1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 186 Arrival at Guilin Prefecture

"General, you are a brilliant strategist. Chen Shiqing and the others said that Xiang Rong's Qing army did indeed rest in Yong'an Prefecture before heading north to Lipu and Pingle."

The exact number of Xiang Rong's troops is unknown, but his army was large and numbered no less than five thousand. Many of his soldiers were local militia speaking Chaozhou and Fujian accents, while those speaking Hunan accents were relatively few.

Qiu Ersao greatly admired Peng Gang, even knowing which path Xiang Rong had taken. He was truly a brilliant strategist, worthy of the title.

"The main force of the Heavenly Army occupied Cangwu City, and the route northward into Guangxi via the Xun, Gui and Li rivers was blocked by the Heavenly Army. This was the only route that Xiang Rong's army could take. How could there be any talk of divine strategy?" Peng Gang said with a smile and a shake of his head.

There are only two smooth roads from Guiping to Pingle that can accommodate a large number of people by boat or vehicle.

One of the routes was cut off by the Taiping Army. Anyone with a basic understanding of the terrain in Guangxi could tell which route Xiang Rong was taking.

The route Xiang Rong took was almost identical to the historical route taken by the Taiping Army.

The Chaozhou militia and the Fujian militia were the direct troops of the imperial commissioner Lin Zexu brought into Guangxi.

It seems that Lin Zexu entrusted the overall situation in Guangxi to Xiang Rong before his death.

Xiang Rong's army of over 5,000 men arrived at Lipu and Pingle.

This shows that few people fell behind, and Lin Zexu's judgment was correct; Xiang Rong was indeed quite capable.

If Zhou Tianjue were to lead his troops north, it would be difficult to say whether two or three thousand soldiers could be brought to Lipu and Pingle in time.

Those who rise from the bottom to the rank of admiral through solid military achievements are indeed quite capable.

This time, most of the troops Xiang Rong led were not his own men, making the march much more difficult than when he only led Chu troops and Zhengan soldiers.

Moreover, the route Xiang Rong took was not entirely by water, but rather a combination of land and water travel.

Marching is a bit more difficult than Peng Gang's journey, which was entirely by water.

Of course, it wasn't just the army that moved north with Peng Gang's left battalion; there were also a large number of their families, including the elderly, women, and children.

In terms of the difficulty of the transfer, Peng Gang's Zuo Jun was more challenging, requiring higher organizational and management capabilities.

"Chen Shiqing and Qu Zhenzu are interested in joining us. Should we accept them?" Qiu Ersao asked Peng Gang for his opinion.

Qiu Ersao had followed Peng Gang up the mountain since the attack on Wuxuan County. She was considered an old member of Zuo's army and knew Peng Gang quite well.

She knew that Peng Gang was very strict in recruiting personnel, especially combat personnel.

The former submarine force under Luo Dagang was the pinnacle of the Guangxi Heaven and Earth Society's fighting strength.

Even so, Peng Gang only selectively accepted them, and refused to take one-third of the very capable veteran submariners.

Qiu Ersao didn't know what Peng Gang's attitude was towards Chen Shiqing.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Chen Shiqing and Qu Zhenzu are willing to come and join me, so naturally I have no reason to turn them away.” Peng Gang was willing to accept Chen Shiqing and Qu Zhenzu.

"Tell them to come directly to Yongfu County and wait for me."

Chen Shiqing and Qu Zhenzu commanded the remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society, which had been almost completely wiped out by the Chu army. Their numbers were small, only about two or three hundred.

After capturing Yongfu County, Peng Gang will next deploy troops in Guilin Prefecture.

Chen Shiqing and his men had been dealing with the Qing army in northern Guangxi for more than a year, and their ranks included many locals, so they must have a better understanding of the situation in the Guilin area.

If Chen Shiqing can be put to use, then the effort of finding a guide can be saved.

"I'll get back to them right away." Qiu Ersao nodded and turned her horse to leave.

Upon arriving in Yongfu County, the river valley gradually widens, and the view becomes more expansive. Further ahead lies the fertile Guilin Basin of Guangxi.

Luo Dagang and others have already begun the work of requisitioning grain and recruiting people.

As their experience in conquering cities grew, Peng Gang's soldiers became adept at controlling cities, maintaining order, conducting public trials, confiscating property, requisitioning grain, and recruiting people.

