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Xianfeng requested Jiang Zhongyuan, Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang to write a memorial to the throne regarding the current situation. Jiang Zhongyuan was the closest to the capital and had taken charge of a campaign independently, so his memorial arrived first.
Zuo Zongtang was ordered to go to Zhejiang to be the Minister of Military Training. At this time, he had already set off with five thousand troops. The Yangtze River was definitely out of the question. If they wanted to go north of the Yangtze River, they would have to first go north, enter Henan, and then turn from Mengcheng to Suzhou, which was under the control of Jiang Zhongyuan. After that, they went to Xuzhou and then headed south along the coast. Not only was the journey long, but it was also inevitable that they would encounter the Taiping army on the way. Since there was no way to avoid the Taiping army, Zuo Zongtang adopted a very simple route. He went east from Hunan, went through Jiangxi, and went straight to Zhejiang.
Although the distance was further than Ceng Guofan's, and they were still on the way to Zhejiang, Zuo Zongtang's memorial arrived second. After learning that Vézé and Vézé had sent troops to the capital, Zuo Zongtang's thoughts in the memorial were similar to those of Jiang Zhongyuan. They both believed that Vézé was going to attack the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Being in Hunan Province, Zuo Zongtang was more well-informed than Jiang Zhongyuan in Huaibei. It had been nearly three years since the Taiping Rebellion had left Guangxi. The Qing Army in Guangxi had been depleted. Without pressure, the Tian Di Hui was very lively. Their leaders Zhu Hongying and Hu Youlu conquered Guanyang and established the "Kingdom of Rising Peace". Zhu Hongying was known as Zhennan Wang, and Hu Youlu as Dingnan Wang.
Guangdong's Tian Di Hui's resistance was not the slightest bit inferior to Guangxi's. Guangdong's Tian Di Hui's leader Chen Kai revolted in Foshan and established himself as Daning. In the suburbs of Guangzhou, Li Wenmao, Chen Xianliang and the rest led tens of thousands of people to respond. The rebel army grew their hair and changed their clothes. They wore red scarves on their heads and were known as the 'Red Scarf Army'. Shunde, Xiangshan, and Dongguan successively recovered. The provincial capital, Guangzhou, was isolated and had no reinforcements. Chen Kai and Li Wenmao took advantage of the situation and besieged Guangzhou. In February 1855, Chen Kai and Li Wenmao were engaged in a fierce battle with Ye Mingchen, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, who was defending Guangdong.
The situation was so critical. If Vézé was allowed to lead more than 50,000 battle-hardened elites into the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, the situation of the Manchu Qing in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces would really collapse. Zuo Zongtang suggested that the Xianfeng Emperor immediately order the troops of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks to fight Vézé with all their strength. No matter what, they could not let Vézé kill his way into the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. At the same time, they mobilized Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang's troops to defend the strategic areas of Jiangxi to the death. The Qing Army in Fujian was also going to be mobilized to participate in the bloody battle with Vézé.
After reading it, the Xianfeng Emperor's brows were almost twisted into a knot. Zuo Zongtang's suggestion was very reasonable. However, it was only reasonable. At this time, the Taiping Rebellion was still a powerful force that controlled hundreds of thousands of troops. The troops of the Qing Army in the Yangtze River valley were Zeng Guofan, Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks, and Zuo Zongtang. These were only these three. Based on previous military results, these three troops added up to about 120,000 to 30,000 people. At most, they could fight Vézé to the death and perish together.
This group of people and Vézé perished together. The next situation was naturally that the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Taiping Rebellion began to wreak havoc in the Yangtze River valley like wild horses out of control. There was no need to consider whether or not the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces could be saved. In any case, there was no need to think about the Yangtze River valley.
Zeng Guofan's memorial arrived last. In it, Zeng Guofan begged for forgiveness again. In the Battle of Hukou, Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army suffered heavy casualties. Zeng Guofan was forced to attempt suicide. A few months had passed, but Zeng Guofan had not completely recovered.
In the memorial, Zeng Guofan also believed that Vézé was going south to Guangdong and Guangxi. He also believed that once Vézé entered Guangdong and Guangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi would naturally be in danger. After coming to this conclusion, Zeng Guofan raised a few questions. First, who was the leader, Vézé or the Taiping Rebellion? In terms of military strength and rallying power, the Taiping Rebellion still far surpassed Vézé. More importantly, the Taiping Army already had a large piece of relatively stable territory. The Qing Army around the Qing Army had either suffered heavy losses and could not advance for the time being, or they simply did not have the strength to attack.
At this juncture, if the Qing Army mobilized troops to attack Vézé, not to mention the difficulty of the long journey, all the previous efforts of the Qing Army would be in vain.
For example, the main army of the Xiang Army was currently besieging Jiujiang City, while the rest of the army was defending other cities in Jiangxi. If the main army went to fight against Vézé, the Taiping army would naturally be able to relieve the siege of Jiujiang. If the news that Vézé had completely separated from the Taiping Rebellion was true, the Taiping army would not just sit back and watch Vézé fight against the main army of the Qing Army. At that time, the Taiping army, which could move freely, would definitely attack Hubei and Hunan. After the bloody battle with Vézé, the main army of the Qing Army was greatly weakened and would not be able to save the situation in Hubei and Hunan.
To make matters worse, if Vézé had not completely separated from the Taiping Rebellion, the Taiping Rebellion would only need to enter Jiangxi to cut off the Qing Army's food supply line. Vézé would send troops to resist the attack of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks and attack Ceng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang's troops with all their strength. Once these two troops were destroyed, Vézé could immediately turn around and attack the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks. Meanwhile, the Taiping army would advance westward to seize Hubei and Hunan. At that time, it would not be a matter of the front line collapsing, but the south of the Yangtze River would no longer be the territory of the Manchu Qing. Whether it was Vézé or the Taiping Rebellion, they could easily march into the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.
Secondly, whether Vézé could seize the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces or not. The cooperation between the Taiping Rebellion and Tian Di Hui had not been good. Otherwise, they would have cooperated with the Tian Di Hui in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces long ago. Even if Vézé went south to the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, he would have to fight the Qing Army. He would also have to act as a guest army to fight the Tian Di Hui in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. In a short period of time, he was afraid he would not be able to take Guangzhou.
On the other hand, if the Qing Army mainly relied on the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, supplemented by a small number of elite troops to restrain Vézé's military operations … It was possible that Vézé would not be able to gain a foothold in Guangdong, a place where he was unfamiliar with the people and the land. If they fought a decisive battle with Vézé at this time, they could only let Vézé and the Taiping Rebellion link up. Separating Vézé from the Taiping Rebellion, and then defeating them one by one, was a more reliable method.
Ceng Guofan was also very honest. At the end of his memorial, he told the truth. Although it was indeed very dangerous for Vézé to go south to the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, comparing two evils, he had to choose the lesser. It was better to let Vézé go a bit further before making a move.
The court ministers' view of completely indulging Vézé, and Zuo Zongtang's view of being extremely anxious to fight a decisive battle with Vézé, were not enough to satisfy Xian Feng. Ceng Guofan's plan was actually quite peaceful and neutral. It also took into account the current reality of the Qing Army. In the end, Xian Feng decided to adopt Ceng Guofan's opinion. He ordered the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks to suppress Vézé, preventing Vézé from returning to Changzhou and also preventing him from advancing into Jiangzhe. The Qing Army in Fujian strictly guarded the Fujian border, guarding against Vézé's surprise attack on Fujian. Zuo Zongtang was responsible for restraining Vézé's flanks. As for Ceng Guofan, Xian Feng ordered him to seize the opportunity to capture Jiujiang City and open up the Yangtze River waterway from Hubei to Hukou as soon as possible. Jiang Zhongyuan, on the other hand, wanted to launch an attack on the Taiping army as soon as possible.
Very quickly, Xian Feng's orders were conveyed to the various commanders of the Qing Army. As soon as Zuo Zongtang read the orders, he was immediately extremely disappointed. As a very capable person, whatever Ceng Guofan could think of, Zuo Zongtang could naturally think of as well. However, unlike Ceng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang believed that Vézé was the Qing Army's greatest enemy.
Because of his close correspondence with Jiang Zhongyuan, Zuo Zongtang knew very well that the Taiping Rebellion was able to achieve its current situation largely because of Vézé's efforts. The territory in Huainan was conquered by Vézé. The Taiping army guarding Huainan was an elite Northern Expedition Army that Vézé had rescued from the north.
Now, the Taiping army relied on a large piece of territory on the south bank of the Huai River to maintain the situation. This area continuously supplied the Taiping Rebellion with rations and soldiers. Without Huainan as a barrier, the Qing Army could now launch a pincer attack from several directions and confront Tianjing City across the Yangtze River.
If the tiger Vézé was released into the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, Ye Mingchen would not be a match for Vézé no matter what. Even if they had to pay a huge price to annihilate Vézé, once they defeated Vézé, the number one general of the Taiping Rebellion, the Taiping Rebellion would naturally feel insecure. At that time, when they saw the banner of the Qing Army again, they would not dare to act rashly.
After Vézé annihilated so many Qing Army, the Qing Army lost the courage to fight against Vézé. Without the participation of Ceng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks would not have the courage to take the initiative to attack Vézé's troops.
But the Emperor had already given the order, and the hot potato of pursuing Vézé had been thrown to Zuo Zongtang, so Zuo Zongtang had no other choice. At this time, he could not say, "My subordinates are all new recruits, and they are fighting in another province, so they cannot defeat Vézé." It was not easy for the Emperor to give Zuo Zongtang the position of Zhejiang Army Training Minister. If he told the truth to the Emperor, he would be distrusted and looked down upon by the Emperor. In the end, he would lose the opportunity to realize his grand plan.
Sighing, Zuo Zongtang could only order his troops to continue westward, and to be careful not to engage Vézé's troops rashly. As "Jin Liang" who claimed to be Zhuge Kongming, Zuo Zongtang was not the kind of "straightforward" person who would roar and charge into death knowing that it was impossible.
On March 1, 1855, the last batch of people that Vézé picked up finally arrived in Zhenjiang. Having the main road to the south was a great advantage this time, but it was difficult for the people to leave their homeland. If they were not willing to go south, forcibly taking them with them would only become a burden. Vézé did not want to cause the matter of Liu Bei leaving Xinye with the people. At least according to the history books, the people suffered heavy casualties. If these people had stayed in their hometown, they had a greater chance of survival.
Therefore, Vézé ordered the troops to go and return quickly, only taking those who immediately followed the summons. By March 1, a total of more than 7,000 local civil officials in Anhui, as well as the people of Anhui, chose to follow Vézé. Vézé gave the rearguard position to Hu Chenghe, and he himself went to Xuancheng.
On March 6, Vézé arrived in Xuancheng. As soon as he arrived, the staff of the General Staff who came out to greet him immediately rushed up and began to complain. The army temporarily controlled the news of the incident in Tianjing, but this control was also limited. As the families of the troops in Tianjing arrived in the army, the news of the King Of The East's Yang Xiuqing's death could no longer be hidden. As more people arrived in the army, a new round of news also spread. The King Of The East's residence was destroyed, thousands of his brothers were killed, and tens of thousands of his family members were slaughtered. The army had been in Xuancheng for so long, and the army was in a mess.
The officers and soldiers did not see Vézé for a long time. In addition, they knew that he was going to the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, which were thousands of miles away. Everyone's hearts were wavering, and rumors spread everywhere. If it were not for the General Staff's strong control over the army, they might have dared to cause a mutiny.
"Chief of the General Staff, you have to explain it to everyone quickly!" Wei Changrong said with a bitter face.
Seeing the General Staff in such a terrible situation, Vézé couldn't help but feel happy. First of all, the General Staff's ability had been proven. They could lead this army. Second, Vézé's influence and prestige in this army was irrefutable. With this kind of appeal, he could carry out the next step of the plan with peace of mind.
"Let's go, let's first have a meeting with the brothers at the level of brigade marshal and above!" Vézé strode into the barracks. The officers of the General Staff followed closely behind Vézé.
Be it the officers or soldiers in the barracks, they soon saw Vézé's figure. The confused, confused, embarrassed, and puzzled expressions on their faces were soon replaced by joyful expressions. The soldiers stood on both sides of the road spontaneously. No one knew who was the first to shout, "The Prince Of Qi is here!"
Then, excited shouts of "The Prince Of Qi is here!" and "The Prince Of Qi is here!" could be heard everywhere in the barracks.
Everyone knew that it was Vézé who led this army from Guangxi. Everyone remembered that under Vézé's command, they had killed tens of thousands of enemies. Everyone knew that it was these tens of thousands of corpses that paved the way to where they were today.
The chaos in Tianjing City had caused these brothers to completely lose confidence in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The reason why these tens of thousands of soldiers who had gone through the battlefield of death could still gather together was because of their trust in Wei Ze and the memories of their past successes. "The Prince Of Qi is here!" The cheers came from the hearts of the soldiers.
Amidst the deafening cheers and the eager gazes of the soldiers, Vézé walked briskly toward the central tent.
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