A few days later, Jiang Zhongyuan received a report that Qing reinforcements from Yuezhou and Hubei had rushed to the northwest of Nanchang City. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 The info reinforcements were Xiang Yong of Zeng Guofan, with Chu Ruhang commanding 2,000 sailors and Taqibu commanding 2,000 troops, a total of eight battalions, to rescue Nanchang.

Zhang Fu was overjoyed when he heard the report and sighed: "Disheng is worthy of being a friend of the same family, and he is the only one who leads the crowd to rescue." ”

It turned out that this Zhang Fu and Zeng Guofan were the protégés of Mu Zhang'a, the Minister of Military Aircraft, and they were both Jishi of the Hanlin Academy, and they had a great friendship. In addition, Zeng Guofan also knew that once the Taiping army captured Nanchang, it would occupy half of Xixi, plus the capture army occupied Changsha, the two armies bordered each other, forming a siege of Yuezhou and Hubei. At that time, the Taiping army will go up the Yangtze River, and Wuchang and Yuezhou will be difficult to protect.

Therefore, he will send his generals to command the land and water armies and gallop to help Nanchang.

At that moment, Jiang Zhongyuan contacted Chu Ruhang and Taqibu, and agreed to flank the Taiping troops stationed in the east and north of Nanchang together.

That night, the east gate of Nanchang City quietly opened, and a large group of Qing troops swarmed out, and under the leadership of Chu Yong, they brazenly rushed to the Taiping military camp three miles away.

Outside the city, the surrounding houses, Jiang Zhongyuan sent people to burn them down long before the Taiping army came to attack Nanchang, and the Taiping army lost cover and had to camp in a few small woods outside the city.

The Qing soldiers rushed in at night and stayed close to the Taiping military camp tent before being discovered by the sentries. Jiang Zhongyuan roared, and four thousand Chu Yong shouted in unison to kill the enemy, and the Qing soldiers behind also increased their courage and followed one after another.

For a time, the sound of killing shook the sky.

The soldiers of the Taiping Army did not expect that the besieged Qing Demon would dare to kill, fortunately, the discipline was strict, and the weapons did not leave their hands, so they were not caught off guard, but in the middle of the night, they heard the sound of killing all around, and they were still a little panicked.

Lai Hanying ordered to hold the camp tightly and not to attack indiscriminately. But Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong was extremely brave, and viciously threw the torch in his hand into the Taiping military camp tent and set fire to it in all directions.

In addition, behind the camp tent, Chu Ruhang and Taqibu led 4,000 Xiang Yong, armed with bird guns and firing everywhere, the Taiping army suddenly couldn't bear it, and the camp tent was rushed open a gap. The fierce Chu Yong bravely moved forward, rushed into the camp of the Taiping army, slashed and killed in all directions, shot shots, although the Taiping army fought back, but lacked a strong organization, and was attacked by both ends, and was immediately defeated.

In desperation, Lai Hanying personally led hundreds of guards to break off, and let Tang Zhengcai lead thousands of Taiping troops to abandon their camps and retreat to the northeast. After retreating, he retreated for dozens of miles, walked for a day and a night, and fled all the way to Poyang Lake, where Tang Zhengcai's 2,000 sailors were stationed, barely stopping the defeat.

At this time, I happened to meet the 5,000 Taiping army led by Zeng Tianyang, and the Taiping army increased greatly.

Lai Hanying took the opportunity to let Tang Zhengcai and Zeng Tianyang lead 8,000 Taiping troops to ambush in the woods outside Changyi Town, and he himself led the Taiping soldiers to abandon their armor and continue to flee north.

Jiang Zhongyuan's second brother Jiang Zhongji led 2,000 Chu Yong, together with the 2,000 Xiang Yong of Taqib, and rushed into Changyi Town.

Zeng Tianyang and Tang Zhengcai waited for the Qing army to enter the town, and suddenly killed from the mountains and forests on both sides of the town.

Lai Hanying led the Taiping army back to kill, Jiang Zhongji, who rushed to the front, could not retreat, and was surrounded by the Taiping army soldiers, although the brave Jiang Zhongji slashed more than ten people in a row, but his strength was not enough, and he was stabbed in the body by dozens of spears of the swarming Taiping army, and died tragically on the spot.

Taqib, who was rushing behind, saw that this was wrong, and hurriedly ordered Xiang Yong to retreat, but he had already entered the town, where was there any time? At this critical moment of life and death, the blood relationship of all Xiangyong's family played a role, and the clansmen worked together to move forward bravely.

The Taiping Army, which originally wanted to encircle and annihilate all the Qing troops, could not suppress Xiang Yong's counterattack, and was opened several gaps by Xiang Yong in a row.

The Qing army suffered heavy losses in this battle. 2,000 Chu Yong, most of them were lost, nearly 1,000 casualties, and the main general Jiang Zhongji was also killed in battle; Xiang Yong also lost more than 400 people, and Taqib and Xiang Yong were also wounded.

However, the siege of Nanchang City of the Qing army was finally resolved.

Soon, news came from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that Yang Xiuqing, the king of the East, failed to capture Nanchang with Lai Hanying's troops, and was transferred back to Tianjing.

The 15,000 Taiping troops besieging Nanchang, of which there were only more than 12,000 left, also evacuated Nanchang Mansion, and temporarily had Zeng Tianyang as the main general and Tang Zhengcai as the deputy general, and went north to capture Jiujiang.

At the same time, Tianjing decided to send Wei Changhui, the king of the north, to Anqing to preside over a major event of the western expedition. Yang Xiuqing specially ordered Guozong Shi Xiangzhen and Wei Jun to lead 5,000 Taiping troops to Jiujiang through Anqing, preparing to join Zeng Tianyang's 12,000 Taiping troops and continue to attack in Mubei, especially in Wuchang.

When the news came, Lai Hanying was naturally depressed and dissatisfied. But in desperation, he had to lead more than 100 guards to rush back to Tianjing and cry to the king of heaven.

In the city of Nanchang, everyone is happy.

It turned out that Xianfeng heard that the siege of Nanchang had been lifted, and Longyan was happy, and immediately ordered a commendation for the cadres. He really needed a win.

Even if it was only the temporary relief of Nanchang City, it was promoted by Zhang Fu as a big victory. Xianfeng was naturally happy to see it, and he needed a victory to inspire the Qing court, which had no morale and was shrouded in shadows.

So, on the eighth day of the Taiping army's evacuation of Nanchang Mansion, the 800-mile expedited horse arrived at Nanchang City with Xianfeng's holy decree.

Xianfeng took Zhang Fu's dedication to Nanchang City and restored his post as governor of Jiangxi. Jiang Zhongyuan, who had made the greatest contribution and was promoted from the prefect to the envoy of Mubei at the beginning of the year, was appointed governor of Anhui, hoping that Jiang Zhongyuan could lead Chu Yong to recover Anqing earlier.

The other Taqibu were also promoted to lieutenant generals, and Jiang Zhongji, who died in battle, was posthumously given the rank of Taoist, and the rest of the squires who assisted in defending the city were also rewarded.

At this moment, Chen Yucheng led more than 11,000 people from the Third Division of the First Division from Ruizhou Mansion in the southwest, suddenly killed, rushed to the southwest side of Nanchang City day and night, and camped on the side of the Gan River. Peng Yulin led 8,000 people from the 7th Division of the First Division from Fengcheng in the south, and also along the Ganjiang River, to the outside of Nanchang City, and camped four miles southeast of the city.

Zhang Fu was shocked and hurriedly asked Ji Jiang Zhongyuan.

Jiang Zhongyuan, who lost his second brother, did not have the slightest joy of being promoted, he held back his sadness, prepared to repeat the old plan, and carried out a night attack when the captured army had just arrived in Nanchang and the camp was not stable.

He chose Peng Yulin, who had fewer troops.

That night, Jiang Zhongyuan asked Taqibu to lead 3,000 Xiang Yong in front, and he personally led thousands of Chu Yong to attack the camp of the Seventh Division.

It was still a rocket, and the two rounds of rockets set the battalion of the Seventh Division on fire everywhere, and the camp tent was burned to the point of crackling, but there was only the crackling sound of fire, and no one was crying and fleeing.

"It's not good, I'm afraid there is a trap!" As soon as the words fell, suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by several loud bangs, and nearly ten earth-shattering explosions sounded in the tent of the Jiaqi military camp. Hundreds of Xiang Yong who rushed into the camp were blown off limbs and legs, and the misery was unbearable.

The old wounds on Taqib's body a while ago had not healed, and he couldn't react, and he was also knocked to the ground by an explosion, only to feel that his ears were roaring and bleeding from his ears and nose, but he suffered extremely serious internal injuries. (To be continued.) )