Chapter 173: The End of the Western Twist Army (3)

On April 2, 1868, Governor Zuo Zongtang led an army of 5,000 troops from Zhangde.

Persuasion: Zuo Shuai shows the dew of the mountain, or is ridden by Zhang Twist; When the great success is done, beware of Zhang Twist Dog jumping off the wall in a hurry, desperate.

Zong Tang said with a smile: Zhang Twist is at the end of the road, and he must take risks, which is the best opportunity to destroy it. Passing on my secret order, Liu Songshan, Cheng Wenbing, Guo Songlin, and Yang Dingxun's armies must not leave our troops for a moment, and the distance from us must not exceed 80 miles.

Zhang Zongyu found that Zuo Zongtang was advancing alone, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed, saying that he was the king Qiu Yuancai and said: Capture the thief and capture the king first, gather the whole army, kill the left demon, and turn the overall situation.

Qiu Yuancai said: The 5,000-strong army of the left demon poured out of Zhangde and marched south to Weihui, with an unobstructed view, our army was taken by surprise, and the half-way volley was sure to win a complete victory.

On April 5, on the way of the left army, it was suddenly intercepted by several twisted troops. Zuo Zongtang was not afraid, and ordered all units to follow the previous arrangement, the cavalry and gun teams rushed forward, the artillery team followed, the infantry team and the money and grain baggage were in the center, forming a phalanx, and marching in unison.

The West Twist Army attacked for a day, and it was difficult to break the battle formation of the Qing army. It was getting late, Zhang Zongyu ordered a retreat, and when the West Twist Army was about to retreat, Liu Songshan and Cheng Wenbingdu led the cavalry and rushed to arrive. After a while, Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun also came out from the north. When the enemy met, his eyes were very red, and Guo Songlin took the lead and went straight into the formation of the twisting army.

The West Twist Army fought fiercely for a day, hungry, unable to withstand the impact of the Huai Army, and collapsed in an instant. Liu, Guo, Cheng, and Yang joined hands to chase for 20 miles, killing more than 1,000 people and intercepting countless horses and guns.

Zhang Zongyu supervised the remnants of the army, retreated to Yanjin from Weihui, and withdrew Yangwu from the west of Yanjin, crossed the Wei River, and went south into Hubei. Helpless to chase the soldiers, unable to get rid of; Along the Wei River, Wulongdu, Longwangmiao ferries were occupied, Zong Yu had no choice, and then returned to Donggu, crossed the canal from Kaizhou and Nanleqiang, and invaded Shandong.

Zhang Zongyu entered Lu, heard that Gao Yanzheng, a native of Cangzhou, was leading 3,000 salt barons to besiege Tianjin, Zong Yu was very relieved, and quickly advanced from Dezhou to Cangzhou, and the soldiers pointed to Tianjin again.

The former enemy general, Prince Gong Yixun did not dare to slack off, and rushed Li Hongzhang to lead the Huai Department and gallop north from Jingzhou; The Minister of Commerce and Trade of the Three Mouths, Chonghou Governor, led a foreign gun team to guard the city wall of Tianjin; Suiyuancheng General Ding'an, Deputy Capital Tongfuhe, and Admiral Zheng Kuishi each led their headquarters and galloped to aid in the starry night; The deputy capital Tongyu Liang quickly arrived at Yang Village and Duliu fortification.

Chonghou said: Lord Qiyu, such a layout, Tianjin's land route has not leaked; But what if a thief strikes by water?

Yi Xun said: What is the difficulty, quickly negotiate with the British and French consuls and ask their gunboats to assist in the defense. The foreign guns of our army must firmly choke the canal, the canal is dangerous, and the city of Jincheng is in danger.

Chonghou said: In accordance with the order of the prince, I will personally lead the foreign gun team to Yangliuqing and Duliu Town to fortify.

In late April, Zhang Zongyu led the West Twist Army to Duliu Town, Tianjin, and built a bridge by boat to cross the canal. Before the soldiers crossed the halfway, the foreign guns and artillery on the opposite shore came like a storm, and the West Twist Army lacked guns and artillery, and was unable to resist.

Zhang Zongyu said that Qiu Yuancai, the king of Huai, said: Our army has insufficient firepower and cannot cross the river to attack Tianjin; Mountains lie in the west, and oceans in the east; For today's plan, the only way to go south to Qilu, find food, wave the army to the south, choose the opportunity to force the river defense, and then the west tends to Henan, get rid of the pursuit of the demon army from all walks of life, enter Shaanxi or Sichuan, and then try to achieve a great cause.

Qiu Yuancai said: Qi Liang Palace, Qiu quickly supervised the soldiers, and the forward opened the way, opening a bloody road for the army.

