1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 100 Three-Way Attack on Wu Xuan
"In the past, when the Wang family fortress was attacked, the Wang family members, guards, and the God Society had a long-standing feud. The Wang family members defended the fortress because they were protecting their own families. Therefore, they were able to unite as one and fight to the death."

The Green Standard Army militia in Wuxuan doesn't have such a deep grudge against our God Worshippers Society. Besides, the Green Standard Army militia is utterly useless. As long as we break through the city gates and enter, the morale of the defending Green Standard Army militia will collapse, and they will scatter like birds and beasts.

To dispel Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan's doubts, Peng Gang patiently explained the situation of the Wuxuan garrison to them.

The situation in Wuxuan County is not the same as that in Wang Zuoxin's fortress, which they attacked at the time; the specific circumstances are quite different.

"To protect Guilin, Min Zheng and Min Yaotou transferred 100 elite Green Standard Army soldiers from Wuxuan in the twelfth lunar month. Now, the number of Green Standard Army soldiers responsible for guarding Wuxuan County is less than 200, and most of them are old and weak. The number of local militia is roughly the same as that of the Green Standard Army."

Although my forces are not abundant, attacking Wuxuan would be somewhat difficult. The naval forces near Kelema have agreed to join me in attacking Wuxuan, so I am confident I can capture the county seat.

"The submarine force? Is it the submarine force under Luo Dagang?" Yang Xiuqing asked.

Peng Gang and the submarine forces deployed near Lema, especially Luo Dagang's submarine force, were very close and had a good relationship.

This was common knowledge among the upper echelons of the God Society.

“That’s right. Su San Niang and Qiu Er Sao have also agreed to send their elite boat troops to participate in the battle,” Peng Gang said with a slight nod.

“Luo Dagang is a good man, and the submarine crew is also brave and skilled in battle. With their cooperation, I feel at ease,” Yang Xiuqing said to Peng Gang after a moment of contemplation.

“The boatmen are not like the other bandits from the Heaven and Earth Society. They are worth winning over. If we can bring them into our ranks, it will greatly strengthen the power of our God Society.” With the cooperation of the boatmen under Luo Dagang and others, and Peng Gang’s preparations being quite thorough, and not just a momentary impulse to attack Wuxuan, Yang Xiuqing felt somewhat at ease.

Yang Xiuqing knew Luo Dagang and had sent people to contact him.

Yang Xiuqing had a good impression of Luo Dagang and the boat army, and hoped that Peng Gang could bring Luo Dagang into the God Society.

“I will do my best,” Peng Gang replied.

"We need heavy artillery to attack the city. Mengchong has two cannons weighing 800 jin each. We'll allocate them to you first," Yang Xiuqing said after careful consideration.

"To ensure everything goes smoothly, I will assign another two hundred elite followers to you for command and control."

Although Peng Gang had fourteen cannons, they were all small and medium-sized mountain-splitting cannons, and he did not have a single heavy cannon.

The entire God Society only had three "heavy cannons" weighing over 600 jin each. Yang Xiuqing transferred two of these "heavy cannons" to Peng Gang in one go, which was quite generous of him.

“I’ll also allocate a hundred veteran believers to you,” Feng Yunshan said, not wanting to be outdone.

Although Feng Yunshan was mainly responsible for organizing propaganda work, his troops were far fewer than those of Yang Xiuqing, who was in charge of training troops.

However, Feng Yunshan still managed to allocate one hundred elite troops to Peng Gang.

At this time, the God Society was in its initial growth phase. Although Feng Yunshan intended to balance the highest decision-making level of the God Society and tried to suppress Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing, who had too much power, especially Xiao Chaogui.

Overall, however, everyone was able to prioritize the greater good and work together in good faith.

Including the troops from Hanbitan and Shangdongtang, Peng Gang had more than 780 well-trained and fierce soldiers. Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan also squeezed out 300 elite troops for him, along with the assistance of the boat army.

Peng Gang had never fought such a costly battle before.

Peng Gang thanked Feng Yunshan and Yang Xiuqing and returned to Honglian Village to muster his troops.

With over 780 soldiers, it's impossible to send them all to attack Wuxuan; someone needs to stay behind to manage Honglian Village.

Although Peng Gang did not deliberately promote himself, he was already well-known. People gathered in Honglian Village in Pingzaishan every day after hearing that there was food to eat there.

