Unfortunately, in winter, the north wind is rampant, and the charter is a civilian sailing ship, Wu Chaoyue's Qinwang fleet of course runs relatively slowly, starting from Shanghai on October 13, only bypassing the Shandong Peninsula in the early part of the winter month, barely arriving at the mouth of Tianjin Dagu, landing on the shore, and officially setting foot on the snow-capped land of Daqing Zhili.

During this period, the Taiping army, which had successfully captured the city of Tianjin, was of course not idle, in addition to doing everything possible to get in touch with Nanjing and ask Yang Xiuqing for follow-up reinforcements, they also used a large amount of heavy grain and grass captured in Tianjin to recruit troops and horses, expand their ranks and strength, and recruited a large number of poor people and the famous Tianjin gangster-proletariat to join, and re-expanded the force to more than 50,000 people before crossing the Yellow River, and the momentum increased even more.

At the same time, there is a very important point, relying on fishing, salt and water transportation to make a fortune in Tianjin not only abundant grain and grass, in the winter vital cotton clothes and fur fur is also quite a lot, after collecting the whole city and trying to collect the cotton and leather clothes of the market outside the city, basically every Taiping army soldier can wear a cotton coat and leather clothing, which greatly helped a large number of southern soldiers in the Taiping Army to survive the bitter cold weather in the north, inspiring the military spirit and boosting morale.

On the military side, the Taiping army was not idle, and after gaining a foothold in Tianjin, Li Kaifang sent Ji Wenyuan to lead an army to attack Beicang Cangcheng, which was located ten miles northwest of Tianjin, in a vain attempt to seize the grain hoarded there. It's a pity that this time Shengbao said that he didn't dare to be defeated, and led the army to Beicang to defend the palace, gritted his teeth and no longer took a step back, during which Shengbao also once went to the front line to supervise the battle, and personally hacked to death several Qing generals who retreated from the battle, and finally repelled Ji Wenyuan's attack with all his strength, barely keeping this important granary. and took advantage of the situation to build his big camp in Beicang.

At the same time, on the orders of Katsuho. Changlu Yan Zhengwenqian and Tekeshen also hired a group of wild goose households in Baiyangdian to form a group training, and rushed to Wuliangcheng, which was a little further east of Tianjin, day and night. also guarded this important granary, and did not give the Taiping army a chance to make the first move. Then Shengbao hurriedly sent additional troops to Wuliangcheng, and finally protected the Caoyun granary around Tianjin for Emperor Xianfeng, so as not to make the banner man in Beijing hungry.

The defeat in the attack on Beicang was not entirely a bad thing, at least it made Li Kaifang and Ji Wenyuan, who were a little hot-headed, realize that they had reached the end of their crossbows, the soldiers were exhausted, and the soldiers were seriously injured, and it was difficult to launch a large-scale war again. In addition, there is plenty of grain and grass in Tianjin to recuperate, so after discussion. Li Kaifang and Ji Wenyuan decided to adjust their tactics, change their blind wandering attack to retreat and defense, based on Tianjin, waiting for the Qing army to have a flaw before launching a counterattack at the right time, and also waiting for Yang Xiuqing's repeated promises of sending reinforcements.

In order to maintain contact with the outside world and to gain time to strengthen the defense, Li Kaifang and Ji Wenyuan did not withdraw all their troops to the city to defend the city passively, and after consultation, it was decided that Ji Wenyuan would build a civil structure outside the south gate of the city (a small city built outside the city wall and could be used as a fortification). Construct a buffer to protect the south gate of Tianjin, which is the most vulnerable to the enemy. Li Kaifang led the main force to sit in the city, organized the people to repair and strengthen the 450-year-old Tianjin city wall, and built a large number of city fortifications for a long-term plan.

Tianjin City, commonly known as the Abacus City, is a very standard rectangle. It is only 800 meters wide from south to north, making it easy to defend and easily defended, but the length of the wall from east to west is more than 1,500 meters. It is easy to be attacked by the besieging side, but fortunately, there is a huge amount of Haihe River outside the north gate to protect it. Born with relatively strong defense, Li Kaifang and Ji Wenyuan, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, chose to build a city outside the south gate with open terrain. Nature is the right and wise choice. As far as the Qing army was concerned, once Ji Wenyuan was allowed to build this outgoing city, it would be a fool's dream for them to stop the Taiping army from repairing the aging Tianjin city wall, and it was undoubtedly the most correct choice to launch an attack at any cost to prevent Ji Wenyuan from building the city, and resolutely drive all the Taiping troops back to Tianjin City, which had a total area of only 1.55 square kilometers.

It's a pity that at the critical moment that determined the direction and scale of the future war, the Qing army did not seize the opportunity to launch a strong attack - because the two masters of Shengbao and Seng Lingqin quarreled again. As the minister of the Qin Mission, Shengbao had the power to control the armies on the front line, and had already established the large camp in the very important Beicang City, of course, he unceremoniously ordered the monk Lingqin to move to the south gate of Tianjin to set up camp, and was responsible for preventing the Taiping army from establishing the city. And our monk is the king of the county, and the golden branch and jade leaf are in a prominent position, and he does not take the officialdom nouveau riche Shengbao in his eyes at all, under the pretext that the main force under his command is either the Chahar cavalry who is not good at attacking fortifications, or the Jianrui Battalion and the Shenji Battalion brought from the capital, the noble status is not suitable for doing soil work, and he categorically refused to obey the order, and the quarrel with Shengbao was turned upside down, and he refused to go to the south gate to set up camp.

In the end, it was Shengbao who handed the picture to the Xianfeng Emperor, and the thunderous Xianfeng Emperor personally ordered the persecution, and our monk and prince were reluctant to move to the south gate of Tianjin with his noble army to set up camp, but even so, our monk and prince were still reluctant to let his noble army launch a siege, and only ordered the general Qingqi to recruit and practice Yong to let the Han regiment practice as cannon fodder. By the time Qingqi gathered Lian Yong in place, the Taiping army's exit from the city had been basically completed, and only the digging of trenches and the establishment of horse rejection antlers remained.

Then, until Wu Chaoyue and Wu's army arrived at Dagukou to land, during which the Qing army launched several attacks on Tianjin City and out of the city one after another, each time it was bombarded with artillery from a distance, and did not dare to launch a truly decent charge attack. But it was useless to do so, the Taiping Army also had artillery, and the skills of the battle-hardened Taiping Army gunners were far better than the pampered Qing Army gunners. Therefore, the so-called attack of the Qing army was simply an itch for the Taiping army, and no matter how the Xianfeng Emperor urged and scolded, Tianjin City said that it could not be taken back, and even the wooden wooden city temporarily built by the Taiping Army could not be defeated.

In such a situation, the appearance of Wu Chaoyue is undoubtedly the last straw for the Xianfeng Emperor, just received the news that Wu Chaoyue led the army to Dagukou, and the Xianfeng Emperor immediately ordered Wu Chaoyue to immediately rush to the city to join Shengbao. Accept the command of Shengbao to attack Tianjin. At the same time, in order to praise Wu Chaoyue's loyalty, Emperor Xianfeng also issued a special decree. Ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take out some silver and buy some chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep to send to the front. Specially used to reward Wu Chaoyue's army.

Before the war, Wu Chaoyue was given a reward, which was not opposed by any courtiers, but Mu Yin and Lin Kui and other Manchu nobles refused to let go of any opportunity to disgust Wu Chaoyue, and immediately admonished Emperor Xianfeng, suggesting that Wu Chaoyue be sent a prison army to secretly monitor Wu Chaoyue and Wu Jun Lian Yong's every move, just in case. Although Emperor Xianfeng was moved, he was a little hesitant and said, "Shengbao and Monk Greenqin are there." I didn't send a prison army, Wu Aiqing came to help with the regiment training thousands of miles, and as soon as he arrived, I immediately sent him a prison army, didn't this clearly tell him that I didn't trust him enough? ”

