When the Hunan army approached Wuchang, Huang Zaixing, deputy prime minister and deputy general, told the emperor Shi Fengkui: "Previously, I defended the danger but not Pi. Now, the dangerous places such as Jinkou, Yanglousi, Xianning and so on have been lost. It is urgent to defend the city. Brother Guozong, do you have any plans?"
Shi Fengkui said: "Soldiers will come to block us, and water will come to cover us. We have more than ten thousand soldiers. Zeng Yao comes to fight and looks for an opportunity to kill him."
Huang Zaixing said: "We are defeated and people are panicked. We can't take back the attack. The walls of Wuchang City are high and thick, and can withstand ten thousand troops. Our main force cannot be gathered in the garden or in the catfish trap. Everyone enters the city, leaving one strong army to maneuver, and the rest On the scattered city walls, there are many wooden and rolling stones, arrows, medicine and cannons. They are high up to kill the enemy when they attack, and harass the enemy when they are tired. Deep ditches are dug around them to fill the river water, and the enemy digs the ground to penetrate them. There are many sandstones and bricks. Recruit brave people and block the city if it is destroyed."
Shi Fengkui said: "The city is vast and there are few soldiers. Press the gourd and float the ladle. I will gather a large number of troops to guard the garden and the catfish trap. I will build strong forts. One pillow is the river, the other is the Qinglin Lake, the other is the long embankment, and the deep ditch is heavy. Zha, standing on the east bank of the river, confronts Xiabaoji. A row of huge cannons is fired at the inside and outside of the river, blocking both land and water routes. How can we not defend such a dangerous place! If we only guard this place, what can the monster do to me? What can it do to me? Starting from Xiangtan , have been defeated in consecutive battles; why not retreat to Tianjia Town, join forces with King Yan to control the dangerous territory, and then kill the demon again?"
Huang Zaixing said: "You must not do it. The Eastern King has strict orders. If you retreat without fighting, it will be a crime of beheading."
Shi Fengkui said: "I am in charge of one side, and anyone who does not obey military orders will be killed! Deputy Prime Minister Huang is anxious, what's the use of being anxious! I am the commander-in-chief of the city defense matters, and I will keep my word."
Shi Fengkui was incomprehensible, so Huang Zaixing did not dare to neglect. He hurriedly sent his soldiers to Tianjing and asked the Eastern King to replace his generals.
Before Tianyin arrived, Li Mengqun, the prefect of Pingyue Prefecture in Guangxi, had led the navy to attack Baishazhou and Jinshazhou and advance towards the Catfish Tower Water Camp.
Luo Zenan captured the garden and attacked the Catfish Tower Camp again, but was repulsed by Shi Fengkui. Li Xubin rushed to help, joined Luo Zenan, broke through the catfish trap, and then assisted Li Mengqun to break through the water camp and burned 500 Shijun warships. Afterwards, Li Mengqun sent his troops to the west and besieged Hanyang. Yang Zaifu also led the navy to attack Hankou.
Shi Fengkui lost a series of battles, became frightened, and decided to retreat from the city.
Huang Zaixing said: "It is common sense in ancient and modern times to retreat after a successful attack. Don't panic when retreating, otherwise you will be defeated like a mountain. Guozong will go first, and I will take the lead."
Shi Fengkui panicked and retreated eastward along Hongshan Mountain. He was intercepted by Taqibu and lost more than a thousand troops.
Huang Zaixing fought bloody battles for a day and repelled many attacks by the Hunan army. He also informed Hankou and Hanyang about the retreat, and then ordered most of them to retreat and lead his own troops to cut off the rear.
Gu Longxian, the guard general of Hanyang, received the message and withdrew from the west gate.
The warships in the river were unable to retreat in time, and were chased, intercepted, and sunk one by one by Li Mengqun and Yang Zaifu.
Zeng Guofan rejoiced and said: "There is not a single thief boat up and down the provincial river, and there is not a single thief camp outside the city of Wuhan. The thieves have lost their baggage due to their rebellion, their food supplies are gone, they are discouraged and separated, and they are scattered in all directions. I have accomplished a great job!"
Taqi preached: "Two armies are facing each other, life and death are ordinary, even if they are bleeding and drifting, my heart is as calm as water. I never thought that you, a scholar in Luo Luoshan, would actually encourage the soldiers to eat people's livers and hearts, and capture and kill them for joy?"
