Chapter 23 War situation

The development of the situation is unexpected in many aspects.First, Changzhou was defeated on the sixth day of April under Li Hongzhang's subordinates Guo Songlin, Liu Mingchuan, Zhou Shengbo, Zhang Shusheng and the ever-victorious army Gordon. Feng Zicai, who had been guarding Zhenjiang for a long time, entered Danyang.Everyone thought that after the two armies joined forces, they would surely take advantage of the victory and go west, and go straight to Jinling to assist Zeng Guoquan.Unexpectedly, despite the urging of the imperial edict, Li Hongzhang held back his troops in the name of heavy casualties and urgent need for repairs.This was expected by Zuo Zongtang and Hu Xueyan. Li Hongzhang did not want to share the great achievements Zeng Guoquan wanted to achieve alone, and deliberately put on a show.

Second, it was the "king of heaven" Hong Xiuquan who suddenly issued a dreamlike "edict", saying, "I will go to heaven, and I will receive the heavenly soldiers from the heavenly father and brother, and protect Tianjing."Two days later, the "king of heaven" committed suicide by taking poison, fulfilling his promise of "going to heaven".Hong Xiuquan's sixteen-year-old son took over the throne, named "Hong Tiangui Fu" and titled "Young Heavenly King". As the news spread, everyone knew that Zeng Guoquan's great success was imminent, and quite a few people chanted Du Shaoling's "Youth company is good to return home", a plan to reorganize their homeland after the rebellion.And the important ministers in Beijing and the governors outside Beijing, who have a conscience and are willing to do things, are also planning silently. When Zeng Guoquan went to Jinling, the accumulation of more than ten years of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was collected in the "Tianwang Mansion", which can be used to lay off soldiers and restore the place. Of course, the income from Jinling must be used for the south of the Yangtze River and the Hunan Army, but the payment that should be paid is not understandable, which is tantamount to increasing local income.

Zuo Zongtang, for example, had a wishful thinking, thinking that once Zeng Guoquan conquered Jinling, Guangdong would become Zhejiang's salary source again.He once talked with Hu Xueyan that at that time, he would be specially assigned to play a concert, and he would be sent to Guangdong to handle donations.Hu Xueyan made a verbal promise, but in fact he didn't take it seriously. In his opinion, the matter was very vague, but it was just inconvenient to spoil Zuo Zongtang's interest, so it was just perfunctory. With the assistance of the artillery team borrowed by Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guoquan's troops captured "Longshizi" at the end of May. It was located on the top of Zhongshan Mountain in the northeast of Jiangning City, overlooking the whole city.Once this place is lost, "Loyal King" Li Xiucheng is helpless.

Zeng Guoquan used troops, and he got the word "toughness" alone. He was besieged to such an extent that he wanted to be tough, and he refused to neglect at all. He ordered all the battalions to gather from all sides, press straight in, approach the city, and attack day and night.But the real function is to cover the sound of him digging the tunnel with the occasional or ever-present cannon fire. During Jinling's siege for two years, Zeng Guoquan dug more than 30 tunnels from Chaoyangmen to Zhongfumen. , smoked and poured with water, the dead talk about everything.Once it was almost successful, the soldiers in the tunnel suddenly found that a spear had been stabbed down. In fact, it was a long-haired soldier who was resting on the march, so he inserted the spear at will. Mao was terrified at the beginning, and then overjoyed. He dug the ground and beat him hard, but his success was on the verge of failure. As many as 400 people died, all of them were Zhu Hongzhang's subordinates.

Zhu Hongzhang is from Guizhou, and among the senior generals under Zeng Guoquan, he is the only non-Hunan native.Because of the isolation, I had to work extra hard so as not to be excluded.Zeng Guoquan also valued him very much, and kept him until the title of admiral was named commander in chief, and sent him to manage the camp affairs office.At this time, he and Li Chendian, the commander-in-chief of Guide Town, Henan Province, will be in charge of digging the tunnel again. Since the eighth day of June, we have been digging day and night, and it took seven days to dig it out, fill it with explosives, and make the final attack.Zeng Guoquan asked his generals: Which battalion is the "lead enemy" and which battalion is the "second enemy"?

