Chapter 23: Battle of Changsha (Part 1)

At the end of 1858, the bandits and fake king Shidakai launched the Northern Expedition, and the Nian Army responded to the uprisings in Henan, Shandong and other places, and the Qingxin Army rushed to provide assistance.

In December, Su Hongniang, commander of the Western Route Army of Pingyuan, led the Sixth Town of Pingyuan Army into Hunan, met with Harichi's troops, and then arrived in Changsha.

Hunan brave men from all walks of life gathered in Changsha, claiming to be a 100,000 elite. Zeng Guofan, the governor of Huguang, personally took charge and vowed to live and die with Changsha.

The Taiping Army was patrolling the two towns and the militia was stationed in the south of Changsha, and the war was about to break out.

At this time, it was not only the governors and governors from all over Beijing, Guangzhou, and Zhongzhou, but even the whole world was focusing on this small Changsha City. This upcoming blood and fire collision not only relate to the future battle of Huguang, but also a microcosm of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It represents two groups with the top military level of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The first collision of hot weapons and corps in the civil war on China is about to begin.

In Huanghuatun, ten miles south of Changsha, flags cover the sky, camps cover the sun, and densely packed soldiers, the red tassel ocean is endless.

The big flag of Su-shaped characters stands in the formation of thousands of troops, fluttering in the wind.

At this time, in the tent of the Central Army, Su Maoniang was discussing matters with Harric. Maoniang was wearing a fiery red armor and silk ribbons fluttered, like a fairy in a painting, heroic and stunning.

There were several female soldiers on the side of the tent, one of whom was Luo Amei.

"Empress Concubine, my subordinates admire him." Hearing Su Hongniang's conspiracy, Harric nodded repeatedly. He always called Su Hongniang's concubine, and called himself a subordinate, and was extremely humble.

Su Hongniang was about to say something again, when she lifted the curtain, a guard stumbled in, panting, and stammered: "Sir, Grand Marshal, Prince, Prince..." His voice trembled and he was extremely excited.

Su Maoniang frowned slightly, but at this time he saw several people entering the camp. The leader laughed and said, "Matchmaker, Lao Ha, I'm here to help you." The voice was clear and people were like dragons and phoenixes, but it was Ye Zhao.

Su Hongniang was stunned and hurriedly stood up and said, "You, why are you here so soon?"

Harric had already knelt down and greeted him, and then the guards in the camp knelt all over the ground.

Ye Zhao took off his cloak and handed it to the guards beside him, revealing his beautiful dragon robe, elegant and elegant, and it is hard to describe.

"I didn't expect it to be so fast." Ye Zhao walked over with a smile, and said again: "Get up."

Ye Zhao sent a message to the front line of Changsha to supervise the battle a few days ago, but it was faster than he imagined. In fact, it was no wonder that the train from Guangzhou to Shaozhou was early, and the railway from Shaozhou to Hengzhou started construction last year. Now the Shaozhou to Chenzhou line has been opened, so it has not been a few days since it has been from Guangzhou to Changsha.

When it comes to railways, Ye Zhao sometimes thinks that the outline of this railway line actually has traces to follow. Isn’t the railway under construction now the main line of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway in later generations? Considering from various perspectives such as economic, political and military, several railway trunk lines, in the past and later generations, actually the results obtained by the same.

The Pingyuan Army and the Hunan Army fought a decisive battle in Changsha. There is no denying the importance of this battle, especially for the Pingyuan Army, if this battle is defeated, all three provinces and seven borders will be in danger.

This can almost be said to be the first real test that Pingyuan's army encountered since the war with the British and French coalition forces. How could Ye Zhao not come to the front line to supervise the army?

Moreover, Zeng Wenzheng wanted to collide with Zeng Wenzheng and start an earth-shaking showdown with the most famous Hunan Army Group in history. Ye Zhao's thoughts were ups and downs. He really couldn't stay in Guangzhou. Perhaps, the memories of his previous life were really not so easy to get rid of.

Harric had already hurriedly called the guards and said, "Go and send the order quickly, the prince will personally fight, hurry up, raise the prince's handsome flag!"

The guards hurried away, and Ye Zhao smiled and said, "I'm here to see the fun. This battle, you should fight as much as you want."

Harric said respectfully: "The prince is here in person, and he will win this battle!"

Ye Zhao smiled and pointed at him, walked over and sat on the tiger-skin chair behind the handsome case.

At this time, the flag of the Prince Suzhi and General Pingyuan Jingkou slowly soared into the air, and the news of the prince's personal expedition reached the various battalions. The camp of Pingyuan Army immediately cheered and shouted like a tsunami, from near to far, one after another.

"Sister Luo A!" In the big tent, Ye Zhao suddenly saw this female soldier. He looked carefully and thought about it. He was not the female soldier of the Fair Party rescued when the hundreds of cavalry passed Xiangfan?

"Yes!" Luo Amei bowed and answered loudly. In fact, after following the Empress to the Southern Dynasty, Luo Amei gradually figured out the questions that she couldn't figure out before. Now she understands more clearly that the prince did not come up with a whim or was trying to spy on information with her, but in fact she was determined to save herself.

"Your Majesty is very kind to help me, I will always remember you!" Luo Amei had always wanted to say this to Ye Zhao.

