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I wrote an article the day before yesterday, "How many people did Shi Dakai take away when he ran away with negative qi?". What kind of things have been done to dismantle the stage", and it is clear that Shi Dakai's departure is not pure "negative qi", mainly to avoid disasters. This kind of avoidance of disasters is not a single pick-and-turn, but it still attaches great importance to the cause of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the exodus is to take the initiative to give up the base area in the center of Tianjing to avoid the intensification of internal contradictions caused by the "turf" dispute.
Based on this, it is not difficult to understand that when Shi Dakai left Tianjing in May 1857, the team he took with him was only a few thousand people, and when he left Anqing, the team he brought was only 50,000 or 60,000 people.
Shi Dakai left Anqing, mainly to aid Jiangxi and enter Zhejiang.
On June 11, 1857, Fu Zhenbang, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, captured Lishui, and on July 16, jurong was captured, and large soldiers gathered in Zhenjiang. The chancellor of the Jiangnan camp Qincha and Chun and Zhang Guoliang, the commander-in-chief of Zhangzhou Town, took advantage of the situation to lead an army to march towards Tianjing.
At this time, Hong Xiu's eyebrows were all burning, and he jumped to his feet in a hurry, trying his best to be better than Shi Dakai, hoping that Shi Dakai could read the old love and pull the old brother a hand.
This can be fully seen from the report of The Inspector Fu ji of Anhui Province on the sixth day of the first month of the seventh leap year of Xianfeng (June 27, 1857): "According to the letter of the thieves paid by Xiao Chengde, the general training officer of Lu'an Prefecture, there was a letter from the Wing King who secretly went out of Beijing and swore not to return, and the future Tianjing must be empty, etc., copied the fake edicts and several pieces of paper, and also fled with stones, and there was no one in Jinling to preside, so that all the puppet officials returned with hundreds of plans, but they did not return, and their love words were tragic and repeated. ”
In fact, Hong Xiuquan only constantly mobilized his courtiers to ask Shi Dakai for help when he needed to put out the fire, and when Li Xiucheng proposed that "it should still be reused for the Wing King, and no Need for the King of Anfu", he immediately changed his face and demoted li Xiucheng to remove Li Xiucheng from his position, then Shi Dakai really believed Hong Xiuquan's lies and returned to Tianjing, and could only ask for a butcher's knife and throw himself into the net.
Therefore, Shi Dakai's "oath not to go back to Beijing without permission" is true, but it does not mean that he wants to break with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
He formulated strategic measures in view of the situation between the enemy and ourselves, exercised his power as a "commander-in-chief of the army," mobilized Chen Yucheng, Hong Renchang, Hong Chunyuan, Wei Zhijun, Yang Laiqing, and others to return to defend Tianjing, while he himself went to aid Jiangxi and attack Zhejiang to disrupt the qing court's deployment, create fighter planes for the siege relief under Tianjing City, and coordinate operations through internal and external lines to relieve the siege of Tianjing.
Anqing is an important military town in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and as long as Anqing is in the hands of the Taiping Army, the Qing army does not dare to act rashly. The advance of troops from Anqing to Jiangxi and Zhejiang, and the nearby arch to defend Tianjing, will inevitably disrupt the overall deployment of the Qing army and play a role in doubling the results with half the effort.
The Qing side also had been worried about the Taiping Army advancing from Anqing to Jiangxi and Zhejiang.
Fu Ji, the inspector of Anhui Province, said: "Jiangxi is the side of Shi Da's disturbance, there are many parties and many people, and there are many echoes, and the rice grain is sufficient, and the nearby wrapping up Chu and the bandits are enough to run amok." ”
Fuxing, the xi'an general who handled jiangxi military affairs, also praised: "If you are worried about his disdain for Jiangnan, he will try to wreak havoc in southern Anhui." ”
The following facts also proved that "since Da Kaizhi left the division from Anqing, the momentum was concussed, and the Manchu Qing aided Zhejiang, aided Fujian, and defended the Shu campaigns, and the commander of the Xiang Army, Zeng Guofan Yuzhi."
Shi Dakai marched into Gansu and Zhejiang, affecting the overall situation of the Qing army, making Zeng Guofan and others tired of running for their lives, and greatly reducing the pressure on Tianjing. Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng were able to calmly break through the Jiangnan camp and stabilize the dangerous situation in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In fact, after Zeng Guofan returned to his homeland to guard the system with "Ding Father's Worry", the Qing court was extremely suspicious of him, and originally wanted to hide it in the snow, not wanting him to take over the military power again, and the two changes in the Tianjing Incident and Shi Dakai's departure made the Qing court firm in this idea, but Shi Dakai's strategy in Gansu and Zhejiang, the deployment of the Qing army was completely disrupted, and the Minister of Chincha and Chun, who were assigned to Zhejiang to preside over military affairs, were too timid to make the trip, so they had to revive Zeng Guofan.
Having said that, although we can know from Dexing'a's sonata to Emperor Xianfeng that Shi Dakai's military campaign to enter Jiangxi and Zhejiang was approved by Hong Xiuquan, that is, the relationship between the monarchs and subjects between the two was still there, Hong Xiuquan could not tolerate the existence of Shi Dakai's semi-independent state, and after the situation in Tianjing was temporarily stabilized, he also appointed Yang Fuqing as the main general of the Chinese army, and in fact dismissed Shi Dakai from his post as the chief general of the army, and by co-opting Yang Fuqing, he made small moves from behind, so that Shi Dakai lost his rear support and forced Shi Da to open an expedition. Since then, it has become farther and farther away from Tianjing, the political center of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Shi Dakai withdrew from Zhejiang, one because of the plague epidemic in The Jianchang and Ningdu areas of Jiangxi, and the other because Yang Fuqing had withdrawn from Fujian to Jiangxi, so as not to cause unnecessary friction in Jiangxi, he went from Gansu to Fujian and successively conquered Zhenghe, Chong'an, Jianyang, Taining, Jianning, Ninghua, Tingzhou and other prefectures.
Unfortunately, the land in these places is barren, there are disasters and famines, the supply of grain and grass is difficult, and the soldiers are not satisfied with the water and soil; in the words of Zeng Guofan, it is "the thief who dies of no food, who dies of the earth, who moves thousands, and who is in disarray along the way", and it is impossible to establish a base area.
In the winter of 1858, Yang Fuqing's troops fought with the Qing army in Jingdezhen, and the war was tight, and he wrote a letter inviting Shi Dakai to come to his aid.
Note that Yang Fuqing was separated from Shi Dakai's subordinates--Yang Fuqing's sudden departure that day caused Shi Dakai's idea of opening up the Base Area of Zhejiang and Fujian to fail, and Yang Fuqing was named the main general of the Chinese army by Hong Xiuquan, which was actually the "main general of the Tong Army" who replaced Shi Dakai. If Shi Dakai was a narrow-minded person, he would definitely scorn and ignore Yang Fuqing's call for help.
However, after Receiving the letter, Shi Dakai immediately divided his troops into three ways into Ganjiang, Lianjin, Liancheng, Nan'an, Chongyi, and Xinfeng in the West of The Kejiang River, pinned down the Qing army, and then attacked Ganzhou, preparing to go north from Ganzhou to retake Ji'an and Linjiang, and conspired with Yang Fuqing's forces to retake Jiujiang.
To this end, Luo Bingzhang exclaimed in a sonata to the Xianfeng Emperor: "When Shi Rebellion was in Nan'an, Jing De Thief (referring to Yang Fuqing) instructed him to take the road north from Ganji and join forces with it, in order to channel Anhui and Hubei, and Shi Reverse said that it was necessary to channel Hunan from Nan'an to Hunan and move down to Hubei Province to take the upstream trend. This book was seized by the Jiangxi Leping Gentry Regiment, and its cunning was so vicious. ”
Shi Dakai wanted to jointly retake Jiangxi with Yang Fuqing's forces, but although Yang Fuqing once had an advantage in Jingdezhen, he eventually lacked the strength to advance into Jiujiang at the mouth of the lake, so he changed his strategy and wrote to Yang Fuqing, saying that "it is necessary to cross from nan'an to Hunan and move down to Hubei Province, in order to take the upstream momentum."
The strategic concept of "moving from Nan'an to Hunan and descending to Hubei Province to take the upper reaches" was a decision made by Shi Dakai's generals at the Chinese New Year's Eve Congress in 1858, and it was planned to advance into Sichuan from the land of the two lakes, known in history as the "Nan'an Decision".
After the Spring Festival in 1859, Shi Dakai drove into Xiang and launched the "Battle of Baoqing" in the hinterland of Hunan.
Although Baoqing is an important town in the hinterland of central Hunan, although its strategic position is important and it is a place where soldiers and families must contend, since Shi Dakai is ready to enter Sichuan to open up a base area, he should continue to implement the previous flexible and mobile tactics of "electric hurricane and rush day and night", seize the time, and make a decision in one fell swoop before the Xiang army has returned to the division and the Sichuan side has no time to react.
However, Shi Dakai launched a protracted battle in Baoqing.
The reason is that Shi Dakai is still worried about the cause of Tianjing.
In his article "What Kind of Decision Shi Dakai Made in Nan'an", Mr. Zhu Kaihan analyzed: "The Xiang army fell to the east to attack Anqing, far from the rear, exposing the difficulties of the Xiang army in replenishing and providing supplies. It also caused the generals of the Xiang Army to be afraid of the Taiping Army's surprise attack on Hunan. If the Taiping Army avoids the truth and is vain, detours to the south of Gannan and attacks the hinterland of Hunan, thus pushing toward Hubei, it will surely shake the hearts of the Xiang army and force the Xiang army to return to save Hunan. This would not only relieve the siege of Anqing, but also the Taiping Army could recreate the momentum of building from a lofty height. It is likely that Shi Dakai decided to enter Huguang for the fourth time based on this judgment of the situation. ”
It can be seen that Shi Dakai's large-scale attack on Baoqing was more from the consideration of relieving the siege of Anqing.
In fact, as far as Shi Dakai was concerned, as long as he took Baoqing, he could grasp the initiative on the battlefield, and he could either use Baoqing as a base, take the upstream momentum, return to Hubei, or enter Sichuan from Baoqing. If there are sufficient troops, they can even divide the troops into two routes, one way into Hubei, and attack the Taiping Army in Jiangxi and Anhui on two fronts to recover the three towns of Wuhan; the other way into Sichuan, seize the "country of Tianfu" and establish a new base area. The realization of the strategic goal of marching into Sichuan will not only disperse the enemy's forces, but also unite all the rebel armies in the southwest and strive for a favorable position in the upstream, fundamentally changing the strategic situation of the anti-Qing dynasty throughout the country.
That is, Shi Dakai's strategy of planning for Shu is a far-sighted proposition that not only cares for Tianjing but also seeks the overall situation, and is not simply "unique" and "self-reliant" and "self-reliant."
That is to say, in the third year after leaving Tianjing, Shi Dakai still remembered the cause of tianjing in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The Battle of Baoqing began in February 1859, and Shi Dakai "led the masses from Anfu in southwestErn Jiangxi to Baoqing, known as 200,000" and entered Baoqing in two ways: one attacked Baoqing from the side of the west road, led by Fu Zhongxin and Yu Zihe, from Xinning and Wugang to Baoqing; Chen Hengrong took Daozhou and detoured through Guangxi into Xinning and Wugang; Lai Yuxin attacked Dong'an from the border of Daozhou and Yongzhou to force Baoqing. Another route, Shi Dakai, personally commanded, approached Baoqing from the southeast.
On May 24, Shi Dakai's large armies broke through the Qing army's blockade, and in late June, they reached the outskirts of Baoqing one after another, and immediately camped on the mountains from the west, south, and southeast sides of the city to control the traffic lines of the north and northeast roads of the city.
It is worth mentioning that when the Battle of Baoqing was in full swing, Shi Dakai heard that Hong Ren had been appointed to preside over state affairs, and he also sent an envoy to congratulate him in his busy schedule, and proposed that all the future chapters for the Heavenly King would be transferred by the King of Qigan. That is, his heart was still worried about Tianjing's brothers, paying attention to Tianjing's every move.
In early July, Shi Dakai gave everything he had and launched a siege of Baoqing, which lasted for three months and shocked the Qing court and the opposition.
