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Shi Dakai had burned down the Yuelu Mountain Academy under orders. According to Hong Xiuquan's orders, Shi Dakai was supposed to completely destroy the academy. Shi Dakai had only burned down the academy and smashed Confucius's memorial tablet. If Shi Dakai had known how much hatred he had caused among the scholars in Changsha, he would have felt very wronged. Because Shi Dakai had shown mercy. If he had followed Hong Xiuquan's orders, not a single piece of the Yuelu Mountain Academy would have been left.
But Shi Dakai didn't care about what the scholars thought of him. He was a general of the Taiping Rebellion. His goal in crossing the Xiangjiang River was to establish a foothold on the west bank and collect food. After the pontoon bridge was built on the Xiangjiang River during the dry season, Shi Dakai could easily travel between the two sides of the river. Large amounts of food were also transported to the Taiping army's camp below Changsha.
Vézé had also received orders from Yang Xiuqing to move the camp to the north. Vézé's troops were on the east side of Changsha, which was the longest distance to transport food. So after Vézé destroyed the Qing Army's camp in the north of the city, he began to build pontoon bridges on the Xiangjiang River. On one hand, it ensured that his troops could move in a larger space, and on the other hand, it ensured that his troops could get food supplies from the west of the Xiangjiang River.
After the battle on the drill ground, the Qing Army refused to send troops to fight against Vézé. Tens of thousands of troops had been defeated by Vézé. No one wanted to cause trouble for themselves again. So for the whole of October, and even the first part of November, Vézé's days were very relaxed. For almost a month, Vézé trained his troops on the east side of the city. From time to time, he would send troops further east to collect food. He would also frequently attack the east side of Changsha.
But Vézé didn't do anything serious. At this time, the Qing Army in Changsha, as well as the various armed forces, numbered about 100,000. After several battles, Changsha's defense system had gradually matured. In October, the Qing Army on top of the city wall was still rather undisciplined. In November, the Qing Army in Changsha City looked quite impressive. There were Qing Army soldiers guarding every entrance. Vézé went down to the city wall many times to observe. He found that the Qing Army did not whisper to each other, nor did they play around. They stood on the city walls like wooden stakes.
Vézé's troops were proficient in field warfare. Vézé's understanding of defensive warfare was limited to the trench warfare of World War I and the weaponry of World War II. For a big city like Changsha, Vézé felt that it would be more reliable to forge some large-caliber cannons and blast open the city walls. Even if they were to carry out combat operations, they would have to create strong gunpowder instead of using black gunpowder to blow things up.
During this rare period of rest, Vézé used the 100 or so horses he had captured to form a small cavalry unit. The charge of the Qing Army's cavalry left a deep impression on Vézé. Among Napoleon I's old guards, there were many discussions about the cuirassiers, but without exception, everyone believed that they were a very effective unit.
The Qing Army's cavalry certainly did not have the fighting power of the French cuirassiers of forty years ago, but they could not break through Vézé's infantry formation. Vézé was a complete amateur in cavalry. He did not think that he could train an excellent cavalry unit, so this new cavalry unit mainly served as an imaginary enemy. He used this unit to train how to deal with cavalry attacks in battle.
The main direction of the attack on Changsha fell on the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, who was in the south of the city. The Qing Army did not dare to attack Vézé, but they still dared to touch Yang Xiuqing. In late October, the Qing Army in Changsha City attacked several times, but they were all defeated by Yang Xiuqing.
Then Yang Xiuqing began to carry out the method of underground siege. Relying on the miners who joined the army from Chenzhou and Daozhou as the backbone, the Taiping army began to carry out the tactic of digging tunnels and blasting the city walls.
The Qing Army in Changsha City opposed this with equal harshness. They dug many trenches horizontally and filled them with water. Once the Taiping army dug the trenches, the water in the trenches would pour into the tunnels. The soldiers in the tunnels would not be able to keep their lives, and the flooded tunnels could not be used again.
Even so, the Taiping army still succeeded in blasting the tunnels several times. However, the Qing Army had 100,000 soldiers in the city, and the military strength was very dense. Even if a considerable part of the army had to guard against Vézé in the north, they could still gather a considerable number of troops in the south at any time. The main force of the Taiping army attacked several times, but they all failed.
