1
列傳一百八十李星沅，字石梧，湖南湘陰人。 道光十二年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 十五年，督廣東學政。 粵士多健訟，檄通省籍諸生之幹訟者，牒報诇治之，士風以肅。 任滿，授陝西漢中知府，歷河南糧道，陝西、四川、江蘇按察使。 在川、陝嚴治刀匪、啯匪，屢擒其魁置之法。 遷江西布政使，調江蘇。 二十二年，擢陝西巡撫，署陝甘總督。 二十五年，調江蘇巡撫。 二十六年，擢雲貴總督，兼署雲南巡撫。
Biography 180 — Li Xingyuan, styled Shiwo, from Xiangyin in Hunan. He earned his jinshi degree in 1832, entered the Hanlin as a probationary academician, and was appointed a compiler. In 1835 he was appointed provincial education commissioner for Guangdong. Cantonese literati were notoriously litigious. He circulated a province-wide edict requiring officials to report degree-holding students who acted as litigation brokers, had offenders investigated and disciplined, and thereby restored order among the scholarly class. At the end of his term he was made prefect of Hanzhong in Shaanxi, then served successively as Henan grain intendant and as provincial judicial commissioner in Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Jiangsu. In Sichuan and Shaanxi he cracked down hard on armed bandit gangs, repeatedly capturing their leaders and putting them to death. He was promoted to Jiangxi provincial treasurer and then transferred to the same post in Jiangsu. In 1842 he was promoted to governor of Shaanxi and concurrently served as acting governor-general of Shaanxi-Gansu. In 1845 he was transferred to governor of Jiangsu. In 1846 he was promoted to governor-general of Yunnan-Guizhou and concurrently served as acting governor of Yunnan.
2
先是，永昌回亂，迤西道羅天池濫殺，不分良莠，眾回益擾。 總督賀長齡、提督張必祿急於主撫，降者輒复叛。 至是，緬寧匪首馬國海被剿亡走，潛結雲州回馬登霄、海連升等復起事，迤西大震。 星沅追論肇亂之由，長齡、天池並獲譴。 二十七年，遣兵進剿，解散被脅回眾，首逆就殲，餘匪肅清。 詔嘉其功，加太子太保銜，賜花翎。 尋調兩江總督。
Earlier, during the Yongchang Muslim uprising, Luo Tianchi, the western Yunnan circuit intendant, had slaughtered indiscriminately without distinguishing loyal subjects from rebels, and Muslim unrest only worsened. Governor-General He Changling and military commander Zhang Bilu were overeager to pacify by negotiation, and those who surrendered soon rebelled again. By then the rebel leader Ma Guohai of Mianning, routed in suppression campaigns, had fled and secretly allied with the Yunzhou Muslims Ma Dengxiao and Hai Liansheng to revolt again, throwing all of western Yunnan into turmoil. Xingyuan investigated the origins of the rebellion, and both He Changling and Luo Tianchi were censured. In 1847 he sent troops on a punitive campaign, released Muslims who had been coerced into joining, destroyed the rebel leaders, and cleared out the remaining insurgents. The throne commended his service, granted him the honorary title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and awarded him a peacock feather. He was soon transferred to governor-general of the Two Jiangs.
3
星沅未第時，客陶澍幕中，為掌章奏。 又歷官江南，習於鹽、漕、河諸利弊。 時度支告匱，廷臣主南漕改徵折色解部，於北省採買。 星沅謂折多徵收不易，折少採買不敷。 穀賤銀貴，民間展轉虧折。 且州縣藉端浮勒，胥吏高下其手，防之皆難。 迭疏論列，議遂寢。
Before earning his degree, Xingyuan had served on Tao Zhu's staff, drafting official memorials. He had also served in the lower Yangtze region and was thoroughly familiar with the salt monopoly, grain transport, and river works. The treasury was strained, and court officials proposed converting southern tribute grain into cash payments to the Board of Revenue, with grain then purchased in the north. Xingyuan argued that a high conversion rate would make collection impractical, while a low rate would leave insufficient funds for purchase. With grain cheap and silver dear, ordinary people would lose money at every turn of the exchange. Moreover, local officials would seize any excuse to levy surcharges, and clerks would manipulate the rates at will — abuses nearly impossible to prevent. He submitted memorial after memorial laying out these objections, and the proposal was eventually dropped.
