Chapter 173: The Western Nian Army is at the end of its rope (2)
Zuo Zongtang arrived at the outskirts of Baoding and received the order from the unified army. He wrote: "The matter could have been hidden earlier, but within a few hundred miles, there were three ministers, one governor, three governors, two ministers, and one general, and they camped in their residences." In addition, it is not possible to be born with a destiny or a specific destiny. How can you take it as a credit to restrain Chi Su?
The thieves are trying to invade the north, but have no intention of heading south for the time being. In my humble opinion, Zhuozhou is an important place in the capital, and strong generals are sent to garrison it. This is a close-defense army. Baoding, Hejian, and Tianjin shield the capital. It is suitable to station heavy troops in these three places, suppress and defend them, and dispatch them at any time. They cannot gather together on one side. They cannot all go south; I will immediately lead the army to suppress them, drive the thieves across the Hutuo River, join the armies of Henan and Shandong, and jointly suppress and wash them; if the thieves move north, they will attack them together with the armies of Baoding, Hejian, and Tianjin.
After Zongtang finished, he immediately ordered the troops of Liu Songshan, Guo Baochang, Song Qing, Zhang Yao, Cheng Wenbing, and Chen Guorui: those to the north of the thieves to advance southward, those to the east of the thieves to advance from northeast to southwest, and those to the west of the thieves. The campaign was carried out from the northwest to the southeast; all the armies connected with each other and attacked together, driving the West Nian rebel bandits to the north bank of the Hutuo River, and chose the opportunity to gather and annihilate them.
The Western Nian Army arrived at Dingzhou in central Hebei Province, but the progress was slow. Zhang Zongyu was very worried. He also heard that Lai Wenguang had died, and the entire Eastern Nian Army was wiped out. Zhang Zongyu was greatly disappointed, so he told the Youwo King Zhang Yujue and the Huai King Qiu Yuancai: "Zundian has passed away. There is no need to advance north. There is the sea to the east and mountains to the west. The army will go south and cross the river.
Qiu Yuancai said: Our army has not been successful in successive battles and has lost many generals. It is not advisable to stay here for a long time and we must withdraw quickly.
Zhang Yujue said: The Huai demon is powerful and dominates Qi and Lu. It is impossible to cross Henan and enter Sichuan. Now the only way is to organize the army and go south, turn back and enter Shanxi to Shaanxi, hook up with the Hui people, and then pursue a great cause.
Zhang Zongyu said: "Seek victory in defeat and retreat in an orderly manner. Brother Wo led his headquarters to pretend to attack Li County. Brother Huai and I fought and then retreated. We crossed the Hutuo River south and set up an ambush at a selected location. We waited until Zuo Yao was halfway across and attacked him together." Eliminate a problem.
In early March 1868, Zhang Yujue, the king of Youwo, led 10,000 troops to besiege Li County. Zuo Zongtang heard the news and personally led 10,000 troops to rescue.
When Zuo Zongtang's main army arrived, Zhang Yujue did not bother him. He quickly retreated to attack Boye and raided Guo Baochang's barracks. When Liu Songshan heard the police, he immediately sent troops to rescue him.
Zhang Yujue engaged in the battle and then retreated, heading straight to Raoyang. Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang quickly joined forces and pursued them one after another.
Zuo Zongtang inspected the battle situation and urgently ordered Zhang Yao and Song Qing's troops to follow up quickly; Cheng Wenbing's troops rushed to Shenzhou to block the way forward.
On March 14, Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang led thousands of troops to pursue them to Raoyang. The Western Nian Army had no intention of fighting and was ready to leave at the first touch.
Song Qing and Zhang Yao received the order and galloped 160 miles day and night. At dawn, they intercepted most of the Western Nien Army. Song Qing gave an order, and Yijun and Songwujun fired their guns and artillery. Young Wo King Zhang Yujue was unable to hide and was shot and fell from his horse.
King Youwo died, and the morale of the Western Nian Army declined greatly. Zhang Zongyu was unable to fight again, so he led the remaining troops across the Hutuo River from the southwest of Jinzhou and set up an ambush.
The next day, Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang pursued him to the Hutuo River and swam across it.
Zhang Zongyu and Qiu Yuancai led the two armies separately, surrounded them fiercely, and attacked when they were halfway across.
Liu Songshan was unafraid and immediately ordered the army crossing the river to form a counterattack. Songshan led his main force to forcefully cross the Hutuo River and steal the retreat of the Western Nien Army. Zuo Zongtang, Song Qing, and Zhang Yao heard about it and led their armies to follow up quickly.
Zhang Zongyu did not dare to fight anymore, so he led the remaining troops and fled to southern Hebei.
Zuo Zongtang was delighted with Liu Songshan's wisdom and courage, and immediately asked Liu Songshan to be the wing commander, and the president pursued and suppressed the army.
Not long ago, the imperial edict came, and the two palaces ordered Prince Gong Yixin to be the general, commanding all the armies with one authority; Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang were the counselors, each unifying the army; Song Qing, Zhang Yao, Chen Guorui and Chun Shouzhi The cavalry team is temporarily under the control of Li Hongzhang.
Zuo Zongtang sighed and said: Although Li Shaoquan and the Huai tribe entered Zhili, they were in the opposite direction and did not help matters! I haven't accomplished anything, so why do I dare to say so much? I just have to work hard and endure hardships for help. Immediately pass on my order, Zhang Yao, Song Qing, Chen Guorui and the Jijiang Cavalry of the Chun Shou Deputy Governor will be handed over to Li Shaoquan. Zhang Ni ran thousands of miles to attack and lost all his baggage and weapons. This was the best opportunity to destroy the thieves, but it was a pity. to.
Guo Baochang said: "This is to inform Commander Zuo, I and Shouqing Lao Xiang camp will pursue the thieves day and night, depending on their direction, without even a day's rest." Now that the two palaces have issued imperial edicts, can we take a break for a few days to reorganize our troops?
Liu Songshan said: "Zhang Nian is panic-stricken and seems to be ready to collapse. If we are a little slow, we may return to the mountain like a tiger."
Zuo Zongtang said: Zhang Ni sneaked across the Yellow River from Yichuan, and I was worried and angry to death. Now that the thieves swam across the Zhang River and invaded Henan, I personally became the commander-in-chief and led more than 19,000 people to chase the thieves to the ends of the earth. In order to prevent thieves from escaping, I immediately asked the Baoding defense army to move to the north of Hutuo River and follow up one by one. The Shanxi army strictly guarded Tianjing Pass and sealed the entrance to control southern Shanxi.
Liu Songshan said: "To the Commander-in-Chief Zuo, the Art of War says: When returning to the army, don't contain it; if you encircle the army, you must be surrounded; don't press the enemy if you are poor; if the Commander-in-Chief Zuo is able to achieve full success, you must gather more troops." Zhang Ni forcefully crossed the Zhang River and invaded northern Henan; Song Qing and Zhang Yao were originally members of the Henan army, and they were responsible for protecting their homes and their hometowns. Cheng Wenbing, Guo Songlin, and Yang Dingxun's troops are close at hand, and Zuo Shuai can also be called upon to use them.
Zuo Zongtang suddenly opened his eyes and said anxiously: "Zhang Ni now lives between the Yunhe River, the Yellow River, the Wei River, and the Zhang River. I will immediately ask Li Henian, Li Hongzhang, Yinghan, etc. to temporarily lend him to the Song Dynasty, Zhang, Guo, Yang, and Cheng Wenbing." ; It's like washing the old man and drawing a circle around the river.
Liu Songshan said: "The river is shallow and the ground is wide, and there are sparse and dense rivers. Commander Zuo must prepare for the worst."
Zuo Zongtang said: The Yellow River has huge waves, and thieves cannot cross it. The south is safe. Heavy troops have been deployed on the west bank of the Wei River to prevent thieves from overflowing and disturbing the mature areas of Henan and Hubei. This area stretches for more than 500 miles, and we do not have enough troops. If the thieves forcefully cross the canal, they must not be blocked. Li Hongzhang, Ding Baozhen, Prince Gong, and Du Xing'a's troops have gathered in Jilu and can surround and destroy them.
In late March 1868, the Western Nian Army formed its own Anshuang River to cross the Zhanghe River. From Zhangde, it rushed to Weihui and Huaiqing, hoping to cross the Weihe River and enter Shanxi.
Zuo Zongtang quickly ordered Liu Songshan, Guo Baochang, and Cheng Wenbing to stalk the competition; Zhang Yao and Song Qing's troops moved forward to intercept and block the east of the Wei River; Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun entered Henan at night as backup.
Zhang Yao and Song Qing received the order and rushed to Weihe to seize the ferry.
The Xi Nian Army encountered obstacles in its westward advance, so it turned east and marched eastward. On March 28, it arrived at Fengqiu. It was getting late, so Zhang Zongyu ordered all his troops to bury pots to make rice and camp on the spot.
That night, Liu Songshan, Guo Baochang, and Cheng Wenbing followed and defeated more than 20 fortresses of the Western Nian Army in one fell swoop.
Zhang Zongyu had no choice but to advance northward to Huaxian County and then attack the camps of Zhang Yao and Song Qing. When the two armies were fighting fiercely, Liu Songshan, Cheng Wenbing and others pursued them again. Zhang Zongyu was unable to defeat his four opponents with his two fists, so he had to pay gold and retreat, heading south to Weihui and Yanjin to find his way out again.
