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On December 29th, 1861, the seriously ill Xianfeng Emperor received the news that Hu Linyi, the acting governor of Hubei, had vomited blood and died. At the same time, the news reached the capital from the governor of Huguang, Guan Wen, that Changsha and Yuezhou had fallen. At least 131 officials, including the governor of Hunan, Mao Hongbin, had been massacred.
On December 30th, the news that the Liberation Army had captured Hankou and Hanyang was delivered to the Xianfeng Emperor's sickbed.
On December 31st, the Xianfeng Emperor received the memorial about the fall of Wuchang.
The 30-year-old Emperor's health was already extremely poor, and now his lung disease had worsened due to the excitement. In the last moments of his life, the Xianfeng Emperor might have felt the pain of saying goodbye to his wife and children, and the solemnity of telling his ministers about his funeral. However, the truth was that the young emperor had fallen into a coma due to the continuous high fever and internal bleeding.
After a whole day of suffering, the Xianfeng Emperor passed away on the evening of January 1st, 1862.
At that moment, the General's Office in Guangzhou was holding a New Year's Eve party. 60% of the attendees wore military uniforms, while the remaining 40% wore civilian uniforms. The two types of clothing gave the entire celebration a militaristic feel.
Vézé, who was at the head of the uniform team, stood on the rostrum and gave a speech. "Comrades, we have captured the three towns of Hunan and Wuhan, and the troops to march into Jiangxi and Fujian will be dispatched soon. By June this year at the latest, we will have completed the goal of liberating the land south of the Huai River. We have taken solid steps towards the ultimate goal of liberating all of China. "
The news was within everyone's expectations, but after Vézé personally confirmed it, everyone still applauded and cheered from the bottom of their hearts.
Vézé continued, "The first mission of our army in the first half of this year is to liberate the territory south of the Huai River, and the second is to attack the cults. In the second half of the year, we will naturally begin to establish a government in the newly liberated areas, and carry out a series of social reforms such as land reform. Comrades, it is because of your hard work that we can achieve what we have today. On behalf of the party, government, and military leaders, I wish you all the most sincere New Year wishes. I wish everyone a better performance in the new year. "
Amidst the warm applause, Vézé took the lead to shout, "Long live China!" "Long live the Chinese people!"
That was already a very programmed slogan. Modern nation-states all had the same national consciousness. Wei Ze calmly stepped down from the podium amidst the cheers of "Long live China!" and "Long live the Chinese people!" After him, the party committee and executive department leaders took the stage to speak, and Vézé left the rostrum. His wife, Qi Hongyi, started having labor pains in the afternoon. If it weren't for the fact that Wei Ze had to attend the New Year's party, he would have been at the hospital long ago.
Wei Ze sat in the corridor of the obstetrics and gynecology department and listened to the screams in the ward. He kept a straight face and did not say a word. He was the older brother of Rank 1 War Hero Zheng Yufeng. He was also a veteran officer who had followed Wei Ze for a long time. Sitting next to him was a commander. He was the elder brother of the first-class war hero, Zheng Yufeng. He was also an old cadre who had been with Vézé for a long time.
Old comrades did not have much to say. Commander Zheng grabbed Vézé's arm and stammered, "Commander-in-chief, is it really that bad?"
Vézé wanted to speak in a solemn and deep voice, but his dry throat completely betrayed Vézé's current mood. Even so, Vézé still said in a trembling voice, "Do you think it's easy to be a mother?"
The pregnant woman inside had been screaming for more than half an hour. Even Commander Zheng, who was dominating the battlefield, was on the verge of tears. He took out a cigarette with trembling hands and lit one for himself. Due to his blank eyes, he even forgot to light one for Vézé. Commander Zheng said in fear, "I'll treat my wife better in the future."
Vézé did not smoke, but at this moment, he could not help but want to have one. A real scream could resonate with people, especially those who had fought on the battlefield. Those who had seen death would know how much pain it took to force someone to scream like this.
In short, the two men were on tenterhooks outside. Following the sound of a baby's cry, the two men immediately sat up straight. A tired nurse came out and asked, "Is Commander Zheng here?"
"I'm here!" Commander Zheng stood up and saluted the nurse.
"Congratulations, your wife gave birth to a boy. Both mother and child are safe. Now, follow us to complete the formalities, "the nurse said.
Commander Zheng jumped three feet high and turned to look at Vézé. Vézé's legs trembled slightly as he stood up and shook hands with Commander Zheng. "Congratulations! Hurry up and complete the formalities. "
Seeing Commander Zheng leave happily, Vézé sat back down on the bench. He wanted to think about other things, such as future personnel arrangements, or the so-called "Crown Prince". Vézé had no interest in the emperor. Other than inheriting the revolutionary nature of China, it was difficult for a science student to have any sense of respect for the so-called royal family.
But that was all he could think about. The screams made Vézé's legs tremble. At this moment, Li Yifang hurried in from outside. When she saw Vézé, she said happily, "I went to inform Minister Li. I didn't expect you to arrive first."
Vézé felt much better that someone could sit side by side with him. Li Yifang suddenly asked Vézé in a low voice, "Commander-in-chief, when we have a child, will you be like this? No matter how busy you are, you will come to wait for me outside."
"Aren't you afraid?" Vézé asked with a wry smile.