4
淮鹽自陶澍整頓之後，歷年又多積欠。 星沅疏陳引鹽壅積、課款支絀情形：「揆厥所由，官以畏難而因仍，商以畏難而取巧。 成本增於雜費，行銷滯於售私，年復一年，幾同痼疾。 先當以內清場私，外敵鄰私，為急則治標之計。 本年回空糧私，奏請查禁。 其川私、墾私、潞私、浙私，均諮行堵緝。 又引船夾帶，為害最鉅，扼要搜查，於揚州仙女廟及江寧下關緝獲百餘萬斤，提省審辦。 他如慎出納，提緩課，派懸引，刪繁文，配運殘引，提售新鹽，裁浮巡費，禁捏報淹銷，酌議章程八條，以圖整理。」 疏入，下部議行。
Since Tao Zhu's reforms of the Huai salt monopoly, arrears had again piled up year after year. Xingyuan memorialized on the glut of licensed salt and shortfalls in tax revenue: "At bottom, officials, afraid of hard work, simply perpetuate the status quo, while merchants, afraid of losses, resort to evasions. Costs are inflated by surcharges, legitimate sales are undercut by smuggling, and year after year the system has grown nearly incurable. The immediate priority — treating symptoms before the root cause — must be to suppress smuggling within our jurisdiction and block salt from neighboring regions. He memorialized to investigate and ban smuggling aboard returning empty grain transport vessels. He issued circulars to block smuggling from Sichuan, reclaimed lands, Shanxi, and Zhejiang alike. Concealed smuggling aboard licensed transport boats was the worst abuse; he ordered searches at strategic points and at Yangzhou's Fairy Temple and Nanjing's Xiaguan seized over a million jin of contraband salt, which was sent to the provincial capital for prosecution. He also proposed eight regulatory measures: strict accounting, advancing deferred payments, assigning outstanding licenses, cutting redundant paperwork, allocating transport of remnant licenses, advancing sales of new salt, reducing inflated patrol costs, and banning false reports of flood damage — all aimed at restoring order to the monopoly." The memorial was referred to the relevant boards for deliberation and implementation.
5
舊制，總督兼管河務，自道光二十二年後停止，至是復命兼管。 會兼署河督，疏請嚴禁廳員聚處清江，飭各歸工次。 奏籌外海水師事宜，曰磨厲人才，曰變通營巡，曰覈實會哨，曰扼要堵緝，曰配兵足數； 又請添造戰船，勸捐給獎：並允行。 俄羅斯通商舊由陸路，忽有商船至上海，執約拒之。 在任兩年，宣宗甚加倚任。 因久病，請解職回籍，允之。
By longstanding custom the governor-general also oversaw river conservancy; this responsibility had been withdrawn after 1842, but now it was restored to him. While concurrently serving as director-general of rivers, he memorialized to forbid bureau staff from congregating at Qingjiang and ordered each to return to his assigned work site. He memorialized on coastal naval defense, proposing to develop talent, reform patrol routines, verify joint patrol meetings, block smuggling at strategic points, and ensure full troop complements; he also requested construction of additional warships and rewards for charitable donations — all of which were approved. Russian trade had traditionally been conducted overland; when merchant vessels suddenly appeared at Shanghai, he upheld the treaty and turned them away. During his two years in office, the Daoguang Emperor relied on him heavily. Plagued by chronic illness, he requested leave to resign and return home, and the request was granted.
6
三十年，宣宗崩，赴京謁梓宮，復以母老陳請歸養。 會廣西匪亂方熾，起林則徐督師，卒於途，命星沅代為欽差大臣。 是年十二月，抵廣西，駐柳州。 時左右江匪氛蔓延，諸賊尤以桂平金田洪秀全為最悍。 巡撫鄭祖琛、提督閔正鳳皆以貽誤黜去，週天爵、向榮繼為巡撫、提督。 二人者並有重名，負意氣，議輒相左，星沅調和之，仍不協，軍事多牽掣。 咸豐元年春，向榮進剿，賊由大黃江、牛排嶺竄新墟、紫荊山。 星沅檄總兵秦定三、李能臣率滇、黔兵追躡，賊复竄武宣。 榮、天爵各進擊，賊踞東鄉，兩軍攻之不克。 星沅以事權不一，奏請特簡總統將軍督剿，詔斥其推諉。 尋命大學士賽尚阿率總兵達洪阿、都統巴清德赴湖南防堵，將以代之。 賽尚阿至湖南，遂授欽差大臣，赴廣西督師，命星沅回湖南治防。 四月，星沅力疾赴武宣前敵督戰，至則已憊甚，數日卒於軍。 遺疏言：「賊不能平，不忠； 養不能終，不孝。 歿後斂以常服，用彰臣咎。」 文宗覽而哀之，依總督例賜卹，賜金治喪，存問其母，子二人命俟服闋引見，諡文恭。 子桓，官至江西布政使。
In 1850, when the Daoguang Emperor died, he went to the capital to pay respects at the coffin and again petitioned to return home to care for his elderly mother. Just then the rebellion in Guangxi was raging; Lin Zexu had been recalled to command the campaign but died en route, and Xingyuan was appointed Imperial Commissioner in his stead. In December of that year he reached Guangxi and established headquarters at Liuzhou. Rebel activity had spread along the Zuo and You Rivers, and among all the insurgents Hong Xiuquan of Jintian in Guiping was the most formidable. Governor Zheng Zuchen and military commander Min Zhengfeng were both