During the Qing Dynasty, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, which had jurisdiction over Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, was the most "oily" feudal governor among the eight viceroys, and has always been regarded as a fat shortage. However, when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement swept through most of China, the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Liangjiang became a battlefield, and the Viceroy of Liangjiang immediately became a high-risk position, and most of them ended badly, either dying in battle or being executed by the imperial court.
From 1851 to 1864, the Qing court appointed (granted and acting) Lu Jianying, Xiang Hou, Yang Wending, Yiliang, He Guiqing, Xu Youren, and Zeng Guofan as the governors of Liangjiang. Among the 7 viceroys of Liangjiang, 3 were killed in battle, 1 was executed by the imperial court for abandoning the city and escaping, 1 was dismissed from his post and exiled due to poor defense, and 1 retired from illness, and only Zeng Guofan got a good start and a good ending.
Governor's Office of Liangjiang
The first governor of Liangjiang to die in battle was Lu Jianying.
Lu Jianying was a native of Qiuyang, Hubei Province, and was made governor of Liangjiang in 1849. Two years later, the Taiping Rebellion broke out. In 1852, the Taiping Army left Guangxi and entered Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and other places, and the sound was greatly shaken. At the end of the year, Lu Jianying took the initiative to attack, leading an army up the river and going to Jiujiang, Jiangxi to intercept the Taiping Army, but was unexpectedly defeated by the Taiping Army. Lu Jianying retreated to Nanjing, and the Taiping Army followed and captured Nanjing. Lu Jianyingzhan died at the Age of 61 at the Tenth Temple.
The second viceroy of Liangjiang who died in battle was Xiang Hou.
Xiang Hou was a Manchurian red flag bearer, and in 1848 he was appointed as the general of Jiangning and stationed in Nanjing. In 1853, the Taiping Army suppressed the border, and Lu Jianying, the governor of Liangjiang, led his troops to Jiujiang to fight, and was soon defeated; Yang Wending, the governor of Jiangsu, was supposed to stay in Nanjing, but insisted on running to Zhenjiang. Xiang Hou reported to the imperial court, accusing Lu Jianying and Yang Wending of "supervising the two ends of the rats, advancing and retreating without evidence, so that the provincial city was shaken", and the imperial court approved it, ordering Xiang Hou to act as the governor of Liangjiang, together with the deputy governor Huo Longwu, the vice governor Fu ZhuHong'a, and the envoy Qi Suzao to deploy the defense of the whole city. Soon, the Taiping Army captured Nanjing, and Xianghou "was wounded by dozens of times and died."
Nanjing City Wall
The third governor of Liangjiang who died in battle was Xu Youren.
Xu Youren was a native of Wanping, Shuntian, and in 1858 he served as the governor of Jiangsu. On June 8, 1860, after He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang, abandoned the city and fled and was dismissed from his post by the imperial court, Xu Youren was ordered to act as the governor of Liangjiang. A dozen days later, the Taiping Army attacked Suzhou, where Xu Youren was stationed. On June 18, Suzhou was breached, and Xu Youren was captured and killed by the Taiping Army while organizing resistance. Xu Youren's wives and concubines and children all died.
The governor of Liangjiang, who was executed by the imperial court for abandoning the city and fleeing, was none other than He Guiqing, whom we are very familiar with.
He Guiqing
He Guiqing, a native of Kunming, Yunnan Province, was admitted to the Jinshi at the age of 19, and his career was very smooth, becoming the governor of Zhejiang at the age of 38 and the governor of Liangjiang at the age of 41. When He Guiqing was the governor of Liangjiang, Nanjing had become the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tianjing, and the seat of the viceroy of Liangjiang was located in Changzhou. In early 1860, the famous taiping generals Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng joined forces to attack the Qing army's Jiangnan camp and relieve the Tianjing threat, and then marched all the way east to Changzhou. At that time, there were tens of thousands of Qing troops in Changzhou. He Guiqing, greedy and afraid of death, abandoned the city and fled, and when he fled, he ordered his entourage to shoot and killed 19 Changzhou gentry who were kneeling on the ground and begging for their retention. The Xianfeng Emperor was furious and immediately ordered He Guiqing to be dismissed from his post and arrested. On December 21, 1862, He Guiqing was executed at the Caishikou Execution Ground.
In contrast, Yang Wending's luck was better than He Guiqing's.
Yang Wending was a native of Dingyuan, Anhui, and was sent to Jiangsu to be an inspector. In 1853, the imperial court sent Yang Wending to the town of Nanjing. Soon, yang Wending heard that lu Jianying, the governor of Liangjiang, was defeated, and refused to stay in Nanjing, and led his troops to Zhenjiang. Nanjing was captured by the Taiping Army, Lu Jianying and Xianghou were killed in battle, and the imperial court ordered Yang Wending to act as the governor of Liangjiang. However, Nanjing is dangerous, is Zhenjiang safe? inexistent. Soon, the Taiping army attacked Zhenjiang, and Yang Wending could not guard it and retreated to Jiangyin. Zhenjiang then fell into the hands of the Taiping Army. The imperial court issued a decree that Yang Wending be dismissed from his post and convicted, and the army was dismissed. In 1856, Yang Wending died of illness.
Zhenjiang
The governor of Liangjiang who retired from illness was Yi liang.
Yi Liang was a Manchurian Zhenghongqi man, born in 1791. In 1852, he became a general in Fuzhou. In 1853, after Yang Wending, the governor of Liangjiang, was dismissed from his post, Yi liang was transferred to the governor of Liangjiang. In the next few years, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was busy with the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition, and was seriously injured in the Tianjing Incident, allowing Yiliang to live a leisurely life for several years. In 1857, Yi Liang himself fell seriously ill and was dismissed from his post, and was succeeded by the aforementioned He Guiqing. Yi Liang did not die, and it took another 10 years before he died of illness in 1867.
By all accounts, the governor of Liangjiang, who started and ended well, was only Zeng Guofan.
Zeng Guofan Xiangjun
Zeng Guofan was appointed Governor of Liangjiang on August 10, 1860, and viceroy of Zhili on September 6, 1868. On August 29, 1870, Zeng Guofan returned to serve as the governor of Liangjiang until his death on March 20, 1872. Zeng Guofan served twice as governor of Liangjiang, serving a term of up to 10 years. Why can Zeng Guofan "sit firmly on the Diaoyutai"? It was nothing more than that he had a powerful Xiang army, and there were competent generals such as Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang to assist him in battle. In times of war, the military is hard power. Lu Jianying, Xiang Hou, Xu Youren and others did not have their own army, and it was doomed to have a good ending.