In ancient warfare, attacking fortified cities and pools, no matter how many famous generals, would feel extremely headaches. Before explosives with great explosive power were applied to sieges, the means for Chinese troops to attack cities were very limited. Countless classic examples of winning more with less have occurred in the field battlefield, and once the enemy shrinks into the city as a turtle, even if Sun Wu Baihan regenerates, he can only look at the city and sigh. Distant thoughts of Zhuge Wu Marquis's mysterious plans emerged in an endless stream, but when he encountered Sima Yi's deep trench barrier, he could only lament, "Leisurely heaven, this is the extreme!" Emperor Taizong of Tang could crush Dou Jiande's 100,000-strong army with only 3,500 cavalry, but to take the fortified city of Luoyang, he could only use the stupid method of besieging and cutting off grain to force Wang Shichong to leave the city and surrender. From the Spring and Autumn Warring States to the late Qing Dynasty, there were only famous generals who defended the city and famous generals in the field, and there were no famous generals who attacked the city. No one has the unique skill of attacking the city, the so-called destruction of the city and the pulling up of the wall, most of them are suppressed by large armies, and the soldiers are intimidated, forcing the defenders to flee or surrender, or using tricks to lure the defenders to annihilate outside the city. When encountering a resolute and indomitable defender, there is only one way to besiege, until the city is exhausted and the will collapses.
Shi Dakai was a guest army in Hunan, lacking rear support, it was impossible to implement the "long siege", and he stayed under Baoqing City for too long, so that the veterans of the division were tired, and in order to preserve their strength, they had to withdraw to Guangxi to rest.
Although the Battle of Baoqing ended in defeat, the major impact on the overall situation cannot be erased.
Originally, Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi were preparing for a three-way attack on Anqing in Huangzhou, but they had to change to Baoqing because of the Battle of Baoqing, which delayed the Battle of Anqing for more than a year.
In addition, Zeng Guofan "originally planned to dispatch Xiao Qijiang's army from Fuliang" to attack Yang Fuqing's troops stationed in Jingdezhen, but also because Shi Dakai's march into Hunan caused "the fall of Bingui", he was forced to transfer Xiao Qijiang's army to "return to Hunan".
Hu Linyi "When the Xiang incident is urgent... Only 2,000 soldiers were led into Huangzhou to defend the city, and the Gai soldiers would all go to Xiangzhong", which led to Huangzhou later falling into the hands of Chen Yucheng.
On the battlefield of Tianjing, the Taiping Army's Jiangpu defender Xue Zhiyuan rebelled, the rebel general Li Zhaoshou entered Pukou, and Li Xiucheng was left and right, and danger was fraught with danger. Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty also sent an edict to Guan Wen and Hu Linyi, ordering the Xiang army to attack Shu, Tong, Luzhou, and Anqing by land and water to contain Chen Yucheng, and the situation was extremely critical.
It was Shi Dakai's battle in Hunan that disrupted the deployment of Guan Wen, Hu Linyi, and others. In the words of Guan Wen and Hu Linyi, it is "because Shi Dakai entered Hunan, he successively transferred four battalions of the Water Division, four battalions of the Lu Division, and two hundred horse teams. If Baoqing's troops were insufficient, Yue and E would shake at the same time. ”
It can be said that from the perspective of the quantity and quality of the Qing army and the impact on the overall situation, the Battle of Baoqing was a large-scale battle in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement.
That is, from his departure from Beijing in May 1857 to the end of the Battle of Baoqing in August 1859, Shi Dakai had always been the leading figure in the anti-Qing struggle, and the battlefields of Zhejiang, Fujian, Gansu and Xiang that he opened up were the main battlefields of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom against the Qing.
Regarding the strategic significance of the Battle of Baoqing to the overall situation, Wang Guoping summed it up in the "Study of the Battle of Baoqing in 1859": "In early 1859, the wing king Shi Dakai raised a division of 100,000 people, directly attacked the old nest of the Xiang Army, Hunan, and launched the Battle of Baoqing, which ended in the defeat of Shi Dakai's army and was regrettable, but the impact of the Battle of Baoqing affected Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui and Tianjing and their outskirts, disrupted or contained the military operations of the Xiang and Chu armies, and supported the Taiping Army on the main battlefield in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The strategic importance of some people who move the overall situation is an important page in the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War. ”
Decades later, Zhao Erfeng, the governor of Sichuan, lamented the role of Shi Dakai in "concealing solidarity with the Jinling Thieves' Nest" after he left, saying: "Shi Xiangsu is called Xiao Qiang, and the Jinling Old Nest has been in a long-term negative corner. Since Shi rebelled against the rebellion, Jinling lost a major foreign aid, and the officers and troops were determined to besiege Jinling, and the Jiangnan military affairs were purged. That is, the existence of Tianjing was mainly due to Shi Dakai's "good deployment of distant forces and containment of the officers and troops", and Shi Dakai's defeat and death, that is, "Jiangnan military affairs were purged".
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