The unexpected and quick capture of Xiangcheng was naturally the result of Zeng Guoquan's thorough reform, but there was also a little bit of luck in it. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Zeng Guoquan conceived it this way before the war, Zeng Guoquan knew very well that he was known for being conservative and cautious before, and he was known for not being flexible and not winning by surprise, so Zeng Guoquan, who was determined to repent, followed his previous stupid method of siege and recruited a large number of people to dig siege trenches, pretending to be stupid and difficult to move to paralyze the enemy.

Zeng Guoquan really didn't plan to use the tactics of attacking other cities to attack the west, not that he hadn't thought about it, but Zeng Guoquan was very self-aware, knowing that he couldn't play such a difficult ingenious tactic, and made a big noise to dig and besiege the city, the real purpose was to make the enemies in the city think that he would not immediately launch an attack on the city. In addition to emulating Wu Chaoyue's tactics of blowing up the city gate with explosives, Zeng Guoquan also prepared two backup tactics of directly digging pits in the city wall to bury medicine and crypt siege in case of emergency.

Even Zeng Guoquan himself didn't expect the plan to go so smoothly, he had long heard of Zeng Tie's famous tactics of digging trenches and besieging the city, and saw Zeng Guoquan's old skills repeated, and the Qing army's Xiangcheng defender Hui Cheng was directly fooled, believing that Zeng Guoquan would not quickly launch an attack on the city, although he was not too careless, but he was not in a hurry to block the city gate with earth, stone and sandbags, to prevent the city gate blasting tactics that had been used by the British army as early as the first Opium War, giving Zeng Guoquan a chance to succeed in one fell swoop.

After the picric acid explosive package was successfully detonated under the city gate, the east gate of Xiangcheng immediately turned into powder, and in the case of not knowing whether the Qing army had placed a jack gate in the city, Li Chendian, the number one fierce general under Zeng Guoquan, still took the lead in killing into the city, and successfully led an army to rush into the city, seizing a vital position in the city for the Hunan army.

Then, although the Qing army in the city hurriedly put down the jack gate to temporarily block the follow-up reinforcements of the Hunan army, and immediately launched a crazy counterattack against Li Chendian's army, but Li Chendian's army, which had no way to retreat, firmly held the position, persisted until the second blasting of the Hunan army succeeded, blew up the Qing army's jack gate again, and waited for the rear army of the Hunan army to enter the city.

The next battle of the Hunan army is completely entrusted with the blessing of the bitter acid grenade, every time the difficulty is not to say a word, it is directly thrown out of the usual old Hunan army is reluctant to use the bitter acid grenade, and the Xiangcheng Qing army is not only in a hurry to meet the enemy and the combat effectiveness is not high, but also has long been scared by the Wu army's bitter acid weapon, caught off guard by the new Hunan army who does not know the details of the defeat, quickly broke up and killed into the city, the new Hunan army took advantage of the situation to chase and fight, quickly seized the position of the city, and protected the road for the rear army to continue to enter the city.

The Qing army's guard Hui Cheng's greed for life and fear of death also helped Zeng Guoquan a lot, just saw that he could not stop the Hunan army from continuing to enter the city, Hui Cheng immediately took the army out of the city from the north gate to flee for his life, but was attacked by the Wu army Shu Bao Department outside the city, was killed to the point of crying wolf, heavy casualties, and finally could only flee in all directions, each running to the east and west. The cavalry of the Wu army took the opportunity to defeat the cavalry of the Qing army, which had been on the supply line of the Wu army for several months, captured countless horses, and also laughed at the countless grain and military supplies that the Qing army had hoarded in the city.

Afterwards, the negligent Xiangcheng garrison General Hui Chenghui of course became Tuo Ming'a's punching bag scapegoat, although he was also deceived by Zeng Guoquan's strategy, Tuo Ming'a still smoked Hui Cheng, who fled back to Xuzhou in embarrassment, with a bloody face, scolding while beating, "Idiot!" Rubbish! Straw bag! How did Lao Tzu tell you before, Wu thieves' siege tactics are three, blowing up the city wall in the tunnel, digging a pit directly to blow up the city wall, and using gunpowder to blow up the city gate directly! Why can't you remember, why don't you remember?! ”

"The military gate forgives the sins, it's not that the last general didn't remember your teachings, it's that the last general really didn't expect that Zeng Guoquan's traitor would come to such a hand." Hui Cheng kowtowed like pounding garlic, and cried and defended: "After the thief army entered the city, the last general also took his brothers to fight desperately with the Wu thief, but the Wu thief's foreign grenade was too powerful, and the soldiers really couldn't stop it, and the last general really had no choice but to retreat out of the city with the army." ”

"You see, the last general was still wounded on the battlefield and was hit by Wu thief's gun."

Hui Cheng showed off his bloody arm that he had stabbed with a knife in an attempt to deceive Tomin's sympathy, but Tomin kicked him to the ground and roared: "Get out, get out and wait for military law!" So much grain, grass and ammunition, all of a sudden was lost by you, look at how Lao Tzu cleans you up this time! ”

Hui Cheng, who was covered in blood, ran away with a roll, and Tuo Ming'a also sat back on the chair and lamented: "It's over, Xiangcheng is lost, Yancheng will definitely not be able to be saved, Xuzhou is about to become the front line, can this Xuzhou keep ......, alas!" ”

sighed again, Tuo Ming'a, who no longer had any confidence to compete with the Wu army on the frontal battlefield, was silent, and sat in the city of sorrow with Shen Baozhen, who was also full of worries, and there was nothing to be done together. And after a long time, Shen Baozhen suddenly remembered a question, and hurriedly reminded: "Tuojunmen, you forgot to ask General Hui a very important thing just now, Zeng Guoquan's thief army was on the battlefield last night, did you use Wu thief's rapid-fire foreign gun." ”

patted his forehead, and then Tuo Ming'a hurriedly sent someone to call Hui Cheng back, who was about to take a bath, and asked him about the specific weapons and equipment of Zeng Guoquan's army, but Hui Cheng didn't dare to exaggerate, to be honest, there were no fast-fire needle guns in Zeng Guoquan's army, but there were too many picric grenades, so the Qing army couldn't stop it. And Shen Baozhen's heart was moved after hearing this, and he hurriedly said to Tuo Ming'a: "Tuojunmen, since Zeng Guoquan's thief army does not have fast-firing foreign guns, and Shubao's rebel army does not have that kind of fast-fire foreign guns that are difficult to deal with, then we are not in the field battle, is it not that we do not have the strength to fight with Zeng Guoquan's thief army?" ”

Tuo Ming'a hesitated a little and said hesitantly: "If we just shoot with a bird gun and a gun, we don't have to be afraid of the Wu thief, but the Wu thief also has a foreign grenade and a fast-fire small cannon, we can't restrain it?" ”

"Foreign grenades can't shoot far with guns and guns, we just need to stay out of close combat." Shen Baozhen reminded: "Wu thief's fast-fire small cannon has a problem with the supply of shells, and we can also use cavalry to surprise from both flanks to solve it, as long as the tactics are used properly, we still have hope of winning the battle by virtue of the superiority in the number of troops." ”

Tomin was a little shaken, but he still didn't dare to take this risk, but at this time, an urgent official document was suddenly sent outside the door, Tomin didn't care at first, and took it open, but after taking a closer look at the contents, Tomina's mouth suddenly opened and his jaw almost dislocated. Shen Baozhen saw that the situation was not right, and when he hurriedly went up to look at it together, he was suddenly dumbfounded, and after a long time, Shen Baozhen and Tuo Ming'a shouted out a sentence at the same time, "The Queen Mother of the Two Palaces is Shengming!" We are saved! ”

"Junmen, what's wrong?"

Hui Cheng, who was still in the hall, asked curiously, and the happy Tuo Ming'a wanted to answer, but Shen Baozhen was quick-eyed, covered Tuo Ming's mouth, and pointed to a sentence on the official document, Tuo Ming'a suddenly woke up and hurriedly shouted: "Get out!" I don't want anyone to know about this yet! ”

After driving away Hui Cheng again, and driving away everyone in the hall, the ecstatic Tuo Ming'a and Shen Baozhen discussed how to receive this batch of arms sent to Xuzhou, first of all, it is natural to keep it absolutely secret, no matter what, no matter what, no matter how to leak any rumors, and secondly, how to safely transport this batch of arms that have set off from Kaifeng to the south into Xuzhou City when the Wu army is not far away.

The method of sending heavy troops north to Kaifeng to meet this batch of munitions was first unanimously vetoed by Tuo Ming'a and Shen Baozhen -- Wu Jun's scouts and meticulous work were not fools, and it was impossible not to be aware of this large-scale action of the Qing army, and Zeng Guoquan was not a fool, and it was no wonder that he would not be suspicious when he saw the Qing army in Xuzhou going north with such fanfare to meet military supplies, and if Zeng Guoquan's army went all out to intercept it, the arms and ammunition that Russia provided to the Manchu court would have to become aid to Wu Chaoyue.

