Chapter 135 Li Hongzhang spreads his wings in Shanghai
Li Hongzhang accepted the order and said: Since there is no such order, I will also attack. After the defeat of Taicang, Jiading, Nanxiang, Sijing, Qibao, and Guangfulin were lost again. The rebel army besieged Qingpu and Songjiang. The rebels had already reached Hongqiao and Caohejing, less than twenty miles away from Shanghai. Xue Huan's Green Camp, Yingfa and Hua All your foreign soldiers have been defeated. Our opportunity has arrived! As the saying goes, there is no icing on the cake, but charcoal in the snow; the stronger the charcoal fire, the warmer the heart. I ordered Liu Mingchuan's Mingzi Camp and Pan Ding's Xindingzi Camp to rush to Pudong to set up defenses and attack Nanhui. Cheng Xuekai opened the Ziying camp and Han and Zhengguo's personal barracks, and rushed to Hongqiaoli camp in the west of Shanghai to set up a fortification. He attacked Sijing and Qibao in order to break the siege of Songjiang and Qingpu.
Liu Ming preached: Foreign guns and artillery are indeed powerful for attacking cities and killing people. We should give priority to using them when guarding against thieves.
Li Hongzhang said: Do the British and French forces still dare to fight?
Pan Dingxin said: Sir, the latest news is that the British Navy Admiral Robert Ho, the Army Admiral Stiffli, and the French Navy Admiral Gerson are discussing to train Chinese soldiers to protect Shanghai County.
Li Hongzhang said: Foreigners are short-tempered and should not expect too much.
General Cheng Xueqi said: Sir, I have something to say at the end, but I don’t know whether to say it or not!
Li Hongzhang said: "Fang Zhong, please speak."
Cheng Xueqi said: Our army has few soldiers, so we can gather together and focus on the road. At the end of the day, the general intended to attack Sijing and Qibao fiercely, feign defeat and retreat, luring the enemy to penetrate deeper, and then engage in a decisive battle.
Li Hongzhang said: Songjiang and Qingpu are in danger, aren't they in danger?
Cheng Xueqi said: The cities of Songjiang and Qingpu are vast and can hold most of the enemy away. This opportunity can benefit us. Furthermore, these two cities are strong, and the defenders also use foreign guns and cannons, so the rebels cannot defeat them in half a month.
Li Hongzhang said to Cheng Xueqi: "The land of Shanghai is crisscrossed by rivers. Our soldiers are few and the land is very vast. How can I defend against the enemy?"
Cheng Xueqi said: If you get a river, you will become a village, and if you get a bridge, you will become a general, so why bother!
Li Hongzhang was delighted and said: Fang Zhong's strategy is feasible. Immediately convey my order, Fang Zhong, Han and Zhengguo's troops quickly arrived at Xinqiao Town, southwest of Hongqiao, and set up camp; together with Zhang Yuchun's troops, they besieged Sijing and pretended to be defeated and retreated; waiting for the enemy to attack Xinqiao, Teng Siwu and Guo The Songlin Tribe, Ma Xianhuai Tribe, Chen Feixiong Tribe, and Zhang Zhibang Tribe immediately encircled and attacked Ni from both inside and outside. Feng Rikun, the deputy general of the Green Battalion, was unable to fight and killed the gentry group indiscriminately. He has already fallen into disgrace. Please do not follow in his footsteps! The main force of the rebel bandits has gathered in the west of Shanghai. Liu Mingchuan and Pan Ding's new troops can fight in Pudong first to act as a check.
On May 28, 1862, Liu Mingchuan led the Mingzi Camp, Pan Dingxin led the Dingzi Camp, and Nanhui County Magistrate Deng Fenfa led a regiment of more than a thousand soldiers to the gates of Nanhui City.
When the Huai army arrived, Nanhui guard Wu Jianying and Shi Tian'an said that Liu Yulin was lucky and said: "It is hopeless to attack Shanghai. We have repeatedly lost ground, so it is better to surrender."
Liu Yulin said: "Cheng Xueqi is also a traitor. He is now a third-rank general. The Qing court knows how to make good use of people. Your Highness Zhong Er, Li Rongfa, has been at odds with us for a long time!" If you don’t fight now, wait until later!
Liu Ming heard about it and said: There is no greater virtue than subduing the enemy's army without fighting!
Deng Fenfa said: Wu Jianying and Liu Yulin have contacted Nanhui Lianshou many times and have often betrayed their intentions. There should be no falsehoods.
Pan Dingxin said: I will go there in person to find out.
Liu Ming preached: Brother Pan does not need to go to the dangerous place in person. The two armies are fighting, and the actual surrender is false. The true surrender will not be true until the rebellion and surrender are completed, and Wu and Liu leave the city with the seal in person.
Wu Jianying, Liu Yulin and Liu rebelled, and His Highness Zhong Er, Li Rongfa, quickly sent Zhongxiao General Ji Qingyuan to attack them.
Liu Mingchuan set up an ambush and besieged him, but Ji Qingyuan did not dare to fight and retreated at the first touch.
Li Hongzhang happily reported: Nanhui is located in the hinterland of Pudong counties and holds the threat of Chuansha and Fengxian. If this city is successful, the thieves in Pudong departments and counties will not be able to care about each other, and they can be easily eliminated.
Nanhui was lost without a fight, and Pudong was in danger. The loyal king Li Xiucheng disagreed and told the generals: After the wars in Taicang and Jiading, foreign ghosts will not dare to fight with me again. Now Qibao, Sijing, and Guangfulin have been recovered, Songjiang and Qingpu are now isolated cities, the army has approached Hongqiao, and Shanghai will be defeated in a day. This king ordered that all the ministries should unite and advance together, attack the two cities of Song and Qing, and then unite to attack Shanghai again, achieving an unparalleled feat.
Li Mingcheng, Xiucheng's younger brother and Wang Zong, said: Songjiang and Qingpu are both garrisoned by the Huaer Foreign Gun Corps, so they are difficult to defeat. According to reports, Zeng Guoquan's Xiang demon is approaching Yuhuatai, and Tianjing is in danger.
Li Xiucheng said: In the past, the Qing demon came to Tianjing twice, and both were defeated; the Xiang demon visited this time, so there is nothing to be afraid of; wait until I have conquered Songhu, and then I will think about the affairs of the capital. The Qingpu foreign gun team has few soldiers, so Tan Shaoguang and Chen Bing must do their best to kill the enemy and break the city. Afterwards, he will join Gao Yongkuan's troops and attack Songjiang.
The Taiping Army besieged Qingpu for more than a month, and Pucheng was almost completely destroyed. Farsted, the deputy leader of the foreign rifle team, was sitting in the besieged city. He was exhausted mentally and physically. He urgently consulted Wall: Our army's numbers were decreasing day by day due to casualties and diseases. Britain and France once promised that any assistance we need will be delivered within two days; half a month has passed and the reinforcements have not yet arrived. Outside Qingpu City, the number of rebels is increasing day by day, and they are surrounded by huge crowds of people. Yesterday's assault was a massacre of blood and flesh. Although the rebels suffered heavy casualties, they could afford the death of ten people, while I could only afford the death of one. Our army is dwindling day by day, and we are no longer able to break through the bloody route and reach the vicinity of Shanghai with our own strength.
Huaer accepted the advice and decided to abandon Qingpu.
On June 9, Wall led two thousand troops and moved into Qingpu to rescue Farside. Uncle Ho also mobilized 600 British troops to assist in the retreat.
Under the order to abandon the city, the victorious soldiers were disheartened and Farside was unable to control them. Tan Shaoguang and Chen Bingwen took the opportunity to attack the city and kill them wantonly.
As soon as Huaer's reinforcements entered the east gate of Qingpu, they were overwhelmed by the rebels and retreated to the British position in embarrassment, firing random cannon fire.
At the end of the battle, Falsid was alone and had no choice but to be captured.
After Qingpu was defeated, Tan Shaoguang and Chen Bingwen immediately led their armies to encircle Songjiang.
Songjiang was in danger, and Li Hongzhang, the governor of Jiangsu Province, was extremely anxious. He fiercely attacked the Huai army camps day and night, and went to the enemy in person from time to time. He gave repeated orders and made strict arrangements to focus on the fundamentals and capture the spirit of thieves.
Cheng Xueqi said: If the Songjiang River is lost, the atmosphere of thieves will become more fierce, and our army can move out! My Lord, send an army in advance to lure the enemy deep. I will station myself at Xinqiao and fight Ni to the death. When Ni is exhausted, the whole army will surround him.
Li Hongzhang obeyed the plan and ordered general Zhang Yuchun to lead the Chunzi Battalion to pretend to attack Sijing first. Hongzhang himself led six thousand people to follow up.
Upon seeing this, Li Xiucheng withdrew from the siege of Songjiang and personally led more than 60,000 men from the subordinates of King Chen Bingwen and King Gao Yongkuan to station in Sijing and Qibao, intending to crush Li Hongzhang's Huai army once and for all.
On June 19, the loyal king Li Xiucheng ordered a general attack. The 60,000-strong army was divided into 20 squads. They immediately besieged Xinqiao, captured Xujiahui, Fahua, Jiuli Bridge and other key points, and the troops were approaching the city walls of Shanghai.
The generals of the Huai army wanted to attack and rescue Cheng Xueqi's troops, but Li Hongzhang refused, saying: "We will attack again after Cheng Fangzhong weakens the spirit of the thieves."
The Huai generals all said: If the thieves break the new bridge, the morale of the army will be scattered.
Li Hongzhang said: Cheng Fangzhong has a scholarly appearance, but he is fierce and cruel, so he must be a tiger general. Di Shuai Mian said, the people in Jiangnan praised Zhang Guoliang and refused to speak, Cheng Fangzhong was good at it, and he was also a Liang of the country! Zhang Guoliang is majestic from all sides, while Cheng Xueqi covers the sky with one hand!
On that day, I heard from King Chen Bingwen and raised 20,000 troops to fill the trenches and pull out piles. They also used foreign guns and cannons to attack Xinqiao with all their strength.
General Cheng Xueqi of the Qing Dynasty led the Kaizi camp and fired mountain-splitting cannons to bombard them. Within one day, they repelled nine Taiping attacks. The Xinqiao fortress is also in ruins and in danger.
Li Hongzhang was also afraid that the new bridge would be lost, so he urgently ordered Zhang Yuchunchunziying, Tengsiwulinziying, and Guo Songlinsongziying to rush to the aid of the new bridge. Chen Fei's Xiong Xiongzi Camp, Zhang Zhibang's Zhizi Camp, and Ma Xianhuai's Tanzi Camp besieged Jiuli Bridge.
Under the counterattack order, Chen Feixiong, Zhang Zhibang, and Ma Xianhuai took the lead bravely, first taking Jiuli Bridge, then Xujiahui, and then joined forces with Cheng Xuequi and Zhang Yuchun's troops to attack from inside and outside and break through the Taiping Army's forty camps.
Li Xiucheng collected the defeated troops and wanted to fight again.
Hong Xiuquan, the king of heaven, issued three edicts a day, and Li Xiucheng was ordered to return to Tianjing to aid.
Xiucheng had no choice but to withdraw his troops from Shanghai and return to Suzhou to prepare for aid to Beijing.
