In July 1864, Li Xiucheng, the King of Zhong, was captured and imprisoned in Nanjing, and Zeng Guoquan was very annoyed with him, and if it were not for Li Xiucheng's strict defense, the Xiang army would not have suffered huge losses. It should be known that when Tianjing fell, there were only more than 3,000 Taiping troops in the city, and the Xiang army's various units totaled more than 100,000. Even so, the day before the fall of Tianjing, Li Xiucheng also led his troops out and secretly attacked the Xiang army camp, embarrassing Zeng Guoquan.
Li Xiucheng did not take Zeng Guoquan in his eyes, but he admired Zeng Guofan very much and wrote tens of thousands of words of "Self-Statement" to him. In the "Self-Description Book", Li Xiucheng admired Chen Yucheng, a fellow villager in Fujian County, and said that he was very brave. During the Battle of Zhenjiang, Chen Yucheng was alone in a lonely boat, consulted with Wu Ruxiao on a strategy to break the enemy, and killed the Inspector of Jiangsu, Gil Hang'a. Of course, He Xinjin was not bad, he sneaked into the Xiang Army camp alone to inquire about the news, and as a result, the "Xiangyin" exposed his identity and was captured during the battle with the Xiang Army.
He Xinjin, a native of Guiping, Guangxi, and a fellow of Wei Changhui, the King of the North, is also a fierce general. In the early years, He Xinjin, who made a living in the Area of Guiping Jintian, specialized in the blacksmith industry and was a typical blacksmith. Generally speaking, blacksmiths are infinitely powerful, good at using various weapons, and their martial arts are very strong. For example, Liu Zongmin in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the chief general under Li Zicheng, was brave and invincible.
Compared with Liu Zongmin, He Xinjin was not only able to fight in battle, but also had quite a strategy, which could be described as both wisdom and courage, which was quite rare in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Chronicle of the Kingdom of Heaven records that "Xinjin is quick and good at war, often serves as a military front, and is deep and strategic, and people cannot predict their worries." It can be seen that He Xinjin is not only able to fight, but also very resourceful, and later Wei Changhui regarded him as a close confidant and focused on training.
In 1848, Feng Yunshan came to Guangxi for the second time, stayed overnight at Wei Changhui's house, and pulled him into the cult of God, which was a great influence of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement. Wei Changhui, a rich man in Jintian, had abundant funds, and most of the weapons, grain, and ammunition needed for the Jintian uprising were raised by the Wei family.
The blacksmith, an indispensable figure during the Jintian Uprising, Wei Changhui had an intersection with He Xinjin on weekdays, so he brought him into the Wei family and let him preside over the manufacture of weapons to prepare for the uprising. In order to prevent the Qing army from reconnaissance, the weapons made by the Wei family sank into the pool; when making weapons, the Wei family also raised a flock of geese to cover up the sound of making weapons.
In January 1851, the Jintian Rebellion broke out, and He Xinjin followed Wei Changhui's actions, became one of the founding fathers, and fought north with his troops. In March 1851, the Taiping Army conquered Wuxuan Dongxiang, Hong Xiu was fully known as the Heavenly King, and 24 imperial forest guards were appointed, he Xinjin was one of them. The Royal Forest Guard, mainly to protect the safety of the Heavenly King, the force value is very high, Zeng Tianyang, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, etc. were once the Royal Forest Guards.
In April 1852, the Taiping Army broke through from Yong'an, Wei Changhui led the forwards first, He Xinjin and others covered Hong Xiuquan, and the second group left Yong'an. During the breakout, Ulantai, Xiang Rong, and others led their troops in pursuit, and He Xinjin was wounded in the battle to cover the Heavenly King, but personally killed several people, which was also very powerful.
During the Yong'an breakout war, He Xinjin performed eye-catchingly and dared to fight and kill, which attracted Yang Xiuqing's attention. In June 1852, the Taiping Army was ambushed by Jiang Zhongyuan at Jeonju Yidu, and the Southern King Feng Yunshan was killed in battle, thousands of Taiping troops were killed, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was seriously injured. At this time, He Xinjin stepped on the front line and undertook the heavy responsibility of attacking the city.
In August, the Taiping Army entered Hunan, and Even Kedao Prefecture, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, and He Xinjin all made battle achievements. During the attack on Chenzhou, He Xinjin quietly infiltrated the city and united with the Rebel Army of the Heaven and Earth Society. In the dead of night, He Xinjin launched an uprising in the city and attacked the state capital, and there was chaos in the city. At this time, Luo Gang launched an attack from outside the city and successfully captured the capital city.
Next, He Xinjin followed Xiao Chaogui north and attacked Changsha in a long-distance attack. Who knows, Xiao Chaogui's clothes were too bright, which attracted the attention of the Qing army, and he was killed by guns and cannons in tianxin Pavilion and died on the battlefield. After Xiao Chaogui's death, He Xinjin, Lin Fengxiang, and Li Kaifang continued to attack the city, waiting for Yang Xiuqing to come to reinforcements.
In November 1852, the Taiping Army withdrew its troops from Changsha and continued north, Lianke Yiyang and Yuezhou, and recruited tens of thousands of fishermen to join the Taiping Army, and also formed a water division force. In December, the Taiping Army successfully conquered Wuchang, and after a one-month rest, the whole army was pulled out and marched all the way down the river. In March 1853, the Taiping Army conquered Nanjing, renamed Tianjing, and confronted the Qing Dynasty across the river.
After entering Tianjing, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan was rewarded for his merits, and He Xinjin was awarded the position of "commander", which belonged to a high-ranking general and continued to be under The command of Wei Changhui. In Tianjing, He Xinjin made a mistake by taking some booty without permission, and was punished as a result. During a battle, He Xinjin raided the Qing army camp outside Nanjing, obtained some gold, silver and clothes, and then took it for himself.
In the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the "Holy Treasury System" was implemented, and some property was confiscated, as were the booty. He Xinjin made a mistake, but he took the initiative to admit that Yang Xiuqing was lenient in order to win him over. Shi Zai: "The King of Heaven and the King of the East have done a great deal of deeds, and those who have committed crimes have no intention of losing their hearts, and they can admit themselves and comfort them." ”
Directly exempted from punishment, the generals of the Taiping Army were not convinced, and He Xinjin took the initiative to ask Dai to make meritorious contributions and go to Jiangxi to recruit the Xiang army. At this time, Shi Dakai presided over the military affairs of Jiangxi and engaged Zeng Guofan, and Wei Changhui, in order to seize a base of his own in Jiangxi, asked He Xinjin to go to Jiangxi to expand the base for the Northern Wangfu.
Perhaps in a hurry to make a contribution, He Xinjin sneaked into the Xiang army camp alone to inquire about the news. He Xinjin, a native of Guangxi, Guiping, has a strong Hakka accent; Xiangjun, mostly from Hunan and Hubei, but also a small number of Sichuan and Guizhou nationals, belong to the southwestern dialect. In this way, He Xinjin quickly revealed his identity and was captured by the Xiang Army. He Xinjin did not want to tie his hands and fought with the Xiang army, but was killed in exhaustion. Shi Zai: "Sneaking into the Qing camp sentry alone, he was killed for what he got." ”
He Xinjin, whose position was "commander" and had a prominent position, sneaked into the Xiang army camp alone, which really should not be. Even if you are eager to make a contribution to your sins, you will not be so risky. In this regard, He Xinjin has some wisdom, but not great wisdom.
Bibliography: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom