"It's to pull weeds!" Jin Peilun took over the topic: "Whether it is the Qing Demon or the Taiping Army, all weeds must be pulled out cleanly, we have made up our minds to first pull out the Qing Demon in Zhenjiang Mansion, and then take Jinling directly!" I just hope that His Highness can give us a little assistance. ”

In any case, Jinling is the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, there are many soldiers, not to mention that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has been operating here for many years, has built an iron barrel-like defense line, the city has always been under siege by the Qing army in history, but it was not until 1864 that it was finally conquered by the Hunan army, in the eleven years of siege, the defenders of the city bear too much iron and fire.

Therefore, Jin Peilun did not dare to guarantee such a strong city, Liu Chang agreed with his point of view: "When the time comes, the main force of the first division will be sent out of the south side of Anhui to meet your operations, you just have to rest assured, whether it is on land or water, your help can be endless, and the only one to worry about is ......"

"It's just a confluence between the Qing Demon and the Taiping Army!"

……

"The tide is gone!" Zhang Guoliang said with a bitter face: "Several adults, I will also tell the truth, this Jiangnan can't stay any longer, you have to retreat to Jiangbei, if you don't want to go, I will take my Chaoyong to go first!"

Hearing Zhang Guoliang say this, Seng Lingqin said in great embarrassment: "Your Majesty just issued an edict to let us guard Zhenjiang Mansion for a few more months, saying that we can borrow troops from Russia immediately, and the situation can be changed immediately." ”

Although Zhang Guoliang does not know how to write and ink, he is a real expert in military affairs, he patted the table and said: "Lord Xianfeng is worthy of me Zhang, but now the situation in Zhenjiang Mansion, a few people don't know, if it drags on." Tens of thousands of us are going to be lost in this Jiangnan!"

He said bitterly: "Now that the sailor has been defeated, the red single boat has suffered a lot of setbacks, and if you don't retreat, I'm afraid there is no way to retreat even if you want to!"

Zhang Guoliang's suggestion was very simple, that is, the whole division gave up the whole Jiangnan. Retreat directly to Jiangbei and join up with the camp in Jiangbei in order to raise again.

The reason why he dared to insist on fighting in Jiangnan before was entirely because the Jiangnan battalion also had a sailor composed of Guangdong red single boats, which Xiang Rong had spent several years running. The core of its combat effectiveness was 50 red single boats purchased from Guangdong, which were equipped with a large number of foreign artillery, and this naval division completely suppressed the Taiping army as soon as it came forward, and the situation in which the Taiping army could calmly maneuver upstream in the past was completely gone, and it was not allowed to adopt the tactics of attaching equal importance to locking the river and guarding the river bank to block the Qing army's naval division from sweeping the river.

But this time, as soon as the steam warship of the Rainbow Army appeared, the glory of this red single boat sailor was a thing of the past, and after the hasty engagement, the entire Qing army sailor suffered heavy losses. There were as many as seven Hongdan ships that were destroyed, more than a dozen warships that were damaged and needed to be repaired, hundreds of crew members were killed, wounded and missing, and the losses of the Hongjun Naval Division were according to Zhang Guoliang's own eyes. It was only two shots, and it seems that several sailors were injured.

After this battle, Zhang Guoliang completely changed his attitude of continuing to defend Jiangnan, and he painstakingly persuaded the important people in the Jiangnan camp, but Shengbao was a reckless figure to the extreme, and he said angrily: "If you give up Jiangnan." So where did we retreat to Jiangbei where the military food came from!"

In any case, although the southern Jiangsu region, where the Qing army is now located, has been repeatedly attacked by wars, it is after all a land of fish and rice. It is not a problem to supply the tens of thousands of troops of the Jiangnan battalion and the monk Wang Shengbao, but if you want to cross the river, there are already 17,000 Jiangbei battalion soldiers, and you will definitely not be able to afford to garrison tens of thousands of Qing troops.

Therefore, Shengbao said very confidently: "I haven't made up my mind yet, now I have to retreat to Jiangbei, and it is the limit to be able to take away sixty percent of the soldiers and horses." It's better to fight with the red thief and break the net!" …,

He Chun, the governor of Jiangnan, persuaded beside him: "If we fight with the red thief, maybe Tianjing's long hair still has a glimmer of life." If we withdraw, Tianjing's long hair can only be a dead end. ”

Monk Greenqin was very frightened, he knew that there was something in Hechun's words, and he was shocked: "The military gate means that we have to give Changmao a ray of life." ”

Now the red thief has become the number one opponent of the entire Qing Dynasty, in the past year, the Qing army has suffered heavy losses, most of the losses come from the rainbow army, especially several annihilating battles, are the handiwork of the rainbow army, on the other hand, the Taiping army has lost everywhere, and now can only retreat to the wing of Su Anhui, although it can not be said that it is not enough, but it can be said that it has suffered a big setback.

Zhang Guoliang followed the tone of Monk Lingqin and said: "We fought hard to break the net, that is, to give Changmao a glimmer of life, but if Changmao really wants to have life, there is only one way to go." ”

He fought with the Taiping army under the city of Nanjing for several years, and he can be said to know the Taiping army well, so Monk Lingqin asked very directly: "Which way?" ”

"Don't let the city go!" Zhang Guoliang unceremoniously pointed out the shortcomings of Nanjing, the capital of Ding: "Jinling, no food, no money, no soldiers, no accumulation, long hair since the Jinling that is besieged by our soldiers, more than three years have been trapped in Jinling, now our army retreated and the red thieves attacked, the embarrassment of long hair is probably worse than today, my Jiangnan battalion and the monk king, the monk palace two soldiers fought against the water, even if they can thwart the thief forward, it is useless in the big thing. ”

After hearing Zhang Guoliang's words, Seng Lingqin and Shengbao couldn't help but nod secretly.

