It's late at night, and it's inside the Seongnam Academy under the wonderful peak. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Zuo Zongtang looked at the familiar young man in front of him and couldn't help but feel depressed.

At the beginning, he was taken away by the Taiping Holy Army and his family, and then he went all the way from southern Hunan to Guangzhou, but he forgot that he also had a daughter who was married in Anhua.

Now, his son-in-law named Tao Wei has come to the door, is he going to be a lobbyist?

It turned out that sixteen years ago, when Zuo Zongtang took office as the head of Liling Lujiang Academy, the magistrate of Liling County learned that Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, went to Anhua Province to pass by Liling after reviewing the army from Jiangxi, and specially prepared a building and invited Zuo Zongtang to write a sub-couplet and give it to Tao Shu. As a result, Zuo Zongtang and Tao Shu got acquainted.

Two years later, Zuo Zongtang, who failed the examination, was invited to the house by Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, and took the initiative to form a family with Zuo Zongtang, and married Zuo Zongtang's eldest daughter to Tao Shu's only son, Tao Shu.

The following year, Tao Shu died of illness, and Zuo Zongtang went to Tao's house in Anhua to personally educate Tao Shu for eight years, until Tao Shu was admitted to Xiucai and married his daughter. However, in the past few years, due to the large collection of books of the Tao family, Zuo Zongtang has read the books of the Tao family all over the world, and he is especially obsessed with the study of Chinese maps.

From the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, to the latest surveying and mapping of the territory of the Qing Dynasty, he studied in detail, and compared the terrain on the map with local chronicles, and explained it in detail.

The mountains and rivers in various places, the city post road, Zuo Zongtang divided them into categories and drew them into an atlas. In Manchu, where the imperial examination is supreme, Zuo Zongtang can be said to be the first person to study the topography of the map!

Because of this, Zuo Zongtang and Tao Wei have a deep relationship, although they are not sons-in-law, they are actually masters and apprentices, and they are like father and son.

Now, when he was leading the soldiers of the captive army to prepare to capture Changsha City, this son-in-law quietly came to see him from Changsha City, not to tell him that he wanted to act as an internal response. And so late you can put hanging baskets out of the city from the heavily guarded city walls,

There was only one point, and it was sent by the Lord Luo in the city.

Zuo Zongtang thought about it for a while, and came up with a rough idea!

"What is the matter with a virtuous son-in-law looking for a father?" Zuo Zongtang asked directly.

"I'm just here to see my father-in-law!" Tao Huan's eyes dodged, and he didn't dare to say the reason.

"Is it that Luo Lao Thief used Xiaoyu to force you to act as a lobbyist and let your father lead troops to rebel? Or will they flee with you back to the city and submit to the court? Zuo Zongtang knew Tao Wei so well, and when he saw his expression, he guessed it and asked.

"Master Yue! As early as when the Cantonese army captured Hengzhou Mansion, Lord Luo sent troops to Anhua to escort the son-in-law's family to Changsha City, and detained Xiaoyu in his mansion and handed it over to his second wife to take care of. Tao Huan honestly confessed everything, "Lord Yue, now Lord Luo has ordered your son-in-law to persuade you to surrender, saying that he is guaranteed to recommend you as a high-ranking official above the Taoist level." Presumably, Lord Yuezhang won't look at it, what do you think of this? ”

"It is worthy of my Zuo Jigao's son-in-law, who understands as a father. In the past, it was really possible for a father to move this mind, but now, it is impossible! The expression on Zuo Zongtang's face relaxed, as if he was a frog at the bottom of the well before, and now he jumped out of the well, and there was a feeling of sudden openness.

"If you live for decades, you should do something for the people in order to leave a name for a hundred years! This is what your Father taught you to apply to the world! Your father, Tao Gongguan, became the governor of Liangjiang, and he had the opportunity to practice this learning and work for the people. As a father, only by following the holy king can he help the world and benefit the people and realize his ambitions. ”

"You can stay with your father, as for Xiaoyu, your father will send someone to rescue you. Whether she can get out of danger depends on her own creation. After speaking, Zuo Zongtang's eyes turned red, and he was obviously ruthlessly ready to give up his eldest daughter.

"Master Yue, since this is the case, let the son-in-law return to the city. It is also okay for the son-in-law to act as the internal response of the Yue army, just to be with Xiaoyu. Tao Wei pleaded.

Perhaps moved by Tao Wei's infatuation, Zuo Zongtang said: "In this case, then you can go back to the city." Think of an excuse, just say that the father is still hesitating, and deal with the old thief first. For the Father's sake, find a way to send some of your servants to your rescue. ”

After Zuo Zongtang finished speaking, he sent the soldiers on duty outside the gate to send Tao Wei back to the city.

What he didn't expect was that there were a few fine workers outside the door who had been eavesdropping, but they were Zuo Zongtang's entourage and personal guards, if Zuo Zongtang had the slightest intention of surrendering to the Manchu Dynasty, it was estimated that both of them would have no chance to go out. Of course, Feng Yunshan trusts Zuo Zongtang, but for this kind of high-level general who is not from the old brothers of Guangxi, he still has a detailed work to supervise him at any time, just in case.

On the morning of the next day, the 3rd Division dispatched hundreds of people, pulled four cannons to the top of Miaofeng, and began to bombard the south gate of the city, which was less than two miles away, and officially began to attack Changsha City.

