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Mobilizing an army was not an easy task, and a military operation with more than 50,000 soldiers was even more important. On the morning of July 17th, Lei Hu received a telegram from the Military Commission. On that day, he could only send one army to Xuzhou. Fortunately, the Manchu Qing army only knew how to defend the city, so the Liberation Army's military plan did not have to be so complicated.
Zuo Zongtang was surrounded, and the Huaihe Defense Command was actually quite nervous. Last time, they had let the Taiping army go because of strategic considerations. Now that the Nian Army had grown, the Liberation Army had to consider the possibility of fighting the Nian Army next. The Qing Army only knew how to defend the city, but the Nian Army was not so easy to deal with. The Liberation Army had to consider defeating the Nian Army in the field.
There were no telegrams in the Heze area, so the Liberation Army could only use its own carrier pigeon unit. Suddenly, a newcomer who had only been here for a few years released dozens of pigeons. This kind of unusual situation could not avoid suspicion. Therefore, this kind of stronghold had to be used once before the personnel had to be evacuated. The Liberation Army's intelligence agents were very precious.
On July 20th, the intelligence agent who ran back encountered the Liberation Army's troops marching into Xuzhou. The latest news reached Lei Hu on July 21st. The Nian Army had gathered in Heze on a large scale and had captured Heze on July 18th. Heze was located in the southwest of Shandong Province, bordering Jiangsu, Henan, and Anhui provinces. Heze was a grain producing area. It seemed that the Nian Army's next step was to make a big move with Heze as the center.
Just yesterday, Lei Hu had received news that Zuo Zongtang's troops did not choose Heze as their destination after breaking through the encirclement. Instead, they turned east and headed straight for Jining. After receiving this news, everyone felt that Zuo Zongtang was quite smart. If he had gone straight to Heze from the village without thinking, Even if he managed to break through the encirclement, he would only be placing himself in greater danger.
"Comrade Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, the Party Committee has sent you to Jining to meet Zuo Zongtang. This trip will be dangerous, and the Party Committee would like to remind you again. Are you willing to go?" asked the Party Committee Secretary Xu Kaiwen solemnly.
"Since it's an order from the Party Committee, I will obey it," Kurosawa Tsuyoshi answered firmly.
Xu Kaiwen said sternly, "Then let us emphasize again, whether or not Zuo Zongtang surrenders is his problem. If you see that something is wrong, don't argue with him too much. It's good that you came back safely. "
"If I can save more people, I'm willing to take the risk," Kurosawa Tsuyoshi answered seriously.
The Party Committee had made the purpose and political nature of this trip clear to Kurosawa Tsuyoshi without reservation. Zuo Zongtang's poor performance against the Nian Army also made the Liberation Army's evaluation of him lower and lower. If it wasn't for Vézé's order, this matter would probably have been stopped. After hearing Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's statement, everyone felt even more uneasy. No one wanted to lose such a good comrade. In everyone's opinion, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was far more valuable than Zuo Zongtang.
In order to save time, the army directly sent a steamboat from Xuzhou to Weishan Lake. After all, Zuo Zongtang escaped to Jining. No one knew how long he could stay in Jining. The base of Zuo Zongtang's Chu army was in Xuzhou. Xuzhou had been taken. If this person ran away with his army, it would take some effort to find him. If Zuo Zongtang ran to Beijing, then it was completely beyond the Liberation Army's current communication ability.
After changing boats near the northern shore of Weishan Lake, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi arrived in Jining on July 24th with a few Chu officers who had been captured in Xuzhou.
Zuo Zongtang had never thought that his subordinates in Xuzhou would suddenly arrive in Jining. But looking at the fearful expressions of his subordinates, Zuo Zongtang knew that Xuzhou had been lost. With a dry throat, Zuo Zongtang asked, "The Liberation Army went north?"
"Marshal, we were useless. Xuzhou was lost in one day," the officer answered with a sob.
Zuo Zongtang's face was ashen. He asked dispiritedly, "Other than you, how many others escaped?"
The officer said fearfully, "They … they were all captured by the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army said they had arranged to meet Marshal here, so they sent us to bring their people here. "
"They really put in a lot of effort!" Zuo Zongtang said with a sneer. This sneer was actually Zuo Zongtang's self-mockery, but in the ears of his subordinates, it meant something else. The officers immediately knelt down. "Marshal, we were useless, we could not hold Xuzhou …"
Zuo Zongtang was completely disheartened. He waved his hand. "Get up, and bring that person in."
After his subordinates left, Zuo Zongtang closed his eyes in pain. A few days ago, when Zuo Zongtang was trying his best to break through the encirclement, he discovered that the Nian Army's true combat ability was completely different from what he had imagined. This army left Zuo Zongtang with the feeling that they would not go away.
When they broke through the encirclement head-on, the Nian Army's combat ability was only average. Zuo Zongtang's defense line was quickly broken through. Zuo Zongtang had clearly chosen the right direction. There were not many Nian Army at the western defense line. But on the escape path, the Nian Army cavalry followed closely behind Zuo Zongtang. It was just a distance of two hundred li, but the cautious Zuo Zongtang took five days to finish. The Nianwei cavalry suddenly charged out from places that didn't seem like much. When they could gain an advantage, the Nianwei cavalry would charge over and kill them. When they couldn't gain an advantage, they would fire their spears from afar.
The Chu army's training was very good, but they could do nothing against this kind of harassment. If they sent out small defensive units on the flanks, the Nian Army cavalry would gather and suddenly deal heavy damage to the small units. Zuo Zongtang had a determined personality. He managed to control the troops and not let them act rashly. Finally, they arrived at Jining on schedule.
When he reached Jining, he learned that Heze had been lost. The Chu generals who had been dissatisfied with the retreat to the east finally understood that they had escaped with their lives. If they followed everyone's plan and retreated to Heze, that would just be jumping from one encirclement to another.
Zuo Zongtang had wanted to rest for a few days and gather ships to return to Xuzhou through Weishan Lake. Now that the recovery army had taken over Xuzhou, the Chu army was a completely isolated army.
What should they do next? Zuo Zongtang could not think of anything at all. Just as he was immersed in the emotions of failure, the general who had escaped from Xuzhou brought in a person. The man wasn't tall, and he looked like a southerner at first glance. When he saw Zuo Zongtang, he introduced himself. "Hello, Mister Zuo. I am Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, a political commissar of the Liberation Army's Huaihe River Military Region."
"Why have you come?" Zuo Zongtang asked tiredly. In fact, he had once thought of humiliating the representative of the Restoration Army, but at this time, this idea had long since flown beyond the highest heavens. Xuzhou had been lost, and the Chu army's base had been destroyed. Even if he humiliated Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, not to mention killing Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, the Liberation Army would retaliate fiercely.
"I was ordered to come this time to ask how Mister Zuo views the world," Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said.
"How do I view the world?" While he was depressed, Zuo Zongtang was amused by this. He sneered. "Aren't you here to persuade us to surrender?"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said with a smile, "It is Mister Zuo's decision to surrender or not. Mister Zuo is not the kind of person to be manipulated. We are asking Mister Zuo how he views the world, just to see if we can ask Mister Zuo to do something good for the world. "
Having received Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's respect, Zuo Zongtang did not want to get angry. He said, "The winner takes all, what is there to do that is not good for the world?"
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