1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 265 The Northern Palace Easily Captures Hanyang and Hankou
Just as Hunan Governor Shuangfu was deploying troops from Hanyang and Hankou to Wuchang, sealing off the nine gates of Wuchang, ordering the relocation of residents from the surrounding area, and clearing the fields to resist stubbornly while awaiting reinforcements from Sai Shang'a and Luo Bingzhang.

Under the pretext of going to Hankou to mobilize troops, the nominal admiral Boler Gongwu, along with his family and bondservants, seized a civilian boat and fled.

Not to be outdone, the city garrison commander Akdong'a did even more ruthlessly than his predecessor, Bolergongwu.

Akdong'a faked his death in the afternoon, resurrected at night, and took gold, silver and valuables with him. He then left the city with three trusted guards, hired a boat, and headed directly to Anqing, the capital of Anhui Province, to seek refuge with his relative, Jiang Wenqing, the governor of Anhui.

Before the Battle of Wuchang even began, two key high-ranking officers were already missing.

One of them was the nominal admiral Boler Gongwu, who had promised Shuangfu that he would stand with him through thick and thin and live and die with Wuchang.

Shuangfu was completely stunned and had no choice but to grit his teeth and defend Wuchang.

The Qing army in Hubei was so short-handed that it could not even attend to Hanyang and Hankou, let alone defend the 600-mile stretch of the Yangtze River between Yuezhou Prefecture and Wuchang against the Taiping army.

The Taiping army's reconnaissance troops moved through the area as if it were empty, easily penetrating deep into the vicinity of the three towns of Wuhan to gather intelligence on the enemy.

The watchtowers along the way were all just for show, which gave Huang Dabiao, who was in charge of scouting the situation in Hanyang and Hankou, a headache because he couldn't capture any Qing soldiers.

It wasn't until they reached the outskirts of Hanyang that Huang Dabiao captured three Qing deserters and returned to report to Peng Gang.

When Huang Dabiao met Peng Gang, Peng Gang had already boarded a cargo ship provided by the Yidian and traveled to the vicinity of Huanglingji, which was only about fifty miles away from Wuchang.

Huang Dabiao threw the Qing soldier's prisoners off his horse to the ground, dismounted, and loudly reported to Peng Gang, who was standing on the deck: "Your Highness! I have captured the Qing soldiers' prisoners! The Qing army has taken all the soldiers from Hanyang and Hankou into Wuchang. Hanyang and Hankou are now empty cities and markets! There are no soldiers stationed there!"

Peng Gang sent a small boat to pick up Huang Dabiao and three Qing soldiers to question him on the boat.

After interrogation, the situation in Hanyang and Hankou was confirmed.

Peng Gang decisively gave Huang Dabiao the order: "Huang Dabiao, you take the first company of the training battalion and immediately ride into battle to capture Hanyang and Hankou, especially Hankou. Do not let the wealthy merchants of Hankou escape!"

"Your Highness, I obey your command! Please await my good news upon your victory at Hanyang and Hankou!"

Upon receiving the mission, Huang Dabiao didn't waste any words. He quickly assembled the soldiers of the First Company of the Training Battalion, mounted their warhorses, and galloped away to Hanyang and Hankou, fifty miles away.

The First Company of the Training Battalion was Peng Gang's only organized cavalry unit, with nearly two hundred men.

Although they were called cavalry, they were actually just infantrymen on horseback, who could move around on horseback and fight on foot.

When the Taiping army attacked Wuchang, all six kings were mobilized.

While Beidian cannot monopolize Wuchang, it is still possible for them to control Hanyang and Hankou if they act quickly enough.

Hankou, as one of the ten major towns during this period, was a place where goods were piled up like mountains and merchants flocked in from all over the world. Its wealth was extremely abundant and its prosperity was no less than that of the towns in the Jiangnan region. It was a rare and lucrative opportunity, and we had to take the lead and capture Hanyang and Hankou as quickly as possible.

The boats of the Taiping Army's various palaces were mainly concentrated upstream of Luxikou. Luxikou had not yet been dredged, making it difficult for boats to pass.

The boats used by the various palace officials were all captured by the Wing Palace during the conquest of Jiayu and Puqi counties.

The boats from the two counties were more than enough to transport the combat personnel of the Wing Hall and the First Hall, but when distributed among the various halls, they were somewhat insufficient.

At this moment, Peng Gang only had the training battalion with him; the main force was still behind.

After sending out the first company of the training battalion, Peng Gang also sent out the second and third companies of the training battalion that accompanied him.

He ordered the Second and Third Companies to take fast boats to Hanyang, leaving only the Fourth Company to guard him.

Huang Dabiao led the first company of the training battalion, lightly equipped, and sped along the official road.

In less than an hour, the First Company of the Training Battalion rode on horseback, carrying guns, crossed Parrot Island, and arrived at the city of Hanyang, the capital of Hanyang Prefecture, which faces Wuchang across the river.

The three or four hundred Hanyang yamen runners and militiamen organized by Hanyang Prefect Dong Zhenduo saw hundreds of cavalrymen, whose clothing was completely different from that of the Qing army, rushing menacingly towards Hanyang City from the city wall. They were so frightened that their legs trembled and they could only stand up by leaning against the wall.

Although Dong Zhenduo, the prefect of Hanyang, was a Han Chinese, he was a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Han Army and was determined to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

The hastily organized yamen runners and militia were all locals from Hanyang, lacking any awareness of serving the Qing Dynasty to the death. Upon seeing the short-haired rebels approaching, they immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Huang Dabiao was thus able to lead his troops to scale the city walls and enter the city, open the city gates from the inside, and easily capture Hanyang, the capital of Hanyang Prefecture.

They captured Hanyang and killed Dong Zhenduo, the prefect of Hanyang, who was leading twenty or thirty bondservants in a stubborn resistance.

Huang Dabiao left only two platoons to control Hanyang City, preparing to welcome the subsequent troops into the city.

He himself led two platoons and hired boatmen to cross the Han River at Nan'anzui, where the Yangtze and Han Rivers meet. Without encountering any resistance, he easily occupied Hankou, which was completely deserted.

In less than three hours, Bei Dian, with a company of less than two hundred soldiers, captured two of the three towns of Wuhan.

Only five soldiers from the First Company of the Training Battalion sustained minor injuries in the street fighting in Hanyang City while pursuing and annihilating Dong Zhenduo; none of them were killed in action.

As dusk fell, the Second and Third Companies of the Training Battalion, following closely behind the First Company of the North Palace Training Battalion, successively entered Hanyang and Hankou.

The Northern Palace's control over Hanyang and Hankou became increasingly secure.

As night fell, Peng Gang, surrounded by the Fourth Company of the Training Battalion, entered Hanyang City and issued proclamations to reassure the people and set up soup kitchens. "Why is Wuchang City on fire across the street?"

Upon entering Hanyang City, Peng Gang climbed the city wall and looked across the Yangtze River to Wuchang City. He noticed flames and smoke rising outside the city wall of Wuchang City and asked Huang Dabiao, who was attending him, what was going on.

Huang Dabiao replied, "The Governor of Hubei, Chang Dachun, and the Commander-in-Chief of Hubei, Shuangfu, ordered the removal of residential houses and shops outside Wuchang City. They gave the residents outside the city walls three days to move out."

Chang Dachun and Shuangfu were worried that our sudden arrival would cause the residents outside the city to follow us.

He went back on his word and, while the people outside the city were asleep at night, ordered the soldiers inside Wuchang to be lowered down the city walls and set fire to the houses, resulting in heavy casualties among the people outside Wuchang.

When I first arrived in Hanyang, a huge fire was already burning outside Wuchang, and it's still burning now.

According to the people who fled across the river, the Qing soldiers suddenly set fire to the river, catching them off guard, and many were burned alive. Those who died were lucky; those who were half-dead, clinging to life, suffered the most. Many young girls had their faces disfigured by the burns.

"A beast in human clothing! This is the work of a provincial governor and military commander! Bah! Is this something a human being could do?!" Peng Gang was furious.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, most citizens lived in the suburbs outside the city, and only two or three out of ten could live inside the city walls.

There were at least 100,000 people living outside Wuchang City, and the fact that it was burned down so easily is truly shocking.

These Manchu officials only cared about their own positions and didn't care about the lives of the 100,000 people outside Wuchang.

