Chapter 144 Li Xiucheng’s troops march into northern Anhui (2)
In the early morning of May 4th, the cannon sounded, and the Hunan army poured out of the city fortress from all directions, attacking from both inside and outside.
Li Xiucheng was defeated and retreated to Lujiang.
Lujiang guard Wu Changqing stood at the top of the city, drew his sword and shouted angrily: This is the country of Sangzi, and this is the place where my ancestors died. Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without mercy!
Xiucheng besieged it for two days but was unable to do so. He also failed to attack Shucheng again.
Yongtian Anma Ronghe and Liang Wang Zhang Zongyu heard that Xiucheng had arrived and came to help quickly. When the two armies met from the north to the south, Xiu Cheng was very happy. He called Ma Ronghe and said: "Where are the troops of King Fu Chen Decai now?"
Ma Ronghe said: "I am informing His Highness Prince Zhong that Chen Bu should kill demons in Shaanxi. Last year Yingdian was tied up. Chen Bu returned to Anhui from Shaanxi and we tried our best to rescue him, but God failed to fulfill his wish."
Xiu Chengdao: Shaanxi and Anhui are thousands of miles apart; you are on top of Ying, and your little left team is the most powerful; but as everyone knows, when the King of England is gone, the kingdom of heaven will collapse!
Ma Ronghe said: "This is to inform His Royal Highness, King Zhong. At that time, my small left team had been taken over by His Highness the King of England. King Wo and I vowed to rescue him, but Miao Peilin's bandit army was too powerful."
Xiucheng sighed and said: Brother Ying divided his troops and looked around, and was taken advantage of by thieves; Brother Wo fought fiercely against the monk monster, but was alone killed; both brothers are gone, what a pity!
Zhang Zongyu kowtowed and said: "I would like to express my gratitude to His Highness Prince Zhong, Zhenghuang Banner Advocate Zongyu, and would like to join Zhongdian's command and charge into the battle."
Xiucheng said: Brother Liang Wang, please get up quickly. My brother is the first general under the command of King Wo. In this siege of Liu'an, I owe you a lot of help from my brothers. In the past, various units of the Nian Army were vigorous and powerful, setting off a prairie fire; now, they are about to fall apart. Why?
Zhang Zongyu said: Your Highness, Prince Zhong, after the gathering of Shibapu in Zhihe River, the residents in the north and south of Huaihe River were people, and those who came out were twisters, so twisters were everywhere; however, there were five flags of yellow, white, blue, black and red, and each flag did not belong to each other. , so he was taken advantage of by the monk and demon. My uncle was deceived by the rebel demon and killed by the monk demon. If I don’t kill the two demons, I will become the king of hell!
Xiu Chengdao: "Brother's awe-inspiring spirit makes me cry and sigh. Tomorrow we will take Lu'an first, and then enter Hubei to slay the demons."
On May 12, the Taiping Army surrounded the city on all sides and attacked fiercely. After a day of fierce fighting, the city walls were not touched.
During the break from the war, Zeng Guangyi, the Lu'an guard general and alternate Daoist general, told He Jiacong, the governor of Lu'an: "Jiang Zhichun left two battalions of soldiers, with only a thousand men. Thanks to Brother He's efforts to build the east city, which is more than 30 feet, the north city is 10 feet, and the west city is 20 feet. , this majestic wall can withstand ten thousand soldiers.
He Jiacong said: "Liu'an is different from other states. It has a barrier to the water and land in the southeast. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful mountains, and it controls the Yangtze River and Huaihe River." If Liu'an is lost, it would be unthinkable for thieves to go against the trend and enter Hubei. You and I will fight to the death and secure the city wall to repay Lord Futai for his kindness.
Zeng Guangyi said: The thieves attacked Wuwei and Lujiang, and the Hunan army came to the rescue in full force. Our troops are also part of the Xiang camp. I wonder if Bao Chao will respond in time? After the death of Commander Xi, his army was divided into five. Jiang Ningxue, Xiao Qingyan, Cheng Daji, Mao Youming, Wang Zaisi, etc. each led one. They were not subordinate to each other. In this battle, there would be more disaster than good. Tang Futai was born among his peers. He had only a righteous spirit, but it was difficult to convince others.
He Jiacong said: "Master Tang Xunfang of Futai, President of the army, also belongs to the Hunan tribe, Bao Chunting will definitely rush to help." While we hold on, we will wait until the thieves are exhausted and then fight back with all their might.
The Taiping Army was unable to attack Liu'an for a long time. Li Xiucheng came to supervise the battle in person. Xiucheng gave an order and three cannons roared. At the sound of the cannons, the east gate wall collapsed six or seven feet, and the Taiping Army roared in.
At the critical moment, He Jiacong personally led a team of 200 cavalry to block the gap and trap the soldiers entering the city.
When the forceful attack failed, Li Xiucheng ordered all the troops to force the city to build fortifications and resume their march where they were trapped.
Before the reinforcements arrived, He Jiacong waited. On the night of May 17, Jiacong personally led 300 dead soldiers, forced out of the city wall, raided the Taiping Army camp, and beheaded 100 Taiping soldiers including Fu Tianyu, Zhang Chengde, and Zuo Supervisor Liu Chaozhu.
Li Xiucheng was shocked and said: How can such a strong city and such a powerful monster be defeated? The camp is overrun with injuries and supplies, and supplies are exhausted. If we do not retreat at this time, our army will collapse.
Gao Yongkuan, the king of Na, said: Lujiang and Wuwei are all occupied by demons. The demons of Baopeng and Peng are looking at them with eager eyes. Where can we retreat?
Xiuchengdao: Where are Yang Fuqing, Huang Wenjin, Liu Guanfang, and Gu Longxian now?
Gao Yongkuan said: According to reports, Yang Fuqing Shun Ningguo, Liu Guanfang left Huizhou, Gu Longxian left Taiping, Huang Wenjin left Qingyang, and the four tribes have all marched westward, approaching the junction of Anhui and Jiangxi.
Xiu Chengdao: All the armies in southern Anhui are acting perfunctorily. If one of them boldly enters Jiangxi, how can Bao Yao cross the river to attack me? Last year, I ordered King Chen Decai, together with the three kings Wenguang, Lan Chengchun, and Liang Chengchun, to go north to Henan and Shaanxi, recruit enough troops, and return to Tianjing after twenty-four months. It is already the end of the year. Next year, I will definitely go with you. King Fu joins hands with all the brothers to fight in Tianjing again to exterminate the Xiang demon.
Zhang Zongyu and Ma Ronghe both said: It all depends on the orders of His Highness King Zhong.
Xiucheng said again: Now that we are short of food and gunpowder, we are unable to fight anymore. Send my order quickly, and the army will move eastward, crossing the north of Luzhou and Chuzhou, going straight to Tianchang, raising food and supplies, going south to Yizheng and Liuhe, and starting from Liangpu , Jiusuzhou crossed the river.
When the Taiping Army retreated, Zeng Guangyi and He Jiacong were overjoyed and hurriedly reported to Anqing.
Zeng Guofan heard this and said: On the sixth day of the lunar month, Zeng Pushan reported that the thieves had returned to Liu'an, and on the seventh day of the lunar month, he reported that the thieves had returned and retreated after being surrounded. These are not credible. It is unknown whether Chief Zhong went east or not, whether Ma Ronghe branched off from Zhong Chief, and whether Miao Peilin and Li Zhaoshou contacted Zhong Chief.
Ouyang Zhaoxiong said: Bao Chunting came to report that as he traveled from Chao County, there would be no grass growing for hundreds of miles. It was extremely difficult to get firewood, and it was even more difficult to move food supplies. If the Bao tribe is like this, the two hundred thousand loyal chiefs will never return to the barren land. The loyal chiefs will definitely flee eastward. Our army should quickly pursue and suppress Sanhe, Tongcheng and Shucheng areas.
Zeng Guofan said: The loyal chief pretended to go upstream to show his shape. We have strong troops to guard the five places of He, Lu, Shu, Tong and Sanhe. Qian and Tai are above, and there are two armies of Cheng and Li. The thieves have rebelled against the main army. Must flee downstream. Immediately pass on my order, Xiao Qingyan's troops will guard the Yun Cao, and Peng Yulin, Liu Lianjie, and Mao Youming will quickly annihilate Zha Town, Chaoxian, Hexian, Hanshan and other places to cut off the thieves' escape route. Tingbu must also return quickly, hold on to the lower reaches, and join hands to fend off the thieves.
Ouyang Zhaoxiong said: If the loyal chief really fled eastward from the upper reaches, wouldn't he escape?
Zeng Guofan said: "It doesn't matter. The areas upstream have been plagued by wars for many years. Miao Peilin and Li Zhaoshou have repeatedly raided them, but they are all barren. The army of loyal chiefs is about to arrive, and there is no replacement." Immediately pass on my order, Zeng Guoquan leads the 20,000 people in Yuhuatai. They must not just stay there. They must detach a live force to harass Jinling. Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang should also try their best to attack Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Peng Yulin, Mao Youming, Liu Lianjie, and Bao Chao received the order and immediately joined forces to attack Chaoxian County and its surrounding key passes. Xiao Qingyan couldn't hold himself back and left an army to guard the canal. He led the main army and joined the battle group. Five troops attacked for half a month and finally broke through the nest city.
Liu Lianjie and Xiao Qingyan took advantage of their victory to besiege Hanshan. On June 10, Bao Chaoting's army also arrived. The Hanshan Taiping Army was frightened and retreated without a fight.
Bao Chao and Xiao Qingyan rode non-stop and attacked at starry night. Together with the Faxiang Navy, they jointly attacked Hezhou.
Defeated by Wang Hongchunyuan, they retreated to Jiangpu and Pukou.
