1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 174 The troops are divided into two groups
Since Liu Jizu, the prefect of Xunzhou Prefecture, and Xiang Rong, the current governor of Guangxi, were able to recruit Zhang Jiaxiang, a notorious bandit from the Heaven and Earth Society who was once famous in Guangxi, and put him to their own use.

Why couldn't Zhou Tianjue directly recruit the God Society's cult members to his own use, and use them to fight against other cult members?

Zhou Tianjue was secretly pleased with his idea, calling it appeasement instead of suppression, thus resolving the dilemma.

After patiently listening to Zhou Tianjue's "brilliant plan" of appeasement instead of suppression to resolve the dilemma, Liu Jizu and Li Mengqun were both astonished.

They had considered that Zhou Tianjue might be unreliable, but they never expected him to be this unreliable, coming up with such a terrible idea.

Li Mengqun once suspected that Zhou Tianjue had lost his mind during the seven years he was dismissed and sidelined.

When Xiang Rong was defeated at the Battle of Sanlixu, Li Nengchen, the general of Linyuan Town in Yunnan, fled directly from Sanlixu to Xiangzhou.

Li Mengqun also felt that Li Nengchen was too timid.

Looking back now, although Li Nengchen was timid, he was indeed clear-headed and knew to stay far away from Zhou Tianjue.

Anyone who associates with Zhou Tianjue is doomed!

Li Mengqun personally participated in Zhang Jiaxiang's pacification efforts last year.

He knew how difficult the work of appeasement was, and that appeasement was only a temporary measure.

Zhang Jiaxiang was after a bright future; no matter how much trouble he caused, he never became so arrogant as to declare himself king.

That's why there's a possibility of appeasement.

The God Society bandits have already declared themselves kings, and they have won one battle after another. They are hard to beat in Guangxi. How can we appease them?

Even if we were to offer them amnesty, what price would we have to offer that would be acceptable to the Catholic Church while still preserving the dignity of the imperial court?

Does Zhou Tianjue have enough money and supplies to appease the God Society bandits?
These are all questions.

Even under the most optimistic scenario, if the recruitment of religious bandits is successful and they are allowed to fight each other, would the recruited bandits actually put in any effort?
There are many clever people among the cultists; they surely understand the principle of "when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked."

Li Mengqun was extremely anxious, wishing the newly appointed imperial envoy could arrive in Guangxi immediately to stop Zhou Tianjue from making reckless and chaotic decisions.

"I wonder which of the rebel groups Your Excellency intends to recruit?" Li Mengqun asked, forcing himself to speak.

"Of course, it's the short-haired ones. There are fewer short-haired people than long-haired ones, so it will cost less money and grain to pacify them. They are also better at fighting than long-haired ones. I heard that very few short-haired people believe in foreign religions. If we can use the short-haired ones, the God Society bandits can be pacified in no time," Zhou Tianjue said smugly.

Li Mengqun was speechless.

Although Li Mengqun still doesn't understand why the religious bandits, who all belong to the God Society, are divided into short-haired and long-haired groups, and why the released prisoners all say that the short-haired group doesn't believe in religion.

He could wear old clothes from the previous dynasty with short hair and sing "The Song of Chasing the Manchus".

Li Mengqun had heard of and read "The Song of Expelling the Manchus," which was said to have been written by Peng Gang, the leader of the short-haired bandits.

Li Mengqun did not believe that someone capable of writing such a rebellious song would accept the court's offer of amnesty.

"How does Your Excellency intend to pacify them?" Li Mengqun asked, looking at Zhou Tianjue, whose mouth was occasionally drooling.

After a maidservant wiped away the drool from the corner of his mouth with a silk handkerchief, Zhou Tianjue slowly spoke: "The two leaders of the God Society bandits, Peng Gang from Qingfeng Village in your county and Shi Dakai from that village, are both students of Liu Bingwen, a Jinshi from your county. I would like to invite Liu Bingwen to Guiping City to be a guest and join my staff."

“Your Excellency, I have already investigated Liu Bingwen. He has a good reputation in the countryside of Xunzhou Prefecture and has always made a living by teaching. He certainly did not participate in the activities of the God Society.” Liu Jizu had a vague idea of ​​what Zhou Tianjue was planning and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

Although Liu Bingwen was a commoner, he was still a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

There is no evidence to prove that Liu Bingwen has any connection with God. It is not sufficient to take action against Liu Bingwen simply because two of his students were leaders of the God Society.

