Jiang Zhongyuan can hurry up at this time, and rush to Changsha without changing people all the way, Luo Bingzhang can be said to be grateful, Changsha officialdom and civil and military officials know in their hearts that Changsha cannot be kept, everyone is racking their brains to figure out how to leave the dangerous city of Changsha, so as not to be martyred, Jiang Zhongyuan, who has fought with the long-haired bandits several times, took the initiative to enter the city at this time, it is obvious that the other party has put life and death out of the way for Changsha City. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Comparing the two, Luo Bingzhang couldn't help but sigh, he and Jiang Zhongyuan had no friendship at all, but he had already heard of Jiang Zhongyuan's name, and when he was in Beijing, he had heard that the two Hunan people with the best temperament - Zeng Guofan and Jiang Zhongyuan.

Both of them are helpful and happy, and they have a good reputation among the officials and scholars in Beijing, and it is rumored that as long as there is a dead person in the capital, Zeng Guofan will send a couplet, and Jiang Zhongyuan will help buy a coffin.

Of course, today's Jiang Zhongyuan is not famous for helping others, but for his great military exploits in Hunan, Guangxi, Jiang Zhongyuan, the word Minqiao, 38 years old, a native of Xinning, Hunan, and a 17-year-old Daoguang person.

In the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, Qinglian taught Lei Zaihao's stick to rebel in Xinning, Jiang Zhongyuan formed a regiment to suppress it, broke the rebels' lair, captured and killed Lei Zaihao, and was promoted to the magistrate.

Emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, the edict of the Ministry of Jiuqing recommended talents, the Ministry of Rites left attendant Lang Zeng Guofan recommended Jiang Zhongyuan, but also because of Zeng Guofan's recommendation, just rushed back to his hometown to run his father's funeral Jiang Zhongyuan was recruited to Guangxi to suppress the Taiping Army, Jiang Zhongyuan by recruiting 500 villagers to rush to Guangxi, repeatedly defeated the Taiping Army, and accumulated the same knowledge of Zhili Prefecture, and was awarded Hualing.

In the battle of the siege of Yong'an, Jiang Zhongyuan saw the infighting of the Qing army, saying that he was sick and returned to Xinning, he expected that the Taiping army would be difficult to exterminate for a while, so he took the opportunity to recruit Xiang Yong and set up a regiment to train - Chu Yong.

When the Taiping army besieged Guilin, Jiang Zhongyuan led 2,000 Chu Yong to defend Cormorant Continent, defeated the Taiping army three times, made great achievements, and was promoted to prefect, and Chu Yong was also famous, which is why Luo Bingzhang asked him how much Chu Yong he brought as soon as they met.

Seeing Jiang Zhongyuan, Luo Bingzhang didn't greet him all the way, and ordered his subordinates to fetch water, serve tea, and specially send some snacks all the way.

The two of them entered the house and sat down, Jiang Zhongyuan arched his hand and said straightly: "The military situation is urgent, the bandits will be tomorrow sooner, and the day after tomorrow at the latest, the soldiers will inevitably come to the city, and I will speak out, and I hope that Lord Zhongcheng will forgive ......." ”

Luo Bingzhang said solemnly: "Benfu has already put life and death out of the way, and is ready for the worst. "He is not a lie, he is indeed ready to live and die with Changsha, this is actually helpless, the provincial city of Changsha has fallen, and as a governor, he has no way to survive at all.

Jiang Zhongyuan was not polite, and said straight to the point: "Lord Zhongcheng has just taken office, I am afraid that the situation in Hunan may not be clear, the Qing Hui Party is rampant, the first to promote the west, followed by Hunan, in the past two years, Guangxi has frequent disasters and famines, and Hunan has also been floods and droughts for many years, and the Hunan Hui Party has been rampant in the past two years, but Hunan is mostly the Heaven and Earth Society and the Qinglian Sect, which are like a plate of scattered sand, and it is better to send bandits and organize them well.

The bandits have suffered repeated setbacks and suffered heavy losses in Guangxi, but they have always been able to quickly recover their vitality, and they have been able to suppress them again and again, and the more they suppress them, the more they have become braver, and the more they have been suppressed, the more courageous they are, and the combat power and mobility of the bandits have been several times greater than those at the beginning of the Jintian rebellion, and the reason for this is that the bandits have been able to get the joining and support of the Tiandihui, the Qinglian Sect, and other parties in a timely manner.

The bandits took advantage of the power of the first battle and transferred to Hunan, and the party in Quanzhou, Daozhou, Guiyang, Chenzhou and other prefectures and county capitals heard the wind and took refuge and followed, so that the strength .......of the bandits increased sharply, and it was far from being comparable to the time when Guilin was besieged. ”

Luo Bingzhang was secretly frightened when he heard this, he was convinced of Jiang Zhongyuan's words, after all, Jiang Zhongyuan fought with the bandits several times, and won a great reputation, and he can be said to know the situation of the bandits best, and the strength of the bandits is far better than when they were besieging Guilin, even if Jiang Zhongyuan is in Changsha, I am afraid it will not help.

While speaking, the subordinate had already brought a basin of water and offered tea and snacks, Jiang Zhongyuan galloped over day and night, he was really tired, thirsty and hungry with wind and dust, and he was not polite at the moment, so he stopped talking, washed up indiscriminately, poured a large cup of herbal tea, and devoured a few pieces of dim sum.

Luo Bingzhang's mood was a little heavy, Jiang Zhongyuan's words made him faintly feel extremely bad, it seemed that Jiang Zhongyuan was galloping to Changsha, not to protect Changsha!

After eating a few pieces of dim sum at random, Jiang Zhongyuan continued: "If the bandits are transferred to Hunan, if they cannot be eliminated as soon as possible, the party of the provincial and county capitals in Hunan will inevitably respond one after another, and at that time, not only will the whole province of Hunan be eroded, but the bandits will also inevitably grow rapidly and become a ..... of great trouble for the imperial court." ”

Speaking of this, he paused, slowed down his tone and said, "If you want to exterminate the bandits as soon as possible, there is only one opportunity to ...... at present. ”

"Changsha?" Luo Bingzhang said coldly.

"Not bad." Jiang Zhongyuan said: "Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province, and the bandits are eager to attack Changsha, one is to strengthen the momentum and attract more parties to join, and the other may be to occupy Changsha City for a long time, if you want to exterminate the bandits as soon as possible, Changsha is the only chance!"

At present, Changsha is empty, the defense is also useless, simply can not resist the attack of the bandits, in the next stealing thought, rather than to defend to the death, it is better to give up Changsha City, at present the reinforcements are rushing to reinforce Changsha, let Changsha, to be the bandits occupy Changsha, come over and then surround Changsha, the bandits will be completely annihilated in Changsha! ”

Will the bandits be completely annihilated in Changsha? Let's say it lightly! Luo Bingzhang secretly slandered himself, the bandits are so easy to exterminate, and they will not flow from Guangxi to Hunan! Reinforcements from all walks of life, which reinforcements can you count on? If he can completely exterminate the bandits in Changsha in one battle, it is easy to say, but what if the bandits wander again? The imperial court will definitely hold Changsha accountable! All the time, relying on a prefect in Jiang Zhongyuan District to intercede is useless!

After a slight sigh, Luo Bingzhang said slowly: "This is the meaning of the minister of the Qin Mission, Sai Zhongtang?" ”

"It's not!" Jiang Zhongyuan shook his head and said: "Saizhongtang is rushing from Guilin to Changsha, and the military situation is urgent, so there is no time to report. After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "Lord Zhongcheng might as well weigh it carefully, give up Changsha City, have the opportunity to gather and annihilate the bandits, Lord Zhongcheng not only has the opportunity to be preserved, but also has the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, this is a peaceful chaos, if Lord Zhongcheng insists on holding the city, with the current situation of Changsha City, it will not be able to hold on until the reinforcements arrive." ”

Two roads, one is the road to death, and the other has a chance, it is not difficult to choose, although Luo Bingzhang is unwilling in his heart, but there is no way, in desperation, he can only agree, and soon, he will bow his head and say: "Benfu will follow Min Qiao to gamble!" ”

Listening to this, Jiang Zhongyuan couldn't help but smile, although he is a person, but he is bold and straightforward, uninhibited, chivalrous, and loves to gamble and lust, and the general law-abiding scholar is very different, this time he galloped to Changsha, he really wants to gamble, if he can gather the Taiping Army in Changsha in one fell swoop, he will inevitably shock the government and the opposition, famous all over the world, take a step back and say, can hit the Taiping Army in Changsha, it is enough to be proud, and now he can win Luo Bingzhang's active cooperation, his grasp is even greater!

On the same day, the yamen of Changsha City posted a notice as quickly as possible, calling on the people in the city to move out of the city as soon as possible, there were rumors in the city that Guangxi's long hair was going to attack Changsha, but not many people believed it, after all, they all knew that Long Mao was in Guangxi, how could they say that they would come? Only a few wealthy gentry and businessmen who had close contacts with officialdom began to quietly arrange for the transfer.

Now even the big and small yamen have posted notices, the whole Changsha city was a sensation, regardless of rich or poor, the people of the city have helped the old and the young, packed up the gold and silver and flocked to the outside of the city, in order to gain time, Luo Bingzhang and Jiang Zhongyuan ordered all the green battalions, regimental training, and all the yamen officials to go out together to maintain order and ensure an orderly and rapid transfer, and at night, all the soldiers and officials lit torches and organized the people to move overnight.

At dusk the next day, the 5,000 men and horses of the Taiping Army, who were fast and fast, arrived at the foot of Changsha City and set up a large camp in the south of the city. The former commander of the army was Xiao Chaogui, who was named the king of the West in Yong'an.

Yong'an system, Hong Xiuquan named Xiao Chaogui as the king of the West, eight thousand years old, second only to Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, in the south king Feng Yunshan, north king Wei Changhui, wing king Shi Dakai above, in the Taiping army high status, however, Xiao Chaogui grew up with his adoptive father since childhood, the family is poor, in Guiping Bauhinia Mountain by planting vegetables, plowing mountains, charcoal burning hard to live, before the Jintian incident, footprints have not been out of Guiping County, naturally there is no knowledge, except for Guilin, Changsha is the second provincial city he saw, in his opinion, Changsha is much bigger than Guilin, It is much more sturdy.

Field battle, Xiao Chaogui is not afraid at all, but the siege, especially the big city like Changsha, he really has a feeling that there is nowhere to start, one is a small number of troops, and the other is also a lack of necessary siege equipment, after discussing with the general Zeng Shuiyuan, it was decided to rush to make siege equipment while digging tunnels, imitating the previous siege of Guilin in Guangxi Crypt siege, and then, seize the commanding heights to prepare for the follow-up siege of the city.

Early the next morning, the Taiping army divided into two routes, one led by Xiao Chaogui to attack the commanding heights of the southeast city wall section of Changsha City - Tianxin Pavilion, and the other led by Zeng Shuiyuan to excavate tunnels.

Xiao Chaogui can be described as a member of the Taiping Army, extremely brave and good at fighting, every time he faces the enemy, often charges ahead, he led the generals and soldiers also uphold this style, fighting bravely and abnormally, not avoiding the rain of bullets, the courage to charge into battle, melee hand-to-hand combat, the Taiping Army has been able to successfully break through several times, Xiao Chaogui is really indispensable.

Tianxin Pavilion is the commanding heights in the southeast of Changsha City, there is a moon city behind it, there is an artillery on the city wall, Jiang Zhongyuan also attaches great importance to Tianxin Pavilion, and arranges a large number of troops to defend, Xiao Chaogui has limited troops, and his subordinates are brave and good at fighting veterans, so he is naturally reluctant to let them act as cannon fodder to attack, but to build an artillery position on the peak outside the south gate, and shell Tianxin Pavilion.

Although Jiang Zhongyuan said that he intended to let Changsha open up for the Taiping army to occupy, the Taiping army came too fast, and hundreds of thousands of people in Changsha could not move out of the city in time, and he also needed to buy time and delay as much as possible to wait for the arrival of reinforcements from all walks of life, and quickly encircle the Taiping army after the Taiping army captured Changsha.

The two sides landed around the Tianxin Pavilion artillery to fight extremely fiercely, Zeng Shuiyuan while the sappers digging tunnels while carrying out a feint attack to distract the attention of the Qing army, at the west gate and south gate at the same time to launch a feint, the whole Changsha city cannon sounded in the sky, the guns were loud, and the fight was extremely lively.

Xiao Chaogui attacked Changsha this time, changed the style of liking to go to the front line in the past, and didn't even go to the Miaofeng artillery position to supervise the battle, and stayed in the big tent of the Chinese army all day, he didn't change his style, but before leaving, Yang Xiuqing repeatedly solemnly told him that he was not allowed to come to the front line when attacking Changsha, listening to the rumbling of the artillery in front, he was very bored, but he endured it patiently, and now, even he didn't know whether Yang Xiuqing's heavenly father was true or false.

The battle in Changsha City was commanded by Jiang Zhongyuan, and Bao Qibao, the governor of Hunan, was also a little self-aware, and he did not interfere with blind command, but seeing that the Taiping army's siege of the city was not small, he was inevitably uneasy, and he heard people lobbying that the bandits were all superstitious peasants, and the peasants generally believed in the lord of the city god, and if the statue of the god in the city god temple was lifted to the city wall, the bandits might not dare to offend.

Idle is also idle, Bao Qibao held the attitude of giving it a try, and immediately invited the city god master in the city god temple to beat gongs and drums and moved it to the city wall, and also sat side by side with the city god master, watching the battle calmly.

How do you know that worshipping God only respects God, and regards all other gods and Buddhas as evil gods, and the city god is naturally no exception, the Qing army that Zeng Shuiyuan saw actually invited the city god to the city wall, and he almost fell down with laughter, and immediately commanded the artillery to aim at the city god, and a few cannons beat the city god to pieces, and Bao Qibao almost became a funeral.

The soldiers of the green battalion were afraid of hand-to-hand combat in close combat, but the artillery fire was not scared at all, coupled with sufficient ammunition, the fight was impressive, and the two sides fought inextricably in Tianxin Pavilion for a while, and they fought for three days in a row, and the two sides fought equally.

Seeing this situation, Luo Bingzhang's heart began to liven up, he has been holding on for three days, and if he holds on for another three or four days, reinforcements from all walks of life should also arrive in Changsha one after another, look at this trend, as long as the Taiping Army does not have a large team of reinforcements to arrive, Changsha City can be defended, then there is no need to risk giving up Changsha City, as long as he can hold Changsha, he is also a great achievement, why take the risk of losing the city?

However, only one night later, the situation outside the city has changed, Yang Xiuqing, Shi Dakai led the main force of the Taiping army has arrived, Shi Dakai in the west of the city, Yang Xiuqing in the east of the city, Changsha has formed a three-sided encirclement, and the reinforcements from all walks of life are not visible at all, even the ordinary people in the city understand that Changsha City can not be defended.