Chapter 139 Li Xiucheng besieged Yuhuatai (3)
At the end of October 1862, Zhao Liewen arrived at Jinzhu Pass. Peng Yulin invited Zhao for a drink after the war.
Zhao Liewen said: From the perspective of Brother Xueqin, what are the chances of winning in the battle with the fake King Protector?
Peng Yulin said: 70% to 80%. Yesterday, I, together with Zhu Nangui and Luo Fengyuan of the Lu Division, fought against Chen Kunshu's rebel bandits again. Although we lost more than a hundred people including general Wang Mingyuan and deputy general Guo Ming'ao, the thieves suffered more than a thousand losses and have now escaped from Yuba. The navy from Yang Hou'an's outer river arrived, and I attacked both by land and water to completely annihilate Chen Ni.
Zhao Liewen said: "Commander Di ordered Yang Hou'an to fight exclusively at Jinzhu Pass. The situation here has been decided, and Jinling will be supported again."
Peng Yulin said: "The day before yesterday, there was an emergency in Jiangxinzhou, and Yang Houan was afraid that it would affect Dasheng Pass, so he returned to the army urgently.
Zhao Liewen said: Soldiers are single-minded, hesitant, and full of waves.
Peng Yulin said: Yang Hou'an is restless and yearns for it. I have no right to stop him. The most powerful thieves are Chen Yucheng, Huang Wenjin, and Yang Fuqing. In the Battle of Anqing, Zeng Guoquan defeated two powerful bandits, Chen Yucheng and Yang Fuqing, and destroyed the city of Anqing in a matter of seconds. Although the thirteen puppet kings, including Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian, had many soldiers and strong weapons, they were surrounded by city invaders and reinforcements. Their soldiers suffered heavy casualties, but they rarely fought, and the sound of artillery and cannons shocked each other. The generals of Gai and Kou were arrogant and self-reliant, and they also relied on the masses and did not know how to choose generals. They were worse than when they first started. The defense of Zeng Guoquan's Yuhuatai is not something to worry about. The day before yesterday, Peng Yuju, Xiao Fusi, and Li Chendian under Zeng Guoquan's troops poured out of Banqiao and destroyed the twelve bandits' fortress; what should we worry about!
Zhao Liewen said: Zeng Guoquan is unruly and cruel, and his moral character is not as good as that of Commander Di, but Commander Di ordered me to stay under his tent. I am heartbroken!
Peng Yulin said: "There is little joy in living in this world of fear; there is no need to crush your eyebrows and bend your waist."
Zhao Liewen smiled helplessly to himself and said: Bao Chunting has arrived in Ningguo, how is the war in southern Anhui?
Peng Yulin said: With the arrival of Bao Chunting, the war in Ning County has stabilized. However, Wei Jun and Tong Ronghai were unable to surrender, but Ningguo County was lost. Bao Jun's vitality was greatly reduced, and his prestige was also lost.
Zhao Liewen said: Once the barriers in southern Anhui are broken, the mainland of Jiangxi will be empty and have nothing to rely on. Commander Di will definitely order the Bao tribe to suppress the bandits of Ning State, and there is no need to think of aiding Jinling.
Peng Yulin said: "Brother Huifu looks forward and backward, and analyzes to the brightest. He is really a handsome man."
Zhao Liewen said: Talking about war on paper is useless; as the war intensifies, I will go to Shanghai to discuss with Li Shaoquan about supporting Jinling.
In early November, Zhao Liewen arrived in Shanghai and met with Li Hongzhang to talk about the war in Jinling.
Li Hongzhang said: "When General Di's order arrived, the war in Jiading was in full swing. Jiading had recovered. I immediately ordered Wu Xu, Yang Fang, Bai Qiwen and others to lead four thousand victorious troops and rush to provide reinforcements."
Zhao Liewen said: Within half a month, no troops rushing to Jinling were seen. After Hua Er was shot and died, Bai Qiwen took over as the commander of the Ever Victorious Army. Which one is easier to get along with, Hua Er and Bai Qiwen?
Li Hongzhang said: It's like a raccoon dog. My emperor said: There are already many brave men in the ever-victorious army. If we keep letting foreigners take charge, we may be in trouble in the future. Formerly, the British minister said in front of the Prime Minister's Office: "Chinese brave men order foreigners to train and gradually get used to them. If the brave men forget that they are Chinese for a long time, the Chinese officials will not be able to control them." What he said is extremely reasonable. Since the minister said this, he may not be able to send personnel to take charge of the situation at this time. In the future, it is necessary to ask China's capable personnel to pay attention at all times, study with the soldiers, etc., so that the resources can be managed, and the military power can be taken back step by step. This is the most beneficial.
Zhao Liewen said: My emperor is wise. Foreigners have a barbaric nature and are unruly and difficult to tame.
Li Hongzhang said: Bai Qiwen may have known about the edict, so he was evasive and delayed in coming to help.
Zhao Liewen said: There is no need for the Ever-Victorious Army to come to help, it is enough for Cheng Xueqi to do so.
Li Hongzhang said: Cheng Fangzhong's opening camp must not be transferred. My ability to establish a foothold in Shanghai depends entirely on Cheng Fangzhong's strength. In the Battle of Xinqiao, Cheng Fangzhong took the lead; in the Battle of Beixinjing, Cheng Fangzhong turned the tide; in the Battle of Jiading, if Cheng Fangzhong had not fought to the death, how could he have broken the city!
Zhao Liewen said: "Cheng Xue started an army, and the commander-in-chief and the ninth commander-in-chief were sent together. It was really a great gift."
Li Hongzhang: Am I an ungrateful person? The armies from all directions in Guangdong gathered in Jinling, and a fierce battle was inevitable; Zeng and Bao's armies were plagued by epidemics, and even a slight setback would shake up the whole situation. Even if the victorious army arrives, it will not be able to influence the outcome of the battle. After the pseudo-wing king Shi Dakai left, the territory of Guangdong Nihua was enfeoffed. Suzhou is the fake capital of the fake Suzhou Province and the confinement of the fake loyal king Li Xiucheng. If I use all my strength to attack it, Li Xiucheng will rebel against the bandits and will definitely return to support.
Zhao Liewen said: This is to draw fuel from the bottom of the cauldron. If you attack it, you will save it. With this, Yuhuatai will be safe.
On November 3, Li Hongzhang led Li Hezhang's personal camp, Guo Songlin's Songzi camp, and Wu Jianying's Jianzi camp out of Jiading to attack Nanxiang. Cheng Xueqi's Kaizi camp and Liu Shiqi's Qizi camp left Qingpu and strangled Huangdu. Force Suzhou. Liu Shiqi's troops made extremely rapid progress and captured Sijiangkou in one day.
King Mu Tan Shaoguang and King Chen Bingwen heard the news and quickly dispatched troops and generals from Suzhou, Jiaxing and Hangzhou to coordinate the battle. On November 5, Tan Shaoguang's troops divided into four groups and surrounded Liu Shiqi's troops of the Huai Army.
Cheng Xueqi had a single army and was unable to rescue him, so he quickly reported to Li Hongzhang for help. Li Hongzhang received his reward and immediately sent Guo Songlin and Li Hezhang to help.
Cheng, Guo and Li joined forces and were able to fight for the time being.
However, the Taiping Army gathered more and more. From the west of Qingpu City to the fourth mouth of Wusong River, there were more than a hundred camps, stretching for forty miles, with more than 100,000 soldiers.
Li Hongzhang was panicked and ordered Huang Yisheng to lead the navy, Liu Mingchuan and Wu Jianying to lead the land army, Bai Qiwen and Li Hengsong to lead the victorious army, and Xian went to Huangdu for reinforcements.
