The lobby of the governor's Yamen where Luo Bingzhang was located was even more chaotic.
It turns out that Mr. Zhu Jiu had many brothers under his command. In addition to the hundreds of people he sent to attack the governor's Yamen, he also sent people to fight the Hunan Chief Envoy Si Yamen, the Hunan Inspector General Si Yamen, the Hunan Xuezheng Yamen, and the Hunan Admiral. Yamen, Changsha Prefecture Yamen, Shanhua County Yamen, Fubiao Shenjiang Yamen, Tibiao Shenjiang Yamen, and a series of other Yamen!
In all the government offices in Changsha City, the old man was not left behind. Each government office sent hundreds of brothers to destroy the place! Regardless of whether they could be smashed down, the noise was definitely not small. At the same time, Mr. Zhu Jiu also They sent dozens of groups to set fires everywhere in Changsha City!
So in the second half of the night, not only were there a lot of gunfire and shouts of killing in the direction of the Zodiac Gate, but there were also fires everywhere in Changsha City, and people were calling for rebellion everywhere!
Fire broke out everywhere, news of rebellion everywhere, as well as the emergency on Huangdao Street and the breach of the Huangdao Gate came like snow flakes. Luo Bingzhang, the acting governor of Hunan, and Luo Raodian, who was assisting in military affairs, were as anxious as a hot pot On the other hand, Luo Bingzhang's chief master, Zuo Zongtang, was extremely calm. He was sitting in the hall shaking his folding fan, the wind was light and the clouds were calm, and he didn't seem to take the urgent reports coming from everywhere seriously at all.
In the end, Luo Bingzhang, who had invited Zuo Zongtang as his savior, could not sit still. He almost asked Zuo Zongtang in a pleading tone: "Ji Gao! What can I do? There are fires everywhere in Changsha City, and there are also heaven and earth." Hui started a rebellion, and the Zodiac Gate was broken again. Sheng Kezhai's Eight Banners soldiers and Green Camp soldiers all suffered heavy losses. The Cantonese bandits and the Hui bandits were about to cooperate with each other inside and outside to break the city of Changsha..."
Zuo Zongtang said with a smile: "Don't worry, old scholar. Sheng Kezhai is in charge of the defense of Changsha now. The reason why the city is destroyed is because of his incompetent command and poor coordination. What does it have to do with the wise scholar?"
"Ji Gao, Na Sheng Ke Zhai is a noble relative of Manchuria, not comparable to us... I am still serving as the governor of Hunan, and I have to follow the rules. Once the city is defeated, I, I will... have to be "honourable" ”
Although Luo Bingzhang is not young, he has not yet lived enough!
But if he is not "respectable", he is still a famous minister, looked up to by scholars, and a leader of the Qing Dynasty. How can he still suffer the pain of being locked up in the capital?
"Confucian scholar," Zuo Zongtang certainly understood what he was thinking, and immediately said with a smile, "I see that the victory of Ke Zhai and the use of troops are to completely destroy the Green Camp and the Eight Banners under his command... The Tiandihui in Changsha City is deeply intertwined and has developed for more than a hundred years. Every yamen is filled with their people... After the defeat of Sheng Kezhai, they will cooperate with each other inside and outside to help the Guangdong bandits rebel and break the city. It just depends on how much it is broken.
But the key to whether you, the scholar, as a minister who protects the land, should take responsibility... is how big a scene can be achieved in the Hunan regiment training! As long as the group training is in hand, the emperor can only rely on the scholar, can only understand the difficulties of the scholar, and can only bear the responsibility himself. I am responsible for the destruction of the city of Changsha! And...according to Wan Sheng's plan, the battle of Changsha will be a success. Even if there is a temporary danger of the city being destroyed, the Cantonese bandits can still be driven away in the end. .
With this battle, the emperor will know what you are capable of, and the gentry in Hunan will know that only by successfully organizing group training in Hunan can they protect their wealth and lives!"
"Ji Gao! The rebels have all invaded Changsha City...there is chaos in the city again! Stop being so arrogant and tell me what clever plans you have! Otherwise, wait until Chang Mao arrives at the governor's office. "Except, it's too late to say anything." Listening to Zuo Zongtang's "Jin Liang" words, which were a little hazy, Luo Raodian, the veteran of Hunan Shilin, couldn't help but lecture him.
Zuo Zongtang clasped his fists towards Luo Raodian and said: "Su Weng, Wan Sheng, please make it clear now that the Zodiac Gate has been broken, and Shengbao's troops have suffered a lot. It seems that a war is inevitable in Changsha City." Woe to you. Mr. Wansheng, I ask you and the scholar to leave the city immediately and go to the Yuelu Mountain Academy on the other side of the Xiangjiang River for temporary refuge."
"Leave the city and hide in Yuelu Mountain? No, no, absolutely no!"
Before Luo Raodian said anything, Luo Bingzhang was already shaking his head like a rattle: "Going to Yuelu Mountain is really a place where you have abandoned your duty. The emperor asked, how should I explain it?"
Hearing this, Zuo Zongtang was a little speechless and thought to himself: "Are you still asking? Are you still explaining? Are the soldiers in your hands fake? Now that Shengbao's people are trapped in Changsha City, what is needed for the Hunan regiment training? Some silver was also looted. If he took the opportunity to abandon the city and preserve his strength, the Eight Banners soldiers, Green Camp soldiers, and even the main force of Fubiao in Hunan who were waiting for victory were all gone...Does Feng still want Hunan? If so, naturally he will only Now that he can rely on the Hunan regiment, he will still dare to lay a finger on Luo Ruweng and Luo Suweng?"
However, Luo Bingzhang and Luo Raodian, who felt that a disaster was imminent, had no such awareness and just looked at Zuo Zongtang anxiously.
Zuo Zongtang was really speechless at the performance of the two old men. Fortunately, he had already registered it, and then he said: "Then... let Weng and Su Weng live temporarily at the Tiefo Temple outside Yingchun Gate in Changsha. Tiefo Temple is small and sturdy, close to the Xiangjiang River, and has its own wharf. You can evacuate at any time, and it is easy to get support from team training in Xiangyin and Yiyang directions. It is much better than staying in the city!
Moreover, as long as the scholar is in charge of the Iron Buddha Temple and the Yingchun Gate is in the hands of the Xianghu Tuanlian, the land of Changsha's duty will not be lost. The scholar is involved in the safety of the city and has absolutely no reason for his own dignity. He is already late in life. Let Wang Pushan, a student of Luoluoshan, lead five hundred regiments and be stationed there, which will be enough to protect the safety of Ru Weng and Su Weng."
Zuo Zongtang paused and then said: "In addition, Yingchun Gate and Tibiao Camp in the north of the city, Biao Camp in the north, Tianxin Pavilion in the southeast of Changsha City, Chaozongmen in the west of Changsha City, and the head outside Chaozongmen, The streets outside Chaozongmen, the rice market inside Chaozongmen and other places are currently stationed by Hunan regiment training and Fubiao elites, which should be able to support them for a while."
"But, you can't protect the city of Changsha!" Luo Bingzhang was confused. "Ji Gao, how do you want to fight?" Zuo Zongtang said with a smile: "Does that scholar know the key to Hunan's gains and losses?"
"Ji Gao, stop showing off!" Luo Bingzhang was so anxious now that he was going around in circles with Zuo Zongtang.
Zuo Zongtang smiled coldly: "The key to Hunan's gains and losses lies in whose hands the grain is, whose hands are the people and fields who grow the grain, and whose hands are the people who cannot produce grain and can only eat dry rice!" "Ji Gao,
you mean.."
Luo Bingzhang listened and seemed to understand.
Luo Raodian also frowned, as if he had some realization.
Zuo Zongtang added: "We have counted the students these days. There are no less than 100,000 refugees who have fled into Changsha from Hengyang, Yongzhou, Chenzhou, Guiyang Prefecture and the southern part of Changsha Prefecture. There are more than 200,000 people in Changsha city itself, plus
There are more than 300,000 mouths to feed among the people who have fled.
The grain stock in Changsha City is only enough to feed the original more than 200,000 people until the autumn grain comes on the market... Now there are at least 100,000 more people eating, and this year's autumn grain will probably be difficult to transport to Changsha on time!
If we don't have enough food to feed the more than 300,000 people and troops in Changsha... once Changsha is besieged, there will be only one way to die!"
At this point, Zuo Zongtang's tone was already very serious. Obviously, this "dead end" was not just a casual talk, but was very likely to become a reality.
Zuo Zongtang added: "When students look at what the Cantonese bandits have done recently, they will know that they want to divide the land to win over the poor peasants, and they rely on the corrupt and shameless people among the poor peasants as their foundation to control the mountains and countryside.
Land. If I use all my strength in Hunan to defend Changsha, the wild places outside Changsha will be full of thieves sooner or later.
At that time, 300,000 to 400,000 people will be trapped in the isolated city, with no food and grass inside, and no rescue outside. Within one or two months, Changsha will be lost, and then... the whole province of Hunan will be lost, and Hunan Shilin will be destroyed!"
Zuo Zongtang looked at the two old men in front of him and said slowly: "That's why Zongtang doesn't take seriously the strategy of ensuring victory. So what if victory? It's just killing one or two thousand long-haired soldiers. Now the long-haired soldiers number in the tens of thousands.
It's not surprising if it exceeds one hundred thousand. So what if one or two thousand is lost? For every piece of land and wealth, there will be tens of thousands of extremely poor people to drive them, and they will kill them all!
If we use all the soldiers from all over Hunan to defend the city of Changsha, we will give up all the people in all directions of Hunan and millions of poor people to the thieves! The thieves have conquered all the villages and fields in Hunan, and they can recruit endlessly.
What's the use of besieging a city with so many soldiers?
According to Zongtang’s opinion, it is better for me to be trapped in Changsha than to be trapped in Changsha... If I am trapped in Changsha, the four villages and eight fields will be occupied by thieves. If the thieves are trapped in Changsha, the four villages and eight fields will still be contested by me! The thieves’ food roads, I
Chapter completed!