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"Jincai, well done!" The division commander patted Zhou Jincai's shoulder with a satisfied smile in the division headquarters. Previously, when Zhou Jincai was promoted to regiment commander, the attitude of the Party Committee was ambiguous, and the personnel department of the General Staff Department was wavering. The division commander praised Zhou Jincai's outstanding combat ability, which allowed him to be promoted. Since he said so, the division commander had to take responsibility.
Zhou Jincai personally commanded the troops to attack, which proved his bravery. Moreover, he found the enemy's weakness and broke the enemy's defense system, which was a great achievement. Whether Zhou Jincai would make mistakes in the future or not was a matter for the future. At least now, Zhou Jincai used his own actions to prove that the division commander's judgment of Zhou Jincai was correct.
Zhou Jincai forced a smile at the division commander's praise. "I tried my best."
He was not in high spirits at this time, and the battle was indeed won. When Zhou Jincai encountered the enemy's attack, he defeated the enemy's squad with a fierce bayonet fight. After that, he did not kill all of them, but chased after the fleeing Xiang Army. Those who were sent to carry out this kind of almost fatal mission were either really unafraid of death, or they had a way out. Zhou Jincai did not think that there were really people in the Xiang Army who were unafraid of death, and in fact, his judgment was also correct. The Xiang Army had set up a very hidden passage to enter and exit their core defense system. In order to survive, the fleeing Xiang Army did not care about the large number of soldiers chasing after them. Because of the ferocious soldiers chasing after them, they had to escape to a safe place as soon as possible.
The seemingly sturdy fortress finally showed a weakness, and Zhou Jincai commanded the troops to launch a fierce attack. The Xiang Army thought that it was very easy to guard the narrow passage that could only allow one person to pass through, but when more than ten grenades were thrown into the passage, the Xiang Army realized that the war had gone beyond their imagination. The seemingly sturdy defensive position was instantly broken. The vigorous Liberation Army soldiers rushed in through the gap. Learning from the previous experience, the troops did not engage in gunfights with the Xiang Army, but directly began to fight hand-to-hand. Under the fierce attack, the Xiang Army's defense system collapsed.
But at the end of the battle, right in front of Zhou Jincai, the two commanders of the Xiang Army raised their guns and committed suicide when they saw that defeat was inevitable. This action gave Zhou Jincai quite a shock. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that there was someone among the enemy who dared to commit suicide to uphold his dignity.
A few months ago, Zheng Yufeng, a first-class war hero who had been vigorously promoted in the Liberation Army, had bravely committed suicide at the last moment. This was a model example of a soldier who had overwhelmed the enemy in spirit. Zhou Jincai, who accepted this kind of propaganda and truly admired it, was shocked by the enemy's similarly unyielding character.
The suicides of the Qing Army's Inspector Zhao Huanlian and Zongbing Zhou Kuanshi did not have much of an impact on the division commander. For the division commander, the fact that the battle had reached such a ferocious level that not being able to capture the Qing Army's commanding officer was no big deal. The fact that the troops didn't slaughter the captives in such a fierce battle was enough to explain to the political commissar.
The Liberation Army had long since lost the mentality of rebellion. At that time, everyone subconsciously thought that they were part of the Manchu Qing system and were in awe of the officials. The current Liberation Army didn't think of themselves as Manchu Qing people at all. Ordinary soldiers were ordinary people who were very similar to the Liberation Army, while the civil and military officials of the Manchu Qing were scum, far lower than ordinary soldiers. Their lives and deaths were not important. Whether or not they could capture the enemy's commanding officer alive only meant whether or not the battle of annihilation had been carried out thoroughly. That was all.
The simultaneous destruction of the Qing Army in Hengyang and Baoqing not only allowed the Liberation Army to gain a firm foothold in Xiangxi, but also opened up the Xiangjiang River. The Manchu Qing's rule in Hunan had entered a countdown. This news not only made the Hunan government and the Xiang Army feel that doomsday was approaching, but it also greatly shocked the Qing court. In Ceng Guofan's strategic plan, after the Qing Army occupied the upper reaches, they could go all out down the river and attack the Taiping Rebellion. At first, the mainstream opinion of the Qing court was that the Liberation Army would send troops from Jiangxi.
On December 15, 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor finally received a memorial from Hunan. Noble Consort Yi couldn't help but look nervous. When she handed several memorials to Xianfeng, her hands were trembling slightly.
Xianfeng had been handling court affairs with Noble Consort Yi for some time. Noble Consort Yi gradually calmed down from her initial excitement. Such a loss of self-control was very rare for Noble Consort Yi recently. Even though he was mentally prepared, Xianfeng's whole body stiffened after he took the memorial and read it for a moment.
The Liberation Army first quickly seized Hengyang and Baoqing, then continued to march eastward and close to Changsha. Hunan's Inspector Mao Hongbin begged the court to send reinforcements quickly. If the reinforcements couldn't arrive in Hunan in a short time, the whole of Hunan would be in danger.
