On May 18, 1855, Xi'an General Zalafen and Deputy Commander Chang Liang led reinforcements to Hubei and stationed themselves in Suizhou City to the east of Wangchenggang. Yang Pei was so excited that he rushed to Suizhou with Yang Changsi, the general of Yansui Town, and gathered all the troops. , besieging De'an.
Chen Yucheng's general Liu Xuanlin said: "Our army has been fighting for days, and there are less than ten thousand soldiers. Qing Yao is about to besiege the city, what strategy can be used to defeat it?"
Chen Yucheng said: "There is no other strategy, but to attack the ear. Er Yang is a general who has been defeated again and again, and it is difficult to say that he is brave. The newly arrived demon has not been on the battlefield and will be defeated! Tens of thousands of soldiers dare to besiege the city." , No brainer! Brother Liu is guarding the city, I will lead the main force, go out of the city to stir up a fight, return to the horse and shoot with a shot, cooperate inside and outside, and the evildoers will be destroyed."
On May 28, Chen Yucheng led 8,000 troops out of De'an Prefecture, attacked Changlingang, and attacked Xihedian in Suizhou. He surrounded more than 1,000 people from Hubei Admiral Eqin's army. Zarafen rescued him, but he was blocked from looking at Chenggang. , Zarafen saw Chen Yucheng's fierceness and retreated to Wulitun. Chen Yucheng defeated Eqin and pursued Wulitun. Zarafen hurriedly fought, but accidentally, he was hacked to death with random knives, and his troops collapsed. Yang Pei, the governor of Huguang, had no more thoughts and retreated three hundred miles to Tang County, Henan.
Chen Yucheng captured Suizhou, but due to the long battle front and insufficient troops, he stopped pursuing and rested for half a month before withdrawing to defend De'an.
Yang Pei, the governor of Huguang, was defeated in consecutive battles. Emperor Xianfeng was annoyed and dismissed him from his post. He was awarded the title of governor of Huguang and deputy capital commander Mianxun as the general of Jingzhou. He also appointed Xiling'a as the imperial envoy. He immediately went south to supervise the military affairs of Hubei.
Chen Yucheng fought in northern Hubei and won many battles. Qin Rigang and Wei Jun were both happy and said: "Jade rarely achieves anything in its adult life. Given time, it will definitely become a pillar of the Kingdom of Heaven."
Qin Rigang said: "Hu Yao Lin's Yi soldiers gathered in Wuchang and Hankou, but the way back is empty. There are only a few hundred brave guards in Jinkou, and there are only 1,200 brave soldiers in Zifang. Brother Wei, why don't you avoid the real and attack the weak!"
Wei Jun thought over and over again and decided to make a desperate move.
On June 20, Wei Jun personally led five thousand strong troops and went out from the east gate at night. They first occupied the paper mill and then attacked Jinkou.
Jinkou was the land and water route of Hu's army. Hu Linyi hurriedly sent Bao Chao back to Jinkou to defend it firmly. He also mobilized his troops and generals to gather at Jinkou for a decisive battle.
Wei Jun's five thousand troops attacked Jinkou for eight days. They were ambushed repeatedly and lost more than a thousand troops. The commander-in-chief Chen Lizheng and the prime minister Chen Dawei were also captured and killed. Wei Jun did not dare to fight anymore and retreated to Wuchang.
Hu Linyi came to Wuchang again, looked at the wall and sighed, and said: "For two months, we have been attacking the city of Wuchang day by day, but we have not succeeded yet. It is a miscalculation." That is to say, they plan to go out from under Hongshan Mountain, but there is still a fear that the troops will be insufficient and the food route will be interrupted, causing the thieves to leave the city to resist. They can still fight hard and succeed. If they cannot get out and defend themselves with cannons and rocks, the officers and soldiers will be trapped. Wei Chen thought that it would be better to attack Hanyang first. This city is surrounded by water, and the water and land cooperate. The outer rivers and inner lakes can attack it at the same time. Then, we can focus on Wuchang, which may be successful. In addition, Yang Zaifu was refining the navy in Yuezhou, which was completed soon. The minister asked Yang to stay in Hubei temporarily to help suppress the rebels.
Emperor Xianfeng took over and said: "Hu Chen's words resonate with his own feelings." That is to say, together with the official document, we will coordinate the overall situation and handle it accordingly. Yang Zaifu's troops stayed in Hubei to suppress the bandits. When the Qin minister Xi Ling's army arrives, they will attack from the north and the south, clear the north of Hubei, unite their troops, and attack Wuchang again, and great things can be accomplished. Hechun and Fuji in Jiangxi have been encircling and suppressing Luzhou for nearly two years. I don't know what benefit they have to Anhui! Prince Monk has already killed Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang for being traitors. Will Hechun and Fuji continue to do their best to bring glory to Jinling?
Hechun and Fuji received the order with sincerity and fear.
Fuji said: "Qin Dingsan has been besieging Shucheng for more than a few years, but he has done nothing. The thieves have a stubborn heart, and my heart is distracted. It's difficult!"
He Chun also sighed: "The report was received at noon: bandits from Chaoxian County attacked Tuogao, and Hanlin Editor Li Hongzhang was defeated and fled. More than ten of our camps were destroyed, and the number of brave soldiers who died was incalculable. I also died in the guerrilla attack in Yilinbu. Just save it.”
