In 1861, the Taiping Army successively conquered suzhou, Changzhou, Jiaxing, Zhuji and other cities, so that the situation in the Qing court in Jiangnan became more and more tense, in this case, Xianfeng sent Wang Youling to take care of the military affairs of Taihu Lake in Jiangsu to supervise the battle.
Who is Wang Youling?
He was the eldest son of the famous Qing Dynasty general Wang Xie, who was a gentleman with a strange temperament, and once disdained the study of the Eight Strands, and in some novels it was written that Hu Xueyan once embezzled 500 silver bills from Qianzhuang to help Wang Youling enter Beijing to "donate officials", so that Wang Youling was able to grant a Zhejiang official position, in fact, this story is purely fictional, and there is no record in the history books.
In short, Wang Youling was capable and honest, with two sleeves and a clean wind, and was a talented Qing official.
Just when he was taking care of the military affairs of Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province, he met a strong opponent from the Taiping Army, and it was this opponent who made him martyred and killed in Hangzhou.
This opponent was Li Xiucheng, a rising star in the Taiping Army.
In the winter of 1861, Li Xiucheng led the Taiping Army to besiege the city of Hangzhou, and Wang Youling, as the governor of Zhejiang, led his army to resist hard, but unfortunately, the city of Hangzhou was besieged layer by layer, and Wang Youling and his Qing generals had to stick to the city, supporting it bitterly, waiting for rescue.
During these days, Wang Youling was overworked and extremely angry, and his black hair turned into pale hair, and two months later, the city of Hangzhou ran out of grain, and Wang Youling killed Chengren and martyred the country.
At this time, li Xiucheng, who had won the victory, was solemnly respected in the face of Wang Youling's corpse, he had heard of Wang Youling's reputation, and after the Battle of Hangzhou, he even more lamented Wang Youling's loyalty, so he arranged for the soldiers to collect Wang Youling's body, and sent 500 of Wang Youling's former soldiers to escort Wang Youling's coffin back to his hometown for burial.
This is also a kind of sympathy.
In fact, Wang Youling did not have to die, and the city of Hangzhou did not have to be broken.
Because zuo Zongtang's army was on the border of Anhui and Jiangxi not far from Hangzhou City, only Zuo Zongtang needed to move east to resolve the difficulties of Hangzhou.
However, Zuo Zongtang identified the border between Anhui and Jiangxi and refused to enter Hangzhou for rescue.
Don't look at Zuo Zongtang's low education, that is, a lifting person, but he is dedicated to meritorious service, keen on performance, often comparing himself to Zhuge Liang, is such an ambitious person, why not go to Hangzhou to rescue Wang Youling?
This is because Zuo Zongtang has a boss named Zeng Guofan, and Wang Youling has a boss named He Guiqing.
In the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", the evaluation of He Guiqing is not very high, saying that he robbed other people's wives, abandoned the city and fled, etc., in fact, this person is still very talented.
When he was the governor of Zhejiang, he vigorously reorganized the army, improved the army's style and combat effectiveness, and together with Deng Shaoliang, the governor of Zhejiang, defeated the Taiping Army, recovered many lost places such as Huizhou Prefecture and Ningguo Prefecture, and was deeply appreciated and supported by Peng Yunzhang, the minister of military aircraft, and was even known as "Noh Chen" by everyone.
Seeing He Guiqing's career and fame double harvest, the elites of the other camp were red-eyed, and they did not want to see He Guiqing's prosperity.
At this time, there were also internal problems in the upper echelons of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai and other "kings", who died and walked, and their strength was greatly reduced, so the clear-eyed people knew at a glance that the Taiping Army could not survive for a long time.
At this time, no matter who the Qing court sent to suppress the Taiping Army, it was an immortal feat.
Facts have proved that Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Li Hongzhang, and so on are all like this, and even among the Xiang army, there are 15 governors and 14 inspectors, all thanks to the destruction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The one who can compete with the Xiang army for this credit is He Guiqing, and Wang Youling is He Guiqing's hometown and is naturally a strong supporter of He Guiqing.
Seeing this, we may understand, as a general of the Xiang Army, how could Zuo Zongtang send troops to rescue Wang Youling?
Just think, if Zuo Zongtang sent troops to rescue Wang Youling, wouldn't this give Wang Youling and He Guiqing behind him a chance to breathe? Perhaps, the Qing court will also praise Wang Youling, He Guiqing and others for their meritorious service in defending the city, thus further highlighting the merits of the He Guiqing Group.
Therefore, only when Wang Youlingcheng was killed, the Xiang army of Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang and others could expand their power.
In this way, what is the sacrifice of a Wang Youling?
This is the reason why Zuo Zongtang did not send troops to save each other!