1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 247 The Devastation of Xiangbei
Zaotou City is located in a low-lying area on the banks of the Lei River, surrounded by mountains on three sides and backed by the Lei River to the southeast.

This is what military strategists call a "death trap with one's back to the river."

Fuxing, this arrogant and conceited fool, and his greedy Gaozhou soldiers were completely unaware that they had entered a desperate situation.

Four thousand soldiers from Gaozhou rushed into Zaotou City in single file.

Upon entering Zaotou City, the soldiers of Gaozhou looked upon the dazzling array of gold, silver, grain, and cloth displayed there, as if a mountain of treasures lay before them.

Everyone cheered and jumped for joy, abandoning their ranks to rush forward and scramble for the goods. Some carried bolts of cloth on their shoulders, others hid silver coins in their pockets, some devoured the dry rations in their bags, and some even abandoned their weapons to catch chickens and ducks. Some Qing soldiers even fought each other over the goods, creating quite a scene.

Even many of Fu Xing's personal guards joined the looting.

Just then, 13,000 Zuo Jun soldiers who were lying in ambush near Xiezhong, Hujiayan, Nanling Village, Chailing, and Wanrenting around Zaotou City received Peng Gang's order.

The regiments and battalions gathered at Zaotou City in an orderly manner.

As they approached Zaotou City, suonas blared from three sides and war drums thundered. More than 13,000 soldiers of the Left Army pounced on Zaotou City like eagles swooping down on rabbits.

In an instant, shouts of battle rose from all sides in Zaotou City as the Zuo Jun soldiers, who had been sharpening their knives, charged into the city from three directions.

Caught off guard, most of the Qing troops in Zaotou City were still scrambling for food and weapons when they suddenly heard bugles from all sides. Their minds were thrown into chaos. In the confusion, some soldiers fell into ditches, some drew their swords in panic, some clung to their gold, and some ran around like headless flies, hiding in civilian houses.

The streets and alleys in Zaotou City were narrow, and the Qing infantry were scattered and had not yet formed a battle formation.

They were quickly routed by the Left Army soldiers who stormed into Zaotou City, losing their armor and fleeing in disarray.

Chang Sheng, who had the opportunity to perform, was exceptionally brave, and his four hundred elite soldiers from the Sichuan and Guizhou armies fought very actively.

Armed with swords and shields, they formed ranks to block the streets and alleys, advancing inch by inch.

The Qing army fought hastily, without any orders or discipline, rushing around like headless flies, which only became an obstacle, causing them to trample each other.

Fuxing attempted to gather several hundred Qing soldiers to form a battle array in the center of the market and put up a stubborn resistance. His thousand-man captain was shouting orders to form a battle array when Changsheng's four hundred auxiliary soldiers from the left flank attacked from the side.

Chang Sheng's 400 elite soldiers from the Sichuan and Guizhou armies were among the best close-combat fighters in the Southern Green Standard Army. Fu Xing's Gaozhou Town guerrillas were no match for these fierce soldiers in close combat.

In an instant, most of them were defeated, with only a hundred or so personal guards remaining to surround Fuxing.

Chang Sheng, with his keen eyesight, noticed that among the Qing troops was a general's flag, and under the flag, Fu Xing, riding a tall horse, was dressed in bright armor. The hundreds of soldiers around him were still in orderly ranks, making them particularly conspicuous in the chaotic army.

He knew this man must be the garrison commander of Gaozhou, and immediately ordered his four hundred fierce soldiers from Sichuan and Guizhou to charge forward: "The Qing army's commander-in-chief is here! Capture the king to capture the traitor!"

Upon hearing this, the fierce soldiers from Sichuan and Guizhou under Chang Sheng's command were greatly encouraged. They charged forward with the momentum of a raging torrent, like a tidal wave crashing against the shore. Wielding swords and shields, they shouted as they charged toward the enemy general.

Fuxing's personal guards were no match for the overwhelming force of Changsheng's left wing army.

In just two rounds of attacks, nearly 30% of Fuxing's personal guards had been killed or wounded, and the rest were exhausted and terrified, abandoning their weapons and fleeing.

Chang Sheng leaped forward, swiftly wielding his blade to cut down two of Fu Xing's close attendants. He then grabbed Fu Xing by the braid and dragged him, helmet and all, off his horse.

Fuxing was filled with fear and trepidation. The knife fell and the helmet flew away. He only felt a warmth under his crotch and dared not resist, letting Changsheng tie him up.

By this time, the Qing army remnants had already lost their morale, and some had either surrendered or fled into the alleys where they were wiped out one by one by the Left Army.

In less than two hours, the entire Qing army of 4,000 garrison troops in Gaozhou was wiped out; a small number were killed and the majority were captured.

Although nearly half of the Left Army's soldiers were new recruits since the reorganization in Hengyang, their overall combat strength was not as good as before.

However, the Qing army's Gaozhou garrison was utterly incompetent, and the left wing achieved victory relatively easily.

Before long, Chang Sheng captured Fu Xing, the garrison commander of Gaozhou Town, who was covered in filth and whose crotch was soaked, and presented him to Peng Gang.

As soon as Fuxing was escorted to the main hall of Leiyang County Government, a foul and filthy stench assaulted his nostrils.

Several soldiers from the Left Army responsible for escorting Fuxing frowned and took a step back, their expressions showing disgust.

With his hands tied behind his back, Fuxing hurriedly knelt down in front of Peng Gang, his knees hitting the ground heavily, his buttocks sticking out as he kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Highness, spare my life! This servant was foolish for a moment, this servant deserves to die! This servant is willing to descend to the Heavenly Kingdom! I beg Your Highness to have divine mercy, to consider that this servant was forced by the Qing demons and dared not defy Heaven, I beg for my life, and from now on I am willing to serve Your Highness like an ox or a horse, serving you faithfully..."

Fuxing spoke incoherently, his words trembling, looking every bit like a servile lackey clinging to life.

When the term "Qing Yao" came out of the mouth of the Manchu in Fuxing, Peng Gang, who was covering his nose, couldn't help but laugh.

Qingyao, aren't you a pure and upright Qingyao?
Peng Gang looked down at Fu Xing without saying a word. After a long while, he said coldly, "So you are Fu Xing, the fiercest general of the Plain White Banner? I heard that you beheaded thousands of Heavenly Kingdom soldiers in Chenzhou. How impressive! Why are you in such a sorry state today?"

"Your Highness flatters me. How could I dare to kill the Heavenly Army's holy soldiers? I only killed commoners from Chenzhou to report as battle merits and to fool the evil Emperor Xianfeng," Fuxing said shamelessly.

"Drag them out and execute them by a thousand cuts. The more than three thousand Gaozhou soldiers captured in Zaotou City will also be used to train the new recruits," Peng Gang said, waving his hand in disgust.

Regardless of the fact that many people from Chenzhou have come to him to seek refuge these days.

Furthermore, Peng Gang's willingness to accept prisoners of war from the Qing army's Green Standard Army was based on the premise that the surrendered Green Standard Army militia did not commit the atrocity of massacring the city. The soldiers of Gaozhou Town who massacred Chenzhou were clearly not among the prisoners Peng Gang could accept.

Keeping these people around is a waste of food.

Upon hearing that Peng Gang intended to subject him to the excruciating punishment of slow slicing, Fuxing wept bitterly and begged for his life.

Peng Gang ignored him and simply ordered his men to drag the eyesore Fuxing out for execution as soon as possible.

The following evening, Lu Qin, the regimental commander of the First Regiment responsible for pursuing and annihilating Zhang Guoliang's Ever-Victorious Battalion, came to report.

Zhang Guoliang's Ever-Victorious Battalion fled south in panic under the pursuit of the First Regiment.

The regiment pursued relentlessly, killing and capturing 132 Qing soldiers under Zhang Guoliang's command.

"Where are Peng Yong and Li Rui?" Seeing that Peng Yong and Li Rui had not returned with Lu Qin, Peng Gang frowned and asked about Li Rui's whereabouts.

“Li Rui’s Guizhou and Miao soldiers walk on mountain paths as if they were flat ground, moving with incredible speed. They are chasing the Qing army with great enthusiasm. We tried our best but couldn’t catch up with them or persuade them to come back. These bastards are too fast. Only the two or three hundred men under Deputy Commander Peng can barely catch up with Li Rui and his auxiliary troops,” Lu Qin said, panting.

"Could Li Rui be using this opportunity to defect back to the Qing camp?" Huang Bingxian asked, startled.

“No, Li Rui wants to return to the Qing camp, but his Guizhou and Miao soldiers won’t follow him. The Miao soldiers in the Green Standard Army are treated worse than even the Han soldiers. Besides, Deputy Commander Peng is with him,” Lu Qin hurriedly explained.

"Li Rui was simply too cooped up in the prisoner-of-war camp for too long. He got carried away while chasing the Qing army. Of the 132 Qing soldiers killed or captured by Zhang Guoliang's regiment, at least half were killed by Li Rui and his men."

"Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Send messengers to catch up with them and bring them back!" Peng Gang said with a gloomy face.

Just as Lu Qin had predicted, Peng Yong and Li Rui were simply caught up in the heat of the moment, chasing Zhang Jiaxiang's Qing army all the way to Yongxing County.

Qin Dingsan and He Chun, who were stationed in Yongxing County, saw that Peng Yong and Li Rui were coming in a fierce manner. They also learned from Zhang Guoliang that the 4,000 soldiers of Gaozhou Town under Fuxing had underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly. They were afraid that they would be in grave danger and had already been annihilated by the Zuo army.

Qin Dingsan and He Chun thought that Zuo Jun was going to march south to Chenzhou, so they were so frightened that they led four or five thousand soldiers and followed Zhang Guoliang to flee south to Chenzhou city overnight.

Peng Yong and Li Rui were even able to capture Yongxing County with only seven or eight hundred soldiers, gather local gentry and commoners who were willing to join the Left Army, and calmly return north with 128 Qing soldiers killed or captured along the way.

Xu Guangjin, who was stationed in Chenzhou, had not received any news from Fuxing for several days and knew that Fuxing was likely in grave danger.

Although Xu Guangjin knew that Qin Dingsan, He Chun, Zhang Guoliang and others were describing the Left Army as heavenly soldiers and generals in order to find an excuse for their retreat without a fight.

To preserve the remaining Guangdong troops, Xu Guangjin led his army to retreat to Yizhang, south of Chenzhou City, at the border of Hunan and Guangdong.

At the same time, the troops of Feng Yunshan and Zeng Shuiyuan, who were responsible for blocking the Qing army under Zhou Tianjue and Xiang Rong, also defeated the Qing army at Guiyang, which is located at the border of Yong and Heng prefectures, killing and capturing more than 1,500 people.

After sending some cannon fodder, in order to preserve their main force, Zhou Tianjue and Xiang Rong hurriedly led their troops back to Lingling.

Xiang Rong has a keen sense of military strategy.

Despite the fact that the Taiping Army under Feng Yunshan and Zeng Shuiyuan defeated the Qing Army under Zhou Tianjue and Xiang Rong at Guiyang.

However, due to the influx of many new recruits into the South and West Palaces, their combat strength declined compared to the periods during the Guilin and Quanzhou campaigns. The casualties in the two palaces were also considerable.

Xiang Rong was devastated and felt extremely sorry for him.

It is lamented that if the Chu army and Zhengan troops were at their peak, they might have had a chance to barely win the Battle of Guiyang.

Therefore, Xiang Rong urgently ordered Deng Shaoliang, who came from the military garrison of Qianzhou Hall in western Hunan, to take money to the Xiangxi region, where martial spirit was strong, to recruit some garrison soldiers.

He wanted to personally train the new recruits and, once the army was formed, wipe away the shame of repeated defeats.

The Qing armies in Yong and Chen routes suffered successive defeats and dared not continue north to spy on Hengyang and Changsha.

Yang Xiuqing was thus able to create a relatively safe environment, leading the troops of the East Palace, along with most of the troops of the West Palace under Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang, to besiege Changsha City.

After his victory, Peng Gang returned to Hengyang and prepared to enter Changsha Prefecture.

The main force of the Taiping Army successively marched north, opened up the Xiangjiang River waterway, and headed straight for Changsha.

After Xiao Chaogui's death in battle and the withdrawal of the Western Palace troops from Changsha, the city was once again in dire straits.

As if things weren't bad enough, at the same time, the auxiliary and wing detachments of the Taiping Army, led by Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, also sailed down the Zi River. They encountered almost no decent resistance along the way, easily entered Dongting Lake, and while boating on the lake, they casually defeated the two thousand Hubei soldiers who were rushing to Changsha's aid by water.

Of course, the so-called "flanking force" is relative to the Taiping Army.

In the eyes of the Qing army, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai's force numbered twenty to thirty thousand, capable of easily annihilating two thousand elite Hubei soldiers.

When Chang Dachun, the governor of Hubei, heard this, he was horrified. He believed that the Taiping Rebels who had entered Dongting Lake were the main force. He hurriedly ordered the remaining 4,000 Hubei soldiers who were to be transferred to Changsha to be brought back to Wuchang from Baling, the capital of Yuezhou Prefecture.

A messenger was dispatched at an urgent speed of 800 li to the capital, informing Emperor Xianfeng of the crisis in Yuezhou and the impending fall of Wuchang.

At the same time, he wrote to Sai Shang'a, earnestly requesting that Sai Shang'a transfer the Hubei troops previously transferred from Hubei back to Hubei, in order to protect Yuezhou and safeguard Wuchang, a key town on the Yangtze River.

(End of this chapter)