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Zuo Zongtang was a smart man. When he heard that Shi Dakai's army was approaching Zhejiang, he immediately realized that something was wrong. The best route to attack Jiangxi and Zhejiang was not through Jiangxi, which was full of mountainous areas. Attacking the mountainous areas of western Zhejiang was a very inefficient method.
The best strategy was to command an elite force from Zhenjiang and Changzhou to attack Wuxi and Suzhou. After conquering Suzhou, he led the army to Hangzhou. In the meantime, he contacted the fishermen of Lake Tai and formed a naval force on Lake Tai. This was the plan that Vézé had tried before. After Zuo Zongtang arrived in Zhejiang, he naturally wanted to collect information. After seeing Vézé's movements before the Taiping Rebellion, Zuo Zongtang felt cold sweat trickling down his back. If Vézé had not left the Taiping Rebellion, Zhejiang and Shanghai would have fallen into the hands of the Taiping Rebellion.
Before the Tianjing incident, there was an uprising of the Dagger Society near Shanghai, and Vézé's troops weren't something that the defeated Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks dared to oppose. Vézé only needed to march forward.
Now they knew that Shi Dakai's army had marched into Zhejiang, with more than a hundred thousand soldiers. Zuo Zongtang didn't feel any fear. He could tell that the Taiping Rebellion had split again after the incident in Tianjing. If Shi Dakai's expedition to the east had been a long-planned strategy, then these hundreds of thousands of soldiers should have followed Vézé's previous plan. When they had the advantage in military strength, fighting the Jiangnan camp in the Zhejiang water network was the most reasonable choice.
However, Shi Dakai had hundreds of thousands of people. Zuo Zongtang wasn't afraid of Shi Dakai, but he didn't underestimate Shi Dakai either. He wrote two letters to inform Jiang Zhongyuan and Ceng Guofan of his assessment of Shi Dakai's troops. He also wrote a memorial to the Xianfeng Emperor, explaining the latest situation. Zuo Zongtang's strategy was to block Shi Dakai in the mountains of western Zhejiang while Ceng Guofan sent troops from Jiangxi to harass Shi Dakai's troops from behind. An army of more than a hundred thousand would be a flood that could destroy everything on the plains, but in the mountains, just the logistics and supplies alone would be enough to take the lives of such a large army.
Zuo Zongtang looked down on Ceng Guofan, so he didn't have much hope that Ceng Guofan would take the initiative to listen to him. However, it wouldn't be appropriate to keep this a secret from Ceng Guofan. Ceng Guofan was currently engaged in a bitter battle in Jiangxi. Even if it weren't for Zuo Zongtang, he would still choose to cut off Shi Dakai's path of retreat and cut off his supply of rations as much as possible. Weakening Shi Dakai was of great significance to Ceng Guofan. Given Ceng Guofan's current military strength and ability, he was far from being able to do so just because he wanted to.
When the letter was delivered to Ceng Guofan, Ceng Guofan was in the middle of a meeting with Hu Linyi and the other Xiang Army bigwigs. He hadn't seen Zuo Zongtang's envoy at all, so he sent the envoy away after receiving the letter.
Ceng Guofan wasn't in the mood to read the letter at all. Not long ago, the Xiang Army had sent 800 men under Hu Linyi's nephew, Tao Tingyu, to be stationed in Ganzhou. Unexpectedly, because of Tao Tingyu's loyalty to his duty, he had displayed a stance in Ganzhou to prevent the Liberation Army from advancing north to Jiangxi. The Liberation Army had sent troops to kill their way into Ganzhou. Apart from completely wiping out the Xiang Army, they had also stripped Tao Tingyu and the other Xiang Army officers of their skins and grass, and hung a sign around their necks that read: "The Consequences of Resisting the Liberation Army" at the city gates. They had even arrogantly put up a notice: "The Qing Army can occupy Ganzhou, but if the Qing Army does anything to resist the Liberation Army in Ganzhou, it will be a dead end."
The Xiang Army did indeed know that the Liberation Army had gained a foothold in Guangdong. But they had never imagined that the Liberation Army would be so arrogant in Jiangxi. It was only right that the Qing Army and the Liberation Army fought. There was no reason for the Qing Army to sit back and watch the Liberation Army run amok in Ganzhou while they were paid by the court. But the Liberation Army didn't seem to see it this way. Their stance was undoubtedly telling the Qing Army that the Liberation Army wasn't fighting the British now because the Liberation Army didn't want to. The Qing Army shouldn't provoke the Liberation Army now. They should just obediently wait for death.
This kind of stance was a real insult to the Xiang Army, especially when the one who was killed was Hu Lin Yi's nephew. If the Xiang Army really pinched their noses and accepted it, then the Xiang Army shouldn't mix around anymore in the future. They might as well disband and go home to wait for death.
Hu Lin Yi's expression was gloomy. His father, Hu Dayuan, had once obtained the third place in the Jinshi and was a dignified Tanhua Lang. Hu Lin Yi himself was also a genuine Jinshi. His father-in-law, Tao Shu, was also a genuine Jinshi. As a member of a family of officials, this was the first time Hu Lin Yi truly felt an incomparably strong sense of humiliation. When the Taiping army rebelled, they at least had the instinct to rebel at the bottom level. In other words, they felt that killing the civil and military officials of the Qing Army could improve the status of the Taiping army. As the backbone of the ruling class, Hu Lin Yi clearly felt this.
But the Liberation Army was completely different. When they killed the civil and military officials of the Qing Army, they had a condescending feeling as if they were slaughtering pigs and dogs. In the announcement in Ganzhou, they didn't mention anything about the "civil and military officials of the Manchu Qing," let alone victory or defeat. Instead, they called the killed civil and military officials of the Manchu Qing, "lowly bastards who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth." This kind of attitude was really intolerable.
When the civil and military officials of the Xiang Army saw the announcement from the Liberation Army, they all became excited. Many of them shouted that they wanted to go south to Guangdong and wipe out the Liberation Army. Ceng Guofan actually didn't approve of this, but as the "victim" Hu Lin Yi didn't say anything, Ceng Guofan also didn't say anything.
After a while, Hu Lin Yi said, "Grandpa Zeng, Ganzhou is not an important place. We should focus on destroying the Guangdong bandits. Once the Guangdong bandits are destroyed, Vézé will naturally be beheaded. "
Ceng Guoquan, who was young and vigorous among the generals of the Xiang Army, didn't expect Hu Lin Yi to admit defeat. He immediately stood up and shouted, "Grandpa Zeng, what do you mean by this?"
Ceng Guofan interrupted Ceng Guoquan's clamor. "Rusheng is right. Right now, we are waiting to destroy the Guangdong bandits. Shi Dakai is moving his troops to the east. We can take Jiujiang and then go down the river to recapture Jiangning. "
With Ceng Guofan's attitude, the older generals of the Xiang Army breathed a sigh of relief. News of the battle between the Liberation Army and the British had already reached the Xiang Army. As the top general of the Taiping army, Vézé's reputation had spread far and wide. Moving thousands of miles south was already a very shocking move. In a short period of time, he had occupied Guangdong and defeated the British. His combat power was by no means ordinary.
It wasn't just the eight hundred Xiang Army defending Ganzhou. There were also two thousand other Qing Army troops. From the intelligence gathered, the Liberation Army had taken down a big city like Ganzhou in one day. How many troops would the Xiang Army send to Ganzhou, let alone move south? Two or three thousand wouldn't help, it was like sending meat to their doorstep. Twenty or thirty thousand troops might be able to defend Ganzhou, but the Xiang Army only had a few troops. If they sent twenty or thirty thousand, would there still be a war in Jiangxi?
Ceng Guofan managed to suppress the situation with great difficulty. After discussing the military arrangements for taking down Jiujiang, Ceng Guofan told the generals to go back and do what they had to do. Hu Lin Yi was left to speak.
