When it comes to the Xiang Army, Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang are a topic that can never be avoided, because it is under their wise leadership that the Xiang Army marched south to the North and made countless military achievements. In July 1864, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which had plagued the Qing Dynasty for fourteen years, was extinguished by Zeng Guofan, and Hong Tianguifu, Li Xiucheng, and others became prisoners of the order, and the Qing Dynasty was able to continue the state for nearly fifty years. In 1876, Zuo Zongtang marched west and defeated Agubai, who claimed to have a million people, with more than 60,000 Xiang troops on hand, recovered Xinjiang and safeguarded the territorial and sovereign integrity of the motherland. However, Luo Zenan, the early founder of the Xiang Army and the reputation of the soul of the Xiang Army, was ignored by posterity, because he died prematurely, so that his wonderful deeds were often forgotten by future generations.
In the late Qing Dynasty and even in the history of China, Luo Zenan can be called the "inspirational brother" of the vast number of poor people, because almost no one can do what he can do, even Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and other feudal officials who are known as famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty. Luo Zenan (1807-1856), a native of Shuangfeng, Hunan, was poor and had nothing in the first 46 years, and in the last 3 years, he soared and became famous all over the world.
Zeng Guofan often mentioned a sentence in his collection of essays, that is, "since the counties and counties, Hunan has not tasted the world first", saying that Hunan had few remarkable points before the late Qing Dynasty, rarely appeared figures who could affect the national political situation, and the whole country paid little attention to Hunan. However, in the late Qing Dynasty, the science of Hunan was extremely prosperous, especially the Confucian idea of "applying to the world" was widely disseminated and highly respected by scholars. Luo Zenan is a gentleman of science, one of the main representatives of the "Jingshi School" in Hunan, whose books include "Reading Mencius's Notes", "Renji Yanyi", "Primary School Rhymes", "Ximing Interpretation" and other classics. In addition, Luo Zenan also deeply studied water conservancy, border defense, river disasters, public opinion, astronomy, military affairs, and other studies related to the national economy and people's livelihood.
You may think that this does not mean that there is anything special about Rozenan, he is just an ordinary theorist. This is not the case, and his greatness lies in the fact that he achieved these achievements against an extremely difficult background. Luo Zenan's family was very poor, and he did not eat this meal, and when he was young, his grandfather, brother-in-law, son, nephew and other 9 relatives died within a year due to hunger and disease (no money for treatment). At the moment of his return, his wife cried in bed and lost her eyes, because her newborn son had died prematurely. Even if life is so difficult and unfortunate, Luo Zenan still refuses the beauty of his friends to persuade him to do business, but insists on studying and learning, teaching and making a living while reading ancient books and classics.
Although Luo Zenan was poor and depraved, his noble character and unique teaching philosophy were widely praised by hunan people, and many intellectuals came to worship him. For example, Li Xubin, Li Xuyi, Jiang Yilan, Liu Tenghong, Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guobao, and other scholars who later became famous generals in the Xiang Army were willing to listen to his command and worship him as a mentor. You know, Zeng Guoquan, who is untamed and "spends money like earth and kills people like hemp", even dares to resist his brother, but he respects Luo Zenan very much. It can be seen from this that Luo Zenan's personality charm is really too great.
Virtue does not necessarily mean that life is abundant, and Luo Zenan's life is still very poor, because his income comes from the meager salary in the private school. Luo Zenan stayed in the teaching position for 28 years, from the age of 18 to the age of 46, and this perseverance in poverty is really valuable. In 1851, Xiangxiang County ordered Zhu Sun to honor him as a virtuous fangzheng to serve as a reserve candidate for the imperial court, but only as a reserve. In June 1852, the Taiping Army entered Hunan, and Luo Zenan's life began to counterattack, and then became famous all over the world.
In January 1851, the Jintian Uprising broke out, and the Taiping Army beat the Qing army like an autumn wind sweeping away the leaves, and the Eight Banners and the Green Camp did not play any role. In August 1852, the Western King Xiao Dynasty attacked Changsha, and the whole province of Hunan was shaken. At this time, at the request of the county commander Zhu Sunyi, Luo Zenan handled the regimental training as a national student, and recruited more than 3,000 soldiers. Luo Zenan created the Xiang Army earlier than Zeng Guofan, so posterity called him "the father of the Xiang Army", and Luo Zenan's troops were under Zeng Guofan, of course, this is only nominal. In May 1853, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom sent Hu Yihuang, Lai Hanying, Zeng Tianyang and others to the west, breaking through Hezhou, Wuhu, Anqing, and reaching Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province. At this time, Luo Zenan and his disciple Li Xubin led 3,000 troops from Hunan to reinforcements, which was the first time that the Xiang army went out of the province to fight. Although defeated, the fearless spirit of Luo Zenan and his men daring to charge forward deeply touched the heart of Zeng Guofan, who bluntly said: "Xiang Yong is available." You must know that in the case of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp smelling the "long hair", that is, the discoloration, Xiang bravely fought head-on with the Taiping Army.
After the defeat of Nanchang City, Luo Zenan began to reflect on his tactics, and continued to accumulate combat experience in the suppression of the Heaven and Earth Society's armed forces, and the strength of xiangyong in his unit increased greatly. In May 1854, Luo Zenan and Taqibu defeated Lin Shaozhang at the Battle of Xiangtan, successfully preventing the Taiping Army from attacking Changsha, and in June, Luo Zenan recaptured Yuezhou, and in August, recaptured Chenglingji, and the Western Expeditionary Army withdrew from Hunan. Since then, Luo Zenanwei has spread far and wide, becoming a famous general in the Xiang Army, alongside Taqibu. In October 1854, Luo Zenan conquered Chongyang, Tongcheng, and Xianning, and then went straight to Huayuankou to seize strategic points, making great contributions to the capture of Wuchang. After the great victory, the Qing court appointed Luo Zenan as the governor of Ningshaotai Province, Zhejiang, and added the title of envoy, which can also be regarded as a feudal official. In December 1854, Luo Zenan marched eastward, conquered Banbi Mountain, and opened a channel to Jiujiang. In September 1855, Luo Zenan marched into Hubei and repeatedly defeated Shi Dakai, forcing him to attack Jiangxi, where the defense was weak. In April 1856, Luo Zenan personally went to the front line to supervise the battle, commanded a large army to attack Wuchang, unfortunately was hit on the left forehead by the artillery fire of the Taiping Army, but still insisted on fighting. When he returned to the camp, he died of his wounds, and a generation of famous generals died.
Throughout one of Luo Zenan's lives, in the first 46 years he was unfortunate, living in poverty and his relatives left one after another; in the last 3 years, he was lucky, made countless contributions, and became famous in the world. Therefore, people are persistent, no matter how difficult life is, we must persist, do not forget the original intention, in order to always.