The West Twist Army overflowed from Henan, spread and raged, and then disturbed Lu, Hebei, Zhi, and Tianjin, the Empress Dowager Cixi was furious, and ordered Zuo Zongtang to lead Liu Songshan and Guo Baochang to guard the west line of the canal; Li Hongzhang set up in Jingzhou, and the nearby president pursued and suppressed the army from all walks of life; Within one month, Zhang Twist must be annihilated in the land of Qilu; Those who delay the delay shall be punished severely.

Li Hongzhang received the order and immediately sent a letter to Zuo Zongtang: North of the Yellow River, flat for thousands of miles, it is difficult to snar, the time is easy, and there is no reason that will not change for thousands of years. This is a long-term plan. I intend to plagiarize and exterminate the old manuscript of Lai Twist, brake quietly, build a wall along the river, clear the wilderness with a strong wall, and enclose the land to suppress it. What does Ji Shuai think?

A few days later, Li Hongzhang sent a letter to persuade again: Zhang Twist disturbed Gyeonggi, and the original intention was to quarrel between the arms and the guards, and the friends of the guards and Huang who wanted to strangle, but the thieves had escaped before they could make up their minds. To the north of the Yellow River, although the terrain is wide, it is fortified on the first line of the canal, and the eastern corner of the sea is still topography. Strictly supervise the armies to pursue and suppress the day, can defeat the thief but not enough to destroy the thief, and has long been worried about the exhaustion of the army; Rather than working for nothing, it is better to wait for the opportunity to change.

Zuo Zongtang replied to the letter: The terrain is thousands of miles, the river is long and boundless, the river is shallow and the water is low, and the fortification is full of troops, and water cannot be used as a risk; This is a defense without a war, and it is very difficult to suppress and wash away the rebels. There are more than 100,000 people in Erbu, Wubu and Duxing'a, Guanwen, Ding Baozhen, Yinghan, Li Henian and other armies, plus the Beijing Battalion, Shenji Battalion, Tianjin Foreign Gun Team, etc., and there are more than 100,000 people.

Li Hongzhang sighed and said: Zuo Gong calls himself Zhuge Kongming, and after he learned from the generals, he looked for thieves everywhere, which is not a plan.

Pan Dingxin said: Qi Li Shuai, in early summer, the weather is dry, and the end will be checked, the canal Zhang Qiu to Linqing more than 200 miles of river section, dry up can be waded, Li Shuai must be sent to guard against it.

Li Hongzhang said: I immediately asked Zuo Zongtang to return to the west of the canal as soon as possible, and the thieves fled westward; Brother Qin Xuan immediately accompanied Guo Songlin and Yang Dingxun to chase away, not to give the thief a chance to breathe.

Pan Dingxin said: It's a pity that Liu Shengsan Haoran returned to the city, if he is there, there must be a good way to control the thief.

Li Hongzhang said: Liu Xingsan passed a letter yesterday, saying that Zhang Shu was introduced to the narrow strip of the Yellow River, the canal, and the Tuxiao River, and gathered troops for a decisive battle.

Zhang Zongyu and others were trapped at the turn of Hebei and Shandong, and they went from south to north, and then to the west, and they repeatedly failed to rush to cross. It was early summer, rainy and rainy, in the upper reaches of Zhangzhou and Wei, mountain floods were frequent, and within half a month, the water level of the Yellow River rose by several feet, and the water level of the canal also rose to five or six feet. The western twist war rode in muddy water, and the trek was difficult.

Li Hongzhang was pleased, that is, he ordered Pan Dingxin to open a dam in Zhangqiu, flooding the water, and diverting the yellow into the transport.

Zuo Zongtang was also happy and said: After Li Hongzhang opened the dam, Zhang Qiu went to the water surface of Linqing for 200 miles, and the gunboats were flying like drums, approaching Germany and Jing. The yellow water rises sharply, from the canal and the rivers of the horseshoe, all of them are full of embankments and lapping the bank, overflowing in all directions, flowing vertically and horizontally, the canal is a line, so it is the huge defense of Jincheng.

Liu Songshan said: God bless my people, Zhang Twist's death is coming.

Zuo Zongtang said: Li Hongzhang circled a policy, and made a good plan, but in the past, when the river was not filled with water, the lot was too long, and it took a long time, so I can't doubt it. Now that the sluice gates are open, the people can be used to build embankments to protect themselves, and they are guarded by officers and ordnance, freeing up the armies to suppress thieves. I immediately sent a letter to Li Hongzhang to elaborate on the clues.

Li Hongzhang received the letter and replied: Ji Shuai has a high opinion, I hope to take advantage of the water and geography to shrink the army of river defense and use it for pursuit. Jinling is goodbye, and it is five years; Is Ji Shuai okay? Hongzhang was very concerned, chose a place to meet, and talked at night.