After He Chun's words, he led his troops bravely and rushed to Tuogao. They fought fiercely for two days to reverse the decline.
Li Hongzhang was so ashamed that he was speechless.
He Chun said: "If we are afraid of the enemy fleeing, we should put you first."
Li Hongzhang was poor in words and retired with shame.
On July 20, 1855, the imperial envoy Xiling Abing arrived in Suizhou and consulted the governor of Huguang on his official documents to discuss the siege of De'an.
The official article said: "First attack Yunmeng and Yingcheng to cut off the connection between De'an and Hanyang. General Mianxun of Jingzhou is about to defeat the enemy. We have fifteen thousand soldiers to besiege De'an, and we may be able to do something."
On August 6, soldiers from Xiling arrived at De'an City; on August 10, Mianxun's 5,000-strong army also arrived.
Xiling Adao: "Chen Zeyu formed a formation to kill Guisheng and Zalafen, are you afraid?"
Mian Xun said: "The Chen thief is more powerful than any other thief. This thief has tens of thousands of troops gathered in an erratic manner. His attack is like a thunderous bombardment, but his retreat is unpredictable. He will return his carbine after thirty checkpoints, and no one can stop him."
Xi Ling'a smiled and said, "I'm already afraid! You and I will gather our troops together and act accordingly."
When De'an was in danger, Qin Rigang ordered the garrison at Hankou to divide his troops for rescue.
The Qing soldiers besieged the city, but Chen Yucheng delayed sending troops. The generals were frightened, and Yucheng said: "It is not my wish to stick to a corner! Reinforcements have arrived, and we will go out of the city to fight."
On August 14, reinforcements from Hankou arrived, so Chen Yucheng gathered 10,000 troops and attacked in three directions.
Xiling'a and Mianxun were defeated immediately after the battle, and they retreated to Suizhou.
Xiling Adao: "As soon as we engage in battle, we know we are outmatched. This thief cannot be defeated except by my brother's cavalry."
Mianxun said: "We will immediately request Du Xing'a, the deputy commander, to come to Hubei as soon as possible."
Xi and Mian were defeated again. Officials were shocked and ordered five thousand soldiers to respond to the city and gallop northward. He also flew to Xi Ling'a to collect the scattered troops and defend them with a strong wall. Then he consulted Hu Linyi and crossed the river to attack to divert the thieves' momentum.
After hearing the news, Hu Linyi ordered Li Mengqun to stay at Jinkou, and together with Yang Zaifu, he led four thousand land and sea troops to forcefully cross the Yangtze River and attack Hanyang. Peng Yulin and Wang Guocai also attacked from the mouth of Chaos. Zhong Tingsheng was defeated, six hundred warships were burned, the peripheral strongholds Dongshan, Caidian, and Gaomiao were lost, and more than ten fortresses including Zongguan, Cidu Temple, and Wuxian Temple were also breached. Peng Yulin's navy once entered the city wall and killed Xiao Chaofu, the emperor of the country.
Hanyang was in danger, and Zhong Ting wrote in blood asking for help. Qin Rigang ordered Huangzhou and De'an to assist Hanyang; Wei Jun attacked Jinkou and surrounded Wei to rescue Zhao.
Wei Jun received the order and personally led an army of 6,000 people, gathered all the troops in Chongyang and Tongcheng, divided the troops into six groups, and then attacked Jinkou. Li Mengqun was defeated and retreated to Xindi and Luxikou.
The Jinkou camp was lost, Hu Linyi was frightened, and was in a dilemma. Huangzhou Taiping Army gunboats have arrived at the Hanyang River, and Chen Yucheng's reinforcements have also arrived at the Hanyang City. Zhong Tingsheng gathered the two armies to attack Hu Linyi's camp.
Hu Linyi's soldiers met and a cannon flew in. Several people nearby were killed. Hu's army was in chaos and Lin Yi could not stop it. When Bao Chao comes to help, we can stabilize our position and retreat twenty miles to Zhali Lake and Laishan Mountain to camp briefly.
The Taiping Army pursued them, but the Qing soldiers refused to leave because they had no food. Lin Yi forced them to fight, and then they broke up. Hu Linyi couldn't stop him and retreated hastily to the riverside, almost ready to throw himself into the river. But Bao Chao arrived and killed him. Disperse the pursuing troops and retreat to Dajun Mountain.
Hu Linyi's army retreated, and Peng Yulin struggled to support the river. His left and right support were blocked, his ship was hit by a gun, the mast was broken and it was difficult to move, and the center of the river was spinning. When Yang Zaifu was walking, the wind was strong and the waves were strong, and he could not see anything. Vice Admiral Cheng Faxiang sailed over to help Yulin get out of trouble.
After this defeat, Hu Linyi was unable to fight again, so he ordered Bao Chao to return to Hunan to recruit brave men and Peng Yulin to return home to recuperate from his injuries; he also ordered Yang Zaifu to sail to Jiayu, stop the boat and reorganize his troops; Li Mengqun left the elite and the weak to reorganize the army. He consulted Zeng Guofan again and quickly moved his troops to help suppress Wuchang.
