At the border of Chaozhou Prefecture and Zhangzhou Prefecture, there was an inconspicuous small county called Dapu County.
Dapu County was located in the mountains. There was a river in the northwest called Han River, and another river in the southwest called Mei River.
The intersection of the two rivers formed a cross-shaped river mouth. There was a small town here called Three Rivers Town.
This small town, with a population of less than 2000 and surrounded by mountains, was the battlefield of the decisive battle between the Han and Qing armies.
On August 15, the Qing army arrived at Longyan.
Three days later, the vanguard of the Qing army entered Yongding County. During this period, the scouts of both sides had a fierce exchange of fire around Yongding County.
As the Han army had the advantage in firearms, the Qing army did not have the upper hand in the battle of scouts. The exchange of fire that lasted for a week caused the Qing army to lose hundreds of people, while the Han army only lost less than ten people. The casualty ratio of both sides was close to 10:1!
Because they could not defeat the Han scouts, the Qing scouts could not effectively detect the movements of the Han army.
However, they judged that the Han army's fierce reaction and the mobilization of so many scouts to stop their reconnaissance meant that the main force of the Han army was definitely nearby.
When the news reached Zuo Zongtang, he immediately ordered his general, Liu Jintang, to lead 10,000 troops to attack Dapu City. The goal was to seize the high ground on the east side of Sanhe Town and cover the army as they marched south along the Han River.
Liu Jintang was twenty-one years old this year. He joined the army at the age of fifteen. He was originally a member of the Xiang Army. Later, Zuo Zongtang took a fancy to him and brought him out of the Xiang Army. He followed Zuo Zongtang to establish the Chu Army and was Zuo Zongtang's right-hand man.
This person was brave and resourceful. After receiving the order, he immediately led the army to bypass Yongding City and march from the southern mountain area. Unexpectedly, he appeared on the east side of Dapu City.
If the enemy in this battle was the Taiping Country Army or some other army, Liu Jintang's actions would definitely have an unexpected effect.
Unfortunately, the Han army was already prepared. When he attacked, they had already withdrawn their troops from Tai Po City.
Liu Jintang had painstakingly led his army over the mountains and endured the high temperature, the miasma, and the harassment of the insects and snakes in the mountain streams, but in the end, he only got an empty city!
If it was an ordinary person, they would probably be so angry that they would curse!
However, Liu Jintang himself did not do so. On the contrary, when he saw the Han army tactfully give up on Tai Po City and choose to retreat, he praised,"
"The rebel army is very smart. They abandoned Big Dapu City to avoid being surrounded by our army and suffering greater losses.”
"Tell the commander-in-chief that Big Dapu City is already under our control. The army can go south in peace!”
Although he did not capture the enemy's main force, he had already occupied Big Po City. To Liu Jintang, his mission was considered complete.
With the high ground of Dapu City, they could cover the main force of the Chu army from the east and not worry about being ambushed by the enemy.
After receiving the news sent by Liu Jintang, Zuo Zongtang heaved a sigh of relief.
"When I saw the emergency documents handed over by the local officials of Guangdong Province, I thought that there was something special about this rebel army. Now it seems that they are just so-so, no different from ordinary raiders!”
The Han army had fled without fighting, which made Zuo Zongtang look down on them. An enemy who did not dare to fight head-on would naturally not win his respect.
"Marshal is right. Although the rebels have taken over many cities in Guangdong and Guangxi, there are not many soldiers in these areas. Most of the troops in Guangdong and Guangxi have been transferred to the north to participate in the battle to destroy Taiping Country.”
Hearing Zuo Zongtang's words, a middle-aged scholar in his forties or fifties said,"
" Even if they heard the news of the rebels 'rebellion and urgently expanded their army, they were just a group of farmers who did not know how to fight. Compared to the regular army, they were naturally far inferior!”
"Therefore, it is indeed a bit biased to conclude that the bandits are powerful just from the fact that they have captured these cities in Guangdong Province!”
Zuo Zongtang laughed and said,"" Bojing's words are reasonable. The rebels have expanded to more than ten thousand people in a very short period of time. With such a rapid expansion, the quality of their soldiers is naturally uneven. They must be lacking a lot of firearms and equipment, and they don't have enough time for training. No matter how you look at it, they can only be considered a mob!”
The middle-aged scholar was called Liu Dian, also known as Bo Jing. He was Zuo Zongtang's chief strategist. The two of them had known each other since the Xiang Army.
Hearing Zuo Zongtang's words, Liu Dian smiled and said,"
" That's right. The marshal has fifty thousand battle-seasoned, well-equipped elite troops against a mere mob of ten thousand. The victory of this battle is naturally certain!”
"But…"
As Liu Dian spoke, he frowned as if he had thought of something serious.
"But the Imperial Court specifically asked me to go south, and they even asked me to lead all my troops south. This matter is very strange, right?”
Zuo Zongtang's gaze became sharp. His right hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he spoke.
"Great Marshal is wise. I think that the Imperial Court's action of suppressing the rebellion is fake. They are deliberately sending the Chu army away so that they can monopolize Jiangsu and Zhejiang!”
Because there were no outsiders present, Liu Dian was very bold and said something that he would not say in other situations.
"Hmph, the Imperial Court is treating us as vassal kings and is going to cut us off!”
With Zuo Zongtang's political skills and vision, the imperial court's methods naturally could not deceive his eyes.
"This subordinate heard that the Imperial Court has already ordered Lord Zeng's Xiang Army to move north and enter the Central Plains and Southern Lu to quell the Nian Army's rebellion. This move is similar to the Imperial Court sending us south.”
"Hehe, Duke Ceng is not so easily fooled. I'm afraid there are still variables in this matter!”
Zuo Zongtang sneered, looking like he was ready to watch a good show.
The imperial court had ordered him and his Chu army to move south, so he naturally did not dare to disobey. After all, compared to the Xiang and Huai armies, the Chu army was weak and could not compare to these two armies.
If he did not obey the order, the court could order his dismissal and then let Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army or Li Hongzhang's Huai Army take over his Chu army and territory.
These two people would definitely not refuse such a fat piece of meat that was delivered to their mouths. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang knew that the court had ill intentions, but he could only accept the order to lead his troops south.
However, Zuo Zongtang felt that the court was a little anxious to use this move against Zeng Guofan.
Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army was much stronger than his Chu Army. With the current methods and strength of the Imperial Court, it would be very difficult to control Zeng Guofan.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan would most likely not obey the imperial court's orders and might even raise an army to rebel!
Zuo Zongtang was not blindly loyal to the Qing court. Between the Qing court and Zeng Guofan, he would help whoever won.
As long as the new imperial court could give him a stage to perform and let him continue to complete the reforms in Fujian and Zhejiang, he would be satisfied!
After dealing with the foreigners, Zuo Zongtang realized that if they did not open their doors and learn the advanced knowledge and technology of foreign countries, China would continue to fall behind and be beaten.
Therefore, he urgently hoped to carry out reforms to enrich the country and strengthen the army, so as to get rid of the backward and beaten position!
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