In the study of history, we always focus on "big people" such as emperors, sages, and famous generals, and pretend to turn a blind eye to "small people" who are not famous, or do not pay attention to them at all, and only regard them as passers-by. Facts have proved that the role of "small people" in the process of historical development is no smaller than that of the so-called "big people", and it will even become an important turning point in historical development. For example, the "little man" Zhang Shoulin, without him twice jumping into the lake and fishing the famous ZTE minister Zeng Guofan out of the cold water, there would be no prominent Xiang clique in modern times, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom might be expected to succeed. "Little man" Zhang Pixiu, if he had not cut the knife in the wheat field, the first general of the Eight Banners, The Monk Greenqin, would not have died, and the tentacles of the Xiang clan of Zeng Guofan would not have had the opportunity to reach the Central Plains and then control the military and government of the late Qing Dynasty. Here, let's talk about a "small person" in the late Qing Dynasty, who personally shot and killed a British officer and soldier while guarding Zhenjiang; when fighting chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, he held the camp and died after detonating explosives
Zhou Zhaoxiong, a native of Sichuan, had a poor family in his early years, so he had to join the army for mixed food and became a soldier in the Sichuan Green Battalion. In June 1840, the British provoked the Opium War, the coastal Eight Banners and green battalions were defeated, the Daoguang Emperor ordered the transfer of more than 700 Sichuan soldiers to the coast to fight, guarding the throat of The Caoyun Throat Zhenjiang. At this time, there were 1,300 Manchurian soldiers stationed inside Zhenjiang City, 4,000 Han troops outside the city, and 700 Sichuan soldiers, with a total strength of 5,000 troops, which was not small. However, the Qing Dynasty was politically corrupt, and the Eight Banners and the Green Camp fell on each other. Before the British army could kill Zhenjiang, the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion fought with each other over the distribution of money and silver, and even fought with each other. Annoyed, the Eight Banner Soldiers resolutely prevented the Han army from entering the city to rest, forcing them to meet the British outside the city. What about the Sichuan soldiers? In the late Qing Dynasty, it was the famous "two guns" soldiers, holding shotguns in one hand and smoking guns in the other, and their combat effectiveness and will to fight were worrying, which was typical of insufficient killing of the enemy and more than enough to disturb the people. In this way, Zhenjiang is doomed to be unable to hold on, and it is only a matter of time before the water transport is cut off.
In July 1842, the British Far East Fleet killed under Zhenjiang City, and more than 3,000 people of the Green Battalion of the Han Army immediately collapsed, and the artillery on the British warships broke through the gate of Zhenjiang City, killing the inner city and fighting with the Manchus. After 6 hours, the Manchurian soldiers fled and Zhenjiang fell. At this time, the 700 Sichuan soldiers stationed outside the city fled without a fight, and the only one who remained to resist was the commander (platoon leader) Zhou Zhaoxiong, who not only did not follow the withdrawal of the large troops, but also took the initiative to crawl to the ground, using shotguns to aim at more than ten British officers and soldiers who were pursuing and killing, and successfully headshot one person to death. The Sichuan soldiers heard the sound of gunfire behind them, and when they looked back, it was actually the platoon leader who resisted alone, so they turned around, and more than 10 British officers and soldiers had to carry the bodies of their companions to retreat. Killing 1 person was the result of the Sichuan soldiers in Zhenjiang, and the Viceroy of Sichuan went to the imperial court for this purpose, saying that he had killed an important leader of Yingyi. Daoguang was very happy, so he ordered a reward and awarded Zhou Zhaoxiong to garrison (battalion commander), hoping that he could go further and continue to kill the enemy for meritorious service.
