The Taiping army left Anqing in a hurry, and the few people who had no time to run were also taken away, leaving only an empty city. Historically, Anqing was a fortress fiercely contested by the Hunan army and the Taiping army, with a dangerous geographical location, and was an important military stronghold to hold the Yangtze River and shield Jiangning. Now as the king of the east who is in power today is dedicated to Jinling, he has no time to take care of it, so that he abandons the city and leaves. Despite this, the Qing army did not dare to approach for several days.

Xianfeng learned that it was the twenty-first day of the first month that the Taiping army conquered Anqing, that is, the twenty-eighth day of the first month of the heavenly calendar. In the imperial study, "Incompetent! Eater! The Emperor shouted as he pinched the piece. Seeing that the emperor was angry, the four ministers under the steps hurriedly lay on the ground, these four people were the crown prince Taibao, the chief military aircraft minister Qi Junzao, the minister of military aircraft and the cabinet bachelor Mu Yin, the military aircraft minister Peng Yunzhang, and the cabinet bachelor Su Shun. Qi Junzao was the emperor of the Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties, and after the Manchu minister of military aircraft Sai Shang'a left office, he was even more relied on by the Xianfeng Emperor. At present, the reason why the emperor is angry is the twists and turns of Lu Jianying, the governor of Liangjiang, which he forwarded, he naturally knows the reason, and advises: "The emperor is angry, the long-haired thieves are all dedicated to Jinling, and the Eight Banners Green Camp in Jiangnan is not their opponent." ”

"Can you be considered invincible if you don't fight a battle? Long hair conquered Anqing one day, it is good that he Jiang Wenqing is dead, and if he doesn't die, I will not skin him alive! The mediocre ministers mislead the country! ”

Qi Junzao saw that the emperor's anger was unresolved, so he hurriedly kept silent, and Peng Yunzhang and Mu Yin were even more angry, but when they held their breath and listened to the holy anger, Su Shun opened his mouth, "Your Majesty, Anqing has been lost, and it is difficult to protect below the Yangtze River. ”

"What Aiqing said is very true! dismissed Li Benren and others who abandoned the city, appointed Zhou Tianjue as the governor of Anhui, and ordered him to rush to Jiangning! Xianfeng listened to Su Shun's opinion and was deeply satisfied, and his face explained slightly: "I have Aiqing, the luck of the Qing Dynasty!" ”

As soon as Su Shun heard that the emperor was praising himself, he immediately flattered: "Everything is the emperor's sage!" Xianfeng saw that he didn't take credit, and he was even more satisfied. Although Su Shun's official position is low, he is a descendant of the royal family and the founder of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Zheng Xian. It is not rare to be talented, and it is rare to be talented and relatives! Su Shun was trusted by Emperor Xianfeng because of his aura of Aixin Jueluo's surname and unique political vision, and finally became Xianfeng's trusted minister.

"Has the decree given to Zeng Guofan been issued?" Xianfeng suddenly remembered the talent recommended by Su Shun a few years ago, and asked casually.

"The minister sent it five days ago! I'll probably be there today! ”

"So fast?" Hunan to the capital is three thousand miles, to say the least, and it can be reached in five days, which makes the emperor stunned.

"The minister sent a six-hundred-mile expedited!" After Su Shun finished speaking, he felt a little proud in his heart.

"Is he that important?" When he heard that Su Shun sent a court message to Zeng Guofan, Emperor Xianfeng was puzzled.

Lotus Leaf Pond in Xiangxiang County, Changsha Prefecture, Hunan Province is a very calm town, economically backward, and culturally in Hunan, which is at the peak of its figures, is nothing, but in the past ten years, the Zeng family in Baiyangping is good, first Lao Tzu entered the county school in the first year, and his son was also admitted in the second year, and his son was admitted in a few years. Everyone said that the Zeng family was going to be a big man, and sure enough, after the Zeng family was promoted, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and he also became a waiter. Last year, the old lady of the Zeng family died, and the squire returned to his hometown to worry, and the governor and governor all sent people, which was not ordinarily majestic!

