1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 274 Gathering Troops in Hanyang
News of the fall of Wuchang, the breaching of the entire city of Jingzhou, and the annihilation of the Eight Banners garrison in Jingzhou spread throughout the nearby Hunan region.

This news greatly shocked the people of the Hunan region.

Since the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, the Qing Dynasty had never lost its provincial capital.

There was a precedent in Manchuria after the Revolt of the Three Feudatories when the city fell and the entire Eight Banners garrison was wiped out.

In the sixtieth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1721), Zhu Yigui captured Anping (Tainan), the capital of Yizhou Prefecture, and the entire Manchu Eight Banners garrison in Anping was wiped out.

In 1842, the British army also captured the Manchu city of Zhapu in Hangzhou and burned it before leaving.

No force had the capability to conquer both the provincial capital and Manchu city in a short period of time. Especially not a large Manchu city like Jingzhou Manchu city.

The provincial capital and the Manchu city were perceived by the common people as being as indestructible as the rule of the Manchu Qing dynasty, serving as symbols of Manchu rule.

This stereotype has now been ruthlessly shattered.

Luo Dagang, Lu Qin, Lin Fengxiang, and other Taiping Army commanders from the North and West Palaces deployed boats to sail down the Yangtze River to Hankou, passing by Dongting Lake.

The news of the fall of Jingzhou was brought to the Xiangyin region.

The soldiers of the Beidian Battalion stationed in Xiangyin County, including Qin Rigang, and Liuzhuang in Xiangyin County, who were responsible for protecting Zuo Zongtang, Wang Quan, and their students, were greatly encouraged.

Inside and outside Liuzhuang, the students from Hunan under Zuo Zongtang and the students of Wang Quan's Chuanshan School were also very excited and engaged in a heated discussion about the capture of Wuchang and the fall of Manzhou. It was quite a lively scene.

The two battles were fought in Wuchang and Jingzhou.

They had all participated in the Northern Palace, to which they served, especially in the Battle of Mancheng in Jingzhou, which was led by the Northern Palace.

“Ji Gao’s judgment is indeed sharp. Back in Xiangxi Thatched Cottage in Hengzhou, I almost kicked you out of the Wang family. Luckily, Ji Gao, you are stubborn and thick-skinned.” Wang Quan glanced at the students inside and outside Liuzhuang who were arguing heatedly and their faces were red, then turned to Zuo Zongtang and said to him somewhat embarrassedly.

At this time, Wang Quan and Zuo Zongtang had begun to grow their hair long and changed into a blue robe.

However, their hair had only been growing for a short time, and the two of them only had short hair about half an inch long on their foreheads, so they couldn't grow any more hair, which looked a bit unsightly.

The two men followed the example of Wang Quan's ancestor, Wang Fuzhi, and covered their heads with headscarves and Confucian hats respectively to conceal their ugliness.

Inside the study, Zuo Zongtang's wife, Zhou Yiduan, was leading servants in organizing Zuo Zongtang's collection of books and maps drawn by the couple together.

"The students who were supposed to come have mostly arrived. The Northern King has been urging me to go to Hanyang these past few days. I suppose that Jingzhou has been captured and the Northern King has nowhere else to fight in Hunan and Hubei. He is preparing to set off."

Zuo Zongtang pointed to Peng Gang's letter on the table and said.

"Mr. Wang, you should also pack your things. We will set off for Hanyang together the day after tomorrow."

For nearly two months after returning to Xiangyin, Zuo Zongtang and Wang Quan had been recruiting students who were waiting for them.

Those students who could come brought their families, and those who couldn't come couldn't be forced to.

“The Northern King has not made a special trip to see my two granddaughters yet. Do you think he might have found someone else after arriving in Wuhan?” Wang Quan looked worried and regretted not taking the initiative in Hengzhou.

"Among the kings of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, except for the Southern King who had few wives and concubines and the Northern King who was unmarried, which one of them didn't have a large number of wives and concubines?" Zuo Zongtang comforted Wang Quan.

"Among all the kings, only the Northern King can set an example and strictly abide by the rule of separating men and women. You can rest assured, sir. Compared to a beautiful woman, the Northern King values ​​talent more and the reputation of being a successor of the Chuanshan School. Only you, sir, can afford this dowry."

“Ji Gao is right. It was I who was too impatient and worried about gains and losses,” Wang Quan said, bowing to Zuo Zongtang.

"The textbooks written by the Northern King are difficult to understand without guidance. Ji Gao has discussed these new subjects with the Northern King. If you have time, please ask Ji Gao to give my two granddaughters some pointers so that they can make a good impression on the Northern King when they meet him."