On November 12, Li Hongzhang went to Huangdu in person and summoned the generals to discuss the war and attack.
The registered commander-in-chief Cheng Xueqi said: Although there are a hundred thousand thieves, they are separated on both sides of the Wusong River and their troops are scattered. I will gather all my strength to attack the enemy on the south bank first. If the enemy is defeated, they will have to cross to the north. I will borrow the navy to strangle the river and attack. After that, I will attack the enemy on the north bank with a combined water and land attack to completely wipe out the thieves on the north bank.
Li Hongzhang said: "Cheng Fangzhong's words are reasonable. Please pass on my order quickly. President Cheng Fangzhong's troops on the front line will move first from the south to the north to suppress the rebel bandits."
Cheng Xueqi received the order, and together with the county magistrate Li Hezhang, deputy general Guo Songlin, staff general Liu Mingchuan, and guerrilla Wu Jianying, they divided their troops into three groups and surrounded Chen Bingwen's Chinese army camp.
Hearing that King Chen Bingwen vowed to fight to the death, but still lost, he retreated to the north bank and joined forces with King Mu Tan Shaoguang. However, the heart energy has declined and the formation angles are also in chaos.
The next day, Li Hongzhang ordered a general attack. King Ting and King Mu were defeated and retreated to Kunshan, taking the city to protect themselves.
Zhao Liewen witnessed the whole process, with an envious look on his face, and said happily to Li Hongzhang: "The handsome man is mature and prudent, and the scholar is solid; Mr. Li is determined to make progress and has a formidable future."
After winning many battles, Hongzhang felt happy, but he said: "What the hell, what a fool!"
Zhao Liewen added: "Every battalion under Mr. Li's command is equipped with foreign guns and cannons. In terms of combat power, no army can compare."
Li Hongzhang said: "In the past six months, more than 20,000 people have been recruited by land and water, and more than 20,000 people have been recruited from various cities. Although the foreigners' ever-victorious army sometimes refuses to obey orders, my foreign gun team has more than three thousand soldiers. Given time, this Yue Ni will be wiped out.
Tan Shaoguang and Chen Bingwen suffered a disastrous defeat at the mouth of the Four Rivers. The loyal king Li Xiucheng was horrified and urgently told his servant Li Shixian: If Suzhou and Jinhua are destroyed by demons, and our elites are exhausted here, how can you and I live?
Li Shixian said: If we can't defeat it after a long attack, there is no need to attack again.
Li Xiucheng said: The evildoers besieged Zeng Guoquan for more than forty days. They dug into the ground, blew up walls, cut down rivers, and opened rivers. They attacked, besieged, focused, and specialized. They tried everything they could, but they couldn't break the fortress.
Li Shixian said: According to battle reports from various places, Chen Kunshu suffered a disastrous defeat at Jinzhu Pass. From now on, it will be difficult for Taiping, Guanwei, and Xiaodanyang to gain a foothold. Our food route is blocked. If we do not break the siege, we must divide our troops to rescue Taiping. Yang Fuqing, Huang Wenjin and others besieged Ningguo Fucheng, but could not attack repeatedly and were short of breath.
Li Xiucheng said: Ningjun is not allowed, and southern Anhui is unstoppable; the demon army's food route is clear, and it is useless to fight again. That's all. Send an order to all armies to organize their troops and weapons and retreat slowly.
The Taiping troops withdrew, and the Hunan generals wanted to pursue them.
Zeng Guoquan said: After the epidemic, there were casualties and serious fatigue, so we could no longer go on expeditions.
Zeng Guofan was far away in Anqing. When he heard about the siege at Yuhuatai, he sighed and said: I have planned to break the siege and attack the navy, and retreat to Wuhu. The thieves besieged for dozens of days but could not win, and the losses were not big. Even if they retreated, they would definitely come back. The catastrophe in the southeast would last for no time, and Liang Zeng sighed with regret.