"The main force is taking way too long. We've already arrived in Guilin Prefecture, and we haven't even seen a trace of their vanguard. Are they still in Cangwu, or have they parted ways with us and gone to fight in Guangdong?"

As soon as Peng Gang arrived at the county government office, Luo Dagang complained to him that there was no news of the main force of the Taiping Army.

Luo Dagang had connections with the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) in Guangxi and was very well-informed.

Luo Dagang had already heard about Xiang Rong's Qing troops arriving in Lipu and Pingluo.

The fact that Xiang Jun was able to reach Lipu and Pingle safely indicates that he did not encounter the main force of the Taiping Army along the way, and the main force of the Taiping Army may still be in Cangwu.

Cangwu and Yongfu are separated by mountains and rivers, with a distance of 500 li between them. Even the Qing Dynasty's express courier service would take two full days to reach them.

If the main force were to carry a large amount of supplies northward, it wouldn't be unusual for it to take half a month or even twenty days.

This is without even considering the possibility of fighting the Qing army along the way.

Xiang Rong's Qing army has reached key points on the Guijiang-Lijiang waterway: the area around Lipu County and Pingluo Prefecture. It is highly unlikely that Yang Xiuqing's main force can enter Guilin Prefecture without engaging the Qing army.

Unless Xiang Rong abandons Lipu and Pingle and chooses to play it safe by gathering his main force to go north to defend the provincial capital Guilin, thus abandoning Lipu and Pingle.

“Right now it’s the dry season with foggy winter. During the dry season, some sections of the Gui River are shallow, so large boats probably can’t sail. The dense fog over the Yangshuo karst peaks will also affect the speed of our march.” Su San Niang walked along the Gui River-Li River waterway that runs from Cangwu City to Guilin Prefecture. She was quite familiar with this route and said with concern.

“These are minor issues. The real worry is that they won’t be willing to leave the comforts of Cangwu City and will hesitate to head north.” Peng Gang was also filled with anxiety.

His divine brothers and brothers-in-law charged into battle without hesitation in the face of enemy artillery fire.

But faced with the sugar-coated cannons of Cangwu City, probably few can resist.

Peng Gang was worried that the immortal brothers and brothers-in-law who had first stormed into the prefectural city were still enjoying themselves in Cangwu City and were reluctant to leave. Historically, these immortal brothers and brothers-in-law had stayed in Yong'an City for a full six months, until they ran out of ammunition and food, and the Qing army's cannonballs could directly hit the Yong'an Prefecture government office (Tianwangfu) before they finally decided to break out.

Cangwu City is the most developed commercial city in Guangxi, much richer and more prosperous than Yong'an City, a mountain town, and more alluring.

If Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing were unwilling to leave Cangwu City, Peng Gang would have no way to stop them.

"What if they don't come to Guilin?" Luo Dagang asked, frowning.

“Then we’ll fight our own battles. If we can take Guilin, we’ll fight it; if not, we’ll just go around it and continue north to Hunan,” Peng Gang said as he walked. “Let’s take a look at the sand table first before making a decision.”

He had considered what would happen if the main force of the Taiping army did not head north to join him.

Peng Gang's left wing is stronger than the Taiping army when it attacked Guilin in history. It has already gained momentum, and it is up to them whether or not they can rely on the Taiping army's strength.

Even without relying on the main force of the Taiping Army, he was capable of going toe-to-toe with the Qing army.

Peng Gang stepped into Xihua Hall.

Inside Xihua Hall, the staff, who had arrived in Yongfu County ahead of time, had already created a sand table based on the map. According to the latest intelligence they had compiled, the enemy and our own situation was displayed intuitively on the sand table.

Compared to the sand table made during the Pingzai Mountain period, the quality of this large sand table is several levels lower. The scale is problematic, and even the waterways of the two main rivers, the Li River and the Gui River, were randomly drawn from the map.

Although it's called a sand table, it can only show a general overview of the macro situation.

"We've never been to the Li River or the Gui River, so we could only make this sand table by copying the map you gave us and Deputy Commander Luo's memory," Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang Ze explained, seeing that Peng Gang was not satisfied with the sand table they had made.

Indeed, it cannot be entirely blamed on these staff officers, as Peng Gang's staff officers were all from Xunzhou Prefecture.

Apart from Qiu Zhongmin, none of the others had ever left the territory of Xunzhou Prefecture before.

Ordinary people in this era have no access to geography, so they can't just create a large sand table of Guangxi based on the topographical map of Guangxi drawn by Peng Gang from memory.

