Chapter 173: The End of the Western Twist Army (2)

Zuo Zongtang arrived in the suburbs of Baoding, received the edict of the army, and said: The twist could have been hidden early, and within hundreds of miles, the minister three, the governor one, the governor three, the squire two, and the general one, and with the addition of the mansion camp, the life is not possible, and the restraint is shackled to ridicule for success?

The thieves tried in vain to commit crimes in the north, and they had no intention of fleeing south. Weichen Yi, Zhuozhou is an important place in Gyeonggi, and the generals are stationed in the garrison, which is the army of close defense; Baoding, Hejian, and Tianjin shield Gyeonggi, and the three places should be stationed with heavy troops, and suppress and defend, dispatch at any time, not to gather one side, and not all to the south; The minister immediately led the army to suppress the thief, drove the thief across the Hutuo River, and met the armies of Yu and Lu to jointly suppress and wash; If the thief flees north, he will attack it with the armies of Baoding, Hejian and Tianjin.

Zong Tang dismissed, and immediately ordered Liu Songshan, Guo Baochang, Song Qing, Zhang Yao, Cheng Wenbing, and Chen Guorui to attack the north of the thief, the east of the thief from the northeast to the southwest, and the west of the thief from the northwest to the southeast; The various armies connected with each other, attacked together, and drove the westward rebel bandits to the north bank of the Hutuo River, and chose the opportunity to gather and annihilate.

The West Twist Army arrived in Dingzhou, Jizhong, the progress was quite slow, Zhang Zongyu was very worried, and heard that Lai Wenguang died, the East Twist Army was annihilated, Zhang Zongyu was disappointed, and then said that Zhang Yujue, the king of Young Wo, and Qiu Yuancai, the king of Huai, said: Zundian has passed away, there is no need to go north, the east is the sea, there are high mountains in the west, the army goes south, and goes across the river.

Qiu Yuancai said: Our army has not fought smoothly, and the soldiers have been lost; It is not advisable to stay here for a long time, so be sure to evacuate quickly.

Zhang Yujue said: The Huai demon is powerful, dominating Qilu, and it is impossible to enter Sichuan beyond Yu; Now the only way to do this is to go south as a whole army, turn back into Jin and Shaanxi, hook up with the people, and then try to achieve a great cause.

Zhang Zongyu said: Win in defeat, retreat is also orderly, Brother Wo rate the headquarters to feint attack Lixian, I and Brother Huai fought and retreated, crossed the Hutuo River in the south, chose a place to set up an ambush, waited for the left demon to cross halfway, and hit it together, and completely eliminated a trouble.

At the beginning of March 1868, Zhang Yujue, the king of Youwo, led 10,000 troops to besiege Lixian. When Zuo Zongtang heard the news, he personally led 10,000 horses to rescue.

Zuo Zongtang's main army arrived, and Zhang Yujue did not entangle, and quickly retreated to attack the wilderness and raided Guo Baochang's military camp. When Liu Songshan heard the alarm, he immediately raised troops to rescue him.

Zhang Yujue took the battle and retreated, and went straight to Raoyang. Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang immediately joined forces and pursued at the end of the ranks.

Zuo Zongtang checked and watched the battle situation, and urgently urged Zhang Yao and Song Qing's second army to follow up quickly; Cheng Wenbing's department went to Shenzhou to block the way forward.

On March 14, Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang led 10,000 troops to Raoyang. The West Twist Army has no fighting spirit, and it is a touch to leave.

Song Qing and Zhang Yao received the order, galloped one hundred and sixty miles in a day and night, and intercepted most of the Western Twist Army at dawn. Song Qing gave an order, and the guns of the Yi Army and the Songwu Army were fired. Zhang Yujue, the young king of Wowo, couldn't hide and was shot and fell from his horse.

The king of Youwo died, the morale of the West Twist army declined, Zhang Zongyu was inconvenient to fight again, and the rest of the rate crossed the Hutuo River from the southwest of Jinzhou, and set up an ambush to standby.

The next day, Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang chased them to the Hutuo River and swam across the river.

Zhang Zongyu and Qiu Yuancai led the second army, surrounded by menacing, and attacked halfway.

Liu Songshan was fearless, and immediately ordered the army crossing the river to line up to counterattack; Songshan led the main force to cross the Hutuo River and copy the back road of the Western Twist Army. Zuo Zongtang, Song Qing, and Zhang Yao heard about it, and they also led the army and quickly followed up.

Zhang Zongyu did not dare to fight again, supervised the remnants, and retreated to southern Hebei.

Zuo Zongtang was pleased with Liu Songshan's wisdom and bravery, and immediately asked Liu Songshan to be the wing commander, and the president pursued the army.

Soon, the holy decree arrived, and the two palaces ordered Prince Gong Yixun to be the general, leading all the armies, with one power; Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang are the counselors, and they unify the army; Song Qing, Zhang Yao, Chen Guorui and Chunshou's horse team are temporarily under Li Hong's chapter system.

Zuo Zongtang sighed: Although Li Shaoquan's Huai Department entered Zhili, it was in the opposite direction, and it was useless! I have nothing to do, how dare I say more, the only way to do it is to do it with all my heart and seek help. Quickly pass on my order, Zhang Yao, Song Qing, Chen Guorui three mention the army and the Jijiang horse team of Chunshou Deputy Capital Protector, that is, hand it over to Li Shaoquan; Zhang Twist ran thousands of miles to attack, the baggage and ordnance were lost, this is the best opportunity to destroy the thief, but it is a pity.

Guo Baochang said: Qi Yu Zuo Shuai, I and Shouqing Lao Xiang camp, depending on the direction of the thief, chasing and suppressing day and night, without a day of rest. Now that the two palaces have issued a holy decree, can we rest for a few days and straighten out the soldiers and horses?

Liu Songshan Road: Zhang Twist was panicked, as if he was in a state of collapse; We are a little sluggish, or we will return to the mountains.

Zuo Zongtang said: Zhang Twist smuggled across the Yellow River from Yichuan, and I was sad and angry; Now the thieves swam across the Zhanghe River and invaded Henan, and I immediately became a commander, supervising more than 19,000 people, chasing the thieves to the ends of the earth. In order to prevent thieves from overflowing, I immediately asked the Baoding defense army to move to the north of the Hutuo River and follow up one by one; The officials and troops of Shanxi strictly guarded the patio pass, sealed the door, and firmly strangled the south of Jin.

Liu Songshan said: Qi Yu Zuo Shuai, the art of war: don't stop returning to the teacher, besiege the teacher must be que, and don't force the poor; If Zuo Shuai actually makes a full contribution, he must gather troops. Zhang Twist forcibly crossed the Zhanghe River and invaded northern Henan; Song Qing and Zhang Yao were originally the Yu Army, protecting their families and hometowns, and they belonged to their duties. Cheng Wenbing, Guo Songlin, and Yang Dingxun are close at hand, and Zuo Shuai can also be summoned.

Zuo Zongtang suddenly opened his mouth and said eagerly: Zhang Twist now lives between the canal, the Yellow River, the Wei River, and the Zhanghe River, and I immediately consult Li Henian, Li Hongzhang, Yinghan, etc., to temporarily borrow Song, Zhang, Guo, Yang and Cheng Wenbing's department; It is also like cleaning the old, drawing the river circle.

Liu Songshan said: The river is shallow and wide, and there are hundreds of dense and sparse, so Zuo Shuai must make the worst calculation.

Zuo Zongtang said: The Yellow River is a huge wave, thieves can't cross, and the south is unharmed; On the west bank of the Wei River, heavy troops were deployed early to prevent thieves from overflowing, and then disturbed the perfect area of Henan and Hubei; This area is more than 500 miles longitudinal and horizontal, our soldiers are not enough, if the thief forcibly crosses the canal, can not be forcibly blocked, Li Hongzhang, Ding Baozhen, Prince Gong, Duxing A Zhu army gathered in Jilu, it can be surrounded and annihilated.

In late March 1868, the West Twist Army crossed the Zhanghe River from Cheng'an, attacked Weihui and Huaiqing from Zhangde, and crossed the Weihe River into Jin.

Zuo Zongtang quickly ordered Liu Songshan, Guo Baochang, and Cheng Wenbing to compete; Zhang Yao and Song Qing went around the front to intercept and firmly strangle the east of the Wei River; Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun's troops entered Yu in the starry night, thinking that they were back-up.

Zhang Yao and Song Qing were ordered to rush to Weihe and seize the ferry.

On March 28, the army arrived at Fengqiu, and it was getting late, Zhang Zongyu ordered all the departments to bury the pot and make rice, and camp on the spot.

That night, Liu Songshan, Guo Baochang, and Cheng Wenbing followed and broke through more than 20 camps of the Western Twist Army in one fell swoop.

Zhang Zongyu was helpless, and quickly entered Huaxian County in the north, and then attacked Zhang Yao and Song Qing's camps. When the two armies were fighting, Liu Songshan, Cheng Wenbing and others chased after each other, Zhang Zongyu was invincible with both fists and four hands, so he had to retreat again, go south to Weihui and Yanjin, and then find a way out.