Chapter 2

In 1852, Guangxi was a poor place, and in this impoverished Guangxi, Dayaoshan was a desolate mountain wilderness. All around were dense trees and shrubs, and the grass underfoot was so thick it could cover the lower legs. Wei Ze's team was traversing this wilderness where there was no path to be found.

Walking at the front, Wei Ze naturally had to take on the role of clearing the way. A branch from a tree was not too high or too low, blocking his path. Wei Ze neither avoided it nor pushed it aside. He swung the single-edged knife he used as a machete, and the tough branch, as thick as a thumb, was cut cleanly. After cutting the branch, Wei Ze paused for a moment, catching his breath while looking at the dense forest on the hillside, which his eyes could not penetrate. He muttered to himself, "Looking at the mountains can tire out a horse!"

It had been five days since they left Yong'an City. In yesterday's skirmish, they had eliminated over a dozen Qing soldiers. The joy from this victory did not last long. Before setting out, each person had a square-shaped military backpack on their back, carrying rations and their equipment. After the victory, they also carried the equipment they had seized from the Qing soldiers, which increased their physical exhaustion. The front of everyone's shirt was drenched in sweat. The soldiers with long spears used them as walking sticks, and those carrying heavy muskets were already moving stiffly, with a dazed look. Those who were extremely exhausted were swaying as they walked. After several days of marching in the mountains where there was no sign of human habitation, the Taiping Army brothers who followed Wei Ze were already exhausted. Wei Ze's brief pause caused the team behind him to stop automatically.

"Ha... ha..., Uncle Si, should we... take a rest?" Wei Changrong, who was following Wei Ze, asked. Due to extreme fatigue, Wei Changrong's face was pale. After asking this question, Wei Changrong had no strength to continue speaking and only leaned on his spear, bending over to catch his breath.

Wei Ze fully understood Wei Changrong's suggestion to rest. Leading a small team through the mountains where there was no path, he had long lost count of how many branches he had cut and how many tall weeds and shrubs he had slashed. Even with his abundant physical strength, Wei Ze was now drenched in sweat, with his feet aching. However, the problem with marching in the mountains of Guangxi in winter was not just "looking at the mountains can tire out a horse." Unlike the dry cold of the north, the winter in Guangxi was damp and cold. The moisture in the air penetrated through the gaps in the clothing, reaching the skin. Just standing for a moment, Wei Ze felt a bone-chilling cold.

Lifting his head and looking at the dense forest ahead for a moment, Wei Ze turned and shouted, "Brothers, last time we rested in the forest, and we couldn't move afterward. Later, we found out that we could leave the forest in just a few dozen steps. The forest is so damp and cold that resting for too long can harm our health. Some brothers caught colds last time. Since we have suffered from this, why should we rest in the forest again? Let's keep moving!"

Wei Ze's voice was clear and resonant. After shouting, he continued to move forward. Seeing Wei Ze's determination, Wei Changrong did not say anything more and followed Wei Ze forward. Indeed, some of the brothers had caught colds from resting in the forest for too long. Hearing Wei Ze's words, they started to move their heavy feet and continue marching. With someone leading the way, the entire team followed. After walking for a while, they found themselves out of the forest and on a gentle slope. The presence of an open area meant they could rest, and the brothers who had been struggling to keep going immediately collapsed onto the ground.

The first to reach this open area was naturally Wei Ze. He did not sit down but stood on the slope, looking around. Seeing no signs of human presence and the team out of the forest, Wei Ze shouted, "Zhang Yingchen, Wei Changrong, lead your men to start a fire and cook." After speaking, Wei Ze swung his machete and began cutting branches.

Zhang Yingchen and Wei Changrong were squad leaders, each with four soldiers under them. Seeing their commander, who was already exhausted, personally take action, and knowing that this would benefit everyone, they forced themselves to work despite their fatigue. With the two squad leaders and their men, plus Wei Ze, eleven people quickly had two bonfires burning. The damp and cold weather in Guangxi was indeed hard to endure. As soon as the fires started, even those who were almost collapsed on the ground began to move. The soldiers staggered to their feet and gathered around the fires. Once everyone was gathered around the two bonfires, Wei Ze, like the other soldiers, sat on his square-shaped military backpack.

Half a month ago, the complete military and economic blockade by the Qing army had pushed the Taiping Army to the brink. The Eastern King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Yang Xiuqing, ordered many small units to go out and try to find a way to communicate with the outside world. In the past half month, Wei Ze had led his team on several missions. This time, they had traveled the farthest, having been on the march for five consecutive days.

The heat from the bonfires drove away the cold from the soldiers' bodies. Some soldiers looked more lively, and some could not resist dozing off. A soldier was trying to change his sitting position when his body twitched, and he suddenly groaned, clutching his leg and moaning in pain, unable to resist gasping due to the intense pain. No one was surprised; everyone had experienced this several times in the past few days. The soldier had cramps.

The soldiers nearby followed the method Wei Ze had taught them, straightening the soldier's leg and pulling the foot backward, rotating it clockwise.

