Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 169 Xiang Rong: How can we save the Qing Dynasty with a bunch of insects?

Then, not long after, an imperial envoy was sent from the capital to dismiss Zeng Guofan from his post and investigate him.

Cai Bingwen felt somewhat guilty about this.

Well, you know, Zeng Guofan has taken good care of him, the Changsha prefect who took office at the same time as him, during this period of time.

As a result, he chose to stab Zeng Guofan in the back at the critical moment!

How could Cai Bingwen not feel guilty? !

But if someone asked Cai Bingwen if he regretted it?

Cai Bingwen must have spat in his face.

Regret?

Regret it all!
If the blame was not put on Zeng Guofan, then Cai Bingwen, the prefect of Changsha, would be the first person responsible for the fall of Changsha.

Cai Bingwen, with his thin arms and legs, can't carry this big pot.

Therefore, Cai Bingwen could only say sorry to Zeng Guofan.

It is better for Zeng Guofan to be dismissed from office and imprisoned than for himself to be dismissed from office and imprisoned.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Guofan looked at Cai Bingwen with gratitude, stood in the prison car, and bowed to Cai Bingwen.

"Thank you, Master Cai!"

When Cai Bingwen heard this, the expression on his face became even weirder.

Even for this, he still has to thank me...

"I am being escorted back to the capital this time. The war in Yuezhou will be handed over to Lord Cai and Lord Zhang."

"Lin Yi, Guo Bao, the two of you must assist us. We must do our utmost to protect Yuezhou and not allow the enemy troops to cross the Yangtze River and enter Hubei."

Zeng Guofan continued to say that even though he was about to set off, he was still concerned about the Qing Dynasty.

I can only say that Zeng Guofan is indeed a good servant of my Qing Dynasty!

The Mr. Zhang he mentioned refers to Zhang Mingchuan, the current governor of Yuezhou.

Upon hearing this, several people clasped their fists together.

"Take care, Master Zeng!"

In fact, according to common sense, although the Qing army suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Changsha and even lost Changsha.

However, Zeng Guofan had just arrived in Hunan not long ago, and the Hunan Army had not yet been fully trained, so the defeat in Changsha was understandable.

In addition, Zeng Guofan had just led his troops to ambush Hong Xiujiao in the Battle of Laohuling some time ago and annihilated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Western Palace troops, which was considered a military achievement.

Even if it was to atone for the crime, the Qing court should not be too harsh on the outcome of the Battle of Changsha!
However, the problem also arose in the Battle of Laohuling.

After the Battle of Laohuling, Zeng Guofan not only ordered the killing of Taiping prisoners of war, but also sent the female bandit leader Hong Xiujiao to the capital.

Afterwards, Hong Xiujiao changed Xianfeng to Xian.

Moreover, because Hong Xiujiao committed suicide, Xianfeng was never able to get rid of his anger.

This made Xianfeng begin to resent Zeng Guofan for sending Hong Xiujiao to Beijing.

In Xianfeng's view, if Zeng Guofan had executed Hong Xiujiao on the spot instead of sending her to Beijing, wouldn't this trouble have been avoided?

Therefore, it is all Zeng Guofan’s fault that Xianfeng has become what he is now!

People are always like this. They like to blame others for the sufferings they suffer and never look for the reasons in themselves.

Originally, Xianfeng had no reason to investigate and punish Zeng Guofan to vent his anger, because the fact that he had become a eunuch could never be made public.

However, in the Battle of Changsha, Zeng Guofan fled without fighting and abandoned the city, which gave Emperor Xianfeng a reason to investigate and prosecute Zeng Guofan.

Then, Xianfeng immediately ordered Zeng Guofan to be dismissed from his post and investigated, and he was escorted to Beijing to await his fate.

It was obvious that he was planning to use Zeng Guofan as a punching bag.

Once Zeng Guofan was escorted to Beijing, his fate was self-evident.

In fact, Zeng Guofan was really feeling aggrieved. He had captured the leader of the bandits. Was there anything wrong with him handing over the prisoners to Beijing?
Of course that's right.

To put it bluntly, the reason why Xianfeng became like this was entirely his own fault.

If he simply dealt with a female thief leader, it wouldn't be a big problem.

After all, Hong Xuanjiao had been drugged by An Dehai and others and then tied up with ropes. She had no way to resist at all, so the safety measures were absolutely in place.

Under such circumstances, nothing would go wrong if Xianfeng did his job normally.

But who told him to be so fancy?

No one else is to blame.

Well, the same goes for Genghis River.

……

"Report, Your Majesty!"

"Urgent news from Hengyang!"

Li Yi was handling military affairs when a communications soldier came hurriedly to report.

Li Yi stopped reviewing the military newspaper, looked up and asked nervously.

"Emergency report from Hengyang?"

"But what happened in Hengyang?"

In Hunan, the importance of Hengyang is self-evident.

It not only concerns the food supply of the Tang army, but also the retreat of the Tang army.

Once Hengyang is lost, the Tang army will not be in any serious trouble.

However, the war in the direction of Xiangyin and Yuezhou had to be temporarily stopped, and then troops were transferred back to support Hengyang.

The communications soldier took a breath and then spoke.

"Your Majesty, the news from Hengyang is a victory."

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then signaled the signalman to continue.

The signalman nodded and continued.

"Three days ago, on May 27, a Qing army launched a surprise attack on Hengyang. They were discovered by Li Shixian's troops stationed in Hengyang and then annihilated."

"In the Battle of Hengyang, our army successfully annihilated 5,000 Qing demons, killed the Qing demon general Jiang Zhongji in battle, and captured Qing demon generals Jiang Zhongyuan, Liu Changyou, and others alive."

"Brigade Commander Li is sending people to bring the prisoners to Changsha."

When Li Yi heard this, the expression on his face changed.

Jiang Zhongyuan, Liu Changyou, is this Chu Yong?
Li Yi suddenly discovered that in a battle in Hunan, he had almost destroyed half of the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty.

Zuo Zongtang, Guo Songtao, Luo Bingzhang, Peng Yulin, Tazibu, Yang Yuebin, Jiang Zhongyuan, Liu Changyou...

These are all famous figures in the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty.

Now those who surrender surrender, and those who are captured are captured.

Li Yi could only sigh that Hunan in this era is really full of talented people.

After thinking for a while, Li Yi turned to Du Shun beside him and gave instructions.

"After the prisoners are brought here, they will be taken to the government jail to await trial."

"He then ordered a special task force to investigate the battle at Tiger Ridge."

"All the Qing prisoners who participated in the killing of surrendered prisoners at Tiger Ridge must be brought to justice!"

Although the Tang Dynasty and the Taiping Army belonged to different factions, they were both righteous armies after all. It was impossible for Li Yi to ignore the Qing demons' killing of Taiping prisoners of war.

Since the Taiping Army itself is unable to avenge the soldiers who died in the battle, then it will be up to Li Yi to take revenge.

Du Shun heard this and nodded immediately. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand!"

……

It was the second year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign in the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of June in the second year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

After resting in Jiangbei for a period of time, Wei Changhui finally led his troops to cross the river successfully and returned to the long-lost city of Tianjing.

By the time Wei Changhui led his army to the outskirts of Tianjing City, preparations for the reception had already been made inside and outside Tianjing.

Inside and outside Tianjing, there were loud drums and gongs, and firecrackers were blasting. The top of the city wall was hung with brightly colored silk cloths.

A pretty young girl of 28 years old was transferred from the women's camp. She came to the outside of Tianjing City wearing new clothes, blush on her face, and holding a red flower to welcome the triumphant Northern Expedition Army back from its journey.

Although the Northern Expedition Army could not advance further after reaching Jinan, you could say that they did not advance northwards, right?
We fought to the north and came back safe and sound. Who can say this is not a triumph?
To celebrate the Northern King's triumphant return, the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing even came to the outside of Tianjing City in person to greet him.

Seeing Wei Changhui and his troops approaching on horseback, Yang Xiuqing personally stepped forward to greet them.

"Haha, the Northern King has returned victoriously with his army. This is truly a blessing for our kingdom of heaven and the world!"

"The Northern King has really made a great contribution this time!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Changhui clasped his fists and said.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I can only say that I have done my duty and brought the brothers back. I cannot say that this is a great achievement."

Yang Xiuqing walked up to Wei Changhui, held his hand, and then said.

"Since you are back, follow me into the city. The king is hosting a banquet in his palace to entertain the soldiers who came to the Northern Expedition."

"Don't keep the old king waiting for too long!"

Wei Changhui nodded, then followed Yang Xiuqing into the city of Tianjing and headed towards the Heavenly King's Palace.

On the way, Yang Xiuqing began to communicate with Wei Changhui.

"The Qing demons' Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps have been besieging Tianjing for a long time, and there is even a danger of food shortage in Tianjing city."

"If this continues, it will be extremely detrimental to our kingdom of heaven."

"It's just in time that the Northern King has returned with his army."

"With the help of the Northern King, I am confident that I can break the Qing demon's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps and save Tianjing from trouble."

Upon hearing this, Wei Changhui also nodded.

"Dare you disobey your orders?"

Although the relationship between Wei Changhui and Yang Xiuqing was not harmonious, they were now facing a great enemy and had no time to care about internal strife.

We can only work together to solve the current difficulties faced by the Kingdom of Heaven first.

Historically, the tragedy of the Tianjing Incident occurred after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom broke through the Jiangnan camp.

Before the Taiping Army broke into the Jiangnan camp, Yang Xiuqing was also very domineering.

However, Hong Xiuquan always adopted a tolerant attitude towards Yang Xiuqing's domineering behavior.

But just one month after the Taiping Army broke into the Jiangnan camp, the Tianjing Incident occurred.

It would be hard to say that Hong Xiuquan did not have this planned in advance.

Of course, this was also related to the fact that after the Taiping Army broke into the Jiangnan camp, Yang Xiuqing became arrogant and wanted to be conferred the title of Emperor, which touched Hong Xiuquan's bottom line.

But it can also be seen from this that although the Kingdom of Heaven may have internal strife, they can still clearly distinguish when they can fight and when they cannot.

Yang Xiuqing nodded slightly when he heard this, and then told Wei Changhui about his idea of ​​forming an alliance with the Tang Kingdom to fight against the Qing evil together.

Wei Changhui nodded repeatedly to show his approval.

"It would be a great blessing if we could unite with the Tang Kingdom and fight against the Qing monster together."

"Once both sides can jointly attack and capture Jiangxi, the Qing monsters to the west of the Heavenly Kingdom will be stopped by the Tang Kingdom."

"In this way, our Heavenly Kingdom will be able to free up its hands to carry out the Eastern and Northern Expeditions, or to expand to the South."

The military pressure currently faced by the Kingdom of Heaven is indeed too great.

The camps in Jiangnan and Jiangbei were under siege, and the Qing demons in Anhui and Jiangxi were eyeing them covetously.

Even the Green Camp troops from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were constantly gathering towards Jiangning.

If the Heavenly Kingdom cannot break the deadlock quickly, it will surely be destroyed under the layers of blockade by the Qing army.

And in the current situation where the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s military strength is not enough to support a large army to open up the situation, choosing an alliance with the Tang Kingdom is indeed their best option.

As they were talking, Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui arrived at the Heavenly King's Palace.

The Heavenly King's attendant Meng De'en was waiting outside the Heavenly King's Palace, then he invited Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui into the Palace and took the two to the main hall of the Palace.

Hong Xiuquan held a banquet there to entertain the triumphant Wei Changhui.

At the banquet, everyone was toasting and smiling.

A girl in a thin gauze skirt walked in the hall, pouring wine and serving food to the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hong Xiuquan sat in the main seat with a dignified look, but when facing Wei Changhui, he rarely smiled.

After the banquet, Hong Xiuquan returned to the backyard of the Heavenly King's Palace and continued to serve God, attend church services, hold parties, and live a shameless life with his group of queens.

But Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui were not idle. After the banquet, they continued to get together and discuss how to break the Qing army's Jiangnan camp.

……

Jiangnan Camp.

Imperial envoy Xiang Rong summoned all the generals to discuss military affairs.

Xiang Rong sat behind a large desk with a solemn expression, while in front of him, Zhang Guoliang, Xiang Jixiong, He Chun, Deng Shaoliang and other generals sat on both sides.

"The Changmao pseudo-Northern King Wei Changhui returned from Jiangbei. As a result, the Changmao main force gathered in Jiangning."

"I think it won't be long before the Taiping rebels gather their troops to attack our Jiangnan camp in order to relieve their predicament in Jiangning."

"We should have made preparations early on in our Jiangnan camp!"

Xiang Rong said with a serious expression.

Xiang Rong was very angry that Qishan in Jiangbei let Wei Changhui cross the river safely instead of intercepting him for his own selfish reasons.

Qishan's letting Wei Changhui cross the river did indeed avoid bringing disaster upon himself and ensure the safety of the Jiangbei camp.

But Xiang Rong really wanted to know whether Qishan had ever thought about what would happen to the Jiangnan camp outside Jiangning City once Wei Changhui crossed the river and the main force of the Taiping rebels gathered?
What should be done with the important financial and taxation centers of Jiangsu and Zhejiang that are protected by the Jiangnan Camp?
What should the Qing Dynasty do?
How short-sighted this Qishan is!
For his own selfish reasons, he pushed the Qing Dynasty to the edge of the cliff!
Xiang Rong was really angry. How could he save the Qing Dynasty by standing with a group of insects like Qishan?

Zhang Guoliang spoke.

"General, in my opinion, if it comes to field battle, our army is far from being a match for the Taimao."

"If you want to keep the Jiangnan camp, the best option is to build deep trenches and barriers, prepare more weapons, and defend the camp until the enemy troops are exhausted and retreat."

Zhang Guoliang came up with a stupid idea.

But for now, this is indeed the most appropriate approach.

Xiang Rong nodded slightly when he heard this, but He Chun on the side raised questions.

"What if the enemy cuts off our food supply and then sends a large force to besiege the Jiangnan camp?"

"In this case, aren't we trapped in a jar?"

The Jiangnan camp was located in Xiaolingwei outside Jiangning City, and the food and fodder needed by the army were almost entirely supplied by Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Once the Jiangnan camp is surrounded and the source of food and fodder is cut off, I am afraid they will not be able to hold out for long.

Xiang Rong's face also became solemn when he heard this.

Xiang Jixiong on the side spoke up.

"General, to be on the safe side, I think we can send a small force out of the camp to collect food and grass before the enemy troops besiege the Jiangnan camp."

"Make preparations in advance for the situation where the Jiangnan camp is surrounded by heavy enemy troops and the food supply is cut off."

(End of this chapter)