"Your Majesty, the situation is compelled to do it expediently." Lin Kui insisted: "Although Wu Daotai is loyal to the imperial court, he is a foreign official after all. The soldiers under his command are also trained braves who do not receive the salary of the imperial court and have no formal establishment, not flag soldiers or green battalions, and it is best to guard against such an army. ”

Emperor Xianfeng was even more excited. But there are still some scruples that doing so will chill Wu Chaoyue's heart and affect the morale of Wu Jun's military spirit and bravery. However, when Emperor Xianfeng was in a dilemma, Qi Liaozao hurriedly came to Emperor Xianfeng. He handed a fold to Emperor Xianfeng with both hands, and said respectfully: "Long live." Wu Chaohao had just sent it on a fast horse, and he asked the imperial court to send him a prison guard. Help him discipline and supervise the soldiers. ”

"Wu Aiqing asked me to send him a prison army?" Emperor Xianfeng's eyes lit up.

Qi Liaozao nodded and said: "Wu Chaoyue said in the excerpt that he is a foreign official, and the soldiers of the department are also trained in the Songjiang regiment, and it is not trivial for foreign troops to enter Beijing, and they must not be restrained and supervised, so he implores the emperor to send a prince and close minister to serve as his supervisor to help him restrain military discipline, and the supervisor soldiers must not act arbitrarily." ”

Encountering such a sensible and loyal courtier, Emperor Xianfeng was of course as happy as he could smile, and agreed to Wu Chaoyue's request without thinking about it, and also decided to send Prince Yi Zaiyuan to serve as Wu Chaoyue's supervisor to show his attention and favor to Wu Chaoyue. But Mu Yin and Lin Kui were dejected, and scolded together in their hearts: "Dog barbarian, you really know the emperor's thoughts!" ”

Emperor Xianfeng happily sent Zaiyuan to Wu Chaoyue as a supervisor, but after receiving the news, Sheng Bao, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, scolded Kai Niang outside Tianjin. But now Emperor Xianfeng sent ******** Zaiyuan to Wu Chaoyue as a supervisor, Wu Chaoyue and Zaiyuan don't get along well, it's easy to say, once Zaiyuan accepted Wu Chaoyue's bribe, and Wu Chaoyue put on a pair of pants, and Wu Chaoyue became a backer in disguise, then Shengbao didn't say that he was playing with words and snatching Wu Chaoyue's credit, but it was difficult to drive Wu Chaoyue to work hard! ——Considering the amount of silver in the old Wu family, and Wu Chaoyue's meritorious service, Zaiyuan and Wu Chaoyue may not only wear a pair of pants, but also very large!

Suddenly ran out of a Zaiyuan to stir up the situation, which was already enough to make Shengbao's nest hot, and heard that Emperor Xianfeng specially ordered to reward Wu Chaoyue's army with pigs, sheep and wine, Shengbao was even more angry and scolded, "Why? Why? He Wu Chaoyue has just arrived at Dagukou, and he hasn't even arrived in Tianjin City yet, why does the emperor want to reward him? What did he do? What role did he play? ”

Annoyed, taking advantage of the fact that Zaiyuan had not yet come to Tianjin, Shengbao also seized the time to disgust Wu Chaoyue, knowing that Wu Jun Lian Yong came from afar by sea, the soldiers were tired and needed to rest, and the body that had suffered for a long time also needed to recover, but Shengbao deliberately ordered Wu Chaoyue to lead the army to Tianjin within a day to listen to the order, deliberately wanting Wu Chaoyue to suffer more.

Wu Chaoyue's reply almost didn't make Sheng Bao tilt his nose - the prison army has not yet arrived, and the foreign army does not dare to enter the hinterland of Zhili lightly, and everything will be said when the prison army arrives!

When Shengbao was so angry that he scolded again, the last subordinate monk Greenqin, who didn't like to listen to the command, took the initiative to send someone to send an official document, asking Shengbao to put Wu Chaoyue under his direct command and assist him in attacking the Taiping army's exit from the city. And Shengbao also knew that Monk Greenqin and Wu Chaoyue could not urinate in a pot, and he didn't even blink his eyelids when he received the request, so he immediately agreed to Monk Greenqin's request and promised that Monk Greenqin would command Wu Chaoyue's army. And after receiving a reply from Shengbao. Monk Greenqin also immediately smiled fiercely, "Little barbarian." Come on, this time let's see how this king cleans up you, a toad who wants to eat swan meat! ”

Two days later. ******** Zaiyuan, who had a higher title, finally rushed to Tianjin with a large amount of pigs and sheep wine, and Shengbao, who was full of anger, naturally ran to Zaiyuan unceremoniously to complain, accusing Wu Chaoyue of committing a crime of not obeying the command and refusing to enter the army, and also took the opportunity to test Zaiyuan's attitude towards Wu Chaoyue. As a result, what made Shengbao secretly scream was that Zaiyuan actually smiled and said: "Weiting did nothing wrong, he brought foreign troops, and he had to be cautious to go deep into the hinterland of Zhili." ”

After that, Zaiyuan also urged: "Lord Sheng, go to the Wenqi Pavilion again." Just say that this king has arrived, and tell him to come to Tianjin to meet me quickly, this king has long wanted to see his hundred battles with his own eyes. ”

"It's over!" Shengbao heard Zaiyuan's voice, and secretly complained: "Listening to Zaiwangye's tone, he is holding back his strength this time and wants to take this opportunity to take credit!" Lord Zai, you are all ********, what credit are you grabbing from us minions? ”

"I hope that Wu Chaoyue can fight as much as Su Shun boasts, but this king wants to enter the military machine like the ancestors, and serve the court and the emperor more and better." This is the heartfelt words of our Prince Yixian Zaiyuan Zaiwang.

That's it. Still after receiving Zaiyuan's request, Wu Chaoyue, who had been resting at Dagukou for four days, urged the army to march to Tianjin, and the five battalions were divided into five teams, and the flag was fluttering. The bayonets were bright, and the military songs resounded all over the world, although the number was not large, there were only more than 2,500 people. But it also gives people a sense of immenseness.

After marching west along the Haihe River, after more than a day of leisurely marching. Wu Chaoyue led his army to the eastern suburbs and received the news. Of course, Zaiyuan, who had high hopes for Wu Chaoyue, personally greeted him, and Shengbao couldn't hold back the curiosity in his heart, and brought a cavalry to accompany Zaiyuan to greet him, wanting to see with his own eyes what the army under Wu Chaoyue's command looked like? Why can the Taiping army be defeated several times or even dozens of times with weak forces every time?

Zaiyuan and Shengbao and others reined in their war horses on the high ground on the north bank of the Haihe River, and looked condescendingly to the east, but saw that the queue on the snow-capped official road was neat, the military song was loud, and five dense infantry formations came slowly from east to west. At the same time, Wu Junlianyong's overly dense queue also made Shengbao pout, and said secretly: "Idiot! The formation is so dense, as long as the long hair is a cannonball, it can kill a large area! ”

Thinking of this, Sheng Bao couldn't help but raise his binoculars to look at the situation of the Tianjin city wall in the south, looking forward to the Taiping army sending troops or firing artillery to give Wu Chaoyue a dismount. However, to Shengbao's great surprise, at this moment, not only did there be no sign of artillery or troops on the city of Tianjin, on the contrary, there were signs of chaos, many Taiping soldiers ran back and forth, yelling and not knowing what they were shouting, and at the same time, there were constantly Taiping soldiers squatting on the city wall, as if they were avoiding something that made them extremely afraid.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Shengbao deliberately sent a few cavalry to reconnoiter in front of him, eavesdropping on the shouts of the Taiping army in Tianjin, and the cavalry sent to reconnoiter soon returned, and reported to Shengbao with his eyebrows: "Handsome, long hair is scared!" They have been shouting that the transcendence demon is coming, the transcendence demon is coming, and they are also shouting that all the long hairs on the city wall are crawling down or squatting, and they are not allowed to stand and defend the city, otherwise they will be kept and killed! ”

"Huh?!"

Shengbao's jaw almost didn't fall to the ground, but Zaiyuan next to him was surprised, and quickly asked, "Long hair is afraid of Lord Wu like this?" Really? ”

"Lord Wang, it's true." The cavalryman who went to reconnoiter replied: "The little ones can hear it clearly, and the shouts of the long hairs in the city are full of panic!" It is said that the little demon is coming, and he has to report to their pseudo-prime minister Li Kaifang. ”

As if to verify the Taiping army's fear of Wu Chaoyue, soon, Li Kaifang's handsome banner appeared on the north gate of Tianjin, proving that Li Kaifang really attached great importance to Wu Chaoyue, a terrible enemy. Seeing this scene, Zaiyuan laughed and did not hesitate, and immediately hit the horse to meet Wu Chaoyue, and because he had seen one or two sides in the capital before, Zaiyuan directly greeted Wu Chaoyue, who was riding a horse and walked in the front, Wu Chaoyue hurriedly turned over and dismounted to salute Zaiyuan, and Zaiyuan, who had not treated Wu Chaoyue very well, picked up Wu Chaoyue with both hands, laughed and said: "Comfort Ting, you are finally here, you can rest assured when you come to this king, Tianjin's long hair, finally met their nemesis." ”

After a few words of hypocrisy and modesty, Wu Chaoyue, who knew how important Zaiyuan was to him in this war, hurriedly said that he had brought some worthless souvenirs to Zaiyuan from Shanghai, and he would send them to Zaiyuan immediately after a while. Zaiyuan, who knew what Wu Chaoyue meant, waved his hand and said with a smile: "What's polite?" Don't you know that this king and Su Zhongtang are like brothers, but he has praised you in front of me for your young and promising, sensible and well-behaved. Don't worry, how Su Zhongtang treats you, this king will treat you as he treats! ”

Hearing this, Shengbao's face next to him turned a little green, and he immediately understood that there was another monk under his command, but Zaiyuan didn't think about Shengbao's feelings at all, but just greeted Wu Chaoyue: "Comfort Pavilion, don't be struggling, go quickly, this king and Sheng Dashuai have already prepared a banquet in the Beicang camp, let's go to the banquet soon." ”

"Thank you Lord Wang, thank you for winning the handsome." Wu Chaoyue thanked him and said: "But I'm not busy, Xia Guan wants to say a few words to the bandit leader Li Kaifang first to reminisce about the past." ”

"Catching up with Li Kaifang?" Carrying a wall.

"Exactly." Wu Chaoyue nodded, smiled and said: "Starting from Jiangning, Li Kaifang, the leader of the bandits, and I are old acquaintances, I don't know how many times I have fought on the battlefield, how many times I have hung him up and beaten him, this will meet in Tianjin, thousands of miles away, I have to say hello to him, let him know that his death time has come." ”

Hearing Wu Chaoyue's answer, Zaiyuan was of course overjoyed, and immediately agreed, but Shengbao, who didn't know how many defeats he had suffered in front of Li Kaifang, gritted his teeth and said secretly: "Little barbarian, you are crazy like this!" Lao Tzu wants to see what you can say after you meet Li Kaifang! ”

The cruel truth soon swollen Shengbao's little face, Wu Chaoyue sent people to shout under the city of Tianjin with white flags, asking to meet Li Kaifang, but the messenger was quickly beaten back by the muskets and bows and arrows of the Taiping army, and said to Wu Chaoyue with a smile: "Lord Wu, Li Kaifang dare not meet you, and said that he will never fall for you again." He also said that if you really have the ability, you can just go to the siege, and he will accompany you to the end. (To be continued.) )