In just nine months, the population controlled by Peng Gang increased from a little over a thousand to four thousand.

The valley opposite was a barren land a year and a half ago, but now it has become densely populated and bustling like a city.

The nearby dense forests have been almost completely cleared, and now even gathering firewood is more difficult than before.

Because Guixian County has been the county most severely affected by banditry and war in Xunzhou Prefecture in the past two years, many people have been displaced.

In the past nine months, most of those who have come to Peng Gang's aid are fellow villagers from Gui County.

Fellow villagers bring a natural boost of loyalty, and the people of Gui County are known for their fierce and valiant nature. These people are excellent sources of soldiers, and Peng Gang could not possibly turn them away.

When they eventually break out of Guangxi, the bond between them, let alone those from the same county, or even just those from the same province, will be invaluable.

This is why the generals of the later period of the Heavenly Kingdom liked and relied heavily on the veterans from Guangxi, such as the veterans from Jintian, Zijing Mountain, and Pingzai Mountain.

The Guangxi veterans who fought their way out of Guangxi with the troops have rarely experienced large-scale defections or surrenders.

Even when Wei Changhui's younger brother, Wei Jun, defected to the Qing Dynasty after the Tianjing Incident, it was not Wei Jun's initiative or intention to surrender to the Qing. It was purely Hong Xiuquan's own political idiocy that led him to cut off his own wings, forcing Wei Jun to surrender to the Qing.

The surge in population and the resulting increase in logistical pressure were the biggest factors that prompted Peng Gang to attack Wuxuan County.

As long as he can support these people and lead them to fight their way out of Pingzai Mountain and carve out a vast new world, these people will become his "Pingzai Mountain Honored Members"!
Peng Gang now has sixty-three groups, each with twelve people, except for three artillery groups.

The remaining sixty groups were divided into six companies of ten groups each.

Of course, the company was a unit that Peng Gang created himself, and it was not an official unit of the God Society's armed forces.

Since the order to form a troop camp had only just been issued, the members of the God God Society branch outside the Mengchong headquarters had not yet arrived at the designated camp in Jintian to assemble.

The God Society has not yet officially begun a large-scale reorganization of its armed forces, and the organization in various regions is currently in a state of great disarray.

The early military and political system of the Heavenly Kingdom was mainly formulated by Feng Yunshan, who had the highest level of education among the core decision-makers.

Peng Gang has submitted his organizational proposal to Feng Yunshan, hoping that Feng Yunshan will adopt it. However, Feng Yunshan is still studying how many people to include in the army, how to organize them, and what units to assign them to.

Peng Gang selected four infantry companies, packed their gear and ammunition, and together with the three hundred elite troops assigned to him by Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan, headed to Lema.

Peng Gang was quite familiar with the two leaders.

The two hundred elite troops assigned to him by Yang Xiuqing were led by Chen Chengrong, a confidant of Yang Xiuqing, while the one hundred elite troops assigned to him by Feng Yunshan were led by Lu Liutong.

Both men were senior members of the God Society, especially Luke VI.

Historically, Lu Liu and Feng Yunshan were arrested together and tortured to death.

Perhaps it was because Peng Gang got Feng Yunshan and the others out early that Lu Liu was able to escape with his life and survive until now.

After the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Lu Liu was posthumously honored as the Prince of Gu, and was one of the earliest veterans to follow Feng Yunshan.

Lu Liu had been following Feng Yunshan since the 24th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign. In terms of seniority, Lu Liu was older than Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing.

The people sent by Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan were all very important, which shows how much importance they attached to attacking Wuxuan County.

Passing through Honglianping, Peng Gang and his group took a short rest.

As Peng Gang drank the tea that Xiao Guowei handed him, he couldn't help but take another look at the place where he first settled in Pingzai Mountain.

The wooden signs he nailed to each shed two years ago are still there, and the words "kitchen," "canteen," "dormitory," "warehouse," "classroom," and "toilet" on the signs are still clearly visible.

Each shed, apart from being a classroom, has largely retained its original function.

The biggest difference is that there are many more shacks around.

There are still people living here. Last summer, they came back to stay with Peng Gang's second uncle, Xiao Guowei's family, who manage a group of bamboo craftsmen in Honglianping.

The area around Honglianping is rich in bamboo, making it easy to source materials locally. Peng Gang therefore planned this place as a bamboo product production base, producing bamboo products such as bamboo baskets, bamboo sieves, bamboo winnowing baskets, bamboo steamers, bamboo dustpans, bamboo rakes, bamboo hampers, bamboo carrying poles, bamboo brooms, bamboo hats, and bamboo backpacks.

Looking at the bamboo products filling the warehouse, Peng Gang marveled at how versatile bamboo is, capable of being used to make anything, even for wiping one's bottom.

Another important armed force participating in the attack on Wuxuan County, the boat army led by Luo Dagang, Su Sanniang, and Qiu Ersao, had been waiting for Peng Gang for a long time.

"The quality of soldiers is more important than the quantity. These men are the most elite in our submarine force! A total of 360 men! 120 of them are good brothers I made back in Guangdong!"

Luo Dagang was very excited to see Peng Gang's men arrive in Lema after traversing mountains and valleys.

When Zhang Jiaxiang started his uprising, he was patient. His old friend Chen Yagui from the submarine force had already declared himself king and was now almost at Guilin Prefecture, but he was still patiently training his troops.

Now that he can finally put his skills to use and wash away the shame of the defeat at Jiangkouwei, how could Luo Dagang not be excited?
"Great! With the help of our brothers in the submarine force, how can we not take over the small town of Wuxuan!" Peng Gang's excitement was palpable.

The 360 ​​men before me were strong and muscular, exuding a murderous aura; they were clearly the elite of the submarine force.

In order to capture Wuxuan County, Luo Dagang and his boatmen are going all out this time.

"Is this the Master Peng of Pingzai Mountain? He is so tall and handsome, as good-looking as Pan An." A woman in her late twenties, with a blend of江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) and 尘尘 (chenchen, a term referring to the world of martial arts and江湖义气, a code of honor among sages) air and a wild goose feather knife at her waist, greeted Luo Dagang with a smile.

Because Peng Gang did not go to Guiping City to attend the Hongmen Banquet to meet Li Mengqun, his position as head of the troupe had already been legitimately removed by Li Mengqun, and now no one calls Peng Gang the head of the troupe anymore.

Over the past two years, Peng Gang has grown about three centimeters taller, and is now estimated to be about 1.75 meters tall.

In Guangxi during this era, he truly deserves to be called a towering figure.

As for handsomeness, Peng Gang has regular features, and disregarding the braid at the back of his head, he doesn't consider himself ugly. To say he's as handsome as Pan An is certainly an exaggeration.

"This must be Sister-in-law Qiu." Peng Gang greeted Sister-in-law Qiu. "I've always heard that Sister-in-law Qiu and Sister-in-law Qiu are the two beauties of the boat crew. Seeing them today, I can confirm that their reputation is well-deserved."

He had only heard of Qiu Ersao before, but had never met her. This was the first time he had ever seen her.

Qiu Ersao and Su Sanniang were both widows living in Lema.

Su San Niang's surname Su is the surname of her deceased husband; Su San Niang's original surname was Yang.

Qiu Ersao's surname Qiu is also the surname of her deceased husband Qiu Er. As for her original surname, Qiu Erniang was too young when she was given away as a child bride and had long forgotten it. She only remembered that she was originally from Yunliu Village, Zhanjiang, Guixian County.

Although Su San Niang's background was rather tragic, she was still much luckier than Qiu Er Sao.

At least Su San Niang's deceased husband, Su San, deeply loved her, and Su San Niang is now developing feelings for Luo Da Gang, so Su San Niang is not lacking in love.

Qiu Ersao's deceased husband, Qiu Er, was a local rogue from a wealthy peasant family. Before he was even eighteen, he squandered his family fortune on opium and accumulated a mountain of debt.

Qiu Er was killed by Qiu Ersao herself before she joined the outlaws.

Although Qiu Ersao was only twenty-nine years old, she was already a veteran river bandit with fourteen years of experience.

To escape the Guangdong navy and the British Indian navy, the Guangdong pirates entered Guangxi along the Pearl River system.

In Guangxi, local bandit leaders were either annexed or killed in battle, leaving only one in ten alive.

Qiu Ersao is one of the few local bandits who have survived to this day.

"A feast has been prepared to welcome our brothers from the God Society. Please come in!"

(End of this chapter)