In November 1858, the elite xiang army suffered major defeats in Sanhe Town, Shucheng, and Tongcheng, losing more than 8,000 people before and after, and the fierce general Li Xubin was killed on the battlefield. The Taiping Army counterattacked in its entirety, and Bao Chao and Duolong'a retreated from Anqing City and fled back to Susong and Taihu, and the whole line of Anhui was in a hurry.
Hu Linyi said: "The elite of the four years of entanglement has been overthrown, and the talent who dares to fight, the wise and wise man, has also withered away." It can be seen that the Battle of the Three Rivers crippled the main corps of the Xiang Army. So, in the face of a bad war situation, how did Hu Linyi restore the vitality of the Xiang Army?
Only more than 8,000 people were lost, which was not a very large number, but the Xiang Army did hurt the vitality. It should be known that these 8,000 soldiers and horses are not ordinary troops, but the mobile corps of the Xiang Army, which is also the most experienced combat force. At the beginning of the founding of the Xiang Army, Taqibu and Luo Zenan were the two pillars. Taqibu, the Manchurian White Banner, vomited blood and died when attacking Jiujiang, and the Xiang army only had a trump card left in Luo Zenan.
After Luo Zenan's death, his troops, led by his apprentice Li Xubin, continued to besiege Wuchang and Jiujiang. In other words, the Xiang Army that Zeng Guofan founded in his early years was basically reimbursed in the Battle of the Three Rivers. This is what Hu Linyi said: "The elite of four years of entanglement is overturned." ”
Li Xubin's army was destroyed, and it was indeed difficult for the Xiang army to launch a large-scale offensive in the short term, but with the support of the Qing Dynasty's considerable national strength, Hu Linyi soon revitalized the war situation, and the Xiang army continued to jump. The first step in hu linyi's revitalization of the war situation was to stabilize the situation on the battlefield in Anhui and build a powerful field ace. You know, Li Xubin is good at tackling tough battles, "turtle shell tactics", and is good at besieging the city, not fighting field battles.
In the Battle of the Three Rivers, Li Xubin could only support one day, the main reason was that he was not good at field combat. Luo Zenan's army, the most powerful in the field is Jiang Yilan, and Li Xubin is good at besieging the city. In view of the fact that the main cities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were located along the river, and the opponent lacked specialized sailors, Hu Linyi adopted the tactic of "encircling points and fighting for assistance", no longer confronting the Taiping Army head-on, but fighting a protracted war and a war of attrition.
Under the tactic of "encircling points and attacking aid", Li Xubin's main task was to "besiege the city", build a fortress under the city, launch the most fatal blow, and pick the fruits of victory. Jiang Yilan was brave in the field and did not fear death, and his main task was to resist the reinforcements of the Taiping Army, not to let the opponent get close to the city, and to assist Li Xubin in battle.
Jiang Yilan attacked the reinforcements, Li Xubin could rest assured that he would besiege the city, not to worry about the safety of the back road, and not to worry that he did not have supplies, after all, Yang Zaifu and Peng Yulin were not vegetarians. In the Battle of Wuchang, Jiang Yilan and the wing king Shi Da fought a bloody battle for several months, suffering many wounds, but still fighting to the death, and made great contributions to the Xiang army's capture of the city. Unfortunately, Jiang Yilan and Li Xubin did not have a good relationship, the contradiction between the two was too deep, and Hu Linyi was partial to Li Xubin, and as a result, Jiang Yilan ran back to his hometown and said goodbye without resignation.
Without a strong field army, Li Xubin was very passive in battle, and the Battle of Jiujiang was repeatedly in danger, but Shi Dakai did not go to rescue Jiujiang, otherwise Li Xubin would not survive the Battle of Sanhe. The Xiang army defeated the town of Sanhe, mainly because Li Xubin was not good at field warfare. At this time, Jiang Yilan had already moved, so who would undertake the field mission? Hu Linyi set his sights on Duolong'a and Bao Chao, letting them play the role of Jiang Yilan.
Bao Chao and Duolong'a lived up to expectations, and they resisted the Taiping Army head-on in the Battles of Taihu Lake and Susong. Chen Yucheng and Li Xiu had a chance to win, but Li Xiucheng preserved his strength, Chen Yucheng's army suffered heavy losses, and the Xiang army successfully stabilized the situation in Anhui.
In the battles of Taihu Lake and Susong, Hubei Inspector Hu Linyi not only stabilized the situation in Anhui, but also cultivated two fierce generals, Bao Chao and Duolong'a. Before the Battle of the Three Rivers, although Bao Chao and Duo Long'a also performed well, they definitely did not have the opportunity to play the main role, and their status was far less important than that of Li Xubin, Jiang Yilan, Liu Changyou and so on. After the defeat of Li Xubin, Hu Linyi once again realized the shortcomings of the Xiang Army in the field, so he vigorously cultivated Bao Chao's "Thunder Army" and Duolong Ama Team.
Facts have proved that Hu Linyi is indeed powerful, Bao Chao and Duo Long'a are united and cooperative, and Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng have almost no chance of winning in the field battle. Of course, this is not to say that Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng could not win the "Thunder Army" and the Eight Flags Horse Team, but they did not dare to go all out. The Xiang Army was a group battle, Bao Chao and Duo Long'a could afford to lose, while Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng could not afford to lose.
Cultivating Bao Chao and Duolonga and forming a powerful field mobile corps was the first step for Hu Linyi to revive the Xiang Army. Next, Hu Linyi also had to find another army to "besiege the city" and let them assume the role of Li Xubin before. So, who will assume the role of "siege" and reap the fruits of the final victory?
Zeng Guoquan, the ninth in the Zeng family, is known as the "Nine Shuai". When the Battle of Sanhe broke out, Zeng Guoquan was not at all conspicuous, and the only battle record he could get his hands on was to conquer Ji'an, relying on the "turtle shell tactics" to fight a protracted war with the Taiping Army and win the war of attrition. In the Battle of Ji'an, the Taiping Army did not send strong reinforcements, and Zeng Guoquan relied on strong logistical support to "survive" the defenders in the city and harvest the fruits of victory.
Whether it is combat experience or military qualifications, Bao Chao and Duo Long'a can throw Zeng Guoquan a few streets. However, Hu Linyi still chose Zeng Guoquan and let him assume the role of "besieging the city". During the Battle of Anqing, Bao Chao, Duo Long'a, Li Xuyi (Li Xubin's younger brother) and others mainly attacked Chen Yucheng's reinforcements, while Zeng Guoquan hid in the fortress to "besiege the city" and harvest the fruits of victory.
Cultivating the two aces of Bao Chao and Duolong'a, and "finding" Zeng Guoquan to besiege the city, Hu Linyi was able to continue to implement the tactic of "encircling points to fight for aid", and the Xiang army was able to recover its vitality.
Bibliography: The Complete History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War