1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 263 Zeng Yaotou Deserves to Be Childless and Descendantless

Luo Dagang rested his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist, his expression cold and stern.

His eyes showed neither sorrow nor joy; he simply stared coldly at the Zeng family mansion, where flames surged like dragons and snakes.

The wind fanned the flames, and the fire roared in the mountain wind.

The thick walls surrounding the Zeng family compound could not stop the fire from spreading in all directions.

The granaries, halls, libraries, and other buildings within the mansion were all burned down, as if divine punishment had descended, devouring this wealthy and powerful family that had drained the people of Xiangxiang of their wealth.

All 213 members of the Zeng family, young and old, regardless of kinship or distance, were executed on the spot by Luo Dagang.

Even among their own clansmen and neighbors, to prevent the Zeng family members from escaping by impersonating someone of another surname, no one who could be captured was spared alive.

Only a few servants from the Zeng family were left to identify the body.

"This is Zeng Guofan's second son, Zeng Jize, and this is his third son, Zeng Jihong."

This is Zeng Guohuang.
This is Zeng Guobao.

Cheng Dashun, the regimental commander of the Fourth Regiment, who was highly educated, meticulously registered and verified the names of the Zeng family members who had been killed, for future reporting to Peng Gang.

After all, it was a very hot day, so the body couldn't be taken away directly; it had to be burned to ashes and then put into a box before being taken away.

"Zeng Guofan didn't have an eldest son?" Cheng Dashun stared coldly at the servants of the Zeng family and questioned them, as if afraid that a member of the Zeng family might escape.

Cheng Dashun's family fell into poverty. He first worked as a servant for a wealthy family, and later wandered the streets begging for a living. During this time, he had a lot of contact with the servants of wealthy families.

The servants of these wealthy families are usually obsequious to their masters, but when dealing with people weaker than themselves, their methods can be even more ruthless and vicious than their masters'.

Cheng Dashun naturally felt no pity for the Zeng family's lackeys and henchmen.

"Zeng Guofan's eldest son died young." The servant of the Zeng family dared not look Cheng Dashun in the eye and answered in a low voice.

"So, your uncle is really lucky. He lost his son in middle age. If your uncle couldn't have sex, he would have no descendants," Cheng Dashun said with a laugh.

"What the master says is true, Zeng the devil deserves to be childless and without descendants," a servant of the Zeng family hurriedly echoed.

They were terrified that Cheng Dashun might get angry and draw his knife to kill them, along with his servants.

Luo Dagang, standing to the side, was not as happy as Cheng Dashun. He frowned and said, "So, Zeng Guohua and Zeng Guoquan still managed to escape?"

Although Zeng Guohua and Zeng Guoquan, as leaders of the Xiangxiang County militia, fled into the mountains with Luo Zenan and others to evade the search by the Northern Palace troops, their wives, children, and elderly relatives were not able to escape.

However, when Peng Gang was about to leave in Xiangtan, he gave Luo Dagang the order that no one from the Zeng family should be left alive.

Thinking about this, Luo Dagang couldn't help but feel a little worried.

“Zeng Guohua and Zeng Guoquan didn’t completely escape. Their wives, children, and elderly parents are all lying here, already cold to the bone,” a servant of the Zeng family hurriedly said.

Just then, Xie Bin, the commander of the Third Regiment, returned to the camp at Heyetang with a group of soldiers covered in mud and ash: "General Luo, the Zeng family's ancestral hall has been burned down, and the corpses in the ancestral graves have all been dug up, burned to ashes, and scattered into the latrine. From now on, when Zeng Guofan and the others come back to worship their ancestors, they will have to worship in the latrine."

Luo Dagang nodded and said, "Commander Xie, please lead your troops into the mountains again to pursue and wipe out the militia of Xiangxiang County. Try to capture as many prisoners and leaders as possible so that you can return to His Highness to report back."

"I obey my orders."

Xie Bin accepted the task assigned to him by Luo Dagang, and called on the soldiers of the battalion who had just been digging graves with him to put down their hoes and shovels, and take their knives, guns and cannons into the mountains to hunt down the scattered vagrants.

Five days later, a letter arrived at Heyetang from Zeng Shuiyuan, Lin Fengxiang, and others in Changsha, informing Luo Dagang that the Qing troops in Changsha had left the city, one group heading north and the other south. The southward-bound Qing army seemed to be targeting Luo Dagang. They urged Luo Dagang to lead his troops north to join them and then proceed to Yuezhou Prefecture to rendezvous with the main force.

Before leaving Changsha, Peng Gang wrote to Luo Dagang informing him that the main force of his troops was heading north to Yuezhou Prefecture.

In order to expand the results of the battle and eliminate as many local militias as possible in Xiangxiang County, Luo Dagang lingered in Xiangxiang County for a few more days.

At present, Zeng Shuiyuan, Lin Fengxiang and others are urging more and more urgently, and the Qing troops in Changsha have once again left the city.

Fearing unforeseen circumstances, Luo Dagang ordered the troops to regroup.

Once the order was issued, the Northern Palace troops, which had been pursuing and suppressing the militia of Xiangxiang County within the territory of Hengzhou Prefecture, gradually returned to the Heyetang camp.

"General Luo, we've caught a big fish!"

Hou Jiyong, the deputy commander of the Fourth Regiment, who had just returned from Hengzhou Prefecture, either escorted or carried on a stretcher several bookish-looking militia leaders from Xiangxiang County to Luo Dagang's command tent to report back to him.

"Liu Rong, who was in charge of money and provisions for the Xiangxiang County militia, Wang Xin, the militia director, and their entourage have been captured by our Fourth Regiment!"

Although the Xiangxiang County militia had been running amok like bandits these days, chased all over the mountains and fields by the soldiers of the Northern Palace, the soldiers of the Northern Palace had also pursued and annihilated more than a thousand Xiangxiang County militia members, killing some of their leaders.

However, the main leaders of the local militia in Xiangxiang County have not yet been captured.

Upon learning that Hou Jiyong's troops had captured several key leaders of the Xiangxiang County militia, including Liu Rong, Luo Dagang was overjoyed and asked Hou Jiyong to confirm Liu Rong's identity: "Is she Xiao Liang, Liu Rong?"

“If the captured militia members aren’t making baseless accusations, then it’s undoubtedly Liu Rong. Under my fish-head knife, they wouldn’t dare to make random accusations,” Hou Jiyong said, patting the fish-head knife at his waist. “I am Liu Rong,” Liu Rong, covered in rags and her clothes torn by branches, frankly admitted her identity and pleaded with Luo Dagang.

"General Luo, my brother and my student are injured. I beg you to have mercy and treat my brother and student."

Liu Rong was fleeing in a sorry state in the mountains when she fell into a valley and was captured by the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment during their search of the mountains.

He only suffered minor cuts and bruises and was otherwise unharmed.

His younger brother Liu Fan, along with Wang Xin, Li Xuyi, Xie Banghan, and others, were wounded and captured while fighting the Fourth Regiment to cover Luo Zenan's retreat. They all had gunshot wounds and knife wounds to varying degrees.

Liu Rong hopes that Luo Dagang will help treat her brother and students.

As fellow natives of Xiangxiang, Liu Rong had taught Luo Zenan's students quite a bit in the past, so it was reasonable for her to refer to Wang Xin, Li Xuyi, Xie Banghan, and others as her students.

Luo Dagang walked over and checked the injuries of Liu Fan, Wang Xin, and others.

Except for Xie Banghan, whose injuries are not serious, only three fingers on his right hand were broken. If the wound is treated properly, his right hand can be saved.

The injuries to the others were not optimistic, especially those to Liu Fan and Wang Xin.

The wounds on both men were already infected with maggots, which were wriggling all over their wounds.

Liu Fan's wounds were to his right eye and abdomen, while Wang Xin's wound was to his left arm.

If Wang Xin had chopped off his left arm, there was a good chance he could have saved his life.

As for Liu Fan, whether he can be saved is up to fate and depends on whether he can pull through.

"General Luo, he's my only brother! I'm begging you!"

Seeing that Luo Dagang had not responded to her request, Liu Rong, who was extremely anxious, knelt down before Luo Dagang.

"I will arrange for someone to treat him. The injuries of the others are easy to heal, but as for your brother, whether he can be saved depends on his fate," Luo Dagang said after carefully examining Liu Fan's injuries.

After speaking, Luo Dagang ordered his men to summon the army doctor.

Although they were called military doctors, they were actually just traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and itinerant doctors from Guangxi.

While the military doctors were treating the wounds of Liu Fan, Wang Xin, Li Xuyi, Xie Banghan, and others, Luo Dagang gathered the officers to inquire about the battle results of each unit and to check whether all the troops had been brought back.

Seeing that Xie Bin's 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment had not yet returned to camp, Luo Dagang sent out a communications soldier to urge them on, while waiting for Xie Bin at the Heyetang camp, hoping that Xie Bin could bring him a pleasant surprise.

The following day, Xie Bin's 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment finally returned.

Although Xie Bin chased down and killed seventy or eighty guerrillas from the Xiangxiang County militia and captured two minor leaders, he ultimately did not bring Luo Dagang any great surprises. It was a worthwhile trip.

After the troops were regrouped, Luo Dagang led his troops north to Xiangxiang County.

They took money and provisions, and escorted more than 8,000 young men captured in various parts of Xiangxiang County onto the ship. They sailed down the Lian River to Changsha to join the troops of the Western Palace and the Northern Palace troops stationed at Shuiluzhou.

Luo Dagang had been gone for several days and was hiding in the Hengnan Mountains. Luo Zenan, Zhu Sunyi, Li Xubin, Zeng Guoquan and others, who were already like frightened birds, saw that there were no more pursuers behind them in the past few days. They embraced each other and wept, no longer continuing to flee south. If they ran any further south, they would end up in Chenzhou and enter Guangxi.

Luo Zenan, Zhu Sunyi, Li Xubin and others cautiously led the remaining seven hundred or so militia members from Xiangxiang County, who looked like beggars, northward, arriving near Hengyang, the capital of Hengzhou Prefecture, with trepidation.

After several investigations, and confirming that Duanmao had indeed left, they mustered their courage and, under the guise of the Xiangxiang County militia, entered Hengyang City and "recaptured" the deserted city.

Despite finally capturing Hengyang, Luo Zenan, Zhu Sunyi, Li Xubin, and others could not be happy at all.

The Xiangxiang County militia suffered more than half its losses, and even the students that Luo Zenan had painstakingly trained, the backbone of the Xiangxiang County militia, were also lost by nearly half.

Luo Zenan was particularly depressed.

Not only his close friend Liu Rong, but also his prized students Wang Xin, Yang Changjun, Li Xuyi, Xie Banghan, Yi Lianggan, and others either died or disappeared without a trace.

Even Luo Zhennan, Luo Xinnan, and Luo Xindong, three brothers from the Luo family, were killed by the short-haired thugs.

In this battle, the Xiangxiang County militia suffered heavy losses, and the Luo family also suffered heavy losses.

Luo Zenan was filled with remorse. If he had known that Short Hair was so vengeful and so brave in battle, he should never have provoked Short Hair in the first place.

However, Zhu Sunyi, the magistrate of Xiangxiang County, actually had a somewhat joyful expression after entering Hengyang City.

Zhu Sunyi was from Qingjiang, Jiangxi, and all his relatives lived in Jiangxi.

Although he was chased so badly by the short-haired man that his family members who had left the county town were separated from him, he was in grave danger.

Zhu Sunyi didn't care that much. He had two sons in Jiangxi, and the death of his wife wasn't a major tragedy for him.

Now that Hengyang has been recaptured, a promotion and a fortune are definitely on the horizon.

(End of this chapter)