ABSTRACT
Using the wind and rain as cover, the Taiping military forces lifted their siege of Changsha and departed to the northwest in the direction of Ningxiang. When they learned of the disappearance of the Taipings, the key officials in Changsha were stunned. The imperial commissioner, governor-general, provincial military commander, and others were all stringently punished. Knowing that the Taipings had disappeared, they were eager to find out where the Taipings had gone. Soon, though, this battalion of troops returned, for traces indicating that the Taiping forces had moved toward Xiangtan were nowhere to be found. The Qing's military defenses were inadequate in that vicinity. With their present troop strength, the Taipings were unable to take Changsha. Xiangtan was smaller than Changsha, but there was an imperial commissioner there with considerable military strength and reinforcements soon to arrive from Changsha. It would be suicidal for the Taiping Army to aim at taking Xiangtan.
