1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 213 Timely Rain

The fall of Lingling immediately made Cheng Yucai, the 68-year-old Governor-General of Huguang, who had just been ordered to take up his post in Hengzhou Prefecture, restless.

Cheng Yucai and Lin Zexu were both Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the sixteenth year of the Jiaqing reign (1811). Lin Zexu ranked first in the second class, while Cheng Yucai ranked twenty-fourth in the second class.

Cheng Yucai, who had worked with his contemporary, who died in office as an imperial envoy the previous year, knew exactly how capable he was.

The important officials of the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns were so capable that you could count them on one hand.

When Lin Zexu was in charge of military affairs in Guangxi to suppress the religious bandits, he had a strong and well-equipped army under his command. Zhang Bilu and Xiang Rong, the two most capable Green Standard Army generals in the south, both served under Lin Zexu.

Even under these conditions, Lin Zexu was still unable to suppress the religious bandits in western Guangdong.

Cheng Yucai, who only controlled Hunan Governor Bao Qibao, had a relatively clear self-awareness.

Cheng Yucai did not believe that he and Bao Qibao could stop the religious bandits in western Guangdong in Hengzhou.

It would be unfair to call Bao Qibao an incompetent fool, but his ability to lead troops in battle was indeed inferior to that of Zhang Bilu and Xiang Rong.

Li Xingyuan was defeated at Huangsha Pass and disappeared without a trace; he has most likely died for his country.

The religious bandits in western Guangdong, especially the short-haired ones, captured Quanzhou and Yongzhou within a month, and their power was at its peak.

The most likely next step is to continue north to Hengzhou.

Cheng Yucai did not want to follow in Li Xingyuan's footsteps, so he repeatedly emphasized in public that Changsha was the most important place in Hunan.

Tao Enpei, the prefect of Hengzhou, naturally knew that Cheng Yucai was only saying these things to find an excuse to leave Hengzhou and return north to Changsha to build momentum.

Tao Enpei visited Cheng Yucai and said with great distress, "Your Excellency, Changsha is indeed the most important place in Chu Province, but Hengzhou is the gateway to Chu. If we abandon it, the whole of Chu will be shaken!"

The north of Hengzhou Prefecture is Changsha Prefecture. If Hengzhou is lost, the entire Chu province will be shaken, and Changsha will be in danger.

How could Cheng Yucai not understand such a simple truth?
However, Cheng Yucai had no confidence that he could stop the religious bandits in Hengzhou.

Tao Enpei had no way out, but Cheng Yucai did.

Guilin, the capital of Guangxi province, was not lost, thus preserving the last vestige of the imperial court's dignity. Emperor Xianfeng was angry and reprimanded them, but ultimately he did not dismiss or investigate Xu Guangjin, Zhou Tianjue, and others.

If we can gather the troops of Hubei Province to defend Changsha, I may not be able to keep my governorship, but I will certainly be able to save my life.

“When did I ever say I would abandon Hengzhou? With Wen Yun and Ai Shan (Bao Qibao) in Hengzhou, why should I worry about not being able to defend it? I have confidence in the two of you. You and Ai Shan must work together to ensure that Hengzhou is not lost and to protect Changsha.” Cheng Yucai stroked his beard with his left hand and patted Tao Enpei’s shoulder with great respect with his right hand.

Cheng Yucai was determined to leave, and Tao Enpei knew there was no way to persuade him to stay. He could only settle for second best and hope that Cheng Yucai would leave the grain depot: "This humble servant is extremely apprehensive. Governor-General, you value this humble servant so much. How could this humble servant not serve you? I only hope that Governor-General will not abolish the Hengzhou grain depot and will allow this humble servant to take charge of recruiting and training local militia in Hengzhou to defend the city."

Cheng Yucai was eager to leave Hengzhou, so he reluctantly agreed to Tao Enpei's request: "I will not withdraw from the Hengzhou grain depot, so you may proceed as you see fit."

That day, Cheng Yucai made a hasty escape while presenting his memorial, quickly returning to Changsha from Hengzhou.

On the way, I heard that although Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu troops suffered losses at Shuitangwan, most of them were still alive and were in Xinning.

Cheng Yucai ordered Jiang Zhongyuan to lead the Chu troops northward to Changsha, the provincial capital, for defense assistance.

Upon hearing that the Governor-General had returned to Changsha, Hunan Provincial Commander Bao Qibao berated Cheng Yucai for being unkind by not taking him with him on his return trip.

The next day, Bao Qibao also used the excuse of returning to Changsha, the provincial capital, to leave Hengyang.

The governor and the admiral left one after another under various pretexts, leaving only Tao Enpei, the prefect of Hengzhou, bewildered in the wind.

Tao Enpei's only consolation was that Cheng Yucai had not withdrawn the grain depot, and Hengzhou Prefecture was not short of money and grain, so he still had the resources to recruit local militia.

Despite his anger, Tao Enpei continued to work diligently, recruiting local militias and training them to cooperate with the Hengzhou Green Standard Army in defending Hengzhou.

On the other hand, ever since the main force of the Taiping Army failed to besiege Guilin and had to withdraw from Guilin and head north into Hunan, the Taiping Army suffered repeated setbacks.

The Qing troops deployed by Xiang Rong, Zhou Tianjue, Qin Dingsan, and others pursued and harassed the main force of the Taiping Army, targeting the weaker battalions.

Although the main force of the Taiping Army had Yang Xiuqing's central army and Feng Yunshan's rear army responsible for covering the rear.

However, the Taiping army's main force had too many people to move, the troops were too long, and the main force lacked boats. The vast majority of Taiping soldiers and their families traveled by land, making it extremely difficult to defend against the Qing army's attacks.

After fighting the Taiping Army for more than a year, the Qing army in Guangxi had also figured out some tricks of the trade.

The Qing troops pursuing the Taiping army did not engage with the main force of the East and South Palaces who were covering the rear.

They would take a detour and speed ahead, targeting the families of the Taiping Army, or at most the rear of the supply trains.

The Qing army in Guangxi achieved remarkable results in this campaign.

When the main force of the Taiping Army entered Quanzhou City, which was left to the Zuo Jun army for rest and respite, the main force of the Taiping Army moved in.

A rough estimate suggests that the Taiping Army suffered losses of over 7,000 men across its various units.

Of course, not all of the more than 7,000 Taiping Army soldiers lost were killed or captured by the pursuing Qing army; at least 40% of them either fell behind or left the group voluntarily.

Although most of the Taiping Army's main force lost personnel were new recruits from Wuzhou Prefecture, Pingle Prefecture, and Guilin Prefecture, the losses of older soldiers in Xunzhou Prefecture were relatively small.

Moreover, most of the casualties were family members accompanying the army, and the core base of the Taiping Army was not significantly damaged.

However, the damage to morale from these losses will be difficult to erase in the short term.

Especially when passing through the Lingqu Pass, the grain transport team led by Assistant Prince Wei Changhui and Wing Prince Shi Dakai was ambushed by 2,500 Qing soldiers led by Zhang Guoliang and He Chun.

Not only did they lose over 180 auxiliary halls and wing halls, over 320 rear halls, and 800 accompanying family members, but they also lost over 2,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. This further exacerbated the already dire food shortage faced by the main force of the Taiping Army.

Yang Xiuqing, upon arriving in Quanzhou and learning of this, was furious.

For the first time, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai were punished, and they were given several lashes as a warning to others.

The Battle of Yan Pass was indeed a failure for the exhausted troops of the auxiliary and wing palaces, who were caught off guard by the Qing army and suffered heavy losses.

Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai accepted the punishment without complaint.

Although the troops in the auxiliary and wing halls were in poor condition, they were no match for the Qing army led by Zhang Guoliang and He Chun.

However, the Qing troops under these two men, especially the group of Qing troops under Zhang Guoliang who were formed with old bandits from the Heaven and Earth Society as their core, left a deep impression on Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai.

This Qing army was the most ferocious Qing army they had encountered since leaving Zijing Mountain.

The main Taiping army that arrived in Quanzhou had the city as a stronghold, and Xiang Rong was also afraid of being defeated by Peng Gang. He was afraid that if he pursued further, he would encounter Peng Gang's left flank army and lose the little force he had painstakingly accumulated. Therefore, the Qing army in Guangxi that was pursuing the main Taiping army did not dare to continue to pursue them further.

The exhausted Taiping army was finally able to catch its breath.

The biggest threat to the Taiping army at present is not the Qing army pursuing them, but their already depleted food supplies.

Although Peng Gang left 4,000 shi of grain for the main force of the Taiping Army in Quanzhou, the main force of the Taiping Army still only had enough grain to last for six days.

Just as Yang Xiuqing and others were worrying about food supplies, the news that the Northern Palace troops had already entered Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, and that 30,000 shi of grain to support the main force was on its way was like a timely rain.

This allowed the high-ranking officials of Heaven to breathe a sigh of relief.

Once Lingling City is captured, the Taiping Army will no longer be in danger of being annihilated.

The capture of Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture, by the Left Army has greatly encouraged many Taiping generals.

Qin Rigang, in particular, even complained that if he had listened to the Northern King's advice earlier and lifted the siege of Guilin and headed north into Hunan, he would not be in such a sorry state today.

Qin Rigang's idea was also the idea of ​​most of the second-tier leaders of the Heavenly Kingdom.

The left wing of the North Palace is the only force that has not suffered a major setback since the establishment of the regimental command.

The Northern King seemed to have the ability to foresee the future. He made a series of correct strategic decisions, such as breaking out from Zijing Mountain and Pingzai Mountain without entering Guangdong, and heading north into Hunan.

The attitude of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's top leadership towards Peng Gang was rather subtle and complex.

Yang Xiuqing was naturally pleased that the Northern Palace had captured Lingling.

If the Northern Palace fails to capture Lingling, their current situation will be extremely passive.

Although Lingling City, which was captured by the Northern Palace forces, was not the first prefecture city captured by the Heavenly Kingdom.

However, the main force of the Taiping Army took all its strength to capture the first prefectural city, Cangwu, while the Northern Palace troops took Lingling with only one army.

It is true that Lingling City was poorly defended, but this situation only arose after the main force of the Hunan Qing army under Li Xingyuan was completely annihilated in Beidian. This situation did not arise out of thin air; it was created by Peng Gang.

All indications suggest that among the various palace forces, the strongest force was likely not the Eastern Palace forces, which had the power to control the princes, but rather the Northern Palace forces, which had long been outside the central government of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Thinking about this, Yang Xiuqing felt a sense of crisis.

The biggest challenge to his position now comes not from Xiao Chaogui's Western Palace forces, but from Peng Gang's Northern Palace forces.

To consolidate his power over the princes, Yang Xiuqing had to find a way to expand and strengthen the power of the Eastern Palace.

Even though Peng Gang never showed any covetousness for the highest secular authority in the Heavenly Kingdom, Yang Xiuqing still had to take precautions.

In terms of military achievements and contributions to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Peng Gang was no less accomplished than Yang Xiuqing.

Peng Gang's biggest weakness is his relatively short tenure. However, this is not a fatal problem, as he can make up for it with his abilities.

Peng Gang was highly regarded and respected in all the halls. Shi Dakai was Peng Gang's classmate, and Feng Yunshan was also a good friend of Peng Gang.

Theoretically speaking, Peng Gang now has the ability to challenge Yang Xiuqing.

Yang Xiuqing fell into deep thought.

The most direct and effective way to strengthen the Eastern Palace is to expand its military force.

Hunan is a good source of soldiers.

However, Yongzhou had already been taken by the Northern Palace. Even if Yang Xiuqing arrived in Lingling, the best soldiers in the vicinity of Lingling would have already been selected by Peng Gang.

The East Hall can only choose from the remaining people in the North Hall.

Furthermore, Lingling was captured by the Northern Palace, and recruiting soldiers and buying horses would require money and provisions. Even the next step of the advance would depend on Peng Gang's opinion, a situation that the proud and arrogant Yang Xiuqing was unwilling to accept.

The Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) was active in southern Hunan, especially in Daozhou, Guiyangzhou, and Chenzhou.

These places are remote and impoverished, with a fierce and valiant local culture, making them excellent sources of soldiers.

Moreover, Daozhou, Guiyangzhou, and Chenzhou are all small cities. Although they are called prefecture cities, their city size is actually similar to that of a county town, making them relatively easy to attack without taking too much time.

(End of this chapter)