Ye Zhao smiled. It felt good to see an old friend. In this chaotic world, life was impermanent. After many familiar people left, they turned into yellow sand bones? I thought that this little female soldier could only gradually fade away in her memory. She no longer knew what kind of tragic fate she had encountered, but she didn't expect that she was still alive, living very brightly.

"Tell me about military information." Ye Zhao turned to the matchmaker and Harric.

Seeing the matchmaker nodding slightly to him, Harric smiled and said, "Yes, the slave will explain to the prince. The Hunan Army is known as one hundred thousand elite. According to the slave, it is actually about 60,000 to 70,000. In addition, the civil servants may be able to gather 100,000 people. The food in Changsha City may not be maintained for a long time. However, the concubine and the slave felt that the enemy was large and we were few, and it was not advisable to siege the city, so it was difficult to cut off the food route. Only by attacking it, although Changsha City was strong, the artillery fire of our Pingyuan Army was more profitable. This time, Zeng Guofan's family was going to sweep away, but tens of thousands of cannons roared, afraid that the people of Changsha City and Changsha City would suffer a lot, but they had lost the teachings of the prince. Therefore, the concubine and the servant were thinking of ways, but if they had no good plans, they would not care."

Ye Zhao nodded slightly and picked up a teacup to taste tea. In fact, later history books are very secretive about the harm and casualties caused to civilians by the victorious war in all dynasties. It seems that the victorious side will always be a crime of slandering the people. The people support it very much, and there will be no incidents such as accidental injury and killing civilians. In fact, the cruelty of war is not so simple. Unarmed civilians, no matter what their position, will always be the most miserable group of people in the war era.

...

Changsha City Governor's Office.

The flower hall in the Houya is elegant and unique, but the leaves of the thousand-year-old bamboo turn slightly yellow and lose its vitality as before.

On the main seat, there was an official with a ruby ​​top and a crane replenishment. His triangular eyes were sharp and his face was majestic. It was Zeng Guofan, the governor of Huguang.

"He is really here!" Zeng Guofan sipped the tea, his eyes gradually becoming dark.

The person sitting in the side was Hunan Governor Lu Mingze. He sat upright and silently. He knew that what the National Taiwan Master said was naturally Su Wang Jingxiang.

Jing Xiang, who would have thought? It was just a yellow belt that was scattered in the capital. Who knew that in a few years, it would have been a big and terrifying military group. In the past, the firearms handed over to him by Master Xianfeng turned into a huge and terrifying military group. Guangzhou's new policy was just as everyone was waiting to see him laughing. It was said that most of the things that can be made in the West today can be made in Guangzhou, and even giant ships with hundreds of cannons were built. It made people feel panic when they heard it, especially if they were not sitting on the same boat with him, they would be even more restless day by day. I don't know what earth-shaking things he could make next time. As for the folk customs, they have become some of the trivial matters. Even the most conservative gentry in Guangdong and Jiangxi seemed to have gradually changed their temperament and began to re-examine the impact he had on Guangzhou.

What exactly is this person pretending to be in his mind?

Today he personally brought troops to the city of Changsha. Even if the Taiwan Master gathered 100,000 Hunan Yongs, how could he feel so powerless? Perhaps the brave Hunan generals were still ready to capture Jingxiang and kill Jingxiang alive, but Lu Mingze always felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if he felt like a doomsday was coming. Especially in the chaos in Hunan last month, he ordered several Pingyuan Army prisoners of war.

"It's good to come." Zeng Guofan lowered his eyes, not knowing what he was planning.

"Report! Lord, the letter from the fake king Jingxiang shot into the city is handed over to the Governor to personally announce it!" A young school ran in, knelt down and presented a letter with his hands.

The guards next to him took it and respectfully passed it to Zeng Guofan.

Zeng Guofan looked through it for a few times and smiled slightly: "It's his style again." He reached out and passed the letter to Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingze read it carefully. Although he didn't know if it was King Su's personal letter, his tone was King Su himself. He persuaded Zeng Guofan to surrender and avoid the suffering of the people of Changsha. In the letter, he praised Zeng Guofan for saying that if his talent in Jingwei could assist Emperor Tongzhi, he would be able to create a world and be admired by future generations.

"He attaches great importance to the National Taiwan Master." Lu Mingze said with a smile.

Zeng Guofan said in a deep voice: "There is no other way, and he wrote this letter just for the sake of doing things."

Lu Mingze nodded slightly.

Zeng Guofan stood up, walked for two steps, and smiled and said, "I often heard that Jingxiang and Pingyuan Army Daming are going to hunt here today, which is a joy, but I want to see him in Jingxiang."

Lu Mingze was surprised and looked incredible.

Zeng Guofan said: "Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle! Jing Xiang seems to have no rules in his work, but over the years, you have seen what Guangzhou is like and what Pingyuan Army is like? This is called being confident. I have heard a lot about him, and I have praised him and even demoted him, but I can't think of what he is like."

Lu Mingze nodded. It turned out that the National Taiwan Master also felt this way. In fact, Jing Xiang never follows common sense in his work. Over the years, he has seemed to be in the fog, which makes it hard to see through his true face.

"I wrote a letter and asked him to come to Changsha City to gather. The letter said that if he comes, he will show his sincerity and I will respect the emperor as the emperor." Zeng Guofan smiled, with a few illuminations flashing in his eyes.

Lu Mingze laughed: "Master of the Taiwan Producer is smart."
Chapter completed!