Li Yifang held Vézé's hand. "So what if I'm afraid? It won't hurt if I'm afraid? "
This answer made Vézé feel touched. He held Li Yifang's hand and said, "I promise you, I will definitely wait outside."
At this moment, a baby's cry was heard from inside. Vézé couldn't help but close his eyes and murmur, "Thank God."
Not long after, a male doctor from the obstetrics and gynecology department rushed out. "Commander-in-chief, your wife gave birth to a boy. Both mother and child are safe!"
"Thank you, everyone, thank you!" Vézé stepped forward and shook hands with the doctor and nurses.
When Li Yifang saw that it was a male doctor, she couldn't help but frown slightly. But she didn't say anything.
The news that the Military Governor Of Vaize had a son did not spread widely. Instead, the Military Governor Of Vaize's order to attack the south of the Huai River and attack the evil cult quickly reached the front line. The reorganized troops of the Liberation Army began to attack Jiangxi and Fujian according to the plan. The war of 1862 set off a frenzy in a very short period of time.
On the 6th of January, Ceng Guofan ordered the entire army to wear mourning. One reason was to wear mourning for Emperor Xianfeng, and the other was to wear mourning for the seized Hunan. On the 20th of December last year, when the Xiang Army learned that Hu Linyi vomited blood and died, they also learned the bad news that Hunan had been seized by the Liberation Army.
Ceng Guofan immediately sent a Xiang Army navy north. He didn't want to seize Hunan immediately, but to help Wuchang. The goal of seizing Hunan was naturally Wuchang. It was easy to travel thousands of miles along the river. Less than ten years ago, Vézé had done it once. Now that he had seized all of Hunan, it would be strange if he let Wuchang go.
This fleet did indeed serve as a messenger. The navy that had luckily escaped with their lives reported to Ceng Guofan, who was stationed in Wuhu. The Liberation Army navy was extremely fierce. When the Xiang Army arrived outside Wuchang, the Liberation Army navy had already sealed off the Yangtze River outside Wuchang. A large number of Liberation Army troops were besieging Wuchang. The Xiang Army navy had been utterly defeated. Based on the current situation, Wuchang wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
Ceng Guofan was a very resolute person. Under a lot of pressure, he still firmly chose to take Tianjing as the primary goal of the strategy. It was precisely because of his resoluteness that the strategic goal could be pushed to the point where it was almost achieved. However, Ceng Guofan completely miscalculated Vézé. The moment he was about to besiege Tianjing, the entire strategy completely collapsed.
The civil and military officials of Hunan had never been on good terms with Ceng Guofan since Luo Bingzhang's era. Therefore, Hunan had long been Ceng Guofan's territory. Other than being able to recruit soldiers, Hunan had limited practical significance to Ceng Guofan. Even if they lost Hunan, it wouldn't affect the Xiang Army in the short term. The Taiping Rebellion's rations and fodder mainly came from Hubei. Now that the Liberation Army had seized the three towns of Wuhan, the possibility of obtaining rations from Hubei was also cut off. Ceng Guofan had fought his way down from upstream. He knew that the Liberation Army would follow the Yangtze River to attack Jiangxi and Anhui.
The Xiang Army generals who participated in the military conference wore a white cloth on their heads. Their faces were either ashen or incomparably excited. The representative of the excited group was Bao Chao. He was clamoring to immediately return and take back Hubei. The Xiang Army now had 70,000 land troops and 50,000 navy troops. The 20,000 Xiang Army led by Bao Chao were elites who were used to fighting tough battles. Not long ago, Bao Chao was attacked by several Taiping army troops. Although he was a fierce general, Bao Chao wasn't the least bit muddle-headed. Seeing that things weren't right, he immediately withdrew to Ningguo Prefecture to defend. The 20,000 Taiping army elites had been attacking the city for half a month without success. The other Xiang Army flanked the Taiping army from behind. The Taiping army had no choice but to retreat to Tianjing City.
"Marshal, let me lead the troops to Wuchang!" Bao Chao volunteered.
Before Ceng Guofan could reply, the head of the Xiang Army navy, Peng Yulin, the governor of Guangdong, said, "Marshal, let me go to Wuchang first. You will lead the troops to Anqing and Jiujiang and wait for my news."
"Oh?" Ceng Guofan was very interested in Peng Yulin's suggestion.
Peng Yulin continued, "If I lose, please move your troops to Huainan. Don't stay north of the Yangtze River."
"Do you think our army can't defeat the Guangdong bandits?" Bao Chao said angrily.
Peng Yulin wasn't shaken by Bao Chao's anger. He said calmly, "Whether we can defeat them or not, we'll only know after we fight. But it's never wrong to underestimate the enemy. "
Although Bao Chao had always been arrogant, he wouldn't have survived until today. Seeing Peng Yulin's determination, Bao Chao pleaded, "Marshal, please let me go to Jiujiang."
Ceng Guofan had no other choice. He fought his way here from Hunan, so he knew what the Yangtze River meant. If they failed to fight for the Yangtze River, their troops would be separated. Even if they could clearly see their allies across the river, it would be useless. The Xiang Army relied on the navy to fight their way here.
"Bao Chao, go to Jiujiang. Yulin, lead the navy to Jiujiang first." Ceng Guofan ordered.
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