Luzhou was solidified, and Yang Xiuqing ordered Xia Guan and Deputy Prime Minister Zeng Lichang, Grace Prime Minister Chen Shibao, and Winter Official and Deputy Prime Minister Xu Zongyang to command 8,000 troops, and marched north to Zhili, receiving Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang. Then ordered Guozong Wei Jun and Qiu Guan to be Prime Minister Zeng Tianyang, quickly entered Hubei, rendezvoused with Shi Xiangzhen, and then attacked Wuchang.

Wei Jun and Zeng Tian raised the order, supervised 20,000 soldiers, went up the river, and arrived in Huangzhou on January 20, 1854. When reinforcements arrived, Shi Xiangzhen was full of joy.

Zeng Tianyang said: "My new Zhujiang demon, the soldiers are strong, take advantage of the victory to attack Wuchanghu?" ”

Shi Xiangzhen said: "In the middle of winter, it is cold in Sanjiu, which is not conducive to mobilizing troops; Take a break and see the demon movements. ”

Wei Jun also attached.

The army pressed the border, and the governor of Hubei, Chonglun, said that Wu Wenrong, the governor of Huguang, said: "Lord Wu is on the sacred heart, and the people are looking forward to it. The thief is in Huangzhou, which is close at hand, and he will attack at any time, how can the adult plan to resist the enemy? ”

Wu Wenrong said: "I have played Hu Linyi to lead Qianyong to come to help, and the sailor of Zeng Guofan will also be completed in the near future." At that time, the power of all Chu can be combined, and the water and land will be used together to destroy the thief in Jingxiang. Reinforcements have not arrived, so it is not advisable to go out lightly. If you have a good move to kill the enemy, you can do it. ”

Chonglun said: "My emperor has repeatedly gone out of the city to engage in battles, and Lord Wu has repeatedly postponed, what is his intention?" ”

Wu Wenrong said: "When the Guizhou and Hunan armies arrive, why not collect the effect of the flanking attack?" ”

Chonglun didn't say anything again, and was annoyed: Hubei has 10,000 soldiers, in addition to defending the city and camping outside the city, there are still thousands of troops who can go out. In addition, most of the thieves and bandits went to Anhui, and now the people in Chu Realm are sporadic clowns, and there are bandits who rob under false names, and there are not many long-haired old thieves. If thousands of officers and men are sent with the existing gunboats, the land and water flanking attack will be enough to deal with it. Wu Wenrong closed the city all day long, and he was at a loss. The soldiers are brave and brave, willing to kill the thief by themselves, Wu is not allowed to go, I don't know what his intentions are, what his heart is!

Emperor Xianfeng was furious when he heard this, and reprimanded Wu Wenrong: Blindly guarding and not trying to move forward, but ignoring the overall situation, can you be sincere? Jingxiang is a big matter, I came to divide labor, and all the defense matters of the provincial capital were instructed to be properly arranged by Chonglun, and Wu Wenrong personally led the official army out of the city to supervise the battle; If it is postponed again, he will be dismissed from his post and questioned.

Wu Wenrong hated the yin of Chonglun, and was angry and sent troops.

Zeng Guofan heard the news and strongly advised: "Although there is a strict decree and responsibility, my teacher should still be cut and painful, and he will not be able to fight effectively, and his prestige will be frustrated in vain." That is, to be blamed for this, and in my teacher's loyalty and integrity, and the plan for things, he can also confess to the world calmly. ”

Wu Wenrong replied: "I intend to stick to the east, converge with Lin Yi Qianyong, and collect the effect of the pincer attack, which is the right thing to do." Now forced by people, time can't wait, I have received the favor of the country, how can I regret to die? To repay the country with a death, there is no hope of recovery. The army of land and water trained by the king must wait for a little certainty, and then he can go out to meet the enemy, and he can't lead the east. The overall situation in the southeast, the king is alone, and he must be serious, I am afraid that there will be no successor in the future, and I am different from you. ”

Zeng Guofan was silent and speechless for a long time.

