On 24 June, Li Dianyuan, deputy general of the Guangxi Xunzhou Association, led the officers and men of his subordinate to encircle and suppress the Pingnan Huazhou Worship God Society. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Under the great victory, Li Dianyuan did not take the God Worship Association in his eyes at all, and learned that the head of the God Worship Society was in Jintian, and immediately led his troops to Jintian to suppress it.

When Hong Xiuquan heard the report, he urgently convened the nearby congregations, and issued a regimental camp order, and ordered the regimental camps from all over the country to assemble in Jintian, and worship God congregations to form their own armies according to the region, which is called the regimental camp.

On the 27th, under the leadership of Yang Xiuqing, the Jintian regimental battalion set up an ambush between Jintian and Xinwei to meet the enemy in three ways, and defeated Li Dianyuan, who was arrogant in his light advance, and fled.

When the news spread, the Baisha regimental battalion headed by Shi Dakai and Qin Rigang, the Bobai regimental battalion headed by Lai Shiju and Huang Wenjin, the Xinyi regimental battalion headed by Ling Caijin's brothers, and the Huazhou regimental battalion headed by Hu Yihuang and Meng Deen all accelerated their assembly to Jintian.

Li Dianyuan, who returned from defeat, was disgraced, gathered the remnants of the army, gathered local regimental training, and joined the seven battalions of Zhou Fengqi, the general soldier of Guizhou Zhenyuan Town, who was stationed in Guiping, and the 4,000 army once again slaughtered Ben Jintian.

Worship God will build fortifications on both sides of the Caicun River, layer by layer defense, the two sides fought a vicious battle, the Qing army was defeated, more than half of the casualties, the deputy general of the Qingjiang Association Yiktambu was killed, and more than 10 military attachés such as Qian General Tian Jishou, General Pan Jibang, Yang Wanfu, and Liu Honghai were killed.

The first battle of Cai Cunjiang completely played the prestige of the God Worship Society, greatly boosted and inspired the morale of the regiment and battalion, and also initially revealed the combat power of the God Worship Society.

Taking advantage of the power of the two battles and two victories, Hong Xiuquan officially announced that the worship of God raised troops against the Qing Dynasty, Hong Xiuquan claimed to be Allah of Taiping, and the troops composed of believers were called Taiping Army.

Liu Jizu, the prefect of Xunzhou, was shocked, frightened and panicked, and did not dare to conceal the slightest thing, so he urgently reported the matter to Zheng Zuchen, the governor of Guangxi, in an urgent manner of 800 miles.

Guangzhou Xiguan, Lei Garden, Changle Book House.

Bao Shichen put down the information in his hand, and was impressed by Yi Zhicontentment, and sure enough, he said it all, the Taiping Army is strong, and it is not the local Eight Banners Green Battalion that can contend with it, and he groaned slightly, before he spoke: "Hong Xiuquan claims to be Allah of the Taiping, and the believers are called the Taiping Army, but this is actually the king, different from the ordinary bandits, and is the 'thief of the trumpet' who wants to compete with the Qing Dynasty."

Although the ambition is not small, but he is too anxious, and being the king at this time will inevitably force the local government to mobilize elite troops and strong generals to suppress it with all his might, which can be said to be more than worth the loss. ”

Yi Zhizhi lit a cigarette and said slowly: "There are disadvantages and advantages, being the king is conducive to enveloping and uniting people's hearts, enhancing appeal, the situation in Guangxi is chaotic, and there are many small armed forces, weighing it up, it may still be more beneficial than disadvantageous." ”

"It's still the big shopkeeper who sees it thoroughly." Bao Shichen smiled and paused, before he continued: "At this time when the old and the new are alternated, it is not a good thing to let the Taiping army toss and toss and attract the attention of the imperial court. ”

This is the reason, but I am afraid that the Taiping army will toss too much, erode the economy of several provinces, and there are countless deaths, although the imperial court is greatly injured, and Yuanqi cannot avoid big losses, however, thinking of Daoguang's attitude towards Yuanqi repeatedly, the best choice at present is indeed to let the Taiping army toss, wait for Daoguang to die, and see who inherits the unification.

While the two were talking, Lin Meilian came in and reported: "The Nanyang Navy is asking to see outside. ”

Yizeng is actually here? Yi Zhixiang was a little surprised, the 10,000 Eight Banner Navy stationed in Luzon, he ordered the Guangdong Navy Division to do two shipments, only 5,000 at a time, not only for prevention, but also for the sake of stabilizing Luzon.

