1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 313 Effective Domination
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom captured Jiangning City around the Spring Festival of 1852, a Spring Festival that held special significance for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

After establishing its capital in Nanjing, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom drastically and forcibly implemented the Heavenly Calendar in the areas under its control, designating this year as the first year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Renzi year, replacing the Qing Dynasty's calendar, in order to demonstrate its legitimacy.

In early March of the first year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1852), Hanyang was a giant furnace, except that this furnace was not melting iron ore, but people and land. What spewed out was not molten iron, but blood and fire.

Peng Gang rode his horse across the bustling land of Hanyang, escorted by a group of stern-faced training battalion guards.

He looked up and around, and everywhere he looked, there were processions parading through the streets, one after another, stretching endlessly.

The farmers watching had complex expressions, a wild joy at finally being able to vent their pent-up resentment, and they clapped loudly in delight.

There is an instinctive fear of bloody scenes, an unwillingness to watch for long, and so on, and so forth.

The applause and cheers of the young and middle-aged, the cries and laughter of the children, the curses of the old women, the slogans and whippings of the holy soldiers, and the wails and sobs of the rebellious landlords were all mixed together and never stopped.

When they reached a point four or five miles north of the prefectural city, Peng Gang's leopard-spotted horse snorted restlessly and pawed at the ground with its hooves.

Peng Gang tightened the reins and rode slowly with a blank expression.

"My son is back! My son has come back to take me away! You traitors, you must all die! You must all die!"

As they were walking, Peng Gang suddenly heard a hysterical roar.

Peng Gang glanced in the direction of the sound and saw a ragged, unkempt man, clearly mentally unstable, being escorted past him by Bei Dian's men.

"This is Wang Shukun, the leader, who was captured by our army during the attack on Caidian," said Li Qi, the local military commander who accompanied Peng Gang on his inspection of relevant work in Hanyang County, pointing to Wang Shukun.

"He's been looking like this for two months now, but I don't know if he's really crazy or just pretending."

Caidian, where Wang Shukun was located, was once the base camp of the Hanyang militia, gathering more than a thousand militia members from Hanyang County and even Hanchuan County.

This battle was fought personally by Li Qi, who led the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment and two Jiangxia recruit battalions.

The Second Battalion of the Second Regiment was assigned to hold the line, while two new recruit battalions were responsible for the attack, which was considered an opportunity for them to gain practical experience.

It took the three battalions of both new and veteran soldiers in the North Palace three full days to capture Caidian.

Although the Battle of Caidian was not particularly intense, it was still a medium-to-large-scale battle, which is why Li Qi still remembers it vividly and clearly recalls Wang Shukun's face.

It took the three battalions of both new and veteran soldiers in the North Palace three full days to capture Caidian.

Therefore, Li Qi still remembers Wang Shukun's face vividly to this day.

At this point, Wang Shukun was no longer the dignified and imposing Lord Wang of Caidian.

His once elegant and luxurious Suzhou embroidered brocade robe and mandarin jacket are now just tattered rags covered in mud, phlegm, and dried excrement, hanging comically on his bloated body.

One knotted button was around his neck, while the other was dangling a tattered piece of cloth, swinging wildly with his movements. His gray braids were disheveled like withered grass, and a few blades of grass even clung to the stray hairs on his forehead.

Wang Shukun's eyes were so wide they seemed to burst out of their sockets, and they were filled with bloodshot veins.

Those empty, strange eyes would sometimes stare intently at the sky, and sometimes sweep across the crowd of onlookers, as if searching for something that didn't exist at all.

His mouth stretched into an unbelievable arc, dripping with a mixture of saliva and foam, and he occasionally made unintelligible "hoho" sounds, a mixture of laughter and tears.

Suddenly, he abruptly raised his head and roared at the empty sky. His voice, sharp and piercing, was inhuman: "Ancestors! Forefathers! Do you see? My son has slaughtered all the short-haired barbarians! The Emperor has raised a banner for my son! A sedan chair! My son has come to pick me up in an eight-bearer sedan chair! To the capital! To meet the Emperor! The Emperor wants to bestow upon me a yellow riding jacket! Hahaha~~"

The soldiers from the Northern Palace escorting Wang Shukun were used to this. They disgustedly slammed the butts of their muskets into Wang Shukun's back and shouted, "Shut up! You old mad dog! Get going! You'll have to patrol two more villages today!"

Wang Shukun was hit by the gun butt and staggered, almost falling flat on his face.

He turned his head and stared with his empty, crazed eyes at the Northern Palace soldier who had just hit him with the butt of a gun. Suddenly, his face changed to an extremely exaggerated, almost obsequious, comical expression. He imitated the tone of a theatrical opera and shrieked, "Yes, Your Majesty! This servant...this servant Wang Shukun kowtows in gratitude for the Emperor's grace! Long live the Emperor!"

As he shouted, he actually thought he was a Manchu and tried to kowtow in the filthy street. However, he tripped over the iron chains on his body, fell heavily to the ground, and got a mouthful of mud.

But he seemed to feel no pain at all. Instead, like a maggot, he began to wriggle on the ground and continued to sing his absurd words of thanks in his hoarse voice.

The surrounding crowd erupted in hearty laughter.

Who would have thought that this man, who once stomped his feet in Caidian and whose name would be shaken, would now be reduced to such a grotesque, inhuman state?

In an instant, Wang Shukun, who had been forcibly lifted from the ground by the soldiers of the Northern Palace, switched to an expression of extreme terror. His features were distorted, and he stared intently at the empty space in front of him, as if he had seen something terrifying. He let out a shrill scream: "Ah—! Don't come any closer! Don't take my life! It wasn't me! I wasn't the one who drove your family to their deaths! It was the government! It was Prefect Dong! Your daughter was chosen by Prefect Dong! The grievances have their source, and the debts have their debtors! Don't look for me, go find them! Go find them!"

Wang Shukun frantically waved his bound hands, as if driving away countless unseen, vengeful spirits, the chains binding him rattling loudly.

The soldiers from the Northern Palace who were escorting Wang Shukun grew impatient and roughly dragged and pushed him forward.

Wang Shukun stopped shouting and struggling, and just smiled blankly, drool dripping uncontrollably onto his front.

He tilted his head and began to gnaw at the heavy wooden plaque around his neck with his few remaining teeth. The plaque read: "Oppressing the villagers, exploiting the people, heinous crimes."

Wood chips mixed with blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, but he was completely unaware, as if he were savoring some delicious delicacy.

"He's been pretending to be crazy for so long, he's really gone mad now. I heard there are quite a few gentry in Hanchuan County who know him. Let's send him to Hanchuan County for a parade through the streets and villages tomorrow." Peng Gang only glanced at Wang Shukun a few times with contempt before looking away from him.

Someone like Wang Shukun, a second-rate local gentry from Hanyang, wasn't even worthy of Peng Gang's attention.

"Is Hanchuan County the third county to implement my fundamental policy?" Li Qi asked curiously.

Hanchuan County is located upstream of Hanyang. If Hanchuan County completes the fundamental strategy of the Northern Palace, Hanchuan County will protect the northwest of Hanyang County, where he is stationed, and Jiangxia County will protect the southeast.

Hanyang County will become a true safe rear area, and Li Qi, as the local military commander, will have much less defense pressure. At most, he will only have to suppress some scattered militias and petty thieves.

On a more optimistic note, with the successive establishment of farmers' associations in various parts of Hanyang County, the little space left for the landlord militia and bandit gangs to operate has disappeared. The local security issues can be resolved by the farmers' associations and the security team of Hanyang County.

“One of them,” Peng Gang instructed Li Qi as he slowly rode forward on horseback.

"We can start recruiting soldiers in Hanyang County now. We will recruit a regiment of new soldiers in Hanyang County and send them to the Shahu Camp in the northern suburbs of Wuchang for training."

Although the Wuchang Administrative School, presided over by the Liu Rong brothers, had 180 relatively well-educated intellectuals from Guangxi and Hunan undergoing relevant professional skills training.

According to the report from Liu Rong's brothers, the trainees at the Wuchang Administrative School will not be able to complete their training until the end of March at the earliest.

Before the end of the month, Peng Gang still only had more than 120 members of the Qingtian team available.

The existing members of the Kiyota team will naturally be prioritized for use in counties that are more important militarily and have greater economic benefits.

Furthermore, after completing their work in Hanyang County, the team of over 120 members of the Qingtian team had accumulated considerable work experience.

This includes both relatively mild experiences and experiences of severe violence.

For the third round of land reclamation and redistribution, Peng Gang did not intend to conduct it county by county, but rather to carry it out simultaneously in two counties.

If the two counties proceed smoothly at the same time, it is not impossible to proceed simultaneously in three or even four counties.

The third batch of two counties included Hanchuan County and Huanggang County, a county attached to Huangzhou Prefecture.

Of these two counties, Hanchuan is a strategically important county on the Han River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, and its county seat guards the river. Huanggang County, on the other hand, faces Wuchang County (not Wuchang County, but the present-day Echeng) across the river, controlling the Yangtze River.

Moreover, both counties have excellent agricultural conditions and abundant resources, making them relatively wealthy. Implementing fundamental policies in these two counties first would bring greater economic benefits.

"The Hanyang County Farmers' Association has already conducted a thorough investigation and registration of farmers in all townships and villages. Let alone a regiment of new recruits, even if Your Highness needs two or three regiments, I can recruit them and send them to the Shahu Camp in the northern suburbs of Wuchang," Li Qi assured Peng Gang, patting his chest.

"Two or three regiments of new recruits?" Peng Gang shook his head with a smile and said, "We can't keep up with so many young men being recruited into the army during the busy farming season."

Although this time they managed to recruit over 100,000 people in Hanyang, Peng Gang could easily recruit 20,000 to 30,000 new soldiers, let alone two or three regiments.

However, the cost of doing so is obvious: it will inevitably affect agricultural production in Hanyang County.

The effective manpower in the North Palace is still limited for the time being. A balance needs to be struck between agricultural production and conscription. Unless it comes to a life-or-death situation, Peng Gang will not consider directly draining the existing manpower pool.

Of course, unless the Qing army abandons the main force of the Taiping army in Tianjing and launches a full-scale attack on the three towns of Wuhan, the Qing army really does not have the ability to force him to this point.

The Qing court also needed to carefully consider how to use its limited resources and make a trade-off between the "long-haired" and "short-haired" forces.

“That’s true. Relying on captured grain or grain merchants buying grain from other places makes the grain supply unstable.” Li Qi rode his horse and followed Peng Gang, saying, “Grain captured from the enemy tastes good, but grain grown and harvested on our own land is more reliable and secure.”

Li Qi also came from a farming background; his family had farmed their own land when they were still self-sufficient farmers.

Later, after losing his land, he could only rent land from others. Although he was still farming, it didn't feel the same as farming his own land; he felt insecure.

“We can’t conscript them during the busy farming season, but we can select able-bodied young men during the off-season to train them in marching drills and firearms. If we recruit them into the army later, we can shorten their training time in the recruit camp,” Peng Gang said.

"That's a good idea. During the off-season, I'll personally select able-bodied young men and send veterans to be instructors to train them." Li Qi thought this method was quite good, as it would allow him to do both things at the same time.

The following evening, after inspecting Hanyang County, Peng Gang returned to Hanyang City.

The work in Hanyang County has been completed, and the members of the field clearing teams from various places have returned to the prefectural city to rest.

Zuo Zongtang also cancelled the celebration banquet he had planned for the members of the Qingtian team.

The reason was simple: four consecutive months of intense work had left the more than 120 members of the Qingtian team exhausted, and upon returning to Hanyang City, they all went straight to sleep.

The process of related work in Jiangxia County was relatively mild, and the members of the Qingtian team only felt physically tired.

The process of carrying out related work in Hanyang County was extremely violent and bloody. Even with the protection of the Northern Palace soldiers, the members of the Qingtian Team had to remain constantly on high alert. They were not only physically exhausted, but also under immense psychological pressure and stress.

"All the new registers of Hanyang County are here. Your Highness, please take a look."

Zuo Zongtang, who had been waiting for Peng Gang at the Hanyang Prefectural Government Office for a long time, greeted Peng Gang and presented him with the Hanyang County register after the relevant work was completed.

Similar to the previous work in Jiangxia County, during this land clearing operation in Hanyang County, Zuo Zongtang also took the opportunity to organize the members of the clearing team to draw a map of Hanyang County.

Peng Gang flipped through the brand-new, ink-scented registers.

In this operation in Hanyang County, a total of 487,800 mu of arable land was cleared and distributed, and 190,000 farmers in Hanyang County received land.

Of course, this population data does not include Hankou. As the first commercial port in Hubei, Hankou's economic activities are very different from those of other areas in Hanyang County.

The completion of related work in Hanyang County and the establishment of the Hanyang County Farmers' Association signified that Peng Gang's Northern Palace had bid farewell to its rough rule over Hanyang County and had built up a grassroots organization in Hanyang County, enabling it to effectively rule and even mobilize the entire Hanyang County.

Hanyang County became the second county after Jiangxia County to have royal decrees extended to the countryside. The Northern Palace's rule over Hanyang County was no longer limited to Hanyang City and several major ferry towns with garrisons within its borders.

"Does Mr. Zuo have any recommendations for the magistrate and the heads of the four departments of Hanyang County?" Peng Gang asked, closing the register of Hanyang County.

Now that Hanyang County has completed the relevant work, it is time to establish its administrative team to handle the county's affairs.

"This is a list of candidates for the four chief officials of Hanyang County, drafted by me. Please review and make your decision, Your Highness." Zuo Zongtang took out a list from his collar and handed it to Peng Gang, adding at the same time.

"As for the magistrate of Hanyang County, Wang Dalei's performance in his two related jobs is evident to all. He is also a calm and steady person who is well-versed in agricultural administration and finance. It would be more suitable for him to be the magistrate of Hanyang County."

Zuo Zongtang originally wanted to recommend his brother-in-law to serve as the magistrate of Hanyang County. However, since Zuo Zongtang's good friend Guo Kuntao had become the magistrate of the first county in Hubei, it would not be appropriate to appoint someone related to him by marriage to Hanyang, a secondary county.

After careful consideration, Zuo Zongtang still recommended Wang Dalei.

Based on Zuo Zongtang's observations of Wang Dalei, to be fair, apart from lacking formal official rank, Wang Dalei was superior to his three brothers-in-law in every other aspect.

Wang Dalei worked for Peng Gang for more than three years, while his three brothers-in-law were either engrossed in their studies or traveling abroad for extended periods of time.

When it comes to actually doing the job, Wang Dalei would definitely do a better job than his three brothers-in-law.

In this situation, recommending his brother-in-law to be the magistrate of Hanyang County would inevitably raise suspicions of nepotism.

Wang Dalei was an old follower of Peng Gang. Before Peng Gang prepared for the uprising, Wang Dalei managed the businesses near Dachong in Zijing Mountain for Peng Gang. He had business acumen. During the war, he assisted Peng Yi in managing the sacred storehouse and also organized the transfer of the old, weak, women and children. He also had management experience.

Although Wang Dalei doesn't have any outstanding talent in any particular area, he excels in his well-rounded abilities. He knows a little about everything and has no obvious weaknesses.

Among the elderly in the North Hall, Wang Dalei was a rare high-level intellectual. If his cousin Wang Dazuo hadn't taken his place as a student in the imperial examinations years ago, he might have been able to obtain a student's degree by now.

Peng Gang was very satisfied with the magistrate of Hanyang County recommended by Zuo Zongtang.

Peng Gang glanced down at the candidates for the four departments of Hanyang County provided by Zuo Zongtang. Two of the department heads were Zuo Zongtang's students, one was Wang Quan's student, and the other was Peng Gang's third-term student.

These individuals were all outstanding performers in their respective roles and there was nothing wrong with their actions.

"I agree with your suggestion, sir. After returning to Wuchang, I will have the North Palace Attendant draft the appointment documents," Peng Gang said, putting away Zuo Zongtang's list and nodding.

"I heard last month that Tianjing was going to launch a northern expedition. Has the Eastern King already decided on the commander-in-chief and troops for the northern expedition? Also, is there any news about the money and provisions that Tianjing promised to our palace for the western expedition?" Zuo Zongtang asked about the situation in Tianjing.

At the end of January this year, Peng Gang had already received news from Tianjing that they were planning a northern expedition to directly attack Youyan.

Given the current favorable situation for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Peng Gang supports the Taiping army's main force's strategy of launching a northern expedition.

Historically, the strategic direction of Yang Xiuqing and Hong Xiuquan's Northern Expedition was not problematic.

The problem was that the two men took a roundabout route and rushed to Yandu, hoping to launch a surprise attack on the capital with an elite force, which was an overconfident and reckless tactic.

As a result, Lin Fengxiang's Northern Expeditionary Army failed to establish a stable communication channel with the Nanjing headquarters, and no follow-up troops were arranged to advance in stages. Lin Fengxiang's 20,000 elite Western Palace troops were like a sharp knife piercing the heart of the Qing Dynasty; the blade was sharp and unstoppable, but the hilt was empty, and the momentum was weak.

In terms of logistics, Lin Fengxiang's Northern Expeditionary Army adopted a strategy of relying on the enemy for supplies.

This strategy proved quite effective in the initial attack on Anhui, thanks to the support of the Nian Rebellion and the fact that the battle lines were not far from Nanjing.

However, as they advanced deeper into the north, the Qing army adopted a scorched-earth policy, withdrawing food and people into the cities, making it impossible for Lin Fengxiang's Northern Expeditionary Army to obtain supplies.

Especially after entering the North China Plain, the Northern Expeditionary Army ran out of food and clothing, and were too hungry to fight.

The Taiping army was mostly composed of southerners who had never experienced the harsh winters of the north and lacked the clothing needed for winter. As the number of soldiers in the Northern Expeditionary Army rapidly decreased, its combat effectiveness also declined sharply.

By the time the Northern Army reached Tianjin, it was exhausted and unable to continue its advance, ultimately halting its advance at Tianjin.

(End of this chapter)