1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 335 Changsha Becomes the Front Line

The smoke from the battle above the Yuezhou camp had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was still filled with the heavy smell of blood and the pungent odor of burning gunpowder. However, the deafening gunfire and shouts of battle had gradually been replaced by the clamor of the soldiers of the Northern Palace celebrating their victory.

Squads of soldiers from the Northern Palace escorted the dejected Qing prisoners of war to the Yuezhou POW camp. Medics crisscrossed the battlefield, searching for and rescuing the few wounded soldiers on their own side, and collecting the bodies.

Having just returned from the front lines, Lu Qin, covered in the dust of battle, strode briskly toward the central command tent.

Inside the main tent, Peng Gang was standing in front of the sand table with Luo Dagang, Huang Bingxian, Zhang Ze and others, reviewing the battle that had just taken place.

Upon seeing Lu Qin enter, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Lu Qin snapped to attention and gave a crisp military salute: "Your Highness! General Luo! The initial cleanup of the battlefield is complete. I've come to report the results!"

"Go on," Peng Gang gestured for Lu Qin to continue.

Lu Qin straightened his back and reported in a firm voice: "After this battle, the elite troops that Xiang Rong relied on for the breakout have suffered a devastating blow. According to the preliminary count by each regiment and battalion, the number of Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers killed or seriously wounded beyond medical help totals about 3,200!"

At this point, Lu Qin paused, then continued, "In addition, more than 4,300 Chu soldiers and Zhengan soldiers, seeing that the situation was hopeless, have surrendered. Our army has captured the last five stubbornly resisting fortifications on the outskirts of the Yuezhou camp."

The remaining Qing troops in the Yuezhou camp are now trapped, living in constant fear. Organized units of Qing soldiers are still emerging from the camp gates to surrender! The outcome of the Battle of Yuezhou is now decided! Only a few days are needed to mop up the remaining enemy, receive the surrendered troops, and inventory the spoils!

As he spoke, Lu Qin picked up two swords and placed them on the table. Pointing to one of them, a goose-wing sword covered in cuts and bloodstains, he said, “This is Deng Shaoliang’s sword! Deng Shaoliang personally led the Qing army in a fierce charge, but was hit by a concentrated barrage of fire from a hundred paces away by my company of musketeers. He was hit by more than ten bullets and died on the spot, riddled with bullets.”

Immediately, Lu Qin pointed to another, more exquisite sword: "This is Xiang Rong's sword. According to the prisoners' identification and the battlefield situation, after Deng Shaoliang's death, Xiang Rong tried to charge into the enemy lines himself, but fell off his horse in the chaos and was trampled to death by his own fleeing soldiers, almost turning into a pulp. We were unable to find his complete body, only this sword was found."

Deng Shaoliang was riddled with bullets, and Xiang Rong was trampled into a bloody pulp amidst the chaos of battle.

The situation is even more optimistic than Peng Gang had anticipated.

Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang were the backbone of the Chu army and the Zhengan soldiers. Without these two, the remaining Qing troops in the Yuezhou camp would probably be a disorganized mess. It would be a miracle if they didn't fight amongst themselves, let alone organize an effective resistance and hold out for the remaining fortifications of the Yuezhou camp.

To be honest, Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang's battle wasn't bad.

The Chu army and Zhengan soldiers in the Battle of Yuezhou were much more resilient and brave than they were in Wuxuan, Guangxi.

The generous pay and military training implemented by Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang over the past six months have yielded some results.

Before he gave up, Xiang Rong still had some ability. At least if given money and supplies, he could train a considerable number of troops capable of fighting in the field.

This alone accounts for more than 90% of the officers in the pro-independence camp.

Peng Gang accepted the swords from Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang, and asked Lu Qin, "What are our casualties? Are the surrendered Qing soldiers still behaving themselves?"

Lu Qin replied, "Your Highness, our army relied on fortifications and waited for the enemy to tire themselves out, resulting in almost no casualties. However, when we attacked the outer camp of Yuezhou Grand Camp in our victory, we were killed or wounded by Qing troops who fired cannons from a distance. Most of them were new recruits from the provisional regiment who lacked battlefield experience."

As for the surrendered Qing soldiers, they were initially terrified, but have now been calmed down. As Your Highness instructed, they have been given food and drink, enough to eat until they are half full. The officers and soldiers are now under separate supervision, awaiting Your Highness's decision.

Peng Gang nodded and said, "Order all units to intensify the suppression, properly resettle the surrendered soldiers, and not kill them indiscriminately. Officers should be tried according to regulations. Ordinary soldiers and local laborers who are willing to improve their food standards should be registered and incorporated into the army and taken back to the three towns of Wuhan for reform."

Those soldiers and laborers who are unwilling to work for us will be given two bushels of rice and half a string of cash as travel expenses, and allowed to return to their hometowns.

The soldiers under Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang, especially those from Zhengan Town in western Hunan, are of good quality and have some combat experience. With proper training and refinement, they may well become a strong force under Bei Dian's command in the future.

As for the Qing soldiers and laborers who were unwilling to surrender to the Northern Palace, they were given travel expenses and allowed to return to their homes.

Peng Gang was not worried that they would be forcibly conscripted into the Qing army again after he let them go back.

Having learned from the lessons of the Battle of Yuezhou, they personally experienced how difficult the Northern Palace troops were to defeat and how they treated prisoners of war well.

The next time these soldiers and laborers faced battle, their first thought would probably be how to surrender and get another travel allowance to go home, rather than risking their lives against the Northern Palace's troops.

The Qing army's conscription of these people was definitely more harmful than beneficial.

Furthermore, providing travel expenses for these ordinary Hunan soldiers and laborers to return home also helped establish the image of a benevolent and righteous army in the Hunan region.

Southeast of Baling City, Xi Baotian, stationed in Pingjiang County, the only remaining territory of the Qing government in Yuezhou Prefecture, had been closely monitoring the developments of the war in the Yuezhou camp area.

Upon learning that He Chun and Zhang Guoliang had fled to Jiangxi in disarray, and that Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang's breakout attempt had failed with heavy losses, with the fate of both Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang still unknown.

Xi Baotian keenly sensed that the situation in Yuezhou Prefecture was beyond saving. After the short-haired rebels wiped out the remaining troops in the Yuezhou camp, they would definitely head south to Pingjiang County to completely seize Yuezhou Prefecture.

Before the Northern Palace could send troops south to Pingjiang County, Xi Baotian gathered the Chu soldiers in Pingjiang County and prepared to flee to Changsha.

Before leaving, Xi Baotian and his men thought that since they were going to leave Pingjiang County anyway, they couldn't let Pingjiang County fall into the hands of Duanmao.

Ignoring the advice of Pang Gongzhao, the magistrate of Pingjiang County, Xi Baotian, under the pretext of a scorched-earth policy, allowed Chu soldiers to loot Pingjiang County and nearby villages. Before leaving, he set fire to the city and then went off on his way.

Powerless and indignant, Pang Gongzhao felt he had no way out and returned to his residence in the county government office in despair. He prepared ropes and prepared to hang himself with his whole family.

Just as Pang Gongzhao was about to hang himself, he was stopped by his advisor Zhao Xiulian, who rushed over. Zhao Xiulian believed that hanging was not the only way for Pang Gongzhao to go, and cited the example of Yang Xun, the magistrate of Huangmei County, Huangzhou Prefecture, Hubei Province.

After Yang Xun joined Peng Gang's service, Peng Gang not only did not execute Yang Xun, but Yang Xun is still serving as the magistrate of Huangmei County.

Zhao Xiulian felt that Pang Gongzhao had no reason to commit suicide and could follow Yang Xun's path by surrendering to Peng Gang, the King of the North.

If Yang Xun, a mere Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), could be so highly regarded by Peng Gang, surely Peng Gang, a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), would be less capable than Yang Xun?

