Chapter 12 Chapter 6 (1-2)

Of course, there are also things to be happy about. The first is to restore the famous city, which is a great achievement. From then on, Xue Huan and his like can no longer shake him.The second is that the Taiping army accumulated a lot, "eight chieftains were punished in parallel", and all the wealth fell into the hands of the Huai army, so Li Hongzhang naturally gained a lot.It is said that there are as many as 200,000 catties of tin for melting candle holders and incense burners alone. It goes without saying that the generals of the Huai army are all fully loaded.The more elegant but the most affordable one was Ding Richang, who was an alternate magistrate and in charge of arms for Li Hongzhang. He bought tens of thousands of volumes of rare books at a low price.Suzhou is a district where people gather together, it has not been attacked by soldiers for hundreds of years, and there are countless Song and Yuan masterpieces hidden in the old house.

Li Hongzhang quickly forgot about the thrilling day and night, and deployed to attack Wuxi in the west and Jiaxing in the south with great energy.Unexpectedly, extreme joy begets sorrow, trouble is coming! ＊＊＊ The news of the Huai army's killing and surrender was brought to Shanghai by Gordon, and the foreigners were outraged, thinking that the Western officers in the Ever Victorious Army should no longer help the barbaric Huai army and massacre innocents.At the same time, he criticized Gordon quite a bit, saying that his guarantee was worthless.The consuls of the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, because the actions of the Huai army violated the stipulation that the public law of the world must not kill prisoners, and it was unforgivable from a humane point of view, so they gathered to discuss whether they should correct their attitudes, not help the Qing army, and change their attitudes. Keep neutral?

It was decided at the meeting that each should report to the ministers stationed in Beijing and make representations to the Prime Minister's State Affairs Office, while the British admiral Bai Lang lodged a protest to Li Hongzhang.The attitude of the British on this important public case is the most intense. This is not only because the British consul and the admiral of the army and navy stationed in China are always presiding over the defense of Shanghai and the assistance of the Huai army. The pretext of the Conservative Party, if there is no satisfactory disposal result, may cause political tide.

Li Hongzhang had heard about these situations in advance, and he once entrusted his "foreigner", also a British man, Ma Geli, to persuade Gordon, who declared that he was not restrained, to calm down his anger. There was no result in the dredging, so Bai Lang took the translator to Suzhou to ask Li Hongzhang for his crime. "Members of our Congress accused the British Empire of cooperating with such a barbaric Chinese army, which is a great disgrace to Britain." Bai Lang said angrily, "I am here to reason with you on behalf of the British monarch and the British Parliament."

What Li Hongzhang was most afraid of was that the prime minister's office could not bear the pressure of foreign ministers, and issued an order to reprimand or punish him. Although he was timid about Bai Lang's questioning, it was not difficult to deal with it after all. He asked calmly: "What is my fault?" place, do you want to be reasonable?" "You shouldn't kill the surrendered Taiping army, let alone use shameless deception." "I have my reasons for killing and surrendering. In order to take the overall situation into consideration, the so-called arrow is on the string, so I have to launch it. You may not understand these reasons, and I don't need to explain them to you in detail."

"The reputation of the British army is involved, so I have to lodge a protest." Bai Lang said again, "This matter is very serious, and you must admit your mistake in writing before there is a way to recover." Li Hongzhang was very angry after hearing the interpreter's interpretation, but he was a powerful character after all, so he replied with a calm smile, "This is China's military affairs and has nothing to do with foreign countries. I can't admit your mistake." "How do you say it has nothing to do with foreign countries? Gordon has a guaranteed responsibility in this matter."

"Gordon is a guest teacher, yes. But I ask, who pays him and who controls him?" These words seem plausible, but Bai Lang is not weak. Through his translator Mei Huili, he told Li Hongzhang: "Gordon has already stated that he does not want to be restrained by you, so he will not ask you again. Pay, and now you say the same, that's good, let Gordon move freely." When Gordon returned to Kunshan from Suzhou, he took away Gao Yongkuan's adopted son, Gao Shengbiao, and more than a thousand "old long hairs" who had "conglong" since the Jintian incident also voted for him, and there were rumors that Gordon wanted to retake the counties near Shanghai from Li Hongzhang and return them to the Taiping Army.Although this is a false threat, but if the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry, if it is so crowded that people can't get off the field, it is not accidental that the fake will become real and arouse the victorious army's mutiny.

Therefore, Li Hongzhang acted according to the wind, and replied: "Listen to Admiral Bo's words, not to talk about some reason, but to mediate, then it will be easy to handle, we might as well talk about it calmly." So Li Hongzhang explained why he had to kill and surrender.First of all, Wu Jianying and Luo Guozhong, the guards of the Taiping Army in Nanhui and Changshu, were mentioned as an example. After the two men surrendered, they still led the troops.It is because they are all willing to withdraw from the city and accept the constraints, so they are guaranteed to be lieutenant generals, and their credibility is unquestionable.

"From this, it can be seen that I am a person who likes to kill and surrender?" Li Hongzhang said, "Gao Yongkuan and the eight of them are asking for too much extravagance. They are entrenched in Suzhou City, just like an enemy. The relationship is too big to be tolerated. If there is a difference at that time I will never use this method to disband 200,000 long-haired people who do not obey orders. Weighing the benefits, killing eight people can save hundreds of thousands, I think this is reasonable, and it is reasonable to criticize it all over the world." "Even if this is plausible, you should always listen to Gordon's opinion!"

"Gordon wasn't in Suzhou at the time." Li Hongzhang was quick-witted and insisted on lying, "He has returned to Kunshan, so there is no time to discuss it with him." "Suzhou is very close to Kunshan, so it is very convenient to send someone to find him." "Admiral Bo is also a general. He knows the art of war. How do you speak in layman's terms?" Li Hongzhang shook his head at Mei Huili. "In any case, the surrender of the general of the Taiping Army was witnessed by Gordon, so any modification of the covenant should obtain the consent of the witness." Bai Lang raised his voice, "Britain is a civilized country, and British officers are not allowed to be so barbaric. behavior. This matter, your handling is wrong, you should admit it. "

Li Hongzhang refused to admit his mistake, but he did not argue further.According to the practice of dealing with affairs in Chinese official circles, this is a concession.However, Bai Lang didn't understand, he only felt that the negotiation was fruitless, so he got up and left angrily.Before leaving, he said: The future movement of the Ever Victorious Army will be decided by the British Minister through negotiations with the Prime Minister's Office. At present, Li Hongzhang has no right to command. ＊＊＊ There was a hint of coercion in Bai Lang's tone.Li Hongzhang convened a staff meeting and thought that there might be two troubles: first, the Changsheng Army acted without authorization, or supported the more than a thousand old long-haired men who attacked the city. The recovery of Changzhou; the second is that Bai Lang encouraged the British minister to make tough representations to the Zongli Yamen, and the imperial court would issue an order to condemn it.If the first trouble occurs, the second trouble will be even greater. To solve these two troubles, it was agreed that the bottom line should be taken from the bottom to appease Gordon. Li Hongzhang accepted Muyou's suggestion and decided to reward the Ever Victorious Army with 70,000 silver dollars.And immediately prepare the official documents, and send them to Huang Fang, Jianghai Customs Road. Regardless of any money, first withdraw 70,000 yuan in cash and send it to Kunshan immediately. In addition, Li Hongzhang had other plans; he specially sent someone to find Liu Mingchuan who was stationed at Yanqiao outside Wuxi City, and the first sentence he said was: "Sang San, you are the one I invited to help." This is the power technique under Li Hongzhang's control.He feels that a scholar is in the midst of martial arts, if the generals join forces to conspire, if not their lives, at least their futures will be lost, so he usually doesn't like to be too close to his generals, and he uses more or less divisive methods to make him They are suspicious of each other, difficult to share with each other, but only listen to their own orders.At this time, his words were referring to Cheng Xueqi, who made the greatest contribution in the Huai army, meaning that Cheng Xueqi was appointed by Zeng Guofan and belonged to the Huai army, and Liu Mingchuanfang was a direct descendant he had found, so he should make extra efforts. Liu Mingchuan, nicknamed "Liu Mazi", was a man of cunning and resolute character. Once he heard Li Hongzhang's words, he knew there was no reason for them; so he pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Why do you mention this, my lord?" "I got into trouble for foreigners. In all honesty, although Cheng Fangzhong's methods are a bit ruthless, it is beneficial to all of us, but I have to send him to fight in Jiaxing. Do you know why?" "It's just to keep him and Gordon farther away, so that enemies don't have a narrow road." "No! Save three! If you don't understand my painstaking efforts, you will fail me." When Liu Mingchuan heard this, he naturally expressed panic, "Mingchuan has no place to be ashamed!" Liu Ming said, "I have been deploying in Wuxi for more than a month. I don't know the situation of the camp. Please let me know." "Cheng Fangzhong's contribution to defeating Suizhou, to be honest, is even worse than Zeng Jiu's victory over Anqing. I don't want him to share your contribution to Fuxichang, you should know?" "Yes!" Liu Mingchuan said gratefully, "Your Excellency cares about Gu Mingchuan like this, but I ignored it. It is an unforgivable crime." "Heavy words, serious words!" Li Hongzhang said, "I am not afraid of foreigners, I am only afraid of the imperial court, and the imperial court is not afraid, I am only afraid of you!" "My lord!" Liu Mingchuan was startled, but his face was very calm, "Why are you afraid of six pockmarks?" "I'm afraid you won't be ruthless!" Li Hongzhang changed his low and pure voice, shook his hand and said, "Everything is fake, and victory is true! Sheng San, as long as you are ruthless, Wuxi will be taken away!" Come down, when the victory comes to Beijing, the imperial court will definitely reward you. Needless to say, the most important thing is that this proves that Cheng Fangzhong has done the right thing. Suzhou is not secure. How can there be victory in Wuxi? The imperial court only needs to think of this level, Naturally, you won’t pay attention to what foreigners say! Shengsan, Fang Zhong is opening the way for you, and you should seize the opportunity!” Liu Mingchuan thought to himself, the meaning in the obedient words seems to be that if Suzhou is one gram, Wuxi must be the same; if he can't win Wuxi, he will not be as good as Cheng Xueqi!Of course he also knew that Li Hongzhang was a fierce general, but fame and wealth depended on military merits.If you are not stimulated by it, you will become sorry for yourself.Thinking of this, he became more calm, frowned a pair of bushy eyebrows, pondered for a while and asked, "When will your lord want to conquer Wuxi?" "Within three days. How?" Liu Mingchuan couldn't agree for a while, he hesitated and said, "I'm afraid it won't work in three days." "Then how many days do you want?" Liu Mingchuan still couldn't give a definite answer. After thinking about it, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, he couldn't figure it out for a while. "Do you feel that there are not enough troops?" "Not really!" Liu Mingchuan replied slowly. What is the reason if it is not enough troops?When Li Hongzhang thought about it, he understood that Liu Mingchuan wanted to monopolize the great achievements.Wuxi was encircled, with Guo Songlin's help, Liu Mingchuan was already reluctant, and adding troops to help would be to share his credit.However, he broke Wuxi by himself, but he was not sure for a while.This is a dilemma, and he can't make up his mind, so he hesitates. Knowing what is on his mind, it is easy to deal with it, "Save the three, Wuxi, no matter what, the credit must be your first!" Li Hongzhang gave him a reassurance first, and then Fang Shi said: "I will send Ji Quan to help you, Listen to your temperance." "Ji Quan" is Li Hezhang.Because he was Li Hongzhang's younger brother, his army was particularly well equipped, and there was a "three-eyed cannon", which was a sharp weapon for attacking the city.What Liu Mingchuan was afraid of was that Li Hongzhang's treatment of Li Hezhang would be like Zeng Guofan's treatment of Zeng Guoquan, who would single-mindedly cultivate and help each other to make contributions.Now that he heard him say this, most of his doubts disappeared, so he promised to do his best and immediately launched a fierce attack, hoping to achieve victory within three days. After sending Liu Mingchuan away, Li Hongzhang called Guo Songlin again, and had another story to say. "Zimei!" he said, "Huaijun Chengjun, you are the coach. There is something that I have always worried about, and I feel sorry for you." "My lord's words are serious. Songlin doesn't think anything." "That's how you measure up." Li Hongzhang put on a high hat first, and then said the "deep heart" matter: "You and Shengsan were both promoted to lieutenant generals last year. In February this year, Shengsan was promoted to general , you got a 'Second Grade Enclosure', in name only. Although they are all named admirals now, Shengsan is the actual commander-in-chief of Langshan Town, and you are a false title.In comparison, you are too wronged. " Guo Songlin originally had this idea, but now Li Hongzhang has explained it to the truth, and he felt that he knew him first, so he bowed and replied: "My lord cultivates it." "Fame and wealth are partly determined by God's will and partly by manpower. Zimei, I am finally the 'head of the family', and there are many difficulties in dealing with things. I can only wrong my own people. You see, Ji Quan is only a fourth-rank magistrate so far, followed by you!" This means that Guo Songlin was naturally grateful when he saw it personally, and immediately replied: "It is enough to have an adult." "Not enough!" Li Hongzhang said sharply: "Now is an opportunity, Zimei, you must not miss it. Li Xiucheng has been entrenched in Wuxi since he left Suzhou. This person is very important and has a lot of connections. If anyone catches him, Hong Yang is flat! Think about it, it’s not too much to be awarded a title for meritorious service!" The word "canonization" touched Guo Songlin's heart.Fifth-class nobles are hereditary, and if you earn a title from military merits, you will not only honor your ancestors, but also be honored by your descendants. I am afraid that you will become the first family in Xiangtan? "Yes!" Guo Songlin replied firmly, "Songlin will do his best to deal with this thief." "Sure enough, it's an extravagant hope for Uncle Hou." Li Hongzhang patted Guo Songlin on the shoulder and said, "I've prepared a unicorn patch as a gift, so I can do it myself." The Viscount's complement uses unicorns, the same as Wu Yipin.Hearing Li Hongzhang's promise, Guo Songlin was full of joy and rushed back to the Wuxi army overnight. ＊＊＊ There are no fewer than ten first- and second-rank officials such as admirals, chief soldiers, and deputy generals surrounding Wuxi, but the full command is in the hands of Li Hezhang, the "fourth-rank title governor of the state", because he is also the general office of the battalion office. On the front line, as usual, the commander-in-chief controls the entire army.Li Hongzhang said that Li Hezhang was controlled by Liu Mingchuan, which was just a polite remark.At the same time, Liu Mingchuan's task was not to attack the city, but to cut off the passage between Changzhou and Wuxi.According to Li Hezhang, this is a more important mission than siege. On the first day of November, a general attack was launched. Guo Songlin surrounded the south gate, Zhang Shusheng surrounded the east gate, and Zhou Shengbo surrounded the north gate, leaving the west gate as a long-haired retreat—after all, scholars use soldiers, which is not contrary to ancient times. The siege of the city has to be surrounded on three sides. When the net is opened, it will be a battle of trapped beasts.Just like how Chang Mao surrounded Hangzhou and Huzhou, he was so trapped that after many years, the people suffered, but Chang Mao also lost his vitality.Li Hongzhang's ambition is to conquer the city, not to wipe out Changmao, so naturally he would not do such a stupid thing.However, having said that, in addition to Liu Mingchuan guarding the Yanqiao, Li Hongzhang still deployed heavy troops in Wuxi to Jiangyin in the northwest and Yixing in the southwest to prevent Changmao from running around after leaving the city. Chang Mao guarding Wuxi is a father and son, the "King of Chaos" Huang Zilong and his son, with 60,000 to 70,000 people under their command, plus Li Xiucheng's retreating army, there are no less than 100,000 people.However, morale was already low. The Huai army attacked on three sides, and the Hunan army navy division Huang Yisheng assisted in the battle. After a day and a night, Huang Zilong couldn't support it. In the middle of the second day of the junior high school, he led five or six thousand long-haired men to break through the siege. He first wanted to go to the north gate, but Zhou Shengbo stopped him head-on and attacked the west gate.Li Hezhang and Guo Songlin climbed up to the top of the city at the south gate, cut off the gate and unlocked it, and sent a large team into the city.Guo Songlin went to the city one by one to find Li Xiucheng first.The rebellious army didn't know where it was, and couldn't inquire about it. Guo Songlin reacted accordingly and went to the "Chaowang Mansion" to capture Huang Zilong's son Huang Demao alive. The city had surrendered, but the battle was still going on outside the city. Huang Zilong was captured by the deputy general Zhou Shouchang.Li Xiucheng broke through the siege and went west, taking away more than 20,000 people. This is a hard-fought victory.With this battle, Li Hongzhang no longer feared that foreigners would "sue a lawsuit" at the prime minister's office.The memorial was drafted overnight, and the military exploits were ostentatiously stated, and listed for awards.In the memorial, Li Hezhang's merits are uniquely described, but when he asked for the award, he said: "The ministers and younger brothers should do their part, and if you dare not, just invite the award."As for Liu Mingchuan and Guo Songlin, I added the excellent commentary of "bloody loyalty and bravery, breaking the front, invincible, and deeply feared by all thieves", saying that they "had a higher official position, please give me more rewards." At the same time, Li Hongzhang personally took up the pen and wrote an accompanying piece, the reason for which was called "The General Plan of Preparation". On the surface, it was an overview of the entire military situation in Jiangsu, but in fact it was for his own credit.According to his calculations, "The victories in Suzhou, except for the false Mu, Na, Bi, Kang, and Ning five kings and the four heavenly generals, disbanded nearly 200,000 people. The victory in Wuxi, except for the false kings and sons, captured and disbanded about 5 Thousands of people." This is only half a month, and the success is indeed brilliant. ＊＊＊ The next step is to enter Changzhou.At that time, there was a legend that Li Xiucheng, who had retired from Danyang, planned to break out into Jinling, take Hong Xiuquan's son out, and harass Jiangxi, while Hong Xiuquan still stayed in Tianjing, waiting for foreign aid. Sure enough, Li Xiucheng will become Li Zicheng in the late Ming Dynasty.Because of Li Xiucheng's talent, even Li Hongzhang openly expressed his admiration in memorials. He said: "I am stationed in Suzhou, and I am partial to observe the thieves in the city. The chieftain is hated." With such a powerful enemy, once he leads his subordinates to harass everywhere, it is impossible to defend against, and it will definitely become the reappearance of the bandits in the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the overall situation should not be relaxed a little because of successive gains, and we should pay special attention to Li Xiucheng's movements.But Zeng Guoquan didn't think so. He wrote to Li Hongzhang and said: "Jinling's officers and troops have been encircled, and the city's support has been cut off. The disturbance is abnormal, but Hong Ni sticks to the formation. It seems that loyal and rebels may not be able to enter the city, that is, entering the city may not be possible." I can escape again." When receiving this letter, Li Hongzhang was in Wuxi, discussing the strategy of progress with Li Hezhang and Liu Mingchuan.Detectives on the West Road reported that Chen Kunshu's men, the "guardian king" guarding Changzhou, because Suzhou and Wuxi fell one after another, the morale of the army was shaken, and the fighting spirit was weak.But Li Hongzhang didn't take it seriously. He said eight words: "Strive steadily and steadily, step by step." "My lord," Liu Mingchuan disapproved, "The morale is sharp, and it is appropriate to try at the front. If the time is long, the teacher will be useless." Li Hongzhang smiled and said: "Liu Mazi is also very good at reading a few lines now. The wording is extremely elegant and tame." Liu Mingchuan didn't know whether to laugh or to laugh, so he calmed down and asked, "Please tell me, how to do it step by step?" "Defend the territory first, and don't lose an inch of land. Then move to Changzhou step by step." Li Hongzhang pointed to the map and said, "Your 12th Battalion will go from the southwest of Jiangyin, and Ji Quan's 12th Battalion will enter from Guantang on the Canal. Surround Changzhou, wipe out the bandits outside the city, guard the main roads, and then make sense." "This is the long hair that is trapped in Changzhou." Liu Ming said, "Why is this so? It's too useless." Li Hongzhang smiled, "Sheng San, you still don't understand Huang Lao's studies." He said in a contemptuous tone. Liu Mingchuan was not convinced.He has also read Shiji and Hanshu. After the great chaos in the early Han Dynasty, he rested with the people and focused on tranquility, so he used Huang Lao's learning for politics and governed by doing nothing.The situation is different now, and it is not yet time to rest with the people, so how can the learning of Huang Lao be used? Having said that, he did not dare to argue with Li Hongzhang about his knowledge.This is not only because the governor is an officer, but also because Li Hongzhang was born in the Imperial Academy. Li Hezhang didn't take his brother's opinion for granted, but after all, his brother guessed that there must be a deep meaning, and it was not a deep meaning that can be understood by outsiders, so he avoided Liu Mingchuan and asked his brother in private. "Second brother!" he asked, "The attack was so lively and vigorous, why did you lose your temper all of a sudden?" "Do you think I'm discouraged?" "Of course not. I think it makes sense not to advance, right?" "You haven't read Zeng Laojiu's letter? Jinling is in his pocket, and I'm afraid that others will snatch it from him." "Ah!" Li Hezhang suddenly realized, "Zeng Jiu wants to achieve great success alone?" "It's been a long time since he made this wish! Why should we compete with him for merit? It's pointless to fight.For his handsome face, let him go. " "That's it. It's okay to capture Changzhou." "You only know one thing, but you don't know the other. No one does not have the heart of meritorious deeds; taking Changzhou is like picking something out of a bag, why didn't I stop my troops? Naturally, there is a reason for it. Let me tell you something, believe it or not. If you conquer Changzhou, you will have to suffer! You must be in a dilemma, and there are not many people inside and outside." "This, I really don't understand." Li Hezhang asked, "What's the trouble?" "Could it be that you don't know anything about the intention of the imperial court? Why were the Jiangnan and Jiangbei battalions set up in the first place, and why did Tingji urge me to enter Zhenjiang again and again? The purpose of coming and going is not to restore Jinling as soon as possible and eliminate floods! Changzhou! , the imperial court must have a strict decree to advance troops quickly to help Zeng Jiu attack Jinling. So what should I do? Obeying the decree will hurt feelings, sharing the great achievements of Zeng Laojiu, and caring about personal affection, it is bound to violate the decree. How can this be possible? A pardonable charge." This level of view is really too deep.Li Hezhang couldn't help admiring him as an old man. At the same time, he also thought of the saying: "It's easy to do things, but it's hard to be a man." But doing things well doesn't necessarily mean that "high-ranking officials have to do it, and horses have to be ridden." "However, Second Brother," he questioned, "Zeng Jiu himself felt that Ke Jinling was sure, but in fact he didn't want others to rescue him. He deliberately said it easily. In my opinion, it didn't take a year or a half. Then, let's go around Is Changzhou also delayed for a year and a half? I’m afraid it won’t be able to pass! Even if it can be delayed, it’s still a ‘teacher’! "You are right. Changzhou can only plan to delay for two or three months, and then we can speak according to the situation." "What do you mean we'll talk later?" Li Hongzhang thought for a while and replied: "There are several steps. The first is to use troops in Jiashan and Jiaxing in the name of managing western Zhejiang to protect Suzhou. Anyway, it is a war. As long as it can win, it will be smooth, and the court will not see it." I have to change course and attack Changzhou. Don’t you think so?” "Yes." Li Hongzhang nodded deeply, "Besides, in order to protect his brother, Mr. Zeng must mediate." "That's exactly what he said." Li Hongzhang said, "Teacher is also very hesitant in his heart. For the public, he should send troops to Jinling to assist; for his own sake, he refuses to do so. The future will always depend on Zeng Jiu's will." "We don't care about him now." Li Hongzhang asked: "What about the second step?" "The second is to wait for the west of Zhejiang to have results, so we can let go temporarily. At that time, in the name of rest and recuperation, we can delay for a while. Then, we will attack Changzhou again." "Changzhou, what if Zeng Jiu still has trouble in Jinling?" "After conquering Changzhou, we will naturally have to rest and recuperate. At that time, I can ignore it." "What? Whatever?" "I don't care what Zeng Laojiu means. Follow orders." "Yes." Li Hongzhang said, "I have exhausted my benevolence, and if we can't delay it, Zeng Jiu can't blame us. If we want to delay, only Teacher Zeng can think of a performance." "That's exactly what I said." Li Hongzhang said, "Zeng Jiu on one side and Ji Gao on the other side. We are caught in the middle. We may be squeezed on both sides, or we may have both sides. It's just human-made!"