In July 1864, the Xiang army got its wish and conquered Tianjing, continuing the life of the Qing Dynasty for decades. The fall of Tianjing did not mean that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would perish, and there were still hundreds of thousands of Taiping troops on the north and south banks of the Yangtze River, and generals such as Li Shixian, Wang Haiyang, Lai Wenguang, Fan Ruzeng, Tan Tiyuan, Ren Huabang, Zhang Zongyu, Qiu Yuancai, and Han Qifeng still persisted in the war against the Qing Dynasty and won many victories.
In the Battle of Gaolouzhai, more than 7,000 members of the Eight Banners Horse Team were killed, and the monk Greenqin was killed. At the Battle of Baqiao, the Xiang army suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and Liu Rong, the governor of Shaanxi, resigned and returned home. At the Battle of Yinlong River, Liu Ming's troops suffered heavy losses, and the general Bao Chao was forced to disband the "Thunder Army". The protagonist of this article, the fierce general Han Qifeng, continued to resist the Qing after the fall of Tianjing, ambushed the Xiang army at Baqiao, and retreated to the hidden mountains and forests to retire, dying in his seventies and was also a winner in life.
Han Qifeng, a native of Woyang, Anhui, nicknamed "King Xiaoyan", was a fierce general in the Taiping Army. Vortex Yang, the birthplace of the "Twist Army" in the late Qing Dynasty, famous generals such as clouds, Han Qifeng is one of them. The "Twist Army", later subordinate to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was dispatched and canonized by the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, and was also a member of the Taiping Army. Zhang Lexing, Ren Huabang, Zhang Zongyu, Li Yun, Han Qifeng, etc., all accepted the canonization.
In the early years, Han Qifeng's family was wealthy, food and clothing were worry-free, and he followed his uncle Zhang Lexing to sell salt and grain, and his life was very moist. At first, Han Qifeng's surname was "Zhang", and later he was fostered in Hanjiazhuang, so he changed his surname to "Han", but he had a very good relationship with Zhang Lexing. Selling salt was very profitable, but the Qing Dynasty could not tolerate their division of the "cake".
In order to defend their own interests, Zhang Lexing, Han Qifeng and others launched an uprising, crossed the two Huaihuai, responded to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, and became a fierce enemy of the Qing Dynasty. In 1855, Zhang Lexing was elected "King of the Great Han Ming", and Han Qifeng became the owner of the Blue Flag and acted alone.
The "Twist army" swept across the two Huai regions, the Qing Dynasty sent Yuan Jiasan to lead troops to encircle and suppress, Zhang Lexing and Han Qifeng set up ambushes many times, defeated Yuan Jiasan, and their strength continued to grow. In 1857, Zhang Lexing, with Han Qifeng as the vanguard general, led his troops all the way south from Woyang, broke through the Qing army's layers of blockades, joined Li Xiucheng's army, and then captured the counties of Lu'an and Huoqiu, officially accepting the dispatch of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In 1863, due to betrayal by traitors, Zhang Lexing was defeated and captured, and was executed by Ling Chi along with his wife and son. During the battle, the Generals of the Blue Flag Department mutinied, and Han Qifeng was attacked by the Qing Dynasty and the rebels, and broke through in a bloody battle. After that, Han Qifeng and Zhang Zongyu continued to fight in Lianghuai, waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback and avenge their uncle Zhang Lexing.
In December 1864, Chen Decai's 200,000-strong army was defeated in Hubei, and Lai Wenguang, the king of Zun, broke through, and Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng sent troops to meet him. Then, Lai Wenguang, Ren Huabang, Zhang Zongyu, Li Yun, Han Qifeng, and others discussed major matters together, insisted on resisting the Qing in Lianghuai, and continued to fight under the banner of the Taiping Army, trying to revitalize the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
After the two units converged, they were reorganized, increasing the number of cavalry and reducing the proportion of infantry, thereby improving the mobility of the Taiping Army. In May 1865, Lai Wenguang, Ren Huabang, Zhang Zongyu, and Han Qifeng ushered in a highlight moment. Ren Huabang and Han Qifeng were good at commanding cavalry, they lured the monk Greenqin in pursuit, and after the Eight Banners Horse Team rushed to the high-rise village, Zhang Zongyu, Lai Wenguang and other ambush troops were killed.
Under the continuous pursuit, the Eight Flags Horse Team was exhausted, and they encountered a surprise attack, and they couldn't help but be confused. After all, the monk Greenqin was a famous general, and he did not panic, but gathered his troops, retreated to the woods, and then built a fortification. Unfortunately, he had no chance to break through, because Zhang Zongyu, Han Qifeng and others continued to attack, and the Eight Banners Horse Team did not have the courage to hold out, ignoring the commander's orders and fleeing for their lives.
The situation was chaotic, and the monk Greenqin had to break through in a bloody battle, but he was already seriously injured, and after falling off his horse, he fled into the wheat field for refuge, only to be killed by the small soldiers. In this battle, the Eight Banners And Horse Brigade was completely destroyed, and the Manchus had no one to use, so Cixi had to grant Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang great power and let them lead their troops north to save the situation.
After Zeng Guofan went north to supervise the division, he adopted "river defense tactics", using canals, the Yellow River, and the Jialu River to encircle the Taiping Army, and also ordered the construction of "walled forts" in various places to carry out the clearing of the field. Zeng Guofan knew that the newly formed Taiping Army, or "New Twist Army", had a large number of cavalry and strong mobility, and it was unrealistic to fight a decisive battle head-on. However, Zhang Zongyu and others did not have a fixed base and could not afford a protracted war and a war of attrition.
Under the "river defense tactics", the Xiang army took the battalion step by step, but the Taiping army did not have food supplies, and life was very difficult. In order to survive, Lai Wenguang decided to divide his troops to relieve the pressure. Among them, Lai Wenguang and Ren Huabang led their armies south to the two lakes and waited for an opportunity to enter Sichuan; Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng led their armies into Guanzhong to unite with the northwest rebel army.
The princes of the division, Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng, quickly marched into Shaanxi. At this time, Liu Rong, the governor of Shaanxi, was leading an army to encircle and suppress the northwestern rebel army, and when he heard that Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng had been killed, he returned from Gansu. Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng adopted the tactic of "tired enemy" and went around shaanxi with Liu Rong in circles to drag the Xiang army down.
The Xiang army, which was mainly infantry, had long been exhausted under continuous tracking and pursuit. When Liu Rong arrived at Baqiao on the outskirts of Xi'an, Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng no longer retreated, they had already set up an ambush in advance, and waited for the Xiang army to enter the "pocket" and then annihilate it. In January 1867, at the Battle of Baqiao, the Xiang army lost more than 4,000 people, and more than 6,000 others surrendered, and Liu Rong fled into Xi'an with only a few hundred people.
After the Battle of Baqiao, Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng were unable to capture Xi'an due to lack of siege tools. At this time, they heard that Lai Wenguang and Ren Huabang were defeated in Shandong, so they led their troops back to prepare to rescue their teammates. Zhang Zongyu and Han Qifeng fought alone, and finally lost the battle at tujiaohe, and everyone collapsed. Zhang Zongyu broke out and went to an island to retire; Han Qifeng lived in anonymity, living in Huanghua City, Hebei Province, and died in his seventies.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom