The obstacles in front of the Jiujiang city wall have been cleared, and the majestic city wall is finally revealed, Zeng Guofan is not only not happy, but his mood is heavy.

Hu Linyi shook his head: "This Jiujiang is a turtle shell, the Hunan army of 40,000 people has besieged it for more than half a month, and it has gained nothing, and now Hukou has been captured by our army, and the short-haired reinforcements are gathered in Pengze, we should be prepared as soon as possible." ”

Liu Rong looked at the long trenches and camps, leading from Jiujiang to Hukou, and had an idea, and admonished: "Since Jiujiang is not easy to attack, why don't our army dig a long ditch to surround it, as long as the enemy army can't go out of the city to counterattack, the Hunan army artillery can be placed behind the long ditch to bombard the city wall, and within half a month, the Jiujiang city wall will inevitably collapse, and then the short hair in the city will have three heads and six arms, and the Hunan soldiers can also slaughter them clean." ”

Zeng Guofan praised again and again: "Dig a long ditch!" Miaomiao, can not only besiege Jiujiang, but also can draw out the elite to resist the short-haired reinforcements, according to Pushan to report, the rebellious Zuo Zongtang has been blocked by him in Guiyang can not advance an inch, Bochen and Zeng Shuiyuan in the area of Wanzai County, regardless of victory or defeat, as long as Jiujiang is captured, the Hunan army has a way to explain to the emperor. ”

The generals of the Hunan army hurriedly agreed, and they no longer wanted to go straight to Jiangning, a small Jiujiang made them tie their hands and feet, lost their troops and lost their generals, and wanted to fight Jiangning, and the Hunan army didn't know how many people were left alive.

Hu Linyi looked at Li Xubin and proposed: "Since our army has transferred to attack Pengze, Jiujiang is handed over to Kehui to be responsible, what does Disheng think?" ”

Zeng Guofan knew that Hu Linyi was complacent because of the capture of Hukou, and he didn't want to have a dislike with him, and he also felt that Li Xubin was the best candidate: "Kehui is enough to take on this position." In this way, the Hunan army left 40,000 soldiers and horses under the command of Kehui, and you and I divided the troops. You led your army to attack Anhui, and attacked Anqing along Susong, Taihu Lake, and Qianshan. I led my troops to attack Jiangxi and captured Pengze and Jingdezhen. ”

Hu Linyi lowered his head and thought about it, and persuaded: "The main forces of the short-haired are gathered in the area of Pengze and Jingdezhen, why is it difficult to dissolve the life, so let's do it, you fight Anhui, I fight Jiujiang, how about it?" ”

"Hu Gong, don't fight with me!" Zeng Guofan has the heart to perform, since his comeback. has no merit, and if he continues like this, it will damage his prestige, but he is a dignified commander of the Hunan army, but he can't win the battle! It was rumored that he was laughed at.

Zeng Guofan added: "The Hunan army's naval divisions are concentrated on the front line of Hukou and Pengze, with their help, it is difficult for our army to be defeated, Hu Gong does not have to worry, as long as our army captures Jingdezhen, the short hair will not want to support Jiangxi." ”

Hu Linyi nodded: "Okay, I'll lead 10,000 people to attack Anqing as a containment." You led 40,000 men to attack Jiangxi, and you can't refuse this anymore. ”

After the decision to divide the troops was formulated, Zeng Guofan led tens of thousands of troops to kill along the mouth of the lake to Pengze, and joined the sailors in less than a day. Zeng Guofan camped in the Dingshan area, which was only ten miles away from the Han army camp.

After setting up camp, Zeng Guofan couldn't wait to start arranging combat missions. He looked at Bao Chao with a serious expression: "Chunting, you lead the 'thunder' word camp." Attack on the front line of Longtan, which is close to Jingdezhen. The Han army will return to support the division of troops, the thunder battalion is the main force of our Hunan army, if you can capture Jingdezhen, I will celebrate for you. ”

Bao Chao's thunderbolt battalion has expanded to 8,000 people, and in the past year, because of his repeated military exploits, he has been promoted from the rank of general to the rank of general soldier: "Don't worry, the commander will live up to his high expectations." ”

Zeng Guofan stroked his beard with satisfaction and smiled, and then turned to Peng Yulin: "Xueqin, you are the commander of the sailor, there are more than 300 large and small warships, and more than 2,000 artillery pieces, what do you think of the short-haired sailor?" Is it possible to be sure that they will be annihilated? ”

Peng Yulin got up, his face was ashamed: "Marshal Qiyu, the short-haired naval division has a battleship called 'Nanjing', on which more than 60 cannons are installed, the range of the cannons is half as far as our army, and the action is fast and fast. ”

"Is there a solution?" If the previous Zeng Guofan would have worked together with all the generals to find a way to annihilate the Han army's naval division.

Peng Yulin replied: "The short-haired sailor is only powerful with this one battleship, and the rest is not to worry about, please rest assured, the lowly post has already taken countermeasures, and tomorrow the lowly post will go to Pengze and bombard the Han army camp, as long as the battleship is surrounded by a small boat, like throwing torches and fire oil on it, the battleship will definitely be annihilated." ”

Zeng Guofan nodded approvingly, and said loudly: "This battle is very important, I hope that the leaders and the generals will work together to resist the enemy, share worries for the emperor, and be loyal to the country." ”

"Compliance"

Late at night, Li Xiucheng sat in the county government and pondered for a long time, the emperor ordered him to go west for a month, but he didn't expect to be blocked here by the Hunan army's naval division, and he was worried that the Hunan army would go straight in, if there was a mistake in Anqing and Nanjing, he would not be able to explain to the emperor.

Li Chunfa and Chen Yucheng saw that the lights in the inner hall were still on, and when they came in, they found Li Xiucheng looking at the map in a daze.

"The handsome man hasn't rested yet?"

Li Xiucheng said with a smile: "The army stayed here for half a month, without an inch of advance, the commander is very worried, the two of them came very well, today the main force of the Hunan army arrives, you see how to deal with it." ”

Li Chunfa and Chen Yucheng sat down around the map.

Li Xiucheng explained: "According to the spies, since the fall of Hukou, the Hunan army has stopped attacking Jiujiang, but keeps bombarding the city wall, I don't think it will take more than ten days, the Jiujiang city wall will collapse, if Jiujiang falls, we tens of thousands of people will not be able to explain to His Majesty." ”

Li Chunfa has been fighting in the south and north in recent years, and he is no longer the immature regiment commander at the beginning, whether it is combat experience or battlefield strategy, he can no longer feel the pressure in front of Li Xiucheng, the emperor named him a loyal and brave uncle, he is also the only military commander who was named an earl, and the rest of the military commanders are either viscounts or barons, and Li Xiucheng is only named a loyal and righteous uncle, which shows that in the emperor's psychology, his status is higher than Li Xiucheng's.

Li Chunfa said eloquently, "Our army's naval division is at a disadvantage, which is also helpless, the Hunan army's naval division is equipped with dozens of red single boats, which we did not expect, the marshal has already sent someone to inform His Majesty, I think the second fleet is already on the way, but whether it can break through the Hunan army's interception within ten days, the last general is really not sure." ”

Li Xiucheng smiled helplessly: "I knew this was the case, I should have sent the army to make a detour to Nanchang in the first place, which might help Jiujiang Lin Qirong." ”

Chen Yucheng comforted: "Whether it is soldiers or grain and grass in Jiujiang City, there are preparations in front of the station, the marshal can rest assured, even if the Hunan army collapses the city wall, Commander Lin will not sit still, and the last general estimates that it will take a month for the Hunan army to completely capture Jiujiang, if my tens of thousands of troops have not captured Jiujiang for a month, what face will we have to live in the world." ”

Li Xiucheng hurriedly asked, "What is Commander Chen's opinion?" ”

In fact, Li Xiucheng does not attach importance to these 'baby soldiers', most of them are from Guangxi with the army to Nanjing, during which they have not fought a hard battle, not even as good as the female army, but just follow the emperor to serve, won the emperor's trust, and formed an army of their own, if they were not good at using foreign guns, Li Xiucheng would have sent them to the logistics to guard the materials.

Chen Yucheng also knew that the Lu Dao Yang Gun Team had never fought alone, and when they walked in the army, they inevitably heard some gossip, and they had already held back a sense of war in their hearts, and planned to prove themselves: "In the end, there will be a siege of Wei to save Zhao's strategy, please comment on the marshal?" ”

Li Xiucheng and Li Chunfang showed surprise on their faces, and said in unison: "Come quickly!" ”

Chen Yucheng said slowly: "The main force of the Hunan army gathers in Jiangxi, Hubei must be empty, if our army sends a troop and horses to detour through Anhui and attack Hubei, then the Hunan army will inevitably return to the division to save itself, and the naval division will definitely return to defend Wuchang, so that the pressure on our army will be greatly reduced, and with the second fleet, we will definitely be able to break through the Hunan army's blockade and reach Jiujiang, and then our army will have no worries, whether it is going north to Hubei, or encircling and annihilating the Hunan army, it is under control." ”

Li Xiucheng secretly scolded and was confused, he was influenced by his previous thinking, in the past, the emperor had issued a clear order for the Taiping army and the Hunan army to fight each other, and any army of the Han army should not enter Hubei without permission, but now that the Taiping army has been completely defeated and unable to advance eastward, of course this ban can not be cared about.

Li Chunfa was impressed by Chen Yucheng, he used to just love the house and Wu, the emperor loved the foreign gun team very much, and he, who was a cousin, also had to say something, that is, later the foreign gun team was reorganized into the new First Army, and he, the commander of the first army, didn't say anything! But now it seems that this new army is not just a showmanship.

Chen Yucheng continued: "Our army attacked Hubei along the Yangtze River, and entered Xishui, Huanggang, Macheng, Xiaogan, Hanchuan, and Yueyang areas to make a big fuss in Hubei. ”

The more Li Xiucheng listened, the more happy he became, he felt that it was safe and feasible, got up and said with a smile: "Since the emperor ordered our army to march westward, Ben Shuai has only now put his mind at ease, who do you think can lead the troops to attack Hubei?" He added: "How are Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang?" The two of them are familiar with the terrain of Hubei, the Taiping army has captured Hubei several times, and there must still be remnants of the defeated soldiers in the locality. ”

Li Chunfa intends to promote Chen Yucheng: "Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang are the generals of the Taiping Army, I am afraid that after they capture Hubei, they will intend to take refuge in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so we will lose our wives and soldiers, and only increase the shame of the world, or send a new army to attack Hubei, they are all the emperor's henchmen, and they will not be tempted by the worship of God." ”

Li Xiucheng secretly reminded himself to beware of Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang's contact with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, turned his head to look at Chen Yucheng, and asked, "Is Commander Chen willing to take on this position?" ”

Chen Yucheng was overjoyed and bowed down: "The last general will live up to the trust of the marshal." ”

Li Xiucheng thought for a moment and gave an order: "The New First Army will leave two divisions, led by Lin Fengxiang, and the Eighth Army will be supplemented by foot soldiers to supplement the New First Army, and it will set off early tomorrow morning, without delay on the road, and it must be attacked in Hubei within one day." ”

"Obey the order, the last general will leave!" Chen Yucheng went out and prepared to gather his subordinates to set off. (To be continued......)