After the siege of Tianjing, rewards were given based on merit. Hong Xiuquan decreed that Liu Xuanlin would be the chief general of Jingdong, Wu Dingcai would be the chief general of Pingxi, Huang Wenjin would be the chief general of Dingnan, Zhang Lexing would be the chief general of Zhengbei, and Li Shixian would be the king of Zhongzhengjing Guards of the Nine Gates of the Celestial Empire.
Li Shixian was very happy to be ranked as a prince. He immediately requested to march into Zhejiang and Fujian to raise food and funds and expand the territory. Chen Yucheng disobeyed him and said that Anqing was in danger and he would rescue him immediately.
Hong Rengan, the king of Qian, said: From Tianjing, it is separated from Sichuan and Shaanxi in the west, the Great Wall in the north, and Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong in the south, all five or six thousand miles away, but it is not as far away as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai in the east. The power of thick and thin is different, and if you take advantage of the victory, it will be easy to achieve success. As soon as they get off the road, they will take one million to buy twenty steamers and take them up the Yangtze River. Send another force to march from the south to Jiangxi, and another force to march from the north to Qihuang and join forces to capture Hubei. Then we will have both sides of the Yangtze River, and we will be able to survive for a long time.
Li Xiucheng said: King Qian's words are reasonable. Although this battle was won, only five thousand demons were killed, and the main force of the demons was still there. Four years ago, the holy army defeated the Xiangrong demons, but they stopped at Danyang. The victory was not completed, and the legacy remains to this day. We must not repeat the same mistakes now, and we will be pursued by the bad guys. Wei Chen's intention is to gather the entire army to compete for Danyang and capture Su Chang, and then divide the troops to advance north and south of the Yangtze River, until the two routes return to Hubei.
Hong Xiuquan said: On the occasion of this great victory, we will suspend our troops for three days and the whole world will celebrate. However, the evildoers were not yet exterminated. Li Xiucheng immediately led the army to attack Su Chang. He was given a deadline of one month to clear out the enemy.
On May 18, 1860, Li Xiucheng, Chen Yucheng, Yang Fuqing, and Li Shixian raised 60,000 troops to besiege Danyang. Chen Yucheng took the lead and was eager to try.
Xiucheng said: "Brother Ying, take a break. We are at a standstill. It won't be too late for my brother to get out."
Li Xiucheng, Yang Fuqing, and Li Shixian joined forces to attack the east gate. Zhang Guoliang and Xiong Tianxi refused to the death. Li Xiucheng could not attack for a long time, so he suddenly divided his army and moved to Ximen. Ximen's troops are outnumbered and can be defeated at a moment's notice. Zhang Guoliang was frightened and led an army to defend the enemy. However, the routed troops were blocked and unable to advance. Guoliang galloped his horse into the moat, hoping to cross the river to the west gate to defend the enemy. Unexpectedly, the water was deep and the horse was submerged, making it unsinkable.
Guoliang died and the Qing army collapsed. Li Xiucheng, Yang Fuqing and others marched forward and killed more than 10,000 people under the command of generals Wang Jun and Xiong Tianxi, deputy general Cai Qirong, and county magistrate Fang Jitai. When He Chun was in danger, he was timid, so he led the remaining troops to escape to Changzhou.
The Taiping Army found Zhang Guoliang's body and whipped him wantonly. Li Xiucheng stopped and said: When the two countries are at war, each country is loyal to its own affairs. Although we are enemies in life, can we still be enemies in death? Burial under the pagoda.
Chen Yucheng said: The fierce demons, Zhang Guoliang, Hu Kunyuan, Zhou Tianpei, Xiong Tianxi, etc., have all died in the battle; Zhang Yuliang, Liu Jisan and Ma Dezhao are as frightened as a bereaved dog. There is nothing to fear from these remnants. We will divide our troops immediately. Two routes, rushing to help Anqing.
Li Xiucheng said: The King of Heaven's military order gives a one-month deadline to capture Su Chang, and then divide the troops to attack the north and south of the Yangtze River, until the two routes return to Hubei. Brother Ying can cross the river and attack Yangzhou and capture Quanjiao; I have captured Su Chang and will go up the river to join my brother and return to Hubei.
Chen Yucheng said: "Whether the attack is successful or not, the deadline is one month. Then my loyal brother and I will work together to celebrate."
On May 21, 1860, the kings divided their forces. Li Shixian attacked Jintan, Chen Yucheng attacked Yangzhou from the north, and Yang Fuqing assisted Xiucheng to attack Changzhou together.
Danyang was defeated. He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang, was frightened. He suddenly received a report from Jiangsu Liangtai, saying that Changzhou had enough resources to block the defense, and Suzhou was attacked by air. Please station in Suzhou to satisfy the people. Guiqing found an excuse and immediately led his personal followers and left in panic. When the people of Changzhou learned about it, they knelt down and begged. Guiqing was eager to escape, so he shot the civilians and fled.
He Guiqing left without saying goodbye, and Zhang Yuliang paid a visit to He Chun, saying he was ashamed to be in Cao Ying.
He Chun lamented: If we join forces with Danyang, we may be able to change the situation. Now that Duke Zhang has gone and Danyang is lost again, how can we defend ourselves against the enemy?
Zhang Yuliang said: Jiangsu vassal governor Xue Huan led reinforcements and galloped over. Outside Changzhou City, the final generals camped for more than 40 bases and fought with Ma Dezhao to fight to the death. He and the commander guard the city, and they are our horns.
When Li Xiucheng arrived in Changzhou, he divided his army first, detoured around Zhang Yuliang, broke off the alliance between Zhang and He, and then returned to his main force to besiege Zhang Yuliang's camp. Yuliang was trapped in a tight siege, unable to fight back, and could not enter the city. He had no choice but to use his horse to win Zhao's troops, break the bloody path, and retreat to Wuxi. Seeing that the situation was not good, Hechun also fled to Hushuguan, bowed three times to the north, and hanged himself. The people of Changzhou swore not to surrender, regardless of old or young, they all climbed up to the Pipi and stood firm in Yingcheng.
When Li Xiucheng failed to persuade him to surrender, he set up dozens of huge cannons and rockets to attack the city. He ordered soldiers to move up from the civilian houses and attack the city walls.
Changzhou was defeated, Li Yang divided his troops, Yang Fuqing led his troops to the south and attacked Yixing; Li Xiucheng's troops entered Wuxi.
He Guiqing escaped to the outside of Suzhou City. Xu Youren, the governor of Jiangsu Province, hated him for abandoning the city and losing his troops. He immediately impeached him and immediately issued an order to all the sects that no one from the governor's yamen was allowed to enter the city. Again, the order was given: recruit 12,000 more strong men, distributed inside and outside Suzhou, and work with regiments to patrol according to sections; all the people in the city should be given a lamp for each house and a flag for every five houses. Strangers, etc., should be strictly interrogated to prevent spies from entering the city. He also advised Su Songtai Dao Wu Xu: If you can quickly meet the barbarians and use their troops to turn the crisis into safety, our country will repay you with strength.
Wu Xu received the order and immediately met with the British and French ministers in Shanghai to request help in defending Shanghai. The British and French ministers assessed the situation and decided to intervene with force. On May 26, 1860, the British and French ministers issued a joint announcement that the British and French troops would intervene in due course to protect the Shanghai Concession.
He Guiqing also knew that his actions were inappropriate, and Shangshu said: After the fall of Jinling, the governor of Liangjiang used Suzhou as his garrison, and Changzhou as his residence. Because he did not tie up the military symbols, it was the backbone of the Jinling camp. The defense of the camp is located where the grain platform is located, so it is often temporarily stationed. When Zhi Hechun and others arrived in Changzhou, all the officers and troops transferred came from the main camp, so the military affairs should be under the supervision. However, Suzhou was unprepared, and neither the civil or military officials knew the actual military situation...
He Guiqing was wandering at the foot of Suzhou City. When he heard that the pursuers were approaching, he immediately packed his bags and rushed to Shanghai.
Zhang Yuliang and Ma Dezhao took over the defense of Wuxi and set up barracks at the four gates of the city. All the houses outside the city were demolished. When Liu Jisan, the commander-in-chief of Tongyong Town, heard about it, he came to help from Yixing along the waterway. Xu Youren, the governor of Jiangsu, also sent the commander-in-chief of Tingzhou Town, Zeng Bingzhong, to lead the army. Navy assistant.
Zhang Yuliang said: The Holy Father ordered my brothers to control the armies in the south of the Yangtze River. The war is urgent, and my brothers are not polite. My intention is that Brother Ma will be able to protect the city of Wuxi. The high bridge in the north of Wuxi city spans the Wuxie River from east to west, and the Wuxie River leads to the Jiangyin Canal. We travel by water and land side by side, here to resist the rebellion. Liu brothers Ji San and Zeng Bingzhong, together with Taoist priests Shi Baoyou and Wu Bian Zheng Kuishi, were stationed at Gaoqiao. Zheng Jimei, the prefect of Jiangning, stationed himself on the line from Shuanghejian to Qianqiao to cover the back road of Gaoqiao. Jiang Zhishan, the garrison of Sikkim City, is in charge of sentry patrols of various ministries. I led my headquarters and stationed myself on the other side of the high bridge, responding to calls from the front and back.
