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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 121: Destroy and Rebuild

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    There is Huayao Mountain two miles southwest of Hengyang City. This mountain is also named Yueping Mountain. It is said that during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, two immortals, Huang and Ge, made elixirs on the mountain.  At the foot of Huayao Mountain, there is Guangxiao Baoen Temple, also known as Huayao Temple, which was built in the fifth year of Baoyou in the Southern Song Dynasty. The temple is solemn, majestic, quiet and elegant. It was one of the four major Buddhist jungles in Hengyang at that time.  There is a Spring Creek Well in the west of the temple. The water is clear and blue, and the gold-plated dragon carved on the temple is reflected. The water is rippling, and the dragon shape disappears and appears sometimes. It is known as "anther spring creek dragon appears claws", and is also one of the eight scenic spots in Hengyang.  .

    But at this moment, the tranquility of Huayao Mountain and Huayao Temple was broken. Thousands of Taiping soldiers with red scarves on their heads rushed in and occupied Huayao Mountain and Huayao Temple. Five hundred Qing troops were originally stationed on the top of the mountain. In the early morning,  In the mist, they were chased and driven away by the Taiping Army. After leaving hundreds of corpses behind, the rest of them fled all the way back to Hengzhou City.  .

    When Xiao Yungui led Zuo Zongtang and more than a hundred personal guards to Huayao Mountain, the forward troops on the mountain had already erected a large apricot-yellow flag to slay demons. Under the flag, more than ten mountain-splitting cannons were spitting out flames.  , bombarded the Qing military camps and strongholds outside Hengzhou City.

    Amidst the rumbling cannons, Xiao Yungui stood at the highest point of Huayao Mountain and looked out. He saw that Hengzhou City was located on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River. It was as long and narrow as a jade belt. The southern part of the city had been completely exposed to the artillery fire of the Taiping Army. The private houses and cottages in the southern part of the city were  There was a lot of damage, and there were still many Qing troops outside the city who were panicking and wanted to enter the city, but the city gates could not be opened.

    "We will bring up the thousand-jin cannon later and continue bombarding the south of the city. We order the front army Lin Fengxiang and Lin Qirong to prepare to attack the city while the Qing army is in chaos. The rear army Ji Wenyuan and Zhu Xineng will use Huayao Mountain as their key point to build forts in the south of the city to link up.  Dongzhou Island Floating Bridge." After Xiao Yungui handed down the order, he looked at Zuo Zongtang and said with a smile: "Sir, what a clever plan. After capturing Hengshan County, we asked our army from the middle and left routes to cross eastward from Hengshan County.  From the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, we quickly moved southward along Liuxia Town and Dapu Town. The Qing army only thought that we would go south along the official road from Hengshan County to Hengzhou. Their attention was focused on the north, but they did not expect that we would play in the dark.  Attack from Dongzhou Island south of Wantang, cross the Xiangjiang River to the west, and attack the city south of the city."

    Zuo Zongtang said calmly: "Zuo is from Hunan, and of course he is familiar with the geography of this area. After the attack on the south of the city begins later, I hope that the left army in the north can also take advantage of the opportunity to seize Qingcao Bridge and attack the north gate. Only in this way can we  Let the Qing army not look at each other." He paused and said hesitantly: "But there is Hengzhou Shigu Academy in the north of the city. It would be a pity that it was destroyed by the war."

    This is the third time that Zuo Zongtang has been nagging Xiao Yungui about the Shigu Academy. The Shigu Academy was built on Shigu Mountain in Hengzhou during the Tang Dynasty, hence its name.  In the second year of the Taiping and Rejuvenation of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyi, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, bestowed a plaque and a school field for "Shigu Academy".  In the third year of Emperor Taizong's reign in the Song Dynasty, Li Shizhen, a native of the state, asked the county governor to establish a formal academy here to recruit students and give lectures.  In the second year of Jingyou reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, Liu Hang, who had served as the school manager of Jixian Hall, was appointed as the magistrate of Hengzhou.  At this time, he reported the story of Shigu Academy to the emperor. After Song Renzong read it, he was awarded "Shigu Academy".  Because Shigu Academy "exclusively" enjoyed the honor of being "bestowed" by the emperor of the Song Dynasty twice, Shigu Academy entered its "heyday" and became one of the four major academies of the Song Dynasty, along with Suiyang, Yuelu, and Bailudong.  head.

    By the early Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou, the minister of economics and strategy, sent troops south to attack Nanming and used Shigu Academy as a military command post.  In the same year, Yuan Kuoyu, governor of Pianyuan, reported to the Qing court and applied for the reconstruction of Shigu Academy. Yu Tianpu, the magistrate of Hengyang County, was specifically responsible for the restoration project.  At this time, there were Hejiang Pavilion, King Yu Monument, Wuhou Temple, Daguan Tower, Lecture Hall, Zhongjie Temple, Seven Sages Temple and other buildings on the mountain.  Shigu Academy was the first academy allowed to be restored by the Qing government. During this period, the academies were transformed into imperial examinations, and Shigu Academy became a scholarly place for teaching careers and cultivating imperial examination talents.

    Xiao Yungui pondered for a moment and said: "Mr. Zuo, according to you, this Shigu Academy is the first academy restored after the Manchus entered the customs. It represents the foundation of the Manchus' servile Confucianism. Even if it is destroyed, this academy  The king promises you that in the future we will build another academy here to restore the academy like that of the Song Dynasty. It will also be our Han people's own academy! What is taught in it is our extensive and profound Han Confucianism, which is the real science of managing the world and applying it.  It¡¯s not the stubborn eight-legged essay! Everything that was imposed or tampered with by the Manchu Qing Dynasty can only be destroyed and then rebuilt in order to restore the original outlook!" Then he looked at Zuo Zongtang's braided hair and said with a smile:  ¡°We can cut off the physical braids, but can we remove the braids in our hearts that have been there for two hundred years?¡±

    His words are based on what Gu Hongming said in "The Great Cause of the Founding of the Party". Now that the Taiping Army wants to break the old world, overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and rebuild the Han Dynasty, the biggest obstacle is actually the pigtails in people's hearts.  Shigu Academy is like a banner of Manchu Confucianism, and its stubborn ideas have always been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Even if Zuo Zongtang cut off his braids, he was still worried about the future of Shigu Academy subtly in his consciousness, so Xiao Yungui  Said it out specifically.  After Zuo Zongtang heard this, he felt a chill in his heart. He lowered his head and thought, and murmured from time to time: "Tangible braids,A crotch-shaped braid?  "

    Xiao Yungui did not bother him. With Zuo Zongtang's intelligence, he had to figure out this issue by himself. He immediately stepped aside and concentrated on directing the war.

    But the ensuing war did not go smoothly. Most of the mountain-splitting cannons transported by the Taiping Army to Huayao Mountain were small cannons of 400 kilograms. Xiao Yungui ordered people to transport the thousand-jin cannons from the east bank as soon as possible.  However, an accident occurred when the artillery team of the Taiping Army was being urged to transport the artillery across the Dongzhou Island pontoon bridge. The Dongzhou Island pontoon bridge was built overnight and was quite rough. It was difficult for the men, horses and 400 kilograms of artillery to pass.  It was swaying. After the heavy cannon came up from behind, the pontoon bridge could not withstand the heavy pressure and actually broke.  The interruption caused difficulties in transporting troops and food from the east and west banks. Xiao Yungui had to order a postponement of the attack on the city and ordered all armies to seize the pontoon bridge first.

    Later, bad luck came one after another. The siege battle in the south of the city was temporarily suspended because the artillery fire did not arrive and the pontoon bridge was broken. However, the right army in the north, led by Li Kaifang, Li Yiwen, Zeng Tianyang, He Zhenchuan and others, led more than 4,000 people to Hengzhou on time.  North of the city.  The four generals followed the originally agreed-upon strategy and began to storm Qingcao Bridge. The Qing troops guarding the bridge fled back to the city in panic. However, before leaving, the Qing troops poured kerosene on the bridge and set it on fire in an attempt to stop the Taiping Army.  Crossing the bridge also gave me time to escape back to the city.

    When the Taiping Army from the north captured the Qingcao Bridge, the fire was out of control. Generals Li Kaifang and Li Yiwen had to watch the 800-year-old wooden bridge burn down.  The Taiping Army in the north could not cross the Caohe River, so they had to find boats and timber on the north bank and organize manpower to repair a pontoon bridge to cross the river.

    Originally a surprise attack that could prevent the Qing army from looking at each other, was shelved due to various reasons. He Chun, who had sobered up, knew that Changmao was serious this time, so he did not dare to neglect and hurriedly strengthened the defenses of the north and south walls. At the same time,  They sent people to pretend to be refugees and fled to Leiyang and You counties, and at the same time asked Xu Guangjin and Xiang Rong for help.

    In the evening, the pontoon bridge on Dongzhou Island was restored first, and the last thousand-jin cannon was also transported to Huayao Mountain, and began to bombard the south of Hengzhou City from a high position.  During this period, Xiao Yungui organized manpower several times to seize the residential buildings in the southern periphery of the city, and began to prepare to attack the city based on the solid residential buildings.

    The Qing army in the south of the city did not show weakness and set up artillery to fight back. For a time, the cannons and arrows in the south of the city were raining down, and almost all the residences and houses were destroyed.  Hengzhou was an important place for the Qing army to store supplies. In addition to sufficient money and food supplies, there were twelve newly cast three-thousand-jin iron cannons in the city. The extremely vicious He Chun placed all twelve new cannons in the south of the city.  For a time, the Taiping Army was suppressed and could not get close to the city wall.  The sky gradually darkened, and the fierce battle between the two sides gradually weakened.

    Xiao Yungui also noticed that the Qing army's firepower was superior to his own. Thinking that his body seemed to attract cannonballs, he never dared to issue an order to attack the city on a large scale.  As night fell, Xiao Yungui remembered the tunnel siege the Taiping Army had carried out in the Battle of Changsha in history, so he asked Lin Fengxiang, who was in front, to prepare to dig tunnels from the residences in the south of the city in the dark.

    Recalling the history of the Taiping Army's underground siege of the city, Xiao Yungui also knew that digging a single-layer tunnel was extremely easy to be destroyed. As soon as he came up, he told Lin Fengxiang and asked him to send people to dig a double-layer tunnel, shaped like a curve, directly to the city gate.  Down.  They also pretended to dig tunnels in several other places to confuse the Qing army.  At the same time, Xiao Yungui ordered the artillery array at Huayaoshan to fire from time to time to disrupt the Qing army's sight.

    The Qing army did not expect that the Taiping Army would fire artillery after dark. He Chun relied on the abundant medicine in the city and his wealth to order a counterattack. For a while, fighting broke out lively in the south of the city. However, there was no accuracy in the dark, as long as it was not too late.  Unfortunately, they usually won't be hurt by gunfire.  But Xiao Yungui did not dare to take risks. His character and luck seemed not to be very good, so he kept hiding behind and discussing military matters with Zuo Zongtang.

    The residential buildings in the south of the city are very close to the city wall. After one night of digging, half of the work was completed.  After daybreak, Xiao Yungui replaced the rear troops Ji Wenyuan and Zhu Xineng and went forward to feint attack, continuing to attract the attention of the Qing army, while Lin Fengxiang's troops continued to dig tunnels.

    However, several attacks by Ji Wenyuan, Zhu Xineng and other troops on the table were repelled by Qing artillery fire, with more than a hundred casualties. The Qing army at the top of the city began to gain morale, and arrogantly laughed at Taiping outside the city.  The soldiers even stood on the top of the city and urinated downwards to show their contempt.  The Taiping troops under the city were furious when they saw this. They gritted their teeth secretly and waited for the moment the city was broken to kill all these pure monsters.

    At three o'clock that night, the tunnel had been dug into the city. Among the troops in the Central and Western Hall of the Taiping Army, there were many old brothers from the Guixi Silver Mine. They were all the old troops of the King of the West. They were best at attacking with earth. After the tunnel was dug,  , according to the thickness of the soil and the size of the city wall, tens of thousands of kilograms of red medicine were placed in the two layers of tunnels to prepare for blasting.  These red medicines were two-thirds of the amount of medicine for the South Route Army. If the south gate could not be breached, Xiao Yungui would have no choice but to attack by force.
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