1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 187 The Six Thousand Years Old King of the North

"Judging from the sand table, our current situation is very dangerous."

Luo Dagang supported himself with both hands on the sand table, and the enemy and friendly forces situation displayed on the sand table made him feel somewhat uneasy.

"Xiang Rong suddenly appeared in Lipu and Pingle, and our army was in danger of being surrounded by the Qing army from three sides."

The situation, as clearly presented on the sand table, was indeed very unfavorable to the left flank.

The Qing army had large forces on the left, right, and rear sides. On the left was a vast, sparsely populated mountain range stretching for nearly a thousand miles in northwestern Guangxi and southeastern Guizhou.

On the surface, Zuo Jun seems to be in dire straits, and Luo Dagang's concerns are not unfounded.

However, Luo Dagang overlooked the most crucial factor: people!
To put it more bluntly, he was the commander of the Qing army.

The Qing court was plagued by internal strife among its civil and military officials, who were often driven by self-interest, short-sighted, and mutually obstructive. Mistakes, incompetence, and shirking of responsibility were common occurrences.

Last year, the relatively united Qing officials, both civil and military, who were less prone to undermining each other, were unusually abnormal in the Taiping Army's encirclement at Pingzaishan and Zijingshan.

Because Lin Zexu was stationed in Guiping City at that time, he suppressed the various Qing troops and coordinated the supply of provisions and funds. The Qing army did a relatively good job in all aspects at that time.

If Lin Zexu were still the commander of the Qing army, Peng Gang would indeed have to be more careful. Fortunately, Lin Zexu is already dead.

Peng Gang currently faces three Qing forces: the Guilin garrison led by Lao Chongguang, Li Nengchen, and He Chun; the Liuzhou garrison led by Qin Dingsan and Zhou Fengqi; and Xiang Rong's army.

There is probably not even one person among these people who can make the final decision.

Furthermore, the specific interests of these three forces are not aligned.

The primary goal of Lao Chongguang and others in Guilin was definitely to protect Guilin, the provincial capital.

Qin Dingsan and Zhou Fengqi wanted to protect the troops, which were mainly composed of new recruits.

Xiang Rong may have been thinking of taking advantage of the current favorable situation and attempting to encircle and annihilate the Left Army.

Furthermore, the personnel composition within these three Qing armies was as diverse and complex as a rainbow flag.

The garrison of Guilin City can be divided into main soldiers and guest soldiers according to their status as host and guest soldiers; into regular soldiers and local militias according to their organizational structure; and into Han soldiers, Zhuang soldiers, Yao soldiers, Miao soldiers, and Manchu soldiers according to their ethnicity.

Qin Dingsan and Zhou Fengqi each commanded troops from Guizhou and Hubei respectively, along with a number of local Liuzhou soldiers.

Although Xiang Rong's army was numerous and strong, his elite troops, including the Chu army and Zhengan soldiers, were decimated by the Zuo army.

If Xiang Rong wants to compete with Zuo Jun, he must rely on the Chaozhou and Fujian militias.

The commanders of the three Qing army units had differing interests, and the composition of the troops was also quite complex.

Such troops naturally find it difficult to unite and exert their due combat effectiveness.

The Qing army only appeared formidable on paper and on maps and sand tables. In reality, they were easily defeated and could not withstand a single blow.

The British army must have had considerable experience in this area ten years ago.

"Although the Qing army has the momentum of surrounding us from three sides, which Qing army unit do you think would dare to take the initiative to engage us in battle?" Peng Gang looked around at everyone and asked calmly.

After careful deliberation and analysis, the high-ranking officers of the Left Army in Xihua Hall broke the silence by speaking first: "It's hard to say. I'm afraid they are all waiting for the friendly forces to make the first move, and then deciding whether to attack and take advantage of the situation or continue to defend the city and preserve their strength."

After fighting the Qing army for more than a year, Huang Bingxian gradually figured out the nature of most of the Qing court's civil and military officials.

Apart from a few capable officials like Lin Zexu and Jiang Zhongyuan, who dared to take on responsibilities and were exceptionally competent.

Most of the Qing dynasty's frontier officials were shirking their responsibilities, ambitious but incompetent, fond of comfort, cowardly and mediocre, and selfish towards their neighbors.

Huang Bingxian believed that given the nature of the Qing army's civil and military officials, they would wait for their allies to make the first move, observe the situation, and make a decision based on the performance of their allies, thus reaping the benefits of their actions.

"That settles it, doesn't it? That's why I said the Qing army's encirclement strategy only exists on paper and in theory. None of the three Qing army units near us dare to provoke us." Peng Gang nodded slightly and continued to ask.

"Of the three Qing armies in Guilin, Liuzhou, Lipu, and Pingle, which one poses the greatest threat to us?"

"The Qing troops under Xiang Rong in the Lipu and Pingle areas pose the greatest threat to us!" This time, it was Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang Ze who answered first.

Li Nengchen, who was hiding in Guilin City, and Qin Dingsan, who was in Ma Ping, Liuzhou Prefecture, were both defeated by the Zuo army.

The only one who could hold his own against Zuo Jun was Xiang Rong.

This question is not difficult to answer.

"You want to hit Xiang Rong?" Luo Dagang turned his head to look at Peng Gang.

"There are many elderly, weak, women and children in our team. If we want to fight Xiangrong in the Lipu and Pingle areas, we can only divide our forces."

The Left Army led the elderly and children, and there were many elderly, weak, women and children in the camp.

During the Pingzai Mountain period, Peng Gang was able to lead most of the Left Army to launch attacks and inflict heavy losses on the Qing army because at that time there was a stable base in the rear, and there was no need to worry about the elderly, weak, women and children being attacked by the Qing army.

The Left Army currently only occupies Yongfu County and has no stable rear.

Peng Gang wants to attack Xiang Rong, but he can't just take half or even more than two-thirds of the Left Army to fight as he used to. He has to leave more troops to protect the elderly, women and children, and to guard against Qin Dingsan, Lao Chongguang and others launching a surprise attack on Yongfu County.

“The Chaozhou and Fujian militias were Lin Zexu’s direct subordinates. Xiang Rong couldn’t possibly command them as easily as he commanded the Chu army and the Zhengan army,” Peng Gang analyzed, while not making any definitive statements.

"Even if we split our forces, I am confident that we will at least remain undefeated."

Just then, Huang Dabiao walked into the West Flower Hall and reported, "General, Commander Yang has brought quite a few heads and some pretty girls to see you."

"Commander Yang? Just say his name." Peng Gang frowned slightly, his thoughts interrupted.

Commander was a new official position established during the Yong'an regime. In the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, before the inflation of official positions, it was a very high-ranking official, second only to the Prime Minister and Inspector.

The emergence of this new official position indicates that Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing must have established an administrative system in Cangwu City, or even been granted the title of king.

Since the main force finally sent people, Peng Gang could take this opportunity to find out what was going on with the main force.

"It's Yang Qimazi, the former battalion commander of the central army," Huang Dabiao said, scratching his head.

"He said he has changed his name to Yang Fuqing, that he is a relative of General Yang, or even a member of the imperial clan, and that he came to deliver the edicts of the Heavenly Father and the Heavenly King. He put on quite a show, but I don't really understand."

“Have him come to Xihua Hall to see me,” Peng Gang said.

Before long, Huang Dabiao led Yang Fuqing and Yang Yingqing, who were dressed in brocade robes, into the West Flower Hall to see Peng Gang.

Yang Yingqing solemnly held a brand-new robe and a large seal, while Yang Fuqing held two imperial edicts.

One document is the "Decree of the Heavenly Father," and the other is the "Decree of the Heavenly King."

Yang Fuqing first read out the "Heavenly Father's Edict," which mainly discussed three things.

The first thing is how wise and powerful the Heavenly Father God was, who possessed the body of the Heavenly Emperor and descended to earth to eliminate evil.

The second thing was that the Heavenly Father found twenty-four Northern Queens for Peng Gang, so that Peng Gang could inspect them in time and help the Heavenly Father to have offspring in the mortal world, so that the Heavenly Father could hold his grandson as soon as possible.

The third thing was to cooperate with Yang Fuqing and others in recruiting soldiers in Guilin and to provide them with financial and food support.

The fourth point is that the Left Army should not attack Guilin, the provincial capital, alone, but wait for the main force of the Heavenly Army to arrive before attacking together.

The Heavenly King's Edict mainly concerns the matter of bestowing titles upon kings. Although his immortal brothers and brothers-in-law had already been bestowed titles upon kings in Cangwu, he did not forget Peng Gang, who was fighting far away in the Guiliu region, and bestowed upon Peng Gang the title of Northern King.

