The main force of the rebel army, which is in decline and disadvantage, is working hard for its future destiny at the same time.

In Gangneung Castle, when the battle of Outer Castle ended with the surrender of a large number of discouraged officers and troops, the later attack of the Inner Castle side ended in a very short time. In this way, the ultimate goal of Zhou Huai'an leading the army out of battle this time can be regarded as basically achieved and preliminarily completed after many twists and turns.

According to the preliminary statistics after the fact, the total number of beheadings before and after the Battle of Gangneung reached more than 10,000, and more than 8,000 officers and soldiers of various colors were surrendered and captured; Among them were hundreds of Xichuan (Shenji) crossbowmen, who were regarded as the elite of the official army, and half a battalion of Jinshang cavalry; Most of the rest are also regular officers and soldiers.

This is very beneficial, whether it is used to supplement the high-intensity labor positions in the mines, quarries, and salt pans, or to absorb and transform some of them to enrich the establishment and tactical content of the imaginary enemy forces in the Taiping army.

The corresponding price paid by the Taiping army for this was nearly 6,000 casualties; However, compared with the tragedy of the Battle of Yuezhou, the casualty ratio this time is much more normal; The ratio of the dead to the lightly wounded is about 1:3 to 1:4; Among them, at least half of the lightly injured can return to the team after short-term recuperation.

Of course, this is mainly due to the general improvement of the Taiping Army's protective means and corresponding equipment, which reduces the probability of collateral damage; Coupled with the skillful cooperation of the battle formation, most of the wounded who were born in the battle could be replaced and rescued, rather than being abandoned on the ground at will and trampled on or slowly bleeding by themselves.

Although many deficiencies and problems were exposed in this series of battles, it was the result of winning the battle; Summing up and summing up the lessons and lessons learned afterwards will be of great benefit to the growth and building of this army. As long as they can be good at learning lessons and lessons, whether it is the experience of victory or defeat, they can become important nourishment for the Taiping army to become strong in the future.

Of course, because the rapid expansion along the way absorbed a large number of soldiers from the former rebel army, the problem of the general decline in the overall physical fitness and physical fitness level of the soldiers can only be slowly made up for through consistent nutritional intake and conditioning, as well as reasonable exercise intensity.

In addition, most of the baggage and equipment brought by the officers and soldiers were left in the inner city, although An sent men to set them on fire; But the person in charge didn't pay much attention, so he hurriedly lit the fire and was quickly extinguished. So now these equipment, equipment, and materials, as well as other looted and looted goods along the way, have all fallen directly into the hands of the Taiping army.

and on the list of rewards and awards for meritorious deeds after the fact, Zhou Huai'an found that the one who led the team out of the camp outside the city at the critical moment to entangle the officials and soldiers was actually Zhu Cun, who had newly joined the Taiping Army and had not been retained as a general for a long time; Guan is quite impressive, encouraging and inspiring at this point.

And here again there is good news, and there is bad news.

The good news is that Cao Shixiong, who was one of the main targets of the rescue of Gangneung, is still alive, although only three or four hundred people are left to survive in the repaired and fortified tooth city; By the time the Taiping army found them, almost everyone was wounded, and most of them were so hungry that they had only the strength to pick up their weapons and resist.

But for Zhou Huai'an, as long as someone can survive, the main purpose of this dispatch of troops can be regarded as a perfect and successful palace.

The bad news is that the siege of Gangneung was fought too fiercely and painfully. Not only was the rebel army, which was originally known as the two military orders fully equipped, basically destroyed, but also the 7788 in the war, which was originally the household registration of Jiangling City, which was originally a Fuhua Dayi;

Especially Ding Zhuang in the city, he was either pulled up to the city and consumed, or was indiscriminately slaughtered by the officials and soldiers after the city was broken, plus starved to death and died of disease during the siege. Nowadays, it can be said that there are no three or four out of ten, and even the work of cleaning up the streets and cleaning up the aftermath in the city can only be made up by those old and weak women and children.

In this case, Gangneung's function as a transshipment hub connecting and traveling to and from various places will basically be abolished for a period of time in the future; After all, no matter how much material and goods you have, no matter how much labor you have, you have to rely on enough manpower to circulate in the whole era. If there is not enough external input and interference.

Zhou Huai'an thought about it like this, and saw that as one of the survivors of the post-war in Jiangling, Cao Shixiong, who had a withered face and a dull complexion, was lured in and sat in front of him.

"Brother Lao Xu, I can't thank you for your kindness; In the end, it was up to you to lead the troops to rescue. ”

Then, he smiled bitterly with a reluctant face.

"But now, I can't think of anything else to thank you. In this city. ”

"Why do you want to go out of your way to thank me?"

Zhou Huai'an was a little surprised, and interrupted him a little disappreciatively.

"Aren't we brothers in the same righteous army, and it is only right that we have always watched and helped each other and communicated with each other? Is it true that you and I only have a stake at the moment? ”

"But I am really uneasy to let you raise troops and work far away, waste money, food and materials, and lose manpower, and in the end you get nothing."

