1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 286 Farmers' Association
While the fighting raged fiercely on the Jiangnan battlefield, the Qing army in Hunan ceased its operations after the fall of the large camps established by Qin Dingsan, Zhou Fengqi, Bao Qibao, and others south of Baling City in Yuezhou Prefecture and the Xinqiang River camp.

Sai Shang'a, Luo Bingzhang, Jiang Zhongyuan and others seemed to have realized that the defense line of the three towns of Baling-Wuhan, which was managed by Beidian, would be difficult to break through in a short period of time.

Sai Shang'an preferred to travel overland through the mountains and valleys, entering Pingxiang, Jiangxi via Chaling Pass, rather than heading north to spy on the Yangtze River waterway.

The battlefield in Hunan and Hubei fell silent.

Peng Gang made his routine visit to the highest staff headquarters located in the Northern Prince's Mansion, which was originally the signing room of the Governor-General of Huguang's office, to hear the staff members report to him on the intelligence they had recently gathered.

“Anqing has been captured, and the Eastern King’s forces are making great progress in Anhui. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the Eastern King and his forces should have already reached the gates of Jiangning.”

Chief of Staff Huang Bingxian was more concerned about the overall situation. He first reported the situation on the Jiangnan battlefield to Peng Gang and expressed his own views.

"The Qing court must have run out of troops in Jiangnan, otherwise Anqing would not have fallen so quickly. There is no reason why the Heavenly Army was able to be stopped in Anhui upstream and sent to Jiangning."

Sai Shang'a's Shaanxi-Gansu troops hadn't even left Pingxiang, Jiangxi, and were too far away to reach Jiangning. Without the interference of the Qing army's field troops, the Eastern King and his men would soon be able to take Jiangning.

After listening to Huang Bingxian's analysis, Peng Gang nodded slightly in approval.

Huang Bingxian's analysis was largely accurate. If they had the ability to hold off the Taiping army in Anhui, they could at least have saved Jiangsu and Zhejiang, two major tax-generating areas.

The fact that the Taiping army was able to quickly reach Anhui in just one month shows that the Qing army in Jiangnan was indeed out of troops, or more accurately, had no mobile field forces available.

The current Taiping army is stronger and more experienced in attacking fortified positions than the Taiping army of the past, and it also has more heavy weapons for attacking fortified positions.

The capture of Jiangning City should be within the next month or two.

Yang Xiuqing left a small number of troops to garrison the major cities along the Yangtze River. Sai Shang'a was also unable to provide reinforcements to Jiangning in the short term.

Although the battle in Jiangning has only just begun, the outcome is already a foregone conclusion.

"Have the Qing troops in Hunan made any moves lately?" Peng Gang asked.

“Following Sai Shang’a’s departure from Changsha Prefecture to Jiangxi to pursue the Eastern King and his men, the Guangxi Governor Zhou Tianjue also led the Guangxi garrison to Jiangxi, taking the same route through Chaling Pass,” Zhang Ze replied.

"There are also reports that Zhou Tianjue is no longer the governor of Guangxi, and the Qing court has promoted Lao Chongguang, the former provincial treasurer of Guangxi, to the position of governor of Guangxi."

There were no major battles in Hunan and Hubei, and the few sporadic minor skirmishes are not worth mentioning.

Compared to the military movements of the Qing army in Hunan, Zhang Ze felt that the personnel changes of high-ranking officials in Hunan were a more noteworthy matter.

The troops stationed in Jiangxi and Anhui downstream of Wuhan were too busy to help themselves and were of little use either.

North of the three towns of Wuhan are many rivers and lakes, and there are still some barely usable soldiers in the north. However, the elite Green Standard Army troops from Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu were almost all transferred away by Sai Shang'a before the Battle of Changsha, and are now gathering in Pingxiang, Jiangxi.

The area south of Wuhan is hilly, making it unsuitable for large-scale military operations.

If the Qing government were to launch a military campaign against the three towns of Wuhan, it would most likely send troops from Hunan.

