Qin Rigang and Chen Yucheng received Yang Xiuqing's military order and led 20,000 troops. They marched day and night. On January 23, 1856, they arrived at the outskirts of Tianjing and temporarily stationed in the Qixia area.
Yang Xiuqing was afraid of Qin and Chen Lidan, so he sent five prime ministers, Li Xiucheng, Chen Shizhang, Tu Zhenxing, Zhou Shengkun and Zhou Shengfu, to lead 10,000 troops to help. He also ordered Qin Rigang: troops should leave the south bank and advance by land and water to support Guazhou and Zhenjiang. If they are suppressed by Xiangyao, they will cross the river and attack the north, from Liuhe and Yizheng to Guazhou, and then cross south to achieve success.
Qin Rigang said to Chen Yucheng: "In my opinion, the troops will be divided into three groups. One will attack the Jiangnan camp, the other will attack Yinxiang, and both will feint. We, the governor, will lead the main force and advance rapidly along the river to support Zhenjiang."
Thirty thousand Taiping troops suddenly gathered east of Jinling, Xiang Rong was horrified.
Zhang Guoliang said: "When soldiers come, they will be blocked, and when water comes, earth will cover them. Commander, don't worry too much."
Xiang Rong said: "I heard that the thieves from both sides of Wuhu, as well as from Liangliang Mountain, Jinzhu Pass, and Han area, as well as Luzhou and Sanhe, merged into Jinling and distributed in various cities. According to reports, the thieves came out of their nests in large numbers in the near future. Channeling: One from Shence Gate to Xianhe Gate to resist our troops; one from Guanyin Gate along the river to Qixia and straight to Zhenjiang; one from the South Road to attack Yinxiang and Moling in an attempt to invade; and ambush near the gates of Taiping to wait for our troops The troops were divided into groups and routes, and they came to surround the camp; there were also large and small pirate ships scurrying around Jiajiang River to watch."
Zhang Guoliang said: "If you attack Jurong from Yinxiang and Moling, the soldiers will not do anything. The main attackers are Zhenjiang and Daying. There must be one of them. I will go to Xianhemen with Qin Ruhu to defend the enemy."
Xiang Rong said: "We are well-arranged and will never lose sight of one thing or another. I immediately ordered Gilhang'a to quickly divide our troops and control the key points along the river in Ning and Zhen."
After hearing the news, Jierhang'a ordered Yu Wanqing to lead a thousand troops to assist Dongyang, and Husonglin led 800 troops to help defend Gaozi and serve as Dongyang's backup.
Liu Cunhou said: "Yu Wanqing's troops are currently stationed at Yanshan Mountain in Beijing, but they are far out of reach."
Gilhanga said: "Capricious people are dispensable."
On January 29, 1856, Qin Rigang divided his troops and pretended to attack Yinxiang and Xianhemen. Wei Changhui also sent troops to Longneck and Yuhuatai to lure Xiangrong to divide his troops. Qin Rigang led the main force from Qixia to Shibu Bridge.
Knowing that he had fallen into the trap, Xiang Rong urgently ordered Qin Ruhu to lead his troops to Dongyang and block the way forward with the guard De'an. Zhang Guoliang's troops came out of Xianhe Gate and attacked from behind.
Qin Rigang had a large number of troops and easily defeated Zhang Guoliang and Qin Ruhu's offensive. As reinforcements arrived, Wu Ruxiao was so excited that he almost wanted to break out of the siege.
Xiang Rong's troops were not enough, so he ordered Deng Shaoliang to dispatch the main force from Wuhu to rush for reinforcements.
On January 31, Yu Wanqing arrived at Longtan, joined forces with Qin Ruhu and De'an, and besieged Shibu Bridge for Jingri, but failed.
That night, thousands of Taiping troops marched eastward along Jiangzhou, building up bases step by step, approaching Zhenjiang. Seeing that the situation was critical, Yu Wanqing rushed to Xia Shu to intercept them. Xiang Rong checked for leaks and filled up the vacancies, and ordered Qin Ruhu to station in Longtan, Yu Wanqing controlled Xia Shu, De'an and Husonglin guarded Dongyang and Gaozi respectively. The four departments acted as horns to each other, blocking Zhou Yan at every step. He also sent deputy general Cai Yinglong to supervise the battle with orders, and then ordered Zhang Guoliang to follow up and resume the pincer attack.
The two armies fought for half a month, with neither victory nor defeat. Xiang Rongshu said: The Qin thieves were numerous and fierce. Our troops intercepted and suppressed them after ten days. Although they failed to defeat the thieves' front, they camped for more than 30 miles from Dongyang to Longtan and Xia Shu Street, blocking them for several days. Although the rebels rushed back and forth across the continent, they could neither fly over the enemy nor disturb Zhenjiang. Along all the river branches, Jirhang'a has mobilized warships downstream to park in Gaozi and Catfish Tao areas to block the Jinshan bandits' rows and block the thieves' way out of the river.
Qin Rigang repeatedly attacked and found it difficult to advance, and sighed: "The way to the aid of the town is close to the river and the mountains, and it is extremely difficult to turn around. The key points in the way are all occupied by monsters. Our 30,000-strong army is stuck in this corner and cannot advance or retreat. What should we do?"
Chen Yucheng said: "My thousands of soldiers are gathered together, and they will change over time. There is a village between Longtan and Xia Shu, called Cangtou, which is located on the riverside. If you occupy it, the monsters will come to attack. The battle line will be wide open, the more the better."
On February 13, Qin Rigang dispatched all his main forces and divided his troops into three groups to attack Xia Shu. Yu Wanqing, Hu Songlin, and Cai Yinglong divided their forces to fight. The two armies fought bloody battles for three days and reached a stalemate. Chen Yucheng took the opportunity to capture Cangtou.
