?
Plans could never keep up with changes. According to Vézé's original plan, the troops needed to modify at least 1,500 flintlock guns. After defeating Zhang Guoliang's troops on September 17th, the Qing Army, which had been close to Yongxing, began to retreat to Xingning, which was about 50 kilometers away. After the battle where 1,000 soldiers defeated 4,000, the Taiping army had frightened Chang Lu, the commander-in-chief of the Qing Army on the eastern front. The reconnaissance troops investigated everywhere and found that there were no Qing Army troops within 50 kilometers. Yongxing could easily train soldiers and forge weapons at its own pace.
But on September 21st, Yang Xiuqing sent someone to summon Vézé to Chenzhou. There was no Qing Army around, so Vézé was quite relaxed on the way. But when he entered the Palace of the Heavenly King in Chenzhou, Vézé learned that Prince Xiao Chaogui had been shot. Xiao Chaogui's surprise attack on Changsha was about to succeed.
But he never expected that on September 12th, when Xiao Chaogui went to the Miaofeng Peak in the south of Changsha to build a fort and observed the situation of the Qing Army, the Qing Army guarding the city opened fire at the Miaofeng Peak, which was very close to the south of the city. Prince Xiao Chaogui was shot in the chest by a lead bullet and was fatally wounded.
The news spread to Chenzhou and shocked the upper echelons of the Taiping Rebellion. When Yongan was established, the Four Princes of the North, South, East, and West, plus Prince Yi, formed the core leadership of the Taiping Rebellion. Feng Yunshan was generally respected by everyone, and Prince Xiao Chaogui was used to fighting. But in less than a year, the South Prince died and the West Prince was fatally wounded. Although Ceng Shuiyuan, who had taken over the command, didn't dare to say it directly, it could be seen from his memorial that the West Prince was in danger.
Hong Xiuquan was really anxious. Just by looking at his panicked expression, it could be seen that he was in a mess. Vézé had spent a few days with Xiao Chaogui, so he knew why Hong Xiuquan was panicking. The Western Prince, Xiao Chaogui, was a general in the Taiping army whose position was no less than that of Yang Xiuqing. If the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, was an important figure whose political influence surpassed that of Yang Xiuqing, then Xiao Chaogui's military ability and administrative influence were definitely not below that of Yang Xiuqing.
After spending a few days with Xiao Chaogui, Xiao Chaogui's words left a deep impression on Vézé. "An adult who is not at ease is not at ease. The more you suffer, the more impressive you become!" Although Vézé was extremely disgusted by Hong Xiuquan's feudal style, he still felt that there was no need to be angry with Hong Xiuquan for the sake of Xiao Chaogui. At the very least, he should compromise for the sake of the Taiping Rebellion.
Hearing the news that Xiao Chaogui was seriously injured, Vézé realized that there was no need for him to consider Hong Xiuquan anymore. In other words, if Xiao Chaogui was still around, Vézé could temporarily not completely side with Yang Xiuqing. But now, Vézé had no other choice.
Although Yang Xiuqing was also a little nervous, he looked much calmer than Hong Xiuquan. After telling the generals about the news that the Western Prince had been hit, Yang Xiuqing looked around and said, "We will now set off from Chenzhou and Yongxing to Changsha. No matter what, we must take Changsha! "
This was not a discussion, but an order. Before Xiao Chaogui's accident, Yang Xiuqing could only be regarded as the number one military and political figure in the Taiping Rebellion. Now that Feng Yunshan had ascended and Xiao Chaogui was about to, Yang Xiuqing was undoubtedly the number one military and political figure in the Taiping Rebellion. Although North Prince Wei Changhui and Wing Prince Shi Dakai were part of the Five Yongan Princes, they could not be compared to Yang Xiuqing.
Vézé immediately stood up and said, "If that's the case, please be the vanguard of the army!"
Hearing Vézé's volunteering, Yang Xiuqing did not ask for anyone else's opinion. He said, "Prime Minister Wei! Send a thousand men to Changsha to assist in the battle. You will bring up the rear. "
Vézé immediately replied, "I am willing to bring a thousand brothers to bring up the rear. The rest of the army will immediately move out and occupy the cities along the way to Changsha. Prepare food and rest for the main army. Let the main army reach Changsha as soon as possible. "
Yang Xiuqing muttered to himself for a moment. After assessing whether Vézé had the ability to do this, Yang Xiuqing replied, "Very well! Then Prime Minister Wei, go and make the preparations now. "
Vézé bowed to Yang Xiuqing and then to Hong Xiuquan. He then left the Heavenly King's Residence and hurried back to Yongxing. During this entire process, Yang Xiuqing did not ask for Hong Xiuquan's opinion, and neither did Vézé ask for Hong Xiuquan's opinion.
By now, the smithy had forged a total of 1,800 reed springs. The carpenters had made slower progress and had only made 800 new gun frames. Vézé ordered the General Staff to immediately draw up a military plan and prepare for the entire army to march north. Everyone was shocked to hear that the Western Prince Xiao Chaogui had been gravely injured.
Before they could say anything disheartening, Vézé said angrily, "The King Of The East is still alive, and I'm not dead! What do you have to be afraid of?! "
This rebuke stunned the troops. They obeyed Vézé's orders and began to make preparations for the north. No one noticed that Vézé only mentioned himself and the King Of The East. He did not mention the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, nor did he mention the North King Wei Changhui or the Wing King Shi Dakai.
The blacksmiths in the logistics department had already produced enough parts. Vézé only ordered them to speed up the production of the iron hoops and stop producing reed springs. The military plan was also drawn up quickly. Vézé would lead the First Division to bring up the rear, while Wei Changrong and Hu Chenghe would lead the main force north. The troops would follow the route that the Western Prince Xiao Chaogui had taken to the north. A thousand brothers would be stationed in each city. The four thousand brothers would first occupy four cities. When the main force arrived, the troops would hand over the management of the cities and begin the rapid march. The entire army marched in sequence to ensure that the Taiping army could focus as much of its strength on the march as possible.
Three days later, on September 24th, the main force of the Taiping army from Chenzhou arrived in Yongxing. The First Division led by Vézé also received the last two hundred modified flintlocks. Vézé gave up Yongxing and led his troops south to search for the Qing Army's pursuing troops.
This time, with Vézé's General Staff Headquarters in charge of all aspects of the march, the overall speed of the march was extremely fast. Originally, it had taken Xiao Chaogui 20 days to reach Changsha with 3,000 elite troops from Chenzhou. The main force of the Taiping army from Chenzhou numbered 40,000, but it took 16 days to reach Changsha.
In the battle report received by the Xianfeng Emperor, this was how the Qing Army described the main force of the Taiping army heading north.
"… The Cantonese bandits with bunched hair are protected by the entire Cantonese bandit army. Their location is erratic. Wherever the imperial troops go, the Cantonese bandits with bunched hair arrive first and fight with the imperial troops. Once the Cantonese bandits pass through, the Cantonese bandits with bunched hair immediately flee. The imperial troops can't catch up … The imperial troops engage the Cantonese bandits with bunched hair, but the Cantonese bandits don't need to worry about anything else. They only need to march … "
As for the Cantonese bandits with bunched hair that the Xianfeng Emperor attached great importance to, there was finally a large amount of detailed information. "… The Cantonese bandits with bunched hair all wear clothes with vertical collars. A piece of red cloth is sewn on each side of the collar. Their shoulders and arms are sealed with white cloth with yellow patterns. They all tie their hair and wear a small cowhide crown on their hair. The crown is only a few inches long and can't block the wind and rain. It's a symbol of the bandit leader … "
"The Cantonese bandits with bunched hair are the elites of the Cantonese bandits. In every battle, they march forward in formation. Behind them, there are soldiers holding the line with long spears against their backs. If they retreat even a little, they will be killed immediately. Therefore, when fighting the imperial troops, even if they die, they don't dare to retreat …"
"The leader of the Cantonese bandits with bunched hair is named Wei Changrong. He is the younger brother of the Cantonese bandit Wei Changhui …"
The Xianfeng Emperor clearly saw a fact from these memorials. The Qing Army commanded by Cei Shangha didn't stop the Taiping army at all. They allowed the Taiping army to calmly charge all the way from Chenzhou to the city of Changsha. No matter what "merit" this group of people had in finding out about the Cantonese bandits with bunched hair, the Xianfeng Emperor had no intention of rewarding them.
The Taiping army had rebelled from Guangxi's Jintian. After more than a year of encirclement and suppression by the imperial troops, their numbers had increased from several thousand to several tens of thousands. Now, they were leisurely heading straight for Changsha. Xianfeng was furious at this group of Qing Army that didn't dare to attack. On one hand, he strictly ordered all the troops to fight the Taiping army. On the other hand, he mobilized troops from all over the country to encircle and suppress the Taiping army in Changsha. No matter what, he had to wipe out the Taiping army in Changsha.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
