1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 192 Meeting at the Left Front
After occupying the Great Market, they raided the homes of three local militia leaders and obtained about ten thousand taels of silver.

Peng Gang kept his promise and paid the four ferrymen and fishermen on the Li River with 153.6 taels of silver, and then instructed his men to use the silver to buy a boat.

The Li River and the Luoqing River are not connected. Unless one travels by boat on dry land, the boats that Zuo Jun anchored in Yongfu County could not be transported to the Li River.

Peng Gang had no choice but to purchase boats and rafts from villages along the Li River for transporting supplies.

After completing their missions, the various battalions and companies that pursued the Qing army's local militia returned to Daxu with the prisoners and their spoils of war.

Within just two days, Zuo Jun captured 38 patrol inspectors from the Daxu Patrol Office, 211 local militiamen from Daxu, 380 Chaozhou militiamen, and 685 Fujian militiamen.

This is only the record achieved by the left wing.

Day three.

The vanguard of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, led by Lin Fengxiang, inspector of the vanguard, arrived at Daxu with 1,500 troops.

Lin Fengxiang relentlessly pursued and attacked the Chaozhou soldiers who were either covering the rear or indulging in looting and pleasure, and killed or captured seven or eight hundred of them.

Thus, the two elite local militias that Lin Zexu brought to Guangxi for the war—the Chaozhou militia and the Fujian militia—were both severely weakened.

The only regret is that Lin Zexu's most elite close-combat troops, the Fujian rattan shield soldiers, had already been led into Guilin by Xiang Rong.

"Former military inspector Lin Fengxiang greets His Highness, the Sixth Prince!"

Upon learning that Peng Gang himself worked at the Daxu Patrol and Inspection Office, Lin Fengxiang went directly to the Patrol and Inspection Office to pay his respects to Peng Gang.

"Inspector Lin, please rise quickly." Peng Gang gestured for Lin Fengxiang to stand up, and at the same time asked Lin Fengxiang about Xiao Chaogui.

Where is your brother-in-law now?

"Your Highness is still half a day's journey by water from the Great Ruins, but you can arrive today," Lin Fengxiang replied.

After a half-day water journey, Xiao Chaogui's main vanguard was not far from Lin Fengxiang's forward troops.

The Left Army can join forces with the main force of the Front Army at Daxu today.

The Left Army and the Front Army were two of the stronger armies in the Taiping Army. With the two armies combined, the Qing army in Guilin now had no theoretical possibility of encircling and annihilating the Taiping Army.

With the situation in Guilin Prefecture largely settled, the only remaining question was whether the Taiping Army could capture the heavily fortified provincial capital, Guilin.

"I have already set aside a camp for the soldiers of the vanguard, and prepared food and firewood. The soldiers of the vanguard can rest here temporarily. Later, I will have someone send some wine and meat to the vanguard camp," Peng Gang said with a nod.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I have important military duties to attend to and cannot stay in Daxu for long," Lin Fengxiang said apologetically.

"What urgent military matter is it?" Peng Gang frowned. Could Lin Fengxiang be planning to lead 1,500 men to attack Guilin?

The attack on Guilin was a large-scale operation that could not be kept secret from Zuo Jun.

After capturing Daxu, the Left Army did not continue north to Guilin, but instead stationed itself at Daxu to support the vanguard. This indicates that the Left Army was still following the orders of the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing and had no intention of attacking Guilin City on its own.

After a moment's thought, Lin Fengxiang told Peng Gang his mission: "His Highness the Eight Thousand Years has ordered me to launch a surprise attack on Guilin City."

“A surprise attack, a surprise attack, the key is to strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard. The Qing army in Guilin was well prepared, so how can you talk about a surprise attack?” Peng Gang shook his head and said.

Peng Gang sent scouts to investigate Guilin City.

The Qing army in Guilin was well prepared for the Taiping army's attack on Guilin.

Xiao Chaogui's decision to send Lin Fengxiang with 1,500 men to attack Guilin was far too reckless and overconfident.

"I dare not disobey His Highness's orders," Lin Fengxiang said firmly.

“Since that’s the case, I can’t force you to stay. If Inspector Lin needs anything, just let me know. The Left Army and the Vanguard Army are friendly forces. As long as I can help, I will do my best,” Peng Gang said to Lin Fengxiang.

Lin Fengxiang was Xiao Chaogui's man. The Left Army and the Front Army were not under each other's command, so he had no right to interfere in the affairs of the Front Army.

They could only offer some assistance within their capabilities to Lin Fengxiang's attack on Guilin.

"I really do need Your Highness's help," Lin Fengxiang said somewhat embarrassedly after thinking for a moment.

"The vanguard has run out of gunpowder. I wonder if the left army could lend them four hundred catties of gunpowder? If four hundred catties is too much and the left army cannot provide it, two hundred catties would also be acceptable. I, Lin, will repay the full amount in the future." Gunpowder has been a scarce resource since the Taiping Rebellion.

Four hundred catties of gunpowder is a considerable amount.

If it weren't for the 500 shi of gunpowder he obtained from Qin Dingsan, Peng Gang really wouldn't have been willing to part with the 400 jin of gunpowder that Lin Fengxiang wanted to borrow.

"I'll have the artillery company allocate four hundred catties of gunpowder for you." Peng Gang readily agreed and found Liang Zhen, asking Liang Zhen's artillery company to gather four hundred catties of gunpowder for Lin Fengxiang.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Peng Gang's straightforwardness greatly surprised Lin Fengxiang, who was deeply moved and thanked Peng Gang.

Peng Gang sighed softly and watched the brave vanguard general of the Heavenly Kingdom leave.

It wasn't that Peng Gang underestimated the vanguard, but Lin Fengxiang's chances of succeeding in attacking Guilin, a city with high walls, deep moats, several thousand Qing soldiers, dozens of heavy artillery pieces, and ample ammunition, with a mere 1,500 men, were extremely slim.

However, the Qing army was unaware of the true strength of Lin Fengxiang and the Taiping army. Even if Lin Fengxiang failed to capture Guilin, the Qing troops inside Guilin would not dare to leave the city rashly.

At this time, it is safest to move the elderly, women, children, and supplies from the left army camp, without worrying about being attacked by the Qing army.

Peng Gang wrote a letter and ordered his scouts to deliver it to Yongfu County immediately, instructing Luo Dagang to organize the elderly, weak, women, and children in the Left Army camp to move to Daxu.

In the afternoon, as Lin Fengxiang had said, Xiao Chaogui's four or five thousand vanguard troops arrived at Daxu one after another.

Peng Gang arrived at the Daxu Wharf to greet Xiao Chaogui.

Peng Gang originally thought that Xiao Chaogui would come by boat or on horseback.

To Peng Gang's great surprise, Xiao Chaogui arrived in a large yellow sedan chair carried by forty porters.

Since the Song Dynasty, the custom of riding in sedan chairs has become increasingly popular.

The sedan chair culture reached its zenith during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The idea that people lift each other up and that people should be superior to others is deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Riding in a sedan chair was the most direct symbol of social status.

All the leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom paid special attention to sedan chairs.

During the Zijingshan period, only Hong Xiuquan owned a green sedan chair belonging to the governor, which Peng Gang had seized from Zhou Tianjue.

The sedan chairs used by the others were very simple, mostly bamboo or wooden chairs with two long poles added on top.

After capturing Cangwu City, the Taiping Army's material conditions improved significantly.

The sedan chairs of the emperors were continuously enlarged and widened, and the materials used became increasingly luxurious, with the specifications of the sedan chairs becoming more and more elaborate.

Actually, the situation is still relatively good. Only a few princes and their concubines are qualified to ride in sedan chairs.

After establishing its capital at Tianjing (Little Heaven), the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom set up government offices such as the Office of the Director of the Imperial Sedan Chair and the Office of the Director of the Eastern Sedan Chair to manage sedan chairs.

Not only was there only one government office, but each prince also had a dedicated government office to manage his sedan chair. The chief officials in charge of managing the imperial sedan chairs and the imperial palanquins were responsible for inspection and command, making them high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Kingdom.

As a result, the practice of riding in sedan chairs during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom became uncontrollable in its later stages.

As long as one is an official, even if it is a minor one, such as a two-rank official in charge of twenty-five households, one must travel in a large black sedan chair carried by four people.

He not only rode in a sedan chair in peacetime, but also in battle.

Peng Gang sighed inwardly. The corruption of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's top leadership was too rapid; only one year and three months had passed since the uprising began.

"Brother-in-law Gui." Peng Gang bowed to Xiao Chaogui, who was dressed in a yellow silk robe, in the yellow sedan chair, and greeted him.

After leaving Dongxiang, Zuo Jun's troops had not had contact with the main force of the Taiping Army for a long time.

The officers and soldiers of the Left Army looked at Xiao Chaogui's yellow sedan chair carried by forty bearers with complex expressions, some surprised, some envious, and some disdainful.

(End of this chapter)