Yi Zhishu did not dare to be able to control the current situation, the Taiping army easily captured Changsha, and the Qing army formed a confrontation situation in Changsha, which has completely changed the original trajectory, and the southward movement of the 10,000 Eight Banners New Army has added infinite variables, and it is difficult for him to predict the direction of this battle now. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At present, he not only hopes that the Taiping Army can hold out for a few more years to win time for Yuanqi to develop, but also does not want the Taiping Army to move to Jiangnan to destroy the economy of Jiangnan, the most ideal is that the Taiping Army can gain a firm foothold in Hunan, go north to Hubei, Henan or turn west to Sichuan Yungui, as for the northwest Shaanxi and Gansu, the Taiping Army respects God alone, and it is impossible to make any waves in Shaanxi and Gansu.

Xianfeng couldn't wait to dispatch 10,000 new troops of the Eight Banners to the south to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army, which was really a bit unexpected to him, after all, Xianfeng first ascended to the throne, the first task was to consolidate the throne, and the relationship between Yuanqi and the imperial court was also quite tense.

You have to send someone to Changsha to convey the latest news of the Taiping Army, so that the Taiping Army can jump out of Changsha in time, otherwise waiting for the arrival of the New Army of the Eight Banners will inevitably pay a heavy price, as for the support of guns and ammunition, the support is too obvious at this time, besides, it has not yet reached the point where support is indispensable, and the combat strength of the Taiping Army is still only high compared to the Green Battalion.

At present, taking advantage of the attention of the imperial court to be attracted by the Taiping Army, Yuan Qi should hurry up the expansion of the army in Nanyang, and the ammunition bureau, shipyards, and arsenals must also seize the opportunity to expand on a large scale, Daoguang 30 years, the Western calendar is already 1850, and the Crimean War in Europe should break out in a few years, and it will not be able to catch up if it does not develop rapidly.

He was thinking about it from east to west, and Bao Shichen said slowly: "The imperial court is very wary of Yuan Qi, even if the Taiping army breaks through and goes down the river in a big way, the governors of the provinces along the river may not dare to let the navy enter the strategic places along the river, and the chief treasurer is better to be able to lobby and guide the Taiping army to the north or west...... ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "What Mr. is concerned about is, however, the current Taiping Army is not something we can easily control, the key is to see what the outcome of the Battle of Changsha is, the 10,000 Eight Banners New Army is going south, and it is impossible for the Taiping Army to occupy Changsha City, if they break through in advance and the main force is not damaged, it is very likely to go down the river, and if the main force is damaged, they are very likely to go west to Yungui or Sichuan."

Of course, lobbying and guidance are necessary, but if the main force of the Taiping Army goes down the river, we don't need to consider the attitude of the local governors of the provinces along the river, and go straight to Wuchang, so as not to capture Wuchang and covet Jiangning. ”

Let's say that after Qi Shan and Li Xingyuan came out of the Zhenhai Hou Mansion, Qi Shan said tentatively: "Brother Zixiang came in a hurry, has the place to stay been arranged?" ”

Li Xingyuan, as the governor of Liangjiang, although he came in a small service, but he should have arranged his diet and living properly, and said with a smile: "I have rented a yard on this Zhenhai Road in advance, it should be not far in front, if the Hou Ye has no important errands, why don't you sit down and have a cup .....of tea." ”

Qi Shanben smiled when he heard this, "It's not a big errand, Brother Zixiang doesn't bother it." ”

The two of them didn't take a car, they strolled all the way, and walked forward about Molish, then they entered a single courtyard facing the street, entered the house and sat down, and retreated, Qi Shancai said slowly: "Brother Zixiang came to Shanghai to see Yi Guocheng, but he was worried that Hong Yang would invade Liangjiang with thieves?" ”

"As everyone knows, Yi Guocheng has a unique vision and is extremely accurate, he didn't even care about guarding the system and rushed to Shanghai, sending a letter to the provinces along the Yangtze River to try their best to guard against the Taiping army, how dare this governor ignore it?" Li Xingyuan said unhurriedly: "As the governor of Liangjiang, it is a matter of safety and danger for Liangjiang, and the governor would rather believe in it than believe in it."

Moreover, if the Taiping Army really flowed through the two rivers, it was indispensable to borrow the Nanyang Navy, and if they came to meet this time, once something happened in the future, they would not go their own way. ”

What he said is actually not thorough, now the relationship between the imperial court and Yuan Qi is tense, in fact, the relationship between Xianfeng and Yi Zhicontent is tense, the Beijing Division, the local governor, almost no one does not know Xianfeng's attitude towards Yuan Qi, Yi Zhi is enough to openly refuse to enter Beijing under the pretext of being in the registration system, and it is not a secret now.

