Lin Fengxiang won consecutive battles, and Yang Xiuqing was very pleased and ordered the westward expedition.
At the end of May 1853, Hu Yihuang, the prime minister of the Chunguan, and Lai Hanying, the deputy prime minister of the Xiaguan, inspected Zeng Tianyang, and commanded Lin Qirong. They boarded a thousand ships and carried 20,000 troops. They traveled up to Jiangxi. In half a month, they conquered Chizhou, Anqing, and Pengze, Hukou.
Huguang Governor Zhang Liangji was alarmed and rushed to Tianjia Town, Huangzhou with Zuo Zongtang to plan the prevention of blockage. Unexpectedly, the Taiping Army warships turned south and entered Poyang Lake.
The people of Nankang heard that Lai Hanying's house was kind-hearted, so they presented it to the magistrate and county magistrate and respectfully welcomed Lai's army.
Lai Hanying was so happy that he called everyone brother, preached the doctrine, and went straight to Nanchang City.
The Taiping Army marched to the north and fought in the west. Henan, Shandong, and Zhili were already in danger. Now Nanchang was in danger again. Emperor Xianfeng was extremely worried and urgently issued an urgent order: Jiangxi Province borders six provinces and is central to the southeast. Nanchang is located in Minting, Guangdong Province, at the beginning of Wu and at the end of Chu. It has three rivers and five lakes. This place is of vital importance. Zhang Fu, the governor of Jiangxi, and Chen Fuen, the assistant minister of regiment training, must not be neglected in the slightest. Qi Shan, Xiang Rong and others led the troops and stationed them in the north and south of the Yangtze River. In the initial stage, they carried out both defense and suppression, attacking on the one hand and preventing the thieves from escaping on the other. They stationed troops under the city until March, but the city has not yet been recovered, and the thieves were allowed to flee from Pukou to Anhui Province. After escaping, Xiling'a and others could not quickly pursue and suppress them, so the thieves became more and more rampant. Bianliang provincial capital is now very urgent. All officers and soldiers from all provinces were transferred to the north and south military camps of Xiangrong and Qishan. At this time, the recruitment of the northern province was too slow to help the urgent situation. There were almost no troops to transfer and no money to raise! Jiang Zhongyuan, the Commander-in-Chief of Hubei Province, has repeatedly made military exploits by annihilating the rebel bandits in Tongcheng, Chongyang, and Jiayu. I rely heavily on him, so I will give him a second-level top-notch post, and he will be assigned to the Jiangnan Camp to help with military affairs to contain the Jinling rebel bandits; Jiang Qingzhong As soon as he came to the source, he rushed to it and acted on the way. He was specially killed first and then played.
Xiang Rong received the order and wrote: "The rebels are attacking from the north and advancing to the west, so our troops are divided and cannot focus on Jinling." We should go to the side to divide my strength, use it to strengthen our old army, and use it to occupy our army for a long time. We are afraid that if the soldiers move even slightly, the southeastern half of the wall will be even more difficult to support.
Subutong'ad said: "Xiang Shuai's intention is not to save Nanchang?"
Xiang Rong said: "Nanchang is in danger, how can we not save it! I order: Yin Debu, the commander-in-chief of Heli Town, will lead the headquarters and rush to rescue."
When Yin Debu withdrew his troops, Luo Gangyou was overjoyed. He immediately gathered his entire army and attacked Deng Shaoliang's camp. The two armies engaged, but Gangyou pretended to be defeated. Shaoliang pursued him to Zhenjiang, set up camp, and was about to erect a ladder to attack the city. Four thousand Taiping troops suddenly came out from the foot of Beigu Mountain and cut off Shaoliang's retreat. Shaoliang divided his troops to attack. The battle was in full swing. Another army came out from the town and attacked the Qing army's camp. Rockets and medicines were all fired. Let go and burn seven camps surrounding the city. Deng Shaoliang sighed and retreated to Danyang.
Although Xiang Rong complained about Deng Shaoliang's ineffectiveness, he still cherished his talent, so he petitioned to be dismissed and retained. He then sent He Chun and commanded two thousand troops to rush to Zhenjiang to strengthen the Su Chang family.
Qi Shan received the order and also reported: The cannons in each province are owned by thieves, which are not enough to resist our troops. Unless the troops are heavily concentrated, we cannot besiege. According to statistics, apart from the allocation, there are only about 6,000 troops left in each battalion. There are many strategic passes on all sides of Yangcheng, so it is impossible to divide the troops and deploy them. When soldiers arrived, all provinces intercepted them one after another, so that the advance to suppress individual soldiers was ineffective. Last month, Huicheng, the governor of the department, arrived, and his servants attacked for seven days and nights, causing a huge earthquake in Yangcheng. When Lei Yichu and Fuji's troops arrived, they immediately surrounded them and defeated them in one fell swoop.
On July 2, 1853, Shi Lei, the left deputy capital censor, led a brave attack on Yang. Qishan immediately ordered the general soldiers of Suzhou Town to come together with Zhang Yiguo, the governor of Yan, to jointly attack.
Zhang Yiguo received the order and secretly sent people into the city to respond.
Lin Fengxiang sent his troops to the Northern Expedition, and there were only 3,000 troops left in Yangzhou City. Zeng Lichang defended the six checkpoints on the left but did not guard Pi. Set up soldiers to prepare for the imperial attack. They also blocked the canal, piled cannons on the embankments, and stood by the river.
Qi Shanqin fired a 15,000-jin cannon and destroyed many parts of the city wall. Xu Shuang, the commander-in-chief of Suzhou Town, came to build a pontoon bridge across the river, set up a ladder to climb the city, and went straight to the horse racing tower. Zeng Lichang set fire to the building, and the flames of Yangzhou City reflected the sky. There were no Qing soldiers on the Paoma Tower, and there were numerous casualties. Xu Shuanglai was also hit by a lead bullet in his left cheek.
Not long after, Qu Tenglong, the commander-in-chief of Yunyang Town, returned to defend from Liuhe, while Qi Shanzou stayed to attack Yang. Qu Tenglong and Shuang Lai drove their troops to attack from the rear. Zeng Lichang fired a cannon and fired down. Shuang Lai was hit again and died that night. Zhang Yiguo returned to attack by boat, but Zeng Lichang burned his boat and drove his horse away.
Qi Shan suffered such a heavy blow and did not dare to attack again.
Jiang Zhongyuan took over the imperial edict from Jiangying, and led his troops to Jiujiang. Hearing that Nanchang was in danger, he rushed to Shushu to help, and rushed there immediately. Nanchang in Jiujiang is three hundred miles away. Governor Zhongyuan led 1,300 Chu warriors and reached it in three days.
Zhang Fu, the governor of Jiangxi, awarded King Zhongyuan a flag and entrusted the whole bank with the military, political and civil affairs of Nanchang.
In extraordinary times, Jiang Zhongyuan made extraordinary rules: on the city wall, at every four or five crenels, a Chu Yong was placed to supervise the officers and soldiers; those who retreated from the battle were killed. Within the city, anyone who holds dissent and disturbs people's hearts will be killed. All the houses within three miles of the city wall were burned. Anyone who interferes with trouble will be killed!
Suddenly, smoke billowed outside the city of Nanchang. Lai Hanying arrived in a warship and sighed: The barriers are all destroyed, and there is no way to ride on the city. It is difficult to make the same mistakes as Guilin and Changsha. The city is difficult to attack!
Han and Ying quickly put out the fire and secured the Wenxiao Temple outside Zhangjiang Gate. The Chinese and British used the temple as a cover and bombarded the city wall. Jiang Zhongyuan came to the city to supervise the battle, calmly dispatched and repelled several attacks by Han and Ying.
After repeated attacks failed, Han Ying then ordered a hole-in-the-wall attack on the city. More than six feet of the city wall was blown down, and soldiers poured in one after another.
Jiang Zhongyuan's younger brother Jiang Zhongji led more than a hundred Chu warriors to block the gap, kill and resist, and refused to retreat until the end. Jiang Zhongyuan was condescending, fired his guns and artillery, and then retreated.
Lai Hanying made a desperate move and gathered more than 20 loads of medicine at the bottom of the ruins. With a roar, huge rocks flew into the air, dust flew everywhere, and more than 20 feet of the wall collapsed. All the Qing troops near the gap were killed. When the south wind was raging, poisonous smoke filled the city, and the Qing army defending the city was gradually unable to support it. Lai Hanying personally supervised the troops and horses, climbed the battlements and climbed into the city, and suddenly entered the city. At the critical moment, the north wind suddenly turned against the fire and poisonous smoke leaked out. Lai Hanying raised his eyes and saw that it was Chu Yong from Ningxiang.
Jiang Zhongyuan took the lead. He drew his sword straight into the gap, slashed left and right, and drove the attackers out of the city in an instant. Suddenly he left the city and attacked the Taiping military camp.
Lai Hanying was angry when he failed to steal the chicken but lost the rice. He ambushed his troops in the woods outside the city and lured Ma Jimei, the general of Jiujiang Town, outside Yonghe Gate. He pretended to be defeated and retreated. He led the horse into the forest and killed him. The morale of the Taiping Army was slightly boosted.