The generals were silent, so they consulted individually according to the size of their official positions.The highest rank was Xiao Fusi, who had already been replaced by Fujian Land Admiral, but he was still silent, so he had no choice but to ask Li Chendian. Li Chendian would rather take the lead, but he wants Zhu Hongzhang to dispatch one or two thousand elite soldiers to him.Zhu Hongzhang said: "Since this is the case, it is better for me to take the lead." The matter was settled like this, and a military order was issued, and the one who flinched would be executed! At noon on June 16, Zhu Hongzhang ordered the release of explosives.The explosives in the tunnel are as much as 30,000 catties, and the entrance is sealed with huge stones. In addition, extremely thick moso bamboo is inserted into the tunnel, and the inside is stuffed with explosives wrapped in coarse cloth, which is used as a fuse. After the fuse is ignited, there is a faint sound like thunder , but does not explode.The scorching sun in the sky is like burning fire and melting gold, and there is no reason why the explosives will not burn. Thousands of soldiers sweated and held their breath, waiting anxiously.After an hour of this, even the faint sound of thunder disappeared underground.

In the past, there were often cases where explosives could not be triggered, and this time it seemed to be in vain.The soldiers of each battalion were all disappointed, and were about to retreat a group of troops first. When they were divided into groups for a rest, suddenly, there was a loud thunderclap, as if the sky was falling apart. Towering so high, it has become an unheard of spectacle. There is a saying.Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty established the capital in Nanjing. The capital city was built in the second year of Hongwu, and a large number of civilians were enlisted. It took four years to complete the construction. The surrounding area is 61 miles, which is not only more than 40 miles away from Beiping City, but also 14 miles away from Xi'an City. , and is also the largest city in the world.

The city of Nanjing is not only big, but also high, with an average height of over forty feet.In addition to being large and tall, the biggest feature is firmness. The city is based on granite, and specially fired huge bricks are used as walls. The bricks are built with lime soaked glutinous rice slurry and water.After the whole city is completed, it is coated with glutinous rice slurry soaked in lime, so if you tap anywhere outside the city, white marks will appear.The city wall, which has been invulnerable to swords and guns, water and fire for five hundred years, is no match for Western explosives after all. It is only after being bombed that the bricks are built too firmly, so the entire section of the city wall more than 20 feet long was formed, flying into the city. A spectacle in the air.It was later learned that this section of the city wall flew more than a mile away, split into several sections and landed, killing hundreds of people.

At that time, Zhu Hongzhang rushed forward, holding the flag in his left hand and wielding the knife in his right, shouting to go to the city.So the nine gates were broken, and there was the so-called "nine generals who ascended first". In addition to Zhu Hongzhang, Li Chendian, and Xiao Fusi, there were also registered generals Wu Mingliang, Xiong Deng, Wu Weishou, admiral Zhang Shiri, registered envoy Liu Lianjie, and registered Taoist Peng. Yu Tangerine. When the good news arrives in Beijing, it is natural to reward the heroes.It is said that Wen Zong once made a promise when he was in Japan: whoever flattens Hong Yang will be crowned king.But after the San Francisco in the Qing Dynasty, there were no kings with different surnames, not even dukes.Therefore, some relatives and nobles opposed the fulfillment of Wenzong's promise, which formed a problem.In the end, the Empress Dowager Ci'an came up with an idea to divide a prince into four. Zeng Guofan made the most contribution and was granted the title of marquis, followed by Zeng Guoquan and uncle, followed by a viscount and a baron, who were granted the titles of Li Chendian and Xiao Fusi.

Zhu Hongzhang was very dissatisfied with the imperial edict.In terms of the merits of the day when the city was broken, he really should be the first. He went to the city first, captured the false brave king Hong Renda alive, and occupied the "Heavenly King's Mansion".However, when Zeng Guoquan reported his meritorious service, Li Chendian took the lead. It is said that when Zhu Hongzhang occupied the "Tianwang Mansion" and guarded it until dusk, Li Chendian led the troops to rush there and said, "I was ordered by the Nine Commanders to take the defense".Therefore, the "Tianwang's Mansion" was under the control of Li Chendian, who was guarded until 8 o'clock the next morning. In broad daylight, the "Tianwang's Mansion" caught fire for no reason and burned to the ground.Afterwards, Zeng Guoquan reported and searched for "Heavenly King's Mansion", but found nothing except a false seal.

