?
If the four most important places on the battlefield were drawn as the vertices of a rectangle, the Yangtze River would pass through the middle of the rectangle. The vertices of the long side north of the Yangtze River would be Liuhe and Yangzhou. The vertices of the long side south of the Yangtze River would be Nanjing and Zhenjiang.
Among the two vertices of the short side on the left, Liuhe in the upper left corner was still in the hands of the Qing Army. From Liuhe, after crossing the Yangtze River, they would reach Nanjing. The two vertices of the short side on the right were Yangzhou and Zhenjiang. At this time, both places were under the control of the Taiping army.
From the map, the Jiangbei Camp of the Qing Army was north of the Yangtze River. The Jiangbei Camp of the Qing Army was north of the Yangtze River, located in the lower left corner of Yangzhou. The Jiangnan Camp of the Qing Army was south of the Yangtze River, located in the lower left corner of Nanjing. In a sense, the Jiangnan Camp and the Jiangbei Camp were separated by the Yangtze River, "back to back."
Liuhe was north of Nanjing, north of the Yangtze River. Along Liuhe to the east was Yizheng, and from Yizheng to the east was Yangzhou. Based on this terrain, the General Staff Headquarters ordered Zhang Yingchen to set off from Chuzhou and march to Liuhe. From the map, seizing Liuhe was equivalent to seizing the four vertices of the entire rectangle. The Taiping army occupying the four vertices could besiege the Jiangbei and Jiangnan Camps of the Qing Army in the center of the rectangle.
This rectangle covered an area of about 300 square kilometers, with nearly 300,000 troops, including the Qing Army and the Taiping army. Although 70,000 to 80,000 of the 100,000 Taiping army in Tianjing City were old, weak, and women, this kind of army density was extremely rare in the history of Manchu Qing.
Vézé, who had a strange passion for war of annihilation, thought this was the perfect place for a war of annihilation. First, the Taiping army controlled the canal from Huai'an to Yangzhou, cutting off the supply of food to the Jiangbei Camp. And the Taiping army controlled the Yangtze River waterway from Anhui to Tianjing City, so the Taiping army had a steady supply of food. Secondly, with the density of the Qing Army's forces, it was highly likely that they would cover for each other, and not just run away. Finally, with the garbage combat level of the Qing Army in Jiangbei Camp, they still dared to take the initiative to attack Vézé, which let Vézé see an opportunity. Before the Qing Army suffered greatly, perhaps they would still dare to fight. Without a doubt, this battle will cause the Qing Army to suffer greatly.
Zhang Yingchen's assault on the Six Directions Army was extremely easy. Based on the current standard of training and equipment of Vézé's troops, the ordinary Qing Army had no way of fighting back. Within half a day, he had broken through the Six Harmonies Formation.
Zhang Yingchen reorganized his troops in Liuhe and asked the Prime Minister of Chuzhou, Yoshibuwon, to send troops to Liuhe as soon as possible. The original plan required about two days, mainly because of the time it took for Yoshibuwon's troops to march.
However, before Yoshibuwon's troops arrived in Liuhe, the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing's order had already arrived in Liuhe. The Qing Army's Jiangbei Camp occupied Jiangxin Continent, north of Tianjing City. Yang Xiuqing ordered Zhang Yingchen and Yoshibuwon to join forces and attack the Qing Army north of Jiangxin Continent. Jiangxin Continent was north of the Yangtze River, a bit east of Tianjing City. In terms of overall siege strategy, the Qing Army attacking this place seemed to be constantly uprooting the Qing Army's strongholds outside of Tianjing City.
This was the first time Zhang Yingchen had received a direct order from the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing. This order made Zhang Yingchen feel a burst of uncontrollable excitement. In Vézé's troops, it was generally believed that the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, was a greater existence than the Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan. This was the result of Vézé's deliberate propaganda. As an old brother who had followed Vézé for the longest time, Zhang Yingchen's attitude towards this was even more clear.
