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After breakfast, the Xiang Army continues to build the barracks. Last night, the Taiping army came to raid the barracks. When they were discovered by the Xiang Army, they retreated with guns. Last night, the Taiping army came to raid the barracks. When they were discovered by the Xiang Army, they retreated with guns. The Xiang Army has captured a lot of civilians in Jiangxi and used them to attack the city. The Taiping army in Jiangxi has also tried to rob the civilians captured by the Xiang Army many times. The Xiang Army has gained experience after suffering a few losses. Now, they are quite organized in their defense.
Only a small unit took advantage of the chaos to pass through the Xiang Army's barracks and escaped the encirclement. The Xiang Army doesn't care about the life and death of this small unit. As long as the last four barracks are built, Luzhou will be trapped. In the future, the Taiping army in Luzhou will not be able to escape.
The Xiang Army is preparing for the attack in an orderly manner. The Huai army doesn't participate in the siege at all. Li Hongzhang knows his teacher Zeng Guofan very well. In Zeng Guofan's propaganda, the "civilians" are the big landlords and the civilians who follow the Xiang Army. The scope of the "civilians" is at most the farmers in Hunan. In the eyes of the Xiang Army, the people from other provinces can be classified as "rebels". As for the rebels, Zeng Guofan's attitude is to kill them without mercy.
Therefore, under Li Hongzhang's suggestion, the Huai army camps far away and does not allow the officers and soldiers in the camp to go out. The Xiang Army's Xiang Army commands the civilians of Anhui. Most of the officers and soldiers in the Huai army are Anhui people. If they see such a situation, they will only be dissatisfied.
"I don't know if this method can deal with Vézé." Li Hongzhang raised an interesting question in the meeting of the Huai army leaders.
No one in the meeting can answer this question for the time being. The progress of the war in the last six months is beyond imagination. It only took them half a year to recapture Huainan. The next step is to attack Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Rebellion. If the war could be the same as it was now, perhaps in a year they would have to fight against the Liberation Army commanded by Vézé. Up until now, the Green Camp, the Xiang Army, and the Huai army had never gained the upper hand against Vézé. Would they be able to reverse this situation in the future war? The leader of the Huai army was unsure.
However, it was meaningless to avoid talking about this matter. Vézé obviously showed no signs of wanting to separate Guangxi and Guangxi. Various sources of information proved that the Liberation Army was recruiting troops in Guangdong and Guangxi, intending to take advantage of the Manchu Qing and the Taiping army when they were fighting to the death. It was precisely because of this that the Xiang Army and the Huai army did not dare to slack off at all. It was impossible for them to coexist with the Taiping army, so it was impossible for them to work with the Taiping army to eliminate Vézé first.
Now that the Taiping army was declining step by step, it was precisely this decline that made the Taiping army struggle even harder to survive. If the Taiping army wanted to survive, they could only rely on defeating the Xiang Army and the Huai army. As the end of the Taiping army approached day by day, the decisive battle between the Xiang Army and the Huai army against Vézé was approaching at the same speed.
The commander-in-chief of the Huai army, Jiang Zhongyuan, finally broke the silence of the meeting. "When our army besieges Jiangning, I'm afraid that Vézé will make a move. It won't be easy to attack Guangdong and Guangxi in a short period of time, so we don't have to think about this method now. "
With Jiang Zhongyuan's words, the generals of the Huai army all breathed a sigh of relief. Talking about fighting against Vézé was too heavy a topic for them. At this moment, the rumbling of cannons could be heard from afar in Luzhou. Judging from this sound, the attack had officially begun. Jiang Zhongyuan sighed in his heart. It seemed that Ceng Guofan was very determined to attack Jiangning as soon as possible. In the past, the Xiang Army relied on besieging the city. If they weren't in a hurry to attack the city, they wouldn't have opened fire so fiercely.
The sound of cannons attacking the city lasted for three days. During these three days, the Huai army only tightened their guard. Their mission was to stop the Taiping army from breaking out of the Xiang Army's tight encirclement. Although during these three days, the Huai army's generals requested to fight many times, Jiang Zhongyuan bluntly rejected these people's requests. Of course, not wanting to fight with the Xiang Army for credit was an important reason. Jiang Zhongyuan also agreed with Li Hongzhang's point of view. When these Anhui officers and soldiers saw the Hunan people ordering the Anhui people to attack the city, they wouldn't be in high spirits. This was because there was a possibility that among these civilians being ordered around, there might be relatives of the Huai army's officers and soldiers.
On the fourth day, the sound of cannons became more intense. After noon, the cannons unexpectedly gradually stopped. In the evening, Jiang Zhongyuan received Ceng Guofan's notice that the Xiang Army had already broken through Luzhou and started to exterminate the bandit army inside the city. The Xiang Army's ability to attack the city had reached such a level, this made Jiang Zhongyuan very surprised.
Ceng Guofan's action of sending someone to deliver the letter to Jiang Zhongyuan was also opposed by the Xiang Army's generals. These people were very worried that Jiang Zhongyuan would come and snatch the credit. Ceng Guofan calmly said, "Min Qiao won't do that."
The generals didn't dare to refute Ceng Guofan's point of view. Seeing the herald leave the tent, the generals hurriedly asked, "Marshal, we will enter Luzhou to exterminate the Guangdong bandits."
"Go!" Ceng Guofan agreed to the generals' request. With Ceng Guofan's permission, other than the troops guarding the central army, the Xiang Army that was originally in charge of surrounding Luzhou started to advance and break into the city.
This time, it was Ceng Guofan who was in charge of attacking the city. The Xiang Army's fierce general Bao Chao didn't directly lead the troops to attack. After receiving Ceng Guofan's order, he led the troops straight to the east gate. At the east gate, Bao Chao unexpectedly saw a group of Xiang Army surrounding more than three hundred people. These people wore the clothes of ordinary people, but all of them had long hair.
Bao Chao reined in his horse and asked the Xiang Army in charge of guarding them, "What are these people doing?"
"Sir, these people are righteous people. They have already contacted us. This time, they suddenly attacked the Guangdong bandits and opened the east gate. "The officer in charge of guarding the Xiang Army hurriedly reported.
Bao Chao knew that there was such a group of people in the city, but he didn't expect that this group of people would actually be useful. While he was looking down at these fellows from his horse, he saw one of them muster up the courage to shout to Bao Chao, "Sir, we are all righteous people. We have Sir Jiang's document. Please let us lead the way for Sir. "
Those who dared to attack the Taiping army were all courageous people. When they saw someone taking the lead to shout, the people behind also shouted, "Sir, Sir Jiang said that after the city is breached, he will protect our family. Please let us go home."
Originally, Bao Chao only felt that this group of people was strange. Now, he understood what was going on with this group of people. He turned to his subordinates and ordered, "There must be Guangdong bandits hiding among these people. Kill all of them!"
When the Xiang Army heard the order, they immediately went forward and told the guards Bao Chao's order in Hunan dialect. Soon, Bao Chao's troops and the Xiang Army who were responsible for guarding the city suddenly started to kill these people. In addition, the Xiang Army's number was a few times more than this group of people who attacked the Taiping army. After a series of screams, these people died on the spot. Many of them were extremely shocked after they died. They didn't expect that they would end up like this after risking their lives.
Bao Chao's troops were very strict. They never dared to pick up valuables on the battlefield. After leaving some troops to clean up the battlefield, Bao Chao led his troops to the East Gate and killed his way into the city.
The city was already a world of blood and fire. After the Taiping army lost the top of the city wall, they organized a defense inside the city. The Xiang Army immediately lit a fire. The smoke from the firing of rifles mixed with the smoke from the burning houses made the visibility of the whole Luzhou City very low. The ground was covered with corpses. Ceng Guoquan's troops had suppressed the Taiping army to the West Gate of the city. This was a strategy that had been decided long ago. The Xiang Army only stationed their navy outside the West Gate and stationed their troops on both sides of the city to prevent the Taiping army from escaping by land. When the Taiping army reached the shore, they were completely within the attack range of the Xiang Army's navy.
After the city was breached, under the fierce attack of the Xiang Army, the Taiping army could only retreat to the West Gate. When Bao Chao arrived with his troops, Ceng Guoquan quickly sent someone to contact Bao Chao to prevent him from participating in the final attack. "The Water West Gate has been completely surrounded. Milord, please stay in the city."
Bao Chao knew that Ceng Guoquan did not want to share the credit with others. He coldly snorted and replied: "Go back and tell Ceng Tietong that I understand."
After the messenger left, Bao Chao ordered his subordinates: "Go along the streets and look around. Attack the houses that have a notice from Jiang Zhongyuan."
When the deputy heard this order, he immediately obeyed and commanded his troops to leave. Those who had the death exemption notice that Jiang Zhongyuan gave them were definitely from rich families. These people were afraid that they would be robbed by the Imperial Army after the city was breached. That was why they actively contacted the Imperial Army. After Bao Chao killed the group of people at the city gate, the deputy understood Bao Chao's intention. When he received this order, he was even more delighted. Robbing ten poor families was not as good as robbing one rich family. It was not easy to distinguish between the rich and the poor. Now, the notices on the doors of the houses were the best guide.
After the Xiang Army breached Luzhou City, the clean-up operation continued for another two days. Three days later, the Xiang Army retreated from Luzhou City. Jiang Zhongyuan had led his troops to take over the ruling center of the Taiping Rebellion in Huainan. When they were still two miles away from Luzhou City, the strong smell of rotting corpses in the summer air was enough to tell them what had happened in the city.
