Upon the entry of Luo Yao Guo's "Northern Expedition Vanguard" into the territory of Hengshou, it was immediately apparent that the strength of gentry and powerful individuals had grown stronger. The further north they advanced, the stronger their power grew.
In comparison, the power of the Tian Di Hui seemed relatively weak.
During the activities of the Taiping Army in the southern part of Yongzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture, it was common for small towns to be overrun without a fight. Only some prefectural capitals, county capitals, and city halls were able to withstand the onslaught of the Taiping Army. However, most were easily breached with the combined efforts of the Taiping Army and the Tian Di Hui. Only Zhenling was able to withstand the forces of Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing thanks to tens of thousands of troops from He Chun, Jiang Zhongyuan, and Bao Qipeng's forces.
Within the borders of Hengshou Prefecture, while the situation was not as favorable as in the southern part of Yongzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture, it was still advantageous. The southern bank of Lei River did not need to be mentioned, as upon the arrival of the Taiping Army's vanguard, Qing demons and gentry fled at the sight of them. Impoverished peasants lined the streets to welcome them, and gallant men eagerly joined their ranks.
Although Luo Yao Guo left a small contingent of armed men and a few propagandists in each town, the number of strong and able-bodied men who joined was far greater than those he had dispatched.
Therefore, when his troops entered the banks of the Xiangjiang River, their number had increased dramatically from the original five thousand under Hé Xiāo Qiàng Guì's division to over eight thousand! This means that the number of new recruits had increased by thousands - but Luo Yao Guo had not allowed his subordinates to recruit too many new soldiers, in order to avoid making his army too large and impure, as expansion could lead to an even larger army.
With Luo Yao Guo's forces entering the Xiangjiang River area, the situation was somewhat different. This region was convenient for transportation, had more flat land, and had a developed agriculture. Therefore, the gentry and wealthy families were relatively more numerous here. Moreover, the Taiping Army had been causing trouble in Yongzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture for three to four months already. They had redistributed land, seized the property of landlords and rich people, and printed two volumes of "The Anti-Dosage" to spread everywhere. The gentry in "Xiangbei" had already prepared for this situation and began raising armed teams one after another.
When Luo Yao Guo led his troops to attack the two major towns of Dabu City and the town of Lei, on the eastern bank of the Xiangjiang River, they encountered some resistance. The battle at Dabu City lasted for two days, and the siege of the town of Lei lasted for three days.
Before Luo Yao Guo's large army arrived, the local gentry and armed groups had learned from the lessons of the towns of Daozhou, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture, which had been taken over by the Taiping Army with internal assistance. They cleaned house thoroughly, driving out the Tian Di Hui and street urchins within the towns. Therefore, the Taiping Army could not rely on internal assistance to break into the city, so they had no choice but to launch a fierce attack.
Although both were captured, the losses were not significant, but the gains were minimal.
Both towns are located on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, and across the river, the territory is temporarily under the hands of those "reading The Anti-Dosage, being loyal to the great Qing Dynasty" wealthy and ignoble officials. In the two or three days while Luo Yao Guo's troops were attacking the city, all the wealth and grain within Dabu City and Lei Town were transferred by them. In the end, when the city fell, they even set fires, leaving only two ruins for Luo Tian Sheng.
However, Luo Yao Guo had no navy at his disposal and limited troops, so they could not cross the river to retrieve it.
Therefore, he could only leave behind two men of the Taiping Army and a few lecturers from the second period of speed learning class to try and mobilize impoverished peasants in the area, and then he advanced further into the territory of Changsha Prefecture.
The strength of the gentry's militia in Changsha Prefecture was even stronger!
So Luo Yao Guo didn't attack the large towns along the Xiangjiang River, such as Zhu Ting, Tu Tian, Zhao Ling, and Lu Kou. Instead, he detoured around the city. He rode rapidly to Zhu Zhou Town, which is less than a hundred li from Changsha Prefecture. He then suddenly struck. At the same time, he ordered Jiao Hong, Xu Yuegui, and Bo Yong to disguise themselves as wealthy gentry from Guiyang Prefecture who had fled in advance and infiltrated Zhu Zhou Town early. They pulled off another inside-outside cooperation and caught the local gentry's militia by surprise.
This time, they finally had some gains, obtaining a considerable amount of supplies. They had enough resources and a foothold to advance towards Changsha.
However, before leading his troops in a final sprint towards Changsha, Luo Yao Guo had two more important matters to attend to.
"High rents, high interest rates, recently poor men are hard to survive. Open the door early and worship the Peaceful Supremacy, manage to teach all sizes to be happy"
As the Taiping Army swept into the city in grandeur, the singing of "Welcoming the Great Peace" grew louder and louder. The song was filled with the poor farmers' longing for land redistribution and cancellation of debts in the Zhu Zhou Town area!
It is already the late August of the lunar calendar, with the Mid-Autumn Festival long passed! The autumn harvest season is just around the corner, and autumn harvest is often the time when the conflicts between landlords, tenants, and poor farmers are most acute.
Because after the autumn harvest, it's time to pay rent and repay debts!
The rent is indeed heavy, and the interest rates are truly high. It's impossible to pay it or to repay it!
After working hard for a whole year, the harvested grain is only a little bit. If they are to pay the full rent and interest, even if all the remaining grain were to be turned into gourd seeds, it would still not be enough to feed the entire family.
Although the landlords are "kind-hearted", they cannot bear to see the tenants and poor households die of hunger, so they will always reduce some rent and roll part of the interest into the principal.
But who wouldn't want to not pay rent or repay debts, and turn the landlord's land into their own?
Therefore, after hearing that some farmers in several prefectures of southern Hunan have already started to live "good lives", the farmers around Zhuzhou Town began to eagerly await the arrival of the Taiping Army. They hoped that it would arrive before this autumn's harvest!
In this way, everyone would always have more than enough food to eat for an extra year!
The feeling of being well-fed is truly wonderful!
Standing on the city walls, watching the scene that was starting to boil down below as the sun set, Luo Yao Guo suddenly turned around and directed his gaze towards the east, muttering to himself, "The autumn harvest is coming. Zhuzhou's eastern side is along the border between Hunan and Gan Province, isn't it?"
"Yes," Zhang San nodded, smiling and said, "Zhuzhou is just to the east of the border between Hunan and Jiangxi Province. The border area of Hunan and Jiangxi Province is surrounded by mountains. The roads from east to west are all mountain paths, so even walking for several days and nights, you can't finish it!"
"How poor are the people there? Are the gentry cruel?" Luo Yao Guo asked in rapid succession, "How many Tian Di Hui brothers are there?"
Zhang San sighed with a smile, "Wherever in the world are the people not poor? Wherever are the gentry not cruel? As for the Tian Di Hui brothers, they are certainly numerous. All those who take mountains as their kingdoms in the border area between Hunan and Jiangxi are all from the Hongmen."
Luo Yao Guo nodded lightly and expressed his profound feelings, "Indeed, the people everywhere are suffering and the gentry everywhere are cruel. And we are determined to break this world where the gentry are cruel, the people suffer greatly, the corrupt officials behave like beasts, and the Manchu emperors are as evil as demons. Then we will create a peaceful world where everyone has food to eat, clothing to wear, books to read, land to cultivate, and work to do!"
As long as we can make this truth clear to the suffering people and the heroes who care about the world, and if we have an army that can shatter the dark and oppressive Qing Dynasty, they will definitely stand with us, fighting alongside us against the Qing demons!
He is now talking about the true principles from Volume One of "The Counter-Dosage". The few on the city walls nodded repeatedly, as if they had been deeply enlightened.
Luo Yao Guo paused and spoke softly, "However, our enemies, the Qing demons and Hanjiang landlords, are both quite cunning and fierce. Our previous consecutive victories in Yongzhou, Guiyang Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture were so smooth because they did not react immediately or unite. But since our troops advanced along the Xiangjiang River to the north, the Qing demons and Hanjiang landlords have become increasingly closely linked. Therefore, we cannot take this lightly or ignore difficulties."
His eyes gleamed as he swept a look over the few men in front of him: "If we were to meet setbacks in Changsha, be forced to abandon the siege, and turn northward instead, what should our sect branches of the God-worshipping Society and the troops left behind in Zhuzhou Town do?"
"Master," Luo Yao Guo's most accomplished disciple Wang Yan immediately grasped his intent, "You intend for the troops of Taiping in Zhuzhou Town and scholars to develop in the direction of the border between Hunan and Jiangxi Province when the situation is unfavorable?"
Luo Yao Guo nodded lightly and said, "That's one aspect of it. The border between Hunan and Jiangxi is vast, offering great opportunities for action! When you fight against the wealthy landlords and distribute land in the Zhuzhou area, you are sure to gain many core members."
If the situation becomes unfavorable, Wang Yan and Xiang Gui, you two should take the core members and troops drawn from Zhuzhou with you to seek development at the border between Hunan and Jiangxi. By then, the Qing demons will be busy attacking the South King, who is based in southern Hunan and eyeing Guangdong Province. At the same time, they will be defending against my Taiping forces attacking Wuhan and marching down the Yangtze River. They won't have any spare forces to deal with the border area of Hunan and Jiangxi."
So you will have ample opportunities for success!
"Secondly, we need to establish an underground organization!"