After defending the city for more than a month, Jiang Zhongyuan was able to attack with ease, while Lai Hanying defended the city. When the offensive was exhausted, they counterattacked. The two sides went back and forth, and the stalemate lasted for more than a month.
Nanchang was not defeated and the battle situation was in danger. Yang Xiuqing urgently ordered Hu Yihuang to reinforce.
Shi Dakai added: "Anqing, the barrier of Tianjing, the key to attack and defense, must not be lost."
Xiu Qing accepted Shi Yan and ordered Hu Yihuang to attack Jingdezhen nearby, rely on Anqing, and support Nanchang from afar. More than 10,000 troops and horses were raised, and the emperors Shi Xiangzhen and Wei Jun were ordered to gallop day and night to Nanchang.
Shi Xiangzhen and Wei Jun led their troops to Nanchang and joined Lai Hanying. They attacked together for ten days but failed.
Lai Hanying complained: "Jiang Zhongyuan, a village man in the mountains, destroyed the pavilion and burned the house. He has no reason to complain about his life. He is a butcher who kills people like hemp. Many people die with the thought of being unjust."
Shi Xiangzhen asked about future plans.
Lai Hanying said: "Besiege the city and wait for a change, trapping everyone to death. Divide your troops into four areas to harass them to deny their help."
Shi Xiangzhen said: "It is better to attack quickly than to attack a trapped city. Determine a location, concentrate your troops, and attack continuously and continuously. Jiang Yao will be defeated."
Lai Hanying was noncommittal.
Nanchang was in danger, and Emperor Xianfeng once again ordered the governor generals of Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces to train their ministers and rush to help.
Zeng Guofan, the minister of regiment training in Hunan Province, reported: Since the rise of the Weiwei army, the officers and soldiers have been timid and delayed in their retreat. The reason for this is always due to lack of training, unfamiliar skills, and timidity.
Hunan was besieged by bandits last year and held on for more than eighty days. I have learned from past mistakes and learned from future mistakes. Since this year, I have been instructing the generals of each battalion to practice seriously. However, the deputy general of Changsha is Qingde, has a restful nature, and does not follow the instructions. He takes a break in the office to cultivate flowers and trees. All the military equipment of the battalion is at a loss. puppet. Now that the Cantonese thieves are approaching Jiangxi and the Chu Province is facing tight defense, why should the general be so tired and behaving like this, how can he supervise and lead his troops? Accordingly, he requested an order to dismiss Changsha's deputy general Qing De from his post in order to encourage the officers and men and revitalize the military's power. I would like to join the Governor of Huguang, Zhang Liangji, to join in the concert and ask for the emperor's instructions.
Three days later, Zeng Guofan reported again: On September 18th last year, the bandits dug tunnels and bombarded Nancheng. When people were in panic, Changsha Lieutenant General Qingde took off his hat and hid it in a private house, and took off the soldiers he led. The gown was abandoned all over the street and has become a laughing stock to this day.
This spring, we will return to the province from Yuezhou and go to Chang and Li areas to investigate and deal with bandits. Although we passed through areas ravaged by bandits, we still need supplies. We ordered our subordinates to prepare the supplies, purchase flower pots, and load them on the bow of the ship. I have been in the province for half a year, and every three or eight days, the superintendent leads the soldiers to gather at the school grounds for parades. The generals never arrive at all, which is unreasonable.
The minister met with the governor Luo Bingzhang and wrote to the governor Zhang Liangji. He had already consulted and asked for the order to dismiss the general. Just thinking about such a bad general, just dismissing him from his post will not be enough to cover up his guilt.
Now the rebel bandits are sieging Nanchang, and Hunan has dispatched hundreds of troops to rescue them. The minister received two letters from Jiang Zhongyuan, instructing him to recruit 3,000 more Chu Yongs. Now that they have been raised, Zhu Sunyi, who will be promoted to the county magistrate, and other officials such as Jiang Zhongjun, Luo Zenan, Jin Songling, etc. will set off within the next day, and Xingchi will go to help.
The province of Hunan is also facing a very tight time to prevent blockage. However, the soldiers are afraid of the enemy and have become accustomed to playing tired. They do not listen to advice and are not afraid of threats. There is no way to motivate them. Accordingly, the order was requested to dismiss Changsha's deputy general Qing De from his post and hand him over to the Ministry of Punishment. He would punish the crimes severely and punish the common people a few times to serve as a warning to others, so as to reduce the military power and boost morale.
I hate the civil servants for taking advantage of the situation and the military ministers for retreating, which has led to today's great changes, so I am very passionate about this. If I have any personal opinions, please ask the emperor to investigate them carefully and punish them for their deception.
