When Emperor Xianfeng heard about the civil strife in Jinling, he immediately ordered Yiliang, Guanwen, Dexing'a, Duxing'a, Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Fuji, Hechun, Zhang Guoliang, etc. to take advantage of the internal strife and level the ranks. The soldiers' pay could not be increased, and they succeeded. There is little hope. The war situation is going smoothly everywhere, but in Jiangxi, the army has been delayed, the troops have to spend money, and all the counties have been lost, and none of them has been recovered. If Shi Ni cannot succeed in Anhui and Chu, he will inevitably sneak into Gan and incite the evil people, making his situation more and more difficult to control. Zengchen Guofan should take advantage of this time when the thieves are distracted and quickly conquer several cities. How should you treat the people of Jiangxi? Xi'an General Fuxing immediately rushed to Jiangxi to handle military affairs in order to save the crisis.
Zeng Guofan received the order and said to Guo Songtao: "It is a gift from my emperor not to chop off my head. Ta and Luo died one after another, and both the offensive and defensive forces were exhausted. The situation in the Gan region was in a mess. In the east of Jiangxi, Li Yuandu withdrew the siege of Fuzhou and moved his army to Guixi. , more than half of the seven thousand people were lost; now it is known that the war formation was not directed by Li. After this defeat, half of the eastern half of Jiangxi was inactive for half a year. Xiao Qijiang, Liu Changyou, and Liu Kunyi were brave and surrounded Yuanzhou for three months. , it is said that it can be broken within a day. The thieves regain their control of Shanggao, and the grain road is accessible; Shanggao will take over the two states of Yuan and Rui, and their rebellion must be annihilated."
Guo Songtao said: "The internal strife between Huang Banner and Huaqi in Yuanzhou is like the feud between Jinling thieves; the fortress is easiest to break from within. The arrival of Fuxing's troops can slow down the situation in eastern Jiangxi."
Zeng Guofan said: "Fuxing is not on good terms with Guoliang, so we will be transferred to Gan. Eight Banners generals should not be expected. Zeng Guohua, Liu Tenghong, and Wu Kunxiu have cut off the relief from Linjiang on the south road and besieged Ruizhou for four months. Which one is Ruizhou or Yuanzhou? Hurry? Last year, Shi Nida Kaifeng captured Ruizhou, Linjiang, Yuanzhou, and Ji'an, and the Jiangchu road was closed. Journalists and journalists couldn't understand it for several months. Wen Fu went to Hubei to beg for troops on my behalf, and Hu Linyi added 5,000 troops. The horse then conquered the six counties of Xianning, Puzhu, Chongyang, Tongcheng, Xinchang and Shanggao. From then on, Jiangchu was the first to get Tongwen. It was Wen Fuli who made me survive. Zuo Zongtang came to consult and spoke to Yuan Fu, Zhou Fengshan, and Huang Mian led six thousand troops from Wanzai and Pingxiang to Ji'an. Yuanzhou, Ruizhou, and Ji'an Ruoke were settled in western Jiangxi. After Taqibu, Linyuan Town Dusi Bi Jinke occupied Zhangshu Town. He is a brave general who can seize Zhangtian Ferry and attack Raozhou City. He can be of great use."
Guo Songtao said: "Yuanfu is talented, has a strong will and a tough heart, and is determined to achieve great things. The Bi family is indeed tough, but he is not among our generation."
Zeng Guofan said: "If Luoshan and Zhiting are there, it has nothing to do with Wen Fu and Yuan Fu. Jiangxi is stingy in paying salaries, and the salary allocations in Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang and other places are mostly empty excuses, which are of no practical use. They all rely on work. Donating money and collecting money to support the people. If you don't fight, you will sit back and consume military supplies, and the court will not ask questions. Living in Gan for a long time, you have the power to deprive the people, but have no position to benefit the people. This is hateful! I impeach Chen Qimai, the governor of Gan. Selling opium, favoring his Majesty's subordinates, detaining military pay, falsely reporting military exploits, and abusing the Jin gentry. I and the Gan officials are like fire and water, and there is no reconciliation. Hu Runzhi's removal of his danger and his wealth is actually based on the maxims."
