1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 164 Jiang Zhongyuan

Ulantai and Huiqing are not Zhang Bilu.

Neither of the two commanders of the reinforcements were prepared to personally lead the vanguard; instead, they both chose to remain in the central command.

The Qing army's Eight Banners scouts were also quite perfunctory, briefly exploring the mountain path ahead before returning to the central army to report the situation at Bogong'ao to Ulantai and Huiqing.

A dozen or so skilled Eight Banner scouts galloped back along the path ahead. Before their horses had even come to a complete stop, the leader dismounted and bowed to Ulantai, reporting, "Your Majesty! There are no signs of any rebel ambush within five li of the Bogong'ao mountain path ahead. The roadside vegetation is undamaged, the mountain valley is quiet, the stream is clear, and there is no sound of human voices or footsteps."

Upon learning that there were no God God Society bandits active ahead, Ulantai threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Haha! Just as I predicted, the God God Society bandits are afraid of my military strength and dare not stop me! It's good that these bandits know what's good for them, following me into the mountains to pick up Zhang Titai and bring him back to Guiping City to report their achievements and ask for rewards!"

To date, Ulantai is the most outstanding among the main Manchu generals who entered Guangxi.

Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu and Dong Yong forces decisively defeated the rear guard of the Taiping Army, killing and capturing hundreds of religious rebels—the Qing army's most remarkable achievement since entering Guangxi. The credit for this battle was attributed to Ulantai.

The artillery battalion brought by Ulantai also made many outstanding contributions.

In terms of battle record, Ulantai's record against the Taiping Army is not bad.

Of course, the Battle of Sanlixu is an exception.

In the Battle of Sanlixu, the Qing army not only lost nearly half of its artillery battalion, but also lost its whereabouts to this day. It is suspected that as many as 321 Eight Banner soldiers were killed or captured by the Short-haired Religious rebels.

However, Ulantai did not personally participate in the command of the battle of Sanlixu.

He had every reason to shift all the blame for the defeat onto Xiang Rong.

"Commander Wu is wise!" General Hui Qing of Youjiang Town immediately chimed in, flattering and echoing his sentiments.

"Commander Wu is a brilliant strategist. In less than half a day, our army will be able to join forces with Zhang Titai. Once we combine our forces, capturing and killing the rebels will be as easy as taking candy from a bag! With six thousand elite soldiers here, what are these mere rebels worth?"

The generals all nodded in agreement and began to flatter Ulantai.

Ulantai was quite pleased with the flattery from Huiqing and others.

Ulantai loved it most when people praised him for being resourceful and shrewd.

Ulantai enjoys reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". As a military officer, Ulantai's idols are not Lü Bu or the Five Tiger Generals of Shu Han, but the well-known and brave generals of the Three Kingdoms.

Ulantai believed that in an era dominated by firearms, individual bravery had become a thing of the past and could no longer control the course of battle.

Only strategists like Zhuge Liang are timeless.

Jiang Zhongyuan, who was accompanying the group, felt something was amiss and suspected that the Eight Banner soldiers who went into the mountains to scout were cowardly and had returned to report to Wulantai without conducting a thorough investigation.

The God Society bandits are no ordinary rebels; they are seasoned military strategists.

Bogong'ao is only a dozen miles away from Yaoquchong, so it's impossible for all the rebels to surround Zhang Bilu and attack him. They didn't even bother to send out scouts from a dozen miles away.

Jiang Zhongyuan believes that the biggest anomaly is that the Eight Banners scout cavalry did not find any trace of the religious bandits on the only road to Yaoquchong.

To be honest, Jiang Zhongyuan was somewhat disappointed in his benefactor, Wulantai. Huiqing had just arrived in Guiping and had not yet had a chance to deal with the cult bandits. He did not know the extent of the cult bandits' abilities, so it was understandable that he would speak wildly.

However, Ulantai had fought against the religious bandits more than once, so he shouldn't have underestimated them so much and listened to the flattery of his followers and subordinates.

The Eight Banners scouts that Ulantai sent out were all his trusted servants, which put Jiang Zhongyuan in a difficult position, unsure whether he should expose them in public.

This matter was of great importance, and concerned his own life and fortune. After walking half a mile, Jiang Zhongyuan decided to speak his mind: "Commander Wu, I have something to say."

"Speak," Ulantai said, still in high spirits, urging Jiang Zhongyuan to speak his mind.

"The mountains ahead are treacherous and the valleys are deep. The former Guangxi Governor Min Zhengwen perished on the mountains ahead. This scout report only says that there are no enemy traces on the five-mile mountain road, but there are hidden ravines and deep forests on both sides of this pass. How can checking only the main road be reliable? Moreover, the fog is heavy after the rain. The rebels may be hiding on the mountaintop, in the valley, or behind the cliff, and may not show their faces."

Jiang Zhongyuan spoke in a low voice, carefully considering his words.

