Chapter 165 Zeng Guofan painted the river to enclose (7)
Zhang Zongyu swam across the Shahe River and rode westward with him. Zeng Guofan was very angry and rushed to Zhoukou. He summoned Liu Mingchuan, Liu Songshan, Zhang Shiri and others nearby to discuss the encirclement and suppression.
Zeng Guofan said: "The Central Plains is flat and open, extending in all directions. We cannot suppress those who are fleeing here, but we cannot severely punish them. Brothers, do you have any other strategies?"
Liu Ming preached: The two armies are confronting each other. Each of them has set up a battle formation, with guns and swords. The thieves are no match for me. We can rely on the natural dangers of Shahe River and Jialu River to block the thieves' eastward escape and choose the opportunity to destroy them.
Zeng Guofan said: "What does Shou Qing mean?"
Liu Songshan said: According to General Di, Sun Chuanting of the Ming Dynasty said: To suppress rogue bandits, we should drive them on the road where they will be trapped, and take them on the day of their death; if they are one by one, the outcome will be between a stone and a stone, even if there is no victory, there will be no victory. About leveling.
Zeng Guofan sighed and said: Both Shengsan and Shouqing are right. I plan to guard the Shahe River from Zhoujiakou below, and the Jialu River from Zhoujiakou above. From the north of Zhuxian Town to the south bank of the Yellow River, there is no water to control it. I plan to dig out the Hao River to guard it and dispatch The Navy and the Provincial 3rd, Shengchuan, and Shushan militaries divided their defenses.
Liu Ming preached: "Commander Qi, the defense line is five hundred miles long, and our troops are not enough."
Zeng Guofan said: "It doesn't matter. I will consult with the ministers in Henan and Anhui to deploy their troops and defend them separately." When the thieves fled south and could not leave Nan, Ru, Gu, Huangzhou, Liu'an and other places, Bao Chao's first army, Liu Bingzhang, Yang Dingxun and other Huai army, together with Shou Qing and Shiri's Hunan army, were enough to suppress them.
Zhao Liewen said: "I reported to Commander Di that Yuanfu came to consult him. He said that he was not on good terms with the officials, but the two palaces ordered Yuanfu to go to Xiangyang to help with military affairs. Yuanfu asked if he was going?"
Zeng Guofan said: The position of assistant minister is below the counselor and minister. This is due to the official request. It is not easy to govern the same city. In troubled times, it is necessary to raise troops and pay. The competition for people and money will inevitably be like the intertwining of water and fire. Please consult Yuan Fu immediately, do not take human bait, and act as a helper. Just keep your appointment firmly.
After the vassal said this, he immediately consulted the governor of Henan, Li Henian, on the river defense strategy. He replied: "The area for river defense is too long. Liu Mingchuan, Pan Dingxin, and Zhang Shushan were sent to guard the area four hundred miles below Zhuxian Town and let them do their best." Disaster.
From Zhuxian Town and above, the troops dedicated to Henan have been consulted. Li Henian has been asked to temporarily station in Bianliang and transfer all the troops back to deal with defense first and focus on defense rather than suppression.
I am sincerely afraid that if Li Henian's Mengton troops fail to advance, and if the river defense fails in the future, I would like to bear the blame alone and have nothing to do with Li Henian.
Li Henian received the consultation, thought about it again and again, and replied: Commander Di's defense line of 100 miles along the Shahe River can be the basis for strangling the bandits. However, Song Qing and Ma Dezhao's troops have won consecutive victories in Shangcai. Can Commander Di command the troops in Hunan and Huaihe to cross the Shahe River quickly? Encircle and suppress Zhang Zongyu's bandits.
Zeng Guofan received the consultation and said angrily: "Li Henian only cares about his own eyes, which is very hateful." Liu Ming reported that if the Huai army did not guard the Shahe and Jialu rivers, and if the thieves returned to the Pingkuang area in the northeast, wouldn't they have been busy again in vain?
Zhao Liewen said: The five-hundred-mile defense line is really too long. Cavalry thieves are especially good at wandering. If they break through at one place, it is a common thing. The commander-in-chief should take other measures to deal with it.
Zeng Guofan said: If the thieves break through the Shahe defense line and all of them flee eastward, I will go up to Shu and ask for my resignation. Although Lai Wenguang, Zhang Zongyu and others are rogue bandits, they are actually solid thieves! It's moving all over the sky, seemingly without any direction, but it's actually ready to attack, choosing the right opportunity to take my head! According to my military order, Liu Songshan and Zhang Shiri's troops quickly crossed the Shahe River, and together with Song Qing's and Ma Dezhao's troops, they jointly suppressed Zhang Zongyu's bandits. The rest of Ming, Ding, Shu, and Sheng joined the armies of Henan and Anhui and rushed to Shahe and Jialu Rivers. From Zhuxian Town to Kaifeng, we dredged and built forts to stop the bandits from escaping eastward.
Liu Songshan and Zhang Shiri received the order and quickly crossed the river to pursue and suppress them.
