In November 1855, The Wing King Shi Dakai led his troops from Hubei into Jiangxi, expanding the Armed Forces of the Heaven and Earth Society along the way, gathering 40,000 horses and horses, and having a crushing advantage over the Xiang army of Zeng Guofan who remained in Jiangxi. There were many soldiers and horses under his command, Shi Dakai commanded properly, the Taiping Army won successive battles, defeated the main force of the Xiang army in the Battle of Zhangshu, and zeng Guofan, a "famous minister of Zhongxing", was besieged in the isolated city of Nanchang. Then, the Taiping Army swept through Jiangxi, occupying eight provinces and forty-seven counties, and almost the entire jiangxi was included.
Shi Dakai "passed through Jiangxi" and achieved remarkable results, and the Wing King laid his own base. The three cities of Jiujiang, Hukou and Pengze were the bases of Yang Xiuqing of the Eastern King, and the rest were the bases of Shi Dakai, and the generals under the Command of the King of Yi were guarding the city pools and not allowing others to touch them. Among them, Linjiang Shou will be a close confidant Cheng Ying, this person is brave and good at war, brave and strategic, and he has repeatedly attacked the Xiang army. Unfortunately, Cheng Ying's will was not firm, and he surrendered because he could not wait for reinforcements, and as a result, he was killed by his subordinates when he left the city.
Cheng Ying, a native of Jiangxi, was a close confidant of Shi Dakai, the King of Yi, and an early fierce general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In 1855, Shi Dakai sent an army to Jiangxi, with the local Cheng Ying as the guide, to continuously conquer Linjiang, Ruizhou, Ji'an, Jishui, Yuanzhou, Fuzhou, Jianchang and other cities, and the morale of the Taiping Army was like a rainbow. In March 1856, the Taiping Army and the Xiang Army dueled at Zhangshu, and Cheng Ying alone led an army to sneak into the Xiang army camp, contributing to Shi Dakai's victory in Zhangshu.
Shortly after the Battle of Zhangshu, Yang Xiuqing dispatched troops from Jiangxi, asked Shi Dakai to lead his troops back to Beijing, and joined forces with Qin Rigang, the King of Yan, to destroy the "Jiangnan Camp". When Shi Dakai returned to Beijing, he entrusted the military affairs of Jiangxi to his father-in-law Huang Yukun, and Cheng Ying assisted Huang Yukun in defending and ensuring that Shi Dakai's base was worry-free. At this time, Cheng Yingzhen guarded the strategic location of Jiangxi, Linjiang, and could know its position in the mind of the Yi King.
Zhen guarded Linjiang, and Cheng Ying's first opponent was Liu Changyou, one of the founders of the Xiang Army. In September 1856, the Tianjing Incident broke out, the Taiping Army killed each other, and Zeng Guofan took the opportunity to counterattack and encroach on Jiangxi step by step. Liu Changyou (劉長佑), a first-class general of the Xiang Army, later served as the governor of Zhili. At this time, Liu Changyou had more than 10,000 elite troops under his command, and his strength was strong.
Liu Changyou led an army to attack Linjiang, and Liu Yuxun dispatched a water division to cooperate, and Cheng Ying was under great pressure. Liu Yuxun took advantage of the superiority of the water division to block the Grain Route of the Taiping Army, and at the same time fired artillery to bombard Linjiang City to cover the army's action. Liu Changyou had the advantage of a water division, and the threat was menacing, and the Lianke Taiping Army camped outside the city and directly approached the city wall. At this time, there were only more than 6,000 soldiers and horses in Linjiang City, and Cheng Ying could only hold the city and did not go out of the city to fight.
Cheng Ying could not hold out, and Liu Changyou relaxed his guard, which created opportunities for the Taiping Army. In February 1857, the Taiping Army general Wei Zhijun (the younger brother of Wei Changhui of the Northern King) led troops from Anhui into Jiangxi, preparing to reinforce Linjiang and fight against the Xiang Army. Liu Changyou relaxed his guard, and Wei Zhijun and Cheng Ying discussed night raids to create surprises for the Xiang army. Shi Zai: "The combined forces ambushed Liu Changyou in Daping, burned his camp, and Changyou wrapped his wounds and broke the new metaphor." ”
Wei Zhijun and Cheng Ying joined forces to attack at night, Liu Changyou was caught off guard, rushed to battle, was slashed on his left foot, and the Xiang army fled overnight, and the Xiang army was overwhelmed. However, the Taiping Army did not have the assistance of a water division, the Xiang Army controlled the river, Cheng Ying was still unable to break the blockade, and the situation on the river was still very severe.
