1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 298 Going against the ancestor’s decision

Facing the North Palace, which mobilized more than 3,000 troops to protect the Qingtian Team and safeguard the land reform in Hanyang.

Ten days ago, the Hanyang gentry thought they had the North Palace's weakness in their grasp, but now they realized that they had underestimated the North Palace's grain reserves and determination to carry out land reform, and overestimated their own value.

The villages and towns surrounding the city of Hanyang Prefecture were the first to undergo land clearing.

Initially, the local landlord militias in these villages and towns attempted to use force to obstruct the newly established Hanyang Qingtian Team from carrying out its land clearing operations.

Li Qi, the military and political commander in charge of the defense of Hanyang, did not tolerate these ungrateful Hanyang gentry. He ordered all departments to kill anyone who dared to obstruct the land clearing team on the spot and to confiscate all their property!
Peng Gang had made it very clear to him that the "Land to the Tillers Law" was the fundamental policy of the Northern Palace, and anyone who opposed or obstructed this law was an enemy of the Northern Palace.

Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

Since they are enemies, we should treat them with the same ruthlessness as a harsh winter.

The soldiers of the Northern Palace in Hanyang cleared the way with swords, spears, cannons, and artillery to protect the Qingtian troops.

In a short time, the armed forces of landlords and local militias in the villages and towns surrounding Hanyang were slaughtered, leaving rivers of blood.

In less than ten days, the soldiers of the Northern Palace in Hanyang killed more than 2,700 landlords' families and members of landlord militia who were obstructing the clearing of land. They advanced along the Han River for twenty miles and arrived near Tuolukou, an important ferry crossing on the Han River. They were only about twenty miles away by water from Caidian, the stronghold of the Hanyang gentry.

The local gentry and their lackeys, who usually roamed the countryside and acted arrogantly, had almost no ability to put up any real resistance against the North Palace's war machine.

Advancing twenty li in ten days was only the limit for the Hanyang Qingtian team, not the limit for the soldiers of the Northern Palace.

If the objective is simply to eliminate the local landlord militia rebelling in Hanyang, the soldiers of the Northern Palace in Hanyang can reach Caidian in a single day.

Terrified by the killings of the Northern Palace soldiers, the landlords of Hanyang realized that fighting alone was not a good strategy. They began to gradually gather in Caidian, where there were more local militia members, and held their ground while waiting for the imperial army they had been longing for to come to the aid of Hanyang.

After all, Liu Qixian, the prefect of the neighboring De'an Prefecture, had replied to them and promised that the governor of Hubei, Chonglun, and the Hubei militia minister, Luo Raodian, would soon send troops to recapture Hanyang.

Even though Liu Qixian, the prefect of De'an, only wrote back to appease the gentry of Hanyang and keep them on the side of the Qing court, he had no intention of taking advantage of the chaos to send troops into Hanyang.

However, Liu Qixian's promise still made most of the desperate gentry in Hanyang harbor unrealistic fantasies about the Qing government's reinforcements, and they kept writing to Liu Qixian, asking him for help.

Of course, there were also some clear-headed gentry in Hanyang.

Wang Shukun, the head of the local gentry in Hanyang, finally came to terms with reality.

De'an Prefecture is adjacent to Hanyang Prefecture, and the Yu River, a tributary of the Han River, runs through the entire prefecture, making transportation convenient.

If De'an Prefecture, located upstream, really intended to send troops to aid Hanyang, Qing soldiers would have already entered Hanyang Prefecture's territory.

The fact that the Qing army in De'an Prefecture did not make a move for a long time can only mean that Liu Qixian, Chonglun, and Luo Raodian had no intention or courage to advance on Hanyang.

At present, Caidian has gathered more than 2,000 remaining militia members from within Hanyang.

This time, however, Wang Shukun dared not gamble with the future of his entire clan, and underestimated Peng Gang's determination and methods in clearing the land.

After much deliberation, Wang Shukun concluded that if he wanted the Wang family bloodline to continue, he could no longer stay in Caidian, where his ancestors had been rooted for generations.

Like other small landowners, the idea of ​​switching sides at the last minute and siding with the Northern Palace to protect the Wang family had also flashed through Wang Shukun's mind.

However, Wang Shukun quickly abandoned this unrealistic idea.

The Wang family spearheaded the opposition to the Northern Palace's implementation of the "Land to the Tiller" law in Hanyang. Peng Gang would forgive anyone but the Wang family. They had no way back.

After weighing the pros and cons, Wang Shukun brought his children and grandchildren to his side, making a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes.

"The traitor Peng will eventually reach Caidian. He is a ruthless bandit who can take Hanyang Prefecture as easily as taking something out of a bag. Caidian is difficult to defend. If our Wang family wants to continue our lineage and pass on our bloodline, we can no longer stay in Caidian."

"We're old and can't walk anymore. You're still young. Pack up our valuables and head to De'an—no, straight to Xiangyang. They're recruiting local militias there; you'll find your place."

As soon as Wang Shukun said this, the room was filled with sobs.

"Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important. How can we sons abandon our fathers and live a life of shame?"

“Caidian is the root of our Wang family. How can we stand on our own two feet without Caidian?”

"Foolish! As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. You unfilial sons, don't you even listen to your father? Do you want our Wang family line to end?" Wang Shukun roared sternly. "Father, even if we have to go, we, father and son, will go together." Wang Chongyi knelt before Wang Shukun and said earnestly.

"Father is old and has difficulty walking. Even if we brothers have to carry him, we will carry him with us!"

“That’s right, Father. Even if we don’t count Cai Dian’s people, just our Wang family’s militia, there are still five or six hundred of them,” Wang Chongli chimed in.

Wang Shukun sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Your father is an old man and doesn't want to leave. Your father died protecting our hometown and resisting the short-haired rebels. If you join the militia in Xiangyang, the militia ministers will also look at you brothers with more respect."

Furthermore, the short-haired rebels also stationed troops in key towns and passes of Hanchuan County, and there were still some short-haired rebels guarding the ferry crossings along the Han and Yu rivers in places like Yukou and Xigou.

"If five or six hundred people try to leave, how can we possibly escape? My mind is made up. You don't need to waste your breath anymore. Only a few of you will leave! Leave secretly tonight, avoiding everyone!"

The clearing of the fields in Beidian has reached the Hanjiang Jindu Tuolu intersection, which is only about 20 miles away from Caidian.

Apart from landlords like Wang Shukun, who owned a lot of land, the Hanyang gentry in Caidian made decisions that went against their ancestors' wishes.

Many wavering local gentry, who did not own much land, also made decisions that went against their ancestors' wishes.

Xu Jixian, who served as the head of the militia in Caidian, was one of them.

Xu Jixian initially held a wait-and-see attitude towards the clearing of Hanyang, hoping that the Northern Palace would back down in the clearing of Hanyang and that as long as they could not clear Caidian, the Xu family could preserve their real estate.

As it turned out, Xu Jixian had also miscalculated.

Unlike Wang Shukun, who had no choice, Xu Jixian, who was always cautious, kept a low profile, and had an indecisive attitude, had a choice.

He did not intend to follow Wang Shukun down the same path to the bitter end.

However, Xu Jixian's sons did not understand his good intentions. Xu Jingxun, the second son of the Xu family, was reluctant to give up the Xu family's property in Caidian: "Father, the two and a half acres of land in Caidian are our Xu family's ancestral property. Do we really want to leave Caidian and go to Hanyang to join the Northern King?"

The second son, Xu Jinglun, chimed in, "The Northern King only allows each family to retain one qing (approximately 0.6 hectares) of medium-sized land. Our family's land far exceeds that amount. This land was accumulated through generations of hard work. What if the imperial army comes?"

“What if? Cai Dian is a coffin waiting to be closed. If we don’t leave now, when the Northern Palace’s holy army reaches Cai Dian, we won’t have anywhere to go.” Xu Jixian said solemnly.

"Our Xu family has never had any real relationship with the Wang family, so there's no need for us to be buried with them. One and a half acres of land in exchange for the safety of our entire Xu family is a worthwhile deal."

If the Xu family ancestors could know this in the afterlife, they would agree. His Highness the Northern King is holding an imperial examination next year, so you brothers should all go and take it, and try your luck.”

Inside the West Flower Hall of the North Prince's Mansion in Wuchang, Liu Tongwei, the deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, reported to Peng Gang as usual on the land reform in Hanyang: "Although the progress of clearing land in Hanyang is not as smooth as in Jiangxia County, it is also progressing steadily. In recent days, many Hanyang gentry who were originally wavering have turned against the government and surrendered when they saw that the situation was hopeless. Xu Jixian, a gentry from Caidian, fled Caidian with his family and came to Hanyang to join us, and he explained the situation in Caidian in detail."

"Don't just report the good news and hide the bad. Hanyang is undergoing land reform. Can the gentry in places like Hanchuan, Xiaogan, Huangpi, and Mianyang Prefecture still sit still? Tell me about the situation in those places." Peng Gang looked up at Liu Tongwei and pressed him for details about the situation in other counties and prefectures of Hanyang Prefecture.

The land reform in Hanyang County resulted in the deaths of a large number of local gentry under the swords, guns, and cannons of the Northern Palace soldiers. The gentry in other counties and prefectures of Hanyang Prefecture would not remain indifferent.

"Your Highness is wise beyond words. I was just about to report to Your Highness on the situation in the other prefectures and counties of Hanyang Prefecture," Liu Tongwei said, having prepared his remarks.

"As Your Highness predicted, the local gentry and militias in Hanchuan, Xiaogan, Huangpi, Mianyang and other prefectures are indeed very restless and unruly. A few gentry have fled to the Qing court, while those who remain have followed the example of Hanyang County, forming militias and fortifying their villages. They either raid our Northern Palace's patrol teams or defend their villages. Among them, the militias in Mianyang Prefecture are the most rampant, and they even raided our Northern Palace's garrison at Guodiwan."

"Any other important intelligence recently?" Peng Gang nodded slightly and asked.

"The identity of the Minister in charge of the Hunan militia has been confirmed. He is Zeng Guofan, from the Zeng family of Xiangxiang County, who is in charge of organizing the militia during his mourning period. Currently, Zeng Guofan is in charge of coordinating the militia affairs in Hunan," Liu Tongwei reported.

"There is another piece of news: Wulantai, the former Guangdong military commander, has been appointed as the general of Jingzhou. Wulantai is currently in Changsha Prefecture."

Recently, there have been many personnel changes in the Hunan region. Emperor Xianfeng first appointed Chonglun as the governor of Hubei, and then transferred Bao Qibao to be the commander-in-chief of Hubei to purge the Green Standard Army in Hubei. At the same time, he promoted Hechun, who had no great achievements, to replace Bao Qibao as the commander-in-chief of Hunan. Now, Wulantai has been transferred to be the general of Jingzhou.

Emperor Xianfeng's personnel reshuffle was simply a result of his distrust of the Han officials in the Hunan region, especially the militia ministers, and his decision to place these Manchu officials in Hunan to monitor the Han officials in the region.

“Understood, well done, continue the investigation.” Peng Gang instructed Liu Tongwei, “Write down the names of the local militia leaders, don’t miss a single one.”

"Your subordinate obeys." Liu Tongwei acknowledged the order and withdrew from Xihua Hall.

After Liu Tongwei left Xihua Hall, Peng Gang summoned several staff officers from the General Staff Department to hear their reports on recent military developments.

(End of this chapter)