Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Soon, Liu Ye, Zhu Hai and Gao Qi gathered 600 trained soldiers, boarded a cruise ship bound for America, and headed all the way to America.

Liu Ye had passed away, and Wenxiang brought the news back to the capital. The powerful officials celebrated, but while the powerful officials were happy, others were unhappy. The frustrated Empress Dowager Cixi had been furious for several days. In the space of seven days, three imperial censors, one vice minister, and two deputy ministers were banished from the capital. The powerful officials were all dumbfounded. What had happened to the Empress Dowager Cixi? Had she entered menopause early?

In any case, Cixi was in a rage at the moment and would punish anyone she disliked. Even Prince Gong was scolded by Cixi, and the court immediately became quiet.

However, the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop.

Just half a month after Liu Ye left the capital, something big happened again.

Because of Liu Ye, Zeng Guofan in the south obtained foreign guns and artillery purchased from the United States in advance, which greatly increased his combat effectiveness. He took the city of Nanjing, which had been under siege for half a year, in one fell swoop and destroyed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's base.

After the capture of Tianjing, Zeng Guoquan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang each led their troops to wipe out the remnants of the Taiping Rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River, and their momentum was unstoppable.

Soon, the imperial edict came down from the court: Zeng Guofan was conferred the title of Prince Taibao and the first-class marquis; Zuo Zongtang was conferred the title of Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang and the first-class Kejing Earl; Li Hongzhang was conferred the title of Governor of Jiangsu and the first-class Suyi Earl, and was awarded the double-eyed peacock feather; Zeng Guoquan was conferred the title of Governor of Zhejiang, Prince Taibao and the first-class earl. The rest of Zeng Guofan's direct generals were also promoted one by one. Zeng Guofan finally reached the pinnacle of his life.

However, the good times did not last long. Less than a month after the capture of Tianjing, and before Jiangnan had time to be completely cleared up, another fierce tiger appeared - Shi Dakai!

Originally, in the same year, Shi Dakai was about to be defeated at Dadu River and annihilated by Luo Bingzhang on the banks of the Dadu River. Unexpectedly, Liu Ye caused a big disturbance in Tongzhou that year, which prevented the famous minister Luo Bingzhang from being promoted from the position of Governor of Hubei to the Governor-General of Sichuan. Instead, the Governor-General of Sichuan was served as acting governor by the Mongolian Fulehun.

But how could a muddle-headed Fullerton withstand the offensive of the renowned general Shi Dakai? From the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign until now, in the three years since, the Sichuan Army and the supporting Yunnan and Guizhou Green Camps in Sichuan had been completely defeated by Shi Dakai, forcing them to flee in disarray. The entire Chengdu Plain fell into Shi Dakai's hands.

Not only that, Shi Dakai spent nearly a year reorganizing Sichuan, recruiting soldiers on a large scale and stabilizing the situation. At the moment before the fall of Tianjing, he led more than 50,000 elite troops under his command, set out from Chengdu, and advanced eastward. It took only a few days to capture Yichang, an important city in Hubei. Then, he went down the Yangtze River, passed Jiujiang, and headed straight for Anqing, the base of the Hunan Army in Anhui, the location of the Beidaying!

It was so fast that it was as fast as lightning!

No one had expected that at this time, Shi Dakai, who was trapped in the cage of Sichuan, would be like a tiger out of its cage, leading the Taiping Army to rush around, and in just one month, they arrived in Anqing!

When the Hunan Army generals in Anqing saw the Taiping Army's flags and Shi Dakai's flag on the Yangtze River, they were so scared that they almost wet their pants. Shi Dakai was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's number one general, known as Shi Gan Dang. He had beaten Marshal Zeng Guofan so hard that he committed suicide by jumping into the lake twice. The Hunan Army would tremble whenever they heard the name Shi Dakai. It was too scary. Tens of thousands of Hunan Army soldiers died at the hands of Shi Dakai!

Hunan Army general Bao Chao was also a famous warrior, but in front of Shi Dakai, he was no match for him. The two were simply not on the same level. Facing the Taiping Army's strength that was several times greater than his own, Bao Chao led more than 4,000 Hunan Army soldiers to fight desperately, but still could not withstand the Taiping Army's joint land and sea attack. In just three days, Anqing fell, and Bao Chao died in the chaos!

When Anqing fell, the news spread like wildfire!

The entire Liangjiang area was shaken. Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Zhejiang who was still stationed in Nanjing, was shocked and angry when he heard that Shi Dakai had captured Anqing. This was the most important base camp of the Hunan Army. It could be said that most of the Hunan Army's assets were in Anqing, including the newly established Anqing Arsenal!

Zeng Guoquan was furious and ordered the mobilization of all Hunan troops in Anhui, attempting to go up the river and recapture Anqing again!

Not only Zeng Guoquan was panicking, even Zeng Guofan who was far away in Suzhou was panicking. Shi Dakai, the opponent Zeng Guofan feared most in his life was Shi Dakai. The young Shi GanDang was a military genius, unpredictable. If Shi Dakai had not left in anger in recent years, he would never have taken over Tianjing City so easily!

Send the letter, send it immediately over seven hundred miles to report to the court urgently!

Not only that, Zeng Guofan immediately ordered Li Hongzhang, the governor of Jiangsu, to lead the elite Huai Army to rescue Zeng Guoquan. Zeng Guofan knew very well in his heart that it would be impossible to resist Shi Dakai by relying on Zeng Guoquan alone!

Indeed, Li Hongzhang was currently clearing out the Taiping Army in southern Jiangsu. When he was in the midst of a killing spree, he was shocked to hear that Anqing had fallen. Anqing was only a few steps away from his hometown of Hefei!

Li Hongzhang immediately mobilized 30 large camps of the Huai Army and more than 15,000 elite soldiers to advance into Anhui.

However, after all, it is hundreds of miles away. How can it be so easy to rush to Anqing in one go? It will take at least more than ten days.

Even during these ten days, Zeng Guoquan could hardly hold on!

Because the current Hunan Army is no longer the Hunan Army before the capture of Tianjing. At the beginning of the establishment of the Hunan Army, Zeng Guofan was very strict in military discipline and had a good way of controlling his subordinates. The combat effectiveness of the Hunan Army should not be underestimated. However, over the years, while the Hunan Army has continued to grow, the number of elite figures in the army has also been decreasing. As Shen Baozhen, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang successively left the Hunan Army and took away a large number of military elites from the Hunan Army, the Hunan Army has long become strong on the outside but weak on the inside. This is not all. The most important thing is that now that Tianjin has fallen, Li Xiucheng has been tied up, Hong Xiuquan committed suicide, and even the young master has been captured by the Hunan Army.

It can be said that the Hunan Army had already achieved success and fame. All the generals received huge rewards, and they had no shortage of official positions, wealth, and beautiful women. Naturally, they no longer had the enterprising spirit they had before. The morale of the entire Hunan Army suddenly fell from its peak and was no longer the same as before!

Zeng Guoquan assembled a force of more than 40,000 people in a short period of time, including the most combat-capable musket battalion and artillery battalion, hoping to defeat Shi Dakai in one fell swoop. More than 40,000 people advanced towards Anqing. The distance from Nanjing to Anqing is only 200 miles, and it can be reached in four days of forced march, not to mention the help of the Yangtze River.

Zeng Guoquan vowed that this time, he must defeat Shi Dakai to avenge the past!