dismissed for negligence; Zhou Tianjue and Xiang Rong succeeded them as governor and military commander respectively. Both men were famous and strong-willed; their counsel constantly clashed. Xingyuan tried to mediate, but they still could not cooperate, and military operations were repeatedly hamstrung. In the spring of 1851, Xiang Rong advanced to suppress them; the rebels fled from the Dahuang River and Niupai Ridge toward Xinxu and Zijing Mountain. Xingyuan ordered major-generals Qin Dingsan and Li Nengchen to pursue with Yunnan and Guizhou troops, but the rebels fled again to Wuxuan. Xiang Rong and Zhou Tianjue each advanced to attack, but the rebels held Dongxiang and both armies failed to dislodge them. Citing divided command, Xingyuan memorialized requesting the appointment of a supreme commander to direct the campaign; the throne rebuked him for shirking responsibility. Soon Grand Secretary Sai Shang'a was ordered to lead major-general Da Hong'a and banner commander Ba Qingde to Hunan on defensive duty, intending to replace him. When Sai Shang'a reached Hunan he was appointed Imperial Commissioner and sent to Guangxi to take command; Xingyuan was ordered back to Hunan to manage defenses. In April, forcing himself despite illness, Xingyuan went to the front at Wuxuan to direct the fighting; he was already exhausted upon arrival and died in camp within days. His deathbed memorial read: "If the rebels are not pacified, I have been disloyal; if I cannot fulfill my filial duty to my mother, I have been unfilial. After my death, bury me in ordinary dress, to make manifest this minister's guilt." The Xianfeng Emperor read it with compassion, granted posthumous benefits according to the regulations for a governor, bestowed funds for the funeral, sent inquiries after his mother, ordered his two sons to be presented at court after their mourning period, and gave him the posthumous name Wengong. His son Huan rose to serve as provincial treasurer of Jiangxi.
7
週天爵，字敬修，山東東阿人。 嘉慶十六年進士，歸班銓選。 道光四年，授安徽懷遠知縣，調阜陽。 天爵少以堅苦自立，篤信王守仁之學。 及為令，盡心民事，廉介絕俗，皖北盜賊橫恣，與胥吏通，天爵極刑痛懲之。 有劾其殘酷者，總督蔣攸銛奏言：「天爵愛民如子，嫉惡如仇，古良吏也。」 由是受宣宗之知，諭曰：「不避嫌怨之員，最為難得，小過可宥之。」 連擢宿州知州、廬州知府、廬鳳潁泗道。 所至捕盜魁，無漏網者。 十五年，擢江西按察使，仍調安徽，遷陝西布政使。
Zhou Tianjue, styled Jingxiu, from Dong'e in Shandong. He earned his jinshi degree in 1811 and awaited appointment through the regular civil service selection process. In 1824 he was appointed magistrate of Huaiyuan in Anhui, then transferred to Fuyang. From youth Tianjue had built his career through steadfast self-discipline and was a devoted follower of Wang Yangming's philosophy. As magistrate he devoted himself wholeheartedly to public welfare, was incorruptible to a remarkable degree, and when bandits ran rampant in northern Anhui in collusion with local clerks, he punished them with the utmost severity. Some impeached him for cruelty, but Governor-General Jiang Yinshen memorialized: "Tianjue loves the people as his own children and hates evil as his own enemy — he is an official in the ancient mold." Thereby he came to the Daoguang Emperor's notice; an edict declared: "An official who does not shrink from incurring resentment is most rare; minor faults may be forgiven." He was successively promoted to prefect of Suzhou, prefect of Luzhou, and circuit intendant of the Luzhou-Fengyang-Yingzhou-Sizhou circuit. Wherever he served he captured bandit chiefs, leaving none at large. In 1835 he was promoted to judicial commissioner of Jiangxi, transferred back to Anhui, and then promoted to provincial treasurer of Shaanxi.
8
十七年，署漕運總督，尋實授。 時漕務積弊，運丁水手尤恣悍，特用天爵嚴馭之，劾衛官十二員以儆眾，詔褒勉之。
In 1837 he served as acting director-general of grain transport and soon received the substantive appointment. The grain transport system was riddled with abuses, and transport coolies and boatmen were especially unruly; Tianjue was specially appointed to discipline them, impeached twelve transport-guard officials as a warning to all, and received an edict of commendation.
