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While caring about the comprador grandfather, Wu Chaoyue certainly did not forget to care about his good teacher Zeng Guofan, and what moved Wu Chaoyue was that his good teacher was not a bad official who took money and did not do anything, and forced himself to leave ink and paper to filial piety to the equipment of a sailor battalion, and the Xianghuai coalition army finally took the small city of Chikou and pulled out the big nail that the Jiujiang Taiping Army was tied to the north bank of the Yangtze River. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The Hunan army was to use Wu Chaoyue's artillery fire to cover the tactics to take Xiaochikou, with the absolute advantage of the number of artillery, the Hunan army first covered the out-of-town camp of Xiaochikou with the artillery fire of the water division, and the Taiping army could not gain a foothold outside the city and could only retreat into the city, and then Zeng Guofan commanded the Hunan army land division to advance slowly, built a large number of forts outside the city, and densely covered the city with artillery, and the Taiping soldiers who were cowering in the small city could not stand at all, and could only abandon the city under the onslaught of the Hunan army, and the Xianghuai coalition army took the opportunity to take the city. Achieved the first official victory after joining forces in the Eastern Crusade.

During this period, the Jiujiang Taiping Army also dispatched a naval division to rescue Xiaochikou, but because the main force had already aided the Ningzhen battlefield in the east and some light enemies, coupled with the lessons of the Hunan Army's naval division, it learned the lessons of the previous fiascos, and did not equip any long dragons, fast crabs and tractors and other bulky ships that were useless, and chose to build the army with light and flexible sampan boats with red single boats, which greatly limited the advantages of the Taiping Army's naval division ships being small and flexible, so the Taiping Army's naval division reinforcements were unsuccessful, and they were killed and retreated by the Hunan Army's naval divisions before they landed. And when Luo Xuan hurriedly requisitioned the Hukou fleet to strengthen the strength of the sailors and prepared to rescue Xiaochikou again, the defenders of Xiaochikou had already failed.

For the Taiping army, it is a pity to lose Xiaochikou, but after all, Xiaochikou is only a stronghold on the periphery of the main battlefield, and local losses can not affect the overall situation, under the influence of the strategic policy of the main defense of the Western Front, Luo Xuan decisively rejected the proposal of his subordinates to counterattack Xiaochikou, and chose to arrange the main force of the water division in the Hukou battlefield, and the land division adhered to the fortified city of Jiujiang, continued to meet the Hunan army with an iron wall, and also took the initiative to give up the initiative in the Jiujiang battlefield. -- Mainly because of the lack of strength on the Western Front, otherwise, Luo Outline would not have given the Hunan army a chance to oppose the enemy.

In the face of the battlefield initiative given up by Luo Xuan, Mr. Zeng was secretly proud and not polite, and soon crossed the river, and continued to attack Jiujiang City by means of a hard village, and while building a number of strong camps in Jiujiang City, he wrote a letter to Wu Chaoyue to ask for food and wages, determined to take Jiujiang first and attack Hukou, and then go south to reinforce the battlefield in the hinterland of Jiangxi.

Teacher Zeng's letter almost didn't make Wu Chaoyue crook his nose in anger, and he was so angry that Wu Chaoyue smashed the table on the spot and roared: "This is called war? This is called taking money, food, and paying for the army! Jiujiang is isolated in the west of Poyang Lake, and the grain and grass are all provided by the lake, so why not hit the lake mouth first to cut off its grain and grass? If you don't take down the mouth of the lake first, when will this battle last? ”

"Zeng Butang's abacus is too beautiful." Zhao Liewen was also very dissatisfied and said: "Attack Jiujiang first, cut off the thief's grain and grass with the water division, he can attack and retreat and defend, and if he has the opportunity, he will send troops to win the battle, and if he has no chance, he will close the camp and not come out, and if the situation is not good, he can immediately withdraw to Hubei to seek our protection." But why didn't he think about it for us, how much food and grass would cost us such a way of playing? ”

"Alas, when I met such a teacher, I really did too much in my previous life for lack of morality."

After a helpless sigh, Wu Chaoyue could only frown and discuss countermeasures, originally with Hubei's current tax situation of money and grain, it is not a big problem to support the Xianghuai coalition army to fight for a long time, and it is very convenient to transport grain by water, and there is not much difference between the grain consumption of the Xianghuai coalition army in Jiujiang and the grain consumption in Tianjia Town. But Wu Chaoyue no longer needs Teacher Zeng to guard the portal for him, Wu Chaoyue only wants one thing now, that is, Teacher Zeng's life!

If you want Teacher Zeng's life, of course, you can't let Teacher Zeng stay on the very safe Jiujiang battlefield for a long time, and it is in the interests of Wu Chaoyue to let Teacher Zeng quickly roll into the hinterland of Jiangxi with the Xianghuai coalition army. Otherwise, even if the main force of the Taiping Army returns to Jiujiang to find Teacher Zeng for a decisive battle, Teacher Zeng also has the two options of smearing oil on the soles of his feet and asking for help from himself, only by letting Teacher Zeng roll into the hinterland of Jiangxi, can he collude with Yang Xiuqing to kill Teacher Zeng, when the main force of the Taiping Army returns to Jiangxi, he also has an excuse to be unable to send troops to Jiangxi because of the road blockage, and sit back and watch the Taiping Army kill Teacher Zeng for himself!

After turning around the governor's hall with his hands behind his back, Wu Chaoyue quickly made up his mind and said to Zhao Liewen: "I think that the most favorable situation for us at present is to let the teacher attack Hukou first, take Hukou to cut off Jiujiang grain aid, and also open the road into the hinterland of Jiangxi, and then let the main force of the teacher's land division enter the hinterland of Jiangxi, get rid of his burden of money and food, and let him go to eat Wenjun!" ”

"If that's the case, it's certainly the best for us." Zhao Liewen nodded, and said with a wry smile: "But Weiting, with your teacher's intelligence, how could it be possible for us to be so comfortable?" ”

"There is only temptation to take advantage." Wu Chaoyue, who really had no tricks to take the best teacher, sighed again, and then asked: "You analyze, if the teacher's main force enters Jiangxi, what are the benefits for him?" ”

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Liewen replied: "There are three benefits, the first advantage is merit to grab, the main force of long hair is leaning eastward, Jiangxi is empty, it is a rare fighter to recover the fallen state capital, and it is easy to make meritorious contributions." ”

"The second advantage is that there is money and food to be made, and the fallen city controlled by the long hair will be destroyed, and the money and food in the city will of course belong to your teacher, and you can take the opportunity to install officials, establish a card, and get an endless supply of money and food."

"The third advantage is to take the opportunity to expand the army, to fight Jiujiang, the current strength in your teacher's hands is barely enough, enter the hinterland of Jiangxi to recover more than 20 prefectures and counties, your teacher's troops are definitely not enough, you can justifiably recruit troops, accept and surrender, and expand the size of his army."

Wu Chaoyue nodded slightly, and after thinking for a while, Wu Chaoyue instructed: "Two letters, the first one is to Li Hongzhang, tell him about the three benefits, and persuade him to take the opportunity to grab merit and establish a meritorious career that is not easy for all generations." He also told him for me that I was his most solid backing. ”

"The second way is to Jiangxi Governor Wen Jun, stating the rare opportunity to recover the fallen cities of Jiangxi, and also introducing me to my close relationship with Li Hongzhang, asking him to take care of Shaoquan on my behalf, giving Shaoquan more opportunities to make meritorious contributions, and also asking him to directly secondment Shaoquan's father and son's Shizi battalion to the hinterland of Jiangxi to participate in the war. By the way, remember to give Wen Jun a gift, as expensive as possible. ”

"Comfort Pavilion, do you want to throw bricks and lead jade? Deliberately praising your senior brother, making Zeng Butang's eyes red, and luring Zeng Butang to go south to the hinterland of Jiangxi to grab credit? ”

Zhao Liewen asked curiously, and after seeing Wu Chaoyue nodding, Zhao Liewen asked again: "But Weiting, have you considered this problem?" Can your teacher make your brother choose such a big bargain? What if he refuses to let the Shizi battalion go south alone under the pretext of insufficient troops? ”

"I'm just asking him to make that excuse." Wu Chaoyue smiled slightly, and said: "As long as the teacher puts forward this excuse, I will immediately ask Wang Guocai to lead the green battalion troops stationed in Tianjia Town to the east and go to Jiujiang to help my teacher in the war, so that Shaoquan can free up his hands to go south to the hinterland of Jiangxi to participate in the war." ”

Zhao Liewen laughed when he heard this, and laughed wildly: "Weiting, you still have the face to say that you have done too many things to lack virtue in your previous life when you are such a teacher, in my opinion, Zeng Butang met a student like you, and he has never done anything good in his three lives." ”

"Didn't he force it?" Wu Chaoyue replied with a wry smile.

After receiving Wu Chaoyue's letter, Li Hongzhang, who was in a hurry to make a contribution, was immediately very moved, and immediately found his father Li Wenan to discuss the plan of going south alone to grab money, food, and merit. Although Jiangxi Governor Wen Jun is notoriously tricky and difficult, he reached out and did not hit the smiling man, not only accepted the heavy gifts from the hands of Wu Chaoyue's envoy, but also considered that he lived next to Wu Chaoyue, maybe one day he would ask Wu Chaoyue, so Wen Jun still agreed to take care of Li Hongzhang for Wu Chaoyue, and immediately went to Li Wen'an and his son, who had already set foot on the land of Jiangxi, and asked Li Wen'an and his son to lead the Shizi battalion south to the hinterland of Jiangxi to help the Jiangxi Qing army recover the city land occupied by the Taiping army.

For Li Hongzhang, who had been successfully hooked by Wu Chaoyue, Wen Jun's requisition order was undoubtedly an embroidered pillow sent when he was sleepy, and he barely delayed for a minute, Li Hongzhang immediately picked up his father and ran to the teacher to ask for an order, asking to lead the Shizi battalion to go south alone to help the Qing army in Jiangxi recover the lost land.

"Shihe, Shaoquan, what are you kidding? Our combined land and water forces are only 9,000 people, and the siege of Jiujiang Changmao is still beyond our strength? Can we continue to divide our troops south? If you want to go south to kill the thieves, you must first annihilate the long hair at the mouth of Jiujiang Lake, dredge the water road, and then we will divide our troops to the south before it is too late. ”

was also expected by Zhao Lie's writings, and Mr. Zeng categorically rejected the request to let the Shizi battalion go south alone under the pretext of insufficient troops. Of course, Li Hongzhang refused to give up, and said: "Master, it is indeed more safe to take the mouth of Jiujiang Lake and then go south to reinforce the hinterland of Jiangxi, but when will we take Jiujiang and Hukou?" Jiujiang is surrounded by us, but the mouth of the lake is still completely controlled by the long hair, as long as there is a chance, the long hair of the lake can send grain and grass, military supplies and ammunition to Jiujiang through the waterway, when will we be able to consume the long hair of Jiujiang The grain is exhausted, and you are forced to take the initiative to attack our strong camp as you wish? Received the effect of anti-customer? ”

"Don't be in a hurry, Shaoquan, Shihe, you don't have to worry." Zeng Guofan said with a confident expression: "Don't worry, it won't take long for the battle situation at the mouth of Jiujiang Lake to change, or it will be a change in our favor." ”

Li Hongzhang will of course no longer believe the teacher's nonsense, but he insisted vigorously: "Teacher, the fighter plane is fleeting, and now the main force of the long hair is leaning eastward, it is a great opportunity for us to exert our strength on the western front, if we waste the time in order to besiege a city in Jiujiang, then once the main force of the long hair returns to Jiangxi, it will be too late for us to regret it." ”

"Shaoquan, but our current strength is insufficient." Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly and spread his hands, and said: "You have left with the Shizi battalion, and there are only more than 4,000 people left in the land division on the Jiujiang battlefield. ”

Li Hongzhang was speechless, and finally understood why the good junior brother Wu Chaoyue had such a stiff quarrel with the teacher - when he met such a teacher who would rather die than suffer, he really couldn't be a student without disobedience.

"Zeng Butang, according to this, if the troops on this side of the Jiujiang battlefield can be reinforced, then the Shizi battalion can go south, right?"

At this time, an unexpected voice suddenly sounded under the tent, and Zeng Guofan didn't think about it, and immediately replied: "Of course." ”

As soon as the words came out, the biggest shortcoming was that Zeng Guofan, who lacked impatience, had already repented of his intestines, because he had already reacted, and it was none other than Yang Wending, the spokesman for the disobedient protégé Wu Chaoyue who forcibly inserted himself into the Hunan army. The result was not what Zeng Guofan expected, Yang Wending immediately said: "Then this is easy to do, the old man will send a letter to Wu Futai, asking him to send the Tianjiazhen garrison east to Jiujiang to help in the battle, help Zeng Butang you continue to besiege Jiujiang, so that Shihe and Shaoquan can lead the Shizi battalion south to reinforce Wenfutai with peace of mind." ”

When Zeng Guofan's face changed slightly, Li Hongzhang couldn't wait to hug Yang Wending and kiss him, and said secretly in his heart: "In the end, it's still a comfort pavilion, everything has been thought of for me." Comfort Ting, don't worry, I will never forget all your kindness to me. ”

Yang Wending, who used to mix better than Zeng Guofan in the officialdom, is of course also a ruthless character, grasping that Zeng Guofan had already opened his mouth to agree to this, he immediately picked up a pen and made a book on the spot, asked for reinforcements from his grandson-in-law on behalf of Zeng Guofan, and then immediately sent someone to send it out by clipper. Seeing this scene, Li Wenan and Li Hongzhang, father and son, of course, were overjoyed, and were grateful to Wu Chaoyue, who was behind the scenes, while Zeng Guofan talked and laughed freely, and also thanked Yang Wending in person with a smile.

