Chapter 42 Zeng Guofan refused to send troops
The war in Luzhou was dragging on for a long time, and Emperor Xianfeng gave another order: Zeng Guofan's regiments and training camps and the troops in the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps, regardless of whether they are near or far, must divide their troops and rush to Luzhou. Anyone who neglects will be severely punished.
Prince Gong Yi Xin said: "Hong Yang has been in trouble for three years, and he has become bigger and bigger, and he has been defeated repeatedly. Although the war in Luzhou affects the overall situation, it is the gain and loss of one place. Jiang Zhongyuan's victory may change the situation, but defeat is not the same. The deeper it falls, the deeper it falls. As the saying goes, if you leave a green mountain, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. My emperor must make long-term calculations."
Emperor Xianfeng also knew that Luzhou was difficult to protect, so he again told Jiang Zhongyuan: If the situation is urgent, Luzhou can be lost, but you must not die. He also sent an urgent order of six hundred miles to Zeng Guofan: I ordered you to send troops to rescue Wuchang on the 3rd and 5th, but you did not come. I have ordered you to rush to the aid of Luzhou immediately. You must not be ignorant!
Zeng Guofan continued the imperial edict of aiding Lu and told the generals: "Rebellion has become a climate, and the Eight Banners and the Green Camp are no longer able to respond. The war will not be extinguished in five years, and it may be possible in ten years. Whether the Hunan Army succeeds or not is related to the overall situation, and the personal friendship of friends must not be taken into account. , Even if the king and father's edicts are directed, there are times when I dare not go against it. After half a year of military training, Master Lu has no worries. He has Luo Luoshan and his disciples, and they have experienced actual combat. Ta Qi Bu, I looked at it again and again, it is true. Only the navy, Chu Ruhang practiced bravery, Xia Luan built ships, Yang Zaifu and Peng Yulin made new recruits, and Li Mengqun from Guangxi arrived. Everything is in the beginning. Without actual combat, I am deeply worried about it. If you are not rich, you cannot fly high. Instead of the future If you have no achievements, you will be charged with deceiving the emperor with your big words; it is better to state the truth now, and you will be charged with being afraid and holding back."
Guo Songtao said: "I practice land bravery in Hengzhou and water bravery in Xiangtan. Everything has just started. If you rush out, there is no chance of winning."
Chen Shijie said: "It is a taboo for military strategists to go deep alone. Huangzhou, Qizhou, Jiujiang, Hukou, and Pengze are all occupied by thieves. Hengyang and Luzhou are thousands of miles away. We have to pour our troops to rescue them. The road back is blocked, and the overall situation is passive."
Zeng Guofan said: "Zhang Zhongcheng and Zuo Jigao left Hunan, and I was forced to retreat to Hengyang. The country has been corrupted to this point, and Luo Bingzhang, Bao Qibao and others still think that there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. Hunan Admiral Bao Qibao and Wu Bian, from the garrison and above, all of them have lost their conscience. Mr. Zuo Tang, if you have a good job in Xiang, I will definitely use it. I have invited you three times, please ask Yunxian to come again."
Guo Songtao said: "I heard that Luo Bingzhang also invited Mr. Zuo."
Zeng Guofan said: "Good birds choose trees to roost. Zuo Ji is taller than he is! If I don't go north with Zhang Shiqing, there may be changes in the long way; if I don't rely on Zeng, I'm afraid my plain land won't stir up wind and thunder. I politely declined Jiang Minqiao, Minqiao Be strong, and worry will never come back. There is no one in the world like Jiang Minqiao! He is an armed man and an iron horse. He rushes forward alone, licking blood from the edge of his knife. He advances without retreating. I wish Brother Minqiao good luck every time. Minqiao is like this, and so am I. I don't care about life and death. Yesterday, I said, 'The thieves are rebelling against the mighty force, and the four provinces must join forces to defend; the ships and cannons are not in full force, so we cannot hastily proceed'. If you die, you will die, let the holy will be yours!"
Luo Zenan said: "Since it is not His Majesty's will, is there any way to deal with it? Your Majesty is in urgent need, and whether to save or not is a matter of one thought. One refusal is already deceiving the emperor, and if you refuse three times, the war will subside and the disaster will also affect you."
