"May 10, 1852"
"About 120 miles southwest of Quanzhou city, there is Xing'an county."
"This small town, which was briefly occupied by the Taiping Army, has now been retaken by the large Qing army, and has become the headquarters of the special envoy sent to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Army, Sao Chang'a."
"In the original county courthouse, now the headquarters of the special envoy, several officials with neatly pressed robes and gowns were holding courier reports from Lingling and DIAOZHOU cities, blowing on them to cool themselves."
Due to the fact that the Taiping rebels seemed to multiply with every campaign, compounded by "hearing evil words," reports that the rebels had divine help from a heavenly bull king earned a harsh reprimand from Emperor Xianfeng. They even pulled out his flowered plume from behind his official hat, and at this moment, the Qing's fourth rank minister, Sai Shang'a, was sitting on a chair, not lifting his head as he sipped a bowl of hot tea without so much as moving.
"The voices of the officials below gradually grew louder."
"...... What's up with Yu Wanqing? He led a brigade of two thousand men. They were all wiped out in a battle at Eco Tang town. He was killed by Su Sanliang, the woman bandit. This Taiping is getting bolder and bolder!"
"What's going on in Lingling? Four armies of soldiers, eight thousand elite troops, holding a strong city, are being beaten by the Taiping rebels and sending urgent messages one after another... When did the Taiping rebels become so formidable?"
"The Taiping rebels are different now. They have divine help from the heavens, and they've even sent down a Bull King! People like Bao Wenwei, He Yuting, and Jiang Minqiao are flesh and blood, of course they can't withstand it..."
Upon hearing someone mention "Bull King," Sai Shang'a heavily slammed his tea cup and slowly lifted his head: "Xiang Xinran, what nonsense are you talking about? So the emperor didn't scold you in the dispatch for believing in evil words, right? And what about Bull King... The emperor hasn't told you in the dispatch, has he? The Taiping rebels believe in Western religion. Western religion has no Supreme Deity or Bull King. He has already sent Gong Wang to investigate among the foreigners."
"And he told us not to believe those things, but to fight the rebels wholeheartedly, without delay. If we fail to achieve results for a long time, we'll all have to go to Xinjiang and serve under the military there to atone for our sins!"
Upon hearing these words, Xiang Rong immediately lowered his head. These days, he has been calling for "preventing demons and ghosts." He even dispatched people to ask the Great Sage at Qingcheng Mountain in his hometown of Sichuan to help deal with the Supreme Deity and Bull King.
The dispatches and edicts from Emperor Xianfeng arrived before the Great Sage from Sichuan could be summoned.
The edict was addressed to Sai Shang'a, a clear directive sent directly from the court, which harshly criticized the elder Sai. The dispatch, however, was for Sai Shang'a, Zou Heming, Qin DingSan, Xiang Rong, and several others; it was not a direct dispatch and contained even harsher criticism.
Qin DingSan and Xiang Rong are military officers, with thicker skins and not afraid of being scolded. Sai Shang'a and Zou Heming were utterly scorned by the words, especially the elder Sai......lead military commissioner! He was first publicly admonished, and then in a sealed dispatch. The elder Sai was so embarrassed that he couldn't face anyone. Even worse......there were truly demons and spirits on the side of the Taiping rebels!
Although Sai Shang'a had often done things that disrespected the emperor in the past, this time, he really wasn't lying!
What kind of situation is this? In the past, he had disrespected the emperor, yet the emperor still considered him a good person and promoted him, gave him honours and profits, allowing him to engage in corrupt practices. Now, when he finally says the truth, he is stripped of his plumage and given a severe reprimand.
How can the emperor of Qing dynasty......be so much like the legendary tyrants in legends?
Oh, how could one have such thoughts? Sai Shang'a himself felt ashamed, thinking that Emperor Xianfeng was a fool. That's the kind of thought only a traitor would have!
Sai Shang'a could not possibly be a traitor!
Well, if he's not going to be a traitor, then he'll most likely lose his office and be exiled to Xinjiang... Alright, since he wants to keep serving the Qing Dynasty, he might as well continue being a traitor and deceiving the emperor!
Thinking about this, Sai Changtang stared at Xiang Rong and Qin Dingsan, the two military officials: "Xiang Xinran, Zhang Yun, you two don't look so foolish either. Think carefully about how we can recover lost territory and pursue the Taiping rebels."
Upon hearing Sai Shang'a's question, Xiang Rong, who was working to make up for his previous mistakes, immediately felt inspired: "Sai's Excellency, Xing'an County has been recovered. The only remaining territory is Quanzhou City. The humble servant will lead the elite troops of his command to recapture Quanzhou City tomorrow!"
Quanzhou had long been abandoned by the Taiping Army, leaving it an empty city just waiting for Sai Changtang to send troops to recapture it. Only by restoring lost territory can one have the merit to offset one's past faults and continue to be the father and mother of the people under the Qing Dynasty!
Now Xiang Rong is still working to make up for his mistakes. Xianfeng hasn't even given him a ticket for the one-way trip to Xinjiang yet! So, Xiang Rong cannot compete with Qin Dingsan for the task of recapturing Quanzhou City. Otherwise, it would be unrighteous. In the future when he works to make up for his mistakes, others will follow suit if he loses.
Sai Shang'a was also a man of integrity, so he nodded quickly and said: "Xiang Xinran, then leave the task of capturing Quanzhou City to you... After capturing Quanzhou, will you then relieve the siege of Lingling as well?"
Upon hearing that he was to relieve the siege of Lingling, Xiang Rong's face turned pale.
The main force of the Taiping rebels is indeed in Liling, and the Bull King is definitely there as well... Otherwise, why would Bao Qipao, He Chun, Jiang Zhongyuan, and Sun Yingzhang's four armies with eight thousand troops be so badly beaten that they are calling for help?
I can't do that. I have to stay away from demons!
Stay away from the demons for safety!
Thinking about this, Xiang Rong solemnly said: "Sai's Excellency, there are eight thousand garrison troops in Liling, and Bao Wenwei is in charge. There is also an army of four thousand under the command of Cheng Commandery behind Yongzhou, led by Cheng Chengzhong. Furthermore, there is an army of four thousand led by Qing Province's military command under Chongqing Commandery. The Taiping rebels would find it extremely difficult to breakthrough the two states of Yongzhou and Chengzhong on their way to the north."
The humble servant believes that the most pressing task at hand is still to secure the safety of Daozhou to block the Taiping rebels from advancing southward into Guangdong Province. Therefore, after capturing Quanzhou City, the humble servant will immediately head east to Daozhou, which would be the best strategy."
Sai Shang'a frowned and said, "What are the Taiping rebels doing by advancing to Guangdong Province? They are bandits, so shouldn't they continue northward, invading the central region and attacking the capital?"
"Sai's Excellency," Xiang Rong shook his head and said, "The emperor's dispatch to me said that the Taiping rebels believe in Western religion, so the demon you are talking about is also a Western demon. Moreover, Guangdong connects with foreign countries. If this Western demon reaches Guangdong and calls for Western soldiers from abroad, then the Qing Dynasty... "
Upon hearing Xiang Rong's words, Sai Shang'a immediately found them to be reasonable!
"Xinran, what you said makes sense!" Sai Shang'a said. "Then this official will order you to lead your own troops and the troops of General Liu Changqing, to first recapture Quanzhou and then go to relieve Daozhou... Within seven days, no, within five days, a detachment of troops must arrive in Daozhou!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
......
Daozhou City.
While the general commander Xiang Rong and the general Lng Qing, who are both committing themselves to redeeming their sin by serving, were leading thousands of troops to the rescue, this prefectural city, located at the border of Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, is already on the brink of "civil war"!
Yes, that's right... an internal war... a battle within the city!
Since Luo Yaogu, Feng Yunshan dispatched a large team of people to "beat the landlords" in E Dang, Shuangpai and around a dozen villages these two days. Moreover, under the leadership of Su San niang, Zeng Tianyang and Chen Cheng ying, several thousand troops are advancing by water and land. They have already passed through Yangming Mountain and captured Meihua Town in the north of Daozhou City. At the same time, they have occupied Baibai Town in northeastern Daozhou near the Xiao River. They have already formed a pincer attack on Daozhou City!
At the same time, a song called "Welcome to Peace" has been spreading throughout Daozhou City.
"Rent is heavy, interest rates are high, and recently the poor have difficulty surviving. Open the door early and worship the Peace, and you'll make everyone from the old to the young joyful. Kill the Qing demons, slaughter the despised literati, open the city gates to welcome peace. Peace has come and we will distribute land! Divide land, divide floating assets, everyone will be warm and full. No rents, no debts, there will be no inequality in the world......"
"Enough, enough, stop singing! Zhang San, I sent you to capture the Tiandi Hui rebels and the spies of the Taiping, and you go and learn a song instead? You, you, you... do you think I'll sack you on the spot?"
"Sir, it's not that I'm not putting in effort. It's just that the Tiandi Hui and the Longtou are too cunning..."
"Go, go, go..."
The one who is cursing loudly in the prefectural office is none other than the Prefect of Daozhou, Wang Kuizhi. And the one being cursed out is none other than the fast-beating catcher Zhang San, who works in the Daozhou office.
These days, Wang Kuizhi has gone mad, ticketing and capturing people in exchange for money. The three-batch catchers have been so busy that they are nearly flying. They have just managed to catch enough people. The city is now starting to sing "Welcome to Peace" again...
Furthermore, there are many posters of "The South King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Letter to the People of Daozhou" posted on street corners. The content generally states that the Taiping Army has annihilated General Yu Wanqing's troops in E Dang Town, and Yu Wanqing himself has been killed by Su San Niang! Therefore, Daozhou is now a deserted city, and the Taiping Army will soon arrive. The people within the city of Daozhou have nothing to fear; the Taiping Army has strict discipline and commits no violence against civilians!
If there are Han people who are unwilling to be slaves of foreign powers, the Heavenly and Earthly Society brothers in the city rise up in arms, the Taiping Army will wholeheartedly welcome them and give them land, wealth, and reward them for their merits by appointing them officials!
This has caused quite a stir among the landlords and rich people in Daozhou City – there are bandits outside, and bandits inside too. Where can they go? To survive and protect their homes, they have no choice but to join forces with Huang Shijie, the head of Daozhou literati, and arm themselves first.
Meanwhile, several Tiandi Hui factions within Daozhou City have also banded together and have united with miners, unemployed seamen who have fled into the city, as well as some defeated soldiers. They too have taken up arms to resist the gentry's military exercises!
Only Wang Kuizhi, the Prefect of Daozhou, wants to suppress them and has sent his three-batch catchers to arrest people everywhere. However, this Zhang Catcher is actually a member of the Heavenly and Earthly Society himself! How can he be expected to arrest other members of the Heavenly and Earthly Society?