talked and laughed freely in public, and when there were no outsiders behind him, of course, Mr. Zeng threw the teacup in front of his younger brothers and scolded: "Little bastard, at such a young age, he has also learned the art of checks and balances, and deliberately supports the word camp to contain the old man, but the old man has the opportunity to make meritorious contributions alone!" ”

"Brother, my younger brother has a question that I have wanted to ask you for a long time." Zeng Guohuang asked very suspiciously: "Now that the main force of Changmao is leaning eastward, and the western front is empty, it is the best opportunity for us to take the opportunity to enter the hinterland of Jiangxi to grab money, grain, and territory, why do you refuse to seize this opportunity and insist on hitting the mouth of Jiujiang Lake first, and then enter the hinterland of Jiangxi?" Isn't this a waste of warplanes? ”

"You know what?!"

Zeng Guofan scolded angrily, and then snorted and explained: "Now is a great opportunity to take the opportunity to enter the hinterland of Jiangxi, but if we don't take the mouth of Jiujiang Lake and control Poyang Lake, our grain and grass from Huguang will not be able to guarantee unimpeded, to a large extent, we have to rely on local self-financing and Jiangxi local government alms, Wen Jun is not only notoriously tricky, but also does not have Luo Bingzhang's belly, Wu Chaoyue and I have a special relationship, our grain and grass military salary can not be guaranteed to be as endless as now!" Completely on the back foot! ”

Zeng Guohuang finally came to his senses, and Zeng Guoquan over there asked even more suspiciously: "Brother, although what you said is reasonable, but our current tactics are not right?" If we want to trap the long hair to the place where the grain is exhausted, we should first hit the lake mouth to cut off its grain road, and then turn back to besiege Jiujiang? ”

"Of course I know we should hit the mouth of the lake first, but are we sure?" Zeng Guofan said even more angrily: "Our current sailor division only has five battalions, and the strength is not too superior, Changmao has a strong city camp to defend, even if we send troops to Hukou, even if we have a hope of winning, but we are not sure!" If we accidentally lose the battle again, our sailor will be completely finished, understand? ”

Zeng Guoquan's temper was straighter, and he was not overwhelmed by his brother's arrogance, but asked again: "Brother, but if we don't take Hukou as soon as possible, we don't know when the battle of Jiujiang will be fought. ”

"Don't worry, absolutely not!" Zeng Guofan said with great confidence: "First, the main force of Changmao will never return to Jiangxi in the short term, because Changmao has broken through the two large camps in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, and is taking advantage of the situation to develop in the rich land of southern Jiangsu. ”

"Second, even if the Shizi Battalion goes south to grab credit, it won't be able to grab much credit! Li Wenan is weak and cautious, not aggressive, Li Hongzhang is ambitious, but unfortunately that kid is still too tender and too tender on the battlefield, and Wu Chaoyue likes to steal and play tricks with soldiers, but unfortunately he does not have Wu Chaoyue's strong strength as the foundation, and occasionally he can win a few victories. ”

"As for the third." Speaking of this, Zeng Guofan smiled slightly and said: "I can't take Hukou Jiujiang for a long time, it's not us who is in a hurry, it's Wu Chaoyue." Because no matter how calm he is, the imperial court will definitely force him to send troops to Jiangxi, encircle Wei and save Zhao, and share the pressure on the two battlefields of southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu. ”

Analyzing this, Zeng Guofan inevitably smiled even more happily, and said: "At that time, unless Wu Chaoyue is willing to give up his Hubei nest and personally lead the army out of the province to fight, he can only send other generals to lead the army to fight." At that time, no matter who he sends, there will still be only one person with the highest official position on the Jiujiang battlefield, and that is the old man! ”

Zeng Guoquan and Zeng Guohuang brothers finally really came to their senses, admiring their brother's scheming and city, they hurriedly praised their brother in unison for his cleverness, strategizing, and winning a thousand miles. Zeng Guofan, on the other hand, calmly accepted the worship of his younger brothers, and said with a smile: "Weiting, don't you like to be more patient?" Let's compare. ”

ps: Regarding Zeng Guofan's evaluation of Li Hongzhang in this chapter, don't say that the author is belittling Zeng Guofan's ability to connoisseurship, Li Hongzhang was able to establish the Huai Army to show his prominence on the battlefield, one relied on Shanghai's tariffs, as well as the advanced weapons sold to Shanghai by Western powers, and the other relied on the support of the Manchu court, in order to prevent the Hunan army from rebelling, the Manchu court deliberately supported Li Hongzhang's Huai army to grow rapidly. As for Li Hongzhang's real military ability, hehe, friends will know that after reading the history books, they are not much stronger than Teacher Zeng, who can only fight in a stupid battle. (To be continued.) )