Chapter 144: Li Xiucheng's Troops Enter Northern Anhui (1)

On February 27, 1863, Li Xiucheng, the king of Zhong, was ordered by the king of heaven Hong Xiuquan to enter the north and attack the south, and led an army of 200,000, known as 500,000, to cross the river from Tianjing Xiaguan and Zhongguan.

In early March, the army was completed, and the loyal king divided his troops to attack, and the protector Chen Kunshu led an army of 20,000 to attack Hanshan and Hezhou in the west, and held Luzhou hostage; Gu Wang Wu Ruxiao and Aiwang Huang Chongfa jointly attacked Liangpu to clean up the back road; King Zhong from the second highness of the Zhong two Li Rongfa, Ji Wang Jinai, Na Wang Gao Yongkuan, Yang Wang Ji Qingyuan, Wu Wang Wang Youwei, Xiang Wang Chen Panwu, Shun Wang Li Chunfa, west into Chao County, Hui Hong Chunyuan, Lin Shaozhang two armies, and then from Anhui into Hubei, transfer Zeng Guo Quanxiang army to help, in order to relieve the siege of Tianjing.

On March 22, Wu Ruxiao and Huang Chongfa broke through Pukou, and ten days later, Jiangpu was restored.

Wu, Huang Liansheng, Xiucheng Daxi, said: Liangpu is obtained, the upper can be forced by Hezhou, Hanshan, Chaohu each belong to Luzhou, and the lower can be committed Yizheng, Yangzhou defense, into the peep down the river.

Nawang Gao Yongkuan said: His Royal Highness King Qiyu Zhong, the army is moving, you are unprepared to attack it by surprise, last year in November, Nawang Lin Shaozhang, Wang Hongchunyuan crossed the river Gu Wan, my intentions have been leaked in advance. After that, the journey was destined to be difficult.

Li Xiucheng said: My 200,000 army, attacking one point, not as good as the rest, what is there to fear?

Xun Tianyi Wang Hongjian said: His Royal Highness King Qizhong, all over Chao County in northern Anhui, after frequent wars, the people in the city are hungry; Today, in February, the green and yellow are not connected; As far as the eye can see, I can only see the villages of Lili, and the fields of mourning; It is really difficult to raise the food and grass of our army on the spot.

Li Xiucheng said: Brother Wang quickly purchased grain and rice seeds to help the people. The three armies were ordered to attack Wuwei and Lujiang, and go straight to Lu'an along Shucheng, and Chen Decai, Zhang Lexing, Ma Ronghe, and enter Hubei. Odi rice is abundant, which can relieve hunger.

Li Xiucheng's army crossed the river, and Li Shixian did not let go of it, leading an army of 20,000 to attack the Meitangzui Pass upstream of Jinzhu Pass.

Zhu Hongzhang saw through it and led his troops to cross to Xue Town and break through Li Shixian's old camp.

Shixian returned to the army, specialized in Zhu Hongzhang's camp, and broke it. Li Xianghe, Zhu Nangui, and Luo Fengyuan rushed to the aid when they heard the news, and Shixian was defeated and broke through.

After a short break, Shi Xianfu attacked Zhu Hongzhang's new polder camp again, and hundreds of warships went around to the south polder ridge and copied the back road.

Zhu Hongzhang's camp was not solid, and it was broken with one blow, and the army under him was rushing with wolves.

Luo Fengyuan and Zhu Nangui heard the police and came to the rescue; Yang Zaifu heard this, and also listened to the water master, galloping from Meitangzui.

The two armies fought fiercely for three days, and Shixian was defeated and retreated.

Xinweijiao victory, Zeng Guoquan was overjoyed, anxious to Zeng Guofan: the chieftain rebels, this time with tens of thousands of people, across the river and pounced, Changsheng Battalion six posts blocked and defeated, the situation was very critical, fortunately Li Xianghe, Zhu Nangui, Luo Fengyuan and other sailors Peng Chuhan, Luo Jinxian and others repelled together, regained a big victory, turned the crisis into safety. With this victory, Jinzhuguan can be safeguarded from now on.

When Zeng Guofan heard this, he said: Jinzhu Pass is temporarily safe, but Li Xiucheng's 200,000 army is approaching step by step, and he is very worried. Quickly pass on my order, all armies and battalions in northern Anhui, outside the strong walls and clear the wilderness, there is no need to go out of the city walls lightly and fight against the field. The Southern Anhui Thunder Army, in addition to leaving one to hold Ning County, Bao Chao must personally lead the main force and gallop to the aid and do nothing; Zeng Guoquanbu, don't blindly sit in the siege, in addition to attacking the city, be sure to send another strong force to help northern Anhui; Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang must urge all armies to attack and suppress with all their might, so as to divide the thief's momentum.

Ouyang Zhaoxiong, a guest of the scene, said: Li Hongzhang is already the Minister of International Commerce, Zuo Zongtang has won many battles recently, and it is rumored that he will also supervise and appease the company, and Di Shuai will issue another order, which may be inappropriate.

Zeng Guo said: Last month, I had impeached the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Qing Duan, for his incompetence. With Zuo and Li's lines, since then, the word is eliminated, and the advice can be done. The loyal chieftain is powerful, and there are hundreds of dense and sparse, if it is combined with Huaibei twist and rebellion, the overall situation is worrying; Monk Grinqin is the prince and minister of Qin, supervising the military horses of the six provinces, and I will carry out the text of the advice, which is also impossible; Immediately invite the two palaces, and order the monk king to suppress the Huaibei rebels.

Ouyang Zhaoxiong said: Recently, various battalions of our army have been frequently transferred, and there have been complaints when I heard about it.

Zeng Guofan said: I will inspect all armies and appease people's hearts.

In late March, Zeng Guofan sailed down by boat from Anqing, first to Wuhu, stopped for a day, returned to Wuwei Yuxikou, and summoned Peng Yulin. The next day to Wujiang, together with Yang Zaifu transferred to the Great Victory Pass; On the 24th, he arrived at the Yuhuatai camp and spent the night with Zeng Guoquan; After that, drive down the Jinzhu Pass from Jiuhuanzhou, pass through the East and West Liangshan, Yuncao Town, Shijian Port, Shentang River, and return to Anqing.

After inspecting the country for more than a month, he was in a good mood, and said: The thief walks in the realm of no people, and the fish walks in the land without water; The thief lives in the land without farming, and the bird lives in the mountain without wood; The way it must be poor, how can it be long-lasting, and the southeast to pass, such as Anqing, Wuhu, Luzhou, Ningguo, East and West Liangshan, Jinzhuguan, Yuxikou and Jinhua and Shaoxing in Zhejiang, this is the place where the mountains and rivers will fight, but seek these several places not to be lost, and finally control the fate of the reverse.

In the past, the Cantonese thieves came, building fortresses like cities, digging trenches like rivers, incomparably deep, and they were sloppy in recent times. And the official army repaired the trenches, which is far better today than in the past. Among the thieves, the chiefs were enshrined to more than 90 kings, each competing for the long, the bitterness and happiness were uneven, and the defeat could not save each other, and the officials and soldiers relied on the saints, three rivers and two lakes, water and land battalions, and worked together in harmony, echoing the well-informed, which is also gratifying.

The Empress Dowager Cixi took over and said: Zeng Guofan's performance was too pleasantly surprised; The way of military practice is unpredictable, and it is impossible to be paralyzed. The order was quickly transmitted, and the strict Zeng Guofan, Seng Greenqin, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Du Xing'a, and Zeng Guoquan were all in charge, and the thieves were not extinguished for a day, and the fighting spirit was not lost for a day.

Prince Gong Yixin said: The 200,000 bandit army of the loyal chieftain will attack northern Anhui, and if it meets with the remnants of Huaibei and goes south into Hubei, its momentum will be greater; Miao Lian 100,000, entrenched in Fengyang, if there is a recurrence, the overall situation is bad!

Empress Dowager Cixi said: Vo Chief Zhang Lexing is the leader of the Twist Bandit Alliance; After the battle of the Pheasant River, it disappeared. The prince of the monk Greenqin was quickly instructed to lead the Mongolian iron cavalry and the soldiers and horses of the five provinces of Zhizhi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei and Anhui, and immediately searched and arrested, and completely annihilated the Wo chief Zhang Lexing and the rest of the department.

In the battle of the Pheasant River, 20,000 twisted troops were killed, and Zhang Lexing, the king of Wo, only led 20 light cavalry to break through the siege and traveled to Xiyangji, where he was captured by the rebel general Li Qinbang.

Miao Peilin heard it and quickly asked for it. Li Qinbang ignored it and handed Zhang Lexing over to Monk Greenqin.

Monk Grinqin personally persuaded him to surrender.

Zhang Lexing said: I will punish the violence and save the people, if you fall, life is better than death!

Monk Greenqin also no longer persuaded him, so he executed Zhang Lexing Ling Chi, and together with Tang Xunfang, the governor of Anhui, he joined Miao Peilin to dismiss his soldiers and return to the field.

Miao Peilin was suddenly disappointed, his heart was surging, and he said: Shengbao is bound, happy and dead, and I have no more to rely on. What my generation has done will inevitably lead to death, so it is better to strike first. Quickly pass on my order, and each battalion will immediately store hair, and when they encounter a clear demon on the road, they will all be killed.

When Miao Peilin rebelled, the loyal king Xiucheng was supervising the troops to besiege the Shijian port without doing anything, and Xiucheng heard it and did not move.

Nawang Gao Yongkuan said: Miao Peilin is more than 100,000 people, standing in Jianghuai, if he joins forces with our army, how strong he is!

Xiu Chengdao: This capricious person, I don't know if it will be repeated? Wait and see what happens, and if you repeat it, you will be killed!

Gao Yongkuan said: The demon army resisted stubbornly, vowing not to fight, our army attacked for several days, and it rained heavily in the sky, and there were more and more sick people in each battalion, Bao Chao, Xiao Qingyan, and Peng Yucheng The four demons are galloping in, how is it good?

Li Xiucheng said: The demon army is all here, but there are only 20,000 people, and our army is 200,000, which can be fought with.

According to the name, Liu Lianjie and Taoist Mao Youming stuck to Shijian Port for more than ten days, and the food resources were about to run out.

Liu Lianjie did not allow it, saying that Mao Youming said: If this pass is lost, the state of Wuwei will not be protected, and if the state of Wuwei is lost, the thief army grain road will be opened, and there will be endless troubles. They will defend to the death, waiting for reinforcements.

On May 3, Bao Chao led an army of 10,000, Peng Yucheng led an army of 4,000, Xiao Qingyan led an army of 4,000, and Peng Yulin led an army of 4,000 to attack around Shijian Port.

That night, Peng Yulin sent the dead soldiers again, sneaked into Shijian Port, and made an appointment to fight with Liu Lianjie and Mao Youming.