Reading guide: "If it is a plan to protect the provincial capital today, but thousands of soldiers are brave, you can hold on to it." If it is a plan to defend the whole of Chu, it is necessary to prepare more gunboats, which can be used to block and suppress both. ”

"Now there is not a single boat in the two lakes that can be used as a warship, and no one is accustomed to being a sailor. If you take Yong to Hubei Province today, there will be no thieves in Hubei Province. If you gallop downstream, the thief will go by water, and I will chase by land, and if I can't meet him, how can I attack and suppress it? Thinking again, always take running a ship as the first priority. ”

An excerpt reveals the foresight of the commander of the Hunan army.

The Taiping army rushed downstream, but Wu Wenrong knew that he was deceitful and was not fooled.

Lai Hanying was so anxious that her nose and mouth were bleeding, but she was helpless.

At this time, the Qing Emperor Xianfeng reached out to help the Taiping army.

After the meal, after a short break, Zeng Guofan arranged for Zhu Ruhang, Peng Yulin and others to handle the artillery with Zhang Jingxiu, and the battalion officers also returned to their respective camps. Taqibu arrived because of the arrival of Fan Xie, the chief soldier of Yongzhou Town, and he wanted to go to Jin according to the ceremony, but he did not dare to delay in Hengzhou. Soon after the battalion officers left, he talked to Zeng Guofan about the training again, and he also led his own soldiers and Pegasus to leave. Not long after the battalion officials left, Zeng Guofan received another oracle copied by the governor's yamen: "According to the request of Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, I will reward Wang Zhu Wupin to be a candidate for the same knowledge." ”

Zeng Guofan was stunned, and he didn't know why Luo Bingzhang wanted to bypass himself and protect Wang Zhu alone.

After sending the copied oracle to Luo Zenan, and arranging the water and land camps to stop, Zeng Guofan locked himself in the signing room and began to prepare a folding draft for the imperial court.

Before Zeng Guofan planned to fold the manuscript, he had the habit of drinking tea and meditating. Whenever this happens, the soldiers are guarding the door, and there is no major or special matter, and they usually do not see him. The ink should be studied and laid out in advance by the attendants, and the pen and paper should be laid out for later use. Tea is not drunk bowl after bowl.

Zeng Guofan first picked up all the recent oracles for reference.

After reading the oracles one by one, Zeng Guofan asked his soldiers to make a bowl of new tea, then he picked up the pen, looked at the paper on the table with his eyes, groaned for a while, lifted the cuffs up, and began to write. The title of the excerpt is: Postpone the trip to Hubei and please prepare for the warship fold.

