Chapter 180 Zuo Zongtang quells the chaos in Shaanxi and Gansu (3)
When Dongbu surrendered, Zuo Zongtang was overjoyed and summoned Liu Songshan and Dong Fuxiang to give him a lecture in front of the tent.
Zuo Zongtang addressed Dong Fuxiang and said: I will immediately go up to my emperor to select three thousand strong men from among the one hundred thousand who have surrendered, and organize Dong's three battalions under Liu Songshan's command.
Dong Fuxiang said: Thank you Commander Zuo for your kindness. In future battles, Dong will definitely stand up with his spear and jump on his horse, go through fire and water, and fight forward to atone for his past mistakes.
Liu Songshan said: "I have informed you, Commander Zuo, that I will immediately supervise all the armies on the North Road to advance westward to Dong Zhiyuan and encircle and annihilate the Bai Yanhu rebel bandit."
Zuo Zongtang said: After months of continuous fighting, our troops will be exhausted. Please quickly pass on my order to all the armies in the south, middle and north routes to rest for ten months before attacking again. Today, I received a report that the newly recruited brave men from Xiangchu have entered Henan; Shouqing's benevolent brother quickly sent his own troops to the south to receive them. Shouqing was already thirty-seven years old. He heard that the betrothed woman had not married for more than 20 years. He was happy to hear that it had been more than two years since the wife's family had sent their daughter to Nanyang. Shouqing arrived in Luoyang, and before he could recruit brave men, he got married on time. .
Liu Songshan said: "I reported to Commander Zuo that the Han general Huo Qubing once said, "How can we make a home for the Xiongnu before they are destroyed?" Songshan has not achieved fame yet, so why should he call home?
Zuo Zongtang said: This is my military order, you must obey it. Yesterday I sent a message to the emperor, and the imperial edict is coming soon. Do you dare to disobey it? Life is fleeting like a white horse passing by. Quickly retreat, pack lightly and simply, go south to Henan, and pick up a brave wife.
After Liu and Dong parted ways, Liu Dian said: Report to Commander Zuo that there was a severe drought in Dongzhiyuan last year, and the Bai Yanhu rebels were short of food and resources. The troops on Liu Songshan's North Road must gather their remaining courage and join forces with Gao Liansheng's troops on the middle route and Huang Ding's troops on the south route to seize the victory. Advance together and win with one blow.
Zuo Zongtang said: "The eight hundred miles of Qinchuan are not as good as Dong Zhiyuan's side, why don't I know!" In recent years, Sichuan and Liangjiang jointly allocated the most food and salary. However, after Luo Gong passed away, Di Laofu was promoted to direct governor again, which was not satisfactory! Fujian and Zhejiang were originally the places where we made our fortune, but since Wu Tang took over as governor, the rates for Fujian and Zhejiang have been delayed again and again. Wu Tang is stubborn and conservative, and has repeatedly said that the Fuzhou Shipping Administration may not succeed, and even if it succeeds, what good will it do? Last year, Wu Tang teamed up with Ruilin, the governor of Guangdong, to impeach Jiang Xiangquan for being willful and not following the law. Xiangquan was forced to resign as governor of Guangdong, and the salary from Guangdong and Guangxi was almost non-existent. This year, Wu Tang resumes his duties as the new governor of Sichuan. This man has few political achievements and few military exploits, but he has the power to do everything.
Liu Diandao: Governor Liu Yuezhao of Yunnan and Guizhou impeached Wu Tang for conniving his servants to ask for gifts. The court also regarded the case as related to embezzlement of high officials and important border defense matters. It was urgent to investigate thoroughly. In this way, Wu's appointment as governor of Sichuan was as difficult as the road to Shu.
