In February 1854, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, performed "Heavenly Father Under The Mortals" and went to the palace of the Northern King Wei Changhui and ordered that the Northern King Wei Changhui be reprimanded for hundreds of large plates, and the water master General Zhang Zipeng was responsible for one thousand large plates, which was the famous "water soldier mutiny" incident. Yang Xiuqing made a big fuss and publicly humiliated Wei Changhui and buried hidden dangers for the Tianjing Incident. You must know that Wei Changhui is a powerful faction second only to Yang Xiuqing, and he is also the "Prince of Shouyi", how can he be so humiliated?
The two victims of the "sailor mutiny" incident, Wei Changhui and Zhang Zipeng, were superiors and subordinates. According to Yang Xiuqing's rough temper (see "Wrangler Incident"), Zhang Zipeng provoked a "sailor mutiny" and could not escape death, but he was only reprimanded by the staff for a thousand large boards, and he was still active on the front line of the battle. In this regard, Zhang Zipeng still has some weight, otherwise would Yang Xiuqing spare him? Shi Zai: "Rebuke hundreds of Northern Kings, Zi Peng a thousand, Zi Peng to Hubei, and Guozong Wei Zhijun, attack De'an and other subordinates, and look down at Hunan." ”
Zhang Zipeng, some books are also known as "Zi Peng", for the convenience of writing, write it Zi Peng. Zhang Zipeng, a native of Guangxi Baise, was later subordinate to Wei Changhui, the King of the North, and was in charge of the work of the water division. In the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the concept of regionality within the group was very strong, and Baise was not the "hinterland of The Bauhinia Mountain" and was not the key missionary site of Feng Yunshan.
The "old brother" from Baise can manage the work of the water division, which proves that Zhang Zipeng has some material. It should be known that Huang Wenjin, a fierce general from Bobai, brought thousands of soldiers and horses during the Jintian Uprising, and his early fame was even smaller than Zhang Zipeng. In November 1853, Zhang Zipeng was already a minister, and Huang Wenjin was the checkpoint. King Chen Yucheng and King Li Xiucheng, the king of Zhong, two "famous generals of Zhongxing", were still small soldiers at this time and had a very low status.
So, where is his ability to show strength? In November 1853, the Qing army "Jiangbei Camp" besieged Yangzhou, the Qing army water division blocked the river, and the defender Zeng Lichang continued to ask for help from Tianjing. At this time, Zhang Zipeng led the warships of the Marine Division to bravely break through the Qing fleet and tear through the defense line of the "Jiangbei Camp", and Lai Hanying and Zeng Shuiyuan were able to successfully rescue the Yangzhou defenders.
What does it mean to rescue the Yangzhou defenders? In May 1853, Yang Xiuqing ordered Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang to lead a 20,000-strong Northern Expedition with the goal of capturing Yanjing and overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. The Northern Expedition dispatched 20,000 elites, and Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang served as commanders, which was a very luxurious lineup. You know, in the next Western Expedition, the General Shuai camp is no match for the Northern Expedition. In the first stage of the Western Expedition, the Taiping Army had more than 10,000 people, most of whom were recruits; The military ability and experience of Hu Yihuang and Lai Hanying were not as good as Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang at this time.
The Northern Expedition of 20,000 veterans was initially unstoppable, but the lone army went deep, and then it was surrounded and suppressed by the famous Mongolian general Monk Gelinqin, and was in a critical situation. In order to rescue the Northern Expeditionary Army, Yang Xiuqing could only piece together a mobile force, the backbone of which was the 7,000 soldiers and horses withdrawn from Yangzhou, led by Zeng Lichang to the north. The northern expedition reinforcements, the backbone of the force is the Yangzhou garrison, and the Yangzhou garrison can successfully break out of the siege, and the main force is not damaged, Zhang Zipeng is indispensable, and later was awarded the position of the chancellor, the status under the king and the marquis.
