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Chapter 281 Attack Zengcheng

Zengcheng is a county under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Prefecture, just 60 kilometers away from Guangzhou City and 40 kilometers away from the area around Yinpingzuishan, the closest control of the Taiping Army. Therefore, the Qing army in Zengcheng is the closest Qing army to the Taiping Army except the Green Camp in Shunde.

Zhou Shixiang did not want to attack Zengcheng at first, because in terms of distance alone, attacking Shunde, which was close to him would be beneficial to the Taiping Army's surprise attack and retreat, while attacking Zengcheng was much farther, which was not conducive to the strategic intention of this battle to seize food, and at the same time it would also increase the transportation burden of the baggage battalion.

However, the information Zhang An bought from Tang Sanshui for a lot of money showed that although the Qing army in Shunde had fewer troops than Zengcheng, with a total of only 1,600 people, its combat effectiveness was much stronger than that of the Qing army in Zengcheng, and 400 flag soldiers were stationed here.

Zhou Shixiang was not afraid of the Han flag soldiers in Shunde and did not dare to attack Shunde. Now there are more than a thousand Han flag soldiers in his Taiping Army. The upper and lower armies of the army have no fear of the flag soldiers as before. If you really want to decide to attack Shunde, the morale of the Taiping Army will not weaken due to the existence of the flag soldiers.

The reason why Zhou Shixiang decided not to attack Shunde and attack Zengcheng was that the Qing army general stationed in Shunde was Ge Mingyi, the Green Camp general. According to Zhang An's information, Ge Mingyi was famous for his good defense in the Qing army.

Ge Mingyi was originally a low-level officer in Zuo Liangyu's army. After Zuo Liangyu's son Zuo Menggeng surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he also surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Later, Hu Yousheng, the general of Nangan appointed by the Qing court, stationed in Ganzhou, Jiangxi. After the fifth year of Shunzhi, Jiangxi Jin Shengheng, Wang Deren, Guangdong Li Chengdong and other surrendered Qing generals returned to the Ming Dynasty one after another. In order to open up the connection between Jiangxi and Guangdong, Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong successively attacked Ganzhou City. As a result, Jin and Li led their troops to attack Ganzhou City, and Ganzhou City was firmly controlled by the Qing army. In the end, the existence of this city also made Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong defeated.

During the battle to defend the city in Ganzhou, Ge Mingyi, who was the Qianzong General, presented many strategies to defend the city to General Hu Yousheng. He showed amazing talent for defending the city. Later, Ge Mingyi was attracted by Shang Kexi, who went south and was transferred to the vassal state. When Li Dingguo led his army to attack Zhaoqing the year before, Ge Mingyi assisted in defending Zhaoqing with guerrilla ranks, but Li Dingguo failed to return under Zhaoqing City.

After that, Ge Mingyi participated in several siege battles, but the Ming army who siegeed the city failed. Therefore, it can be said that as long as Ge Mingyi is in the city, the siege side will never break the city gate. It is precisely because of Ge Mingyi's good defense that Shang Kexi ordered him to garrison the military important town of Shunde.

Shunde is close to Jiangmen, Foshan, and connected to Panyu and Xiangshan counties. It is an important support point for the Qing army's defense line in Sanjiangkou. Once Shunde is lost, there will be no barriers in Guangzhou. In such an important place, Shang Kexi naturally has to send a powerful general to guard it. This fierceness is not a fierce rush on the battlefield, but a fierceness that defends the city as stable as Mount Tai. Shang Kexi's command is like a cloud of war. Ge Mingyi, the only one who is outstanding in defending the city, is the only one who can shoulder the responsibility of guarding Shunde.

The Taiping Army had just formed an army, and the newly formed battalions had just been reorganized, and the training of the new recruits was not enough. Therefore, Zhou Shixiang could not risk attacking a city where a general who was good at defending was in charge. The Qing army could tolerate a hundred failures, but the Taiping Army could not accept it once. This is the reality. If it really failed because of the attack on Shunde, Zhou Shixiang believed that the morale of the army he had worked hard to manage would be severely defeated.

Another reason why we cannot fight Shunde is that Shunde is related to the safety of the Sanjiangkou defense line of the Qing army, which is related to the safety of the Qing army. Shang Kexi can let the Taiping Army move in Xiangshan. Because the activities of the Taiping Army in Xiangshan cannot touch the safety of Guangzhou. But Shunde is different. If the Taiping Army attacks Shunde, it will easily stimulate the nerves of the Ming army in Xinhui. If the Taiping Army really takes over Shunde, Chen Qice and Zhu Tong of Xinhui will definitely take the opportunity to lead the troops to Sanjiangkou. When the Taiping Army is in the front, the Qing army in Sanjiangkou, which is attacked from both sides, may not be able to support it.

Once Sanjiangkou was lost, Shang Kexi would lose the initiative in the war. He would not be able to fight or defend at that time, and he could only deal with it passively. Therefore, before the Eight Banners of Manzhou arrived, Shang Kexi would not allow Sanjiangkou defense line to be lost, which was destined that the Taiping Army would rashly attack Shunde would attract Shang Kexi's crazy revenge. The newly formed Taiping Army could not withstand the attacks from the Qing army in Guangzhou.

"Shunde must be kept, and it is not time to fight if you want to fight!"

Zhou Shixiang rejected the proposal to attack Shunde, and Duke Xiang of Song and Qin Zhisheng could only present Xin'an and Zengcheng counties for Zhou Shixiang to decide.

Xin'an County is the location of some towns in Shenzhen and Dongguan in later generations, and is across the river from Xiangshan County. This is also the territory that Zhou Shixiang is looking for for the next development of the Taiping Army. Towards Xin'an is Huizhou, and towards Huizhou is Chaoshan area, which is the largest grain-producing area in Guangdong and the main source of food and salary for the Qing army in Guangdong.

There were not many Qing troops in Xin'an County, because Chaoshan and Huizhou were both occupied by the Qing army, and the Ming army in Xin'an was wiped out in Wutong Mountain and Qiniang Mountain, so there were only a few hundred people stationed in the Green Camp. However, if you want to attack Xin'an, you must first solve the Qing army in Zengcheng, otherwise the Qing army in Zengcheng would be stuck tightly at the junction of Xin'an and Xiangshan like a nail, which would make the Taiping Army very unsafe. Once the Qing army in Zengcheng cut off the passage between Xiangshan and Xin'an, the water camp that was still on paper could not be used to use the Pearl River to connect the Taiping Army of the two places, and in the end they would have to be defeated by the Qing army. Therefore, it is very unprofitable to attack Xin'an now and extremely dangerous.

"Just hit Zengcheng!"

At the meeting of the Military Commander's Office, Zhou Shi patted the board, "Prespondence first. The Eight Banners of Manzhou from Beijing have arrived in Guangzhou. The old turtle Shang Kexi will attack after they have rested. He either attacks the old general Chen of Xinhui or attacks our Taiping Army. So we have to give him a family before he takes action, so that he cannot be at ease, at least he must catch a fire in his backyard and not be able to do it with all his strength!"

"The attack on Zengcheng is led by the left camp of the infantry and my personal barracks. In addition, Shao Chengguo's cavalry also participated in the battle. The baggage battalion followed the main force and was on standby. Once our army seized Zengcheng, the baggage battalion would immediately enter the city and bring back all the food that could be moved, without leaving a single grain to the Qing army! The people in the city were willing to go back to Xiangshan with us, and they would not be willing to send them some food to other places to hide, so as not to be retaliated by the Qing army."

"After taking Zengcheng, the cavalry camp will cover the baggage battalion and move the food and retreat. The left camp of the infantry army will not withdraw for the time being. Stay for 3 days first. If the Qing army in Guangzhou comes, stop them in Zengcheng. Don't fight with the Qing army, retreat while fighting, try to attract them to Yinpingzui Mountain. I will take the personal army camp there to support me, and then set up an ambush there to see if I can take away the Qing army that has caught up!"

After Zhou Shixiang's series of orders, Qin Zhisheng asked questions and said, "Military Commander, since we have sent troops to attack Zengcheng, why can't we occupy it? Instead, we have to withdraw it? Isn't it good to turn Zengcheng into the territory of our Taiping Army?"

Zhou Shixiang understood Qin Zhisheng's meaning and directly occupied Zengcheng and obtained an additional activity territory for the Taiping Army, so that the Taiping Army would have a buffering place, or a place for escape in the Qing army's future large-scale attack.

He explained the reason why we cannot do this. He said: "Our strength is limited now, and each battalion is new and has insufficient training. As the field battle, the left camp and the right camp of the infantry can really go to battle, but half of the troops in the entire battalion, or even less than half! If we want to defend Zengcheng, it will definitely not work if there are fewer soldiers. We must give up the two most elite battalions, the left camp or the right camp of the infantry, there will be some elite camps. I ask you, the left camp or the right camp of the infantry will be placed there. Our military commander's mansion will still be in the hands of the army.

How many troops can we have to deal with the Qing army in Shunde? What if Shang Kexi decides to attack Xiangshan first, should we defend? If we want to defend the soldiers of Zengcheng, should we withdraw? If we want to retreat, what should we do to guard it? If we don’t retreat, we will have 10,000 people in Zengcheng. Are you sure that the remaining 7,000 are you sure to block the Qing army? Don’t forget that compared with the Qing army, our Taiping Army is still very weak. Every point of power on hand must be held tightly and must not be dispersed!"

"The last general understands." Qin Zhisheng and Duke Xiang of Song looked at each other and recognized Zhou Shixiang's explanation.

Zhou Shixiang did not stop there. He continued, "We attacked Zengcheng but did not leave troops to guard it. The situation was different. The initiative was completely in our hands. We fought if we wanted to fight, and we didn't want to fight. The existing power could be concentrated in Xiangshan, so that we would not be afraid of the Qing army coming to overturn our nests... Let me ask you again, if we withdraw troops from Zengcheng, will the Qing army have to continue to send troops to guard Zengcheng? If he sends troops to guard it again, we will also find loopholes to fight it again. Repeat a few times, Zengcheng will become the threat of the Qing army. Unless Shang Kexi decided to solve our Taiping Army first, otherwise they would give up Zengcheng themselves!"

"Anyway, we cannot defend the dead city and put ourselves in a passively beaten place. No matter how good that city is, as long as our strength is not enough to carry the burden of guarding this city, then don't take it. As the saying goes, people lose land, people and land will exist; when people and people lose people, people and land will be lost."

Zhou Shi was very confident in winning Zengcheng because Zengcheng was really a bone that was too soft to be soft compared to Shunde.

Zengcheng Green Camp was originally adapted from the Ming Army Guard of the South China Sea Guard. The Qianzong General Jiang Shuangxi, who led the troops, was even more incompetent. He wanted to rescue Liang and made a contribution, but he never thought that he was defeated by more than 40 cavalry of the Taiping Army. With this combat power, he could still be expected to defend Zengcheng. After Jiang Shuangxi fled back to Zengcheng, he still had fears about the Taiping Army and ordered all his battalions to huddle in Zengcheng, for fear that the Taiping Army would enter his nest from Yinpingzui Mountain.

When Guangdong Governor Li Rutai heard that Jiang Shuangxi was defeated in Yinpingzuishan, he was so angry that he ordered the Qian-General of Jiang Shuangxi to be immediately cut off. However, Jiang Shuangxi was not good at fighting, but he was very good at being a good person. The governor had been properly handled by him. As soon as the governor spoke, a group of staff persuaded him, saying that Jiang Shuangxi had no contributions and had worked hard in recent years. In view of his voluntary surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he could not be so harsh on him. Besides, victory and defeat were common in military affairs. The powerful generals under the King of Pingnan were so capable, so they would still be bloody in Xinhui, let alone Jiang Shuangxi.

After being persuaded by the people below, and the same is true, Li Rutai gave up the idea of ​​punishing Jiang Shuangxi, and instead pieced together 2,000 battalions from prefectures and counties such as Huizhou and Conghuazhou to transfer them to Zengcheng to garrison.
Chapter completed!
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