"Ask him to come in." Yi Zhizhi stood up as he spoke, but Bao Shichen was reluctant to meet with Yi Zeng, so he got up and said, "The old man avoids it." ”

Yizeng, who was dressed in a navy summer suit, walked into the courtyard in stride, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Yi Zhizu standing on the steps outside the door and hurriedly quickened his pace. ”

Headmaster? Yi Zhizhi couldn't help but sigh for a moment, generally only those who were born in Yuan Qiyi called him the principal, this matter is not known much in the navy, because in public, they are all called military gates, and they are only called so when they are alone.

Seeing that Yi Zhizhi was content, Yi Zeng hurriedly said: "I am a student of the Naval Academy, the principal should not disown this student." ”

Yi Zhishu is indeed the president of the two naval academies in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and he couldn't help but smile when he heard this, and said, "Why is Jing Beizi so humble? As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and said, "Please." ”

"Headmaster, please—." Yizeng hurriedly complied, and then said: "This time, I can be promoted to Beizi, all thanks to the principal's support." ”

This is true, easy to be content and lazy polite, and when he entered the room and sat down, he said: "The emperor has issued an order for you to form a Beiyang Naval Division?" ”

Seeing that he guessed this in a blink of an eye, Yizeng secretly admired it and smiled, "I can't hide it from the principal." Then he smiled and said, "The student is still self-aware, and he came to ask the principal for help." ”

What point, the kid is here to ask for silver, people, weapons, and warships, Yi Zhizhi knows it, but he pretends to be confused, and asks instead: "What is the most fundamental difference between the navy and the army, do you know?" ”

Yi Zeng Yi, I don't know why he suddenly asked like this, thought about it, but he didn't have a clue, and even said: "I am stupid, and I ask the principal for guidance." ”

"The Navy is essentially an offensive service." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "The purpose of Western countries to build their navies is to go to the ocean, and the purpose of our navy is also to build a navy in the near sea and the ocean. ”

Yizeng naturally understood this, because the purpose of the imperial court to build the Beiyang Naval Division was to defend and protect the Beijing Division, which was tantamount to saying that Yi Zhishu would not vigorously support the Beiyang Naval Division at all, and he groaned slightly, and then he asked: "Tianjin is the gateway of the Beijing Division, and there is no danger to defend, what should coastal defense be?" ”

"Naturally, it's shore artillery." Yi Zhizhi said without thinking: "Instead of investing limited financial resources in the Beiyang Naval Division, it is better to invest it in the Dagukou Fort, you have been in the navy for a long time, you should understand that it is purely used for defense, and the ratio of shore artillery to naval artillery is one to six." ”

A port gun is comparable to six naval guns, this theory, Yi Zeng has also heard, when even if the snake is beaten with the stick, "Dagukou Fort and Humen Fort are equally famous, but the caliber and quantity of artillery cannot be compared with Humen Fort at all...... ”

"As for artillery, you don't have to worry." Yi Zhizhi said: "One can be purchased from the West, and the other is that Yuanqi's military factory is also trying to build artillery and research to improve the performance of artillery, and within three to five years, it will definitely be able to manufacture artillery independently, and at that time, it will definitely be able to provide a large number of artillery to strengthen Tianjin's coastal defense." ”

In three or five years, this time is not long, but the problem is that the imperial court is preparing to build the Beiyang Naval Division, and there is also an element of guarding against the Nanyang Navy, but Yizeng did not dare to say this, and immediately said euphemistically: "The Beiyang Naval Division, you can't just rely on a few training ships to support the façade." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, and said: "The purpose of the imperial court's preparation for the establishment of the Beiyang Naval Division is to strengthen the coastal defense of the Beijing Division, and the Nanyang Naval Division will naturally not be left alone, and after the war in Java is over, a certain number of warships will definitely be allocated to the Beiyang Naval Division." ”

Yizeng came today, the main purpose is for the warship, the court is now poor jingling, it is impossible to allocate a large amount of money to the Beiyang Naval Division, if you want a battleship, you can only fight the idea of the Nanyang Naval Division, listening to Yi Zhi's contentment to say so, but it is not easy to say much, after all, the war in Java has not stopped, and he does not dare to force it, and immediately hurriedly said: "Principal Xie is compassionate." ”

With a slight sigh, Yi Zhizhi said: "At present, the sail warships are facing elimination, and the naval guns are also in the process of upgrading, and the navy also needs a large amount of ammunition for daily training. ”

Yizeng bowed slightly and said: "Although Tianjin has developed in the past two years, the foundation is very weak, and the military industry is even more blank. ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "You don't have to worry about this, Tianjin is the northern industrial base supported by Yuanqi, and the construction of ports, forts, and industrial infrastructure, Yuanqi will spare no effort to support it." As he spoke, he turned his head, "What is the situation in Luzon now?" ”

Yi Zeng hurriedly said respectfully: "The students are stationed in Luzon, everything is in accordance with the principal's orders, and now the Luzon gentry and landlords, and the indigenous families close to Spain have all been uprooted, and the people who have been allocated land are now quite supportive of the imperial court." ”

Yi Zhizu nodded slightly, and said: "At present, the situation in the South Seas is not stable, Spain and the Netherlands are very likely to be unwilling to lose these two colonies in the East, and will join forces to attack, the purpose of taking these measures is to win the hearts of the people, after all, the two countries have been entrenched in the South Seas for hundreds of years, and they have to prevent them from joining forces inside and outside."

In addition, Luzon and Java are hanging overseas, and there are many islands, which are not as easy to govern as the mainland.

The climate of Nanyang is suitable, the land is fertile, and rice can be harvested three or even four seasons a year, but it is not suitable for storing and storing grain, once it is developed, it is the largest granary of the Qing Dynasty, even if there is a serious disaster like this year in the future, it is not to be afraid.

In addition, the establishment of provinces in Luzon and Java must be dominated by military and political affairs, and the civil affairs must be grasped as the first priority of immigration and assimilation of indigenous people, and they must always be grasped ......unremittingly. ”

Yizeng knew very well that these words were not for him, but to convey them to Daoguang through his mouth, and he should memorize them carefully.

Guangxi, Guilin, Guangxi Governor's Yamen, Signing Room.

Sixty-six years old, the old and sick governor of Guangxi, Zheng Zuchen, leaned on the back of the chair and raised his face slightly, he was born in Jiaqing for ten years, and he was born in the Huan Hai for more than 40 years.

Guangxi has not been peaceful in the past few years, disasters and famines, the party has risen in all directions, and weapons have become commonplace, but he, the governor of Guangxi, has done a steady job, and the trick is to whitewash the peace.

Xunzhou prefect Liu Jizu Feizhang urgently reported -- Guiping Jintian worshiped God and privately bought Western firearms, with ill intentions; bandit leader Hong Xiuquan claimed to be Allah of Taiping, and the followers called the Taiping Army; Xunzhou Green Camp went to encircle and suppress it; one defeat of Xinxu and then defeat Cai Cunjiang; the deputy general of the Qingjiang Association, Iktambu, was killed, and more than 10 military attachés below the rank of Qianzong Tian Jishou were killed.

There is no doubt that this is a group of bandits that are different from ordinary bandits, and the combat power is not bad, however, he does not attach much importance to it, the reason is very simple, although this worship of God will be good in combat and there are many congregations, but it has not captured the city, just fighting in the countryside, it is not a big deal, there are many parties in Guangxi who make trouble, there are not many more worshippers of God, and there is no less one less, what he is most afraid of is that the party will capture the city, which is the most difficult to hide.

However, after all, so many generals have died, this worship of God must be exterminated as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult for the court to ask for it, and it will be difficult to explain.

After thinking about it for a long time, he wrote a letter to Min Zhengfeng, the governor of Guangxi stationed in Liuzhou Mansion, urging him to send troops to Xunzhou as soon as possible to encircle and suppress the Guiping bandits.

As for Hong Xiuquan's self-proclaimed Taiping Allah, the believers called the Taiping Army, he didn't take it seriously at all, these years there are many folk sects, those sect leaders, there are many people who call the king emperor, most of them are in the mountains or on the kang to be emperors behind closed doors, the reason why the king is called the emperor is nothing more than to win more foolish people to strengthen the strength of the sect or to accumulate wealth, this road, he has seen a lot, it is not strange.

He did not dare not ignore this matter because there was a party that sold a large number of Western firearms in Guangxi, and Guangxi was already in chaos, and if a large number of Western firearms poured into Guangxi, what would be the consequences?

Subsequently, he sent a letter to the Xunzhou Prefecture, urging the prefect Liu Jizu to thoroughly investigate the sale of Western firearms, and to Li Dianyuan, the deputy general of the Xunzhou Association, and Zhou Fengqi, the general of Guizhou Zhenyuan Town, must do their best to assist Min Zhengfeng, the governor of Guangxi, in exterminating the bandits of the Worship of God Society.

The Guangxi officialdom was slow to react, and Hong Xiuquan of Jintian was also not impatient or impatient, and won two battles in a row, and the Taiping army, which had absorbed a large number of armed forces, did not use this rare time to take advantage of the victory to attack, expand the territory, and capture the city, but began to rectify the Taiping army.

For the forces of all parties who came to serve, Hong Xiuquan's principle was that all the teams that joined the Taiping Army must accept the belief of worshipping God and accept the constraints of the canons.

The Taiping Army, which was in a good situation, did not rush to take any military action, but began to prepare for a grand and festive celebration of longevity in Jintian Village -- Hong Xiuquan's 37th birthday.