Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 159: Concentrate the forces and defeat them one by one

In early April, almost at the same time as the Tang army marched north from Guangzhou, the Battle of Jinan broke out.

After winning the Battle of Jinan, Wei Changhui immediately chose to lead his troops south and return to Tianjing.

On April 12, Wei Changhui led his troops through Jining.

On April 26, the Taiping Army passed Pizhou.

In early May, the Taiping Army left Shandong and entered Jiangsu. The vanguard arrived in Huai'an, then rested for a few days and continued southward from Huai'an.

In mid-May, the Taiping Army led by Wei Changhui arrived in Gaoyou Prefecture, just one step away from Jiangnan.

A fast horse entered from Yifeng Gate, rushed into Tianjing City, and headed towards the East Palace.

"Report!"

"Reporting to the Eastern King, the Northern King has led the Northern Expedition Army back and has now arrived in Gaoyou Prefecture."

When Yang Xiuqing heard the report from the messenger in front of him, he said with a somewhat excited expression.

"Great! The Northern King is leading his troops back. The situation in Tianjing is now settled."

"It's time for my Heavenly Kingdom to prepare to wipe out the Qing demon's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps!"

Although Wei Changhui's return to Tianjing might threaten Yang Xiuqing's position in the Heavenly Kingdom.

However, the troops under his command can bring a turning point to the current situation in Tianjing.

For the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the benefits definitely outweigh the disadvantages.

Yang Xiuqing stood up from his seat and said.

"Quick, tell everyone to get ready. I want to go see the King of Heaven!"

Yang Xiuqing was preparing to discuss with Hong Xiuquan the details of how to defeat the Qing army's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps outside the city of Tianjing.

Soon, Yang Xiuqing led his team to the outside of the Heavenly King's Palace.

After the notification, he led his men directly into the Heavenly King's Palace and met Hong Xiuquan in the Heavenly King's study.

At this time, Hong Xiuquan was worshiping and praying to God to bless the kingdom of heaven and him as the king of heaven.

Upon seeing this, Yang Xiuqing did not interrupt rashly, but just stood aside and waited for Hong Xiuquan to finish the service.

More than ten minutes later, Hong Xiuquan finally ended the service, but he still sat on the cushion and asked without turning his head.

"Why did the King of the East come here today?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing responded.

"In reply to the Heavenly King, I just received news that the Northern King has returned from Shandong and has now arrived in Gaoyou Prefecture in the north of the Yangtze River!"

"We will be able to return to Tianjing soon!"

When Hong Xiuquan heard this, his expression changed noticeably and he muttered to himself.

"We've reached Gaoyou, so doesn't that mean we're not far from crossing the river?"

Hong Xiuquan guessed what Yang Xiuqing's purpose was today and asked.

"Did the King of the East come here today to discuss with me how to break up the Qing demon's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing immediately nodded and said.

"Your Majesty is wise. This is exactly why I came here today."

"When the Northern King crosses the river and returns to Tianjing, the main force of our Heavenly Kingdom will be gathered. At this time, we should gather the Heavenly Kingdom's troops to break the Qing demons' Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps in one fell swoop and relieve Tianjing from its siege."

"Otherwise, if this continues, my Heavenly Kingdom will be trapped and killed by the Qing monsters in Tianjing City."

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan nodded.

"That makes sense. I wonder what the King of the East is going to do?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"In reply to the Heavenly King, my idea is that when the Northern King's troops return to Tianjing, our Heavenly Kingdom should concentrate its superior forces to defeat the Qing demons' Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps one by one."

"Attack the Jiangnan camp first, then the Jiangbei camp."

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan frowned and asked.

"Why?"

Yang Xiuqing began to express his ideas.

"First, the Jiangnan Camp is located at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum outside Tianjing City. It is in the heart of our Heavenly Kingdom and poses the greatest threat to our Heavenly Kingdom."

"How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed?"

"If I cannot remove it, it will be like having a dagger stuck in my heart for my kingdom of heaven."

"Secondly, the leader of the Qing demons in the Jiangnan camp is the Qing demon leader Xiang Rong. This thief was born in the military and has been fighting against our Heavenly Kingdom since Guangxi. He has won many battles and even the King of the South was killed by him. He is a huge threat."

"If our Heavenly Kingdom attacks the Jiangbei camp first, then Xiang Rong will most likely take advantage of our Tianjing's lack of military strength and attack Tianjing."

"But Qishan, the Qing demon leader of the Jiangbei camp, is only a Taiping general. If my Heavenly Kingdom attacks the Jiangnan camp, he may not have the courage to cross the river to help."

"Moreover, with the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, even if the Qing demon leader Qishan wanted to rush to the south of the Yangtze River, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to do it."

"In this way, our Heavenly Kingdom can concentrate its energy on the Jiangnan camp."

"Once our Heavenly Kingdom has conquered the Qing demons' Jiangnan camp, the Jiangbei camp will be isolated and helpless, and will naturally no longer be a threat."

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan nodded slightly.

"What the King of the East said makes sense, let's do it accordingly."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing bowed and said.

"Brother, I obey!"

After saying this, he prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Hong Xiuquan asked again.

"By the way, does the King of the East know that the villain Li Yi led his troops to the north to attack Hunan?"

Yang Xiuqing paused when he heard this, but continued speaking.

"In reply to the Heavenly King, I have also heard about this matter."

Hong Xiuquan was silent for a moment, then continued to ask.

"What does the Eastern King think about this?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing began to guess what Hong Xiuquan was thinking, and after a moment he spoke.

"In reply to the Heavenly King, I think that little thief Li Yi is nothing to be afraid of." "The reason why he was able to develop so smoothly in Guangdong and Guangxi and even send troops to the north was all because of my Heavenly Kingdom attracting the attention of the Qing demons."

"If my Heavenly Kingdom had not been supporting Jiangnan while sending troops to the north, that little thief Li Yi would have been wiped out by the main force of the Qing demons heading south."

Yang Xiuqing actually knew that Li Yi was no simple person.

But he knew better what Hong Xiuquan wanted to hear, so he naturally would not go against Hong Xiuquan's wishes.

After hearing this, Hong Xiuquan nodded with satisfaction.

"Xiuqing is right. Great minds think alike. I think so too."

Yang Xiuqing stood behind Hong Xiuquan, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He wanted to complain, but didn't know where to start.

But Hong Xiuquan added something.

"However, although the little thief Li Yi is not to be feared, the troops he has are real."

"If our Heavenly Kingdom can get support from Li Yi's troops, the threat from the Qing monsters in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River can be greatly reduced."

"And my Heavenly Kingdom can now focus on the Northern Expedition..."

Hong Xiuquan was still determined to march north to attack the capital.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing thought for a while and then nodded.

"The Heavenly King is holy and wise!"

"I will order someone to do it right away."

Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom sent envoys to Guangzhou last time to invite Li Yi to return to the Heavenly Kingdom, Li Yi flatly refused.

However, Yang Xiuqing believed that if it was just an alliance, Li Yi would consider it carefully.

Hong Xiuquan nodded slightly.

"Thank you, King Dong!"

……

After capturing Hengyang, the Tang army rested for only one day before continuing to march north.

The army continued northward along the Xiangjiang River!

On May 20th, the Tang army captured Hengshan.

On May 25th, we arrived near Zhuzhou.

On May 27th, Xiangtan fell.

The army was only one step away from Changsha.

One after another, fast horses rushed to Changsha, bringing Zeng Guofan the sad news of the loss of cities and territory.

Inside and outside Changsha, the shadow of war loomed, the atmosphere was extremely depressing, and pedestrians walked very carefully.

The men didn't even dare to go out during the day, for fear that they would be forced to become cannon fodder on the battlefield by Zeng the Barber.

The reason why Zeng Guofan was called Zeng the Barber by the people of Changsha was that this saying actually spread from the army.

The story is still about Zeng Guofan's killing of surrendered soldiers. After the Battle of Laohuling, people in the army said that Zeng Guofan killed people like shaving their heads.

Then, the rumor spread that it was Zeng the Barber.

The Chu soldiers led by brothers Jiang Zhongyuan and Jiang Zhongji were preparing to set off from Changsha.

Then he bypassed Baoqing Prefecture and Yongzhou Prefecture and headed straight to Hengyang to intercept the Tang army's food supply route.

Before leaving, Zeng Guofan deliberately put down his work and came in person to see the two Jiang brothers off.

Outside Changsha City, Zeng Guofan and Jiang Zhongyuan held hands and looked at each other, then spoke with serious expressions.

"General, this trip is of great importance!"

"If the general can cut off the enemy's food supply, there is still hope for the Changsha war to be reversed, the crisis in Hunan can be resolved, and the situation in the world will return to the Qing Dynasty's advantage."

"If the general cannot cut off the enemy's food supply, Changsha will be in danger, Hunan will be in danger, and the Qing Dynasty will be in danger!"

"Now, the safety of Changsha, the safety of Hunan, and even the safety of the whole world, is all in the hands of the general."

Jiang Zhongyuan took a deep breath, realized the difficulty of the task, and nodded.

"Don't worry, Master Zeng. I understand!"

"If we cannot win this battle, I will bring my head to you!"

Zeng Guofan patted Jiang Zhongyuan on the shoulder and said.

"Take care, General."

"Today I personally see the general off. In the future, I hope to personally celebrate the general's success."

Jiang Zhongyuan nodded vigorously.

"I will definitely return victorious and will not disappoint Master Zeng."

After saying this, Jiang Zhongyuan clasped his fists, saluted, and then led his troops away.

Zeng Guofan stood there, looking at Jiang Zhongyuan's back as he led his troops away, his eyes filled with complexity.

With the world in such turmoil, he really felt a strong sense of powerlessness.

Could it be that the Qing Dynasty has really reached the point of being destroyed?

Zeng Guofan didn't believe it!
It is said that the Hu people will not be lucky enough to last a hundred years, but since the Qing Dynasty was able to survive that hurdle, it can definitely survive this time.

"Master Zeng, it's time to inspect the military camp!"

Tazib's voice woke Zeng Guofan from his thoughts.

Zeng Guofan came back to his senses and nodded.

"Let's go and inspect the camp."

After he finished speaking, he signaled Tazibu to lead the way and go to inspect the Hunan Brave camp outside Changsha city.

At this time, the Hunan Army still adopted the tactics of "building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle". The camp outside Changsha City was built by them into a tortoise shell.

The Hunan Braves’ camp outside Changsha City was mainly composed of two parts. One part was stationed in Yuelu Mountain to occupy the commanding heights, and the other part was stationed in Tiaoma Town.

The two Hunan Brave camps and Changsha City formed a triangle, with the three supporting each other.

Used to resist the threat from the Tang army!
In addition, the Qing army deployed artillery positions on Yuelu Mountain and set up layers of deep trenches and barriers, preparing to launch shooting from a high position.

They also dug deep trenches, laid many traps, placed a lot of gunpowder, and stored a large amount of ordnance and weapons in Tiaoma Town.

Zeng Guofan built Changsha’s city defense almost like an iron barrel!
(End of this chapter)