1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 166 Taking a Gamble [Third Update! Please Subscribe! Please Vote!]

Luo Dagang and Shi Xiangzhen, who were resting on Dunbing Ridge, did not know whether the left and rear armies had arrived in full or only two battalions had arrived.

Seeing that the Qing army was on the verge of collapse, he mustered his last bit of strength and charged down the mountain ridge, hoping to repel the Qing reinforcements in one fell swoop.

Lu Qin's First Battalion and Xie Bin's Third Battalion were indeed Peng Gang's vanguard.

However, the vanguard and the main force were not far apart. In less than two hours, Peng Gang's main force on the left and Feng Yunshan's main force on the rear also arrived at Yaoquchong.

Peng Gang, Feng Yunshan, and Hu Yihuang heard that Qing reinforcements had reached Bogong'ao, a dozen miles southwest of Yaoquchong.

They then divided their forces into two battalions, leaving one for Shi Dakai to encircle Zhang Bilu, while the other three led the main force to Bogong'ao.

Zhang Bilu's Qing troops were now trapped, and there was plenty of time to deal with them.

If the main force of the Qing army on the eastern front that came to the rescue from Guiping were to run back to Guiping, they would probably not have much of a chance to severely damage or even annihilate them.

When the main forces of the left and rear armies arrived at Bogong'ao.

Lu Qin and Xie Bin, together with Luo Dagang, Shi Xiangzhen and others, have repelled the Qing army reinforcements and are cleaning up the battlefield.

The Qing reinforcements were busy fleeing, and many supplies were left behind.

Fourteen heavy cannons weighing five or six hundred pounds and thirty-three mountain-splitting cannons weighing over two hundred pounds were left on the battlefield.

Shi Xiangzhen was very excited. The Central Army was short of firearms, and they would be able to get a lot of the firearms captured this time.

Although the spoils were plentiful, the battle did not inflict much damage on the Qing reinforcements; only about 560 Qing soldiers were killed or captured in total.

Upon learning from the captured Chu Yong that Jiang Zhongyuan had also joined the battle, Peng Gang's eyes lit up, and he instantly became excited.

Feng Yunshan, Luo Dagang, and others did not quite understand why Peng Gang valued a local militia leader more than the commander and deputy commander of the Qing army reinforcements.

When Peng Gang learned from Qing prisoners that the Qing army commander-in-chief was Ulantai, the deputy commander of Guangdong, and Huiqing, the deputy commander-in-chief of Youjiang Town, he was not as excited as when he heard Jiang Zhongyuan's name.

“Ulantai is arrogant and conceited, ambitious but incompetent, and Huiqing is just an unremarkable general in the Green Standard Army. These two are not worth mentioning. Jiang Zhongyuan knows military affairs, and Chu Yong performed well today. At present, Jiang Zhongyuan is still a commoner, serving under Ulantai. If Jiang Zhongyuan is given important positions by the evil court in the future, he will inevitably become a major threat to our Taiping Heavenly Army. This person must not be allowed to live. It is best to eliminate him as soon as possible.”

The commander and deputy commander of the rear army were both present. Peng Gang still gave Feng Yunshan and Hu Yihuang some face and did not mention in public that the rear army had been defeated by Chu Yong.

Jiang Zhongyuan was a leading figure among the pragmatic officials of the late Qing Dynasty and the founder of the Xiang Army, which sparked a wave of local militia organization in the late Qing Dynasty.

In another historical timeline, Jiang Zhongyuan was the nemesis of the Taiping Army in its early stages, causing them great trouble. He killed Feng Yunshan at Suoyi Ferry, becoming the first Qing general to kill one of the five kings of the Taiping Rebellion.

In 1853, when Jiang Zhongyuan was defeated and killed in Hefei, he had already risen to the position of Governor of Anhui, stepping into the threshold of a high-ranking official as a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination).

If Jiang Zhongyuan hadn't died so young, his potential might have been far greater than Zeng Guofan's, but his potential wouldn't have been much lower than that of Zuo Zongtang, who was also a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations).

Jiang Zhongyuan did not only have Wulantai as a backer.

Jiang Zhongyuan had a very close personal relationship with Zeng Guofan, who had already risen to the position of Vice Minister of War.

Jiang Zhongyuan's current record is outstanding among the Qing generals who have been suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, and he has no shortage of connections.

It was only a matter of time before he was exceptionally promoted and given important responsibilities by the Qing court; he could not remain under Ulantai's tutelage forever.

“That makes sense. Shall we continue pursuing the fleeing Qing demons?” Feng Yunshan nodded and said.

"Chase them!" Peng Gang said decisively.

After speaking, Peng Gang and Feng Yunshan quickly assembled the left and rear armies and headed towards Mengwei.

As for Luo Dagang and Shi Xiangzhen's deployment, their physical strength had long been exhausted, and they were willing but unable to pursue. Peng Gang and Feng Yunshan could only leave them at Bogong'ao to continue cleaning up the battlefield and guarding the Qing army prisoners.

As the moon rose high in the sky, the morale of the Qing reinforcements who had retreated to Mengxu, a distance of twenty miles from Bogong'ao, plummeted to rock bottom.