9
十八年，調署湖廣總督，尋授河南巡撫，擢閩浙總督，皆未行，調授湖廣總督。 漢口鎮為商船所聚，苦盜。 川匪充鉛船水手，每行劫殺人； 陝、楚交界奸徒掠販婦女，並為民害：天爵捕治如律，劾失察有司及承審縱延者，悉褫其職。 荊州沿江舊於冬季委員巡緝盜賊，天爵謂屬具文，罷之； 遴幹吏暗偵，與地方官掩捕，以獲盜多寡定功過。 襄陽匪徒傳習牛八邪教，又有天主、十字各教，捕誅數十人。 每有疏陳，宣宗輒手詔褒嘉。 連年水災，濱江、濱漢堤垸多壞，疏請依治黃河法，遇險立挑壩，並以草護堤； 飭治河州縣，有大工解任專治，立限保工，限內失事者罰，紳董亦如之； 漢水多灣曲，立磚石斗門以備蓄洩：並如議行。
In 1838 he was transferred to acting governor-general of Huguang, then appointed governor of Henan and promoted to governor-general of Fujian-Zhejiang — none of which he actually assumed — before being appointed governor-general of Huguang. Hankou, where merchant vessels congregated, was plagued by banditry. Sichuan bandits served as sailors on lead-transport boats and committed robbery and murder on every voyage; while villains at the Shaanxi-Hubei border abducted and sold women — all scourges upon the people. Tianjue arrested and punished them according to law, impeached negligent officials and those who delayed trials, and stripped them all of office. Along the Jingzhou riverbank, winter patrols against bandits had been assigned to commissioners; Tianjue deemed this mere formality and abolished it; instead selecting capable officials for secret investigation, coordinating surprise arrests with local magistrates, and judging merit by the number of bandits captured. In Xiangyang, rebels propagated the Niuba heterodox sect along with Catholic and other Christian sects; he arrested and executed several dozen people. Whenever he submitted memorials, the Daoguang Emperor would personally issue edicts of praise. Floods struck year after year, damaging dikes along the Yangtze and Han rivers; he memorialized requesting that, following Yellow River management methods, emergency spur dikes be built at danger points and grass be used to protect the embankments; he ordered river-administering prefectures and counties that when major works arose, magistrates should be relieved of other duties to concentrate on repairs, set time limits with guarantees on the works, penalize failures within the limit, and apply the same penalties to local gentry managers; and that brick and stone sluice gates should be built along the Han River's many bends for flood control: all were implemented as proposed.
10
天爵馭吏嚴，多怨者。 二十年，己革大冶知縣孔廣義揭訐多款，天爵置不問。 事上聞，嚴斥之，議革職留任。 尋言官劾天爵酷刑，與廣義言略同，命侍郎麟魁、吳其濬往按，得天爵信任候補知縣楚鏞用非刑，外委黃雲邦誣執良民諸狀，上震怒，褫天爵職，戍伊犁。 二十一年，命赴廣東交靖逆將軍奕山差遣，尋免罪，留粵效力。 二十二年，予四品頂戴，以知府候補，調江蘇辦理清江防務。 海防事竣，留治淮、揚善後事宜，尋予二品頂戴，署漕運總督，兼署南河總督。 二十三年，因濫刑及失察漕書私鐫關防，連被吏議，疏請去職，命以二品頂戴休致。
Tianjue was strict with his subordinates, and many bore grudges against him. In 1840, Kong Guangyi, the dismissed magistrate of Daye, publicly denounced him on many charges; Tianjue ignored them. When the matter reached the throne, he was severely rebuked, and dismissal from office with retention of duties was proposed. Soon censorial officials impeached Tianjue for cruel punishments, largely echoing Guangyi's charges; Ministers Lin Kui and Wu Qijun were sent to investigate and found that Tianjue had trusted the expectant magistrate Chu Yong, who employed illegal torture, and the external appointee Huang Yunbang, who had falsely arrested innocent civilians; the Emperor was enraged, stripped Tianjue of office, and banished him to Yili. In 1841 he was ordered to Guangdong to serve under General Yishan, commander against the British, and soon his sentence was remitted; he remained in Guangdong to serve. In 1842 he was granted a fourth-rank button, appointed as an expectant prefect, and transferred to Jiangsu to manage Qingjiang coastal defenses. When coastal defense affairs were concluded, he remained to handle post-crisis matters in the Huai and Yang regions; he was soon granted a second-rank button, served as acting director-general of grain transport, and concurrently as acting director-general of the Southern Rivers. In 1843, because of excessive punishments and failure to detect a grain-transport clerk who had privately carved an official seal, he was repeatedly censured; he memorialized requesting resignation and was ordered to retire with his second-rank button.