After rescuing the Defenders of Yangzhou, Zhang Zipeng did not go to rescue the Northern Expeditionary Army, and Yang Xiuqing gave him a new task, that is, to lead the Water Division to the west, to fight in Hubei and Hunan, and to reinforce Wei Zhijun's army. This is interesting, Zhang Zipeng had just been reprimanded by the staff for a thousand large boards, why did he continue to march west and fight with the Xiang army? For two reasons, first of all, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, enjoyed the power of "Heavenly Father's Rumors" and also held political, military, and religious powers, and Zhang Zipeng did not dare to disobey orders, otherwise the end would be very tragic.
Moreover, the staff blamed a thousand large boards, Yang Xiuqing should be "releasing water", this is just an occasion, if it is half dead, Zhang Zipeng can not go out on the expedition. There is a passage in the Chronicle of the Kingdom of Heaven that says: "Many mistakes, the Eastern King regrets everything, but he regrets his courage and does not tolerate killing." It can be seen that Yang Xiuqing "has mercy on his subordinates", he wants to win people's hearts, and Zhang Zipeng has not hurt Yuan Qi. In this regard, Zhang Zipeng should be able to feel it.
When Zhang Zipeng left Hubei, the water division had been taken over by the Hunan general Tang Zhengcai, but he remained in the water division as an important official. In April 1854, Zhang Zipeng led a water division to Hubei, and together with Wei Zhijun attacked northwest Hubei, captured De'an and other places, and then besieged Wuchang, shaking the Qing Dynasty. At this time, Yang Xiuqing sent Lin Shaozhang to march west to control the military affairs of the front line, and Wei Zhijun returned to Tianjing to participate in the war against the "Jiangnan Camp".
Wei Zhijun left the front line, the Taiping army relaxed its attack on Wuchang, and Zhang Zipeng led his army south to cooperate with Lin Shaozhang in capturing Changsha. Unfortunately, Zhang Zipeng had not yet arrived at the battlefield, and Lin Shaozhang was completely annihilated in Xiangtan, and he had to retreat to Hubei. The Battle of Xiangtan was a crushing defeat, the Western Expedition was in a hurry, Yang Xiuqing forced the army to capture Wuchang, Wei Zhijun returned to the Hubei front again, with the help of Zhang Zipeng's water division to capture Hankou and Hanyang, and finally wuchang.
After the capture of Wuchang, the situation of the Taiping Army's western expedition improved, but Wei Zhijun returned to Beijing again, and the Wuchang defender Shi Fengkui was a straw bale and had little military talent. In October 1854, the Xiang army attacked Wuchang, and Shi Fengkui abandoned the city and fled, retreating to Tianjia Town.
The Taiping Army retreated to Tianjia Town, and Qin Rigang controlled the military affairs of the front line, but he did not pay attention to the role of the marine division, and Zhang Zipeng's fleet of the water division all sailed downstream, "avoiding battle and protecting ships", and the defense was very passive. As a result, Peng Yulin led the Xiang Army's marine division to break through the "iron cable defense line" in Tianjia Town, burning the ships downstream, and Zhang Zipeng broke through with all his might, retreating to the mouth of the Jiujiang River and the lake.
After capturing Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain, Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi led the Xiang army to continue to pursue, and fought a decisive battle with the Taiping Army at Jiujiang and Hukou. At this time, the commander of the Taiping Army's front line was Yi wang Shi Dakai, who lured the Xiang army into a deep pursuit, and then divided and surrounded the Xiang army's water division on the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake, making it impossible for them to cooperate with each other. Subsequently, Luo Gang and Zhang Zipeng led the water division to attack the Camp of the Yangtze River Water Division of the Xiang Army at night, and the flagship of Zeng Guofan was captured, and the Xiang Army was defeated miserably and forced to flee upstream.
After the great victories in Jiujiang and Hukou, Zhang Zipeng stayed at Hukou to assist Huang Wenjin in defending the town. Huang Wenjin, a fierce general under the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing, is also a key training object, Zhang Zipeng stayed in Hukou, Yang Xiuqing naturally wanted to win people's hearts and develop it into his own person. Unfortunately, after the Battle of Hukou, there are few historical records about Zhang Zipeng, perhaps because of illness. Generally speaking, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not record those who died of illness in the middle of the way, such as Hu Yihuang, the king of Yu.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Chronicle of the Kingdom of Heaven