Chapter 155: Zeng Guoquan massacres the city in Jinling (2)
Zeng Guoquan received the letter and sighed: Brother Di, I am afraid that our army will suffer casualties!
Zhu Hongzhang, the commander-in-chief, said: "I would like to report to the Nine Commanders, since the beginning of spring, we have used every possible means including shelling, escalating the city, attacking with fire, applying poison, and releasing water." Beginning in March, they dug more than a dozen places outside Chaoyang, Jinchuan and Shence gates, added explosives to blow up the city, and swarmed in. Unexpectedly, there were as many thieves as cattle hair, and guns, fire, and explosives were like a downpour of rain. At this time, our army suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat.
Zeng Guoquan said: "We conquered Zhongshan Tianbao City last spring, and the city siege has just begun. The thieves in the city are short of food, so they are planting wheat to help the hungry, but it is not yet ripe!" Immediately pass on my order to all the land and water ministries to patrol day and night and firmly refuse to help the thieves transport food into the city. The thieves in the city have no food and will be captured within three days.
Zhu Hongzhang said: "I'll tell you the nine commanders, and I will have a plan at the end to find out whether the thieves are real or not."
Zeng Guoquan said: Huanwen, please speak quickly.
Zhu Hongzhang said: The Xiaoling Guard Stone Barrier is particularly valued by thieves. Every time they escape, they will attack this place. Why not lay an ambush in advance, trick the thieves into the urn, and work together to destroy them.
Zeng Guoquan said, "Please Huanwen, please supervise all the ministries quickly and set up an ambush to kill the thieves."
Zhu Hongzhang received the order and celebrated his thirtieth birthday with lanterns and colorful decorations, a feast and a grand celebration.
When the loyal king Li Xiucheng heard about it, he sent 20,000 troops out of Taiping, Chaoyang and Hongwu gates to attack the Xiaoling guard stone barrier at night. As soon as they reached the base, they were ambushed and fought fiercely in the middle of the night. They suffered more than 10,000 casualties and retreated in embarrassment.
Zeng Guoquan immediately issued an order, and all armies and departments worked day and night to besiege to the death. The city would not be broken and the troops would not rest for a day.
After hearing this, Zeng Guofan again advised Zeng Guoquan: All the cities were obtained, except for Jinling. The city is strong and large, and the thieves are fierce and numerous. It is incomparable with other places. Please don't get anxious and get sick, just let it happen naturally. If Shao Quan Zhongcheng is ordered to come and attack Jinling, I don't have to worry about it, but I just want to finish the battle. It is good to overcome alone, but it is also wonderful to overcome it. You don’t have to have merit by yourself, and you don’t have to achieve fame by yourself. The most important thing is to protect your body and avoid liver disease. If you are good at maintenance, you can be loyal, filial and friendly.
In addition, on the 19th, I received a letter from my brother on the 16th, and learned that Shanghai sent 136,000 silver, plus 30,000 taels of silver and 20,000 strings of copper coins, for a total of 180,000 silver. Chun Ting will give 50,000 yuan, Datong will give Chun Ting another 20,000 yuan, Jiangwai Liangtai will send Chun Ting another 20,000 yuan, and Chi Xuan will send 4,000 shi, so Ting's army can set off to aid the river.
My brother received more than 130,000 yuan in Shanghai silver, and today I will send another 60,000 yuan from Jiangwai Liangtai. Plus all the gold, I can barely survive the Dragon Boat Festival. It is a blessing that this section does not break up.
The imperial court believed that it was important to treat Fu Ming'a with tolerance and tolerance; but it was not clear what it would do to Feng Zicai. Fu Ming'a wants to send 6,000 men to help suppress Jinling, and a letter has been sent to me. I have ordered him to guard Liuhe and protect Lixiahe to prevent Chen Decai from Hubei from rebelling.
There is no need to regret or blame my brother for falling behind others. Just fear God and know your destiny, and do your best. The defeat of Jinling is also the great honor of this dynasty and the great name of the ages. It all depends on the will of God. How can it all depend on human power? Heaven is in favor of great names, and they are stingy and cherish them. They go through many hardships and hardships, and it is difficult to remove the chaos and then give it to them. When Lao Shi said he did not dare to be the first in the world, he meant that he did not dare to be the first in the world. When my younger brother entered Jinling for the first time two years ago, I repeatedly said that there were many dangers, and I also knew that great names cannot be forced.
In the past two years, Li Shaoquan has repeatedly performed extraordinary feats and purged the entire Soviet Union. Although my brother's reputation has been reduced, he has not been ruined. This is a blessing to the family. Although I have worked hard for a long time, the court has not spoken disparagingly and the overall situation has not changed. This is my brother's luck. We can only fear God and know our destiny, but we cannot blame God and others. Therefore, maintaining health but getting sick is here, so maintaining health and maintaining peace is also here. Thousands of advices will never cause illness due to stress.
Hello.
Li Xiucheng defended Jinling alone and had no way to advance or retreat. He privately told Hong Rengan that on April 20, the soldiers came out of the city wall and attacked the Xiaoling guard stone barrier, which might be the last battle. The army has no food and is afraid that it will be unable to fight.
Hong Rengan said: Beijing is short of food, but Beijing is trapped and has nothing to rely on. In November last year, he was ordered to mobilize troops to relieve the siege. He visited Danyang, Changzhou and Chaozhou. The heavenly soldiers from all walks of life are afraid of having no food, and many of them are not responding to their orders.
Xiu Chengdao: I asked the city to do something different. The king of heaven suspected that I had other plans and tried his best to guard against me. All political affairs in the capital were handled by Hong Renda, the Heavenly Brother, and all important city gates and passes were inspected and managed by Heavenly Brother Hong Renfa. I am brave and loyal to the Lord, so why do I believe that a sycophant calls me a treacherous person? So he was discouraged and hid in the capital, and he was forced to die with him.
Hong Rengan said: "I will report to the king of heaven immediately, saying that my brother is absolutely loyal."
Xiu Chengdao: The situation is over. There is no need to say this. I can only focus on defending the city. If something is important, I will fight to defend it.
Hong Rengan said: "Brother, don't be discouraged. We will report to the King of Heaven immediately and beg the city not to leave."
On May 16, 1864, Li Xiucheng and Hong Rengan went straight into the Golden Dragon Palace. Hong Rengan said: Report to the King of Heaven, things in Beijing are changing day by day. Zeng Yao's soldiers outside the city are getting closer and closer, and the city is extremely panicked. They are guarding the camp. No one can trust the city; the only chance is to leave the city alone.
Hong Xiuquan said: Brother Tian, Chen Decai, led hundreds of thousands of troops and spread hundreds of miles. He broke into Hanzhong from Huyang. He entered Henan in February and Hubei in April. He conquered Huang'an, Macheng and Qishui. He surged all the way and attacked. There is nothing that cannot be overcome and every battle is invincible. We will arrive in Tianjing in the near future. There is no need to give up the city!
Xiu Chengdao: Long live the king of heaven. There is no food in the whole city. Many men and women have died. I beg you to issue an edict. What plan should be made to calm the hearts of the people.
Hong Xiuquan said: I knew this would happen. Three years ago, I planted hundreds of herbs. Now, sweet dew has been made. The whole city can eat sweet dew to maintain health.
At that time, Hong Xiuquan had been ill for more than a month. The Kingdom of Heaven is increasingly shattered, and Xiuquan cannot bear to look at it.
On May 30, Xiuquan issued another edict: Everyone is at ease, I will go to heaven immediately, receive heavenly soldiers from heavenly father and brother, and protect Tianjing. The next day, Xiuquan passed away.
Li Xiucheng, Hong Rengan, Hong Renfa and others were afraid of unrest in the army, so they wrapped Xiu Quan's body in brocade silk and satin and hid it in the palace so as not to announce the funeral secret. After more than ten days, the body smelled bad and they announced it to the public.
After Hong Xiuquan died, the Empress Dowager Cixi was afraid that the Taiping Army would break through and escape. She was unhappy and worried. Within ten days, she issued six edicts, ordering Li Hongzhang to rush to Jinling to assist Zeng Guofan and quickly conquer the city.
Li Hongzhang received the order and consulted Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan separately: he was repeatedly sent with orders to send his troops to assist in the suppression of Jinling. He thought that my husband had worked hard for two years and had not finished a single step, so he did not dare to get close to the prison and peek at the bed.
After Hongzhang's consultation, he sent another order. Liu Ming led Wang Yongsheng's 10th Battalion, Liu Shiqi's 8th Battalion, Zhou Shengbo Shengzi Battalion, Bi Naier Artillery Team and Cheng Xueqi's Artillery Team, a total of more than 14,000 people, to prepare for the attack on Jinling. .
When Zeng Guoquan heard this, he said angrily: "The other person has arrived. How can I give it to him after two years of hard work?"
Zhu Hongzhang, Xiao Fusi, Li Chendian and others were also angry and shouted: We have endured hardships and fought to the death for two years, how can we allow others to get involved!
Zhu Hongzhang said: "I have informed the Nine Commanders that I have a strategy that works well on both sides. It can deal with the two palaces at the top and attack Jinling at the bottom."
Zeng Guoquan said: Speak!
Zhu Hongzhang said: One is to go to the two palaces immediately and ask Li Shaoquan for help; the other is to use all his strength to attack the city to the death. Li Shaoquan's journey from Shanghai to Jinling must take more than a month; within one month, our army will surely capture Jinling.