Quietly, pretending that this batch of munitions is just some inconsequential materials, and sending this batch of munitions to the front line with a loose outside and a tight inside, is undoubtedly the best choice for Tominga and Shen Baozhen. However, there is another dangerous problem, that is, the Wu army, which has already captured Xiangcheng, directly enters Xuzhou, so it is still difficult for this batch of arms to be safely delivered to Xuzhou City, and it may still be intercepted by the Wu army at any time.

"How about I take the main force back to Kaifeng first, equip the foreign guns and cannons there, and then go back to Xuzhou?"

Tuo Ming'a once had such an idea, but Shen Baozhen immediately reminded: "What about Xuzhou?" You brought the main force to Kaifeng, can Zeng Guoquan take the opportunity to attack Xuzhou City? When the time comes, what will we do with the grain, grass and military supplies we have hoarded in Xuzhou City? How can we continue to use Xuzhou as an advance base to attack the grain route of the Wu thief army? ”

Can't send troops to respond, and can't return to Kaifeng to change clothes, it's too dangerous to send it directly, and under the contradiction of each other, Tomina is inevitably a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Shen Baozhen had a lot of ideas, and suddenly had an idea, and hurriedly said: "Otherwise, let's divert the tiger from the mountain, and deceive Zeng Guoquan's traitor to fight Yuncheng first, let Yuncheng hold on for a few days, and then our arms can be sent to Xuzhou City with confidence." ”

"Then how can you turn the tiger away from the mountain?" Tomina hurriedly asked.

"Asked Pang Jiaozan, the magistrate of Yuncheng County, to secretly contact Zeng Guoquan and rebel thieves, claiming that he wanted to dedicate Yuncheng City to the thief army." Shen Baozhen replied: "Our Yuncheng garrison has always threatened the Wu thief grain road, Zeng Guoquan rebel thief will definitely not miss such a good opportunity, as long as he takes the main force of the thief army to the Yuncheng battlefield directly south of Xuzhou, we will no longer have to worry about the safety of the arms on the road." ”

Tuo Ming'a is still a bit of a brain, although he thought it was feasible after listening to Shen Baozhen's suggestion, he didn't rush to agree, after deducing the steps, Tuo Ming'a also found a dangerous problem, and hurriedly said: "Youdan, although your method is good, have you considered this problem?" After Zeng Guoquan's traitor arrived in Yuncheng with the thief army, if he didn't see Pang Jiaozan open the city gate as agreed, and at the same time his meticulous work found that we had a supply team heading south, would he be suspicious and suspect that this was our plan to divert the tiger from the mountain? ”

"It's possible, but it's okay." Shen Baozhen said: "Let Pang Jiaozan try his best to temporarily stabilize Zeng Guoquan's thief army for two days, and then ask Wuqing to escort Pang Jiaozan to the head of Yuncheng City to show the public, saying that Pang Jiaozan's dedication to the city has been discovered by him, and he wants Zeng Guoquan not to daydream about quickly taking Yuncheng." In this way, Zeng Guoquan will not only not be suspicious, but will definitely attack Yuncheng with all his might, and ignore our baggage team. ”

"Youdan's clever plan, just do it!" Tomina applauded and decided on the spot to adopt this plan to move the tiger out of the mountain, and at the same time immediately put it into practice......

…………

It's time to take a look at the situation on Zeng Guoquan's side, after highlighting the surprise soldiers to take Xiangcheng, Zeng Guoquan was not in a hurry to decide on the next attack target, or after posting the list of Anmin and counting the spoils of war, Zeng Guoquan sat down with the generals in the army and Shu Bao, the leader of the friendly army, to discuss the next plan of action.

The result of the discussion will definitely make Shen Baozhen and Tuo Ming'a snicker, whether it is Jiang Yili, Zhu Hongzhang and other old people of the Hunan army, or Shu Bao and Mulaqi, two Manchu and Mongolian generals who are determined to be Wu Chaoyue's accomplices and lackeys, they all agree that they should first attack Yuncheng, cut off Tuo Ming'a's army on both wings, and then enter Xuzhou.

