It is not clever for Xiang Army to "camp in a down-to-earth manner and fight a protracted war". Why is it effective to fight Taiping Army?

1In July, 864, the Xiang Army's "auspicious word camp" breached Tianjing, loyal Li Xiucheng was captured, the young king Tianguifu Hong fled, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom perished, and the Qing Dynasty continued the country for decades. Once upon a time, the Taiping Army swept the Eight Banners green camp, occupying half of the southeast of the Qing Dynasty, and had the strength to win the Central Plains. But the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom finally failed and was put out by Zeng Guofan's Xiang army. So, why did Zeng Guofan Xiang defeat the powerful Taiping Army? What strategy did he use?

Zeng Guofan bluntly said: "I am not good at riding a horse. I failed to personally visit my former enemy and personally supervise the array. March is too slow, for more than ten years, but I know how to make a hard camp and fight a dull battle. I have never used strange tricks to make the enemy's mind hot. This minister is short. " Thus, Zeng Guofan thought that the Xiang army could defeat the Taiping Army by "camping and fighting a protracted war", which was not a brilliant tactic. That's true. Xiang army occupied Wuchang, Jiujiang, Anqing and Tianjin with this tactic. Then, why is it that fighting the Taiping Army is effective and not a clever tactic of "playing hard"?

In the era when the traditional siege tactics are mainly cold weapons and hot weapons, especially heavy firearms, the traditional siege tactics are "hard camp and dull battle". If the other side sticks to the city and refuses to retreat, and the logistics supply is sufficient, the tactic of "hardening the village and supporting the war with war" is an inevitable choice. Is there anything ingenious about this tactic? The answer is no, it's all about fighting for consumption, to see who can persist more.

In the late Qing dynasty, "fighting hard in a down-to-earth manner" was the unique skill of the Xiang army. As for its specific operation, Zeng Guofan said: "First, set up a camp to facilitate the offensive and defensive, second, carefully set up a camp to prevent enemy attacks, third, look at the terrain to compete for danger, and fourth, be clear about the subject and object to win the battle." What do you mean? To sum up, two points.

First of all, we must persist and have firm willpower. Xiang army dug long trenches at the foot of Taiping Army, built strong camps, built fences and surrounded the city. They won't retreat unless they have to, so they wiped out the defenders in the city.

Moreover, the anti-customer-oriented, around the big circle. Besiege the city, but do not take the initiative to attack, but let the Taiping Army come to the rescue and destroy the other party's effective strength.

Relying on the national strength of the Qing Dynasty, Xiang Army has a strong navy, which has obvious advantages. "Fighting to support the war" is a traditional siege tactic, which is not brilliant, but it is very effective. The Xiang army was able to carry out this tactic and never gave up, which mainly benefited from two factors. First of all, the national strength of the Qing Dynasty is far stronger than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which can support a protracted war. The Xiang army has been stationed under the fortified city for a long time, and the daily consumption of food, military pay, materials and medicines is incalculable. Without the support of strong national strength, it is almost difficult to persist. In the battle of Yuhuatai, the Xiang army suffered heavy casualties, but it still stuck to the camp and could not retreat, because the pay was in place in time. In a letter to Zeng Guofan, Ceng Guoquan said: "This time, the earth work of the Guarding Bureau and Tianxinghao is a big reward, with 20% to 30% of the people who are not sick or recovered as a team.

Moreover, the Xiang army has a strong professional navy fleet, firmly controls the Yangtze River, and can continuously provide supplies for the front line. When Zeng Guofan was training the Xiang army, he paid special attention to the construction of the navy, allowing the navy to transport food and materials, and at the same time cutting off the other side's supply lines, blocking the Taiping Army in the city and cutting off its internal and external ties.

Thanks to the powerful national strength and professional naval fleet of the Qing Dynasty, Xiang Army can pursue the tactics of "building a camp to fight a protracted war", fight the Taiping Army and fight a protracted war, and finally break through the city. In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, due to many weaknesses, it is difficult to crack this tactic. Why do you say that? Wuchang, Jiujiang, Hukou, Anqing, Chizhou, Wuhu, Tianjin and other major cities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are fortresses along the river. Without a strong navy and heavy weapons, it is unlikely that the Taiping Army will want to hold the city.

The most direct way to get rid of the tactics of "fighting hard and fighting in secret" is to blow up a fortress with heavy weapons, crush opponents with powerful firepower and lift the siege. In other words, with a strong naval force, we can continuously supply materials and personnel to the city, cut off the supply line of the Xiang army by the way, and firmly grasp the initiative in the battlefield. Unfortunately, the Taiping Army has neither heavy weapons nor a powerful navy. As long as the fortress along the river is surrounded by the Xiang army, it is almost impossible to clear it. In addition, one of the weaknesses of the Taiping Army, the weak naval power, is precisely the strength of the Xiang Army.

If there were no heavy weapons and special naval forces, wouldn't the Taiping Army be able to break the Xiang Army's tactics of "fighting hard camps and fighting dark battles"? The answer is no, there are ways, but it is difficult to implement. The main force of the Xiang army gathered at the gates, dug trenches and built castles and hedges, posing as a protracted war. At this time, the Taiping Army can concentrate its superior forces, carry out mobile warfare, attack the rear of the Xiang Army, or attack other strategic locations of the Qing Army, forcing the Xiang Army to withdraw. Mobile warfare is the most effective way to deal with the tactics of "hard camp and dull battle", but it is difficult for Taiping Army to do so.

After the Tianjing Incident, Hong Xiuquan implemented a "fief system" to prevent the emergence of a second Yang, dividing the territory under the jurisdiction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom into generals and conferring them as kings, which led to the confusion of the unified military command system and the inability to concentrate the Xiang army. Under the "fief system", the vassals regarded the city as their own, preferring to die in the city without withdrawing troops, lacking mobility in combat, and being firmly stuck in the throat by the Xiang army. In addition, there is no clear subordinate relationship between governors, and it is difficult to act in unison and coordinate. The result was divided up by the Xiang army.