Chapter 211: Anyway (Part 2)

When he heard Tian Deming say “anyway,” Zhang the Butcher in Shaoguan was humming Wen Zhaoguan by himself: “Wu Yuan changed his headgear to a scholar’s cap and disguised himself to head east. At Lintong, he lifted the cauldron; in the camp of ten thousand horses, I displayed my extraordinary skills. When the time came, I wore the seals of high officials; in decline, I lived in a desolate village. People may hate me for this, but such is my fate, shaped by the five elements and eight characters.” He then said to Donggao Gong, “You are the one who saved my life. I hope to live in peace and repay your immense kindness with even greater gratitude…”

But as soon as he heard that even the prefect of Hengyang had defected to the Black Flag Army, Zhang the Butcher exclaimed, “The Qing Dynasty is doomed…”

Zhang the Butcher wasn’t actually a pig butcher. He was known for extorting money from the locals and often killing people to assert his power, which is how he earned his nickname. Though he had risen through official channels, his methods were ruthless. In Shaoguan, whether it was the Green Standard Army or the infantry and archers under the inspection offices, they were all his allies. With just a word from him, he could gather hundreds of men armed with guns. He had even organized several battles involving a thousand fighters.

Among the common people, there were also heroes. His casual remark revealed his assessment of the overall situation. As the saying goes, “A good prefect for three years earns a hundred thousand taels of silver”—one of the most lucrative positions in the world. Since the suppression of the Three Feudatories Rebellion, there had been cases of prefects turning traitor, but none who defected voluntarily.

Although the government officials selected through the imperial examinations were incompetent, they were loyal. Even during the Taiping Rebellion, only a few county officials colluded with rebels, and no official at the prefecture or county level was recorded as having defected, let alone turned over willingly.

Thus, when Zhang the Butcher exclaimed this, he felt the situation was changing: “If even the Qing prefects have defected, I can’t afford to hesitate!”

Shaoguan was a key city connecting Huguang provinces. Rising up in such a city meant certain death, so Zhang the Butcher acted decisively. Using his authority, he beheaded the county magistrate of Lechang to start the rebellion. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “I am rising up to restore our Han dynasty. First, let’s use this traitor’s authority to raise our flag…”

He was already the de facto ruler of Lechang, having sidelined the real magistrate. Thus, the rebellion progressed smoothly. Within a day, the whole county declared allegiance to him. He gathered over a thousand men and raised the banner of “Zhang, the Great Marshal of the Han Dynasty’s Eastern Campaign.”

Initially, his greatest enemy was the Qing troops in the surrounding counties. But he miscalculated. After the Battle of Lianjiang, Zhang Zhidong moved as many Green Standard Army and local militias as possible to Guangzhou. The neighboring counties had little strength left to defend themselves.

What he didn’t expect was that as soon as he raised his flag, the strongmen in the surrounding counties also switched to the Black Flag and declared their allegiance to the Black Flag Army. They shared his mindset: “If even the prefect of Hengyang has defected, how can we resist?”

With the meager forces available at the county level, resisting the Black Flag Army was like an egg hitting a rock. What was worse, once the Black Flag Army entered, even if they didn’t kill anyone, one’s official position would be lost. Thus, these powerful figures made the right choice.

Soon, eleven counties in Guangdong declared allegiance to the rebels, and parts of six or seven other counties also joined the Black Flag Army. Some county officials, left with no choice, led their troops to rebel—otherwise, they might become victims of the rebels. Although these seventeen or eighteen counties couldn’t form a unified force, they could support each other, effectively creating a small warlord alliance—something the Black Flag Army tacitly accepted.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Besides, these troops were already nominally serving the Black Flag Army; only in terms of power distribution did the two sides have differing views.

The Black Flag Army’s four infantry brigades had grown significantly since entering Guangdong. Each brigade now had over a thousand new recruits, giving them a decisive advantage over these weaker warlords. Thus, negotiations took place—backed by bayonets and cannons.

But the man behind it all, the famous prefect of Hengyang, Tian Deming, was not in Hengyang at all. He had been driven out by the rebels. In fact, as the leader of this famous uprising—or rather, rebellion—in Chinese history, it was not Tian Deming’s intention at all. Deep down, he favored a wait-and-see approach and firmly sided with the Qing Dynasty until a clear winner emerged.

The problem lay in finance. During this urgent period of preparation for war, Tian Deming inevitably resorted to unscrupulous tactics—something quite normal, as officials often sought wealth in their positions. But Governor Wu, his old rival, ostensibly led twenty thousand troops south for battle, yet privately said, “Investigate Tian Deming thoroughly…” Naturally, someone followed this order and uncovered Tian Deming’s issues—not just those related to this military preparation but also his misdeeds during his nine months in office.

Three years as a prefect and hundreds of thousands of silver coins—though an exaggeration, Tian Deming had indeed amassed a fortune during those nine months. He wanted to recoup the money he spent to become a prefect. But now, Governor Wu, disregarding official ethics, insisted on Tian Deming’s death. Tian could not sit idly, so he immediately declared rebellion.

Yet this rebellion was a complete failure. Hengyang Prefecture had only a little over a thousand troops under direct control. Although more than half of the soldiers opposed the rebellion, the Green Standard Army, despite its flaws, remained loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

A battle broke out in Hengyang Prefecture. With few troops, Tian Deming was driven out of the city within a single day. Hearing of this “victory,” Governor Wu was overjoyed and ordered his troops to advance quickly to eliminate the Black Flag Army’s northern forces. Tian Deming, having fled in haste, lost many of his troops. Though some outlaws joined him along the way, he was now left with less than two hundred men, lacking weapons, and even unaware of his wife’s whereabouts—truly in a desperate situation.

“Good heavens!” he cried, grabbing his hair. “This time we’re done!”
One of his confidants took over the conversation: “My lord, we’re not done! As long as the Black Flag Army exists, we’re not done!”
“Will the Black Flag Army even care about our meager forces?”
“Sure they will!” the confidant encouraged Tian Deming. “With your return as the leader, how could the Black Flag Army not make use of you?”
At that moment, Tian Deming had no idea what kind of rapid rise in status awaited him.