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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 203: Strike first to gain the upper hand

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    As the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's West Palace battle in southern Jiangsu progressed to a fierce stage, the Qing Dynasty was completely panicked. The Qing army, which had been defeated again and again, urgently needed to stabilize the front. At the very least, it could not defeat Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and other places.  lost.  Under the strict orders of Emperor Xianfeng, the Hechun troops of the Qing army in the north of the Yangtze River began to prepare to cross the river to reinforce Shanghai. Wang Yide, the governor of Fujian and the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang, also petitioned the court to recommend the veteran Li Tingyu as the governor of Fujian and prepared to send Fujian reinforcements north to relieve the enemy.  Siege of Hangzhou.

    Li Tingyu was considered an old Chiang Kai-shek who was good at conquering and fighting. He was a native of Xiamen, Fujian Province and the son of the famous general Li Changgeng. His courtesy name was Runtang and his nickname was Heqiao.  At the age of 22, he inherited the third-class earl and was awarded the second-class blue feather bodyguard; he successively served as the deputy general of the garrison of Nanchang City in Jiangxi Province; the general soldier of Jiujiang Town; the general soldier of Chaozhou Town, Guangdong; the general soldier of Langshan Town in Jiangnan, the admiral of Zhejiang, and the admiral of the Fujian Navy.  Equal grade.  Later, he was unable to cruise due to illness and took up his post to stay at home.

    Li Tingyu¡¯s most famous battle was the Battle of Humen with Guan Tianpei. In January 1841, the British army suddenly launched an attack, occupying Shajiao and Dajiao Forts, and then attacked Humen Fort.  At that time, Li Tingyu guarded Weiyuan Fort and Guan Tianpei guarded Jing Fort.  They took the lead and fought bloody battles with dozens of times the number of British troops.  Several requests for reinforcements from Qishan were rejected.  On February 26, the Jingyuan Fort was breached, and Admiral Guan Tianpei of the Guangdong Navy died a heroic sacrifice for his country.  The British army turned their artillery positions and attacked Weiyuan Fort with all their strength. Li Tingyu was finally forced to retreat because he ran out of ammunition and food and suffered heavy casualties among his men.  Although the First Opium War failed, Li Tingyu was still hailed as a famous general in the Opium War.  

    At the same time, the Qing court also stabilized the situation in the battlefields of Hunan and Jiangxi. In early April, Hu Yihuang and Lin Shaozhang, the guardians of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom who stayed in Changsha, joined Xiangtan guards Zeng Lichang and Chen Renbao; Hengyang guards Zeng Tianyang, He Zhenchuan and others sent five troops.  Wanhui attacked Jiangxi.  When the Tianwang Brigade pulled out its troops and headed for Tianjing, Qing Army General Jiang Zhongyuan and others had already abandoned Liling and retreated to Pingxiang.  Hu Yihuang and other generals launched the Nanchang Campaign, intending to conquer Pingxiang, Yichun, Xinyu, Shanggao and other places along the way.  Captured Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province.

    Jiang Zhongyuan, a famous general of the Qing army, saw that the Taiping Army was approaching fiercely and his troops were unmatched, so he retreated to Shanggao, Jiangxi Province. Hu Yihuang and others underestimated the enemy, and at the same time extended the front line, and was ambushed by Jiang Zhongyuan's Qing troops in Shanggao.  The Taiping Army was defeated in the first battle at Shanggao. Veteran general Zeng Tianyang died in battle against Jiang Zhongyuan's Qing general Taqibu. The 50,000 Taiping Army either died or surrendered, and only more than 20,000 broke through.  Later, on the way to Changsha, they were repeatedly attacked by local regiments. When they returned to Changsha, there were only less than 10,000 people left.

    The fiasco at Shanggao completely changed the situation in eastern Hunan and western Jiangxi.  Jiang Zhongyuan fought hundreds of miles back to Liling in one day, regained Liling city, hoarded money, food, troops and horses, and prepared to attack Changsha with Zhang Liangji, Hu Linyi and other troops in western Hunan.  Hu Yihuang had to divide his troops to guard Hengyang, Xiangtan, Xiangyin and other important places, and sent people to ask for help from his uncle Lai Hanying who guarded Wuchang, Yuezhou and other places.  At the same time, he reported to Tianjing and asked for reinforcements.

    After successive defeats.  The Qing army finally achieved a great victory.  Emperor Xianfeng promoted Jiang Zhongyuan's official position and appointed him governor of Jiangxi, in charge of the military and political affairs of Jiangxi Province. At the same time, he ordered Jiang Zhongyuan to quickly mobilize troops to turn around and aid southern Jiangsu.

    Jiang Zhongyuan was also unambiguous. After he handed over the military affairs of Liling and other places to Qin Dingsan, Kailong'a, Chang Lu and others, he took Chu Yong's old subordinate Liu Changyou and his brother Jiang Zhongji and 5,000 men and horses to quickly drive eastward.  .  On the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, troops arrived at Huangshan and threatened to attack the West Palace Taiping Army in Hangzhou.

    The Taiping Army in Tianjing did not seem to be interested in reinforcing the battlefield in southern Jiangsu. Their brigade remained stationary, and Yang Fuqing, the emperor of the East Palace, led 10,000 troops towards Wuchang.  This army is to reinforce the war in Hunan and Jiangxi.  According to the deployment of the Qing army, and the Tianjing Taiping Army did not detachment, if the Qing army and the three reinforcements of Chun, Li Tingyu, and Jiang Zhongyuan gathered in southern Jiangsu, Xiao Yungui would be in a hurry after nearly 30,000 Qing troops joined the battlefield.  Especially the Qing armies of Jiang Zhongyuan and Li Tingyu. Jiang Zhongyuan's Chu Yong is fierce, and Li Tingyu's men are also veterans who often suppressed pirates. They are all famous generals. In addition, the Guangdong Navy is about to go north to join He Chun's troops, which will definitely give Xiao Yungui a hard time.  No need to walk around.

    But the plan never changes quickly. This change comes from the addition of Liu Lichuan, Pan Qiliang, Chen Alin and others, the leaders of the Little Sword Society.  That day, after Xiao Yungui, Liu Lichuan and others discussed the war in Shanghai, they asked Liu Lichuan about the Fujian Knife Association.

    The rise of the Xiaodao Society in the late Qing Dynasty actually first started in Taiwan. The Xiaodao Society was originally a branch of the Tiandihui. It was founded in Taiwan during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It later spread to the Nanyang Islands, and many overseas Chinese joined the society.  During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Jiang Yuan, an overseas Chinese from Haicheng County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, and his brother Jiang Fa developed this small knife guild locally.  At first, only returned overseas Chinese joined, but soon more and more people joined. There were members from Haicheng County to all counties in Zhangzhou Prefecture, and even Xiamen, so anti-Qing proclamations were posted in both urban and rural areas.  Later, in the first year of Xianfeng's reign, the Small Knife Club was introduced to Shanghai, and talents such as Liu Lichuan united with various gangs to establish the Shanghai Small Knife Club.  With the rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the small sword guilds in Shanghai and Fujian are eager to try and prepare to raise troops to respond. The two small sword guilds have daily activities.Come to contact us and prepare to launch troops at the same time.

    Speaking of the growth of Fujian knives, we have to mention one person. This person is called Huang Demei. This person is from Tong'an, Fujian, and his family is a wealthy family.  In the first year of Xianfeng (1851), brothers Jiang Yuan and Jiang Fa "purchased hundreds of foreign knives from Southeast Asia and formed a small knife society". They set up a martial arts association in Zhupu Village, Haicheng County to actively engage in the anti-Qing struggle.  Due to successive years of disasters, the counties in southern Fujian have lost their grain harvests, starved to death, and complained.  Returned overseas Chinese in Longxi, Haicheng, Tong'an and other counties were often blackmailed and blackmailed by local officials and gentry. The Qing government implemented abusive policies, which made the overseas Chinese unable to protect their personal safety and even became homeless.  In order to find a way out, many people joined the Knife Club.

    Huang Demei, who belongs to a wealthy family, owns land in Xumaozhou, Longxi County. Due to erosion by the sea, the grain harvest has been lost and the tenants cannot pay the rent.  He sent people to allocate grain to help the hungry people, and announced that he would not collect land rent.  However, local gentry and money and grain officials forced Huang Demei to pay money and grain, and disputes and conflicts broke out.  The Qianliang official reported that Huang Demei had crossed the border to force rent, and was suspected of plotting to cause rebellion.  Huang Demei was dissatisfied with local corrupt officials. Not long ago, the salt transport envoy forced him to work as a salt merchant in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, causing him to suffer huge losses. This time, they sprinkled floating grain on his head, which aroused his indignation.  So he contacted Huang Wei, Jiang Yuan, Jiang Fa and others, and joined the Xiaodao Society, determined to fight the Qing government to the end.

    The Fujian Small Knife Association has become even more powerful after Huang Demei joined. Huang Demei strongly supports the Small Knife Association financially.  At the beginning of the second year of Xianfeng's reign, he and Huang Wei went to various parts of Nanyang to contact members, and purchased 2,700 knives and secretly shipped them to the south gate of Shimei Society.  At the same time, a martial arts hall was set up, where he practiced martial arts hard, recruited people, and prepared to arm himself against the Qing Dynasty.  In March, 42 large-headed shallow boats were built at Zhuoqi Shipyard in Haicheng County; in May, 36 broad-headed shallow boats were built at Shima Fuhe Shipyard in preparation for the incident.  In April of the third year of Xianfeng, Wang Shiqing, the magistrate of Haicheng County, sent troops to attack Zhupu Village. The Jiang Yuan brothers were arrested and imprisoned.  When the news came, people were furious.  At that time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had occupied Nanjing, and the anti-Qing struggle was intensifying across the country.  Huang Wei and Huang Demei believed that the time was ripe for an uprising, so they prepared to send people to contact the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Shanghai Small Sword Society to initiate an uprising.

    But because the Shanghai Small Knife Club was raided by the government, the Shanghai Small Knife Club collapsed overnight. The Fujian Small Knife Club members who came to contact were also trapped and killed in the city of Shanghai. Since then, there has been no news.

    After Xiao Yungui listened to Liu Lichuan's words, he immediately thought of the lessons of the Shanghai Little Knife Association. Since brothers Jiang Yuan and Jiang Fa of the Fujian Little Knife Association were arrested, the Fujian Little Knife Association could only start an uprising immediately instead of waiting hesitantly, otherwise it would just be like Shanghai.  Xiaodao would be the same, ending up being wiped out in a surprise attack.

    Although Xiao Yungui did not yet know the deployment of the Qing army's three reinforcements, in order to muddy the waters, he immediately told Liu Lichuan, Pan Qiliang, and Chen Alin to prepare to go south immediately to contact the Fujian Knife Club to start an uprising.

    Liu Lichuan and the other three people immediately agreed to the matter. Xiao Yungui immediately named Liu Lichuan as General Jin Sanzheng, Pan Qiliang as Mu Erzongzhi, and Chen Alin as water deputy Jiu Renjiu Supervisor. Together with He Bin from Bai Zetang, he led dozens of people and immediately  Rush to Fujian and contact the Fujian Knife Association to start an uprising.

    The reason why Xiao Yungui acted first was that he was not only afraid that the Fujian Small Sword Society would be wiped out like the Shanghai Small Sword Society, but also wanted to lay the groundwork for the future invasion of Fujian after taking over southern Jiangsu. At the same time, he also had selfish motives, and would rather be the first to attack the West Palace.  Winning the Fujian Small Swordsmen's Association under the command of the West Palace did not want the Fujian Small Swordsmen's Association to be absorbed by the Tianjing Taiping Army.  Historically, after the Xiaodao Hui and Tiandi Hui uprisings in Fujian and Guangdong failed, these people fled everywhere, and were finally taken in by the Taiping Rebellion and reorganized into the Citi Army.

    The so-called "Citi" refers specifically to the original Guangdong Tiandi Hui, Fujian Xiaodao Hui and other rebel forces who joined the Taiping Army in Jiangxi in 1855.  They were all defeated in battle, and various rebel armies dispersed. One of them, known as one hundred thousand people, was led by Zhou Chun, Ge Yaoming, Chen Rong, Deng Xiang, Lu Wei, Zhai Huogu, Tan Xing, Tan Fu, Li Hongzao, Chen Xianliang, etc.  Next, they went north to move into Chenzhou, Guiyang, Chaling, Xingning, Anren and other places in Hunan. In the autumn of this year, due to the oppression of the Hunan Army and Tuanlian, they entered Jiangxi from Chaling via Yongxin, Anfu, Fenyi and Wanzai.  Coinciding with the Taiping Army wing Wang Shida's troops entering Jiangxi from Hubei Province, the two armies met at Wanzai on October 19th of that year. Soon the name "Citi" appeared, and thereafter "Citi" became the name of this army.  A special designation for the Tiandihui troops that originated in Guangdong and Fujian and were formally incorporated into the Taiping Army in Jiangxi.

    Xiao Yungui really wants to gather these people, and after going south to Fujian in the future, he can then enter Guangdong. If he can conquer the Fujian Small Sword Society, it will definitely be of great help to occupy the entire territory of Fujian and then go south to Guangdong.  Xiao Yungui took one step at a time and looked at three steps. He even thought that those who went south to Fujian would continue to go south to contact the Guangdong Tiandi Society in order to contact more insurrectionary parties.  Fortunately, Xiao Yungui thought so and did so. Otherwise, after the arrival of the three Qing army reinforcements, the Sunan battle of the Taiping Army in the West Palace would probably be different. It must be said that Xiao Yungui acted decisively and attacked againArranged the deployment of the Qing army.  (To be continued. Mobile phone users please read here.)</dd>
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