Chapter 24 Seven blood dipped in Xianguan

When Zeng Guoquan told his eldest brother about the meeting with Cheng Xueqi, Zeng Guofan pondered for a moment and said, "Cheng Xueqi's surrender is not reliable yet. That guy is a scoundrel with no faith at all, maybe he will change his mind after returning." Zhao Liewen said: "What my lord has considered is that I still have another plan. The nine generals can just rest assured and attack Jixian Pass. I guarantee that Cheng Xueqi will make trouble in the base." After all, he softly revealed his strategy, and a cold smile appeared on Zeng Guofan's face. In order to storm Jixian Pass again, Zeng Guoquan made full preparations.He mobilized more than a hundred large and small cannons, thousands of guns and shotguns, 50,000 catties of gunpowder, and a thousand boxes of cannons. He concentrated 8,000 elite soldiers from the Jizi Battalion and aimed at the four stone fortresses outside Jixian Pass and under Chigang Ridge. , Arranged a firepower net surrounded by three sides.For three days the artillery fire raged.

Although the long-term hunger and fatigue made the Taiping soldiers in the stone base exhausted, most of them did not care about it.They knew that there was only one way in front of them, which was to defend Anqing in a bloody battle to the end, and there was no other way to go.Especially Liu Yulin, the official worshiper of Qingtianhou, this tough guy from Jintian Village, has never had any embarrassment in front of Qing Yao. Even in the most difficult time, his chest is still full of overwhelming heroism.At night, when the artillery fire of the two armies paused, he walked out of the No. 1 stone base, and went to the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 stone bases to hang the dead and ask the wounded, boost morale, teach strategies, and deploy ammunition.One day when he came to the fourth base, he saw Cheng Xueqi drinking with several teachers and brigade commanders, so he walked over, patted Cheng Xueqi on the shoulder and said, "My good brother, where did you get the wine? It smells so good, it makes my mouth water It all came out."

Cheng Xueqi hurriedly poured out a large bowl and handed it over, and said with a smile: "Master Hou, you also have a bowl, which was stolen by Shorty Zou in the wine shop. It's just that there is no good food, so you can order the bar with this will!" As he spoke, he grabbed a blackened and smelly salt radish from the clay pot.Liu Zhenlin drank the wine in one gulp, took a bite of the radish, and said, "Brothers, fight hard, and after you drive back the demons in front of you, I invite everyone to drink Gujing tribute wine and eat dog meat and stewed radish!" Throwing half of the salted radish into the earthen pot, he said to Cheng Xueqi, "Send the injured brothers back to the city in the dark, and bring a few thousand catties of gunpowder and guns." After finishing speaking, he walked out of the stone base.

After Cheng Xueqi returned to Shilei from Lujiang River, he didn't sleep well for several nights, feeling both fearful and excited.He was not sure who would win in the future between the Taiping Army and the imperial court.He didn't think much about it before.He felt that these past few years had been very happy, eating well, playing well, being powerful and decent.He thought very simple: fight desperately and climb to a higher official position.If the Taiping army succeeds, he will enjoy inexhaustible glory and wealth in his life; if he is defeated, he will find an opportunity to escape, and relying on the gold and silver treasures he already has, he will be happy for the rest of his life.If one day he was beaten to death, he would die. After many years of good life, it would be worthwhile to die.Now there is such good luck, the imperial court sends officials to the door, and from now on, whoever wins will have a good life of his own.Cheng Xueqi secretly thanked Zeng Guoquan for not rejecting him that day.He told the good news to his most acquainted brothers, who were all very happy, and they also wanted to step on both sides of the boat for a lifetime of comfort.

Seeing that the two sides have been fighting fiercely for several days, evenly matched, and Jixianguan is difficult to break through, Zeng Guofan said to Zhao Liewen: "Look at your second move." This afternoon, Mu Laosan was sitting idle at home when two black men, one fat and one thin, walked into his house.Seeing the strange appearance of the two, Mu Laosan quickly stood up and said with a contemptuous smile, "What do you two do?" The two men asked with tense faces, "Are you Mu Laosan?" Mu Laosan nodded. "To tell you the truth, we are the Taiping Army in Anqing City." Mu Laosan thought that it must be someone sent by Brother Cheng, so he calmed down and asked them to sit down while pouring tea.

The thin man waved his hand and said sharply: "Don't make trouble, we are not sent by Cheng Jianjun, we are from Qingtianhou Liu Yulin." The heart that Mu Laosan had just put down lifted again. "Someone reported that Cheng Jianjun met with Qing demon Zeng Laojiu at your home a few days ago, and Zeng Laojiu even gave him a set of deputy general uniforms. Is there such a thing?" Mu Laosan is a person who has never seen the world. Hearing these few words, his face turned black with fright, and he thought: What's wrong with this? Once he sits down, won't he lose his head?Fortunately, the lieutenant general's uniform had been hidden in the ground, and they couldn't find it, so they felt a little more at ease, and said: "Master, there is no such thing, it was falsely accused by others."

The fat man said, "Is it true? Let's find out after we search." Then he turned Mu Laosan's house upside down, but he didn't see the lieutenant general's uniform.Mu Laosan became more calm: "Bosses, let me say it's nothing!" The thin man said: "It doesn't matter if there is such a thing or not, it's none of our business, you accompany us to see Qingtian Hou, make it clear to him directly." Mu Lao San was frightened: "I have a sick old mother at home, and I can't leave, please do me a favor!" The fat man said viciously: "What is good or not, don't be wordy. Talk to Qing Tianhou!" The two pushed Mu Laosan out of the house without any explanation.There were two horses tied outside the door, the thin man lifted Mu Laosan onto the horse's back, sat behind him, and together with the fat man, raised the whip, and the two horses galloped to the south.

When it was dark, the three of them came to Jiang Town, which was only twenty miles away from Jixian Pass.The thin man said to the fat man: "Brother, just sleep comfortably here tonight, and then hit the base tomorrow!" The fat man said: "Okay, let's have a drink tonight." After entering the shop and tying up the horse, the two men ate and drank a lot. After a full hour of quarreling, they were both so drunk that they fell on the bed like mud, and fell asleep like death.Mu Laosan thought to himself: "Amitabha! God has given you a good opportunity. If you don't run away, you will be a fool." He hastily ate two bowls of leftover soup and water on the table, and then tiptoed out of the hotel, not daring to lead the horse for fear of the horse barking. Get up bad.Where are you going?Back to Lujiang, with no money, how to deal with the journey of a few days?Why don't you just go to Brother Cheng and tell him what happened, and make preparations early.Mu Laosan made up his mind and ran to Jixian Pass in the dark.

When it was almost dawn, Mu Laosan got into the No. 4 stone barrier and told Cheng Xueqi about the sudden change.When Cheng Xueqi heard this, he felt furious, and thought: since Liu Yulin already knew about this, he would not be able to get along here, so it would be better to strike first.Cheng Xueqi sent Mu Laosan to inform Zeng Guoquan: After the cannon fires tomorrow morning, the No. 4 stone base will respond internally. That night, Liu Zhenlin inspected the second, third, and fourth stone barriers as usual.When he stepped into the No. 4 stone barrier, he met Cheng Xueqi who summoned his dozens of accomplices to secretly discuss matters tomorrow.Cheng Xueqi stood up suspiciously, unnaturally poured a bowl of wine and handed it over.Liu Zhenlin took the wine and drank it down. He patted Cheng Xueqi on the shoulder and said, "Brother, I bought a few bottles of good wine. After the battle tomorrow, go to the first base. Let's have a good drink."

Cheng Xueqi was startled: Are you going to arrest me?He smiled embarrassingly a few times, and sent Liu Zhenlin away with a few perfunctory words.Turning back to the guys, he said, "Did everyone hear that? If we don't strike tomorrow, we will be finished. Don't be soft, everyone. If you hit hard tomorrow, Brother Cheng won't treat you badly." The arrival of Mu Laosan confirmed the success of Zhao Liewen's strategy.In the early morning of the next day, Zeng Guoquan issued an order: "Jixian Pass must be broken today, and all soldiers in the army must move forward bravely and not retreat; beat Jixian Pass and reward meritorious deeds."

After breakfast, 10,000 Xiangyongs of the Jizi Battalion, carrying artillery, guns, and shotguns, crossed the outer trench and advanced towards Chigang Ridge.Zeng Guoquan carried a machete and supervised the battle from behind with a murderous look.From a distance, Liu Zhenlin saw Xiangyong rushing towards the stone barrier like a rising tide, his arrogance was more arrogant than before.He said to Cheng Xueqi: "You take three bases and four bases to defend the wings at the back, and I take one and two bases to front the front row. The Qing monster is coming fiercely today, so be careful." Cheng Xueqi was secretly happy and agreed. Liu Zhenlin waved the red flag and stood on a hillside to direct it himself.The first base and the second base are built on both sides of Guanma Avenue under the Chigang Ridge, and the third base and the fourth base are built on the side of the hillside to guard against the east-west direction.Liu Zhenlin transferred all 3,500 people from the first and second bases out of the bases to form a powerful firepower network. Relying on the condescending favorable terrain, he posed a strong threat to the crazy attacking Xiangyong.Xiangyong stopped half a mile away from Shilei and lined up to set up artillery.Only one sound of the trumpet was heard, and Xiangyong's artillery and guns fired together. Bullets rained down on the rocks of Chigangling, splashing sparks, and some loose rocks were smashed into pieces.The Jizi Battalion is the best-equipped unit among the Xiangyong. These artillery are all imported from Guangdong. They have a long range and great power. The local artillery of the Taiping Army is far from being an opponent. Liu Zhenlin waved the blue flag in his hand, and the whole army fell down. Ren Xiangyong's artillery bombarded him indiscriminately and did not return fire.After playing for a while, Zeng Guoquan ordered to beat the drums and charge.Thousands of Xiangyong shouted and rushed forward. When they rushed forty or fifty feet away, Liu Zhenlin waved the black flag. .Zeng Guoquan was so angry that he stomped his feet. He had no choice but to send an order to withdraw the troops.Peng Yuju ran over and said: "Jiu Shuai, the range of the long-haired soil gun is not far, we can advance another 20 feet." Zeng Guoquan said angrily, "It's up to you! Order all the artillery to advance 20 feet." Zhang, each battalion and post follow closely." When Xiangyong was advancing, Liu Yulin also made a new deployment of the troops and ordered Cheng Xueqi to transfer the third base to the front for replacement.When the third base came down to the hillside, Cheng Xueqi called more than 800 Taiping soldiers from the fourth base into the stone base.The soldiers were wondering when Cheng Xueqi jumped onto the earthen platform in the middle of the stone barrier and shouted: "Brothers, the food in Anqing City is exhausted, and the cannons in Chigangling are almost exhausted. Jixian Pass is closed, and those who want to live will follow me and submit to the imperial court." Cheng Xueqi's move confused the soldiers in the stone base. "Damn it, you anti-grass monster!" As soon as the words fell, a shuttle of iron flew over, and half of Cheng Xueqi's ear was smashed to pieces. "What son of a bitch!" Cheng Xueqi cursed while covering his ears.The soldier who fired the gun was about to get up and rush out of the stone barrier, when a flash of white light flashed, half of his shoulder had been cut off.At this time, the soldiers saw clearly that dozens of officials all drew their knives and shouted viciously: "Listen to Cheng Jianjun!" "Anyone who disobeys will be punished just now!" It turned out that those who pulled out the knives were all Cheng Xueqi's brothers.This base is all Anhui people, most of them are hooligans, and they follow Cheng Xueqi's nostrils on weekdays. In this situation today, no one dares to say no, and they all shouted: "Follow the command of Cheng Jianjun!" Cheng Xueqi said: "Everyone take off the headscarves and tie them on the left hand. When the officers and soldiers attack again, listen to my order and shoot at the first, second, and third bases. The more people killed, the greater the credit." , now lift the cannon out of the base." Cheng Xueqi commanded the people on the fourth base to rush out of the stone base. At this time, Zeng Guoquan commanded Xiangyong to launch a second attack. After a burst of shells and guns, Xiangyong ran towards the stone base again.Liu Zhenlin waved the black flag, and the powerful guns suppressed Xiangyong's advance.Zeng Guoquan yelled angrily: "Cheng Xueqi is a bastard, don't do anything yet, I'll see if I won't cut him!" Turning around, he shouted, "Bring Mu Laosan over here!" A soldier pushed Mu Laosan to Zeng Guoquan. before.Zeng Guoquan's machete rested on Mu Laosan's neck.Mu Laosan was so frightened that his face was ashen, his knees were weak, and he knelt down with a plop: "Master Jiu, spare me, spare me!" "You bastard bastard, why didn't Cheng Xueqi do anything? You want to play tricks on me?!" Mu Laosan stammered and said: "Jiuye calm down, Cheng Xue enlightened him, he said it himself, said, he is in the middle of the base, internal response, please Jiuye, please wait a moment." At this moment, there was a burst of gunfire from the hillside in front, and Peng Yuju said excitedly: "Listen, Commander Nine, this is Cheng Xueqi's cannon!" This is indeed Cheng Xueqi's cold shot from Liu Xuanlin's back.After the sound of the cannon, a large area of ​​the Taiping army lay down, and everyone was terrified, not knowing what happened.Liu Zhenlin asked angrily: "Where did the cannon fire?" The soldiers around him replied: "Master Hou, it seems to be from the fourth base." Liu Zhenlin roared: "Cheng Xueqi has gone crazy, and the artillery fired at his family!" As soon as it fell, another burst of cannon fire fired, and sparks splashed on the soles of Liu Zhenlin's feet.Zeng Guoquan laughed wildly and said: "Brothers, there is a fight inside Changmao, let's charge!" All of Xiangyong's courage doubled, and they rushed towards the stone barrier, screaming wildly.When Liu Yulin knew for sure that Cheng Xueqi had rebelled, he was so angry that his internal organs were on fire, and he had to assign half of his people to deal with the back. Xiangyong rushed forward confidently, while the cannons in the back were fired cruelly. The pitiful 4,000 Taiping soldiers fell in a pool of blood with hatred.Liu Zhenlin persisted, seeing that everyone was dead, he had to turn around and rush towards the pass with more than a hundred soldiers around him.Unexpectedly, Cheng Xueqi commanded a burst of cannon fire, Liu Yulin shook a few times, and finally fell down with his burly body. The annihilation of the four thousand elites of Jixianguan and the mutiny of Cheng Xueqi's troops reduced the fighting spirit of the Anqing defenders by more than half.Just when morale was sluggish, Peng Yulin, under the order of Zeng Guofan, led the inner lake navy of his department to disembark from the South Gate Wharf, carried hundreds of warships to Linghu, put the boats into the lake, and headed for the Eighth Base of Linghu. Launch an onslaught.On this day, Lord Tian deliberately made things difficult for the Taiping Army. It rained heavily for an hour, and the water in the lake soared, and the rocks along the lake were soaked to a depth of more than two feet. .Taking advantage of the timing, Peng Yulin took advantage of the vigor of the great victory of Jixianguan, and fought bloody day and night, destroying all the eighteen bases of Linghu. Gong Tianhou Zhang Chaojue took advantage of the chaos and fled.In the early morning of the next day, the corpses of the Taiping Army and Xiangyong floating on Linghu almost covered half of the lake. With the loss of Jixian Pass and Linghu Lake, Anqing City was completely isolated.The hearts of the people in the city are floating, and groups of people come out every day to surrender to Xiangyong.Zeng Guoquan decided to launch a general attack on Anqing on July 15, but Zeng Guofan stopped it.He said to his ninth brother in a mysterious tone: "Wang Kaiyun wrote to me last month, Qin Tianjian played, that on the first day of August this year, the sun, moon, water, fire, earth, wood and four stars are all within five, six, eight, and nine degrees of Zhang Su. , Venus is in Zhen, and it is still within 30 degrees. This is a very auspicious sign of the combination of the sun and the moon, and the combination of five stars. There are currently four major battlefields where Changmao is fighting fiercely: one is the Jiangning battlefield of Dexinga and Feng Zicai, the other is the northern Jiangxi battlefield of Zuo Zongtang, the first is the northern Anhui battlefield of Yuan Jiasan and Shengbao, and the third is the Anqing battlefield. Outside of the Jiangning battlefield, the other three battlefields may have breakthroughs in the near future. If anyone can win a big victory on the first day of August, he will become a lucky general who should respond to Tianxin and serve the government and the opposition. Yuan Fu, What do you think?" Hearing the elder brother's words, Zeng Guoquan remembered Chen Guangfu's prophecy in Heyetang that year, and couldn't help but feel blood boil all over his body, and said excitedly: "Brother, I understand, I want the whole army to rest for a few days, July 2 Dig a hundred holes along the city wall on the 18th, light a fire on the 30th night, and take Anqing on time on the first day of the eighth month!" "Okay! It's this arrangement that elder brother hopes for you. The luck of the country and the luck of the Zeng family are all here." Zeng Guofan held his ninth brother's hand for a long time.After a while, he said, "I'm going back to Dongliu tomorrow morning." "Brother, Anqing is already a turtle in the urn, won't you watch Hou Er and I catch this turtle with your own eyes?" Zeng Guoquan asked puzzled. "Yuanfu, brother left Anqing just to let you take it down on the first day of August." Zeng Guofan said with a smile. "Why?" Zeng Guoquan became more and more puzzled. "I'll tell you later!" Looking at the puzzled eyes of the ninth brother, Zeng Guofan was not without melancholy.In the wars of these years, as long as he was on the front line, the battle would definitely end in failure.This is almost time-tested.In February of the fourth year of Xianfeng, he led troops to attack Yuezhou, but was beaten by the Taiping Army and fled back to Changsha.In April, when they attacked Jinggang, the entire army was almost wiped out. At the same time, Taqibu and others attacked Xiangtan, but they won ten out of ten battles.During Xianfeng's five or six years in Jiangxi, he was invincible in all the battles he participated in, and he was sure to win all the battles he was not present.The last time Li Yuandu lost Huizhou City, he wanted to try again and led a team to take it back. He lost three battles and ended up with Bao Chao.After that time, he completely believed that if he wanted to win the battle, he couldn't have him on the front line.The reason why he was in such a hurry to leave Anqing was to help his two younger brothers succeed.Unfortunately, none of these can be stated clearly.He had no choice but to smile and said, "On the first day of August, I prayed for Jiziying and Zhenziying in Dongliu, waiting for the good news from you and Houer!"