1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 249 Want it all

The successful experience of the Northern Palace taking the lead and monopolizing Yong and Heng prefectures, and rapidly expanding its forces in just two or three months, greatly impressed Shi Dakai.

If the Wing Palace can join forces with the Auxiliary Palace to conquer Changde and Yuezhou, and use the money and grain from these two prefectures to expand the Wing Palace's army, it will surely be able to rapidly strengthen the Wing Palace's power.

The battle of Shaoyang, the capital of Baoqing Prefecture, also demonstrated that the Auxiliary and Wing Palaces were capable of jointly conquering a city of prefecture level.

According to information provided by fishermen and bandits in Dongting Lake.

The Yuezhou prefecture city of Baling and the Changde prefecture city of Wuling, which are very close to Dongting Lake, are relatively weakly defended because most of their local troops have been transferred to Changsha. Their defenses are not much better than those of Shaoyang, which they once conquered.

Even with their forces slightly weakened in Guilin Prefecture, the auxiliary and wing troops were still able to capture Baoqing Prefecture.

Not to mention the troops of the Auxiliary and Wing Palaces, which have now recovered their strength and expanded their forces in Hunan.

Shi Dakai was confident that by joining forces with Wei Changhui, they could capture one or two, or even more, prefectures.

Since leaving Baoqing Prefecture, the troops of the Auxiliary and Wing Palaces have been invincible, advancing triumphantly and making extremely smooth progress.

Wei Changhui also realized that the cities around Dongting Lake were easy to conquer.

He had the same thoughts as Shi Dakai, but ever since he was beaten by Yang Xiuqing in Quanzhou City, Wei Changhui was still fearful and had a lingering fear of Yang Xiuqing.

“I like it? Baling and Wuling are both wealthy places in Hunan. How could I not like them? But the Eastern King only told us to take Yiyang, Yuanjiang and Xiangyin counties with our two armies. He did not instruct us to conquer other places. Should we ask the Eastern King for instructions?”

Wei Changhui temporarily abandoned his idea of ​​sending troops to attack Changde and Yuezhou without authorization, and shook his head helplessly.

"Although Xiangyin is close to Changsha, it still takes a day or two to go there and back. Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and opportunities are fleeting. A day or two is enough time for the Qing forces in Changde and Yuezhou to do a lot. Once the Qing forces have completed their deployment and strengthened their defenses, Changde and Yuezhou will not be as easy to attack as they are now."

At this point, Shi Dakai paused for a moment before continuing.

"The Northern Palace, together with us, supported the Western Heir Apparent as the Western King, and then in Hengyang, without informing the Eastern King, they bestowed upon him a rank of nobility. The Eastern King was extremely displeased. Why did the Eastern King only give Seventh Brother a hard time and not punish him?"

Shi Dakai witnessed Yang Xiuqing giving Peng Gang a cold shoulder at the meeting at the Hengzhou Prefectural Government Office.

Sanjie refers to the military rank issued by the Northern Palace Hengyang Reorganization. Shi Dakai preferred to call the military rank issued by the Northern Palace Sanjie.

"Perhaps it's because the Northern Palace didn't fail in its battles against the Qing demons and made no mistakes. When they first entered Hunan, the other palaces relied heavily on the Northern Palace for assistance," Wei Changhui said after thinking for a moment.

"The North Hall is the main hall, while our two examination halls are side halls. How can they be compared? Besides, Hengzhou is the territory of the North Hall. On the North Hall's territory, the Eastern King always has to give Seventh Brother some face."

What Wei Changhui said only scratched the surface and did not address the root cause.

Whether it's the main hall or a side hall.

The reason why Yang Xiuqing was more polite to Peng Gang was that the North Palace was too strong, and its strength was no weaker than that of the East Palace.

"Compared to the defeat at the hands of the Qing demons, the Northern Palace's unauthorized bestowal of ranks is something the Eastern King fears even more. Ultimately, it's because the Northern Palace's strength is no less than the Eastern Palace's, and the Eastern King is wary of the Northern Palace," Shi Dakai said, gazing at the distant mountains that appeared and disappeared like dark ink.

"If Fifth Brother is worried that the Eastern King will blame us for taking the initiative to attack Yuezhou and Changde, we can act first and report later. Military matters are urgent, and if we do a good job of appearances, the Eastern King will surely understand us."

Shi Dakai decided to send fast cavalry to inform Yang Xiuqing that the defenses of the prefectures and counties around Dongting Lake were weak, and to ask Yang Xiuqing for permission to send troops from the Fu and Yi Palaces to Yuezhou and Changde.

When they take Yuezhou and Changde, the army's food and provisions will depend on the Fu and Yi Palaces, so Yang Xiuqing will have no reason to cause trouble for them.

Unless they fail to capture Yuezhou and Changde, and Yang Xiuqing quickly takes Changsha.

Only under these circumstances would Yang Xiuqing have sufficient reason and confidence to question the Auxiliary and Wing Palaces.

However, given the current situation, this possibility is extremely slim. "Alright then." Wei Changhui was persuaded by Shi Dakai and nodded in agreement.

"Everyone is counting on taking Changsha. But what if we fail to capture Changsha, like we did with Guilin? The hundreds of thousands of people in the Heavenly Kingdom can't just starve. Should we attack Yuezhou or Changde first?"

"I'll attack Yuezhou, you attack Changde." Shi Dakai didn't make a choice; he chose to have it all.

Upon receiving Shi Dakai's letter, he learned that Shi Zhenlun had found the families of Zuo Zongtang and Guo Kuntao in Xiangyin and had sent troops to protect the two families.

Peng Gang summoned Zuo Zongtang and Guo Kuntao, informed them of the matter, and also gave them letters from their families.

Upon learning that their family was safe, Zuo Zongtang and Guo Kuntao both breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a pity that Youkui is still in Changsha." Zuo Zongtang's only concern was his son-in-law Tao Guang in Changsha. Thinking of how Tao Shu had entrusted his only son to Zuo Zongtang before his death, Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but sigh.

“A father-in-law and son-in-law are not father and son. Youkui is Tao Wenyi’s only son, the descendant of a meritorious official. Governor Luo will not do anything to him,” Guo Kuntao comforted Zuo Zongtang.

Tao Guang was the son of Tao Shu, a high-ranking official during the Daoguang reign, whose students were all over Hunan.

Given the Tao family's influence in Hunan, Luo Bingzhang wouldn't dare to touch Tao Guang.

"Thank you, King of the North, for protecting my family. I will immediately write to my former students."

Guo Kuntao's words of comfort made Zuo Zongtang feel a little better. Zuo Zongtang promised to write to his students and inquire about the situation of Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai's detachment.

"According to the staff officers in the General Staff, the progress of the Prince of Fu and the Prince of Yi is very smooth. Where are they now? Or are they stuck at Yiyang, Yuanjiang, and Xiangyin, without any other actions?"

They brought Wang Quan's family from the thatched cottage in western Hunan and took care of the memorial service for Wang Fuzhi.

Zuo Zongtang went in and out of the staff headquarters set up in the signing room every day to learn about the progress of the various Taiping armies.

However, we received news from the Auxiliary Hall and Wing Hall troops three days ago.

Zuo Zongtang guessed that Shi Dakai would definitely share the progress of the Wing Hall and the Auxiliary Hall with Peng Gang after sending the urgent letter.

“The Auxiliary King and the Wing King have already dispatched troops to Changde and Yuezhou,” Peng Gang said.

Shi Dakai's letter included information about the progress and developments of the auxiliary hall and wing hall.

Shi Dakai's military acumen was undeniable, as he was able to turn Zeng Guofan into a diving champion.

The Qing court is preoccupied with one front while neglecting the other, and now is indeed a good opportunity to attack Changde and Yuezhou.

"Brilliant! I thought the Prince of Fu and the Prince of Yi would abandon their primary objective and turn back to help the Prince of Dong attack Changsha. Now I realize that I was overthinking it," Zuo Zongtang nodded approvingly.

"Your Highness will receive good news of the capture of Yuezhou in just a few days."

Zuo Zongtang called himself a farmer from Hunan, and his seclusion in Baishuidong did not mean that he was indifferent to worldly affairs.

Compared to Zuo Zongtang, the Wang Quan family, who lived in seclusion in a thatched cottage in western Hunan, whose ancestors had no intention of serving the Qing court and did not even participate in the Qing imperial examinations, but instead devoted themselves to organizing and studying the knowledge of their ancestors, is the kind of hermit figure that the public stereotypes.

During his relocation from Liuzhuang to Baishuidong, Zuo Zongtang maintained correspondence with his students to stay informed about the situation in various places and prepare for his future appointment to the government.

Zuo Zongtang was very familiar with the situation in Yuezhou and Changde, which are adjacent to Xiangyin County.

(End of this chapter)