History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
The 29-year-old British naval officer gave up a comfortable job and resigned in 1859 to join the Taiping Army that swept through the Qing Dynasty. He served under Li Xiucheng, the King of Zhong, and mainly trained troops and procured weapons. He also participated in many major wars of the Taiping Army, and also seized a steamship to dedicate to the Taiping Army.
After the defeat of the Taiping Army in 1864, after returning to China, with deep affection for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he recorded his legendary experience of participating in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and what he saw and heard, and published the documentary work "The Personal Experience of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolution". When she got married, the certificates all said former Colonel of the Taiping Army. It can be seen that he is truly in love with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Interestingly, she rarely writes about the women of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the book, but the only woman mentioned is what he considers to be the most beautiful woman in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and even in the whole of China at that time, her name is Jiang Guiliang. She is the wife of King Chen Yucheng. However, he soon became the concubine of Chen Yucheng's most despised opponent, the Qing army commander Shengbao, and eventually mysteriously disappeared.
Jiang Guiliang happened to be the same age as Yu Yu, both born in 1840. A native of Macheng, Hubei Province, he joined the Taiping Army with his father at the age of 13 and was incorporated into the women's battalion. Jiang Guiliang is not only handsome, but also a hero with strong martial skills. A willow leaf machete is used to dance, and the snowflakes shine on the hibiscus, and the essence shoots the heavens and the earth. A large number of fans gather around each practice. Such a character was also a shining star in the Taiping Army. Therefore, in a battle, Jiang Guiliang's shadow was deeply reflected in the eyes of the young coach Chen Yucheng. When Jiang Guiliang was 16 years old, he married Chen Yucheng.
Chen Yucheng's name was given by the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan. Some people say that he is a relative of Hong Xiuquan, which is nonsense. But he was indeed a rare young talent in ancient and modern times, and it took him only 7 years to go from the big head soldier to the commander of the Taiping Army. He came from a poor family, his parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his uncle.
Chen Yucheng was short in stature, with black moles under his eyes, and looked like four eyes from afar, so his nickname was called away. He joined the Taiping Army at the age of 15, and his uncle was Chen Decai, the Prince of Fu, so he joined the Taiping Army and soon became the leader of the Boy Scouts. Two years later, he was in charge of the logistics of the Taiping Army. Unlike many officials of the second generation, he was willing to go to the front line to charge, because when attacking Wuchang City, he only took five hundred soldiers with him, and was the first to attack the city tower, and became famous in the first battle.
After that, Chen Yucheng's short life was like an opening and hanging, sweeping through the Qing army in the south and north of the river, forcing the Qing Dynasty general Gil Hang'a, the elite general of the Xiang Army, Li Xubin, and the minister of Qincha Xiang rong to commit suicide one after another. Seven years later he became indisputably the supreme military commander of the Taiping Army from Datou Bing. He was crowned king at the age of 22. Chen Yucheng fought bravely and bravely, and did not hesitate to kill himself, and his prestige in the Taiping Army was very high. Such a person is most appropriate to be a pioneer, but being a commander has a fatal weakness.
In 1862, when Chen Yucheng wanted to join the Northwest Army, Miao Peilin, a traitor to the Taiping Army who had secretly surrendered to the Qing army in Shouzhou, persuaded Chen Yucheng to go to Shouzhou and promised to help him capture Henan. Chen Yucheng did not listen to the repeated persuasion of his subordinates, and fantasized to find Miao Peilin, who had been kind to him in the past, and as a result, he was captured. On the way to Beijing, the Qing court, fearing that he had been robbed, ordered him to be executed at the age of 26.
Chen Yucheng's bravery was even feared by Zeng Guofan, who wrote in his family letter: Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, there has never been such a thief. Very few of the Qing generals who fought against him could beat Chen Yucheng. There was a Qing commander named Shengbao, who was Chen Yucheng's opponent, and the two fought 40 battles before and after, and none of them won. Ridiculed as a doll by the Taiping Army.
After Chen Yucheng was captured, he was sent to Katsuho's big tent for the first time. Chen Yucheng still didn't look at Sheng Bao in his eyes. The "Chronicle of the Captivity" records that Chen Yucheng not only did not kneel, but also scolded Shengbao as a philistine. I wash Hubei three times, nine times down jiangnan, you see me and run, or I spare your life, how do I deserve to kneel you? Good not self-respecting stuff!
This Katsuho is also a famous general, and he is so angry. The Wild Records of the Qing Dynasty records that after Chen Yucheng's death, his wife Jiang Guiliang was captured by the Qing army when she escaped and fell into the hands of Shengbao. Katsuho saw that Jiang Guiliang was absolutely beautiful, and it was Lady Chen Yucheng, and the heart of revenge rose again, and Jiang Guiliang was made a concubine with the army. At this time, Jiang Guiliang was pregnant, and it was estimated that she wanted to temporarily shelter from the tiger's den, because she did not resist.
Katsuho was impeached for embezzling military salaries and escorted to Beijing. During the counting of the prisoners, the officials detaining Shengbao believed that Jiang Guiliang was Chen Yucheng's wife and was not allowed to accompany him. In this way, Jiang Gui got rid of The Clutches of Katsuho. With his son Chen Tianbao, he traveled to other places and raised the child in anonymity. Therefore, This Jiang Guiliang, who is called the world's first beautiful woman by the British, is really red-faced and short-lived, with a miserable life and a bad fate.