Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 92 Cai Bingwen: Then I have to beg for food on my knees?

Xunzhou City, the prefectural government office.

Cai Bingwen sat behind his desk, concentrating on handling government affairs.

As the main force of the Taiping Army first headed north to Yong'an and then to Guilin, the battle in Xunzhou came to a temporary end.

The prefect Cai Bingwen finally returned to his job and began to deal with the various matters that had been piling up for some time.

"Sir, this is the latest official document from Guilin."

A middle-aged man dressed as a legal advisor walked in from outside, holding an official document in his hand.

After Fan Xiyuan defected to Li Yi, Cai Bingwen quickly found a new advisor.

It was the man in front of him, named Sun He, a native of Xunzhou. Born as a clerk, he was well versed in all kinds of affairs in the government.

Cai Bingwen used it quite skillfully.

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen did not stop what he was doing. He just looked up at Sun He and then asked.

"A letter from the provincial government? What's the matter?"

Sun He heard this and said with difficulty.

"The letter said that the provincial government has a large army, but the treasury is empty and the food and money are scarce, so it is unable to support the army for a long battle."

"Therefore, I have sent a letter requesting all prefectures to start collecting food and supplies and transport them to the front lines to support the war in Guilin."

"I, Xunzhou, have been asked to raise 5,000 dan of grain and 20,000 liang of silver and deliver them to the front within one month. There must be no delay."

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen subconsciously stopped what he was doing, looked up, and asked in disbelief.

"How many?"

Sun He said with a wry smile.

"You heard it right, sir. It is indeed five thousand dan of grain and twenty thousand taels of silver."

This amount of money and grain is not much, but it depends on the time and place. Xunzhou really cannot afford it now.

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen took a deep breath and his expression became extremely serious and solemn.

"Xunzhou has just experienced war, and now people's livelihood is in decline. How can they afford so much money and grain?"

If the Jintian Uprising had not occurred in Xunzhou, then it would not be a problem for Xunzhou to come up with this money and grain.

But the problem is that since the Jintian Uprising broke out, the Qing army and the Taiping army have been fighting back and forth in Xunzhou for a long time.

During this period, the food and wages needed by the army were basically provided by Xunzhou.

Moreover, as the rebellion raged, the people's livelihood in Xunzhou was severely damaged.

To put it bluntly, Xunzhou now is like a man who has had sex seven times a night and has been drained dry.

Even if the imperial envoy from Guilin wants it again, it will definitely not work.

Upon hearing this, Sun He made a suggestion.

"Sir, I think you might be able to collect another sum of money to fight the bandits in Xunzhou."

"I can contact the wealthy families in Xunzhou on your behalf. As long as the wealthy landlords take the lead in paying the money, the common people will have no choice but to pay."

"In this way, the money and grain required by the provincial government will naturally not be a problem."

Cai Bingwen frowned when he heard this.

"But will those wealthy families cooperate with our government and take the lead in paying the additional levy?"

After hearing this, Sun He continued to speak.

"Your Excellency is confused. After the money is collected, the money of the rich will be returned in full, and the money of the common people will be divided into 30% and 70%."

"As long as they can gain some tangible benefits, how can those wealthy families refuse to cooperate with you?"

The prefect who ruined the family and the county magistrate who wiped out the clan, these were not just words.

Even those wealthy gentry mostly cooperated with the government, and they worked together to exploit the common people.

Instead of confrontation!
No one would want to offend a powerful prefect for no reason.

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen said with a somewhat disgusted expression.

"Only 70%?"

Sun He: "70% of it belongs to others!"

Cai Bingwen frowned.

"No, then I will be begging for food on my knees, right?"

"This government wants 70%."

Upon hearing this, Sun He began to persuade.

"Your Excellency has only been in office in Xunzhou for a short time, so you may not know something."

"In Xunzhou, the imperial court has to collect regular taxes, but any additional taxes have always been divided according to the 30%-70% rule, and the prefects of all dynasties have not changed it."

"You are suddenly changing the rules. I'm afraid the people below won't be able to accept it for the time being."

Sun He is from Xunzhou Prefecture, and he is very familiar with Xunzhou.

Cai Bingwen frowned when he heard this.

"Needless to say, the government will take at least 50%."

"Guangxi has been hit by natural disasters for several years, and the lives of ordinary people are already difficult. The government is now levying additional taxes to suppress the bandits. Ordinary people will have to sell their fields and even their wives and daughters to pay the money."

"How can the benefits that those big investors can reap from this be compared to a mere 20% profit share?"

"Tell those wealthy gentry to stop haggling over small matters."

Sun He heard this and felt embarrassed as if his thoughts had been exposed, because his family was also one of the major families that would participate in the profit sharing.

Well, Sunhe has already prepared to take advantage of the government's increased collection of taxes to buy land from the common people at low prices.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Sun He continued.

"Don't worry, sir. I will negotiate this matter with the gentry and wealthy families in Xunzhou on your behalf. I think it shouldn't be a problem."

Cai Bingwen nodded slightly.

"Very good, let Master Sun handle this matter."

"Complete the collection of anti-bandit funds as soon as possible. The Guilin front is still waiting for them."

Cai Bingwen's hint was very clear: if this matter is done, I can allow you to gain some benefits from it.

Upon hearing this, Sun He immediately showed joy on his face and bowed.

"Don't worry, sir. I understand!"

Just at this moment, a yamen runner ran in in a panic.

The bailiff pointed in the direction of Xunzhou East City and spoke while panting.

"My lord, something terrible has happened!"

"The bandits... the bandits are coming again!"

When Cai Bingwen heard this, the expression on his face changed, and then he couldn't help but ask.

"Thieves?"

"Where did the bandits come from? How many of them are there? Tell me, what's going on?!"

Upon hearing this, the bailiff just shook his head.

"To answer your question, the enemy soldiers came from the east, along the Xunjiang River, from the direction of Pingnan County."

"Looking at their number, they are so dense that you can't see the end of them. I'm afraid there are at least thousands of them!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen couldn't help but take a deep breath and felt like cursing.

Damn it, this is not the way to play, right?
Xunzhou has only been peaceful for a short time, and the bandits are coming again.

Is Mr. Cai's fate so unlucky?

……

Outside Xunzhou City, the Restoration Army had already deployed its troops and began preparing for the siege.

Several ten-pound cannons imitating Napoleon's twelve-pound cannon were lined up outside Xunzhou City, with their black muzzles aimed in the direction of Xunzhou City.

At present, the Restoration Army is mainly deploying troops in two directions.

One is Xunzhou, the other is Xinyi.

Compared with the battle in Xinyi, the Restoration Army mainly relied on feint attacks, but the battle in Xunzhou required a real siege.

Therefore, Li Yi allocated several newly cast ten-jin cannons in the Restoration Army to Wang An, asking Wang An to use them for siege.

Zhao Xiang's side was equipped with five-jin cannons that were relatively light, highly maneuverable, and more convenient to transport. It is worth mentioning that unlike Napoleon's cannons, which were made of bronze, the cannons produced by the Restoration Army's arsenal were all made of wrought iron.

Although the wrought iron cannon is slightly inferior to the bronze cannon in durability, it also has certain advantages.

For example, of the same caliber, the body of a wrought iron cannon is lighter than that of a bronze cannon, and is naturally more maneuverable.

In addition, the cost of wrought iron cannon is lower.

Especially in China, a country poor in copper, the cost-effectiveness advantage of wrought iron cannons will only become more obvious.

Wang An put down the telescope in his hand and looked towards Xunzhou City with a slightly complicated look.

He used to be a captain of Xunzhou Association!
The main task is to defend Xunzhou.

Unexpectedly, his identity has changed into a general of the rebel army.

The main task also became to capture Xunzhou.

Life is so unpredictable.

After sighing inwardly, Wang An spoke.

"Pass the order and have our artillery aim at the Xunzhou city wall and prepare to fire."

"Let the siege troops prepare to storm the city walls and wait for orders!"

Upon hearing this, the deputy general Fang Hua at the side asked.

"General, don't you want to try to persuade them to surrender?"

After the Restoration Army declared independence, Li Yi raised the military ranks of everyone in order to win over the people.

Now Wang An is already a brigadier general, so there is nothing wrong with him being called a general.

Upon hearing this, Wang An just shook his head.

"Fight first, then talk about persuading them to surrender."

"Maybe our army can take Xunzhou with one charge?"

Wang An has a very clear understanding of the matter of persuading the enemy to surrender. If you want to persuade the enemy to surrender, you must first let the enemy see that you have the ability to kill him.

Just like in negotiation, you have to put pressure on the other party first, and then you can lower the price!

Besides, attacking a city is much more meritorious than persuading someone to surrender.

In order to win the battle, Wang An must find a way to take into account the interests of his subordinates.

Upon hearing this, Fang Hua nodded to show that he understood, then turned around and went to pass on the order.

Soon, the gunners of the Restoration Army began test firing, and the deafening sound of artillery fire resounded throughout the battlefield.

Several artillery shells were fired at the Xunzhou city wall in succession.

boom! Boom boom!

Shells penetrated the city walls one after another, causing bricks and stones to splash.

A cannonball flew past the city wall and swept away the battlements, hitting a Qing soldier hiding behind the battlements, killing half of his body.

Blood spurted like a fountain!
"Fight back! Fight back quickly!"

"Where are our artillery? Aim at the bandits outside the city and shoot them hard!"

Zhou Yuandu, the new deputy general of Xunzhou Association, bent down on the horse path on the city wall to avoid the artillery fire, and then shouted at the top of his voice.

Listening to the rumbling sound of artillery fire outside the city, his whole body felt weak.

As soon as Zhou Yuandu finished speaking, a rumbling sound of artillery fire was heard from the top of Xunzhou City.

Several light artillery pieces deployed on the top of Xunzhou City aimed at the artillery positions of the Restoration Army outside the city, then loaded and opened fire.

There was a cloud of smoke over the city walls of Xunzhou!
The fired shell drew an arc in the air and then began to fall.

After a few tumbles and spins, it ran out of kinetic energy and stopped two or three hundred meters away from the artillery formation of the Restoration Army.

Although it is said that high hitting low hitting is stupid.

But the artillery used by the Qing army was too weak. Even if they shot from a high position, they could not reach the artillery formation of the Restoration Army outside the city.

Seeing the result, the gunner trotted over to Zhou Yuandu and said with a sad face.

"General, our artillery can't hit them!"

Zhou Yuandu heard this and said with gritted teeth.

"Can't reach?"

"Then increase the amount of gunpowder. I don't believe I can't reach it."

Upon hearing this, the gunner shook his head like a rattle.

"General, it won't work. It won't work."

"If you increase the charge any further, the gun will explode."

At this moment, the artillery of the Restoration Army outside the city began the second round of shelling.

Several more artillery shells whizzed towards the top of Xunzhou City!

However, this time the artillery of the Restoration Army was no longer conducting a test fire, but simply aimed at the city gate tower and launched a fire delivery.

Several shells were fired and hit the city gate tower one after another.

With a loud crash, the load-bearing columns of the city gate tower were broken and the entire building began to tilt.

Soon, another round of artillery fire was heard.

After several artillery shells were fired, the gate tower of Xunzhou City collapsed completely.

Bricks and stones flew everywhere, and smoke and dust filled the air.

The Qing troops around them immediately fled in panic.

Seeing this, Wang An gave the order without hesitation.

"Let the siege troops launch an attack immediately!"

The command flag was waving, and soon the siege troops of the Restoration Army began to rush towards Xunzhou City under the cover of artillery fire.

While the troops were setting up ladders to climb the city, the musketeers lined up in neat rows at the foot of the city, raised their guns and fired at the top of the city.

Suppress the Qing army on the city wall.

The troops climbing the city wall held up their shields and climbed up the long ladders to the top of the city wall.

But when they climbed up the city wall and looked around, they found that the Qing troops guarding the city had already fled and no one knew where they had gone.

Amid shouts and cries of killing, the soldiers of the Restoration Army raised their swords and guns and charged towards Xunzhou City.

……

Guilin, the imperial envoy’s headquarters.

Cézanne stood in front of a map with a serious expression.

Because just now, he received another piece of bad news. After evacuating from the city of Guilin, the long-haired bandits headed northward and entered Hunan.

The Taiping rebels successively captured Xing'an, Quanzhou, Yongzhou, Daozhou and other cities, and recruited tens of thousands of soldiers and brave men along the way.

Then he detoured to Guiyang and Hengzhou to the north, and drove straight to the city of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province.

During this process, the Qing army launched several pursuits but to no avail. Instead, they were counterattacked many times by the Taiping Army and suffered heavy losses.

For a time, emergency documents from provincial governments were sent to Guilin like snowflakes.

Cezanne is really feeling numb now!
When he first arrived in Guilin, he knew that it would be difficult to suppress the bandits in Guangxi.

I just didn't expect it to be this difficult.

The siege of Guilin was lifted not long ago, but the bandit forces expanded once again.

The situation in Hunan was one of defeat after another.

If this continues, it won't be long before Se Shang'a will be dismissed from his post and sent home like Li Xingyuan.

"Everyone, tell me, what should our army do next?"

Cesanne took a deep breath, his expression quite solemn.

In the current situation, he really feels powerless.

After all this fucking time, he's still not as good as Li Xingyuan.

At least when Li Xingyuan was the imperial commissioner, the Taiping rebels were only causing trouble in Guangxi.

But now it is his turn to be the imperial envoy, but the long-haired bandits have gone straight to Hunan, and it seems that the situation is getting bigger and bigger.

(End of this chapter)