On July 16, 1854, Guangdong Navy Vice Admiral Wu Quanmei and Xiangshan Assistant Chief Chen Guotai led fifty red single ships to arrive at Jiaoshan, Zhenjiang.
Xiang Rong was overjoyed and ordered Chen Guotai to assist Guazhou and Wu Quanmei to sail to Jinling and sweep away the bandit ships along the river. Then they went directly to the Taiping area, stationed in Wuhu, and carried out raids back and forth.
Qi Shan relied on a single red boat to attack Guazhou again, which lasted for more than a month, but to no avail. Qi Shan was so anxious that he died suddenly.
Emperor Xianfeng recognized his hard work and granted him compensation according to the governor's regulations. He ordered General Tuo Ming'a of Suiyuan City to be the imperial envoy and rush to the Jiangbei camp.
Wu Quanmei sailed up and down the pass, bombarded with ships and artillery, destroyed countless forts along the river, captured two Qilizhou water camps, blocked the river channel, and blocked all ships going to and from Tianjing.
Tianjing was short of food, and Yang Xiuqing was shocked. He quickly ordered: Qin Rigang led the navy to fight against Wu Quanmei, Luo Gang opened the land route for food, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai guarded Tianjing, and responded with cameras.
Qin Rigang received the order and led 300 division ships, which came fiercely. Wu Quanmei attacked from both sides, destroying 70 ships and capturing 200. Qin Rigang's ship was also bombarded.
Qin Rigang fled to Hezhou and reported to Yang Xiuqing urgently: The demon ship was equipped with twenty or thirty cannons, firing in turns on the left and right bows on three sides, with constant flow and fierce firepower. The cannonballs can penetrate several ships, and even if they are hit by the wind, they will be shattered.
Yang Xiuqing ordered Wei Changhui to block it with fire boats. Wu Quanmei gave way to the middle stream and bombarded him from left to right. All forty fire boats were sunk. Commander Wei Changhui came to fight and was also defeated.
Taking advantage of his victory, Wu Quanmei drove to Taiping and wandered around as if he were in a deserted land.
Following the order of Yang Xiuqing, Luo Gang led 10,000 troops and 800 grain ships, sailed from Wuhu along the inland river to Gaochun Xiaonan Lake, abandoned the boat and landed, killed Qing deputy general Fu Geng, and captured Dongba.
Su Chang was shocked when Dongba was lost, and Xiang Rong rushed Fuxing and Deng Shaoliang to help. Fu Zhenbang, the vanguard officer and deputy general of Dingguang Xie, led 2,000 troops and arrived at Kongzhen. Luo Goutou led his troops to attack, but Fu Zhenbang repulsed them. After Luo Gang sent his generals to copy him, he was repulsed by Fu Zhenbang.
On August 19, Fu Zhenbang took the dam by surprise, first captured the dam, and then attacked. Luo Gang was unprepared, so he retreated to Gaochun by boat, dug holes, built forts, and built sentry towers. Within half a day, he built an earthen city.
On August 21, Fuxing's army arrived at Maogongpu. That night, Fuxing mobilized his troops to sneak across and ambush the front of Tucheng. At dawn, the Fuxing governor's troops attacked. Luo Gang was caught off guard. He abandoned his supplies, boarded a ship and sailed to Taiping. He sent another army to Banqiao and Xishan Bridge, built camps and established positions to contact Tianjing.
Fuxing ordered Deng Shaoliang to garrison Xinqiao to prevent Luo from returning; he led the main force to bypass Xiaodanyang and block Luo's way to Beijing.
Xiang Rong ordered Zhang Guoliang to reinforce and encircle and destroy Luo Outline's army.
Zhang Guoliang arrived at Xiaodanyang, inspected the terrain, and said to Fuxing: "There are no less than a thousand pirate ships outside Taiping City, and there are five to six thousand thieves in the city. There are inland rivers on the south, west, and north sides. The east road is surrounded by trenches to divert water, and there is a suspension bridge in the middle. There are four plum-planting piles in a row. My intention is to attack from the east, ambush the city, and attack the outer camp first. The bandit army will come to help and seize the opportunity to attack the city.
On the fifth watch of September 6, 1854, Zhang Guoliang led his army and defeated four battalions outside the city. Luo Gang sent troops to rescue. Zhang Guoliang and Fu Zhenbang took the opportunity to enter the city and fight in the streets, killing Guozong Wei Deling and Shi Daying. Luo Gangda did not dare to fight anymore and retreated to Jinzhu Pass by boat.
Xiangrong moved his troops to Dongba. Shi Dakai immediately led his troops out of Tongji Gate, built six battalions in the Shangfangqiao area, and penetrated between Gaoqiao Gate and Qiqiao Weng, trying to break through.
Subutong'a's troops were weak and it was difficult to block and suppress them, so Xiangrong urgently dispatched Fuxing to return reinforcements. Subbutong and Akai Fuxing built a pontoon bridge, lined up their guns and artillery, and destroyed two new camps. Shi Da launched a circuitous siege, but Subutong'a was defeated and died on the spot. Fuxing was also wounded. Xiang Rong again mobilized Zhang Guoliang to rush for reinforcements, and ordered Fu Zhenbang to detour from Moling Pass to the back of Shangfang Bridge. The two armies fought for more than 20 days and remained in a stalemate.