Guo Songtao said: "The way to be an official is actually the way to manage. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. If you are righteous, you can do whatever you want, but if you obey, you don't have to do it. Who is the life and death of the people? Wenjun of Xinfu once followed Lin Gongze Xu. To manage things, it’s a pity that I’m a Mongolian bannerman.”
Zeng Guofan said: "The knowledge of Yunxian is not even a little better than mine. I really can't bear to live in a chaotic place for a long time. My brother was a Jinshi and was awarded the editorship of the Hanlin Academy for his merits. I have a letter and I went north with my brother to present it to you." Su Shun, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, may be able to do something else with my brother's talent. If this is successful, there will be someone in my court! If not, you will also return to Xiangyin with good looks! Each one is perfect and the other is beautiful, and the happiness and sorrow are mixed. Is it okay to write half of it? Also, my letters must be collected after carefully observing them; the articles I wrote are so colorful that they must be carefully polished."
Guo Songtao said: "Commander Di dare not disobey orders; the capital is dangerous, so I will come back as soon as I leave."
Zeng Guofan said: "Yunxian is too worried. People in the capital are sitting in a well and looking at the sky. How can we know anything about it! Send my order quickly. The two armies of Zeng Guoquan and Zhou Fengshan must gallop in and besiege Ji'an. Zeng Guohua and Liu Tenghong will do their best to attack Rui again." A state can be conquered with just one drum, and there is no greater good."
After February, Guo Songtao arrived in Beijing. He was recommended by Sushun, the Minister of Household Affairs, and entered the Nan Study Room. Emperor Xianfeng admired his talent and summoned him many times. He exhorted you and said: "The Secretary of Nan Zhai has not done much in writing, so I ordered you to enter Nan Zhai." But no longer writing and writing, reading more useful books, working hard to be a useful person, I will still be engaged in military affairs in the future.
On November 8, 1856, Zeng Guohua and Liu Tenghong led their troops to attack Ruizhou City. The artillery fire was fired and the ladders were launched.
At the twenty-seventh inspection point on the left side of the hall, Governor Lai Yu led the defenders. He was commanding from a high position, and fireballs and cannons were fired like a shower. The Hunan army suffered heavy casualties.
On the 15th, Wu Jinshi Pu Chengyao led two thousand Baoyong troops to attack in the forward position and attack the city at the west gate. Most of the Pujun ladder city was suddenly poured with a full barrel of medicine. The Prussian army failed to take the risk and suffered 200 casualties.
Zeng Guohua repeatedly failed to conquer, so he built fortresses along the north and south of Ruizhou. He was trapped inside and had to rely on his troops, and he was cut off from outside relief.
The vassal vassal had no choice but to say: It is difficult to attack a fortified city and the damage will be huge. We are now imitating the siege of Wuhan, digging around Changhao and cutting off its support, and we can only use our strength to block the aid of the thieves. Then the bandits in the city are running out of food and supplies, so they can capture the canals, sweep out the holes, and regain the fortified city. This strategy of staying trapped may be the foundation for all armies to attack difficulties in the future.
At the end of November 1856, Zhou Fengshan and Zeng Guoquan led 4,000 troops to conquer Anfu and marched to Ji'an. Zhou Zeng filled the trench with grass, reached the root of the city, and attacked the city. The defenders fired guns, arrows, and boiling wood, stone, and oil. Zhou Zeng was unable to hold out and retreated.
Zeng Guofan visited Zhou and Zeng personally and gave them face-to-face advice. Guofan said: "Jiujiang, Ruizhou, and Yuanzhou are obsessed with attacking fortresses, resulting in countless casualties. We have learned from the past and cannot repeat it. It is a good strategy to surround the thieves and kill them."
Zeng Guoquan and Zhou Fengshan also knew the difficulty of attacking the fortress, so they followed the order.
Yuanzhou was besieged for three months. Oil and salt were cut off, rice, food, goods and medicine were running out day by day, and the morale of the army was in turmoil. News of unrest in Tianjing came, and the military camps were divided: Heavenly Father killed Heavenly Brother, but in the end it was all in vain. He packed up parcels and returned home, but he still worked as a long-term laborer. .
Liu Changyou shot a book into the city and was extremely provocative. Li Nengtong, the deputy bodyguard, thought about it again and again and decided to vote for Liu Neiying. Liu Changyou took the opportunity to attack all night, and Li Nengtong offered his gate to accept it. Liu Changyou captured Yuanzhou and attacked Linjiang again.
Wei Jun was trapped in Wuchang. When he learned about Chang Hui's rebellion and the civil strife in Tianjing, he no longer had the will to fight. He told the emperor Hong Renzheng and Qiuguan's deputy prime minister Zhong Tingsheng: "My brother is a vicious bird of prey and has killed ten thousand people. He should be punished for his crime. Long live the king of heaven." Long live, long live, the sage is merciful, and the disaster has not reached the family. My family, old, young, women and children, who are worlds apart from Wei Ni Changhui, all swear allegiance to the king of heaven. Hu Yao Lin Yi and Yang Yao Zaifu repeatedly shot letters into the city to persuade them. I surrender, my heart is like a rock, and I am determined. We have been here for twenty months, and we have run out of ammunition and food and have no help. If we don't abandon the city, we may be annihilated."
Hong Renzheng said: "We have been in the same boat for more than a year. Wei Guozong's heart is right, his wisdom is clear, his strength is courageous, and his ambition is strong. Heaven and earth can learn from it. Today, water, land, food, and aid are all gone. Thirty-six strategies , only walking is the best.”
Zhong Tingsheng said: "I and the Hanyang garrison swear to look after us as the leaders of our two countries."
Wei Jun said: "Hu Yao Lin Yi added six new naval battalions, 250 ships and 4900 brave men; the land division also increased by 5000. On the outskirts of Hanyang and Wuchang, there are deep trenches and wide ditches, and long sieges on all sides. The land route is no longer possible. But along the waterway to the west Move, withdraw from the demon circle, punt the shore, escape and ascend to heaven. Hanyang and Wuchang are closely related, and Prime Minister Zhong leads the army first. The withdrawn army must rush forward and take care of the rearguard, gradually and orderly; be careful not to be disorganized, disorganized, or run like a wolf. Pig tug."
Hong Renzheng said: "My navy has been disabled, is the waterway feasible?"
Wei Jun said: "Quietly, unexpectedly, and unprepared."
Zhong Tingsheng said: "The two sects will retreat first, and I will defend them."
Wei Jun said: "No! When Wuchang is empty, monsters cut off the rivers, and your troops are like turtles in the urn. A fire breaks out in Guishan, and after your troops have withdrawn, I will rush out of Wuchang. Send my order quickly. From today on, all troops will attack instead of defend. Advance and retreat, harass every five days, attack every seven days, harass day and night, and mess up the monster's mind."
In the early morning of December 19, 1856, Li Mengqun made a routine attack on Hanyang. Gunboats from the outer river arrived fiercely. He was in a hurry to attack the city. Suddenly, a storm broke out. Li Mengqun feared that he would be missed and ordered the troops to retreat urgently.
Zhang Desheng, the commander of the Lu division, wanted to attack, but Liu Man, a guerrilla fighter, said: "I heard that the thieves will be rebellious and will flee soon. There is no need to attack in a hurry. You will only be injured by artillery fire."
In the evening, a fire broke out in Guishan. Li Mengqun ordered the camp officer Lu Youxiong to inspect it. Lu Youxiong led his troops to attack Ximen Bridge, but fired missiles repeatedly, but there was no response. A closer look showed that Hanyang City was empty.
When Li Mengqun heard about it, he led his army to chase him to the riverside and killed more than a hundred Taiping soldiers. Then he led the army into the city, set fire to it and looted it. For a moment, the fire candles the sky and shines on the river waves.
Hu Linyi and Li Xubin were accustomed to the hustle and bustle in the north of the Yangtze River and did not take it seriously. In the middle of the night, Li Mengqun sent people across the river to report his victory. Hu and Li sent troops to investigate, but Wuchang City was also empty. Hu Linyi did not dare to neglect and ordered Yang Zaifu, Li Xubin and Jiang Yili to lead the army in pursuit.
Jiang Yili refused to obey the order and took leave to return home. Hu Linyi knew that he was rebellious and at odds with Li Xubin, so he followed the current.
Wei Jun's 20,000-strong army retreated to Jiujiang and Hukou in a panic.
