precious and scarce resources.

The first batch of salt delivered by Zuo Jun this time weighed five or six hundred catties, which must mean that Zuo Jun had won a great victory and captured a lot of spoils.

A very small number of disgruntled members of the other army believed that it was impossible for a detachment of the Left Army to defeat tens of thousands of Qing demons on its own.

It wasn't until a soldier from the rear guard, who had seen the Eight Banners soldiers, pointed to the thirty tall horses that had come to the Mengchong headquarters with them and told them that only the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty possessed such tall horses.

With so many Eight Banners warhorses, the Left Army must have broken through the Qing army's camp.

"This horse is really different from any I've ever seen before."

"A proper warhorse is truly majestic!"

"When will I be able to ride such a fine steed!"

"We won! We really won!"

"Military Advisor Peng is truly a divine being!"

"Long live Military Advisor Peng!"

Upon hearing of the great victory at Sanlixu, some members of the congregation were so moved that they knelt down, tears streaming down their faces, murmuring, "Thank you, Lord Father, Lord Brother, for protecting us! Thank you, Military Advisor Peng!"

The messenger responsible for delivering the message had just ridden out of the Mengchong headquarters fortress when he was immediately surrounded by a crowd and almost carried away. The military leaders who had come to hear the news all asked the messenger about the details of the great victory at Sanlixu.

In the main hall of Mengchongwei Fortress, Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan was half-reclining on the holy chair.

Before long, Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui, Wei Changhui, and Shi Dakai arrived at the lobby one after another.

Yang Xiuqing remained calm, but a glint of light appeared in his eyes; Feng Yunshan was beaming with joy; Shi Dakai smiled slightly, while Xiao Chaogui and Wei Changhui frowned, lowered their heads, and hesitated in their steps.

"Good news has arrived! Seventh Brother is truly a lucky general for our Taiping Heavenly Army. He defeated the Qing demons in one battle and even brought us so much salt and rouge, relieving our urgent needs." Hong Xiuquan said excitedly, but his gaze slowly swept over the group of people.

Shi Dakai did not agree with the claim that Peng Gang was a lucky general of the Taiping Army.

Shi Dakai frequently corresponded with Qin Richang and had also studied Peng Gang's past battles. Even the map he was using now was drawn by Peng Gang himself two years ago.

Shi Dakai believed that Peng Gang won against Xiang Rong's Qing army through his own abilities, with very little element of luck involved.

Feng Yunshan said, "The victory at Sanlixu has greatly boosted the morale of our Heavenly Army and dealt a blow to the Qing demons' fighting spirit. This is a great joy."

Yang Xiuqing slowly said, "Seventh Brother is truly a genius for defeating tens of thousands of Qing demons with a detachment. However, the general opinion is that the army's morale should not be allowed to shift."

When the good news arrived, even many of Yang Xiuqing's central army members shouted "Long live Military Advisor Peng!" which made Yang Xiuqing feel a little uneasy.

Xiao Chaogui hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "The Qing Yao's western defense line has been breached. Seventh Brother must have obtained the Qing Yao's heavy artillery. Why not use the Qing Yao's heavy artillery that Seventh Brother obtained to directly break out of Fengmen'ao and take advantage of the victory to defeat Lin Yaotou's Qing Yao force?"

"Now that the Qing demon camp at Sanlixu has been breached, why should our Heavenly Army brave the Qing demons' artillery fire and exit through Fengmen'ao? Why not exit from Dongxiang in the west, detour around the Qing demons' weak western front, and then head south to attack Zhang Yaotou's Qing demon forces, while Qin Richang and Luo Dagang's Heavenly Army Holy Soldiers attack Zhang Yaotou's Qing demon forces from both sides?"

If this plan succeeds, two of the three sides of the net will be breached. The demon chief's scheme to trap our Heavenly Army on Zijing Mountain and Pingzai Mountain will surely fail.

Shi Dakai did not approve of directly charging into the Qing army's heavily fortified defenses outside Fengmen Pass.

They had attacked the Qing army's positions outside Fengmen'ao before, but they had failed to break through several times, resulting in increased casualties.

Shi Dakai preferred to emerge from Dongxiang, which had already been captured to the west, and circle around to the flank of the Qing army to attack Zhang Bilu's Qing troops on the south bank of the Qian River.

With the Qing army on the south bank breached, only the eastern line remained of the three lines of defense established by Lin Zexu.

At that time, whether they continued to fight the main Qing army on the eastern front or went directly elsewhere, the initiative was in the hands of the Taiping army.

(End of this chapter)