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The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom swept through the late Qing Dynasty and had the potential to overthrow the Qing government, but unfortunately, after more than ten years of struggle, it was suppressed by the Qing army.
Why did the taiping army, which was so numerous, suffer a crushing defeat at the small number of Xiang troops?
First, the difference in the composition of the army. The 30,000 Xiang army, all of whom were of the Zeng Guo clan, the generals were all Hunan people, and the soldiers were almost all Hunan people. Zeng Guofan and these generals had relationships with classmates, fellow villagers, teachers and students, relatives and friends. The soldiers of the Xiang Army were recruited by the battalion officers, so they were particularly close and fought a battle. And the layers were subordinate, and the whole army only obeyed Zeng Guofan alone. Although the Taiping Army is called 200,000, Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing and the like are Cantonese, many of the soldiers who followed the uprising in the early years were killed before conquering Nanjing, and most of the later soldiers were temporarily recruited, the veterans and recruits were not very united because of geographical factors, and many people who followed the Taiping Army were out of interest, chaotic and chaotic.
Second, the military strategy is different. The Taiping Army was good at attacking cities and strategically, but it often fought guerrillas, plundered and left immediately, such as the important towns of Hankou in Wuhan, Jiujiang in Jiangxi, and other places that had been beaten and run, run and fight again. Especially after the infighting in Tianjing, the military strategy of the Taiping Army began to be a bit arbitrary and lacked foresight. For example, Li Xiu said that it was good to attack Shanghai, and he did not insist on fighting anymore; where there were few Qing troops, he would fight where he could fight, and this would definitely not work. The military must pay attention to strategy. Looking at the Taiping Army's long-term insistence, except for Nanjing, Anqing (which is also the gateway to Nanjing), and Suzhou (occupied by Li Xiucheng and changed to Sufu Province, which lasted for more than a year), the rest basically fought and ran. Zeng Guofan's army was different, and the Jiangnan and Jiangbei battalions had been sitting in the southeast, although they were often overwhelmed by the Taiping Army, but they had always insisted. The Taiping Army stayed in Hunan for a short time, so the strength of the Xiang Army remained good in the early days.
Third, the aid received by the army is different. The Xiang army was not fighting alone, and Zeng Guofan sent Li Hongzhang to Anhui to organize regimental training and establish the Huai Army. Zuo Zongtang parted ways with Zeng Guofan in 1860 and created the Chu Army in a single independent household to suppress the Taiping Rebellion, with most of the soldiers coming from the area around Dongting Lake. Therefore, in fact, there were at least three military opponents of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Qing Army. In addition, in the later period of the Qing Army, there was also the help of the "foreign gun team" of Western mercenaries. The Taiping Army was much weaker, and after the civil strife in Heaven, many generals were sealed, but those who were outstanding were Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng, and they were often influenced by Hong Xiuquan and were transferred back and forth, for example, when Li Xiucheng fought in Shanghai, the fierce fighting was forced to be transferred back.
Fourth, the weapons of the army. The supply of weapons in the Xiang Army was sufficient, and the foreign affairs movement originated here, while the weapons of the Taiping Army were mostly cold weapons, and the comparison of strength need not be said