"Get out of the way, get out of the way! The capital is 600 miles expedited! A fast horse galloped through the street, and the rider in the official uniform shouted all the way.

The rider quickly rushed to the regimental training center at the end of the street, and he didn't have time to report his name, so he called out to the steward! A pawn lazily cried, "Who? Our regiment is always in Dai Xiao......"

Before he could finish speaking, the rider waved his whip and struck, "Open your dog's eyes and see, you are a guard in the capital!" ”

Lian Yong knew that he couldn't afford to offend, so he quickly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, kowtowing and crying: "Back to the master, our regiment is always the younger brother of the former Ministry of Rites and Rites Chamberlain Zeng, and he is now guarding the system at home. ”

"It's his house that's going, lead the way!" The guards were in a hurry, urging the regiment to lead the way.

The lotus leaf pond regiment is Zeng Guohuang, the second brother of Zeng Guofan, the Taiping army, from Gui to Hunan and Changsha for a long time, at that time, the party in Hunan rose up one after another, and Xiangxiang was no exception. Zeng Linshu, the father of Zeng Guofan, was elected as the leader of Xiangxiang because of his son, and organized a group exercise, Zeng Linshu was old and old, and Zeng Guohuang, who stayed at home, naturally served as the general manager of the township, and now his brother has returned home to guard filial piety, so he naturally has to leave his position as the general manager of Lian to stay at home. Speaking of Zeng Guofan's filial piety, it has only been three months since he arrived home in October last year.

Zeng's Mansion stands in Baiyangping in the east of the town, with white plaster walls outside the mansion, and one hundred and ten buildings in the mansion stand side by side, which is extremely magnificent in this poor countryside. The gold edge blue background "Jinshidi" plaque hanging at the gate, and the two tall and mighty stone lions next to the door all show the special status of the owner.

As soon as the guards came to the gate, the doorman saw that he was wearing an official uniform, and immediately greeted him, and the rider had no time to talk to him, shouting: "Quick, please come out to receive the holy decree!" ”

Menzi knew that it was a big deal, and hurriedly led the Ouchi guards into the hall. The emperor's decree is not a trivial matter, and suddenly the entire Zeng family was busy. Zeng Guohuang, the head of the Zeng family, personally summoned the edict to wait for the guards, and sent his subordinates to set up an incense table, burn incense and light candles, and Zeng Guofan came to receive the decree after bathing and changing clothes.

"Cheng Qi, a lowly second-class guard, meets the lord of the department!" This guard named Cheng Qi traveled three thousand miles and finally saw Zeng Guofan, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

"Cheng Wei's words are serious, I am just Ding Wei's body" Zeng Guofan smiled, very amiable.

"My lord, this is where the lowly office is here!" Cheng Qi took out the holy decree wrapped in yellow cloth and preached to Zeng Men, who was kneeling in front of the offering table: "Fengtian carrier, the emperor's edict said: The former Ding Wei servant Zeng Guofan is a good official and loyal to the country. Chin this. ”

"The minister Zeng Guofan received the order! The ministers should swear to be loyal to the death to repay the emperor's kindness! Zeng Guofan slammed to the ground.

Although Emperor Xianfeng appointed the long-awaited Zeng Guofan, the distant water could not save the thirst. The former army of the Taiping Army occupied Tongling and Wuhu under the leadership of Shi Dakai, the king of Yi, and then broke the Qing army in Dongliang Mountain, Chen Shengyuan, the chief soldier of Fushan Town, was killed by a cannon, and Hui Zheng, a member of Guangtai Daoist in Huining Chi, fled. Speaking of this Hui Zheng, his daughter is the Lan nobleman in the palace of Emperor Xianfeng, Yehenara clan. On the first day of the second month, the Taiping army passed through the Taiping Mansion without entering, and instead captured Hezhou on the north bank, getting closer and closer to the target Nanjing.

