Chapter 2 Chapter 1 (1-2)

The one who took the lead was Qi Junzao from the Academic Affairs Department of the university. He was of a very high rank and was already listed as a senior official at that time. He was from Shouyang, Shanxi, so he was often called "Shouyang Xiangguo".This person still has the concept of being a second official in the early Qing Dynasty. When Zeng Guofan organized a regiment training and was successful as a teacher, he actually thought that it was not the blessing of the court that the Han people gathered thousands of people with one call.At this time, Shangshu rescued He Guiqing, first citing Jiaqing's decree: the Ministry of Punishment discusses prisons, and there must be no aggravated words.It is believed that Yu Guangzhuo's draft is not in line with the ancestral system.In addition, Wan Qingli, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, and Gao Yanhu, the censor, are notorious figures. Xue Huan was grateful for his kindness and paid a lot of money to help He Guiqing in Beijing, so he was arrested in early summer and dragged there until late autumn.

The Empress Dowager Cixi did not necessarily want to kill He Guiqing in order to win over the ministers, but a gentleman would not spare him.First of all, Bian Baodi, the imperial censor who was the first to impeach He Guiqing, resisted Zhang and refuted Qi Junzao.Yuan Shu brought up Emperor Renzong Rui's imperial edict, which was too big to be refuted, but Bian Baodi refuted it very happily, saying that Renzong's edict was only about ordinary crimes in the Taiping period.With a soft word, he took off his big hat, and then said: During the Daoguang period, Yu Buyun, the admiral of Zhejiang, lost Dinghai, and during the Xianfeng period, Hubei governor Qing Yao lost Wuchang. Hearing what he said, "Why do you only care about He Guiqing?" As soon as this memorial was copied, the discussion was very fast.

However, the chance of He Guiqing's life and death ultimately depends on one person, Zeng Guofan. At that time, there was Li Tangjie in Jingqing, a native of Henan, who was a friend of Confucianism when he was an official in Beijing, along with Woren and Zeng Guofan. The Empress Dowager Ci'an heard that Wenzong mentioned this person before his death, so she specially ordered internal recruitment and appointed him as a regular Si Zhengqing, when the rumors were rampant, there was a secret statement on Li Tang's steps, which said: "The great policy of punishment and reward should not be swayed by absurd arguments. Now that you want to suppress the bandits, you should first shelter the fleeing commander. How can you be a Zhongxing soldier?" ?” This is putting aside the criminal law and He Guiqing’s personal misfortune and fortune, and focusing on the overall military affairs. When the southeast military is making progress, it is natural not to do anything to damage morale. Therefore, even the Empress Dowager Cixi read this memorial, Attitudes also changed rapidly.

The key to He Guiqing's case is why he escaped from Changzhou?If this point can be justified, he can not die, so when the Ministry of Criminal Interrogation, he submitted a public report issued by Xue Huan and others, asking him to retreat to Suzhou to protect the source of salary and prove that he did not intend to Abandoned land.Things have changed, was it necessary to retreat to Suzhou at that time?It is impossible to judge whether it is true or not, and at the same time, whether this public report was really made at that time, or whether it was made up after the fact, thinking that there is room for shirking responsibility, there is no way to investigate, so the imperial court specially issued an order to order the current governor of Liangjiang, Zeng Guofan, to review the report.

Zeng Guofan was in Liangjiang, devastated everywhere, heartbroken when he witnessed it, and he took full responsibility for destroying the enemy with his soldiers, so he had to think about morale. Therefore, he, who has always been reluctant to say digressions, repeated his words, Like an old official breaking prison, he is extremely sharp. Zeng Guofan's reply said: "The governor has a long history of power and respect. Below the level of the minister, he accepts the order of the wind and dare not disobey it. If such a person does not dare to go into details, the officials of the border regard the city guard as a great festival, and it is not appropriate to regard it as a subordinate. One word is enough to make progress; the ministers should not judge the crimes based on their own deeds."

These few words are extremely alarming, and no one can refute them.But before Zeng Guofan's retaliation arrived, Qi Junzao and others who rescued He Guiqing tried their best to create a glimmer of life, and then they died again. The method Qi Junzao and the others were thinking of was to make He Guiqing's crime into execution.In order to achieve this goal, it was carried out in two ways. On the one hand, in the court discussion, it was based on public opinion, and it was still according to the Ministry of Punishment's drafting of "severe drafting to make a decision"; Retiring, abandoning the city and fleeing first, etc., the crime ends with beheading the prisoner."The aggravation of the crime to execution "is intended to add illegality", that is to say, it is beyond the law and is not obtained by the ministers without authorization.Then the military plane played the case and planned to issue a decree: this case has been decided by the court officials and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, and it should be judged according to the law, that is, there is no need to impose punishment outside the law. He was designated as the marquis of beheading, classified as "challenge trial" and "truth of the situation", and executed after autumn.From then on, in order to set the law and use punishment carefully and cautiously, it is not for why Guiqing's feelings are justifiable, and in the future it can be reduced from the end, so that it is too light and indulgent.

This edict seems to be legal and reasonable, and it is just and undisputed. In fact, it is a military plane that deceives the empress dowagers of the two palaces. They are not familiar with the system. , all celebrations such as the change of Yuan Dynasty, the birthday of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor will be "stopped" as usual. The so-called "Court Trial" began in the third year of Tianshun after the restoration of Yingzong in the Ming Dynasty. The prisoner awaiting execution was given a final trial before the execution after the Frost's Fall.For the death row prisoners in various provinces, this procedure is called "autumn trial", while for the death row prisoners in the prisons of the Ministry of Punishment, it is called "challenge trial".The results of court trial or autumn trial are divided into five categories: truth, deferred judgment, suspicion, retention, and sacrifice. It is still pending further trial, but if the facts are true, it will be included in the decision and must be presented in another yellow book.However, although the interrogation and the recruitment of interrogation books have been suspended this year, they should still be submitted accordingly. He Guiqing's charges have been specified as "true facts", but because he has opened up the joints of the autumn trial office, and Yu Guangzhuo is alone and unable to compete, he has not been charged. In the Shangyu, the "urgent words" that "it's not why Guiqing's love is justifiable, but in the future, it can be reduced from the end to lightness" are narrated in an attempt to get away with it, but I don't want to meet another tough opponent.

This opponent is Li Tangjie.In addition to Prince Gong, among the ministers of military affairs, Prince Gong's father-in-law Gui Liang was originally the head. When Gui Liang negotiated peace with the British and French envoys in Shanghai in the eighth year of Xianfeng, he won the help of He Guiqing, so when He Guiqing was arrested in Beijing, he also contributed a lot. help each other.Unexpectedly, he died of illness this summer, and the minister of military aircraft vacated a vacancy, and Li Tangjie was filled in autumn. Therefore, the Ministry of Punishment issued a special decree to complete the procedures: He Guiqing, governor of the Liangjiang River, had been punished. Due to the similarities and differences between the court ministers, it was decided at the discretion that the criminal should be placed in a new prison according to the law of leading soldiers who fell into the walled city. Execution after autumn is already a benevolence outside the law.

This is the end of autumn, if the suspension is due to the year of suspension, and the crime of love is serious, it will be slaughtered after a long time, why should the punishment be abolished?He Guiqing's book will be executed immediately! So He Guiqing was kidnapped to Caishikou, where he was beheaded.But Yu Guangzhuo had a grievance with He Guiqing's private party, and he had already been admitted to the censor, and he was first-class "Jingcha", so he could be promoted immediately as usual. If they are all revoked, they will be idle and useless. ＊＊＊ Now let’s go back to Wang Youling.

He arrived in Hangzhou at the beginning of March in the tenth year of Xianfeng. As soon as he arrived, he first took care of the aftermath. Li Xiucheng captured Hangzhou for the first time. Although he only stayed for seven days, more than 200,000 people in the Hangzhou government died.The city is an empty city, all the yamen are burned down, there is no money and no food, and it is really not easy to exile. Fortunately, he has a very deep relationship with Zhejiang, and with the help of Zhu Daqi, he barely repaired the city wall and made equipment In general, Zhang Guoliang's troops and the soldiers he brought from Jiangsu, totaling less than 3,000 people, were stationed in various places, which can be regarded as a rough plan for defense.

However, within a month, the situation in Jiangsu deteriorated sharply. The Taiping Army fought all the way, occupied Songjiang, and approached the border of Zhejiang. Sure enough, Jiaxing fell on April 24.At this time, if they drive southward for a long time, Hangzhou may not be defended long ago, but the basic strategy of the Taiping Army is to consolidate the periphery of "Tianjing". The first goal of the Taiping Army at that time was Shanghai. If Shanghai could be captured, not only would the customs tax be greatly improved, but also the seaport would have access to the ocean. The plan to purchase twenty old ships and attack Hubei by land and water would be realized. At the same time, armaments and food can also be provided in a steady stream.Therefore, one of Jiaxing's soldiers, as a backup for attacking Shanghai, naturally refused to use it in Hangzhou, which is useless. However, although the pressure on the northeast was not heavy, it was tight on the northwest. Guangde fell, and the general Mi Xingchao retreated to Xiaofeng.Then, Chen Yucheng feinted to attack Yangzhou and contain the official army. Li Xiucheng completed the task of sweeping through Wuzhong. He returned to Jinling to recuperate for a few days. To Yuhang, only a few dozen miles away from Hangzhou. At that time, the troops in Zhejiang were dominated by Zhang Yuliang's army, who was not welcomed by Xu Youren, and they were defending the area around Jiaxing. Except for the vicinity of Huzhou, the section from Jiaxing to Hangzhou was the richest in Zhejiang. Defense, so Zhang Yuliang's first army could not withdraw to rescue.In addition, Fujian's reinforcements have not yet arrived, and there are 3,000 reinforcements in Jiangxi, but they are far away in Yushan. There are only more than 3,000 guards who can be dispatched. When encountering the bridge, Wang Youling also led a team to the city wall to help in the battle. Liu Jisan finally fought well, took the lead, and personally killed the enemy with foreign guns.The Taiping Army retreated temporarily, but there were more than 100,000 troops in the brigade, while the total number of officers and troops was only 13,000. At this critical moment, Chen Yucheng suddenly became seriously ill and was unable to command. So Chen Yucheng's entire army retreated, and Yuhang, Lin'an, Yuqian, Fuyang, Xincheng and other places were conquered one after another, and Hangzhou temporarily turned the crisis into safety.However, military pay has become a big problem. The military salary of the whole province of Zhejiang needs more than 400,000 yuan per month.At that time, the methods of raising wages were similar in different places. Those who were mostly the same were collected from the donations of merchants and people.In Zhejiang Province, silk tea is the bulk of donations. The route to southern Anhui has been plagued by wars and disasters, and tea merchants have their feet tied up. In addition, the so-called "salt" sold in Huizhou, Jiangxi Province is also difficult to transport and sell due to the smoldering war everywhere. Not as good as before. In addition to the self-financing of the province, there is also the so-called "cooperative payment", which relies on the assistance of relatively peaceful and prosperous provinces. The monthly cooperative payment in Zhejiang is: Jiangxi 60,000, Hunan 30,000, and Sichuan 50,000.At this time, they are too busy to take care of themselves, and they don't understand at all. Only occasionally Fujian helps. Calculating in this way, there is a monthly difference of half. Although Wang Youling is famous for being good at raising wages, the difference is too large, and it is difficult to make up for it. Fortunately, Li Xiucheng's offensive against Shanghai was dealt a powerful blow, so the overall situation in the southeast is still promising. ＊＊＊ In the fertile land of Jiangsu, only Feng Zicai's army was left to defend Zhenjiang, and the three counties of Shanghai and Pudong.However, due to the relationship of the concession, Shanghai has caused abnormal prosperity, so the tariff is hundreds of gold, several times that of the past.Before He Guiqing lost Su Chang, the officials and merchants in Shanghai had a self-protection plan. The officials were led by Su Songtai Dao Wu Xu, and the merchants were led by Yang Fang, the director of the Siming Office.At the same time, the British and French consuls also supported the plan of Wu Xu and Yang Fang in order to protect the life, property and commercial interests of their