As the army pressed on the city, the war was in danger. The emperor Shi Xiangzhen told Shi Dakai: "Zhang Yaoguo Liang is trying to kill my brother. I will go out and kill him. It is a blood feud for my brother."
Shi Dakai said: "The monsters in the Jiang camp are the leader of the country, and the monsters rely on it as the Great Wall. Although my brother is brave and good at fighting, he can charge into the battle and be invincible. However, it is very difficult to succeed if you go alone, so don't take risks."
Shi Xiangzhen didn't listen and led an army directly out of the city to fight Zhang Guoliang. The two armies fought for three days and nights, and the outcome was difficult to determine. Xiangzhen rose up and asked Guoliang to challenge him.
Xiang Rong refused and said, "The thieves will be as fierce as a bear. General Zhang must not go alone."
Zhang Guoliang said: "I have traveled around the world, lived in my home and country, fought on the battlefield, and survived a hundred battles. How can I be afraid of a reckless man?"
Zhang Guoliang generously attended the appointment, and was indeed invincible. He was born to Shi Xiangzhen, so he set up his horse and wanted to live in the city to offer his services. However, Zhang Guoliang secretly tied a sharp knife to his body and stabbed it out from the saddle. Xiangzhen was caught off guard and fell from the horse in the shin. Guoliang cut off his head and returned.
Fuxing laughed at Zhang Guoliang's tricks.
Zhang Guoliang said: "We are naked against each other without a promise. It is a matter of life and death. Do you want to give it a try?"
One day, British Minister Wen Han visited Tianjing and promised to send troops to help suppress the rebellion, unify China, and divide the land equally.
Yang Xiuqing was angry and said: I want to fight for China and want to see the whole picture. When things are settled equally, the world will laugh. If that doesn't work, lure ghosts into the house.
Shi Xiangzhen was killed in battle and the war reached a stalemate. Shi Dakai said to Yang Xiuqing: "We are invincible because of the demon red single-ship ships with strong guns and powerful guns. Tianjing's food supply is cut off. My intention is to gather more warships, at least three thousand, and ants will gather in Wuhu, east and west." On the Liangshan River; and then between Jiajiang and Jiufuzhou, the garrisons were arranged. Again on the north and south banks of Xiaguan, iron chains connected each other, supplemented by giant trees, crossing the river. The three armies worked together, or thirty red single ships were combined destroy."
Yang Xiuqing agreed and the order was implemented. Shi and Wei immediately sent a message to Anhui and Jiangxi to arrange ships and mobilize troops.
The Anhui and Jiangxi Taiping armies were ordered to dump all their ships and come to help in the battle. On the Wuhu and East and West Liangshan rivers, the sails of ships were like clouds and there were more than ten thousand soldiers.
Wu Quanmei was frightened and quickly retreated to Pukou to protect himself. Xiang Rong sent a special officer to strictly rebuke him, but the entire country remained unmoved.
Xiang Rong was inconvenient to use force, so he went to Shu and said: Since I arrived at Jinling in February of the third year, I fought with thieves no less than a hundred times. This rebellion is always defeated in every battle, and the more traitors there are, the more severe the damage will be. Previously, we had access to water and land, and we could supply goods, medicines, grains and rice continuously. However, because we stuck to our old army and deprived me of our salary, we were attacked and harassed by the evil gangs everywhere. Once we captured a city, we defended it. , if a town is captured, it will be defended, so that our troops will be tied up everywhere. However, the leader can sit safely in the majestic city, so the thieves' strength is always more than enough, but my troops are not enough. Since the river road was cut off, Taiping's supplies have been burned again, and there are especially few goods and medicines. It's time to go against the great difficulties and have to do your best to fight against them. The minister thought: Instead of luring him without fighting, it is better to cut off his support and make him have to fight, and he will try his best to fight with me. Then he will be defeated, and his power will decline day by day, and he will be the leader. Once captured, there is hope for peace.
Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict: "The arrival of the Guangdong Red Ship will bring good news to Jinling." When Tuoming Axin arrived in the north of the Yangtze River, the war in Guazhou was in urgent need of improvement. Yu Wanqing's campaign to suppress the rebel bandits in Zhenjiang has been unsuccessful for a long time. Can this dismissed member take charge of the prevention and suppression matters on his own? Keep an eye on Xiangrong at all times, and make reports according to the facts. Don't get involved in the slightest, and you will be blamed for it. Zeng Guofan had already rested for two months after the battle in Xiangtan, and immediately marched into Wuchang to encircle and annihilate the Guangdong rebels.
Xiangrong received the order and sent out instructions to Yu Wanqing. Yu Wanqing reported: Since we were stationed in the town, we have heard that two thousand thieves have come to surrender. In Zhenjiang City, a hundred people have been sent to hide in secret. The documents exchanged between the thieves are all very detailed. Given time, we might be able to conquer the city with one drum.
More than a month after Qishan's death, the imperial envoy Tuo Ming'a arrived in Yangzhou. He immediately dispatched 700 troops and horses from Yizheng, Liuhe and Pukou battalions to guard Jiangpu and defend the east road. He then joined Lei, Huicheng and Yu Wanqing to besiege Guazhou. Yu Wanqing was determined and could not put any effort into the work. Tuo Ming'a and others besieged Guazhou for more than a month, but achieved nothing.
