Over the past six months, Anqing has been in crisis many times, and Chen Yucheng has tried to evacuate Hong Xiuquan again. Although Sunan has gained, if Anqing is destroyed, there will be endless troubles, and rescue must be done immediately.
Hong Xiuquan said: The strategy is to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao. The British troops will be stationed in the north of the Yangtze River, and the loyal troops will be stationed in the south of the Yangtze River. They will attack separately and attack Wuchang directly. They will mobilize the demons to return reinforcements and defeat them in one fell swoop.
Chen Yucheng said: Anqing has been trapped for a long time, and the troops marched into Wuchang. The journey is long, and delaying the attack will not help. The Wei ministers and the loyal King Xiucheng joined forces and crossed the river to sweep the north to relieve the siege of Anqing first. The auxiliary king Yang Fuqing and Huang Wenjin's tribe marched along the south bank of the Yangtze River to the north of Jiangxi. The Ministry of Prince Li Shixian marched directly from Huizhou to eastern Jiangxi. Liu Guanfang, Lai Wenhong, and Gu Longxian joined forces to attack Zeng Guofan's demon camp in Qimen. The five armies advanced separately and attacked together. They broke the siege of Anqing and killed Zeng Yao in Qimen.
Hong Xiuquan said: Accurate!
Chen Yucheng said: "Without delay, I will lead my troops to cross the river first. King Zhong, King auxiliary, King Shi, etc., please ask His Highness King Qian to supervise again."
In early October 1860, Governor Chen Yucheng led 20,000 horsemen to cross the river northward, surrounded Luqiao, and attacked Shouzhou.
The generals Liu Xuanlin, Ma Ronghe, Chen Wencai, etc. all deceived the British king to seek the distant side instead of the near.
Chen Yucheng said: Last month, Miao Peilin, the head coach of Fengtai, showed his goodwill many times. If our president attacks Shouzhou and his one hundred thousand people respond, the north and south of the Huaihe River will be flat.
Liu Xuanlin said: "The Nian Army Alliance advocates happy deeds and words, while Miao Peilin supports his troops with self-respect. He is the leader of the army and the rat of both sides. They are active at all times. They should not be trusted easily."
Chen Yucheng said: This president listens to his words and watches his actions. Even if there are no seedlings, we can capture Shouzhou and Liu'an, and join together with Tongcheng, Luzhou, and Shucheng, and the situation will be even greater. When King Zhong's army arrived, they immediately attacked from two sides and completely annihilated Hu Yao's army, thus breaking the siege of Anqing. Where are the three departments of the loyal king, the auxiliary king, and the servant king?
Liu Xuanlin said: According to reports, King Zhong is still in Suzhou, and Yang Fuqing and Li Shixian have moved to southern Anhui.
Chen Yucheng sighed and said: "Zhongbu is so slow!"
The auxiliary king Yang Fuqing received the order and together with the serving king Li Shixian, they jointly attacked the Ningguofu in Nannan Anhui. They besieged the city for 40 days and killed Zhou Tianshou, the retired admiral of Hunan. The morale of the Taiping army was greatly boosted. Later, Li Yang divided his troops, and Li Shixian drove his troops south. On October 8, he besieged Huizhou and captured the city the next day; on the 12th, he captured Xiuning again.
Huizhou was destroyed and Qimen was in a urn. Zeng Guofan urgently told his staff: During the Battle of Huizhou, Li Yuandu's whereabouts were unknown, and I couldn't sleep at night. What a pity for this man, I am using him against his talents! Immediately send my order to Zhang Yunlan's troops to attack Yixian first and consolidate the grain road; Bao Chao must return to aid the Ningguo army and join forces with Zhang's troops to besiege Xiuning.
After the speech of the vassal state was completed, the memorial was written: Li Yuandu of Taiguang Road in Huining came from Hunan with his newly recruited soldiers. However, the city of Huizhou is vast, and there are only two thousand heroes in Xiang, which is not enough to distribute. Li Yuandu lay on the top of the city and tried his best to resist, but he could not defeat the 40,000 thieves.
That night, Li Yuandu's letter arrived. Zeng Guofan knew that he was not dead, and sighed: "Li Yuandu abandoned the city and left. He has lost a lot of money, and it will be difficult to stand on his own from now on!"
Not long ago, Li Yuandu arrived at Qimen and was personally welcomed by the feudal vassal.
Li Yuandu said: "I have reported to Commander-in-Chief that Huizhou's original defense troops numbered six hundred, but they suddenly stopped fighting and ran away. Our army could not support it and collapsed." I had no face to see the commander-in-chief, so I fled to Zhejiang and hesitated on my own.
Zeng Guofan angrily rebuked: The defense of Huizhou is inherently arduous. You volunteered, and I defended it intact, so I made a five-chapter agreement with you, but you failed to follow one chapter. In the sixth year of the Rong Dynasty, you were so unreasonable! At this moment, you should be humble and calm, and focus on setting up camp and buying rice, and don't be impatient anymore.
Li Yuandu was reprimanded and became discouraged. He told Li Hongzhang: "The loss of Huizhou is all my fault!"
The next day, Yuandu asked for a salary arrears from the Liangtai and left suddenly.
Zeng Guofan was furious and ordered Li Hongzhang to draft an impeachment draft.
Li Hongzhang said: Li Ciqing couldn't fight hard, so he took his life by chance. Remembering his past diligence, he could purge his commander and calm down his anger.
Zhao Liewen also said: "Commander Shu, please calm down. Li Ciqing may have no other intentions and is just doing his best!"
Zeng Guofan said: "Li Yuandu is stubborn and stubborn. I will ask for his dismissal and interrogation to serve as a warning to others." If rewards and punishments are clear, everything will be possible.
Li Hongzhang said: "If you insist, Hongzhang will not submit the manuscript!"
Zeng Guofan said: "Don't bother me, I will draft it myself."
Li Hongzhang said: If you go alone, I will go away.
Zeng Guofan said: Just do whatever you want.
Li Hongzhang packed his bags and left.
Zeng Guofan did not stop him, and said to Zhao Liewen: "When disaster strikes, we will fly separately. Shaoquan has an old disease." Able to judge the situation, gauge the situation, and follow the trend, Shaoquan is a first-class person. However, it also hurts people's hearts.
Zhao Liewen said: Although Li Shaoquan is a donkey who borrows money from the slope, the land of Qimen is indeed a desperate place. It is indeed appropriate for Commander Di to relocate. It should not be delayed, and the sooner the better.
Zeng Guofan said: "I have been fighting for many years, who can't know? Qimen was chosen by my emperor to be the head of the governorship. In the previous dynasty, King Qin did not come, and now he withdraws without authorization. This is always unreasonable." Zuo Zongtang raised an army, where did he appear?
Zhao Liewen said: "I tell you, Zuo Zongtang has entered Jiangxi and will arrive at the end of the month."
Zeng Guofan said: This is very good. Bao Chao and Zhang Yunlan, plus Zuo Zongtang's army, can defeat Li Xiucheng's rebel bandit.
Li Xiucheng was stationed in Suzhou. He was weak in body and mind and unwilling to cross north. He wrote to Hong Xiuquan: Du'an County in Jiangxi Province and Suizhou, Yining, Wuning, Daye, Xingguo, Qishui, Qizhou, Wuchang, Jiayu, Tongcheng, etc. More than forty well-educated envoys came to Su and respectfully surrendered to the army. The ministers will not cross north for the time being, but will march west along the Yangtze River a month later, recruiting hundreds of thousands of these people, and then follow the imperial edict to sweep north.
Hong Xiuquan was furious when he heard the memorial and ordered Xiucheng to sweep north immediately.
Li Xiucheng was confident and had the city government, but he refused to obey the imperial edict. He replied to Li Shixian: There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Hangzhou is blooming with flowers. Is it safe or not?
Li Shixian accepted the advice and left a small number of troops to guard Huizhou and Xiuning. He led the main force to attack Zhejiang. On October 20, 1860, Li Shixian captured Yanzhou Prefecture.
Er Li turned around, and Yang Fuqing followed suit, stopping in Ningguo to recuperate.
When Chen Yucheng learned about it, he sighed and said: This president is not afraid of fighting, but there are so many dragons, Baohu and tigers, it is really difficult to gnaw! Unless you use all your strength, you can't defeat this monster. Li Xiucheng was short-sighted. If Anqing was lost, Tianjing would not be preserved. If Tianjing was lost, the Kingdom of Heaven would be over! Yang Fuqing and Li Shixian were also short-sighted. If they jointly attacked Qimen, Zeng Guofan would not be able to stop them; Zeng Guoquan's army would surely go south to rescue them, and the siege of Anqing would be lifted immediately.
Liu Xuanlin, the commander-in-chief of Jingdong, said: "Yang Yao Zaifu blocked the river, Ni Yao Wei Jun occupied Congyang, Zeng Yao Guoquan besieged Anqing, Duolong A Yao crossed the trailer river, Li Yao Xuyi stationed in Qingcao Lao, all the demon forces are scattered, I Why not attack Taihu Lake? Hu Yao Lin Yi is the leader of all the monsters. If Taihu Lake is in danger, the monsters will come back to help. If they intercept them halfway, they may have a chance to win.
Chen Yucheng sighed again and said: The monsters are besieging Anqing, seemingly in a loose manner, but in fact they are just like an iron barrel; in the northwest of Anqing, there is a Linghu Lake, and we have no water divisions; Yang Zaifu and Peng Yulin are rampant in the rivers and lakes, and Wei Jun of Songyang rebels against the monsters and strangles Anqing. To the east, south and west; to the north of Anqing, Zeng Guo's two deep and deep roads were built in between, and he was not in a hurry to attack, but he was actually trapped; Duolong'a stationed at the trailer river echoed Zeng Guo's rear flank; while Li Xuyi stationed at Qingcaojiang, he could advance Protect the main camp of Duolong'a and retreat to Hu Linyi's old nest. In this chess game, Hu Yao Lin Yi and Zeng Yao Guofan are actually trying to save our enemies and surround them for reinforcements. The two demons have been planning for a long time, and I act hastily. How can I not be defeated? If Li Xiucheng doesn't arrive, I'll have to fight to the death. Among all the demons, Duolong Ayao is the only one who is fierce. According to the order of this president, the whole army moves to the trailer river to kill Duolong Ayaoer first.
Liu Xuanlin said: Your Royal Highness, please do not act out of emotion. Our army may be successful if it goes alone, but once it crosses the north, it may fail again. If you tell the King of Heaven and King Qian again, you must urge Zhong, Fu, Shi, etc., even if you do not advance north, you must also march to Qimen to restrain Zeng Yao.
Chen Yucheng said: Time waits for nothing. The army will attack Duolong Ayao Camp in Shucheng and Lujiang River. They will build fortifications and camps in the trailer river, Xiangpu Street, Wanghedun, Tangli Mountain and Zunshi'an, waiting for the opportunity to attack. The memorial was sent out as soon as possible to ask Heaven and Qian to urge the kings to attack the Zengyao vassal in southern Anhui.
