In January 1866, Jiaying Prefecture was in danger, and Tan Tiyuan, the king of Jiaying, led his troops to break through. The traitor Huang XIV betrayed the Taiping Army and informed the Xiang army of Tan Tiyuan's breakthrough route, and Zuo Zongtang set up an ambush in advance. After Tan Tiyuan personally led the troops to break, he covered the retreat of the main force and fought with the Xiang army. After being seriously injured, Tan Tiyuan jumped off a cliff on horseback, unfortunately broke his leg, was captured by Huang Shaochun, and was executed by Ling Chi.
After Tan Tiyuan's death, the Xiang army pursued Hu Yongxiang in three ways, and surrounded and intercepted him. After a battle, Hu Yongxiang's army was completely destroyed, more than seventy generals were captured, and the Southern Taiping Army was defeated. Next, the Xiang army and the Huai army concentrated their forces north to attack the Northern Expedition Taiping Army led by Lai Wenguang. In January 1868, Lai Wenguang was defeated by the Huai army in Yangzhou, executed by Ling Chi, and his entire army was destroyed.
Compared with the Southern Taiping Army, the Northern Taiping Army led by Lai Wenguang was stronger and won several large-scale battles. In 1865, Lai Wenguang, Zhang Zongyu and others set up an ambush in Shandong GaolouZhai, killing more than 7,000 people in the Eight Banners Horse Team, and the monk Greenqin was killed by small soldiers. In the Battle of Gaolouzhai, the Eight Banners were seriously injured, and they never had the opportunity to perform again.
In 1867, Zhang Zongyu, Qiu Yuancai and others led the Xiang army around in circles, fought in Guanzhong for several months, and then ambushed and ambushed at Baqiao to attract the main force of the Xiang army to come to the decisive battle. At the Battle of Baqiao, the Xiang army lost more than 4,000 people, and more than 7,000 people were captured, and Liu Rong, the governor of Shaanxi, retreated to Xi'an, and the Qing army in Guanzhong was panicked.
The Northern Taiping Army achieved brilliant results, mainly to reorganize with the "Twist Army", and Lai Wenguang, Zhang Zongyu and others formed a powerful cavalry brigade with strong mobility. After the reorganization, Zhang Zongyu, Ren Huabang, Li Yun, and others all accepted the canonization of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and fought under the banner of the Taiping Army, calling on the people to rise up against the Qing.
Lai Wenguang defeated Yangzhou, Zhang Zongyu was subsequently defeated by the Huai army in Hebei, and then retreated to the mountains and forests, and the Northern Taiping Army was almost completely destroyed, but some people continued to carry the anti-Qing banner. Yuan Dakui, Zhang Zongyu's general, who continued to insist on resisting the Qing in Shaanxi gave the Xiang army a headache. In the Battle of Laoyan Kiln, Yuan Dakui led hundreds of soldiers to fight with the elite soldiers of the 5,000 Xiang Army carrying flowering cannons, although they were defeated.
In November 1867, Zhang Zongyu went on a crusade from Shaanxi to reinforce Lai Wenguang. Yuan Dakui, as a pioneer of exploration, led dozens of cavalry to explore the way to see if the Yellow River was frozen. Who knows, the Xiang army launched a continuous attack, And Zhang Zongyu did not wait for Yuan Dakui to return, so he directly pulled out the camp and left and crossed the Yellow River.
Zhang Zongyu led the main force to leave, and Yuan Dakui only had a few dozen people, and could only return to Shaanxi and wait for the opportunity to rise. At this time, the Shaanxi region suffered a famine, yuan Dakui recruited a large number of soldiers, and carried out reclamation, and soon pulled up a team of more than 30,000 people.
After the Xiang army defeated Zhang Zongyu, Liu Songshan led 8,000 soldiers and horses to the west and attacked the town of Yunyan, which was guarded by Yuan Dakui. The Xiang army carried flowering cannons, the leader of the northwestern rebel army, Dong Fuxiang, turned against the enemy, Yuan Dakui was defeated, and almost all of his troops collapsed. Even so, Yuan Dakui continued to fight, pulling up a group of hungry people and using the old rock kiln as a base to fight guerrilla warfare while reclaiming.
The old rock kiln, located in Bao'an County, Shaanxi, is a cave in a cliff. Below the cliff, there is a stream of Luo water; on both sides of the cliff, there are cliffs, only a small wooden bridge to connect with the outside world. In order to prevent the Xiang army from attacking, Yuan Dakui had ordered the wooden bridge to be pulled up. In addition, the old rock kiln hoarded a large amount of grain, enough for the Taiping Army to eat and drink for two or three years.
The Taiping Army guarding the old rock kiln was not many, only a few hundred people, but the old rock kiln was dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was not easy for the Xiang army to seize this place. Shi Zai: "The old rock kiln, the wall stands on a thousand feet, the lower is adjacent to Luoshui, and its kiln is hanging in the rock, and both sides are lined with deep grabens and small bridges and pavilions." ”
Liu Songshan first destroyed the camp on the edge of the Luoshui River with a flowering cannon, and then led the Xiang army straight to the bottom of the cliff, and set up a large camp to prepare for a strong attack. From Liu Songshan's point of view, the hundreds of Taiping troops in the area were just a ragtag bunch, and as long as the Xiang army launched a strong attack, they would definitely break up. In this way, the Xiang army continued to attack and directly climbed the cliff, striving to be close to the mouth of the cave.
Under the cover of artillery, the Xiang army launched a frontal attack, and Yuan Dakui did not panic at all. The Taiping Army shot at the Xiang Army with foreign guns, or smashed down with stones, and the Xiang Army cried bitterly. Next, the Xiang army held torches and carried dry firewood on their backs, preparing to burn the mouth of the cave. The Taiping Army was also interesting enough, and directly threw torches at the cliffs and burned the Xiang army carrying dry firewood to death.
After several strong attacks, although there was a kaihua cannon cover, the opening of the cave was too small, the artillery could not hit, the Xiang army could not get close, and the old rock stood still. To this end, Liu Songshan summoned the generals to discuss and change the mode of warfare.
The frontal attack was not possible, the Xiang army suffered heavy casualties, and Liu Songshan decided to send soldiers to attack from behind the mountain, but the back mountain was also a cliff. Liu Songshan then ordered the recruitment of minfu, and while digging a path on the cliff behind the mountain, he continued to attack the front to cover the construction of minfu. Ten days later, when construction was completed, Liu Songshan sent more than a dozen generals to attack from Houshan to raid the Taiping Army.
In order to succeed smoothly, Liu Songshan adopted night raid tactics for several consecutive days, starting at six o'clock in the morning and returning to the camp at nine o'clock in the evening. Shi Zai: "When the spray canister rocket is released, the defense cannot rest, and the five more start to close the team." The Xiang army took turns to take night attacks, and although Yuan Dakui repeatedly repelled the enemy army, the Taiping army was too small in number, had no time to rest, and was already tired.
In the dead of night, the Xiang army on the cliff, armed with hemp ropes, hung down from the cliff and made a surprise attack on the cave entrance. The Xiang army held a fire canister, threw it into the mouth of the cave, and then launched an attack. At this time, the Taiping Army was exhausted, and it did not expect that the Xiang Army would come to this move, and there was a great chaos. Shi Zai: "The more you put down, the more you pull out the fence and break in, and even throw fire bombs." Dakui woke up. ”
After the Xiang army rushed into the cave entrance, Yuan Dakui was caught off guard and was stabbed to death by the Xiang army. Yuan Dakui's younger brother continued to fight, fighting hand-to-hand with the Xiang army and also dying on the battlefield. None of the hundreds of Taiping troops guarding the old rock kiln were willing to surrender, and they fought a bloody battle with the Xiang army and were all killed. Shi Zai: "The village was broken, and hundreds of people below the Great Kui were killed in battle."
The Battle of the Old Rock Kiln was not very large in scale, but the Taiping Army had a high morale. When he fell into a desperate situation, Yuan Dakui still refused to surrender, and with hundreds of soldiers and more than 5,000 Xiang troops, he insisted on holding on to the cave, although he was defeated.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom