In July 1864, Tianjing fell, and the princes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom either continued to fight or retired to the mountains and forests for retirement, and from then on they kept a low profile and evaded the pursuit of the Qing Dynasty. How easy is it to avoid being chased and killed? In 1873, Zhang Pixiu, who was hiding in his hometown, was arrested by the Inspector of Anhui and punished with Ling Chi. In 1874, Yang Fuqing, the auxiliary king, was betrayed by the traitor Ma Ronghe and arrested by the Qing Dynasty, and the result was also Ling Chi's execution.
As the saying goes, "Under the nest, there is a complete egg", the Qing Dynasty hated the Taiping Army very much, how could it easily let these generals go? However, there were exceptions to everything, and the Taiping Army general Yuan Hongmo, who was Li Xiucheng's general, defeated the Qing army while defending Hangzhou, and made many military achievements. After the fall of Tianjing, Yuan Hongmo returned to his hometown in Feixi County to retire to the mountains and forests, and often went out to do activities, and the Qing Dynasty did not arrest him.
Yuan Hongmo, a native of Feixi, Anhui, was a fierce general of the Taiping Army and could fight in battle. In 1828, Yuan Hongmo was born, but his family was very poor, and after eating this meal, there was no next meal, and life was very difficult. Even so, Yuan Hongmo still did not forget to study and study, and strived to gain something in the imperial examination, thus changing his fate. Of course, Yuan Hongmo also likes to learn martial arts, and while strengthening his body, he can protect himself in the chaotic world.
During the Daoguang years, the imperial court served a lot of service, and often suffered famine, and the people suffered unspeakably. In order to eat enough to eat, his brother-in-law Zhou Shengchuan negotiated with Yuan Hongmo to remarry his wife to a wealthy family in exchange for a dowry to alleviate the famine. The dowry received was divided equally between the Yuan family and the Zhou family, and they continued to live a difficult life. Later, Zhou Sheng passed on the official to the viceroy, and then redeemed his wife, not forgetting to send his wife, which is worthy of admiration.
In difficult days, Yuan Hongmo developed an indomitable personality, and he also liked to fight unevenly and stand up for the clan members who were bullied by others. Later, Yuan Hongmo took the lead for his next-door neighbor and killed the landlord who came to the door to ask for silver and two, and was wanted by the government, so he had to flee to the end of the world.
Before leaving home, Yuan Hongmo told his friend, his brother-in-law Zhou Shengchuan, to let him take good care of his mother. Subsequently, Yuan Hongmo defected to the Taiping Army, under the command of Li Xiucheng, the King of Zhong, and was promoted to the rank of general by virtue of his military merits. In October 1861, Li Xiucheng went on a second crusade to capture Hangzhou and traverse the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. During this crusade, Yuan Hongmo performed very eye-catchingly, and then stayed in Hangzhou to assist Chen Bingwen.
Perhaps by fate, when Yuan Hongmo was in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, his brother-in-law Zhou Shengchuan set up a "regimental training" armed force in Feixi to assist the Qing army in suppressing the Anhui Taiping Army. At the beginning of 1862, Li Hongzhang recruited soldiers in Hefei and formed the Huai Army, and Liu Mingchuan, Pan Dingxin, Zhang Shusheng, Wu Changqing, Zhou Shengbo, Zhou Shengchuan, etc., all came with soldiers and horses to become the foundation of the "Huai Army".
In May 1862, Li Hongzhang led 8,000 soldiers and horses on a crusade to Shanghai and Jiangsu with the help of British cruise ships to engage the Taiping Army. At this time, Yuan Hongmo and Zhou Shengchuan became rivals and met each other on the battlefield.
During the Huai Army's Eastern Expedition, Cheng Xueqi, the former general of the Taiping Army, fought bravely and attacked the city strategically, the Taiping Army was defeated in successive battles, and the Jiangsu base was full of crises. In order to save the crisis, Li Xiucheng transferred troops from Zhejiang, which was already urgent, to fight against the Huai army, and Yuan Hongmo was among them. Knowing that his brother-in-law was in the army, Zhou Sheng sent a letter to Yuan Hongmo, suggesting that he surrender and enjoy the glory and wealth with himself.
Seeing his brother-in-law's letters, Yuan Hongmo's attitude was very clear: "Each is its master, and the soldiers and soldiers meet each other." Perhaps considering the face of his brother-in-law, when Zhou Shengchuan attacked the camp guarded by Yuan Hongmo, he was repeatedly defeated, and he was ambushed by the Taiping Army from time to time, which was also miserable.
After Yuan Hongmo returned to Hangzhou, Zhou Shengchuan continued to send people to persuade him to surrender, and also asked his mother-in-law to come forward, hoping that his brother-in-law would turn back to the shore. However, Yuan Hongmo refused, saying that he was loyal to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and did not want to be a courtier. The eldest brother-in-law did not surrender, and Zhou Shengchuan was very annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.
In July 1864, when the Xiang army conquered Tianjing and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was gone, Yuan Hongmo returned to Feixi County, became a monk at the Zipeng Mountain West Lu Temple, and retired in the empty gate. Xilu Temple, several miles away from Yuan Hongmo's hometown, made it easier for him to take care of his mother. During his seclusion at Xilu Temple, Yuan Hongmo built a temple and used the proceeds of "incense" to help the hungry people nearby.
In 1883, Yuan Hongmo went to Yanjing to buy a copy of the Dragon Collection And Transport it back to Xilu Temple. In 1886, Yuan Hongmo died, and the monks built the "Tonggong Pagoda" to enshrine his ashes. In this regard, the Qing Dynasty did not pay any attention to him, knowing that he was active in xilu temple, but did not send troops to arrest them, and they were at peace with each other.
As a member of the Taiping Army, Yuan Hongmo also brought casualties to the Qing army, and now he has retired to the mountains and forests and spent his days in the empty gate, why didn't the Qing Dynasty arrest him? The author believes that the main reason is one, the brother-in-law Zhou Shengchuan is the viceroy, the Zhou family is the top pillar of the Huai army, and the Qing Dynasty had to give face.
With the annihilation of the Taiping Army and the "Twist Army", the Xiang Army and the Huai Army were successively dismantled, but considering that the Eight Banners and the Green Camp had been overwhelmed, the imperial court still had reservations about the Huai Army. The Huai army camp, which can be retained as an organization and still has a strong military strength, is the "Sheng Army" stationed in the important area of Gyeonggi, which is the elite troops of Zhou Shengbo and Zhou Shengchuan brothers, and the imperial court has to rely heavily.
With his brother-in-law Zhou Sheng rumored that Yuan Hongmo was once again dedicated to kindness, there was no threat to the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Yuan Hongmo often provided relief to the people, which was a good thing for maintaining social order, so why did the local officials of the Qing Dynasty ask for food for themselves? In this regard, Yuan Hongmo was the winner, and he was luckier than many Taiping Army generals.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom