1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 168 The Southern Front is Broken
Peng Gang would certainly be happy to accept Zhang Bilu's demand for surrender.

The Guizhou and Sichuan soldiers under Zhang Bilu's command were the elite of the Green Standard Army in Guizhou and Sichuan, and were the result of Zhang Bilu's many years of hard work.

These soldiers from Guizhou and Sichuan were relatively disciplined, and most of them were Han Chinese.

By extracting the essence and discarding the dross, and making slight modifications, these prisoners could quickly become combat-ready. Peng Gang would certainly be willing to accept them entirely.

The rear army didn't have much of an opinion on this, but the central army had a lot of complaints and was quite upset.

Peng Gang could understand the emotions of the Chinese First Army.

The unit that fought against Zhang Bilu for a long time was the Central Army under Qin Richang.

This time, Shi Dakai suffered heavy casualties in his attempt to intercept Zhang Bilu's Qing army.

In the end, Zhang Bilu proposed to surrender to Peng Gang's left wing army, rather than to the other Taiping army forces.

Putting yourself in their shoes, if Peng Gang were the commander and deputy commander of the First Army, he would also have emotions and oppose the surrender terms proposed by the enemy general.

The Qing army didn't have many high-quality prisoners, and Peng Gang really wanted these prisoners.

In order to quell the discontent of the Central Army and to facilitate the surrender of Zhang Bilu's Qing troops as soon as possible.

Peng Gang made some concessions, refusing to accept any of the people from Mengwei who were to join Zuo Jun.

The provisions and supplies obtained from defeating the Qing reinforcements, except for 600 catties of gunpowder, were all divided between the Rear Army and the Central Army, while the Left Army took nothing.

Peng Gang made such a sincere concession, and Shi Dakai, Qin Richang, Shi Xiangzhen and others in the Central Army were not people who did not understand the bigger picture.

They all knew that every day the surrender of Zhang Bilu's Qing troops increased the uncertainty, and ultimately agreed that all of Zhang Bilu's Qing troops should surrender to the Left Army.

Having reached an agreement, the Qing troops on the hilltop laid down their weapons in an organized manner and came down the hill to surrender to the Left Army.

However, Zhang Bilu's family received great favors from the Qing court. Not only did Zhang Bilu himself receive the title of "Liyong Baturu" bestowed by Emperor Daoguang, but his family members also received many imperial edicts from the Qing court.

Zhang Bilu allowed his soldiers to surrender, but he himself could not surrender under any circumstances.

With tears in his eyes, Zhang Bilu watched the last group of his personal guards descend the mountain. He returned to his command tent, dressed himself neatly, and then leaped off the mountain ridge.

Upon learning that Zhang Bilu had committed suicide by jumping off a mountain, the Taiping generals treated this Guangxi governor very differently than the previous one.

When Min Zhengwen died, most of the Taiping generals held him in contempt.

Most of the Taiping generals who fought against Zhang Bilu held him in high regard.

Zhang Bilu was both capable and courageous, and was one of the few generals in the Green Camp who was not abstract and resembled a soldier.

Peng Gang ordered his men to find Zhang Bilu's body and bring it back to Bitanxun.

Yaoquchong is not far from Bitanxun, less than ten miles as the crow flies, and even with some detours, it's only a dozen miles away.

After crossing the river and returning to Bitanxun, Peng Gang sought out carpenter Qin Yisen and asked if there was any good timber left in Qin's base.

Carpenter Qin replied that there was still some sandalwood.

Peng Gang asked carpenter Qin to make two fine sandalwood coffins.

One bite was given to Zhang Bilu, and the other bite was given to Lin Zexu later.

With Zhang Bilu dead, Lin Zexu wouldn't live much longer either.

Many prisoners of war from Guizhou and Sichuan witnessed Zhang Bilu jumping off the mountain.

Zhang Bilu had always treated the soldiers from Guizhou and Sichuan well. After arriving at Bitanxun, they were finally settled in, and many of his former subordinates requested to keep vigil for Zhang Bilu.

Peng Gang agreed to their request, allowing them to keep vigil for Zhang Bilu, and gave them some white cloth and linen.

Apart from Zhang Bilu, the governor of Guangxi, the highest-ranking Qing generals captured this time were two deputy generals.

One was Chang Sheng, the deputy commander of the Zunyi brigade in Guizhou, and the other was Li Dianyuan, the deputy commander of the Xunzhou brigade in the local area.

The generals of the Left Army had no major grudges against Chang Sheng and did not make things difficult for him.

As for Li Dianyuan...

When Luo Dagang attacked Jiangkouwei in the 28th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, many of his old comrades in the boatmen died at the hands of Li Dianyuan.

Considering Li Dianyuan's generally poor reputation.

Peng Gang agreed to Luo Dagang's request to punish Li Dianyuan and avenge his old comrades in the submarine force.

However, Peng Gang demanded that Li Dianyuan be dealt with through a public trial to establish the facts of his crimes, and that no vigilante justice be used.

There were 1,542 Guizhou soldiers and 743 Sichuan soldiers who accepted the surrender.

While they were keeping vigil for Zhang Bilu, Peng Gang ordered the prisoner-of-war management office to send people to investigate and dismiss 368 Guizhou soldiers who were older, had a heavy opium addiction, were too shrewd, and had strong thuggish habits.

Correspondingly, 145 soldiers from the Sichuan army were also laid off. After being registered, each of these laid-off soldiers from Guizhou and Sichuan was given three dou of rice and three liang of silver for travel expenses and sent home.

The prisoners who remained were transferred to the prisoner-of-war camp in Mengchong after the mourning period was over.

When the prisoner-of-war management office was screening and interrogating prisoners of war, they gave Peng Gang an unexpected surprise.

Jiang Zhongyuan's cousin, Jiang Zhongxin, was also among the prisoners of war.

Jiang Zhongxin was not betrayed and identified by Chu Yong after being captured.

Jiang Zhongxin came from a scholarly family of officials, and his temperament and demeanor were quite different from those of ordinary peasant children.

Chen Nanshan, the deputy director of the prisoner management office in charge of identifying prisoners, quickly noticed that the fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy mixed in with the prisoners was definitely not an ordinary person.

Chen Nanshan set his sights on Jiang Zhongxin and subjected him to intensive interrogation, demanding that Jiang Zhongxin honestly reveal his true identity.

Jiang Zhongxin was, after all, a young man with little experience, and his ability to withstand pressure was not very strong.

He couldn't withstand the pressure after only two days and confessed that he was Jiang Zhongyuan's cousin.

Capturing Jiang Zhongyuan's cousin somewhat made up for Peng Gang's failure to annihilate Chu Yong and capture Jiang Zhongyuan.

Before returning Zhang Bilu's coffin, Peng Gang took the time to meet with Jiang Zhongxin.

Jiang Zhongxin was taken to the front of the former Bitan Xunshou yamen (a type of government office).

Jiang Zhongxin's clothes were stained with mud, his face was pale, his lips were tightly pursed, and although his steps were unsteady, his back was straight.

After his identity was exposed, Jiang Zhongxin no longer concealed himself. He learned from the loyal ministers and righteous men described in the book and put on a righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, ready to sacrifice his life for righteousness at any time.

Jiang Zhongxin was only fourteen years old and still small in stature. He stood tall and looked directly at Peng Gang, who was sitting upright on the table in the main hall.

Peng Gang, dressed in a round-necked robe made of indigo homespun cloth, showed no anger on his face. He looked Jiang Zhongxin up and down as if he were observing a green bamboo shoot sprouting in early spring.

Before Peng Gang could speak, Jiang Zhongxin stepped forward first, pointed at Peng Gang's nose and cursed: "Forget about surrendering. Although I, Jiang Zhongxin, am a prisoner trapped in the enemy camp, I dare not forget that I am a subject of the Great Qing."

Peng Gang, you are also a scholar, once favored by the nation, yet you raised an army in rebellion, burned cities and looted government offices, betrayed your father and emperor, and plunged the people into the flames of war. You are truly disloyal, unfilial, unjust, and a traitor who has forgotten his ancestors!

Peng Gang remained calm and composed, speaking slowly and deliberately: "You say I am disloyal and unfilial? Then tell me—how did your Qing Dynasty come to be? If you have truly studied, you should know that Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself at Coal Hill, Wu Sangui led the Tartars into the pass, and the Eight Banners' iron hooves swept south from beyond the pass, massacring cities like flies."

The Yangzhou Massacre and the Jiading Massacre left corpses strewn everywhere, rivers of blood flowing, women raped, and the elderly and children wiped out. Which of our ancestors didn't survive amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

Peng Gang paused for a moment, then continued, "You say I betrayed the emperor? Then let me ask you again, why should 400 million Han people support the remnants of the Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain as their ruler?"
Your elder brother willingly serves the Manchus, leading troops to slaughter his own compatriots, yet he still boasts of loyalty and righteousness. Have you ever asked yourself—is your loyalty truly to the country, or to the Manchus' empire, or is it simply to earn a robe with horse-hoof sleeves and to bring glory to your Jiang family?
The books of sages you are reading, are they written in Chinese characters or in Manchu, a language even the Tartars themselves were unwilling to use?
Going back two hundred years, did your Jiang family ancestors also have that dog-like braid on the back of their heads?

Jiang Zhongxin's face turned pale, his lips trembled slightly, and he opened his mouth to say, "This is utterly uncivilized! You can't discuss ice with a summer insect!"

Seeing that he couldn't argue with Peng Gang, Jiang Zhongxin resorted to lying.

Of course, Peng Gang did not meet with Jiang Zhongxin to debate scriptures.

"Does your Jiang family have no shortage of money and food?" Peng Gang went straight to the point.

"What's it to you?" Jiang Zhongxin rolled his eyes at Peng Gang, and couldn't help but curse inwardly. As expected of a traitor, all he talks about is money, and his mouth reeks of money.

"I want to know, in Jiang Zhongyuan's eyes, is it more important for him to organize the militia and earn a dog-dog robe with embroidered rank cuffs, or for his brothers to be more important?" Peng Gang said calmly as he stood up.

"Don't blame me for not giving you a chance. Write a letter to Jiang Zhongyuan. If he can send three thousand shi of grain, one hundred shi of salt, and ten thousand taels of silver to Bitan Xun, I will not only release you, but also release all the Chu soldiers who are prisoners of war."

After speaking, Peng Gang asked Jiang Zhongxin to write a letter. After Jiang Zhongxin finished writing, Peng Gang glanced at the letter and put it in an envelope.

At the entrance, Huang Zhenyue and Chen Xingwang, along with more than a dozen of their personal guards, had been waiting for some time, carrying Zhang Bilu's coffin and another unused sandalwood coffin.

Chen Xingwang looked at the small yamen (official residence) that originally belonged to him, Biyun garrison, and felt a mix of emotions.

"After you get back, give this letter to Jiang Zhongyuan of Chu Yong. I have prepared a boat for you. Take the boat back to Guiping." As he walked to the door, Peng Gang handed the letter to Huang Zhenyue and Chen Xingwang.

"Thank you, General Peng."

Huang Zhenyue hurriedly accepted the letter, expressed his gratitude profusely, and boarded a boat to leave Bitanxun, escorting Zhang Bilu's coffin back to Guiping City.

The Qing army on the third line has already broken through the second line.

Peng Gang's army had swelled from 7,356 men at the beginning of the uprising to 37,000 men.

He commanded eleven battalions and two artillery companies.

They already possessed the strength to fight the Qing army head-on.

There's no point in staying in the flat mountains; the flat mountains can't support so many people.

It's time to make a decision and find a way out.

Peng Gang arrived at Honglian Village and convened the staff officers of the General Staff and all officers of battalion level and above to discuss the next advance route.

(End of this chapter)