1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 199 The Death Knell of Jeonju
Li Xingyuan was not entirely unaware of the situation of the Hunan and Sichuan soldiers stationed in Yongzhou, as well as the newly recruited local militia in Yongzhou.

The situation was dire; the blame could only be placed on Xiang Rong and Zhang Bilu for transferring all the elite troops from Sichuan, Hunan, and Yunnan, only to have them lost in Guangxi.

Li Xingyuan had no choice but to force the issue. He took his whip and went to Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing's residence, dragged the feigningly ill Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing off their supposed sickbeds, and ordered them to go south to Quanzhou.

However, Li Xingyuan also compromised. He no longer required the two to be stationed in Quanzhou City. Instead, they could cooperate with Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong near Suoyi Ferry and Shuitang Bay to intercept the short-haired bandits heading north.

Seeing that he couldn't avoid this calamity, Li Xingyuan also made a concession.

Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing had no choice but to lead a thousand Hunan soldiers, two thousand Sichuan soldiers, and three thousand newly recruited Yongzhou militiamen south by boat to advance on Suoyidu and Shuitangwan.

There is an existing waterway from Yongzhou to Suoyidu, and the entire journey is only 150 li.

Even at a snail's pace of 25 li per day, Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing's team should have reached Suoyi Ferry within six or seven days.

In reality, it took Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing a full ten days to reach Suoyi Ferry.

Furthermore, the Qing army soldiers and local militia in Yongzhou were disorganized and their marches were disorderly.

On the tenth day, the soldiers who arrived at Suoyi Ferry with Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing were counted and found to be only 600 Hunan soldiers, 1,500 Sichuan soldiers, and 1,500 Yongzhou local militia.

The remaining people either deserted and became deserters, or lingered at the back, delaying the process.

When the Qing army from Yongzhou arrived at Suoyi Ferry, the tunnels dug by the Left Army had already crossed the moat, with only eight or nine zhang (approximately 33-40 meters) remaining. It would take at most two days to dig the tunnels down to the foundation of the city wall.

Previously, Peng Gang sent two groups of former members of the Heaven and Earth Society to the southern Hunan region, including Chen Shiqing and Qu Zhenzu.

While Chen Shiqing was still in the Xiangnan region contacting local Tiandihui members, Qu Zhenzu had already led the Liu brothers, Liu Daiwei and Liu Daitong, along with more than a thousand core members of the Xiangnan Tiandihui under Ma Yuji, south to Quanzhou to join Zuo Jun.

Liu Daiwei was the head of the Zhengyi Hall of the Hunan Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) and was active in Yongzhou and Chenzhou areas of southern Hunan for a long time.

The highlight of the Xiangnan Tiandihui was the uprising launched by Li Yuan more than a year ago.

With Xiang Rong's advance and the rise of Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong, the Tiandihui in southern Hunan suffered repeated defeats, and the Tiandihui uprising once again fell into a trough.

To avoid the advance of government troops and Chu soldiers, Liu Daiwei and his fellow miners had no choice but to retreat to the mountains and resume their old trade of mining coal, waiting for an opportunity.

I learned from Qu Zhenzu that since the uprising at Pingzai Mountain in Guangxi, the Taiping Army's left wing had overcome many obstacles and won one battle after another, severely damaging the Qing army.

Even the Chu army under Xiang Rong, which the Xiangnan Heaven and Earth Society feared most, and the Chu soldiers under Jiang Zhongyuan were defeated by the Zuo army and lost their temper.

After discussion, Liu Daiwei, Liu Daitong, and Ma Yuji decided to bring their respective Heaven and Earth Society members to join the Left Army.

Arriving at Xiangshan, the main base of the Left Army, we witnessed firsthand the Left Army's neat and orderly camp, impeccable military bearing, and excellent equipment.

Liu Daiwei and the others looked at the disciplined Zuo Jun with envy and excitement in their eyes.

