Chapter Fifty-six: Reorganization

  Out of Chizhou, thousands of carriages were brought, loaded with countless supplies. Along the Yangtze River to the south, passing through Dongliu, Jiande and other large and small cities, Wei Zhi-jun was the main general of the right army, with a high status, all the supplies in these cities were loaded onto carts and transported away under his command.

  After three days, the rest of the troops also left from Chizhou. Huang Wengjin, Liu Guanzhong, Gu Longxian and Lai Wenrong were released. At this time, the city of Chizhou was empty, with no people or supplies left. The four generals had no choice but to rush to Wu Lake to report the emergency.

  Later, Huang Wenjin was sealed as Du Wang, Liu Fangguan was sealed as Xiang Wang, Gu Longxian was sealed as Feng Wang, and Lai Wenhong was sealed as Kuang Wang, all of whom were heavy generals of the Heavenly Kingdom. However, these are later stories, which will not be mentioned for now.

  Li Mingfeng was afraid of misunderstandings and specially let the soldiers take He Guoqiang's official document to Raozhou Zhang Yunlan's place to report in advance.

  Zhang Yunlan verified the official document and confirmed it was true. Moreover, some days ago, they had already received news that a mixed Chinese and foreign army had been killed from Sanhe Town. Du Xinga, this old thief, was ruthless enough to leave this army behind as a rearguard for a safer retreat, resulting in no news being transmitted for over a dozen days, leading everyone to believe that this army had been completely annihilated by the Taiping rebels.

  Zeng Guofan was deeply grateful for the rescue of his younger brother Zeng Guohua and specially petitioned to have the "martyred" members of the Ever Victorious Army enfeoffed. What he did not expect was that Li Mingfang would emerge from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's heartland and kill him.

  Zhang Yunlan also sent someone to reply to Li Mingfeng, and they agreed on a time to meet. In Zhang Yunlan's estimation, the foreign gun squad was likely the remnants of a defeated army that had escaped across the river and arrived here. To prevent these people from being eliminated as well, Zhang Yunlan had to provide support.

  Li Mingfeng received the reply and summoned Wei Zhijun, saying: "General Wei, Zhang Yunlan and I have agreed that three days later he will lead his troops to make a feigned attack on Jingde Town, attracting Yang Fuqing's attention. Then he will send other generals to come and meet us. We can station here and wait for the rear army to arrive before sending out our troops."

  Wei Zhi-jun said: "Yang Fu-qing still doesn't know that I have surrendered to the lord, and although we two have old grievances, he may not necessarily send troops to intercept me. Besides, even if he does send troops to intercept me, Wei is not afraid, it's just an opportunity for a big battle of three hundred rounds. With our army's prosperity, why do we need others to respond?"

  Li Mingfeng explained: "The reason I want to station troops here is not that I fear Yang Fuqing, but rather because I hope to reorganize the troops and avoid another disturbance once they enter the Qing army's territory."

  Wei Zhi-jun furrowed his brow and asked: "Now that the military system is complete, all levels of officers are in place, why do we need to reorganize?"

  Li Mingfeng explained: "You still have four trusted generals who are unwilling to surrender, let alone the lower-level soldiers. When you bring these people into the imperial court's sphere of influence and they learn that you have surrendered, what will they do?"

  Wei Zhi-jun listened to this and remained silent. Li Ming-feng continued: "Even if they don't rebel, what if they flee back to the Heavenly Kingdom or just escape home and refuse to be soldiers? How do you think the imperial court will view this matter? And how will it treat these soldiers?"

  Wei Zhi-jun heard this and broke out in a cold sweat. For prisoners who refused to surrender, whether it was the Qing court or the Heavenly Kingdom's way of doing things, it all came down to one word: kill. Wei Zhi-jun had always been confident in the loyalty of his soldiers, but Huang Wenjin's actions had thoroughly shattered his confidence. Now, hearing Li Mingfeng say this, he also began to doubt how many of his own men were willing to live and die with him.

  "What should be done?" Wei Zhi-jun was an excellent general on the battlefield, but in politics, he was a fool. Otherwise, how could he have been forced out by Hong Xiuquan and Yang Fuqing?

  "This is the meaning of our army's garrison. This place is over a hundred miles away from Jingdezhen, and our army is stationed on the only road to Jingdezhen. As long as our army guards strictly, in the short term, the news of Wei General's surrender to the Qing dynasty cannot be transmitted into Jingdezhen. Here, our army can reorganize, those who miss the Heavenly Kingdom will hand over their weapons and let them go north back to Chizhou. Those who do not want to live this life of playing with their lives will be given silver and allowed to return home to farm." Li Mingfeng said.

  "Yang Fuqing has been rescued by you multiple times, so this time you can send someone to pretend to come and rescue him again. Although he hates you, he will not suspect anything else. Three days later, when he goes out of the city to fight Zhang Yunlan, our army will launch a surprise attack from behind. If it goes smoothly, Jingde Town can be taken down. If not, we can also give Yang Fuqing a lesson." Li Mingfeng said.

  Wei Zhi-jun's eyes lit up as he listened, and finally couldn't help but applaud, saying: "Good plan, good plan!"

  The two men had already made their plans, and Wei Zhi-jun sent someone to Yang Fu-qing's place, saying that he had come to offer his assistance. Yang Fu-qing had often received help from Wei Zhi-jun in the past, although this man only remembered grievances and not kindness, but he didn't suspect anything fishy about it either. The two men had never gotten along, and Yang Fu-qing wouldn't allow Wei Zhi-jun to enter Jingde Town, ordering him to stay put where he was.

  Wei Zhi-jun was just what they were looking for, and they immediately set up camp on the spot.

  The second day, Hou Jun came forward to converge.

  On the third day, the troops were reorganized. To prevent accidents, Wei Zhi-jun ordered the entire army to lay down their arms and gather in an open area north of the camp. The foreign gun squad and more than 3,000 Xiang Army soldiers, as well as Wei Zhi-jun's own elite troops of over 3,000 men, all held weapons to guard key roads and prevent riots.

  Wei Zhi-jun's high-ranking generals all knew about the surrender to Qing, and the four who disagreed had already left. Now it was mainly mid-to-low-level officers and ordinary soldiers who were unclear about the inside story.

  Wei Zhi-jun had his subordinates convey the meaning layer by layer, and suddenly the 50,000 Taiping Army was like a pot exploding. Some were loudly denouncing Wei Zhi-jun's betrayal, some were secretly afraid of being killed, and some were rejoicing in secret, but most were still watching.

  From dawn till noon, Wei Zhi-jun repeatedly came out to pat his chest and guarantee that they could come and go freely, would not be forced, and the safety of the brothers was absolutely not a problem.

  Wei Zhi-jun had a high reputation in the army, and his guarantee was trusted by many. By noon, more than 4,000 people set foot to return north and join the Taiping Army. Seeing these people safe and sound, others also wavered and went north. Originally, Li Ming-feng thought that many people wanted to return home to farm, but it turned out that not a single person wanted to go back home. Later, he learned that in the four provinces of Jiangnan where the Long Hairs were causing trouble, all able-bodied men had been conscripted, either into the Qing army or the Taiping Army, and it was impossible for them to return home and enjoy good fortune.

  After several hours, Wei Zhijun came to report that no one wanted to leave. Li Mingfang came out again and explained the advantages and disadvantages. Those who wanted to join the foreign gun team and participate in the suppression of the Taiping Army could enter the camp. Those who didn't want to could leave now.

  Except for a few hundred who considered leaving halfway, most of the remaining people entered the barracks.