Jiaqing twelfth year (1807) In December, Luo Zenan was born in Shuangfeng County, Hunan Province, from an early age smart and sensitive, began to read at the age of four, entered a private school at the age of six, and became a recitation, but the family was poor, the four walls were depressed, and the family often ate the last meal. When he was twenty-nine years old, he returned from the county town of Kaoxiu, rushed on foot, returned home in the middle of the night, and before he entered the house, he heard his wife's cries, and it turned out that because of the drought and no food, his three sons were starving to death. In ten years, he lost nine relatives, including his brother and sister-in-law, grandfather and three sons. Because of the loss of her son one after another, the wife was overly sad, blind in both eyes, heavy hearing in the ears, and sick. Luo Zenan himself also has many diseases, his back is sore, and because his family is poor, he cannot buy medicine to treat himself.
However, no matter how poor life is, Luo Zenan never worries about personal poverty, specializes in psychology, and aims to apply it to the world.
In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), the Taiping Army invaded Changsha, and the gentry in Hunan were deeply disturbed by this, and in this critical situation, the 45-year-old Luo Zenan, as a student, initiated the regimental training.
In the third year of Xianfeng (1853), Luo Zenan and Zeng Guofan jointly recruited troops to form the Xiang Army. Jiang Zhongyuan led troops to rescue Jiangxi and asked Zeng Guofan for help, and Zeng Guofan ordered Luo Zenan to lead his troops forward. Most of his subordinates were Scholars from Hunan, who first came to battle and fought fiercely with the Taiping Army under Nanchang City, killing many people. When Zeng Guofan heard this, he was very happy and said, "The Xiang Army that has been trained is indeed available." After the siege of Nanchang was lifted, he went to encircle and suppress the bandits of Anfu, broke through thousands of Taiping troops with three hundred people, and was promoted to Tongzhi of Zhili Prefecture. After returning to Hunan, he encircled and suppressed the bandits in Yongxing, and his troops increased to more than a thousand. He and Zeng Guofan improved the Xiang military camp system and trained for half a year.
In June of the fourth year of Xianfeng (1654), Luo Zenan and Taqibu attacked Yuezhou together, and he expected that the bridge was a place where the Taiping Army had to fight, so he held still and waited for the opportunity to attack, winning all three battles and annihilating thousands of Taiping troops. In July, after breaking through the nine Taiping military forts in Gaoqiao, the Taiping Army retreated to Chenglingji, and Luo Zenan took advantage of the situation to attack together with Taqibu, repelling many large camps of the Taiping Army in succession. From then on, the prestige of the Xiang Army began to spread far and wide, and Luo Zenan and Taqibu were called the famous generals of the Xiang Army.
Luo Zenan and Taqibu turned east after the defeat of the Taiping army at Chenglingji, conquered Chongyang, repelled the Taiping army entrenched in Xianning, defeated them at Jinniu, and then entered Zifang. Zeng Guofan met with the generals at Jinkou to discuss the attack on Wuchang.
Rozenan drew drawings for it and contributed strategies. Then the Xiang army lined up giant cannons to face the Yangtze River and beyond, divided into land and water. Luo Zenan led his army straight to the garden, and the Taiping Army relied on Mucheng to fire artillery at the Xiang Army. The soldiers of the Xiang Army marched forward in snakes, approached the taiping army's camp, and divided their troops to seize the ships of the Taiping army, and after the taiping army on the ship was repelled, the taiping army in the camp was also confused, and the taiping army was breached in three places. The next day Luo Zenan attacked the Taiping Army camp in catfish sets, and the soldiers who sneaked towards Hongshan were intercepted by the Qing general Taqibu, and the Taiping army abandoned the city at night. The cities of Wuchang and Hanyang were restored, just seven days after Zeng Guofan's meeting to attack Wuhan. After the victory against the imperial court, Luo Zenan was soon awarded the title of Ningshaotai Dao in Zhejiang, and Zeng Guofan requested that he remain in the army.
The Taiping Army occupied Xingguo and divided its forces to capture Daye. Luo Zenan led an army to conquer Xingguo, and Taqibu also conquered Wuchang and Daye, so he planned to capture Tianjia Town. The Taiping army used iron locks to intercept the Qing army's marine divisions, stationed at banbi mountain as horns each other, and defended across the yangtze river. Luo Zenan was stationed in Maling Pass, about three miles away from Banbi Mountain. Thousands of Taiping troops suddenly attacked, and nearly 10,000 reinforcements came from Tian Zhen across the river. And Luo Zenan's army was only two thousand, Luo Zenan ordered the sergeants to ambush, wait until the Taiping Army was slack and then attack, the Taiping Army was defeated, the rear road was blocked by the Qing army, thousands of people fell off the cliff and died, Luo Zenan captured Half of the Mountain, the Qing army sailors cut off the iron locks across the river, burned the ships of the Taiping Army, and conquered the town of Tianjia, and the imperial court gave Luo Zenan the title of Puzheng Ebatulu, plus the title of envoy.
At that time, the Xiang army discussed that the water army should attack the Taiping Army in three ways, and the governor Yang Pei led the soldiers and horses on the north bank of the river, Luo Zenan and Taqibu attacked the Taiping Army south of Yang Pi, and Zeng Guofan led the water division down the river. However, it was impossible to march when it rained heavily, and the Taiping Army attacked north again, so Luo Zenan and Taqibu changed courses together and crossed the Yangtze River to the north, recovering Guangji and Huangmei. The Taiping army retreated to Kong Longyi and Xiaochikou, and Luo Zenan took advantage of the situation to attack with all the soldiers and horses. Before the Xiang army crossed the river halfway, the Taiping Army attacked again, the Xiang army was defeated and retreated slightly, Luo Zenan's arm was wounded, but he still commanded the battle, and the troops defeated the Taiping Army at the intersection, and the leader of the Taiping Army, Luo Gang, was defeated. In this battle, Luo Zenan broke through the Taiping Army's 20,000 soldiers and horses with 5,000 men, and all the large battalions of the Taiping Army along the river withdrew and retreated to Jiujiang, Jiangxi. Taqibu went to besiege, and Luo Zenan went with him to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army that hukou had come to help. Just when the Xiang Army's marine division entered Poyang Lake, it was attacked by the Taiping Army, and the Xiang Army's weight was completely lost. Zeng Guofan quickly rode into Luo Zenan's camp, but the Xiang Army's marine division blocked the mouth of Poyang Lake and made it difficult for him to enter.
In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), the Qing army in Hubei was repeatedly defeated, and Wuchang fell again. Luo Zenan followed Zeng Guofan into Nanchang, went to rescue Raozhou, and fought at Chenjiashan and Dasonglin, breaking the Taiping Army and recovering Yiyang. He also went to the rescue of Guangxin, broke the Taiping Army at Wushi Mountain in the west of the city, and conquered Wushi Mountain. Successively, Ke fuxing, Dexing, Fuliang and other places, and attacked Yining. He then defeated the Taiping Army at Liangkou and Aoling, regained Yining, and was given the title of envoy.
Seeing that Jiangxi's military deployment was not very reasonable, Luo Zenan suggested to Zeng Guofan: "Jiujiang is approaching Jiangning (Nanjing) and is holding Wuchang to the west, so the Taiping Army will fight with all its might." They invaded Yiyang, sent troops to Guangxin, and from Xinshui to Poyang Lake, copied our right road; He also occupied Yining, guarded Meiling, and went down poyang Lake from Xiushui to cut our left road. Now that both places have been pacified by us, the gateway to jiujiang has gradually stabilized, but there are still many rebels in Tongcheng and other places in Hubei. Yining and Wuning in Jiangxi, and Pingjiang and Baling in Hunan have always been restless. If you want to suppress Jiujiang, it is best to go down from Wuchang; If we want to relieve the siege of Wuchang, it is best to enter from Chongyang and Tongcheng. For the sake of the present, we should intercept the ships of the Taiping Army at Poyang Lake with the Hukoukou Division and the Jiujiang Army, and even more select the taiping army that can recruit good warriors to sweep away the Taiping Army in Chongyang and Tongcheng in order to enter Wuchang and use Wuchang to contain jiujiang. Then the overall situation in the southeast, maybe there will be a turnaround. "
Zeng Guofan reported all his suggestions to the imperial court, so he ordered Luo Zenan to go to Hubei to suppress the Taiping Army, and also allocated to him the old generals Peng Sanyuan and Pu Chengyao of Taqibu, a total of 5,000 people, and once again went to Hubei to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army.
In September of the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), Luo Zenan led an army to Tongcheng. Although the Taiping Army claimed to be tens of thousands, it was just a ragtag crowd, and it collapsed in one battle. Luo Zenan marched to capture guikou pass, and then conquered Chongyang, garrisoning troops at Yanglou Pass. The Taiping army of Wei Jun and Shi Dakai combined forces of more than 20,000 men from Puxi to attack, and were defeated by the south of Luo Ze. Hu Linyi came to Laoshi, attacked Puxi with Luo Zenan and conquered this area, and then marched on Xianning by the fog. Since then, there has been no trace of the Taiping Army south of Wuchang.
In November of the same year, the army arrived in Zifang, and Luo Zenan and Hu Linyi discussed the strategy of attacking the city. Luo Zenantun was stationed at Hongshan, Hu Linyi was stationed on the embankment south of the city, and the Xiang Army Marine Division was stationed at Jinkou. The Taiping Army built thirteen fortified fortifications outside the city, similar to Hongshan City. At the beginning of the battle between the two armies, the Taiping Army's 20,000 soldiers and horses came out of Cross Street, hu linyi engaged it, and the Taiping Army retreated several times but attacked several times. Luo Zenan and Li Xubin secretly went to raid the Taiping Army's camp in two ways, broke through the camp on Cross Street, and destroyed all the forts built by the Taiping Army in the southeast of the city.
Eight steps street mouth is the Xiang Army's main road to the Yangtze River, Tangjiao is an important road for the Taiping Army's grain transportation, Luo Zenan sent troops to attack these two places successively, burned the Shipyard of the Taiping Army, and all the Taiping army camps in the northwest of the Xiang Army were breached by the Xiang Army. However, the Taiping Army built two more stone fortifications outside the Wangshan Gate, and Luo Zenan led his army to flatten these two Taiping military camps; He also expelled the Taiping Army in Yaowan and Tangjiao, annihilating thousands of Taiping Troops, so the Taiping Army closed the city and could not leave.
Shi Dakai, the commander of the Taiping Army, had sneaked into Jiangxi after being defeated by the Xiang army in Chongyang, and his power began to swell again. Zeng Guofan issued a message asking Luo Zenan to return to Jiangxi, Because Wuhan is the hub of north-south transportation, if the Xiang army suddenly withdraws, Hu Linyi's soldiers and horses cannot guard alone, and now the Taiping Army's grain and grass will be exhausted, and it is not a wise decision to evacuate now. Luo Zenan's father was already eighty years old, and sent the letter to the army to ask him to maintain his loyalty, Hu Linyi handed the letter to Luo Zenan, and in February of the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), the imperial court issued an edict to Luo Zenan's grandparents and parents Erpin to show the court's grace and respect for him.
Luo Zenan fought for four years, dozens of Kecheng, experienced more than 200 battles, almost undefeated, and repeatedly won more with less, which can be called the "God of War" in the Xiang Army.
The first reason why Luo Zenan can fight is bravery, and the science of science is the study of life and death, because he has a deep learning, fights a war, and is never afraid of death. "Every battle will die, when loyal and courageous." The second is to apply it through the ages, and has always been committed to useful learning. After joining the army, he paid attention to field investigation of terrain, drew maps, and chose favorable terrain to fight. The third reason is that because he is deep in his scientific skills and can not be moved in the extremely chaotic battlefield, he has a cool head and analyzes the battle situation without mistake.
Luo Zenan's troops were also very distinctive, fighting during the day every day, and at night, they summoned their subordinates together, taught them to read, explained the rational principles to them, and passed them on to the "Filial Piety Classic" and the "Four Books" and recited them. At night, the books in the camp are loud, and those who don't know think they have arrived at school?
Another important significance of Luo Zenan to the Xiang Army is that he was willing to teach and educate people in poverty for more than 20 years, and cultivated a large number of talents, such as Wang Gong, Li Xubin, Li Xuyi, Li Xingchun, Jiang Yilin, Liu Tenghong, Yang Changlin, Kang Jinghui, Zhu Tieqiao, Luo Xinnan, Xie Banghan, Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guobao, and so on. They were heavily influenced by theoretical thought, had worldly ambitions and talents, and after the rise of the Xiang Army, most of these students became famous generals of the Xiang Army, brave and fearless.
In March of the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), the Taiping Army, which had been closed for a long time, opened its doors to fight and pounced on the Xiang Army. Rozenan personally supervised the battle. Reinforcements from the Taiping Army came one after another, and the Xiang Army sent out from Hongshan to pursue the Taiping Army, and the flying cannon hit Luo Zenan's left forehead, and the blood flowed down his face. He quickly returned to Hongshan, where he remained outside the camp and commanded the battle, dying in the army the next day at the age of 49.
When the Xianfeng Emperor heard this, he was shocked and expressed his condolences, and issued an edict to give a sympathy according to the specifications of the inspector. He gave his father Luo Jiadan the title of head to wear, and his sons Luo Zhaozuo and Luo Zhaosheng both gave them to the people, rewarded the knights who had been inherited for generations, and entered the Zhaozhong Ancestral Hall, and established special shrines in his native Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, and gave him the title of Zhongjie. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was pacified, the Tongzhi Emperor remembered Luo Zenan's merits and was given the hereditary position of Yiyun Knight.