Two days later, Xianfeng's edict arrived in Shanghai. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Changsha has just been recovered, Yuezhou has been lost again, the government and the opposition are shocked, Xianfeng is furious for this, and ordered to take off the crown of the monk Lingqin, Xu Guangjin, the governor of Huguang, was dismissed on the spot, and Chang Dachun, the governor of Hubei, was resigned. Baling Zhi County Hu Fangqi and General Akdonga were immediately beheaded. Lian Chang, the prefect of Yuezhou, was executed after the autumn, and the governor Bole Gongwu was dismissed from his post and questioned.

Qi Shan, the minister of Nanyang, took over as the governor of Huguang, and immediately went to Wuchang to defend, and the first-class marquis of the garrison system was content to recover, and took over as the minister of Nanyang, the admiral of the Nanyang Navy, and immediately led the Nanyang Navy along the west to encircle and suppress Hongyang's rebellion.

Receiving the edict, Qi Shan couldn't help but complain, now Hunan and Hubei are in flames, the Taiping army is preparing to attack the provincial capital Wuchang, at this time to take over as the governor of Huguang, losing the official and losing the title is a trivial matter, a bad, this old life will stay in Huguang.

After going back and forth in the signing room a few times, he stopped and ordered: "Prepare a sedan chair, no, prepare a carriage, and go to the Zhenhai Hou Mansion." ”

He estimated that Xianfeng asked him to take over as the governor of Huguang at this juncture, which should be due to his relationship with Seng Lingqin and Yi Zhicontent, so that he could actively cooperate with the two to exterminate the Taiping army, and the most important thing at present is Wuchang, if the Taiping army really captured Wuchang, he, the governor of Huguang, must be to blame.

Out of the gate, he was about to get into the four-wheeled carriage, but he heard a voice "Hou Ye stays." With the words, Zeng Guofan and Luo Bingzhang hurriedly greeted them, and as soon as they gave up their hands, Zeng Guofan stepped forward and whispered: "I just received an urgent military situation of 800 miles, and thousands of warships were sent down the river. ”

How fast is the bandit? Qi Shan's body shook, Zeng Guofan's eyes were quick, and he hurriedly supported him and said, "Master Hou, where are you going?" ”

"Zhenhai Hou Mansion, let's do it together." Qi Shan said and stepped into the carriage, the four-wheeled carriage was still more than enough for three people, the carriage drove smoothly on the smooth and flat asphalt road, Qi Shan also calmed down, and said slowly: "The emperor's decree has arrived ......" ”

Hearing this edict, Luo Bingzhang felt a chill on his back, from the minister of the Qin Dispatch to Baling County, none of the civil and military officials slipped through the net, Xianfeng was really angry this time. Zeng Guofan is also full of worries, this time he is lucky to slip through the net, but if Wuchang is lost, I don't know if he has such good luck!

Zhenhai Hou Mansion, study.

After listening to Ren An's report, Yi Zhizhi lit a cigarette and said in a deep voice: "There are more than 7,300 large and small ships, and 100,000 troops?" Is the intelligence correct? ”

"Big treasurer, the intelligence point in Yuezhou has been established for several years, and it is related to the military situation, and it will definitely not be falsely reported." Ren An said calmly: "The Taiping army collected 2,000 boats as early as Yiyang and Yuanjiang, and in order to prevent the Taiping army from going to Dongting, Chang Dachun, the governor of Hubei, requisitioned a large number of civilian ships to set up cards, and filled Zishui into all the mouths of Dongting, and a large number of ships were blocked inside and outside the checkpoint.

In addition, the Taiping army has long developed the congregation in Yuezhou, and Yan Zhongwu, the leader of the local fishermen in Yuezhou, has long joined the God Worship Association, and has also been named the commander of the Yuezhou Army.

The Taiping army captured Yuezhou, a large number of fishermen and sailors in Xiangyin, Yuezhou joined with lake boats, a total of 5,000 lake boats on and off, Tang Zhengcai, a ship merchant who trafficked timber and grain in Qiyang County, Hengzhou Prefecture, also led the fleet to join, and was named a pawn sailor, and formally established the Taiping Army water battalion, and the water battalion alone was as high as 15,000 people.

Of course, the 100,000 troops should include family members, because the Taiping Army did not allow husbands and wives to reunite, and most of the people who joined the army in Yuezhou did not bring their family members, so it is initially estimated that there should be about 40,000 young and strong people after removing the old and weak women. ”

No wonder the Taiping army was able to expand its army rapidly in Yuezhou, Yi Zhishu frowned, this matter is a little troublesome, the Taiping army has 7,000 ships, even if all of them are small boats, it is also considerable, and there are 15,000 sailors, the naval fleet has strong firepower, but it is not an ironclad ship, and it is a big trouble if it encounters a fire attack.

He was muttering to himself, but Bao Shichen said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid that Wuchang is really dangerous now." ”

Yi Zhishu groaned slightly, and then said, "Where is the fleet now?" ”

Ren An hurriedly said, "Taiping Mansion." ”

Taiping Mansion is still far away from Wuchang, but it is not in a hurry, Yi Zhizu waved his hand and said: "Go down, there is news to report at any time." ”

Ren An saluted and left, and Bao Shichen said: "Hou Ye doesn't plan to reinforce Wuchang?" ”

"There is no doubt about the reinforcement of Wuchang, however, Yuezhou is down the river, but it will be able to reach Wuchang in six or seven days, and the Taiping army is clearly desperate to attack Wuchang ...... with all its strength." Saying that, he sighed lightly, if he really wants to join forces with Monk Greenqin to wipe out the Taiping Army in Wuchang, it is not a good thing for Yuan Qi, and the Taiping Army's move is tantamount to giving him a problem!

Bao Shichen naturally made his mind clear, and sighed slightly, before he said: "The lesser of two evils." ”

Yi Zhizhi nodded, it can only be like this, no matter how you say it, you can't let the Taiping army mess Jiangnan, the Taiping army wants to find its own way to die, that is also a helpless thing.

"The big shopkeeper." Lin Meilian walked to the door and reported: "Lord Qi and the three of them are here again." ”

"It seems that they should also have received the news that the Taiping Army was moving eastward on the river." Yi Zhifen paused and said, "Let them in." ”

As soon as they met, Qi Shan arched his hand and said: "Brother Guocheng is really like a god, the Taiping army really moved eastward, and the soldiers pointed directly at Wuchang." ”

Yi Zhishu stretched out his hand and politely said, "Let's go in and talk about it." ”

Entering the house and sitting down, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "I also just received the news that the Taiping Army officially established a water camp in Yuezhou, and collected more than 7,000 ships of all sizes, a total of 100,000 troops, floating down the river, the target is Wuchang, the naval fleet has only arrived in Taiping Mansion now, and it will take at least half a month to arrive in Wuchang." ”

Qi Shan can be said to be anxious, looking at Zeng Guofan and saying, "Where is the monk king now?" ”

Where is the monk king now? Zeng Guofan didn't know at all, seeing his expression, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "The monk king led the Eight Banners New Army and the 20,000 Green Battalion is not far from Yuezhou, Yuezhou is five hundred miles away from Wuchang, and the Green Battalion is estimated to be unable to catch up, but the Eight Banners New Army should be able to arrive for reinforcements in time, and it will be a few days late." ”

Hearing him say this, Qi Shan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but Yi Zhixin continued: "The Taiping army has captured a lot of artillery in Yuezhou, and the monk king's department is lightly armed and hurried, even if it can arrive in time, it may not be able to relieve the siege of Wuchang." ”

Qi Shancai's heart that fell into his stomach hung up again, and he hurriedly said: "In this way, isn't Wuchang dangerous?" ”

Yi Zhizu ignored it, and said slowly: "In addition, the Taiping army is no different from the Liukou, once the monk king leads the army to Wuchang, the Taiping army may continue to float down the river with the help of a powerful naval fleet, Jiujiang and Anqing must strengthen their precautions, once the Taiping army captures Jiujiang and Anqing, the two rivers will be poisoned." ”

The room was quiet, easy to know that this is not alarmist, it is indeed very likely, the Taiping army is now a real rogue, chased by tens of thousands of troops, it is very likely to continue to go down the river, so one chases and one escapes, it will inevitably be like locusts crossing the border, and the two rivers will definitely not be spared.

Seeing that the three people were silent, Yi Zhizhi groaned and said: "The scale of the Taiping Army's naval division is quite large, and the water division of the two lakes and two rivers cannot be matched at all, and even the naval fleet has to avoid its sharp ....... ”

Hearing this, Qi Shan said in surprise: "Brother Guocheng, don't be modest, how can the Taiping Army Navy Naval Division be compared with the Nanyang Navy Fleet." ”

"I'm not modest." Yi Zhishu said and took out a box of cigarettes, slowly took out one and lit it, and then said unhurriedly: "The ships of the Taiping Army come easily, naturally they will not cherish the warships as much as we do, how wide is the Yangtze River?" The Taiping army abandoned 1,200,000 ships to launch a fire attack, and we also fled in despair. ”

The three of them were stunned when they heard this, this is indeed the case, the Taiping army is really willing to give up 2,000 ships to attack, and the naval fleet really has to flee from the wind, a little flurry, Qi Shancai hurriedly said: "Brother Guocheng, should he retreat?" ”

"Not really." Yi Zhizhi said in a long voice: "I am thinking, to prevent the Taiping army from continuing down the river, Jiujiang and Hukou may be the best places to ......." ”

Zeng Guofan said tentatively: "Brother Guocheng's meaning, the naval fleet holds Jiujiang to cut off the Taiping army and continue to move east. ”

"Not bad." Yi Zhizhi said with a full jaw: "Jiujiang is close to Poyang Lake, the fleet can easily avoid the fire attack, and if the naval fleet is not defeated, the Taiping army will not have the courage to go down the river!" ”

"What about Wuchang?" Qi Shan glanced at a few people and said, "If Wuchang is lost, we will be to blame!" ”

Yi Zhizu said slowly: "If you can exterminate the Taiping Army, why do you care about the gains and losses of one city and one place. ”

This is really standing and talking without back pain, Qi Shan and the three of them all smiled bitterly, Wuchang fell, Xianfeng will inevitably be angry, what is the consequences, there is no need to think about it, Yi Zhixin can not care, but do they dare? The future of the career and the life of the family are just a matter of will.

Seeing the expressions of the three people, Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Even if the naval fleet is stationed in Jiujiang, there are still marines who can assist the monk king, my preliminary plan, the monk king will mainly attack the land route, and I will attack the water route, the specific situation depends on the situation." Speaking of this, he paused slightly, and then said: "The war situation is changing rapidly, let's not delay, I will leave tomorrow and go to Wuchang as soon as possible." ”

Seeing him so resolute, Qi Shan smiled and said: "My old bones can't withstand long-distance bumps, the national city takes the first step, and the old man comes later." ”

On the surface of the Yangtze River, thousands of large and small ships float down the river, the sail is like a stack of snow, it is magnificent, along both sides of the river, there are more than 10,000 infantry to follow, the officers and soldiers up and down, full of energy, morale like a rainbow, the river is in the middle of a big boat, Yang Xiuqing, the king of the east, stands on the deck and looks at the sail shadow that seems to be invisible at a glance, and the heart is indescribably comfortable and proud.

Changsha broke through, chased by Seng Greenqin like a lost dog, how could he have thought that in Yuezhou would be able to expand its troops so quickly, this really responds to that sentence, the willows and flowers are bright and another village!

"His Royal Highness the King of Yudong." Tang Zhengcai pointed ahead and said, "Before noon tomorrow, the army will be able to arrive at the gateway of Wuchang, Jinkou. ”

"Chrysostom, good name." Yang Xiuqing said, "How is the defense?" ”

Tang Zhengcai's fleet has been going back and forth on the Yangtze River all the year round, and he knows the situation along the river well, so he immediately said without thinking: "Although Jinkou is known as the gateway to Wuchang, it has never been taken seriously, and the defenders are very few but hundreds, but it is unknown whether the number of troops will be increased now." ”

"Even if it's heavily garrisoned, what if you can still stop my 100,000 troops?" Yang Xiuqing said in a relaxed tone, indeed, he didn't pay attention to the green battalion stationed in Wuchang at all, if he wanted to say worried, what he was worried about was the Nanyang Navy fleet that went up the river, although there were only forty warships, but they were genuine warships, not comparable to his lake ships and merchant ships, and the prestige of the Nanyang Navy was not blown out.

To be honest, he is unwilling to be the enemy of Yuan Qi, after seeing the combat power of the Eight Banners New Army, he knows very well that Yuan Qi is not what they can provoke today, this time he fought Wuchang, he also had a fluke mentality, after all, Hubei is not Liangjiang, not Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Yuan Qi does not attach so much importance to it, and the Taiping Army occupies Hubei, which is not without benefits to Yuan Qi!

A division commander stepped forward and bowed down to report: "His Royal Highness the King of Yudong, Luo Xuan asks to see you." ”

Luo Outline is back? Yang Xiuqing was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Take him to the cabin." As he spoke, he turned around and strode towards the cabin, and as soon as he entered the door, Luo Xuan stepped forward and saluted, "Knock on His Royal Highness the East King." ”

"No courtesy." Yang Xiuqing waved his hand and retreated from the cabin, and then asked, "How is King Nan?" ”

"Okay, I'm on my way back." Luo Xuan stood up and said, "The matter is urgent, King Nan and his subordinates rushed to report first." As he spoke, he pulled out a letter and presented it.

After reading the letter, Yang Xiuqing's face was a little cloudy, Feng Yunshan didn't say much in the letter, just said that Yuan Qi would protect Hubei and not allow the Taiping army to occupy Hubei, and the destination of the naval fleet was Wuchang, and asked Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing to carefully consider whether to attack Wuchang.

Now that the army can arrive in Wuchang in one day, how can you think carefully about it at this time? Even if he, Yang Xiuqing, agrees, Hong Xiuquan will definitely not agree!

Seeing that he was silent for a long time, Luo Xuan said: "His Royal Highness the King of the South said that in order to avoid accidents, it is inconvenient to say more in the letter. After a pause, he continued: "His Royal Highness the King of the South said that Yuan Qi's attitude is extremely resolute, and he will not allow us to attack Wuchang and occupy Hubei, and the Qing Demon will also not tolerate us occupying Hubei, and if we occupy Hubei, we will inevitably be besieged by Yuan Qi and the imperial court, and we will not be able to stand at all." ”

Yang Xiuqing said angrily: "Hubei can't stand, where can it stand?" Where can the Qing Demon tolerate us? ”

"Hunan." Luo Xuan said: "His Royal Highness the King of the South said that Yuan Qi agreed to support us with a large number of firearms, and we can completely kill the horse pistol and recapture Changsha." ”