Shi Dakai and Yang Fuqing defeated Ganjiang, retreated to Fuzhou, rested for two months, and then marched again.
On March 31, 1858, Yang Fu launched an attack from the east to the west, and entered Fujian from Qianshan, Jiangxi. In one month, he successively captured Pucheng, Songxi, Zhenghe, and Shaowu.
Four towns in northern Fujian were lost one after another. Wang Yide, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, urgently commented: The bandits are tracking extremely fast, and the wolf is running like a wolf. In Kanyu, the people are extremely panicked. When they hear that the police are moving, rumors are spreading, and the overall situation is shaken.
On April 14, Shi Dakai marched into Zhejiang and captured the county town of Jiangshan for the first time. On the second day, he sent troops to attack Changshan and Kaihua to control the Qing army in Huizhou. He led the main force and quickly entered Quzhou.
When Xi'an General Fuxing heard about it, Guangxin followed up. Rao Tingxuan, the commander-in-chief of Quyan Town, also rushed to Quzhou from Yushan to arrange defense.
Quzhou controls the elbows and armpits of Poyang, strangles the throat of Ou and Fujian, is the thoroughfare of four provinces, and the main head of five roads. Yan Duanshu, the governor of Zhejiang, did not dare to neglect, and immediately asked the governor of Jiangxi, Qi Ling, General Jiang Ning and the Chunfen soldiers for help. He also ordered the general commanders of the various prefectures in Zhejiang to rush to the rescue.
On April 18, Shi Dakai led his troops to attack Quzhou. When Fuxing's army arrived, he and Rao Tingxuan attacked from both inside and outside. Shi Dakai was defeated and forced to camp in the city. He built more than 40 forts east and west of Quzhou.
On the 20th, Dakai attacked again and was attacked again. More than 20 military camps on the east road were bravely destroyed by Fuxing soldiers, and the Tongqian camp on the west road was also burned to the ground by the villagers.
The second attack was fruitless, so Dakai divided his troops widely and dispersed the troops within ten miles of the county. They spread for dozens of miles from the southwest to the southeast, intending to encircle the county on all sides and trap the county for a long time.
On the 22nd, Zhangzhou Town Commander-in-Chief Zhou Tianshou, Wannan Town Commander-in-Chief Jiang Changgui, Huangyan Town Commander-in-Chief Ming Antai, and guerrilla Tian Yingke each led their troops. There were more than 20,000 Qing troops in and out of Quzhou.
Fuxing sent Zhou Tianshou to the city to assist in the defense, but Zhou refused, saying that the thieves would move eastward, and Zhangshutan was the only way for Longyou to advance eastward, so they would be stationed immediately.
The various Qing military forces had different powers, and Yan Duanshu had no choice but to report: Fuxing controlled the Jiangxi and Jinling reinforcements, Zhou Tianshou controlled the Huizhou and Hangzhou reinforcements, and Rao Tingxuan held on to the city wall and coordinated the response.
Zhang Suimou told Shi Da to open the way: My army is approaching the city, and the demon army is behind me. It is difficult to attack specifically. If the army moves eastward, we can attack the demon's weak point, and we may be able to achieve quick success.
Da Kaidao said: "I take tens of thousands of people with me, and pack them with food for several months. I can march eastward and attack the city at the same time."
On the 25th, Shi Dakai ordered people to build a pontoon bridge and attack Zhangshutan in the east; he also sent 10,000 troops to surround the Fuxing camp.
The bridge was destroyed by artillery when it was half built; the Taiping troops could not stand it any longer and waded across the river one after another. Seeing this, Zhou Tianshou led the three armies to take over the battle. When Fuxing heard the police, he ordered his deputy general Zhang Tengjiao to fight. Rao Tingxuan also sent heavy troops to respond. The two armies fought bloody battles for the whole day, with corpses lying everywhere outside the city of Quzhou and by the camphor tree pond.
At dawn the next day, Da sent his troops across the river to make a sneak attack. Zhou Tian was aware of it and counterattacked with Jiang Changgui's soldiers. They fought fiercely for a long time, but the outcome was still undecided.
On the 28th, Dakai led thousands of troops to besiege Zhangshutan, but he could not win.
Zhang Suimou said: A commoner in the wilds of Zhejiang said: From Quzhou to Longyou, apart from the Zhangshutan waterway, there are four remote paths including Linshan, Xikou, Henglu and Quanwang.
