In the early summer of the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), the Taiping Army's western expeditionary army was divided into two routes. One route was led by Zeng Tianyang to attack Changsha from the north road; One route was led by Shi Xiangzhen and attacked Changsha from the south road.
Shi Xiangzhen led his troops to capture Qiaokou, Jinggang and other places, approaching Changsha. Because Changsha was well defended and had no chance to take advantage of, Shi Xiangzhen led part of his troops to be stationed in Jinggang, and Lin Shaozhang, another general of the Taiping Army, led the main force to capture Xiangtan, intending to form an angle with Jinggang and attack Changsha.
The main force responsible for defending Changsha was the Hunan army that Zeng Guofan had just formed. Zeng Guofan's Hunan army had two divisions, more than 200 large and small ships, and more than 17,000 people. These forces were not enough to attack Xiangtan and Jinggang at the same time, so they had to make trade-offs. So, should we attack Xiangtan first or Jinggang first? This problem was placed in front of Zeng Guofan, the commander of the Hunan army.
Zeng Guofan is a pen from Rong, a scholar leading the army, he has never fought before, and his eyes are black. He couldn't figure it out after thinking about it, so he handed over this issue to Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan. Luo Bingzhang still had difficulty making decisions, so he summoned all the generals and discussed them together. As the saying goes: "Three stinkers, one Zhuge Liang", it is always easy to negotiate a good solution when there are many people.
After discussing for a while, the majority of the people's opinion was to attack Jinggang first. Luo Bingzhang listened to it and agreed. But after thinking about it, he found that there was one who had not expressed his opinion from beginning to end, so he looked at him and said, "Ji Gao, what do you think?" ”
This person is not good-looking, five short figures, but his physique is very strong, and his eyes are bright, he is Luo Bingzhang's staff Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang, the word Ji Gao, is a native of Xiangyin, Hunan. Two years ago, in the second year of Xianfeng, when the Taiping army attacked Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province for the first time, he was invited to be hired as a staff member of Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, under the advice and encouragement of his friend Guo Songtao and others. When others are staff, they all assist the master in doing things; Zuo Zongtang is a staff member, but he is mainly anti-guest, presiding over important military and political affairs. It was under the auspices of Zuo Zongtang that the Qing army repelled the Taiping army, making the Taiping army retreat in vain and return in disgrace.
In the third year of Xianfeng, Zhang Liangji was transferred to the governor of Shandong, and Zuo Zongtang did not accompany him and returned to Xiangyin. He was succeeded as governor of Hunan by Luo Bingzhang. Luo Bingzhang had heard of Zuo Zongtang's reputation, and invited him many times, and finally invited him to his shogunate and became his right-hand man. Luo Bingzhang relied on Zuo Zongtang very much, and listened to his opinions in everything, even surpassing his predecessor Zhang Liangji.
For this reason, some good deeds jokingly called Zuo Zongtang "Zuo Capital Imperial History". On the surface, this is praising Zuo Zongtang, but in fact, he is laughing at Zuo Zongtang for having more power in his hands than Old Man Luo.
Zuo Zongtang heard Luo Bingzhang calling himself, smiled slightly, and said, "I'm not afraid of offending everyone, I think it's a bad idea to attack Jinggang first." ”
What do you mean by that? Luo Bingzhang trusts Zuo Zongtang very much and knows that he will never talk about it.
Jinggang and Xiangtan, one north and one south, defend Changsha. However, for our army, Xiangtan is more important. Because Xiangtan is the back road of Changsha. Our army attacked Xiangtan, which could be attacked and defended. Even if Changsha can't be saved, our army can still retreat to Hengyang through Xiangtan and make long-term calculations. Jinggang is a chicken rib, tasteless to eat, and it is a pity to abandon it. Because even if our army captures Jinggang, as long as Changmao captures Changsha, our army will be attacked from front to back and fall into an embarrassing situation. Zuo Zongtang confidently analyzed.
These words made everyone speechless.
Zeng Guofan was a little unconvinced, he was in favor of attacking Jinggang first from the bottom of his heart, but what Zuo Zongtang said was quite reasonable and could not be refuted. What to do? At this time, Zeng Guofan's subordinate Peng Yulin, the deputy commander of the Hunan Army's naval division, stood up and supported Zuo Zongtang's opinion. Peng Yulin was one of the founders of the Hunan Army Sailors, and Zeng Guofan valued him very much. Because Chu Ruhang, the commander of the Hunan Army's naval division, was a civilian official who donated money to serve as an official and was not familiar with military affairs, Peng Yulin became the de facto commander of the naval division.
With Peng Yulin's support, Zuo Zongtang's opinion became a consensus. Luo Bingzhang and Zeng Guofan immediately agreed to send Taqibu, Peng Yulin and others to lead the main force of the Hunan army's land division to attack Xiangtan.
As soon as Taqib, Peng Yulin and others left, Zeng Guofan received another letter, saying that the Taiping army stationed in Jinggang did not have many men, only more than 500 people. The local gentry asked Zeng Guofan to send troops to attack Jinggang.
With more than 500 people stationed in the garrison, it seems that it is not difficult to attack. Zeng Guofan thought in his heart, since this is the case, why not attack Xiangtan at the same time, but also send people to attack Jinggang, a two-pronged approach, killing two birds with one stone. Wouldn't it be better to take two credits when the time comes?
So, with such a mentality, Zeng Guofan decided to personally lead the naval division troops to attack Jinggang.
Jinggang is located in the northern part of Changsha and was originally called Lujiang. Jinggang guards the waterway and is the northern barrier of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, which is an important military town and has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times. During the Tang Dynasty, the famous general Li Jing was stationed here for a period of time. Li Jing governed the army in a proper manner, and the military discipline was strict, and his subordinates were never allowed to harass the local people during the garrison. When Li Jing left, the local people renamed this place Jinggang in order to miss Li Jing.
Zeng Guofan was the first time to lead troops to fight, and it was bound to win. To this end, he dispatched more than 6,000 Hunan troops and took 40 warships to Jinggang.
However, when Zeng Guofan's sailors invaded Jinggang, they found that there was no ship or soldier on the water, and the silence was so frightening that people felt afraid. Before they could react, dense artillery fire rained down from the sky, and the sound of the Taiping army fighting was heard in all directions, and ships flew over and surrounded the Hunan army's warships.
Zeng Guofan immediately realized that this was the enemy's trap and was fooled!
The general of the Taiping Army stationed in Jinggang was Shi Xiangzhen. Many people are not familiar with the name Shi Xiangzhen, but they must have heard of his brother's name - he is Shi Dakai. Among the generals of the Taiping Army, Shi Xiangzhen's popularity is not very high, but he is magnificent, charged, invincible, known as the "Iron Rooster", and is a strong general who dares to fight tough battles.
After Shi Xiangzhen divided his troops to attack Xiangtan, he had the idea of cleaning up the Hunan Army's naval division, so he released false news, saying that the Jinggang garrison had only more than 500 people, attracting the Hunan Army's naval division troops to attack. Sure enough, Zeng Guofan believed it and led the sailor troops to come in a hurry. As soon as he came, he fell into the ambush circle of the Taiping army.
Under the fierce offensive of the Taiping army, the Hunan army's naval division troops had no power to parry, and after a little resistance, they fled one after another. At first, Zeng Guofan was still forced to calm down and maintain order. With a few guards, he abandoned the ship and landed, stood at the pontoon bridge and raised a flag, ordering that "those who flee will be killed." For this, he also personally beheaded several people. However, the defeated army was like a mountain, and even if Zeng Guofan had the power to return to heaven, it was difficult to stop the fleeing army. He had to flee back to his boat.
Amid the roar of gunfire, he couldn't help but feel disheartened and his face was like ashes when he saw the hordes of Hunan troops fleeing backwards and ships burned to ashes.
I Zeng Guofan stole chickens and rice, and I was defeated so completely, shame, shame! Zeng Guofan thought silently in his heart. He quietly came to the back of the boat and jumped into the river, intending to commit suicide and martyrdom.
Just then, a man jumped out of the boat and rescued him from the water. This person is Zeng Guofan's staff Zhang Shoulin.
Lord Zeng, stay in the green mountains, don't worry about running out of firewood. You are the commander of the Hunan army. Tens of thousands of horses are still counting on you, don't do such a stupid thing. Zhang Shoulin advised bitterly.
Zeng Guofan's face was pale, and he didn't say a word.
The battle was over, and Zeng returned to the garrison with the remaining troops. At this time, he realized that it was the false news spread by the Taiping Army that deceived him, causing him to lose his troops and lose face. He was ashamed and angry, and wrote a suicide note, explaining what happened, and preparing to find an opportunity to commit suicide.
Zhang Shoulin saw Zeng Guofan's suicide note, knowing that he was still immersed in the humiliation of defeat and couldn't extricate himself, and wanted to help him, but he didn't know how to help.
Zeng Guofan fell ill. He lay in the boat, closed doors, without seeing any guests or handling any papers. He lay in bed all day, staring blankly at the top of the cabin, and the scenes of the first half of his life came to his mind.
He remembered that he studied hard in the cold window, and he participated in the examination several times but his name fell to Sun Shan; He remembered that he was admitted to Hanlin and became a Beijing official, but he was shy in his pocket, and he even needed to borrow money from colleagues and friends for the New Year; He remembered that he went home to set up a regimental training, but he was not welcomed in the Hunan officialdom, he was restrained and bullied everywhere, and he finally trained an army, and he was showing his skills ambitiously, but unexpectedly, "he died before he left the army", and his years of hard work were ......ruined
A few tears oozed from his sunken eye sockets, flowing down his emaciated face.
Lord Zeng, someone is asking to see you! Zhang Shoulin pushed the door in and said in a low voice.
Missing! Zeng Guofan said coldly.
Be. Zhang Shoulin promised in his mouth, but the person didn't move, still standing in the room.
That's weird. Zeng Guofan's eyes swept over and asked, "Which one is it?" ”
Hui Zeng, it is Zuo Zongtang. Zhang Shoulin said.
Tso? Zeng Guofan thought to himself: "He is Luo Bingzhang's staff, I'm afraid he is here to laugh at me at this time, right?" He knew that this time the Hunan Army's naval division was defeated in Jinggang, and the news reached Changsha, and many Hunan ** gloated and watched it as fun. How could Zuo Zongtang be an exception?
Want to see jokes? Then let's see enough in person! Thinking of this, Zeng Guofan said to Zhang Shoulin: "Please let him in." He struggled to his feet and changed his clothes.
Not long after, Zuo Zongtang came in in stride. As soon as he entered the door, he saw that Zeng Guofan was languishing and his face was withered, only his breath remained, and he did look like he had suffered a major blow to his body and mind. The sheets were stained with a lot of mud and sand, which was the traces left by the previous Jinggang War.
Lord Zeng, I heard that you want to commit suicide and martyrdom? Zuo Zongtang asked directly.
That's exactly what happened. Zeng Guofan didn't hide it, and admitted it straightforwardly.
Lord Zeng, you are so confused! Zuo Zongtang said loudly, "Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, how can you kill yourself after losing a battle?" ”
Zeng Guofan blushed.
Lord Zeng, you are a second-class member of the imperial court, and you were ordered by the imperial court to organize a regimental training and form the Hunan army. At present, the long hair is violent, and it is waiting for Lord Zeng to wave his master to suppress and restore stability. I think Master Zeng has great ambitions, and in time, he will definitely make contributions and achieve great things, how can he stick to a mere defeat? Confused, Lord Zeng! Zuo Zongtang's tone softened a little and spoke eloquently.
In terms of age, Zeng Guofan is only one year older than Zuo Zongtang. Although they are all from Hunan, one is from Xiangyin and the other is from Xiangxiang, their hometowns are not far from each other. But they rarely crossed paths before, only met a few times occasionally, and they couldn't talk about how deep their feelings were. However, when Zeng Guofan heard Zuo Zongtang's words, it was indeed from the bottom of his heart, and he couldn't help but be embarrassed and ashamed, so he had to close his eyes and didn't dare to look at him.
After Zuo Zongtang finished speaking, Zeng Guofan opened his eyes and asked Zhang Shoulin to bring a pen and paper to write down the remaining ordnance supplies such as gunpowder, gunpowder, and pellets, and asked Zuo Zongtang to count them on his behalf.
After Zuo Zongtang counted for a while, Zeng Guofan felt a little embarrassed, and also came over to help him count. Zuo Zongtang saw that Zeng Guofan had started to do things, so he was relieved. This shows that Zeng Guofan, after his own persuasion, finally slowly opened his heart knot and stopped begging for death.
After they were busy for a while, Zhang Shoulin ran into the house and said loudly: "Report to Lord Zeng, there is a happy event, there is a great happy event!" ”
Zeng Guofan stood up suddenly. After the defeat in the First Battle of Jinggang, his emotions fell to the bottom, and he needed good news to encourage and comfort him.
What's the happy event? He shuddered a little when he heard his voice.
It is a happy event for the tower to rule them. Within seven days, they won ten battles and ten victories, and they had already driven away Changmao and reoccupied Xiangtan! Zhang Shoulin said happily.
He was followed by a messenger sent by Tazib. Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang hurriedly asked him to talk in detail about the battle situation in Xiangtan. Later, he was transferred to the Hunan Green Camp Division. Zeng Guofan appreciated his ability very much, and recruited him into the Hunan army, becoming the commander of the Hunan army. This time, he led the land division of the Hunan army, with the cooperation of Peng Yulin's sailors, to attack Xiangtan, after ten days of fighting, successive battles, killing and defeating tens of thousands of Taiping troops, and finally recovering Xiangtan.
Good! Well done Commander Tower! Zeng Guofan's brows, which had been constricted for many days, finally relaxed, and said with a smile. In order to entrap Taqib, he offended a group of Hunan **, including Hunan Governor Bao Qibao, resulting in almost no foothold in Hunan. Today, it seems that he still hasn't looked away, and Tazib is worth it.
Zeng Guofan also knew that after losing the battle in Jinggang this time, those who usually had contradictions with him would definitely take this opportunity to stand up and spare no effort to attack themselves, and even report to the imperial court to put themselves to death. Now, with the victory of recovering Xiangtan, their aspirations will be frustrated.