1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 266 Entering Wuchang

On the day the siege of Wuchang was completed, Yang Xiuqing summoned all the princes to a meeting at the Baishazhou camp southwest of Wuchang to discuss how to capture Wuchang next.

"The Qing demons within Wuqiang City have no outside support and are trapped in an isolated city. Our Heavenly Army is protected by the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother. This is the opportune moment."

Wuqiang City is now surrounded by our Heavenly Army's holy troops on all four sides, by land and water; this is our geographical advantage.

Chang Dachun and Shuangfu were cruel and inhumane, treating the people like dirt. They burned down the outer city at night, and the people of the outer city of Wuqiang flocked to my Heavenly Army to help me attack the city. The hearts of the people were with my Heavenly Kingdom, and this is harmony among people.

With favorable timing, geographical advantage, and popular support, we are in a position of strength in the Battle of Wuqiang.

"With our brothers working together, we're sure to take down Wu Qiang in one fell swoop!"

Yang Xiuqing first explained the favorable situation of the Taiping Army from the three aspects of favorable timing, geographical advantage, and popular support, thus boosting the confidence of the princes in attacking the city.

"When to attack the city? How to attack the city? Which gate to attack first? Which gates to feint? Fourth Brother, just give us the orders. We brothers will follow your instructions," Wei Changhui said.

Wei Changhui, who had just captured Wuling, the capital of Changde Prefecture, was in high spirits.

Now, apart from the West Hall and the South Hall, each of the other halls has successful experience in independently capturing prefecture-level cities.

The walls of Wuchang were higher than those of Wuling, which Wei Changhui had attacked before, but the number of troops inside the city was less than that of Wuling.

The combined strength of the auxiliary hall alone was enough to conquer Wuling; there's no reason why the combined forces of the five halls couldn't take Wuchang.

"The East Palace will attack the Wenchang Gate in the southwest of Wuchang City. The Wenchang Gate direction will be the main attack." Yang Xiuqing took on the task of attacking Wuchang Gate for the East Palace, and then made arrangements for the other palaces.

"The South Palace is responsible for feigning an attack to contain the Qing forces around the Binyang Gate and Zhongxiao Gate on the east wall."

The North Hall was responsible for feigning an attack to distract the Qing forces around the Wangshan Gate, Bao'an Gate, and Zhonghe Gate on the south wall.

The auxiliary hall was responsible for feigning an attack to distract the Qing forces around Wusheng Gate on the north wall.

The Wing Hall was responsible for feigning an attack to distract the Qing forces around Hanyang Gate and Pinghu Gate on the west wall.

Go back and prepare well, reward the soldiers, and begin the siege tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM).

Yang Xiuqing's preparations for the Battle of Wuchang were far more thorough than those for the Battles of Guilin and Changsha.

The city gates that each palace attacked were all very close to the palace's headquarters.

It seems that it was planned in advance.

"Let's take down Wu Qiang in one fell swoop!"

The princes accepted the order and left the White Sand Island camp in the East Palace.

Back at the Beidian camp, four miles south of Wuchang City, Peng Gang assigned the siege mission for tomorrow.

The Northern Palace has already occupied Hanyang and Hankou, while the First and Sixth Regiments remain stationed in Hanyang and Hankou.

The troops that Peng Gang brought to attack Wuchang consisted only of the Training Battalion, the Fifth Regiment, the Seventh Regiment, and two labor camps composed of able-bodied refugees from the outer city of Wuchang.

Including laborers, there were only a little over eight thousand people, which is not a large number.

Even so, this force was more than twice the size of the garrison inside Wuchang, and they were responsible for a feint attack.

They were more than capable of completing the task assigned to the North Hall by Yang Xiuqing.

"The moat outside Wenchang Gate has long since dried up and been filled in. The Eastern King is still the same as ever, reserving all the good things for the Eastern Palace." Chen Gan, the commander of the Fifth Regiment, couldn't help but complain after listening to Yang Xiuqing's siege plan.

Chen Gan once circled the city walls of Wuchang and observed the condition of each wall and gate.

The Wenchang Gate in the southwest corner of Wuchang City didn't even have a moat, making it undoubtedly the easiest gate to attack. The East Palace clearly wanted to take the credit for conquering Wuchang City.

"How the Eastern King arranges things is his business. Go and prepare the siege equipment properly, and try to minimize casualties," Peng Gang said to Chen Gan.

Everyone looks out for themselves; in any case, the Northern Palace has already occupied Hanyang and Hankou.

The North Palace was a self-contained entity, and its senior officers were mostly Peng Gang's protégés, so they didn't care about being the first to capture Wuchang.

It wouldn't hurt to give the credit for the attack on Wuchang to the Eastern Palace.

Furthermore, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly.

It's hard to say whether the East Palace, which is in charge of the main attack, will be the first to break through the city gates and enter the city.

After giving instructions on how to attack the three gates of the south wall of Wuchang tomorrow, Peng Gang made a list and handed it to his clerk, Li Ruzhao: "Ruzhao, take this note to Hanyang and give it to Peng Yi. Tell Peng Yi to prepare the items on the list and send them to our camp. With a major battle imminent, we must make sure the soldiers are well-fed."

"Your subordinate obeys." Li Ruzhao bowed and took the list from Peng Gang, then left Peng Gang's command tent and headed to Hankou.

Peng Yi was very efficient and quickly obtained the 5,000 catties of fresh meat that Peng Gang needed, which was then transported to the Beidian camp outside the south wall of Wuchang City to reward the soldiers.

To ensure the success of the siege, the Taiping army made two preparations.

One aspect is to forcefully attack the enemy.

One side is for attacking cities from underground.

The Taiping army besieging Wuchang had ample troops, and even if they divided their forces to dig tunnels, they still had an overwhelming advantage in strength over the Qing army in Wuchang.

The following day at dawn, the troops from each palace launched an attack on the nine gates of Wuchang from both land and water directions as scheduled.

The Taiping army's artillery positions erupted with deafening roars. Shells whistled as they rained down on Wuchang.

After the bombardment, Taiping soldiers launched a fierce attack on Wuchang City from all directions.

Inside the Wuchang City Governor's Office, Shuangfu, the Hubei Governor, was awakened by the sound of cannons. Faced with urgent reports coming from all the gates, he was in a state of panic and completely lost his composure.

The Taiping army attacking the nine gates of Wuchang was numerous, making it impossible to determine the main direction of their attack.

All the departments were in dire need of help, and Shuangfu had little time left.

In a split second, Shuangfu had no choice but to take a gamble and send his elite battalion, the only two reserve forces in Wuchang, to Wenchang Gate, the easiest place to attack, which didn't even have a moat.

Shuangfu's elite battalion, as one of the most elite troops in Wuchang, certainly lived up to Shuangfu's expectations.

When the Tibiao Battalion arrived near Wenchang Gate, relying on the sturdy and tall city walls of Wuchang, they successfully thwarted the first attack by the Eastern Palace.

Yang Fuqing, who was in charge of attacking Wenchang Gate, had no choice but to withdraw his troops and prepare to regroup for another battle.

Unexpectedly, after the Battle of Yuelu Mountain, the Southern Palace Prime Minister Hu Yihuang, eager to make a name for himself, led a suicide squad composed of 1,000 members of the Southern Palace to launch a fierce attack on the Zhongxiao Gate without regard for the cost.

Hu Yihuang took the lead, braving the guns and cannons of the Qing army at Zhongxiao Gate and enduring a hail of bullets.

Even after being shot in the right arm, Hu Yihuang fought on relentlessly, gritting his teeth and enduring the gunshot wound in his right arm. He led fifty or sixty of his personal guards, climbing ladders to be the first to reach the top of the Wuchang city wall.

When the Qing soldiers near Zhongxiao Gate saw that the Taiping rebels had already scaled the city walls, they exclaimed in alarm, "The Taiping rebels have entered the city!"

They immediately abandoned their weapons and fled on all fours, showing no will to fight.

The Qing soldiers guarding Zhongxiao Gate retreated so quickly that Hu Yihuang suspected a trap and did not pursue them rashly.

To be on the safe side, Hu Yihuang led his troops to occupy Zhongxiao Gate after receiving three or four hundred members of the Nandian Daredevil Team who had climbed the city wall. On one hand, he cleared Zhongxiao Gate, which was blocked by the Qing army, and on the other hand, he sent troops to occupy Binyang Gate on the east wall, which was being attacked by Feng Yunshan.

By noon, Hu Yihuang had easily occupied Binyang Gate.

The soldiers of the South Palace entered Wuchang Gate from near the east wall.

The eastern wall of Wuchang has fallen!
The Taiping Army's victory was a foregone conclusion!

News of the fall of Zhongxiao Gate and Binyang Gate on the east wall quickly spread among the defenders of Wuchang.

The thousands of soldiers of the Southern Palace who had already entered Wuchang City raised their swords and shouted to kill the Qing demons, searching and annihilating the Qing soldiers everywhere.

Soon, first the south wall, then the southwest wall, then the west wall, and then the north wall.

All nine gates of Wuchang fell in succession.

Tens of thousands of Taiping soldiers scaled the walls and stormed into Wuchang city.

The defenders of Wuchang were terrified and fled in all directions to hide.

The soldiers, unfamiliar with the place and its inhabitants, were quite conspicuous as they hid in their uniforms and were mostly captured and killed by the Taiping army that entered the city.

The local soldiers in Wuchang were the most cunning and familiar with the local situation. They took off their uniforms, changed into ordinary civilian clothes, and pretended to be commoners, making it difficult to distinguish between soldiers and civilians. They temporarily escaped the Taiping Army's search and capture.

"Your Highness! Wuchang has fallen! Bao'anmen has been cleared. Please enter the city."

Around 3 p.m., Xiao Maoling, the deputy commander of the 5th Regiment, who had led the soldiers of the 5th Regiment to capture the Bao'an Gate on the south wall, excitedly came to Peng Gang's command tent and invited Peng Gang into the city.

Xiao Maoling is the son of Xiao Guoying, Peng Gang's maternal uncle. His ancestors have made a living by clearing mountains, planting indigo and burning charcoal in Pingzaishan. They have never seen much of the world and have never been to the provincial capital.

As Xiao Maoling prepared to enter the renowned capital of Hubei Province, Wuchang, his excitement was palpable.

"The Eastern King and the Heavenly King haven't entered the city yet. Let's wait for news from the Eastern King." Peng Gang wasn't in a hurry to enter Wuchang City.

The North Palace already has Hanyang and Hankou, and waiting for news of Yang Xiuqing is one aspect.

On the other hand, Wuchang City, as the first provincial capital captured by the Taiping Army, had great political significance.

Entering the city was a very serious matter for the Heavenly Kingdom's high-ranking officials. These kings could not enter the city casually; it had to be formal, grand, and impressive.

The Manchu city in Hubei was located in Jingzhou, not Wuchang, and the resistance from the garrison in Wuchang was very low.

By noon the next day, the Taiping army had completely taken control of the situation in Wuchang.

Yang Xiuqing then issued a stop-killing order and reiterated military discipline: no soldiers or officers should be spared in the city for clearing out demons, and no civilians should be harmed; those who violated this order would be severely punished.

After the main streets in the city are cleaned and swept, red cloths are laid on the ground.

Outside Wenchang Gate, the princes' sedan chairs and ceremonial guards were fully prepared. According to their rank, they entered the city triumphantly amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums.

All the princes entered the city in sedan chairs, but Peng Gang entered on horseback.

If it weren't for the flag bearer behind him carrying a huge yellow Northern King's flag, Peng Gang would probably have been mistaken for an ordinary Taiping Army officer.

The people of Wuchang showed great enthusiasm for the Taiping Army's entry into the city, and the sound of firecrackers filled the entire city.

The streets and alleys within the city were also decorated with colorful decorations, and on both sides of the streets and alleys were Wuchang people who knelt in front of the door to welcome the Taiping Army, holding incense burners with both hands.

(End of this chapter)