Zuo Zongtang said: Liu Yuezhao is like our Hunan people, fierce and upright, but it is very difficult to impeach governors and governors in the name of asking for gifts; there is no need to count on the Sichuan-Sichuan salary agreement. Pay and silver have been exhausted for seven or eight months. If this material is lacking for a long time, there will be rebel troops. Quickly order all the ministries, secretly investigate the party leaders, give more to Sichuan capital, and dismiss them on the spot. Those who persist in evil will be executed after a secret trial. .
Liu Dian said: "The 18th Route of Rebel Bandits have gathered in Dong Zhiyuan, and they are not under each other's control. The sooner we attack, the better."
Zuo Zongtang said: Within one month, the money raised by Zeng Guofan, Hu Xueyan and others will arrive. At that time, the three armies will march into Dong Zhiyuan in full force to encircle and annihilate the rebel bandits. The civil turmoil in Qinlong resulted in millions of casualties. Although the chief culprit was not the Bai Yanhu rebel bandit, his ferocity and cruelty were unparalleled in ancient times and today.
Liu Dian said: Heaven has no pity for the poor and treats all people as grass and mustard! A folk proverb from Shaanxi and Gansu: In March of the fifth year of Tongzhi, murderous intent filled the sky; more than 100,000 people were wiped out in one day, who would not feel sad. The peaches are filled with sorrow, the willows are covered with smoke, and thousands of miles are yellow and cold. The children of Heyi shed tears and were dyed red azaleas. A song from the Qing Dynasty will be remembered in history and will be a famous mountain for thousands of years. The green blood spilled on the ground, the white bones held up the sky, and the cries reached Ulan.
Zuo Zongtang frowned and said: During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Five Chariots rioted in China, and afterwards only the Jie people were killed. Why? Extremely cruel, no one dares to pity him! Order the three armies, in future battles, it will be like encountering Bai Yanhu's rebel sibling, kill without mercy and make a decisive decision! Never allow him to beg for help.
The Qing army broke through Zhenjing Fort, captured Dong Fuxiang, and advanced on Dong Zhiyuan. Bai Yanhu was frightened and urgently summoned Cui Wei, Ma Zhenghe, Yu Deyan, Yang Wenzhi, Chen Lin and others to discuss countermeasures.
Bai Yanhu said: The demon Qing is powerful and approaching fiercely. We need to decide whether to fight or retreat!
Cui Weidao: Is there a way to peace? Such as Dong Fuxiang of Zhenjingbao.
Bai Yanhu said: "Qingyang, Ningzhou, Zhenyuan, Pingliang, etc., there are so many bones in Hecheng, have you not drawn your sword?"
Everyone was silent.
Bai Yanhu said again: "Last year there was a spring famine. There were hungry people all over the land, and food was extremely scarce. I sent my cavalry out in all directions, stretching as far as Qianlong, risking their lives to plunder. There was no day without them, but the harvest was very little." The food, foreign guns, gunpowder, etc. provided by the leader of Jinjibao are just a drop in the bucket; if we delay for a long time, they will not attack, and we will collapse!
Yang Wenzhi said: Master Ma Hualong said that Dong Zhiyuan is the gate of Jinji Fort. If the gate is wide open, Jinji Fort is in danger!
Bai Yanhu said: Dong Zhiyuan is easy to attack and difficult to defend. It is short of food and supplies and will be destroyed in a short time. How can the two to three hundred thousand people on the plain, old, weak, sick and disabled, live on? I intend to move north to Jinjibao, join Ma Hualong's tribe, and resist the enemy with all my strength. Ma Hualong is the leader of Zhehe Linye, and we are not his disciples. We have no choice but to fight against the powerful enemy.
Ma Zhenghe and Yang Wenzhi both said: There is no other way, this is the only way!
Bai Yanhu said: "The war is urgent. Ma Zhenghe and Chen Lin will protect the old and weak and carry heavy supplies, and march north first; Yang Wenzhi and Yu Deyan pretend to attack Guyuan to restrain Lei Zhengyao's army; Cui Wei and I will each lead an army and choose An ambush was set up on the ground to resist the Huangding demon army and protect the retreat; Ma Shengyan and Guo Ahun rode at high speed and went straight out to both sides of the Jing River to engage in guerrilla attacks to confuse the enemy.
