1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 302 Conquering the Four Directions
The first major military and political event Hong Xiuquan undertook after entering Tianjing City was to personally bestow honors upon the outstanding up-and-coming talent Li Xiucheng.

After this incident, in addition to enjoying the routine court audiences of civil and military officials, he set about conducting a more formal imperial examination in Tianjing than in Wuchang, fulfilling his bold promise to open the imperial examination system when he failed the exam and was down on his luck.

Hong Xiuquan showed little interest in other military and political affairs.

Thinking about the imperial examinations, Hong Xiuquan felt a sense of the unpredictability of life, where fortunes can change in twenty years.

If he had passed the provincial and prefectural examinations and obtained the title of Juren, he would not have risked his life to endure the hardships of traveling through mountains and rivers and sleeping in the open to spread his teachings.

Without proselytizing, there would be no God Society, let alone the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan of today. In fact, the blind and ignorant examiners in the Guangzhou prefectural examination of the seventeenth year of the Daoguang reign deserve much credit for his achievements.

Hong Xiuquan had little interest in military and political affairs, but while enjoying his life, he still maintained a great interest in writing books and poems.

Hong Xiuquan's greatest ideal now is to educate all people, to make everyone believe in the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, to become saints in the world, and to enjoy the offerings of all people for generations, just like the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother.

As for worldly matters like conquering the world and eliminating the Qing demons, let the Qing people, the Shan people, the Gang people, the Zheng people, and the Da people handle those.

Despite the hardships and wanderings they endured, they still managed to seize power in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom while lying down.

Now that I'm in this little paradise, I'm sure I can lie down more securely.

Unsurprisingly, Yang Xiuqing still held the secular power of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Just like in Wuchang, the Eastern King's Palace within the city was the central brain of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Yang Xiuqing was as decisive as ever.

After the initial establishment of Tianjing, in order to protect Tianjing, the strategic buffer zone of Tianjing was expanded.

Yang Xiuqing immediately dispatched Qin Rigang, Lin Fengxiang, and Li Kaifang to take advantage of the situation and seize Zhenjiang and Yangzhou to the east.

The three armies obeyed the order.

The Taiping army, which was on its eastward expedition to Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, set out from Tianjing with a thousand warships covering the river. They passed Yizheng, captured Guazhou Town, and reached Jinshan.

The Qing troops along the way collapsed without even making a move. Less than five days after departing from Tianjing, Qin Rigang, Lin Fengxiang, and Li Kaifang's forces easily captured Zhenjiang City, cutting off the Qing court's grain transport.

Jiangsu Governor Yang Wending performed steadily as always, and retreated to Yangzhou before the battle, thus escaping another disaster.

After Zhenjiang was captured, Qin Rigang stayed behind to defend it, while Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang's forces continued north along the Grand Canal to capture Yangzhou.

Jiangsu Governor Yang Wending attempted to repeat his previous tactic, heading north to Gaoyou Prefecture.

However, this time, Yang Wending finally met an opponent who was even better than him.

Yang Dianbang, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner of Yangzhou, had spread the news that Yang Wending was going to flee north. The people of Yangzhou were furious when they heard that Yang Wending and his troops had taken their money and grain but were still going to flee. They blocked Yang Wending and his troops in the government office and demanded an explanation.

Taking advantage of the fact that the attention of the soldiers and civilians of Yangzhou was focused on the notorious Yang Wending, Yang Dianbang, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, successfully disguised himself and escaped, thus narrowly escaping death.

The city of Yangzhou was in complete chaos, allowing Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang to capture it without a fight.

Unable to leave the city or defend it, Jiangsu Governor Yang Wending was killed in the street by the Taiping Army. He became the third Qing Dynasty governor to die at the hands of the Taiping Army, following Hubei Governor Chang Dachun and Anhui Governor Jiang Wenqing.

To ensure the safety of the gentry and common people of Yangzhou, Jiang Shoumin, a gentry and merchant from Yangzhou, wisely raised 100,000 taels of silver, along with countless grains, rice, wine, and meat, to offer as tribute to the Taiping Army.

Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang were very pleased and pointed out a clear path for Jiang Shoumin, instructing him to prepare more generous gifts and go to Tianjing to pay tribute to the Heavenly King and the Eastern King.

During the time when Qin Rigang, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others were on their eastern expedition to Zhenjiang and Yangzhou.

Inside the Eastern King's Palace, the de facto highest authority of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Yang Xiuqing worked diligently and methodically to sort out the internal affairs and people's livelihood in Xiaotiantang.

Yang Xiuqing further improved and refined the separate male and female quarters system established in Wuchang, and added new quarters such as the children's quarters, the craftsmen's quarters, the elderly quarters, and the disabled quarters.

All 300,000 people in Tianjing City were incorporated into the academy.

Regardless of gender, age, illness, disability, or other physical condition, all staff members were assigned work according to their circumstances, and the Holy Treasury distributed the necessary food rations for their livelihood.

Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing both made a promise that once they entered the Little Paradise, they would be reunited as husband and wife.

However, after actually entering the Little Paradise, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing both broke their promises and failed to fulfill their initial commitments.

Apart from the North Palace, where the system of separate residences for men and women has been abolished, within the Heavenly Kingdom, only the kings and the two Heavenly Marquises, Qin Rigang and Hu Yihuang, are still allowed to live with their families without having to follow the system of separate residences for men and women.

A few elderly people took Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing's promises seriously and, after entering the Little Paradise, the couples met privately.

Yang Xiuqing was furious when he learned of this and publicly executed all the couples who violated the national policy of the villa in order to uphold the discipline of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Most of those executed were elderly people from Guangxi, and for a time, the entire city of Tianjing was filled with solemnity.

Although many couples still harbored resentment towards the separate quarters for men and women, they dared not express it and had to strictly abide by the separate quarters system for men and women, with husbands and wives living separately in their respective quarters.

In addition to the separate office system, Yang Xiuqing established dozens of production management offices on the basis of the original Sacred Treasury, such as the Cannon Management Office, Weaving Office, Lead Coding Office, Book Printing Office, Bamboo Management Office, Paint Office, Tofu Office, Carriage Maintenance Office, Coin Casting Office, and Decoration Office, covering many industries such as military, food, clothing, daily necessities, construction, transportation, and printing.

This institution, named the Hundred Crafts Office, was responsible for supplying all daily necessities to various establishments in Tianjing City.

The Office of Hundred Crafts is nominally owned by the Heavenly Kingdom, but in reality it is directly governed by the Eastern Palace. No one may establish or interfere with the Office of Hundred Crafts without the permission of the Eastern Palace.

"When the Heavenly Army first entered Tianjing City, the city was in chaos. Now, with all the government offices in place, everyone has something to do, everyone has clothes to wear and food to eat. The entire city is united as one. The system of government offices is an unprecedented and benevolent policy." Yang Xiuqing said proudly as Tianjing City returned to normal.

"Our Heavenly Kingdom is at its zenith, flourishing and prosperous, why should we worry about the stability of the world!"

Yang Xiuqing believed that the implementation of the Guanya system not only fulfilled the promise of sharing clothes, food, and money, but also strengthened the power of the East Palace, achieving two goals at once.

There has never been anything greater than this throughout history.

"The Eastern King is wise!"

Led by strategist Qian Jiang, dozens of officials in charge of compiling and summarizing intelligence, drafting military and political documents for the Eastern Palace, and conveying Yang Xiuqing's orders repeatedly praised Yang Xiuqing as a wise and virtuous ruler.

Qian Jiang originally wanted to shower Yang Xiuqing with praise, saying that his achievements were comparable to those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. However, remembering that the Heavenly Kingdom had already made the argument in Wuchang that the Three Sovereigns were not emperors and the Five Emperors were not emperors, and that only the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother were the true emperors and gods, he quickly withdrew his words to avoid offending the Heavenly Kingdom's political taboos.

Even the military officers in the East Palace, such as Yang Fuqing, Yang Yingqing, Chen Chengrong, and Lin Qirong, had long been traumatized by Yang Xiuqing's beatings.

Although they harbored resentment towards the system of separate residences within the official residence system, they dared not express it and could only follow the crowd, echoing the praises of the Eastern King by the Eastern Palace Attendants.

While Yang Xiuqing was basking in his own glory at the Eastern King's residence, the Southern King, Feng Yunshan, arrived in a sedan chair to see him.

Although Yang Xiuqing was arrogant, he still held a degree of respect for the Southern King, an elder of the church and the senior figure of the God Society.

Upon hearing of the arrival of the Prince of the South, Yang Xiuqing personally went out to greet him.

Feng Yunshan alighted from the sedan chair, looked up and saw Yang Xiuqing, and greeted him, "Fourth brother, you look well."

Yang Xiuqing already held supreme military and political power in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and now he also controlled the various government offices, thus wielding excessive power over the military, political, and economic affairs of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Even Feng Yunshan, the Prince of Liannan, a kind-hearted man, had his grievances against Yang Xiuqing's excessive seizure of power.

The Office of Hundred Craftsmen originated from the Sacred Treasury. From the beginning of the Jintian Camp Order, the Sacred Treasury of the Heavenly Kingdom was managed by the people of Wei Changhui, the angel investor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

During the two years that Assistant King Wei Changhui was in charge of the Heavenly Kingdom's Sacred Treasury, he managed it very well and made no mistakes.

The Wei family of Jintian was the first wealthy family to sacrifice their fortune to support the missionary work of the God Society, and they made outstanding contributions. Yang Xiuqing, without any reason or word, seized the power of the assistant hall to manage the sacred treasury.

Feng Yunshan felt that Yang Xiuqing's actions were too inhumane and had the air of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose.

Although Wei Changhui had specifically complained to Feng Yunshan about this matter and poured out his grievances to Feng Yunshan.

But Feng Yunshan was a man of great loyalty and affection. Even if Wei Changhui didn't complain to him, he would still stand up for Wei Changhui and seek justice.

"Third Brother doesn't look very well."

As Yang Xiuqing welcomed Feng Yunshan into the mansion through the ceremonial gate, he spoke.

Since entering Wuchang, Yang Xiuqing has become extremely particular about rules and hierarchy. The main gate of the Eastern Prince's Mansion was basically always closed, and even the emperor and meritorious veterans of the Eastern Palace could only enter the Eastern Prince's Mansion through a side gate.

This was the first time the main gate of the East Prince's Mansion had been opened to welcome guests.

"Fourth Brother is the pillar of the Heavenly Kingdom, bearing the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders. The burden is too heavy. The Heavenly Kingdom cannot be without Fourth Brother for a single day. We brothers should share some of the pressure with Fourth Brother." Feng Yunshan entered the main hall of the Eastern King's Mansion and sat down, getting straight to the point and explaining his purpose.

"The seventh brother was in charge of Hubei, and the eighth brother was in charge of Anhui and Jiangxi, which relieved some of the pressure on the fourth brother. Only the fifth brother in Tianjing was idle. The fifth brother was good at money and grain affairs. He had been in charge of the treasury and managed the money and grain of the Heavenly Kingdom in an orderly manner."

In my opinion, it would be better to entrust the management of the various government offices in Tianjing City to my fifth brother. This would lighten the burden on my fourth brother's shoulders, allowing him to focus more on the military and political affairs of the Heavenly Kingdom.”

Yang Xiuqing, of course, would not relinquish the power he had already grasped just because of Feng Yunshan's words. He said, "My fifth brother is not only proficient in financial matters, but is also a pillar of our Heavenly Kingdom. How could I let my fifth brother remain idle?"

At this moment, Li Shouhui, the sharp-eyed Second Vice Minister of the Eastern Palace, interrupted their conversation with news that Qin Rigang, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, and others had easily captured Zhenjiang and Yangzhou: "Your Highness, the Eastern King and Your Highness, the gentry and common people of Zhenjiang and Yangzhou are welcoming the Heavenly Army with food and drink. Jiang Shoumin, a good merchant from Yangzhou, has raised 150,000 taels of silver and 80,000 shi of grain to come to Tianjing by boat to pay tribute."

"Good! Good! Good!" Yang Xiuqing was overjoyed and said "good" three times in a row. Then he asked, "You are indeed a good merchant. Where is Jiang Shoumin's fleet now?"

Zhenjiang and Yangzhou were both important hubs for the Grand Canal, and Yang Xiuqing expected to capture them within half a month to a month.

Qin Rigang, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others captured two important towns in less than ten days, which gave Yang Xiuqing a small surprise.

Clearly, the Qing army in Jiangnan was even more incompetent than Yang Xiuqing had anticipated, which was a major boon for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"The journey has been completed, and we will arrive in Tianjing soon," Li Shouhui replied.

“Very good. Once he arrives in Tianjing, have him come directly to see me. I will reward him handsomely.” Yang Xiuqing nodded.

Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was no longer what it used to be, it had become a separatist regime.

However, 150,000 taels of silver and 80,000 shi of grain were still not a small amount for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

With the capital city of Tianjing now newly established, the Heavenly Kingdom is in dire need of grain.

Moreover, Jiang Shoumin and others had taken the initiative to offer tribute, setting a good example. Overjoyed, Yang Xiuqing decided to personally meet with and reward Jiang Shoumin to set an example for all.

"Fourth brother, what about the Hundred Crafts Office?" Feng Yunshan, whose conversation had been interrupted, unusually showed displeasure and glared fiercely at Li Shouhui.

"The Heavenly Kingdom should not be confined to the corner of Jiangnan. Third Brother has also heard that the Qing demons are currently weak. This is a great opportunity to wipe out the demon's lair in the capital, kill the evil head Xianfeng, and unify the country," Yang Xiuqing changed the subject and said in a firm tone.

"The matter of the Hundred Crafts Office can be discussed later."

Wuchang was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. Since leaving Pingzaishan, Peng Gang was finally able to have a peaceful New Year.

Compared to Tianjing, which had just experienced the ravages of war, Wuchang, after more than three months of recuperation, was more vibrant with life and its various industries were beginning to flourish. It was filled with people and the city was no longer under the old system of government offices.

Boats ply the Yangtze River, shuttling between Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou.

Peng Gang's siblings, except for Peng Yong, who was responsible for the northwest gateway of Wuhan and worried that the Qing army would suddenly launch a surprise attack on Hanchuan during the New Year, volunteered to stay in Hanchuan and return to Wuchang after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to reunite.

Peng Yi and Peng Min spent a good New Year with Peng Gang at the Northern Prince's Mansion.

On the fifth day of the first month of the Renzi year (1852), Peng Gang hosted a banquet at the Northern Prince's Mansion for his key officials and associates in the three towns of Wuhan to celebrate the New Year.

Amidst the joyous festive atmosphere, news of Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, Eastern King Yang Xiuqing, and others establishing their capital in Tianjing and easily capturing Zhenjiang and Yangzhou gradually reached the Northern King's residence, adding to the joy.

With the fall of Jiangning, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing established their capital in Nanjing and also cut off the grain transport in Jiangnan, thus challenging the Qing court. This was a major boon not only for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom but also for the Northern Palace.

Whether from the perspective of political influence or financial considerations.

The Qing government had to allocate some of the resources originally intended for the Hunan region, adjust its original strategy, and redeploy its troops to deal with the threat from Nanjing.

The military pressure that Beidian faces in Wuchang this year will be much lighter compared to the end of last year.

Besides offering New Year's greetings and conveying the good news from the Heavenly Kingdom, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, also stated in the letter that he had selected and renovated the Northern King's Mansion for Peng Gang in Tianjing City, and invited Peng Gang's brothers and sisters to come to Tianjing to enjoy a life of luxury.

Peng Gang naturally wouldn't buy into Yang Xiuqing's scheme. He didn't want his brothers and sisters to go to Tianjing as hostages and get involved in the mess in Tianjing.

However, the Northern Prince's Mansion in Tianjing City can be preserved and used as an office for the Northern Palace personnel stationed in the capital.

The most important matter mentioned in Yang Xiuqing's letter was the western expedition to Changsha.

Yang Xiuqing had always been keen on military matters and was well aware that the Qing army in Changsha was the biggest threat to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He ordered Peng Gang to make preparations as soon as possible and launch a western expedition after the New Year to capture Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, and annihilate the Qing army's field forces in Hunan.

After the banquet, Peng Gang summoned his advisors and strategists to the West Flower Hall and showed them recent letters from Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, and Shi Dakai.

After reading the letters from the four Heavenly Kings, and learning that after Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing established their capital in Nanjing, they not only did not abolish the system of separate residences, but further improved it and supplemented it with the system of various government offices.

Zuo Zongtang was quite surprised: "Although I joined Your Highness's service late, the Heavenly King and the Eastern King made a promise in Guangxi to stabilize the morale of the army that once the old brothers in Guangxi entered the Little Paradise, they would be allowed to reunite with their spouses and enjoy happiness."

Now that you've entered the "little paradise" and are going back on your word, how can you expect to win over the masses? Aren't you afraid of alienating both new and old brothers?

Furthermore, all these government offices are under the control of the Eastern King. The Eastern King's power is too great, and he holds all the power of the Heavenly Kingdom in his own hands, which is ultimately not a good thing.

The Eastern King likes to use the power of the Heavenly Father to oppress people, but the Heavenly Father's power can only suppress them temporarily, not forever.

After reading several letters from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's kings, Zuo Zongtang saw not only a thriving and prosperous Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but also glimpsed its true nature—a facade of a damsel in distress.

Heaven may look glamorous, but it has a lot of problems inside.

“The power of the Heavenly Father has not only pressed down on the Southern King and the Assistant King, but also on me.” Peng Gang gestured for Zuo Zongtang to sit down.

"The Eastern King wants our Northern Palace to prepare for the western expedition to Changsha. Has Your Highness decided how to reply?" Zuo Zongtang asked as he sat down.

“Even if the Eastern King doesn’t send a letter urging me to march west to Changsha, we will still need to send troops west next year to wear down the main force of the Hunan soldiers,” Peng Gang said, warming his hands with a steaming cup of tea.

"Xiang Rong's Zhengan soldiers, Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu soldiers, Zeng Guofan's and Luo Zenan's Xiangxiang soldiers are well-trained in Changsha and pose a considerable threat. We must send troops to eliminate a portion of the Hunan soldiers to prevent them from gaining momentum."

Peng Gang already knew that the Minister in charge of militia training in Hunan was Zeng Guofan, who had led the militia training during the Qingming Festival. Hunan's militia training base was already relatively strong compared to other provinces.

With Jiang Zhongyuan's Xinning Chu troops in the army, Changsha was already difficult to attack. Peng Gang could not give the Xiangxiang troops a chance to gain momentum.

Furthermore, after the land reform began in Hanyang, although the clearing of land in Hanyang progressed steadily, the rebellious militias in neighboring prefectures and counties did not amount to much under the suppression of the Northern Palace troops.

However, most of the gentry and local militia who fled Hanyang Prefecture surrendered to Luo Raodian, the Hubei militia minister in Xiangyang, and became part of the Hubei militia forces under Luo Raodian's command.

When news of the land reform in Hanyang reached Xiangyang, the Hubei gentry, who had previously been rather indifferent to Luo Raodian's organization of the Hubei militia and were not enthusiastic about donating money and grain, only making token gestures, became much more proactive than before in order to protect their own land.

Many gentry from Xiangyang Prefecture, De'an Prefecture, and Anlu Prefecture actively donated money and grain, and sent their own sons to assist Luo Raodian in recruiting and training soldiers to organize the Hubei militia.

The external situation facing the North Palace is not good.

"This is a good opportunity to ask the Heavenly King and the Eastern King for some money and provisions for the western expedition." Zuo Zongtang nodded and then asked.

"Since the Eastern King has ordered Your Highness to lead the western expedition, is there any news from Tianjing regarding the northern or southern campaigns?"

The Northern Palace nominally occupies the lands of the four prefectures of Wu, Han, Huang, and Yue, but so far it has only completed work on Jiangxia County, the leading county in Hubei, and parts of Hanyang County.

The areas where the Northern Palace's rule could be considered stable, apart from the entire Jiangxia County, a small part of Hanyang County, and only the prefectural and county towns under the jurisdiction of the four prefectures.

They did not yet have the foundation to directly attack and occupy Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, which was heavily guarded.

However, it is still possible and necessary to grit our teeth and squeeze out some money and supplies to fight a major battle against the Qing army in Hunan and annihilate the Qing army's manpower in Hunan.

After leaving Changsha, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, and his men had a smooth journey, especially in conquering Jiangnan, which they did very easily.

Yang Xiuqing was a very ambitious man. Zuo Zongtang simply did not believe that Yang Xiuqing, after his western expedition, did not have the idea of ​​heading north to the capital and south to Zhejiang to unify the country.

Moreover, the Qing army had two usable field forces in Changsha and Nanchang respectively.

The Qing troops under Luo Bingzhang in Changsha were restrained by Peng Gang's Northern Palace troops, while the Qing troops under Sai Shang'a in Nanchang were restrained by Shi Dakai's Wing Palace troops.

Heading north and south is much easier than conquering the west.

(End of this chapter)