Jiang Zhongyuan sat alone in his tent, a pot of cold tea being brewed and cooled repeatedly.

He crossed his arms and fell into deep thought, his expression revealing neither anger nor sorrow.

Jiang Zhongyuan still had a bullet wound on his right shoulder, a scratch from the midday exchange of fire between the Chu Yong musketeer and the short-feathered musketeer. Although it only broke the skin and flesh and formed a thin scab, it hurt terribly.

Before long, the curtain was lifted, and Jiang Zhongyuan's younger brother, Jiang Zhongjun, walked in, followed by Jiang Zhongji and Jiang Zhongshu.

The Jiang brothers looked solemn, their clothes still covered in mud and water.

Jiang Zhongyuan looked up at his brothers, exchanged few pleasantries, and simply said in a low voice, "You're all here?"

“Everyone except Zhongxin is here.” Jiang Zhongjun nodded.

Jiang Zhongxin, courtesy name Chengfu, is Jiang Zhongyuan's cousin.

When Chu Yong came to Guangxi this time, Jiang Zhongyuan brought his brothers with him.

Even his cousin Jiang Zhongxin, who was only fourteen years old, was brought along.

However, during the chaos of the daytime battle, young Jiang Zhongxin got separated from them and disappeared without a trace; it was unclear whether he was alive or dead.

The brothers couldn't help but feel somewhat saddened.

Jiang Zhongyuan wasn't too saddened or grieving; he was planning something bigger and had no time to worry about the life or death of a cousin.

Inside the tent, the fire glowed faintly red. The four brothers sat cross-legged around a straw mat. Jiang Zhongyuan spread out a map in the middle and pointed to the direction of Bogong'ao, speaking in a deep voice.

"We did not lose this battle unjustly. Although the Chu soldiers led by my brothers were not afraid of the enemy, the cult bandits were not a rabble. The cult bandits' musketeers were well-organized, their guns were accurate, and their volleys were not chaotic. They were not like bandits at all, but more like seasoned soldiers who had been through many battles."

Jiang Zhongji clenched his fist and said angrily, "Does this mean that our tens of thousands of Green Standard Army militia are really no match for those rebels?"

Jiang Zhongyuan gave a cold laugh, seemingly to himself: "To be able to fire a musket, fire in formation, and reload in shifts with such skill, and to withstand the volleys of our Chu warriors at close range of forty paces, Duanmao is even stronger than rumored. I am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhongyuan slowly raised his head, his eyes blazing with fury, and said coldly, "If the Green Standard Army were to go up, I'm afraid they wouldn't even die as neatly as we Chu Yong did."

Jiang Zhongjun subconsciously looked around, and seeing that there were no outsiders, whispered, "But Lord Lin and the others are still mobilizing troops and raising funds everywhere, saying they want to launch a joint attack and encircle..."

"A joint suppression? An encirclement?" Jiang Zhongyuan sighed helplessly.

"We both know what kind of people the Eight Banners soldiers are. We had only retreated to Mengxu when they had already run back to Guiping City. The Eight Banners soldiers are unreliable."

The Green Standard Army was also a waste of resources and wasted resources. The people on the roster might not actually exist. The Green Standard Army soldiers who received pay were cowardly and afraid to fight. Their skills in gun and cannon formations were not as proficient as our Chu soldiers.

Are we to expect them to suppress the God Church cult bandits? Can we really count on them? The bandits will probably retreat to their rear camp before they even reach the front lines.

Jiang Zhongshu frowned and asked, "Then what should we do? If we continue to fight head-on like this, we will suffer heavy losses, and I'm afraid our Chu army will follow in the footsteps of the Chu army under General Junmen."

More than 130 Chu soldiers were lost in the battle.

Chu Yong had never suffered such a heavy blow since the start of the campaign.

Jiang Zhongshu inexplicably thought of Xiang Rong.

Xiang Rong's Chu army and Zhengan soldiers suffered heavy losses in the first battle against the short-haired rebels. In the second battle, they were completely demoralized by the short-haired rebels, and in the third battle, they were almost completely annihilated.
Jiang Zhongyuan slowly stood up and stood in front of the brazier, half of his face reflecting the firelight.

"The Chu warriors are the Chu warriors, and the Chu army is the Chu army. To be honest, it's not shameful for the general to be defeated by the short-haired bandits. It was only after this battle that I truly understood... This is not a matter of suppressing bandits; this is a cataclysmic upheaval. The bandits are killing officials, attacking granaries, distributing land deeds, helping the poor, and winning over people's hearts everywhere. Their ambitions are far from small."

"If we retreat, General Zhang's days are probably numbered, and General Lin will no longer be able to stop the cult bandits. I fear they will infiltrate Hunan."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhongyuan turned to look at Jiang Zhongjun, his tone suddenly becoming tense: "Zhongjun, you must return to Xinning immediately. Take the gold and silver we obtained in Guangxi back with you."

The clan has a register of tenant farmers from the Jiang family. Gather all the able-bodied young men from our Jiang family's tenant farmers and the surrounding villages, making a total of one thousand. Provide them with food and clothing, and train them step by step according to my methods of military training.”

