Lin Fengxiang arrived near the capital, and Shi Dakai captured Anqing. Emperor Xianfeng was angry and ordered Xiangrong and Qishan again. The Yangzhou bandits were getting poorer and poorer, and they repeatedly tried to escape by setting off the city. Since the accident of Xu Shuanglai, the commander-in-chief of Suzhou Town, there has been no attempt to attack the city. Anqing was occupied by bandits again, and bandit ships from Jiangxi harassed Chu and Anhui. If the Jiangbei area is not cleared up quickly, the thieves will spread, and there will be no way to stop them! If I think it's time to move quickly, I must first conquer Yangcheng. I will send one of Xiang Rong, Yu Hechun and Subutong'a to lead the elite troops and rush to the north of the Yangtze River. Yu Qishan and his troops will join forces to attack and suppress it quickly. Try to recover. Now that Yangzhou has been restored, the Zhenjiang bandits have become isolated, so it will not be difficult to defeat them one by one.
Xiang Rong thought that the war in Jinling and Zhenjiang was urgent, so he did not divide his troops to go north.
Qishan received the order and immediately joined forces with Huicheng, the governor of Sichuan, Zha Wenjing, the governor of water transportation, and Shi Lei Yicheng, the left deputy capital censor, to command 10,000 troops and attack Yangzhou. They attacked Yangzhou for five days, but to no avail. Qi Shan then surrounded Yangzhou with water and water. By the end of January, Yangzhou was running out of food. Bark grass, bark, cats, dogs, rats, and birds were all eaten up.
Yangcheng guard Zeng Lichang wrote a letter in blood asking for help, and Yang Xiuqing ordered Chunguan and deputy prime minister Zeng Jinfa to rescue him.
Zeng Jinfa led three thousand troops and advanced by leaps and bounds without stopping for a moment. The soldiers complained, Zeng Jinfa took the lead and rode forward alone, rushing straight into the Sancha River. Suddenly, a cannonball flew in. Zeng Jinfa was unable to dodge and was killed by the cannon.
Yang Xiuqing sent Lai Hanying to rescue again. Lai Hanying led five thousand troops and sailed to Guazhou. Together with Yin Qianji's garrison, they attacked Sanchahe and Yizheng separately. He also ordered Zeng Lichang to send troops out of Yangzhou to respond.
The Taiping Army attacked from three directions, but Qi Shan paid attention to one and lost the other. He told me: the river leading to Guazhou is divided into three directions, the middle one is the Guazhou River, which divides the east and west banks; the west road is the Yizheng River, which is divided into the north and south banks; and the east road is the Yizheng River, which is divided into the north and south banks. Yangzhou Canal. Yesterday, the thieves had occupied the second group. They reunited with thieves from Heling, Zhenjiang, and Guazhou. They branched off from the two rivers and advanced together. There were no less than a thousand thieves' boats. Now the thieves are in Yizheng, which is dozens of miles away from Yangcheng. There is a mountain road from the north gate of Yizheng that can lead directly to the northwest of Yangcheng, so as to attack our troops' retreat. Excluding injuries and illnesses, the number of officers and soldiers was less than 10,000, and the various defense and suppression efforts were overwhelmed.
Emperor Xianfeng ordered: "If you attack it, you will save it. If you encircle it and bring reinforcements, the battle will be normal." The thieves in Yangzhou City are about to run out of food, and they are thinking about it. They are bound to come. It is urgent for the ministers and others to compromise and coordinate the attack and attack together, and they must not be delayed any longer and cause their orders to escape. No matter where the rebellion comes from, the minister and others cannot be excused. For half a year, with all the hard work and money, the city could not be recovered quickly. Why should we just sit back and wait for the bandits to escape and spread to other places, and then take back the city and enter the memorial as a way to shirk the responsibility? Xiang Rong sits in the south of the Yangtze River, attacking but not attacking, and aiding but not aiding. I don't know what this minister is thinking! People say that with old age, one becomes stronger, but the two ministers are old and have no ambition. If you no longer know how to be ashamed and work hard, I will use the Kebilong knife to rectify the law for you! In the Hechun section, don't waste time in Zhenjiang. Then go north to Xuzhou and stop the bandits from fleeing north.
He Chun was transferred to the north, and Xiang Rong asked Yu Wanqing, the retired admiral, to take charge of Zhenjiang's military affairs.
Xiang Rong said to Yu Wanqing: "Brother Yu is about to attack the town. What strategy do you want to use to break the attack?"
Yu Wanqing said: "Suppression and appeasement should be carried out simultaneously, with appeasement taking the main role."
Xiang Rong said: "We are all brothers, everyone is equal, and the situation is difficult to overcome!"
Yu Wanqing said: "In the three thousand years of human life, birth, old age, sickness and death, food, drink, housing, transportation, marriage, and marriage are all normal human affairs, and there is absolutely no saying that everyone is equal. I will use my emotions to understand them and reason, and maybe I can succeed."
Xiang Rong said: "I guarantee it with my property and my life. Brother Yu, please don't betray me."
Yu Wanqing said: "The dead man is lucky enough to be brought up by the commander. How dare you not repay him with death!"
Emperor Xianfeng heard this and sighed again: "Yu Wanqing is a general who has been defeated again and again. His awareness of Xiangrong is like a frog at the bottom of a well."
