With Zuo Zongtang in Changsha City, Zuo Zongtang made a name for his siege and commanded the battle to defend the city. Everyone was convinced. After Zuo Zongtang's arrangement, the battle to defend the city was becoming more and more organized, and the situation of the Taiping Army became more and more difficult.

The army besieged the city and carried its family members. The Taiping Army's food consumption in one day was also a big number. After more than two months of siege, food has become a major problem that the Taiping Army urgently needs to solve. If you drag it like this, the Qing army will not need to trap them to death, and they will be hungry.

The more the siege battle was, the more unfavorable it was. Apart from the heavy casualties, there was nothing else to gain. Although the Tujiao exploded another hole, the speed of blocking the hole in Changsha City was getting faster and faster, and continuing to attack the city was a situation of no effort.

Changsha City is different from Guilin. At the beginning of the siege, the Taiping Army did not encircle Changsha City. There were city defenses inside the city, and there were arc-shaped defense lines for Xiang Rong, Jiang Zhongyuan, and Hechun outside the city. Now this is the defense line, and then it is the encirclement.

To the north is the Guangxi army carried by Sai Shanga, and to the west is the Xiangjiang River, which is more than ten meters wide. Although there are hundreds of ships, for the Taiping Army with more than 100,000 people, hundreds of ships are better than nothing!

The battle is getting worse and worse, and Hong Xiuquan no longer insists on conquering Changsha. Now it seems that it is time to retreat. Withdrawal, there is only one road to the west. It is the right thing to do to cross the river and walk. It is urgent to occupy Hexi.

The key is to choose the generals who attack Hexi. The Southern King was in Quanzhou, and the Western King who could be defeated was also in Changsha City. The vanguard general Luo Dagang made Yang Laosan die. Qin Rigang was just a rough man, so it was okay to lead his army to charge. It was a bit difficult for him to fight the vanguard.

The old subordinates of the King of Westerners, Ji Wenyuan, Li Kaifang, and Lin Fengxiang, are all good choices, but these three people have temporarily revealed their strengths in the offensive and defensive battles in Changsha. If they make contributions, they will be crowned kings. These three people have lost the commander of the King of Westerners, and have not yet stood up and are good at attacking cities. They may not be good at playing for the forwards. If like Qin Rigang in Yong'an, this army of more than 100,000 will be cut off by the Qing army for a section, the loss will be great.

The three subordinates of the Western King were invited to be vanguards. The Eastern King refused to agree, and the Heavenly King had no choice but to carry out the wing king Shi Dakai. This little brother has not allowed him to take on the big responsibility since he joined the gang. Shi Dakai was young, and if it was available, it would be the best for Hong Xiuquan.

The Eastern King Yang Xiuqing focused on the Northern King Wei Changhui who looked a little bit, but the Northern King is now following him. If he is allowed to make military achievements again, it is not impossible to surpass him. The Wing King is separated from him by a Northern King. It is better to use him than the Northern King and the three subordinates of the Western King.

After pushing and pushing, the Wing King Shi Dakai became the only candidate, otherwise it would be difficult for the Heavenly King and the East King to reach an agreement. The people who the Heavenly King wanted to use, the East King didn’t want to use, the Heavenly King didn’t want to use, and the Heavenly King didn’t want to use, and the power struggle was evenly matched or there was little difference between each other, and the Wing King Shi Dakai made a big appearance, which was the result of mutual compromise between the Heavenly King and the East King.

The title of "pioneer in the back is a bit contradictory, but it can also be seen that the King of Heaven and King of East attach importance to the Hexi land and the entire Taiping Army's rear route. Mr. Shi, who has never had the opportunity to lead troops to fight, is also ready to fight.

Since we have to test the abilities of the Wing King brothers this time, neither the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan nor the East King Yang Xiuqing gave Shi Da any prompts. The task is given to you. How to fight and what it will be like depends on your Stone Wing King's ability.

Shi Dakai, who shouldered the heavy responsibility, did not disappoint the Heavenly King and the East King. After crossing the river, he occupied the Shuilu and Land Continent first, and used the ships owned by the Taiping Army to build a pontoon bridge. With this pontoon bridge, the Taiping Army had a way out. With the Shuilu and Land Continent, there was no danger to defend the Xiangjiang River opposite Changsha City.

This was just Shi Dakai's first step. After that, he built several temporary camps on the west bank, so that the east and west banks were in a steadily position. Although this Shi Gong had no enemies in the first battle, his steps were remarkable.

After consolidating the beachhead position, Shi Dakai was just the beginning. His second step was Longhuitan, fifteen miles southwest of Changsha. Longhuitan was not a strategic location compared to Hunan, but for Changsha, it was a military and transportation rush.

There is an official road in Longhuitan, with Tongning Township in the northwest, Changde, Xiangtan in the southwest, Baoqing and Shidakai's move. If you don't walk, you can't see it. Once you walk out, you will be a great move.

After occupying Longhuitan, Shi Dakai was not in a hurry to attack these prefectures and counties that could be followed by the road, but instead focused on Yanghu Lake in front of him. The late rice around Yanghu Lake was the harvest season. In three or five days, Shi Dakai disturbed Yuelu, Jinniuling, Burning Rongwan, and robbed the late rice waiting for harvest in the fields. Now it is not a matter of disturbing or disturbing the people. The army will collapse without food, but it is nothing more than killing people. The late rice in the fields is mostly harvested by the soldiers of the Taiping Army. As for whether it is bitter or a landlord or a large landlord, we cannot go into it in depth.

Shi Da made one move and two moves, quickly opening up the road to life for the Taiping Army. With the retreat and the food, all the ships around Longhuitan were also snatched away by Shi Dakai. After a while, the Taiping Army not only had the floating bridges east and west of the Xiangjiang River, but also had nearly a thousand large and large ships.

There are only 3,000 troops under the vanguard of Shidakai's rear route. These 3,000 people are not enough to attack any county in the surrounding area. Now the prefectures and counties around Changsha City are not like when the Xiwang first came to Changsha. In the county, there are not only green camp troops, but also thousands of troops from all over the country. Although they are all temporarily pieced together, it is quite difficult for Shidakai to attack the city and capture the village.

Can't you disturb the enemy without attacking the city or decapitating the village? In order to relieve the disadvantages of the Taiping Army in Changsha City, Shi Dakai also played a trick, and divided his troops into four groups to attack Changde, Ningxiang, Xiangtan, and Baoqing. After he did this, the big area became a big mess, and the big families were busy running away, and the officials were busy asking for help. At the third start, Shi Dakai made a huge reputation around Changsha, which also made the guards in Changsha City feel a little worried.

Changsha was not surrounded and could reach Changsha from all walks of life. I didn’t know if I didn’t see it. I was shocked when I saw it. After Shi Dakai made this move, half of Hunan was disturbed. Looking at the big area, the generals felt a little scared!

If the long-haired thief takes root in Hunan, it will be difficult to do this job in the future. The most important thing is the gains and losses of Changsha City. If the long-haired thief has a support, it will be unexpected. The attack on Changsha can continue. If the attack on Changsha for another three or five months, who can guarantee that he can defend Changsha?

Master Zuo’s plan to march into Hexi was good. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that Master Zuo had great skills earlier and no one had any eyes. This matter had a lot to do with Xiang Junmen, but it was also related to Master Zuo’s attitude. If he had softened his power at that time, he would not have been the case today.

It is a good thing to have talent. But being arrogant is not a good thing. Hexi is occupied. Most of the generals and officials in the leadership did not blame Xiang Rong Xiang’s army, but instead spread their resentment on Zuo Zongtang. Since they had already understood why they didn’t argue with reason? Hexi was occupied, Zuo Zongtang would bear most of the responsibility.

If you understand, you must do something that is clear. If you are angry with a confused person, you will delay major issues. No matter how well you say it or how well you do it, it is wrong.

When Hexi was occupied, Changsha's reinforcements had to go to rescue Changde and other places separately. The reinforcements from all walks of life didn't want to approach Changsha. Now that there was a reason, they would not come to rescue Changsha. Without reinforcements, Changsha would be a dead city. If they wanted to cut off the reinforcements and let them go to Changsha to encircle Changhai thieves, the only way to send troops to Hexi was to send troops to Hexi.

This is not enough for ordinary people to send troops to Hexi. The Qing army in Changsha City had a complex camp. If they wanted to control the various battalions, the only admiral could be the admiral. Bao Qibao was the admiral of Hunan, and guarding the provincial capital Changsha was his top priority. In this case, the only thing to send troops to Hexi was the admiral of Guangxi, Xiang Rong, who was entrusted to the dismissal.

In order to make Xiang Rong send troops, Zuo Zongtang lost his arrogance. He came to Xiang Rong in person and said a lot of good things. Only then did Xiang Rong bring 10,000 troops across the river and stationed near Yuelu Mountain.

Shi Dakai did not stop the large Qing army and allowed them to station in Yuelu Mountain. This did not conflict with the Taiping Army's plan. If the Taiping Army wanted to take root near Changsha, it would be necessary to send troops.

The goal of the Heavenly King is Jiangning, not Changsha. Fighting Changsha is just a matter of following the trend. Once the old demon is stationed in Yuelu Mountain, it will be beneficial to the Taiping Army. Without these ten thousand pursuers, the road to transfer will be more stable.

When Mr. Shi was on stage to perform, Yang Meng naturally would not miss it. He followed the information of Changsha and did his homework on the map. This was something Yang Meng had been learning. He was not an expert in marching and fighting, so he could only learn little by little.

After deducing Shi Dakai's three steps, Yang Meng felt that this Shi Xianggong's path was a bit cunning!

"Yayue, you have also read the information in Changsha. Let me tell you how this Mr. Shi led his troops?"

Putting down the pencil in his hand, Yang Meng raised his head and wanted to confirm his guess.

"Master, don't be embarrassed by my slave family. After this Shi Gong crossed the river, he didn't fight for a single battle. What do I think?"

When Gu Yayue heard Yang Meng’s question, he frowned. The information only mentioned that where Shi Dakai occupied and where he robbed him, but there was no information about him fighting. How could he evaluate the level of Shi Xianggong’s leadership without fighting?

“Stately, from a strategic perspective!”

"I don't understand this family, so let General Yu talk to you!"

"Well! Well, I'll see how good Yu Biao is and let him in."

In a short while, Yu Biao walked into Yang Meng's house. Although there were floods near Dongting Lake for many years, the scenery was beautiful and there were also villas in the high terrain. Now these industries belong to the Yang family. Stepping on the water-milled blue brick floor, Yu Biao walked to Yang Meng.

"Do you know Shi Dakai's military service? How do you evaluate it?"

"Third Master, Shi Dakai's military use is a bit traitorous! Long Huitan is a good place. If it is based on the previous virtues of the Taiping Army, the four cities of Changde, Ningxiang, Xiangtan and Baoqing will not be spared.

He divided his troops into four groups to attack these four places, and missed Yiyang between Ningxiang and Changde. Do they want to go to Yiyang and go straight to Dongting Lake?"

Yu Biao only guessed Shi Dakai's first step, perhaps because he was getting closer. Yang Meng glanced at Yu Biao. If Yu Biao had only this skill in strategy, it would be useless.

"That's all?"

"After capturing Yiyang, the northwest was Changde, and often entered Sichuan. This section was mostly by land. It is said that the Taiping Army had many ships.

I guess they wanted to pass Yiyang, go northeast into Yueyang, and go straight to Wuchang through the Yangtze River waterway. After that, the three provinces of the Yangtze River will inevitably be in trouble. The best place is Jiangning. The Grand Canal goes north, and the three provinces of the rich Anhui, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang go south, and half of the world's wealth is here!

Entering Sichuan is just a hero for a while, but entering Nanjing is a hero for a lifetime!”

Yu Biao's analysis is roughly similar to what Yang Meng knows. Sichuan and Jiangnan have a clear balance of interests, and most people know how to make a decision.

"Yeah! Not bad, things are not in vain. Is the Fanjianglong in Guangzhou here here?"

The dragons who turn the rivers and come to Dongting Lake can be defended by 800 miles of Dongting, and the other is to block the waterways in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The most important point is that Yang Meng wants to curb the development of the Taiping Army. You can go down the river and go up the river, but don’t even think about it.

"Three pieces have come. Our people are assembling the copper armor outside. In another three or five days, we can test the boat."

"Well! After the test ship, one of them drove to the near Yangtze River and two remained in Dongting Lake. The coal mines near Chenzhou were to be snatched. Without coal, this Jianglong was a waste."

Three river-crossing dragons are enough to control the Yangtze River, Jingjiang, and Xiangjiang are already Dongting Lake. The efficiency of the shipyard is quite good. Three river-crossing dragons, three iron-shelled powered ships, thirty iron-shelled barges with small steam engines, and three or four hundred twenty-four-pound mortars. The productivity of the Guangzhou shipyard is generally satisfactory. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!