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Chapter 317 The Hubei army marches westward

The Manchus had not yet realized that their doom was coming.

Xianfeng and a group of important ministers still regarded the Huaihai pirates as the second bandit. Over the past year, the court happened to have accumulated some troops, money and food, which gave everyone a certain degree of confidence.

In order to prevent the Huaihai pirates from repeating their old tricks and starving the capital of food, Sushun organized the granary and stockpiled a large amount of food during this year.

The Huaihai Pirates' grain import policy suppressed grain prices, but instead created conditions for the Qing court to collect grain.

Therefore, if the Huaihai pirates interrupt water or sea transportation again, the court will not be afraid in the short term.

However, it is somewhat difficult to suppress the Huaihai Pirates' business activities in the north. Since the last incident in the capital, the Huaihai Pirates' industries and trade routes in the north have been assigned to companies composed of northern merchants.

These businessmen include almost most of the big businessmen in Zhili, and these people all have their own backgrounds and backers.

If Sushun dared to touch these people at this time, he would definitely suffer internal backlash.

This is what happened to these officials of the Qing Dynasty. Although I received a salary from the court, I should continue to do business with bad pirates behind the scenes.

The imperial court can touch the Huai pirates' things, but if they touch these people's steamed buns, they will rise up and fight for their lives.

Obtaining economic benefits in the minds of these people is the guarantee for the expansion and development of the family. Being an official in the government only adds a protective umbrella for this.

Regarding the banning of Tianjin New City, Xianfeng secretly told Sushun, but Sushun was still hesitant because he understood what was involved better than Xianfeng.

Sushun, who has been around the capital for many years, is very familiar with the operations of these big gentry and landlords, and secretly there are not many people in the capital who are related to Tianjin New Town.

There is another matter that Xianfeng also secretly told Sushun from time to time. Xianfeng asked Sushun to do something secretive about this matter, that is, to have contact with foreigners. But Xianfeng did not say to what extent.

This is an obvious blame-shifting behavior. Sushun knew it well. But Sushun had already made up his mind to do his final contribution to the Qing Dynasty. Even if Xianfeng did such an irresponsible behavior, he would not

Don't really care.

Different from the great fanfare of the Renaissance Army, the Hubei Army is much more low-key. Ordinary soldiers do not even know that they have become the Renaissance Army.

The model of the Hubei Army is different from that of the original Huai Navy. Zuo Jigao pays more attention to the obedience of soldiers in military training. Therefore, Zuo Jigao does not need to explain anything to the soldiers below, he only needs to tell the officers what to do.

Zuo Ji's boss has always been known for his domineering attitude towards his subordinates. His subordinates have all adapted to his method.

Zuo Jigao did not hold any swearing-in meeting. After the Fuxing Army held a swearing-in meeting in Jiangning on February 20, Zuo Zongtang began to gather troops and secretly transferred the army to Badong.

The task of staying behind in Hubei will be handed over to the militia sent by the Renaissance Army. Zuo Jigao's Central Hubei Army soldiers have all been assembled and organized into six divisions. These six divisions are the 11th to 16th divisions of the West Route Army, for a total of five

Ten thousand people were incorporated into the unified establishment of the Renaissance Army. Zuo Jigao had already brought all the equipment of these 50,000 people back from Jiangning.

However, the Renaissance Army is still short of armaments, although the arsenal has been expanded repeatedly.

Therefore, only two of Zuo Jigao's six divisions are equipped with Type 53 rifles, and none of the latest Type 54 are equipped. The rest are all equipped with front-loading rifled guns.

All local administrative work in Hubei has also been brought under the jurisdiction of the Fuxing Army. Originally, officials from Zuo Jigao and his family were retained by the Fuxing Army. However, after the reform of the local government in Hubei, the vacated seats will be filled by the Fuxing Army.

This can basically ensure that Hubei can quickly integrate into the FNA system.

After Zuo Jigao decided to march westward, he never thought about continuing to hold Hubei in his hands.

Because Hubei Province alone cannot support the huge supply expenditure of the Western Route Army.

Zuo Jigao did not expect that the first target of the West Route Army would be Yuezhou.

Yuezhou Prefecture is under the jurisdiction of Hunan in the northwest of Changsha Prefecture. The prefecture is just stuck on the shore of the lake mouth connecting the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake.

Whether the Central Route Army enters Dongting Lake to outflank Changsha, or the West Route Army takes a boat to sail west to Sichuan, it must pass under the nose of Yuezhou, so this nail in the Hunan Army must be removed.

Fortunately, Yuezhou Prefecture did not deploy many troops. The focus of the Hunan Army's defense has always been the junction of Changsha Prefecture and Jiangxi Huaihai Navy, as well as the junction with Guangxi in the south.

Zeng Guofan never expected that Zuo Jigao would turn to Huai Haijun. He always felt that Zuo Jigao, who was born in Hunan, should be his natural ally.

Therefore, there are 3,000 city defense camps defending Yuezhou Prefecture, and more than 1,000 of them are scattered in various counties, cooperating with the counties under Yuezhou to maintain local security.

There are only 2,000 weak city defense battalions in Yuezhou Prefecture. From the Battle of Liling, it can be seen that these old patrol battalions have no combat effectiveness at all.

Zuo Jigao wanted to prepare for an expedition to Sichuan. He planned to advance by water, which required a large number of ships. The current in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was rapid, and it was not easy to go upstream.

To this end, Dong Shuheng recruited a large number of high-horsepower steam tugboats and a large number of cargo ships from the original canal and Yangtze River transport fleets.

A fleet consisting of tens of thousands of people, plus ships transporting supplies, together is definitely a huge fleet.

On February 25th, the fleet led by Peng Yulin arrived in Wuchang.

He brought some ship supplies to Zuo Jigao.

Also accompanying the ship were 20,000 militiamen and some administrative officials. These people will be responsible for the transfer of Hubei.

Zuo Jigao and Peng Yulin met at the top of Wuchang City and had a small gathering for a while. This was obviously something Zuo Jigao had planned for a long time, and he seemed to have something to explain to Peng Yulin.

"Xueqin, I didn't expect that we two fellow Hunan fellows would defeat Dong Shuheng's men. It's really like the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead." Zuo Jigao said with emotion as he looked at the river.

He has been operating in Hubei for more than a year and has developed feelings for the place.

Hubei is not far from Zuo Jigao's hometown of Xiangyin. After this expedition, he didn't know when he would be able to come back.

"Ji Gao, you have a great talent. I was just a nobody before. Shouldn't we feel lucky to be able to regain the Han family today?"

Peng Yulin is very humble, always polite in front of others, gentle, generous to his subordinates, and very self-disciplined in life.

He is completely opposite to Zuo Jigao's wild and uninhibited genius style.

"Ji Gao, you are going on this expedition with high mountains and long roads. I would like to toast you and wish you a long-lasting military fortune. In the future, there will definitely be one more Zuo Jigao who opens the Western Regions of China. To be honest, I am a little bit confused.

I envy you." Peng Yulin raised his glass and said.

"Well, I accept your good words and wish Xueqin can pacify the southwest as soon as possible."

"Dong Shuheng is still young when studying piano. I think he is determined to make progress now. It is inevitable that he will become proud and complacent in the future. You should pay more attention to it in the future."

Zuo Jigao has always regarded Dong Shuheng as a junior in his heart, and he has always been straightforward in his speech. He may not come back in the next few years. Restoring the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties cannot be achieved overnight, especially in the Western Regions, where people are everywhere

The enemy, as well as Tsarist Russia, is watching eagerly from the side.

After he left, no one in the Fuxing Army could restrain Dong Shuheng. He and Dong Shuheng had not been together for long, so naturally he felt a little worried.

Since ancient times, it has been easy to build a country, but it is difficult to build a country. Now it seems that it is easy for Dong Shuheng to build a country, but whether he can manage it well remains a question mark.

Besides, people change, and he doesn't know what Dong Shuheng will become in the future. That's why he took this opportunity to give Peng Yulin some advice here today.

They both came from Hunan, and Peng Yulin was also well-known in Hunan at that time. From the beginning, he made meritorious service in suppressing bandits, but later he resigned.

Peng Yulin is a very decent person with an upright personality and is not afraid of power.

What Zuo Jigao said today was because he expected him to be a direct minister and Wei Zheng next to Dong Shuheng in the future.

"I will remember what Mr. Zuo said, and I hope that Mr. Zuo can fight on the front line with peace of mind, all for the purpose of reviving China."

"To revitalize China." Zuo Jigao also raised his wine glass, and the two of them drank it down in one gulp.

On February 26, two Hubei Army gunboats escorted a regiment of Hubei Army. They set off from Wuchang and aimed directly at Yuezhou Fucheng.

Peng Yulin led the army and followed behind him ten miles apart.

In the afternoon of that day, the Hubei army landed at Yuezhou City, with the excuse of going to Changsha.

The Hubei army and the Hunan army are friendly armies. Zeng Guofan had previously invited the Hubei army to attack the Huaihai navy. The prefect of Yuezhou naturally knew about this. For this reason, he personally took people outside the city gate to receive these Hubei troops.

But right at the gate of the city, these friendly troops suddenly launched an attack, took control of the officials of Yuezhou Prefecture, and seized the city gate.

He also threatened Yuezhou officials and forced the defenders in the city to surrender.

After a few sticks of incense, the people of Yuezhou saw plumes of smoke rising from the river. A huge fleet, led by six gunboats, arrived at the lake.

After being frightened just now, the Yuezhou officials saw that the Hubei army was about to hand them over to another army. Now all that was left in their minds was surprise.

Others didn't know it, but the prefect of Yuezhou knew that these people in colorful military uniforms were Huai Haijun. At this time, Hunan didn't know that Huai Haijun had officially raised the flag to rebel.

Peng Yulin didn't waste any time and dropped a Huaihai Navy militia regiment from the fleet to take over Yuezhou Prefecture. The Hubei army of this regiment then continued to capture various counties under Yuezhou Prefecture.

Peng Yulin led the fleet towards Dongting Lake in the south, and this was the scene before. Peng Yulin looked at the beautiful scenery of Dongting on the bow of the boat and recalled his past time.

Peng Yulin went south, and Zuo Jigao also set off from Wuchang. The four divisions of the Hubei Army had already moved to Badong County in Yichang Prefecture, Hubei Province, which is the gateway between Hubei and Sichuan.

Sichuan is a large province under the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. It includes the Chengdu Plain, a major grain-producing area, ethnic minority settlements in southern Sichuan, and the plateau in western Sichuan.

Whether the Renaissance Army is preparing to control the plateau province in the southwest or move north to Gansu and Shaanxi, it is best to pass through Sichuan.

Moreover, Sichuan is a place that is conducive to defense. Now they have no defense against Hubei, and there is still the possibility of quickly entering.

Once they are on guard, it will not be easy for the Renaissance Army to capture Sichuan. Just prying open the door to Sichuan is a difficult task.

Zuo Jigao set Sichuan as his first target. In addition to the above tactical reasons, another reason was because of Luo Bingzhang.

Luo Bingzhang can be regarded as an outlier among imperial officials because he is a rare honest official.

Luo Bingzhang served as a court official in the capital for 16 years. The most prominent and honorable position was that he served as a lecturer for Emperor Daoguang. He was respected as an emperor's teacher in both the government and the public, so he was famous among scholars and enjoyed high popularity. Therefore, Emperor Xianfeng The later Emperor Tongzhi also had great respect for this former emperor's teacher.

During his stay in Beijing, Luo Bingzhang was not only known for his knowledge, but also for his integrity. Because of his integrity, he offended many corrupt officials and was criticized several times.

In the 30th year of Daoguang's reign (1850), Emperor Xianfeng ordered Luo Bingzhang to serve as governor of Hunan.

In less than a year, he was impeached and resigned because he failed to meet Sai Shanga's military requirements. Not long after, he was appointed governor of Hubei, and Zhang Liangji was appointed governor of Hunan.

Not long after, the court exchanged the two men again.

It was at that time that Zuo Jigao followed Zhang Liangji to Hubei and started his own journey as a Hubei warlord.

Luo Bingzhang took advantage of these years of stability to prepare and train the Hunan Army to fight against the Taiping Army in Jiangxi, while at the same time recuperating and developing people's livelihood in Hunan.

He actively developed trade with Huai Haijun at that time. It was not that he liked Huai Haijun, but doing business with Huai Haijun could export tea, bristles and even grain products produced in Hunan, increase Hunan's income and improve people's lives.

In the entire south, only the Huai Navy controlled trade routes, whether they were waterways on the Yangtze River or mountain roads.

Either cooperate with Huai Haijun and everyone makes money together, or be hostile to Huai Haijun and make things rotten in your hands and unable to sell them.

Luo Bingzhang was in charge of the government and loved the people as his sons. He obviously put the people above the court.

It is precisely because of this that when the imperial court was preparing to deal with the Huai Navy, Luo Bingzhang was transferred out of Hunan and replaced by Zeng Guofan, who was relatively tough on the Huai Navy.

Since Luo Bingzhang was transferred to Sichuan as governor in the fourth year of Xianfeng, he has maintained his usual style of governing.

Focus all your energy on improving people's livelihood.

Sichuan is hiding in a remote rear area. There are no powerful enemies around.

So while all provinces were training new armies, Sichuan still didn't take any action.

Luo Bingzhang knew very well that the Huai Navy would confront the imperial court sooner or later.

But Luo Bingzhang didn't have such a strong dislike for Huai Haijun.

Because Huai Haijun also attaches great importance to the development of people's livelihood, which is very similar to Luo Bingzhang's governing philosophy.

However, it was impossible for Luo Bingzhang to stand with Huai Haijun because of his reputation.

After arriving in Sichuan, Luo Bingzhang did two things. One was to punish corrupt officials.

Originally, Luo Bingzhang had just arrived and it was difficult to punish corrupt officials.

But he also had some confidants who had been training the Hunan Army in Hunan in the past few years. When he left Hunan, he took the third battalion of the Hunan Army with him as his supervising battalion.

This was his confidence after entering Sichuan.

With force in hand, he can calmly engage in political corruption.

Another thing is to promote the naturalization of chieftains. The Qing Dynasty continued the policy of the Ming Dynasty and continued to promote the conversion of native chieftains to locals.

Luo Bingzhang agrees with the promotion of cultural and economic reform.

Promote the development of some market towns close to the Tusi territory to make it more convenient for mountain residents to go out and do business.

Another one is to set up a school, select the chieftain's children to study in the school, and stipulate that the heirs of the chieftain must attend the school.

These methods have all been used by predecessors, but they are all very effective.

It's just that many Manchu officials were lazy and unwilling to put in the effort.

Zuo Jigao wanted to win over Luo Bingzhang. As both Han Chinese, Zuo Jigao did not want to see such a great talent fall.

One day after Peng Yulin left, on February 27, Zuo Jigao took the remaining two divisions of the Hubei army and 50,000 militiamen recruited from Hubei, and sailed upstream in a mighty boat.

Zuo Jigao's subordinates are considered to be descendants of Hubei. Expeditions with large armies and coming from the same place can enhance the cohesion among the soldiers.

Because of the tow of the steam tug, the ship can travel much faster than using sails.

The distance from Wuchang to Badong is more than 500 kilometers, and the Western Route Army walked there for two days and two nights.

On February 29, all the Western Route Army arrived at Badong, which turned into a large military station.

Now Zuo Jigao's men need people and food, so everything is ready.

It is impossible to bring all these troops in at once.

Zuo Jigao's goal in the first stage is to reach Chongqing Prefecture, and on the way there are Kuizhou Prefecture and Zhongzhou.

The terrain on both sides of the Yangtze River in this section is dangerous. Because of this, most cities are built on the banks of the Yangtze River.

So Zuo Jigao only needs to take a boat all the way to capture the cities on both sides of the strait.

In this way, the artillery on the gunboat can also be used as supporting firepower.

He now has enough troops to occupy all the way.

The main army can take turns going into battle without worrying about soldiers getting tired.

Moreover, the Renaissance Army has complete control over the Yangtze River, and there is no need to worry about logistical severance. As long as there are no problems with the Renaissance Army's base camp in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the West Route Army can fight all the way.

ps: It’s dizzying to look at the map! Readers, how long will this war last? Do you have any suggestions?


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