1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 44 The Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals

For several days, everything in the vicinity of Lianhuaping remained as usual, with no trace of living people, let alone the remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Xiao Guoying believed that Peng Gang had gone to unnecessary lengths, wasting manpower and timber to build an extra watchtower, not to mention adding two more people to the night watch.

Even the entrances and exits were densely covered with barbed wire, bamboo spikes, and wooden splinters. Pit pits were also dug and covered with grass, making it very inconvenient and difficult to enter and exit the charcoal burning plant, which seriously affected production and daily life.

Nothing happened for ten days. Xiao Guoying suggested that Peng Gang remove the traps at the east and west entrances to make it easier to carry timber into the charcoal burning plant.

Xiao Guoying's suggestion was not adopted by Peng Gang.

The soldiers from Shangdongtang who came to Lianhuaping to buy charcoal told him that some villagers in Youwangdu had already been killed by remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Three entire mountain households were wiped out; not a single survivor was left. Even infants less than a month old were roasted and eaten, leaving only a pile of bones—a truly tragic scene.

Youwangdu is only a dozen miles away from Lianhuaping. Since the remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society have already infiltrated the vicinity of Youwangdu, it is only a matter of time before they find Lianhuaping.

With more than thirty lives at the Lianhuaping charcoal burning plantation at stake, Peng Gang dared not be careless and harbored any illusions.

After the battle of Jiangkouwei, Zhang Zhao, nicknamed "Big Head Sheep," did not surrender. Instead, he and Luo Dagang fought their way out and fled into Pingzai Mountain in a sorry state.

Zhang Zhaoning's choice to break out rather than surrender to the Qing army was not because he was particularly principled.

He was quite agile and would do anything for whoever offered him food.

Whether it's the Qing government or the Heaven and Earth Society, he'll follow whoever offers the most benefits.

Zhang Zhao was a smart man, and he knew very well that timing was crucial in accepting the court's offer of amnesty.

On the eve of the boat army uprising in the 26th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, Zhang Zhao chose to betray his boat army comrades and accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty, willingly becoming a lackey of the Qing government.

That was because the Qing government needed Zhang Zhao as a pawn to divide and weaken the Qing navy at that time.

What about now?
Most of the Heaven and Earth Society's boatmen were annihilated, or the group disbanded, and Luo Dagang, Su Sanniang, Tian Fang, and others disappeared without a trace.

The only surviving submarine force was the unit of Qiu Ersao from Qianjiang, which had not participated in this operation.

Zhang Zhao knew that he was no longer of much value to the Qing court. Even if he surrendered to the Qing army, he would not have a good ending. He would most likely be beheaded and his head would be exchanged for a reward.

Zhang Zhao's forces at Jiangkouwei had already been killed or scattered by the Dahuangjiang Patrol Office and local militia.

When Zhang Zhao broke out of Jiangkouwei, only one in ten of his men remained.

The pro-independence militia chased him like mad dogs.

By the time they entered Pingzai Mountain, Zhang Zhao was in a terrible state, and the number of people around him was dwindling.

According to him, there are now thirty-six Heavenly Generals, including himself!

Perhaps it was the "great victory" at Jiangkouwei that greatly boosted the morale of the Green Standard Army and local militia in Guiping County.

Perhaps Zhang Zhao's reward of eight hundred taels was too tempting, and the Qing army unusually began to pursue the fleeing enemy.

Zhang Zhao and his "Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals" could only struggle against the Green Standard Army militia searching for them while their stomachs were empty and they were on flat land and in the mountains.

"Damn it! What use is this money! Even with gold and silver, you can't buy a pound of rice or a penny of salt." Panting heavily, Nong Guangzong slammed the heavy cloth bag to the ground.

"What a fucking coward!"

Jiangkou Market was one of the wealthiest places in Xunzhou Prefecture. Although they failed to succeed in Jiangkou Market, they still managed to loot a lot of valuable gold, silver and valuables from the market.

But in these deep mountains and forests, even if you have money, there's nowhere to spend it; you can't even buy a single drop of salt.

Even if they occasionally managed to rob a few mountain households, the mountain households in Pingzai Mountain were notoriously poor, with only a few liters of coarse grain in their rice bins. The little food they robbed and the people they slaughtered were simply not enough to share among the thirty-six of them.

After more than half a month, Nong Guangzong was so exhausted and hungry that he had lost all interest in food.

Not only was he unable to eat a drop of salt, but he also felt exhausted, weak, and had twitching hands and feet. The worst part was that he had no appetite for eating bamboo shoots or grass, and he also felt dizzy and lightheaded from time to time.

"Back then, when Li Zicheng's entire army was wiped out, he fled into the deep mountains to escape the imperial court's pursuit, just like us. He only had eighteen horsemen with him, but in the end, didn't he still manage to seize the world?" Zhang Zhao picked up his bundle and encouraged him.

"Li Zicheng had eighteen riders, but we have a full thirty-six heroes. Why should we worry about not being able to make a comeback?!"

Zhang Zhao used the example of Li Zicheng, whose army was completely wiped out in the Battle of Tongguan and Nanyuan, to inspire his loyal followers.

He was not well-educated, and Zhang Zhao heard these things from storytellers. He did not know that the great battle was called the Battle of Tongguan Nanyuan, nor did he know that the mountain where Li Zicheng fled was Shangluo Mountain.

Those who have stayed with Zhang Zhao until now are all veteran bandits from the Heaven and Earth Society's boat army, and they are Zhang Zhao's core base.

Zhang Zhao was determined to win them over no matter what.

With these people around, he could raise a team of several hundred or even a thousand people in less than six months.

"Eighteen riders!" Nong Yaozu, Nong Guangzong's younger brother, was so hungry that he was dizzy and couldn't eat the empty promises Zhang Zhao had made. His mind was full of food.

"Li Zicheng and his men still have horse meat to eat! They won't go hungry for a while!"

Zhang Zhao was speechless for a moment. When he mentioned horse meat, his stomach started growling loudly.

Nong Guangzong, a hunter by trade, tiptoed along the animal trail, hoping to catch some wild game to fill his stomach.

As they walked, the sharp-eyed Nong Guangzong spotted a small village halfway up the mountain ahead. He pointed and excitedly shouted, "There's a village ahead!"

"Could it be that the Green Standard Army of Xunzhou is opening new ponds in Pingzai Mountain again?" Nong Yaozu wondered to himself.

Before joining Zhang Zhao's cause, the farmers were hunters in Pingzaishan. They knew the settlements in Pingzaishan very well.

Ahead is Lianhuaping, and I've never heard of anyone living there permanently before.

"So what? It's just a mere pond with Green Standard Army troops, nothing to worry about!" Zhang Zhao's spirits lifted, and he shouted, "Follow me!"

Even if the Green Standard Army militia is waiting for them on the mountainside ahead, as long as their numbers are not large, Zhang Zhao will have to find a way to take them down, otherwise his disunited team will really fall apart.

As they quietly approached the foot of the mountain, Zhang Zhao and his group realized that this was a newly opened charcoal burning site, not a village, much less a Green Standard Army camp's Xintang.

"It's a mountain stronghold! A newly opened stronghold! It looks quite big. If we take it from them, we'll have enough food for the rest of our journey!" Nong Guangzong was extremely excited. He took off his small bow and stretched it to warm it up, eager to try.

As long as they seize this mountain area, they will have enough food to support them to reach Lema, seek refuge with Qiu Erniang, and escape the government troops.

"We have silver, why don't we use it to buy some food from them?" suggested Yang Heng, a charcoal burner by trade but still possessing a conscience.

"What if they betray our whereabouts to the government troops for a reward the moment we leave?" Zhang Zhao said coldly. "For the sake of our brothers' well-being, we must eliminate them completely!"

“But they’re just a group of poor charcoal burners, and they haven’t provoked us.” Yang Heng still tried to persuade them further. “Isn’t the mission of our Heaven and Earth Society to rob the rich and help the poor?”

“Yang Heng! In your heart, are our brothers’ lives less important than those charcoal burners?” Nong Yaozu said unhappily.

"We are brothers who swore a blood oath before Guan Yu and drank the wine made from incense ash to pledge our brotherhood!"

"Alright!" Zhang Zhao raised his hand to stop the argument. "Let's storm the mountain area and have a good meal first. If these charcoal burners are willing to come with us, we can pick a dozen or so obedient young men to join our team."

(End of this chapter)