Shi Dakai said: "My order: Shi Zhenji will lead 10,000 troops to attack Longyou in the east."
Dakai repeatedly attacked Zhangshutan, which made Zhou Tian uneasy. He said that Jiang Changgui said: If the rebels are not determined to be in Quzhou, they will definitely sneak into Jin and Yan. Ming An Tai's army quickly arrived at Longyou to set up defenses. Jiang Zongzhen should also be careful when going to civilize and suppress thieves.
On May 1st, Shi Zhenji arrived at Longyou. Seeing that the Qing army was heavily defended, he turned around and attacked the south. Within ten days, he defeated Suichang, Songyang and Chuzhou. A major earthquake occurred in central Zhejiang, and martial law was imposed everywhere in Longquan, Xuanping, and Jinyun. Zhou Tianshou and Ming Antai did not dare to neglect, and rushed to Xuanping and Jinyun to set up defenses.
Zhou Tianshou, Jiang Changgui, and Ming Antai all left Quzhou, and Fuxing could not stand alone. They entered Qucheng at night and told Rao Ting to choose the road: The city walls on the east, west, south, and west are all surrounded by thieves. My camp is in the north. If it is occupied by thieves, the sound and air in the city will be blocked. If the thieves follow suit and attack Shouchang, Hangzhou will be in danger and this situation will not be able to flourish. Brother, I will protect Qucheng, and I will supervise the troops heading north to prevent thieves from escaping.
Ming Antai's deputy general Li Jiawan advanced alone and stationed at Yinchang in Chuzhou. He was surrounded by Shi Zhenji. Ming Antai sent deputy general Tao Maosen to rescue him, and Shi Zhenji retreated.
On May 17, 1858, Zhou Tianshou led his troops to arrive, inspected the terrain, and was shocked. He said: Yinchang is the site of the Fourth Battle and is not suitable for garrisoning, so he immediately moved the camp to Yanquan. Suddenly the sky changed suddenly and it rained heavily. Li and Tao stayed for two days and were again surrounded by Shi Zhenji.
Shi Zhenji commanded the troops to besiege them, and they fought bloody battles all day long. He beheaded the prefect Tang Baochang, the capital Sima Yuanzhen, and nearly all of the thousand Qing troops. Zhou Tianshou and Ming An Taixian came to reinforce them, but they could not be defeated. Zhenji then occupied Jinyun, Wuyi, Yongkang, and Yunhe, and enjoyed unparalleled glory for a while.
When Shi Zhenji attacked central Zhejiang, Emperor Xianfeng angrily ordered: Fuxing failed to stop the attack, so he was dismissed from his post and returned to Yushan to prevent the thieves from returning. Zhou Tian suffered repeated defeats from the thieves, and was rewarded with the title of admiral to supervise the prevention and suppression of Zhejiang. , He Chun, Deng Shaoliang and others then ordered their troops to rush to help.
Qi Ling, the governor of Jiangxi Province, received the order and said: I have ordered Li Dingtai, the commander-in-chief of Jiujiang Town, to lead 7,000 troops and march day and night to assist Zhejiang. According to reports, Li's troops arrived in Wuyuan County yesterday. I hope that Zhou Tianshou can successfully suppress the east road and clear the east road, and unite with the officers and soldiers of Qujun; then Fuxing will march from Changshan and review the west road; Jiang Changgui will march from Kaihua to clear the northwest road; Zhou Tianshou and Ming Antai The best strategy is to advance troops from Jiangshan and clear the southwest route.
General Jiang Ning and Chun Yi said: For the current plan, the only way is to strictly guard Sui'an and take care of the gates of Yan and Hang. On the one hand, it will benefit Zhou Tianshou and Ming An Tai with military strength to prevent Jinhua and suppress the prefecture; on the other hand, consider the situation, or let Longyou , or advance troops from Shouchang, join Fuxing, and try to relieve the siege of Qu, which may still be able to be remedied. Ten days ago, the slaves had ordered Zhou Tianpei, the commander-in-chief of Heli Town, and his deputy generals Guo Qiju and Heshun to lead three thousand troops and quickly enter Zhejiang.
After receiving the order, Zhejiang Admiral Deng Shaoliang immediately sent guerrilla Wu Zaisheng with a thousand troops to reinforce Shouchang. Wu Zaisheng advanced to Shouchang and visited the entire territory of the city without seeing a single thief. Zhou Tianshou then ordered him to rush to Wuyi and attack Shi Zhenji. Shouchang guard Qin Ruhu also led the main force to rescue Sui'an. In the huge Shouchang, there are only four hundred soldiers left.
Not long after, Emperor Xianfeng thought that Quzhou was empty and ordered Fuxing to stay temporarily to assist in the defense.
Before Fuxing arrived, Shi Dakai took the opportunity to raise troops to attack the north. On June 23, he captured Shouchang.
Shouchang was lost, and Yan Duanshu immediately asked Zhang Guoliang to go to Zhejiang to aid the army, and sent orders to the generals who entered Zhejiang: Shouchang is the throat of Jinhua, Quzhou, and Yanzhou counties, and they were rushing down to Kanyu and Yanzhou. If it fails, Hangzhou will be in danger! I wish all the generals would immediately join forces to drive Shouchang away and destroy this ugly type!
Zhou Tianshou learned that he immediately ordered Zhou Tianpei and Wang Enrong to rush to help. When Li Dingtai heard about it, he rushed from Sui'anji to Yanzhou and forced Shouchang.
General Jiang Ning and Chun Zhuo said: The war in Zhejiang is getting increasingly difficult. Only by combining the four provinces' general troops and the 20,000-strong soldiers, there will be a president with one power, and the Zhejiang issue can be solved. Fuxing was the general, but few soldiers in the military camps and local officials and gentry were convinced.
He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang, reported: Now the bandit forces in Zhejiang have moved eastward, and they have been in constant contact with each other for hundreds of miles from Chuzhou to Changshan and Kaihua. Although Fuxing's army has wiped out the thieves surrounding the Quzhou one after another, the surrounding area has been surrounded by bandits. There are more and more swarms, and warnings are issued everywhere in Shouchang, Sui'an, Longyou, and Lanxi, making it impossible to prevent them. Although Zhou Tianshou was ordered to supervise the affairs of Zhejiang, he was limited in his ability to control the east road and had no time to take care of the West Road and Yan area. Moreover, he and the Fuxing Army were in a host-and-guest relationship. However, the qualifications of Ming An Tai and Rao Tingxuan were both ahead of Zhou Tianshou. , fearing that the response would not work well at that time. Yan Duanshu, the governor of Zhejiang, was responsible for organizing troops and paying for suppressing the local area. He had to sit in the provincial capital. Besides, he was not the director of the military. The minister intends to report to Hechun to supervise the military affairs in Jiangnan and Zhejiang, and Zhou Tian will be assisted in the military affairs in Zhejiang and will be the president of all armies.
Emperor Xianfeng ordered He Chun to follow the instructions. He Chun dismissed it because he had "recently his eyes were crooked, his speech was unclear, and he was so anxious that it was difficult to follow the road." He went back to the memorial and said: Jiangying has divided five thousand troops to support Zhejiang. The more divided the troops are, the smaller they are. How can we attack the lair of thieves? Zhang Guoliang, Xu Naizhao and others no longer aid Zhejiang.
Emperor Xianfeng agreed that He Chun's words were well-founded. He further ordered Guan Wen and Hu Linyi: Shi Nida Kai, troops came to Quzhou, Kongji in Zhejiang Province; Li Qing continued to be a guest, and he was appointed as the vassal commander, and he immediately went to Zhejiang. Admire this.
Hu Linyi and his official memorial said: Chen Yucheng gathered all the rebel bandits in Anhui Province and consolidated themselves, with as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people. Our army has 6,000 men to control its southwest, but there are still two sides of the east gate. We must wait for Huang'an to recover and gather more troops, so that we can encircle and suppress them together. In Huang'an, there are also seven or eight thousand bandits. Since the loss of Huang'an, the counties of De'an, Anlu, and Xiangyang have all been under martial law. It will be difficult to send troops to support Zhejiang in February or March.
Sushun said: Zeng Guofan has been idle for a long time, and it is the right time to aid Zhejiang.
Luo Bingzhang, governor of Hunan, also said: The generals of the armies aiding Zhejiang are all well-known to Zeng Guofan, the former minister of the Ministry of War. They are not their fellow villagers, but their old troops. If they are ordered to lead the Chu army to aid Zhejiang, the officers and soldiers will be united and will be of great benefit to the overall situation. Help.
Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict: Zhejiang is my important land for food and salary, and there is no room for loss. Zeng Guofan took up his post soon after, gathered and commanded the armies of the four provinces, and destroyed Shi Ni at the foot of Quzhou City.
