Chapter 160 Wang Haiyang is determined to enter Guangdong
Zongtang drove Wang into Guangdong. As soon as he implemented it, he was seen through by Li Futai, the Guangdong governor.
Li Futai said quickly: The bandit army has been in Ting and Zhang for a long time. Taking advantage of the situation, it spreads over time and becomes more and more attached. They also open mutual markets everywhere to confuse the common people, and profit-seekers are rushing around. Rice, grain, and war tools support his use, and the situation of mountains and rivers facilitates his planning. The diseases and weaknesses of the past have become powerful forces that are difficult to eradicate for a while.
Zuo Kejing has raised more than 100,000 reinforcements each. If they sweep down from Liancheng, they will be desperate. With a hundred thousand troops to force them forward, will the thieves be safe if they don't leave Guangdong?
Empress Dowager Cixi accepted the report and immediately reprimanded Zuo Zongtang: "We must eradicate the two chiefs of Shi Wang in Fujian, and do not harm the Guangdong region by driving away wolves and tigers."
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: One month ago, Seng Gelinqin defeated the bandit army at the Black Stone Crossing in Huoshan Mountain, annihilating more than 50,000 people under the bandit leader Chen Decai, and captured another 200,000 people. The monks and ministers entered Fujian and joined forces with the left ministers to eliminate the rebels.
The Empress Dowager Cixi said: Seng Gelinqin was unable to escape. The four bandits Zhang Zongyu, Lai Wenguang, Fan Ruzeng and Ren Huabang fled, and the monks were following him. Li Hongzhang was immediately ordered to dispatch an army and artillery team to assist Fujian.
Zuo Zongtang received the order without hesitation, and quickly ordered his deputy general Fang Zhaoxuan to attack Yongding, Taoist Kang Guoqi to attack Longyan, and the rest of the army, either attacking or harassing, attacked across the board to contain it.
On January 6, 1865, Fang Zhaoxuan led two thousand troops to besiege Yongding; the attack lasted for half a month, but progress was slow. On the 23rd, Zuo Zongtang sent Zheng Shaozhong to lead An Yongjun to assist.
King Li Zhu Xinglong had been fighting for more than a month, but he was gradually losing ground and asked for help immediately. Li Shixian and Wang Haiyang sent all their elites to resist the Chu army, but they were unable to take care of it.
Zhu Xinglong was suspicious and had no fighting spirit anymore, so he abandoned the city.
When Yongding fell, Li Shixian was shocked and asked Wang Haiyang urgently: We originally camped for hundreds of miles, and we responded from head to tail; the Cantonese demon conquered Yongding, cut me in the middle, and I will be rescued immediately. In my opinion, each of them will send their elite troops to attack Quanzhou, cut off the salary routes of Gao Liansheng and Huang Shaochun, and bring the monsters back to the army to look for opportunities to destroy them.
Wang Haiyang replied yes.
The two agreed that Li Shixian would immediately mobilize troops and generals from various places to form a strong team and leave Anxi to attack Quanzhou.
King Lu Deshun led the order and withdrew from Longyan overnight without waiting for Ding Taiyang's troops to take over the defense.
Taoist Kang Guoqi effortlessly captured Longyan Fucheng and completely cut off the alliance between Wang Haiyang and Li Shixian's armies.
Li Shixian was frightened and urgently ordered Ding Taiyang's army to occupy the Shuichao and Hexi areas, looking for opportunities to attack. The Ding tribe was defeated in World War II and was unable to recover.
Wang Haiyang was also frightened. He led the entire army and besieged Xinquan in order to open up Longyan and attack Quanzhou.
Liu Dian fought for two days and was almost invincible. After hearing the news, Wang Debang of Fujian Province rushed to lead his entire army and joined the battle group. Wang Haiyang was defeated and fled in embarrassment.
Wang Haiyang's north road encountered obstacles, so Li Shixian turned southeast, hoping to capture the stone code from the town gate to cut off the military supply road.
On February 15, Li Shixian personally led thousands of troops to capture Zhangpu. On the 25th, Shixian attacked the town gate. Zeng Yuming, the commander-in-chief of Taiwan Town, was caught off guard and abandoned the camp and fled.
After receiving the news, Gao Liansheng sent troops to help and used mountain-splitting cannons to cross the river to cut off Li Shixian's return. Zeng Yuming also led the remaining troops to attack from behind.
Li Shixian was defeated and returned to Zhangzhou.
Yongding and Longyan were regained, and Xinquan and Zhenmen were victorious. Zuo Zongtang happily reported: The border defenses of Jiangxi and Guangdong are still strong. Since spring, it has been cloudy and rainy for ten days, and the mountains and rivers have surged. It is time to go back and overcome the difficulties, and Wang Ni is dispatched again. Party gangs commit crimes within themselves. It is unknown whether he might still want to join forces with Zhangzhou Shinii to prolong his life after being severely suppressed by the army.