Zhang Zongyu fought and retreated for two months, and finally found Lai Wenguang and Ren Zhu on the border of Yuzhou.
Lai Wenguang said: Zeng Yao relies on Baili Shahe to kill me!
Zhang Zongyu said: After bidding farewell to brother Zun, I and King Jing and others swam across the Shahe River and fought successively at Xiping, Wanjinzhai, Shuangmiao, Honghe, Yancheng, and Zhaoling, with few victories and many defeats; Liu Songshan, Song Qing, Zhang Shiri, Ma Dezhao, etc. are all fierce monsters! In the battle of Wanjinzhai, I set up an ambush in advance, but after the cavalry attacked, I was unable to win; in the battle of Yancheng, I accidentally entered the ambush, losing thousands of troops, and my combat power was greatly reduced.
Lai Wenguang said: Brother Lu and I also suffered losses. The demon army is all gathered here. My intention is to quickly find the weakest point in Zeng Yaohe's defense and quickly drive eastward into Lu.
Zhang Zongyu said: "It would be a good thing to drive west into Shaanxi, join the local rebels, and fight against the Qing demon together."
Lai Wenguang said: In the past two years, we have fought more than forty battles with Zeng Yao's army, with mixed success and losses. It is hard to tell the difference. People say that the plan is as good as the dagger, but I have lost less than 10%. The main force is still there, and the plan has not been exhausted. Don't say retreat, enter the Lu territory again, search for fighter planes, and chop off the head of Liu Yaogong.
In late September 1866, Lai Wenguang and Zhang Zongyu led their troops to bypass Liu Mingchuan and Pan Dingxin's Huai Army. From Luhuagang, north of Zhuxian Town, they defeated the Sixth Battalion of Henan Army, crossed Chenliu, and then entered Shandong.
When Zeng Guofan heard the news, he felt disappointed and said helplessly: The Nian bandits were scurrying eastward again, and the river defense failed. He called on Liu Mingchuan, Pan Dingxin and others to go to Shandong to pursue the suppression, while Liu Songshan, Zhang Shiri and others went to Henan to intercept them.
After more than a year of suppressing the campaign, the campaign was still fruitless. Feeling deeply regretful, I requested an order to order Li Hongzhang to lead the governor of Liangjiang and Guanfang to Xuzhou and meet with Fuchen of Shandong to run the East Road. Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Hubei, took the guanfang to Nanyang and met with Fuchen of Henan. To run the West Road, I am now stationed at Zhoujiakou, among several provinces, so that the common people can communicate with each other and breathe together.
To defend the Shahe and Jialu rivers, this strategy was extremely clumsy, but the rogue bandits were difficult to control, so they had no choice but to adopt this strategy. This time the Nian bandits fled eastward, coming from the flood areas of the Henan Army, and it may be inevitable to blame the Fu minister Li Henian. I would like to express Chen Tingping's argument, and I would like to exempt it from discussion for the time being, in the hope of working together to build a common defense plan for the future.
The Empress Dowager Cixi took up the report and said: The bandits are overflowing, which is expected. Li Chenhongzhang and Zeng Chenguoquan each took their governors to supervise the customs and defenses, and marched separately to Xuzhou and Nanyang to dispatch troops.
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: "Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan are both here, and Xianghuai is at the same time. They can suppress the rest." Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces were especially in chaos after the death of Duo Gonglong'a. Lei Zhengwan and Cao Kezhong defeated Jinjibao and were in ruins; Du Xing'a and Mu Tushan bluntly attacked Ningxia and could not achieve anything; Liu Rong had no hope in Shaanxi and repeatedly begged for vacancies due to illness; the Lanzhou mutiny was caused by Yang Yuebin's uneven pay distribution . Du Xing'a, Liu Rong, Yang Yuebin and others have been in Shaanxi for many years, but they are unable to turn the tide and are extremely helpless.
Prince Gong Yi Xin said: Only by entrusting important officials and ministers who know the military and the people to the throne can the chaos in Shaanxi and Gansu be eliminated.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: The Lanzhou mutiny was not something that happened day and night; Yang Yuebin had no court, and he demolished officials' memorials without permission. His crime was irreconcilable, so he was demoted to the third rank for retention; Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, was appointed as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu and rushed to the west. The land was in chaos; before Zuo Zongtang arrived, Mu Tushan temporarily acted as governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. The post of governor of Shaanxi was taken by Qiao Song, governor of Anhui. Liu Rong did not retire due to illness and stayed in Shaanxi to manage the army.
Yi Xin said: After Zeng Guofan, Li Hezhang and Zuo Zongtang suppressed the rebellion, they established Jinling Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, Shanghai Machinery Bureau and Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. The Jinling and Shanghai Second Bureaus, following the example of foreigners, have started manufacturing guns and ammunition. However, Zuo Zongtang's Fuzhou Bureau is under construction this year and is waiting to be promoted. If Zuo Zongtang goes to Shaanxi, Fuzhou Shipping Bureau may not be able to continue.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: "Things have to be prioritized. Zuo Chen will exterminate the rebel bandits, return to Zhejiang and Fujian, and restart the shipping business."