Zhang Ze believed that the Qing military officials stationed in Hunan would become the most important and relatively strongest opponents of the Northern Palace, so he paid close attention to the personnel changes of the Qing military officials in Hunan.

"Luo Bingzhang has been promoted to Governor-General of Huguang, leaving the position of Governor of Hunan vacant. I originally thought that Zhou Tianjue would take over as Governor of Hunan. If Zhou Tianjue can take over as Governor of Hunan, it would be a good thing for us, at least he can muddy the waters in Hunan." Qiu Zhongmin said with some disappointment.

Zhou Tianjue was an old rival of the Northern Palace. During the battle in Wuxuan County, Zhou Tianjue supplied the Northern Palace with a lot of food and supplies, "helping" the Northern Palace overcome the initial difficulties.

Qiu Zhongmin had hoped that Zhou Tianjue, this oddball, could stay in Hunan as governor, but now it seems that his wish will be dashed.

Lao Chongguang performed admirably during the Guilin Campaign, and his promotion to Governor of Guangxi, replacing Zhou Tianjue, was reasonable and a wise personnel promotion made by Emperor Xianfeng.

After leaving Guangxi, Zhou Tianjue became much more cautious. He made neither great achievements nor major mistakes. Although there was no hope for promotion, it was reasonable for him to be transferred to Hunan as governor to fill the vacancy left by Luo Bingzhang's promotion.

Peng Gang was quite surprised by Zhou Tianjue's departure from Hunan.

"It is indeed a great loss for us that Zhou Tianjue is not serving as the governor of Hunan," Huang Bingxian said with a smile.

"Jiang Zhongyuan, Xiang Rong, what has Luo Zenan been up to lately?" Peng Gang asked, looking around at everyone.

The fact that Sai Shang'a and Zhou Tianjue left Hunan for Jiangxi one after another indicates that Emperor Xianfeng intended to use the Qing army under Sai Shang'a and Zhou Tianjue to deal with the main force of the Taiping Army.

There was still no news of Xu Guangjin, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, who seemed to have slipped back to Guangdong.

The only Qing troops in Hunan who could fight were Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu soldiers, Xiang Rong's Zhengan soldiers, and Luo Zenan's Xiangxiang soldiers.

"All three units are stationed near Changsha. Jiang Zhongyuan, Xiang Rong, and Luo Zenan are all focused on training," Zhang Ze reported.

"However, recently there have been several incidents of riots over unpaid wages in the Qing army camps in Changsha. Xiang Rong's Zhengan soldiers even mutinied, and many of them fled back to western Hunan. In the end, it was Luo Bingzhang who stepped in and persuaded the wealthy families in Changsha Prefecture to lend him money and grain, which temporarily quelled the matter."

Sai Shang'a and Zhou Tianjue seem to have taken a considerable amount of provisions and pay from Changsha, leaving the city with insufficient supplies. The Qing army in Changsha has been relatively inactive recently, which I suspect is likely due to the city's dwindling supply.

During the Battle of Changsha, hundreds of thousands of Qing troops gathered in Changsha, requiring at least a million taels of silver in military expenses each month. Peng Gang was not surprised at all that the Qing army in Changsha ran out of food and supplies.

However, the mutiny of the Qing army in Changsha over unpaid wages does not necessarily mean that the Qing government's finances were bankrupt.

After all, the Qing government had not yet established checkpoints or levied likin (likin tax).

At present, the Qing government's finances are only in dire straits, and have not yet reached the point of complete bankruptcy.

The Qing army in Hunan was short of food and pay, except for Sai Shang'a and Zhou Tianjue who took some of the food and pay with them.

The Taiping Army cut off the Yangtze River waterway downstream of Yuezhou Prefecture, and the southeast was in dire need of supplies. This was also an important reason why the southeast could not provide relief to Hunan.

Peng Gang walked to the map hanging in the cartographer's office, stared at Dongting Lake for a long time, and said, "Luo Bingzhang will eventually have to repay the money and grain he borrowed from the wealthy families in Changsha. Moreover, the number of Qing soldiers stationed near Changsha is large, and the money and grain provided by the wealthy families in Changsha can only solve the immediate problem of food and pay for the Qing soldiers in Hunan."