After years of hard study, it doesn't matter who you serve as an official for.

Moreover, the Long-haired Rebels have now occupied half of the southeastern region, and the Short-haired Rebels, after the Battle of Yuezhou, are poised to sweep across Hunan and Hubei.

Neither the long-haired nor the short-haired are the same bandits they once were; there are signs of a change of dynasty. It would be wise for them to surrender now.

After pondering for a long time, Pang Gongzhao felt that Zhao Xiulian's words made a lot of sense. He immediately stopped trying to hang himself and said that he surrendered for the sake of the people of Pingjiang County, not because he was afraid of death. He asked Zhao Xiulian to quickly find the Beidian troops closest to Pingjiang County and let them take over the county seat.

The closest Beidian troops to Pingjiang County were the Sixth Regiment of Beidian, namely the Beidian Navy patrolling the Miluo River.

Chen Miao, the acting commander of the Sixth Regiment, occupied Pingjiang County without bloodshed, all in a muddle.

Thus, the Northern Palace was finally able to occupy Yuezhou Prefecture entirely.

After the battle at Yuezhou Camp came to an end and Pingjiang County was occupied, Peng Gang did not stop there. Instead, he continued to advance towards Xiangyin, Yiyang, and Yuanjiang counties, easily capturing them.

In just over a month, Beidian advanced the battle line more than 200 miles south, completely eliminating the threat posed by the Qing army in Yuezhou to Hubei.

There was a growing momentum to push the battle line to the outskirts of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, making Changsha the front line.

Inside the main hall of the Hunan Provincial Governor's Office, Governor-General Luo Bingzhang of Huguang appeared ten years older in less than a month. His once neatly combed beard was now disheveled, his eye bags were deep, and his gaze was fixed blankly on the huge map of Hunan before him. The short-haired rebels' control over Hunan was no longer confined to Yuezhou, but had expanded into a vast expanse, like a giant claw, spreading southward at an alarming rate!

Pingjiang, Xiangyin, Yiyang, and Yuanjiang, these important counties located on the south bank of Dongting Lake and the lower reaches of the Xiang and Zi Rivers, changed hands one after another in just over a month.

The Hunan governor, Zhang Liangji, could no longer maintain the decorum expected of a provincial governor. He lost his composure, pacing back and forth in the hall, muttering to himself, "Twenty or thirty thousand elite troops from the Yuezhou camp were wiped out in just ten days! How did this traitor Peng manage to do that? Twenty or thirty thousand elite troops, gone just like that!"

The officials present, including the Hunan provincial governor, provincial judge, circuit intendant, and grain commissioner, all turned ashen-faced.

They had considered that Xiang Rong would be defeated, but they never expected that Xiang Rong and Deng Shaoliang's Chu army and Zhengan troops would be defeated so quickly, and completely wiped out within ten days.

The most terrifying thing was not the complete annihilation of the Chu army and the Zhengan troops.

Rather, with the annihilation of the Chu army and the Zhengan army, the strategic situation in Hunan was instantly overturned.

After the battle of Yuezhou ended, the short-haired rebels did not retreat, but continued to attack and seize territory.

To this day, the short-haired army has advanced more than 200 miles south, controlling a large area south of Dongting Lake without bloodshed.

Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, was a relatively safe rear area just last month, but in the blink of an eye, it has been completely exposed to the enemy's advance!

Even more fatally, the fall of Xiangyin meant that the short-haired navy's warships could sail up the Xiang River without hindrance, and Changsha's lifeline of waterway connecting it to the outside world via the Xiang River was on the verge of being completely cut off.

Once the connection between the Xiangjiang River and Dongting Lake is severed, Changsha will be unable to receive subsidies from the provinces to the north and west, making it difficult to defend.

Apart from Zhang Liangji's anxious footsteps and the sighs of the Hunan officials, there was no other sound in the West Flower Hall.

All the Hunan officials present were pondering the same question: What should they do next? What could they use to fend off the short-haired typhoon?

Green Standard Army soldiers?
After the Battle of Yuezhou, the elite of Hunan's Green Standard Army was wiped out, and the remaining soldiers trembled at the mere mention of the "Peng" banner, making them utterly incapable of fighting.

Requesting reinforcements?

Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire, and the imperial court is busy with troops in all directions and has no time to spare. Where can it spare troops to support this suddenly opened gap?
The only ones who could be relied upon were the Hubei governor Chong Lun and the Hubei militia under Luo Raodian, the Hubei assistant commander.

However, the short-haired troops have not shown any signs of slowing down their offensive, indicating that the pressure exerted by Chonglun and Luo Raodian in Hubei on the three towns of Wuhan is not enough to make the short-haired troops withdraw their forces to reinforce the three towns of Wuhan.

At that moment, Jiang Zhongyuan stood up: "General Wu, Governor, Governor, and all of you, we can no longer sit idly by and wait to die!"
Xiangyin is the vital waterway to Changsha. If we lose it, the rebel navy can roam freely along the Xiang River, completely cutting off Changsha's access to the outside world! At that time, we will be like turtles in a jar, trapped and helpless.

Even if we only lose the entire Yuezhou Prefecture, the situation would still be bad, but not to the point of being unbearable.

However, losing Xiangyin, the estuary of the Xiang River, meant that the Mao Army could use their superior navy to launch a long-range attack and threaten Changsha at any time.

This outcome was unacceptable to all the Hunan officials present.

After losing four counties in succession—Pingjiang, Xiangyin, Yiyang, and Yuanjiang—Jiang Zhongyuan had no hope of recapturing all four.

We can only focus on the current situation and try to concentrate our efforts to recapture the most important Xiangyin.

Xu Youren, the Hunan Provincial Governor, echoed, "The most urgent task is to retake Xiangyin at all costs, or at least force Peng's naval forces back to Dongting Lake, ensuring that the Xiangjiang River waterway is under our control. Only in this way can we maintain Changsha's connection with the outside world, buy time, and rebuild our defenses!"

"Take back Xiangyin?" Zhang Liangji, already distraught, lost control of his emotions.

"What can we take? Our army has just suffered a defeat, morale is low, where are we going to find soldiers who can fight? Are we going to send the soldiers defending Changsha north to fight a bloody battle with the short-haired rebels? If something goes wrong in Changsha, who will take responsibility?"

There are still two capable troops in Changsha.

One force consisted of Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu soldiers, and the other was made up of Guangfu soldiers brought by Wulantai from Guangdong.

However, these two troops were the ballast of Changsha. Zhang Liangji would rather let these two troops rot in Changsha than let them leave Changsha and venture north to Xiangyin.

“Yes!” Ulantai, who had been silent all along, glanced at Jiang Zhongyuan and suddenly pointed to the locations of Hengzhou and Xiangtan on the Hunan map.

"There is another force available! Zeng Disheng is training the Xiang Army's naval and land forces, which may be able to retake Xiangyin."

Ulantai did not want to lead his Guangfu troops out of Changsha to fight, nor did he want Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu troops to leave Changsha, so he set his sights on Zeng Guofan's Xiang troops.

Wulantai proposed using Zeng Guofan's still-developing Xiang Army to counterattack Xiangyin and challenge Peng Gang's formidable force that had just destroyed the Yuezhou camp. Luo Bingzhang immediately objected: "General Wu, this proposal is absolutely unacceptable! The Xiang Army is newly formed and is only capable of suppressing scattered bandits and outlaws in southern Hunan. But what is the situation under Peng's command?"

They were a battle-hardened elite force riding high on their great victory! They also possessed Western paddle steamers that spewed smoke and fire and were impervious to swords and spears! What did Peng Yulin's Xiang Army navy have? Just some converted civilian ships and homemade cannons.

The Xiang Army's naval forces have never fought a major battle, and their naval warfare tactics are still unfamiliar. To send this infantile army to fight a ferocious enemy is like throwing eggs against rocks, or driving sheep into the jaws of a tiger.

Luo Bingzhang's words were like cold water poured into a hot oil pan, prompting many officials to nod in agreement, feeling that Luo Bingzhang's words made a lot of sense.

Ulantai, who always prided himself on his knowledge of foreign things, shook his head and said, "What Governor Luo just said was a mature and prudent view, but it was too pessimistic."

This general has some knowledge of those Western ships. Their ships are indeed sturdy and their cannons powerful, but their weaknesses are also quite obvious!

As he spoke, Ulantai stretched out his fingers with an air of importance and began to list the problems one by one: "First of all, Western ships, especially those paddle steamers, have extremely complex machinery. Gears, cylinders, bearings, each part is precious and delicate! After days of fighting and being tossed around, how could they not be worn out? They must have frequent breakdowns and need to stop sailing for maintenance often, otherwise they would just be a pile of scrap metal!"

Seeing that everyone's attention had been drawn, Ulantai became even more smug: "Secondly, these kinds of steamships cannot be propelled by ordinary firewood; they require high-quality coal!"
Since Peng Dehuai's westward advance from Wuchang, these steamships have traveled at least thousands of miles. Where did their coal come from? And how much could they store? Their continuous fighting must have depleted their coal reserves significantly, making replenishment extremely difficult! The number of Western gunboats still able to operate on the lake must have been greatly reduced, certainly not at their peak!

Finally, Ulantai put forward his conclusion: "Furthermore, the rebels have suddenly won a great victory and captured counties and prefectures in succession. Their land forces will inevitably be scattered to defend, and their navy will inevitably become arrogant and lax."

Although our Hunan Navy has only been established for a short time, all its soldiers are Hunanese men dedicated to protecting their homeland, and they are determined to win even in dire circumstances! Taking advantage of Peng Dehuai's exhaustion, lack of coal and weapons, and lax defenses, we can concentrate our forces and launch a surprise attack on the waterways. There may be an opportunity to strike!

Therefore, this general believes that although sending Zeng Disheng to lead the Xiang Army north to recapture Xiangyin is a risky move, it is also the only viable option at present that could potentially open up the situation! Rather than waiting for the waterways to be completely blocked, it is better to take a gamble! The Xiang Army's navy has great potential!

Ulantai's eloquent remarks were refreshing, and many people in Xihua Hall found his words to be quite reasonable.

Changsha Prefect Zhu Sunyi chimed in, “General Wu is absolutely right! Peng is no god or demon. Our army has just suffered a defeat, and the rebels must be expecting us to be too afraid to fight. Our army can take them by surprise! Although the Xiang Army’s navy is not strong enough, we have the advantage of terrain and the morale of our troops. As long as our tactics are appropriate, we may not be unable to win a battle!”

When Zeng Guofan set up a judicial bureau in Changsha, the provincial capital, it caused chaos and disorder throughout the city, and Zhu Sunyi, the prefect of Changsha, inevitably suffered as a result.

Zhu Sunyi had long harbored resentment towards Zeng Guofan. Zhu Sunyi's strong support for Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army's northward march was partly due to personal grudges.

With Zhu Sunyi taking the lead, more and more Hunan officials, especially those in Changsha Prefecture, also stood up to support Zhu Sunyi and Wulantai.

The magistrates of Changsha and Shanhua counties went even further, stating that when Zeng Guofan first trained the Xiang Army, he borrowed over 100,000 taels of silver from the Hunan provincial governor to train the troops, and in the past few months, he had not known how much of the people's hard-earned money he had squeezed out to support the Xiang Army.

They can't just cower in southern Hunan forever, going through the motions but not putting in any real effort, only daring to fight petty bandits and not the more serious ones. How can the Hunan Army command respect with this kind of behavior? How can they explain this to the people of Hunan? How can the people of Hunan willingly accept the quotas and support the Hunan Army in the future?

(End of this chapter)