expats in Shanghai. The plan is to recruit foreigners to train the foreign gun team.An American New Yorker named Flick Wall, who came from a military academy, broke the law in China and fled to Shanghai. He originally wanted to join the Taiping Army, but he was persuaded to stop.The result was found by Wu Xu. It was said that Huaer was arrested by the US Consulate and was going to be escorted back to China for trial. After Wu Xu made a statement to the US Consul on his behalf, he was liberated. Huaer was grateful and voluntary. . The foreign gun team formed by Wall was mainly Filipinos, with a total of only one hundred. He also recruited hundreds of Chinese people, half of whom changed into suits and pretended to be foreigners, and half of them still wore regular clothes, following behind the team to build momentum.With this strange team, after a month and a half of training, they actually defeated the Taiping Army in Songjiang. The main reason is that although the Chinese were able to use foreign guns at that time, they were ignorant of the "art of war" derived from foreign guns.Before Hua Er led his team to set off, he gave a strict order: "There is no limit to advance, and those who stop will be cut!" When the two armies met, the troops of Lu Shunde, who belonged to Li Xiucheng, fired all guns and fired at them. Very close, Wall just ordered to "lie down", and the Taiping Army's guns were completely in vain.After fighting for a while, Wall ordered to fight back. A platoon of 120 people fired a row of guns, the second group followed, and then the first group took advantage of the gap to load bullets, and then the second group fired again.A total of only three platoons of guns were fired, and the Taiping army killed hundreds of people. They retreated into the city, and Hua Er led the charge, followed to the city, and started street fighting. The Taiping army scattered and fled, and Songjiang City was easily recovered. Before Hua Er set off, Wu Xu once told Xue Huan, who had been promoted to governor of Jiangsu, that as long as they invaded Songjiang, everything of the Taiping Army, as well as the government treasury, would be owned by the foreign spear team.Therefore, as soon as the Taiping Army retreated, Hua Er first checked the spoils. Unexpectedly, when he opened the treasury, it was empty, and the Taiping Army had already swept away.Hua'er negotiated with Wu Xu, and ended up giving him another five thousand silver as compensation. So Wall used Songjiang as his base to expand the foreign gun team. He once attacked Qingpu in June, but failed. ＊＊＊ The battle in Zhejiang has always been tense.Zhang Yuliang attacked Jiaxing and fought several victorious battles. In late July, Li Xiucheng personally led the army against the enemy. They fought bloody battles for five days and nights.So Li Xiucheng sent a surprise army to attack Shimen from the middle of the world. This is where Zhang Yuliang's grain platform is located. The army grain was set on fire, and the morale of the front line was greatly affected.Zhang Yuliang was wounded and retreated, the Taiping army followed him down, divided his troops from Haining into two groups, and headed all the way to Shimen. It looked like they were invading Huzhou, and all the way went straight to Hangzhou.Wang Youling, general Ruichang, and admiral Rao Tingxuan guarded the two cities in the northwest. At the same time, because officers and soldiers colluded with the enemy, Wang Youling ordered to expel all the stragglers from the city. It is difficult, but it is getting worse. Soon, the two Taiping armies that invaded Hangzhou retreated without a fight. This was because Li Xiucheng's attack on Shanghai was unfavorable, and he withdrew his troops back to Suzhou, preparing to reorganize and supplement, review the situation, and make another deployment. But all the way to southern Anhui is still tight.The large Taiping army from Guangde is targeting Huzhou.Huzhou's defense was entirely due to Zhao Jingxian. At that time, various places held group exercises to protect themselves, and Huzhou was the most effective one.This cannot but be attributed to Wang Youling's ability to support Zhao Jingxian when he was the magistrate of Huzhou. Huzhou is a water town, Taihu Lake is in the north, Tiaoxi River is in the west, there are different branches and ports, and there are reeds to navigate, so in terms of defense, there are loopholes everywhere.Zhao Jingxian discussed with Wang Youling to add an outer city, close to the Longxi River, build more embrasures on the top and bottom of the city wall, and set up gun emplacements on the left and right sides of the outer city. At that time, the most popular tactic for attacking the city was to dig tunnels, fill them with gunpowder, smash down walls, and rush in.Huzhou made use of the terrain to build this outer city, which was very effective, and the enemy was never afraid of digging tunnels. This is one of the main reasons why Huzhou was able to defend for a long time. At the beginning of October, Yanzhou lost all the way. Xincheng and Lin'an fell one after another, and Fuyang fell immediately.This time, not only the provincial capital was in a tight spot, but also crossing the river from Fuyang could threaten Ningshao. At this time, eastern Zhejiang was the main source of food for the whole province, so it had to be protected, so Wang Youling made a surprise attack. On the second day after the fall of Fuyang, he mobilized 500 cavalry and 1,000 infantry. He ordered that in the evening, the team should be limited to the second shift, and arrive at Fuyang by the fifth shift. He would mobilize the best firearms and concentrate on attacking from the southeast. The momentum was very strong, the Taiping army had no idea how many troops there were, and Wang Youling personally led the troops to intercept the two gates in the northwest, and they captured a lot.At 8 o'clock in the morning of the next day, Fuyang was recovered.It was a pretty good fight. During the 100 days from July to October, China's international relations have undergone great changes. The British and French allied forces finally invaded, captured Tianjin on the seventh day of July, then invaded Beijing, and burned the Old Summer Palace.Wen Zong fled in a hurry and fled to Rehe Palace for refuge. On September 11, Prince Gong signed ten articles of the Beijing Treaty, achieving the so-called "Fuju".This is a treaty that humiliates the country, but it is of great help to the pacification of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Between the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Army, the United Kingdom initially strictly maintained neutrality. Later, due to Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, the issue of contract renewal caused an uproar. The United Kingdom changed its strategy and deliberately used the Taiping Army to threaten the Qing Dynasty. Contact with Jiangning continued. For example, the Qing Dynasty hoped that the foreign generals would "help the smooth flow", so when they came in and out, it had too much to do with it. This is just the reason why Prince Gong had to compromise when negotiating peace with Britain and France.When the Beijing Treaty was established and the dust fell, because of the treaty, Britain had to support the Qing Dynasty, whether it was protecting their own interests, abiding by public international law, or fulfilling their due obligations.Not to mention that Li Hongzhang's "Using Shanghai to Ping Wu" in the future was able to benefit from the "normalized" Sino-British relations, that is, at that time, the situation in Shanghai immediately had a very profound impact. Li Xiucheng is a very politically minded person. He is not satisfied with conquering the city and showing off his might, but wants to obtain fertile land to support his plan of "Northern Expedition". Military discipline, on the one hand, strives to be peaceful, in order to boost local morale.In just a few short years, Shanghai has become the essence of the southeast. Of course, he is unwilling to lighten the war. Therefore, he plans to take over Shanghai peacefully by means of the uprising of the party and the government and the army at the sports meeting, and contacting foreigners. The key to this is, of course, Due to the attitude of the British and French ministers, Li Xiucheng sent a "note" in May, affirming the need to occupy Shanghai and Songjiang. Before the signing of the Beijing Treaty, although the British and French envoys followed Xue Huan's request to protect the concession with force and sent troops to defend the county seat of Shanghai, they remained neutral to the outside world. Silent" attitude.As soon as the Beijing Treaty was established, the British Minister Bruce treated the Taiping Army on the surface as before, but he was secretly preparing to "help smooth."Naturally, Li Xiucheng was unaware of this change. At the same time, the Chinese at that time lacked understanding of international affairs, and he could not see that the Beijing Treaty would have such a rapid and serious impact on him, so he suffered a big loss in Shanghai. Li Xiucheng brought only 3,000 people to Shanghai, and first encountered the Qing army in the nine acres of land in Nanshi. Foreigners who are guarded must stand by and watch.Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached the city, the 1,200 British and French allied forces on the city opened fire immediately, and hundreds of Taiping soldiers died.At that time, there was a lot of wind and rain, Li Xiucheng thought that his vision was unclear, which caused a misunderstanding, and he was unwilling to fight back. In fact, under the strong firepower of the British and French allied forces, and the condescending superiority suppressed them, he could not fight back, so he hurriedly ordered to retreat. In fact, it was Li Xiucheng who misunderstood. His entire plan to take over Shanghai peacefully had been completely shattered. In addition to the change in the attitude of the foreigners, Xue Huan also took precautions against the parties and officers who contacted the uprising. Li Xiucheng was unaware of these circumstances, and approached the city again the next day, turning from the south gate to the west gate. The British and French allied forces attacked by land and water, and fired artillery bombardments, causing Li Xiucheng to be slightly injured.At this time, he suddenly realized that foreign aid and internal support cannot be relied on, and he can only retreat.Before leaving, he left a long letter to blame the British and French ministers, which was nothing more than venting his anger. As soon as Shanghai retreated, the pressure on Zhejiang became heavier.The offensive and defensive battles of Jiaxing and Shimen came to an end. Li Xiucheng first returned to Suzhou to deploy defense, and then went to "Tianjing" to participate in the military meeting. He and Hong Renyu, the brother of Hong Xiuquan's family, the "King of Heaven", agreed on the strategy of marching troops to aid Anqing by five routes . Anqing was the focus of the entire battle at that time.The Hunan Army captured Anqing, and then they could enter Jiangning again; while the Taiping Army, Anqing's siege not only eliminated the direct threat to "Tianjing", but also penetrated into the two lakes, opened up the Yangtze River, and united the southeast and southwest. , this situation is naturally not the same as being in the southeast corner of the bureau. When Zeng Guofan was appointed governor of Liangjiang, he originally had the task of aiding the East, but he was delayed.This is because Zeng Guofan has his own way of using troops. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty took the Ming as a lesson, and so did all the ministers with knowledge. Zeng Guofan was familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty. Braking and fighting steadily, his entire strategy is to attack from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River with the momentum of a strategic plan.Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty developed Jiangdong and the Yangtze River replaced the Yellow River, if you want to protect Jinling on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, you must defend Wuchang on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Since Wuchang and Jiujiang are under the control of the Hunan Army, then the next step is to attack Anqing. For aid, the momentum will be inconsistent, and it may be attacked by the enemy. Therefore, although Shanghai and Hangzhou are tight, and Xue Huan and Wang Youling's official documents pleading for aid, Zeng Guofan has always refused to withdraw from the siege of Anqing.Surrounding Anqing was his youngest brother, "Old Ninth" Zeng Guoquan. Of course, in order to stabilize the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and overcome Anqing, one must first control the whole of Anhui. Therefore, in addition to encircling Anqing with Zeng Guoquan, sending Duo Long'a to attack Tongcheng, and asking Hu Linyi to manage Huoshan and Shucheng Roads, he also controlled Bao Chao's Ting The 6,000-strong army, and a total of 10,000 other troops, moved to Qimen to succeed Zhang Xiao, governor of Jiangxi, and presided over military affairs in southern Anhui. At that time, the officers and soldiers of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang National Congresses were too busy to move around, and they were at the mercy of Li Xiucheng. Xue Huan and Wang Youling all placed their hopes on Zeng Guofan, but they had different opinions.Wang Youling was eager for reinforcements, while Xue Huan hoped that Zeng's army could go straight to "Tianjing", so that the Taiping Army could "review the basics" and the pressure would be relieved.These opinions were not only appealed to Zeng Guofan, but also to the court. At that time, Wenzong was in Rehe, Prince Gong stayed in Beijing, Sushun and Prince Gong were at odds, and they went their own way. There was no way to come up with a whole set of methods. The original music is still transferred to Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan was not afraid of offending people at that time, so he first accused Zhang Fu, and said in the memorial: "The two defense forces in Huining and Ningxia have used Zhejiang's salaries over the years, about ten million, and the middle of Zhejiang is regarded as the Great Wall. This province has no defense force, once the barriers are completely withdrawn and the bandits drive them away, the people of Hangzhou will suffer catastrophe, Zhang Xiao has to accept the blame.Southern Anhui is vast, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang everywhere, and there is an atmosphere of adversity, almost endless land, but the ministers and jurisdictions should take care of themselves.We must not pay more attention to Zhejiang. "There is another memorial, which is even more honest: "The minister marched from southern Anhui to help Ningguo and attack Guangde urgently. " He also said: "Hui Ning and other genus are full of thieves. Southern Anhui is uneasy, and the army is in danger. How can we shield Zhejiang, and how can we restore normalcy? The current military strength is not complete, and the top cannot divide the Holy Lord. Worried, I feel guilty for not being able to comfort Yun Ni's hope in Su Ren. Terrified. "Speaking of this, Jiangsu and Zhejiang can give up. However, Zeng Guofan didn't completely ignore Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but his plan was too urgent - Zeng Guofan's plan was to let Zuo Zongtang take charge of his own affairs, train another army, and take charge of aiding Zhejiang.At that time, Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, was ordered to supervise the military affairs of Sichuan.Zuo Zongtang was invited to enter Sichuan with him, and Zeng Guofan hurriedly persuaded him to stay. He asked Luo Bingzhang to stay in Hunan on the grounds that "the province of Hunan is empty and people are terrified". He ordered Zuo Zongtang to go to Anhui at the same time. And attack the Soviet Union." Although the imperial decree was as requested, Zuo Zongtang led five thousand troops and had to fight all the way from Jiangxi. Words are like painting cakes. ＊＊＊ When Zeng Guofan's foothold was undecided, the Taiping Army had already launched a plan to march into Anqing by five routes. The order of battle was as follows: The first route started from "Tianjing" by Li Xiucheng, passed through southern Anhui, entered Jiangxi and Hubei in the west, attacked the south bank, and went straight to Wuchang. The second route was introduced by Chen Yucheng from the west of northern Anhui to Hubei, attacked the northern bank, and directly took Hankou and Hanyang.These two lines are a large pincer offensive.It is expected to join forces in Wuhan in the spring of the following year and seize the three towns, and the siege of Anqing downstream will be resolved. In the third route, Yang Fuqing joined forces with Huang Wenjin and Li Yuanji to follow the south bank to the north of Jiangxi. The fourth road, from Li Shixian to the east of Jiangxi via Huizhou.These two routes can contain the Hunan Army on the south bank. The Fifth Route, led by Liu Guanguan, Lai Wenhong, and Gu Longxian, will continue to besiege Qimen Zeng Guofan's camp in order to contain the troops under his command. Of course, it is best to take the opportunity to eliminate them.At the same time, Li Xiucheng wrote that Anqing guards Zhang Chaojue, Ye Yunlai and others tried their best to defend.When