11
久之，廣西賊起，日益熾。 文宗御極，求知兵大臣，尚書杜受田以天爵對，遂起廣西巡撫，偕欽差大臣李星沅辦賊。 咸豐元年春，親率兵與向榮會剿金田匪洪秀全等。 賊竄武宣東鄉，合擊於東嶺村，力戰，兵有退者，天爵手刃之，援桴鼓而前，賊始卻。 時懷集、賀縣及都康、下雷土司，凌雲、東蘭、橫州、博白並有匪踞，檄各屬力行團練，合力防剿。 詔加天爵總督銜，專辦軍務，以布政使勞崇光攝巡撫事。 天爵年近八旬，每戰親臨前敵，惟與李星沅、向榮皆不協。 星沅既疏請特簡總統督師，尋病歿，命天爵暫署欽差大臣。 賊由武宣竄象州，詔斥天爵等相持日久，不能制賊，褫總督銜，解軍務，回省暫署巡撫。 洎賽尚阿至軍，議復不合，自陳衰病，詔命來京。 既至，連召對十一次，極言軍事，文宗為之動容，然方倚賽尚阿，亦未盡用其言。
After a long interval, rebels rose in Guangxi and grew fiercer by the day. When the Xianfeng Emperor ascended the throne, he sought officials versed in military affairs; Minister Du Shoutian recommended Tianjue, who was recalled as governor of Guangxi to join Imperial Commissioner Li Xingyuan in suppressing the rebels. In the spring of 1851 he personally led troops to join Xiang Rong in suppressing Hong Xiuquan and the Jintian rebels. The rebels fled to Dongxiang in Wuxuan; in a joint attack at Dongling Village, when some soldiers began to retreat, Tianjue personally killed them, seized the drumstick to beat the advance, and only then did the rebels fall back. Rebels also held Huaiji, Hexian, the Dutang and Xialei native offices, Lingyun, Donglan, Hengzhou, and Bobai; he ordered all jurisdictions to organize militia vigorously and coordinate defense and suppression. An edict granted Tianjue the rank of governor-general for exclusive charge of military affairs, with provincial treasurer Lao Chongguang acting as governor. Though nearly eighty, Tianjue personally went to the front in every battle, yet he could not cooperate with either Li Xingyuan or Xiang Rong. Xingyuan had already memorialized requesting the appointment of a supreme commander; he soon died of illness, and Tianjue was ordered temporarily to act as Imperial Commissioner. The rebels fled from Wuxuan to Xiangzhou; an edict rebuked Tianjue and others for prolonged stalemate without defeating the rebels, stripped his governor-general rank, relieved him of military duties, and ordered him back to the provincial capital temporarily to act as governor. When Sai Shang'a arrived at the front, their counsel again clashed; Tianjue declared his declining health, and an edict ordered him to come to the capital. Once in the capital, he was summoned for eleven consecutive audiences and spoke exhaustively on military affairs; the Xianfeng Emperor was moved, but as he was then relying on Sai Shang'a, he did not fully adopt Tianjue's counsel.
12
二年，粵匪擾及兩湖，天爵僑居宿州，命偕安徽巡撫蔣文慶治防務。 三年，疏陳廬、鳳為江淮要區，赴正陽關撫舊捻張鳳山等一千二百人用之，請江蘇、山東、安徽、河南舉行團練。 未幾，安慶陷，文慶死之。 命天爵署安徽巡撫，尋實授。 江寧亦陷，天爵請扼黃河杜賊北竄，辭巡撫專任兵事。 命以兵部侍郎銜督師剿宿州、懷遠、蒙城、靈壁捻匪。 北路漸清，進規廬、鳳，擒定遠捻首陸遐齡，散其眾四千餘，被褒賚。 疏論廬州知府胡元煒劣跡，請革職逮治，巡撫李嘉端置不問。 元煒通賊內應，廬州陷，江忠源死之。 粵匪踞臨淮關，天爵外遏來賊，內清土匪，孤軍支拄。 方奉命往援廬州，以疾卒於軍。
In 1852, as Guangdong rebels threatened the Two Lakes region, Tianjue was living in Suzhou and was ordered to join Anhui governor Jiang Wenqing in organizing defenses. In 1853 he memorialized that Luzhou and Fengyang were vital points on the Jiang-Huai line, went to Zhengyang Pass to recruit twelve hundred former Nian followers led by Zhang Fengshan, and requested that Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, and Henan organize militia. Before long Anqing fell and Jiang Wenqing was killed. Tianjue was appointed acting governor of Anhui and soon received the substantive appointment. When Nanjing also fell, Tianjue requested to hold the Yellow River line against a northern rebel advance, resigned the governorship, and devoted himself exclusively to military affairs. He was ordered, with the rank of vice-minister of war, to command the suppression of Nian rebels in Suzhou, Huaiyuan, Mengcheng, and Lingbi. As the northern front was gradually pacified, he advanced toward Luzhou and Fengyang, captured the Dingyuan Nian leader Lu Xialing, dispersed his force of more than four thousand men, and received commendation and rewards. He memorialized on the misconduct of Luzhou prefect Hu Yuanwei and requested his dismissal and arrest, but Governor Li Jiaduan ignored the matter. Yuanwei had colluded with the rebels as an inside agent; Luzhou fell and Jiang Zhongyuan was killed. Guangdong rebels held Linhuai Pass; Tianjue blocked incoming enemies from without and cleared local bandits within, holding the line alone with a solitary force. Just as he was ordered to march to Luzhou's relief, he died of illness in camp.
13
上震悼，詔嘉其秉性忠直，勇敢有為，心地品行迥超流俗，追贈尚書銜，依贈官賜卹，特諡文忠，不由內閣擬上； 擢其子光碧都司，賜光岳舉人。
The Emperor was deeply grieved; an edict praised his loyal and upright character, his courage and capacity for action, and his moral conduct far above the common run; he was posthumously granted ministerial rank with funeral benefits accordingly, and was specially given the posthumous name Wenzhong without going through the Grand Secretariat's usual proposal; his son Guangbi was promoted to garrison commander, and Guangyue was granted the juren degree.
14
勞崇光，字辛陔，湖南善化人。 道光十二年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 二十一年，出為山西平陽知府。 調太原，擢冀寧道，遷廣西按察使。
Lao Chongguang, styled Xingai, from Shanhua in Hunan. He earned his jinshi degree in 1832, entered the Hanlin as a probationary academician, and was appointed a compiler. In 1841 he was appointed prefect of Pingyang in Shanxi. He was transferred to Taiyuan, promoted to the Jining circuit intendant, and then appointed judicial commissioner of Guangxi.
15
二十八年，奉使赴越南冊封。 事竣入關，值匪亂，駐思恩、南寧，督軍進剿。 二十九年，遷湖北布政使，未行而湖南賊李沅發起新寧，仍留廣西治防。 沅發平，敘功賜花翎。 三十年，就授廣西布政使。 慶遠賊竄武緣、賓州，崇光偕提督向榮會剿。 擒賊首陳勝，又平上林、遷江竄匪，設方略解散匪黨凡數十起。 撫張家祥收隸部下，改名國樑，後以戰功顯。 尋署巡撫，副將伊克坦布戰歿於桂平，檄總兵周鳳岐赴援。 時命李星沅督師，週天爵為巡撫專治軍。 崇光仍攝巡撫事，會辦軍務。
In 1848 he was dispatched on a mission to Vietnam to confer investiture. When the mission was completed he re-entered China, encountered bandit unrest, stationed himself at Si'en and Nanning, and directed suppression campaigns. In 1849 he was transferred to provincial treasurer of Hubei, but before he could depart the Hunan rebel Li Yuanfa rose in Xinning, and he remained in Guangxi to manage defenses. When Li Yuanfa was pacified, his merits were recorded and he was awarded a peacock feather. In 1850 he received substantive appointment as provincial treasurer of Guangxi. Rebels from Qingyuan fled to Wuyuan and Binzhou; Chongguang joined military commander Xiang Rong in a joint suppression campaign. He captured the rebel leader Chen Sheng, pacified insurgents who had fled to Shanglin and Qianjiang, and by strategic measures dissolved several dozen rebel groups. He pacified Zhang Jiaxiang and enrolled him in his command, renaming him Guoliang; he later distinguished himself in battle. He soon served as acting governor; brigadier-general Yiketanbu was killed in battle at Guiping, and Chongguang ordered major-general Zhou Fengqi to reinforce him. At that time Li Xingyuan was ordered to command the campaign, while Zhou Tianjue as governor devoted himself exclusively to military affairs. Chongguang continued to handle gubernatorial affairs and jointly managed military operations.
16
咸豐元年，大學士賽尚阿代星沅，而鄒鳴鶴繼為巡撫，崇光會辦如故，平西林、博白、懷集竄賊。 廣東賊顏品瑤擾南寧、太平，崇光駐兵南邕，與廣東軍合擊，屢戰皆捷，品瑤就殲，又平貴縣賊，被優敘。 偕左江鎮總兵谷韞燦平白山賊，舉行南、太、泗、鎮四府團練，殲顏品瑤餘黨於靈山，加頭品頂戴。 二年，駐梧州，會廣東軍剿艇匪。 尋金田賊洪秀全等永安突圍出犯桂林，命崇光回援，至則賊已北竄，連陷興安、全州，偕總兵和春追擊之，賊遂入湖南。 會雲貴總督吳文鎔疏稱崇光有膽略血性，請重其事權，就擢巡撫。 上疏略曰：「桂林雖解圍，賊氛不遠，群情尚復驚疑，增兵置防，皆非倉卒能辦。 惟就現有兵力佈置，省標調赴各處者，次第撤回，駐防城內，遴選練丁分扼城外要隘。 激勵團練以作民氣，招撫流亡以復民力，訓練兵勇以肅軍紀，搜緝土匪以靖內奸。 各屬遊匪、土匪不時蠢動，額兵不敷分撥，鼓舞團練，以資捍衛而備援剿。」
In 1851 Grand Secretary Sai Shang'a replaced Xingyuan, and Zou Minghe succeeded as governor; Chongguang continued his joint duties and pacified insurgents who had fled to Xilin, Bobai, and Huaiji. The Guangdong rebel Yan Pinyao harassed Nanning and Taiping; Chongguang stationed troops at Nanyong and joined Guangdong forces in attack, winning repeated victories; Pinyao was destroyed and rebels in Guixian were also pacified; he received preferential commendation. Together with Zuojiang garrison commander Gu Yuncan he pacified rebels on Baishan, organized militia in the four prefectures of Nanning, Taiping, Si, and Zhen, destroyed Pinyao's remnant followers at Lingshan, and was granted the first-rank button. In 1852 he was stationed at Wuzhou and joined Guangdong forces in suppressing boat pirates. Soon the Jintian rebels Hong Xiuquan and others broke out of Yong'an and attacked Guilin; Chongguang was ordered back to relieve the city, but upon arrival the rebels had already fled north, successively taking Xing'an and Quanzhou; he joined major-general He Chun in pursuit, and the rebels then entered Hunan. Meanwhile Yunnan-Guizhou governor-general Wu Wenrong memorialized that Chongguang possessed courage, boldness, and fighting spirit, requesting that his authority be strengthened, and he was promoted to governor. He memorialized in summary: "Although Guilin has been relieved, the rebel threat is not far off, and public sentiment remains alarmed and uncertain; increasing troops and setting defenses cannot be accomplished hastily. We can only deploy existing forces: provincial banner troops dispatched elsewhere should be gradually recalled to garrison the city, and selected militia should be posted at key passes outside the walls. Encourage militia to raise popular morale, recruit and pacify refugees to restore popular strength, train soldiers to enforce military discipline, and hunt down local bandits to quell internal enemies. Roaming and local bandits in various jurisdictions stir from time to time, and regular troops are insufficient for distribution; invigorate militia to provide defense and prepare for relief and suppression operations."