The excerpt wrote: "Wuchang has now been lifted, and Weichen has postponed his visit to Hubei, and please prepare warships, work together to block and suppress, congratulate and listen to the music, and pray for the holy affairs." Before the minister, he sent troops to rescue Hubei, that is, he sent a letter to the minister, and sent the alternate prefect Zhang Chengshi and the candidate Tongzhi Wang Juguan to take Xiangyong 3,000 to Hubei. The minister should obey the decree and set out immediately. However, in the past few days, we have received letters from the Fuchen and reports from various places, all of which say that the thief ships have been sailing downstream one after another since the fifth day of October. Recently, all of them have fallen, Hanyang Prefecture has been recovered, the river is cleared, and Wuchang has been relieved. According to this, the division that aided Hubei could be slowed down a little. Because of the thought that the bandits take the boat as their nest, take the plunder as their career, thousands of ships, cruising back and forth, the Yangtze River for thousands of miles, let it run rampant, and our soldiers dare not ask anyone. In the former in Jiangxi, near Hubei, where the area near the water, the city is not destroyed; The ports are all ravaged, and the large and small ships are all plundered, all of which are not prepared by the boat masters, and there is nothing to do. The soldiers are brave but protect the provincial city, and they have no time to take care of the water. The bandit was plundered and fled, but he was not severely punished. Today, if it is a plan to protect the provincial capital, but thousands of soldiers are brave, they can hold on. If it is a plan to defend the whole of Chu, it is necessary to prepare more gunboats, which can be used to block and suppress both. In the summer, he sent an edict to order the governor of the two lakes to prepare a boat division, and Zhang Liangji, the governor of the department, built ships and transported cannons, and tried to set it up, but it was not yet complete. Suddenly, on September 13, Tianjia Town was lost, all warships and gun emplacements were owned by thieves, and Shui Yong was scattered, making it difficult to reunite. Now there is not a single boat in the two lakes that can be used as a warship, and no one is accustomed to sailors. If you take Yong to Hubei Province today, there will be no thieves in Hubei Province. If you gallop downstream, the thief will go by water, and I will chase by land, and if I can't meet him, how can I attack and suppress it? Thinking again, always take running a ship as the first priority. The minister is now stationed in Hengzhou, that is, in Hengcheng to try to catch up. The wood of Hunan was thin and brittle, and the hull was bulky, which was not enough for a warship. However, the construction on the spot, how can you choose in a hurry, you can buy a folk fishing hook boat at a price, and then renovate, add a gun position, and coach Shui Yong. If the boat master has a clue, it will be clear. The minister personally led it and sailed downstream. At present, there are no thieves in Wuchang, and the minister's trip to Hubei can be postponed. I didn't dare to be strict because of the edict, and I was a little stubborn. There is no need to go away, that is, the ministers and the ministers sent 3,000 Xiangyong to aid Hubei, and they can also take advantage of the delay. The march was 3,000, and the monthly cost was nearly 20,000, although the southern province could barely cope with it, it was really difficult for Hubei Province to supply and support, so it was impossible not to make an overall plan. The minister has consulted the ministers, and ordered Zhang Chengshi and Wang Zhu Wuyong, who were brave, to set off. If the gunboat has not yet been completed, and the anti-ship still returns to Hubei, the ministers and businessmen will supervise and appease them, and they will still go to Hubei by land at any time, and they will never dare to make a mistake. If there is an emergency, even if you don't follow the orders of your father, you should also rush to the rescue. If the value can be slightly slowed, it can not be lighter than one line, and the item is vain. All the micro-ministers postponed their visit to Hubei and prepared for the reason of the warship, and the right post was replayed for 500 miles, and the emperor begged for the holy instructions. Sincerely. ”

The fold sent a fast horse to the provincial capital that night, and borrowed the governor's yamen official to prevent the hair.

In fact, Zeng Guofan's "postponement of going to Hubei and please prepare for the warship folding" did not enter the Beijing division, and Xianfeng already knew the news of Wuchang's lifting of martial law. The news was reported to the imperial court by Tai Yong, the general of Jingzhou, and Fu Chonglun of the Hubei Administration.

The two rushed to play before Wu Wenrong, mainly to sue Wu Wenrong for his condition.

The Taiping army suddenly went downstream, and Wu Wenrong had already seen that it was a plan. Because Wuchang is under heavy guards, the race is like a walnut. No matter where the Taiping army came from, they would bite it and not move.

This is mainly because Wuchang has been tired of fighting and has figured out the siege strategy of the Taiping army. The Taiping army attacked the city and did not dare to fight a protracted war, most of them fought quickly, otherwise there would be no food and grass to continue. Therefore, most of them adopt the method of attracting and annihilating. When the officers and soldiers defending the city are insufficient, they will adopt the tactic of concentrating heavy troops to attack a little. Tried and tested, and succeeded repeatedly.

The Qing army suffered through the hardships, so they began to study countermeasures, and finally found their own set of defensive strategies: no matter what you do, I will not leave the city; Even if you go out of the city, it is only within ten miles of the city, and you can echo the defenders in the city. When you run out of food and grass, you can't withdraw your troops if you want to.