Luo Zenan sighed: "The light of the sword, the shadow of the sword, is a matter of life and death. How dare you kill a weak scholar? You are like a husband and a butcher. When I see a ragged child, I burst into tears. My heart is like a knife being cut out."
Zeng Guofan said: "A bloodthirsty fight is not what I expected. However, the two armies are facing each other, life or death. In the past, the Minqiao princes had experienced death and death. How dare you not kill? That is to take human life. Is there any difference between the look of the eyes and the look of the beauty? ?”
Wuchang was victorious, and Zeng Guofan was promoted to Shu: Yesterday, Wuchang and Hanyang were restored, and things went smoothly. This is due to the majesty and blessings of my emperor and the sincere blessing of God. It is not only beyond the planning and planning of the ministers, but also beyond the dreams of the ministers.
When Emperor Xianfeng heard the music, his eyebrows danced and he said happily: "I feel deeply comforted by reading the music." This great victory was unexpected. I am only conscientious and self-sufficient, and I will knock on the sky to quickly pardon the people's calamity. This time we conquered two cities. Within three days, we burned more than a thousand boats and leveled all the enemy bases. This was a very opportune decision. It is especially appropriate to establish a favor to show your hard work. Zeng Guofan gave him a second-grade top coat and acted as the governor of Hubei. Admire this.
When Zeng Guofan received the order, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. Due to human nature, he also made polite remarks and tried to explain: "The thieving ministers were responsible for handling military affairs, but they did more than they did. However, Wuhan was defeated by the loyalty and bravery of the ministers Taqibu, Li Mengqun, and Luo Zenan." His strategy is like the bravery of Yang Zaifu and Peng Yulin, so he can use his soldiers' lives to defeat a strong city quickly. Ignorant ministers really have no achievements. As for arson, when the wind is favorable, the west bank will be helped by Jing soldiers. Twenty-three of the thieves in Hongshan and twenty-four of the boats on the Shaili River were all arranged according to favorable circumstances. They were all accumulated by my emperor's care and hard work and his silent desire to save the world. They were beyond the scope of my plans, and there was no achievement to speak of. He Wen's words of praise made him feel ashamed and helpless. Even if he is ordered to act as the governor of Hubei, he will not be of any benefit in official affairs, and it will be extremely difficult for him to be selfish, and he will have to explain it before the Holy Lord. On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the navy's front military operations started to carry out suppression and search operations along the river. They had already passed below Huangzhou. The governor's customs defense still requires the committee members to return to Wuchang. This is said to be of no benefit to official affairs. The mourning of my mother has not been over, and the funeral has not been arranged. If I take an official position far away, I will offend the famous religion externally and ridicule the clan internally. Wei Chen's two years of training in bravery and shipbuilding seemed to be just for his own benefit, so how could he be able to stand on his own feet? Last month, I thanked you for my confession, and I didn't dare to invite you to discuss it.
After finishing the draft, he handed it to Chen Shijie for viewing.
Chen Shijie said: "The words are sincere and the feelings are sincere. If you are humble and let E Fu go, you may be self-defeating."
Zeng Guofan laughed sarcastically and said: "I am really humble, but you have no words to say, and it is difficult to close the water. I have to go one more step, analyze my thoughts carefully, and see what I have heard. When Wuchang was defeated, my teacher Wu Wenrong, his bright eyes were half closed, and he only hated it. That bad man Fu Chonglun is still at ease."
After the vassal state finished speaking, it was sparse: I have experienced more troubles and suffered repeated setbacks; I often follow the holy edicts and use good names as warnings. How can I be careless and careless about self-preservation? Loss, why come to the people? In the case of stealing love during the Kangxi period, Li Guangdi was impeached by Peng Peng, and Yu Yangzhi was impeached by Lu Liao. The history of our country is filled with horror and horror. This is the so-called person who makes it difficult to be at peace with one's own personal interests. The minister was familiar with Yang Pei, the governor, and he was afraid that he would leave the country soon, and the customs and defenses would change and it would be useless. Therefore, he did not dare to accept it. The governor still kept the customs and defenses, and appealed to the emperor for his kindness. Jian sent a wise man to take over as governor of Hubei. Sent to Chongjiang. I have to devote myself to the Eastern Expedition, and I feel that the lotus is born, but there is no limit to it. If, with the divine blessing of the Holy Lord, we succeed in suppressing the river and clearing the river, we will not be overthrown, then our humble ministers will be rich in their service years and will be favored for a long time. They will not dare to pretend to be praised and live up to the holy mercy. training.