The Xiang army was defeated miserably, more than a thousand people were killed on the battlefield, Zeng Guofan was furious, and he continued to increase his troops to Linjiang. In order to successfully take the city, Zeng Guofan transferred all the Xiang army generals who could be drawn, and Wang Zhen, Liu Changyou, Xiao Qijiang, Wang Xun, and Tian Xingshu all appeared. Among them, Liu Changyou and Wang Zhentun were stationed in the south of the city and served as the main attacker, and Xiao Qijiangtun was stationed in the northeast to cooperate with the Xiang army in the south of the city. Wang Xun and Tian Xingshu were stationed on the outskirts to prevent reinforcements from the Taiping Army.
Zeng Guofan dispatched troops, the Xiang army under Linjiang City had many soldiers and horses, and the former enemy commander Liu Changyou was full of confidence, and he decided to seize the city in one fell swoop. Xiao Qijiang, a fierce general of the Xiang army, Liu Changyou let him act as a vanguard general, directly leading the army to attack the city, allowing the Xiang army to climb the ladder to attack. Xiao Qijiang was brave and fierce, not afraid of death, he was a pioneer and personally commanded the battle on the front line.
The main general personally went to the front line to command, and the morale of the Xiang army was high, and they braved the artillery fire of the Taiping Army to advance and launch an attack on Linjiang. Cheng Ying had already made preparations, he had previously dug "gun holes" and "bullet holes" in the city wall, and shot at the Xiang army climbing the ladder, continuously repelling the enemy's offensive. Shi Zai: "Xiao Qijiang attacked the city with a ladder, but for Cheng Ying to attack, the casualties were pillowed. ”
After the strong attack on Linjiang failed, Xiao Qijiang changed tactics, and he asked the Xiang army to dig tunnels and place explosives under the city roots in an attempt to blow up the city wall. Who knows, Cheng Ying is an expert in "tunnel warfare", he asked the Taiping Army to dig trenches in the city, cut off the tunnels dug by the Xiang Army, and built the Moon City to prevent the Xiang Army from entering the city. In addition, Cheng Ying took the initiative to attack, often attacking the "engineers" of the Xiang Army at night, killing the Xiang Army that was digging tunnels.
Cheng Ying attacked and defended at the same time, the Xiang army suffered a lot, the strong attack could not be done, and the tunnel warfare also failed. In this way, Liu Changyou had no choice but to show the "housekeeping skills" of the Xiang Army, that is, to adopt the "siege tactics", dig trenches, build fortresses, and build fences, trapping the Taiping Army in the city and killing the opponent by virtue of its logistical advantages. Shi Zai: "Repeatedly harassing with small detachments, Liu Changyou was closed and did not fight, and wanted to besiege it for a long time with a hao wall to trap it." ”
The Taiping Army's sailors could not do so, and the Linjiang defenders could not get supplies. However, Cheng Ying did not give up resistance, he often led troops to raid the Xiang army, crossed the trenches, and went out to harvest rice, which Liu Changyou could not stop. Shi Zai: "If you can't hold on, the contingent will destroy Hao hao to cut rice, cross the river and wrap grain, and the Xiang army can't stop." ”
Cheng Ying could fight, but he could not withstand a protracted war and a war of attrition, and if he wanted to lift the siege of Linjiang, he could only ask for reinforcements from Shi Dakai, the king of the Upper Wing. Linjiang, Shi Dakai base, he is also reluctant to give up. However, Shi Dakai refused to rescue Jiujiang, and the taiping generals were quite dissatisfied with the King of The Wings and their enthusiasm for battle was not high. In this way, the reinforcements sent by Shi Dakai had not yet reached Linjiang City, and they were defeated by Tian Xingshu and others, and Linjiang was still besieged and ran out of food.
"The person who knows the time is Junjie", the Taiping Army can not reach reinforcements, the city is full of ammunition and food, Cheng Ying does not want to "Cheng Ren", he decided to surrender to the Xiang Army in exchange for a way to live. Shi Zai: "Hope for help for a long time, quite resentful, the Qing people know it, and later Cheng Ying sent the general chen Baotai to surrender to Liu Changyou." ”
Cheng Ying surrendered to the Xiang army, and Nie Caijian, Yi Zineng and other generals pretended to agree, and expressed their willingness to follow the commander and seek glory and wealth together. Cheng Ying opened the door and surrendered, and Nie Caijian and Yi Zineng suddenly attacked and executed him, "Three ways out, Zi Neng and Cai Jian suddenly attacked him with a white blade and attacked him, and cursed Chen Baotai." Soon, the Xiang army broke through Linjiang, and Nie Caijian and Yi Zineng fought and retreated, all of which were killed on the battlefield and did not surrender.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom