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Swaggering through Suzhou, Vézé's troops continued north. He had no plans to attack any city along the way. It was not yet the Great Cold Season, and the weather would only get colder. However, Wei Ze had no other choice. He could only march in the cold weather.
To reach Shandong, they had to cross the Yellow River. Vézé's target was Xuzhou. In modern China, Xuzhou had nothing to do with the Yellow River. But in 1854, the Yellow River passed through Xuzhou.
Vézé firmly believed that Bald Jiang was the reincarnation of Du Chong from the Song Dynasty. In the second year of Jianyan (1128) of the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to prevent the Jin army from advancing south, Dongjing General Du Chong breached the Yellow River's embankment in Huazhou, causing the Yellow River to change its course and flow southeast through the Sishui River and the Ji River to the sea. The Yellow River changed its course from the Bohai Sea to the Yellow Sea. There were countless floods along the way. It was not until the late Ming Dynasty, when Pan Jixun controlled the river that the Yellow River was basically fixed at Kaifeng, Lankao, Shangqiu, Dangshan, Xuzhou, Suqian, and Huaiyin.
It was only after Wei Ze pushed his troops to the front line of the Huai River that he realized that his old geographical knowledge was useless. He thought that if he wanted to cross the Yellow River, he would have to run to the north of Henan and Shandong. Unexpectedly, he could cross the Yellow River not long after he crossed the Huaihe River. To the north of the Yellow River was a vast plain where the troops could move unhindered.
The local regiments still had the courage to approach Vézé's troops, but that was all they could do. After the artillery soldiers fired the cannonballs into the regimental training team, the regimental training team's equipment immediately collapsed. Next, the Nien troops came in handy. The cavalry chased after them and killed them. The regimental training was basically a situation of total annihilation.
Among the many regiments, the cavalry led by Wen Yuewei was quite eye-catching. Vézé had even seen Wen Yuewei's bravery when she leaped on her horse and killed the regiments.
The troops arrived in Xuzhou on January 20th. Vézé had seen the modern Yellow River's embankment. The magnificent embankment did not look like it would burst. Vézé didn't think there was anything wrong with the so-called suspended river on the ground.
However, after arriving in Xuzhou, Vézé finally understood what a waterfall was. From afar, one could see a towering embankment close to the city walls of Xuzhou. Below the embankment was Xuzhou City.
Although the Qing Army in Xuzhou was small in number, they bravely defended outside the city. In other words, one of their main targets of defense was the Yellow River Dam. Vézé had let Suzhou off, but he did not want to let Xuzhou off. This was a place far more prosperous than Suzhou. As far as Canal is concerned, the grain and other supplies in Xuzhou will definitely not be burned.
"Chief of General Staff, the Qing Army is fighting with us!"
"Chief of General Staff, we're starting the bombardment!"
"Chief of General Staff, the Qing Army has retreated from the levee!"
The battle to attack the levee was very easy, and this levee of the Yellow River, which was right next to the city wall of Xuzhou, was more than ten feet higher than the battlements on the city wall. Vézé's troops set up cannons on the levee, and from a high vantage point, they launched a fierce attack on the Qing Army on the city wall. The cannoneers and musketeers faced the Qing Army, who had nowhere to hide on the city wall. It was as easy as playing whack-a-mole. Under the cover of the cannons on the levee, Vézé's troops successfully seized the city wall.
"Send someone to tell them! Send ten thousand catties of gunpowder and five thousand dans of grain. Then we won't attack the city! "Vézé ordered his subordinates.
Xuzhou was a large city. If the Nian Army was allowed to start pillaging here, their harvest would certainly not be small. It was not a good thing to bring so many looted goods north.
The Qing Army in the city seemed to know that things had reached a critical juncture, and they immediately agreed to Vézé's request. Xuzhou was not only an important crossing point, but also a place where grain was gathered. Since the Taiping army had already seized control of the levee and the city wall, it would be a piece of cake to take Xuzhou. The magistrate of Xuzhou couldn't care less. If Vézé took Xuzhou, he would be done for. If he could get rid of Vézé, the matter of 'colluding with the enemy' could be kept under wraps.
The two sides came to an agreement that Vézé and his troops would withdraw from the city wall after the gunpowder was delivered. Once the ten thousand catties of gunpowder were delivered, Vézé immediately withdrew from the city wall. The Qing Army hired laborers to deliver five thousand dans of grain to the crossing point of the Yellow River. By this time, the Yellow River had basically dried up. After the pontoon bridge was set up, it took less than two days for Vézé's twenty thousand troops to cross the Yellow River.
Standing north of the Yellow River, Vézé's heart was filled with mixed feelings. The gloominess in his heart condensed, and Vézé suddenly called for someone to bring him a brush. With a wave of the brush, he wrote eight ugly characters on the wall of the relay station at the crossing point: "The Yellow River Old Road, Blue Sea Mulberry Fields."
Many years later, those who wrote biographies of Vézé and made movies would deliberately include this plot, especially those who supported Vézé. They would write in a reverent tone: His Majesty wrote, "The Yellow River Old Road, Blue Sea Mulberry Fields" at the crossing point of the Yellow River in Xuzhou. At that time, no one knew why, and His Majesty never mentioned it again. About a year later, the Yellow River broke its mouth at Tongwaxiang in Lanyang, Henan, and changed its course to the north, from the Yellow Sea to the Bohai Sea. The theory of Heaven and Man …
Naturally, there was no Qing Army at the crossing point to see them off. In order to defend the Yellow River levee and fight with Vézé over the city wall, the Qing Army had suffered more than a thousand casualties. At that moment, all they could think of was how to hack Vézé into a thousand pieces. There was no way they would pretend to see him off.
The one who had brought Vézé here was the commander of the Shouzhou Military Subdistrict, Hu Chenghe. Vézé told Hu Chenghe, "You have to be careful when you return with your five thousand troops. Jiang Zhongyuan in Suzhou will not just watch as you return to Shouzhou so easily."
Seeing Vézé's sincerity, Hu Chenghe's eyes suddenly reddened, and hot tears welled up in his eyes. Perhaps because he felt that being so emotional was a little embarrassing, Hu Chenghe hurriedly wiped away his tears, then said, "Chief of the General Staff, you are going to travel thousands of miles to rescue the Northern Expedition Army. You should worry about yourself first. "
"I can take care of myself, but I don't feel at ease when I see you." Vézé smiled.
"I also think I can take care of myself, but I don't feel at ease when I see you!" Hu Chenghe didn't smile. After saying that, he looked at the new Chief of Staff, Ruan Xihao, who was standing beside Vézé. "Brother Ruan, although the Chief of the General Staff is commanding these twenty thousand troops, you can't let your guard down."
"Don't worry! The Chief of the General Staff is leading the staff, nothing will go wrong. "Ruan Xihao answered.
Although everyone was very worried about their brother who was about to leave, now was not the time to talk. Both sides saluted each other. The two troops began to head north and south respectively.
The feeling of separation faded quickly. Vézé felt that the feeling of crossing the Yellow River was too bad. The muddy yellow water behind him had a huge impact on the ecology.
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