1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 299 Jiangning City Falls, Governor Dies
Huang Bingxian, as the chief of staff, stepped forward first and excitedly reported to Peng Gang the most important recent military intelligence.

"The Heavenly King and the Eastern King have already entered Jiangning City. Jurong, Lishui, Gaochun and other counties within Jiangning Prefecture have also been captured. The remaining Qing troops in the Jiangnan region have retreated to Zhenjiang. The situation of the Heavenly Kingdom is very good."

It was expected that the main force of the Taiping army would be able to quickly capture Nanjing.

Upon hearing the news, Peng Gang remained calm and composed, showing little emotion.

Wuchang and Jiangning are more than 1,800 li apart. Although the Taiping Army controlled the major cities along the Yangtze River, it lacked a mature postal system. An 800-li urgent dispatch was nonexistent; even a 600-li urgent dispatch didn't exist.

Peng Gang is now in Wuchang and has learned that the main force of the Taiping Army has captured Jiangning. This means that the Taiping Army had entered Jiangning at least five or six days ago, and may have even captured the entire city of Jiangning by now.

More concerned about the movements of Sai Shang'a's Qing army than Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing's capture of Jiangning: "Where is Sai Shang'a's Qing army now? Is that old turtle Sai Shang'a still in Linjiang Prefecture, Jiangxi?"

Linjiang Prefecture was a prefecture adjacent to Yuanzhou Prefecture, where Pingxiang was located.

The last time Peng Gang learned of the movements of Sai Shang'a's Qing troops was in Linjiang Prefecture.

Sai Shang'a's Qing army marched at an outrageously slow pace, and Peng Gang was unsure whether Sai Shang'a's slow pace was intentional or accidental.

“Most of the Qing troops under Sai Shang’a have reached Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province,” Huang Bingxian replied.

Saishanga is still in Nanchang, a thousand miles away from Jiangning.

With no strong and capable troops available in Jiangnan, Zhenjiang was certainly not going to be defended.

Zhenjiang was an important node on the Grand Canal transport route. Ten years ago, the British army captured Zhenjiang and forced the Qing government to negotiate peace and surrender.

The loss of Zhenjiang meant the disruption of grain transport to the south.

The Qing government relied on the south for its finances, so Emperor Xianfeng in the Forbidden City would definitely be in a state of great anxiety.

Huang Bingxian frowned when he mentioned that Sai Shang'a's Qing troops were still in Nanchang, Jiangxi.

The presence of Qing troops under Sai Shang'a in Jiangxi was a major boon for the main force of the Taiping Army, but not for Bei Dian.

At present, the Qing government's most capable and valiant troops are mostly located near the area controlled by the Northern Palace, and the Northern Palace is under much greater defensive pressure than the main force of the Taiping Army.

Huang Bingxian couldn't wait for Sai Shang'a's Shaanxi-Gansu troops to sprout wings and fly to Jiangnan.

Peng Gang did not have this concern. Although Sai Shang'a's Shaanxi and Gansu soldiers were close to Wuchang, it was difficult for them to directly threaten the three towns of Wuhan.

Attacking Wuchang from Nanchang is like attacking an upstream enemy from a downstream position, which is inherently difficult. Moreover, if Sai Shang'a wanted to attack Wuchang, he first had to get past Shi Xiangzhen, who was guarding Jiujiang.

"What are the movements of the Qing troops in Hunan?" Peng Gang asked, glancing at the staff members in Xihua Hall.

"After the news of the land reform in Hanyang reached Changsha Prefecture, the Qing army in Changsha Prefecture became restless. Luo Bingzhang ordered Xiang Rong to set up the Yuezhou Camp ten miles south of Baling City, and to assemble 30,000 soldiers at the Yuezhou Camp to confront our troops stationed in Baling City." Zhang Ze, who had been waiting for a long time, blurted out.

"Of course, they are only showing signs of aggression. The Qing soldiers in Hunan are afraid of us and are very cautious. They have not attacked Baling City recently. Our soldiers are eager for battle and their morale is high. Your Highness, should we send reinforcements to Baling City and remove this thorn in the side of Yuezhou?"

Peng Gang pondered for a long time, then shook his head and said, "To repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife. Right now, land reform is the most important thing for our court. Xiang Rong is not an incompetent fool like Bao Qibao. The Yuezhou camp is not as easy to break as the Chengnan camp and the Xinqianghe camp were back then."

The mobile forces that Peng Gang left in the three towns of Wuhan were to be used to suppress the armed rebellious militias in the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Beidian, and to ensure the smooth progress of the land reform.

Now, sending troops to aid Baling in breaking the Qing court's Yuezhou camp is not feasible due to the limited number of troops available.

The Qing army in Yuezhou camp numbered 30,000, and Luo Dagang had 10,000 troops stationed in Baling, which was certainly enough to defend Baling.

To break through Xiang Rong's Yuezhou camp, Peng Gang would need to send at least 10,000 troops to Baling to eliminate as many Qing soldiers as possible from the Yuezhou camp.

If the Qing army's fighting force is not eliminated and its elite troops are worn down, even if the Yuezhou camp is breached, the Qing army will soon make a comeback.

Furthermore, Peng Gang had previously raided the Chengnan Camp and the Xinqianghe Camp.

Xiang Rong and his men are certainly on guard now, and relying solely on a sneak attack will likely make it difficult to achieve any significant results.

To break through Yuezhou's main camp, we either need to wait until the land reform in Hanyang is completed and we can gather a large force, or we need to purchase a batch of weapons and equip a portion of our elite troops. Only then will we have a greater chance of victory.

"It was my impatience," Zhang Ze said.

"Have the Qing troops in the northwest direction of Hanchuan made any moves?" Peng Gang's gaze swept across Hanchuan County on the map. Hanchuan was an important gateway to the northwest of the three towns of Wuhan. Currently, Hanchuan was garrisoned by two battalions of Northern Palace soldiers led by Peng Gang's second elder brother, Peng Yong, to guard against the Qing troops in the northwest, mainly from the Xiangyang area.

“It seems the Qing government has no troops available in Hubei and has not taken any action yet. The Qing troops in De’an and Anlu prefectures, which are close to Hanyang, have all withdrawn their troops from the city walls and even the outposts,” Zhang Ze speculated.

"Order Peng Yong to strengthen vigilance. There are signs that the Qing army in the northwest is advancing into Hanchuan. Report this immediately and do not be negligent. Intercept and kill any Hanyang militia members who attempt to flee west or north to De'an or Anlu!" Peng Gang ordered.

When the Taiping Army occupied the three towns of Wuhan, Emperor Xianfeng predicted that the Taiping Army would sail down the Yangtze River, occupy Nanjing, establish a foothold in Jiangnan, control Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, cut off the Qing government's grain transport, control the finances of Jiangnan, destroy the barriers north of the Yangtze River, and then launch a northern expedition to conquer the Central Plains.

Emperor Xianfeng's assessment of the Taiping Rebellion's strategy was largely accurate.

Riding on the overwhelming military might of the capture of Wuchang, the main force of the Taiping Army surged downstream, heading straight for Nanjing.

Jiangning uses the city wall system built during the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the capital city of Jiangning was expanded. The city design did not adhere to the traditional square or rectangular layout of capital cities. Jiangning City was built against the mountains and by the water, making full use of the natural terrain, which made the outer city of Jiangning City extremely large, with a circumference of more than sixty li.

Although Beijing was the capital of the Qing Dynasty and held a supreme political position, it was inferior to Jiangning in terms of the physical space enclosed by its city walls and its level of economic development.

Despite the vast size of Jiangning, and even with Governor-General Lu Jianying's deployment of troops from surrounding areas and extensive recruitment of civilians to defend the city, the situation remained unchanged: Jiangning was a city with a large population but a small number of soldiers.

Lu Jianying knew that the Taiping army was powerful and that Jiangning City would be difficult to defend.

Just like when Jiang Wenqing, the governor of Anhui, was defending Anqing, before the Taiping army even began to attack the city, Governor Lu began to plan for his own escape route, secretly transporting his family and valuables out of the city.

The first person to discover that Lu Jianying had smuggled his family's valuables out of the city was Yang Wending, the Jiangsu governor who had been keeping an eye on Lu Jianying.

Yang Wending seized on this matter and publicly rebuked Lu Jianying with righteous indignation. He had a big fight with Lu Jianying and used excuses such as Lu Jianying being stubborn, disregarding the overall situation of Jiangning's defense, refusing to listen to the governor's opinions, and being unable to work together to pretend to leave in a huff and flee to Zhenjiang.

Even General Xianghou of Jiangning and Provincial Governor Qi Suzhao of Jiangning could not dissuade him.

Before the war even began, the governors of Liangjiang, one sent his family and property out of the city, while the other simply slipped away.

The people in Jiangning were in turmoil, and other officials followed Yang Wending's example and fled to Jiangning.

Once this trend started, the people of Jiangning City also followed suit and left the city to avoid it.

The governor and viceroy were at odds, a large number of officials fled, and the people of Jiangning were in turmoil.

Knowing that Jiangning City was difficult to defend, General Xianghou of Jiangning led his banner troops to retreat into Jiangning Manchu City, which was the former imperial city built by the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing, and prepared to defend Jiangning Manchu City to the death.

The Taiping army first attacked Yifeng Gate in the north of the city. Yang Fuqing, under the orders of Yang Xiuqing, launched a feigned attack on Yifeng Gate to test the strength of the Qing army in Jiangning.

The Viceroy of Liangjiang, Lu Jianying, personally supervised the defense of Yifeng Gate and barely managed to repel the Taiping Army's feigned attack, thus saving Yifeng Gate.

However, the morale of the garrison in Jiangning City was extremely low, even though Yifeng Gate had not yet fallen.

Rumors of "the city falling and the governor-general dying" spread rapidly throughout the city after the fall of Yifeng Gate and the death of Lu Jianying, the governor-general of Liangjiang.

The Qing army in Jiangning was thrown into chaos. Qing officers and soldiers near the Hanxi Gate and Shuixi Gate on the west wall of Jiangning, as well as the Jubao Gate on the south wall, lost their helmets and borrowed clothes, disguised themselves as civilians, and fled into the city's residential houses to hide.

The Taiping generals who were besieging the city quickly seized the opportunity.

Feng Yunshan and Hu Yihuang directed their men to set up ladders and scale the city walls, capturing the Hanxi Gate and Shuixi Gate.

Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, and Lai Hanying also took advantage of the situation and captured the Jubao Gate on the south wall without bloodshed.

The Taiping army, having scaled the city walls, removed the earthen sacks blocking the city and opened the city gates to welcome the main force into the city.

With this, the three gates of Nanjing were opened, and the Taiping Army controlled most of the southwestern part of Jiangning that same day.

Knowing that all was lost, Governor-General Lu Jianying fled to the Governor-General's office and committed suicide by swallowing gold.

Now, the rumor that "the city of Jiangning fell and the governor died" is no longer false.

(End of this chapter)