On December 29, 1861, Emperor Xianfeng, who was seriously ill, received the news that Hu Linyi, the acting governor of Hubei, had vomited blood and died. Along with this news, the governor of Huguang, Guan Wen, received the news that Changsha was lost, Yuezhou was lost, and at least 131 officials, including Mao Hongbin, the governor of Hunan, were slaughtered.

On December 30, the news of the capture of Hankou and Hanyang by the Guangfu Army was delivered to Emperor Xianfeng's sickbed.

On December 31, Xianfeng saw the twists and turns of the fall of Wuchang.

The 30-year-old young emperor's health was already extremely bad, and now his excitement caused his lung disease to worsen. In the last time of his life, Xianfeng may have the pain of saying goodbye to his wife and children, and explain the tragedy of the future to the ministers. But in fact, the young emperor was delirious and fell into a coma because of the persistent high fever and internal bleeding.

After a full day of painful experience, Emperor Xianfeng died on the evening of January 1, 1862.

At this time, the Governor's Mansion in Guangzhou was holding a New Year's party party. Sixty per cent of the congregations wore military uniforms, while the remaining 40 per cent wore civilian uniforms. These two costumes give the whole celebration a militaristic hard-line flavor.

Wei Ze, who was at the apex of the uniform group, stood on the rostrum and delivered a speech, "Comrades, we have captured the three towns of Hunan and Wuhan, and the troops marching into Jiangxi and Fujian are about to be dispatched. By June this year at the latest, we will be able to complete the goal of liberating the land south of the Huai River. Solid steps have been taken toward the ultimate goal of liberating the whole of China. ”

These news did not surprise everyone, but after Wei Ze personally spoke and confirmed, everyone still applauded and cheered from the heart.

Wei Ze continued to say cleanly: "Our army's task in the first half of this year is to liberate the territory south of the Huai River, and the second is to crack down on cults. In the second half of the year, it was natural to begin to establish a government in the newly liberated areas and carry out a series of social transformations, such as land reform. Comrades, it is precisely because of everyone's hard work that we can achieve today's achievements. On behalf of the leading comrades of the party, government, and army, I would like to extend my most heartfelt New Year's greetings to you. I wish you all a better performance in the new year. ”

In the warm applause, Wei Ze took the lead in shouting, "Long live China!" "Long live the Chinese people!"

This is already a very programmatic slogan, and all modern nation-states are so condensed with national consciousness, in a "Long live China!" "Long live the Chinese people!" In the cheers, Wei Ze calmly stepped off the podium. After him, the leaders of the party committees and executive departments in the party, government, and military took the stage to speak, and Wei Ze left the venue and went straight to the hospital. His wife Qi Hongyi began to have labor pains in the afternoon, if it weren't for Wei Ze who had to attend the New Year's reunion party, he would have been in the hospital a long time ago.

Sitting in the corridor of the obstetrics and gynecology department, listening to the screams in the ward, Wei Ze kept a straight face. There was a military commander sitting next to him, he was the elder brother of the first-class combat hero Zheng Yufeng, and he was also an old cadre who had followed Wei Ze for a long time. Sitting side by side with Wesser, both of them turned pale with fright from the screams inside.

The old comrades-in-arms didn't have so many scenes, and Commander Zheng grabbed Wei Ze's arm and stammered, "Dudu, is it really so miserable?" ”

Wei Ze wanted to speak in a solemn and deep voice, but that dry throat completely betrayed Wei Ze's feelings at this time, even so, Wei Ze still said in a trembling voice: "Do you think that my mother is easy to be?" ”

The mothers inside had been screaming for more than half an hour, and even Commander Zheng who was in the killing field was about to cry when he heard it, he took out a cigarette and lit one for himself tremblingly, because his eyes were straight, he even forgot to give Wei Ze one too. Commander Zheng said in fear: "I want to be better to my wife in the future." ”

Wei Ze didn't smoke, but he couldn't help but want to have one at this time. True screams can resonate, especially those who have fought on the battlefield, and those who have seen death know how painful it takes to force people out of such screams.

In short, the two old men were terrified outside. With the sound of a baby crying, both sat up straight. The nurse came out tired and said, "Commander Zheng is not there?" ”

"I'm here!" Zheng Jun stood up and gave the nurse a stand.

"Congratulations, your wife has given birth to a boy, mother and child are safe. Now go with us through the formalities. The nurse said.

Commander Zheng jumped three feet high, he turned his head to look at Wei Ze, Wei Ze stood up with two legs trembling slightly and shook hands with Commander Zheng, "Congratulations!" You go through the formalities quickly. ”

Seeing Commander Zheng leave happily, Wei Ze sat back on the bench. He was eager to think about something else, such as the future personnel arrangement, or the so-called "prince" problem. Wei Ze has no interest in Emperor Cheng, except because he inherited the revolutionary nature of New China, and it is difficult for the science dog to have any respect for the so-called royal family.

But he could only think of this, and the screams made Wei Ze's legs tremble. At this moment, Li Yifang hurriedly came in from outside, and after seeing Wei Ze, she said happily: "I went to inform Minister Li, I didn't expect you to arrive first." ”

Someone can sit side by side together, and Wei Ze feels a lot better in his heart. And Li Yifang suddenly asked Wei Ze in a low voice, "Dudu, when we have children, I don't know if you will come and wait for me outside no matter how busy you are." ”

"Aren't you afraid?" Wei Ze asked with a wry smile.

Li Yifang took Wei Ze's hand, "What can I do if I'm afraid?" Doesn't it hurt if you're scared? ”

This answer made Wei Ze feel moved, and he held Li Yifang's hand and said, "I promise you, I will definitely wait outside." ”

At this moment, I heard a baby's cry from inside. Wei Ze couldn't help but close his eyes and muttered, "Thank God."

Not long after, the male doctor from the obstetrics and gynecology department took the lead and rushed out, "Dudu, your wife gave birth to a boy for you, mother and child are safe!" ”

"Thank you, thank you!" Weser stepped forward to shake hands with the doctors and nurses.

Li Yifang saw that it was a male doctor, and couldn't help frowning slightly. But she didn't say anything.

The news that Wei Zedu had a son did not spread widely, but Wei Zedu demanded an attack south of the Huai River, and the order to crack down on the cult soon reached the front line. The reorganized troops of the Liberation Army began to attack Jiangxi and Fujian according to the plan. The war of 1862 set off a frenzy in a very short time.

And on January 6, Zeng Guofan ordered the whole army to wear filial piety, one for the Xianfeng Emperor Dai Xiao, and the other for the deprived Hunan Dai Xiao. On December 20 last year, when the Hunan army learned the news that Hu Linyi had vomited blood and died, they learned the bad news that Hunan had been taken away by the Guangfu Army.

Zeng Guofan immediately sent a Hunan army and naval division to the north, not to seize Hunan immediately, but to help Wuchang. The purpose of seizing Hunan in successive dynasties was naturally Wuchang. Going down the river, it is easy to walk thousands of miles. Weeser had done it once less than a decade ago. Now that he has captured the whole of Hunan, it is strange that he will let Wuchang go.

This fleet did play a role in reporting the news, the sailors who escaped with their lives reported to Zeng Guofan, who was stationed in Wuhu, that the sailors of the Guangfu Army were extremely fierce, and when the Hunan army arrived outside Wuchang City, the sailors of the Guangfu Army had blocked the Yangtze River channel outside Wuchang, and a large number of Guangfu troops were besieging Wuchang. The Hunan army and navy were defeated, and as far as the current situation is concerned, Wuchang will not last long.

Zeng Guofan was a very resolute man, and under many pressures, he still firmly chose the strategy of conquering Tianjing City as the primary goal. It is precisely because of his fortitude that he was able to advance the strategic goal to the point of almost achieving it. It's just that Zeng Guofan completely miscalculated Wei Ze, and at the moment when he was about to start besieging Tianjing City, the entire strategy completely collapsed.

Hunan civil and military officials have been extremely incompatible with Zeng Guofan since Luo Bingzhang's time, so Hunan was not Zeng Guofan's territory a long time ago, and in addition to being able to recruit soldiers, Hunan's practical significance to Zeng Guofan was limited. Even if Hunan is lost, it will have little impact on the Hunan army in the short term. The supply of grain and grass for the attack on the lower Taiping Heavenly Kingdom mainly depended on Hubei, and now that the Guangfu Army has captured the three towns of Wuhan, the possibility of obtaining grain from Hubei has also been cut off. Zeng Guofan had been defeated from upstream, and he knew that the Guangfu army would next attack Jiangxi and Anhui along the Yangtze River.

The generals of the Hunan army who participated in the military meeting wore a white cloth on their heads, and their faces were either as dead as ashes or extremely excited. The representative of the exuberant was Bao Chao, who shouted that he would immediately return to the army and retake Hubei. The Hunan army now has 70,000 troops and 50,000 naval troops, and the 20,000 Hunan troops led by Bao Chao are the elite who are used to fighting tough battles. Not long ago, Bao Chao was attacked by several troops of the Taiping Army, although he was a fierce general, Bao Chao was not confused at all. He saw that something was wrong, and immediately withdrew to the city of Ningguo Mansion to hold on. The Taiping army's 20,000 elite siege did not succeed for half a month, and the other Hunan troops outflanked the Taiping army from behind, and the Taiping army had to withdraw to Tianjing City.

"Marshal, let your subordinates lead the troops to Wuchang!" Bao Chao volunteered.

Without waiting for Zeng Guofan's response, Peng Yulin, the head of the Hunan Army and the governor of Guangdong, said: "Dashuai, let's let my subordinates go to Wuchang first, Dashuai will lead his troops to defend Anqing and Jiujiang, and wait for news from his subordinates." ”

"Oh?" Zeng Guofan was very interested in Peng Yulin's construction.

Peng Yulin continued: "If his subordinates are defeated, the marshal will please move his troops to Huainan and not stay north of the Yangtze River. ”

"Do you think our army can't defeat the Cantonese bandits?" Bao Chao said angrily.

Peng Yulin did not waver in the slightest because Bao Chao was angry, he said quietly: "Whether you can beat it or not, you can only know if you fight." But it's always right to be lenient with the enemy. ”

Although Bao Chao has always been arrogant, but he can't live today with arrogant words, seeing that Peng Yulin is so determined, Bao Chao asked for his life: "Dashuai, please let your subordinates go to Jiujiang." ”

Zeng Guofan had no other choice at this time, he called here from Hunan, and of course he knew what the Yangtze River waterway meant. If the battle for the Yangtze River channel fails, and the troops are divided, even if the troops can clearly see the friendly forces separated by only one Yangtze River, it will be of no use. The Hunan army relied on the superiority of the naval army to fight here step by step.

"Bao Chao went to Jiujiang, and Yulin took the water master to Jiujiang first." Zeng Guofan gave the order.

It takes time for a large army to be mobilized, especially when there is a sudden change in the direction of the campaign, and this kind of mobilization is even more troublesome. On January 7, when Bao Chao and Peng Yulin were nervously preparing to send troops, new news came. The troops of the Liberation Army arrived at Jiujiang in a large number of ships, and they had already begun to attack the city. R1058