"Cramps are due to a lack of salt! This time, we must get salt when we go around the Qing devils! Otherwise, we won't be able to continue for a few more days," Wei Ze shouted loudly. In the past five months, the Qing army's siege of Yong'an City had not been effective. However, the comprehensive blockade of supplies for over three months had severely impacted Yong'an City. The city was extremely short of gunpowder and salt.

The lack of gunpowder had gradually reduced the Qing army's disadvantage in firepower compared to the Taiping Army, while the lack of salt had directly weakened the Taiping Army's combat capability. Loss of appetite, weakness in the limbs, cramps, and headaches were all results of a lack of salt. If this continued, the Qing army would eventually gain a comprehensive advantage over the Taiping Army.

The soldier with cramps was young. Despite the intense pain, he could not help but shed tears. After a moment, he recovered with the help of his comrades.

"Hot food!" Wei Ze shouted. From the Qing soldiers they had eliminated yesterday, they had seized a small amount of gunpowder and salt. Wei Ze had intended to conserve the salt, but now he saw that it was not possible. He ordered Lin Asheng, who was responsible for logistics, to distribute the salt to everyone. The Qing soldiers had not carried much salt, so each brother received only a small amount. Some brothers immediately put a few grains of salt in their mouths, and despite the salty taste that made them frown, the comfort it brought was undeniable.

Sitting next to Wei Ze, the squad leader Zhang Yingchen, like the other soldiers, took out his meal. It was a small bamboo tube split in half and tied back together with long grass. One bamboo tube was one meal, easy to calculate and carry. Everyone placed their bamboo tubes next to the fire to heat them. Sitting by the fire, Zhang Yingchen rubbed his calf for a while and said, "Commander Wei, the Qing army has camps everywhere. It's too difficult to go around from the north. If we continue north, we might enter the territory of the Yao people. We might as well return to Yong'an. After returning to Yong'an, we won't go north but east. The north has small paths with Qing soldiers, but the east has more small paths and fewer Qing soldiers."

Without answering Zhang Yingchen, Wei Ze pulled out a leather bag from his military backpack. It was made by punching holes on both sides of a piece of leather, folding it in half, and threading the holes with vine tendons. Wei Ze took out a ledger from the bag. Opening it, he saw some rough sketches of terrain drawn with charcoal, with varying thickness due to multiple drawings. After looking at the map for a while, Wei Ze pointed in a direction and asked Zhang Yingchen, "Is that southeast?"

As a squad leader, Zhang Yingchen also had the task of identifying directions. He glanced at the sky and the mountain and answered, "That is due east."

"Very good, let's go southeast," Wei Ze said to Zhang Yingchen. Then, turning to Wei Changrong, he said, "Changrong, when we reach the road, follow me in the charge!"

"Rest assured! We will surely defeat the Qing devils!" Wei Changrong replied confidently.

Zhang Yingchen was a local from Yong'an and joined the Taiping Army after they captured the city. After the Qing army besieged Yong'an City, the Taiping Army had multiple battles with the Qing army. Even though the Taiping Army did not lose, they could not break the Qing army's encirclement.

After being assigned to Wei Ze, Zhang Yingchen had been on several missions to scout paths in the past half month. The Qing army had blocked all the roads to the north of Yong'an City. Each group of Qing soldiers, ranging from a hundred to fifty or sixty, held strategic positions and were equipped with many muskets. Wei Ze's team of 26 people would bypass the Qing army's strongholds. They only engaged in combat when they encountered a smaller group of Qing soldiers, as they did yesterday.

Yesterday's battle was easy because the Taiping Army had ambushed the Qing soldiers, and their numbers were twice as many. This victory, while not entirely fair, did not seem particularly remarkable to Zhang Yingchen. The arduous march over several days had almost numbed his nerves. Compared to the physical and mental exhaustion, a small victory was not a significant boost.

Zhang Yingchen did not think his questioning was excessive. After the previous scouting missions, Wei Ze had decided to take a path without any roads. They had cut through thickets, crossed mountains, and traversed valleys, expending a great deal of effort, yet they seemed to be circling in the mountains. Zhang Yingchen, being a local, knew that the path Wei Ze was taking was one he would never have taken. After circling around, Zhang Yingchen himself did not know where they were. If Wei Ze truly believed they could defeat the Qing army, why would he take such a path? It was clear that Wei Ze still could not defeat the Qing army.

When the topic of the road came up, not only did Wei Ze appear confident, but the "old soldiers" of the Taiping Army, who had been demoralized during the march, also seemed confident. Zhang Yingchen was particularly puzzled by this. Why did Wei Ze and the other "old Taiping Army" members have such confidence?

Just as Zhang Yingchen was puzzled, Wei Ze shouted, "Eat! Eat!"

Following the order, the soldiers took out their bamboo tubes. They untied the grass wrapped around the tubes, revealing the rice inside, mixed with various beans. The brothers sprinkled the salt grains on the rice. There were no vegetables or condiments. This was the norm for the Taiping Army in the past month.

The bamboo tubes had been by the fire for a while, and the cold rice inside had become warm again. The hungry soldiers buried their heads and began to eat the salty bean rice, their military rations.