the troops from all walks of life succeed, Anqing will not save himself but himself.If the Hunan Army does not retreat and return to rescue Hubei and the Qimen Camp, they will be wiped out.In total, there are more than 100,000 troops in the five armies, and 80,000 to 90,000 troops.All mobilizations will total more than 500,000 people, ten times more than the Hunan Army. Therefore, Zeng Guofan's situation is really very difficult. It cannot be said that he sat by and watched the danger of Jiangsu and Zhejiang without saving them. Among them, Li Shixian, the main general who attacked Qimen Rhubarb, led more than 40,000 troops from the west of Zhejiang Province, and assisted Ningguo. Zhou Tianshou died in the line of duty, and it was only 10 days since Zeng Guofan set up his camp at Qimen. Then Huizhou also fell.This is a major event in Zeng Guofan's lifetime friendship with teachers and friends, and it is also a great regret.But in all fairness, Zeng Guofan really had a last resort. The responsibility for the fall of Huizhou belongs to Li Yuandu.At that time, Li Yuandu returned to Pingjiang, Hunan Province to recruit brave men, formed his own army, and arrived at Qimen before the fall of Ningguo Mansion.Li Yuandu was originally appointed as Wen Chu Dao in Zhejiang Province. Zeng Guofan specially asked him to be transferred to Wannan Dao, and he was going to be in charge of the military affairs in southern Anhui. So when he arrived with Pingjiang's troops, he was immediately assigned to take over the defense of Huizhou.At this time, the foothold was not stable, Zeng Guofan repeatedly warned, but he should stick to it, but Li Yuandu was eager to see success, disobeyed the dispatch, went out of the city to take over the battle, and was defeated repeatedly. To the fall of Huizhou. After the fall of Huizhou, Li Yuandu’s whereabouts were unknown. After Zeng Guofan’s performance, he received a warm edict from Emperor Wenzong: “Li Yuandu was courageous and excellent, and made many achievements in battle. It is a pity that he was defeated this time. Talents are rare, and the minister quickly found out his whereabouts.” Gu Zuo." As a result, Li Yuandu himself appeared in the Qimen Camp without further investigation. Zeng Guofan was extremely disappointed in him.This is not only because of the loss of teachers and ground, but also because of complicated emotional factors-Li Yuandu was originally a recruiter. When Zeng Guofan held a regiment training, he was an academic officer in Guizhou. He liked to talk about soldiers and swords all his life. A long letter of a thousand words, discussing military opportunities freely.Zeng Guofan was greatly appreciated for his trust and was recruited into the shogunate.In the fifth year of Xianfeng, Zeng Jun was ordered to move to Jiangxi, ordered Li Yuandu to return to his hometown of Pingjiang, Hunan, and recruited 3,000 people to Tunhukou. The next year, he moved to Fuzhou, and later moved to Guixi, Zhang Tianshi's hometown, to assist Shen Baozhen in defending Guangxin. Mansion, but only seven hundred of the three thousand disciples remained. In the seventh year of Xianfeng, 20,000 Taiping troops attacked Yushan, but Li Yuandu met the enemy with 700 men and burned the pontoon bridge. Li Yuandu returned to the city and refused to defend, and was attacked by the enemy continuously for two days and nights. He personally supervised the battle at the top of the city, and was shot in the left cheek, and he was wounded and did not retreat.But the enemy suddenly stopped attacking. After careful inspection, they found noises under the ground, and knew that they were digging tunnels again.So, the place was fixed, and a trench was dug first.When the tunnel was dug through, the Taiping army just threw themselves into the trap and retreated in a hurry, while Li Yuandu had laid down the ambush and fought a very beautiful battle. The Guangxin Mansion turned from danger to safety. Named as a Taoist priest, and added the title of inspector, he was given the title of Batulu - the meaning of "warrior" in Manzhou dialect. However, he never went to Zhejiang to play a role. For this reason, the two governors of Zhejiang, Luo Zundian and Wang Youling, complained about Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan had great expectations for Li Yuandu, and he intended to help him achieve great success. First, he was called Wannan Road. A lack of road, as usual, according to the title of inspector. Secondly, when Zeng Guofan played the performance, he wrote a long letter to Li Yuandu, and the plan he made shows the meaning of love. Entering the fertile land in southern Anhui, there is a lot to do.It has been played to your Excellency to make up for the lack of Si.Next year, Guofan will have a trip to Weiyang. Those who belong to the four prefectures and one state will respect each other.Most of the local affairs are handled by your Excellency, military affairs are handled by Ji Gao, and promotion and impeachment are handled by the two public and commercial affairs. It can be seen from this that in Zeng Guofan's mind, Li Yuandu and Zuo Zongtang are compared.Not only that, but emotionally, he also has a preference for Li Yuandu: if your Excellency does not go to Zhejiang to take up his post, the people of Zhejiang will avoid complaining about your Excellency and not being sycophant.However, if the servant guards the famous city of Ningguo with your noble department, and the three armies of Zuo, Zhang, and Bao are assisted by the left and right, the servant will be very loyal to your majesty. On the left is Zuo Zongtang, who was raising 6,000 new troops and going to Jiangxi at the same time. Zeng Guofan was going to let him be the one in Guangde; Attacking Chizhou, the so-called "Zuo, Zhang, Bao" three-way "assistant" is like this; Zeng Guofan used the elite of his troops to help Li Yuandu achieve great success, just like he tried to help Zeng Guoquan achieve great success in many ways, which is equivalent to taking Yuandu as a compatriot Siblings are the same. According to Zeng Guofan's plan, Li Yuandu can be entrusted with a place in southern Anhui, so that he can rectify the Jiangbei camp, not only to aid Anqing, but also to recover.At that time, the Qimen camp was naturally presided over by Li Yuandu. Although he could not be an imperial envoy, he would at least have the title of "assisting in military affairs", and then he would be the superintendent and acting governor. For such a painstaking desire, which turned into deep love and deep hatred, the establishment of the camp was uncertain, and even the famous city was lost. The actual incident also made Zeng Guofan feel great pain.If Li Yuandu really died for the festival, even though the land is lost, the morale will not be lost, and it will be easy to explain to the court.How can you comfort the hope of the king and father, and how can you encourage the soldiers when you have fled back empty like this?Therefore, Zeng Guofan was very troubled, and of course he would not show Li Yuandu a good face. So some mean people in the army made a couplet with inlays: "Scholars don't forget to lose their yuan; why does Gonghu change his degree?" The banner is called "Bitter Li beside the road".Li Yuandu couldn't stand these ridicules, so he came and left without saying goodbye. This time, Zeng Guofan really got angry.According to official affairs, Li Yuandu is currently "listening to investigation" and waiting for the crime, so how can he come and go freely?So I invite you to play strict impeachment. This Muyou was also his protégé, namely Li Hongzhang.Li Hongzhang first returned to Anhui from Lu Xianji to run a regiment training, and later he was the governor of Anhui, also in his teacher Fuji shogunate.Usually obey the teacher's orders, but this is the only thing that has raised objections. "Li Ciqing shared hardships with the teacher. It seems inappropriate to use such a decisive method." "Li Ciqing took the blame on himself." Zeng Guofan said, "It's the beginning of the establishment of the camp. If he is useless like him and doesn't listen to the management, how can I gain a foothold in Qimen?" "Qimen is shaped like the bottom of a cauldron. It is the so-called 'jedi' of military strategists, and it is not suitable for camping." Li Hongzhang also said: "If the teacher must impeach Li Ciqing, the disciples dare not draft." Zeng Guofan stroked his beard and said slowly, "I'll do it myself!" "Sure enough, the disciple is about to say goodbye." Li Hongzhang has been fighting hard since then, but Zeng Guofan was unmoved at all, and stretched out his hand: "Your respect!" The words of the master and the apprentice froze, so Li Hongzhang packed his luggage that day and fled to Jiangxi. Sure enough, Zeng Guofan personally drafted the draft and published the performance, and on the tenth day of October, he was issued an imperial edict: "Li Yuandu in the Southern Anhui Province can't stick to it and wait for help, so he will be dismissed immediately and asked." ＊＊＊ At this time, Li Yuandu had already returned to his hometown of Pingjiang.He left the neighboring camp without saying goodbye, not because he fled in fear of crime, but because he felt that he was definitely not a "bitter plum on the roadside" that no one appreciated, and he was going back to Pingjiang to recruit other people and bring them out to avenge his shame. Li Yuandu was extremely lenient, but he didn't know right from wrong. If his subordinates violated the law, they could be forgiven if they asked for mercy.Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the battalion loved and loved him, but they were not afraid of him much, and they did not listen to his orders much.It is human nature to be afraid of strictness and leniency, and the children from my hometown heard that Li Yuandu had come to recruit troops, and they were very enthusiastic, and soon formed another army, named "Anyue Army". "Yue" refers to East Zhejiang, so "Anyue Army" as the name suggests, it can be seen that it is a single team supporting East Zhejiang-Li Yuandu and Zhejiang have a relationship again, and it is a person named Deng Fulun who intervenes. Deng Fulun's father was a Jiangxi bureaucrat, and his family was well-off.Since Li Yuandu is a small fellow from the same town, he "led" the soldiers who crossed Pingjiang for him.The offensive and defensive battle of Guangxin Mansion came to an end. Li Yuandu returned to Pingjiang to recruit troops again, but Deng Fulun donated a Taoist priest from Tongzhi Newspaper and distributed them to Zhejiang. He arrived in Hangzhou in July of this year. Soon Li Yuandu was ashamed of losing his teacher and land. Deng Fulun got in touch with him and spoke to Wang Youling for him, saying that he could recruit Pingjiang Yongding to aid Zhejiang.The most difficult thing for Wang Youling is the lack of troops.Therefore, Deng Fulun's suggestion was deeply in his heart, and he agreed that if Li Yuandu could do this, he could come forward to play the tune, which virtually relieved him of the responsibility for the failure of southern Anhui.So Li Yuandu left without saying goodbye in Qimen Daying. By the time Li Yuandu was dismissed and asked about the tenth day of October, he had led his troops out of Pingjiang.At that time, Li Xiucheng entered Hubei from southern Anhui and Jiangxi, collected troops along the way, and returned to Jinling by the same route.李元度就跟在太平军的后面，由湖南入江西，一前一后，旌旗相望，而实在不曾接仗，但李元度却诳报克复了江西义宁等地。湖北、江西，居然据以出奏，这一下革职拿问之事，便无形中搁置了下来。 祁门大营，自宁国、徽州接连失陷后，情势危殆，幸亏鲍超、张运兰两军得力，而左宗棠由幕僚转为带兵官，如新硎初发，其势极锐，驻军江西景德镇，与皖南为犄角之势。左宗棠当时骄气还不太盛，与曾国藩相处，还能和衷共济。此外则彭玉麟驻湖口，当水路要隘，对于局势的稳定，亦颇有帮助，所以在咸丰十一年初，大致已站定脚步。其时的情势，可由曾国藩致其长子纪泽的一封家书中，看出大概：正月十四日发第二号家信，谅已收到。日内祁门尚属平安。鲍春霆自初九日在洋塘获胜后，即追贼至彭泽，官军驻牯牛岭，贼匪踞下隅坂，与之相持，尚未开仗。日内雨雪泥泞，寒霜凛冽，气象殊不适人意，伪忠王李秀成一股，正月初五日围玉山县，初八日围广丰县，初十日围广信县，均经官军竭力坚守，解围以去。现窜铅山之吴坊、陈坊等处，或由金溪以窜抚建，或经由东乡以扑江西省城，皆意中之事。余属刘养素等坚守抚建，而省城亦预筹防守事宜，只要李逆一股，不甚扰江西腹地，黄逆一股，不再犯景德镇等。三、四月间，安庆克复，江北可分兵来助南岸，则大局必有转机矣！ 目下春季尚早，必有危险迭见，余当谨慎图之，泰然处之。 鲍春霆就是鲍超。他的部队即名为“霆”军。其人是中国行伍出身的军人中，最可爱的一个，曾国藩平生驭将，亦以得鲍超为赏心快意的一大乐事。彼此相知甚深，有许多佳话流传。 皖南及江西的局势倒是稳定好转了，浙江的局面却是从咸丰十年二月杭州初次失守，到此时将满一年，始终未见起色，论各省军务，浙江是最弱的一环。提督饶廷选固少将略，谈浙江本省的兵力，主力不过衢州镇总兵李定太的一万二千人，保土御匪，都靠杨昌濬的所谓“借将”，最显著的是张玉良，借自江南大营，此外还有林文察，是清朝台湾的唯一将才。 借将以外，复有借势。借势者靠恃他省为屏障，因此皖南的军饷，一直由浙江筹拨，年耗三十余万，而周天受门户之见极深，浙江并未能获得保护的实益。当洪杨初起时，各省都在练兵，惟有黄宗汉采取御敌于境外的策略并不错，且颇受文宗的奖许，但因此便缺乏如胡林翼所说的，“得力之将数人以折冲御侮于其间。”实亦非始料所及。 至于彼此相仇，则说来最令人痛心，所谓“乖气致戾”，只谈一件事，就可想见：有个四川人，叫王道平，在杭州城内巡抚衙门前面的“梅花碑”摆测字摊，已经十几年，忽然有人疑心他通匪，说已接受太平天国的伪号，就是王道平三个字翻过来，伪封为“平道王”。 这样匪夷所思的事，居然有人相信，拿他捆送营务处，要求立即处决。官府当然要依律审问，搜查他的寓所，毫无佐证，而暴民鼓噪辕门，群聚不散，结果将王道平拉了出来，“脔割其肉立尽”，这股乖戾之气，实在可惊亦复可忧。 乖戾之事，不一而足，愈到危急时愈甚，远道风闻，只道浙江的局势，是名副其实的“兵凶战危”，避之为吉。 当然，认为浙江的局面不祥，仅是他省手握兵符的大帅不肯援浙的三个原因之一，此外两个原因是：第一，自顾且不暇，如果舍己耘人，何异纵井相救，第二，何桂清失陷苏常，影响大局不细，士论对何桂清十分不利，而王有龄是何的谋主，连带予人以很不佳的印象，当然亦无法激起他人奋身援手的侠义心肠。 因此，尽管王有龄赏加头品顶戴，圣眷甚隆，但他支撑浙江的局面，其中艰难困窘，怨谤丛集，几次欲哭无泪之苦，实非局外人所能想像。最感棘手的，还是兵饷两事。饷则竭泽而渔，先以协济他省的，至此自给不足，先是积欠三四个月始能发给一个月，换句话只能照原额发放三分之一或四分之一，到了咸丰十一年春天，积欠三四个月竟只能发放半个月了。 因此，不但军纪愈坏，扰民更甚，兵民相仇的程度更深，而且借来的客军，纷纷求去——当然，讨还援兵的省份，亦有其不得已的苦衷，如福建由于咸丰十年冬，武平、连城、长汀失守，第二年春天便不能不要求撤回闽勇。 闽勇由总兵曾玉明、副将惠寿所统带，而实际上的主将是林文察。他是台湾彰化人，字子明，咸丰八年助剿淡水土匪，捐饷助军，做了武官，官衔是游击，留福建补用。咸丰十年，建宁、邵武及宁洋、永安间，有两大股土匪骚扰，为林文察所破，因功擢升参将，赐号“巴图鲁”，巴图鲁必赏穿黄马褂，但称号不同，林文察此时的称号叫做“固勇巴图鲁”。 林文察受命援浙，是在咸丰十年十二月初。当时太平军由江西出浙江婺源，攻下常山，接着江山亦易手。林文察以孤军受命收复江山，在失守后的第五天，与太平军大战于大溪滩，旗开得胜，连夜追击，李世贤屯江山一带的部队有两万多人，倾巢而出，分三路抄袭。林文察所部只有二千人，分别迎战，又大胜一仗，斩获千余，李世贤退回江山城内，自此日有接战，互有胜负，形成胶着的形势。 十二月廿五，林文察发动一次突袭，亲自带兵“踏营”，林文察的部队，得力于火器精良，一时火光烛天，城内大震。 他在踏毁十几座敌营以后，乘胜攻城。他一面身先士卒，登云梯、攀城墙，一面设下埋伏。李世贤所部仓卒遇变惊惶失措，由西、北两面遁走，为林文察预先埋伏的炮兵所轰击，伤亡甚众。江山县城亦就在这一夜为林文察所收复。因此，擢升副将，晋号为“乌讷思齐巴图鲁”。 到了咸丰十一年二月间，闽浙总督庆端要求撤回闽勇，王有龄万分不愿，但其势实不可留，因为名义上浙江归闽浙总督管辖，而总督又有节制辖区军务的全权，可以直接下令总兵曾玉明撤调人马。 这一下，去了一万多人；而且是颇能打仗的台湾和漳州籍的部队，浙江的防务大受影响，王有龄奏调在湘军中不甚得意的的将领秦如虎、刘培元募勇来浙。但最盼望的却是李元度，王有龄让朱大器筹集了一笔现银，间关送到军前，而李元度一入江西境内，行军甚慢。杭州城内天天传说：“李道台的兵快到了！”其实是地方大吏，为了安定人心，故意放的空气。 其时除了杭州以外，上起嘉兴，下至浙江与江西、安徽交界之处，都有太平军的踪迹。所幸者，钱塘江南岸的宁波、绍兴两府，完整无缺，但全省１５路军需，亦不能尽靠宁绍。 此外湖州孤悬，而赵景贤守得极好，此人是一奇才，与太平军作战，几乎从未吃过败仗，是王有龄唯一可以信任的带兵官。 那时已经文武不分，由监司到县令，莫不是带兵官，而且亦似军民不分，办团练的绅士，亦莫不是带兵官。宁绍的防务，就由在籍绅士王履谦负责，他寄籍顺天府大兴县，本籍绍兴，字吉云，与曾国藩同一年点的翰林，官做到左副都御史，咸丰七年免职，为文宗派为浙东团练大臣，跟王有龄不和，成了浙江局面的致命伤。 ＊＊＊ 到了这年夏天，太平军五路援安庆的计划，几乎完全失败。其中最重要的是李秀成的第一路、陈玉成的第二路和李世贤的第四路，第四路的任务是先攻皖南，断湘军的粮道，但集中二三十万人围攻祁门一隅之地，却始终未能打垮曾国藩的大营。先是第三路黄文金为鲍起、左宗棠一败再败，不能成军，接着是李世贤的第四路，先胜后败，为左宗棠大破于景德镇以南的乐平。统全军撤回浙江，从此不复再能窥伺皖赣。 第二路先由陈玉成自桐城、霍山进入鄂北，占领英山，陈玉成其前锋伪装清兵，长驱直下，向南疾进，十一日之间，行军六百余里，连下三城，由蕲水攻陷黄州。据说英国公使馆的参赞巴夏礼，正陪英国海军司令何伯，从上海坐兵舰西上，到汉口去调查开商埠的事，经过黄州，与陈玉成见面，劝他不可再向西进兵攻武汉，以免妨碍英国通商，否则必致与英国军队发生冲突。同时又告诉陈玉成，说一路西来，绝未听到李秀成或有其他太平军部队进兵江西的消息，警告他孤军深入，必无后援。陈玉成信以为真，放弃了与李秀成会攻武汉的计划，回军去援安庆——陈玉成的老母妻儿，全军都被围在安庆城内。 当时湖北防务，甚为空虚，武昌只有巡抚的直属部队，所谓“抚标”二千余人。所以听说黄州失守，在前线的胡林翼，大为震动，调兵回救，则陈玉成已经远去，安徽巡抚李续宜的部队，和彭玉麟的水师，一路追击，颇有所获。于是湖北解严而安庆的大战爆发了。 安庆是于上年六月间起被围，城内的太平军只有一万多人。曾国荃在城外构筑长壕，扎营三处：集贤关、盐河及城东北的菱湖，互为犄角，并有杨岳斌的水师支援，阵势相当巩固。外围则有多隆阿的马队作接应，多隆阿原属科尔沁亲王僧格林沁部下，与鲍超一在皖北，一在皖南，为曾国藩麾下最重要的两支部队。 由于“天京”定策，有五路援安庆的计划，所以此一地区由秋徂冬，由冬至春，战况沉寂。城虽被围，粮食弹药无缺，多由英国商船自上海经长江运来接济。这样“相安无事”的局面，至此打破，陈玉成未到之前，就檄调留守天长、六合的太平军，西来助战，一方面由菱湖通城内的水路增援城防，一方面在菱湖北岸建营垒１３座，预备里外夹击攻曾国荃。 曾国荃当然亦有相应的措施，第一步是加强控制菱湖，通知杨战福开来二十几只炮船，由长江抬上岸，再自菱湖东岸入水、巡弋湖面。第二步是向曾国藩求援，其时曾国藩由于左宗棠乐平大捷，皖南局势安定了下来，已接到陈玉成回扑安庆的消息，移驻安庆附近的东流，派鲍超一军赴援，同时胡林翼亦派副将成大吉一军助战。当然，多隆阿亦早由桐城回师，配合作战，李绩宜以安徽巡抚的身分，守土有责，带军会战，更不在话下。 清军一增援，太平军亦不能不再添兵力，五路援安庆的计划，既已失败，则安庆一地直接成为双方短兵相接，势在必争的焦点，所以太平军方面，凡能动用的兵力，无不投入，由洪仁?亲自渡江到前线指挥。安庆北面的战场重重包围，陈玉成包围曾国荃，扎营在高路浦的多隆阿包围陈玉成；而新赶到的洪仁?则屯兵在新安渡至练潭一带，又包围了多隆阿。 双方接战，由菱湖水面开始，互有胜负。但岸上的仗，清军打得很好，多隆阿一胜于练潭、再胜于新安渡。而陈玉成想攻破曾国荃，则以凭壕固守，太平军劳而无功。 于是太平军重行部署，以挂车河为中心，分左、右、中三路，共３万人发动总攻击，多隆阿首当其冲，分五路迎敌。 由于陈玉成“后期”，以致三路皆北。这是四月中旬的事，不久，陈玉成先锋，安徽桐城人的程学启，率领部下千余人，在集贤关投降湘军。程学启是太平军的名将，后来为李鸿章所用，深为得力。 到了五月初一，鲍超与成大吉合力攻赤岗岭的太平军，其地在集贤关，共有四垒，鲍超第一天攻破了三垒，守将三人均阵亡。第二天攻残余的一垒，这垒的守将，是陈玉成最得力的部下刘玱琳。因为势孤力弱，弃垒而走，结果为鲍超部下阵斩。曾国藩一次给朋友写信，曾称刘玱琳为“玱琳先生”，不知盗亦有道，值得如此尊称，还是戏谑之词？ 这一仗下来，曾国荃一军转危为安。太平军则另调杨辅清一军，与陈玉成在皖北会合，预备再举。但菱湖南北岸的太平军八千人，却又投降了。 在传说中，这八千人的下场极惨。据说，当太平军派人接洽投降时，曾国荃下令，须先缴械。太平军遵令而行，结果曾国荃命他部属中，唯一非湖南人的朱洪章，尽屠此八千人，靡有孑遗。正史中有关安庆之役的记载，及曾氏兄弟与朱洪章的纪传，都不曾提到有这八千人投降的事，自然更谈不到“尽屠”之说。杀降不祥，而况菱湖东岸为曾家的老幺贞干所防守，程学启的投降，就是曾贞干的设计，同为降军，待遇大不相同，似乎是一大矛盾，但研究太平天国史者，多主此说。看来是一重难明的疑案了。 不过到了六月初一，菱湖西岸太平军的营垒，尽为曾国荃所破，则是记此战役必须大书一笔的，因为从此安庆城外已无太平军，而真正的围城开始了。 适逢其会的是，恭亲王所主持，新成立的“总理各国事务衙门”，在外交上相当活跃，与英国公使达成了一项协议：“禁止洋船济匪”，同时严令“禁止汉奸附载长江英法轮船，贪利济匪”。总理衙门并以同样内容的照会，分致法国和俄国公使。英国海军并派兵舰，巡弋长江作有效封锁。于是安庆城内，大起恐慌，守军乏食，纷纷出降。城内百姓到后来甚至吃人肉以求生。 外围的太平军，当然也要作最后的挣扎，杨辅清会合陈玉成由无为州绕道桐城以北，攻怀宁以西的太湖，同时一路抢割已熟的稻子。这一带属于多隆阿的防区，双方兵力为十比一，但多军士气正旺，迎面痛剿，斩获甚多，太平军桐城西南二面的七座营垒，为多军攻破。但多隆阿甚为机警，防备太平军夜袭，每每扎营以后，又复他去，敌人常常扑空，反为多隆阿所伏击，死伤甚众。 到了七月下半月，太平军集合余部，获得四五万人，重新进入集贤关，筑新垒四十余座，预备固守。集贤关是桐城与安庆之间的一处要隘——安庆府北３０里，有座大龙山，稍东相接的另一高峰，名为小龙山。两山盘亘，下瞰长江，南面两山相夹之处，名为门山，形容其为两山之门，再向南有白麟、火炉诸峰，山脉潜而复现，耸起如脊，所以名叫脊现岭。集贤就是脊现二字，以讹传讹的谐音。集贤关就在脊现岭上，离安庆府１５里，安庆的北门，即以集贤关得名，叫做集贤门。 从以上介绍的形势，可知集贤关易守难攻，但为解安庆之围，实亦不容此处的太平军，固守自保，所以从七月二十起，这四五万太平军，分１０余路猛扑曾国荃所部的长壕。城内太平军亦在四门列队，准备接应，这样到了七月廿八，始终无功。 其时城内外两处太平军，一线交通，就靠菱湖通安庆水门的河道，城外太平军以小艇偷运粮食接济城内，城内则以因为欠缺火药而废置无用的枪炮，接济城外太平军。不幸在七月廿九日，双方的接济，都为在菱湖巡弋的清军水师所截获。 在同一天，朱洪章击退了集贤关向菱湖进攻的太平军，这是安庆之战的最后一仗。从此，不但城内守军已断指望，集贤关上的援军亦放弃了救安庆之想，退出集贤关外，退桐城、退石牌、退太湖、退宿松，有的回天京、有的到皖南。 七月三十，城内守军逃的逃，降的降，残余少数，与曾国荃取得联络，以放一条生路为条件而献城，于是八月一日卯刻，湘军入城，百战艰难，终于克复了安庆。 安庆之克，是平洪杨战史上的一件大事，亦是曾国藩“以静制动”战略成功的一大效验。双方的重视安庆，可由曾国藩的函札中见其大概，咸丰十一年四月初四日致其长子纪泽的家书中说：此次贼救安庆，取势乃在千里以外，如湖北则破黄州、破德安、破孝感、破随州、云梦、黄梅、蕲州等属。江西则破吉安、破瑞州、吉水、新淦、永丰等属，皆所以分兵力，亟肆以疲我，多方以误我。贼之善于用兵，似较昔年更狡更悍。 吾但求力破安庆一关，此外皆不遽与之争得失。转旋之机，只在一二月可决耳。 在这封信的十天以前，祁门解围，而陈玉成回军皖北，曾国藩急遣鲍超赴援时，曾有信致其四弟曾国潢，得失萦怀，忧思忡忡，溢于言表：“忽闻四眼狗逼集贤关外，九弟季弟又十分紧急，不得已抽朱云严五百人，赴安庆助守于壕内，及调鲍春霆带八千人赴安庆助攻于关外。此次安庆之得失，关系吾家之气运，即关系天下之安危，不知沅、季能坚守半月，以待援兵否？若安庆能转危为安，则事尚可为耳。” 在此时，曾国藩的全部希望，寄托在鲍超身上，他确信，只要鲍超能够赶到，战局即可稳定。但其时风雨大作，道路泥泞，即令鲍超能冒雨行军，辎重用羊角车装载，则无法求速，所以曾国藩所忧虑的是，鲍超未到之前，曾国荃的长壕可能已先为陈玉成所攻破。结果鲍超不负所望，大败陈玉成于集贤关，所以论克安庆之功，关键系在鲍超身上。 安庆既克，曾国藩当日便在对岸的东流接到了捷报，即时有信覆曾国荃说：接喜信，知本日卯刻克复安庆。是时恰值“日月合璧，五星联珠”，钦天监于五月具奏，似为非常祥瑞。今皖城按时应验，