Chapter 85

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Shi Dakai had burned down the Yuelu Mountain Academy under orders. According to Hong Xiuquan's orders, Shi Dakai was supposed to completely destroy the Yuelu Mountain Academy. Shi Dakai had only casually burned the academy and smashed the memorial tablet of Confucius. If Shi Dakai had known how much hatred he had caused among the scholars in Changsha City, he would have felt very wronged. Because Shi Dakai had shown mercy. If he had followed Hong Xiuquan's orders, not a single piece of the Yuelu Mountain Academy would have been left.

But Shi Dakai didn't care about what the scholars thought of him. He was a general of the Taiping Rebellion. His goal in crossing the Xiangjiang River was to gain a foothold on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River and collect food. After building a pontoon bridge on the Xiangjiang River during the dry season, Shi Dakai could easily travel between the two sides of the river. Large amounts of food were also transported to the Taiping army's camp below Changsha City.

Vézé also received orders from Yang Xiuqing to move the camp to the north. Vézé's troops were on the east side of Changsha City, which was the longest distance to transport food. So after Vézé destroyed the Qing Army's camp on the north side of the city, he began to build pontoon bridges on the Xiangjiang River. On one hand, it ensured that his troops could move in a larger space, and on the other hand, it ensured that his troops could get food supplies from the west of the Xiangjiang River.

After the battle on the drill ground, the Qing Army refused to send troops to fight against Vézé again. Tens of thousands of troops had been defeated by Vézé, so no one wanted to look for trouble again. So for the whole of October, and even the first part of November, Vézé's days were very relaxed. For almost a month, Vézé trained his troops on the east side of the city. From time to time, he would send troops further east to collect food. He also frequently attacked the east side of Changsha City.

But Vézé didn't get serious. At this time, the Qing Army in Changsha City, as well as the various armed forces, numbered about 100,000. After several battles, Changsha City's defense system had gradually matured. In October, the Qing Army on the city wall was still quite undisciplined. In November, the Qing army in Changsha City looked like a decent army. Every entrance was guarded by the Qing Army. Many times Vézé went to the city wall to observe, but he found that the Qing Army didn't talk to each other, nor did they play. They just stood on the city wall like wooden stakes.

Wei Ze's troops were proficient in field warfare. Wei Ze's understanding of defensive warfare was limited to trench warfare in World War I and combat with weapons in World War II. For a big city like Changsha, Wei Ze felt that it would be more reliable to build some large-caliber cannons and blast open the city walls. Even if they were to carry out combat operations, they would have to create strong gunpowder instead of using black gunpowder to blow things up.

During this rare period of rest, Wei Ze used the 100 or so war horses he had captured to form a small cavalry unit. The cavalry charge of the Qing army left a deep impression on Wei Ze. The Qing Army's cavalry certainly didn't have the fighting power of the French cuirassiers forty years ago. They couldn't break through Vézé's infantry formation.

The Qing Army's cavalry certainly didn't have the fighting power of the French cuirassiers forty years ago. They couldn't break through Vézé's infantry formation. Vézé didn't know much about cavalry. He didn't think he could train an excellent cavalry unit. So this new cavalry unit was mainly used as an imaginary enemy. He used this unit to train how to deal with cavalry attacks in battle.

The main direction of the attack fell on the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, who was in the south of the city. The Qing Army didn't dare to attack Vézé, but they still dared to touch Yang Xiuqing. In late October, the Qing Army in Changsha City attacked several times, but they were all defeated by Yang Xiuqing.

Then Yang Xiuqing began to carry out the underground siege. Relying on the miners who joined the army from Chenzhou and Daozhou as the backbone, the Taiping army began to dig tunnels and blast the city walls.

On the other hand, the Qing army in Changsha City was fighting tit for tat. They dug many trenches horizontally and filled them with water. Once the Taiping army dug the trenches, the water in the trenches would pour into the tunnels. The soldiers in the tunnels wouldn't be able to keep their lives, and the flooded tunnels couldn't be used again.

Even so, the Taiping army still succeeded in blasting the tunnels several times. However, the Qing Army had a hundred thousand men in the city. Even if a considerable part of the army had to guard against Vézé in the north, they could still gather a considerable number of troops in the south. The Taiping army's main force attacked several times, but they all failed.

