Chapter 17: Capture of Tongzhou and Promulgation of Martial Law
In June of the 29th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, Li Dengyuan and Iqutengbude led their troops in a pincer movement towards Zijing Mountain, whereupon hostilities broke out.
Yang Xiuqing used 'Heavenly Father's Descent' to quickly stabilize the morale of the God Worshipping Society, calling on God Worshippers from all over to rush to the Jin Tian camp.
Yiketanbu, however, took the lead and rushed to Jintiantown with 500 men. Xiao Chaogui quickly gathered over 2,000 charcoal workers, seized the weapons that Wei Zheng had spent several months forging, and suddenly attacked when the government troops passed through Jintian. In this battle, the government troops were killed, and only less than a hundred people escaped. The main general Yiketanbu was killed in action, while the God Worshipping Society emerged with many brave generals: Li Kaifang, Lin Fengxiang, Qin Rigang, Ji Wenyuan, Zeng Tianyang, etc.
After this defeat, Li Dianyuan no longer dared to underestimate the rebels. He ordered the main force to block all exits of Zijing Mountain and wait for reinforcements. Zhang Guoliang, feeling that the Green Camp was not enough to use, took the requested documents and rushed back to his hometown to recruit soldiers from the Chaozhou region.
This delay lasted for two months, during which Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui took the opportunity to gather scattered followers from various counties, dividing them into male and female battalions, and contending with government troops for control of the mountain passes.
Pingnan County
Li Yunzhong learned that the officials and soldiers of Xuzhou Prefecture were being held back by Yang Xiuqing's forces, so he convened a meeting with the main generals in the army to discuss advancing on Tong County as previously planned.
Meng Shangsheng reported: "Yesterday, I received a letter from Ling Shi Ba. They have already risen up in Xinyi and defeated the local government troops' several encirclements. They are now breaking through towards Wuzhou Prefecture."
"It's settled then. The Female Camp, the Boy Scouts and the Rear Army will stay behind to guard Pingnan, while the other armies will set out for Tongxian and join forces with the Right Army." Li Yunzhong decided.
Zhang Suimou led more than 3,000 soldiers of the Right Army to rush to Teng County. At that time, there was no army in Teng County that could contend with them. The county magistrate ordered the local militia and the patrol officers' horses to hurry to the county seat. With the cooperation of the local Tiandihui, Zhang Suimou easily occupied each township.
Li Yunzhong arrived in Tong County and organized the gathered believers and refugees into three divisions, similar to those in Pingnan County, which were then incorporated into the central army. By the time they reached the county seat of Tong County, their forces had grown to 15,000 men.
As usual, let Wang Gang's second brigade blow open the city gate, and order the right army and left army to rush into the city. Looking at the white smoke slowly rising in the city, Li Yun thought: It's time to rectify discipline. Recalling the military rules of the righteous armies in his previous life, he remembered the most was the Red Army's Discipline Song.
The county magistrate of Tong County hanged himself in the study when the city was broken. In the alley battle, the left army had more than 300 casualties, and the right army charged forward with more than 500 casualties. Finally, some people became bloodthirsty, killing anyone they saw, looting and setting fires inside the city.
Outside the city, Li Yunzhong ordered his men to bring out all those who participated in the robbery and behead them as a warning to the entire army. As he watched one by one of the heads being chopped off, Li Yunzhong thought to himself: When did I become so ruthless and heartless?
At this time, everyone heard someone shouting hoarsely "Liu Bang killed Han Xin, Han Xin is going to die..."
Li Yunzhong looked at the person who was about to be beheaded, confirming that it was him who had called out. He signaled for Jinzi and Yinzi to bring them over. Huang Jintian and Bai Yiwu had already been assigned by Li Yunzhong to the Fifth Brigade, also known as the Guard Brigade.
"What's your name?" Li Yunzhong asked.
"The little man is called Li Yiweng, a new villager from Dali. During the siege, he picked up two ingots of silver and forgot to hand them over, and was reported by his comrades. He begged the general for mercy, saying 'I will never dare again.' Li Yiweng knelt on the ground and kowtowed, understanding that his life or death would be decided in this man's hands."
Li Yunzhong felt that he had already killed enough, with over a hundred people beheaded. He said: "Since you've picked it up, then let's just forget about it. Although the death penalty can be avoided, the punishment for a crime cannot be escaped. You will receive twenty heavy blows."
"Thank you, General. I will wash my heart and change my ways, start anew. From now on, I'll be called Li Xiucheng." The guy who should now be called Li Xiucheng excitedly knelt down and kowtowed.
Li Xiu Cheng? Geez, I almost killed him.
"Take good care of your wound and report to me, you can be a company commander in the Fifth Division." General Li Yunzhong helped Li Xiucheng up and patted the dust off his body.
Li Yunzhong had someone copy out the disciplinary song he had written and distribute it to each class. It read:
The six disciplines that every militia member must remember
The first is not to take a single thread from the people, and the masses will support and like me.
Secondly, obeying the orders of superiors, our victory will be more guaranteed;
The third confiscation must be returned to the public, and private revenge against local tyrants is intolerable.
The fourth transaction price should be fair, and sanitation in the city should be done well everywhere.
The fifth is borrowing household items, return them in person after use and don't lose them.
Article 6: If something is damaged, compensation shall be made at its value immediately.
Su San Niang read the disciplinary song in a low voice, looking at Li Yunzhong's eyes and tone, which were different from before, and no longer spoke coldly to Li Yunzhong.
Guilin, Guangxi
Governor Zheng Zuochen had just received the news of Pingnan County's fall, and in less than a day, he also received the news that Tongxu County was also attacked by the rebels. Realizing that this time the rebels were not ordinary, on the one hand, he sent people to continue investigating the rebels' situation, and on the other hand, he urgently sent official letters to Beijing and the two Guangdong governors, ordering General Min Zhengfeng to immediately send troops to quell the rebellion.
Min Zhèngfēng is currently mobilizing the provincial army to surround and annihilate the rebel forces, leaving only a portion of the troops to guard strategic locations while deploying the rest to the front lines. He has now staked his reputation on this, and if he fails to eliminate the rebels before the imperial edict arrives, he will likely face dismissal and investigation. It is said that the rebels have taken Tong County, and another group of bandits from Guangdong Province has infiltrated Guangxi Province, both converging near Wuzhou. Min Zhèngfēng understands the danger to Wuzhou; if the rebels take Wuzhou, he may face exile for his entire family. He hastily orders nearby Green Standard Army, militia, and local defense forces to march towards Wuzhou.
Soon, Zheng Zuochan and Min Zhongfeng received a document from Xu Guangjin, the Governor of Liangguang: He had dispatched Ulan Tai, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Guangzhou, to lead 500 personal soldiers into Gui, to jointly suppress the bandits.
The Wuzhou prefect heard that Tongxu and Pingnan counties were both breached by the rebels' explosives, so after the reinforcements entered the city, he personally supervised the sealing of all the city gates with bricks.
Li Yunzhong led the army to attack Wuzhou, but the city gate was not breached. He realized that the government had prepared to defend it firmly. Wuzhou was a big city and the government was well-prepared, so there must be many soldiers defending inside. Even if they forced their way into the city, they would suffer heavy casualties. Moreover, Li Yunzhong's army consisted of civilians who had not experienced battle before, and their two previous victories were won when they outnumbered the enemy several times.
More than 20,000 people surrounded Wuzhou for two days, and the 5,000 troops gathered by Min Zhongfeng in Yong'an Prefecture to the north did not move. This made Min Zhongfeng anxious, so he personally went to Yong'an to urge them on and convened a meeting with all the generals.
"Gentlemen, the enemy has been attacking Wuzhou for two days and must be exhausted. As long as our army and the defending troops cooperate inside and out, the enemy will surely be defeated." Min Zhengfeng came up to boost the morale of the generals.
"Your Excellency, the rebels have not attacked Wuzhou, they just surrounded it. They are drilling day and night under the city walls, our scouts can see clearly." A bearded officer said with a big smile. He won the approval of the other generals, who knew what kind of troops they had under their command. To say nothing of fighting, they hadn't even practiced normally, and from top to bottom, at least half of them were receiving empty salaries. They could guard the city or deal with bandits in the countryside, but the ones outside Wuzhou City were all robust soldiers. With just a few thousand men, it would be suicidal to go and rescue them. It's like saying "I'll go to hell to save you". Moreover, this Governor, who has repeatedly withheld their salaries and now wants them to go die in battle, of course, the military leaders are full of complaints.
"You... tell you, Wuzhou will have another slip-up, and none of you can escape." Min Zhengfeng said angrily.
