Zeng Guofan received the advice and replied: "Runzhi is too worried, and the siege of Anqing must not be withdrawn." Zeng Guoquan, Duolong'a, Yang Zaifu, Wei Jun and others have been besieging the city for more than a few years and have been fighting for reinforcements. However, if the city walls are easily destroyed, how can all the previous efforts be wasted! If the Chen thief is successful, the field battle is acceptable; in Wuchang City, the walls are high and thick, so it will be difficult for the Chen thief to attack the fortress. Li Shixian, who had failed to besiege Qimen in Xiuning and Huizhou, entered Jiangxi from southern Anhui and attacked Wuyuan. He killed our general Chen Mingnan again and defeated Wang Kailin's tribe. If I cross the river, Zuo Zongtang will be alone in southern Anhui. lose!
Zhao Liewen said: "Qi Dishuai, Chen Gou Yucheng is indeed brave. The north and south of the Yangtze River are interdependent, maybe he can go north first and then south."
Zeng Guofan said: Wuchang is a tall city, but Hu Runzhi is too worried. Li bandit Shixian's 100,000 strong troops gathered in Wuyuan. Not only the food road to Qimen was cut off, but there was also no food road to Jingde. The rest of the army and Zuo Gong were under siege. Qi, Xiu and other troops were about to shake their morale. At this time, when we cross to the north, we will definitely fall apart; when the situation in Wuchang is decided, we must ask the north bank to divide our troops and help the south bank.
While the vassal was speaking, spies urgently reported: Li bandit Shixian's formation killed Chen Dafu, the commander-in-chief of Wannan Town, and captured Jingdezhen. Zuo Zongtang was unable to stop him and retreated to Leping. Li Shixian led an army of 40,000 people and headed straight for Qimen.
Zeng Guofan was frightened and asked anxiously: How about Zuo Jigao? Is it hurt?
The spy said: Zuo Zongtang is fine, but he is now trapped in Leping by Li Shangyang's rebel bandits.
Zeng Guofan said: "Send my order quickly. Bao Chaoting's army will stop chasing Li Xiucheng's bandit troops and return to Leping immediately to aid. This order is urgent."
Jingdezhen was lost and the grain road was blocked. Zeng Guofan tried to calm down and quickly summoned his generals, saying: Huang bandit Wenjin, Liu bandit Guanfang, ancient bandit Longxian, etc. were all defeated; Li bandit Shixian, although he captured Jingde, However, it is already the end of the battle. I ordered the armies of Qimen and Yixian to quickly gather in Xiuning and besiege Huizhou. If Huizhou is captured, they can cut off the Li bandits' retreat. At that time, they will join forces with Zuo Zongtang and Bao Chao to attack from both sides and completely annihilate the Li bandits.
On April 13, 1861, Zeng Guofan visited Xiuning in person to direct the attack on Huizhou.
The 9,000-strong Hunan Army was divided into two routes. The west route was led by deputy general Tang Yixun, assisted by deputy generals Shen Baocheng and Tongzhi Zhu Shenglong; the north route was led by Zhang Yunlan, who opened the return route, assisted by deputy general Lou Yunsheng, and staff generals Yang Zhenkui and Zhang Yingchao; the two armies , echoed from east to west, and the second attack on Huizhou made no progress. Suddenly there was a heavy rain that continued for a day. The defenders of Huicheng took the opportunity to counterattack, but Xiangyong was unprepared and dispersed.
Li Shixian continued his efforts and quickly joined forces with Huizhou's victorious army to attack the Qimen camp.
Zeng Guofan was trapped in Qimen, with no food or aid. Xiangyong rebelled repeatedly. Guofan was frightened and tortured. He hanged himself and committed suicide. He was rescued by his aide Ouyang Zhaoxiong.
The vassal of the country sighed and said: Even if you are not dead, you will die if the camp is broken!
After the vassal said this, he wrote to his son Zeng Jize: I have been in Tongzhi for more than thirty years and have been a top official, but I have accomplished nothing in my studies and have no moral character. The old man is only injured, and I am extremely terrified and ashamed. Now that we are farewell forever, I have set up four teachings to teach you brothers. One is to be cautious and alone, and you will have peace of mind. The way to self-cultivation is nothing more difficult than cultivating the mind; the most difficult thing about cultivating the mind is to be cautious about being alone. Second, respecting the Lord makes the body strong. Cultivation of oneself to bring peace to the people, being respectful and respectful will bring peace to the world. This is the result of respect. All wisdom and wisdom come from this. The third is to ask for help and people will be happy. If you only know how to be selfish but do not know how to be kind to the people and love things, you will have gone against the principle of one source and have lost it. The fourth is to practice hard work and become a god. These four articles are what I have gained over the past few decades of my life. Your brothers will keep track of them and pass them on to my descendants. Then the Yu Zeng family will be prosperous and prosperous, and there will be talented people in every generation.
Zuo Zongtang retreated to Leping and learned from the painful experience. He urgently told the generals: "The rebel forces are very strong and the Qimen camp is on the verge of collapse." If we don't fight to the death, we will all be destroyed!
Huang Shaochun, the surrendered general, said: Li Ni Shang Yang has the same surname as Shi Ni, and Shi Ni is very dependent on each other. However, as soon as he suffered a small setback, he often lost his courage and courage. If I lead a team and take its leader, the rebel army will be defeated.
Zuo Zongtang said: Only when the sea is flowing across the sea can a hero show his true colors! General Huang's bravery will lead to the guerrilla attack of the Chinese army. Tomorrow the whole army will encircle him, first to dampen the hostility of the rebels. Later, we will see General Huang beheading Li Shangyang in the midst of tens of thousands of troops.
On April 15, Zuo Zongtang gathered his entire army and besieged the Taiping Army outside the city. Li Shangyang was defeated and retreated to Taoling. The next day, Huang Shaochun leapt on his horse and thrust his spear, and rushed to Li Shangyang's camp to kill him. Shang Yang's soldiers stopped him, but they were all killed with spears. Li Shangyang was timid and did not dare to fight again. He galloped away and his soldiers fled. Zuo Zongtang sent his troops in pursuit and killed more than 3,000 people.
Li Shangyang's troops were defeated, and Li Shixian did not dare to take it lightly. He immediately ordered the entire army to temporarily abandon Qimen and return to attack Leping. On April 19, Li Shixian led an army of 40,000, which was claimed to be 100,000, and fought again at Taoling. He defeated the Chu general Cui Daguang and the guerrilla Huang Shaochun, and killed his deputy Luo Jinqiu. The Zuo army was defeated and retreated to Leping.
Li Shixian camped for more than ten miles and besieged Leping.
Zuo Zongtang ordered all the battalions to be built near the southeast of Leping County and build Waihao for more than ten miles. He also ordered the Nanxiang regiment to enter the city and defend it to act as a suspect. Zongtang personally held the war sword, supervised and led the Chu army, and guarded Waihao separately, resisting stubbornly.
Li Shixian was unable to attack repeatedly, so he sent the main force to attack Xicheng. Guns, artillery and arrows were fired day and night. For three days, the Chu army gradually became exhausted. Zuo Zongtang urgently summoned Yang Changjun, Liu Dian, Wang Kaihua, and Wang Kailin to discuss the war.
Yang and others were panicked.
Zongtang said: Shi Ni is extremely brave and very scheming. Life and death, either today, tomorrow, the day after, or right now! If you don't fight back, sit back and wait for death. The Jedi fought back, came out in full force, and fought to the death. I order Wang Kaihua to guard the west gate and fight to the death to hold back the main force of the rebellion; even if the city is destroyed, he will fight to the death. Wang Kailin's troops went out from the east gate and attacked the east road. Zuo Mou and Liu Dian's army attacked the middle of the bandit army. To capture the thief, capture the king first. Yang Changjun led his troops to the camp, found the servant and cut off his dog's head. If we rush out of the city wall, the rebels will divide their troops to intercept them; when the time is right, Wang Kaihua will also fight out!
Li Shixian took the west city and was about to be defeated. He was feeling proud when suddenly he heard three cannon shots and Zuo Zongtang, Yang Changjun, Liu Dian, Wang Kailin and others rushed out screaming.
Li Shixian was caught off guard and quickly divided the troops besieging Xicheng to fight against them.
The two armies fought fiercely, and the outcome was difficult to determine. When Wang Kaihua saw this, he also led his troops to fight out
Li Shixian looked at one thing and missed another. He got into trouble while busy, was stabbed in the body, and retreated in despair. The army had no leader, and the Taiping army was in a panic. The men and horses were walking among each other, and they were in chaos.
Zuo Zongtang ordered a chase and killed more than four to five thousand people in one go.
Leping was defeated, and Li Shixian's vitality was severely damaged. He retreated three hundred miles and fled to Zhejiang, never daring to fight again.
Shixian was defeated and the food road was opened. The vassal state was delighted and said: Zuo Zongtang used thousands of new people to defeat thieves who were ten times more ferocious. He used the favorable location to assess the enemy's situation and build up momentum to boost morale. This is indeed a profound understanding. General strategy, the more time passes, the wiser. Since then, all roads behind Qimen have been cleared, so that I can sleep in peace.
Zhao Liewen said: "I have reported to Di Shuai, and people from the south and north of the Yangtze River have come to report. The rebels seem to be gathering in Anqing."
Zeng Guofan said: "I hurt the enemy one thousand, but I lost eight hundred; I fought bloody battles with my servants for half a month, and I also suffered huge losses." Order all armies to recuperate and reorganize, and after ten days, they will assist Anqing.
Zhao Liewen said: "Yuanfu came to report that he wanted to use Cheng Xueqi's adoptive mother's biological son as a pledge to recruit Cheng Xueqi's army. What did Commander Di think?"
Zeng Guofan said: Anqing is bordered by the Yangtze River to the south, Linghu Lake to the east, and Wanhe River to the west. But outside the north gate of the city, thieves built four stone fortresses, connecting Jixian Pass, which served as a passage for thieves to reverse grain supplies. Yuanfu dredged two roads and stationed dozens of forts, standing between Jixian Pass and Anqing North Gate. Ben unexpectedly refused to help the thief, and trapped the fierce bandits inside. Hu Runzhi ordered a strong attack, but Yuanfu and Ji Hong repeatedly failed to attack the stone barrier, so they tried to appease them. However, Cheng Xueqi, the general guarding the stone base, may not be trustworthy as he is appointed as the Qi Knight. The situation of the Anqing battle could affect the whole body. Recruitment is a small thing, but repeated troubles are big. Tell Laojiu quickly, Anqing will be destroyed sooner or later. Don't be confused for a moment, and lose big because of small things.
