Luzhou was in emergency. Jiang Zhongyuan, the governor of Anhui, urgently consulted Zeng Guofan and Luo Bingzhang, asking for troops and generals for reinforcements. He also led two thousand troops and rushed from Hankou for reinforcements.
As soon as Zhongyuan left, Wu Wenrong, the governor of Huguang, burst into tears and said, "Runzhi has not arrived yet, and Minqiao has left. How can we defend Wuchang?"
Jiang Zhongyuan said: "Don't worry, sir. Wuchang is strong and can be defended for three months. By then Hu Linyi will arrive early, and Zeng Guofan's naval gunboats will also be ready. I will save Luzhou and go up the river. With the combined efforts of all four parties, we will destroy the thieves in this thoroughfare." Place."
On December 5, 1853, Jiang Zhongyuan arrived in Lu'an, Anhui Province. After months of fighting, Zhongyuan was tired and took a nap on the bed. Unexpectedly, he fell into a coma and developed a high fever.
When Liu Yuxuan, the chief envoy of Anhui Province, heard that Jiang Zhongyuan had arrived, he sent someone to present the governor's seal at starry night.
Jiang Zhongyuan laughed when he saw Yin, and his illness was half better. Regardless of the obstacles, he immediately rushed forward bravely. On the 10th, we finally arrived in Luzhou City.
Jiang Zhongyuan watched the city and inspected the generals, and shouted angrily: "There is a letter in the seal, saying that the army is sufficient, the pay is good, the city is solid, and the hearts are united. Now these four things are not true. What do you want?"
Hu Yuanwei, the prefect of Luzhou, said: "The letter was written by me. Although it is a lie, in today's world, this Luzhou and the foundation of Anhui can only be protected by your Excellency. Previously, your Majesty protected Guilin, Bao Changsha, Bao Nanchang, Bao Tianjia Town, To protect Wuchang, you are all making wedding clothes for others. The city of Luzhou that you are protecting today is yours and our own city. With your nature, even if there is not a single soldier in Luzhou, even if you are alone, you still come here generously. "
Jiang Zhongyuan said: "I know it with my heart, but I don't know it with my heart. Today's Luzhou is full of dangers. Hong Yang's rebels no longer take possession and abandon them. They appoint officials to all the places they occupy. They do light work and pay little tax. The people's support has been captured. The stone generals have experienced hundreds of battles, and their hearts have become iron. In Luzhou, the city walls are not very strong, and the officials and people have not fought for a long time. Although it is new to the provincial capital, compared with Nanchang, Wuchang, Changsha, etc., this name is not worthy of the truth. We must join hands and work together to kill the thieves without any distractions. There are seven gates in Luzhou City, Shuixi Gate and Da Ximen. When approaching the enemy's front, I will guard it. Da East Gate is the material passage behind us. Magistrate Hu has quick eyes and quick hands, so he can guard it. . The remaining North Gate, South Gate, Desheng Gate, and Xiaodong Gate are guarded by the chief envoys Liu Yuzhen and Li Benren, deputy generals Song'an, and Dusi Dai Wenlan. I am neither a villain nor a gentleman. You guard each gate and govern each area. I will send Chu Yong to inspect and supervise the army. Whether it is Yin or Yang, secretly or openly, anyone who secretly collaborates with the enemy, retreats before the battle, spreads rumors to cause trouble, and deceives people's hearts will all be killed."
On that day, Jiang Zhongyuan received Zeng Guofan's reply: "Brother Minqiao, as we met, yesterday he ordered his brother Dachuan to take a thousand soldiers into the province. He ordered him to rush to Anhui first to prepare for the needs of your minions." The remaining five thousand must wait until the ships and artillery are ready, and they can advance by land and water together, which will be helpful.
All the friends in the province and Pushan wanted to hurriedly form an army to go out. Brother Yu believes that Luzhou is an urgent need and can be abandoned if necessary; Wuchang is a must-contested place. To protect it, we can control the top of Jinling, secure the gates of Jingxiang, and connect Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Shu.
The country's vassal wanted to summon brave men from Chu Province to go east this time, partly as a joint defense plan among the four provinces, and partly to help you clarify the situation. If they attack in full force, they must select soldiers who are well-trained and prepare fine weapons. The boat commander is rich in ships and cannons, and the generals on the land are angry. They think about not returning for three years. For a hundred battles and arduous journey, how can they become an army in a child's play? When they rush out in a hurry, the people are all gone, the name of the equipment is bitter, and the ship If it is less than 200 and cannon is less than 500, it will be like a sea winnowing beans with sunspots on the face. Even if it can reach Anhui province quickly, what will it do to the matter?
Therefore, in my humble opinion, it is necessary to prepare two hundred warships, supplemented by seven to eight hundred civilian ships carrying cargo, more than a thousand large and small cannons, four thousand water braves, and six thousand land braves, and sail down the river. Next year, we will set out with my subordinates. After meeting among the little foxes in Jiujiang, things started to take shape. Otherwise, it is called Daxing Yilu, and it is really waiting for the Japanese to watch, and it is not worth the Fang family's ears.
I know that Your Majesty hopes for this courage very much, but it is useless to do it quickly. It is better to be prepared late. In addition, Hanlin editor Li Hongzhang has a lot of talents. If you have to go to war, you can take him with you.
Jiang Zhongyuan sighed: There are very few personal friendships between people. A thousand soldiers are really just the sea winnowing beans and sunspots on flour, what use are they to me? I seize the day, put all my money, and give it a try. There is no need to say whether it is right or wrong, whether it is success or failure. The Zeng family is forbearing and ruthless, the pillar of the family, and the most important weapon of the country. I don’t know when it came into being.