The fighting in the west of the city became fierce. The Xianfeng Emperor had already ordered that if Xiang Rong, who was in Guilin, refused to lead the army, he would be sent to Xinjiang. Xiang Rong had no choice but to go to Changsha. Although he had the title of commander-in-chief, Xiang Rong was fighting west of the Xiangjiang River. At the beginning of November, Xiang Rong fought with Wing King Shi Dakai in Ox-Head Continent. In the end, Xiang Rong was ambushed and his three thousand subordinates were almost completely wiped out. Xiang Rong only managed to escape by relying on "good horses". From then on, the Taiping army relied on the two pontoon bridges built across the Xiangjiang River to move freely. The Qing Army was trapped in the city and camp, not daring to move.

On the 20th of November, Yang Xiuqing ordered Vézé to go to the southern camp to discuss military affairs. There weren't many people who had come this time. They were all truly high-ranking generals: North King Wei Changhui, Wing King Shi Dakai, Hu Yihuang, Qin Rigang, and Chen Chengxiang. Ceng Shuiyuan, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Luo Dagang, and Wei Ze.

Yang Xiuqing didn't waste words. "Right now, there's a tunnel leading directly to the Kuixing Tower. We'll attack the city in five days if we can take it. If not, we'll leave immediately. "

Vézé didn't expect Yang Xiuqing to be so decisive. He said to fight and said to leave. However, he didn't have any objections. After all, the Taiping Rebellion had established the capital in Nanjing. If they could take Changsha now, they would certainly establish the capital there. Moreover, Vézé didn't believe that history couldn't be changed. It was just that the Taiping army's current strength wouldn't be able to take Changsha. Even if they could use the last bit of their strength to take Changsha, the surrounding Qing Army would retaliate vigorously. At that time, the Taiping army wouldn't be able to defend Changsha.

Since that was the case, it was better to leave Changsha as soon as possible. Moreover, Vézé had his own plans. After occupying Nanjing, he wanted to see if he could buy new European firearms. Vézé knew a bit about the development of weapons. In this period of time, when he led the military department to research and develop weapons, many ideas appeared very simple. And when these ideas corresponded to the terms in history, many ideas of "new weapons" appeared.

However, these weapons had a problem. They needed a stronger barrel as a basis for modification. The Qing Army's matchlock gun barrels were too poor. Vézé hoped to use the British's bayonet flintlock as a basis for modification. But first, they needed to be able to get their hands on flintlock guns. If they stayed in Changsha, it was impossible to buy weapons from the British.

Other than Vézé, the only people who could remain calm were the generals in charge of digging the tunnel. The others were quite surprised. They didn't expect Yang Xiuqing to be so decisive.

But Yang Xiuqing's orders couldn't be refused. It had been 70 days since Xiao Chaogui's raid, and they still couldn't take Changsha. The Taiping army's gunpowder, lead, and salt had all reached rock bottom. Everyone had stayed in Yongan. At that time, they really didn't have gunpowder, lead, or salt. At that time, they relied on Vézé to attack the Qing Army's supply lines and rob them. Now, the Taiping army had more than 50,000 people. Even if they could rob something, it would be a drop in the bucket.

In the end, Wing King Shi Dakai made a suggestion. If they really couldn't take Changsha, they might as well send someone into Changsha to pretend to surrender. They could say that the Taiping army had dug an extremely long and well-hidden tunnel into the city and were preparing for an even larger explosion. After deceiving the Changsha garrison with false information, the Taiping army could retreat easily.

After discussing the plan, the Taiping army began to make preparations. Vézé's task was to harass the Qing Army in the north of the city and attract as many Qing Army troops as possible.

Vézé returned to the camp and began to make arrangements. He ordered his troops to build a long wall outside the north of the city and approach the city wall. Every night, he sent troops to beat drums and gongs in the middle of the night to scare the Qing Army. Vézé sent his troops to the west of the Xiangjiang River on the pontoon bridge at night. During the day, he let his troops brazenly cross the pontoon bridge from the west of the Xiangjiang River to the north of Changsha.

This action made the Qing Army very nervous. They were already afraid of Vézé's troops. When they saw the 'reinforcements' in the north of the city, they were quite frightened. All the Qing Army units requested to increase the defenses in the north of the city.

Hunan Inspector-General Zhang Liangji thought so too, but Zuo Zongtang disagreed. "Your Excellency, I don't think the Cantonese bandits will attack from the north."

"Why?" Zhang Liangji didn't believe Zuo Zongtang's judgment.

Zuo Zongtang replied, "The Cantonese bandits are the elites of the Cantonese bandits. From what I can see, they have no more than 5,000 men and horses. But every time they cross the pontoon bridge, they are the Cantonese bandits. In the past two days, there have been at least 3,000 to 4,000 new Cantonese bandits. How can they have so many Cantonese bandits? "

"Oh!" Zhang Liangji suddenly understood. If there really were more than 10,000 Cantonese bandits, Changsha would have been conquered long ago.

"Moreover, I have sent people to investigate every day. The Cantonese bandits have always been training their troops. If they wanted to attack the north of the city, they would have already built siege weapons and trained to climb the walls. But according to what I found out, the Cantonese bandits were practicing formations and how to defend against the cavalry's assault. They definitely won't suddenly attack the city. I'm afraid they have a lingering fear of cavalry attacks in the last battle with the Cantonese bandits. That's why they are training with all their might! " Because of the defeat in the last battle, many people were suspicious of Zuo Zongtang. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang had no choice but to strengthen the information he had gathered to prove that he was really a great threat to the Cantonese bandits.

Zhang Liangji didn't want to apologize for misunderstanding Zuo Zongtang. Therefore, he pretended not to hear the hidden topic. On the contrary, Zuo Zongtang's two points strongly supported the idea that the Cantonese bandits wouldn't attack from the north of the city. If Zuo Zongtang's judgment wasn't wrong, they should be strengthening the defense of the south of the city.

In less than two days, it was November 25th. These days, it was raining heavily. Visibility was poor. The Qing Army couldn't see the Taiping army's movements. The Taiping army had dug a tunnel to the bottom of the Kuixing Tower and stuffed it full of gunpowder. After the explosion, the earth shook. The wall of the Kuixing Tower had a hole of more than eight zhang wide blown out. Qin Rigang's troops immediately began to attack with the long ladders.

The Qing Army had already focused their defense on the south of the city. Immediately, some Qing Army troops began to rush up the collapsed wall. Using long hooks, they pulled the ladders down from the side. Their attack was thwarted. Moreover, they saw that the Qing Army on the city wall was well prepared. Qin Rigang immediately led his troops and retreated. The Qing Army wanted to take advantage of the situation. They actually chased after them. Qin Rigang had long set up an ambush. When the Qing Army troops approached, the ambush troops immediately attacked. With guns and cannons, the Qing Army was forced to retreat to Changsha after suffering over a hundred casualties.

Yang Xiuqing didn't wait any longer. After learning that the explosion had failed, he immediately ordered his troops to be ready to move out at any time. It just so happened that it was raining. Retreating in the rain was the Taiping army's specialty.

Vézé's troops also received the news. In the middle of the night, both the north and south troops headed straight for the pontoon bridge on the Xiangjiang River. In the past few days, in order to confuse the Qing Army, Vézé's troops had gotten used to walking on the pontoon bridge. Even the more than a hundred warhorses had been transported to Jiangbei under the cover of night. The troops quickly retreated along the pontoon bridge. The Qing Army didn't even notice.

Turning his head to look at the city of Changsha that couldn't be seen clearly in the darkness and rain, Vézé suddenly thought of a poem. Drinking the water of Changsha and eating the fish of Wuchang. Crossing the ten thousand li Yangtze River, as far as the eye can see Chu Tianshu. Regardless of the wind blowing or the waves beating, it is better than taking a leisurely stroll in the courtyard. Today I have more than enough. Zi Zai Chuan said: The dead are like this!

Thinking back to the passing of the Western Prince, Xiao Chaogui, Vézé couldn't help but sigh. He turned to the guard beside him and said: "Bring me a broadsword."