In terms of both morale and equipment, Zuo Jun was worlds apart from the Heaven and Earth Society under the command of the three men.

What surprised them most was that the Left Army actually had a lot of heavy artillery that the Qing army did not have.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Northern King."

Upon arriving at the Amitabha Buddha Hall in Xiangshan, Liu Daiwei and the other two bowed to Peng Gang.

"Since you three are from Yongzhou and Chenzhou, are you familiar with the Qing soldiers and local militia in Yongzhou?"

Peng Gangxu raised his hand to signal Liu Daiwei and the other two to stand up. He got straight to the point and asked about the Qing army stationed at Suoyidu, which faced the Zuo army across the river.

Peng Gang had no intelligence network in Hunan. Apart from the Chu army and Chu soldiers he had fought, Peng Gang had limited knowledge of other Qing troops in Hunan.

The Zuo Jun army will launch its main attack on Quanzhou City no later than the day after tomorrow. Peng Gang wants to find out the origins of the more than 3,000 Qing soldiers who have recently entered Suoyidu.

"Li Xingyuan, the imperial commissioner of the Qing court, was stationed in Yongzhou. According to my investigation, there were two main Green Standard Army units under Li Xingyuan's command: one was the Sichuan Green Standard Army under Yu Wanqing, the general of northern Sichuan, and the other was the Hunan Green Standard Army under Liu Changqing, the general of Yongzhou.

The rest were all newly recruited militiamen from Yongzhou. Liu Daiwei told Peng Gang everything he knew.

Peng Gang pondered for a moment and asked, "So, Li Xingyuan's army is inferior to Xiang Rong's Chu army, and their bravery is inferior to Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu army?"

Liu Daiwei smiled and said, "Not only are they inferior, they are far inferior. The Heaven and Earth Society's equipment is not sophisticated and their training is lacking. They may not be a match for them. His Highness the Northern King's Left Army is strong and well-equipped. Defeating Liu Yongqing and Yu Wanqing's troops should not be a problem."

Peng Gang had a plan in mind. Seeing that the sun was about to set, he told Qu Zhenzu to take the brothers from the Heaven and Earth Society to rest.

Qu Zhenzu did a very good job of contacting the Tiandihui in southern Hunan.

Peng Gang is setting up a military camp, and Liu Daiwei and his men are mainly miners from Yongzhou and Chenzhou, whose professions are a perfect match.

However, Quanzhou has not yet been captured, and Peng Gang does not yet have the time and energy to reorganize the Heaven and Earth Society members who have come to join Zuo Jun.

After Qu Zhenzu left, Peng Gang summoned Chen Ajiu and ordered Chen Ajiu to select thirty elite soldiers from the Fifth Battalion to travel at night to the Qing army camp at Suoyidu and capture a few Qing soldiers for questioning.

Chen Ajiu returned to the Fifth Battalion's encampment and selected thirty elite soldiers. They swam across the Xiang River to the Qing army camp at Suoyi Ferry to capture prisoners.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ajiu was spotted by Qing soldiers who were catching fish and shrimp on the riverbank as soon as he stepped ashore.

Under the moonlight, the thirty-odd Qing soldiers catching fish on the right bank of the Xiang River and Chen Ajiu, who had just come ashore, stared at each other.

Chen Ajiu knew he was in trouble; it seemed he wouldn't be able to complete the task Peng Gang had given him. He was just about to call his companions to swim back to the other side.

But what happened next left Chen Ajiu speechless, as if he were dreaming.

The Qing soldiers on the shore encountered Chen Ajiu and his men, who were dressed naked and carrying short knives, emerging from the Xiang River.

Even though they were still more than ten steps apart, the number of Qing soldiers catching fish and shrimp on the banks of the Xiang River was no less than that of Chen Ajiu and his men.

These Qing soldiers, however, seemed to have seen a ghost and ran back to their camp, shouting as they ran.

"The cult bandits have crossed the river and raided the camp!"

"It's Shorthair! Shorthair has arrived at camp!!!"

"The short-haired guy is attacking! Run!"

The screams were like wildfire, spreading like wildfire.

In just a moment, the entire Qing army camp at Suoyidu was in chaos, like a flock of sheep invaded by wolves.

This startled the Qing soldiers in the surrounding tents.

Startled, the Qing soldiers got up and rushed out of the tent barefoot, not even having time to put on their boots.

Some Qing soldiers even ran towards the Chu army's camp to the north with their trousers still unbuckled.

"Short-haired guy is here! Short-haired guy has broken in!"

The shouts that rose and fell stirred up panic throughout the Qing army camp at Suoyidu.

Although the Qing troops in the Suoyidu camp did not actually see the short-haired rebels storming into the camp, they still rushed to flee.

Before they could react, Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing heard the shouts of the short-haired bandits attacking the camp, and saw that the Suoyidu camp was in complete chaos and disorder.

The two men tried to organize their personal guards to form a defensive line, but after giving a few orders, a loud crash came from behind them—the sound of a pot being overturned.

Already on edge, Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing, filled with dread, mistakenly thought the cannons had been fired. Even the two generals were terrified.

Even the two of them were so frightened that they scattered and fled with their personal guards.

Inside the Suoyi Ferry camp, shouts and neighing of horses filled the air, with chaotic footsteps. Some were trampled by horses, while others fell into muddy ditches and struggled to get up, followed by several others who were tumbling together.

Even worse, some people turned around and saw a group of figures chasing them relentlessly. They mistakenly thought they were being pursued by short-haired soldiers and were so terrified that they fired a gun, knocking one of their own men to the ground. Blood splattered on the spot, causing screams of alarm.

The sound of gunfire further exacerbated the panic among the Qing troops inside the Suoyidu camp.

In the darkness, the Qing soldiers and local militias who had guns all thought they were surrounded by the short-haired cult bandits, and they raised their guns to fire at anyone they saw.

In an instant, the Qing army camp at Suoyidu was filled with the sounds of gunfire and screams.

Chu Yong stationed troops on both sides of Suoyi Ferry and Shuitang Bay.

Jiang Zhongyuan's younger brother, Jiang Zhongji, led 500 Chu soldiers to garrison near Suoyi Ferry, responsible for monitoring the movements of the Left Army.

Chu Yong's Suoyidu camp was less than a mile away from Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing's camp.

The riots by the Qing troops at Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing's camp quickly spread to Chu Yong's camp.

Awakened by the sound of gunfire, Jiang Zhongji was still groggy and hadn't figured out what was happening when he saw wave after wave of Qing soldiers rushing into Chu Yong's camp, shouting things like "The short-haired rebels have caught up with us."

Jiang Zhongji also thought that the short-haired cult bandits had crossed the river at night to raid the camp.

To protect Chu Yong, Chu Yong's most valiant general, Jiang Zhongji, also hurriedly gathered Chu Yong and retreated towards Shuitang Bay.

Jiang Zhongji originally intended to lead his Chu soldiers to retreat to Shuitang Bay by boat.

Suddenly, he remembered that Chu Yong had secretly driven stakes into the river from Suoyi Ferry to Shuitang Bay, making it impossible for boats to pass.

Chu Yong reaped what he sowed, and Jiang Zhongji had no choice but to lead Chu Yong on foot along the river in a sorry state, heading towards Chu Yong's camp near Shuitang Bay.

Chen Ajiu and more than 30 other elite soldiers from the Fifth Battalion were at a loss as they watched the Qing army, which was in disarray, killing each other, and fleeing in all directions.

The Suoyidu camp, which was garrisoned with three or four thousand Qing soldiers, was breached by the thirty-one elite soldiers of the Fifth Battalion who came to capture Qing soldiers for interrogation.
After recovering from the shock, Chen Ajiu hurriedly led the vanguard of the Fifth Battalion to capture more than a dozen Qing soldiers who had run away, and then returned to Xiangshan Temple to report to Peng Gang.

Peng Gang, who had just fallen asleep fully clothed, was awakened by the sound of gunfire coming from the direction of Suoyi Ferry.

They were worried about Chen Ajiu and his men who were going to Suoyidu to capture Qing soldiers as prisoners.

When Peng Gang saw Chen Ajiu and his men leading more than a dozen Qing soldiers as prisoners, he finally felt relieved. "You mean you thirty-one men defeated the three or four thousand Qing soldiers at Suoyi Ferry?"

Upon learning of the situation near Suoyi Ferry, Peng Gang found it hard to believe.

Thirty-one men against three or four thousand—the ratio of troops wasn't one to ten, but one to one hundred!
The Qing army under Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing was so incompetent?!
“The newly arrived Qing troops at Suoyi Ferry are timid; they must have rioted,” Chen Ajiu replied.

"Have all the Qing soldiers in the Qing army camp at Suoyi Ferry run away?" Peng Gang asked Chen Ajiu for confirmation.

"They've all run away," Chen Ajiu said after recalling the events.

"What a golden opportunity!" Peng Gang exclaimed excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

"Ah Jiu, immediately lead the Fifth Battalion, the Provisional Seventh Battalion, and the Mountain-Splitting Artillery Company across the river and occupy Suoyi Ferry!"

The Qing army's defection and withdrawal from Suoyi Ferry was an unexpected boon for Peng Gang.

Peng Gang had considered that the second-rate Qing army under Li Xingyuan was incompetent, but he did not expect it to be this incompetent.

Three or four thousand people were so frightened by thirty-one people that they voluntarily gave up the important Suoyi Ferry crossing.

Peng Gang originally planned to take Quanzhou City and then launch a northward offensive to attack Suoyidu and Shuitangwan, thus opening up the Hunan-Guangxi corridor and entering Yongzhou, Hunan.

During the siege of Quanzhou City, as long as the Qing troops in the Suoyidu and Shuitangwan areas did not actively rush to the aid of Quanzhou City and interfere with the Zuojun's attack, Peng Gang had no intention of attacking them; he only planned to leave two or three battalions to guard against them.

Since Liu Changqing, Yu Wanqing and others have offered him the Suoyi Ferry, he would not refuse.

"Your Highness, are our five battalions no longer participating in the attack on Quanzhou City?" Chen Ajiu asked after a slight hesitation.

After besieging Quanzhou City for nearly half a month, and with the attack on Quanzhou City imminent, Chen Ajiu still wanted to lead five battalions to participate in the final general offensive against Quanzhou City.

"What? Isn't the merit of your Fifth Battalion in capturing the Qing army's Suoyidu camp enough?" Peng Gang retorted.

"Hehe, the Qing army at Suoyi Ferry was defeated in a muddle, so it can't be considered my achievement," Chen Ajiu chuckled, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Once we occupy Quanzhou, we'll enter Hunan territory, and there will be plenty of battles to fight and orders to follow," Peng Gang said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Chen Ajiu saluted Peng Gang and led two battalions and a company across the river by boat under cover of night to occupy the deserted Qing army camp at Suoyidu.

They occupied the devastated Suoyidu camp.

Chen Ajiu, Cheng Dashun, and Liang Zhen removed the flags left by the Qing army in the Suoyidu camp and planted their respective battalion's red, blue, and yellow military flags.

In the left wing, the land battalion used red flags, the naval battalion used blue flags, and the two artillery companies used yellow flags.

At dawn, the east began to show the pale light of dawn.

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Zhongyuan, who had led Chu troops to reinforce Suoyidu in an attempt to retake it, saw the Suoyidu camp with its red, blue, and yellow flags fluttering in the distance before he even reached the camp.

Facing the Left Army, which was well-equipped with various military units and ready for battle, and which had seized control of the area near Suoyi Ferry.

Jiang Zhongyuan knew that the thousand Chu soldiers he brought would not be able to recapture Suoyi Ferry, so he led the Chu soldiers back north with resentment, returning to the Chu soldiers' Shuitangwan camp.

"Liu Changqing! Yu Wanqing! These two good-for-nothings are more likely to ruin things than accomplish anything! Lord Li is confused! How could he send these two useless bastards to Quanzhou!"

On the way back to the Shuitangwan camp, Jiang Zhongyuan was heartbroken over the loss of Suoyi Ferry and angrily cursed Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing, who had long since disappeared.

With the loss of Suoyi Ferry, Jiang Zhongyuan's Xiangjiang defense line was reduced to only Shuitangwan, becoming extremely weak and leaving no room for any buffer.

The hope of stopping the short-haired cult bandits from heading north is becoming increasingly slim.

Jiang Zhongyuan is now even considering Chu Yong's escape route.

If Li Xingyuan doesn't come to Quanzhou to personally oversee the battle...

Using two thousand Chu soldiers to fight against tens of thousands of elite short-haired cult bandits is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; there is no chance of victory.

Liu Changqing and Yu Wanqing's three or four thousand Qing troops collapsed before they could even settle in at Suoyidu.

The only Qing troops within the entire prefecture that posed even the slightest threat to Peng Gang's left flank were the two thousand Chu soldiers near Shuitangwan.

The Left Army now has an overwhelming and absolute advantage over the Qing army within the entire prefecture.

On March 14, 1851, dark clouds loomed over the city.

A secluded passage had already quietly approached the base of the city wall at the west gate of Quanzhou City.

The Left Army assembled four battalions—the First Battalion, the Fourth Battalion, the Provisional Eighth Battalion, and the Provisional Eleventh Battalion—a total of three thousand men, poised to launch a general offensive against Quanzhou City, which had been besieged for half a month.

The gloomy weather made Cao Xiepei, the prefect of Quanzhou, and Wu Changxian, the commander of the Xiangying Baoqing branch, feel particularly depressed.

Less than two miles away at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, banners filled the sky and drums and horns resounded.

The menacing aura emanating from the three thousand well-prepared and ready-to-fight soldiers of the Left Army made it difficult for all the Qing troops on the city walls and the militiamen from Quanzhou who were assisting in the defense to breathe.

In the past, the Short-Haired Cult bandits only had about 700 men when they attacked a city, but this time they prepared a full 3,000 men.

Even ordinary militia members could realize that this attack on the city by the short-haired cult bandits was different from the past.

Many timid Qing soldiers and local militiamen couldn't help but tremble, barely able to stand.

They looked at the Qing soldiers and local militiamen who were like wooden statues, their helmets askew, their clothes disheveled, their faces filled with fear, and their bodies trembling.

Cao Xiepei was not angry. He simply stood still, drew his sword, and planted it in front of the city tower with a clang.

"I am Cao Xiepei," Cao Xiepei roared, each word resounding with conviction.

"As the magistrate of Quanzhou, I swear today to live and die with the city!"

The soldiers and civilians around him were all taken aback and couldn't help but turn their eyes to look at Cao Xiepei.

Cao Xiepei strode up to the parapet and shouted loudly, "Do you all know why cities collapse wherever the cult bandits pass? It's not because their weapons are fierce or powerful, but because they have lost the hearts of the people!"

These cult bandits, falsely claiming to be "Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother," are corrupting the traditional Chinese way of life, destroying human relationships and moral order. Wherever they go, they burn temples, destroy Confucian shrines, expel orthodox religions, and lead people to abandon their ancestors and clans!

Cao Xiepei suddenly raised his voice to boost morale: "We are in Quanzhou. If we abandon it and run away, and watch the religious bandits destroy the ancestral temples of our saints and ancestors, how can we face our ancestors and sages in the afterlife? Do we want our descendants to worship foreign gods? Protecting the Chinese tradition is our inescapable duty!"

At the height of his emotion, Cao Xiepei suddenly knelt down, performing the three kneelings and nine kowtows ceremony facing north. He rose and glared at the crowd, declaring, "If this city falls, I, Cao, will submit to the law before the state! I urge all my soldiers and righteous citizens of the entire prefecture to defend this city with the same resolve! Those who retreat will be killed without mercy!"

After a moment of silence, a local veteran of the Green Standard Army looked up and echoed, "Lord Cao is right! We cannot disgrace our ancestors! We must protect our ancestral temples and traditions, and we cannot allow our descendants to worship those foreign devils, the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, who are essentially religious bandits!"

Another student from the local state school roared, "I'd rather be a ghost of the Jingnan Rebellion than a rebel! Let's fight!"

Inspired by the desire to protect the ancestral traditions and ancestral temples, many soldiers and civilians who were originally demoralized suddenly became as if they had been injected with chicken blood. They gripped their weapons tightly, stood up, and faced the Taiping Army's attack with full force.

Cao Xiepei stood on the command platform, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. His eyes were like torches as he looked at the distant Taiping Army flags and muttered to himself, "Come on! If Peng wants to conquer my Quanzhou, he will first have to step over my dead bones!"

What Cao Xiepei didn't know was that right at this moment, in the tunnel beneath his feet, filled with the damp, earthy smell,...

A large cellar had already been excavated, with thick wooden planks lining the floor, and five large coffins placed side by side.

Each coffin was made of fine cedar wood with thick walls, and filled with black gunpowder mixed with small iron nails and pebbles, making it a truly explosive substance. The ignition fuse was wrapped in hemp rope and oilcloth, leading out from the central coffin, winding its way back to a safe place thirty feet away in the tunnel.

Peng Gang stood on a makeshift command platform at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, wearing a homespun round-necked battle robe, gazing at the dark city walls in the distance, and gave the order to set the fire.

"ignition!"

Upon receiving the order, the flag bearer beside Peng Gang waved his flag, signaling Liu Yonggu, the engineering company commander waiting at the tunnel entrance, to set fire to the city wall.

Success or failure depends on this!
Upon receiving the order, Liu Yonggu immediately took out a flint and steel, crawled into the tunnel, and lit the gunpowder rope.

Amidst the flying sparks, smoke slowly rose from the outer layer of the tarpaulin, and the fire trails snaked into the depths of the ground, disappearing without a trace.

Time seems to stand still.

Peng Gang appeared confident on the surface.

In reality, Peng Gang wasn't sure whether the tunnels dug by the engineering company were accurate, or whether five coffins filled with 3,800 jin of gunpowder could blast through the city walls of Quanzhou.

Like all the Zuo Jun soldiers preparing for a general offensive against Quanzhou City, Peng Gang was also very nervous and anxiously awaiting the outcome.

However, as the commander-in-chief, he could not show his nervousness too obviously.

After a while.

boom! ! !
A deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth, tolling the death knell for Quanzhou City, the key to the Hunan-Guangxi corridor.

Hearing the sound and feeling the obvious tremor from the ground, Peng Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sound was like thunder crashing down from a thousand miles away, or like mountains collapsing, causing the heavens and earth to change color.

Amidst a deafening roar, the earth trembled violently, and the entire West Gate barbican seemed to have been struck by lightning, its foundations cracking and lime flying everywhere.

What followed was a series of loud cracking sounds.

The tall wall of the West Gate barbican shook violently at the epicenter of the explosion, the foundation cracked, the bricks and stones loosened, and the sturdy wall collapsed outwards under the impact of the blast wave.

The entire section of the city wall slowly collapsed amidst thick smoke. Thick blue bricks fell like rain, battlements crumbled, and large amounts of stones were thrown into the air before crashing heavily to the ground, raising clouds of dust and debris several meters high.

A huge gap, nearly three zhang wide, suddenly appeared in the west wall of Quanzhou City.

　The previous statement about the south gate was incorrect; it should have been the west gate. Sorry!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)