Empress Dowager Ci 'an met Ceng Guofan on October 2, 1865. Eight days later, on the 10th of October, Ceng Guofan arrived in Suzhou. Jiang Zhongyuan was surprised to see Ceng Guofan come in from the outside. He quickly got up and asked, "Brother Disheng, shouldn't you be in the capital?"
Ceng Guofan had been on the road and was very tired. This person, who had been writing diaries for more than ten years and had repeatedly tempered his character, didn't care about his dignity. After sitting down opposite Jiang Zhongyuan, Ceng Guofan urged, "Pour me some water!"
Jiang Zhongyuan quickly made tea for Ceng Guofan. Ceng Guofan's mouth was dry, and he said bluntly, "Cold water! Cold water! "
Seeing that Ceng Guofan was so thirsty, Jiang Zhongyuan had to pour him some cold water. After drinking two cups of tea in a row, Ceng Guofan recovered. Without waiting for Jiang Zhongyuan to ask, Ceng Guofan told Jiang Zhongyuan everything about the capital.
Hearing that the princes and the Eight Banners Army in the capital were so unbearable, Jiang Zhongyuan was so angry that he gritted his teeth. Hearing that the Liberation Army might be doing business with the imperial court, Jiang Zhongyuan frowned again. After retreating to the north of the Huai River, Ceng Guozhen had predicted that the Liberation Army would not continue to go north in the short term. As Ceng Guofan had said, the Liberation Army rested and rested in the south of the Huai River.
This was not because the Liberation Army had no ambition, did not want to make progress, and enjoyed the wealth of the Southern Dynasty comfortably. Under the sinister mobilization of the Liberation Army, the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Army wreaked havoc in Hebei, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi without any scruples. In secret, the Liberation Army's business had been done in the capital.
The Liberation Army naturally had its own plans for doing so. Now it seemed that the situation of the whole world was playing out according to the script of the Liberation Army. No matter who won the war between the four provinces, the four provinces would definitely be in a complete mess. Annoyed, Jiang Zhongyuan asked, "Can't we head south now and destroy the Liberation Army in Huainan?"
Ceng Guofan shook his head helplessly. He really didn't want to criticize such an unyielding suggestion. Jiang Zhongyuan only said this to vent his anger. He knew very well that if he really did that, it was highly likely that the Huai army and the Xiang Army that crossed the Huai River would be completely annihilated, and the entire situation would immediately worsen. At present, the only way to maintain the existence of the Manchu Qing is to destroy all the rebels in the four provinces, first to solve the urgent problem, and then to reorganize the four provinces.
However, even if the imperial court eliminated the urgent situation, could the four provinces that had been ruined by the flames of war really withstand a thunderous blow from the Liberation Army that had rested its strength? Jiang Zhongyuan was not optimistic at all. Therefore, it had become a despairing situation. If the imperial court did not do their best to win, they would die right now. But even if they survived the current crisis, they would still die. This feeling was too terrible. Too terrible!
In order to break free from this heavy pressure, Jiang Zhongyuan and Ceng Guofan began to talk about Zuo Zongtang. The Chu army first lost to the Nian Army and was betrayed by Miao Peilin. At the same time, their home in Xuzhou was conquered by the Liberation Army. Now there was no longer the name of the Chu army. One of the three main forces of the Xiang Army was completely destroyed, which made Jiang Zhongyuan feel very uneasy.
Whether it was Jiang Zhongyuan or Ceng Guofan, they both thought that Zuo Zongtang had "died for the country." The two did not avoid this question. Jiang Zhongyuan had a staunch personality and had long been indifferent to death. Ceng Guofan wanted to stick to his loyalty. Between death or surrender, he would not drag out an ignoble existence.
But overall, there was good news. Ceng Guofan was appointed as the Governor of Henan. This made Jiang Zhongyuan feel that Empress Dowager Ci 'an was wise. The Xiang Army and the Huai army were squeezed in the small Huaibei and could not do anything. If Ceng Guofan could become the Governor of Henan, and the Liberation Army allowed the other sides to fight, then the Huai army in Huaibei and the Xiang Army in Henan could fight together.
Jiang Zhongyuan talked about the recent victory. Not long ago, the Nian Army in Henan wanted to return to their home in Huoyang and went south from there. No matter how fast the Nian Army moved, they ran into trouble after entering Huaibei. There were sieges and forts everywhere. The Nian Army could not attack these strongholds in a short period of time. When they tried to stop and prepare to attack, the Xiang Army and the Huai army pounced.
The Nian Army did not expect the hundreds of thousands of people in their hometown, Huoyang, to disappear without a trace. They followed their previous strategy and avoided the main forces of the Huai army and the Xiang Army. They continued to advance south, trying to return to the core of the Nian Army. But no matter how the Nian Army advanced and how cleverly they got rid of the Xiang Army and the Huai army, they could not find their families. They could not find any place to stay.
The Xiang Army and the Huai army advanced calmly. They relied on the sieges to set up camp, rest, and replenish their supplies. In the end, the exhausted Nian Army was forced to fight the Xiang Army and the Huai army in the wild and was defeated.
Killing 3,000 was the first round of statistics. In the following battles, 66 was followed by 5,000. Including the Nian Army that was killed by the garrison inside the sieges and the Nian Army that died in the wild, it was estimated that the Nian Army had lost 10,000 to 13,000 elite soldiers. This was the biggest achievement in recent years. Moreover, the Nian Army had lost more than 10,000 soldiers in Henan. Their overall strength in Henan had been greatly weakened.
After the battle with the Nian Army, Jiang Zhongyuan did not have a high opinion of the Nian Army's combat ability. His evaluation of Ceng Guofan's Baojia system naturally rose along with the tide. Ceng Guofan gave his opinion. "If we do this in Huaibei and Henan, we will definitely be able to wipe out the Nian Army."
Before Jiang Zhongyuan could speak, Li Hongzhang, who had rushed over after hearing the news, stood up and objected. "Teacher, there is another reason for this victory. The Nian Army reached their death zone. They did not have the right time, the right place, and the right people. The Nian Army, on the other hand, thought they had the right time, the right place, and the right people. "
As soon as he said this, Jiang Zhongyuan felt enlightened. Ceng Guofan also nodded slightly, expressing his approval of Li Hongzhang's opinion. Jiang Zhongyuan and Ceng Guofan both looked at the problem from their own point of view. What they saw was what they had done and what preparations they had made. Therefore, they believed that as long as they replicated what they had done, they would succeed.
Li Hongzhang, on the other hand, looked at it from the perspective of the Nianjun. From the perspective of the overall victory, the height immediately rose by a notch. In the Nian Army's view, they were in the limelight. This was the right time. Huoyang was their base. This was the right time. As for the people of Huoyang, they would definitely support the Nian Army that had fought their way back to their home. This was the right time.
In reality, the Xiang Army and the Huai army were well prepared. They were waiting for the enemy to exhaust themselves. This was the right time. The Huoyang Enclosure provided a large number of strongholds for the Xiang Army and the Huai army to fight. This was the right time. Killing all the people of Huoyang and establishing the Baojia system led by the Xiang Army was the right time. The Nian Army had lost the right time, the right place, and the right people. It would be strange if they didn't lose.
After that, Li Hongzhang brought up the idea that he had been thinking about for the past few days. "Teacher, if you didn't become the Henan Inspector-General, I wouldn't be able to use this method. But since you've become the Henan Inspector-General, there's a chance for us to annihilate the bandits in Henan and Huaibei.
Ceng Guofan knew that his disciple, Li Hongzhang, was a bit frivolous, but he was a very smart person. Seeing that Li Hongzhang was so confident, Ceng Guofan motioned for Li Hongzhang to continue. Li Hongzhang's eyes lit up. He said loudly, "Of course, the Baojia system has to be implemented. But to deal with the bandits, we still have to give them a dangerous place and wipe them out in one fell swoop. The bandits think that they can run away, so we give them some places that don't produce food. The bandits are ignorant. They think that after they take over the county, they will be surrounded by poor people. They will be easily encouraged by them to gather more troops. But that is exactly where they will die. As long as the bandits gather in a dangerous place, the imperial army can surround them directly. We won't have to chase after the bandits anymore. "
Ceng Guofan and Jiang Zhongyuan had been at war for many years, so they immediately agreed with Li Hongzhang's idea. If the Nian Army were to gather in a dangerous place, there would be no one on their side. The Nian Army's biggest headache for the imperial army was their mobility. The Nian Army would often use their mobility to attack the imperial army. The recent battle proved that the Xiang Army and the Huai Army were not afraid of the Nian Army in the slightest.
"That's good!" Ceng Guofan said.
Jiang Zhongyuan also praised, "Truly, a great teacher produces a great disciple!"
Ceng Guofan was tired from the long journey. Now that he had a solution, he felt relieved and went to rest. Jiang Zhongyuan was depressed, so he told Li Hongzhang about the situation in the capital that he hadn't heard. Li Hongzhang's expression became more and more serious. In the end, he sat there woodenly.
Jiang Zhongyuan was a chivalrous man and never liked to complain. But now he couldn't hold it in any longer. "The officials in the capital have fled, and the Eight Banners have made excuses when they sent out their troops. Half of the country is in danger, and the rebels have come to the capital. This … this is simply … "
Because of his chivalrous character, Jiang Zhongyuan swallowed the words' the sign of a subjugated country 'back into his stomach. But this effort made Jiang Zhongyuan feel suffocated, and he couldn't bring himself to say the rest of his words.
"This is the sign of a subjugated country." Li Hongzhang poked a hole in the window paper.
Jiang Zhongyuan lowered his head hatefully and didn't want to say anything more. But Li Hongzhang didn't stop. He said, "Master Jiang, how about we send a unit across the Huai River to test the strength of the Liberation Army?"
"You think so too?" Jiang Zhongyuan asked in surprise. Li Hongzhang was a slippery person, and Jiang Zhongyuan knew this very well. Ceng Guofan was so insistent. He would carry out the plan to the end. For example, when Ceng Guofan slaughtered the local people in Huoyang, Jiang Zhongyuan didn't really care. But when the Nian Army tried to kill their way back to Huoyang, Ceng Guofan's preparations showed their power. The slippery Li Hongzhang wasn't like his teacher, Ceng Guofan. Li Hongzhang was the kind of guy who would always think of ways to collect as much comprehensive information as possible and find a relatively easy path. The current crisis was imminent. Jiang Zhongyuan had already figured out that if the Liberation Army couldn't be defeated, the Manchu Qing imperial court would only have a dead end. The only possibility now was to determine the level of the Liberation Army. If the Liberation Army couldn't withstand a single blow, at least the Huai army could deal with it, then there would be hope for the imperial court in the future. Otherwise, they could only wait for the Liberation Army to cause a change in Tianjing like the Taiping army.
"Master Jiang, if we don't fight, I really won't be satisfied. Since the Liberation Army is planning to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, even if we attack, I think they won't necessarily cross the Huai River. If they cross the Huai River, they would have attacked long ago. So I think it's still possible to fight and give it a try. "Li Hongzhang first took out his final plan.
After listening to Li Hongzhang's analysis, Jiang Zhongyuan gritted his teeth. "Okay! Let's fight and see. "
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