They didn't know that it was a dead end to continue to stay in the south of the Yangtze River, but they always hoped that after consuming part of the strength of the Rainbow Army, they could let the Taiping Army hold Jinling City, so that the Taiping Army and the Rainbow Army would compete with the two tigers in the southeast, and the Qing Dynasty would still have a chance to turn over.

This is the enemy of the enemy is a friend, in the past, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was the number one mortal enemy of these nobles, but now they all want to kill the red thief in their dreams, so the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has also become an object that can be used, but the monk king sighed and said: "Now even if the dynasty can retreat to Jiangbei, the overall situation is still irreparable!"

Zhang Guoliang doesn't study, but when it comes to military affairs, he is the first to say: "The monk king, the victory palace guard, and the military gate, since ancient times, occupy the southeast, can be successful in the northern expedition, but Zhu Yuanzhang is alone, the north and the south hold each other, the north wins and the south loses, so the opportunity of our army lies in defending Huaiyang!"

Shengbao is famous for liking brute force, but Zhang Guoliang's words made him feel moved: "What Zhang Zhentai said is very true, but it is just the strength of our army, retreating to Jiangbei, I am afraid it will be difficult to fight against the red thief soldiers." ”

There are too many red thieves and foreign guns and artillery, and the combat effectiveness is indeed above these Qing troops, and Zhang Guoliang naturally has his own thoughts: "I heard that since ancient times, the north and the south have been fighting each other, and they are really fighting for the two Huai. ”

Don't look at Shengbao is a Manchurian and likes to work brutally, but he is a famous Jinshi background, he immediately took over: "That's right, the north and the south hold each other, and those who hold the two Huai will hold the initiative, but now the two Huai have twists for chaos......

It's just that Shengbao quickly understood: "What does Zhang Zhentai mean by using twists?" ”

"That's right! Now one of the lines of vitality of my Qing soldiers, long-haired and twisted bandits lies in the retreat of Huaiyang, if Huaiyang is lost, my great Qing soldiers may have a glimmer of life, and long-haired and twisted bandits will die without a place to be buried. ”

Monk Greenqin was careful, he quickly glanced at the map, but let out a sigh: "Zhang Lexing twisted tens of thousands, according to the Pheasant River for many years, if the red thief captures Jiangnan, I am afraid that Zhang Thief will also bear the brunt, but with the strength of the crowd, may not be able to stop the red thief." ”

"But what if the twisters and the long-haired merge?" Zhang Guoliang is very attentive: "That's why I said that the glimmer of life for long hair is to let the city go." "...," Hong Xiuquan is extremely stubborn. He Chun disagreed: "I'm afraid I won't withdraw from Jinling in a hurry." ”

"That's for the best!" Zhang Guoliang said with a smile: "Hong Rebellion and the red thieves in Jinling fight to the death, we can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, when the city of Jinling is broken, the long-haired thieves will naturally let the city not go, go to the twisters." ”

He said in a deep voice: "Today's national elite people are all in the hands of you and me, and we can't just casually bury the battle in the south of the Yangtze River!"

Monk Greenqin laughed: "There is Zhang Zhentai sitting in Huaiyang, the country's morale, when it can be recovered, I will order the whole army to cross north, taking advantage of the fact that the red thieves have not arrived, how much can they cross." ”

It's just that he also knows that it is said that the whole army is retreating north, but it is already the limit that the actual withdrawal of six or seven percent is already the limit, and the Jiangnan battalion has been stationed for many years, and many troops have become natives, so how can it be dispatched with a single order, not to mention that there are still a large number of local regimental training, and it is impossible to retreat north with the army.

These forces can only become the victims of the first wave in the red tide of the Rainbow Army, just hoping to play a little role in resisting the Rainbow Army and buy a little more time for the Taiping Army in Jinling City.

It's just that Seng Lingqin quickly thought of one thing: "Now Zhang Zhentai's title is still the chief soldier, right?" ”

Zhang Guoliang nodded: "Thanks to Your Majesty's love, the actual reinforcement of the general army is glorious." ”

For a reckless person like him, who was born as a general, it is already a supreme honor to actually teach the general army, but Seng Lingqin shook his head: "It's too condescending, it's too condescending!"

He Chun echoed beside him: "Yes, the general soldier of a town is a little condescending, and now that Zhejiang Province has fallen, the post of governor of Zhejiang is vacant, I think this position is the most suitable for General Zhang." ”

Zhang Guoliang smiled on his face, he was just a general soldier, and he was almost the apex of a Manchu professional soldier as the governor of a province, but Seng Lingqin shook his head and said: "It's too low, it's too low, we should join forces to give Zhang Dashuai a most suitable name." ”

Sheng Bao couldn't help frowning: "If the Admiral's military gate is low, there are only so many governors in the whole country, even if the lack of the governor of Zhejiang is taken out, I am afraid that Zhang Jiangmen will not dare to accept it!"

"That's too low!" Monk Greenqin said repeatedly: "It's not suitable, when the country is in danger, the employment should be eclectic. ”

Zhang Guoliang didn't dare to speak anymore, and He Chun said: "Could it be that there is a shortage of governors, but there are only a few real shortages in the country, and all of them have masters!"

"What is the lack of a mere governor!" Monk Lingqin said loudly: "I have not had a Han king in the Qing Dynasty for two hundred years!"

"I'm talking about the three of us joining forces to protect Zhang Shuai and seal the king of the ground!"