"If the rebels set an ambush and wait for our troops to enter the pass, they will fire cannons, pour fire, roll logs, and throw stones from the mountain. Our muskets will be difficult to fire, and our artillery will be easily trapped. At best, we will suffer heavy casualties, and at worst, we will be trapped."

Upon hearing this, Wulantai felt immediately disappointed, his face darkening. He flicked his battle robe and said unhappily, "Jiang Zhongyuan, are you saying that I, Wulantai, can't even cross a small mountain pass?"

Jiang Zhongyuan could only cup his hands and say, "Commander Wu is the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and his safety is on our shoulders. I only hope that Commander Wu will send more deputy sentries to patrol the roadside, and we can enter the mountain pass after we have ascertained that there is no danger."

"What a joke!" Ulantai's family members blurted out.

"If the entire army were as timid and cautious as you, Jiang Zhongyuan, dragging your feet all the way, when would we ever be able to join forces with General Zhang? With the Eight Banners and the Green Standard Army advancing side by side, and Commander Wu personally leading the expedition, what do we have to fear from the rebels?!"

Ulantai said with a stern face, "Jiang Zhongyuan, if you are afraid, you can stay here and cultivate your character. You don't need to go into the mountains with the army."

Jiang Zhongyuan said expressionlessly, "I am willing to go with the army. If there are any cult bandits lying in ambush, I will be the first to fight. But what I have said about the situation in the army is all true. If Commander Wu insists on going forward, how can I be afraid to move forward?"

Helpless, Jiang Zhongyuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow his benefactor, Wulantai, into the mountains.

However, Jiang Zhongyuan ordered the six hundred Chu soldiers who accompanied him and the six hundred Dong soldiers under his command, who were assigned to Wulantai, to remain vigilant, be wary of the bandits' ambush, and be ready to fight at any time.

boom!
After the Qing army entered Bogong'ao, a Taiping Army red flag was suddenly unfurled on the cliff to the left of Bogong'ao, and in an instant, cannon fire and smoke filled the air.

Shi Xiangzhen's 2,300 Taiping soldiers, draped in vines and leaves, surged out of their hiding places like a mountain torrent, resembling mountain demons.

The Taiping army unleashed a barrage of gunfire, the explosions like beads on a string on the mountainside, and the hail of bullets sent the Qing army's vanguard flying, plunging them into brief chaos.

While Ulantai may not be very bright, among the Eight Banners officers, he was certainly one of the more courageous ones.

The Qing troops brought by Ulantai were also quite skilled in combat, and since their commander did not flee, they were able to hold their ground.

The Central Army didn't have many firearms to begin with, and the force that Shi Xiangzhen brought to intercept Qing reinforcements was a detachment of the Central Army, which had relatively weak firepower.

After calming down, Wulantai, Jiang Zhongyuan, and others concluded that the cultists who ambushed them were not the main force and their numbers were not too large, which boosted their confidence.

Armed with long spears and muskets, the Chu and Dong soldiers, led by Jiang Zhongyuan, filed up from the center of the army to the front to meet the enemy.

Jiang Zhongyuan sat firmly on his horse, his expression stern and cold. He drew his sword and pointed it at the high ground on both sides of the mountain road: "Form ranks! Use guns and cannons to suppress the mountains! Gunners, position yourselves in the valley center, and wait for my command to fire!" Chu Yong was known for his strict discipline. Even when chaos broke out at the front, Chu Yong, who was originally in the center of the army, did not lose his composure.

In a short time, Chu Yong had pushed his troops to both sides of the mountain road, using concentrated firepower to suppress the Taiping Army's advance.

The Taiping army's ambush was immediately halted by the continuous fire from the Chu army's musketeers and the suppression from their artillerymen below the mountain.

Seeing that the Taiping army was trying to rush down the mountain to seize the cannons, Jiang Zhongyuan calmly and steadily ordered: "Load all the mountain cannons and matchlock guns with grapeshot and sweep the mountainside!"

Chu Yong's cannons and muskets roared as they fired shrapnel and ballistic missiles at the mountainside. In an instant, iron filings and lead fragments flew everywhere, scattering across the mountainside, where the screams of Taiping soldiers who had been hit by bullets echoed continuously.

Logically speaking, ordinary local militia should not be qualified to be equipped with so many heavy firearms.

However, Jiang Zhongyuan's performance in Chuyong has been remarkable since he entered Guangxi, and Wulantai relies heavily on and takes good care of Jiang Zhongyuan.

He used his position to procure a number of high-quality mountain-splitting cannons, matchlock guns, and muskets for Chu Yong.

With Ulantai as his benefactor and backer, Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu-Yong troops were better equipped with firearms than most Green Standard Army troops.

"Stop them! Don't retreat!"

In the central army, Ulantai rode a tall horse, raising his saber high, with his guards forming a protective wall on both sides, forcefully stabilizing the central army.

"Form ranks! Form ranks! Artillery battalion, fire on the rebels! There aren't many rebels! They can't take down our Chu and Dong troops on both flanks!"

Ulantai's artillery battalion quickly adjusted the muzzles, and more than forty mountain-splitting guns were quickly put into position.