"Grandpa Zeng, that bastard Vézé has probably grown." Hu Lin Yi suppressed his grief and spoke about serious matters.
Ceng Guofan originally wanted to appease Hu Lin Yi, but he didn't expect Hu Lin Yi to be so strong. He admired Hu Lin Yi and said seriously, "Hu Sheng, when we capture Vézé, we will definitely make you the executioner."
Hu Lin Yi shook his head lightly. "Grandpa Zeng, I think Vézé didn't occupy Ganzhou. Every time he massacred the soldiers, he would retreat to Guangdong. I think he's trying to intimidate the civil and military officials and affect the soldiers' morale."
Hearing Hu Lin Yi's words, Ceng Guofan nodded heavily. "Indeed. Ganzhou is a big city. If Vézé sends troops to attack Ganzhou, it will definitely cost him a lot. Ganzhou is very far from Guangdong. I think Vézé can't maintain his control over Ganzhou, so he used this method. "
Of course, if Vézé was here and heard Hu Lin Yi and Ceng Guofan's analysis, he would have objected. "Attacking Ganzhou isn't strenuous at all. The combined age of the two of you is more than 90 years old. Don't act like children and think you're a big shot!"
However, Vézé wasn't here, so the two continued to discuss according to their own ideas. Hu Lin Yi said, "Vézé and Yingyi have fought. Given Yingyi's nature, he definitely won't let this go. Yingyi has contacted us several times and seems to be encouraging us to fight to the death with Vézé. If we can instigate Yingyi and Vézé to fight, it will be a good thing. "
Ceng Guofan nodded seriously. "I think Vézé attacked Ganzhou several times to provoke us and make us send troops to Ganzhou. At that time, the Guangdong bandits in Jiangxi will be free. Rusheng, I admire you for saying that you won't send troops to Ganzhou for the time being. "
Ganzhou was currently Hu Lin Yi's sore spot. He didn't want to talk about it, so he changed the topic. "Zeng Gong, what did Zuo Zongtang write to you for?"
Hu Lin Yi ordered someone to bring the letter. After reading it, Ceng Guofan handed it to Hu Lin Yi. Hu Lin Yi and the others had been fighting in Jiangxi, so they had a better understanding of the Taiping army. After reading Zuo Zongtang's prediction, Hu Lin Yi compared it with the information he had obtained. He praised, "Zuo Zongtang is indeed a smart man."
Ceng Guofan was an outstanding person. He was loyal to the emperor, his country, and his loyalty to the court. He had a strong desire for fame and glory. Moreover, he constantly cultivated his freedom. All of these made him a person with a big heart. The division of the Taiping army gave Ceng Guofan an opportunity. This wasn't just because of Shi Dakai's laughable route on his expedition to the east, nor was it because of the huge strategic gap in the Taiping army after Shi Dakai's expedition to the east. The division of the anti-Qing forces in the Yangtze River valley gave Ceng Guofan an opportunity to destroy them one by one.
If they could surround and annihilate Shi Dakai's hundreds of thousands of troops, it would be equivalent to destroying half of the anti-Qing forces in the Yangtze River valley. At that time, it would be much easier to besiege the severely weakened Taiping Rebellion forces. How could Ceng Guofan not see this opportunity clearly? As for Ganzhou, it was actually a small matter in the grand scheme of things. As long as the Liberation Army didn't slaughter their way out of Guangdong and into Jiangxi, everything else would be easy to handle.
Hu Lin Yi could completely see through Ceng Guofan's thoughts. He had the same idea. "Grandfather Zeng, why don't we write a memorial to the emperor?"
Agreeing with Zuo Zongtang's ideals didn't mean that they had to obey Zuo Zongtang's commands. Right now, Zuo Zongtang must have already written to the Xianfeng Emperor. The Xiang Army couldn't fall behind. They had to come up with their own plans. In future battles, even if the Xiang Army didn't take Zuo Zongtang's credit, they couldn't let Zuo Zongtang become the strategist.
"Okay!" Ceng Guofan's answer was straightforward.
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