When they were less than a mile away from the city, the Huai Army's troops automatically slowed down. Outside the city, there were corpses. These corpses were dressed in the clothes of the commoners and were spread out dozens of meters outside the city. Below the city walls, these corpses were piled up high. As far as the eye could see, it was the same below the city walls. There were at least thousands of people who had died.
When the soldiers approached the corpses, countless fat flies were startled and flew up from the corpses. It was as if a black cloud had been formed. Maggots crawled in and out of the corpses' mouths, nostrils, and ears.
The Huai army soldiers had fought in wars and seen blood. But when they saw this, many people couldn't help but vomit. Jiang Zhongyuan frowned. He ignored the stench in the air and the thousands of corpses that were quickly rotting under the hot summer sun. He urged his horse to go straight to the city gates.
The city gates of Luzhou City were wide open. After Jiang Zhongyuan's horse entered the city, he saw a street that was also full of corpses. The crows that were pecking at the rotting corpses were startled by the noise. They spread their black wings and cawed discontentedly, flying into the air.
But Jiang Zhongyuan found that other than these crows that were desperately eating the corpses, the whole city was quiet. Not a sound.
The Xiang Army's camp was very lively. The merchants that followed the army had formed a long line in front of the tent. The Xiang Army soldiers were carrying bags of goods, waiting for these people to give them a firm appraisal. Every time the Xiang Army conquered a city, it would be lively for a few days. These merchants in charge of appraising the spoils had already paid a large sum of money to Ceng Guofan. They would buy the spoils and ship them to Hubei, Hunan and other places to sell. The Xiang Army would bring their money back to their hometowns.
Supposedly, this business was even better in Jiangzhe. Zuo Zongtang Daren had a merchant called Hu Xueyan. He didn't just buy the goods, he was also responsible for storing the money in the bank. He did not need to carry the money with him, so it was even safer. The merchants of the Xiang Army did not provide this kind of service. So when the Xiang Army came out to fight, there were several families, and the people from the same village were all in the same camp. Even if someone died in battle, their family and fellow villagers could bring the money back to their hometowns.
But at this time, the Xiang Army had started to prepare their own bank, preparing to imitate the Chu army, using paper money and silver notes to increase the safety of the soldiers' money.
When the soldiers were waiting, they naturally bragged about their gains.
As a famous scholar in Hunan, Daren Zeng had been reading every day, keeping a diary every day, cultivating his mind, discovering his own problems, and searching for solutions. After a long time, the results were quite good. At least, Daren Zeng's subordinates could now understand Daren Zeng's political philosophy.
After listening to Daren Zeng Guofan's theory, the Xiang Army applied what he learned. The cities that were taken by the Taiping army in a short period of time, after the Xiang Army took them back, they naturally had to "collect provisions and pay". The Xiang Army, with the attitude of being self-reliant, would collect the people in the cities fairly and openly. When the people in the cities degenerated into "rebels" and "unruly people" and resisted the public collection, the Xiang Army, as a righteous force, would immediately kill them.
For the cities that were occupied by the Taiping army for a long time, according to the standards set by Daren Zeng Guofan, the Xiang Army believed that the people in the cities were all rebels. Jiujiang, Anqing, and other cities that had been occupied by the Taiping army for many years, didn't even screen the women, and all the rebels were killed.
The entire Huainan area had been in the hands of the Taiping army for eight years, and there had been no war in these eight years. Even if they were collected money and food, if there was no war, the local people could still save some money. The Xiang Army completely followed the rules of the Xiang Army to Luzhou, a city that had been in the hands of the Guangdong bandits for eight years, and the gains here were much greater than those poor areas in Jiangxi. Talking about the gains this time, all the Xiang Army were smiling.
Therefore, when Anhui Inspector-General Jiang Zhongyuan led the guards and rushed through the Xiang Army's camp to Ceng Guofan's tent, these officers and soldiers just looked at them curiously, but they strictly guarded the line for fear that they would be squeezed out if they left the line.
At this time, Jiang Zhongyuan was full of anger. He didn't look at the Xiang Army carrying big and small bags and rushed into Ceng Guofan's tent. He shouted to Ceng Guofan, "Brother Shisheng, what the hell is going on?"
Ceng Guofan certainly knew what Jiang Zhongyuan was talking about. He sat steadily on the chair and sighed, "Min Qiao, this kind of thing can't be done!"
"Can't be done?!" Jiang Zhongyuan took a few steps forward and approached Ceng Guofan, "If the Xiang Army robbed property, it can be said that it can't be done. Why don't they even let the women go? "
Finally, the Xiang Army didn't kill all the people in Luzhou City. Some very poor people hid well and finally escaped with their lives. When they told Jiang Zhongyuan about the brutal massacre of the Xiang Army in the city, they told Jiang Zhongyuan one thing. Not only did the Xiang Army kill and rob, but they also took the good-looking women in Luzhou City. Jiang Zhongyuan could barely accept the Xiang Army's massacre, but he couldn't accept the Xiang Army robbing women at all. Therefore, he came to Ceng Guofan angrily.
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