Zeng Guofan said: "Even if it brings disaster to me, I will not waver! Today, the enemy travels between the north and south of Dongting Lake, and it costs almost two hundred thousand. They travel across the rivers and lakes, and there is no competition for their own interests except for boats. And they have formed an army to go out, so we should not do it for the Eastern Expedition." The plan to return. There is a thousand miles above Jiujiang, but how can we recruit people hastily, hold fragile weapons, and walk three thousand miles to become a strong bandit with millions of tigers and wolves? The river is full of firepower, and it is difficult to defeat the rebels without water divisions. .Brother Luoshan means: If you want to capture Jiujiang, you must first locate Wuchang; if you want to capture Wuchang, you must first map the intersection of Yue and Hubei. If you succeed, you will have a commanding position, lead your army eastward, seize Jiujiang, and capture Anqing; if you capture Anqing, Jinling will be lost and recovered. Minqiao and Brother Luo, I will rely on you. From now on, I vow to use this to march and launch battles. At this point, Luzhou, a city beyond the plan, has to be abandoned. I don’t know what Mr. Ji Gao means, so I will write another letter and respectfully invite Mr. Zuo to come out. "
After the vassal state finished speaking, he consulted Zuo Zongtang again: My brother is short-sighted and has difficulty being independent. He wants to beg for help from the left and right, so he begs me for help and talks about practicing bravery. In addition, it has nothing to do with Mr. Yu. If you want to be deaf in both ears, you are self-deaf, and I cannot cure it. If you want to be blind in both eyes, if you are blind, I cannot cure it.
Zeng Guofan was disobedient, and Emperor Xianfeng angrily rebuked: Anhui is in urgent need of help, so don't be biased. I know that you can still inspire the conscience, so I specially order you to come to the rescue to help the burning eyebrows. Looking at your performance, I have been responsible for the military affairs of the four provinces. May I ask what your talents are? No? On weekdays, those who are arrogant and boastful, thinking that they have no right to do anything, will be able to live up to their words when things happen. If they touch Zhang Huang even a little bit, won't they make the world laugh? Try to rush to help as soon as possible. If you can be one step early, you will get the benefit of one step. You can take on heavy responsibilities by yourself, unlike those who are afraid of you. Once the words come out of your mouth, they will be able to do what you say. Let me see what you do.
Emperor Xianfeng was so angry that he ordered Xiang Rong to attack Jinling immediately to divide the thieves' power, otherwise he would be severely punished.
Xiang Rong received the order, thought it over again and again, and said: The ministers have recently inspected and found that in Jinling City, there are only more than a thousand real thieves in Guangxi, and only five or six thousand buddies in Hunan. The rest are from Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangnan. , about 30,000 people. It is time for Wei Chen to take advantage of the emptiness of the thieves' power, spread his voice to the northwest, judge the success of our army, and go straight to the southeast.
Yuan Jiasan, the Minister of Military Affairs and Huaibei Suppression and Control Bureau, received the order and said: Since ancient times, the way to defend against the enemy is to prevent and suppress it. Of course, you must be able to suppress it and then defend it. It is said that if you can fight, you can then defend it. The Cantonese bandits were invading several provinces, and the emperor was raising troops and paying his troops. There was no place he could not guard against. There was no place he could guard against, so why? If the ground is scattered, it will be difficult to defend, and if the troops are divided, it will be difficult to support. The army has been in power for several years, but it has never been heard of soldiers gathering in various places to fight to the death with the Cantonese thieves. Instead, there are police in one corner and defenses in all four corners. The left and right are weak. Wherever the thieves come, they are defeated. It would be useless to take the lost ones and discuss them today. Those who only talk about defense but not about suppression will delay the situation.
Emperor Xianfeng sighed and said: How could I not know that boils and boils are everywhere, and it is impossible to suppress them and to prevent them!
Emperor Xianfeng sighed for a long time, and then ordered Xiang Rong: The current situation is that the thieves in Yangzhou have fled for a long time, and the thieves in Jinling have no reason to escape on their own. Xiang Rongzhu defends Zijin Mountain, claiming that the southeast is a disadvantage, and if he can attack vigorously without knowing the result, the thieves will be afraid and look back. Not only can they not attack Su Chang from the south, but they can also harass Huaiqi from the north. This is a principle that everyone knows, but Xiang Rong doesn’t know it! Nowadays, the bandit situation in Zhenjiang is particularly poor. Why do they only block things and not attack them? If you attack to the death, the thieves from all over the country will come back to look at you. You should have the opportunity to fight to the death with the thieves!
The Qing Emperor's order was strict, but Xiang Rong did not dare to disobey him again. He ordered: Fuxing and Zhang Guoliang to attack on the right, Qin Dingsan and De'an in the middle, Ji Shun and Ming Antai to attack on the left. The troops were divided into three groups to attack Chaoyang Gate. Deng Shaoliang was also ordered to lead the attack. An army surrounded Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum to maneuver.
On January 2, 1854, Xiang Rong soldiers arrived at the gate of Jinling City, crossed the ditch, set up a ladder, and climbed up. Wei Changhui urgently ordered the sergeants to use projectiles, cannons, arrows, and throw bricks and stones to block the offensive. They attacked Xiangrong for two days without touching the city walls.
On the 3rd, a 5,000-strong Taiping Army detoured from behind Minling Mountain and intercepted the Xiang Army. Seeing this, Deng Shaoliang rushed to fight. Xiang Rong also divided his troops to assist. The Taiping army was defeated and retreated into the city.
