Chapter 139: Li Xiucheng Besieges Yuhuatai (2)

Chen Kunshu, Huang Wenjin, and Hu Dingwen fought repeatedly to no avail, and the loyal king Li Xiucheng was very worried, and consulted Chen Kun's book department to specialize in the Jinzhu Pass and cut off the grain road; Huang Wenjin and Hu Dingwen temporarily gave up the waterway, joined Yang Fuqing, Lai Wenhong, Liu Guanfang, and Gu Longxian, and jointly attacked Ning County and competed for southern Anhui.

Huang Wenjin and Hu Dingwen were ordered, and immediately went south, and on October 13, they arrived at Shuiyang and attacked Xinhezhuang, and the army stretched for hundreds of miles, approaching the west of Ningguo. Yang Fuqing also went out of Jianping and arrived in the east of Ningguo.

On the same day, Li Xiucheng led an army of 300,000 troops, starting from Fangshan in the east and Banqiao in the west, and besieged Zeng Guoquan and Zeng Guobao's camp with all his might.

Zeng Guoquan resisted stubbornly, engaged in the battle for a day, and urgently attacked the departments: This year's situation in the military camp is different from the past, and it is really suffering from disease. The firearms of the thieves are a hundred times more advantageous to us, and they have more than 20,000 foreign guns in the fort with flowering cannons. The thieves are armed with many firearms, and if they go out to kill, they are only a little sure, but with the few three or four people in each shed of our army who can exert fierce force, they try their best to defend it, and sometimes they feel that there are few people, and they are more able to defend and go out? That is, one is too much and long-abiding, and the gun team must be gathered into a rank, I am afraid that its will is not aligned, the skills are not compatible, and it is difficult to be strong and energetic; the second is to dig trenches and consolidate themselves, it is easy to get out of the team, and it is very difficult to close the team; The three suspended armies went deep, and there were no soldiers within 300 miles to divide the thieves. In the battle of Anqing, Duogong, Li Gong, and Bao Gong were all on the periphery, and there was Runshuai scheduling, so they advanced and retreated freely. It's embarrassing! For today's plan, the only way to protect oneself is to shrink the camp and kill the thief. Quickly pass on my order, and all the soldiers of each battalion, all who bravely kill the thieves and try their best to build a fortress, will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver.

Zeng Guoquan finished the order and told Zeng Guofan: The thief is not what it used to be. Chief Cha Zhong and other meetings in Suzhou, all the best of the way, first gathered in Jinling Road, poured Suzhou and Hangzhou obtained Western firearms, will be combined in this branch, calculated in the whale swallowing our army to solidify the false nest.

The next day, Xiucheng issued an order to attack again, and Lin Shaozhang, the king of Zhang, also led his troops out of the city to help in the battle. The two armies attacked each other from the north and south, and the attack was flanked for one day, with more than 1,000 casualties and no touches on the edge of the fortification.

On the third day, Xiucheng sent more than 10,000 troops, forcibly crossed the Jiajiang River, and besieged Jiangxinzhou.

The food and salary roads were cut off, Zeng Guoquan was frightened, and he rushed Zeng Guobao, Peng Yucheng, Zhang Shiri, Zuo Chuangui, etc., to quickly reinforce Jiang Xinzhou to ensure that the transportation route was unimpeded.

Zeng Guobao and others marched into Jiangxinzhou, rushed to build more than a dozen camps overnight, fought for six days and nights, suffered countless casualties, and the deputy general Zuo Chuangui died in battle, and everyone was panicked.

Taoist Peng Yucheng and deputy general Zhang Shiri both said: The enemy is outnumbered, and if we hold each other for a long time, our army will decline and weaken, and the Jedi will counterattack, or there will be a turnaround.

Zeng Guobao said.

On October 18, 1862, Peng Yucheng and Zhang Shiri led an army of 2,000 to break through the fourth base.

The Taiping army was caught off guard and the offensive was frustrated. Li Xiucheng judged the situation and decided to focus on the army of Zeng Guoquan on the East Road.

On that day, Xiucheng personally came to Fangshan, supervised the battle, only to listen to an order, the cannons flew together, like flying locusts, bursting violently, shocking people's hearts and gallbladders. After the sound of the cannon, the Taiping army supported the shield and the negative board, and the ants swarmed and snaked, approaching the Hunan camp.

Zeng Guoquan commanded the battalions, and fired artillery bombardment from afar, and fired guns in turns when they were close, and arrows fired concurrently when they were closer, slashing and poking guns.

The two armies engaged in a six-day battle, with casualties and a stalemate.

On the 23rd, the prince Li Shixian led an army of 40,000 to attack from Zhejiang. Xiucheng worked hard physically and mentally, and then supervised the whole army and besieged it with all his might.

Zeng Guoquan resisted hard, people were sleepy and lacking, and dangers were everywhere. When Zeng Guobao heard this, he hurriedly led an army and galloped to help.

Zeng Guobao said: The thief uses the box board to solidify the soil in the middle, line up the edge of the trench, the open anti-cannon on the top, and the underground tunnel is underneath, or use fire. Medicine, with a bang.

Zeng Guoquan said: I have issued an order, inside the entrenchment wall, build a wall, within the two walls, add all the grass and wood sulfur and nitrate, the outer wall is broken, and you can still stand on the inner layer, then the thief will be burned away, and it will be stable.

Zeng Guobao said: What is the morale of the soldiers?

Zeng Guoquan said: Offer a lot of money, who doesn't do your best!

Zeng Guobao said: There must be brave men under the heavy reward, but after holding on for a long time, the bounty will be more, the dead and wounded will be heavier, and the pension will be heavier, but I am afraid that I will not be able to make ends meet.

Zeng Guoquan said: It's okay, the city is broken, and there must be a surplus.

Zeng Guobao said: Da Suo Anqing, the sky is angry and people are resentful; I hope to slaughter Sanhe Town, pay tribute to my brother's soul, and learn from Cheng Jiang, almost become enemies; Repeat this, can you?

Zeng Guoquan said: If you don't do this, the army's spirit will be scattered, and as soon as the army's heart is scattered, we will die. It is not too late to capture Jinling, fill the deficit, and rectify military discipline.

After the Zeng brothers engaged in the battle, they returned to the Zeng State Domain: the military here is getting tighter day by day, the road is pressing, and there are many thieves who are killed by guns and guns and thieves who are burned to death with fire eggs. As if the former was killed, and the latter continued to advance, relying on the many foreign guns and foreign artillery, the negative situation came, and our army was exhausted and exhausted.

In this compartment of Jinzhu Pass, Peng Yulin took over Chen Kunshu, the victory and defeat were mixed, he was worried about Ningguo, and he also gave Zeng Guofan: the thief army was in Linning County, Zhang Yunlan was difficult to support alone, and Di Shuai should quickly send an army to attack the thieves of Xinhezhuang, so that he could retreat, and Shuning would prevent food flow, and there would be no obstacle upstream.

Zeng Guofan received the report and said worriedly: The alarms are coming, such as in the stormy waves, the danger on the south bank of the river is really like a tired egg, and if there is a mistake, or go up to Jiangxi, or smuggle into the north bank, it is an expected thing. At this time, it is difficult in all directions, but it is also a great fortune to try to protect Jiangxi, the two lakes and the north of Anhui, and to go to the old view of winter.

Zhao Liewen said: There is no need to be pessimistic, after the Anqing War, my strength increased suddenly, and the thief's strength decreased. The thief attacked on three sides this time, which was really a fight for his life, and it was also dazzling.

Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly and said: The thief's flank attacked Jinzhuguan and Ningguo, and it was actually the main attack on Yuhuatai. Five days ago, I had already issued an order that Bao Chunting should go to Ningguo as soon as possible to coordinate the defense of Ningjun. Ningjun slowed down, and Bao Chao immediately led an army to support Yuhuatai; Zuo Zongtang quickly sent Jiang Yili's army to southern Anhui to assist in the defense of Ning County; Li Hongzhang quickly dispatched Cheng Xueqi to the first army and galloped along the waterway to aid Jinling. I don't know where people from all walks of life are now?

Zhao Liewen said: Bao Chao is very ill and may not be able to go.

Zeng Guofan said: Spread my order again, Bao Chunting, no matter whether the itch is serious or not, must go to Ningjun in person to stabilize the army's heart. From the brother's point of view, Yuan Fu is firmly choking the rain flower platform, can he get a week?

Zhao Liewen said: Jiushuai takes defense as an attack, has experience in defense, and repeatedly destroys robbers, so there should be no big problem.

Zeng Guofan said: Baimi or there is a sparse, I will transfer the three battalions of Liang Meicai from Luzhou to guard Wuhu, and Wang Kesheng will quickly go from Wuhu to Jinling; Anqing patrolled the lake deputy and the middle two battalions, and drove from the bottom at speed to support Jinzhuguan. My brother is always careful, I want to send my brother to Yuhuatai to check and fill in the gaps, how about it?

Zhao Liewen said: I am a scholar, and I am not good at fighting; Ran Di Shuai entrusted, never give up! I will go to Shanghai immediately, but I will help Jiu Shuai again in a private matter.

Zeng Guofan said: The safety of Jinzhu Pass is a huge matter, the brother passed by boat, and watched Peng Xueqin march and fight. The main forces of the rebellion are all in Zhejiang, Zuo Zongtang is in Quzhou, and Jiang Yili's troops are afraid that it will be difficult to go to Anhui; I hope that Bao Chunting will use Yu Yong again to consolidate the defense of Ning County. When the brother went to Shanghai, he quickly negotiated with Li Shaoquan, and quickly transferred Cheng Xueqi to help Jinling.