Chapter 162 Wang Haiyang kills Li Shixian (1)
Wang Haiyang, King of Kang, rested for ten days in the areas of Meilin, Kuzhu, and Shangkuiyang, then regrouped the entire army to attack Dabu.
On May 3, 1865, the pioneer officer and general Hu Yongxiang led an army of 10,000 to attack first. Zheng Shaozhong, the commander-in-chief of the Cantonese army, held the base and resisted stubbornly. The two armies fought for a day and dispersed at nightfall.
Fang Zhaoxuan, the deputy general of the Guangdong Army, sent an army to Wutong Temple with a single soldier from Zheng's army, and waited quietly near the mountains and valleys.
At dawn on the 4th, Wang Haiyang led an army of 50,000 people and entered Wutong Temple. Without any explanation, he immediately laid siege to it. At noon, Fang Zhaoxuan led the main army to join the battle group, and the Taiping Army's offensive was thwarted. Wang Haiyang did not attack by force, but ordered all his troops to build fortifications on the spot and attack in turn.
In the evening, Prince You's successor, Li Yuan, led his rear army to arrive. Wang Haiyang immediately ordered all his troops to encircle Dapu and force the city to camp. At dawn the next day, the Taiping army divided into two groups, one group besieging the city and the other group besieging Fang Zhaoxuan's army.
Fang Zhaoxuan set up an ambush to attack, but Wang Haiyang was caught off guard and retreated in panic. The attacking army retreated without knowing the situation of the battle.
When Wang Haiyang's army besieged Dapu, the deputy general of the Guangdong army Wu Guangliang and the alternate prefect Kang Xiongfei made a sneak attack on Kuzhu and captured it with one blow.
The Kuzhu was lost and the way back was blocked. Wang Haiyang had no choice but to order his troops to withdraw and attack Yongding along Zhongkeng and Zhangxi.
There is an important pass outside Yongding City, called Shelie'ao. Wang Haiyang ordered his king Tan Tiyuan to attack it.
Tan Tiyuan inspected the terrain and immediately ordered each army to build four bases and encircle and shoot the enemy in the valley, so as to permanently block the Chu army's reinforcement path. At night, they built several more fortresses, thinking they were trapped.
Two days later, all the Chu army's rice, food and gunpowder were exhausted. After Tan Tiyuan issued the order, he took the lead and rushed into the enemy's fortress. With his sword in his hand, he killed Chang Sheng, the chief soldier of the Chu army. The commander-in-chief suddenly disappeared and the defenders were in panic. More than a thousand people , were all killed. After the great victory in Shelie'ao, the morale of the Taiping army increased. Wang Haiyang again mobilized his troops and generals to encircle Yongding Fucheng.
If Yongding was lost, the overall situation would be passive. Liu Dian urgently ordered Kang Guoqi to rush to the aid of Wang Kailin's troops.
On May 17, Kang Guoqi led two thousand troops and arrived at Hulei. Wang Haiyang ordered Youwang Li Yuanji to lead his troops to stop him. After a day of fierce fighting, they were defeated from afar. Wang Haiyang personally led an army of 20,000 to assist in the battle. While the fierce battle was going on, Liu Dian led his main army and arrived. The two armies of Wang and Liu fought for a long time and were at a stalemate.
Wang Haiyang was defeated miserably in Dapu and the road to Guangdong was blocked. Li Shixian did not dare to sit idly by and ordered the entire army to abandon Zhangzhou and divide the troops into two groups, one from Yongding Shang and Xiaping to Chicaopu, to connect with Wang Haiyang's army. Shixian personally led the army from Pinghe to Zhangxi and Dajing, and ordered the armies of Lu Shunde and Ding Taiyang to quickly leave the city walls of Zhangpu and Zhao'an and meet in Pinghe to find another way out.
Ding Changsheng's entire army was destroyed. Zuo Zongtang was very sad and sobbed: On April 22, Yongding Shelie'ao was defeated. Things……
After Zuo Zongtang finished his report, he checked the shorthand and filled in the gaps, and urgently ordered Gao Liansheng, Huang Shaochun and Liu Qingliang to rush to the Xiaxi area to cut off the connection between Li Shixian and Lu Deshun and Ding Taiyang; Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun immediately besieged Zhang. Pu, Zhao'an.
Gao Liansheng received the order, and together with Huang Shaochun and Liu Qingliang, they arrived at Pinghe City on May 21, attacked the city, and attacked Li. The two armies engaged in battle, with more than thirty attacks. At noon, Li Mingcheng and Zhu Xinglong's rear troops arrived, and the Chu army gradually lost ground.
Upon seeing this, Gao Liansheng hurriedly sent an army to attack from behind; Li Shixian was unprepared and fell from his horse in a hurry; the Taiping army suddenly lost its leader, rumors spread, people were panicked, and they collapsed in an instant.
Gao Liansheng took advantage of the victory to capture Pinghe County, and immediately sent his troops south, joining forces with Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun to besiege Lu Deshun's first army.
King Lu Shunde received Li Shixian's military order and left the city. Suddenly he lost his support. He walked alone, and his troops were exhausted. As soon as they engaged in battle, the whole army collapsed. King Liu Zhaojun, King Zhu Yide, and King Xiang Huang Longyun died in the battle one after another. The 20,000-strong army suffered 80% loss.
Zhangpu was defeated, Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun immediately sent an army to besiege Zhao'an.
Heavenly general Ding Taiyang's tribe was crippled by the Huai army as soon as they left Zhao'an. Governor Ding Taiyang led the remnant and rushed to Xiakuiyang and Kuzhu via mountain trails. Ding Taiyang took a moment to catch his breath, then went around Longtan and attacked Liu Dian. However, he failed to make a move. He had no smooth way to go and no place to stay, so he simply knelt down and begged to surrender.
Li Shixian and Lu Deshun were defeated, and Wang Haiyang had no way to retreat, so he withdrew from the siege of Yongding, gathered Li Shixian's defeated army, and rushed to the boundary of Shanghang to find a place to cross the river.
On May 29, 1865, Wang Haiyang ordered all his troops to fold house beams into rafts and cross from Dagutan area while fighting. In three days, the entire army crossed the Tingjiang River and immediately attacked Guangdong.
On June 8, Wang Haiyang personally led an army to conquer Jiaoling. Wang Haiyang then led the Chinese army to settle in, and soon recruited a large number of troops, and immediately opened a mutual market, hoping to revive the country. From Jiaoling to Datuo ground, more than 100,000 troops were deployed, and they were camped for more than 100 miles, thinking that they would be able to hold on for a long time.
