Chapter 143 Zuo Zongtang captures Jinhua
Zuo Zongtang mobilized troops to enter Zhejiang, and after conquering Kaihua, Sui'an, Shouchang, Yanzhou, and Chuzhou, he and the Taiping Army were in a stalemate on the Longyou, Tangxi, and Lanxi lines, and the progress slowed down.
Zuo Zongtang said: Yanzhou is connected to Hui and Ning counties in southern Anhui and reaches Hangzhou in the inner area. The situation is particularly serious. Now that the city has been obtained, the rebels only rely on the three cities of Longyou, Tangxi and Lanxi to defend Jinhua; however, the three cities are protected together. The attack was very difficult. Lieutenant General He Wanhua, Dusi Li Jinrong, and guerrilla Peng Yongshou died in the battle one after another. More than a thousand soldiers were killed or injured. Li Shangyang resisted the bandits and defended Tangxi without retreating. He was helpless.
Jiang Yili, the chief envoy of Zhejiang Province, said: The rebel bandits have stationed heavy troops on the line of Longyou, Tangxi and Lanxi, forming the force of three stars over the moon. Commander Zuo first demolished the barriers and then conquered the important towns, which was a good strategy for defeating the enemy. However, without the artillery, if you only rely on your physical body to defeat the city, the casualties will be heavy. My idea is to send out heavy troops, separate them and surround them, wait until the thieves' food is exhausted, and then defeat them without attacking.
Zuo Zongtang said: The chieftain has left Zhejiang, and the rebel bandits have no leader. The more urgent our offensive becomes, the more panicked the rebels will become. When people are panicking, they use more tactics to recruit and surrender, and subjugate the enemy's troops without fighting. There is no great virtue.
Jiang Yili said: "Commander Zuo, I have something unclear. During the current military deployment, Li Yuandu's 6,000 men were suddenly dismissed. Who did this act of cutting off his own arm?" Li Yuandu started at the beginning of the military's rise and went through hundreds of battles, not only with merit but also with hard work.
Zuo Zongtang smiled and said: Zeng Di was the governor of Liangjiang and the imperial envoy. At the beginning of the military's rise, Xiangquan and Shiquan both belonged to Luo Luoshan's command; Kailin and Kaihua were both brothers of Wang Pushan; On the first day of the army's rise, all three armies from the Purgatory Army gathered here.
Liu Dian, the inspector general of Zhejiang Province, was very ashamed and smiled in embarrassment. He said: "Xiang Yong has contributed half the world, but tracing back to its origin, the first contribution was none other than Zhu Sun Yigong; Luo Luo Shanshi and Wang Pushan Gong complemented each other." However, Commander Di managed the army with an iron fist, and Duke Zhu was also dismissed due to defeat.
Zuo Zongtang said: Zhu Shiqiao escaped from Yuezhou and was defeated in Ningxiang, so he was naturally dismissed. Li Ciqing repeatedly saved Di Lao's life, but even though he was defeated miserably in Huizhou, Di Lao did not severely punish him. However, Li Ciqing recruited courage and changed his family without authorization, let alone Di Lao, and I will not tolerate it! Li Ciqing left behind the thieves in Pingjiang and Tongcheng, and restored the city after the thieves left. This is truly shameless. He was impeached and removed from office by Mr. Di and was entrusted with my mission. However, when the war was critical, he did not try his best! I'm going to protect it, what's the excuse?
Taoist priest Yang Changjun said: "I reported it to Commander Zuo. Changjun thought that since he could not protect him, there was no need to throw stones."
Zuo Zongtang said: "Brother Shiquan is wrong. Li Yuandu's six thousand people are confined in the country. I can't move them around, so I have to do something!"
Jiang Yili smiled miserably and said: Commander Zuo and Commander Di work together to squeeze, even an iron man will be broken into pieces.
Zuo Zongtang sighed and said: Brother Xiangquan is as anxious as an ox, and I am as stubborn as a donkey, so we deeply cherish each other. Do everything right and there will be no more setbacks. If Li Yuandu used 6,000 people to save Suzhou and Hangzhou from fire and water, then Xinjiang Qi would be in charge, who could impeach him? Our troops entered Zhejiang and were defeated in repeated battles. Others did not criticize us, so we dispersed ourselves. The army attacked Zhejiang without delay, and sent orders to all the armies to prepare for the danger, trap the city and fortify it, and kill the thieves for meritorious service.
Jiang Yili said: "Previously, Commander Di sent my newly recruited brave men to aid southern Anhui, but Commander Zuo refused, fearing that there would also be setbacks."
Zuo Zongtang said: Di Lao mobilized Ting's army to Yuhuatai and Xiangquan to southern Anhui to draw out the east to make up for the west. It is a move of self-interest and is of little benefit. In the tenth year since the army's rise, all the elite troops of Hunan and Chu gathered at Zeng Yuanfu's place. Zeng Yuanfu's 30,000 people forced the city to camp, dredged the city and built forts. According to the battle report last month, Zeng Yuanfu held on for forty-six days and wiped out more than a thousand enemies, with only a few casualties himself. The name "Tie Tong" was well-deserved.
When Li Shixian, the servant king, left Zhejiang to aid Beijing, he ordered Liu Zhenghong of Dingtian'an and 50,000 military governors to guard the city walls of Jinhua; Li Shangyang, general of Tianyi, Chen Tingxiang of Lin Tianyi, and Tan Xing, leader of Tiandihui, with three hundred thousand troops, guarded Tang Dynasty. The front lines of Xi, Longyou, and Lanxi are firmly in front of Jinhua; the leaders of Tiandihui, Tan Fu and Tan Tiyuan, guard Yanzhou and Chuzhou respectively to protect the two wings of Jinhua; Baotianyi Huang Chengzhong and Jintianyi Fan Ruzeng lead the eastern Zhejiang army, ready to go at any time Support.