In addition to the memorial from Hunan's Inspector Mao Hongbin, the Governor of Huguang in Wuchang, Hubei, also sent a memorial. In the memorial, Guan Wen wrote that a strange fleet of the Liberation Army went down the river and pressed directly outside Wuchang City. None of the ships in this fleet had sails, let alone rowers. Although there were chimneys spraying smoke, they didn't have the two big wheels on the foreign ships. Such ships moved up and down on the river like this. They were equipped with several cannons and had fierce firepower. The Xiang Army's navy was suddenly attacked by such ships and was defeated. Guan Wen begged the court to transfer the Xiang Army's navy back to fight. Otherwise, Wuhan would not be safe.
The map of the Yangtze River basin had been seen thousands of times. Xianfeng didn't need to look at the map to understand how the situation had changed. If the Liberation Army seized the two lakes, the Taiping army would wreak havoc in Jiangzhe. The entire south of the Yangtze River would completely fall into a rotten situation. A few years ago, the Qing court tried hard to avoid this worst situation. But they never expected that the strategic situation of the Qing Army, which had improved greatly because of the recapture of Huainan, would instantly become the worst situation.
They were driven out of Beijing by the British. They were able to return to the capital after signing the Beijing Treaty with great difficulty. Emperor Xianfeng's already poor health became even worse at this time. For more than a year, he had forced himself to deal with state affairs. Although the Taiping army was fierce, it was still an understandable army. The Rehabilitation Army, which was known for its ferocity, was shrouded in a layer of unfathomable fog. Now, when this army stepped onto the stage again, Xianfeng saw from the memorial that it was an army more fierce than the foreigners.
Before the British army attacked Beijing, they first fought a war with the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army wantonly publicized how they had beaten Britain and France. Xianfeng hoped that this was a lie made up by the Liberation Army. With the fierce temperament of Britain and France, they would definitely teach the Liberation Army a hard lesson when they heard this shameless lie. More than a year had passed, and Britain and France allowed the Liberation Army to publicize their military achievements. It seemed that this was not a lie.
Compared with the Liberation Army, the Qing Dynasty was forced to escape from the capital after its defeat and finally had to sign a humiliating treaty with Britain. Russia also took advantage of the situation, and France and the United States demanded the same trade rights as Britain. The gap in combat power between the two sides was very obvious at this time. If the Liberation Army was allowed to wreak havoc like this, would the Qing Dynasty really perish?
Under the intense torture in his heart, the young emperor could not help but stand up. Then he only felt a surge of heat in his chest, a sweetness in his throat, and then a mouthful of blood sprayed out. The blood sprayed on the opened memorial on the table, splashing red plum blossoms. And Emperor Xianfeng fell straight back.
On the top of the city wall of Wuchang, thousands of miles away from Beijing, the acting Hunan Inspector-General, Hu Linyi, looked at the battle on the river with a pale face. A few days ago, he was in charge of the logistics of the Xiang Army in Anqing when he suddenly received a letter asking for help from the governor of Huguang, saying that the Liberation Army Navy was wreaking havoc in Wuchang and asking the Xiang Army Navy to quickly return to help.
Hu Linyi was well aware of the ferocity of the Liberation Army Navy. A few years ago, his brother-in-law had fought against the Liberation Army in Gannan. After his defeat, he was skinned and hung on the top of the city wall of Ganzhou as a human skin lantern as proof that the Liberation Army had actual control over Ganzhou to "deter thieves."
But the Liberation Army was in the south of Hunan. How could they quickly build a navy that could fight to the bottom of Wuchang? It was possible to temporarily build some small boats by plundering ships. But such a fleet would not have the ability to threaten Wuchang. According to Guan Wen's description, the ships of the Liberation Army Navy that came to Wuchang could only be compared to the ships of the Xiang Army. This was even more unrealistic. Not to mention whether the Liberation Army could build such a large ship, it was not something that could be built in a short time.
But Guan Wen was the governor of Huguang, and the acting Hunan Inspector-General, Hu Linyi, was his subordinate. Moreover, Guan Wen was a Bannerman. Being the governor of Huguang was clearly a personnel arrangement used by Emperor Xianfeng to balance the power of the Xiang Army. Moreover, in the past few years of contact, Guan Wen was not a person who liked to make a fuss about nothing. Now that he was sending a letter as if he was grieving the death of his parents, there was probably something wrong.
With such doubts and the need to transport rations, weapons, and ammunition from Hubei, Hu Linyi still led a fleet of the Xiang Army Navy back to Wuchang.
After seeing Wuchang, Hu Linyi was confused by the latest information. Not only did Guan Wen maintain his statement, but the civil and military officials in Wuchang also said the same thing. A fleet of the Liberation Army had attacked the bottom of Wuchang several times. Those warships that did not use sails or oars moved freely on the river. The Xiang Army Navy that stayed behind in Wuchang were utterly defeated.
Of course, this fleet did not always block the gates of Wuchang. They came once every seven or eight days. After harassing the three towns in Wuhan, they swaggered off. Wuchang was still better off. The Xiang Army in Hankou, north of the Yangtze River, was annihilated by the Liberation Army. This Liberation Army did not harass the people, nor did they occupy Hankou. Instead, they forcibly bought and sold in Hankou.
The government troops in Jiangbei could not defeat the Liberation Army, and the Yangtze River had been cut off by the Liberation Army. They could not cross the river, so they could only look at the river and sigh.
This introduction confused Hu Linyi. Hu Linyi actually knew that the Taiping army did not loot everywhere. But after occupying Hankou, they began to do business with the local merchants. This was too strange.
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