1
=吳文鎔=吳文鎔，字甄甫，江蘇儀徵人。 嘉慶二十四年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 屢膺文衡，稱得士。 六遷為翰林院侍讀學士。 督順天學政，剔弊清嚴，在任累擢詹事、內閣學士。 召回京，署禮部侍郎，尋實授。 調刑部，兼署戶部侍郎。 迭命偕大學士湯金釗赴安徽、浙江、江蘇及南河按事。 道光十九年，出為福建巡撫，時方嚴煙禁，英吉利窺伺沿海，偕總督鄧廷楨籌防，敵兵至，不得逞，二十年，調湖北巡撫，未行，暫護閩浙總督。 明年，入覲，改江西巡撫。 值歲祲，力籌撫血卩，裁減漕丁陋規。 在江西數年，舉廉懲貪，吏治清明。 捕教匪戴理劍等，及南安、贛州會匪，並置諸法。
Wu Wenrong, courtesy name Zhenfu, was a native of Yizheng in Jiangsu. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-fourth year of the Jiaqing reign (1819), entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed compiler. He served repeatedly as an examiner in the civil service examinations and won a reputation for recognizing talent. After six promotions he rose to reader-in-waiting of the Hanlin Academy. As educational commissioner of Shuntian he rooted out abuses and ran a strict administration; during his tenure he was promoted repeatedly, eventually to grand tutor and grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat. Recalled to the capital, he was appointed acting vice minister of Rites and soon received the substantive post. He was transferred to the Ministry of Punishments and also served concurrently as acting vice minister of Revenue. He was repeatedly dispatched with Grand Secretary Tang Jin-zhao to investigate affairs in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and the Southern Rivers region. In the nineteenth year of the Daoguang reign (1839) he was appointed governor of Fujian. The opium ban was then being strictly enforced, and Britain was watching the coast; together with Governor-General Deng Ting-zhen he organized defenses, and when enemy forces arrived they were unable to gain their object. In the twentieth year (1840) he was transferred to governor of Hubei, but before he could leave he temporarily acted as governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang. The following year he went to court and was reassigned as governor of Jiangxi. When famine struck that year, he worked hard to organize relief and cut the corrupt customary fees exacted by grain-transport laborers. During several years in Jiangxi he promoted the honest and punished the corrupt, and the administration became notably clean. He captured the religious bandits led by Dai Lijian and others, along with secret-society bandits in Nan'an and Ganzhou, and punished them all according to law.
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二十八年，調浙江巡撫。 入境過衢州，廉得游擊薛思齊貪劣，劾戍新疆； 又劾不職縣令五人。 因官多調攝，徒煩交代，政無考成，奏革其弊，風氣為之一變。 以覈辦清查，本省官吏不可信，請簡派戶部司員來佐理，詔不許。 未幾，命偕侍郎季芝昌清查浙江鹽務，奏籌變通章程以專責成，除浮費為要務，鹽課日有起色。 浙東漁山島為盜藪，檄水師捕獲百餘人，毀其巢。 二十九年，大水，文鎔以遇災恐懼，上疏自劾請罷，詔以其言近迂，嚴斥之。 文鎔親赴嘉、湖諸屬察災輕重，力行賑撫。 秀水令江忠源勤廉稱最，治賑治盜及塘工皆倚辦，以憂去。 文鎔歎曰：「賢如江令，可令其無以歸葬乎？」 自支養廉五百兩畀之，奏辦賑功，以忠源首列。 三十年，海塘連決，文鎔馳勘，落水幾殆，自劾疏防，革職留任。 塘工竣，復職。
In the twenty-eighth year (1848) he was transferred to governor of Zhejiang. Upon entering the province and passing through Quzhou, he learned through investigation that Assistant Regional Commander Xue Siqi was corrupt and vicious, and impeached him for banishment to Xinjiang. He also impeached five negligent county magistrates. Because so many officials were shuffled into acting posts, handovers became a useless burden and administration lacked accountability; he memorialized to abolish the practice, and the prevailing atmosphere changed at once. While conducting verification and audit work, he did not trust the local officials of the province and requested that a clerk from the Ministry of Revenue be specially dispatched to assist; the edict did not permit it. Before long he was ordered to accompany Vice Minister Ji Zhichang in auditing Zhejiang salt administration; he memorialized plans for revised regulations to fix responsibility, making elimination of unnecessary expenses the chief priority, and salt revenue steadily improved. Yushan Island in eastern Zhejiang was a bandits' lair; he ordered the naval forces to capture more than a hundred men and destroy their stronghold. In the twenty-ninth year (1849) a great flood struck; Wenrong, shaken by the disaster, submitted a memorial impeaching himself and requesting dismissal; the court sternly rebuked him, calling his words nearly pedantic. Wenrong personally went to the districts of Jiaxing and Huzhou to assess the severity of the disaster and vigorously carried out relief. The magistrate of Xiushui, Jiang Zhongyuan, was praised as the most diligent and honest official; relief work, bandit suppression, and seawall projects all relied on him, but he left office to observe mourning. Wenrong sighed and said, "A man as worthy as Magistrate Jiang—can we let him lack the means to return home for burial?" He paid five hundred taels from his integrity stipend and gave them to him; in memorializing relief achievements he listed Zhongyuan first. In the thirtieth year (1850) the seawalls broke repeatedly; Wenrong rushed to inspect them, fell into the water and nearly drowned, impeached himself for lax defense, and was stripped of rank but retained in office. When the seawall work was completed, his rank was restored.
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擢雲貴總督。 咸豐元年，入覲，文宗甚重之，嘉其忠誠勇於任事，勗以察情偽，惜身體，文鎔益感奮。 永昌邊外夷匪肆掠，久不靖，文鎔至，檄土守備左大雄深入搜捕，擒斬數百，匪遁雪山外。 粵匪日熾，文鎔疏論提督向榮冒功託病，恐誤軍事，詔選將才，奏保游擊巴揚阿等九人。 貴州黎平知府胡林翼治團練剿土匪，令得便宜從事，疏薦之。 江忠源在廣西軍中，文鎔致書曰：「永安賊不滅，若竄湖南，不可製矣！」 二年，調閩浙總督，未行，而粵匪果由湖南北竄，破武昌。 三年春，遂踞江寧，東南大震。 雲南永昌回匪亦蠢動，文鎔調兵扼險，親駐尋甸督剿。
He was promoted to governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou. In the first year of the Xianfeng reign (1851) he went to court; Emperor Wenzong greatly valued him, praised his loyalty and courage in undertaking affairs, and urged him to discern truth from falsehood and take care of his health; Wenrong was all the more stirred to exertion. Beyond the border of Yongchang, barbarian bandits plundered freely and the region had long been unsettled; when Wenrong arrived he ordered native garrison commander Zuo Daxiong to search deeply and capture them; several hundred were seized and executed, and the bandits fled beyond the Snow Mountains. The Taiping rebels grew daily stronger; Wenrong memorialized that Regional Commander Xiang Rong was claiming merit while feigning illness, fearing this would harm military affairs; the court ordered selection of capable generals, and he memorialized recommending nine men including Assistant Regional Commander Bayang'a. Hu Lin-yi, prefect of Liping in Guizhou, organized militia to suppress local bandits; Wenrong authorized him to act as circumstances required and memorialized recommending him. Jiang Zhongyuan was serving in the Guangxi army; Wenrong wrote to him, saying, "If the rebels at Yong'an are not destroyed and they flee into Hunan, they cannot be controlled!" In the second year (1852) he was transferred to governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang; before he could depart, the Taiping rebels indeed fled north through Hunan and captured Wuchang. In the spring of the third year (1853) they seized Jiangning, and the southeast was greatly shaken. Hui rebels in Yongchang, Yunnan, also stirred; Wenrong moved troops to hold the strategic passes and personally stationed at Xundian to supervise suppression.
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尋調湖廣總督。 粵匪方自下游上竄，連陷黃州、漢陽。 文鎔九月抵任，是日田家鎮諸軍失利，武昌戒嚴，城晝閉，居民一夕數驚。 巡撫崇綸欲移營城外為自脫計，文鎔誓與城存亡，約死守待援，議不合。 賊已逼城，文鎔坐城上激厲將士，守數旬，圍解。 崇綸轉以閉城坐守奏劾，詔促進复黃州。 文鎔方調胡林翼率黔勇來會剿，又約曾國籓水師夾攻，擬俟兩軍至大舉滅賊。 崇綸屢齕之，趣戰益急。 文鎔憤甚，曰：「吾受國恩厚，豈惜死？ 以將卒宜選練，且冀黔、湘軍至，收夾擊之效。 今不及待矣！」 四年正月，督師進薄黃州，屯堵城。 大雪，日行泥淖，拊循士卒，而輜糧不時至。 賊分路來犯，都司劉富成擊卻之。 賊復大至，文鎔揮軍力戰，後營火起，眾潰，投塘水死之。 崇綸奏稱失踪，署總督台湧至，乃得實以聞。 詔依總督陣亡例賜卹，予騎都尉兼雲騎尉世職，諡文節，祀京師昭忠祠。
Soon he was transferred to governor-general of Huguang. The Taiping rebels were then fleeing upstream from the lower Yangzi and successively captured Huangzhou and Hanyang. Wenrong arrived to take office in the ninth month; that same day the armies at Tianjiazhen suffered defeat, Wuchang was placed under martial law, the city gates were closed by day, and the residents were alarmed several times in one night. Governor Chonglun wished to move the camp outside the city as a plan for his own escape; Wenrong swore to live or die with the city and proposed holding out to the death awaiting relief; they could not agree. The rebels had already pressed the city; Wenrong sat on the wall encouraging the officers and soldiers; after defending for several tens of days the siege was lifted. Chonglun in turn memorialized impeaching him for closing the city and sitting in defense; the court ordered an advance to recover Huangzhou. Wenrong was then arranging for Hu Lin-yi to lead Guizhou braves to join in suppression, and also coordinating with Zeng Guofan's naval forces for a pincer attack, planning to wait until both armies arrived and then launch a major campaign to destroy the rebels. Chonglun repeatedly undermined him and pressed for battle with increasing urgency. Wenrong was greatly angered and said, "I have received deep grace from the state—would I begrudge death? It is because the officers and soldiers ought to be selected and trained, and I hoped the Guizhou and Hunan armies would arrive to achieve the effect of a pincer attack. Now we can wait no longer!" In the first month of the fourth year (1854) he led the army forward to approach Huangzhou and encamped at Ducheng. Heavy snow fell; each day they marched through mud; he comforted and encouraged the soldiers, but transport supplies did not arrive in time. The rebels came attacking by separate routes; Brigade Commander Liu Fucheng repulsed them. The rebels came again in force; Wenrong commanded the army to fight hard; fire broke out in the rear camp, the troops collapsed, and he threw himself into a pond and died. Chonglun memorialized saying Wenrong was missing; Acting Governor-General Tai Yong arrived and only then learned the truth and reported it. An edict granted posthumous honors according to the precedent for a governor-general killed in battle, conferred the hereditary ranks of Commandant of Cavalry and Commandant of Light Cavalry, posthumous name Wenjie, and enshrined him in the Capital Shrine of Loyalty.
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逾數月，曾國籓進兵黃州，訪詢居民，備言戰歿狀，皆流涕。 於是疏陳當時無水師，不能制賊。 文鎔籌置之難，為崇綸傾陷牽掣，以至於敗； 且諱死狀，欲以誣之。 文宗震怒，逮崇綸治罪，文鎔志節乃大白。 同治中，湖北請建專祠。
After several months Zeng Guofan advanced on Huangzhou, inquired of the residents, and they fully described the circumstances of Wenrong's death in battle; all wept. Thereupon he memorialized stating that at the time there was no naval force and the rebels could not be controlled. Wenrong's difficulties in planning and deployment, being undermined and obstructed by Chonglun, led to defeat. Moreover the circumstances of his death were concealed, in an attempt to frame him. Emperor Wenzong was greatly angered, arrested Chonglun for punishment, and Wenrong's integrity was fully vindicated. During the Tongzhi reign Hubei requested construction of a dedicated shrine.