Jiang Zhongjun paused, then frowned: "Brother, a thousand men? The government hasn't issued any orders yet. Isn't this considered privately training soldiers? That's a serious crime..."

Jiang Zhongjun felt that Jiang Zhongyuan had taken a step too big.

In the past, training even a few hundred local militia members had to be done with extreme caution. If a thousand people were trained in a short period of time, the Hunan government would definitely question it.

Jiang Zhongyuan stepped forward and patted his younger brother on the shoulder: "Times have changed. If we wait for the government to issue an order to train the militia, it will be too late! Hunan is the ancestral home of my Jiang family. If we don't train and defend it, and the rebels march all the way into Hunan, you will just watch them burn down your ancestral hall, destroy your ancestral graves, and kidnap your wife and children."
"If we can't even protect our ancestral homeland ourselves, are we expected to expect the Hunan Green Standard Army to do so for us?"

The brothers were speechless.

It's not that the pro-independence camp in Hunan can't be relied upon.

Instead, Xiang Rong had almost wiped out the elite troops of the Hunan Green Camp by transferring them to Guangxi.

Of the DPP members remaining in Hunan, only those in Changsha, the provincial capital, were somewhat respectable; the rest were a bunch of misfits.

If the God Society cult bandits were to infiltrate Hunan now, there really wouldn't be a single town in the vast province where the Green Standard Army could subdue them.

"Besides—" Jiang Zhongyuan paused, meeting the gazes of his brothers, before continuing.

"Have you forgotten that I am a scholar who passed the imperial examination? Now I am leading troops to suppress bandits for the imperial court. What's wrong with the Jiang family raising a thousand local militia? When the time comes, I will simply say: 'The local militia are recruiting and the local armed forces are for self-defense.' Who can say a word against me?"

Jiang Zhongyuan didn't think it was a big problem.

Ulantai is now relying heavily on his Chu soldiers. At worst, we can just go back and say to Ulantai that these thousand new Chu soldiers were trained for Ulantai. Ulantai will be happy to support them, so why would the court blame us?

Moreover, his backers were not only Ulantai, but also Zeng Guofan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War who served in the imperial court.

With these two protecting him, let alone a thousand militia, as long as there is enough money and food, Jiang Zhongyuan dares to raise and train two or three thousand militia.

Jiang Zhongji nodded in agreement, "Brother is right. If the world is really in chaos in the future, those local militias will not be protecting their homes, but stabilizing the world."

Jiang Zhongji is Jiang Zhongyuan's younger brother. He is in his thirties and was known for his bravery and fighting spirit when he was in the village. Almost no one in the entire Xinning County dared to provoke him.

In the battle to intercept Hu Yihuang's rear army, Jiang Zhongji led the Chu Yong sword squad to rout the Taiping army's rear army and personally killed seven or eight Taiping army soldiers, becoming famous among the Chu Yong for his bravery.

Jiang Zhongyuan nodded to Jiang Zhongji with satisfaction: "When the world is about to fall into chaos, whoever has the army will have the voice. Whoever has the strongest army will be able to control the situation. If we scholars only talk about loyalty and righteousness on paper, we can only wait for the city to fall and die. But if we have an army, we can retreat to protect our homes, advance to stabilize the sea and bring peace, achieve something great, and leave our name in history."

Jiang Zhongyuan was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. He worked his way up in the officialdom honestly, and it would be considered a stroke of good luck if he could retire as a fourth-rank prefect.

The current uprising by the religious cult is a rare opportunity for him.

Over the past six months of fighting alongside the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army, Jiang Zhongyuan has gradually become more confident.

The Eight Banners and Green Standard Army were unusable, and there was a shortage of talented young people. With his abilities, it would not be difficult for him to stand out and gain the emperor's favor by making military achievements in suppressing religious bandits.

Jiang Zhongyuan might very well try his luck at becoming a high-ranking official.

Jiang Zhongjun looked up at Jiang Zhongyuan. He had never seen Jiang Zhongyuan speak of words like "warrior," "chaos," and "the world" with such fervor.

I never imagined that my brother, who was observing mourning for his father and running schools and teaching poetry and literature just a year ago, would now aspire to conquer the world by "training troops".

Jiang Zhongjun bowed deeply to Jiang Zhongyuan: "I have remembered your ambition, elder brother. I will immediately take the gold, silver and valuables that our Chu warriors obtained in Guangxi back to our hometown to organize a local militia."

After saying this, Jiang Zhongjun lifted the tent flap and went out, disappearing into the twilight.

No sooner had Jiang Zhongjun left than Jiang Zhongyuan got up and stretched his limbs, saying to his younger brothers, "Mengxu is not a place to stay for long. We should take Chu Yong back to Guiping immediately."

Jiang Zhongyuan had the privilege of seeing the battle reports from Xiang Rong, Zhou Tianjue, and the Short-Haired Cult bandits. The Short-Haired Cult bandits liked to press their advantage and expand their gains.

It seems the short-haired bandits are already on their way. Ulantai is unreliable, and Huiqing is unreliable either. The best course of action now is to return to Guiping City as soon as possible.

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(End of this chapter)