Chapter 153 Li Hongzhang conquers Changzhou
After Zeng Guoquan received the letter, he immediately looked for Bao Chao and conveyed Zeng Guofan's intentions one by one.
Bao Chao said: "Thank you so much for your concern, Marshal Di. I will raise enough food and supplies and lead my troops into Jiangxi to pursue and suppress the rebels."
Zeng Guoquan said: From the perspective of Commander Bao, when will the chaos in the southeast be resolved?
Bao Chao said: Li Shaoquan besieged Changzhou, and the rebels broke off the alliance; Brother Yuanfu conquered Jinling, and the overall situation was settled.
Zeng Guoquan said: Since Suzhou and Hangzhou have been defeated, I also hope that Jinling will be defeated quickly. However, the size of Hong Ni is not comparable to that of other thieves, and the size of Jinling City is not comparable to other cities. I don't expect speed, but stability.
Bao Chao said: There is nothing wrong with winning steadily. In this way, Li Shaoquan's capture of Changzhou was the key to solving Jinling's dilemma.
Zeng Guoquan said: "Of course, when Commander Bao enters Jiangxi, he blocks the thieves' food route, which is also the key to defeating the enemy." I immediately wrote to Brother Di to inform Commander Bao that he would lead his army into Jiangxi soon.
Zeng Guofan felt relieved after hearing Bao Chao's approval, and told Zeng Guoquan: "Hubei is very frightened by the twisting and turning." The weather is cold and gloomy, and I am seriously worried that there will be no misfortune, but I hope to collect more than 100,000 gold in addition to rice every month, so that my brother Bao's army will not break up. If you follow the law, you will be very lucky. Hello.
Not long ago, Zeng Guofan wrote again: Since Chaozhou, Danyang, and Changzhou have not been conquered, Bao's army cannot move lightly, and the Zhejiang group must rescue Jinling from Dongba, Danyang and other places. I am hereby flying a letter to my brother Shang to tell you in detail that generals Peng, Liu, Xiao, and Zhang are building up their strength, specifically for the purpose of attacking thieves in front of the city and guarding and supporting thieves later. They must not attack with all their strength just because the tunnel is about to be completed, causing many losses to their sharpness. If you can't defeat the thief, you can give him thousands of instructions.
Good things come in many ways, as has been the case since ancient times. Even if Dongba was accidentally missed and Bao Jun suffered a small setback, it was not an unforeseen event. Despite the incident, the younger brother army is still as safe as Mount Tai, and he is a strong man.
Since Suzhou and Hangzhou were restored, everyone hoped that Jinling would be conquered quickly. I don't expect speed, but stability. Therefore, I sent dozens of letters to warn my younger brother to be hasty. He knew that Hong Ni was not comparable to other thieves, and Jinling was not comparable to other cities.
My brother must have concentration and concentration at these points. I hope that I will remain unmoved and orderly. When the situation is about to be overcome, there will be a big storm. If my brother breaks through the tunnel, it is not too late to wait until the big storm has passed before taking action.
What I am worried about is that I am afraid that my brother will be anxious and sick because of his desire for quick results, and I am afraid that each battalion will attack the tunnel fiercely, which will cause many losses to the elite, and I will not be able to defend the thieves. My brother understands my intention and plans it carefully. As for my younger brother Yinmi, I can definitely deal with it before September.
In addition, Li Shaoquan's army attacked so fiercely at close range that Cheng Fangzhong and He Antai were killed in Jiaxing, and Guo Songlin, Teng Siwu, and Gordon were wounded in Liyang and Jintan.
Under a heavy reward, there will be brave men; under a prolonged attack, there will be casualties. I should remember this deeply. Hello.
Ouyang Zhaoxiong, the guest of the curtain, said: "Zhao Liewen came to consult and said that the army under the command of the Nine Commanders was nearly 40,000. They had been stationed in one corner for a long time and were showing signs of fatigue. Soldiers with bodies of tigers and wolves must not be kept in captivity."
Zeng Guofan said: Hui Fu's words are wrong! The armies around Jinling are fighting against the fortified city in the front and refusing to aid the bandits in the back. They are waiting for danger every day. What is a captive army?
Ouyang Zhaoxiong said: "Don't be upset, Commander-in-Chief. Zhao Liewen's words are also true. The armies of Li Shaoquan and Zuo Jigao fought fiercely every day and captured the city walls. If the troops under the Nine Commanders did not complain, wouldn't it be true?" Are they kept in captivity for a long time, fattening themselves and waiting to be slaughtered?
Zeng Guofan said: The soldiers who mourn will win, but the soldiers who complain may disperse. Now a hundred miles away from Jinling City, there are heavy troops stationed in Zhenjiang, Dongba, Lishui, and Jinzhu Pass. The two counties of Yixing and Liyang have been recovered by the Soviet army. Foreign aid will be exhausted, and there will not be much food and rice. If we can overcome this strong The city should be protected from large groups of thieves escaping. The edicts urging the attack on Jinling are coming one after another, which is very annoying. I will use this to deal with the two palaces.
Empress Dowager Cixi received Zeng Guofan's memorial and said: Zeng Guofan reported half a year ago that the city of Jinling was well laid out and occupied with great dangers. I have conquered the Jiusuzhou and Jiangdong Bridge passes, and the southwest side has been mined; I have restored the Seven Bridges Weng, Moling Pass and other passes, and the southeast side has also been mined; Xiao Qingyan's tribe has marched into Xiaolingwei and managed the north of the city. Encirclement. Zeng Guoquan's troops have been approaching the city for nearly two years. They have only besieged but not attacked. Are you waiting for the thieves to hang themselves?
Prince Gong Yi Xin said: It is true that Zeng Guoquan was stationed at Yuhuatai, with a fortified city in front and bandits behind him. Last year, Zeng Guoquan and Li Nixiu formed an army of 300,000 bandits and fought fiercely for more than a month. It was not easy.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: The Guangdong rebellion has been in chaos for more than ten years. If we get rid of it one day earlier, the country will be more peaceful and the people will be healthier. Zeng Guofan reported that the foreign aid generals were out of food and rice. It seems that the three cities of Changzhou, Huzhou and Danyang were not conquered, and they were still connected with the bandits in Jinling City. He quickly sent an order to Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang to join Zhenjiang General Feng Zicai. Don't delay any longer, and must do your best to conquer the three cities quickly, and then rush to Jinling to jointly annihilate the Hong and Li Ni bandits.
Zuo Zongtang received the order and was discussing with Jiang Yili, Liu Dian, Yang Changjun, Gao Liansheng and others about the siege of Huzhou. He reported to the returned chief Deng Guangming and asked to see him alone.
Zuo Zongtang said: Guangdong rebels are everywhere, killing, robbing, and committing all kinds of evil. This man is different from ordinary people. He does not disturb the countryside, and he protects the rich, gentry and people. Please hurry up.
Deng Guangming went straight to the military tent without paying homage. He only said: Deng's foreign gun team is willing to surrender to you.
Yang Changjun said: Since you have surrendered, why not pay homage to Zuo Shuai? You are right and stern, but your words seem to be insincere.
Deng Guangming said: If you surrender, you will surrender, if you fight, you will fight, if you die, you will die, if you accept it, you will accept it, and it will be decided with one word, so there is no need to be a servile servant and bow down three times and kowtow nine times.
Zuo Zongtang said: "If you surrender, I will immediately send you a petition and give you the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Third Rank. You will immediately follow me to besiege Huzhou."
Li Hongzhang received the order and immediately ordered Li Hezhang, Liu Mingchuan, Guo Songlin, Zhang Shusheng, etc. to report quickly and quickly conquer Changzhou.
Li Hezhang said: "In the past, we did not seek extraordinary speed, but sought stability, in order to echo the Jinling Zeng tribe; now we are working so hard, why?"
Li Hongzhang said: In the past, Commander-in-Chief did not seek extraordinary achievements, but sought stability, because he was afraid of making the same mistakes as Xiang Gong and He Gong. Now, as the two palaces have issued orders, our army has risen, so we should work hard to conquer the city; If we continue to procrastinate and the military spirit is exhausted, who knows when it will rise again.
Liu Ming preached: Our army has been attacking for half a year, encroaching step by step, and Changcheng has become isolated. Although there are more than a hundred thousand thieves, the only ones who can fight are four to five thousand old Guangxi thieves. If we continue to besiege for more than a month, the rebel bandits will run out of ammunition and food, and they will no longer be able to fight. The attack will be broken by itself; if you want to win quickly, you can mobilize the foreign gun team to use cannons to blow down the city wall. All our army units will launch a general attack and the Changcheng City will be destroyed.
Li Hongzhang said: "The words of the third brother of the province are reasonable. All the ministries have made preparations quickly. In ten days, Changzhou will be besieged."
On that day, Li Hongzhang and Li Hezhang visited Gordon with 50,000 silver and some heavy gifts, with pious faces.
Gordon had a first taste of the sophistication of Chinese people. After being surprised and flattered, he said: I am determined to help Mr. Futai break the city of Changzhou.
Li Hongzhang said: There are thousands of old thieves from Guangdong and Guangdong in Changzhou City. They are brave and good at fighting. If I don't kill them, they will kill me. After the city is broken, I will kill them all.
Gordon said: Killing on the battlefield, you die and I live, I live and you die, but there is no harm in killing.
On May 10, Governor Gordon led a foreign gun team to bombard Changzhou for two days, destroying four or five city walls. The Huai army troops swarmed in and fought in the streets for a day, capturing the guardian king Chen Kunshu, the assistant king Huang Hejin and ten thousand people alive.
Changzhou was defeated, Li Hongzhang immediately ordered Liu Mingchuan and Guo Songlin to attack Danyang non-stop.
The Danyang Taiping Army vowed not to retreat. After one day of fierce fighting, the entire army was destroyed.