Yu Wanqing was shocked and immediately besieged Cangtou with Qin Ruhu and Zhang Guoliang.
Seeing this, Qin Rigang hurriedly sent an army to attack Longtan from Sancha River. With a tight retreat, Zhang Guoliang had no choice but to withdraw his troops, and together with De'an attacked Sanchahe and Zhangyang Village.
Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng and others took the opportunity to send troops out of the warehouse and harassed them in all directions. The front line between the two armies spread for more than a hundred miles.
Zhang Guoliang reported to Xiang Rong: The number of troops is getting smaller and smaller, and everything is critical, making it almost impossible to suppress and defend.
Xiang Rong urgently dispatched Bong Kuo, deputy commander of the capital of Jingkou, with a cavalry of 200 to rush to the rescue. He ordered Yizheng and Liuhe Shuiyong to increase their defense against Gaozi and Xia Shu. He also ordered Ming Antai to rush to Jurong, and then ordered Deng Shaoliang to supervise Longtan to make arrangements in the middle.
Xiang Rong dispatched troops and generals, and Qin Rigang was distraught.
Chen Yucheng said: "I can pretend to attack the east and west pavilions and seize Jurong's momentum. The main force will actually advance along the river to open up a support road."
Qin Rigang said: "This is a very good plan."
The Taiping Army transferred troops to Jurong, but Yu Wanqing disagreed and said: "The thieves are attacking from the east and attacking from the west. I should divide my troops to guard the inner danger and block the riverside with heavy troops."
Deng Shaoliang said: "The thieves are wanton and wanton, occupying and discarding at will, without any rules. If there is an internal crime, Su Chang will not be protected, and we cannot afford to have anything to do with it."
Jierhang'a also joined, and Deng Shaoliang ordered most of Shu's soldiers to move to the east-west pavilion line.
Deng Shaoliang divided his troops, and Qin Rigang exclaimed: "There are more than ten thousand soldiers in Wu Ruxiao's tribe in Zhenjiang City, all of them are subordinate to Prime Minister Luo Guangyuan, and they are extremely fierce. Wu Ruxiao went out of the city to attack in the west, and I sent my troops to the east and attacked east and west. The enemy in Xia Shu Street was weak. It will be vulnerable to a single blow. But Wu Ruxiao doesn’t know what I mean when it comes to shaking things.”
Chen Yucheng said: "I will go to Wu immediately. The land is not accessible, so I can reach the town with a small boat."
Qin Rigang said: "The cannons from the pirate ship are dripping like rain, so be careful."
On March 17, 1856, Qin Rigang ordered Li Xiucheng to lead his army to make a detour first and block Zhang Guoliang's retreat. He also ordered Tu Zhenxing to burn down the old fortress and capture Tanzhu and Qiaotou.
Li Xiucheng said: "I wonder if Chen Yucheng has entered Zhenjiang?"
Qin Rigang said: "Even if it doesn't come, you and I should annihilate the Qingyao and open up a way for reinforcements. The toughest among the demons is Zhang Guoliang; if he retreats, the demon will collapse. The most fearful place is the Qingyao from the Balipu Jiangbei camp. Jiang comes to help; Jingkou and Guazhou are just across the water, and they will be there in half an hour."
Li Xiucheng said: "Don't worry about this. The evil spirits in the north and the south have been incommunicado for a long time!"
Chen Yucheng entered the town alone and met Wu Ruxiao to explain the situation of the war. Wu Daxi immediately ordered three thousand elite troops to station in Huangnizhou, across the river from Tu Zhenxingbu.
After Yu Wanqing heard the news, he rushed guerrilla Tian Zongyang to intercept it and asked Deng Shaoliang to control Jiangbin, but Deng refused.
On the night of March 18, Qin Rigang ordered a general attack. Zhang Guoliang and Jierhang were unprepared and retreated hastily. Chen Yucheng and Wu Ruxiao took advantage of the momentum to attack fiercely and reached the bridgehead. The two armies communicated with each other, making great noises and rejoicing.
At dawn on the 19th, Qin Rigang led an army of 20,000 troops to kill Benjierhang'a camp and broke through sixteen fortresses.
Jierhang'a urgently ordered Husonglin to stick to his high position, and he and Liu Cunhou retreated to the Jiuhuashan camp, resisting step by step and defending everywhere.
Qin Rigang was unable to attack the fortress, so he had to station troops outside the city.
Xiang Rong reprimanded Deng Shaoliang for his paranoid views and his inability to control the troops, which caused the thieves to connect on both sides and spread across Tanzhu and Qiaotou. The internal criminals could not escape and the situation was tight. He ordered President Zhang Guoliang to all the troops.
After receiving the order, Zhang Guoliang immediately moved forward and entered Yaogang. He also ordered Yu Wanqing to retreat to Gaozixiangkou to assist the Husong Forest tribe. He then ordered Qin Ruhu, Cai Yinglong, and Yang Ruiqian to attack Dongxiyan Gang and Dongyan Mountain. He asked for further consultation. Jirhang'a, gather troops thickly, intercept them tightly, and when the time is right, move forward from east to west.
Qin Rigang and Wu Ruxiao quickly called for help as supplies were cut off, goods and medicines were exhausted, and the rice and grain they had saved could only last for more than a month.
Yang Xiuqing ordered Qin Rigang to attack with all his strength and open up a retreat, otherwise he would be severely punished. He also asked Shi Dakai: "Brother Yi's army has been besieging Ji'an for more than a month. When will they capture it?" Zhenjiang is in critical danger and there are tens of thousands of people in urgent need. We must not delay the return of aid once we have succeeded.