The king said goodbye and told his general Li Shangyang: Forty days later, I will lead my army and return to attack together.
Although Li Shangyang, the general of Bitian, is the main general, he is not good at fighting and defending. When the Chu army approaches, Shang Yang is panicked. When the king of servants leaves Zhejiang, Shang Yang is even more panicked. Yanzhou and Chuzhou have fallen, and Shangyangzhou is in panic all day long. He urgently asks Liu for help. Zhenghong, Fan Ruzeng, Huang Chengzhong, etc.
Liu Zhenghong replied: Jinhua is the residence of His Royal Highness, how can we just go there easily?
Fan Ruzeng was even more disdainful, saying that Huang Chengzhong said: Li Shangyang has neither wisdom nor courage. He often loses his courage after a slight setback. He previously attacked Wenzhou and marched to Shabu Street, where the militia could not stop him. How can he fight with this power? Command an army of 100,000!
Huang Chengzhong said: Shang Yang and Shi Dian have the same surname, and Shi Dian Yin is from the same clan, so they rely heavily on them.
Jiang Yili and Gao Liansheng's Chu army's offensive was very urgent. Li Shangyang repeatedly begged for help, but Huang Chengzhong and Fan Ruzeng remained unmoved. The Tangxi, Longyou, and Lanxi fronts are in danger.
On February 8, 1863, Zhang Chenggong, the defender of Lanxi, did not dare to fight anymore, so he and his five hundred troops rebelled and surrendered to Liu Dian's Chu army.
Zuo Zongtang was so happy that he gave Zhang Chenggong a high official and a generous salary, and his army was rewarded for three days.
Tangxi guard Peng Yulan was so envious that he sent people to beg for surrender. Jiang Yili ordered Peng Yulan to act accordingly.
Peng Yulan understood the idea and invited Li Shangyang, the general of Tangxi, to have dinner with him. After drinking and eating, Peng Yulan said: I dare to ask His Royal Highness if he has any good strategies to defend against the enemy.
Li Shangyang sighed: Before the edict of the King of Heaven was issued, how can brothers say this? With this army approaching the city and no reinforcements, Tangcheng will be defeated sooner or later.
Peng Yulan said: "The city is broken, and you are begging for mercy. It is not your husband's fault. With a counter-attack, the blade bursts into fire, and the head is thrown away. It is also a pleasure!"
Li Shangyang said: If Brother Peng has a plan to defeat the enemy, there is no harm in saying so.
Peng Yulan said: "I want to follow Zhang Chenggong and pretend to surrender to the demon. I will seize the right opportunity and behead Jiang Yili's demon son!"
Li Shangyang said: "Bitter meat pretends to surrender, hides a knife in his smile, this is what he did."
Peng Yulan said, "Please, Your Highness, Prince Zong, secretly send someone to follow me and pretend to surrender to Chiang, and look for an opportunity to kill him."
Li Shangyang said: If you can kill Chiang, you will be the first to do so.
Peng Yulan immediately went to Jiang Yili's place to plan and negotiate and decided to hold a banquet at Hongmen.
Li Shangyang did not suspect fraud and personally led seven of his trusted generals to the banquet. He was captured by Jiang Yili without even drinking a drop of wine.
The commander was captured, and the Taiping army no longer had the fighting spirit. Within four days, Tangxi, Lanxi, and Longyou were all defeated by the Chu army.
On March 2, Jiang Yili personally led an army of 5,000 troops to attack Jinhua City.
Jinhua guard general Liu Zhenghong urgently consulted Huang Chengzhong and Fan Ruzeng: Fan and Huang brothers met each other. Zhongdian had been attacking Shanghai for three years, losing more than 10,000 troops and gaining nothing. The second brother just attacked Ningbo and won with one blow. Returning to Cixi, he fought fiercely with the Yi army and killed the Yi demon Huaer. Among the generals in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the second brother Huang Fan is the most powerful. Tang, Lan, and Long have been lost. The demon army is approaching the city. Jinhua is in danger. Please ask my second brother to bring troops to rescue him in case of emergency.
Fan Ruzeng received the advice and said to Huang Chengzhong: "Quyan Tang and Dragon are all lost, and Jinhua is also an isolated city. Whether it is rescued or not, it will be destroyed sooner or later."
Huang Chengzhong said: "The few soldiers are harassing and attacking to obstruct people's eyes."
Fan and Huang refused to save them, so Liu Zhenghong urgently asked Li Shixian for help. Shixian requested an order to return to Zhejiang, but Hong Xiuquan issued a strict edict to stop him. There was no food and grass inside and no reinforcements outside. Liu Zhenghong did not hold on and retreated from the city after a few perfunctory battles.
Jinhua was conquered and western Zhejiang was surveyed. Zuo Zongtang was unexpected and overjoyed.
Zeng Guofan was delighted when he heard this and said: "Zuo Jigao led the army to victory and repeatedly recovered the lost territory. Given time, he will be brave enough to defeat all the armies."
Ouyang Zhaoxiong laughed and said: If Zuo Jigao is re-elected as governor, wouldn't he be on par with Commander Di? Li Shaoquan's four trade ministers are also top-notch. Our emperor decreed that Commander Di could control the officers and generals below the governors of the four provinces. If so, wouldn't Zuo Li take advantage of the Yellow River and leave?
Zeng Guofan said: Completely annihilate the Guangdong rebels, I am a commoner, so what's the problem? The loyal chief's army of 200,000 crossed the river and attacked. The land in northern Anhui was ablaze. If Peng Yulin and others could not defeat him, the catastrophe in Anhui and Hubei would surely return.
