As the saying goes, "Soldiers are not tired of deception." "When the enemy lets down his guard, he goes to sneak up on the enemy, and at this time, he can often achieve amazing results."
For example, New Year's Day.
For Chinese, the Spring Festival is the most important festival of the year. People who have been toiling and running for a year always have to rest, nourish their spirits, and wait for the beginning of the year to continue to work hard. This is true of peasants, so are merchants, so are officials, even the soldiers on the front lines.
On February 16, 1855, it was Chinese New Year's Eve, that is, the Chinese New Year's Eve. The heart of Zeng Guofan, the commander of the Xiang Army, was "pulling out the cold and pulling out the cold."
Previously, in 1854, Zeng Guofan's situation was as thrilling as a roller coaster.
At the beginning of the year, Zeng Guofan led the Xiang army out of the mountains and published the "Discussion of Cantonese Bandits", announcing the battle against the Taiping Army. However, just a month later, Zeng Guofan was defeated by the Taiping Army in Yuezhou and Jinggang. Zeng Guofan was so ashamed and indignant that he threw himself into the water and committed suicide, but fortunately was saved by his staff member Zhang Shoulin.
Fortunately, under the strong battle of the famous generals Taqibu and Peng Yulin, Zeng Guofan regrouped and won several victories, successively conquering Yuezhou, Wuchang, Hanyang and other places, not only recovering the field in Hubei, but also having the strength to kill Jiangxi, and besieging the important town of Jiujiang in Jiangxi at the arrival of winter.
However, Zeng Guofan soon ushered in a new wave of blows. In January 1855, Zeng Guofan fought a decisive battle against the Taiping Army at the mouth of Jiangxi Lake. This time, the Taiping Army was commanded by the famous Shi Dakai. This was the first time that Zeng Guofan had fought face-to-face with Shi Dakai. As a result, the Xiang Army's water division suffered a crushing defeat, suffered complete losses, and lost the initiative in water warfare.
During the battle, Zeng Guofan's ships were captured by the Taiping Army, and "all the documents were lost". Zeng Guofan committed suicide by throwing himself into the river again, but was rescued left and right, and fled back to land.
Zeng Guofan was not willing to suffer a crushing defeat, and planned to sneak attack the Taiping Army on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve in an attempt to retake a city. Hu Linyi, Rozenan, Taqib, etc. all agreed to this military operation. They believed that Chinese New Year's Eve night, the Taiping Army would first celebrate the Spring Festival and the second would celebrate victory. In this way, the guard will definitely be relaxed, and it is the perfect time for a sneak attack.
On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, Zeng Guofan sent Taqibu and Luo Zenan to lead a strong brigade to sneak up on the Taiping Army camp.
Taqibu was a Manchurian yellow flag bearer who was ordered to assist Zeng Guofan in founding the Xiang Army, and was one of the founders of the Xiang Army. Taqibu was brave and good at war, and won the trust of Zeng Guofan. On his left arm is engraved the words "loyal to the country", and every time he fights, he must be a pioneer and take the lead. Moreover, it is quite miraculous that Taqib has been unharmed on many occasions in danger, and has been shocked by the Taiping Army.
Luo Zenan was another general in the Xiang Army, and his hometown was Shuangfeng in Hunan. Although Luo Zenan was full of experience, he was frustrated in the field, repeatedly failed to try, and had to set up a library in the countryside to teach. Luo Zenantao and Li were all over the world, and Li Xubin, Li Xuyi, Jiang Yilan, Yang Changli, Kang Jinghui, Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guobao, and other famous generals of the Xiang Army were all his masters. Later, Luo Zenan assisted Zeng Guofan in training the Xiang army and was one of the main generals in the early xiang army.
Zeng Guofan sent Taqibu and Luo Zenan out of the horse and chose the right person. However, he miscalculated the timing. Because Zeng Guofan did not expect that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not have the concept of the Spring Festival. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom called the old calendar a "demon calendar" and a "Qing demon calendar", and in the areas under their jurisdiction, traditional Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Qingming Dynasty were prohibited, and festivals such as "Brother Ascension Day", "Baoye Festival" and "Dengji Festival" were only celebrated according to the calendar. Therefore, they had already waited in a tight position and set up an ambush in advance.
The results are predictable. Taqib and Luo Zenan fell into the ambush circle of the Taiping Army, and the entire army was destroyed. Rozenan was forced to retreat, tazib took cover in the rear, and after some fierce fighting, finally escaped back to the camp. At this time, at this time, it is already the time of the three drums of the Chinese New Year's Eve.
[References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, etc.]