Jing Yuan and his subordinates have been on the ship for more than a week, in addition to eating, drinking, and sleeping every day, they are praying and singing, and the poems are written by the sect leader Tianwang himself, some of which are written about the early revolutionary struggle in Jintian, and there are also recent new works, although the writing is not as good as that of the later Taizu, but it is also smooth and easy to understand. As for the battle, since Anqing, except for the battle of Dongliang Mountain, the other cities are almost all Qing soldiers have fled, either without a fight, or hundreds of people can break through, and there is no need for a large number of troops. However, the Taiping army had strict military discipline, and in order to prevent disturbance of the people, all personnel were not allowed to land on the shore.

The land army of the original Taiping Army did not go to Hezhou with other troops, but abandoned the ship and landed at Quarry Rock in the northwest of Taiping Province, and they would approach Jiangning by land. The second left army to which Jing Yuan belonged was also officially assigned to the land route at this time, and the commander Ji Wenyuan was also promoted to the sixth command of the right side of the palace because of the two armies under his command. Although it can't be compared with the three prime ministers of the land route, he can be regarded as a high-ranking general. Quarry Rock is the last checkpoint of Anhui Jiangfang, and it is also the most important one. Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Sun Cebing blocked the mountain, this place has become a military important place for the north and the south to fight. The Sui Dynasty and Han captured the tiger and destroyed the Southern Chen, the Northern Song Dynasty Cao Bin quarryed stones to break the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty Yu Yunwen defeated the Jin soldiers, and the late Yuan Dynasty often met the spring three dozen quarry rocks, before and after 1,500 years, hundreds of large and small wars. The reason why Quarry Rock is so appreciated by the heroes is because of a city behind it - Nanjing Jiangning Mansion!

History proves that those who get quarry rock get Nanjing, and those who lose Nanjing lose Jiangnan, and quarry rock is worthy of the name of "Jiangnan lock key". However, at this time, the supreme ruler of Jiangnan, Lu Jianying, the minister of Qincha and the governor of Liangjiang, did not realize this, and he focused all his thoughts on sticking to Jiangning City, in a vain attempt to resist the army with one city. The fugitive governor suffered a defeat in Jiujiang, and he refused Jiang Wenqing's suggestion to defend Anqing, but he didn't expect to get the news of Anqing's loss as soon as he returned to Jiangning. The nightmare did not end here, immediately after the ...... of Chizhou, Tongling, and Wuhu, the news became worse and worse, and the Taiping army was getting closer and closer. Governor Lu, who wanted to run, found that he had nowhere to go, Jiangning was his station, and if he fled again, he would be beheaded. The Governor had no choice but to take a chance and fight the enemy.

Lu Jianying's inability to escape does not mean that others cannot escape, Jiangsu Governor Yang Wending is a smart person, not only has vision but is also very good at making excuses. Originally, Jiangsu Province was to supervise different cities, and his station was in Suzhou, and he brought troops to Jinling this time to be ordered. This guy left a letter to Lu Jianying, to the effect that Changmao is powerful, and the city needs to be united, if he, the governor, stays in the city, the conflict of power and responsibility of the governor is not conducive to the War of Resistance, so in order to take into account the overall situation, he decided to go to the town to guard the Changmao attack to rush Zhenjiang, and also said that he would form a corner with Jiangning City. After reading this letter, Lu Jianying's nose was crooked, dare you Yang Wending ran away in order to fulfill me Lu Jianying! Lu Jianying was furious, and in order to retaliate against Yang Wending, he thought of a trick and mobilized all his subordinates to impeach Yang Wending together.

For a time, officials of all sizes in Jiangning City, including Jiangning General Xianghou, Jiangning Political Envoy Qi Suzao, and Nanjing Bureau of Preparedness and Defense Bureau Zou Minghe, wrote letters demanding that Yang Wending be severely punished. However, this did not curb the escape of some officials, so Qi Suzao, who resolutely defended the city, came up with a bad move, he suggested blocking the city gate, which could not only prevent the officials from escaping, but also resist the Taiping army. Lu Jianying heard that the praise was a clever move, and he approved it without thinking about it, but this can make the soldiers tired, Nanjing City is a city gate, large and small, thirteen!