1
列傳一百八十八向榮，字欣然，四川大寧人，寄籍甘肅固原。 以行伍隸提標，為提督楊遇春所識拔。 從征滑縣、青海、回疆，常為選鋒。 積功擢至甘肅鎮羌營游擊。 道光十三年，直隸總督琦善知其才，調司教練，累遷開州協副將。 海疆戒嚴，率兵駐防山海關。 擢正定鎮總兵，調通永鎮。 二十七年，擢四川提督。 三十年，調湖南，平李沅發之亂，調固原。
Biography 188: Xiang Rong, courtesy name Xinran, was a native of Daning in Sichuan, with his registered domicile at Guyuan in Gansu. He began his career as a rank-and-file soldier in the provincial commander's establishment, where Grand Coordinator Yang Yuchun noticed his ability and brought him forward. He took part in campaigns in Huaxian, Qinghai, and the Muslim frontier regions, and was repeatedly selected to lead the assault troops. By accumulated merit he rose to the rank of colonel commanding the Zhenqiang battalion in Gansu. In the thirteenth year of the Daoguang reign (1833), Governor-General Qishan of Zhili recognized his ability, put him in charge of drill and training, and he was promoted in stages until he became deputy commander of the Kaizhou Brigade. When the coast was put on military alert, he led troops to garrison Shanhaiguan. He was promoted to commander of the Zhengding garrison and transferred to command the Tongyong garrison. In the twenty-seventh year of the reign he was appointed Grand Coordinator of Sichuan. In the thirtieth year he was posted to Hunan, where he put down the rebellion of Li Yuanfa, and was afterward transferred to Guyuan.
2
廣西匪起，巡撫鄭祖琛不能制。 榮於舊將中最負時望，文宗特調為廣西提督，倚以辦賊。 是秋至軍，由柳州、慶遠進剿，以達宜山、象州，連破賊於索潭墟、八旺、陶鄧墟、猶山等處，賊氛稍戢。 惟洪秀全等踞桂平金田，狡悍為諸賊冠。 榮移兵往剿，賊以大黃江、牛排嶺為犄角。 咸豐元年春，攻大黃江，賊分出誘戰，率總兵李能臣、周鳳岐合擊，大破之，殲千數百人，賜號霍欽巴圖魯。 水陸合攻牛排嶺，搗其巢，又追擊於新墟、紫金山，賊乃竄踞武宣東鄉。 時周天爵為巡撫，與榮同勦賊，議不合，數戰未得利，廣州副都統烏蘭泰率兵來會。 四月，賊突圍竄象州。 榮被譴，褫花翎，降三級留任，天爵亦罷軍事。 大學士賽尚阿代李星沅督師，命榮與烏蘭泰節制鎮將以下，迭詔戒榮同心協力，以贖前愆。 賊踞象州中坪，其要路東曰桐木，西曰羅秀，榮與烏蘭泰分扼之。 六月，榮由桐木進兵，偕烏蘭泰合剿，迭敗賊於馬鞍山及架村、黃瓜嶺、西安村，遂回竄桂平新墟、紫金山，恃險負嵎。 榮偕烏蘭泰等迭奪豬仔峽、雙髻山要隘，進破風門坳。 八月，賊冒雨竄逸，官軍失利於官村，遂陷永安州，坐褫職留營。 十一月，合攻永安，獲勝，復原官。
When rebellion broke out in Guangxi, Governor Zheng Zuochen proved unable to bring it under control. Among the senior commanders, Rong enjoyed the highest standing at court; Emperor Wenzong specially transferred him to serve as Grand Coordinator of Guangxi and placed the suppression of the rebels in his hands. That autumn he joined the army and advanced from Liuzhou and Qingyuan against the rebels, reaching Yishan and Xiangzhou. He won a series of victories at Suotanxu, Bawang, Taodengxu, Youshan, and other places, and the rebellion subsided somewhat. Only Hong Xiuquan and his followers, entrenched at Jintian in Guiping, remained—the craftiest and most formidable of all the rebel bands. Rong moved his forces against them, but the rebels used the Dahuang River and Niupai Ridge as mutually supporting strongpoints. In the spring of the first year of Xianfeng he attacked the Dahuang River position. The rebels sent out a detachment to draw him into battle, but he led Major Generals Li Nengchen and Zhou Fengqi in a joint assault that routed them and killed more than a thousand. He was granted the honorific title Hojen Baturu. He combined land and river forces to attack Niupai Ridge and destroy their base, then pursued them at Xin Market and Purple Gold Mountain until the rebels fled to Dongxiang in Wuxuan. Governor Zhou Tianjue was then campaigning alongside Rong, but they could not agree on strategy and several engagements failed to gain ground. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Ulangtai of Guangzhou arrived with reinforcements. In the fourth month the rebels broke out of the encirclement and fled toward Xiangzhou. Rong was censured, stripped of his peacock feather, and demoted three ranks while kept in post; Tianjue was likewise relieved of military duties. Grand Secretary Saishanga replaced Li Xingyuan as supreme commander and placed Rong and Ulangtai in charge of all field officers. The throne repeatedly urged Rong to cooperate wholeheartedly and redeem his earlier failures. The rebels held Zhongping in Xiangzhou. The key routes east and west were Tongmu and Luoxiu respectively, and Rong and Ulangtai divided their forces to hold them. In the sixth month Rong advanced from Tongmu and, together with Ulangtai, won a series of victories at Ma'an Mountain, Jiacun, Huanggualing, and Xi'an Village. The rebels then withdrew to Xin Market and Purple Gold Mountain in Guiping, where they dug in behind difficult terrain. Rong and Ulangtai in turn captured the strategic passes at Zhuzai Gorge and Shuangji Mountain and pushed forward to break through Fengmen Pass. In the eighth month the rebels broke out in heavy rain. Government forces were defeated at Guancun, and Yong'an Prefecture fell. Rong was stripped of his rank but allowed to remain with the army. In the eleventh month a joint assault on Yong'an succeeded, and his former rank was restored.
