1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 218 Three Lights
"Although Lao Liang Luo Zenan only passed the imperial examination in middle age, he was skilled in both literature and martial arts. He taught in Xiangxiang, Changsha and other places for many years. He was especially good at military affairs and liked to train brave soldiers. He had many outstanding disciples, including the younger brother of Zeng Shilang.

Liu Rong was a scholar from Xiangxiang who had lectured alongside Vice Minister Zeng and Luo Zenan, and was fond of studying economics.

Liu Bingwen briefly introduced Lao Liang (Luo Zenan) and Xiao Liang (Liu Rong) to Peng Gang.

Luo Zenan was the true founder of the Xiang Army, and he had many outstanding students. Later famous Xiang Army generals such as Wang Xin, Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guobao, Li Xubin, Li Xuyi, Li Xingchun, and Luo Xinnan, as well as other Hunan students, all came from Luo Zenan's school.

The so-called "scholars leading troops" in the Xiang Army were not ordinary scholars, but scholars who were well-versed in military strategy and had experience in training brave soldiers and suppressing bandits. They were not just armchair strategists.

However, the students that Luo Zenan painstakingly cultivated over many years were ultimately reaped by Zeng Guofan, who became Zeng Guofan's core group and contributed to Zeng Guofan's success.

The elite Xiang Army, the Old Xiang Battalion, was trained by Wang Xin.

Zeng Guofan was good at managing people but not at military affairs. He was twice defeated by the Taiping Army and became a diving champion.

Without these people, even if Zeng Guofan's Hunan militia had been established, it would not have been much different from militias in other provinces, and it would not have become the Hunan Army that supported the Qing Dynasty and influenced or even shaped modern history.

As for Liu Rong, he was more inclined towards literature. The fact that he was qualified to lecture alongside Zeng Guofan and Luo Zenan suggests that he must have some knowledge.

"Where is Jin Liang?" Peng Gang asked about Jin Liang and Zuo Zongtang after learning a little about Luo Zenan and Liu Rong.

"Zuo Zongtang of today is a man of great learning and talent, rarely seen in the world. Putting aside his other skills, just in terms of geography alone, I'm afraid no one in Hunan can surpass him." Liu Bingwen said with a hint of sourness when mentioning Zuo Zongtang.

"Old Liang Luo Zenan and Little Liang Liu Rong may be accused of boasting by people from Hunan, and their claims are inevitably exaggerated. But today, Liang Zuo Zongtang was able to be entrusted by Tao Gong and talk with Lin Gong all night long. He is astonished as a genius of our time, and must have real talent and learning."

Liu Bingwen's evaluation of Zuo Zongtang was far higher than that of Luo Zenan and Liu Rong.

Liu Bingwen believed that Luo Zenan and Liu Rong were merely students, and no matter how famous they were, it was inevitable that they would be accused of being flattered by people from Hunan.

Zuo Zongtang, on the other hand, gained the approval of Lin Zexu and his superior, Tao Shu, who was also Liu Bingwen's idol.

Tao Shu even went so far as to condescend to become in-laws with Zuo Zongtang, entrusting his son to Zuo Zongtang, which shows that Tao Shu had a very high opinion of Zuo Zongtang.

Tao Shu and Lin Zexu were both relatively pragmatic frontier officials during the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns. It is highly unlikely that someone with a great reputation could gain the approval of both Tao Shu and Lin Zexu at the same time.

“If he truly possesses the abilities of Gu Liang, and can repeat the story of Liu Bei’s three visits to Zhuge Liang’s thatched cottage, offering him the position of prime minister and hiring him as a staff member, his right-hand man, would not be unreasonable,” Peng Gang said.

The Zuo Zongtang he knew was more the national hero who, after becoming a frontier official, carried his own coffin to recover the Western Regions in his later years and achieved great success.

Peng Gang had no idea how capable Zuo Zongtang was, who had not yet risen to power and was likely not even a chief of staff.

However, Liu Bingwen's point is also valid; the possibility that Tao Shu and Lin Zexu both misjudged the situation is very low.

Tao Shu was from Hunan, while Lin Zexu was from Fujian. Lin Zexu and Zuo Zongtang were not from the same hometown.

Perhaps when Lin Zexu met Zuo Zongtang in Hunan on his way back from the Western Regions, it was either out of respect for his old leader or simply out of curiosity about Zuo Zongtang.

However, the fact that the two could chat on the boat all night suggests that Zuo Zongtang did have some knowledge.

"This man has a bad temper, and I've heard he's quite eccentric. I'm afraid we can't persuade him." Liu Bingwen shook his head slightly, not believing that Peng Gang could tame Zuo Zongtang, this wild horse.

Many provincial officials warmly invited Zuo Zongtang to join their staff, but Zuo Zongtang was reluctant to do so, which suggests that he had very high standards.

Before understanding Peng Gang's political views, even though Peng Gang was Liu Bingwen's student, Liu Bingwen had no intention of assisting or serving Peng Gang, let alone Zuo Zongtang. The main force of the Taiping Army, which had marched north from Quanzhou City, gradually arrived at Lingling City.

The first to arrive in Lingling City was Xiao Chaogui, a famous vanguard of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Xiao Chaogui brought only three thousand soldiers from the Western Palace and hurried to Lingling City. He went straight to the Yongzhou Prefecture government office in Lingling City to see Peng Gang.

Although they are all kings, there are different ranks among them.

In terms of military advisor rank, Xiao Chaogui was the chief military advisor, while Peng Gang was the deputy military advisor. Within the Heavenly Kingdom, Xiao Chaogui was two ranks higher than Peng Gang, and his status was higher.

Logically, Peng Gang should have gone out of the city to greet Xiao Chaogui, but Xiao Chaogui rushed to Peng Gang's door before Peng Gang could even finish preparing.

This indicates that Xiao Chaogui not only had urgent business, but also needed Peng Gang's help.

"I didn't know your brother-in-law had arrived so quickly. I was unable to come out of the city to greet you in time. I hope you won't blame me."

Seeing Xiao Chaogui stride into the Yongzhou Prefecture government office, Peng Gang stood up, cupped his hands in a polite apology to Xiao Chaogui.

"The military situation is urgent and we must act quickly." Xiao Chaogui got straight to the point. "Gang Bao has captured Lingling with the strength of one army, making him a great hero of our Heavenly Kingdom. I heard that Gang Bao has acquired a lot of boats and provisions in Yongzhou. Could Gang Bao lend some boats and provisions to the Western Palace? We will definitely return them in full in the future."

"Where is Brother-in-law Gui planning to deploy troops?" Peng Gang's heart tightened. Could it be that Xiao Chaogui, with his impatient nature, is planning to attack Changsha directly?
Have we forgotten the lessons of Guilin so quickly?

"Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province." Xiao Chaogui wanted to borrow the boats and provisions from the Northern Palace to attack Changsha, and he couldn't hide this from Peng Gang.

"How many troops did your brother-in-law bring to raid Changsha?" Peng Gang then asked.

"Three thousand Xidian warriors!" Xiao Chaogui revealed to Peng Gang, "Changsha's defenses are weak; three thousand Xidian warriors are enough to take Changsha."

Three thousand
Xiao Chaogui was far too reckless and arrogant, thinking he could attack Changsha with only three thousand soldiers from the Western Palace.

Although Peng Gang's scouts had not yet penetrated deep into Changsha Prefecture, based on the confessions of Chu army prisoners and information provided by the Hunan Heaven and Earth Society, they had already made progress.

Last year, when Xiang Rong, the former governor of Hunan, led the Chu army into Guangxi to suppress the Heaven and Earth Society and the God Society, he led a large number of Chu troops.

However, due to the obstruction of Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, Xiang Rong was unable to take away the Hunan Green Standard Army soldiers from Changsha.

In other words, the situation in Changsha is different from that in Yongzhou.

When Peng Gang attacked Yongzhou, Xiang Rong first transferred away the elite troops of the Yongzhou Garrison Green Standard Army.

Subsequently, Li Xingyuan stationed troops in Yongzhou, and the second-line Green Standard Army militia in Yongzhou Town was also withdrawn by Li Xingyuan to the south to block the Left Army.

When Li Xingyuan's army was defeated at Huangsha Pass, the Left Army approached Lingling City, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture. Lingling City was already an empty city.

News also came from the Heaven and Earth Society that Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong had just returned to Xinning County, and before he could even lick his wounds at Shuitangwan, he was transferred to the north, most likely to Changsha.

In order to resist the Taiping Army, local militias were also established in Xiangxiang, Xiangtan, Yiyang, Xiangyin and other places within Changsha Prefecture, encouraged by the Hunan authorities.

Even though the defensive forces of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, were not as numerous as those of Guilin, the capital of Guangxi Province, which was heavily fortified at the time, its defenses were not weak.

(End of this chapter)