Chapter 130 Zuo Zongtang raises troops to enter Zhejiang
The Taiping Army was raging in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Hangzhou was lost, and Shanghai was trapped again. Zeng Guofan, the Imperial Envoy and Governor of Liangjiang, was worried but confident. He said to the generals: Having gained Anqing, I have built a high house; Jinling will be conquered, so I will follow the current. From now on, the road is clear and the foothold is stable, and we can fight to the death with Yue Ni. My intention is to attack from all sides, attack from nine directions, and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. I immediately asked General Duolong'a of Jingzhou, Governor Li Xuyi of Hubei, and Yuan Jiasan, Governor of Water Transport, to attack separately and attack Chen Yucheng's bandits in Luzhou. After Chen Gou was defeated, Li's troops went south from Huaidian to Zhenjiang and joined Feng Zicai's troops. , we can attack Jinling in the west and aid Shanghai in the east. Zuo Shuai Zongtang and Jiang Yili's newly recruited Xiangyong entered Zhejiang from Huizhou, consolidated the river and controlled Wu, and completely annihilated Li Shixian's bandit tribe. After Zeng Guoquan returned with courage, he immediately attacked Jinling; Zeng Guoquan's troops marched along the north of the Yangtze River; Zeng Guobao's troops advanced along the south of the Yangtze River; Yang Zaifu and Peng Yulin's navy went down the river to respond to the north and south; Bao Chaoting's troops attacked Ningguo from Qingyang; Zhang Yunlan's troops took control of Huizhou and defended the rear. After Li Hongzhang returned from recruiting troops, he temporarily provided support to various parties.
After the order of the vassal state was over, he came back and said: The sacred lands in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are all owned by thieves. The caves have been formed and the roots have been solidified. It will become increasingly difficult to clean up the overall situation in the southeast. The weak ministers have few talents and only dare to form a stronghold and fight against the enemy. Zuo Chen Zongtang is well versed in military aircraft, and I am not as good as me in discussing military affairs. If the left is entrusted with the important responsibility of Xinjiang, we will surely be able to clean up the Zhejiang defense and completely wipe out the rebels.
After the separation of vassal states, he consulted Zuo Zongtang again: managing Zhejiang affairs requires all efforts and unshirkable responsibility.
The Empress Dowager Cixi took over and said to the Empress Dowager Ci'an: Zuo Zongtang is well versed in military aircraft. Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Luo Bingzhang, Zhang Liangji, Pan Zuyin, etc. all said that talents are rare.
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: "In this case, the post of governor of Zhejiang must belong to Zuo Chen."
Empress Dowager Cixi said: "The left minister may be a newborn calf when he assumes his new role. It remains to be seen how he will succeed." He immediately ordered Qing Duan, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, to quickly move to Pucheng to prevent the blockage.
Qing Duan, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, received the order and said: Li Dingtai has 7,000 soldiers in Qu's defense, and 6,000 in Zuofu's attack on Kaihua, which is enough to support them. Jiangshan and Changshan have sent Li Yuandu with 8,000 troops to strangle Zha Pianling, and General Xue Shi has led 1,500 Fujian troops to garrison at the mouth of the gorge. Along the way to Pucheng, we first sent the commander-in-chief Guan Changling and others to defend. There are many small roads in Jiangshan, Pucheng and other places, and Zhu Shanquan and other three thousand braves were recruited to assist in the defense. However, in the three roads of Longquan, Songyang and Zhenghe, there were only Lin Wencha and other four thousand braves, and General Yang Sanyi and other three hundred braves. Shang Xing thin.
When Zuo Zongtang first took office in Xinjiang, he was in a good mood. He wrote in a memorial: The bad thing about Zhejiang's military affairs is that all the previous governors did not know how to fight. They all used the province's salary and money to support the armies of Jinling and Southern Anhui, hoping to use their strength as a barrier, but they were careless about selecting generals and training troops. After the decline of Nanying, Su Chang and Wannan, they again recruited defeated generals and paid them heavy salaries in order to win over them and hope to revive them. However, the bravery of the soldiers is increasing day by day, the pay and silver are decreasing day by day, the military orders are not carried out, the orders are to obey and flee, the orders are to fight and they are defeated, no gratitude is appreciated, no fear of power, the morale of the army is increasingly weakened, leading to a rupture.
I have been ordered to supervise the operation, and I will weed out the bad soldiers, recruit new brave ones, hone them severely, and wait for the opportunity to fight. The way to advance is to be slow rather than fast; the strategy to control thieves is to build a camp step by step. The military will advance but not retreat. Once it is recovered, it must be tightly defended to ensure that nothing is lost. No matter how small or small it is, it will be effective. Otherwise, you will gain and lose again, which will be of no benefit to the situation.
After observing the current situation in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, Wei Chen found that in southern Anhui, Huizhou and Chizhou were defended to attack Ningjun and Guangde. As for Zhejiang, the first step is to conquer Kaihua, and the second is Yanzhou. If we start from Quzhou at this time, there will be many fortified cities to block the front, and Jin Yanju's thieves will harass the rear. The lonely army will go deep, and the salary road will be blocked, and there will be no way to escape. Quan's theory: Jinhua is located in Quyan, and the city is strong and there are many bandits. If the army attacks from Jinhua, the bandits from Yanzhou will sneak out from Chun and Shou areas to outflank them, which is not a good strategy. In order to rescue Zhejiang, it seems that the army should rely on Huijun and take the route to Yanzhou. As for the Fujian army, we must strictly prevent the Guangdong rebels from Zhejiang and Fujian to detour and invade the Jiangxi road. After that, the salary roads were dredged, military supplies were provided without any mistakes, and all roads knew each other. Effective results can be expected.
On February 18, 1862, Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Zhejiang, led the Chu army to conquer Kaihua; on March 9, they conquered Sui'an again; it was less than a hundred miles away from Yanzhou.
Li Shixian was not in a hurry to rescue, but instead used his entire army to attack Quzhou.
Zuo Zongtang sighed and said: The idea of rebellion is higher than that of bandits; the battle in Quzhou is destined to be difficult. Immediately pass on my order to Zhejiang Chief Secretary Jiang Yili and Quzhou Town Commander-in-Chief Liu Peiyuan to quickly fly to Quzhou with newly recruited brave men from land and sea to assist in the battle.
Li Shixian repeatedly fought against Zuo Zongtang, but made no progress, so he had to ask for help from Suzhou.
Li Xiucheng received the news and informed Li Shixian: The barbarians in Shanghai, with their strong ships and powerful guns, have colluded with the Qing demon. Tan Shaoguang's army of 100,000 cannot be controlled, so I will personally fight to encircle and annihilate the Shanghai demon. Zuo Yao Zongtang's troops are all quick and cannot be sustained for a long time. The brothers will gather all the soldiers from Zhejiang to kill this monster. Even if they cannot control it, they are still happy in the stalemate. After I have conquered Shanghai, I will come back to help my brother.
In mid-March, Li Xiucheng warned Li Mingcheng, Tan Shaoguang, Li Rongfa, and Liu Zhaojun: The long delay in the war in Shanghai was actually caused by the barbarians. If you want to conquer Shanghai, you must capture Songjiang. If you want to capture Songjiang, you must first destroy the Hual Foreign Gun Corps. However, the barbarians' guns and cannons are indeed better than mine. It is always advisable for our army to consolidate its military aircraft first, rather than relying on strength and strength for a while, and to be good at planning and strategizing. It is my king's will that Li Mingcheng's tribe of the Six Kings Sect must attack Sijing and Qibao, send two strong generals to garrison them, cut off the connection between Songjiang and Shanghai, and trap and kill the Yi monsters. After capturing Sijing and Qibao, the forts there will be garrisoned. It is not advisable to attack and advance again. They will have to reach Li Rongfa's camp across the river. The voices are the same, and they are like horns to each other. Sijing was solidified, and Li Mingcheng, together with Chen Bing, the general of the Zhongxiao Dynasty, captured Songjiang. After Songjiang was defeated, Li Mingcheng's troops were stationed in Songjun and sent another army to guard Taicang to support each other. With the western front secured, Chen Bing's Wenbu troops arrived at Wusongkou and garrisoned troops to wait for work, in order to advance the troops slowly. Liu Zhaojun's troops rushed from Jiading to Wusong River and Huangdu, and set up camp with deep ditches and high fortresses. The camp needed to be built solidly and solidly so that birds could not enter; it also echoed with Li Mingcheng's troops across the river and communicated with each other. It is agreed upon by all parties that when there is food, it will be put on the plate, and when the monsters come, they will be suppressed. Wait for a change to occur within the demon, and take advantage of the opportunity.
When all the generals received the order, they all sighed secretly.