In late March 1869, a group of fennel cavalry came out of Dongzhiyuan and attacked Pizhou, with the potential to move 800 miles south to Qinchuan. Zuo Zongtang did not dare to neglect, and urgently ordered Gao Liansheng, Lei Zhengwan, Huang Ding, and Ma Deshun to attack Dong Zhiyuan separately.
Lei, Huang and Ma were ordered to separate Guyuan, Hanzhou and Changwu and attack fiercely.
Bai Yanhu, Ma Zhenghe, Yang Wenzhi and others fought on their own. Their strength was weak and they retreated steadily. The old, weak, sick and young were unable to move quickly. Countless people were surrounded, killed, starved to death, and fell into rocks and streams.
Huang Ding and others captured and killed Yang Wenzhi and captured Dong Zhiyuan. Zuo Zongtang was overjoyed and sent a horse to report that Gao Lian was promoted to an army. Some soldiers mutinied. Gao, the commander-in-chief Huang Yufu, and the battalion officer He Maolin were all killed.
Zuo Zongtang was shocked and personally led 5,000 men from his headquarters to Yijun to quell the rebellion. After Liu Dian heard the news, he also led a group of troops to rush over. They joined hands and killed more than a thousand rebels. Zong Tang did not understand his hatred and killed the five chief offenders Ding Yulong, Wu Hongsheng, Zhu Dekui, Jiang Honggao and Shi Wenke with his own hands. After the sword was finished, the corpses of the five criminals were killed again, and their hearts were cut out for sacrifice.
Three days later, Zongtang's melancholy calmed down, and Fang Shangshu said: In early February, Gansu Admiral Gao Liansheng ordered the camp posts to strictly inspect and punish them because his camps were accepting a lot of foreign travellers, some of whom were hiding in Ge Lao Hui bandits.
Ding Yulong, a soldier of the former camp, feared crime and initiated chaos. He gathered members from each camp and colluded with Hui Ni. They invaded on the 18th and started trouble.
Shigao Liansheng was in a hurry to pursue Ding Yulong. Ding Yulong sneaked into Zuoying and together with the Zuoying officer Wu Hongsheng, the sentinel commander Zhu Dekui, Jiang Honggao, Shi Wenke, etc., at the third watch of the night on the 20th, in the name of asking for pay, he made this happen Change.
The rebellion was put down within five days of the rebellion. In addition to more than a thousand people killed in the formation, the remaining principal criminals Chen Henggui, Huang Qichang, Deng Desheng, Xiong Yigui, Xiong Zhaoxiang, Kuang Shimin, Huang Xiucheng, Zhang Lianfang, etc. were all captured.
Gao Liansheng, the admiral of Gansu Province, was unfortunately killed by a traitor. According to the regulations of the admiral's death in battle, he was given a posthumous title and a posthumous title. He was also published in a historical biography to highlight his achievements.
Also killed at the same time were the admiral Huang Yufu with the rank of Hunan supplementary general, the deputy general with the rank of general He Maolin, Hua Ling with the title of Zhejiang supplementary magistrate Xie Chunsheng, the Sichuan supplementary deputy general Gao Moju, the garrison Wu Xueyu, the thousand commander Yu Yongfu, the commander Zhu Congyun, Supervisor Fang Fuchen and others all expressed their gratitude to the ministry and asked for permission to worship Gao Liansheng in the special temple of Gao Liansheng.
The two battalions before and after it remained unchanged should be under the command of Li Huiwu. The 1,500 soldiers collected by Ding Xianfa and Gui Xizhen were divided into three battalions, with two battalions going to Ding Xianfa and one battalion to Wei Guangtao.
Zhou Shaolian and Zhang Fuqi collected more than 600 people and immediately ordered them to fill the vacancies.