Lin Qirong and Huang Wenjin were both soldiers in the East Palace. Wei Jun's soldiers knocked on the city wall, but neither Lin nor Huang dared to accept it. Wei Jun had no choice but to go south to Jingdezhen and settle down temporarily.
Guan Wen, Du Xing'a, and Li Mengqun also did not show weakness. They ordered Yunyang Town's commander Wang Guocai and assistant commander Duolong'a to pursue and attack fiercely along the north bank of the Yangtze River. They captured Huangzhou and Huangmei one after another, and reached Xiaochikou. They fought fiercely for three days, but they could not be defeated. gram. At the end of the month, General Bao Chao arrived with an army of 3,000 troops and made a sneak attack at night. Bao Chao took the lead and advanced quickly with flags raised. He was hit by lead bullets and was unconscious for several days. Duolonga was helpless, so he revived his troops and dredged Hao, and besieged him in a long moat.
On the south bank of the Yangtze River, the armies of Yang Zaifu and Li Xubin advanced by land and water. In half a month, Ezhou, Daye, Xingguo, Guangji were captured, and then Jiujiang City was captured.
Li Xubin set up camp at Sunjialong, ordered his soldiers to fill Hao with pay, and burned all the fences and bamboo sticks outside Jiujiang City. He again led troops to scale the city more than twenty times, but failed. Then from the south of Jiujiang and Guanpaijia to the end of Baishui Lake in the east, a long moat was dredged. The moat was two feet deep and three feet five feet wide. It was more than thirty miles long and covered four levels of the ridge. The east gate road was left as a lure. Fighting and chasing the ground.
Wuchang was recovered, and Hubei was completely recovered. The official document is urgent: In twenty-two days, Hanyang will be conquered and countless thieves will be wiped out. The deputy prime minister Zhong Tingsheng and the commander Liu Man of Qiuzhiguan were killed by artillery fire. Wuchang's soldiers saw the smoke and flames of Seoul on the other side. Knowing that they had succeeded, they worked hard and attacked with all their strength. On the 22nd, they conquered and recovered the provincial capital. The army marched eastward, and Ruizhou and Yining were adjacent to Chongyang and Tongcheng in the northern province. Hu Linyi only has more than a thousand brave men left, and his actual appearance is thin. He wrote a memorial to stay in Hunan as a candidate for the road, Wang Xin went north to Chong and Tong, controlled the junction of Jiangxi and Hubei, and ensured the aftermath of Wuhan.
Hu Linyi Yishu: On the 22nd, Yang Zaifu's navy returned and burned the thieves' warships one by one, leaving no sails behind. The Lu division was more urgent in their attack and suppression. The thieves were unable to resist, so they opened the city gate and broke out in different ways. The ministers and generals blocked the road and fought fiercely for three hours. They annihilated 3,000 thieves and captured 54 generals at all levels, including Check Point, Gu Youxin, and Lai Jixing. At noon, Wuchang was captured. Now that the three towns of Wuhan have been obtained, the army of the eastward expedition by land and water will rely on Wuhan as its foundation. The camp is in a strong position and the soldiers have no worries about turning back. Arms, rice and food are provided, and losses are endless; injuries and diseases are provided, and a place to rest is provided. Therefore, the strategy to pacify Wu must first protect E County.
Fang Yurun, Wang Guocai's staff, was disdainful and privately said to Wang Guocai: "The army has besieged Wuhan for a year, but the thieves have not lost a single lot. On the 22nd of this month, the thieves suddenly escaped together and returned to Jiang Province to help Jiang Province. I have worked hard for my troops. Pay, wait for the thief to escape, and then succeed, what a shame!"
Wang Guocai sighed and said: "The whole country is like this, what can anyone do?"
Yuanzhou was defeated, Wuchang was captured again, and Ruizhou, Anji, Jiujiang, and Xiaochikou were again surrounded. The vassal state was very happy. In the winter of the fifth year of Xianfeng, Ruizhou, Linjiang, and Yuanzhou Ji'an fell one after another, and many counties in West Road were captured. Fall to thieves. Reinforcements will arrive in Rui this autumn, and the road between the two lakes will begin to open. After Yuanzhou was defeated, the Hubei army arrived in Xun, and the West Road was restored one by one. Long live my emperor, the thieves are destroying Jinling, and the Gan region is getting better.