Like the other kings, the Northern King was under the control of the Eastern King, Yang Xiuqing.

At the same time, Hong Xiuquan also instructed Peng Gang to draft a list of those to be rewarded as soon as possible and submit it for reward.

Because no one was stationed in Cangwu when the regime was established and kings were enfeoffed there, and because the Left Army operated independently from the main force for a long time, Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and others had limited understanding of the Left Army's leadership.

Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and others temporarily only appointed Peng Gang as the Northern King, Luo Dagang as the Inspector, and Peng Yi as the Commander; no one else had been appointed yet.

The Northern King has essentially received the highest possible reward.

Given Peng Gang's seniority, even if he manages to take Guilin before being crowned king, he still cannot rise above the three core elders: Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, and Feng Yunshan.

Yang Xiuqing dispatched Yang Fuqing and Yang Yingqing to Guilin Prefecture ahead of time to recruit soldiers and horses. They needed the assistance of Zuo Jun in terms of money and provisions, and Peng Gang was happy to provide help.

However, Yang Xiuqing, in the name of the Heavenly Father, condescendingly gave him orders in a fatherly tone.

They also sent over a dozen tanned heads of traitors, demanding that Peng Gang distribute the heads to the various camps to carry out ideological propaganda work against espionage and collusion.

It's obvious they want to use the remaining influence of the Zhou Xineng case to enhance their reputation and establish their authority.

This made Peng Gang somewhat uncomfortable.

The most troublesome thing is the so-called twenty-four Northern Princesses.

Food and sex are human nature, and Peng Gang is not a saint without desires.

But there are priorities in everything. Right now, Peng Gang's business is not even halfway done, and Zuo Jun doesn't even have a stable base. How can Peng Gang have the mind to think about these things?

Of the seven kings who initiated the uprising, only Peng Gang set an example by strictly enforcing the rule of separating men and women into different camps.

Even Peng Gang's two closest relatives were not by his side because Peng Gang was away fighting for a long time.

The younger brother, Peng Yi, was in charge of managing the sacred storehouse and also overseeing the children's camp, while the younger sister, Peng Min, was in charge of managing the women's camp.

Peng Gang only visits his younger siblings and sees them when he has free time.

The morale of the left wing troops is even higher than that of the main force, and there has never been a single defection incident to date.

Besides Peng Gang's ability to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments, his leading by example and his refusal to enjoy special privileges are also very important reasons.

If Peng Gang were to take the twenty-four women that Yang Xiuqing had given him into his harem, it would inevitably have a negative impact on the morale of the Left Army.

Furthermore, Yang Xiuqing was cunning and adept at political maneuvering.

The women that Yang Xiuqing sent to him were most likely spies that Yang Xiuqing wanted to plant in his bedside.

"Among all Your Highnesses, only the Sixth Prince is unmarried. All of you Your Highnesses..."

After Peng Gang received the imperial edict, Yang Yingqing spoke at length.

Peng Gang was already in a bad mood, so how could he tolerate Yang Yingqing's gossip in front of him? He sternly rebuked, "Shut up! How dare you interfere in the affairs between us brothers?"

This rebuke suddenly brought Yang Fuqing and Yang Yingqing, who had become somewhat carried away with their pride, back to their senses.

They were merely the emperors of the state, and even among the emperors of the Eastern Palace, there was still an insurmountable chasm between them and the princes of the small family under the divine rule.

Yang Yingqing did indeed talk too much just now; these are things that can be said among the brothers in their Shentian family.

Yang Yingqing's words did indeed cross the line and exceed the limits.

"Your Highness, please forgive me!" Yang Fuqing hurriedly pulled Yang Yingqing down to kneel and apologize to Peng Gang.

They came to Guilin Prefecture lightly, carrying only some food and loose silver.

With this amount of silver, they could not fulfill Yang Xiuqing's task of recruiting at least a thousand soldiers in Guilin Prefecture.

To recruit soldiers and buy horses, we need to rely on the assistance of the Northern Palace and borrow money and grain from it.

"Considering this is your first offense, I won't hold it against you. Be careful in the future. Get up," Peng Gang said coldly.

“Since you have come to Guilin to recruit soldiers and horses on the orders of the Ninth Prince, I will naturally assist you. I will give you a note to withdraw one thousand shi of rice and three thousand taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury.”