The main force of the 3rd Division A is still concentrated on the side of the trench, especially the first regiment led by Shi Huanzhi, fully equipped with foreign guns, hiding in the excavated trench, as long as Xiang Yong in the opposite trench comes out of his head, it is a burst of foreign guns, although the effect of scattered shooting is not good, but it also completely suppresses Xiang Yong, and he does not dare to take the lead.

But just because of the existence of a trench, the 3rd Division could not attack it.

The 3rd Division of the First Division charged twice, and each time when it reached the edge of the trench for more than 10 or 20 steps, Xiang Yong in the trench drilled out and shot with a shotgun regardless of life and death.

Later, Xiang Yong in the trench did not go out of the trench, and directly hid behind the bunker and shot indiscriminately in the direction of the rushing Third Division with a shotgun, and even wounded the officers and men of the Third Division A and saw that the strong attack could not be successful, helpless, Chen Yucheng ordered a retreat and found another way.

To the north, Liang Litai led the Fourth Army to the ground, mainly because not many cannons were transported. Liang Litai also painted a scoop according to the gourd, and dug a trench more than 2 miles away from the city in the north of the city to block the north side. After that, two regiments of the captive army were sent to collect grain and artillery in the northern towns and villages, and planned to besiege Changsha for a long time.

Su Sanniang's Seventh Division, however, was dispatched by Zuo Zongtang to dig several tunnels from the Chengnan Academy, leading directly to the south gate and city wall of the city, which were less than two miles away.

After setting up a pontoon bridge, Peng Yulin's naval division occupied Orange Island and Shuiluzhou on the water surface of the Xiangjiang River, sent hundreds of soldiers to garrison it, and placed several small artillery pieces to block the Xiangjiang River and prevent the Xiangyong Naval Division in Yuezhou from coming to help.

On the other hand, more than 30 heavy artillery pieces that had arrived in Xiangtan from the territory of Hengzhou Prefecture were urgently transported to the south of Changsha City.

At this time, the 3rd Division of the First Division divided into two main regiments, carrying more than 10 field guns and more than 30 ordinary iron guns, retreated to the south, made a detour of several miles to cross the trench, and then detoured to the east, went straight to the important place of Cai Gong's cemetery, and copied the enemy's rear road from the east.

The range of the field guns was not far, but fortunately, the power was huge. It turned out that the captured grenades had long been fired, and the current grenades were later copied by craftsmen from the Logistics Department of the General Staff, but the power was much worse.

Two rounds were fired, and the shells exploded above the trench, and occasionally a few screams of Xiang Yong were heard, but it could be seen that it had no great effect. And Xiang Yong also began to return fire with cupola and alphabet cannons in the trench, and the wooden frame of the four field guns was blown down.

The attack was unfavorable, Chen Yucheng was ready to directly order the soldiers to attack, but Zuo Zongtang did not allow it, thinking that the loss of the attack was too great, even if the trench was occupied, in case the cunning Zeng Guofan dug another trench in the back, wouldn't the soldiers die in vain.

In the end, Zuo Zongtang believed that it was necessary to take Cai Gong's tomb first, and then use the commanding height of Cai Gong's tomb to set up cannons to bombard Liuyang Gate and the city tower fort in the southeast corner.

Remembering the poisonous smoke attack used by Luo Xuan during the attack on Shaozhou Mansion, Zuo Zongtang asked the Third and Seventh Divisions to mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers to collect firewood and fresh grass and branches. On this day, taking advantage of the slight southeast wind, Zuo Zongtang ordered everyone to light firewood, cover damp branches, emit thick smoke, and then the wind drifted towards Xiangyong's camp and Cai Gong's tomb.

For a while, the smoke was billowing out, shrouding most of Changsha City in a vast smoke, and the captives themselves were also smoked a lot, but they were quite bearable, but Xiang Yong, who was stationed on Cai Gong's grave, couldn't stand it.

Although the smoke is not very toxic, it is shrouded, and the captive army called the surrounding people to carry human and animal feces, and set it on the fire to smoke, and a foul smell made Xiang Yong on Cai Gong's grave dizzy.

Even the Qing soldiers at the head of the city could no longer stay on the city wall, if it weren't for Zuo Zongtang not thinking of attacking the city directly, it would not be impossible to storm the city wall.

After that, the Third Army first bombarded with field artillery and earthen artillery in turn, and then directly sent thousands of captives to wet their heads to protect their mouths and noses, and then launched a charge.

The smoke was filled, and Xiang Yong, who had been in the smoke for a long time, had tears in his eyes stimulated by the smoke, and he couldn't see how many captives rushed up at all, only hearing bursts of shouts and killings. After firing two shots indiscriminately, they were scattered by the foreign guns of the captives who rushed to Cai Gong's grave. Wang Ju, the sentry officer of the Xiangyong battalion who was in charge of guarding Cai Gong's tomb, had to give up Cai Gong's tomb and led the defeated 300 Xiangyong across the trench and returned to the Xiangyong camp.

After the occupation of Cai Gong's grave, the situation changed dramatically.

As long as the captives held the high ground of Cai Gong's tomb and set up several huge artillery pieces on it, they could use artillery to bombard the fort on the southeast side of Changsha City and Liuyang Gate, which were on low ground.

In this way, suppressing the fort of the city tower with firepower will have the hope of breaking the city. (To be continued.) )