Shi Dakai besieged Baoqing, and Yang Fu's Qing troops suppressed Jingde. Emperor Xianfeng was upset and ordered Shengbao: "The victorious minister has been able to suppress the Guangdong bandits recently. Is there any good strategy?"
Shengbao received the order and said: In recent years, there have been more and more thieves in Anhui, and they are almost impossible to guard against and impossible to suppress. The ministers and others tried to mobilize the officers and soldiers, prioritize the situation, and take care of all four directions, so that the military power was gradually restored. However, the bandit forces in the rear must be slightly loosened before we can focus exclusively on the Cantonese thieves; we must also have sufficient funding so that we can block and suppress them at the same time.
In the southeast, Chu territory has been cleared. The thieves are located in Jiangnan and Anhui, with Jinling as their home base, Luzhou and Anqing as their horns, and Pukou and Liuhe as their throats. The way to control thieves is to assess the situation and grasp the key points, and use joint efforts. Failure to divide the territory slightly will cause the opportunity to be missed. Chen Yu became a minion of Hong Xiuquan, a traitor from Guangdong Province. He was fierce and cunning, and was known as the best among thieves. Last year, the camp in Jiangbei collapsed, Lujun fell again, and the Sanhe Great Wall was lost. Our good generals were defeated and our powerful troops were overthrown, all because of the bandit's leadership. When the fierce front came, there were few strong cities. Chen Yucheng led all the troops at the left and right among the thieves, and all the thieves from Anqing, Qian, Tai, Jin, He, Luzhou and other places were under control. Hundreds of miles away, a false message was sent, and the stars flew towards the counter traveler. Therefore, if you respond slowly and urgently, the army will be easy to win but difficult to defeat. According to the wishes of the minister, the current situation is to gather all the powerful troops to surround and kill him. The Chen thieves are dead, and most of the Guangdong thieves are gone!
In addition, according to Li Zhaoshou's secret report, the person guarding Jiangpu and Pukou in Guangdong was Xue Zhiyuan. In the past, Xue Zhiyuan and Li Zhaoshou were most praised as Mo Ni, but now it is known that they surrendered and were appointed officials. Moreover, because the troops assigned by the minister to attack Quanjiao were defeated by the fierce front, the army was very powerful. Xue Zhiyuan then changed his mind and surrendered. He secretly sent his cronies to Chuying several times with letters to beg for surrender. He was willing to serve as an internal agent and sacrifice the city of Jiangpu in the hope of making atonement for his sins. The ministers and others ordered the deputy general Akdun to join Li Zhaoshou and lead the troops to take care of everything.
Xue Zhiyuan, the guard general of Liangpu, was Li Zhaoshou's younger brother. After Li Zhaoshou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he encouraged Xue Zhiyuan to rebel every day. Xue Zhiyuan couldn't bear the noise and stayed behind closed doors. Zhaoshou then made a lot of nonsense, and everyone in the north and south of the country knew about it. Xue Zhiyuan was afraid that Li Xiucheng would throw a tree over the wall, so he had no choice but to obey.
Li Zhaoshou was extremely slippery and unpredictable, but Xue Zhiyuan did not dare to make any mistakes, so he informed Zhang Guoliang and Dexing'a of his intention to rebel.
Hechun received an emergency message: Jiangpu County City was guarded by Xue Zhiyuan, who was guarding the city. There were about 20,000 men and women in the city, half of whom were trapped by the villagers. Xue Zhiyuan had not been trapped by the thieves for a long time. Every time he thought about returning to his rightful ways, he was suffering from having no other choice. After Lai Zhenhai took advantage of the situation, he was allowed to avoid crime and seek merit. I should bow my head and shed tears of gratitude, and be willing to sacrifice my city to redeem myself. A few days later, his confidants Luo Huaqing and Wen Shenggan, who were in charge of military affairs in Huoqiu County, were ordered to sneak to the boat and meet Zhang Guoliang. They confessed their sins and surrendered, bursting into tears, and made an appointment to send their families to the south of the Yangtze River after the dedication of the city. On the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month, Xue Zhiyuan, the head-turner, shaved his head first and took a dozen people to the sandbank in the north of the Yangtze River to wait for Zhang Guoliang to surrender in person. After Xue Zhiyuan returned to the city, he made an appointment with Chuzhou General Li Zhaoshou to attack and destroy the two bandit camps in Quanduling.
Dexing Ayishu: Xue Zhiyuan, who always turned his head and threw himself into the gangs of Guangdong, had many years of planning and was known as cunning. Last year, Ladi sent people to the camp to express their feelings, but the servants did not dare to believe it and did not take the liberty to enter. Yesterday, Xue Zhiyuan sent another soldier to report, and he was really willing to return. He would first offer Jiangpu County, and then join our army to attack Liuhe. The slave then ordered Zhang Simeng, the magistrate of Liuhe County, to build two pontoon bridges in Guabu, and ordered the guerrilla Zhan Qilun to lead more than 2,000 soldiers, together with Changshou's cavalry, to cross the river from Guabu at Yinke on the 28th and go to Pukou to meet Xue Zhiyuan. Discuss nearby.
Zhan Qilun received the order and led his troops to Jiangpu. He saw Xue Zhiyuan and Li Zhaoshou having a drink and conversing. Zhan Qilun said: Mr. Xue shot multiple arrows with one arrow.
Xue Litong said: We are all surrenderers and rebels. Brother Zhan is the first. Want to have a drink?
Zhan Qilun didn't respond and returned angrily. The next day, Dexing Aqin arrived at Jiangpu. Xue Zhiyuan had joined hands with Li Zhaoshou to capture Pukou. Zhang Guoliang also led his troops to cross north. He planned to build forts and trenches from the mouth of Jiangpu to Jiusuzhou, imitating the method established in Jinling, and move along the river from the north. Control.
Dexing Ah retreated to the north of Jiangpu and watched in despair.
Hechun Zaozou: Although Jiangpu and Pukou were recovered, Dexing'a's army moved to Houhoupu, but failed to succeed. Recently, its actions have become more and more erratic, resulting in the army's lack of fighting spirit and numerous slanders. If the Jiangpu and Pukou incidents are again ordered to defend, and if the rebel bandits move eastward with all their strength, they will be outnumbered and repeat the same mistakes as last year. The stolen grain and stockpiles in Jinling City can last half a year, but if the north bank can be cleared and dangers are set up along the river, the throat is cut off and everyone will be poor if they take it away.
Shengbao also reported: Dexing'a was defeated in the front and moved to the rear; Li Zhaoshou's army exceeded 30,000, occupied Pu and attacked Chu, and he was very ambitious; it was definitely beyond the control of Dexing'a.
Emperor Xianfeng issued an order: He Chun supervises the military affairs in Jiangbei, and He Chun appoints the ministers who are responsible for Jiangbei. He Chun is appointed on the basis of merit; Dexing'a is dismissed from his post and returns to Beijing to be handed over to the Ministry of Finance for discussion; Li Zhaoshou and Xue Zhiyuan stay in the two Pus to control Jiangbei.
When both villages were lost, Li Xiucheng was shocked and told Chen Yucheng and Li Shixian: the three parties should join hands and drive eastward to annihilate the rebellion.
Chen Yucheng was disdainful and said to Liu Xuanlin: "You have the body of a scholar and the heart of a Bodhisattva. How can you lead an army?" Last year, I wanted to kill Li Zhaoshou, but I refused to let him go. He also got all the stolen goods, but he stopped me. Then I told Xue Nai, Li's confidant, not to go to Liangpu, but he didn't listen, and I promised to answer Tian Yu again. Sick! I won't help!
Liu Xuanlin said: The Hu demon Lin Yi has recently arrived, and the Chu'e demon is even more difficult to deal with.
Chen Yucheng said: The fierce demon has two Li and one Bao! The Duxing and Duolong cavalry were barely able to fight.
Liu Xuanlin said: "One of the two Li's has gone. Li Mengqun heard that his troops were often short of pay and had many brave soldiers who refused to obey orders." If Li Mengqun hadn't been brave enough to attack Gushi, Gushi would have been defeated!
Chen Yucheng said: Li Meng's group of monsters have been fighting recklessly for many years. Lu'an City has wide walls and high walls, and they do not go to garrison. Instead, Guanting Town is wasted. This is the time for Li's death.
Liu Xuanlin said: "When we attack Li, what should we do if Hu Linyi leads the whole army to rescue him?"
Chen Yucheng said: I will fight in Sanhe Town and kill Li Xubin. Will Meng Qun come to rescue him?
Liu Xuanlin said: No trace of him.
Chen Yucheng said: From Guanting to Sanhe, a distance of a hundred miles, Li Shang will not come; from Susong to Liu'an, a distance of five hundred miles, will Hu Yao come? Even if it comes, it will be slow but not urgent. Shengbao and Weng wrote in the same book. It is difficult for ordinary people to protect themselves. Even if they come to help, they will just sit back and watch. According to my general's order, the army marched into Liu'an, killed Li Yao and Meng Qun, and then returned to Zaodong.
On March 8, 1859, Chen Yucheng sent troops out of Qianshan and Huoshan to conquer Liu'an, and then attacked Guanting from the east; Wu Ruxiao also left Luzhou and attacked from the east. The two troops were heavily surrounded. From morning to noon, they first defeated the two camps of deputy general Deng Qing and county magistrate Li Mengquan, and then attacked the left and right camps together. The deputy general of the Qing army, Lu Youxiong, and the prefect Yuan Huaizhong went to battle, and the stalemate lasted until Xu's hour. They tried their best to support them, but the two battalions were lost one after another, and the middle camp was unable to sustain its strength. It was also broken at night. Li Mengqun was captured, and Chen Yucheng invited Mengqun to eat with him.
Meng Qun shouted fiercely: You killed my father and my brother, and we can live together! After saying this, throw the bowl and hit it.
Chen Yucheng said: In the past, when you were the magistrate of Guiping County, I personally listened to your words. Since I cannot persuade you with good words, I will send you on your way today.
Yucheng killed Meng Qun and ordered the generals to organize their troops and march eastward at any time.
Li Shixian competed in Wannan, and the battle was fierce. Suddenly, he received a rescue document from Li Xiucheng, saying that Xue Zhiyuan had surrendered to the enemy, and both villages were lost. The gates of Tianjing and Beiyuan were wide open. When the king of heaven asked him about his crime, his brother was heartbroken and his body was sad. His brother temporarily left Wuhu and came to help at full speed.
Liangpu is the gateway to Tianjing and the passage for food supply. Li Shixian did not dare to neglect, so he immediately informed Wei Jun and sent troops out of Chizhou to help defend Wuhu. Li Shixian led the main force and crossed the river.
Brothers Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian joined forces and mobilized 70,000 troops to march eastward.
Li Shixian said: "I go directly from Hanshan and Hexian to Jiangpu. This is the shortest way."
Li Xiucheng said: "I won't succeed because my strength is a little weak. When I go this way, Shengbao and Weng Tongshu pour their troops down, and Hechun sends his troops across the river. We are attacked from both sides." The army marched north, looking far into the distance. Sheng and Weng would not dare to move rashly. They then turned from Quanjiao to attack Wuyi and Chahe, called Liuhe's army, and attacked Pukou to completely annihilate Li Zhaoshou's rebels. If Li is destroyed, Xue will be defeated.
On the second day of Li Dong's advance, Shengbao reported to Weng Tongshu: In the overall situation of Anhui Province, the thugs are firmly entrenched in Lu County, connecting Chao, Quan, He, and Han in the south, and reaching Jiangpu and Pukou directly. At present, it is an important opportunity to block the escape route from Lu Ni. I immediately led the army to Chihe to support Futai.
One day after another, Sheng secretly ordered Li Zhaoshou: Wuyi town in the southeast is the key to the junction of Chupu and Chupu. It must be divided into troops and stationed in order to unite the Anhui camp's momentum.
On March 13, 1859, Li Xiucheng captured Wuyi. On the 15th, he reunited with Liuhe soldiers and captured Pukou again. He drove Li Zhaoshou out of the city and surrounded him. The Jiusuzhou Taiping Army also divided its troops into 8,000 troops and crossed the river to help in the battle. .
He Chun ordered Zhang Guoliang to rush to help Liangpu; he also ordered Zhang Yuliang, Fu Ming'a, and Zhan Qilun to lead 6,000 troops to surround Liuhe.
Shengbao was far away in Chihe. He felt regretful and sent eight thousand soldiers in a hurry. Li Xiucheng resisted the enemy on three sides and was exhausted. After fighting for half a month, he was exhausted and urgently asked Chen Yucheng for help.
Chen Yucheng gathered the entire army to surround and defend the city.
Shengbao was defeated when he went out to fight, and he was defeated again when he went out again, and the city defense was also captured. It was difficult for Shengbao to protect himself, so he ordered Wuyi and Chahe soldiers to return to help quickly. Soon after, Li Zhaoshou was ordered to withdraw his troops to help.
Chen Yucheng surrounded Wei to rescue Zhao, and Li Xiucheng's pressure suddenly eased. On April 8, Chen Yucheng suddenly gave up his victory and led the main force to help Pukou.
When Chen Yucheng arrived, Zhang Guoliang was frightened and ordered Zhou Tianpei to rebuild the third camp and build a horn at a strategic location slightly away from Jiangpu. Upon seeing this, Li Xiucheng immediately set up three camps at Sanliang on the North Road and kept a lookout to control them.
