The reason why the late Qing Dynasty was able to survive for 50 years in the face of internal and external troubles was inseparable from the Xiang Army's pacification of the Taiping Rebellion; the reason why the Xiang Army was able to conquer Tianjing and harvest the final fruits of victory was inseparable from the succession of the commanders and generals of the Xiang Army.
The commanders and generals who finally conquered Tianjing were often easily mentioned, such as the two brothers Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan;
However, those generals who were martyred in battle, even if they made great achievements at that time, there will still be many people, in the passage of time, gradually faded by the world.
Among the generals of the Xiang Army who have been forgotten by the world but have become late, there are actually 5 generals, namely Jiang Zhongyuan, Taqibu, Luo Zenan, Li Xubin, and Li Xuyi, all of whom are famous generals of the Xiang Army who have achieved great ambition in middle age but died young.
First, Chu Yong's founder Jiang Zhongyuan
Period 1852-1853
Jiang Zhongyuan was the most dazzling general of the Xiang Army.
He became famous at the age of 40 in just 2 years.
He led Chu Yong to kill Feng Yunshan, defend Changsha, relieve the siege of Nanchang, and retake Wuchang, achieving a series of major victories.
In 1854
Betrayed by traitors, the city of Luzhou was destroyed, and he committed suicide by diving into the water and was martyred at the age of 42.
Second, the golden partners Taqib and Rozenan
Taqibu and Luo Zenan are the kings of the Xiang Army, the beloved generals of Zeng Guofan, and the golden partners of the Xiang Army.
The Great Victory of Xiangtan, Taqibu blood washed away the shame of Zeng Guofan's defeat of Xiangtan Jinggang.
Taqibu and Luo Zenan joined forces to achieve a great victory at Chenglingji, killing the Taiping general Zeng Tianyang, and the Taiping army began a strategic retreat.
Later, they joined forces again to recover Wuchang and save the faltering Qing government at that time.
When he became famous in World War I, Tazib was 36 years old and Rozenan was 46 years old.
Third, Zeng Guofan painfully lost his left arm and right arm
At the end of 1854, due to the defeat of Zeng Guofan's troops at Hukou, the golden partners Taqibu and Luo Zenan returned to Jiangxi.
In early 1855, Yang Pi, the governor of Huguang, again lost Wuchang.
1. The strategy under the above system
Faced with the unfavorable situation in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, and Wuchang, Hubei, Luo Zenan put forward the famous strategy of "pressing forward step by step under the system of the above."
"Jiujiang approached Jiangning (Nanjing) and held Wuchang to the west, so the Taiping Army fought with all its might. If you want to suppress jiujiang, it is best to go down from Wuchang; use Wuchang to suppress jiujiang. Then the overall situation in the southeast, maybe there will be a turnaround"
Fortunately, Luo Zenan's strategy was adopted by the Xianfeng Emperor after Zeng Guofan wrote a letter, and became the basic strategy of the Xiang army to sweep through the Taiping Army.
2. Taqib martyrdom
In 1855
Luo Zenan began to support Hubei
Taqibu fought alone in Jiujiang, but due to the defeat of the company, his heart was getting worse and worse, and he died violently in the army, and he was only 38 years old when he was martyred.
3. Rozenan was killed in battle
1855-1856
Shi Dakai, the commander of the Taiping Army, was defeated by Hu Linyi and Luo Zenan in Hubei and sneaked into Jiangxi.
Zeng Guofan issued a message asking Luo Zenan to return to Jiangxi.
Luo Zenan was worried that after returning to Jiangxi, Hu Linyi alone would not be able to capture Wuchang, and the Xiang army would lose the opportunity to control the overall situation.
On the other hand, he was worried that if he did not return to Jiangxi, it would not be easy to explain to Zeng Guofan and he was in a dilemma.
The Taiping Army, which had been closed for a long time, seized the fighter plane and opened the door to fight, and pounced on the Xiang Army.
Luo Zenan personally supervised the battle, and it was difficult to use it for two purposes, so he was shot and killed, at the age of 48.
Judging from the situation in the later period, although Zeng Guofan was trapped in Nanchang, after losing Taqibu and Luo Zenan's left arm and right arm, Zeng Guofan, who was born in the Jedi, gained two major confidants of Zeng Guoquan and Peng Yulin.
If history had been, Luo Zenan would not have died in Wuchang.
4. The Twin Stars of the Xiang Army
After Luo Zenan's death in Wuchang, Li Xubin and Li Xuyi turned out to be brothers and rising stars, which can be called the "double wall of the Xiang Army for a while".
The two were Luo Zenan's proud disciples when he was teaching, and then they followed him to the pen, and the two adhered to the strategy of "above and below" and swept through the Taiping Army from top to bottom.