This is not a good thing. No matter how many faults Liu Bingwen has, he is still a scholar with official rank.

“Prefect Liu, I merely admire Liu Bingwen’s wisdom and invited him to join my staff in Guiping. Why are you so nervous?” Zhou Tianjue said with a forced smile.

“If that’s the case, then we’ll leave it to Your Excellency to decide.” Zhou Tianjue’s attitude was firm, and Liu Jizu had no choice but to cup his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhou Tianjue.

Despite the need to maintain morale, Gui Pingfang kept Lin Zexu's death a secret.

The Taiping army along the Fengmen'ao line was alerted by the unusual movements within the Qing army camps.

The increasingly sparse Qing army camps and the decreasing amount of cooking smoke around Fengmen'ao indicated that the Qing army commander was dividing and redeploying his troops.

The Qing army's forces deployed along the Fengmen'ao line were no longer as formidable and difficult to attack as they had been in the past.

To verify their conjectures, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui respectively dispatched Huang Wenjin and Lin Fengxiang to lead troops in a feigned attack on the Qing army camp to test the Qing army's strength and weaknesses.

Unexpectedly, this probing directly exposed the true nature of the Qing army on the eastern front.

The Qing troops defending the outer perimeter of Fengmen'ao collapsed at the first contact.

If this hadn't been a feint, forcing Huang Wenjin and Lin Fengxiang to withdraw and report back, they would have been fully confident of capturing the Qing army camp outside Fengmen'ao.

After seizing some grain and salt from the Qing army camp, Huang Wenjin and Lin Fengxiang led their troops back to Sanjiang and rode to Mengchong to report to Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, and others that the Qing army's fighting strength outside Fengmen'ao was weak and had declined significantly.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's high command was astonished and found it unbelievable how quickly the Qing army's fighting capacity had declined.

"Could it be that Gang Bao has taken Xiangzhou and is poised to march north to Guilin and Liuzhou, causing the Qing forces to fall into disarray and forcing them to withdraw troops from Guiping to reinforce Guilin and Liuzhou and block Gang Bao's left flank, thus making the Qing forces at Fengmen'ao too vulnerable?" Wei Changhui said after a moment of contemplation.

Peng Gang's left wing broke through Wuxuan and captured Xiangzhou, making a great impact and even overshadowing the main force of the Heavenly Army.

The Qing court could not remain indifferent and would inevitably send troops to suppress Peng Gang.

Wei Changhui's analysis was reasonable, but Yang Xiuqing always felt that things were not so simple.

Even if the Qing army split its forces, the fighting capacity of the Qing army on the eastern front could not have decreased so drastically, making them seem like two completely different armies.

According to the reports from Huang Wenjin and Lin Fengxiang.

The Qing army collapsed at the first contact, showing no will to fight.

Yang Xiuqing had a keen military sense and realized that the Qing army's actions were not simply a matter of dividing and redeploying troops. It was very likely that there had been a personnel change in the Qing army's supreme commander or some other unforeseen event.

The supreme commander of the Qing army stationed in Guiping was Lin Zexu.

Although the Qing army suffered heavy losses on the western front, Zhang Bilu's Qing army on the southern front was also encircled and annihilated by the combined forces of the Left Army, the Rear Army, and the Central Army.

Lin Zexu personally oversaw the eastern front, which not only avoided any mishaps but also made things very difficult for the Taiping army.

The Qing court would not dismiss Lin Zexu simply because of the setbacks on the western and southern fronts.

When Lin Zexu besieged the Taiping army, he kept a close watch on their grain and salt supplies.

Previously, no Qing army had ever dared to sell grain and salt to the Taiping army, but recently more and more Qing soldiers have been risking going into the mountains to sell grain and salt.

Considering Lin Zexu's advanced age and the increasing instances of Qing troops selling grain and salt to the Taiping army, Yang Xiuqing believes the latter is more likely, suggesting that Lin Zexu was seriously ill or even deceased.

If Lin Zexu were seriously ill or died, it would explain why the fighting strength and morale of the Qing army's soldiers and local militias suddenly declined, and why they recently dared to sell grain and salt to the Taiping army.

“The Qing demons’ troop deployment is one aspect, but I think the current commander of the Qing demons is not Lin Yaotou. If Lin Yaotou’s demonic power were still intact, the demon soldiers would definitely not dare to sell us military rations and salt,” Yang Xiuqing analyzed, stroking his beard.

"May Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother bless my Kingdom." Xiao Chaogui was overjoyed.

Although it is not yet certain whether Lin Zexu is dead.

However, it is an undeniable fact that the Qing army's strength on the eastern front was greatly reduced, and its combat effectiveness declined significantly. Even Huang Wenjin and Lin Fengxiang's feint attacks were able to break through enemy camps.

If their main force launches a full-scale attack on the Qing army's defensive line outside Fengmen'ao, they will surely be able to defeat the Qing army and break free from the Qing army's control to once again march east out of Zijing Mountain.

To avoid persecution of their relatives by the Qing army, the Taiping army implemented a system of family enlistment.

The main force of the Taiping Army, including the elderly, women, and children, numbered over 80,000.

The main Taiping forces in Mengchong and Sanjiang faced greater logistical pressure than the Left Army.

Each member of the main force of the Taiping Army was given one liter of rice per day (1 liter of rice in the Qing Dynasty was approximately 1.5 jin), while the allowance for the lower ranks and their families was reduced accordingly.

The average consumption per person is much less than that of the left army, but the main force has more people.

It consumes more than 700 shi of grain and 2,000 jin of salt every day.

Ironically, the only source of grain and salt for the main force of the Taiping Army was currently purchasing it from the Qing army.

However, the small amount of grain and salt that the Qing army sold to them, when averaged out among 80,000 people, was merely a drop in the ocean.

The various treasuries of the Heavenly Kingdom, which had stockpiled grain and salt before the war and captured them during the war, have been dwindling in the past few months, with very little left.

Inventory is almost depleted and can only last for eleven or twelve days.

Even if the Qing troops at Fengmen'ao did not split up, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui would still have to find a way to break through the encirclement and find food to feed more than 80,000 people.

Judging from the Qing army's poor performance in today's feigned attack on the Qing army camp,

The Qing army's encirclement and suppression of the Taiping army was in name only.

Theoretically speaking, there are four directions—east, west, south, and north—that can be used to break through.

Of course, this is only at the theoretical level.

When the main force advances, it should try to go to places with high production along the way to obtain supplies.

Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan and the others all turned their gazes toward Guilin.

“Our army’s food supplies are running low, and the Qing demons are currently unable to fight. This is the perfect opportunity for our Heavenly Army to break out and replenish our supplies!” Feng Yunshan said. “The best course of action now is to head north to Guilin.”

Almost all of the Taiping army's top leaders set their sights on Guilin, not only because Guilin was the provincial capital, but also because capturing Guilin would have strong political significance for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

The most crucial reason is that Guangxi has barren land and limited grain production, and Guilin Prefecture is the most important grain-producing area in Guangxi.

Only Guilin has the capacity to support more than 80,000 people who have taken off their jobs long-term.

"Guilin has plenty of grain, I agree to march on Guilin." Wei Changhui agreed to march on Guilin.

The other high-ranking members of the Heavenly Kingdom also had no objection to advancing into Guilin.

The only point of contention was whether to follow closely behind the Left Army, taking the Qianliu Waterway through Liuzhou into Guilin, or for the main force to take a separate route into Guilin.

After Peng Gang captured Xiangzhou, he wrote to them, informing several high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Kingdom that the Left Army had not obtained much food or supplies in Xiangzhou.

Some high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Kingdom felt that Peng Gang was worried that the main force would also take the Qianliu Waterway and wanted to share the grain with the main force. Peng Gang did not want to share the grain, so he fabricated the story that Xiangzhou City was short of grain, so that the main force would hesitate to go there and the Left Army would take all the grain in Xiangzhou City.

However, Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, Shi Dakai and others believed that although Peng Gang was rather autocratic and unsociable, he was not that selfish.

When the Left Army captured Sanlixu, they seized a large amount of grain and even heavy artillery. Instead of keeping it all to himself, Peng Gang generously shared it with the main force.

Peng Gang is not that selfish; he wouldn't lie to them on such a crucial issue.

Peng Gang wrote that Xiangzhou was short of grain, and it's highly likely that there really isn't much grain there.

