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There were two children hiding in the depths of the haystack. When the straw covering them was lifted, they were exposed to the adults. The children were so scared that they curled up into a ball and didn't even dare to breathe. Looking at the two little guys who were only two or three years old, Diao Degui smiled and said, "These two little ones can be sold for money."
Diao Hansan grabbed the two little guys and ignored their shouts. He carried the little guys to the shelters set up by the Xiang Army. To be precise, there were two shelters and one place to collect stolen goods. Young women had always been an important commodity for the Xiang Army. Women could be the wives of the Xiang Army, and they could also be sold. Now, they added children to the mix. In Shandong, Henan, and Hebei, not only boys could be sold for money, but girls were also very valuable. Girls could work from a young age, and when they grew up, they could get a betrothal gift when they got married. Therefore, sometimes boys didn't sell very well, but little girls were always very popular. Seeing the two little kids in Diao Hansan's hands, many Xiang Army's eyes were filled with jealousy.
The entire village fell into the hands of the Xiang Army. Not only the houses, but also a large piece of land and farming tools. Not only this village, but the Xiang Army also slaughtered the villages in the areas controlled by the Nian Army.
Ceng Guofan had already begun to recruit people from Huaibei, Henan, and other areas. Although the government's appearance would make the people feel that something was wrong. However, the whole of China was a situation where there were more people than land. The government said, "If you work as a tenant for three years, you can get a piece of land." This sounded ridiculous, but it also had the magic to make people want to try.
Huaibei was close to Henan. When the people who worked up the courage to believe the government arrived there, not only did they get a piece of land, but they also didn't lack houses and farming tools. This news was quickly spread back to their hometown. Therefore, a large number of people from other areas flocked to the Xiang Army's area.
Of course, the Nian Army wasn't a group of people who would be slaughtered by Ceng Guofan's army. Facing the Xiang Army's ruthless killing, the Nian Army immediately launched a counterattack against the Xiang Army.
On January 16th, 1865, Ceng Guofan burned incense for his brother Ceng Guohua. At this time last year, Vézé had ordered the execution of some of the members of the Guangzhou Liberation Shoe Smuggling Syndicate. Killing these people seemed a little monotonous, and it did not fully demonstrate the importance Vézé attached to corruption. Therefore, Vézé had ordered the execution of Ceng Guohua, Ye Mingchen, and many other high-ranking Manchu Qing officials who refused to surrender after being captured. This was to show Vézé's attitude towards corruption. "Corruption is already a conflict between us and the enemy."
The Liberation Army had always publicly executed people like Ceng Guohua. There was a special explanation in the Guangzhou Daily. Four months later, Ceng Guofan finally confirmed the death of his brother, Ceng Guohua. On the seventh day of his brother's death, Ceng Guofan didn't know that his brother had been killed, so he naturally had to pay his respects on the anniversary.
At this time, Ceng Guofan was also stationed in Suzhou. After offering incense, he went to see Jiang Zhongyuan. After the two met, Jiang Zhongyuan asked Ceng Guofan, "Brother Shisheng, are you going to Huoyang County?"
Huoyang County was the territory of the Nian Army, and it was also the focus of the Xiang Army's siege. While Ceng Guofan had the support of the Two Lakes, Jiang Zhongyuan still couldn't break through the Huaihe River defense line. The Nian Army group with Huoyang as the core had caused him too much trouble.
"After I go to Huoyang, I'm afraid I'll go to the northwest to fight." Ceng Guofan made a big prediction.
Jiang Zhongyuan looked puzzled. At this time, Sengrinchen was leading the cavalry to fight against the Taiping army in the northwest. The Huai army, the Xiang Army, and the Chu Army had to be responsible for guarding against Vézé going north. Did Ceng Guofan get some news that the imperial court might kill him and send him to the northwest?
"Min Qiao, going to the northwest is just my guess." Ceng Guofan said seriously, "If we could wipe out the rebels, I'm afraid the rebellion of the Guangdong bandits would have been suppressed long ago. In any case, Dog Wei can't separate Jiangnan and become the Northern and Southern Dynasties. "
Although Ceng Guofan's tone didn't mean to blame him, Jiang Zhongyuan felt his face was a little hot. He had always been opposed to many of Ceng Guofan's policies. Judging from the results, Ceng Guofan's disposal at that time was the only way to solve the war. If they couldn't kill the rebels, they could at least kill all the rebels. Without the rebels, the rebels would naturally have no foundation to survive.
This time in Huoyang, Ceng Guofan's power was proved. The crazy slaughter and the building of a stronghold strictly controlled by the Xiang Army were carried out at the same time. Ceng Guofan's policy of "the host and the guest" and "forming a strong stronghold to fight a slow battle" had been used to deal with the Nian Army. Ceng Guofan's purpose in going to Huoyang this time was to take charge here and completely wipe out the surrounding Nian Army. Only after the situation in Huaibei was settled would he have the ability to talk about dealing with Vézé.
"Brother Shisheng, won't Vézé take advantage of the situation to go north?" Jiang Zhongyuan was still quite concerned about this matter. No matter how hard the Xiang Army and the Huai army worked, Vézé could mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops north with a single order. At that time, no one could stop him. All efforts would be for naught.
"Dog Wei is very patient. If he doesn't manage the territory he has already occupied well, I'm afraid he won't rashly seize new territory. At this time, we can only sort out the place first. If we collapse first before Dog Wei goes north, it would be a big joke. "Ceng Guofan said in a flat tone. He didn't mention anything about turning defeat into victory, let alone eliminating Vézé. He just simply said that he couldn't be eliminated by other forces.
After Vézé seized all the land south of the Huai River in a short period of time, Jiang Zhongyuan was most worried about Vézé leading the army north to take Beijing and eliminate Manchu Qing.
Asking Jiang Zhongyuan to voluntarily surrender to Vézé, Jiang Zhongyuan was absolutely unwilling. But the situation of the destruction of the country was right in front of him. Thinking about it, Jiang Zhongyuan felt his insides burning. Moreover, when the Taiping army revolted, Jiang Zhongyuan could still call the God-worshipping Taiping army rebels. When Vézé used the Analects of Confucius to denounce Jiang Zhongyuan and the other Han officials under Manchu Qing as "thief's bones, dog's bones, and cheap's bones," Jiang Zhongyuan was truly speechless. Even if he had a guilty conscience in this kind of war of words, it was only a problem that could be solved with a good night's sleep. But if Vézé really did lead the army north, Jiang Zhongyuan really couldn't think of any other way to save the Great Qing other than dying in battle.
With Ceng Guofan's intelligence, Jiang Zhongyuan believed that Ceng Guofan would certainly see the same outcome. But in terms of response, Jiang Zhongyuan acted cautiously, while Ceng Guofan was still able to proceed according to his own plan. Jiang Zhongyuan couldn't help but feel admiration for this kind of bearing.
Ceng Guofan roughly saw through Jiang Zhongyuan's thoughts. He said indifferently, "Min Qiao, you must think that we can't defeat Dog Wei. But back then, Dog Wei only had tens of thousands of troops. If we really gathered our troops at that time and fought Dog Wei, would we really be able to defeat him? "
Jiang Zhongyuan didn't like to brag. He carefully thought about it and compared the training and equipment. He shook his head. "If we were really put on the same spot, we would never retreat and fight to the death. I'm afraid we'll die before Vézé. "
Ceng Guofan nodded in agreement. "That's right. Dog Wei is different from others in that he's also good at managing places aside from fighting. We're inferior to him in fighting and management, so naturally we're losing in every aspect. In the past, we had the Two Lakes, Fujian and Zhejiang, while Dog Wei had the Guangdong and Guangxi. We're inferior to him in fighting and management, so naturally, Dog Wei occupied a large territory. Right now, we're only in Huaibei. The urgent matter at hand is to quickly reorganize the local government, collect taxes, and recruit soldiers. If we can pacify the rebels in other places as soon as possible, we might not really lose to Dog Wei with the territory the court still has. "
Under such a difficult situation, Ceng Guofan could still have such a firm attitude and stand. Jiang Zhongyuan really admired him. He seriously said, "I'll listen to Brother Disheng's advice."
The female leader of the Nian Army, Wen Yuewei, had participated in the Second Northern Expedition led by Vézé ten years ago. At that time, she was about twenty years old. More than ten years ago, Vézé went south without hesitation after retrieving the Taiping army near Tianjin. Wen Yuewei 'borrowed' a map from the Liberation Army and wreaked havoc in Hebei and other places.
At that time, Wen Yuewei and the others got a lot of benefits and returned to Huoyang with satisfaction. More than ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and Wen Yuewei was in her early thirties. She was married and had a child. She didn't expect that she would have to fight again now.
"Grandma Wen! The imperial army is ruthless this time. They kill everyone they see. The other leaders have gone to Henan and the northwest. You still have to take action here. " The man who cried in front of Wen Yuewei was Wen Yuewei's grandnephew in terms of seniority, but he was about the same age as Wen Yuewei.
More than three years ago, the Taiping army was defeated by the Huai army. The Nian Army, which maintained a cooperative relationship with the Taiping army, was frightened. Fortunately, the Qing Army later returned to Huaibei. After this torment, the Taiping army went north and asked the Nian Army if they wanted to go with them. A considerable number of Nian Army people chose to join the Taiping army. Advancing to the northwest could always lead to a new situation. In areas like Huainan and Huaibei, where there were many enemies, people could at most protect themselves.
Because of marriage and children, Wen Yuewei didn't have the mood to go on an expedition. She didn't expect that the imperial army would take advantage of the Nian Army's weakness. In the past, when the Nian Army was strong, the imperial army only asked the Nian Army not to cause trouble and not to fight with the imperial army. Therefore, Wen Yuewei underestimated the imperial army. She thought that as long as the Nian Army didn't cause trouble, they could live in peace for a few years.
Reality proved that Wen Yuewei was wrong. As one of the famous leaders who stayed here, Wen Yuewei could only fight for herself and her family. According to the news, the Xiang Army was extremely cruel.
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