Qin Rigang's army suddenly appeared at Yanziji and Guanyinmen; Shi Dakai captured Lishui. Xiang Rong was overwhelmed and consulted Zhang Guoliang immediately: Zhenjiang was in flames, Jinling thieves were rushing in again, and ants were swarming in all directions, watching. If the upper and lower roads cross the Shibu Bridge, it will be difficult to intercept them. Qin Ni stormed through the Xianhemen area and was able to cut off the camp's retreat. The east dam of Lishui is close to Liyang, shielding Su and Chang. And the stone thief's attack on Li is of vital importance to the overall situation, so he will attack me later. Wanwang flew to Lishui and opened the passage to Su Chang. Li Ke, quickly return to Zhongshan to protect the camp.
Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng came to Beijing, paid homage to Yang Xiuqing, and told Qin Yi one by one.
Yang Xiuqing said: "Since March, we have been rescuing Zhenjiang, Pukou, Yangzhou, Ningguo, Wuhu, Molingguan, and Lishui from the demons. The troops have been scattered and their nests are empty. I am just about to gather the two armies of Shi Dakai and Qin Rigang and destroy them in one fell swoop. Qin Rigang The troops were divided into two groups and attacked the Xianhemen from the north and the south together. Shida drove his troops into the Qingma Group and cut off the connection between the Xianhemen and Zhongshan and Xiaoling Guards. After that, all the troops in Tianjing opened the door and poured out to completely eliminate the elbow and armpit problems. They were not eliminated. Those who enter Tianjing City as monsters will be killed without mercy! Behead them immediately!"
Qin Rigang did not dare to ask any more and went to war immediately.
On June 17, 1856, Qin Rigang ordered Chen Yucheng to advance to Xiaoshuiguan and Fengjia, and attack Xianhemen from the south; he also ordered Li Xiucheng to camp outside Yaohuamen to defend the back road; he led his army and moved the camp from Yanziji , attacking Xianhemen from the north.
In Tianjing City, Yang Xiuqing ordered an army to climb over the dragon's neck, build a fortress at the foot of the mountain, wave flags and shout, watch for disturbances, and contain the Xiangrong Zhongshan camp.
Xianhemen was in danger, so Xiangrong quickly sent his deputy general Wang Jun with two thousand soldiers and horses to gather the Qing troops at Shibu Bridge and Xianhe Bridge to defend to the death.
On the 18th, Shi Da ordered one group to enter Yaofangmen and Xianhe Temple to connect with Chen Yucheng's army on the Feng family side; the other group marched into the Qingma Group and built several forts to cut off the connection between Wang Jun and Xiang Rong.
Xianhemen was in danger, so Xiang Rong ordered Wang Jun to stand firm and wait for help. He secretly ordered Feng Zicai, the commander of the capital, to lead five hundred brave men to attack the Qingma group at night. He also urgently consulted Zhang Guoliang: The thieves are very fierce, and there are dozens of times more people than me. How can we resist this crazy bandit? There are thieves on all roads in Dongba and Ningguo. Once they move, they are afraid that they will take advantage of the opportunity to invade. That is to say, thieves and bandits in Zhenjiang and Gaozi areas are constantly trying to harass them. Danyang is the main route for the intruders in Zhenjiang, and there are not many defensive troops in Jurong, so it is extremely difficult to mobilize them. If the group of green horses is lost, the whole situation is in turmoil. I just hope that Brother Zhang will abandon Lishui temporarily and gallop back under the starry night. Life and death depend on my brother's return.
Feng Zicai was ordered to take advantage of the night fire attack, burn down two Taiping military camps in Qingma Group, and restore the connection with Xianhemen.
Zhang Guoliang received the consultation and immediately rushed to the group of green horses. Build three fortifications overnight to control the east of Zhongshan.
At dawn on the 19th, Qin Rigang led four thousand troops and attacked Xianhemen; Chen Yucheng attacked from the south, and Li Xiucheng flanked him.
Wang Jun was surrounded by enemies on three sides and was unable to stop him, so he stood still and asked for help. Xiang Rong had no time to take care of himself, and after careful consideration, he still sent 600 troops for reinforcements.
Qin Rigang's troops were divided into twelve groups and attacked in a circular manner. Wang Jun resisted with all his strength until dark.
On the 20th, Yang Xiuqing ordered a general attack.
Qin Rigang took the lead, and Wang Jun formed a formation to meet him. The two armies fought from morning to noon, and it was difficult to tell the winner.
Zhang Guoliang rested for a night and recruited 500 guerrilla Hu Kunyuan troops, 500 Zhang Yuliang troops, and 300 Molingguan Shuiyong troops, greatly increasing his strength. Zhang Guoliang followed suit and fought steadily, driving a portion of the Taiping Army out of the Green Horse Group.
Seeing this, Yang Xiuqing ordered Shi Da to advance quickly, and ordered the Tianjing defenders to fight out from the South Gate and Tongji Gate and attack Jieyong's camp at Qiqiao Weng. Jieyong's soldiers were less than three hundred and were in danger. After hearing the news, Xiang Rong personally led thousands of troops to rescue the emergency.
At noon, Shi Dakai led 10,000 troops, crossed the mountain from behind Linggu Temple, and attacked six military camps in a row. Qin Rigang's four thousand troops also crossed Zhongshan and arrived behind the military camp. In Tianjing City, Hongwu Gate and Chaoyang Gate were opened one after another, and thousands of soldiers poured out and rushed towards the camp.
The Xiang army was surrounded by enemies on all sides and was gradually unable to support itself.
Zhang Guoliang stuck to the Qingma Group, and all the medicine and lead bullets from each camp had been shot. Zhang came up with a sword and was shot in the foot. At Xianhemen, Qiqiaoweng, and Xiaolingwei, generals Chen Mingzhi, Dusi Li Farong, and Liu Xiuzhu died in battle one after another.
Xiang Rong did not dare to fight anymore and retreated to Danyang. As soon as the shock subsided, he immediately went to the army: I divided my troops for months and looked around, running east and west, blocking the left and right, with many casualties. It was urgent to reorganize and rest before fighting again. There are many rebels, and they have coveted Su Chang for a long time. Su Chang was shocked by the defeat of our army. Since Lishui was occupied by thieves, if they could sneak to Judan and take advantage of the situation to invade, the overall situation would be disastrous. If the sun is in danger, don't take precautions first in Danyang.
He Guiqing, the governor of Zhejiang, knew the importance of Xiang Rong and was afraid of being fired, so he immediately went to the police: Xiang Rong has been suppressing bandits in the south of the Yangtze River for four years. Although he has not conquered the fortified city, the camp of Zijin Mountain is difficult to shake, and the thieves have concerns. , Dare not invade Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Xiang Rong leads the troops and coordinates the overall situation. No matter where there is an emergency, reinforcements are always there. However, the more the generals are coordinated, the fewer they become, and the more the troops are divided, the more isolated they become. I heard that when Xiang Rong first arrived, he had tens of thousands of soldiers, but the number of soldiers approaching was only a few thousand. After the thief was injured on the North Road, he planned to flee to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Thirty thousand thieves and soldiers, fighting and defending at random, erratic. We attacked Xiaodanyang, but the thieves came to attack Gao Zi. We attacked Dingmao Bridge, and the thieves suddenly fell into Lishui. They all wanted to tie up our army. Gaini clearly knew that Zhenjiang was in trouble and Jinling was lonely, yet he dared to gather tens of thousands of thugs to surround my camp. The soldiers were outnumbered, so they were tricked.
Che Keshen, the right minister of the Ministry of War, also said: Since the rise of the army, hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been recruited from various places and tens of millions have been spent on salaries. And the more the thief fights, the stronger he gets, so why? All the ministers were restrained by thieves, and it was not enough to suppress them. If a thief sneaks in and wraps himself up to defend, he will be able to lead an entire army of mine. Shou Shang is overwhelmed, so how can he win? There must be a brigade dedicated to suppressing the enemy, and its strength will be overwhelming, and then it will be enough to contain the situation. This spring, a large number of thieves harassed Jiangxi. Ji'an and Jianchang fell one after another, and Nanchang was under martial law. It was thought that the thieves were fully focused on Jiangxi, but they did not know why Zeng Guofan was restrained. He did not dare to leave Jiangxi, and took tens of thousands of people away from Jiangxi. Disturbing Ningguo, Zhejiang will be shaken. At that time, Xiangrong sent Deng Shaoliang to help, and more than ten thousand of Deng's troops were stranded in Ningguo. The thieves took advantage of the opportunity to attack the Zhongshan camp. After four years of operation, it was reduced to ashes, which is a great sigh!
Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict: The camp in the south of the Yangtze River was lost, and his ministers were too great, so they were temporarily dismissed from their posts. Although Xiangchen did not restore the fortified city, he protected Su and Chang for several years and did his best. He still retained the imperial minister to supervise military affairs. Fu Ji, the governor of Anhui, He Chun, the admiral of Jiangnan, Zeng Guofan, the minister of war, and Deng Shaoliang, the admiral of Zhejiang, must attack the thieves and rescue them in order to divide the thieves' power and provide remote assistance to Jiangnan. Shengbao served in Wanying for half a year. He said he was dedicated to helping Henan military affairs. In addition, Hechun and Fuji jointly accused Yuan Jiasanzhu of guarding Linhuai, whitewashing military affairs, intercepting pay and money, and pretending to enrich himself. After verification by Yiliang, the governor of Liangjiang, it was indeed fabricated out of thin air. Yuan was appointed as the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. , rushed to Henan to encircle and suppress the Nien bandits. Admire this!
Yuan Jiasan left Beijing and headed south to eastern Henan. He saw that the villages along the way were surrounded by ditches and high walls. He was doubting himself. Yuan Baoheng, the eldest son of Jiasan, said: "The Fengtai Wu family gathered Miao Peilin to build villages and accumulate millet." , In the field of military management, tens of thousands of soldiers were trained in bravery, and they repeatedly defeated bandits, and the villages in northern Anhui and eastern Henan became effective. Miao was a down-and-out scholar, and he was very fond of his fellow countryman Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy of building high walls, hoarding grain, and slowly becoming king. He is famous for his poems and essays in Jianghuai. Two poems about Sitting Alone in the Autumn Night and Hometown are outstanding. One of them says: Holding a broken piece of paper in his hand and facing a green lantern, he sat alone with a curtain and counted the stars. Six screens opened in the darkness of autumn, and insects chatted in the hall at night. . The cuckoo cries, the blood is white, the frost is white, and the evil spirits are peeping at people. The lights are green. I am smiling at the sky with my horizontal sword, and I will never miss the sutra again in this life. One said: Looking east from my hometown, the grass is separated, and the battle fortress is rolling with beads and painted flags. Taking advantage of the situation, I want to devour tigers and wolves. For meat, fight with a knife to skin the cows and horses. It is not a blessing to know that the war and chaos are not a blessing, and it is not a surprise to die of old age and a cold window. It is inevitable to die as a turtle or a turtle, it is better to be a dragon in the sea."
Yuan Jia sighed: "Miao Peilin has more than ten thousand troops. He has never suppressed the bandits, but only seeks to protect himself. In troubled times, weird things happen, and Miao is a dragon and a turtle? He is a demon and a turtle!"
When Xiang Rong received the order, his eyes filled with tears, he poured a pot of old wine, asked Zhang Guoliang to drink it, and said: "I have three joys and one sorrow, let me tell you about it. The camp was lost, and my emperor did not order him to die quickly. This kindness is more than great. My kindness is so great." Deng Shaoliang's troops have recently surrounded the Ning Kingdom, and it is said that they can break it in a day. Wei's bandits Changhui and Shi's bandits Dakai have already reached Jiangxi and Hubei. In this area, only Qin's bandits Rigang and his army are disturbing. Brother, I can stop them with my own strength. I have nothing to worry about. Yes. I'm just worried about old age and frailty. I'm struggling to walk recently, and I can't sleep or eat. That's all. The superiors can't help the master, and the subordinates can't benefit the people. Such a corpse is eating nothing, and there is no regrets in death."
In Luzhou, Anhui, Hechun received the order and said to Fuji: "Yuan Jiasan and Shengbao are new, how can you and I not work hard!"
Fuji said: "Shengbao is a self-willed man, and his efforts are only to suppress bandits. To the south of Luzhou, Sanhe Town Road connects Lujiang, Shucheng, and Chaoxian County, and is a thoroughfare between the north and south. He has been fighting for half a year, but he has been unable to do so after repeated battles. There is nothing we can do! Since the camp was abandoned in Luzhou, the treasurer's grain stand has been empty. Our camp does not have hundreds of gold deposits. How can we maintain our stalemate for a long time? The Jinling and Yangzhou camps in Suzhou have retreated, and we are tired of paying, silver, and making money. Thousands and thousands of them are all owned by thieves, what a pity! Sanhe Town is surrounded by stone barriers, which are up to several feet high and as strong as an iron wall. The Lujiang River in the south is also a barrier, and the bandits refuse to defend it with all their strength. The Lujiang River is bounded by Wu, Chao, Shu, and Tong, and it stretches into a vast area, which is difficult for a whale to swallow."
He Chun said: "The battle situation in the Anhui region is concentrated at Sanhe Town. The holy will is sincere, and I will fight to the death again."
In the middle of the night, He Chun led his troops out, silently, and approached the trench outside Sanhe Town. Lan Chengchun found out at the fifteenth inspection point on the left side of the hall, and ordered the soldiers to fire cannons and arrows.
Hechun besieged for several hours and suffered more than a hundred casualties. The sneak attack failed, so they had to camp on the spot and besiege them for a long time.