However, although he was excited, Zhang Yingchen was more concerned about this order. It was the fact that Yang Xiuqing had ordered Zhang Yingchen and Yoshibuwon to join forces. In addition to the fact that Vézé's troops respected Yang Xiuqing more than Hong Xiuquan, there was another special characteristic. Everyone was very dissatisfied with the Taiping army's current military and official system, which had created a variety of generals who did not live up to their name.
For example, Zhang Yingchen was a general. Under his command, he had over ten thousand troops who had undergone strict training and were capable of attacking cities and breaking formations. As for the other Taiping army troops, there were a large number of generals who commanded troops ranging from five hundred to eight hundred. Their fighting strength could not be compared to that of Zhang Yingchen. However, their ranks were exactly the same.
Zhang Yingchen didn't even think much of the Deputy Prime Minister Ji Wenyuan, the Marquis of Pinghu, the Marquis of Pinghu, the same rank as Zhang Yingchen, not to mention the high-ranking officers of the Taiping Army who were of the same rank as him. According to the collected intelligence, if Vézé's troops did not go north to rescue them, the three Prime Ministers would inevitably face destruction. Moreover, they had completely relied on the troops and weapons provided by Vézé to recover their strength. Zhang Yingchen did not think that there was any reason for him to accept Yoshibuwon's command.
But in terms of the system, as the commander-in-chief, Zhang Yingchen had to accept the command of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Marquis of Pinghuhou, Ji Wenyuan.
Liuhe was closer to Nanjing than to Yangzhou. Zhang Yingchen repeatedly looked at the document sent to him by Yang Xiuqing, the King Of The East. Zhang Yingchen's name was clearly written on it. The more Zhang Yingchen read, the more excited he became. This was an unprecedented experience for him. This decree was a direct communication between him and Yang Xiuqing.
Although he felt that it was best to discuss this matter with Vézé first, Zhang Yingchen strongly felt that there was no need to do so. In Zhang Yingchen's view, Yang Xiuqing issued such an order because he did not understand the specific situation at the front line. He did not understand the strength gap between Vézé's troops and the other troops of the Taiping army. If Zhang Yingchen could help Yang Xiuqing understand, then Vézé's troops would certainly be valued by Yang Xiuqing. Of course, Zhang Yingchen, who played a great role in this matter, would also be promoted faster.
With this thought in mind, Zhang Yingchen gritted his teeth and wrote a memorial to Yang Xiuqing. The memorial was written according to the model of a combat report that he learned during his training at the General Staff Headquarters. Zhang Yingchen reported the specific situation of both sides to Yang Xiuqing. At the end of the report, he said that Zhang Yingchen's troops were stronger than Yoshibuwon's troops from all angles, so there was no need to let Yoshibuwon participate in the war. Even if he did participate in the war, he asked Yang Xiuqing to consider the issue of the command between the two sides.
After writing, Zhang Yingchen finally mustered up the courage to send the memorial to Yang Xiuqing. After sending it, Zhang Yingchen wanted to send a letter to Vézé, but he felt a little uneasy after thinking about it. After sending a copy of the decree that Yang Xiuqing, the King Of The East, had sent to Zhang Yingchen and sent it to Vézé, Zhang Yingchen continued to wait for Yoshibuwon to send reinforcements.
Once Yoshibuwon's troops arrived, Zhang Yingchen immediately set off with his troops. He did not choose to march to Yizheng as planned. Instead, he followed Yang Xiuqing's orders and went straight to Jiangxin Continent, southwest of Yizheng. Zhang Yingchen felt that no matter how the situation developed, as long as he could fight and win, everything would be fine.
The Qing Army set up a camp to the north of Jiangxin Continent. There were less than a thousand men garrisoned there. After marching for a day, Zhang Yingchen arrived outside the Qing Army camp. He easily broke through the Qing Army camp and wiped out the Qing Army of less than a thousand men.
Zhang Yingchen hurriedly sent the captured Qing Army officers and Qing Army prisoners to Tianjing City. He wrote another memorial to Yang Xiuqing, telling Yang Xiuqing that he had completed his mission and would now continue north to attack Yizheng.
It was already late at night. Zhang Yingchen did not travel through the night. He only sent someone to quickly send the memorial to Tianjing City, which was just a river away. With the experience of writing the previous memorial, Zhang Yingchen felt that the feeling of writing the second memorial was far better than the first one.
The sky had just brightened. Zhang Yingchen had just woken up when he was woken up by someone. It turned out that the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, in Tianjing City, had issued a decree for Zhang Yingchen to go to Tianjing City to receive his orders.
After winning the battle, Zhang Yingchen felt very at ease. If he was facing Vézé, Zhang Yingchen might have to consider whether there were any problems with his command after the battle. But facing the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, Zhang Yingchen believed that Yang Xiuqing would not ask about these details. After ordering the troops to rest for another day, Zhang Yingchen happily followed the King Of The East's envoy to Tianjing City.
The last time he saw Tianjing City, Zhang Yingchen had only taken a look outside the city. Now that he could personally go to Tianjing City, Zhang Yingchen felt that it was an eye-opener. Such a magnificent city was something that Zhang Yingchen, who was born in Yongan City, could never have imagined. The long streets and the buildings on both sides of the streets were beyond Zhang Yingchen's imagination.
Anqing was the capital of Anhui. It was much more prosperous than Yongan City, but it was nothing compared to Tianjing City. Zhang Yingchen had never imagined that he would be unable to reach the end of a city even after walking for nearly ten miles.
When he arrived at the King Of The East's residence, Zhang Yingchen was so shocked by this magnificent building that he did not dare to say a word. At this time, the King Of The East had not returned. Zhang Yingchen was waiting outside the door. After waiting for a while, he heard the sound of drums in the distance. The King Of The East's residence in Tianjing City did not have many commoners who dared to walk around. At this time, under the orders of the guards, the commoners all knelt down. Zhang Yingchen was a general and did not need to be so afraid. He was only kneeling under the orders of the King Of The East's residence.
After a while, a huge palanquin appeared in Zhang Yingchen's vision. The palanquin was unimaginably luxurious. From the outside, it looked like a shrunken palace. This palace was golden, bright, and fragrant. If it was not for the forty-eight bearers carrying the palanquin, it would be as magnificent as a palace from heaven.
Zhang Yingchen, who was born in Yongan City, was dumbfounded as he looked at the palanquin carried by forty-eight people. He had heard of extravagance before, but because of the restrictions of his birth, efficiency was more important than extravagance in war. After seeing the palanquin carried by forty-eight people with his own eyes, Zhang Yingchen suddenly felt that everything he had seen before was nothing.
Seeing Zhang Yingchen's dazed expression, the people from the King Of The East's residence said something, but Zhang Yingchen turned a deaf ear to them. The Taiping Rebellion only emphasized kneeling, not kowtowing. Not only was Zhang Yingchen the commander-in-chief, he was also a general under the command of the Prince of Qi, Wei Ze. Staring stupidly at the palanquin of Yang Xiuqing, the King Of The East, was not a crime to Zhang Yingchen. At most, he looked stupid. The officials from the King Of The East's residence did not say anything.
It was only when the palanquin disappeared from Zhang Yingchen's sight that he recovered from his awe. After waiting for a while, Yang Xiuqing summoned Zhang Yingchen for an audience.
When the officials entered the King Of The East's residence and saw Yang Xiuqing sitting in the main hall, Zhang Yingchen immediately knelt down to pay his respects. The impact from seeing the palanquin earlier was still very strong, so Zhang Yingchen's attitude towards Yang Xiuqing was one of respect from the bottom of his heart. Because there was no need for him to kowtow, Zhang Yingchen seemed to see a hint of doubt on Yang Xiuqing's face.
However, this doubt did not last for long. Yang Xiuqing asked, "Zhang Yingchen, do you know your crime?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