The southern border of Zhangzhou is close to the sea, and the Fujian navy ships are not enough to rely on, so foreigners still communicate with it. Since the rebels are in a embarrassment and have no reason to stretch their necks to wait for death, it is important to take strict precautions against entering the sea at this time.
Ting and company officers and troops swept down one after another, forcing the thieves to merge into one place, locking them and surrounding them. The remaining common people in the southeast were insurgent, and they could be wiped out.
After Zongtang finished his memorial, he ordered the three divisions, namely Admiral Liu Qingliang, Admiral of the Navy Wu Quanmei, and Admiral of the Land Division Guo Songlin, to advance simultaneously by land and water to control the sea route south of Zhangzhou.
The war was not going well and cities were lost frequently. Wang Haiyang wanted to return to southern Jiangxi and shot back. Li Shixian refused and hoped to rely on Zhangzhou and enter the sea to survive. Wang Haiyang scolded Li Shixian for being naive and led his troops to Jiangxi. However, Jiangxi's border defense forces were strong and difficult to break, so Wang Haiyang had no choice but to return to Yongding and conduct guerrilla attacks to protect himself.
Upon seeing this, Li Shixian immediately sent out troops, attacking Shima in the south to seek a way out, and attacking Changtai in the north to join forces with Wang's troops. However, his troops were exhausted and they fought for more than a month without achieving anything.
On April 12, Wang Haiyang went to Zhangzhou in person and met with Li Shixian.
Wang Haiyang said: At the turn of Guangdong and Jiangxi, the monster soldiers resisted stubbornly at the pass, and it was no longer possible to go north to Jiangxi.
Li Shixian said: Rely on Zhangcheng, open up the sea route, and go far away by boat. Negotiations were held with the British and French consuls last month, and the foreigners were willing to ship to help.
Wang Haiyang said: "As soon as I leave, where will the more than 100,000 people under my command go?" Fighting with their backs to the sea, the entire army was destroyed. The monster armies are all gathered in Fujian, and there is not much in Guangdong. If you abandon Fujian and enter Guangdong, you will definitely survive this way.
Li Shixian thought deeply for a long time and said: Brother Kang's words are right. Lin Zhengyang and Ding Taiyang will immediately march south to Chaozhou and control the Guangdong Sea ports. Our troops will immediately launch an attack to contain Zuo Yao's Chu army. Brother Kang's troops will attack Longyan and Yongping. Gather together to rest and wait for the opportunity.
Wang Haiyang said: Our troops are always on the alert and there is no need to rest. Without further ado, you and I will immediately gather our forces to attack Dabu together, gain a firm foothold, get rid of Zuo Yao, cross the river into Guangdong, and attack Meizhou.
In early April, Zuo Zongtang personally went to the front line to observe the battle situation, and drafted an essay saying: From Ting and Liansu Qinghou, Wang Ni rushed to various places in Longyan, Yongding and Nanjing, with Prime Minister Li Shixian at the head and tail. From there, one can go to Jiangxi from Yongding and Wuping, and one can go to Guangdong from Pinghe.
The servant is stationed firmly in Zhangcheng, and his party is stationed in Yunxiao and Pinghe. Recently, after the fall of Zhangpu, Ding Ni Taiyang returned to peace and fell into Zhao'an. This area is closely connected to Chaozhou and Jiazhou in Guangdong, and the coastal area is frequented by pirate boats.
In the words of a thief, Wang Ni aims to cross the river, and Li Ni aims to enter the sea. However, if the Fujian army's attack is urgent, eastern Guangdong will have to retreat, and Xu Tu will carry out his original plan of running across the river and into the sea.
Seeing the strength of the thieves, Tongshan and Qinkou in Fujian are particularly urgent. We also know that there are so many thieves that it is difficult for ships to load them. Even if the thieves try to go to sea, they will definitely not be able to do so.
When it comes to preventing thieves from entering Guangdong, Raoping and Dapu are the most important. The Guangdong army defended the border and was well informed. Fang Zhaoxuan's army has also been transferred back, and the strength seems to be quite strong.
Judging from the current situation, the northern road should strictly control the passes of Huafengsi and Chaotianling, and advance through Hexi and Shuichao to suppress Nanjing; the southern road should strictly control Shima and enter Zhangpu. The two armies of Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun attacked Zhangpu from Haicheng, first cutting off its route to the sea, and then attacked Zhangcheng from Jiulongling and Kapoen Temple, and blocked its route to Guangdong. Wang Kailin's troops moved to the Yongding River and took care of Shanghang to prevent them from running to Jiangxi.
If Wang Haiyang and Li Shixian can be wiped out in Fujian, Ding Taiyang, Lin Zhengyang and others will be unable to do anything.