Luo Zenan and Guo Songtao both said: "If you don't save Jiang Minqiao, I have been scolded by Quanxiang; Soldiers also have centrifugation. Wuchang is close at hand, if this is broken, Xiaoxiang is difficult to protect. ”

Zeng Guofan said: "The heart of the rainbow runs through Jing Ke, and those who see it think that the atmosphere is obscene and thin; The blood of Bihua Changhong, the viewer thought it was a stubborn stone and abandoned it. My heart is like a rock, the current army has not been trained, as soon as the nest comes out, the collapse is like a tide, and everything is in vain; The country is complete. ”

Hunan Governor Luo Bingzhang was also full of sadness, and said that Admiral Bao Qibao said: "Zeng Guofan is forbearing, one does not save Jiang Zhongyuan, and the other does not save Wu Wenrong, I give Wang Xin 3,000 soldiers, but Wu Governor is it, if Wuchang is lost, disaster will reach Hunan, see where Zeng will go!" Zuo Zongtang, I have been invited many times, but I don't want to see him; Make the coin into the mountain, and then urge, don't get tired of it, until it stops moving. ”

On January 29, 1854, Wu Wenrong personally led 4,000 soldiers to pour out of Wuchang and stationed in the blockade city. It was the middle of winter, the snow was falling, and the soldiers bravely demolished the houses for cooking; For a time, the houses within dozens of miles were destroyed, and there was still not enough supply, and the army and civilians were complaining.

Wu Wenrong sighed: "I didn't want the people to compete for profit, but I came out in a hurry, and there was a shortage of resources!" ”

Hubei according to the envoy Tang Shuyi said: "This place is only more than 20 miles away from Huangzhou, the thief reversal is coming instantly, if the master of Taiwan has a mistake, Jingxiang is difficult to turn around, please return to Wuchang as soon as possible." ”

Wu Wenrong said: "Don't be commensurate with adults, I am a soldier." Brother Zifang guards the waterway, I protect the city, you and I are both land and water, life and death together! ”

Tang Shuyi said: "Although you and I are old, we are both husbands; The big husband only asks for a little sincerity; Born as a hero, die as a river! ”

On the night of February 7th, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom New Year, Huangzhou City was full of fireworks, Shi Xiangzhen, Wei Jun, Zeng Tianyang, Chen Yucheng and others burned incense and paper, and the whole world celebrated.

Wu Wenrong attacked him unprepared, and the overseers attacked at night. As soon as Ran Fu took over the battle, he practiced courage and fled first, followed by officers and soldiers. Wen Rong couldn't stop it, and he broke and blocked the city.

Guozong Shi Xiangzhen said: "Wu Wenrong is a demon, and he doesn't know any soldiers. The city is surrounded by rivers and ravines, and there is water on three sides, which is already a Jedi; The 11 camps were re-established, and the platoon was more than tun, and it was a taboo for the soldiers. Wu Demon is not dead, and heaven does not tolerate it! I and Wei Guozong attacked head-on, Zeng Cheng surrounded him, set fire to it, and Wu Demon will collapse. ”

On February 12, the snow was falling heavily and the roads were muddy, Shi Xiangzhen completely ignored it and gave the order to attack. The Qing army's camp was burned, and the enemy was attacked before and after, and the battle was crushed. In less than two hours, the 4,000 Qing troops fled completely, and Wu Wenrong, the governor of Huguang, Deliang, the chief soldier, and Cai Runshen, the prefect, all died in the chaos. The land division was defeated, and Tang Shuyi was inconvenient to fight again, so he led the water division to Jinkou to take refuge temporarily. The Taiping army went up the river and occupied Hankou and Hanyang without any effort. On the 16th, Shi Xiangzhen led the army to Wuchang again.

The Taiping army invaded Hubei Province three times, and Emperor Xianfeng issued an urgent order: Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, selected elite soldiers and Zeng Guofan, the minister of Hunan assistant regimental training, to lead the gunboats, and arrived in Hubei to stifle the thieves; Chen Qimai, the governor of Jiangxi, dispatched gunboats to sail out of Jiujiang, chose the main area, intercepted the road of thieves, contacted Zeng Guofan, and attacked up and down; The Jingzhou general Taiyong is hereby appointed as the governor of Huguang, and the capital commander Wen takes over as the general of Jingzhou; Hubei Xuezheng Qinglin was the governor of Hubei, and Chonglun, the former governor of Hubei, temporarily stayed in Hubei to assist in military affairs. The thieves and rebels entered Hubei in a big way, and Lujun was empty, and Fuji and Hechun must work together to cut off Hu Yihuang and the rebels.

Qi Chengyan, the secretary of the Taifu Temple, said: The southeast half of the wall, the thieves are extravagant, and they can only be taken slowly; The thieves who bundled the city have become the end of the crossbow, and they must be completely annihilated. When the ministers heard that Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang were two thieves from Duliu, they crawled in the snow, and their legs and feet were cracked. Although it now occupies Shucheng and other villages, it is already exhausted. The ministers thought that the people who were coerced could be appeased, and it was also a way to draw salaries from the bottom of the kettle, and those who were not appeased should attack in time and not lose the opportunity. The soldiers and horses in the north are good at cold and hot, and the weather will get warmer in the future, and the people and horses will be susceptible to diseases. The trick of the thief is all based on the earthen fortress of the wooden city, and if the lone stream is arranged in the past, the thief of the city can also get its approximate situation.

Emperor Xianfeng Naqi Chengyanyi, and then told the monks Greenqin and Shengbao: The minister and other generals will supervise the soldiers to chase and suppress the bandit generals and twenty years, always waiting for the cannon as the word, day by day, when can it be completed? And Shucheng and other villages are very different from those who can stay in the corner for a long time, why can't they approach the thief's base? Should it be reversed and passed through the wooden city? The minister and others kept it to themselves. The east and west roads are divided into two routes, and the reverse must be taken over by the Shucheng division, and the so-called outwitters such as the minister are safe?

Monk Greenqin and Shengbao received the order, and then attacked the city. Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang couldn't defend it. Monk Lingqin ordered Xi Ling'a to attack head-on, since he led a group to attack the city. Katsuho also supervised the attack from the southwest. Approaching the city walls, cannons poured out. The Qing soldiers fell to the ground one after another. After the cannon sounded, Lin Fengxiang personally led 2,000 soldiers out of the city to meet the attack. The monk was defeated and retreated.

That night, Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang led troops to raid the firearms battalion, killed Gong Nechun, the chief staff, and captured countless medicines.

The monk and the victory were so frightened that they did not dare to strike again, so they placed guns and cannons nearby, dug a ditch and dug a long trench, and covered them with antlers and trees to prevent Lin and Li from breaking through.

Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang immediately tied up the city for more than a month, and the food and drink were exhausted, so they had to break through again and enter Fucheng in the south.

Monk Greenqin and Shengbao hurriedly pulled out the camp, followed closely behind, and circled again.

Fuji and Hechun received the order, and they did not slack off, besieging Luzhou, day and night. Hu Yihuang was unable to support himself and asked for help from Tianjing.

Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang were trapped, Luzhou was in an emergency, and Yang Xiuqing was anxious; Wu Ruxiao was urgently ordered to take over Zhenjiang, and Luo Outline led his troops to aid Anhui. He also urgently summoned Shi Dakai and Wei Changhui to discuss the matter of northern aid.

Wei Changhui said: "His Royal Highness the King of the East of Qi, it is reported that Zeng Lichang's department has crossed the Yellow River in the north of Baojialou in Feng County, and is now dividing the army into three routes and advancing into Shandong. ”

Yang Xiuqing said: "This king also knows. ”

Shi Dakai said: "His Royal Highness the King of the East, Zeng Lichang is a widow, even if he meets Lin Li, it is a drop in the bucket. Please ask His Royal Highness the East King to issue an edict and order Lin Fengxiang and others to return to the south. ”

Yang Xiuqing pondered for a long time and said: "Zeng Lichang overcame all the way, and crossed Huang into Lu in one month, which is really a general's talent; If you can meet Lin Li, you will definitely be full of vitality. Shi Xiangzhen, Wei Jun and others besieged Wuchang, and if they succeeded, the kingdom of heaven would be solid. ”

Shi Xiangzhen and others repeatedly attacked Wuchang, so the troops were divided into three routes, and Wei Jun and Shi Fengkui followed the attack on Wuchang.

Zeng Tianyang and Chen Yucheng turned to attack central Hubei and western Hubei, and within a month, they advanced 600 miles, including Kexiaogan, Yunmeng, Anlu, and Yichang.

Shi Xiangzhen attacked Jinkou, sank Tang Shuyiza's ship, and annihilated the Hubei Naval Division; In the next 40 days, he galloped 800 miles, captured Yuezhou, Xiangyin, Jinggang, and Ningxiang, and advanced directly to Changsha.