Shima Pù is just southwest of Changsha City. It is about 10-15 li from Huang Daomen, so it's a short run. On the other hand, Fu Cheng and Yin Lipei's 1,500 Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp elite troops took the scorching sun in late August for an entire day to finally arrive at the location.
Then, they caused quite a stir in the peaceful town, turning it into a chaotic mess with chickens flying and dogs barking, before finally settling down.
Of course, no one thought there was anything wrong.
Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp elite troops, after all! Committing acts of vandalism, looting, burning, and even violence in a war zone are considered normal for Green Camp soldiers. Such behaviors do not constitute a breakdown of military discipline. Discipline in the Green Camp has long been nonexistent.
With a little over a silver dollar per month, and yet there are countless deductions, what's there to talk about in terms of military discipline?
As for Fu Cheng and Yin Lipei, the two gentlemen in charge, they were quite satisfied with the performance of their troops. They led a group of over a hundred and ten men, pulling along several guns, carrying numerous provisions and weapons, and marched more than ten li in a day. Along the way, they even set up a good meal at the Yuhuahutang pavilion and wasted quite some time! Considering their march speed, it was quite impressive.
What's even more precious is that throughout the journey, all the troops walked or rode horses, without a single one using a litter. All the weapons and supplies were carried by the soldiers themselves, without hiring any porters!
Furthermore, throughout the entire day, with the exception of General Fu Cheng, not a single person in the entire army smoked opium!
Such a military unit that marches by foot, carries its own supplies and weapons, and abstains from smoking opium is rare in Qing Dynasty. Besides the Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp forces, the only other unit that can boast such discipline is likely the Oroonoko troops.
So, as Fu Cheng, the magistrate of Fu City, lay on the opium bed in a landlord's mansion in Shima Pù after a busy day, indulging in fine East India Company opium, his mind was not occupied with luring enemies. With an elite force of over fifteen hundred men at his command, did he really need to lure thousands of bandits into battle?
As for the so-called "barbarians with beards," it's all just talk!
When Yin Fang, the Fearsome Hero of the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Jiaqing and Emperor Daozong, faced the British in Guangdong, he also believed that their firearms were powered by Western magic for their range and accuracy. To "exorcise the demons," he even displayed toilets, black dog's blood, and women's undergarments at the forefront of his army. The comedic image of this led to the Western 'Ogre King Long Mao' being derived from similar tactics used against them!
This time, however, they are sending out an entire contingent of fifteen hundred Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp soldiers, including three hundred cavalry! If they charge forward, with three hundred cavalry leading a thousand two hundred infantrymen to crush the enemy, how could any horse troops led by the hairband rebels possibly withstand them?
A single charge could easily slay hundreds of them. With such a report, Fu Cheng would have not only gained the rank of "Zhongzheng," but also the position of "Tiandi," making him the perfect "Barbarian King."
As Fu Cheng, the magistrate of Fu City, inhaled mouthfuls of intoxicating opium into his lungs, he began to drift into a fantasy. In his reverie, he felt a bit drowsy and was about to have one of his well-dressed gosha servants attend to his sleep when suddenly a commotion erupted outside the door.
"Master, Master Fu."
"Master Fu is asleep. Master Yin, please come tomorrow!"
"No, the rebels' soldiers are advancing!"
"What time is it? They're here at night?"
"Quick, quick! Call Master Fu to wake up!"
"Master Fu, Master Fu!"
Stoned by opium, Fu Cheng was a bit dizzy and couldn't tell if it was a dream or not.
It's quite late at night. Why are the Long Mao bandits still awake? Do they have a night shift? Being a Long Mao must be tough, I wonder how much military pay is given to them by Hong Xiuquan?
While Fu Cheng was lost in his thoughts, wearing his ceremonial robe and hat, Yin Lipei, the Deputy General, had already entered the room. As soon as he smelled the intoxicating aroma of the opium, his brow furrowed. Fu Cheng had overindulged again; could he still go into battle and fight enemies?
"Master, there are a lot of Long Mao bandits outside the town, coming in with torches and forming lines!"
"Forming lines?" Fu Cheng, in a daze, waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. The Long Mao are just setting up camp! Sleep, sleep! We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Setting up camp? It doesn't seem like setting up camp. It looks more like they're preparing for a night battle!"
"Night battle? That's impossible," Fu Cheng yawned and waved his hand. "How much are they worth? Fighting at night? It's tiring. Moreover, those Long Mao are just poor guys. Most of them probably have cataracts, and they won't be able to see at night. Why fight at night? Just sleep! Wait until tomorrow when our Gansu and Shaanxi horsemen come out, we will crush them!"
Hearing Fu Cheng's words, Yin Lipei was also swayed. After apologizing, he turned around to leave, but as he walked up to the door of the house, he suddenly heard a series of "boom boom boom" sounds and simultaneously, a "splashing splash" sound.
"Is it thunder?" Yin Lipei hesitated, then suddenly realized something was wrong, and he shouted immediately, "It's cannon fire! The Long Mao are shelling us!"
As soon as Yin Lipei finished speaking, there were four "boom boom boom" sounds almost simultaneously, followed by a loud "splashing splash" sound and a "snap snap" sound of heavy objects hitting the ground.
Then he heard the townspeople and Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp soldiers in the town calling out in alarm.
"Long Mao! The Long Mao are here!"
"Long Mao with guns!"
"Damn, the Long Mao are fighting at night instead of sleeping!"
"Rent is heavy, interest rates are high, and it's hard for the poor to survive lately."
Fu Cheng's "smoke" also woke up, and he never expected the Taiping Army to be able to undertake continuous long-distance marches of two or three days without sleep and immediately engage in night battles.
Such an army. It's been many years since the Qing Dynasty has seen anything like this.
The ancestors of the Qing Dynasty who entered the capital and established the empire were also as diligent, weren't they? How can the Long Mao be like that... This is bad, the Long Mao are actually so diligent!
"Boom boom boom."
The cannon fire resounded again!
The outside noise was even louder, with faint sounds of metal clanging and shouts of "The Long Mao are charging in!" Whether it was the Long Mao causing trouble in the town or whether they were shouting as their camp was bombarded by the Long Mao's cannons, it was unclear!
"Master, Master, quickly drum to gather the troops and gather them together. Give rewards to the big shots under them and send them out to fight. We can't just keep hiding in the town and getting pounded!"
It must be that the Deputy General Yin Lipei of the Tongguan Protocol has more experience, knowing that they can no longer withstand the cannon fire head-on.
Although the Taiping Army only had four cannons, and it's unlikely they could kill many people, it couldn't stop the morale of the Gansu and Shaanxi soldiers from crumbling and them starting to panic. If there was a camp alarm, that would be a defeat without a fight.
"Boom boom boom."
Another barrage of cannon fire!
At the same time, the shouts of the Taiping Army, the sound of military drums, and a series of "crackle crackle" explosions could be heard outside. It was unclear whether they were shooting guns or setting off fireworks to scare people. Inside the town, it was even more chaotic, with cries, curses, shouting, and all sorts of other noises. It seemed as if total chaos was about to break out.
"Quick, quick! Beat the drums and change into armor, our town is going to go out to fight!" After hesitating for a long time, Fu Cheng finally put down the thought of deserting on the battlefield and issued the order to beat the drums and gather troops.
At the southern edge of Shima Pù Town, Luo Yao Guo was standing in a dark area, about 50 steps away from him. A campfire had already been lit there, roaring and glowing brightly, illuminating the flag with the words "Angel of Peace" fluttering in the wind.
In front of him, about 20-30 steps away, there were four dense square formations of the elite soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, each carrying torches in the night. In front of each formation, there was a cannon weighing over 200 pounds, mounted on a cart, firing stone balls into Shima Pù City non-stop.
The firepower was indeed a bit weak, but it was enough to harass and intimidate the Qing troops in Shima Pù. In addition, Luo Yao Guo had previously commanded Yu Dabao to lead several Tangluogua (a form of demonic possession in Chinese folklore)-controlled soldiers from the Qing dynasty who could imitate a Shaanxi accent and infiltrate the town early to cause chaos.
If those Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp soldiers refuse to come out of the town to work the night shift, they won't have a good night's sleep either!
And as soon as they come out, over one hundred female soldiers, holding brown Barretts or other types of Western rifles, have already scattered their formation and taken a kneeling position hidden in the furrows between the fields, waiting for them!
Pairs of eyes that have been "fed" with pig offal every day can see quite far just by the moonlight.
