In February 1853, including their families, more than 600,000 Taiping troops set out from Wuchang and marched east. In less than a month, the Taiping Army invaded Nanjing, killing more than 10,000 Qing soldiers in the Green Battalion and more than 4,000 dead and wounded in the Eight Banners. In May, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, made a decision to carry out the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition respectively, and fought with the Qing Dynasty in an all-round way, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement entered a new stage.
The commanders of the Northern Expedition, Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang, were all famous generals who had experienced hundreds of battles and had always served as pioneers, and the value of force was not to be said. The commander of the Western Expedition, Lai Hanying and Hu Yihuang, did not have many military achievements before dingdu Tianjing, but they were of great status and were also rare generals. The protagonist of this article, Lai Hanying, the commander of the Taiping Army's Western Expedition, died because he was dissatisfied with Yang Xiuqing's reward and punishment, and committed suicide by throwing himself into the water, which is a pity.
Lai Hanying, whose ancestral home is Jiaying Prefecture, Guangdong, was born in Hua County and is a Hakka family. He was the younger brother of Lai Lianying and the eldest brother-in-law of The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, and had a prominent position. In 1847, Hong Xiuquan heard that Feng Yunshan had made a lot of noise in the Zijing Mountains of Guiping and developed more than 3,000 members, so he ran from Huaxian to Guangxi to find Feng Yunshan and discuss important matters.
Worshiping God was active in Guangxi, and Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan had great influence and attracted the attention of the Qing Dynasty. Lai Lianying raised 4 children at home, hid in Tibet, and had a very difficult life. In order to protect his sister's safety, Lai Hanying decided to take Lai Lianying to Guangxi to avoid being hunted down by the Qing army. Soon, the Hong clan and the Lai clan, under the leadership of Lai Hanying, came to Guiping from Hua County.
In January 1851, the Jintian Rebellion broke out, and Lai Hanying participated in the war as an ordinary general and gradually grew. When the Taiping Army marched from Wuchang, Lai Hanying could lead an army alone and act together with Luo Gang and other fierce generals, and then conquered Nanjing and changed its name to Tianjing.
After conquering Tianjing, Yang Xiuqing successively captured Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, consolidating the outer defense line of the Beijing Division. Subsequently, Yang Xiuqing decided to go north and west to fight an all-out war against the Qing Dynasty. The Northern Expedition, with the goal of invading Yanjing and driving the Qing emperor back to his hometown outside Guanwai, was the most stressful. At that time, the tough generals who were suitable for the commander-in-chief were Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang.
After Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang's Northern Expedition, the selection of the commander of the Western Expedition was not easy to determine. Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, one of the "Five Kings of Shouyi", had a prominent position and many soldiers and horses under their command, and Yang Xiuqing was unwilling to let them make meritorious contributions. Luo Gang was brave and invincible in battle, but he was not from the Heaven and Earth Society, did not believe in the worship of God, and had a vendetta against himself, so naturally he was not a candidate.
Hu Yihuang contributed greatly to the Jintian Uprising, but participated in the uprising alone, and his family background was not good, so Yang Xiuqing let Hu Yihuang preside over the Western Expedition. At this time, in order to consolidate the power of the Heavenly King and cultivate his own cronies, Hong Xiuquan asked Lai Hanying to go with him. In this way, the commanders of the Western Expedition were Hu Yihuang and Lai Hanying, with 10,000 soldiers and horses.
Compared with the Northern Expedition, the first phase of the Western Expedition did not have many troops, only more than 10,000 people, many of whom were newly recruited soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was average. However, the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion of the Qing Dynasty were really too poor, and the combat effectiveness was worrying, and it was just like this that, 10,000 new soldiers swept through the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, attacking invincible and invincible.
At the beginning of the Western Expedition, Hu Yihuang and Lai Hanying marched all the way to capture Wuhu, Chizhou, and Anqing. After the capture of Anqing, Hu Yihuang stayed behind to preside over the defense and appease the residents of the city. Lai Hanying continued his expedition to the west, zeng Tianyang was a vanguard general, all the way invincible, successively took PengZe, Nankang, and then attacked Nanchang, confronted the famous general Jiang Zhongyuan of the Xiang Army, and the two sides fought for 93 days.
In the Battle of Nanchang, the Taiping Army was undermanned, and the Qing Army continued to reinforce. Even so, Lai Hanying still beheaded Ma Jimei, the commander of Jiujiang Town, and the Xiang generals Li Guangkuan, Li Sanyuan, and Li Chunfu were also killed. Soon, Luo Zenan and Li Xubin led reinforcements, Zeng Tianyang set up an ambush in the middle of the road, and Luo Zenan and Li Xubin fled in a daze.