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=潘鐸=潘鐸，字木君，江蘇江寧人。 道光十二年進士，選庶吉士，散館改兵部主事，充軍機章京。 洊升郎中，遷御史。 二十年，出為湖北荊州知府，擢江西督糧道。 歷廣東鹽運使、四川按察使、山西布政使，署巡撫。
Pan Duo, courtesy name Mujun, was a native of Jiangning in Jiangsu. He passed the jinshi examination in the twelfth year of the Daoguang reign (1832), entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and upon leaving the academy was appointed principal clerk in the Ministry of War and served as a secretarial clerk in the Grand Council. He was promoted repeatedly to director and transferred to censor. In the twentieth year (1840) he was appointed prefect of Jingzhou in Hubei and was promoted to grain transport commissioner of Jiangxi. He successively served as salt transport commissioner of Guangdong, judicial commissioner of Sichuan, and administrative commissioner of Shanxi, and also acted as governor.
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二十八年，擢河南巡撫。 時議漕糧酌改折色，鐸疏言：「戶部有南漕折價交河南等省採買之議，是他省且須在河南採買。 若將本省額徵之米分別改徵折色，於政體兩歧，於倉儲有損無益。 河南歷年辦運踴躍，一經改徵，轉滋流弊，循舊章為便。」 議遂寢。 賈魯河經祥符硃仙鎮，為商賈舟楫所集。 自黃河決於中牟，賈魯河淤塞，責工員賠濬，久未復。 鐸勘鎮街南北淤最甚，議大濬，請率屬捐銀五萬兩興辦； 又奏擇要增培沁河民堤以資捍禦：並如所請行。 咸豐元年，坐所薦陳州知府黃慶安犯贓，降二級調用，授山西按察使。 二年，遷湖南布政使。 粵匪方由湖南北竄，漢陽、武昌相繼陷，巡撫張亮基擢署總督，以鐸暫代之，命赴岳州督防。 三年，巡撫駱秉章至，乃以病乞罷，許之。 直隸總督訥爾經額疏薦，詔赴山西會辦防剿事宜。 尋因前在湖南布政使任內岳州等城失守，下部議，俟補官日降二級調用。 復以病乞退，居山西久之。
In the twenty-eighth year (1848) he was promoted to governor of Henan. At the time there was discussion of converting grain tribute payments to cash equivalents; Duo memorialized, saying, "The Ministry of Revenue has a proposal for southern tribute grain to be converted to cash for Henan and other provinces to purchase; other provinces would need to purchase in Henan. If the quota grain levied in this province were separately converted to cash collection, it would create a dual policy and harm grain storage without benefit. Henan has for years transported tribute enthusiastically; once conversion were adopted, abuses would multiply; following the old regulations would be best." The proposal was then dropped. The Jialu River passes through Zhuxian Town in Xiangfu, where merchant boats gather. Since the Yellow River burst its banks at Zhongmou, the Jialu River silted up; the engineering officials were held liable for dredging costs, but it long remained unrestored. Duo inspected the town and found siltation worst north and south of the street; he proposed major dredging and requested that subordinates donate fifty thousand taels to undertake the work. He also memorialized to select key points for raising and strengthening the Qin River civilian dikes for defense; all was approved as requested. In the first year of the Xianfeng reign (1851), because the Chenzhou prefect Huang Qing'an whom he had recommended was guilty of corruption, he was demoted two ranks and transferred, and was appointed judicial commissioner of Shanxi. In the second year (1852) he was transferred to administrative commissioner of Hunan. The Taiping rebels were then fleeing north through Hunan; Hanyang and Wuchang fell in succession; Governor Zhang Liangji was promoted to act as governor-general, and Duo temporarily replaced him and was ordered to go to Yuezhou to supervise defense. In the third year (1853) Governor Luo Bingzhang arrived, and he then requested dismissal on grounds of illness; permission was granted. Governor-General Ne'erjing'e of Zhili memorialized recommending him; an edict ordered him to go to Shanxi to jointly handle defense and suppression affairs. Soon because during his former tenure as administrative commissioner of Hunan the cities of Yuezhou and others fell, the matter was referred to the Board for deliberation, and upon reassignment he was to be demoted two ranks and transferred. He again requested retirement on grounds of illness and lived in Shanxi for a long time.
