Besides, Lin Fengxiang's Northern Expedition army attacked Liujiakou on the Yellow River, but saw many Qing soldiers on the other side, and all the ferries were destroyed. From then on, it was impossible to enter Shandong and go north. Fengxiang then marched westward in search of a crossing, fighting all the way to Kaifeng, but failed repeatedly. Then we went around to Zhuxian Town.
At that time, the wheat was yellow and the summer breeze was blowing. Lin Fengxiang felt a little better, so he reported again: The Eastern King is a thousand years old. From Linhuai to this point, all the wheat is seen, not a single field. Food is very difficult, and the soldiers will be there day after day. As the day progresses, we see more and more people riding mules. Thinking about this moment, everything is abundant, only rice is lacking. At this point in Linhuai, I have brought people back to the court several times. Is it still unknown? The mountains and rivers are so far away that it is difficult to get news. Now we have decided to set off from Zhuxian Town and go west to find a ferry. After the army has successfully crossed the river, we can return to Jin'an to report to the kings. There is no need to worry about long-term affairs. Long live the King of Heaven!
On June 22, 1853, Lin Fengxiang led his army from Xiangfu to Zhongmou. When five hundred Qing soldiers camped outside the city, they immediately surrounded and killed them.
The soldiers of the Qing Dynasty held their heads in fear, waiting for death.
The people of Yu witnessed it and sighed: "The fear of death is inevitable. When the thieves come, they are killed with their hands tied up. They are discouraged and their souls die first. It can be seen that the daily training is ineffective and the weapons are lax. They are just in the name of food."
Lin Fengxiang captured Zhongmou, immediately supervised the troops in Zhengzhou, found a ferry in Gong County, secretly ordered people to find a boat, and got thirty small boats. Thirty thousand people from the front and middle armies took seven days and nights to cross. The rear army of three thousand could not cross in time and was scattered by the pursuers.
On July 8, Lin Fengxiang led the army across the river and pointed his sword at Huaiqing Mansion.
Huaiqing, an important town in northwest Henan, is rich in goods and medicines, and the people are prosperous. Lin Fengxiang crossed the river in a hurry and lost all his property. He hoped to make a tooth sacrifice and wait for the rear army.
Unexpectedly, Yu Bingtao, the magistrate of Huaiqing, and Qiu Baoyong, the magistrate of the county, were both fierce men with sharp tongues. With one announcement, they actually recruited 7,000 soldiers.
Lin Fengxiang bowed first, handed down a letter, tied an arrow, and shot it into the city wall.
Yu Bingtao was fearless in the face of danger, commanding the soldiers to practice bravery, rolling down trees, throwing arrows and stones, and pouring boiling water. Lin Fengxiang continued to attack for half a month, leaving dead and wounded everywhere but nothing. The strong attack failed, so Lin Fengxiang set up camp outside, hoping to surround Huaiqing and kill Bingtao. This recipe is very poisonous. After one month, Huaiqing Mansion has run out of ammunition and food.
Yu Bingtao had no choice but to give an order: Release the prisoners and guard the city, and the city guards will release the prisoners. The men guarding the city had to eat two meals a day of batter; the women could eat even if there was no batter, they could also eat water.
Unable to defeat the enemy, Lin Fengxiang mobilized the earth camp and dug tunnels to blow up the city.
Bingtao placed a large urn in a cave in the city, and asked people to sit and listen. When the sound came out, he also dug a tunnel. The closer he dug, the closer the sound became, until he could distinguish people's speech, and then diverted water to pour it. Or "If there is no dew on the grass, there is a tunnel underneath, with twists and turns far and near, clearly visible at a glance." Bingtao used these two methods to break through more than thirty tunnels.
Yu Bingtao held on for ten days, and reinforcements from the Qing army arrived one after another.
On July 18, Suiyuan City General Tuoming'a and Dutong Xiling'a led four thousand troops to the southeast of Huaiqing and camped in Xubao Town.
On the 24th, Shanlu, the governor of Henan, and Dong Zhanyuan, the commander-in-chief of Daming Town, led 3,000 troops to the northeast of Huaiqing and stopped in Qinghua Town.
On the 27th, Shandong Governor Li Fan led 2,000 troops and stationed them in Qinghua Town and Ershilipu.
On the 28th, Shengbao led 1,090 troops and camped eight miles east of Huaiqing City.