Since I arrived in the province, I have checked the acting general Taqibu. He is loyal, courageous, hard-working, and has won the hearts of the soldiers. There are also Zhunbu Qianzong, who is a member of the various palaces in the martial arts examination. He is shrewd, honest, courageous and courageous. He is in charge of hundreds of Chenyong people. After practicing for a long time, each has his own skill. Taqibu led Chenyong and worked together with the martial arts, and they all wanted to serve with loyalty. I would like to submit the resume of the two of them in order to pray for the emperor's grace and extraordinary promotion. At a time when Hunan is facing a serious crisis in preventing traffic jams, the two men were awarded in the hope of encouraging public sentiment. If these two people shrink from battle in the future, they will be punished together with the minor officials. Merely foolish and sincere, begging for holy scriptures. I would like to play.
In late August 1853, reinforcements from all walks of life arrived in Nanchang one after another. Jiang Zhongyuan ordered Luo Zenan and Jin Songling to encircle and suppress Ji'an Xiaodao Hui, while Liu Changyou and Jiang Zhongjun occupied Zhangshu Town. Make two horns to defend the west and south of Nanchang. The overall situation was settled, Jiang Zhongyuan immediately counterattacked, and Ji Li responded with external cooperation to defeat Lai's army.
Lai Hanying saw through it, pretended defeat to lure him in, surrounded him with two wings, and broke the river to attack.
The war was stalemate. Luo Zenan was impatient and eager to win. He led his troops to attack at night and accidentally fell into an ambush, causing many casualties. Governor Jin Songling led the rear army but did not rescue him. After Jiang Zhongyuan heard the news, he went out of the city to provide assistance, and Luo Zenan was in trouble.
Jiang Zhongyuan said: "How can we know that there will be no danger if we go into danger alone?"
Luo Zenan laughed and said: "When soldiers are marching in dangerous places, they are taking millet from the fire!"
Jiang Zhongyuan sighed: "I can play chess alone, but only the public dares to do it!"
During the three-month siege of the city, Lai Hanying repeatedly failed to attack, so Yang Xiuqing ordered the troops to withdraw. He also ordered Lai Hanying to return to Beijing to report on his duties, and then ordered Shi Dakai to lead the Western Expedition troops and attack Anhui and Hubei.
After the siege of Nanchang, a celebration banquet was held. Huang Zantang, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, praised Luo Zenan and Li Xubin for their bloody nature and their military spirit.
Jiang Zhongyuan said: Hunan people are all bloody, and Luo Luoshan is our model.
Before leaving, Jiang Zhongyuan and Luo Zenan reminisced about the past.
Jiang Zhongyuan asked: "Has Mr. Zeng completed his military training?"
Luo Zenan said: "Pan Duo retired from illness and Luo Fu was in charge of Xiang. They were incompatible with each other and were almost killed by green soldiers. Zeng Gong sighed: The current situation is urgent. Since the ministers can't put an end to the chaos, how can they dare to desecrate the emperor and father with their own affairs? In order to avoid the evil wall , Duke Zeng has moved to Tunhengzhou!"
Jiang Zhongyuan sighed: "The war is so intense that life and death are so fleeting that there is no time for chatter and intrigue!"
Jiang Zhongji privately advised Zhongyuan: "Your life hangs by a thread, the city is destroyed and you die! No one else can count on you. Zeng Guofan has been training his troops for half a year and has been waiting for two months. What do you think, brother? From now on, we must not make such a sudden advance."
Jiang Zhongjun also attached.
Jiang Zhongyuan said: "Zeng Gong trains his troops, and his soldiers are generals, and the dead soldiers are dispersed. Follow the rules, and don't expect anything. I just draw the sword and stand on horseback, looking for an opportunity to kill the bandits and save the country from the fire."
After the siege of Nanchang, Zhu Sunyi, Luo Zenan and others returned to Hunan to rebuild. Zeng Guofan was furious when he heard that Luo Zenan was defeated in the ambush and that Jin Songling did not rescue him. He immediately killed Jin Songling as a warning. He also said: "The most painful thing in today's military affairs is nothing more than the four words "soldiers do not rescue each other." Even though this The army was defeated and rushed north, bleeding into a pool, but the other army stood aside and watched, trembling and smiling. This is an unethical thing, and I will punish it if I hear about it. "
The vassal vassal of the country killed Song Ling. With tears streaming down his face, he summoned Song Ling's younger brother and said, "Military orders are like mountains, and we have to do them! I will give Song Ling's coffin a generous burial. I have four hundred silver inlays. My private wealth, please pass it on to my parents."