17
時賽尚阿既黜，崇光專任廣西軍務，詔以匪雖已出粵境舊巢穴，慮渠魁踞之為回竄地步，責以搜捕黨羽。 三年，洪秀全等既踞江寧，分黨北犯中原。 兵事日棘，朝廷不暇顧及邊遠，廣西伏莽時起，旋滅旋萌，餉絀兵單，惟恃團練，不能大創賊。 崇光且剿且撫，支拄數載。 洎英人踞廣州後，廣東賊氛复熾。 艇匪竄擾廣西，潯州、柳州、慶遠、梧州、南寧相繼陷。 近地土匪益起，屢逼桂林。 軍中多降將，心皆叵測。 崇光乞師於湖南，七年，駱秉章令蔣益澧率湘軍赴援，屢破賊，復興安、靈川，入屯省城，乃誅反側，易守軍，桂林始安。 八年，奏留益澧在廣西勦賊，連擊艇匪於平樂令公渡、五塘，大破之，斬馘萬餘，由是艇匪始衰，慶遠、柳州相繼复。
By then Sai Shang'a had been dismissed and Chongguang had sole charge of Guangxi military affairs. An edict noted that although the rebels had left their old lair in Guangdong territory, there was concern that rebel chiefs might occupy it as a base for return raids, and he was charged with hunting down their followers. In 1853, after Hong Xiuquan and others seized Nanjing, they sent factions north to invade the Central Plains. Military affairs grew daily more pressing; the court had no leisure to attend to remote borders. Latent insurgents in Guangxi rose from time to time, extinguished only to sprout again; funds were short and troops few, relying solely on militia, unable to inflict a major defeat on the rebels. Chongguang alternately suppressed and pacified, holding the situation together for several years. After the British occupied Guangzhou, rebel activity in Guangdong flared up again. Boat pirates raided Guangxi; Xunzhou, Liuzhou, Qingyuan, Wuzhou, and Nanning fell in succession. Local bandits in the vicinity rose increasingly and repeatedly threatened Guilin. The army had many surrendered generals, all with unreliable loyalties. Chongguang requested troops from Hunan; in 1857 Luo Bingzhang ordered Jiang Yili to lead Hunan Army forces to his relief; they repeatedly defeated the rebels, recovered Xing'an and Lingchuan, entered and garrisoned the provincial capital, executed disloyal elements and replaced the garrison troops, and Guilin was finally secured. In 1858 he memorialized to retain Jiang Yili in Guangxi to suppress rebels; they repeatedly attacked boat pirates at Linggong Ford and Wutang in Pingle, inflicting a great defeat and killing more than ten thousand; thereafter boat piracy began to decline, and Qingyuan and Liuzhou were recovered in succession.
18
九年，調廣東巡撫，兼署兩廣總督。 英軍猶踞省城，前任總督黃宗漢、巡撫耆齡等，皆駐外縣不敢入。 崇光至，坦然入城，與敵軍狎居。 尋實授總督，迭遣將禦湖南、江西竄匪，擊走之。 本境土寇時起，皆不久撲滅。 與廣西軍會剿艇匪，梧州、潯州賊匪漸清。 至十一年，英法聯軍犯京師，和議成，廣州敵軍始退。 同治元年，以失察都司陶昌培、知縣許慶鎔營私納賄，降三級調用，命仍以一品頂戴赴貴州按事。 前巡撫耆齡、御史華祝三復劾崇光任用非人，調度乖方，詔命自陳，下署總督晏端書、提督昆壽察按，得免議。
In 1859 he was transferred to governor of Guangdong and concurrently served as acting governor-general of the Two Guangs. British forces still held the provincial capital; former governor-general Huang Zonghan, governor Qiling, and others all stayed in outer counties and dared not enter. When Chongguang arrived, he calmly entered the city and lived on familiar terms with the enemy forces. He soon received substantive appointment as governor-general, repeatedly dispatched generals to repel rebels fleeing from Hunan and Jiangxi, and drove them off. Local bandits within the province rose from time to time but were all soon suppressed. Joining Guangxi forces in suppressing boat pirates, rebel activity in Wuzhou and Xunzhou was gradually cleared. By 1861 the Anglo-French allied forces had attacked the capital; when peace was concluded, the enemy forces in Guangzhou finally withdrew. In 1862, for failure to detect battalion commander Tao Changpei and magistrate Xu Qingrong in private corruption and bribe-taking, he was demoted three ranks and transferred, but ordered still to proceed to Guizhou with his first-rank button to investigate affairs. Former governor Qiling and censor Hua Zhu again impeached Chongguang for employing unfit persons and erratic command; an edict ordered him to explain himself; acting governor-general Yan Duanshu and military commander Kunshou were sent to investigate, and he was cleared of charges.