1. Capture Wuchang
In 1856
March
After Rozenan's death, Li Xubin took over from Rozennan.
He was held outside Wuchang city with Hu Linyi, the governor of Hubei, Yang Zaifu, the governor of Hubei, and the Taiping Army.
September
Civil unrest broke out in Tianjing in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Shi Dakai, the commander of the Taiping Army, rushed back to Tianjing from Wuchang.
December
Wei Jun, who was guarding Wuchang, was killed because of his brother Wei Changhui
Unwilling to defend Wuchang again, he opened the city gate and surrendered to the Qing army.
After the efforts of Jiang Zhongyuan, Taqibu/Luo Zenan, Hu Linyi/Li Xubin/Yang Zaifu,
Wuchang returned to the Qing government for the third time.
From the loss and recovery of Wuchang in 1856 to the pacification of Nanjing by the Taiping Army in 1864, Wuchang remained in the hands of the Qing government.
2. Li Xubin
From 1857 to 1858, Li Xubin, with the cooperation of Yang Zaifu's water division, finally won jiujiang after a year and a half of bloody battles.
In this bloody battle, the Xiang army bravely killed the enemy without fear, "the former was wounded, and the latter continued to advance."
The famous general Lin Qirong of the Taiping Army and his subordinates also fought in the bloody alley, and nearly 20,000 soldiers all died heroically, winning the first place in the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The strategic significance of capturing Jiujiang is extraordinary, not only making up for Taqib's regrets, but also making the "top-down" strategy a big step forward, and solving the worries for further conquering the Taiping Army.
In 1858
June
Chen Yucheng, the former commander of the Taiping Army, together with Li Xiucheng, the rear commander of the Taiping Army, defeated the Qing army's Jiangbei camp.
Li Xubin led troops to rescue and attacked the town of Sanhe in Yuezhou, which was in an important position both economically and militarily.
During the attack on the town of Sanhe, Li Xubin was defeated by Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng and killed in a fierce battle.
From the time he joined the Xiang Army until he was defeated in Sanhe, "in seven years, he successively conquered more than 40 cities and more than 600 battles of size", becoming a very effective Qing general against the Taiping Army. His death in battle dealt a great blow to the Xiang army.
1858 was the year of Li Xubin's fame in the Battle of Jiujiang at the age of 40, and the year he died in Yuezhou.
3. Li Xuyi
When Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng fought against Li Xubin at Sanhe Town, Shi Dakai attacked Hunan, the rear base of the Xiang Army.
The governor of Huguang, Guan Wen, and the governor of Hubei, Hu Linyi, ordered Li Xuyi to aid Hunan and restrain the reinforcements of various roads, defeating Shi Dakai.
1860-1861
Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi commanded the Xiang army and launched the Battle of Anqing with the goal of capturing Anqing.
The Battle of Anqing was a strategic battle.
Zeng Guofan commanded Zeng Guoquan and Yang Zaifu at Qimen in southern Anhui province to take charge of the siege task.
Hu Linyi sat in the Taihu Lake in northern Anhui province and commanded Duolong'a and Li Xuyi to take charge of the rescue task.
Chen Yu became the siege of Xie Anqing and led an army to attack Wuchang directly.
Li Xuyi resigned from the post of Inspector of Anhui and commanded the army to return to Hubei, defeating Chen Yucheng.
The Taiping Army rescued Anqing, and without first clearing the periphery, directly attacked the enemy besieging Anqing, and the Xiang Army was in charge of the siege of the city to help.
The Taiping Army was repeatedly frustrated, and Anqing was not guaranteed. In August, Hu Linyi died of illness, and Li Xuyi took over as the governor of Hubei.
After the Xiang army captured Anqing, Tianjing lost the western barrier, and the Xiang army took advantage of the victory to go east and directly approach Tianjing.
In 1862, Li Xuyi was promoted to minister of Chincha and supervised the military affairs of Anhui Province
In 1863, Li Xuyi died of illness, and like his brother Li Xubin, he died at the age of 40.
Li Xuyi was fortunate to witness the victory at the Battle of Anqing
Unfortunately, it was not possible to witness the final victory over Nanjing.
5. Summary
They went forward and carried the banner of saving the Qing government.
Jiang Zhongyuan was followed by Taqibu and Luo Zenan.
Luo Zenan was followed by the brothers Li Xubin and Li Xuyi, until Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan conquered Tianjing.
They were all independent generals, and they all made great contributions to the suppression of the Taiping Army in different years;
They are all late heroes, all over 35 years old when they became famous in World War I;
They are all famous generals of a generation who sacrificed their lives for the country, and they were only 50 years old when they were martyred;
None of them could see the moment when they conquered Tianjing;
Although they were unable to participate in the final battle, their names should be included in the merit book for the conquest of Tianjing, because they opened the way and cleared the way for the capture of Tianjing.