The Guangxi map that Peng Gang gave them was also drawn based on a map borrowed from his teacher Liu Bingwen and his memories from his previous life.

Such topographic maps can only provide a rough overview, and sand table models made based on inaccurate topographic maps are naturally of poor quality.

The only thing that made Peng Gang feel gratified was that all five staff officers could now read contour lines.

Peng Gang didn't say anything, but walked straight to the sand table and looked down at it from a god-like perspective.

We haven't received any letters from the main force of the Taiping Army for seven or eight days.

The staff officers in the General Staff Department made a rather conservative estimate of the location of the main force, believing that the main force was still in Cangwu City.

The current situation in Guangxi is very delicate.

The main forces consisted of roughly five groups.

Our forces include the Left Army located in Yongfu County, and the main force of the Taiping Army that seems to still be stationed in Cangwu City.

The enemy forces, namely the Qing army, consisted of five groups.

One force consisted of the garrison troops of Guilin, the provincial capital. The main commanders of this force were Lao Chongguang, the provincial governor of Guangxi, Li Nengchen, the general of Linyuan Town in Yunnan, and He Chun, the deputy general of Hunan.

The exact number is unknown. Guilin is the provincial capital, and according to regulations, Guilin has three Green Standard Army battalions: the Guangxi Governor's City Garrison, the Left Battalion, and the Right Battalion. There should be about a thousand Green Standard Army soldiers.

Including the Yunnan army that Li Nengchen fled from Xiangzhou to Guilin, and the local militia organized by Lao Chongguang, the garrison was conservatively estimated to be at least five or six thousand strong.

The fate of the provincial capital was at stake, and Lao Chongguang and his men would not easily leave Guilin to seek out the Taiping Army for open battle in order to ensure the safety of the provincial capital.

One force was the Qing army under Xiang Rong that advanced to Lipu and Pingle, and this force also numbered over five thousand.

Peng Gang has not yet figured out Xiang Rong's intentions. Whether Xiang Rong is simply resting in Lipu and Pingle before heading north to reinforce Guilin, or whether he intends to hold Lipu and Pingle to prevent the main force of the Taiping Army from joining forces with Peng Gang's left wing in Guilin, remains unknown.

One force consisted of Qing troops under Qin Dingsan and Zhou Fengqi, stationed within the territory of Liuzhou Prefecture.

This Qing army was mostly composed of new recruits who had recently made a deal with Peng Gang and had already achieved military merit by recapturing Luorong County.

Unless Peng Gang's left wing suffers a major defeat, making them feel there is an opportunity, it is unlikely that this Qing army would actively participate in the battle and provoke the left wing.

Of course, a low probability doesn't mean it's impossible, and we still need to be vigilant.

The other two Qing armies were the Guangxi Qing army under Zhou Tianjue, the governor of Guangxi, who was flanking Cangwu City from the left and right, and the Guangdong Qing army under Xu Guangjin, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi.

These two units were four or five hundred miles away from the Left Army and would not be able to make contact in the short term.

It's uncertain whether Zhou Tianjue will travel north to Guilin.

Zhou Tianjue wanted to head north, and Peng Gang was more than happy to make way for him to enter Guilin.

Zhou Tianjue alone is worth several battalions of Zuo Jun.

As for Xu Guangjin, as long as the Taiping Army follows the pre-agreed strategy and marches north along the Guijiang-Lijiang waterway to Guilin, there is no indication that they will advance into Guangdong.

Given Xu Guangjin's self-preservation-oriented style, he would certainly not be willing to get deeply involved in the war in Guangxi. Instead, he would lead his troops back to Guangdong and continue to stay in Guangzhou, comfortably serving as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

After Lin Zexu's death, it is estimated that Emperor Xianfeng was worried about not having a suitable candidate for imperial commissioner.

If Xu Guangjin had been deeply involved in the Guangxi war and performed outstandingly, and had been chosen by Emperor Xianfeng to be the imperial commissioner to suppress bandits, Xu Guangjin would probably have been devastated.

Being an imperial commissioner tasked with suppressing bandits is nowhere near as comfortable as being the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi; Lin Zexu serves as a cautionary tale.

Peng Gang believed that Xu Guangjin was also unwilling to be favored by Emperor Xianfeng and promoted to the position of Imperial Commissioner, responsible for the thankless and potentially fatal task of suppressing the Taiping Rebellion.

(End of this chapter)