19
尋授雲貴總督。 雲南自總督潘鐸被戕，巡撫徐之銘結回酋以自保，張凱嵩繼署總督，久不至，以規避黜，命崇光代之。 崇光至貴州，會粵匪石達開餘黨陷綏陽，督兵擊走之，遂駐貴陽。 三年春，土匪、苗匪屢來犯，偕巡撫張亮基勒兵固守，賊敗退。 時雲南叛回猶雜處省城，議者皆言不可遽往。 崇光迳行，軍民父老喜，迎於郊，回眾始稍斂。 逆首馬榮、馬連升踞曲靖為巢穴。 崇光知候補道岑毓英、降回總兵馬如龍可用，四年春，令參將馮世興與二人合師攻克曲靖，擒榮、連升等斬以徇，遂收馬龍、尋甸，迤東肅清，遣提督趙德光克平江外賊巢，复廣順，進克貴州，黔西大定。 五年，复普洱及思茅，雲南軍事漸利。
He was soon appointed governor-general of Yunnan-Guizhou. Since Governor-General Pan Duo was assassinated in Yunnan, Governor Xu Zhiming had allied with Muslim chieftains for self-protection; Zhang Kaisong succeeded as acting governor-general but long failed to arrive and was dismissed for evasion; Chongguang was ordered to replace him. Chongguang reached Guizhou, where remnants of Shi Dakai's Guangdong rebels had seized Suiyang; he directed troops to drive them off and then established headquarters at Guiyang. In the spring of 1864 local bandits and Miao rebels repeatedly attacked; together with governor Zhang Liangji he pressed the troops to hold firm, and the rebels were defeated and withdrew. At that time rebellious Muslims still mingled within the Yunnan provincial capital; advisers all said he should not go there hastily. Chongguang went directly; soldiers, civilians, and elders rejoiced and welcomed him in the suburbs; the Muslim communities then began to restrain themselves somewhat. The rebel leaders Ma Rong and Ma Liansheng held Qujing as their base. Chongguang knew that expectant circuit intendant Cen Yuying and the surrendered Muslim major-general Ma Rulong were capable commanders; in the spring of 1865 he ordered brigade commander Feng Shixing to join them in a combined force that captured Qujing, seized Rong, Liansheng, and others and executed them as a warning, then recovered Malong and Xundian and pacified eastern Yunnan; he dispatched military commander Zhao Deguang to destroy rebel nests beyond the rivers, recovered Guangshun, advanced into Guizhou, and secured western Guizhou. In 1866 Pu'er and Simao were recovered, and the military situation in Yunnan gradually improved.
20
六年，卒，優詔賜卹。 嘉其「沈毅有為，歷官兩廣、雲貴，皆不避艱險，俾地方日有起色」，贈太子太保，諡文毅。 廣西請建專祠，雲、貴祀名宦祠。
In 1867 he died, and a special edict granted posthumous benefits. He was praised for being "steadfast and capable, holding office in the Two Guangs and Yunnan-Guizhou without shunning hardship, enabling local conditions to improve steadily"; he was posthumously granted Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous name Wenyi. Guangxi requested a special temple in his honor; Yunnan and Guizhou enshrined him in the temple of eminent officials.
21
論曰：粵匪之起也，始由疆臣玩誤，繼復將帥不和。 李星沅、週天爵皆素以忠勤著，文宗採時譽而付以重任，於軍事皆不得要領。 及易以賽尚阿，而敗壞益甚，虎兕出柙，遂不可製矣。 勞崇光久在兵間，洪秀全北竄後已不顧舊巢，然伏莽四起，終賴湘軍之力，數年而後克定； 其於廣東、雲南皆受事於萬難措置之時，履虎不咥，權略有足稱焉。
The commentary states: The rise of the Guangdong rebels began with frontier officials' negligence and complacency, followed by discord among generals and commanders. Li Xingyuan and Zhou Tianjue were both known for loyalty and diligence; the Xianfeng Emperor, swayed by their contemporary reputations, entrusted them with heavy responsibilities, yet in military affairs neither grasped the essentials. When they were replaced by Sai Shang'a, the deterioration grew worse; once the tigers and rhinoceroses escaped their cages, they could no longer be controlled. Lao Chongguang had long been in military affairs; after Hong Xiuquan fled north the old rebel base was abandoned, yet latent insurgents rose on all sides, and in the end order depended on the Hunan Army — only after several years was the province finally pacified; In Guangdong and Yunnan he took office at times when nothing could be easily arranged; he walked among tigers without being bitten, and his resourcefulness is worthy of note.