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十一年，予二品頂戴，起署雲貴總督。 雲南迴、漢相仇，稔亂已久。 巡撫徐之銘傾險，挾回自重，總督張亮基為所齮齕去。 布政使鄧爾恆擢陝西巡撫，行至曲靖，之銘嗾副將何有保遣黨戕害，以盜殺聞，命鐸往治之。 亮基亦被命赴滇督辦軍務。 時之銘已為回眾所挾持，所陳奏多誇誕，莫可究詰。 鐸、亮基先後取道四川，與駱秉章籌商，冀資其兵力以規進取。 四川亂亦未平，遽不得要領。 滇將林自清為亮基舊部，與回眾不協，率所部入川。 之銘慮亮基至於己不利，嗾回眾揚言拒之，亮基益觀望。 鐸秉性忠正，詔屢敦促，命赴貴州按事，遂由黔入滇，僅從僕數人。 在途或以危詞相怵，不之顧。
In the eleventh year (1861) he was granted a second-rank official's hat ornament and recalled to act as governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou. In Yunnan Hui and Han were mutually hostile; disorder had long been chronic. Governor Xu Zhiming was treacherous and relied on the Hui for his own power; Governor-General Zhang Liangji was undermined by him and driven away. Administrative Commissioner Deng Erheng was promoted to governor of Shaanxi; when he reached Qujing, Zhiming instigated Vice Commander He Youbao to send his followers to murder him; it was reported as death by bandits, and Duo was ordered to go investigate. Liangji was also ordered to go to Yunnan to supervise military affairs. At that time Zhiming was already held hostage by the Hui masses; his memorials were mostly exaggerated and absurd and could not be investigated. Duo and Liangji successively took the route through Sichuan and consulted with Luo Bingzhang, hoping to borrow his military strength to plan an advance. Sichuan's disorder was also not yet pacified, and they suddenly could not grasp the essentials. The Yunnan general Lin Ziqing was a former subordinate of Liangji; he did not get along with the Hui masses and led his troops into Sichuan. Zhiming feared Liangji's arrival would be unfavorable to himself and instigated the Hui masses to proclaim they would reject him; Liangji grew all the more hesitant. Duo was by nature loyal and upright; edicts repeatedly urged him on; he was ordered to go to Guizhou to investigate affairs, and thus entered Yunnan from Guizhou with only a few servants. On the road some tried to intimidate him with alarming words; he paid no heed.
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同治元年九月，抵任，治鄧爾恆被戕之獄。 何有保已前死，捕兇犯誅之。 見撫局初定，省城稍安，屢密疏陳：「徐之銘尚能撫回，被劾各款，請俟張亮基到後會同查辦。」 又云：「馬如龍求撫出於誠心，岑毓英鯁直有戰功，加以閱歷，乃有用之材。」 鐸意欲因勢利導，徐圖補救。 於是詔亮基移署貴州巡撫，滇事專責鐸與之銘，蓋羈縻之也。 回人掌教馬德新，之銘所諂事。 初見鐸貌為恭順，後漸跋扈。 武職多越級僭用翎頂，之銘所擅賞，鐸面斥之。 元新營參將梁士美乃臨安土豪，不與回教聯和。 馬如龍誓欲剿滅，鐸不可，強出師，與岑毓英同敗歸，欲添調兵練，鐸复阻之。 回紳田慶餘議設公局，通省糧賦稅釐悉歸之，文武職官亦由公舉，鐸以非政體斥止，由是馬如龍等皆不悅。
In the ninth month of the first year of the Tongzhi reign (1862) he arrived to take office and handled the case of Deng Erheng's murder. He Youbao had already died earlier; the murderers were captured and executed. Seeing that the pacification situation was initially settled and the provincial capital somewhat calm, he repeatedly submitted secret memorials: "Xu Zhiming can still pacify the Hui; the various impeachment charges, please wait until Zhang Liangji arrives to investigate jointly." He also said, "Ma Rulong's seeking pacification comes from sincere intent; Cen Yuying is upright and has battle merit; with further experience he will be useful talent." Duo intended to guide affairs according to circumstances and gradually seek remedy. Thereupon an edict transferred Liangji to act as governor of Guizhou; Yunnan affairs were entrusted solely to Duo and Zhiming—this was essentially a policy of conciliation. The Hui religious leader Ma Dexin was one whom Zhiming flattered and served. At first when he met Duo he appeared deferential; later he gradually became overbearing. Many military officers wore plume ornaments above their rank, honors that Zhiming had arbitrarily bestowed; Duo openly rebuked them for it. Battalion Commander Liang Shimei of Yuanxin Camp was a local strongman in Lin'an who refused to cooperate with the Hui. Ma Rulong vowed to wipe Liang out, but Duo forbade it; compelled to take the field anyway, he and Cen Yuying returned defeated together; when he sought additional troops and militia, Duo blocked that as well. The Hui gentryman Tian Qingyu proposed a public bureau to control all provincial grain tribute and tax levies, with civil and military officials chosen by public election; Duo rejected the plan as unconstitutional, and Ma Rulong and the others were all displeased.
10
馬榮者，迤西回酋杜文秀之黨，之銘檄署武定營參將。 二年正月，榮忽率二千人至省城，踞五華書院，鐸令出，遷延三日，乃親往諭遣，榮抗恣不聽，其所部回練遽攢刺，鐸臨殞罵不絕口。 雲南知府黃培林、昆明知縣翟怡曾同被害。 榮遂縱兵大掠，官衙民居悉遍。 惟岑毓英勒兵守籓署，之銘遁往潛匿。 越兩日，毓英始殮鐸屍。 回眾擁馬德新為總督。 馬如龍在臨安，聞警馳至，馬榮已率眾攜所掠散去。 如龍殺餘匪數十人及附亂者百餘，謂馬德新不當為總督，取關防授之銘兼署。 之銘以巡撫讓如龍，如龍不受，遂令署提督，一切拱手聽之。 事聞，詔嘉鐸「萬里赴滇，不避艱險，見危授命，大節懍然」。 依總督陣亡例賜卹，贈太子太保，予騎都尉兼雲騎尉世職，入祀雲南昭忠祠，諡忠毅。 子四人，並錄授京職。
Ma Rong was a follower of Du Wenxiu, the Hui chieftain of western Yunnan, whom Zhiming appointed acting battalion commander of Wuding Camp. In the first month of the second year Rong suddenly led two thousand men into the provincial capital and seized Wuhua Academy. Duo ordered him to withdraw; after three days' delay he went in person to admonish and dismiss him, but Rong defiantly refused. The Hui militia under his command suddenly closed in with daggers, and Duo cursed without cease as he died. Huang Peilin, prefect of Yunnan, and Zhai Yiceng, magistrate of Kunming, were killed along with him. Rong then let his troops plunder freely; government offices and private homes alike were ravaged. Only Cen Yuying rallied troops to hold the provincial administration; Zhiming fled into hiding. Two days passed before Yuying finally laid out Duo's body. The Hui masses then installed Ma Dexin as governor-general. Ma Rulong was at Lin'an; when he heard the alarm he rushed to the capital, but Ma Rong had already led his men away with their plunder. Rulong killed several dozen remaining bandits and more than a hundred who had joined the disorder; declaring that Ma Dexin ought not serve as governor-general, he took the official seal and entrusted Zhiming with concurrent acting authority. Zhiming offered the governorship to Rulong, but Rulong refused; he then had Rulong act as regional commander and handed over all authority to him. When the matter was reported, an edict praised Duo for traveling ten thousand li to Yunnan without shunning hardship or danger, facing peril and giving his life with shining integrity. He received posthumous honors under the precedent for a governor-general killed in battle: Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, hereditary Commandant of Cavalry and Commandant of Light Cavalry, enshrinement in the Yunnan Shrine of Loyalty, and the posthumous name Zhongyi. His four sons were all granted appointments in the capital.
11
當鐸之親諭馬榮也，約之銘同往，竟不至。 事定，疏奏諉為杜文秀勾結武定匪犯省城，又諱匿馬榮委署參將事。 論者謂榮之為亂，之銘實與知之。 於是褫之銘職，聽候治罪。 授勞崇光總督，賈洪詔巡撫，皆不能至。 雲南軍事分隸於馬如龍、岑毓英，崇光駐貴陽遙制之，至五年，始入滇履任。 馬榮已先為如龍等剿除，之銘亦死，迄未就逮雲。
When Duo went in person to admonish Ma Rong, he invited Zhiming to accompany him, but Zhiming never came. When the affair was settled, he memorialized blaming the attack on Du Wenxiu's collusion with Wuding bandits, and also concealed Ma Rong's acting appointment as battalion commander. Commentators held that Zhiming had known in advance about Rong's rebellion. Zhiming was thereupon stripped of rank and left to await punishment. Luo Chongguang was appointed governor-general and Jia Hongzhao governor, but neither could reach Yunnan. Yunnan military affairs were divided between Ma Rulong and Cen Yuying while Chongguang directed them remotely from Guiyang; only in the fifth year did he enter Yunnan to take up his post. Ma Rong had already been eliminated by Rulong and others; Zhiming also died, and was never brought to Yunnan to face arrest.
12
鄧爾恆，字子久，江蘇江寧人，總督廷楨子。 道光十三年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 出為湖南辰州府知府。 父憂，服闋，補雲南曲靖府。 平尋甸叛回馬二花，彌勒土匪吳美、硃順，招撫昆陽回匪，甚有聲績，擢鹽法道，累遷按察使、布政使。 咸豐十一年，擢貴州巡撫，未行，調陝西。 徐之銘袒回，營將多與通。 副將何有保者，之銘私人，尤不法。 慮爾恆入覲發其罪，諷有保害之以滅口。 爾𢗝行次曲靖，宿於知府署。 有保使其黨史榮、戴玉棠偽為盜，戕之，掠其行橐。 有保索所劫物不得，執拷二人。 玉棠潛逸，糾黨攻殺有保。 鐸至，擒二人誅之。 詔爾恆依陣亡例賜卹，予騎都尉世職，諡文愨。
Deng Erheng, courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Jiangning in Jiangsu and the son of Governor-General Deng Tingzhen. He passed the jinshi examination in the thirteenth year of the Daoguang reign, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed compiler. He was appointed prefect of Chenzhou in Hunan. After observing mourning for his father, he was assigned to Qujing in Yunnan. He pacified the rebel Hui Ma Erhua of Xundian and the bandits Wu Mei and Zhu Shun of Mile, recruited the Hui bandits of Kunyang, and won a strong reputation; he was promoted to salt commissioner and rose successively to judicial commissioner and administrative commissioner. In the eleventh year of the Xianfeng reign he was promoted to governor of Guizhou, but before he could depart he was transferred to Shaanxi. Xu Zhiming favored the Hui, and many camp generals were in league with them. Vice Commander He Youbao was a creature of Zhiming's and was especially lawless. Fearing that Erheng would expose his crimes at court, he hinted that Youbao should kill him to silence him. Erheng, en route, stopped at Qujing and lodged at the prefect's yamen. Youbao had Shi Rong and Dai Yutang pose as bandits, murder Erheng, and plunder his baggage. Unable to recover the loot, Youbao arrested and tortured the two men. Yutang escaped in secret and gathered a gang to attack and kill Youbao. When Duo arrived he captured the two men and executed them. An edict granted Erheng posthumous honors under the precedent for death in battle, conferred the hereditary rank of Commandant of Cavalry, and gave him the posthumous name Wenque.
13
=【論】=論曰：吳文鎔由卿貳出膺疆寄，凡十餘年，風采嚴峻，時推其治行亞於林則徐。 潘鐸亦負端人之望。 二人者晚任艱危，並受事於岌岌之日，守正不阿，盡瘁完節，不可復以成敗苛論矣。 其死也，皆由同官所構陷。 國家於岩疆要地，督撫同駐，豈非以資鈐制，備不虞哉！ 然推諉牽掣，因之而生； 甚且傾軋成釁，貽禍封疆。 楚、滇覆轍，蓋其昭著者也。 至光緒中，其制始改焉。
Commentary: Wu Wenrong went from vice minister to frontier service for more than ten years; his bearing was stern and severe, and contemporaries ranked his administrative record second only to Lin Zexu. Pan Duo likewise enjoyed the reputation of an upright man. Both men took perilous posts late in life and assumed responsibility at a moment of crisis; they upheld integrity without compromise, gave their all, and died with honor—success or failure alone cannot be the measure of them. Both died as a result of being framed by colleagues. The state posts governor-general and governor together at strategic frontier points—is this not meant to provide mutual restraint and guard against the unexpected? Yet buck-passing and mutual obstruction arose from it in turn. At worst, factional strife bred conflict and brought disaster to the frontier. The repeated disasters in Huguang and Yunnan are the clearest examples of this. Not until the Guangxu reign was the system finally changed.