On the 29th, Shengbao led a fierce attack, while Tominga and others were passive and procrastinating. Shengbao had no power to control the armies. He was annoyed and reported: Although there are many officers and soldiers in various areas in recent days, there are not many who can fight with the thieves. Even if they engage in battle, they will only be bombarded with guns and cannons from a distance of 200 steps from the thieves. As soon as the bandit cannon was fired and the bandit flag moved, many of them did not dare to rush forward. Can you rely solely on guns and artillery to break down the base and capture him? Therefore, it is easy to defeat the thief, but it is really difficult to destroy the thief. Although the guns and arrows of the Heilongjiang cavalry are a powerful force, they are not as good as the shotguns of the Jilin soldiers and are more effective in interception, suppression and pursuit. The minister observed that the northern road was far away from the thieves. When they entered the battle, they fired guns and cannon across the river, but the thieves didn't mind very much. There are no troops on the west route now, and Tuoming'a and others on the east route can still provide support for the ministers, but there are too many officers and soldiers who cannot advance. Although there were many officers and soldiers in each area, they all had leaders who had different powers and failed to work together as one. Qin Chen Na'er is far away from the forehead and is dispatched at Linming Pass. In fact, water far away cannot quench the thirst of the people nearby.
Lin Fengxiang besieged it for two months, but lost all reinforcements in a row. However, the men and horses were exhausted, and the war resources were exhausted, but they could not break the city. The Qing military aid department was approaching in a steady stream from the east, south and north. After careful consideration, Lin Fengxiang decided to withdraw from the siege and march westward to get rid of his pursuers.
On September 3, 1853, Fengxiang led his army into Shanxi, defeated Yuanqu and Jiangxian, beheaded the two magistrates, and advanced to Pingyang.
The success or failure of Pingyang is related to the overall situation of Jin Province. Emperor Xianfeng issued a strict decree and held him accountable: because thieves had disturbed Huaiqing and were close to Shanxi, he repeatedly ordered Hafen to guard against blockage. The prelude to the preparation of the pass is said to have been thorough. The bandits broke into Yuanqu, disturbed Jiangxian and Quwo, and headed straight for Pingyang. Guo Mengling, the superintendent of the overlapping vassal, was rushing to report, but Hafen was in the south of the province, so the report was delayed. Moreover, Yangcheng personally led the officers and soldiers to suppress the attack. He immediately went to Pingyang to meet the attack. Why did he stay in Lujun for ten days? It seems that there is no way to regulate, and there is fear of incompetence. If the country is still ordered to be punished for crimes, it will only cause more misfortunes. During the siege of Huaiqing, the victory was guaranteed to be great, and he was given the title of governor of the capital. He was given a yellow mantle and was specially given to control all the people and horses and enter the Jin Dynasty to kill the thieves.
On September 12, 1853, Lin Fengxiang attacked Pingyang and destroyed the city walls with artillery. The brave soldiers and merchants dispersed in panic. He Weiqi, the prefect of Pingyang, rewarded him with a gold medal, but he could not stop it. Lin's army occupied Pingyang and hated the common people for helping the demons. He burned down the houses along the streets of Wu Temple in anger.
Shengbao led his army to pursue him and ambushed him in the north of the city.
Lin Fengxiang didn't know that the supervisor's troops continued to advance, but were scattered by the Xiling Arma Team. Lin Fengxiang panicked and chose no route, so he led the rear army and retreated to Pingyang; Li Kaifang led the front army and marched north to Hongdong.
On the 14th, Hao Guangjia, the commander-in-chief of Yulin Town, arrived with his troops. Shengbao ordered Hao Bu to contain Lin's army and led a large army to besiege Hongdong, hoping to defeat it first from the north and then from the south.
Lin Fengxiang didn't know how to withdraw from the siege, so he broke out from the north gate. Hao Guangjia learned of this and went to the north of the city. Lin Fengxiang was caught off guard. He lost more than a hundred troops and retreated into the city.
Ji Wenyuan, the Prime Minister of Chunguan, said: "To the north of Pingyang, the autumn crops are like clouds, and the sorghum roads are lined with sorghum. It is the right time for demons to ambush. It is better to sound north and strike east, and come out at night."
Feng Xiang nodded and said: "When the army enters Jin, the people of Jin are vying to send mules, horses, rice and grain. The people of Jin are kind, and anyone who is willing to join me can accept them."
On the night of the 16th, Lin's army showed great fanfare and pretended to move at the north gate, pretending to be a general. As soon as the battle started, he pretended to be defeated and entered the city, opened the east gate and walked away. When the troops arrived at Hongdong, they contacted Li Kaifang's troops, only to learn that Shengbao had withdrawn early, and Hao's troops only had two thousand troops. Feng Xiang gritted his teeth and became angry with shame. He sent his troops south, surrounded Hao Guangjia's troops, and killed them all. Two thousand Qing soldiers were almost killed.
When Shengbao learned about it, he was dumbfounded and said anxiously: "It's time to go back to the beginning and flee. There are only four or five thousand brave men. At the beginning, there were soldiers to block the defense. They had already suppressed them. Now there are more than 10,000 people threatening them along the road." After obtaining the confession of the long-haired thief, he wanted to take advantage of the situation in Shanxi and invade the capital, so he was unwilling to defend the city he had broken. I have assessed the situation and found out that if we do not follow up and capture the rebels, the rebels will become more rampant; if we just pursue them blindly, we will not be able to mobilize troops to stop them. If they escape through the Hanhou Ridge and disturb the Jinji territory, the overall situation will be unimaginable.
Emperor Xianfeng was afraid that Lin's army would invade Beijing from the Jin Dynasty, so he ordered Shengbao to fly to Hanhou Ridge to intercept him. In order to concentrate his power on matters, he specially awarded Shengbao the title of Imperial Envoy.
Prince Gong Yixin said: "Yesterday I received a report from Xiang Rong, saying that the bandit gangs of Shanghai Xiao Dao Hui are gaining momentum and are attacking our Jiading, Shanghai, Baoshan, Nanhui, Chuansha, Qingpu and other counties. All the departments and counties in Shanghai are among the elites of the Three Wu Dynasties. It is not only the customs and customs banks that are paying for the army, but also turning to the sea to prepare for shipping, which is particularly related to the overall situation."
Emperor Xianfeng said: "I have repeatedly compromised, but Yang Wending is still busy. He was immediately arrested and punished, and he discussed the great reforms. Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu, rushed to Shanghai to put down the rebellion. Yiliang and Xiangrong must divide their troops and rush to support."
Xu Naizhao received the order and called on Jirhang'a, Tonghaidao, Changzhen, Hu Songlin, the general of Yichang Town, Hubei, and Qin Ruhu, the general's general, to join forces to suppress the attack. Yiliang, the governor of Liangjiang, and Xiangrong, the imperial minister, did not hesitate to receive the order and sent troops and horses to Shanghai.
Liu Lichuan, the leader of Xiaodao Hui, was a native of Xiangshan, Guangdong, and was doing business in Shanghai. He had a grudge with Su Songtai Taoist Wu Jianzhang over trivial matters, so he entangled 2,000 people from Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangyou Hui Party, killed Yuan Zude, the county magistrate, and robbed the Taoist library.
Liu Cunhou, the head of the Criminal Department, recruited thousands of men and conquered Qingpu and Jiading. The Jirhang A army arrived, gradually conquered Baoshan, Nanhui, and Chuansha, and surrounded Shanghai.
Xiang Rong said again: As soon as Shanghai is defeated, he will attack Zhenjiang first, and the unified army will besiege Jinling.
Emperor Xianfeng sternly reprimanded Xiang Rong and Wei Gui, and ordered to attack Zhenjiang and Jinling immediately. Xiang Rong was helpless and ordered He Chun to attack. He Chun was afraid of overthrowing Deng Shaoliang, so he attacked cautiously. The war in Zhenjiang was stalemate for a while.
Zhenjiang Shenjin sighed: "There are only four thousand soldiers from Chu, Guangdong, Sichuan and Guizhou who can fight in Zhenjiang. Sometimes they are brave enough to fight against the tide, and Zhejiang soldiers help them show their strength. Only more than fifty boats and ships gathered in Jiaoshan. They tend to wait for the wind to attack."
Xiang Rong said again: If you want to attack Jinling, you must first get off the boat from the water, so that the thieves from Jinling, Zhenjiang, and Yangzhou can't take care of both the head and the tail, and then you can kill them. I am waiting for the arrival of the red single ship from the Guangdong division.
Not long after the first move, he felt that it was not appropriate, so he also reported: The method of attacking a city is to encircle a small city, but to attack a large city from the east and west to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness. The bag of sand is used as a class, so it is larger. Nowadays, the city is ninety-six miles away. Since the encirclement is not enough, the other methods have been used repeatedly since May. Although they have achieved small gains, they have not been able to break through the city and cause serious damage.
Emperor Xianfeng said: "It's nonsense. How can we conquer this war? If Jinling cannot be conquered, you have no face to see me, and I don't want to hear your name."
Xiang Rong was blamed and annoyed, so he ordered Zhang Guoliang to lead three thousand elite soldiers, drink blood and swear to destroy the city.
Zhang Guoliang said: "Real attack?"
Xiang Rong said: "Where do we start with the ninety-six-mile city wall? We will attack sporadically to wait for the changes."
Zhang Guoliang said: "My three thousand soldiers are actually trying to attack the huge Jinling. There are many bandit camps outside Jinling. Let me take them."
After saying this, he personally led a thousand warriors into the Taiping army camp, destroyed more than ten camps, and killed more than a thousand Taiping soldiers.
A certain swordsman and penman in Nanying praised him and said: After killing the thieves, the water on the river was red, and Zhang Gonglong was the black tiger; the battle at Zhongshan was fierce and rainy, and Zhang Gong gave birth to a dragon and a male tiger.
Emperor Xianfeng heard this with joy: At that time, among all the armies in the north and south of the Yangtze River, the only one the thieves feared was Zhang Guoliang. Zhang Jiangguo Liang, my Great Wall, is well described. In addition, to ensure victory and not to fail the imperial mission, we must urge the Shanxi armies to kill Lin Fengxiang's rebel bandits to the west of Taihang Mountain.
