The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 126 Zuo Zongtang has made progress again! (Seeking monthly votes)

The lobby of the governor's office where Luo Bingzhang was located was in chaos.

It turned out that Master Zhu Jiu had a lot of brothers under his command. In addition to the hundreds of people he sent to attack the governor's office, he also sent people to attack the Hunan Provincial Administration Office, the Hunan Censorate Office, the Hunan Education Office, the Hunan Governor's Office, the Changsha Prefect's Office, the Shanhua County Office, the Governor's Office, the Governor's Office, the Governor's Office, and a series of other offices!
The old man did not miss any of the government offices in Changsha. He sent hundreds of men to each office to destroy the place! Regardless of whether they could destroy it or not, it would definitely cause a lot of noise.

At the same time, Master Zhu Jiu also sent dozens of groups of people to set fires everywhere in Changsha City!
So in the second half of the night, not only was there a roar of gunfire and shouts of fighting and killing in the direction of Huangdao Gate, but there were also fires everywhere in Changsha city, and people were shouting rebellion everywhere!

News of fires and rebellions broke out everywhere, as well as news of the Huangdao Street emergency and the Huangdao Gate being breached. Acting Hunan Governor Luo Bingzhang and Assistant Military Affairs Officer Luo Raodian were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.

On the contrary, Zuo Zongtang, Luo Bingzhang's chief advisor, was extremely calm. He was still sitting in the hall, fanning himself with a folding fan. He looked calm and composed, as if he did not take the urgent reports coming in from all over seriously at all.

In the end, Luo Bingzhang, who had invited Zuo Zongtang as his savior, could no longer sit still and asked Zuo Zongtang in an almost pleading tone: "Ji Gao! What can we do? There are fires everywhere in Changsha City, and the Tiandihui is causing chaos. The Huangdao Gate was breached soon after. The Eight Banners and Green Camp soldiers under Shengkezhai suffered heavy losses. The Guangdong bandits and the Hui bandits are about to join forces inside and outside to breach Changsha City."

Zuo Zongtang said with a smile: "Don't worry, Confucian scholar. The defense of Changsha is now under the control of Shengkezhai. The fall of the city was due to his poor command and ineffective dispatch. What does this have to do with Confucian scholar?"

"Ji Gao, Sheng Kezhai is a Manchu nobleman, not comparable to us. I am still the governor of Hunan, and I have rules for defending the territory. Once the city is broken, I, I will..."

It's about being "decent"
Although Luo Bingzhang is not young anymore, he hasn't lived enough!
But if he was not "decent", he would have been considered a famous official, admired by the literati and a leader of the upright officials. Could he still suffer the pain of being imprisoned and brought to the capital?
"Master Ru," Zuo Zongtang certainly understood his master's thoughts and said with a smile, "From what I've seen Shengkezhai uses his troops, he wants to wipe out the Green Camp and the Eight Banners completely. The Tiandihui in Changsha is deeply rooted and has been developing for more than a hundred years. All government offices are filled with their people. After Shengkezhai's defeat, they will definitely help the Guangdong bandits to rebel and break into the city, it's just a matter of how much they break.

However, the key to whether you, Ru Weng, a minister who defends the land, should take responsibility lies in how big a scene Hunan militia can create! As long as the militia is in hand, the emperor can only rely on Ru Weng, can only understand Ru Weng's difficulties, and can only take the responsibility of breaking Changsha City!
Moreover, according to my plan, the battle of Changsha will be safe and sound. Even if there is a temporary crisis of the city being broken, the Guangdong bandits and rebels can still be driven away in the end.

With this battle, the emperor will know your ability, and the gentry of Hunan will know that only by running Hunan militia well can they protect their lives and property!"

"Ji Gao! The rebels have entered Changsha City. The city is in chaos again! Don't keep us in suspense. Tell us what tricks you have! Otherwise, when the rebels reach the governor's office, it will be too late to say anything."

Hearing Zuo Zongtang's somewhat confusing words, Luo Raodian, a veteran of Hunan's literati circle, couldn't help but teach him a lesson.

Zuo Zongtang clasped his fists towards Luo Raodian and said, "Mr. Su, let me be frank. The Huangdao Gate has been breached, and Shengbao's troops have suffered heavy casualties. It seems that Changsha will inevitably face a disaster. I ask you and Mr. Ru to leave the city immediately and take shelter at Yuelu Mountain Academy on the other side of the Xiangjiang River."

"Leaving the city and hiding in Yuelu Mountain? No, no, absolutely not!"

Before Luo Raodian could say anything, Luo Bingzhang was already shaking his head like a rattle: "Going to Yuelu Mountain would mean abandoning your post. How would you explain it to the emperor if he asks about it?"

Hearing this, Zuo Zongtang was a little speechless, thinking to himself: "Still asking? Still explaining? Are the soldiers in my hands fake? Now Shengbao's people are trapped in Changsha City, and some of the silver needed for the Hunan militia has been plundered. If I take the opportunity to abandon the city and preserve my strength, when Shengbao's Eight Banners soldiers, Green Camp soldiers, and even the main force of Hunan Fu Biao are all gone, will Xianfeng still want Hunan? If he still wants it, he can only rely on the Hunan militia. Will he dare to touch Luo Ruweng and Luo Suweng at that time?"

However, Luo Bingzhang and Luo Raodian, who felt that they were in great danger, did not have such awareness. They just looked at Zuo Zongtang anxiously. Zuo Zongtang was speechless about the performance of the two old men. Fortunately, he had already made a plan. He said, "Then Mr. Ru and Mr. Su should retreat to the Iron Buddha Temple outside Yingchun Gate in Changsha to stay temporarily. The Iron Buddha Temple is small but solid, close to the Xiangjiang River, and has its own dock. It can be evacuated at any time, and it is easy to get support from the militia in Xiangyin and Yiyang. It is much better than staying in the city!
Moreover, as long as Ru Weng was stationed in Tiefu Temple and Yingchun Gate was in the hands of Xianghu militia, Changsha, the place of his charge, would not be considered lost. Ru Weng was responsible for the safety of the whole city, so there was absolutely no reason for him to lose face.

I have already asked Luo Luoshan's student Wang Pushan to lead 500 militiamen to be stationed there, which is enough to ensure the safety of Mr. Ru and Mr. Su. "

Zuo Zongtang paused and continued, "In addition, Yingchun Gate and the Ti Biao Camp and Fu Biao Camp in the north of the city, as well as Tianxin Pavilion in the southeast of Changsha City, Chao Zong Gate in the west of Changsha City, the dock outside Chao Zong Gate, Chao Zong Gate Outer Street, the rice market inside Chao Zong Gate, etc., are currently being stationed by Hunan militia and Fu Biao elite troops, and they should be able to hold out for a while."

"But, but this can't save Changsha City!" Luo Bingzhang was confused. "Ji Gao, how do you want to fight?"

Zuo Zongtang laughed and said, "Does the Confucian scholar know the key to Hunan's success or failure?"

"Ji Gao, stop keeping us in suspense!" Luo Bingzhang was extremely anxious now and had no time to go around in circles with Zuo Zongtang.

Zuo Zongtang smiled coldly: "The key to Hunan's success or failure lies in who has the grain, who has the people and fields that grow grain, and who has the people who can't produce grain and can only eat dry rice!"

"Ji Gao, what do you mean?"

Luo Bingzhang seemed to understand what he heard.

Luo Raodian also frowned, as if he had realized something.

Zuo Zongtang added: "I have counted the number of refugees who have fled to Changsha from Hengyang, Yongzhou, Chenzhou, Guiyangzhou and the southern part of Changsha Prefecture, and there are more than 200,000 people in Changsha itself. Together with the civilians who have fled, there are more than 300,000 mouths to feed.

The grain reserves in Changsha City were only enough to supply the original 200,000 people until the autumn grain came on the market in large quantities. Now there are at least 100,000 more people eating, and this year's autumn grain may be difficult to transport to Changsha on time!
If we don't have enough food to feed the more than 300,000 people and troops in Changsha, there will be only one way to go once Changsha is surrounded!"

At this point, Zuo Zongtang's tone had become very serious. It was obvious that this "dead end" was not just a casual remark, but was very likely to become a reality.

Zuo Zongtang added: "Students have seen what the Guangdong bandits have done recently, and they know that they want to buy off the poor peasants by dividing up the land, and rely on the greedy and shameless people among the poor peasants as a base to control the land in the mountains and countryside. If I use all the strength of Hunan to defend Changsha, the four fields and eight directions outside Changsha will sooner or later be controlled by the bandits.

By then, three or four hundred thousand people will be trapped in an isolated city, with no food or supplies and no help from outside. Within one or two months, Changsha will be lost, and then the entire Hunan province will be lost, and the Hunan scholars will be destroyed!"

Zuo Zongtang looked at the two old men in front of him and said slowly: "That's why Zongtang disagrees with Sheng Bao's strategy. What's the use of winning? It's nothing more than killing one or two thousand Taiping soldiers. Now the Taiping soldiers number in the tens of thousands, and it's not surprising to have more than a hundred thousand. What's the use of losing one or two thousand? If the land and wealth are taken away, there will be tens of thousands of extremely poor people to drive them, and they can't be killed!
If we use all the soldiers from all over Hunan to defend Changsha, we will hand over all the poor people in Hunan to the enemy! The enemy can recruit countless soldiers after they have taken over Hunan. What is the point of defending a city?
According to Zongtang, it is better for the enemy to besiege Changsha than for us to besiege Changsha. If we besiege Changsha, the surrounding villages and fields will surely be occupied by the enemy. If the enemy besieges Changsha, we can still fight for the surrounding villages and fields! We may be able to cut off the enemy's food supply. If the enemy runs out of food, they will definitely abandon Changsha and flee. Changsha will then be ours again. Isn't this a great achievement?"

(End of this chapter)