The same is true of the attack on Wuchang this time, after besieging the city for more than a month, seeing that the Qing army held on to the city and fought for attrition, Lai Hanying, the leader of the Taiping army who attacked Hubei, had nothing to do. At this time, he received a piece of heavenly edict from Tianjing. The oracle was issued by the Heavenly King: "God said: Lai Hanying's attack on Wuchang is unfavorable, he is really a scoundrel, and his family should be punished." Now, in accordance with God's command, all of them have been put in prison to be punished. Capture Wuchang, God is naturally gracious. ”

Lao Lai knew that this was the usual method of the Heavenly King, although he scolded in his heart: "The poor show is talented, and his mouth is full of stinky farts!" I'm going to turn over and pick you off a layer of skin! But he didn't dare to say a word of dissatisfaction in his mouth, and had to shout like crazy: "Long live the king!" The East King is nine thousand years old! The King of the West is 8,000 years old! Nanwang is 7,000 years old! The North King is 6,000 years old! The Winged King is 5,000 years old! ”

It is undeniable that no matter whether the Heavenly Kingdom of Balance wins or loses, the nerves of officers and soldiers are not very normal.

After Lai Hanying shouted long live, his heart became more and more worried. Wu Wenrong is scheming and calculating, not half a step away from Wuchang, how can this be good? After thinking about it for a few days, there was no good solution, so I had to repeat the old trick and wave the army to the downstream to feint. Seeing that the Qing army still hadn't taken the bait, as soon as he was angry, he actually ran downstream. But there are still countless detailed works arranged, and news is reported back and forth.

As soon as he saw the Taiping army withdrawing, Wu Wenrong did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly ordered the battalions to supervise and raise the standard, and quickly strengthen the city wall to prevent the Taiping army from turning back. He himself supervised the standard, moved to the southwest outside the city and set up camp; According to his instructions, he went to the northeast to defend himself; The military standard of Taiyong was stationed in the northwest outside the city. The armies outside the city and the defenders inside the city were at each other's horns, and the defense was very opportune. Lai Hanying was so angry that his nose and mouth were bleeding, like a mad dog, but there was nothing he could do. reminds me of a family that is being tortured in the Tianjing prison; Especially his thirteen-year-old daughter, who is likely to have been rounded by the unconscionable King Hong, is even more worried.

Chonglun stood at the head of the city and watched everywhere, and saw that there was no shadow of half of the Taiping army outside the city. All around are the banners of the officers and soldiers themselves. I couldn't help but have a plan, and decided to use the matter of Wu Wenrong guarding the provincial city to make a big article.

He drafted a compromise for the imperial court that night, first saying how Wu Wenrong had been misdeployed after he arrived in Wuchang, and how he and the general Taiyong fought with reason, so that the Cantonese bandits were repelled. After saying this, the pen suddenly turned around and began to talk about Wu Wenrong's garrison after the Cantonese bandits rushed downstream: "The Cantonese bandits have been away from Wuchang for many days, and it is time to raise troops to pursue and suppress them, but the governors only defend the southwest corner, and they are not allowed to chase and suppress the remnants of the bandits with military standards, fubiao, and raising standards. The minions waited for several remarks, but they were all reprimanded. Shut the city, miss the opportunity, and hate the eternal! ”

Behind the excerpt, he said a lot of bad things about Wu Wenrong. The excerpt was prepared, and he sent someone to send it to General Taiyong overnight, asking for a joint title. Tai Yong didn't sit in the high position of the governor, and he was already angry, just looking for an opportunity to sue Wu Wenrong fiercely, but he didn't know that Chonglun took the lead. After reading it, he said five good things in a row, and he took the pen and took his name.

When the excerpt entered Beijing, Xianfeng took a look at it, and scolded angrily.

Xianfeng threw the fold on the desk, scolding as he walked, completely a mad dog: "None of the Han people are good things!" Zhang Liangji and Wu Wenrong should all be dismissed! Wuchang didn't have Taiyong, Chonglun, Guanwen, Qinglin, and a few of them, and they had already been broken by bandits! ”

He wanted to immediately issue an order to dismiss Wu Wenrong and arrest Jing for questioning. But he thought about it again, just because Wu Wenrong dismissed him without understanding the enemy's situation, not only did the officials not accept it, but even he felt that the reason was not sufficient.

He had wanted to summon a few close ministers into the palace and let them have a meeting. But he immediately vetoed the decision. He thought about it again and again, and soon gave Wu Wenrong such a holy message: "According to the Jingzhou general Taiyong, the Hubei governor Chonglun and others, since Wuchang has been lifted, the governor should have taken advantage of the situation to pursue and suppress, but ordered all the departments to close the city and defend it. etc. It's really hateful! Annoying! The governor galloped to Huangzhou and fought a decisive battle with the thieves. Otherwise, I will be severely punished! ”

Before the decree was announced, Wu Wenrong had fainted and fell to the ground. Wu Wenrong had already seen that the Taiping Army's strategy to withdraw troops downstream was to divert the officers and troops in Wuchang. Lao Lai did not achieve his goal, but Xianfeng achieved it for him at the instigation of Taiyong and Chonglun.

But the decree is like a mountain. Knowing that there is a trap ahead, walk towards it.

After a short rest, Wu Wenrong led the two armies of supervising and upgrading the standard, and drove to Huangzhou. According to Tang Shuyi, the envoy of Hubei, according to Chonglun's orders, he led E Yong to Hanyang to guard.

Before leaving, for fear of Wuchang's loss, Wu Wenrong stayed in Taiyong to enter the city to strengthen the defense, and transferred another 1,000 Eyong to garrison outside the city.

In fact, even if Wu Wenrong doesn't explain, Taiyong will not stay outside the city. Tai Yong is a sparrow fan, and in the past few days of garrisoning outside the city, he has been so anxious that he scratches the wall with his hands all day long.

On the night of entering the city, Tai Yong, Chonglun and Qinglin would be in one place, and invited an old friend from the past. The four of them fought all night. At this time, Qinglin had dragged a big braid on the back of his head, which he bought from a woman's hand for money. That woman was originally a person in a green building, and she had a hot fight with Chonglun. Chonglun knew Qinglin's shortcomings, so he encouraged her to do this business. The woman was crazy thinking about the silver, and when she got Chonglun's words, she sent someone out of the city to find a black ponytail. The woman combed the ponytail, and soon braided it into a big braid, and found a small servant to sell it in front of Qinglin's mansion. As soon as Qinglin saw the braids, he naturally refused to let go easily. After some bargaining, I finally bought it for five hundred taels of silver. With this braid dragging behind his head, Qinglin was refreshed, and immediately folded up to the imperial court to cancel his leave. At this time, because he was on leave, he no longer had the right to pay homage, and the excerpt had to be issued by the governor of the yamen.

The fold reached Chonglun's hand, Chonglun smiled, and soon crumpled it into a ball, spun it and tore it again. The next day, Chonglun sent a message to Qinglin, and the excerpt had already gone to the capital, thinking that he would soon be able to make an order.

Qinglin then began to look forward to the stars and the moon to the holy decree. But there are daily decrees, but none of them are related to him. He secretly told Tai Yong about this. Tai Yong thought that it was a matter of time before the imperial court allowed him to cancel his leave, and advised him not to worry. The more Tai Yong said this, the more anxious he became. Soon, he was really sick. It is a disease that comes out in a hurry.

After Chonglun got the news that Qinglun was really sick, he immediately bowed to the court and said to the court: "Qianfu Qinglin is seriously ill and has been bedridden for many days. Remembering that he is overworked, can he plead on the grace of God and allow him to recuperate in peace of mind? ”

The holy decree then came to Wuchang: "Chonglun gave the governor of Hubei a real book, and Qinglin left the camp to recuperate." The army under the command of Qinglin was handed over to Chonglun for dispatch. ”

This holy decree made Qinglin listen to the clouds and fog. Qinglin couldn't figure it out anyway, he was selling a fake discount, but the oracle told him to hand over the soldiers and recuperate with peace of mind. He told Taiyong and Chonglun about his doubts, and the two of them unanimously decided that it was Wu Wenrong who was behind the trouble.

Qinglin then began to grit his teeth at Wu Wenrong.

Wu Wenrong has always been kept in the dark. (End of chapter)