After Yang Fuqing and Yang Yingqing got up, Peng Gang inquired about the movements of the main force from them.

Upon learning that the main force had left Cangwu City and was heading north along the Guijiang-Lijiang waterway, and that the vanguard should have reached the Zhaoping County area by now if all went well, Peng Gang's expression softened slightly.

Zhaoping is located within the territory of Pingluo Prefecture, indicating that some Taiping troops had already left the territory of Wuzhou Prefecture and would soon encounter the Qing army under Xiang Rong.

After questioning and learning about the situation on the main force's side, Peng Gang gave Yang Fuqing a note, instructing Zhang Ze to take Yang Fuqing to his treasury to withdraw grain and silver from Peng Yi. He also told Zhang Ze to give Yang Fuqing and his men the grain cart as well.

The Left Army prohibits disturbing the people and does not forcibly seize ordinary houses. If it is absolutely necessary to requisition them, rent will be paid.

Most of the soldiers of the Left Army who entered the city lived in tents set up on the streets.

The regular and reserve soldiers of the Left Army normally eat three meals a day.

It was noon when Zhang Ze led Yang Fuqing, Yang Yingqing and others to Shengku, which is the Changping Granary in Yongfu County, to collect money and grain.

The soldiers of the Left Army on both sides of the street were either cooking or eating.

Seeing a dozen or so Left Army reservists eating their rice with salted vegetables, Yang Fuqing remarked, "I've always heard that the Left Army's food is good. Seeing it today, it's true. Even ordinary soldiers can eat such a big bowl of brown rice and vegetables with their rice."

The troops fighting alongside Zuo Jun all praised Zuo Jun's food.

Yang Fuqing had heard Lin Qirong, who was previously stationed in Dongxiang, say that the Left Army's food was very good, but he had never actually seen it before. Today, he finally saw it for himself.

"The front line? They are reserves, the back line, not the front line." Zhang Ze shook his head and pointed to a group from the Second Battalion not far away who were pouring camellia oil into a pot to prepare for cooking.

"Those wearing red scarves are the real representatives of our Left Army. Why can't your Central Army be recognized by them?"

Yang Fuqing and Yang Yingqing exchanged a surprised glance.

Only the swordsmen and shieldmen in their central army could occasionally eat a stir-fried dish, such as in the first few days after the city was captured.

"Of course we can eat. Back in Cangwu City, the big shots ate meat every day," Yang Yingqing said hastily, though his words betrayed his reluctance.

Zhang Ze simply smiled without saying a word; it wasn't like he hadn't witnessed the power of the Central Army before.

Zhang Ze had contact with Chen Chengrong and Lin Qirong's cardholders.

Back in Zijingshan and Pingzaishan, the Central Army's prestige and treatment were not as good as that of the Left Army's regular troops, which had the same status.

Zhang Ze knew perfectly well that Yang Yingqing was just being stubborn and saving face, so he didn't bother to expose Yang Yingqing or argue with him.

"Young sir, this is a note from the master. Please take a look." Zhang Ze saluted Peng Yi, then took out the note and presented it with both hands.

When Zhang Ze was still a student in the first cohort, Peng Yi taught them addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Therefore, Zhang Ze called Peng Yi "Little Teacher".

Zuo Jun Sheng Ku had very strict management of its supplies.

In addition to the fixed daily ration, any additional withdrawals of grain, salt, or silver exceeding 200 shi of grain, 200 jin of salt, or 200 liang of silver required a personal approval slip from Peng Gang or Luo Dagang.

If additional grain exceeding 500 shi, salt exceeding 500 jin, or silver exceeding 500 liang were to be withdrawn, a personal approval slip from Peng Gang would be required.

The amount of money and grain needed for Yang Fuqing and Yang Yingqing to recruit soldiers was considerable, requiring approval from Peng Gang himself.

After checking the approval slip and finding no problems, Peng Yi summoned the supply team and had them pull out 1,000 shi of grain and 3,000 taels of silver from the sacred storehouse. After they counted the money and confirmed it was correct, he issued a return slip and had Zhang Ze, Yang Fuqing, and Yang Yingqing sign and affix their fingerprints to it.

After signing and affixing his seal, Peng Yi stamped the reply slip and tore it in half along the center line.

Half of it was kept on file for future reference, while the other half was given to Zhang Ze to take back and give to Peng Gang.

(End of this chapter)