Only Zeng Guoquan felt that he should not fight Yuncheng first, and pointed out: "The enemy of Yuncheng is weak, but after all, there is a condescending advantage, and it is difficult for us to take it head-on, and at the same time, after Yuncheng knows the situation on Xiangcheng's side, he will definitely learn a lesson, and it is impossible for us to take Yuncheng as easily as we can fight Xiangcheng." Even if it is taken by force, a lot of ammunition and weapons will definitely be consumed, time will have to be delayed, and there is not much benefit to be gained. ”

"But if we had hit Xuzhou first, the situation would have been completely different." Zeng Guoquan continued to analyze: "Xuzhou is the nest of Henan's rebellious army, and the grain and grass in the city will definitely not be less, and of course these things are ours." In addition, we have more weapons and ammunition at this time, and we are most sure of fighting Xuzhou now, if the battle in Yuncheng is not going well first, and too much ammunition is consumed, we want to turn around and fight Xuzhou, and if we don't do it, there will be problems with ammunition. ”

"There is also a very critical point, let's fight Yuncheng first, the Xuzhou thief army will definitely not rescue, because Yuncheng is not very important to them, they can give up at any time, the thief army in the city is also mostly cavalry, it is easy to escape, and the rebel army does not need to worry about excessive losses. But if we attack Xuzhou first, it is very likely that the Yuncheng thief army will come to the rescue with all their might, because it is their lair, and the traitor Tomina is also in Xuzhou City, and they can't help it. ”

Speaking of this, Zeng Guoquan smiled slightly, and said to Shu Bao: "General Shu, when the time comes, you want to seek revenge from Wuqing Ye, won't the opportunity come?" ”

Shu Bao applauded the case, and immediately agreed to fight Xuzhou first, and Jiang Yili and Zhu Hongzhang and other old people of the Hunan army were amazed, and they all asked Zeng Guoquan curiously: "Jiu Shuai, when did you become so good at analyzing the enemy's mind, don't you want to be you before?" ”

"I'm not afraid of your jokes, I learned from my nephew Wu Dashuai." Zeng Guoquan said with a wry smile: "When I was living in my hometown, I have been studying Wu Dashuai's tactics of using troops, and found that the reason why he was undefeated in a hundred battles was not completely dependent on foreign guns and artillery, but because he liked to use his brain the most in war, especially good at figuring out and analyzing the enemy's mind, and often could kill the enemy by surprise, and seize the upper hand before the battle started, which was much stronger than me, Uncle Jiu, who can only fight in stupid ways." So I've been thinking that if I have another chance to lead troops into battle, I must learn from my nephew, not my brother. ”

Jiang Yili, Zhu Hongzhang and others laughed, saying that it should be so, and then Jiang Yili smiled again and said: "Jiu Shuai, since you are ashamed to ask and learn from your nephew Wu Dashuai, can you think of another way to surprise the rebellious army in Xuzhou and kill them by surprise?" ”

"Is that easy?"

Zeng Guoquan, who was still not used to this set, shook his head, but when he accidentally saw Shu Bao's honest face, Zeng Guoquan's heart suddenly moved, and he hurriedly said: "General Shu Bao, why don't you ask for a favor and announce a fake battle plan in your army, and see if you can transfer the tiger away from the mountain, and trick Tuo Minga into sending the Xuzhou garrison to reinforce Yuncheng, so that it can be easier for us to fight Xuzhou." ”

"What fake battle plan?" Shu Bao hurriedly asked.

"Let's just say that we are going to fight Yuncheng first, and then Xuzhou." Zeng Guoquan said: "It's just that we are worried that the Xuzhou rebel army will take the opportunity to sneak attack our back, so we have to take the big road of Fancheng, first build a camp in Fancheng to prevent the Xuzhou rebellious army, and then take the big road south to fight Yuncheng." In this way, maybe Tomina will preemptively send troops to reinforce Yuncheng, so that we can receive the effect of diverting the tiger from the mountain. ”

"No problem." Shu Bao patted his chest and said: "I'll announce this fake news in the army when I go back, let those dog mongrels who were bought by the rebel army go to the informant, and lead the dog thief to send troops to reinforce Yuncheng first." ”

After the guarantee was over, Shu Bao also took the initiative to say: "General Nine, otherwise, let's just pretend to be like a point, anyway, my army cavalry runs faster, after we arrive in Fancheng together, you pretend to build a camp in Fancheng, I really take the cavalry south, pretend to open the way for you, and then at night, you suddenly take the army north to Xuzhou, and I will immediately turn back to chase you." ”

"In this way, even if the rebellious army in Xuzhou has any doubts about us taking the road of Fancheng, after seeing me go south first, they will definitely believe that we are really going to fight Yuncheng, and the misjudgment will reveal flaws, give us a better chance to surprise attack, at least it will be much easier to uproot the outer barrier fortifications of the rebellious army in Xuzhou!"

Zeng Guoquan, Jiang Yili and other generals of the Hunan army immediately adopted it when they heard the applause, and immediately began to arrange and implement it.