“Xiangzhou is short of food, and the Left Army has already taken the Qianliu Waterway. The Qing forces have also split up to pursue the Left Army. We should not take the Qianliu Waterway again. If we join forces, the Qing forces will also join forces and keep chasing us.” Yang Xiuqing pondered the main force’s marching route while looking at the map Peng Gang had given him.

The reason why the Left Army was able to use the Qianliu Waterway was because the Left Army had two naval camps and a relatively large number of ships.

After the main force withdrew from Jiangkouwei and Xinwei and retreated into Zijingshan, most of their ships were lost.

If their main force wants to travel by waterway, they must first find a way to acquire some boats.

It's not impossible to take the Qianliu Waterway if you insist.

However, if they take this route, the left wing army ahead will definitely have captured all the easy cities along the way and seized all the available grain.

At that time, the supply of the main force will depend on Peng Gang's whims.

From a psychological perspective, this was unacceptable to Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui, who were both in charge of the main force and were always arrogant.

The main force relies on a secondary force, serving as a foil for the secondary force. What kind of talk is this? Where is the authority of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother?

"The grain reserves in the sacred storehouse are not enough to sustain us on our journey to Guilin. We need to replenish our food and salt before heading to Guilin," Shi Dakai added.

The Taiping army was running low on food supplies, and the consumption of food during marches would only increase, so the existing food reserves were definitely not enough.

Before heading to Guilin, we must capture several cities to replenish our food and military supplies.

"Most of the Qing demons' provisions are stockpiled in Guiping City. Guiping City must have food. The Qing demons' combat strength has plummeted. Why not take this opportunity to directly take Guiping City?" Xiao Chaogui wanted to attack Guiping to replenish his provisions.

“Guiping is heavily fortified and cannot be taken in a short time. Our supplies are only enough to last for twelve or thirteen days. If we cannot take Guiping after twelve or thirteen days, what will our more than 80,000 mouths eat?” Yang Xiuqing shook his head.

Their current concern is not just whether they can capture Guiping City, but whether they can take it quickly.

Siege warfare was always a weakness of the Taiping Army.

Guiping City was heavily fortified with troops and had heavy artillery. Yang Xiuqing was not confident that he could take Guiping City in a short time and felt that attacking Guiping City was too risky.

It was also impossible for them to purchase grain and fodder from the villages outside Guiping City and then travel to Guilin.

Nearly 100,000 soldiers and local militia stayed in Xunzhou Prefecture for a year. All the grain that could be requisitioned and looted within Xunzhou Prefecture had long been plundered by the Taiping Army and the Qing Army.

There was simply not much grain available within the territory of Xunzhou Prefecture.

"Why not go down the Xun River eastward and attack Teng County and Cangwu (the capital of Wuzhou Prefecture)?" Shi Dakai pointed to Teng County and Cangwu on the map and expressed his idea.

"Although the Qing forces are also collecting grain in Tengxian and Cangwu, Tengxian and Cangwu have not been affected by the war, so their grain reserves are definitely more than those in Xunzhou Prefecture. The Qing forces are concentrated in Guiping, while Tengxian and Cangwu are poorly defended and lack heavy artillery. The battalion of the Wuzhou detachment led by Cheng An, the Wuzhou detachment commander, is still stuck in Guiping. It will be easier to fight in Tengxian and Cangwu than in Guiping, so we won't run out of food before we even capture the city."

Yang Xiuqing nodded approvingly: "Da Bao's idea is more prudent. We can definitely take Tengxian, and we are more confident in attacking Cangwu than Guiping."

If we can capture Cangwu, we will sail north along the Gui River (a tributary of the Xun River and the Xi River), attack Zhaoping, take Pingluo, and head straight for Guilin to join forces with the Left Army. If we cannot capture Cangwu, we will capture Tengxian to obtain supplies, then head north to Yong'an and Lipu, rest briefly in Yong'an and Lipu, and then continue north to Guilin.

Among all the military commanders, Yang Xiuqing felt that, apart from himself and Peng Gang, Shi Dakai had the greatest talent for leading troops into battle.

Shi Dakai and he had the same idea.

Yang Xiuqing wasn't entirely confident that he could take Cangwu City in the short term, but he was confident that he could take Tengxian County in the short term.

Capturing Teng County would temporarily alleviate the Taiping Army's urgent need to run out of salt and grain.

(End of this chapter)