How easy is it to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions? After the fall of Zhenjiang, Daoguang directly ordered peace and signed the Treaty of Nanjing, ending the Opium War and selling his rights and interests. For the next 11 years, Zhou Zhaoxiong almost stood still, only mixed with Dusi (strengthening the battalion commander). In August 1852, the Taiping Army entered Hunan, and then rushed thousands of miles to Attack Changsha, and the Qing army fled along the way. When Xiao Chaogui attacked the city, the reinforcements of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion were eating melons, and no one dared to go out to fight. Zhou Zhaoxiong was an exception, often attacking the Taiping Army at night, destroying siege tunnels, and making battle achievements in preserving Changsha. The Qing Dynasty awarded him guerrilla warfare (regimental commander), followed Xiang Rong in battle, and went north to pursue and kill the Taiping Army. Zhou Zhaoxiong dared to fight, and Xiang Rong, a fierce general who was also a Sichuanese, naturally admired it, so he cultivated him into a crony. Of course, there is also Zuo Zongtang who values Zhou Zhaoxiong, "Zhou Zhaoxiong can do things", which is not simple. You must know that Zuo Zongtang was arrogant and arrogant, and even Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang did not pay attention to it, and he could admire Zhou Zhaoxiong and prove that this person still had material.
In March 1853, the Taiping Army invaded Nanjing, and then captured Zhenjiang and Yangzhou. Xiang Rong followed all the way and established the "Jiangnan Camp" in the Area of Purple Mountain and Xiaolingwei outside Nanjing to prevent the Taiping Army from attacking Suzhou and Changzhou. What about Zhou Zhaoxiong? He was sent to Zhenjiang by Xiang Rong to assist The Viceroy Yu Wanqing in his campaign against Luo Gang and Wu Ruxiao. Yu Wanqing, a typical escaped general, was known as the "maker" of the taiping heavenly kingdom. However, Yu Wanqing still has a specialty, that is, to recruit rebels and dig up the corners of the other side. With the arrival of red single ships and the fall of control of the Yangtze River to the Qing army, there was a food crisis in Tianjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou and other cities, and the king was forced to release tens of thousands of women to go out to "eat" to reduce food pressure. Without food, many recruits of the Taiping Army were shaken in their will, fled Zhenjiang one after another, and took the initiative to surrender to Yu Wanqing and eat mixed food. If this continues, the fall of Zhenjiang will be a matter of time or evening, and without grain, Wu Ruxiao will have no choice but to do so no matter how great his ability is. However, gil hang'a arrived, giving Wu Ruxiao a chance.
Inspector Jir Hang'a of Jiangsu arrived on the battlefield and replaced Yu Wanqing as the supreme commander of the Zhenjiang front. In terms of combat effectiveness, Gilhang'a crushed Yu Wanqing, otherwise he would not be able to make the Shanghai knife revolt. However, Gilhang'a was too cruel and overconfident, and after replacing Yu Wanqing, he directly abolished the "appeasement" policy and beheaded all the Taiping troops who surrendered. In this way, the Zhenjiang Taiping Army was cut off from its livelihood and could only follow Wu Ruxiao to the end of the battle and coexist and die with the city. In April 1856, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, formed a rescue corps, and let Qin Rigang, the King of Yan, lead Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng, Zhou Shengkun, Tu Zhenxing, Chen Shizhang and other five ministers to set out to fight a decisive battle in Gilhang'a. Needless to say, after the siege of Zhenjiang was lifted, they directly crossed the river to capture Yangzhou, and then attacked the Jiuhuashan camp, and Gilhang'a was forced to go to a dead end and could only shoot himself. After gilhanga's death, the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion were in chaos, and the soldiers fled one after another. At this time, Zhou Zhaoxiong ushered in a test, did he flee?
14 years ago in Zhenjiang, the opponent was the British army, Zhou Zhaoxiong did not escape, he took the initiative to meet the battle. Now, it is still Zhenjiang, and he is already a general, do you want to continue to resist? Zhou Zhaoxiong did not hesitate, he led his own soldiers to stay in the camp, and also played a song "Pipa Xing", following the example of Zhuge Liang's story of frightening Sima Yi. Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng did not eat this set and directly ordered the soldiers to enter the camp. Zhou Zhaoxiong took up the torch, detonated the explosives that had been arranged long ago, and coexisted with the camp. Shi Zai: "Gilhang'a was killed, and the broken son Gang was trapped by thieves, and the road was broken, and the zhao bear held on, and when he tried to lure the thief, he killed and injured a lot." Begging for help from Zhang Guoliang, he did not arrive, he was forced to besiege, and he was willing to win the hearts of the soldiers, and there was no escape. The battalion was broken, the gunpowder was self-immolated, and the army died together. In this regard, Zhou Zhaoxiong is a man worthy of admiration.
Bibliography: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Complete History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War