Obviously, the difficulties and setbacks during this period of time have made this rather bold and cheerful man a little speechless.

"Now I have nothing left, and this is the city that I can handle."

"Your survival is the best reward for me."

Zhou Huai'an sighed secretly and said earnestly.

"Could it be that in your eyes, I came from afar just to get this city? Of course, there is a more long-term plan and what you want. ”

"I have understood from the beginning that the righteous army is determined to seek justice for the poor people of the world and fight for a way to live; What is done is the act of killing officials and rebelling to overthrow the imperial court, what is the gain or loss of this mere Jiangling City, and it is not in our eyes. ”

"In fact, compared with the gains and losses of this city and place, what I value more is Brother Cao, yourself. I can't sit back and watch you go to the ground."

Speaking of this, Zhou Huaian continued to encourage him.

"Besides, if you hadn't been stationed here in Jiangling to block most of the threats from the official army going south, how could I have calmly communicated with the rebels from all walks of life in Guangfu and communicated with each other."

"It's not a whim to rescue Gangneung, but for the long-term plan of my righteous military cause. As the so-called public and private affairs, you don't have too much baggage. ”

"But I'm thinking about it a lot. Suffering from immediate gains and losses and messing up the basic square inches"

Cao Shixiong shook his head with some surprise and sigh

"But I don't know what the next plan and plan is for Brother Xu."

"Of course, I fully support you, Brother Cao, and continue to maintain Jiangling, a key victory and hub, for a long time."

Zhou Huai'an is confident; In fact, he had already thought of a specific plan before that.

"In the city..."

Cao Shixiong wanted to speak and stopped.

"It's not a problem in the city, and then I will divide my troops to recover the counties in Jingzhou, and then gather the corresponding population to fill the city of Jiangling."

Zhou Huai'an comforted him.

"Then gather the exiles on the spot and recruit a new group of soldiers from them, and I will allocate a number of men and horses from my command to you; The corresponding will be selected and appointed by you; ”

"When the city defense of Gangneung is fully strengthened, I will hand over all the outer counties to you. It is necessary to manage well as the source of follow-up financial endowment. ”

"However, I will leave a garrison of sailors to ensure the safety and proper transportation of traffic along the route."

"This is the proper meaning of this. I'm counting on you to keep a few more men to take care of it for me. ”

Cao Shixiong couldn't help but nodded hurriedly.

"From now on, I will act as one according to the Cantonese side."

"Brother Cao,"

Zhou Huai sighed when he said this.

"What our rebels are doing is a long-term confrontation against the government, relying on repeated battles, if we are always stuck in one place, we will fall behind."

"If you want to deal with the official army for a long time, it is not enough to defend the city to the death. It is the so-called basic principle that the land is lost, the people and the land are lost, the people are lost, and the people and the land are saved. ”

"I also want to train an elite soldier, you can rely on the fast foot and the geographical advantage of coming and going like the wind, relying on the water and land of Gangneung. For a long time, it has been wrestling with the invading officers and soldiers, making it impossible for them to gain a foothold in the local area. ”

"But it is necessary to mobilize the local people as eyes and ears, so that they can not wantonly plunder and harass them, but also appease and protect them."

"Since we are a righteous army that asks for the people's lives and lives, we must embody the fundamental righteousness and the bottom limit of the situation, and we can't be like official dogs who are consumed by the immediate convenience and profit, even if the wanton actions of our subordinates are reckless."

"The four fields of Jiangling are empty and fertile for thousands of miles, but the people's livelihood is withered and the villages are deserted. It is also a place for adequate food and military preparation. ”

"And Gangneung is just rushing by land and water, as long as you can concentrate on protecting the territory and the people, attract and gather business travelers, it is only a matter of time before you return to the prosperous city."

"At least after this defeat, it is impossible for the official army of Shannan Dongdao to make a comeback in a short period of time, but the terrain is quite empty; But you can send a small number of men to the other side to disturb it."

"You can raid and kill, plunder large households, and then distribute money and food to help the hungry, and encourage displaced people or recruit people to vote. It can not only unsettle its place, but also weaken the source of its fertility. ”

"Please be empty... The leader did not hesitate to teach me. ”

At this moment, Cao Shixiong seemed to have a lot of touches and feelings, and he did not hesitate to change his title.

"Now that the military government has abandoned me, you are not far away to rescue and plan these for me, so it is difficult to repay the lion even if it is powdered. Please also let me brazenly lead the army, and I hope that I will be attached to the Taiping banner in the future to drive the front. ”

。。。。。。。

In the city of Poyang in Raozhou, the town has been moved to the local Huai army recruitment camp.

As the commander-in-chief, Zhang Lan, who was also the commander of the army and horses, was also illuminated by many bright and golden reflections, illuminating his bronze face on the spot.

(End of chapter)