Chapter 144 Li Xiucheng’s troops march into northern Anhui (1)
On February 27, 1863, the loyal king Li Xiucheng marched north to attack the southern order under the command of the king Hong Xiuquan. He led an army of 200,000, known as 500,000, and crossed the river from Tianjing to Xiaguan and Zhongguan.
In early March, after the army had crossed over, King Zhong divided his forces and attacked. King Protector Chen Kunshu led an army of 20,000 to attack Hanshan and Hezhou in the west, taking control of Luzhou; King Wu Ruxiao of Gu and King Huang Chongfa of Ai jointly attacked the two Pus to clear the retreat; Prince Zhong, together with His Highness Li Rongfa, Prince Ji, Huang Jinai, Prince Na, Prince Yang Ji Qingyuan, Prince Wu Wang Youwei, Prime Minister Chen Panwu, and Prince Shun Li Chunfa, marched westward to Chaoxian County, met with the armies of Hong Chunyuan and Lin Shaozhang, and then entered Hubei from Anhui. Mobilize Zeng Guo's Quanxiang army to return reinforcements to relieve the siege of Tianjing.
On March 22, Wu Ruxiao and Huang Chongfa captured Pukou and regained Jiangpu ten days later.
Wu and Huang were overjoyed when they won the victory. They said: Two Pudongs are now available. From the top, they can attack Luzhou from Hezhou, Hanshan and Chaohu. From the bottom, they can invade Yizheng and Yangzhou's defenses, and peek into the Lixiahe River.
Gao Yongkuan, the king of Na, said: "Your Royal Highness, Prince Zhong, where the army is moving, the key is to surprise and attack the unprepared. In November last year, Wang Lin Shaozhang of Na and Wang Hong Chunyuan crossed the river to visit Anhui. My intention was revealed in advance." The journey from now on is destined to be difficult.
Li Xiucheng said: "My 200,000-strong army will attack one point but not the rest. What should we fear?"
Xun Tianyi Wang Hongjian said: Your Highness, Prince Zhong, Chao County in northern Anhui Province is experiencing frequent wars, and the city is in ruins and the people are hungry. It is now February, and there is no harvest. Looking around, we can only see the villages of Xili and mourning victims everywhere. ; It is really difficult to raise the food and fodder expenses for our army on the spot.
Li Xiucheng said, "Brother Wang, buy grain and rice seeds quickly to provide disaster relief and help the people." The three armies were ordered to attack Wuwei and Lujiang, advance directly to Lu'an along Shucheng, meet with Chen Decai, Zhang Lexing, Ma Ronghe, and force their way into Hubei. Edi is rich in rice, which can relieve hunger.
Li Xiucheng's army crossed the river, but Li Shixian did not hesitate to make more concessions. He led an army of 20,000 to attack the key pass of Meitangzui on the upper reaches of Jinzhu Pass, hoping to seize the pass under the control of Hebei Province.
Zhu Hongzhang saw through it and led his troops east to Xuezhen to break through Li Shixian's old camp.
Shixian returned to the army, focused on Zhu Hongzhang's camp, and destroyed it. Li Xianghe, Zhu Nangui, and Luo Fengyuan heard the news and rushed to help, but Shixian was defeated and broke out.
After a short rest, Shixian attacked Zhu Hongzhang's Xinweijiao camp again. Hundreds of warships circled to the South Wejiao and copied the retreat.
Zhu Hongzhang's camp was not solid and could be broken with one blow, and his troops rushed like wolves and pigs.
Luo Fengyuan and Zhu Nangui heard about the police and sent reinforcements; Yang Zaifu heard about it and also ordered the navy to rush from Mei Tangzui.
The two armies fought fiercely for three days, and Shixian was defeated and retreated in despair.
Zeng Guoquan was overjoyed with the victory at Xinweijiao and reported to Zeng Guofan urgently: The servant chief rebelled against the bandits. This time, tens of thousands of people crossed the river and pounced. The six posts of Changsheng Camp failed to block and suppress it. The situation was very critical. Fortunately, Li Xianghe, Zhu Nangui, Luo Fengyuan and others, together with navy Peng Chuhan, Luo Jinxian and others, fought back and won a great victory, turning the danger into safety. With this victory, Jinzhu Pass will be safe from now on.
Zeng Guofan heard about it and said: "Jinzhu Pass is temporarily safe, but Li Xiucheng's 200,000 troops are approaching step by step, and he is very worried." Immediately pass on my order to all the armies and camps in northern Anhui. Except for the strong walls and clear fields, there is no need to leave the city walls lightly to fight against Ni. For the Ting army in southern Anhui, in addition to leaving a force to guard Ning County, Bao Chao must personally lead the main force to rush to the rescue; Zeng Guoquan's army must not just sit in the siege and attack the city, but must send another strong force to help northern Anhui; left Zongtang and Li Hongzhang must urge all armies to attack and suppress them in order to divide the thieves' power.
Ouyang Zhaoxiong, the guest behind the scenes, said: Li Hongzhang is already the Minister of Commerce, Zuo Zongtang has been victorious in recent battles, and there are rumors that he will supervise and supervise Jianlian. If Commander Di gives orders again, there may be something wrong.
Zeng Guofan said: Last month I impeached Qing Duan, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, for his incompetence. Although this is self-defeating, it is still for the benefit of the country. I will immediately petition Zuo Gong to take over. With Zuo and Li Zhizhi, from now on, the word "order" will be eliminated and just give advice. The loyal chieftains are powerful and sparse. If they unite with the Huaibei rebels, the overall situation will be worrying. Seng Gelinqin is the prince and an imperial minister, supervising the army and horses of six provinces. I have written a letter of advice and advice, but it is not possible. I will send you a request immediately. In the two palaces, the monk king was ordered to suppress the rebel bandits in Huaibei.
Ouyang Zhaoxiong said: Recently, our army's battalions have been mobilized frequently, and there are also complaints.
Zeng Guofan said: I will patrol all the armies to appease people's hearts.
In late March, Zeng Guofan sailed from Anqing by boat, first to Wuhu, where he stayed for a day and then to the mouth of Wuweiyu River to summon Peng Yulin. Arrive at Wujiang River the next day and enter Dasheng Pass together with Yang Zaifu; on the 24th, they arrive at the Yuhuatai camp and spend the night with Zeng Guoquan; then drive down from Jiusuzhou to Jinzhu Pass, passing through Dongxiliangshan, Yuncao Town, Shijianbu, and Shenjianbu. Tanghe, return to Anqing.
The vassal of the country was on patrol for more than a month and felt very happy. He said: "Thieves walking in a land without people are like fish walking in a land without water; thieves living in a land without farming are like birds nesting in a mountain without trees. Wherever they live, they must be exhausted." , there is no reason why it can last long, and the key passes in the southeast, such as Anqing, Wuhu, Luzhou, Ningguo, Dongxiliangshan, Jinzhuguan, Yuxikou and Jinhua and Shaoxing in Zhejiang, these are all must-win areas for mountains and rivers, but if If these points are not lost, they will eventually control the fate of those who should go against them.
In the past, when the Cantonese thieves came, they built forts like cities and dug trenches like rivers. They were extremely strong and deep, but they became sloppy as time went by. As for the officers and soldiers building forts and dredging trenches, the situation today is far better than in the past. Among the thieves, there were more than ninety kings among the chiefs, each competing for supremacy, suffering uneven joys and sorrows, and failing to save each other. However, the officers and soldiers looked up to Sheng Mo, and the three rivers and two lakes, and the camps on land and water, worked together in harmony and responded well. A gratifying end.
Empress Dowager Cixi took up the performance and said: Zeng Guofan's performance is too surprising; the way of military conduct is unpredictable, so how can we be paralyzed? The order was quickly passed on, and Zeng Guofan and Seng Gelinqin were ordered to join forces with Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Du Xing'a, and Zeng Guoquan. The rebels were not eliminated and their fighting spirit was not lost.
Prince Gong Yi Xin said: The loyal chieftain's 200,000 bandit army will attack northern Anhui. If it joins with the remnants of Huaibei and goes south to Hubei, its force will be even greater. The Miao army has 100,000 soldiers and is entrenched in Fengyang. If there is a recurrence, the overall situation will be worse. It’s bad!
The Empress Dowager Cixi said: Chief Wo Chief Zhang Lexing is the leader of the Nian Bandit Alliance. After the battle at Zhihe River, he disappeared. Immediately ordered the monk Prince Gelinqin to supervise and lead the Mongolian cavalry to join the troops from the five provinces of Zhizhi, Lu, Henan, Hubei and Anhui. They immediately carried out a search and annihilated the Wo chieftain Zhang Lexing and the rest of his troops. Kill.
In the battle of Zhiji River, 20,000 Nian troops were killed. King Wo Zhang Lexing only led 20 light cavalry to break through and marched to Xiyangji, where they were captured by the rebel general Li Qinbang.
Miao Peilin heard about it and quickly asked for it. Li Qinbang ignored him and handed Zhang Lexing over to Seng Gelinqin.
Seng Gelinqin personally persuaded him to surrender.
Zhang Lexing said: I will punish the evil and save the people. If I surrender to you, life will be worse than death!
Seng Gelinqin stopped persuading him, so he executed Zhang Lexing in late solitude. Together with Tang Xunfang, the governor of Anhui, he ordered Miao Peilin to dismiss his soldiers and return to the fields.
Miao Peilin was disappointed, and his heart was surging, and he said: "Shengbao is bound, Lexing is dead again, I have no support anymore." What we have done will inevitably lead to death, so it is better to strike first. Send my order quickly, and all the battalions will immediately prepare their hair. If you encounter clear monsters on the road, you will kill them all.
When Miao Peilin rebelled, the loyal king Xiucheng and his troops besieged Shijianbu, a key pass in Wuwei. Xiucheng heard this but did not move.
Gao Yongkuan, the king of Na, said: Miao Peilin has more than ten thousand people, dominating the Jianghuai River. If they join forces with our army, how powerful they will be!
Xiu Chengdao: I wonder if this capricious person will repeat himself again? Just wait and see what happens, if it happens again, you will be killed!
Gao Yongkuan said: The demon army held the base and resisted stubbornly, vowing not to fight. Our army has not been able to attack for several days. It rained heavily again. There are more and more sick people in each camp. Four demons, Bao Chao, Xiao Qingyan and Peng Yuju, are flying towards us. What? Is good?
Li Xiucheng said: "The demon army has arrived, but there are only 20,000 people. Our army of 200,000 can fight with them."
Liu Lianjie, the designated inspector, and Mao Youming, the Taoist priest, stayed at Shijianbu for more than ten days. Food and supplies were about to be exhausted. Peng Yulin advised him that if he could not rely on his strength, he could break out of the encirclement.
Liu Lianjie refused and said to Mao Youming: If this pass is lost, Wuwei Prefecture will not be protected. If Wuwei Prefecture is lost, the enemy's army food route will be opened, and the consequences will be endless. We must defend immediately and wait for reinforcements.
On May 3, Bao Chao led 10,000 troops, Peng Yuju led 4,000 troops, Xiao Qingyan led 4,000 troops, and Peng Yulin led 4,000 troops to attack around Shijianbu.
That night, Peng Yulin sent another dead soldier to sneak into Shijian Port and made an appointment with Liu Lianjie and Mao Youming for a battle.