Zhongyuan sighed and said: Long live my emperor, long live the emperor. On the south bank of the Yangtze River, it flows eastward and goes down to Wuhu. It is hundreds of miles along the river. Thieves can park anywhere and can go ashore anywhere. The cities on the north bank, ranging from Ziwangjiang above to Hezhou below, along the river for more than 600 miles, are extremely difficult to defend against. The most important one was Dongguan, but Yushan and Zhang Yintang only had 2,200 soldiers. Seeing those who were relying on Lujun, I only brought more than 700 soldiers from Sichuan, Kaihuayong, and Guangyong, and 2,000 newly recruited braves from Lu'an, as well as 600 brave soldiers from Li Hongzhang and thousands of newly recruited soldiers from Liu Yu. name. And the people who have just gathered still need to be coached before they can be effective.
As for military pay, there is nothing in the vassal treasury, and Dongguan soldiers have been owed rations for more than 20 days. The minister brought 60,000 taels of silver. In addition to the November rations given to the soldiers in Dian, Sichuan, Kai and Guangzhou, and the more than 20,000 taels used to prepare pots, tents, and equipment for each warrior, there were only more than 30,000 taels left. If all the newly recruited soldiers such as Dongguan Bingyong and Liu Yuxuan were supplied with rations, there would be very little left, and there would be no defensive equipment on the city. There would be insufficient rice and grain in the city, and the pills and lead pills would be short in shape. If you want to deal with them one by one, you will be caught off guard.
Furthermore, the gates of each gate in Lu County are less than three feet thick and less than one foot high. They are also inaccessible to the city itself, making it particularly difficult to defend. It's getting colder now, and I'm afraid that the soldiers will be too brave for a long time. However, I have not yet recovered from my illness, and I am afraid that I will not be able to support him for a long time. Looking forward to my emperor, I ordered the governor generals from all over the country to come to the rescue as soon as possible to protect Lujun, that is, to stop the thieves from escaping north.
Emperor Xianfeng saw this and issued a strict edict: Wu Wenrong, the governor of Huguang, quickly sent all the soldiers Jiang Zhongyuan had left in Hubei to go to Lu without delay; the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Shu Xing'a, immediately sent the soldiers of Chenzhou south to assist Luzhou; Governor Yun Fuji immediately rushed to Yangzhou to assist Luzhou; Jiangnan Admiral He Chun returned south from Xuzhou and rushed to assist Luzhou; the vassals of Jiangxi, Shandong, and Henan provinces immediately adjusted their salaries and sent them to Luzhou; Jiangchen sized up the situation and could also intercept Guangdong. One hundred and fifty thousand silver taels for the solution.
After Emperor Xianfeng finished the edict, he burst into tears and said to Prince Gong Yi Xin: "Jiang Zhongyuan and Zhou Tianjue are both loyal and brave men. When Jiangning fell, Tianjue asked the Du bandits in the Yellow River to flee north. Later, he sent his troops to clear out the Nian bandits in Huaibei and captured the Nian leader Lu Xialing alive. . If Tianjue is still there and sends his troops south to meet Chu Yong who is loyal to the Yangtze River, why not worry about not protecting Luzhou! I ordered Yuan Jiasan to move his army south to assist Luzhou; Yuan Yi Ni and Zhang Mao entrenched themselves between Huaiyuan and Mengcheng to resist them. Yuan Jiasan How is this person?"
Yi Xin said: "Yuan Jiasan took over Zhou Tianjue's army and fought a great victory in the first battle at Gaogong Temple in Bozhou. He also fought in Biaolipu and captured the twisted-headed Deng Dajun and more than 2,000 bandits alive. From then on, Huaibei was settled. Yuan Jiasan can be It can be of great use.”
Emperor Xianfeng said: "The most urgent task is to save Zhongyuan's army. Even if we can't save an army, we can save just one of them! Yuan Jia is entrenched in defending himself. I am extremely disappointed."
On December 12, 1853, Hu Yihuang led his army to Luzhou. He built wooden walls and earthen ramparts along the seven gates surrounding the city, and set up liaisons in between.
Zeng Tianyang said: "The loyalty of the Jiang Yao should not be underestimated. This Yao has been defending Nanchang for three months, and we have been defeated time and time again. We must plan our attack in the long term."
Hu Yihuang said: "How can we take a long-term plan? We can't attack for a long time. Qingyao reinforcements have arrived from all directions. I have been surrounded outside Luzhou City. Encircle the point to send reinforcements, quickly destroy the Qingyao in front of the sudden attack, and cut off their contact. Shouchun The town's commander-in-chief, Yushan, and the commander-in-chief of Lu'an town, Yin Deb, have arrived outside Gongchen Gate. They will first kill the two demons and kill the chickens to scare the monkeys."
Zeng Tianyang said: "I have 10,000 soldiers, and half of them have besieged the city. There are 2,000 soldiers in Yushan, and 1,000 Yin Debu. I am alone."
Hu Yihuang said: "These two are like drizzle, jade first and then sound. They are divided and struck."
On the 18th, Hu Yihuang gathered his troops and surrounded Yushan with two thousand Qing troops. Yushan called for battle. Hu Yihuang raised his sword and killed Yushan in just one turn. The next day, they surrounded Yindebu again. Yindebu was afraid of following in the footsteps of Yushan, so he fled immediately after the battle.
After two battles and two victories, Hu's power was overwhelming, and the rest of the Qing army hesitated to advance.