"Our raid on the Chang family in Hengyang wasn't in vain. If we had known this would happen, we should have been even harsher on them. We were too lenient. None of the officials in the Qing Dynasty were any good," Huang Dabiao asked Peng Gang for instructions.

"People from the outer city of Wuchang have already crossed the river to join us. When I first arrived in Hanyang and Hankou, my troops were few and unable to accept them. Now that Your Highness has arrived, and a complete battalion has been stationed in Hanyang and Hankou, should we accept the refugees from Wuchang?"

“Let’s organize a fleet of boats to transport the refugees from the other side. Hanyang and Hankou are already ours, and we have plenty of food.” Peng Gang nodded slightly, indicating to Huang Dabiao that he should purchase boats and organize local boatmen to transport the refugees to the other side.

As for the confiscation of the gold, silver and valuables of wealthy merchants and gentry in Hanyang and Hankou, it is fine to postpone it.

Anyway, the training camp has already taken control of Hanyang and Hankou, so these gold and silver treasures can't escape.

Chang Dachun and Shuangfu went back on their word, and the residents outside Wuchang City, regardless of their wealth, status, age, or gender, all hated them to the bone and wished they could tear them to pieces.

Huang Dabiao's fleet had just crossed the Yangtze River and arrived at the shore. Before he could even explain his purpose, refugees along the riverbank flocked to him, showing no fear of the notorious religious bandit that the government had described.

They didn't know whether the cult members were bad or not, but at least they didn't burn down their houses while they were asleep in the middle of the night.

The refugees outside Wuchang provided the Northern Palace with a lot of useful intelligence, and many even volunteered to be guides to assist the Northern Palace in attacking the city.

In a sense, Chang Dachun and Shuangfu's actions actually helped Beidian and the Taiping Army.

Peng Gang would rather not be busy like that.

Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui, and Shi Dakai arrived at the gates of Wuchang a little later than Peng Gang.

Many of the refugees outside Wuchang also chose to join other temples, which greatly relieved Peng Gang's pressure.

Hanyang and Hankou on the north bank of the Yangtze River have been captured.

With just one battalion, Bei Dian easily severed the connection between the Qing army in Wuchang on the south bank of the Yangtze River and the Qing army in the northwest.

This created a favorable situation for the Taiping army's main force to encircle and attack Wuchang.

The following day, the main force of the Taiping army arrived near Wuchang.

Li Qinggu and Rui Yuan painstakingly recruited over a thousand militiamen from Wuchang, who were stationed at Changhong, Shuangfeng (Feng) Mountain, Hongshan, and Xiaoguishan. However, the militia collapsed before the battle even began, failing to delay the Taiping army in any way.

As troops from various palaces arrived at the Wuchang battlefield one after another.

Based on intelligence provided by refugees in Wuchang, Yang Xiuqing made targeted deployments in the Wuchang area.

In just four days, the Taiping army, with 42,000 troops that had arrived at the Wuchang battlefield earlier, completed the encirclement of Wuchang City.

The attack on the provincial capital received strong support from the local people, which was unprecedented for the Taiping Army.

Yang Xiuqing and the other princes became increasingly confident in attacking Wuchang.

Even most of the people in Wuchang were on the side of the Taiping Army, making it difficult not to take Wuchang.

This marks the first time since the Jintian Uprising that the Taiping Army has successfully encircled a city at the provincial level.

Previously, whether attacking Guilin or Changsha, the Taiping army always chose key directions to attack, and failed to complete the encirclement of the entire city and cut off its connection with the outside world.

The city of Wuchang before them had, at this moment, become a completely isolated city on the verge of collapse.

　It is a true story that Chang Dachun and Shuangfu burned down the outer city of Wuchang at night. Even Qing Dynasty official Qinglin specifically mentioned this incident in his memorial to Emperor Xianfeng: "No one in Hubei could resist the urge to gnash their teeth at the mere mention of Chang Dachun's name. ... It is also said that before the bandits arrived, Chang Dachun had informed merchants and common people, ordering them to relocate. The people, reluctant to leave their homes, only requested a three-day extension. However, the governor, fearing a sudden bandit attack, took advantage of the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, and set the city ablaze, utterly disregarding the lives of millions."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)