With several loud bangs, the iron pellets shot out and blasted the Taiping Army soldiers who were charging down from the mountainside into several pieces.

The Qing army was well-equipped and had dense firepower.

The Taiping army, which attempted to rush down the mountainside from both sides to defeat the Qing army and seize the cannons, was routed by the Qing army's concentrated firepower and suffered heavy casualties.

The Taiping army's offensive was interrupted, and the remaining Qing infantry gradually recovered. Under Huiqing's command, they quickly formed a thin formation on both sides of the mountain road, archers rained arrows down on the mountainside, and muskets fired in rows.

Under the suppression of firepower, the Taiping army's offensive began to slow down.

Holding a broadsword, Shi Xiangzhen charged through the chaotic army, repeatedly encouraging the Taiping soldiers: "Charge again! Charge down, kill the Qing devils, and seize the cannons!"

However, the Taiping soldiers of the Central Army had been traversing mountains and valleys for three consecutive days, and by this time they were already starving, their water and food bags were empty, their feet were blistered, and their muscles and bones were sore.

Faced with the Qing army's regrouping and deafening artillery fire, the Taiping army's charges were repeatedly interrupted.

The Qing army rained down arrows and lead bullets like a sudden downpour, knocking them down row by row.

It wasn't that the Taiping army in the Central Army was cowardly and unwilling to follow Shi Xiangzhen in the charge; rather, they simply lacked the strength to continue.

Seeing this, Shi Xiangzhen had no choice but to reluctantly order a retreat, withdrawing to the mountaintop position where they faced off against the Qing army.

The remaining Taiping troops slowly retreated.

Many soldiers of the First Army were too exhausted to walk any further, so they helped each other as they retreated to the top of the mountain.

This scene was witnessed by Wulantai, Jiang Zhongyuan, and others.

Both were overjoyed. Ulantai was extremely excited: "This group of cult bandits is at its last gasp! Our army can pursue and annihilate them!"

"I, Jiang, am willing to lead Chu Yong up the mountain to capture and kill this gang of Taiping rebels," Jiang Zhongyuan volunteered.

The group of cult bandits in front of us wore yellow turbans, had long hair, did not wear collars, and wore short cotton jackets with front openings instead of short jackets with cross-collars.

Clearly, they were slightly weaker members of the Long Hair Cult, and Jiang Zhongyuan was confident he could take them down!
"I, the Commander-in-Chief, await your good news from Minqiao (Jiang Zhongyuan, courtesy name Minqiao)!" Ulantai nodded in agreement.

Since Jiang Zhongyuan doesn't hold an official position, any merits he makes will ultimately be attributed to him.

Ulantai was not worried at all that Jiang Zhongyuan would compete with him for credit.

After retreating to the mountain, the soldiers of the First Army around Shi Xiangzhen were exhausted and panting heavily.

Many soldiers of the First Army had broken soles in their shoes, and some even walked barefoot with bloodstains on the soles of their feet.

Even so, this indomitable Taiping army soldier gritted his teeth and continued to march despite his injuries.

They fought with all their might, but failed to repel the Qing reinforcements as they had hoped.

Now that he had retreated to the mountains, Shi Xiangzhen could only rely on the strategic terrain to delay Qing reinforcements.

Shi Xiangzhen glanced back at the Qing army that was hot on their heels on the mountainside, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and spat out a mouthful of gasping breath: "Damn Qing devils, they won't even give us a chance to catch our breath!"

“The enemy troops have reached their limit.” Jiang Zhongyuan climbed halfway up the mountain and looked at the chaotic remnants of the Taiping army on the ridge. He ordered, “Pass on my order: the three battalions will circle around the left flank of the forest slope and attack the enemy’s rear from the side via the small path. The muskets will be arrayed on the front, and the artillery will be on the top of the five-zhang cliff, ready to bombard them.”

The Taiping soldiers on the mountaintop still had high morale, but their bodies were already on the verge of collapse. All they could do at this moment was to stick their heads out and fire sporadic muskets at the Chu soldiers on the mountainside, and pray to the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother for a miracle to happen.

Once Chu Yong, with his full strength and high morale, reaches the summit, let alone defend the mountain, Shi Xiangzhen will not even have the strength to escape.

Shi Xiangzhen hadn't expected these Qing soldiers and local militia to be so capable. He looked closely and, after seeing the large Jiang banner fluttering in the mountain wind on the mountainside, he seemed to remember something.

The deputy commander of the rear army once told him that the rear army was actually defeated by Jiang Zhongyuan and Chu Yong.

Could it be that the Qing army militia that fought him to a standstill just now were Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu troops?
They watched as the Qing soldiers and local militia drew ever closer, their menacing aura growing stronger.

Although the Taiping soldiers on the mountaintop had reached their physical limits, not one of them chose to surrender.

These veterans of the First Army, who came from the mountainous area of ​​Guixian County, helped each other and gathered around Shi Xiangzhen, lining up to fight their last battle.

(End of this chapter)