Shi Dakai received Yang Xiuqing's urgent order of 100,000 yuan and did not dare to slack off. He personally led Huang Yukun and Zeng Jinqian and supervised more than 10,000 troops. They besieged Ji'an for six days and captured Ji'an.
On March 22, 1856, Shi Dakai gathered tens of thousands of troops and defeated Peng Yulin's navy. He then crossed Linjiang and surrounded and killed thousands of people in Fengzi Camp. Zhou Fengshan fled alone.
When the defeat was reported to Nanchang, both the officials and the people were frightened. The rich and powerful businessmen fled day and night. Those who ran for the door could not be restrained. The door was narrow, and countless people died from each other.
Zeng Guofan was guarding Nankang alone and had no owner for a while. He quickly wrote to Luo Zenan: Brother Luo is in Hubei and it is difficult to get hold of him at the moment. Instead of fortifying the city and attacking Hubei, which is far away, it is better to move to the hinterland and save Jiangxi, which is in danger. There are 30,000 troops on both sides of Wuhan, even without Brother Luo, they are still enough to prevent and suppress them; the southwest of Jiang Province borders Hunan and Guangdong. If they are not eliminated quickly, they will actually be an endless trouble for the three provinces. I heard that Liu Changyou and Jiang Zhongji from Hunan Province were rushing to help. It is human nature to have trouble with Minqiao and fish. The survival of the vassal state depends on Brother Luo to continue it.
Luo Zenan howled when he heard the news: "Commander Di's life or death is related to the survival of our family and country, so we must save him immediately."
Hu Linyi said: "We have been besieging the city for three months. The thieves are hungry and exhausted. They are about to be defeated and they are unwilling to give up!"
Luo Zenan said: "Attack with all your troops and withdraw reinforcements from Jiangxi."
After saying this, Zenan was supervising in front of the formation. Suddenly, a bullet flew towards the door, and Zenan sat down with tears in his eyes and smiled bitterly. His last words were: "It's no shame to die! The matter is not over yet! From now on, what can Li Xubin do?" Support. Chaos requires calmness before learning can be useful; I hope the sky will regenerate a few good people to make up for the shortcomings, why bother to limit this barbarian."
Li Xubin, Jiang Yili, and Li Xuyi were in mourning, kneeling on the ground and howling miserably.
Hu Linyi burst into tears. In a daze, he suddenly drew his sword and shouted: "Luo Luoshan is resting in peace. Li Xubin is temporarily supervising Luo Jun. Anyone who dares to talk nonsense will be killed without mercy!"
When Zeng Guofan heard about it, his liver and gallbladder were cold, his heart and lungs were cold, and he wanted to cry but had no tears. He urgently ordered Zeng Guohua to go to Hubei for the funeral.
Zeng Guohua traveled twice as many times and reached the gates of Wuchang City in seven days. He mourned Luo Zenanbi and faced Hu Linyi, begging for help to save his brother.
Hu Linyi did not hesitate and put five thousand troops including Wu Kunxiu, Liu Tenghong and Pu Chengyao under Zeng Guohua's command.
Hu Linyi said to Zeng Guohua: "Five thousand men and horses may be able to relieve the situation. Brother Wen Fu will return soon and report to Commander Di. Wuchang will be restored. Lin Yi will lead a large army into Jiangxi to rush for reinforcements."
Zeng Guohua said: "Shuai Run is a great kindness, I will never forget it until my death."
Hu Linyi said: "Why did Wen Fu say this? You and I are one family. If Lin Yi is in danger, his commander-in-chief will risk his life to save him. Wu Kunxiu, who also knew Wu Kunxiu, was the first to join the army. He first suppressed Li Yuan's bandits and then protected Changsha City. Now he is following Luo Gongze assisted Hubei from the south and restored Xianning, Chibi, Chongyang, and Tongcheng. Although the Biaozi Camp was new, it was also fierce. The county magistrate Liu Tenghong and the guerrilla Pu Chengyao were both fierce generals who could survive a hundred battles. In the battle of Chongyang, General Peng Sanyuan participated After they died in the battle, Teng Hong and Cheng Yao were ordered to attack Shidakai. They defeated tens of thousands of thieves. This spring, the thieves occupied Sai Lake. Teng Hong fought on the embankment, defeated the thieves, and pursued them to Changhong Bridge. They were ambushed. The thieves were seven times as many as me. Teng Hong They fought hard and killed five or six hundred thieves. Luo Gong Zenan wanted to control Yaowan, but the thieves came out to fight. Teng Hong fought against Xiaoguishan and killed six hundred people. Teng Hong's general named Xianghou Camp and planted a black flag. The thieves ran away when he saw it. . These three powerful generals will go to Jiangxi to help Commander-in-Chief meet his urgent needs."
Zeng Guohua bid farewell to Hu Linyi and led an army of five thousand to attack Xianning and Chibi, conquer Tongcheng and Xinchang, and go straight to Nanchang.
Zhou Fengshan's army collapsed, Luo Zenan died, and Zeng Guohua's reinforcements had not arrived. Shi Dakai took the opportunity to launch four attacks, occupying 8 of the 13 prefectures in Jiangxi and 54 prefectures and counties.
Zeng Guofan was trapped in a corner of Nankang. He couldn't call for help. He had many frightened dreams. He went to Emperor Xianfeng and said: "Long live my emperor, long live my humble ministers. They fought bloody battles for ten months. Taqibu and Luo Zennanxiang died in succession. More than a thousand soldiers were killed and wounded. Gandi After repeated losses, military morale slumped. I have been trapped in Pengli for a long time. I heard the roar of the spring wind and my heart was broken. I saw the sails of thieves sailing up and wandering around the house. Such delay covers countless years of self-control, and the fate of Weichen is not long...
Emperor Xianfeng read the memorial, and the dragon's face was broken.
Minister of Military and Aircraft Wen Qing added: "Zeng Guofan failed to live up to the expectations of his times. If he can kill thieves, he will eventually achieve great achievements."
The minister, Su Shun, also said: "Jingchu is half of the country, and Hunan has its own branch. It must not be lost." To the west of Jinling, Hechun bravely defeated Luzhou. To the north and south of Jinling, the Xiangjun Xinxin and the Tuojun Xiangrong surrounded Wei and rescued Zhao, and jointly attacked Jinling. The enemy must be rescued at the right time.
Emperor Xianfeng then ordered Xiang Rong: In the past two years, Beiying conquered Yangzhou, Hechun captured Luzhou, Jierkanga destroyed the small knife bandits, and besieged Zhenjiang again, and Tuominga destroyed the bandits' Pukou camp. You are in the south of the Yangtze River, working hard and spending money, but without success for a long time, allowing thieves to escape one after another and spread throughout Jifu. Even though I am going to behead you, it will not be enough to cover up the sin of you alone. It will only slightly release the resentment of thousands of people in several provinces. At the first moment, there was a shortage of people. I remember that you have been in Guangxi until now, and your situation is still familiar. I will keep the head on your neck for the time being, waiting for your hard work and meritorious service. If every time you report to me, you are still just half-hearted, then you will not be able to accept my kindness and you will die quickly.
He also ordered the governor of Jiangsu, Gil Kang'a, and the imperial minister Tuo Ming'a: Since ancient times, when troops were deployed in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhenjiang, southeast of Jinling, was particularly dangerous. In this critical moment, the two ministers must try their best to capture it; and then they jointly attacked Jinling, and the leader of the Yang thief was flooded.
Xiang Rong was not angry, and sighed to himself: "Since Jintian, I have engaged in more than a hundred battles, big and small, and have become sworn in with the thieves. My red single ship has sailed to Anhui Province, cutting off the thieves' food routes. I have also occupied Wuhu, and the thieves are leading the way. It has been destroyed for me! If this camp is not stationed in the south of the Yangtze River, Su, Chang, Zhejiang, and Fujian will be safe! I am not blessed to accept the emperor's favor, so I will die soon?"
Jiangsu Governor Jierhang'a led the order and joined forces with Zhang Guoliang's troops to attack Qin Rigang's camp; Jiangning General Tuoming'a also did not neglect and surrounded Guazhou along the long embankment.
Yang Xiuqing assessed the situation and ordered Qin Rigang to cross the Yangtze River and attack Guazhou in the north.
Qin Rigang received the order and ordered Zhou Shengkun to lead 3,000 soldiers and horses to guard Cangtou. The rest of the army entered Zhenjiang to rest for half a day. They crossed the river at night and at dawn, relied on Guazhou to attack the Jiangbei camp.
Chen and Li both said good.
Wu Ruxiao was puzzled and said: "How can we defend Zhenjiang when the army is crossing north?"
Qin Rigang said: "You have held it for two years, and you can hold it for another month. There is no city to defend in Zier Guazhou, but I have been able to hold it for two years, and the effort to attack and suppress it is actually the same as that of a fortified city. Tuo Ming Ah Yao is really incompetent. , actually built an earthen wall on both sides of Balipu, stretching for forty miles from east to west. Can we attack? Can we defend? My 30,000-strong army was unexpected and broke through the wall to attack the camp. The monster will be defeated."
Jierhang'a discovered the movements of Qin and Chen and sent someone to inform Tuoming'ajia to take precautions. Tomin'a was busy congratulating a general on his birthday and sent only a few soldiers to guard him.
At dawn on April 3, 1856, Qin Rigang, Chen Yucheng, and Li Xiucheng launched a sneak attack on the Jiangbei camp, broke down more than 120 fortresses, and reoccupied Yangzhou and Pukou. Tuoming'a escaped to Shaobo Town with only a dozen light cavalry.
The camp in Jiangbei was destroyed and all the armies dispersed, but Dexing Abe did not move. Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict to depose Tuoming'a and appoint Deputy Capital Commander Dexing'a as the imperial envoy to reorganize the Jiangbei camp. The editor and editor of the Hanlin Academy, Shao Zhan Shiweng, and his secretary helped handle military affairs.
Qin Rigang's army crossed the river and headed north. Zhang Guoliang, Hu Songlin, and Yu Wanqing took the opportunity to clear the front line of Ningzhen, annihilate Zhou Shengkun's troops, and re-encircle Zhenjiang.
The Jiangbei camp collapsed, Xiang Rong did not dare to be alone, and urgently ordered Zhang Guoliang and Deng Shaoliang to join forces to resist Qin. Zhang and Deng received the order, crossed the river from Qixia Shibu Bridge, joined Dexing Abe, fought fiercely with the Taiping Army for three days and nights, and captured Pukou, Jiangpu, and Yangzhou. Qin Rigang was unable to hold a tree alone and was defeated by three branches of the river.
When the situation was at stake, Yang Xiuqing told Shi Dakai: Qin Rigang's campaign in March will weaken the army and Zhenjiang will be besieged again. The battle situation in Tianjing was extremely urgent, so they immediately sent back reinforcements to encircle and annihilate Xiangyao. He also ordered the Northern King Wei Changhui, together with the emperors Yang Fuqing and Yang Yiqing, to go to Jiangxi to pick up Shi Dakai for defense. Then he ordered the second man on the left to check on Gu Longxian and rush to help Wuchang.
Gu Longxian led an army of 10,000 troops and marched up from Jiujiang. In half a month, they arrived at Chapanling in Wuchang. They reported to Wei Jun and raised fire as a signal to attack from both inside and outside.
Li Xubin made reconnaissance and struck preemptively, forcing Wei to leave the city and surround him.
The next day, Gu Longxian attacked. Wei Jun suspected that he was lying and refused to leave the city. Hu Linyi then gathered the troops of Li Xubin and Jiang Yili to besiege Gu Longxian.
Gu Longxian was defeated and retreated to Fankou. He ordered Zheng Tiande and General Luo Wenyuan to guard Gedian. Zheng and Luo built four forts in front of the street, surrounded by Changhao, which was more than ten feet deep and wide. They also gathered 30 warships to go back and forth to support them.
Hu Linyi issued an order for reinforcements, and Jiang Yili led three thousand troops to attack the front of Gedian; his general Zhu Pinlong sneaked across Baihu Mountain and reached behind Gedian; Yang Zaifu's navy entered the lake along the river and cut off Zheng and Luo's retreat. The three armies of Jiang, Zhu and Yang joined forces and fought fiercely, killing Zheng Tiande and capturing Luo Wenyuan alive. Jiang Yili captured Getai, and his troops marched towards Fankou without rest.
Gu Longxian was frightened and quickly crossed the river to retreat to Huangzhou.
