Chapter 163 Zuo Zongtang cleanses the Kingdom of Heaven (5)
After the battle at Huangpiwei, Wang Haiyang got rid of his pursuers and led his army into Jiangxi, but was intercepted by Xi Baotian and Lou Yunqing. He returned to Guangdong, sneaked through the mountain trails at night, captured Heping County, and after looting, he attacked Lianpingzhou City in the west. After attacking for two days and nights, they were unable to defeat them, so they returned to the peaceful territory.
At that time, Xi Baotian and Wang Kailin's troops were approaching, and Lou Yunqing's troops also went around to intercept them.
Wang Haiyang was afraid that he would be trapped in Changwei, so he quickly returned to the Lianping Shangping area. Wang Haiyang inspected the terrain and saw that it was surrounded by mountains and the route was tortuous. Haiyang then ordered all the ministries to set up camps and build forts, densely deploying forts, and defend them layer by layer, as a long-term plan to take advantage of the danger.
When Zuo Zongtang heard the news, he didn't take it seriously and said: "Wang Ni ran for hundreds of miles in ten days. After the battle at Huangpiwei, he had already begun to invade Jiangxi from the Fujian border." All the Fujian troops entered the Yangtze River and Guangdong, originally to cut off the thieves' route, and they were far away from Fujian. This time, the rebels took advantage of the situation and fled back without any hindrance. The Fujian army was separated by the thieves. Moreover, the area around the Dongjiang River was full of bandits, and the Chu army and those behind the baggage were all robbed and killed. Gao Liansheng and Liu Qingliang communicated in letters many times. After the epidemic took hold, all armies were extremely tired. This time the counter-attack cannot be carried out quickly, which is already on the mind. Where are the armies of our three provinces now?
Liu Diandao: Reported to Commander Zuo, Wang Kailin, Lou Yunqing, and Xi Baotian's troops pursued and intercepted the enemy. The Guangdong army's Zhaoxuan and Zheng Shaozhong troops had returned to defend Lianping; Liu Qingliang's troops also rushed to Heping; Gao Liansheng's troops entered the source of Zhahe to block the south road.
Zuo Zongtang said: "Send my order quickly to Li Futai, the commander of Guangdong Province, and come to Lianping to supervise the battle." Xi Baotian, Lou Yunqing, and Wang Kailin did not need to advance step by step to cause the thieves to flee again; the three groups were in Zhalong, Ding, and Xinfeng areas; Brother Ke'an and Li Yaonan quickly entered Zha Nanxiong and Shixing. Cut off at the edge of Jiangxi. Huang Shaochun's troops quickly entered Xinfeng from Ganzhou to control the northwest. Gao Lian promoted his troops and quickly marched from Heyuan to defend Changning to prevent thieves from invading the provincial capital.
Liu Diandao: "Commander Zuo has arranged it like this. There are few heroes to the east of Heping."
Zuo Zongtang said: To the east of Heping is the Tingjiang River and to the south is the sea. If Wang goes against the east, he will end up dead.
The Taiping Army held Lianping for more than a month and was again surrounded. Wang Haiyang thought over and over again and decided to take a detour to the east.
On November 29, Wang Haiyang led three troops into Heping County; the next day, he suddenly advanced eastward to Longchuan; on December 5, he attacked Xingning again, feinting towards Pingyuan and Jiaoling; on the 6th, he turned back again After a short rest at Azabu Gang in Longchuan, they headed eastward, walking three hundred miles day and night. At dawn, they arrived at the foot of Meizhou City. They immediately erected bamboo ladders and attacked the city from all sides.
The Meizhou defenders were caught off guard in their sleep, and after a slight resistance, they dispersed. The Taiping troops climbed up and entered the city to fight, encircling and annihilating more than a hundred officers and soldiers under the guerrilla Yingxiu. Cheng Peilin, the prefect of Meizhou, saw that the situation was not good and fled in panic.
Wang Haiyang conquered Meizhou and immediately followed the terrain to build camps, dredges, and fences to resist the pursuing and suppressing armies from all directions.
Together with King Tan Tiyuan and Heavenly General Hu Yongxiang, they both said: Meizhou is located in the east of Guangdong and is bordered by the vast ocean to the south. It is not possible to stay there for a long time.
Wang Haiyang said: After months of fighting, food supplies were scarce, there was no fixed place to live, and I was extremely hungry and exhausted. I temporarily stayed in this city to rest and replenish. Immediately pass on my order, and the brave and capable soldiers will enter the city and guard the city walls. The remaining soldiers will build forts and camps on the east, west and north sides of Meizhou City to protect the city. Quickly dispatch a team to collect all civilian ships and wait to transfer to Chaozhou Prefecture.
Tan Tiyuan said: Within ten days, this city will definitely be surrounded by the demon army. It is my intention to rest for three days, collect enough food and supplies, abandon the city quickly, and find another place to go.
Wang Haiyang said: The most important thing in marching and setting up formations is to annihilate the enemy; if you are panic-stricken like a bereaved dog, you will be killed sooner or later if you just run away. Last year, we completely wiped out Zhang Yunlan's demon tribe, and we were able to gain a foothold for more than a year. Two months ago, we defeated Gao Liansheng and Kang Guoqi's demon tribe in Huangpiwei, and we still had a chance to breathe. I would like to rest for a while and wait for Zuo Yao to come. At that time, the whole army will be gathered for a decisive battle.
