In December 1858, Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi, who were in a bad mood, received good news that Bao Chao and Duolong'a led 10,000 Xiang troops to block Chen Yucheng's offensive at the Erlang River, and the Taiping army gave up entering Hubei and had returned to northern Anhui for rest and replenishment. At the Battle of Erlang River, Bao Chao and Duolong'a reversed the situation in Anhui, and the Xiang army ended the rout and stabilized its position. Not long ago, the Xiang army was defeated in Sanhe Town, 6,000 elite troops were completely destroyed, and the general Li Xubin was killed on the battlefield.
At the Battle of The Three Rivers, Hu Linyi said: "Since the rise of the army, there has never been a fiasco", and Zeng Guofan could not eat for several days because his brother Zeng Guohua was killed by Chen Yucheng. We might as well assume that if the commander of the Battle of the Three Rivers was Bao Chao instead of Li Xubin, would the Xiang Army be able to defeat Chen Yucheng? The author believes that the Xiang Army will also suffer a fiasco, but Bao Chao may not necessarily commit suicide, he may be able to break through.
The Xiang Army, the "private armed forces" of the late Qing Dynasty, was not zeng guofan alone, but divided into many factions, and there were not many soldiers and horses directly under zeng guofan. In March 1853, the Taiping Army conquered Nanjing, and Zeng Guofan began to establish the Xiang Army in Changsha, but after not being ridiculed by the local officials, he moved his training base to Hengyang. At this time, there were not many Xiang troops under Zeng Guofan.
Strictly speaking, at this time, Zeng Guofan's direct subordinate Xiang army was mainly the marine division led by Yang Zaifu and Peng Yulin, and the army led by Taqibu, which he pulled up with one hand. Luo Zenan and Li Xubin also trained the Xiang army, and they defected to Zeng Guofan, but maintained a certain degree of independence, and later followed Hu Linyi. In 1856, Luo Zenan was killed by Wei Zhijun at Wuchang, a Xiang army led by Li Xubin.
From the perspective of combat effectiveness, Li Xubin's unit is the strongest, and it is also the first to fight under the banner of the "Xiang Army", not the "Xiang Yong" team. The three major towns in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Wuchang, Jiujiang, and Anqing, the first two cities were all taken by Li Xubin.
At its peak, Li Xubin had about 9,000 people. During the Battle of The Three Rivers, Li Xubin was able to conquer Taihu Lake, Qianshan, Tongcheng, and Shucheng, and left more than a thousand soldiers and horses to garrison. During the Battle of Sanhe, the Xiang army lost more than a thousand people, and after crossing the river, another thousand people were left for his younger brother Li Xutao. In this way, the Xiang army, which was directly confronted with the British king Chen Yucheng, totaled more than 6,000 people. For the Xiang Army, more than 6,000 people were invested in the local battlefield, which was also very much.
The Xiang army can fight in the habit of war, Li Xubin is also a tough general, Wang Minyun said in the "Xiang Junzhi" that he is the first fierce general, more courageous than the rising stars Zeng Guoquan, Bao Chao, Duo Long'a and so on. Scholars' evaluation has a strong subjective color, but it also has a certain factual basis. It should be known that before the Battle of Sanhe, Li Xubin took Wuchang and Jiujiang, was awarded the zhejiang envoy, added the rank of inspector, and stepped into the ranks of feudal officials with half a foot.
As for Bao Chao, many people have commented: "In his lifetime, he fought more than 500 battles, suffered 108 injuries, and never suffered defeat." "It can be seen that Bao Chao is a fierce man, a fierce general, a tiger general. However, even if Bao Chao replaced Li Xubin, it would not change the outcome of the Battle of the Three Rivers, and the Xiang army would still suffer a crushing defeat.
Speaking of this, some people will retort that Chen Yucheng is not Bao Chao's opponent, and Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng took a detour as soon as they saw Bao Chao's banner and did not dare to make a move. If this is the case, Hu Linyi directly let Bao Chaoshang and the Taiping Army flee in the wind, and in less than 14 years, the Qing Dynasty can extinguish the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. From the analysis of the Battle of the Three Rivers, Bao Chao could not change the situation, or he would fail.
