The regular army of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion, were indeed vulnerable, and their generals and soldiers were more decayed than any previous dynasty, and it was estimated that they had a fight with the army at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and hundreds of thousands of troops were inferior to a thousand old and weak Liao soldiers. However, in the chaotic world, there will always be some super excellent generals who will turn the tide and take on the heavy responsibility of turning the tide and supporting the building. Here, the author will talk about the number one enemy of the Taiping Army, this person is the late Qing Dynasty famous general Who often hanged Shi Dakai and swept away Xiao Chaogui - Jiang Zhongyuan.
If you have the opportunity to do an investigation, ask the students who have just been in middle school: Who was the number one executioner who suppressed the Taiping Army? Who was the nemesis of the Taiping Army? It is estimated that ninety percent will say that it is Zeng Wenzheng, a half-sage who claims to be the reincarnation of Confucius, Zeng Guofan. Indeed, in the war against the Taiping Army, Zeng Guofan was indispensable, and there is no doubt about this. However, this can only be said that Zeng Guofan's luck is too good, and there is no one who has come after the ancients. If the famous general Jiang Zhongyuan were reused, it is estimated that the history of the late Qing Dynasty would not have the opportunity for Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others to perform, and modern history would be a different story.
First, the regiment practiced to start a family, debuted for the first time, and hung Shi Dakai
After the Jintian Uprising, because the guangxi front-line generals were afraid of the enemy, they lost one battle after another, and their morale was very low. At this time, Jiang Zhongyuan, who had received orders from the imperial court, personally led 500 Chu Yong from Hunan to Xiangzhou to fight and meet the Taiping Army. Soon after arriving at the front line, Jiang Zhongyuan immediately ordered the soldiers to camp under the eyes of the Taiping Army, dig deep trenches, and engage in position warfare. Shi Dakai saw that Jiang Zhongyuan was small, and personally rushed to Chu Yong's camp with thousands of Taiping troops, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to take it in one fell swoop. Who knows, Jiang Zhongyuan did not clash head-on, but let the soldiers shoot with rifles, shotguns, and muskets, and when the Taiping Army reached the edge of the trench, Chu Yong suddenly came out and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Taiping Army, and Shi Dakai, who was not good at fighting vicious battles, could only flee in defeat. After that, Shi Dakai was bound to lose every time Jiang Zhongyuan was defeated, and he didn't have any temper at all, until he defeated Xiang Rong at Orange Island to save some face.
Second, twice designed to encircle and annihilate the Taiping Army, but unfortunately the superior did not give force
After Jiang Zhongyuan defeated Shi Dakai, the morale of the officers and men on the front line of the Qing army was high, and it was a series of victories against the Taiping Army, and Hong Xiuquan had no choice but to return to Jintian and return to the starting point. However, the problem came again, and the generals of the Qing army, seeing that Xiang Rongjun had made outstanding achievements, began to engage in infighting, did not cooperate with each other, and sat and watched the other side fight alone, so that the Taiping Army was able to break through from Jintian and go north to occupy Yong'an. At this time, Jiang Zhongyuan suggested that the headquarters adopt the operational policy of "comprehensive encirclement and annihilation on the spot", relying on the absolute superiority of the Qing army's strength, and completely annihilating the Taiping Army at Yong'an City. Unfortunately, Xiang Rong and Ulantai were full of contradictions, and finally engaged in the technique of "besieging the city must be lacking", and Jiang Zhongyuan resigned his official position in anger and went home, allowing the Taiping Army to escape the disaster. After the yong'an breakthrough, Jiang Zhongyuan expected that the Taiping army would definitely enter Hunan, and the most efficient marching route was to go north along the Xiang River and then take Changsha directly. At this time, Jiang Zhongyuan proposed to the Minister of Chincha Sai Shang'a that the whole army set up an ambush to eliminate the Taiping Army at the Xiang River, but unfortunately it was not adopted. Helplessly, Jiang Zhongyuan could only take 800 people to do it alone, and due to insufficient troops, the Taiping Army was able to break through on the east bank and survive in the Jedi.
Third, he had great foresight and encouraged Zeng Guofan to form a water division, which became the biggest nightmare of the Taiping Army
Because his superiors were not effective, Jiang Zhongyuan's repeated suggestions were not adopted, but his reputation in the Qing army was getting higher and higher, and even XianFeng looked at him. After the Taiping Army captured Wuchang, it went directly down the river, attacked Jinling, and changed its name to Tianjing. At this time, the Taiping Army was no longer what it used to be, its strength was getting stronger and stronger, and it was not easy to solve; then it was fighting in the water towns of Jiangnan, and the previous tactics must also be changed. Therefore, Jiang Zhongyuan strongly persuaded Zeng Guofan, who was still a registered waiter, to attach importance to the construction of the water division, preferably to form it into a self-contained army, and then rely on the water division to seize the right to control the river, cut off the enemy's grain route, and prepare for the final attack on Tianjing. Sure enough, after the completion of the Xiang Army's water division, the Taiping Army's water camp troops ushered in a nightmare for more than ten years; later, Li Xiucheng was also unable to complete the Tianjing Siege War because he was cut off by the Xiang Army's water division, and the kingdom of heaven was destroyed.
Fourth, the attack is invincible, invincible, helpless to be killed by teammates
Since the establishment of the regimental training, the battles personally commanded by Jiang Zhongyuan have never been defeated, and Lei Zaihao, Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and others are all defeated generals under his command, and can be said to have fought the five most cattle kings in the heavenly kingdom. The city he assisted in defending, or presiding over the defense himself, has never been lost, and the name of the famous general for thousands of years is well deserved! It is precisely because it is too powerful and the reputation is too loud that bad luck is quietly approaching it. After Jiang Zhongyuan completed the siege of Nanchang, Luzhou, an important town in northern Anhui, was under tremendous pressure from Hu Yihuang's army and could be breached at any time. At this time, the guard general Hu Yuanwei sent an envoy to jiang Zhongyuan for help, informing him that there were more than 10,000 elite soldiers in Luzhou, and there was enough grain and grass; but when Jiang Zhongyuan arrived in Luzhou, he found that the guards were less than a thousand, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled, and the grain and grass were very scarce, and they were pitted! However, Jiang Zhongyuan did not retreat, but insisted on facing Hu Yihuang, and when the city was about to be breached, he was unwilling to retreat and committed suicide by throwing himself into a well. Nickname: "Loyal Martyr".
All in all, Jiang Zhongyuan is worthy of being a famous general of a generation, both offensive and defensive, and no one can compete with him except Hu Linyi and Zuo Zongtang in the evening. Unfortunately, he did not understand the principles of "comeback" and "good men do not eat immediate losses", although he knew that he was pit by his teammates, he still had no remorse, took on heavy responsibilities, and died in the line of duty.