Chapter 128 Tan Shaoguang arrives in Shanghai
Li Xiucheng was approaching Songhu, and Xue Huan, the governor of Jiangsu, hurriedly reported: Recently, the British Counselor Parkes had many conversations with the gentleman, and the gentleman invited him to mobilize troops to assist the army and defend Shanghai. Wu Yun, the alternate Taoist, and Ying Bao, the alternate magistrate, reported that the gentlemen of Jiangsu and Zhejiang had discussed the matter of borrowing troops from Britain and France to assist in the suppression, and I sincerely wrote on their behalf. Now, I and my supervisor, Zeng Bingzhong, have commanded various land and water armies to defend twenty or thirty key passes in Songjiang, Shanghai, Jinshan, Fengxian, and Baoshan. There is a real risk of guarding against too many troops but too few, but we should counterattack hundreds of thousands of people. The fierce flames are spreading, and we must gather troops to gain the right to win. The gentry and others asking for help to suppress it are also a last resort.
Kindly took over and asked Prince Gong Yixin.
Yi Xin said: Since China and foreign countries are united, they are determined to destroy thieves.
Cixi then issued an edict: The gentry and others have negotiated with Pasha and today they have ordered the Prime Minister's Office to properly negotiate with the British and French envoys in Beijing, but the envoys may not be able to comply immediately. However, the British and French focused on merchants and were afraid of the common people. They ordered Xue Huan to instruct the gentry and others to gather Chinese merchants and civilians, cut off and guide the foreign merchants, and asked them to turn to Pasha Li. The foreign merchants' goods were in Shanghai and they needed help to eliminate them. Only if you go against it can you be protected.
When General Chen Kunshu heard that Li Xiucheng was approaching Suzhou, his heart trembled, and he quickly retreated to Changzhou with his troops. As soon as he had recovered from his shock, he immediately sent people and huge sums of money to present to King Xin and King Yong.
Hong Renfa and Hong Renda were blinded by the wealth and said: Chen Yucheng defeated Anqing and his power has declined. Brothers Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian worked together with more than 500,000 troops to attack Zhejiang and Jiangsu. They were omnipotent. If this continues, how can we control it?
Hong Xiuquan said: "Brother Wang, what do you mean?"
Hong Renfa said: Chen Kunshu, the deputy commander of the rear army and the commander of the rear army, is a great leader in Ping Zaishan and the seventh general of the Kingdom of Heaven. He has recently been at odds with King Zhong. Can you give him a title for the use of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Hong Xiuquan said: "Quickly pass on my order. The commander-in-chief of the rear army, Chen Kunshu, has many plans and good judgments. He has meritorious service in killing monsters. He has been granted the title of Protector and is stationed in Changzhou to protect the Kingdom of Heaven." Senior General Ji Qingyuan and sixty-seven Fuchaotian generals jointly impeached Tong Ronghai, the leader of Fuchaotian Army, saying that Tong Ronghai was always ungrateful, wanton and unjust, just like a tiger with wings, fearing that it would fly and eat people. Is Tong Ronghai really violent?
Hong Renfa said: Tong Ronghai and more than 200,000 people supporting the Heavenly Army broke away from Shida Kaini's tribe and returned to the court thousands of miles away. The hardships are difficult to describe in a word. However, everyone speaks loudly, but Li Xiucheng also deeply hates Tong Ronghai.
Hong Xiuquan said: In this case, I will pass on my order again, and Tong Ronghai, Ji Qingyuan and others will return to the court for thousands of miles to support the heavenly kingdom. They have worked hard and made great achievements. I specially named Tong Ronghai as the protector of the king and Ji Qingyuan as the chief general of the heavenly army to support the court. After Songhu was pacified, Ji Qingyuan and others were sent to the command of King Zhong, and the Tongbu returned to Ningjun to guard Wannan. In addition, the Zhong and Shi troops captured Su Fu. Their generals worked hard and made great achievements. They were awarded the titles of King Tan Shaoguangmu, King Chen Bingwenting, King Gao Yongkuanna, King Lu Shundelai, and King Fan Ruzeng. Each king must do his best to support him. Heaven.
When Li Xiucheng's troops arrived in Suzhou, the people of Suzhou knelt down in the streets, crying and complaining that Chen Kunshu had extorted money, killed wantonly, and disturbed the people.
Li Xiucheng was filled with righteous indignation and wanted to punish him, but when he heard that Chen Kunshu was promoted to protect the king, he could only smile bitterly.
On that day, Hong Xiuquan sent an order to Li Xiucheng: In the spring of last year, he signed an agreement with the Yi people. Within one year, the Heavenly Army would not attack areas within a hundred miles of Shanghai and Wusong. This year is about to end and the agreement period expires. King Zhong Xiucheng Brothers can send the heavenly army to capture the two lands. In addition, the British's permission to trade on the Yangtze River and the berthing of British ships in Tianjing were all agreed last year. If the British have no lawlessness, they should not interfere.
Xiucheng received the order and immediately issued an edict: The true destiny of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the nine gates of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the loyalty of the forest, the loyalty of the guards, and the loyalty of the guards.
Due to the fact that the feudal vassal had accepted the destiny since last winter, it moved to the upper reaches of Jiang and Chu, and then marched into Zhejiang Province from Jiang and Chu. Wherever they pass through, all the people who surrender will be cared for and comforted, and those who are brave enough to surrender will be rewarded with honors.
The army attacked Shanghai and Songjiang, fearing that the people would be frightened. A special edict is issued, and people are sent to post it first.
The people in Shanghai and Songjiang are brave enough to know that you, my division, are coming all the way to comfort those who have surrendered everywhere. You are bold enough to do so, and you should follow the instructions as early as the sun and the moon, and return as flowing water. The innocent people are comforted.
It is useful for returning soldiers to stay in camp bravely. As for the foreign merchants trading in Shanghai, they made an agreement last year, each of them can do what he likes and the two will not interfere with each other.
After the edict, if anyone disobeys it and turns to help others to do evil, they will be like moths flying into the flames, bringing about their own destruction.
After the edict was issued, Xiucheng ordered King Tan Shaoguang to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Shanghai.
Before Tan Shaoguang left, Xiucheng told him: Brother, if you attack Shanghai, you must be careful if you encounter barbarians. There is a reason why I don’t go on a personal expedition. Since taking possession of Zhejiang Province, the King of Heaven has seen that we have many soldiers and generals. He is afraid of my selfish ambitions and has given him many royal titles to divide my power. The generals under his command are not angry and have hatred in their hearts. I will sit in Suzhou to appease everyone. Heart.
In early January 1862, King Mu Tan Shaoguang came from the south and Liu Zhaojun came from the north. They divided their troops into two groups and besieged Shanghai.
The Taiping Army was approaching fiercely, and Xue Huan, the governor of Jiangsu, issued urgent orders: General Jiang De was stationed at Wusong and Baoshan; General Lin Congwen was stationed at Jiangwan; the two armies acted as horns to protect the northwest of Shanghai; Lin Congwen, the Ministry of Education, looked at the urgency of the war and took the initiative to assist in the defense. Sijing. Deputy General Teng Silin led three thousand troops to protect Zhuzhai, Anshangdu, Huacao, Yejidun and other places west of Shanghai. Navy Admiral Zeng Bingzhong was stationed west of Qingpu and throughout Jinshan County. General Li Hengsong and the Huaer Foreign Gun Corps were stationed in Songjiang to protect the southwest of Shanghai. South of Shanghai, the land is vast and the roads are uneven. Commander-in-Chief Feng Rikun, General Yao Shaoxiu, Deputy General Xiong Zhaozhou and the First Division of the Zeng Bingzhong Navy, a total of more than 6,000 people, coordinate the defense. To the east of Shanghai are Wusongkou and Gaoqiao. The waterways are crisscrossed and the foreign ships have powerful guns. Su Songtao and Wu Xu quickly negotiated with the British and French consuls on joint prevention and suppression matters.
Wu Xu took the order and immediately met with the British Consul Maihua Tuo, the French Consul Eden, and the British Volunteer Commander in Shanghai Webb. The four people consulted for a moment and quickly formulated five prevention and suppression measures:
1. Quickly set up detectives. Today, it is planned to send fifty detectives to each of eleven places including Wusongkou, Hu Xuezhuang, Dachang, Zhenru, Pheasant Dun, Zhuzhai, Fahua, Sijing, Qibao, Nanqiao, Desheng, and Minhang to detect the traitors. And reported to the British and French consuls. If a large group of thieves arrives, all fifty people will go back to Shanghai to report it so that they can try to intercept it.
2. Songjiang River in the Qing Dynasty. The bridge ends at the new lock, and all ships, large and small, both Chinese and foreign, will be driven away.
3. Lower the gate. The new lock has three holes in the direction. It is now ordered to identify the lock plates, close two holes first, and leave one hole temporarily to allow ships to pass through.
4. Build roads. Quickly follow the road from Huangpu to Dongjiadu and build a road to facilitate the movement of soldiers and artillery vehicles.
5. Open the artillery route. The area around Laozha and Hanjia was densely populated, which hindered the movement of vehicles and artillery. It was quickly discussed to buy land and build roads to facilitate traffic.
The next day, Chinese and foreign parties negotiated to establish the Shanghai Civil Defense Bureau and elaborated on the main points of defense:
1. Hucheng East Road is close to the Yellow Sea. Merchant and civilian ships gather and park for thirty miles to Wusongkou. The sail walls are connected with each other. It is difficult to guarantee that bandit ships will not be hidden among them. Therefore, committee members are sent to ban all ships first and are not allowed to park near the city. The premises, and those found to be acting suspiciously will be expelled. Water patrol gunboats were also set up to patrol back and forth, and steam warships were dispatched at the discretion of Britain and France to anchor at the confluence of Huangpu and Wusong to guard against the outer river.
2. On Hucheng North Road, there is a branch river that leads directly to Qingpu and Jiading from Hongkou Bridge, Laozha and Xinzha. It is a route for bandits to invade by boat. The cadres should be ordered to add gates at the bridge and Xinzha. , it was blocked with iron chains, and small steamers were sent from the British to anchor outside the inner gate of the bridge to prevent inland rivers.
3. Southwest of Shanghai. The road is complicated and confusing, and there is no danger. Outside the south and north gates, there are dense residents and it is extremely difficult to defend. When we were familiar with the British and French, we started from the west gate to Xinzha, and from the south gate to Huangpu. We measured the terrain, dug more than 3,000 feet deep, and built more than 20 forts to surround the residents. It can be used to build a fortress and defend it, and it can also be used to fight across the border. Roads were opened at key points to pass artillery vehicles and to meet the pursuit of suppression and bombardment, which made it more convenient.