The fighting in the west of the city, however, became fierce. The Xianfeng Emperor had already ordered that if Xiang Rong, who was in Guilin, refused to lead the army, he would be sent to Xinjiang as a bandit. Xiang Rong had no choice but to go to Changsha. Although he was the commander-in-chief, Xiang Rong was fighting on the west side of Xiang River. At the beginning of November, Xiang Rong fought with Wing Monarch Shi Dakai in the Ox-Head Continent. In the end, Xiang Rong was ambushed and his 3000 subordinates were almost completely annihilated. Xiang Rong was only able to escape by relying on the "good horse". Henceforth, the Taiping army relied on the two pontoon bridges on the Xiangjiang River to move around freely. The Qing Army was trapped in the city and camp, they did not dare to move out.
On the 20th of November, Yang Xiuqing ordered Vézé to go to the southern camp to discuss military affairs. There weren't many people who had come this time. They were all truly high-ranking generals: North King Wei Changhui, Wing King Shi Dakai, Hu Yihuang, Qin Rigang, and Chen Chengxiang. Ceng Shuiyuan, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Luo Dagang, and Vézé.
Yang Xiuqing did not beat around the bush. "Right now, there is a tunnel that leads straight to the Kui Xing Lou. Attack the city in five days. If we can take the city this time, we will. If not, we will leave immediately. "
Vézé had not expected Yang Xiuqing to be so decisive. He would fight and leave as he pleased. But he had no objections. After all, the Taiping Rebellion had established the capital in Nanjing. If they could take Changsha now, they would certainly establish the capital there. Moreover, Vézé did not believe that history could not be changed. It was just that the Taiping army would not be able to take Changsha given its current strength. Even if they could use the last bit of their strength to take Changsha, the surrounding Qing Army would retaliate vigorously. When that happened, the Taiping army would not be able to defend Changsha.
If that was the case, it was better to leave Changsha as soon as possible. Moreover, Vézé had his own plans. After occupying Nanjing, he wanted to see if he could buy some new European firearms. Vézé knew a little about the history of weapons development. During this period of time, he had led the military department to research and develop weapons. Many ideas had emerged in a very simple manner. And when these ideas corresponded to the terms in history, many ideas of "new weapons" emerged.
But these weapons all had a problem. They needed a stronger barrel as a basis for modification. The Qing Army's matchlock gun barrels were too poor. Vézé hoped to use the British's flintlock guns with bayonets as a basis for modification. But first, they needed to be able to get their hands on flintlock guns. If they stayed in Changsha, it was impossible to buy weapons from the British.
Other than Vézé, the only people who could remain calm were the generals who were responsible for digging the tunnels. The others were quite surprised. They did not expect Yang Xiuqing to be so decisive.
But Yang Xiuqing's orders could not be rejected. Since Xiao Chaogui's raid, it had been 70 days since they besieged Changsha. Until now, they still could not take Changsha. The Taiping army's gunpowder, lead, and salt had all reached rock bottom. Everyone had stayed in Yongan. At that time, they really did run out of gunpowder, lead, and salt. At that time, they had relied on Vézé to attack the Qing Army's supply lines and rob them. Now, the Taiping army had more than 50,000 people. Even if they could rob something, it would be a drop in the bucket.
In the end, Wing King Shi Dakai made a suggestion. If they really could not take Changsha, they might as well send someone into Changsha to pretend to surrender. They could say that the Taiping army had dug an extremely long and well-hidden tunnel into the city and were preparing for an even larger explosion. After deceiving the Changsha garrison with false information, the Taiping army could easily retreat.
After discussing the plan, the Taiping army began to make preparations. Vézé's task was to harass the Qing Army in the north of the city and attract as many Qing Army troops as possible.
Vézé returned to the main camp and began to make arrangements. He ordered his troops to start building a long wall in the north of the city to approach Changsha's city wall. Every night, he would send troops to beat drums and gongs to scare the Qing Army. Vézé would send his troops to the west of the Xiangjiang River on the pontoon bridge at night. During the day, he would let his troops brazenly cross the pontoon bridge from the west of the Xiangjiang River to the north of Changsha.
This action made the Qing Army very nervous. They were already afraid of Vézé's troops. Seeing the 'reinforcements' in the north of the city, they were quite frightened. All the Qing Army units requested to increase the city's defenses.
Hunan Inspector-General Zhang Liangji thought so too, but Zuo Zongtang disagreed. "Your Excellency, I don't think the Cantonese bandits will attack from the north."
"Why?" Zhang Liangji did not believe Zuo Zongtang's judgment.
Zuo Zongtang replied, "The Cantonese bandits are the elites of the Cantonese bandits. From what I can see, they have no more than 5,000 men and horses. But every time they cross the pontoon bridge, they are the Cantonese bandits. In the past two days, there have been at least 3,000 to 4,000 new Cantonese bandits. How can they have so many Cantonese bandits? "
"Oh!" Zhang Liangji suddenly understood. If there really were more than 10,000 Cantonese bandits, Changsha City would have long been conquered.
"Moreover, I have sent people to investigate every day. The Cantonese bandits have always been training their troops. If they wanted to attack the north of the city, they would have already built siege weapons and trained to climb the walls. But from what I found out, the Cantonese bandits are practicing formations and how to defend against cavalry attacks. They will definitely not suddenly attack the city. I'm afraid that after the battle with the Cantonese bandits, they still have a lingering fear of cavalry attacks. That's why they are training with all their might! " Because of the defeat in the last battle, many people were suspicious of Zuo Zongtang. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang had no choice but to strengthen the information he had gathered to prove that he was really a great threat to the Cantonese bandits.
Zhang Liangji did not want to apologize for misunderstanding Zuo Zongtang. Therefore, he pretended not to hear the hidden topic. On the contrary, Zuo Zongtang's two points strongly supported the idea that the Cantonese bandits would not attack from the north of the city. If Zuo Zongtang's judgment was correct, they should be strengthening the defense of the south of the city.
In less than two days, it was November 25th. These few days, the wind and rain were very heavy. The visibility was very poor. The Qing Army could not observe the Taiping army's movements. The Taiping army had dug a tunnel to the bottom of the Kuixing Tower and stuffed it full of gunpowder. After the explosion, the earth shook. On the side of the Kuixing Tower, there was a hole about eight feet wide blown out. Qin Rigang's troops immediately began to attack with the long ladders.
The Qing Army had already focused their defense on the south of the city. Immediately, some Qing Army troops began to rush up the collapsed city wall. Using long hooks, they pulled the ladders down from the side. Their attack had been thwarted. In addition, they saw that the Qing Army on the city wall was well prepared. Qin Rigang immediately led his troops and retreated. The Qing Army wanted to take advantage of the situation and actually chased after them. Qin Rigang had long set up an ambush. When the Qing Army troops approached, the ambush troops immediately attacked. With guns and cannons, the Qing Army was forced to retreat to Changsha after suffering over a hundred casualties.
Yang Xiuqing did not wait any longer. After learning that the explosion had failed, he immediately ordered his troops to be ready to move out at any time. At this time, it happened to be raining. Retreating in the rain was already the Taiping army's specialty.
Vézé's troops also received the news. In the middle of the night, both the north and south troops headed straight for the pontoon bridge on the Xiangjiang River. In the past few days, in order to confuse the Qing Army, Vézé's troops had already gotten used to walking on the pontoon bridge. Even the more than a hundred warhorses had been transported to Jiangbei in the past few days. The troops quickly retreated along the pontoon bridge. The Qing Army did not notice them at all.
Turning his head to look at Changsha City, which could not be seen clearly in the darkness and the curtain of rain, Vézé suddenly thought of a poem. Drinking the water of Changsha and eating the fish of Wuchang. Crossing the ten thousand li Yangtze River, as far as the eye can see Chu Tianshu. Regardless of the wind blowing or the waves beating, it is better than taking a leisurely stroll in the courtyard. Today I have more than enough. Zi Zai Chuan said: The dead are like this man!
Thinking of the deceased Western Prince Xiao Chaogui, Vézé could not help but sigh. He turned to the guard beside him and said: "Bring me a broadsword."
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