"Your Wang family, do you ever have trouble finding a husband for your daughter?" Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but tease. "Marrying a man is not a worry, marrying a dragon is," Wang Quan laughed.

Just then, Liu Dian, one of Zuo Zongtang's favorite students during his time teaching at Yuelu Academy, arrived at Liuzhuang with his family and presented their visiting cards to the guards at the entrance of Liuzhuang.

Zuo Zongtang received the visiting card from the guard and was overjoyed to see that the visitor was Liu Dian. He quickly invited Liu Dian into Liuzhuang.

"Please forgive me, sir, I am late," Liu Dian said apologetically.

Liu Dian, who had just turned 30, was from Ningxiang, Hunan. He was a student of the county school and had studied at Yuelu Academy and Chengnan Academy.

The Liu family had been farmers for generations, and it was only in Liu Dian's generation, when conditions improved, that they began to study.

Ningxiang County is adjacent to Xiangyin County, and Liu Dian was one of the first students to receive a letter from Zuo Zongtang.

Previously, Liu Dian had hesitated to make a decision. However, recently, news that the Long Mao and Short Mao had not only captured the three towns of Wuhan but also conquered the entire city of Jingzhou in a short period of time spread from Yiyang and Xiangyin on the shore of Dongting Lake to Ningxiang.

Only then did Liu Dian make up his mind to lead the entire clan in a desperate gamble.

"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Bojing, you've arrived at just the right moment. If you had come a day or two later, you wouldn't have been able to find me in Xiangyin," Zuo Zongtang said with a smile.

As he spoke, Zuo Zongtang led Liu Dian into the main hall to reminisce.

After the fall of Jingzhou and the successful arrival of Luo Dagang, Lu Qin, and others from the Yangtze River in Hanyang, Peng Gang withdrew his troops from the Han River basin.

Half a month after Luo Dagang arrived in Hankou, Zuo Zongtang, Wang Quan, and their students also arrived in Hanyang, escorted by soldiers from the North Palace Battalion.

Upon arriving in Hanyang, Zuo Zongtang's first act upon disembarking was to visit Peng Gang at the Northern Prince's residence.

Zuo Zongtang was unaware that the princes had already devised a strategy to sail down the Yangtze River and focus their attack on Nanjing.

On the way to Hankou, I heard that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was holding an imperial examination in Wuchang. Thinking that Peng Gang was going to stay with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, I asked Peng Gang directly, "When I came, I heard that the Heavenly King was holding an imperial examination in Wuchang. Do you intend to stay in Wuchang for a long time?"

"The Eastern King's ambition lies in Jiangning. The imperial examinations held in Wuchang are merely a means to select and recruit scholars from Hubei." Peng Gang gestured for Zuo Zongtang to sit down and speak slowly, then ordered his attendants to serve Zuo Zongtang tea.

Whenever they conquered a major city, as long as the war was not urgent and the stay was relatively long, Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan would hold imperial examinations to recruit officials while they were in the city. This was an old tradition of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

When Feng Yunshan conquered Pingnan County and Cangwu, the capital of Wuzhou Prefecture, he held an imperial examination. He even took the exam himself for fun and became the top scholar, making up for his regret of not being a successful candidate in the past.

Peng Gang was used to this.

The Wuchang Examination Hall was already in place, so it would be strange if his sworn brothers didn't come up with some fancy tricks.

The question for the Wuchang imperial examination was to explain "The Supreme God is the father of all under Heaven". The top scorer was a student from Xingguo Prefecture in Hubei Province, who wrote: "The Three Sovereigns are not enough to be called Sovereigns, the Five Emperors are not enough to be called Emperors, only the Supreme God is the true Emperor".

He won the favor of Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and Feng Yunshan, and was selected as the top scholar.

The imperial examinations of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had very low entry requirements and were of very low value.

This Wuchang imperial examination allowed anyone who participated in the exam and helped smash the Wuchang Confucian Temple to obtain official rank, emphasizing the importance of participation.

Such test questions and evaluation standards are clearly unlikely to attract truly talented individuals, but only sycophants.

"Teaching is teaching, and politics is politics. How can such exam questions attract truly learned scholars? The Heavenly King and the Eastern King have wasted such a great opportunity." Zuo Zongtang sighed softly, then changed the subject and asked Peng Gang.

"Where does the Northern King intend to go? Will he follow the Eastern King and take Jiangning, or will he seek another place to establish a base?"

(End of this chapter)