The Battle of the Three Rivers, there are several notable places. First of all, the Xiang Army engaged in "movement warfare," not a "fortress warfare, but a quick battle, not a protracted war." Secondly, the Xiang army fought alone, and reinforcements could not arrive in a short period of time. Third, Hu Linyi was "worried" at home and could not coordinate the actions of various ministries. In the end, Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng cooperated closely and did their best.
Bao Chao replaced Li Xubin, if there were 6,000 elite soldiers under his command, he might be able to escape the disaster, even if the losses were heavy, at least he saved his life. If it was the "Thunder Army", at this time, there were more than 3,000 troops, and the result was the same as That of Li Xubin, who either committed suicide or was beheaded by the Taiping Army.
The Xiang army ventured forward alone, and without the cooperation of teammates, it still engaged in a quick battle and a quick decision, and Bao Chao had no chance to win. In the Battle of Erlang River, Bao Chao blocked the offensive of Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, not by himself, but by Duolong'a coordinating operations, and Hu Linyi was regulating the overall situation. In addition, Li Xiucheng did not work hard, he preserved his strength, and Chen Yucheng had to withdraw his troops. You must know that Chen Yucheng's troops have been fighting continuously and have no time to rest and replenish, while Bao Chao and Duo Long'a are in a state of full blood.
In January 1860, Chen Yucheng again fought against the Xiang Army, Hu Linyi commanded a 40,000-strong army to march east, and Bao Chao was besieged by Chen Yucheng at Xiaochiyi. The Taiping Army fought bravely, and the "Thunder Army" almost collapsed. In this battle, the reason why Bao Chao escaped a disaster was mainly for two reasons. First of all, Duolong'a and Tang Xunfang led 6,000 soldiers and horses to rush into the camp and exchange defenses with the "Thunder Army" to let Bao Chao rest.
In addition, Hu Linyi dispatched troops and sent generals, so that Jin Guochen and others led 10,000 soldiers and horses to attack the Taiping Army's grain transportation line, and Chen Yucheng's rear troops were empty, so he had to withdraw his troops and return. In this way, many people said that Bao Chao defeated Chen Yucheng with 3,000 "Thunder Army", which was really funny. You know, two months later, Chen Yucheng destroyed the "Jiangnan Camp" and went on a crusade against Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
If there was no Hu Linyi to control the overall situation, Bao Chao would fight alone in northern Anhui and fight fiercely with Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng's army, and the results would be predictable. At this time, Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng were determined to destroy this Xiang army, and the "old brothers" of the two Guangdong provinces were also all on the battlefield, and the Xiang army was doomed. You must know that the fighting power of the "old brothers" is not ordinary, and Bao Chao cannot fight them.
In June 1861, during the Battle of Anqing, Liu Xiaolin led 1500 "old brothers" to guard the first base of Chigangling. Bao Chao led 10,000 "Thunder Army" to launch an attack, but failed to advance one step, and the Xiang army suffered heavy casualties. Later, Zeng Guofan decided to "surrender" the third base behind, Liu Xuanlin fought alone, and the Xiang army attacked with cannons to destroy the camp.
Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng are determined to fight, Bao Chao is isolated and helpless, and he is attacked on all sides, and he will also fail. However, Bao Chao is not Li Xubin, he will not commit suicide, but choose to break through. In the Battle of the Three Rivers, Li Xubin was defeated, or some troops could break through the siege. For example, after Zhou Kuanshi broke through, he recruited troops again and blocked Shi Dakai's attack at the Battle of Baoqing.
In summary, in the Battle of the Three Rivers, even if Bao Chao replaced Li Xubin, the Xiang army would still be defeated. If Bao Chao had not committed suicide, he could choose to break out, return to Shucheng and Tongcheng, gather the soldiers who remained behind, and then deploy with Dolonga. So, why didn't Chen Yucheng have a chance to take down Bao Chao and Duo Long'a? Quite simply, the Xiang Army was a group operation, Hu Linyi coordinated the actions of various units, and Chen Yucheng had many fierce enemies to deal with, and Bao Chao was only one of them.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom