Chapter 147 (2) Li Xiucheng is powerless to return to the sky

When Li Xiucheng dispatched troops, Li Hongzhang also went to Wuxi to inspect the army.

Guo Songlin worshiped Li Hongzhang and said: Qi Li Shuai, the loyal chieftain has been defeated repeatedly, and it will be destroyed sooner or later!

Li Hongzhang said: At the beginning of the year, in the battle of Changshu, Zimei waved a knife and slashed, and her blood-stained clothes were all red; The thieves' camp at the mouth of the three rivers was broken, the thieves were fighting, the six pontoon bridges were broken, the corpses were plugged into the river, and the water did not flow. If you can't catch it, the thief has no combat power?

Liu Ming preached: Qi Li Shuai, the battle of Jiangpu, the thief suffered a lot of losses, and he collapsed; Today, even if there are thousands of thieves trapping my thousands of soldiers, it is only a vain sound, as soon as my reinforcements arrive, they will be scattered as birds and beasts; The rabble, no longer has combat power.

Li Hongzhang said: Soldiers, the way of death and life, don't be careless! Our main force gathered between the Shan Mountain, the Furong Mountain, and the Baidu, and the mountain towns were connected to each other, and the camps were built to control the canal along the canal. The loyal chieftain relied on the two cities of Wuxi and Jinkui, added the danger of the canal, attacked and defended at will, and advanced and retreated freely.

Li Hezhang said: Loyal chieftains to Su in January, without a victory, if you don't retreat, you will no longer have the heart to fight; Between Suzhou and Wuxi, there is no room for retreat; I intend to immediately gather all the armies and fight with the loyal chieftains.

Li Hongzhang said: The loyal chief is the crown of the thieves, and the whole situation is returned to the West Road, and he will help Wuxi to protect Suzhou. Quickly pass on my order, Cheng Xueqi opened the word battalion and the Gordon foreign gun team, quickly attacked Tiger Hill and Hushu Pass, and cut off the connection between Wuxi and Suzhou after the thieves.

Cheng Xueqi received the order, hesitated, and said Gordon Dao: Most of our army is gathered around Wuxi, and the army in Suzhou is less than 20,000; If we can't attack Tiger Hill, the loyal chieftain will go south, and the enemy of Suzhou will pull me on my back again, won't I suffer from the enemy on my back?

Gordon Dao: Mr. Cheng is worried, the rebels are in decline, and in the past six months, there has not been a victory, so what are you afraid of?

Cheng Xueqidao: In this case, I immediately sent Liu Shiqiqi's character battalion to garrison Caozhuangkou to contain the Taiping Army in Suzhou; We will attack Likou, Tiger Hill, and Hushu Pass, and watch the movements of the loyal chieftain.

On November 1, Cheng and Ge besieged Likou and conquered it in one day.

The next day, Cheng Xueqi led the Kaizi Battalion, Gordon led the foreign gun team, Huang Yisheng led the sailors, and candidate Dao Pan Zengwei led the militia group, and the four joined forces to attack Tiger Hill again.

The Chinese and foreign coalition forces attacked on all sides, and the Tiger Hill Taiping army did not retreat, and the 2,000 Taiping soldiers were all killed.

The Taiping army was defeated repeatedly, and Li Xiucheng was terrified, saying that Li Shixian said: The siege of Suzhou has not been solved, the rescue of Wuxi has not been successful, and the alliance between Wuxi and Suzhou will be broken; How will the war be fought after that?

Li Shixian said: After the kingdom of heaven and earth were divided, the kings fought separately, and they didn't do their best! The rivers of heaven are falling, and you and I are helpless.

Xiu Chengdao: If you know that you don't do it, you will do it! Listening to Wang Chen Bingwen and Kang Wang Wang Haiyang to report, Fuyang has been lost and Hangzhou is in danger.

Li Shixian sighed: Misfortune is not a single line of blessing, we gather two as one, stationed in front of the fang, Meicun area, to ensure that the Wangting, Hushu Pass, and Changmen line are unobstructed.

Xiucheng Road: This line is unimpeded, and the connection between Wuxi and Suzhou is continuous; Quickly pass my order, protect the king Chen Kunshu, guard the king Fang Haizong, and Chaowang Huang Zilong, be sure to get out of the city wall as soon as possible, and come to the battle.

Li Shixian said: All the kings are coming, and there is no chance of winning, and the loyal brother must plan early.

Xiuchengdao: Wuxi and Suzhou are not broken, the initiative is in me, tomorrow will attack the mountain, break through in the center, and completely annihilate the demon department of Guo Songlin. I immediately consulted Chen Kunshu and asked him to rush to help.

Xiucheng said, and immediately sent a letter to Chen Kunshu: The predicament of the capital today is not comparable to the day before yesterday, and His Royal Highness should also know everything, and Wanwang Yiken came to meet, and lined up with the king to eliminate it, and swept away the demons, then it was everywhere. If this evil is swept away as soon as possible, it can be accounted for and relieved of the siege of Beijing as soon as possible. Suzhou and Hangzhou are unstable, so it is needless to say that the siege is resolved, and Chang and Xi have also collapsed, and I can't wait to regret it at that time. His Royal Highness understands this well, and there is no need to say much, and it is grateful to be fast.

On November 5, Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian joined forces in one place, and camped for dozens of miles between Fangqian, Meicun, Dongting, Hongshan, and Zhong'an Bridge, and then attacked the mountain.

On the fourth day, the Taiping army retreated, and Guo Songlin, Liu Mingchuan, Zhang Shusheng, Zhou Shengbo and others all went to Li Hezhang's camp to negotiate the attack and suppression.

Guo, Liu, Zhang, and Zhou all said that they were loyal to the two chiefs, and their donkey skills were poor, and the army poured out to fight to the death.

Li Hezhang said: The time has come, and the opportunity must not be lost; I mean, Zimei Songzi Camp and Zhenxuan Shuzi Camp jointly attack Meicun; In front of the joint attack workshop of the provincial three inscription battalion and the Haiqi Shengzi battalion, I led the gun team and responded in the center.

Liu Ming preached: Brother Ji Quan should also urge Gordon and Cheng Xueqi to quickly attack Hushu Pass, break off the connection between Wuxi and Suzhou, and break off the back road of loyalty to the two chiefs.

Li Hezhang said: The third brother of the province is reasonable, before the army attacked, I consulted Cheng and Ge.

On November 9th, the three watches, the Huai army poured out, besieged the camp of the loyal king and the king of the servants, the Taiping army hurriedly resisted, and ran in an instant, Liu Mingchuan, Guo Songlin and others led the troops to pursue, and the nearest place was less than two miles away from the city gate of Wuxi.

The next day, Xiucheng and Shixian fought again with the whole army, and were defeated again, Meicun and Xicang were lost, and thirty camps were destroyed, losing 10,000 people under Tang Zhengcai, the main general Wei Chenggao, and Li Shuxiang, the head of the household department.

Xiuchengdao: I also injured Guo Songlin's demons, I don't know if Guo demons are dead?

Shixian Dao: Lose both battles, or have no way to turn.

Xiuchengdao: There is no need to lose our morale, you and I will lead our own armies and fight separately, waiting for the armies of the king and the king of Chao.

The Huai army won two victories, Li Hezhang couldn't help but be overjoyed, and recalled Zhang Shushan, Teng Siwu, Huang Zhongyuan, and Wang Donghua.

On November 23, the protector Chen Kunshu and the king Fang Haizong led the army to gallop to, and the tide king Huang Zilong also poured out of Wuxi City, with more than 40,000 people in the second department, and settled outside the east and south gates of Wuxi, more than ten miles in length and width.

Liu Mingchuan quickly told Li Hezhang that the thieves would rendezvous, and the group would be difficult to attack; Take advantage of the new arrival of the enemy, and immediately carry out a decisive battle. Cheng Xueqi and Gordon have already conquered Hushu Pass, and the loyal chieftains have no way out; If we strike hard, the thief will be defeated.

Li Hezhang said: Where are Cheng Fangzhong and Gordon now? Does the north help me?

Liu Ming preached: Cheng and Ge have returned south and besieged Suzhou; Li Shuai also went to Suzhou to supervise the teacher.

Li Hezhang said: Immediately send an order, Zhang Shusheng led his troops to contain Li Shixian; Guo Songlin's Songzi camp ambushed beside the Tucheng River and cut off the connection between Chen Kunshu and Li Shixian; Liu Ming led the main force and besieged Chen Kunshu and Huang Zilong on three sides; Zhang Shushan, Teng Siwu and other departments, the camera poured out.

That night, Liu Mingchuan took the lead in attacking, burned more than ten camps, broke through Chen Kunshu's army, fought all night, and the Taiping army was defeated again.

Li Xiucheng was unable to return to the sky, the various departments dispersed, Chen Kunshu returned to Changzhou, Huang Zilong returned to Xicheng, Li Shixian retreated to Yixing, Li Xiucheng led his troops to retreat to Suzhou Beiwangting, from the Lingyan mountain trail into Suzhou City, immediately secretly summoned King Tan Shaoguang.

Xiuchengdao: Jiangsu and Zhejiang are still passable?

Tan Shaoguang said: His Royal Highness King Qizhong, King Cai Yuanlong, King Rong Liao Fashou, and King Chen Desheng have repeatedly attacked Tongli Town, and have now retreated to Pingwang Town.

Xiu Chengdao: Defeated repeatedly, Sioux City may not be able to protect it. Wu Xijiu, the main general of the city guard, said before that the soldiers were bitter, the money was urgent, and all the oil and salt were in difficulty. There are no grains left in the halls, and the soldiers are hungry, which is really the most fed. Half a load is over, how difficult is it?

Tan Shaoguang said: The more the momentum increases, the kings have different intentions and are panicked. However, the city defense of Suzhou is also very strong; The water of Taihu Lake flows through Loumen and Qimen, and I have built a ten-mile Great Wall along the river to connect with the outside world.

Xiuchengdao: Our army was defeated, there was no help from outside, and it was difficult to protect Suzhou City, so it was better to let the city go, march into Guanzhong, and plan another great cause.

Tan Shaoguang said: Loyal to the palace, my heart is dead, and I swear to live and die with Sioux!

Xiu Chengdao: Brother Mu is righteous, I am not affectionate, wait for me to reorganize my troops, and then fight with the demon.

Tan Shaoguang said: Negative city stubborn resistance, beneficial and harmless. The day before yesterday, the demon army attacked the city, with a hundred cannons and ten thousand guns discharged; Our army leaned on the city wall, silent, waiting for the demon to advance, and the guns were fired; Qing demons and foreign demons besieged for two days, with more than 1,000 dead and wounded.

Xiuchengdao: Infant City is stubborn, it is a good plan; However, if it is protracted, there will be a shortage of food resources, and we cannot sit idly by.