Some time ago, Xianfeng issued an order, Nanyang officially established a province and set up a county, and allowed Yi Zhizu to recommend candidates for governor and governor of Luzon, and allowed Nanyang civil and military officials to be recommended by Yi Zhizu to elect officials, it seems that Xianfeng intends to ease the relationship, but in fact, the big people who are not aware of it, Xianfeng and Yi Zhicontentment The contest has just begun, God knows what Yi Zhizhi thinks in his heart?

However, one thing is very obvious, today's Yi Zhizhi and Yuan Qi will not sell the accounts of the imperial court as difficult as when Daoguang was in power, in other words, it is impossible for the imperial court to instruct the easy to be content, Seng Lingqin led 10,000 new troops to the south, and Yuan Qi was needed to supply guns and ammunition, no court mail, no official letter, but private letter, which is the best example.

Shanghai is not only in the territory of Liangjiang, and the Taiping army is very likely to break through from Changsha into Liangjiang, Li Xingyuan, as the governor of Liangjiang, naturally has to try his best to maintain the relationship with Yi Zhicontent and Yuanqi, not only for the sake of war to borrow the Nanyang Navy, but also for Yuanqi's taxes, and now the taxes of the two counties of Baoshan in Shanghai - in fact, Yuanqi's tax silver is now comparable to a province, how dare he not care?

Qi Shan is sitting in Shanghai, and Li Xingyuan is also a member of Mu Zhang'a's family, so he naturally understands Li Xingyuan's thoughts, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "As the saying goes, once the son ......of heaven is a courtier, the new monarch is in his prime, and the crane (Mu Zhang'a) may not be able to be favored for a long time. ”

Regarding these words, Li Xingyuan was a little unimpressed, and said with a slight sigh: "The attitude of the saint and the crane towards Yuanqi is the same, if it is an eventful autumn today, in the short term, there will be no major changes in the court situation." ”

That's not necessarily, Xianfeng is young, Mu is powerful, there will inevitably be a conflict between the two, Qi Shan thought so in his heart but was too lazy to argue, and immediately changed his head and said: "Yuan Qi and the imperial court are now separated, Yi Guocheng's mind can not be fathomed, besides, he and Hexiang have always been incompatible, it is better to be cautious." ”

"That's what Master Hou said." Li Xingyuan said dryly, he also plans to go to Zhenhai Hou Mansion again tomorrow to negotiate with Yi Zhishu about Yuanqi's tax silver, two years of water in a row, the imperial court has cleared up the arrears, and the Liangjiang provincial capital and county Liangjiang Liangjiang Lianggu silver treasury is empty, Yuanqi's tax silver is absolutely not bad.

Qi Shan is not nothing, he is also anxious to go back to write an excerpt of the reply to Yi Zhi, come to sit down is specially to advise, the words are not speculative, naturally unwilling to stay longer, is about to get up, a long with a hurried to the door to report: "Master, Changsha urgent!" ”

Li Xingyuan didn't say a word, he quickly stepped forward to take it, opened it and glanced at it slightly, his face immediately changed greatly, Qi Shan knew that there must be a major change in Changsha, and hurriedly asked, "What's the situation?" ”

"Within one day, two defeats in a row, the siege of Changsha is already in name only!" Li Xingyuan slapped his palm on the coffee table with a rare gaffe, and the tea cup on the coffee table jumped up.

Two defeats in one day! Qi Shan hurriedly took the emergency report, quickly glanced at it a few times, the expression on his face also became extremely ugly, the officers and soldiers were defeated twice in one day, one defeated Ningxiang, Shaanxi, Henan 5,000 green battalions were ambushed by Shi Dakai in Ningxiang, almost the whole army was annihilated, the general soldier Fucheng and the deputy general Yin Peili died on the spot.

Two defeats on the land and water, 20,000 officers and soldiers stormed the land and water, intending to capture the land and water continent to separate the camp in Hexi and Changsha City, divided and annihilated, Xiao Chaogui feigned defeat in the land and water continent to lure the enemy, and then the ambush was exhausted, the officers and soldiers were defeated, and Yang Xiuqing led the troops out of the city along the coast to chase and kill, 20,000 troops, more than half of the loss, the general Wang Jiadong, deputy general Zhu Han, Feng Youbiao died.

Both of them were a little depressed, silent for a long time, Yi Zhishu asserted that it was impossible to encircle and annihilate the Taiping Army in Changsha, and in a blink of an eye the Taiping Army won a decisive victory in Changsha, in one day, 15,000 people were annihilated, and the two general soldiers and three deputy generals were killed, it is not difficult to imagine to what extent the morale of the officers and soldiers outside Changsha City has fallen, and now it is no longer a question of whether the Taiping Army can break through the encirclement, and the remaining 40,000 officers and soldiers gathered in Changsha can support until the arrival of the Eight Banners New Army in Changsha It is already very good.

After a while, Li Xingyuan looked at Qi Shan and said, "Let's send a letter to Saizhongtang and Xu Zhongsheng, the governor of Huguang, asking them to strengthen the defense of Yuezhou and prevent the Taiping army from capturing Yuezhou. ”

"With such a big defeat, Saizhongtang is afraid that he will have to return to Beijing in the near future." Qi Shan groaned and said: "Just send a letter to Xu Zhongsheng, tell him bluntly, Yi Guocheng asserted that the next target of the Taiping Army is Wuchang, and he will strictly guard against Yuezhou, if Yuezhou is lost, Wuchang will not be guaranteed." ”

Zhenhai Hou Mansion, the main house, the east wing study.

Yi Zhizu handed the information sent by Ren Ancai to Bao Shichen, then got up and walked to the window and lit a cigarette. ”

Yi Zhishu turned around and said, "Why do the officers and soldiers can't wait to take the initiative to attack?" ”

"Come to think of it, it should be because Saizhongtang is anxious to save himself." Bao Shichen said slowly: "Monk Greenqin is the king of the county, and he single-handedly formed the Eight Banners New Army, personally led 10,000 soldiers and horses to the south, and the day he arrived in Changsha should be the day when he replaced the minister of Saizhongtang. ”

"Now I'm afraid I'm going to be escorted to Beijing." Yi Zhixiang said with a smile, "If I am Xianfeng, I will definitely make a great contribution to Cezanne." ”

Credit? Bao Shichen couldn't help but sigh and said: "What is the merit of Saizhongtang? ”

"The merit of the enemy!" Yi Zhizhi said: "Two great victories in one day, annihilating tens of thousands of enemies, the siege of Changsha is not self-defeating, the Taiping army will not be in a hurry to break through, but will strengthen the confidence to occupy Changsha, and the arrival of the new army of the Eight Banners will inevitably give the Taiping army a fatal blow." ”

Bao Shichen glanced at him and said, "Wouldn't the big shopkeeper tell people that the New Army of the Eight Banners is not comparable to the Green Battalion?" ”

"With such a big defeat, the officers and soldiers of Changsha will inevitably fear the enemy like tigers, and the Taiping army will inevitably become more and more arrogant. Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Since the formation of the Eight Banners New Army, it has not tasted a war, let alone the southern provinces, even the northern provinces have probably never heard of the name of the Eight Banners New Army, how can the Taiping Army pay attention to it?" ”

Speaking of this, the corners of his mouth curled, "It is estimated that the current Taiping Army doesn't even pay attention to the Nanyang Navy, let alone the Eight Banners New Army." ”

These words were a bit far-fetched, and after a slight groaning, Bao Shichen said tentatively: "The big shopkeeper intends to make the Taiping Army suffer?" ”

"The arrogant army will be defeated, this is an unbreakable wise saying." Yi Zhizhi said: "Let the Taiping army suffer a major setback, maybe it's a good thing, to put it bluntly, the Taiping army is essentially still a rabble, after the big victory to occupy Changsha, internal contradictions may be exposed, and there may even be serious internal division."

A defeat is conducive to the internal integration of the Taiping Army and to the promotion of the internal unity of the Taiping Army; as the saying goes, there must be disadvantages in everything, and a defeat for officers and men will bring a turning point for the officers and men, and the Taiping Army will naturally have benefits if they suffer a defeat. ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen stroked his chin and chuckled lightly: "The big shopkeeper wants the Taiping army to suffer a big defeat, so that they can face up to the Nanyang Navy and dare not offend Jiangnan, and also let them realize the huge advantages of the Mini gun, so that they attach importance to or rely on Yuan Qi to provide them with guns and ammunition." ”

"Of course, this consideration is not ruled out." Yi Zhishu said unabashedly: "However, it is also a fact that the Taiping Army is not united, as the saying goes, it is easy to share hardships and hardships, and it is difficult to share wealth and prosperity, judging from the information collected, Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and Xiao Chaogui have a lot of contradictions, once there is a suitable opportunity, internal strife will break out, and they will suffer a big defeat, which can make them correctly recognize the situation and converge on their own." ”

Bao Shichen nodded slightly, secretly admiring in his heart, he can see the turning point when he is defeated, and he can see the crisis when he wins a big victory, which is really unseen and unseen.

Looking back on the past year, when everyone, including him, was not optimistic about the Taiping Army, this big shopkeeper was full of confidence in the Taiping Army, and his words were conclusive, and when the Taiping Army grew stronger and became a little more climate, he could clearly see the internal contradictions of the Taiping Army, and asserted that the Taiping Army would be infighting.

Think about it carefully, it is indeed the case, at least the contradiction between Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing is very obvious, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the Taiping Army is a group of rabble, the Taiping Army's strength is consumed quickly, and it swells quickly, and the supplementary troops are mostly the Heaven and Earth Society, Qinglian Sect and other parties, the composition is complex, after the big victory, there will inevitably be signs of fighting for power and profit, and forming gangs.