Lai Hanying fought fiercely for more than 20 days. The spy knew that the Qing army on the east road of Yangcheng was weak, so he avoided the real situation and attacked the weak, and crossed the river to attack. Before leaving, Lai Hanying was furious and said: "Today we are marching to save our brothers from Yangzhou. Yangzhou will be surrounded and we will return to Tianjing together. Yangzhou has fallen. We will die together. We swear not to survive! The whole army will follow me and we will fight against the demons in a bloody battle." !”
That night, Lai's army crossed the river downstream of the Yangtze Bridge and attacked the guerrilla Feng Jingni's troops. Jingni was unprepared and fled alone. Lai's army attacked Shijiaqiao, Chenjiagang and Wantou again. Lei Yixi, Zha Wenjing, Huicheng and others were also unprepared and dispersed at the first touch.
Lai Hanying led his army to Yangzhou City and rested for a day. Then he and Zeng Lichang's army opened the south gate and left Guazhou and Yizheng.
Within one night, the situation of the war suddenly changed. Qi Shan was dumbfounded and did not dare to pursue him. He only reported five hundred miles away: Report to the emperor that Yangzhou has been conquered by slaves.
Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict against Qi Shan: What will happen to the thieves who have been under siege for half a year once they escape! It is so extravagant and shameless, and it is a deliberate cover-up. If a thief hears about it, it will become a joke. If this is not the case, Xiang Rong and Yu Wanqing are even worse. The battle is in full swing in Yangzhou, and the bandits have repeatedly sent reinforcements from Jinling, Guazhou, and Yizheng. Since Xiang Rong has heard about it, why doesn't he rush to Jinling to block the bandits' retreat? The bandit situation in Zhenjiang is particularly poor, so why do they only block it and not attack it? The two ministers seemed to think that Dongnan was safe for the time being, so they were lenient?
The Taiping Army fought bloody battles at Yangzhou, Yizheng, and Sanchakou, and suffered many casualties. Yang Xiuqing ordered Shi Dakai to divide his troops and return for reinforcements. He also said: Luzhou in Anhui Province is very important. If you occupy this area, you can connect Henan and Lu to the north, Hubei to the west, and Tianjing to the south. When will the Yiwang brothers attack the hut?
Shi Dakai received the order and summoned Hu Yihuang and Zeng Tianyang to discuss attacking Luzhou.
Shi Dakai said: "Li Jiarui, the governor of Anhui, was dismissed last month; Zhongyuan of Xinfujiang has sent reinforcements from all over the country, but they have not yet arrived. Zhou Tianjue is old and decrepit and died of illness in Bozhou. The assistant regimental minister Lu Xianji is a scholar and has no knowledge of military affairs. This opportunity can be taken advantage of."
Hu Yihuang said: "This Lu Xianji knows how to panic, and is confused in a panic. I heard that this demon was bewitched by Li Hongzhang, the editor of the Imperial Academy, and in memory of the disaster in Sangzi, I went to Shuqing, the demon leader, and vowed to destroy the 'bandits' like us. Who is it?" Before he could go to Anhui, he was wailing like a mourning heir. He took Li Hongzhang's hand and said, "You are causing trouble for me. I have been ordered to go, but I am also causing trouble for you. Let's go together with you."
Shi Dakai said: "Li Hongzhang, father and son, have trained troops in an orderly manner and are brave, and the Imperial Academy has been a green forest. They have repeatedly blocked my journey, so we should not underestimate it. Yuan Jiasan from northern Anhui took over the post of Zhou Tianjue and was sure to win every battle. He purified Bozhou, Mengcheng, and Biaolipu. Don’t just take it lightly.”
Zeng Tianyang said: "Li and Yuan are both little demons, flying around headlessly and having great luck. Before Jiang Zhongyuan arrives, Anhui will become a pot of porridge. If I join forces and attack, the demons will turn into birds and beasts and scatter."
Shi Dakai said: "Jiang Zhongyuan repeatedly killed my brothers from the Kingdom of Heaven, and the eldest brother of the Southern King Feng Yunshan even lost his life at the hands of this monster. Now I am attacking Lu, whose newly promoted governor will save him even if he dies. I will set up heavy troops to kill the Jiang monster."
On November 10, 1853, Hu Yihuang and Zeng Tian raised 10,000 elite troops, first attacked Jixian Pass, an important town in northern Anqing, and killed the Qing generals Gengyintai and Wu Dengyong. They also attacked Tongcheng and killed 500 gentry Ma Sanjun to practice their bravery.
On November 29, the Taiping Army came to Shucheng.
Hanlin editor Li Hongzhang was in Shucheng to encourage group training. Protector advised: If you go to Anhui to practice bravery, you have no responsibility to defend the city, and you don't have a single soldier under your command. The bandits are very sharp, so you can retreat and try to rise again.
Li Hongzhang thought for a long time, then rode off alone.
Lu Xianji, the Minister of Youth League Training in Jiangxi Province, heard that Li Hongzhang had escaped and said angrily: "I have been ordered to police the countryside and kill thieves. I should die to serve the country. Do you dare to avoid the invaders and survive?" Then he went to the city to defend it. The city fell and Xianji drowned himself.
On December 1, Zeng Tianyang led the front army to attack Luzhou.