This is the mystery why Li Chendian's narration is the first!Zhu Hongzhang was not even as good as Xiao Fusi among the "First Class Nine Generals", and he was a "First Class Man" who was the last of the fifth rank. , to reward the world title of Cavalry Captain", although it is not thin, but it is ranked third, which is too wronged. Unable to swallow his breath, Zhu Hongzhang went to the "Nine Commanders" for a theory.Zeng Guoquan probably had been prepared for a long time, and he had no way to deal with it. He said: "I also think you should take the lead. But the memorial of the meritorious service was sent by my brother. It is said that his friend Li Mou was behind the scenes." Said Then, he pulled out a bright knife from the boot leaf, held it upside down and handed it to Zhu Hongzhang, "Go and kill that Li." Zhu Hongzhang couldn't help but laugh at it.But Li Chendian is like Huangliang Yimeng, the kindness of Xi Jue, the glory of the yellow jacket and the double-eyed feathers, he can't accept his favor personally, and when the decree of kindness comes, he has already died.According to Zeng Guoquan's report, when he attacked the city, he "injured his waist acupoint and blocked his Qi channel", so he died on the second day of July.However, some people said that Li Chendian died "under the peonies" - on the day when the city was broken, the jade and silk children were allowed to take care of them. Die!Of course, this is a private legend. Anyway, the cause of death seems to be between the bed, and the truth can no longer be revealed. There is also a story about Xiao Fusi's title of Baron. When the city was destroyed and there was no time to wait, Li Xiucheng took a trusted book boy in the rebellious army and fled out of Tongji Gate to the southeast. Walking to a place called Fangshan, I bumped into eight woodcutters. Some of them knew him, but they were not sure, so they shouted: "Loyal king!" When Li Xiucheng saw that Xingzang had been discovered, he knelt down and begged, "Who will lead me to Huzhou, and I will reward you with 30,000 silver." As he said that, he and his school boy wiped off their sleeves, but they saw that the four arms were covered with gold bracelets, and there was another horse carrying a box. It didn't look big, but it weighed heavily on the horse's waist. They are all bent, and it is conceivable that gold, silver and jewelry are contained in them. Seeing this situation, the eight woodcutters became greedy. On the one hand, they wanted to embezzle Li Xiucheng's money, and on the other hand, they wanted to repay their merits and receive rewards.So these eight people tricked Li Xiucheng's master and servant into the "Jianxi Village" at the foot of the mountain, and publicly recommended a man surnamed Tao to report to the officers and soldiers. Subordinates, it is more appropriate to ask him to report. Tao passed by Zhongshan, hungry and thirsty, and remembered that this was Xiao Fusi's defense area. There was a cook in the camp who knew him well because of the supply of firewood, so he might as well go to him to rest and ask for food. The man surnamed Tao was overjoyed, and while resting and chatting, he revealed the process of capturing Li Xiucheng alive.The cook told the soldiers, and the soldiers reported to Xiao Fusi, and Tao was doomed to be a dead ghost. After a secret order to treat Tao with good wine and meat, Xiao Fusi and more than 20 of his own soldiers galloped to Jianxi Village under the scorching sun, and captured Li Xiucheng. .The one surnamed Tao was beheaded with a knife to silence her, but Xiao Fusi finally had a conscience, and instead of killing the cook, he gave him five high-quality pearls and a good horse, implying that he "deserted" overnight and walked farther and farther. it is good. Xiao Fusi won the title of baron because of the merit of capturing Li Xiucheng alive.Zeng Guoquan didn't know the truth until later, and ordered the eight woodcutters to be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver for each family. As a result, most of them were swallowed up by his own soldiers, and he only took out one "big ingot"—fifty taels of silver, which was shared equally among the eight families. . If Li Xiucheng was captured alive by Xiao Fusi by himself, this credit is really worthy of a Baron.Because although the "Tianjing" was broken, the "Young Heavenly King" was not captured, and he was only said to have died in the chaos, which seemed difficult to explain to the court.Fortunately, there was Li Xiucheng, who was more important than a "young heavenly king" in reality, and could almost make up for the fact that the whereabouts of the culprit were unknown. At that time, Zeng Guofan had already arrived in Jiangning by special boat from Anqing. Apart from caring for the soldiers and helping the people, another major event was to deal with Li Xiucheng. "Li". From the 27th of June to the 6th day of July, there was less time for interrogation in ten days. Li Xiucheng spent more time writing his "confession" in the cage. He wrote about 7,000 words a day, totaling about 70,000 to 80,000 words.However, because of Zeng Guofan's major deletions and major changes, only one-third of the remaining ones were saved before the report was published.It talked about the whereabouts of Hong Xiuquan's two sons after the city was broken. He said, "I took the young master alone. The young master has no good horses, so I handed over my war horse to ride." The Nine Marshals broke down the gap in the city wall and came out. Hundreds of monarchs and ministers risked their lives and rushed out of the pass. There were constant shouts everywhere, and I was separated from the young master. Nine handsome soldiers chased after them on horseback. Although they came out at this time, their life and death are unknown. The sixteen-year-old boy has never ridden a horse since he was a child, and he has never been trained. Panicked, the Nine Commanders marched in from all directions, and they would definitely be killed, if the Nine Commanders killed them on horseback on the road, they would not know that it was the young master, a little boy, who would know?" This confession, and Zeng Guofan's report "Young Ni has died in the rebellious army", has a good correspondence. It is not self-defeating, but it shows the traces of deletions-"Young Tianwang" is not dead, but fled to Huzhou. While Zeng Guofan was enfeoffed as a marquis, there was also a decree to reward the commanders and ministers of the frontiers in the southeast, the prince Seng Gelinqin, and a Baylor; Li Hongzhang, first-class earl; Yang Yuebin, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and Peng Yulin, the right servant of the Ministry of War, awarded the first-class captain of light vehicles to the world, and rewarded him with the title of Prince Shaobao; Luo Bingzhang, governor of Sichuan, and Bao Chao, governor of Zhejiang, first-class captain of light vehicles Du Xing'a, General of Xi'an, Fu Ming'a, General of Jiangning, and Feng Zicai, Admiral of Guangxi, were all awarded the title of Cavalry Duwei. Among the senior officials in the southeast, only Zuo Zongtang and Jiangxi Governor Shen Baozhen were left in the corner. It was Li Hongzhang's knighthood that made Zuo Zongtang even more unconvinced.Thinking about it at a deeper level, Zeng Guofan controlled the military affairs of the five provinces, Jiangxi and Zhejiang were also among them. Since these two provinces have not been eliminated, it means that Zeng Guofan's responsibility has not yet been fulfilled. Why is he alone rewarded? Another thing that annoyed Zuo Zongtang was that Chang Mao, who was defeated in Jiangning, could only escape all the way to the southeast. Therefore, the Huzhou area, which had been fighting smoothly, suddenly increased heavy pressure.If it had been secretly negotiated in advance, Zuo Zongtang would have known when Zeng Guoquan planned to break the city and what the strategy of encircling and suppressing troops would be. How could he send troops to fill in the gaps and intercept the roads in advance? come over?However, Zeng Jun only cared about his own merits, so he was "beggar-thy-neighbor"! King Gong, who is in charge of the country in the court, and Wen Xiang, the military minister who is trusted and respected by his superiors and respected by his subordinates, who is truly loyal to the country and a sage among the banner people, do not know that there is such a profound contradiction between the generals in the southeast, and they are closely related. Then under the favor of rewarding the meritorious officials, there was another edict of extremely strict supervision, which made Zuo Zongtang feel even more uncomfortable after reading it. The Shangyu said: "When Jiang Ning is restored, the ugliness will be wiped out, and there will be no thieves who escape." These few words made Zuo Zongtang suspicious. The Zeng brothers reported their military exploits in the restoration of Jiang Ning, but they did not know how to exaggerate and exaggerate. , Therefore, for the following: "Let Li Hongzhang transfer Wang Yongsheng and other troops back to Changxing to assist in the defense of Hu County. Zuo Zongtang led the troops to join the Su division and quickly wiped out the thieves in Huzhou and Anji. City, don't let a thief run up" demand, more and more disgusted. "Look," he said to Hu Xueyan, "the Zeng brothers not only claimed credit for themselves, but also cut off the way for others to make meritorious deeds. According to the words, the great meritorious service has been accomplished. Zhejiang can be wiped out in just a few days, and Huzhou is as long as hair. It is extremely difficult to get up, and even if you try your best to win it, you will not be able to please. Because of the preconceived words of the Zeng brothers, who said that Jiangning's "all ugliness will be wiped out, and there will be no thieves who escape", the court must think that we have falsely reported military achievements. You think, hate Not hateful?" Of course, Hu Xueyan could only comfort him, but his words were vague and ineffective, and the spies one after another were full of reports that a certain "king" and a "king" with long hairs fled from Guangde in southern Anhui to the border of Zhejiang, crossed Tianmu Mountain, and went straight to the border. News from Huzhou.Finally came a piece of news, which came from among the refugees. They flew to Hangzhou, and Zuo Zongtang was very excited when he saw it. This report said: "Young Heavenly King" Hong Tianguifu, after the destruction of Jiangning City, was "guarded" by "Qianwang" Hong Rengan, "Nurtured King" Ji Qingyuan, "Yuwang" Li Ruisheng, and "Yangwang" Li Mingcheng On June 21st, I arrived in Guangde, and then the "blocking king" Huang Wenjin, who guarded Huzhou, personally welcomed him into the city of Huzhou five days later. Therefore, Hong Rengan was changed to the title of "Ordinary Military Division". At this moment, Zuo Zongtang thought that Brother Zeng could look good, and immediately asked his friends to draft a performance, planning to fly into the performance, to expose the lie reported by Zeng Guofan that "the young traitor died in the rebellion".And just when he was full of spirits and Xie Yan was laughing, Hu Xueyan happened to arrive at Xingyuan. Hearing the news, he had to cheer Zuo Zongtang up and persuade him. "My lord, can this memorial be delayed for a while?" "Why is it slow? The culprit has been exposed, why dare to hide it and not report it?" Zuo Zongtang said eloquently. Hu Xueyan knew that it would be hard for him to persuade generals to criticize each other and persuade them that it was not the blessing of the country, so he used his interests, "We Hangzhou people have a saying, which is called 'moving a stone by yourself', my lord, you this stone Can’t move it!” He said, “If you don’t move it well, your head will break.” "How do you say that?" "Please think about it, my lord. Of course the imperial court will be happy with such a play, and say, 'Very good! You must capture You Ni, no matter what, you are not allowed to slip through the net. If you catch it, you will be sealed as a marquis', my lord, if you can't catch it? " "Ah, ah!" Zuo Zongtang suddenly realized, "If you can't catch it, you will become the culprit and slip through my hands!" Hu Xueyan deliberately stopped talking.A smart person like Zuo Zongtang, of course, knows everything and has no trouble with words, but the most important thing is that he has another opinion. During his trip to Shanghai this time, he heard a lot about the current situation of the Zeng brothers and Li Hongzhang, all of which were revealed by Zeng and Li's close friends or cronies.There are many words in the letters, which are not allowed to be heard by a third person according to the usual theory, but they have also been leaked!This is of course because Zeng Li himself has no scruples. He speaks to the left and right. He only speaks deeply for the sake of the knower. It hurt the relationship of many people, because of this, Hu Xueyan became wary of Zuo Zongtang. He was thinking, this "adult" is also famous for his open mouth.If he designed it for him and alienated the relationship between Zeng and Li, maybe one day, Zuo Zongtang would personally tell others what to do.Isn't this "rectifying one classic, damaging one", offending Zeng and Li for no reason, it is too wrong! Zuo Zongtang's words are enough.At that time, I was very happy and said repeatedly: "I know it! I know it!" Hu Xueyan was not very satisfied with such an answer. He hoped that Zuo Zongtang had a specific plan to say so that he could uphold the purpose and help with affairs.So I asked: "Does your lord feel that there is still something to be learned in my humble opinion?" "What stupid opinion? Your opinion is too brilliant!" Zuo Zongtang said in a deep voice, "However, after all, I am not a person who turns my hand around to turn clouds into rain, and besides, Li Shaoquan has always been for me—" He didn't say any more, but anyone who knew what he said on weekdays could guess that Li Hongzhang had always been despised by him.Now that I am on good terms with him, it seems that I am asking for help from others, so I feel unwilling. Hu Xueyan believes that setting up words to persuade people from the front is different from talking about people's shortcomings in private. Even if the secret words are leaked, they can still be put on the "table", which will not hinder his reputation, so he decided to make some words to promote Zuo and Li's collaboration. "My lord," he asked intentionally, "what is the only urgent matter now?" "Do you mean business, or my own business?" "The same is true of official affairs, and the same is true of adults' private affairs. One becomes two, two becomes one, what is the big thing?" "Naturally, the whole of Zhejiang is cleared." "Yes, there is only one obstacle left in the eradication of Zhejiang Province, and that is Huzhou. If Huzhou is captured, it will be cleared up. At that time, my lord will also be named a marquis and a minister." "It's still early to pay homage to the Prime Minister, and it's not surprising to be named a Marquis. As expected, I have received this kind of reward, and I want to resign." Hu Xueyan didn't know whether he said this out of emotion or pretending to be hypocritical. Anyway, there is no need to argue with him. Only by following his tone of voice can he move his heart. "Your Excellency, this is high!" He said with his thumb up, "it's not uncommon to be a Marquis. Seeing wealth and honor is like floating clouds to me, and he is superior to Zeng Xiang and Li Zhongcheng. However, if the court is not gracious, how can Your Excellency Can you show a superior character?" "That's true." Zuo Zongtang nodded deeply. Zuo Zongtang finally heaved a sigh of relief, and Hu Xueyan also heaved a sigh of relief.As for how to cooperate with Li Hongzhang, he didn't need to worry about it. Zuo Zongtang saw all the situation very clearly, and he couldn't comment on the use of troops.He only reminded Zuo Zongtang that he would attack Jiangning. Li Hongzhang had disobeyed the imperial edict and was desperately trying to make amends. Therefore, even if Zuo Zongtang was unwilling to cooperate with him, he would send troops into Huzhou to express his compliance with the repeated reminders of the imperial court. , "The ministers of the frontier must not be divided into boundaries when dealing with thieves." Zuo Zongtang really needed Li Hongzhang's support. The first is military strength.Huzhou has become a hotbed of long hair in the southeast, and the remnants and defeated generals gather together, outnumbering the left army by several times.Moreover, if you are pressed in a hurry, you will fight a trapped beast, and you must not take it lightly. The second is terrain.Huzhou is surrounded by harbours, where you can set up ambushes and invite attacks. This is a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. At that time, Zhao Jingxian insisted on being an isolated city, adapting to the situation and making the best use of the terrain.Now Huang Wenjin, the long-haired general guarding Huzhou, is not weak, and he acts under the name of "young master" Hong Tianguifu, and it is easy to command.Moreover, the grain stored in Huzhou is reported to last for one year, which is much better than Zhao Jingxian's situation at that time. Zuo Zongtang could not overcome these two obstacles to enter Huzhou alone, and only Li Hongzhang could help him overcome these two obstacles.In terms of military strength, the siege of Huzhou can only be completed with the cooperation of the Soviet army-of course it is not the siege like Zeng Guoquan's attack on Jinling.If such a strategy is adopted, even if it can be done in terms of deployment of troops, it is unwise. The casualties in this area must also be extremely heavy.On the other hand, leaving a gap to manipulate the enemy can just arouse the enemy's love for life and disintegrate his fighting spirit.What's more, on the pre-arranged enemy's escape route, you can set up ambushes everywhere, which is a good idea. In terms of terrain, the first critical pass on the outskirts of Huzhou is the Daqiankou exiting Taihu Lake in the north. Zhao Jingxian lost a lot of money on a snowy night, which led to Huzhou's failure to defend.Looking at the past from the present, the situation is not different. If you want to break Huzhou, you must first seize a lot of money, and to win a lot of money, it is much more convenient for the Soviet army to cross Taihu Lake and go south than for the left army to go north.At the same time, the biggest key is that to attack big money, you must use water divisions, and this is the weakness of the left army and the strength of the Soviet army. Of course, Li Hongzhang wanted to make use of his strengths and try his best to make a difference, not only to make up for the culpability of Changzhou's suspension of troops, but also to confer the title of honorable title.After Zuo Zongtang's in-depth discussion with Hu Xueyan, he silently planned that he was not as good as Li Hongzhang in terms of geography and people. If he couldn't make a big deal, let go of his promise, and conquer Huzhou by himself within a time limit, he couldn't stop Li Hongzhang from rushing forward and attacking Huzhou from the north. .If the two armies cannot cooperate, it will be a situation of competing for success. It doesn't matter if Li Hongzhang can't compete. After much deliberation, he realized that it was the best policy to use Li Hongzhang for help.As long as he did his best to be a landlord, the guest army had to give in everywhere. Even if the Soviet army invaded Huzhou first, Li Hongzhang would always be embarrassed and play the performance.As long as the good news of the recovery of Huzhou is issued by myself, and the military exploits are laid out, it can be manipulated. After making up his mind to be a man who can bend and stretch for the time being, Zuo Zongtang personally took up the pen and wrote a very sincere letter to Li Hongzhang, revealing his intention to ask for help in the strategy of Shanglue to wipe out the remnants of the southeast.Li Hongzhang was also very beautiful, and promised to put all his "Guo Liu Pan Yang Fourth Army" into the Huzhou battlefield. Guo Liu Panyang—the four armies of Guo Songlin, Liu Mingchuan, Pan Dingxin, and Yang Dingxun are the backbone of the Huai army. In fact, Li Hongzhang was not the only one who joined the Huzhou battlefield. , Jiangnan Admiral Huang Yisheng's navy was also appointed to assist in different ways.Li Hongzhang's thoughts were roughly the same as Zuo Zongtang's. He intended to make a big splash and would attack Huzhou. On the one hand, it is also to sweep Zeng Jun's interest. The Changmao in Huzhou is said to be 200,000, at least 40% off, the left and right sides, the regular army combined is no less than 80,000, plus the clerks and husbands accompanying the army, the total is more than 100,000.They are evenly matched, and it is expected that a fierce battle will occur, but the outcome has been determined as before, and the situation of Long Mao's defeat is roughly predictable.Because of the constraints of the terrain, the direction of progress can only follow the trend.Zuo Zongtang's troops advanced from the southeast and southwest of Huzhou, while the Soviet army attacked from the northeast and northwest, and marched from the north to prevent Changmao from entering Taihu Lake.The east of Huzhou is the most affluent area in the southeast. It is heavily defended, and there is no way out to the seashore. In Huzhou, the only way out is to go west. If you can cross Guangde, then there is Li Shixian in Jiangxi Wang Haiyang and Wang Haiyang are all well-known giants among the long-haired men, and they may be able to join together, or they may still be able to survive. The battlefield is like a chess game, not only between the enemy and us, but also the side that is joining forces is also intrigues. Jiao, in the name of attacking Guangde and breaking the thief's way back, actually wanted to intercept Huang Wenjin, capture "young rebels" and seize supplies. Huzhou finally recovered on July 26th. As predicted in advance, Huang Wenjin opened the west gate of Huzhou to escape.Captain Mao went westward in three routes, and when he reached Guangde, he divided into two routes, one to southern Anhui. The other was led by Huang Wenjin with "Young Ni", from Ningguo to West Tianmu Mountain, and then into Jiangxi via Kaihua and Yushan.Liu Mingchuan ran after him relentlessly, and all the other armies fought bravely and took the lead. They chased him for five days and five nights, but Chang Mao was defeated and Huang Wenjin died among the rebellious army. However, Hong Tianguifu's whereabouts are still unknown. The more reliable legend is that he went south from Jiangxi, intending to join Li Shixian and Wang Haiyang who fled to the border of Guangdong and Fujian.Then it went west to Hubei, connected with the "King of Fu" Chen Decai, and entered Shaanxi from Jingxiang to the west, creating another situation in Guanzhong.This is of course a wishful thinking, but even if the fight is unsuccessful, running around like this, such as joining forces with the Nian bandits in Anhui and Henan, is also a matter of great concern.Therefore, the imperial court was deeply annoyed that it failed to catch the "young rebel" and punish him twice and three times. What was even more annoying was Zuo Zongtang. The booklet of "All Zhejiang Suppression" has been distributed, but Hong Tiangui has not received the blessing, so it cannot be regarded as a complete achievement, and it is difficult to see the reward for a while. After discerning the theory of "one hundred thousand troops", and then discussing the responsibilities of the subordinates, the words are even more sharp: "All of Yunhang City has escaped, and I have not heard of the correction, which is especially incomprehensible. Jinling has already been encircled, while Hangzhou has not yet. The siege is also closed, the Jinling newspaper 'killed all the thieves', and the Hangzhou newspaper 'the first traitor has escaped'!" Just these two sentences are like an old official breaking prison, deciding that Zeng Guoquan is responsible for not allowing the thieves to escape, and Zeng Guofan There is a crime of lying about military information.But at the end, he changed his style of writing and played cunningly: "Because the military is the most serious, I have to argue. Since then, all official affairs have been handled in harmony, and I dare not hold any opinions. You." This passage is the so-called "Mianlizhen", which seems to be cautious and modest, but in fact it is sharp and angular, and every sentence implies an accusation against Zeng Guofan. The memorial was sent out, but there was an echo within half a month.The "Tingji" issued by King Gong was extremely euphemistic. Not to mention that Zuo Zongtang could not be granted the title for a while, but he said, "Since Zuo Zongtang entered Zhejiang, he has conquered dozens of city passes and cleared the whole territory. Very great. If I want to reward you, I am afraid that the supervisor will firmly resign because Hong You’s rebellion is still alive. Once the remaining evils are wiped out, he will send a decree of kindness." It is a clear hint that Zuo Zongtang can be knighted, but sooner or later thing. Regarding his dispute with Zeng Guofan, there is also a warm edict: "The imperial court does not want to be exacting about the details of the meritorious ministers. The governor Yu Hong Youni entered Zhejiang, and he reported the facts. When he left the country, he sent troops to follow him. It is being done. It is said that from now on, the official affairs will still be handled in harmony with Zeng Guofan, and I dare not hold any opinions, especially the gift of the minister, which is deeply admirable. The imperial court expects the superintendent to be great and far away, and the superintendent should be encouraged , as a generation of famous ministers, with high hopes." Although Zeng Guofan was not reprimanded in the last edict, it was very clear that he had no likes or dislikes.And Xu Zuo Zongtang's "a generation of famous ministers" is a rare word in the edict.In short, Zuo Zongtang had the upper hand in this pen-and-ink lawsuit against the imperial judge, and his grievances with Zeng Guofan naturally deepened. The enmity between Zeng and Zuo, on the surface, is a war of words, and what they resist desperately in secret is a dispute over territory.And it seemed to be squeezed in the cracks, and it seemed that Zeng Guoquan was the first to bear the brunt. Zeng Guoquan's job is the governor of Zhejiang.When using troops, in order to encourage the generals, they do not serve according to the organizational system, and it is common for senior officials from this province to lead troops in other provinces.But when the war ended, the situation was different. As usual, even if Zeng Guoquan made mistakes after breaking Jiangning, after all he has made great achievements in battle, he should be allowed to serve as governor of Zhejiang Province, which is the right thing to do.Zuo Zongtang had no choice but to serve as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang and also the governor of Zhejiang, and he had no intention of giving in.And Zeng Guofan complained about Zeng Guoquan. Although he was worried about slander and fear of ridicule, he retreated bravely as a prudent way to protect himself. In fact, he saw through the secret of his brother's "concubine's identity is unclear", and estimated that he would never be able to take office. In the imperial court, there was another dilemma.On the one hand, the military affairs in the southeast are deeply rooted in Huzhou Kefu and Quanzhe Suqing, and Zuo Zongtang has to deal with Zuo Zongtang's face.Therefore, regarding Zeng Guoquan's illness, he has been delaying without making a clear solution. I hope that Zeng Zuo can dispel the suspicion and make up. Zuo Zongtang will come forward to ask Zeng Guoquan to take office. This is an unattainable luxury.Seeing that procrastination was not a problem, the imperial court decided to grant Zeng Guofan's wish, and Xu Zeng Guoquan resigned.But who will replace the vacant Governor of Zhejiang Province?But it took a lot of consideration. The imperial court also knew what Zuo Zongtang meant, and it was best for Jiang Yili to be promoted from the feudal secretary, and Zuo Zongtang would recommend him if there was a shortage of the Zhejiang feudal chief.But Jiang Yili's qualifications are still low, and this way of handling it is too ugly for Zeng Guofan's face.The imperial court reconcile the generals, and they will never easily give people the impression of favoring someone, so Zuo Zongtang's wishes are not considered. Things to consider: first, the new governor of Zhejiang really needs to be clean and capable, because of the provinces that Hong Yang ravaged, Zhejiang suffered the most disasters, and the aftermath is also the most difficult to handle. , this person has no grievances with Zuo Zongtang, and can be supported by Zeng Guofan and even Li Hongzhang, and then Zhejiang can get assistance from neighboring provinces for the aftermath of Zhejiang; The first official appointed by Hong Yangping to seal Xinjiang was also the beginning of the restoration of civil rule, so it is best for this person to be from a high school.It would be even more ideal if he had military exploits. As a result, an ideal person was selected.This man's name is Ma Xinyi, and his name is Gushan. His ancestor was Huihui. Since the Ming Taizu made great contributions to the world, he was sent as a military officer in the Shandong Weisuo and settled in Heze County, Caozhou Prefecture. It has been more than 400 years. , is a native of Shandong through and through. At the same time that Ma Xinyi's new order was passed to Zhejiang, an important and interesting news came from Jiangxi, Hong Tianguifu, the "Young Rebellion", was finally arrested.