Luo Bingzhang will inevitably request supplies from neighboring provinces. Besides Guangdong, only Sichuan remains among the surrounding provinces capable of providing supplies to Hunan. If supplies are obtained from Sichuan, the Qing army will inevitably travel along the Yangtze River into Dongting Lake. I order Luo Dagang and Chen Ajiu to strengthen naval patrols in Dongting Lake. If they discover any Qing supply convoys, intercept their supplies at all costs and bring them back, so we can have a good New Year.”

The provinces surrounding Hunan, the fertile lands of Hubei are in the hands of the Northern Emperor, Jiangxi is in dire need of its own defense, and the Green Standard Army in Guangxi and Guizhou already relies on subsidies from other provinces.

Currently, only Guangdong and Sichuan provinces can provide financial assistance to Hunan.

The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xu Guangjin, and the Governor of Guangdong, Ye Mingchen, wanted to provide financial assistance to Hunan, but it would be difficult for the Northern Palace to intercept them.

However, the grain transport from Sichuan, and even the capital city in the north, to Hunan would definitely have to cross Dongting Lake, and the Northern Palace could still find a way to intercept it.

After listening to the intelligence reports compiled by the staff officers at the General Staff Headquarters and learning about the recent battle situation and the movements of Qing officials and Qing soldiers in Hunan, Peng Gang met with Peng Yi, his three uncles, and Wei Shoushan and others at Xihua Hall.

Peng Gang's uncle, Wei Shoushan, and others are old men who have followed him since the time of Ping Zaishan.

Although they did not participate in the battle directly, during their campaigns in various places, they were responsible for managing the battalions mainly composed of military dependents, the elderly, women and children, stabilizing the rear and making great contributions.

These people are not only loyal and reliable, but they have also accumulated some management experience during their nearly two years of working in various places.

Peng Gang decided to use these people as the core to form the Jiangxia County Farmers' Association.

They were responsible for supplying agricultural production materials to the families of Beidian soldiers who were to be allocated land, as well as promoting and implementing policies and mediating agricultural disputes.

Distributing land without distributing means of production will not restore agricultural production in Jiangxia County.

Peng Gang couldn't possibly expect the families of the Beidian soldiers and the farmers of Jiangxia County who had been allocated land to grow crops from the ground empty-handed.

Furthermore, Yang Xiuqing and others slaughtered a large number of water buffaloes and cattle obtained from Yuezhou Prefecture, Wuchang Prefecture, and Huangzhou Prefecture to serve as military rations. In reality, Peng Gang only received about 11,800 oxen from Yang Xiuqing and his group.

The 11,800-plus oxen were clearly insufficient to provide one to every family of the Beidian Army and every farmer in Jiangxia County.

The oxen can only be used by the whole village. As for how to use the oxen, a special organization must be established to coordinate this.

"The draft plan for half of Jiangxia County has been completed. Based on the draft plan, land and farming tools can be distributed to some of the families of the Beidian Army and the farmers who have returned to their hometowns in Jiangxia County."

Seeing that all the personnel mainly responsible for managing the elderly, weak, women and children in the North Palace had arrived, Peng Gang spoke up.

"The farmland and ponds can be allocated according to the preferences of the military families. Those who only want to farm will be allocated farmland, while those who want to raise fish will be allocated less farmland and more fish ponds."

On a village-by-village basis, all farmers who were allocated land, whether they were relatives of the Beidian Army or former farmers from Jiangxia County, were required to join the farmers' association.

The oxen allocated to each village were distributed and used by the farmers' association, which also distributed subsequent farm tools, rations, and seeds.

After surveying the fields in Jiangxia County, the Jiangxia Qingtian Team was also responsible for surveying the fields in Hanyang County and other counties within the jurisdiction of Wuchang Prefecture and Huangzhou Prefecture.

The number of people in the Kiyota team is also very limited, and Peng Gang cannot expect all the work to be done by these 140 people.

"Farmers' Association? Or a guild?" Xiao Guoying pondered for a long time before asking.

When Xiao Guoying thinks of societies, the first ones that come to mind are the God Society and the Heaven and Earth Society, which take rebellion as their mission.

After all, these were the two meetings that Xiao Guoying had directly contacted when he was in Pingzaishan.

However, upon further reflection, Peng Gang was already a member of the God Society, and there was no reason for him to establish a new rebellious society.

The word "farmers' association" in the name immediately reminded Xiao Guoying of the charcoal guilds he used to run in Pingzaishan and the commercial guilds in Jiangkouwei.

“It’s different. Farmers’ associations are open to all farmers, and only farmers and laborers can join. Members help each other and discuss agricultural matters in their village.” Peng Gang asked, using the Pingzaishan Coal Shop, which Xiao Guoying and others were familiar with, as an example.

"When you were burning charcoal in Pingzaishan, there were also charcoal shops in Pingzaishan. What kind of people worked in those charcoal shops? Were there any charcoal workers?"

"Those who can speak in the charcoal trade are all the mountain owners and charcoal shop managers. As for charcoal burners, let alone charcoal burners like us, even the charcoal foremen are not qualified to be in the trade and speak," Xiao Guoying thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head and said.

The coal guild in Pingzai Mountain prevented these poor people from even having the chance to step into the guild. They could only endure the injustices they encountered. Only when they could no longer bear it and could no longer survive would they cause a disturbance.

"In the guild, whoever has money can have a say. Our guild only accepts self-cultivating farmers who own their own land, tenant farmers who rent land, and hired farmers who work as long-term or short-term laborers. Only those who make a living by farming, raising fish, growing fruit, or growing tea can join the guild as members."

Landlords who run grain shops, lend money, or collect rent can pay to buy and sell goods at the farmers' association. However, they are not qualified to elect the association's leaders or decide on important matters. From now on, the farmers' association will be run by those who actually work hard in the fields, and only those leaders elected by one person, one vote will be effective,” Peng Gang patiently explained.

In Jiangxia County, the major and minor landlords were either killed by Yang Xiuqing and his gang, or forced to flee. After Peng Gang's land redistribution and subsequent reshuffling of the land, there were virtually no landlords left in Jiangxia County, at least not medium to large-sized ones.

However, Jiangxia County was an exception; other neighboring prefectures and counties, such as Hanyang Prefecture, still had landlords and wealthy households.

The demands to exclude landlords who run grain shops, lend money, or collect rent from joining the association were aimed at the farmers' association that would be established in Hanyang County in the future.

If wealthy households who have accumulated a certain amount of capital are allowed to join the association, independent farmers, tenant farmers, and hired laborers will not be able to compete with them. The farmers' association will immediately change its nature and quickly degenerate into a traditional guild.

"It's good that the farmers' association can unite everyone as one. But the biggest headache is still the money issue!" Xiao Guowei said, expressing his concern.

"The worst time for farmers is when there is a shortage of food, or when they need to buy good seeds, seedlings, or repair farm tools. They are short of money and have no choice but to ask landlords or money lenders for loans at exorbitant interest rates."

Peng Gang looked at Peng Yi, who was in charge of the Holy Treasury, and explained that he had specifically asked Peng Yi to attend the meeting to address the money issue: "The Holy Treasury will allocate personnel to set up a farmers' credit union in each county, which will be like a money exchange run by the farmers themselves. Everyone can deposit their savings there safely!"

When people needed money to buy rice seedlings or repair farm tools, they no longer needed to beg landlords or money lenders; they could borrow directly from the farmers' credit union. The farmers' credit union set very low interest rates, charging only 0.5% annually to maintain its operations.

湖北钱庄抵押借款月息是2%~5%（年息24%~60%），农民向地主借的印子钱年息通常在120%以上。

A loan with a 5% annual interest rate is hard to find even with a lantern.

"How much silver does Third Brother want to put up to set up the farmers' credit union?" Peng Yi asked.

(End of this chapter)