The morale of the Taiping army was high, and Jiang Zhongyuan, Luo Zenan, Li Xubin and other fierce generals were defeated in successive battles, and the Xiang army no longer easily went out of the city to fight, but held the city and fought a protracted war. In the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the proportion of "old brothers" among the soldiers was relatively large, so their combat effectiveness was very strong. However, after all, the number of troops is insufficient, less than 10,000 troops, and it is not easy to take Nanchang.
Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, is located in the Poyang Lake Plain, is the grain station of the "Jiangnan Camp" and the transit station of the Qing army's combat materials, and its strategic position is very important. With the continuous reinforcement of the Qing army, the balance of forces on the front line changed, and the Taiping Army fell into a passive situation of two-front combat. After 93 days of the great battle, Yang Xiuqing was transferred back to Lai Hanying and put Wei Jun and others in charge of the western expedition to capture Jiujiang and Hukou.
After Lai Hanying returned to Beijing, Yang Xiuqing wanted to put him to death on the grounds of "ineffectuality". However, Lai Hanying was Hong Xiuquan's brother-in-law, and Yang Xiuqing gave him a "love face" and asked him to delete books and work, sort out ancient books and literature, and no longer worry about military affairs.
Lai Hanying went to delete books and was transferred from the military post, which was a blow to Hong Xiuquan, and it was also Yang Xiuqing's intention, and everyone with a clear eye knew it. In February 1854, the Northern Expedition sent an urgent report that Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang were besieged by the Eight Banners, suffering heavy losses and urgently needing reinforcements. Yangzhou also sent an urgent report, the Minister of Qincha Qishan led 20,000 eight banners and the green camp to attack the city, Zeng Lichang was in a difficult situation.
In order to rescue the Northern Expeditionary Army, Yang Xiuqing decided to withdraw from the Yangzhou garrison, so he sent the general Zeng Jinfa across the river to find a way to get in touch with the defenders and then evacuate the city. Who knows, the Qing army's marine divisions, infantry, and cavalry coordinated their actions, zeng Jinfa was ambushed when he crossed the river, was killed by guns, and Yangzhou was in crisis and could fall at any time.
After Zeng Jinfa was killed on the battlefield, Yang Xiuqing was reluctant to send Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, so he went to the Shuya to find Lai Hanying and asked him to lead his troops across the river to rescue Yangzhou. The general was out of his horse, invincible, Lai Hanying personally operated the sword, braving artillery fire to charge, the morale of the Taiping Army soared, broke through the Qing army's defense line, and successfully rescued the defenders. Shi Zai: "Han Ying personally risked the Yashi, and before turning the bucket around, the Great Breaking Qing General Feng Jingni and the Yangzhou Guards were pulled out, and the whole division Zhen Brigade returned to Beijing. ”
In the Battle of Yangzhou, the defenders withdrew safely, and Lai Hanying was indispensable. The result? Yang Xiuqing rewarded all the generals, but did not reward Lai Hanying, because he was Hong Xiuquan's brother-in-law. Shi Zai: "The recruiters do not distinguish between nobles and lowly, xianjin is known as Pinghu Jia first class, and the Eastern King is a foreign relative of Han and English, and the center is quite jealous, and he is not allowed to be rewarded." ”
Meritorious service but no reward, Lai Hanying was dissatisfied, and complained about the Eastern King behind his back, which annoyed Yang Xiuqing. Shi Zai: "Han Ying was resentful, smelled by the Eastern King, the Eastern King wanted to kill him, Han Ying took advantage of the anqing, and threw himself into the water and died." At this time, Yang Xiuqing was in a high position of power, and even Hong Xiu was threatened with "cane blame", and Lai Hanying bumped into the muzzle of the gun.
Although Lai Hanying is Hong Xiuquan's brother-in-law, the Heavenly King himself is unable to protect himself. In this way, Lai Hanying could only commit suicide by throwing himself into the water, while harming his family. Some people say that Lai Hanying lived to be 95 years old and told Mr. Sun the story of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. So, can it be true? If Lai Hanying had not died and was still active after the Tianjing Incident, Li Xiucheng would have definitely mentioned it in his self-statement, but Li Xiucheng never mentioned it.
Bibliography: Chronicles of the Kingdom of Heaven