3
初，榮所部湖南兵，因榮子繼雄用事，軍心不服，故武宣、象州之役戰不力，皆歸咎之。 文宗排眾議，仍加倚任，而調四川兵以易湖南兵。 賽尚阿不知兵，專倚榮與烏蘭泰。 二人復不協，圍永安久不下。 榮建議缺北隅勿攻，伺賊逸擊之。 二年二月，天大雨，賊由北突出，迳犯桂林。 榮由間道馳援，先賊至，賊冒榮旗幟襲城，擊走之。 偕巡撫鄒鳴鶴急治守具，屢出奇兵擊賊城下，俘斬甚眾。 經月餘，援軍集，賊乃解圍北竄。 詔嘉其保城功，已奪職復之，予議敘。 賊由興安、全州入湖南。 榮頓兵桂林，為總督徐廣縉論劾，褫職戍新疆。 賽尚阿疏請暫緩發遣，令援湖南。 九月，至長沙，破賊瀏陽門外，又破之於見家河、漁網洲、岳麓山。 至冬，圍乃解。 賊北竄，陷岳州，入湖北，進犯漢陽、武昌，官軍遙尾之，莫敢擊。 賽尚阿、徐廣縉先後罷黜，諸將無一能軍。 詔以榮屢保危城，緩急尚欲恃之，予提督銜，幫辦軍務，責援武昌。 尋复授廣西提督。 榮至，數奏捷，而武昌尋陷，褫職，仍留軍。 調署湖北提督，未幾實授，命為欽差大臣，專辦軍務。 賊既踞武昌，勢益熾，不可復制矣。
Rong's Hunan troops had grown resentful because his son Jixiong was meddling in army affairs, and this was widely blamed for their poor performance in the battles at Wuxuan and Xiangzhou. Emperor Wenzong overrode the critics and continued to place his trust in Rong, but replaced the Hunan troops with forces from Sichuan. Saishanga had no military experience and depended entirely on Rong and Ulangtai. The two men again failed to work together, and the siege of Yong'an dragged on without success. Rong proposed leaving the northern sector unblocked so that when the rebels tried to break out, they could be struck down in the open. In the second month of the second year, amid torrential rain, the rebels broke out to the north and marched directly on Guilin. Rong hurried to the city's relief by a side road and arrived ahead of the rebels. The rebels tried to enter under his banners, but he drove them back. Together with Governor Zou Minghe he urgently strengthened the defenses and repeatedly sent raiding parties against the rebels below the walls, capturing and killing large numbers. After more than a month, reinforcements arrived and the rebels raised the siege and fled north. The throne commended him for saving the city, restored the rank that had been taken from him, and ordered that his merits be recorded for reward. The rebels entered Hunan through Xing'an and Quanzhou. Rong had halted his army at Guilin. Governor-General Xu Guangjin impeached him, and he was stripped of rank and sentenced to exile in Xinjiang. Saishanga petitioned that Rong's exile be postponed and that he be sent to reinforce Hunan instead. In the ninth month he reached Changsha, defeated the rebels outside the Liuyang Gate, and won further victories at Jianjia River, Yuwangzhou, and Yuelu Mountain. By winter the siege had been raised. The rebels fled north, took Yuezhou, entered Hubei, and advanced on Hanyang and Wuchang. Government troops followed at a distance but dared not engage. Saishanga and Xu Guangjin were dismissed one after another, and none of the remaining generals proved capable of holding the field. The throne noted that Rong had repeatedly saved cities in peril and that he was still needed in an emergency. He was given the rank of Grand Coordinator, assigned to assist in military affairs, and ordered to relieve Wuchang. He was soon reappointed Grand Coordinator of Guangxi. When Rong arrived he reported several victories, but Wuchang soon fell. He was stripped of rank but allowed to remain with the army. He was transferred to serve as acting Grand Coordinator of Hubei, soon received the substantive appointment, and was named Imperial Commissioner with sole responsibility for military affairs. Once the rebels held Wuchang, their power grew overwhelming and could no longer be brought under control.
4
三年正月，大舉東犯，連舟蔽江，棄城而去。 榮以克復聞，詔促躡追。 榮所部兵多疲弱，遣撤六千餘名，料簡精銳，率總兵和春、李瑞、秦定三、玉山、福興沿江躡賊； 令提督蘇布通阿率川兵，總兵晉德布率滇兵來會。 至九江，無舟，留半月，賊已掠安慶，陷江寧，為久踞計。 榮至江寧，屯孝陵衛。 時鎮江、揚州皆為賊踞，詔琦善剿江北，榮剿江南，分任軍事。 榮所部一萬七千餘人，攻通濟門外及七橋甕賊壘，連破之，進屯紫金山，結營十八座，賜黃馬褂。 江寧城內士民謀結合內應，屢爽期，迄無成功。 賊已分股由安徽北擾河南，而鎮江、揚州南北互應，大江上下游賊勢相首尾。 榮遣提督鄧紹良率兵八千規鎮江，總兵和春以舟師伺便夾擊，屢戰，進壁城下。 六月，紹良軍為賊所襲，退守丹徒鎮，榮令和春往援，遂代領其軍。 賊注意蘇、常諸郡，以和春軍相持不得進，乃欲取道東壩。 十月，賊船入蕪湖，陷高淳，遣兵擊走之，令鄧紹良駐防。 既而皖北賊熾，和春赴援，榮請以提督餘萬清代督鎮江軍。
In the first month of the third year they launched a major eastern offensive. Their fleet filled the river from bank to bank as they abandoned the city and marched east. Rong reported that the city had been recovered, and the throne ordered him to pursue the rebels without delay. Many of Rong's troops were weak and demoralized. He dismissed more than six thousand, kept only the best, and led Major Generals He Chun, Li Rui, Qin Ding'er, Yushan, and Fuxing in pursuit along the river. He ordered Grand Coordinator Subutong'a to bring Sichuan troops and Major General Jindebu to bring Yunnan forces to rendezvous with his army. At Jiujiang he found no boats and was held up for half a month. Meanwhile the rebels had sacked Anqing, taken Jiangning, and were settling in for a long occupation. Rong reached Jiangning and encamped at the Xiaoling Guard post. Zhenjiang and Yangzhou were both in rebel hands. Qishan was ordered to campaign north of the river and Rong south of it, dividing command of the war. Rong's force of more than seventeen thousand men attacked the rebel stockades outside Tongji Gate and at Qiqiao'ao, broke them in succession, and advanced to encamp on Purple Gold Mountain, where he established eighteen camps. He was awarded the yellow jacket. Inside Jiangning, local gentry and townspeople plotted coordinated uprisings, but the plans repeatedly fell through and never succeeded. Rebel detachments had already moved north from Anhui into Henan, while Zhenjiang and Yangzhou coordinated with each other across the river. Rebel strength up and down the Yangtze formed a continuous chain. Rong sent Grand Coordinator Deng Shaoliang with eight thousand men to threaten Zhenjiang, while Major General He Chun's fleet waited for a chance to strike from the river. After several engagements they advanced and built siege lines below the walls. In the sixth month Deng Shaoliang's force was ambushed and fell back to Dantu. Rong sent He Chun to reinforce him and then took personal command of the army. The rebels turned their attention to Suzhou and Changzhou. Blocked by He Chun's army, they sought to advance by way of Dongba instead. In the tenth month rebel boats entered Wuhu and took Gaochun. He sent troops to drive them off and stationed Deng Shaoliang to hold the area. Rebel activity then intensified in northern Anhui, and He Chun went to reinforce that front. Rong asked that Grand Coordinator Yu Wanqing take over command of the Zhenjiang army.
5
四年七月，賊犯東壩，遣副將傅振邦等協剿，賊退高淳，進復其城。 賊乘江寧大營空虛，大舉來撲，率諸軍拒之，擒偽丞相譚應桂，俘斬三千餘。 總兵葉長春、吳全美以水師克下關水柵砲台，殪偽燕王秦日綱，進扼三山，營江路上游。 賊聚太平府，與江寧相應。 張國樑連克賊壘，乘勝复太平，殲賊首韋得真等。 江寧賊出營於上方橋，三路來撲，又撲七橋甕，分擊敗之，三戰殪賊二萬餘。 八月，毀上方橋賊壘，進逼雨花台，搗其巢，追奔至城下。 賊復由觀音門出趨棲霞，令總兵德安追擊，敗之於高資汛，又與餘萬清合擊於夾江，擒斬殆盡。 萬清亦屢敗賊於鎮江。
In the seventh month of the fourth year the rebels attacked Dongba. He sent Brigadier General Fu Zhenbang and others against them. The rebels fell back to Gaochun, and government forces advanced and recovered the city. The rebels exploited the weakness of the Jiangning headquarters and launched a major assault. Rong led the armies in defense, captured the rebel chancellor Tan Yinggui, and killed or captured more than three thousand men. Major Generals Ye Changchun and Wu Quanmei with the naval force captured the water barrier and batteries at Xiaguan, killed the rebel Prince of Yan Qin Rigang, advanced to hold Sanshan, and established camps on the upper river. The rebels concentrated at Taiping Prefecture in coordination with the forces at Jiangning. Zhang Guoliang captured one rebel stockade after another, followed up his victories to recover Taiping, and killed rebel leaders including Wei Dezheng. Rebel forces from Jiangning sallied from Shangfang Bridge in three columns and again attacked at Qiqiao'ao. Government forces met them in divided assaults and, in three engagements, killed more than twenty thousand rebels. In the eighth month he destroyed the rebel stockades at Shangfang Bridge, advanced on Yuhuatai, stormed their base, and pursued the fleeing rebels to the city walls. The rebels sallied again through Guanyin Gate toward Qixia. Rong ordered Major General De'an to pursue, routed them at Gaozi Ford, and together with Yu Wanqing struck them at Jiajiang, capturing or killing nearly all. Yu Wanqing also won repeated victories over the rebels at Zhenjiang.
6
五年春，湖北竄賊入蕪湖，鄧紹良御之於黃池。 瓜洲賊出鮎魚套犯高資，擊走之。 五月，賊由蕪湖犯灣沚，卻之。 吳全美率水師破賊於東梁山，德安、明安泰率陸師進攻蕪湖，會鄧紹良大破安慶援賊，遂復蕪湖。 餘賊猶濱江結壘，以廣福磯、弋磯為犄角，數路死力來援，紹良、全美等水陸苦戰，迭敗之而不能克也。 時巡撫吉爾杭阿既克上海，詔幫辦軍務，專任鎮江一路，督攻甚急，江寧賊百計赴援。 十一月，榮督總兵德安、張國樑、秦如虎等，迭擊之於燕子磯、觀音門、甘家港、棲霞街、石埠橋等處，賊竄回江寧，令德安駐軍東陽鎮扼之。 十二月，上游蕪湖、兩梁山、金柱關及江北瓜洲、金山、廬州、三河諸賊同趨江寧，約城中悍賊衝出：一由神策門至仙鶴門抄綴大營； 一由觀音門沿江至棲霞，直趨鎮江； 一由南路秣陵關來犯。 榮令張國樑、秦如虎迎擊於仙鶴門，大捷，回擊石埠橋，賊亦退，又敗之於龍脖子及元山、板橋等處。 檄鄧紹良自蕪湖回援，餘萬清自鎮江移駐龍潭、下蜀街。
In the spring of the fifth year, rebel raiders from Hubei entered Wuhu, and Deng Shaoliang met them at Huangchi. Rebels from Guazhou came out of Nianyu Bend to attack Gaozi, but were driven back. In the fifth month rebels from Wuhu attacked Wanzhi, but were repulsed. Wu Quanmei with the fleet defeated the rebels at Dongliang Mountain, while De'an and Ming'antai led the land force against Wuhu. Together with Deng Shaoliang, who routed the Anqing relief force, they recovered Wuhu. Remaining rebels still held riverbank stockades, using Guangfu Rock and Yi Rock as mutually supporting positions. Reinforcements arrived by several routes and fought desperately. Deng Shaoliang, Wu Quanmei, and others battled hard by land and water, winning repeated victories but failing to take the positions. Governor Ji'erhang'a had just recovered Shanghai and was ordered to assist in military affairs with sole responsibility for the Zhenjiang front. He pressed the attack hard, and the rebels at Jiangning used every means to send reinforcements. In the eleventh month Rong directed Major Generals De'an, Zhang Guoliang, and Qin Ruhu in a series of attacks at Yanziji, Guanyin Gate, Ganjiagang, Qixia Street, and Shibuqiao. The rebels fled back toward Jiangning, and he stationed De'an at Dongyang Town to block their retreat. In the twelfth month rebels from upriver at Wuhu, Liangliang Mountain, and Jinzhuguan, together with forces from north of the river at Guazhou, Jinshan, Luzhou, Sanhe, and elsewhere, all converged on Jiangning in concert with a breakout from the city. One column was to move from Shece Gate to Xianhe Gate and strike the rear of the main camp. A second column was to move from Guanyin Gate along the river to Qixia and strike directly at Zhenjiang. A third was to attack from the south through Muling Pass. Rong ordered Zhang Guoliang and Qin Ruhu to meet them at Xianhe Gate and won a major victory. They then turned back to strike at Shibuqiao, where the rebels also retreated, and won further victories at Longbozi, Yuanshan, Banqiao, and elsewhere. He recalled Deng Shaoliang from Wuhu and shifted Yu Wanqing from Zhenjiang to garrison Longtan and Xiashu Street.
7
六年春，賊踞倉頭，為往來要道，餘萬清、張國樑迭擊不退，鄧紹良至，令統前敵諸軍，屢戰不利。 賊日增多，蔓延炭渚、橋頭，改以張國樑為總統，國樑力戰，連破橋頭、下蜀街、三汊河、張楊村諸壘，賊始竄走，復合鎮江賊入瓜洲，將軍托明阿軍潰，江北大震。 榮令紹良援揚州，偕德興阿復其城。 國梁援六合，進克江浦、浦口，江北稍定。 四月，寧國告陷，蘇、浙戒嚴，令紹良馳御之。 江長貴亦退守黃池，而鎮江軍事复急。 國樑進攻小丹陽未下，吉爾杭阿戰歿於煙墩山，鎮江京峴山營壘皆失，榮令餘萬清代領其軍。 明安泰扼小丹陽，福興、張國樑率兵防剿，以固蘇、常門戶。 國樑破賊於丹徒鎮，進扼馬陵，而賊已陷溧水，由高資、下蜀街趨江寧，分屯太平、神策門外。
In the spring of the sixth year the rebels held Cangtou, a key junction on the main route. Yu Wanqing and Zhang Guoliang attacked repeatedly without dislodging them. When Deng Shaoliang arrived he was placed in command of the front-line forces, but several engagements went against the government troops. The rebels grew stronger by the day and spread to Tanzhu and Qiaotou. Zhang Guoliang was made overall commander and fought hard, capturing stockades at Qiaotou, Xiashu Street, San Cha River, and Zhangyang Village until the rebels finally fled. They then joined forces with the Zhenjiang rebels and entered Guazhou. General Tuo Ming'a's army collapsed, throwing the north bank into panic. Rong sent Deng Shaoliang to relieve Yangzhou, and together with Dexing'a he recovered the city. Zhang Guoliang relieved Liuhe and advanced to take Jiangpu and Pukou, bringing a measure of calm back to the north bank. In the fourth month word came that Ningguo had fallen. Suzhou and Zhejiang were put on alert, and Deng Shaoliang was ordered to hurry to its defense. Jiang Changgui also fell back to defend Huangchi, while the situation at Zhenjiang again grew critical. Zhang Guoliang besieged Xiaodanyang without success. Ji'erhang'a was killed in battle at Yandun Mountain, and the government camps at Jingxian Mountain near Zhenjiang were lost. Rong placed Yu Wanqing in command of the army. Ming'antai held Xiaodanyang while Fuxing and Zhang Guoliang led troops in defense and pursuit to secure the approaches to Suzhou and Changzhou. Zhang Guoliang defeated the rebels at Dantu and advanced to hold Maling, but the rebels had already taken Lishui and were moving from Gaozi and Xiashu Street toward Jiangning, establishing positions outside Taiping and Shece Gate.
8
五月，上游賊麕至，屯城北。 榮大營兵僅數千，急促國樑回援。 賊分十餘路來撲，營壘盡失，退守淳化鎮，再退丹陽，自請治罪，詔原之，褫職，仍留欽差大臣，督辦軍務。 丹陽當鎮江、江寧兩路要衝，榮率張國樑、虎嵩林扼守。 令西林防句容，明安泰攻溧水，江長貴扼溧陽，張國樑仍總統諸軍。 賊更番至，恃國樑力禦卻之。 疏請增兵，未至，榮憂憤成病，七月，卒於軍。
In the fifth month rebel forces from upriver converged in great numbers and encamped north of the city. Rong's headquarters had only a few thousand men left. He urgently recalled Zhang Guoliang. The rebels attacked in more than ten columns. All the camps were lost. Rong fell back to Chunhua, then to Danyang, and asked to be punished. The throne pardoned him but stripped his rank, while keeping him on as Imperial Commissioner in charge of military affairs. Danyang lay at the strategic junction between the Zhenjiang and Jiangning fronts. Rong led Zhang Guoliang and Hu Songlin to hold the position. He ordered Xilin to defend Jurong, Ming'antai to attack Lishui, and Jiang Changgui to hold Liyang, while Zhang Guoliang remained overall commander. The rebels attacked in waves, but Zhang Guoliang's fierce resistance held them back. He petitioned for reinforcements, but they had not arrived. Rong fell ill from grief and exhaustion, and in the seventh month he died in camp.
9
遺疏上，文宗震悼，詔嘉其忠勤，雖未恢復堅城，數年保障蘇、常，盡心竭力，復原官，依例賜卹，予一等輕車都尉世職，諡忠武。 命建專祠，又入祀江蘇名宦祠。 克復江寧後，賜祭一壇，入昭忠祠。 子繼雄，候選道，襲世職。
When his final memorial reached the throne, Emperor Wenzong was deeply grieved. An edict praised his loyalty and devotion: though he had not recovered the walled city, for years he had shielded Suzhou and Changzhou and had given everything he had. His former rank was restored, standard mourning honors were granted, he was given the hereditary rank of First-class Commandant of Light Chariots, and the posthumous name Zhongwu (Loyal and Martial). The court ordered a special shrine built in his honor and had him entered in the Jiangsu shrine of distinguished officials. After Jiangning was recovered, the court granted a sacrificial altar in his honor and enshrined him in the Zhao Zhong Shrine. His son Jixiong, an expectant circuit intendant, inherited the hereditary rank.
10
和春，字雨亭，赫舍里氏，滿洲正黃旗人。 由前鋒、藍翎長授整儀尉，累遷副護軍參領。 出為湖南提標中軍參將，擢永綏協副將。
He Chun, courtesy name Yuting, of the Heseri clan, was a Manchu of the Plain Yellow Banner. Starting as a vanguard and blue-lance chief, he was appointed a ceremonial guard and rose in stages to deputy banner guard commandant. He was posted as second colonel of the Hunan commander's central army and promoted to deputy commander of the Yongshui Brigade.
11
咸豐元年，從向榮赴廣西剿匪，戰武宣東鄉，賜花翎。 破賊於中坪，進攻紫金山，奪雙髻山、豬仔峽要隘，功最，賜號鏗色巴圖魯。 又奪風門坳，克古調村賊巢，擢綏靖鎮總兵。 二年，援桂林，力戰解圍，加提督銜。 追賊至全州，敗之。 賊入湖南，迭戰於道州、桂陽，遂犯長沙，和春從向榮赴援，數出奇破賊。 賊去陷岳州，坐追剿遷延，褫職留軍。
In the first year of Xianfeng he followed Xiang Rong to Guangxi to suppress the rebels, fought at Dongxiang in Wuxuan, and was awarded the peacock feather. He defeated the rebels at Zhongping, advanced on Purple Gold Mountain, and captured the strategic passes at Shuangji Mountain and Zhuzai Gorge. His achievements were the greatest of all, and he was granted the title Kengse Baturu. He also took Fengmen Pass and destroyed the rebel base at Gutiao Village, and was promoted to commander of the Suijing garrison. In the second year he relieved Guilin, fought hard to raise the siege, and was given the rank of Grand Coordinator. He pursued the rebels to Quanzhou and defeated them. The rebels entered Hunan and fought at Daozhou and Guiyang before advancing on Changsha. He Chun followed Xiang Rong to the relief of the city and repeatedly sent raiding parties that routed the rebels. The rebels withdrew and took Yuezhou. He Chun was stripped of rank for the delay in pursuit but allowed to remain with the army.
12
三年春，會攻武昌。 賊棄城東下，追至九江，遇賊，襲擊之。 從向榮抵江寧，分軍攻通濟門外賊壘。 尋偕總兵葉長春、吳全美等率舟師攻鎮江，破賊甘露寺下。 駐金山扼江路，又掠鮎魚套，擊敗賊船。 偕總兵瞿騰龍攻太平門，填壕逼城，殲賊甚眾。 六月，提督鄧紹良師潰於鎮江，詔和春署江南提督，率所部廣東、湖南兵馳援。 移軍丹徒鎮，進复京峴山舊壘。 賊數千來爭，殲戮殆盡。 賊銳稍挫，兩軍相持，蘇、常得無事。 尋實授提督。
In the spring of the third year they joined in the assault on Wuchang. The rebels abandoned the city and marched east. He pursued them to Jiujiang, encountered rebel forces, and attacked by surprise. Following Xiang Rong he reached Jiangning and divided his forces to attack the rebel stockades outside Tongji Gate. Soon afterward, together with Major Generals Ye Changchun and Wu Quanmei, he led the fleet against Zhenjiang and defeated the rebels below Ganlu Temple. He garrisoned Jinshan to control the river route, raided Nianyu Bend, and defeated rebel vessels. Together with Major General Qu Tenglong he attacked Taiping Gate, filled in the moat to press the walls, and killed large numbers of rebels. In the sixth month Deng Shaoliang's army was routed at Zhenjiang. He Chun was appointed acting Grand Coordinator of Jiangnan and ordered to hurry to the relief with his Guangdong and Hunan troops. He moved his army to Dantu and advanced to recover the old camps at Jingxian Mountain. Several thousand rebels came to contest the position, and nearly all were killed. The rebels' momentum was checked. The two armies settled into a stalemate, and Suzhou and Changzhou were spared further harm. He soon received the substantive appointment as Grand Coordinator.
13
是年冬，安徽軍事急，命和春分兵移防滁州，遂進援廬州。 巡撫江忠源困守危城，陝甘總督舒興阿率援軍至，不敢戰，忠源疏言和春忠勇可恃，請命總督援軍，詔允之，而所部僅千人，請舒興阿分兵，不聽。 未幾，廬州陷，忠源殉。 軍事專屬和春，福濟繼任巡撫，為之副。
That winter the military situation in Anhui grew critical. He Chun was ordered to detach troops to defend Chuzhou and then advance to relieve Luzhou. Governor Jiang Zhongyuan was trapped in a desperate siege. Governor-General Shuxing'a of Shaanxi-Gansu arrived with reinforcements but would not fight. Zhongyuan memorialized that He Chun's loyalty and courage could be trusted and asked that the relief army be placed under his command. The throne agreed, but He Chun had only a thousand men and his request for troops from Shuxing'a was refused. Before long Luzhou fell, and Zhongyuan died defending it. Military command passed entirely to He Chun, while Fu Ji succeeded as governor and served as his deputy.
14
四年，疏言：「皖省軍情重大，兵勇雖有萬餘，多未經戰陣。 請調鎮江舊部湖南兵，並撥金陵得力官兵三千，交總兵秦定三、鄭魁士率之來助剿。」 時廬州屬縣皆陷，與安慶踞賊連絡一氣，城大賊眾，和春駐軍三里岡，屢率鄭魁士等進剿，賊抗拒不下。 乃沿河築壘構橋，分三路更番攻擊。 夏，知州茅念劬率民團克六安，秦定三破賊於三連橋，進攻舒城。 賊由霍山撲六安，擊走之。 扎筏載大砲轟廬州城，賊分出拒戰，迭敗之。 別遣軍复英山、廬江，而和州、含山一路賊時窺伺，疏請飭袁甲三嚴防烏江，以斷賊援。 冬，臧紆青、劉玉豹由廬南規桐城，連奪大關等隘，逼城下，而紆青戰歿，玉豹退保六安，和春為賊牽制不能救。 秦定三攻舒城，亦久不下，迭詔切責。 初，和春專剿廬州，袁甲三扼臨淮，軍事多相關，而意不合。 五年，偕福濟疏劾甲三，罷之，命和春遣員接統其軍。 夏秋連擊敗援賊，督諸軍急攻廬州，至十月克之，城陷將兩年矣。 詔嘉和春功能補過，賜黃馬褂，予騎都尉世職。 六年，复舒城，大破賊於三河，克之，再复廬江。 會向榮卒於軍，命和春代為欽差大臣，督辦江南軍務。
In the fourth year he memorialized: 'The military situation in Anhui is grave. Although we have more than ten thousand troops, most have never seen combat. He asked that his old Hunan troops from Zhenjiang be transferred, and that three thousand seasoned troops from Jinling be assigned to Major Generals Qin Ding'er and Zheng Kuishi to reinforce the campaign.' By then every county around Luzhou had fallen, and the rebels there were in close contact with those holding Anqing. The city was large and the rebel force numerous. He Chun encamped at Sanligang and repeatedly led Zheng Kuishi and others in attacks, but the rebels held firm. He then built stockades and bridges along the river and launched attacks in rotation along three routes. That summer Prefect Mao Nianqu led local militia to recover Lu'an, while Qin Ding'er defeated the rebels at Sanlian Bridge and advanced on Shucheng. Rebels from Huoshan attacked Lu'an, but were driven back. He built rafts to mount heavy cannon and bombard Luzhou. The rebels sent out forces to resist, and he defeated them in successive engagements. He sent other forces to recover Yingshan and Lujiang, while rebels along the Hezhou and Hanshan route kept probing for openings. He petitioned that Yuan Jiasan be ordered to hold Wujiang strictly and cut off rebel reinforcements. That winter Zang Yuqing and Liu Yubao advanced from south of Lu toward Tongcheng, capturing passes including Daguan and pressing the walls. Yuqing was killed in battle, Yubao fell back to defend Lu'an, and He Chun was too tied down to help. Qin Ding'er's siege of Shucheng also dragged on without success, and the throne issued repeated stern rebukes. Earlier He Chun had been solely responsible for the Luzhou campaign while Yuan Jiasan held Linhuai. Their operations were closely linked, but the two men could not agree. In the fifth year he and Fu Ji jointly impeached Yuan Jiasan, who was dismissed. He Chun was ordered to send an officer to take command of his troops. Through summer and autumn he repeatedly defeated rebel relief forces and pressed the assault on Luzhou. The city fell in the tenth month after nearly two years in rebel hands. The throne praised He Chun for redeeming his earlier failures, awarded him the yellow jacket, and granted him the hereditary rank of Commandant of Cavalry. In the sixth year he recovered Shucheng, won a major victory at Sanhe and took the town, and recovered Lujiang as well. When Xiang Rong died in camp, He Chun was appointed Imperial Commissioner in his place to direct military affairs in Jiangnan.
15
自向榮兵挫，退守丹陽，江寧賊益驕，內閧，自相殘殺，故榮歿後，張國樑等得以撫輯餘軍，規復東壩、高淳。 和春至，餉械並絀，詔下各省接濟月餉四十萬兩，江蘇糧台不能時給，疏劾總督怡良、巡撫趙德轍，詔勉其和衷。 溧水、句容為賊精銳所聚，力攻數月，七年夏，先後克之，加太子少保。 圍攻鎮江，賊數糾悍黨來援，督諸將迭破之。 十一月，克鎮江，賜雙眼花翎。 將軍德興阿督江北諸軍攻瓜洲，同日克復，軍聲大振。 進攻江寧東北路，奪太平、神策兩門外賊壘。 八年春，賊迭出城，力鬥卻之。 合水陸諸軍克秣陵關，加太子太保。 又破賊三汊河，奪要隘，江寧之圍漸合。
After Xiang Rong's defeat and withdrawal to Danyang, the rebels at Jiangning grew overconfident, fell to infighting, and slaughtered one another. This allowed Zhang Guoliang and others, after Rong's death, to rally the remaining forces and plan the recovery of Dongba and Gaochun. When He Chun arrived, pay and supplies were both inadequate. The court ordered the provinces to provide four hundred thousand taels a month, but the Jiangsu grain bureau could not keep up. He impeached Governor-General Yiliang and Governor Zhao Dezhe, and the throne urged all parties to cooperate. Lishui and Jurong were held by elite rebel forces. He attacked for months, and in the summer of the seventh year captured both in succession. He was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. While besieging Zhenjiang, he faced repeated rebel relief efforts and directed his generals to defeat them one after another. In the eleventh month he captured Zhenjiang and was awarded double-eyed peacock feathers. General Dexing'a directed the northern armies against Guazhou, which was recovered the same day. Government morale soared. He advanced on the northeastern approaches to Jiangning and captured rebel stockades outside Taiping and Shece gates. In the spring of the eighth year the rebels sallied repeatedly from the city, but he fought them back each time. Combining land and naval forces he captured Muling Pass and was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. He defeated the rebels again at San Cha River, took the strategic passes, and the encirclement of Jiangning gradually tightened.
16
賊由皖南犯浙境，用以牽掣大軍。 詔和春兼辦浙江軍務，先遣兵二千往援，命親往督師，以病未行。 尋浙事緩，罷其行。 賊复沿江來援，擊走，築長圍困之。 七月，賊大舉出撲，張國樑破之城下。 八月，陳玉成糾合捻匪犯江浦、浦口，德興阿兵潰，儀徵、揚州、六合先後陷。 和春遣馮子材渡江赴援，复失利。 張國樑繼往，力戰，复揚州、儀徵。 九月，和春授江寧將軍。 江寧賊乘間出撲，溧水亦陷，急調國樑回援。 十月，复溧水，而上游賊犯黃池、灣沚，鄧紹良戰沒。
Rebels from southern Anhui invaded Zhejiang to tie down the main army. He Chun was ordered to take charge of military affairs in Zhejiang as well. He first sent two thousand troops to reinforce the province and was ordered to go in person to direct operations, but illness kept him from going. Soon the crisis in Zhejiang eased, and the order for him to go was withdrawn. Rebel reinforcements came again along the river, but he drove them off and built a long encirclement to besiege the city. In the seventh month the rebels launched a major assault, but Zhang Guoliang defeated them below the walls. In the eighth month Chen Yucheng joined Nian bandits in an attack on Jiangpu and Pukou. Dexing'a's army collapsed, and Yizheng, Yangzhou, and Liuhe fell in succession. He Chun sent Feng Zicai across the river to reinforce them, but the relief force was defeated again. Zhang Guoliang went next, fought hard, and recovered Yangzhou and Yizheng. In the ninth month He Chun was appointed General of Jiangning. The rebels at Jiangning seized an opening to attack, and Lishui also fell. He urgently recalled Zhang Guoliang. In the tenth month he recovered Lishui, but rebels from upriver attacked Huangchi and Wanzhi, and Deng Shaoliang was killed in battle.
17
九年春，招降捻首薛之元，獻江浦城，复約李世忠破賊，复浦口。 因劾德興阿縱寇狀，詔罷德興阿。 江北不復置帥，諸軍並歸和春節制。 提督鄭魁士亦克灣沚、黃池，進規蕪湖，軍事轉利。 疏言：「揆察現勢，先盡力於金陵一路，絕其根株，則枝葉自萎。 欲破金陵，必先斷浦口。 請添募精銳萬人，由張國樑統率，一面力攻，一面進扎營壘，斷賊糧路，兼卻外援。 臣當相度事機，剋期蕆功。」 詔允之。 是年冬，陳玉成由六合犯揚州，分黨渡江窺秣陵關，欲抄大營後路，東壩、溧水皆告警。 尋大舉犯江浦，提督週天培死之，遂陷浦口。 張國樑、馮子材援剿獲勝，揚州解嚴，浦口仍為賊踞。
In the spring of the ninth year he induced the Nian leader Xue Zhiyuan to surrender and hand over Jiangpu. He also worked with Li Shizhong to defeat the rebels and recover Pukou. He then impeached Dexing'a for letting the rebels escape, and the court dismissed him. No separate commander was appointed for the north bank, and all forces were placed under He Chun's command. Grand Coordinator Zheng Kuishi also recovered Wanzhi and Huangchi and advanced toward Wuhu. The military situation began to improve. He memorialized: 'Given the present situation, we should concentrate all our strength on the Jinling front. Cut off the root, and the branches will wither of themselves. To take Jinling, we must first cut off Pukou. He asked to recruit ten thousand elite troops under Zhang Guoliang's command to press the attack while establishing camps to cut rebel supply lines and block outside reinforcements. I shall watch for the right moment and complete the task on schedule.' The throne approved his plan. That winter Chen Yucheng advanced from Liuhe against Yangzhou. A detachment crossed the river to probe Muling Pass, aiming to strike the main camp from the rear. Dongba and Lishui were both put on alert. He soon launched a major attack on Jiangpu. Grand Coordinator Zhou Tianpei was killed in battle, and Pukou fell. Zhang Guoliang and Feng Zicai won a victory in the relief campaign. The alert at Yangzhou was lifted, but Pukou remained in rebel hands.
18
十年春，國樑督水陸軍攻九洑洲，大捷，破其老巢。 九洑洲為江寧水陸咽喉，既得，已成合圍之勢，而賊復由皖南犯浙，遽陷杭州，蘇、常震動。 詔和春仍兼辦浙江軍務，先後分兵萬餘，提督張玉良總統赴援，甫至，賊即棄杭州。 閏三月，由廣德分犯建平、東壩、溧陽，遂窺常州，急調張玉良回援，賊已分路迳趨江寧。 時賊酋陳玉成、李秀成、李侍賢、楊輔清，糾諸路眾十餘萬，力破長圍，城賊應之。 大營軍心不固，惟恃張國樑力禦。 戰數晝夜，諸營同時火起。 總兵黃靖、馬登富、吳天爵陣亡，全軍大潰，退守鎮江。 和春坐褫職留軍。 又退丹陽，賊踵至，張國樑死之。 和春奪圍走常州，督兵迎敵，被重創，退至無錫，卒於軍。 總督何桂清棄城走，常州、蘇州相繼陷。 江南軍自向榮始任，凡曆七年，至是熸焉，蘇、浙遂糜爛。 事聞，詔念和春前功，雖兵機屢挫，尚能血戰捐軀，復原官，依例賜卹，予騎都尉兼雲騎尉，合前世職並為二等男爵，諡忠壯，附祀江寧昭忠祠。 子霍順武，候選參將，襲爵。
In the spring of the tenth year Zhang Guoliang led land and naval forces against Jiufuzhou, won a major victory, and destroyed the rebel stronghold. Jiufuzhou was the strategic choke point for Jiangning by land and water. Once it fell, the encirclement was nearly complete. But rebels from southern Anhui invaded Zhejiang, swiftly took Hangzhou, and threw Suzhou and Changzhou into panic. He Chun was again ordered to take charge of military affairs in Zhejiang. He sent more than ten thousand troops in stages under Grand Coordinator Zhang Yuliang. As soon as Zhang arrived, the rebels abandoned Hangzhou. In the intercalary third month the rebels advanced from Guangde against Jianping, Dongba, and Liyang, then threatened Changzhou. Zhang Yuliang was urgently recalled, but rebel columns were already marching directly on Jiangning. Rebel leaders Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng, Li Shixian, and Yang Fuqing gathered more than a hundred thousand men from all directions, broke through the encirclement by force, and were joined by the rebels inside the city. Morale in the main camp collapsed, and only Zhang Guoliang's fierce resistance held the line. The battle raged for days and nights until fires broke out simultaneously in every camp. Major Generals Huang Jing, Ma Dengfu, and Wu Tianjue were killed in battle. The entire army collapsed and fell back to Zhenjiang. He Chun was stripped of rank but allowed to remain with the army. He fell back again to Danyang with the rebels in pursuit. Zhang Guoliang was killed there. He Chun broke out of the encirclement and fled to Changzhou, where he tried to rally troops against the enemy, was gravely wounded, withdrew to Wuxi, and died in camp. Governor-General He Guiqing abandoned his post and fled. Changzhou and Suzhou fell in succession. The Jiangnan army, which had begun under Xiang Rong, had lasted seven years. With its collapse, Suzhou and Zhejiang were laid waste. When word reached the throne, the court honored He Chun's earlier achievements: though fortune had repeatedly turned against him, he had fought to the death. His former rank was restored, standard mourning honors were granted, and he was given the combined hereditary rank of second-class baron together with Commandant of Cavalry and Commandant of the Cloud Chariots. He received the posthumous name Zhongzhuang and was enshrined at the Jiangning Zhao Zhong Shrine. His son Huoshunwu, an expectant colonel, inherited the title.
19
張國樑，字殿臣，廣東高要人，初名嘉祥。 少材武任俠，為裡豪所辱，毀其家，走山澤為盜，不妄殺。 流入越南，後歸鎮南關。 按察使勞崇光聞其名，招降，剿匪多得其力。 咸豐元年，破劇賊顏品瑤，斬於陣，盡殲其黨。 積功擢守備，繼隸向榮軍。 二年，從解桂林圍，復全州、永興，擢都司。 赴援湖南，迭破賊於醴陵、益陽、湘陰。 援武昌，戰於洪山，皆為軍鋒。
Zhang Guoliang, courtesy name Dianchen, was a native of Gaoyao in Guangdong. His original name was Jiaxiang. As a youth he was skilled in arms and lived by a code of honor. Local bullies humiliated him and ruined his family, so he fled to the hills and became an outlaw, but he did not kill indiscriminately. He drifted into Vietnam and later returned to Zhennan Pass. Surveillance Commissioner Lao Chongguang heard of him, induced him to surrender, and relied on him heavily in suppressing banditry. In the first year of Xianfeng he defeated the major bandit Yan Pinyao, killed him in battle, and wiped out his entire band. By accumulated merit he was promoted to garrison commander and later joined Xiang Rong's army. In the second year he took part in raising the siege of Guilin, recovered Quanzhou and Yongxing, and was promoted to battalion commander. He went to reinforce Hunan and won repeated victories over the rebels at Liling, Yiyang, and Xiangyin. He went to relieve Wuchang and fought at Hongshan, leading the assault in every engagement.
20
三年，至江寧，逼城而軍。 國樑屯七橋甕，攻鍾山賊壘，先登受傷，溫旨垂問，益感奮，遇艱險，一往直前。 擢湖南永州營游擊。 雨花台為近城要地，屢力攻，幾克之，賜號霍羅琦巴圖魯。 四年夏，复太平。 太平在江寧上游，賊踞之以通糧運。 府城三面阻水，惟東路通陸。 賊聚千艘結四壘，設防甚密。 國樑分三隊進，設伏縱火，自率精銳四百人突賊營，一戰克之，時稱奇捷。 擢廣西三江協副將。 又攻雨花台，平賊壘，毀砲台。 剿南路竄賊，追入秣陵關，殲戮殆盡。 五年，擢福建漳州鎮總兵。 大軍急攻鎮江、瓜洲，江寧賊時出窺伺，江北賊亦乘隙進圖牽制。 國樑隨方截擊，奔命不遑。 六年，賊聚倉頭、炭渚、下蜀街，以斷鎮江、江寧之師。 國樑總統諸軍合擊，旬日之間，殺賊萬餘，賊不得逞，乃渡江犯瓜洲，江北諸軍皆潰，又陷江浦、浦口。 國樑馳援，連破賊於毛許墩、葛塘，复江浦、浦口。 特詔嘉獎，加提督銜。 未幾，巡撫吉爾杭阿戰歿，鎮江告急，溧水被陷，國樑回軍克之，而賊數路趨江寧，夾攻大營。 向榮不能禦，急調國樑回援，血戰累日，左足被槍傷，偕榮退保丹陽。 時大江南北諸軍，賊所尤畏者，惟國樑一人。 賊勢忽南忽北，多方肄我，皆牽制國樑之計，果為所敗。
In the third year he reached Jiangning and encamped close under the city walls. Guoliang encamped at Qiqiao'ao and attacked the rebel stockades on Bell Mountain. He was first over the wall and was wounded. The throne sent a gracious inquiry after him, and he fought all the harder, pressing forward through every danger. He was promoted to colonel of the Yongzhou battalion in Hunan. Yuhuatai was a key position near the city walls. He attacked it repeatedly with all his strength and nearly took it. He was granted the title Huoluoqi Baturu. In the summer of the fourth year he recovered Taiping. Taiping lay upriver from Jiangning, and the rebels held it to keep their supply lines open. The prefectural city was bounded by water on three sides, with only the eastern approach open by land. The rebels massed a thousand boats and built four stockades with formidable defenses. Guoliang advanced in three columns, set ambushes and fires, and personally led four hundred elite troops in a charge on the rebel camp. He took it in a single battle, which contemporaries hailed as a marvel of swift victory. He was promoted to deputy commander of the Sanjiang Brigade in Guangxi. He attacked Yuhuatai again, leveled the rebel stockades, and destroyed the batteries. He pursued marauding rebels on the southern front into Muling Pass and killed nearly all of them. In the fifth year he was promoted to commander of the Zhangzhou garrison in Fujian. While the main army pressed the attack on Zhenjiang and Guazhou, rebels at Jiangning kept probing for openings, and forces north of the river seized every chance to tie down government troops. Guoliang intercepted them wherever they appeared, rushing from one emergency to the next without rest. In the sixth year the rebels concentrated at Cangtou, Tanzhu, and Xiashu Street to cut off the armies at Zhenjiang and Jiangning. As overall commander, Guoliang led a joint assault that killed more than ten thousand rebels in ten days. When the rebels could not hold their ground, they crossed the river against Guazhou. Government forces on the north bank collapsed, and Jiangpu and Pukou fell. Guoliang hurried to the relief, won successive victories at Maoxudun and Getang, and recovered Jiangpu and Pukou. A special edict commended him and granted him the rank of Grand Coordinator. Before long Governor Ji'erhang'a was killed in battle, Zhenjiang sent urgent appeals for help, and Lishui fell. Guoliang turned back and recovered Lishui, but rebel columns converged on Jiangning and attacked the main camp from several directions. Xiang Rong could not hold the line and urgently recalled Guoliang. They fought bloody battles for days until Guoliang was shot in the left foot. Together with Rong he withdrew to Danyang. Among all the armies north and south of the Yangtze, the rebels feared no one more than Zhang Guoliang. The rebels shifted their forces suddenly between north and south, harassing government troops on many fronts. It was all designed to tie down Zhang Guoliang, and the strategy worked.
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榮既病，軍事一倚之。 將軍福興與國樑不協，詔福興移軍江西，以國樑幫辦江南軍務。 賊屢至，皆挫之。 榮卒於軍，命和春代將，未至，國樑激勵將士，解金壇圍，復東壩、高淳，進攻句容。 七年，擢湖南提督。 克句容，賜黃馬褂。 督諸軍規复鎮江。 高資為鎮江、江寧要衝，兩路悍賊麕聚力爭，連營二十餘裡，國樑大破之，斬偽安王洪仁等，又連破之於龍潭，援賊盡殲。 鎮江糧盡援絕，遂克其城，城陷賊已歷五年。 捷聞，文宗大悅，詔嘉國樑謀勇超群，予騎都尉世職。 於是偕和春進規江寧。
When Rong fell ill, military affairs depended entirely on Guoliang. General Fuxing could not work with Guoliang. Fuxing was ordered to move his army to Jiangxi, and Guoliang was assigned to assist in military affairs in Jiangnan. The rebels attacked repeatedly, and each time he drove them back. When Rong died in camp, He Chun was ordered to take command. Before He Chun arrived, Guoliang rallied his troops, raised the siege of Jintan, recovered Dongba and Gaochun, and advanced on Jurong. In the seventh year he was appointed Grand Coordinator of Hunan. He captured Jurong and was awarded the yellow jacket. He directed the armies in the campaign to recover Zhenjiang. Gaozi was the strategic junction between Zhenjiang and Jiangning. Fierce rebel forces from both directions massed there and built camps stretching more than twenty li. Guoliang routed them, killed the rebel Prince of An Hong Ren and others, won further victories at Longtan, and wiped out the relief force. With Zhenjiang's supplies exhausted and relief cut off, he finally took the city, which had been in rebel hands for five years. When word of the victory reached the throne, Emperor Wenzong was delighted. An edict praised Guoliang's exceptional courage and strategy and granted him the hereditary rank of Commandant of Cavalry. He then joined He Chun in the campaign against Jiangning.
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八年，克秣陵關，賜雙眼花翎。 复薄江寧城下，自春徂夏，迭戰破賊。 築長圍，至秋乃成。 皖賊大舉來援，江浦、浦口、儀徵、揚州、六合先後陷。 國樑渡江援剿，复揚州、儀徵。 調江南提督，晉三等輕車都尉。 然賊仍踵故智，國梁兵至則走，去則復來。 九年，提督週天培戰死江浦，國樑坐褫世職。
In the eighth year he captured Muling Pass and was awarded double-eyed peacock feathers. He again pressed close to the walls of Jiangning and, from spring through summer, won a series of victories over the rebels. He built a long encirclement that was not complete until autumn. Rebel forces from Anhui came in strength to relieve the city. Jiangpu, Pukou, Yizheng, Yangzhou, and Liuhe fell one after another. Guoliang crossed the river to reinforce the northern front and recovered Yangzhou and Yizheng. He was appointed Grand Coordinator of Jiangnan and promoted to Third-class Commandant of Light Chariots. Yet the rebels still used their old tactic: when Guoliang's troops arrived they fled, and when he left they returned. In the ninth year Grand Coordinator Zhou Tianpei was killed at Jiangpu, and Guoliang was stripped of his hereditary rank for the failure.
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十年，合水陸諸軍克九洑洲，沿江賊爭投款，約期攻上下兩關，招撫五千餘人。 軍中方謂堅城旦夕可下，而浙江告警，兵分益單，饋運不繼。 和春用翼長王濬策，兵餉三分留一，約待克城後補給，士卒皆怨，國樑力諫不聽。 閏三月，賊猝大至，四路受敵，大營不守，偕和春退丹陽。 國樑以馮子材在鎮江未敗，進謀扼守。 尋率師援丹陽，遇賊城外，兵忽潰，策馬渡河，沒於水。 事聞，文宗震悼，猶冀其不死，命軍中偵訪，不得。 逾數月，乃下詔優恤，追贈太子太保，祀昭忠祠，諡忠武，予騎都尉兼一云騎尉世職。
In the tenth year he combined land and naval forces to capture Jiufuzhou. Rebels along the river rushed to surrender, a date was set to attack the upper and lower passes, and more than five thousand were brought over peacefully. The army believed the walled city would fall at any moment, but then Zhejiang came under attack. Forces were spread thinner, and supplies could not keep up. He Chun adopted Wing Commander Wang Jun's plan to withhold two-thirds of pay and provisions until the city fell. The troops were furious. Guoliang protested strongly, but was not listened to. In the intercalary third month the rebels struck suddenly in force. Attacked from four directions, the main camp collapsed, and Guoliang withdrew to Danyang with He Chun. Because Feng Zicai still held firm at Zhenjiang, Guoliang advanced to plan a blocking defense. He soon led troops to relieve Danyang, encountered rebels outside the walls, and his army suddenly broke. He spurred his horse into the river and was drowned. When word reached the throne, Emperor Wenzong was deeply grieved. He still hoped Guoliang had survived and ordered a search of the army, but no trace could be found. Months later the court issued generous mourning honors, posthumously made him Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, enshrined him in the Zhao Zhong Shrine, gave him the posthumous name Zhongwu, and granted the combined hereditary ranks of Commandant of Cavalry and Commandant of the Cloud Chariots.
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國樑驍勇無敵，江南恃為長城。 其歿也，數郡遂淪陷。 士民哀思，私立廟祀。 傳述戰績，與古名將同稱，往往附會過實，然益見威烈入人之深。 同治三年，江寧克復，偽忠王李秀成就擒，言賊中咸重國樑，禮葬於丹陽尹公橋塔下，乃得遺骸焉。 詔加給三等輕車都尉，合前世職並為一等男爵。 祀江寧忠義祠，復與向榮合建專祠。 子廕清，襲男爵。
Guoliang was unrivaled in courage and skill, and Jiangnan relied on him as its bulwark. When he died, several prefectures soon fell in turn. Local gentry and townspeople mourned him and built private shrines in his honor. Stories of his battles were told alongside those of the great generals of old, often exaggerated beyond what the facts support, yet this only shows how deeply his martial renown had entered the popular imagination. In the third year of Tongzhi, when Jiangning was recovered, the captured rebel Prince of Loyalty Li Xiucheng said that the rebels had all respected Guoliang and buried him with honor beneath the pagoda at Yingong Bridge in Danyang. Only then were his remains recovered. The court added the rank of Third-class Commandant of Light Chariots, combining it with his earlier honors into the hereditary title of first-class baron. He was enshrined in the Jiangning Shrine of Loyalty and Righteousness, and a joint special shrine was built with Xiang Rong. His son Yinqing inherited the barony.
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論曰：粵匪初起，向榮與諸帥不和，致無成功，援桂林、長沙，為時所稱，故文宗終用之。 其規江南也，近未破鎮江、瓜洲犄角之勢，遠未清長江上游，無以製賊死命，數年支拄，暫保吳疆，固昧遠猷，亦限兵力。 和春繼克鎮江，又以援浙分兵，垂成之敗，禍更烈焉。 張國樑一時健者，使盡其用，功不止此。 善夫胡林翼之言曰：「未扼賊吭，江寧原難遽复。」 觀湘軍之所以成功，與向榮、和春等之所以蹉跌，兵事固無幸焉者矣。
The commentator writes: When the Cantonese rebellion first broke out, Xiang Rong's failure to cooperate with other commanders cost him success. His relief of Guilin and Changsha won contemporary praise, which is why Emperor Wenzong continued to employ him. In his planning for Jiangnan, he had not broken the mutually supporting rebel positions at Zhenjiang and Guazhou nearby, nor cleared the upper Yangtze in the distance. He had no way to strike at the rebels' vital center. For years he merely propped up the situation and temporarily preserved the Wu region. This was shortsighted strategy, but also a limit of available force. He Chun captured Zhenjiang in turn, but then divided his forces to reinforce Zhejiang. A defeat on the verge of victory brought catastrophe all the greater. Zhang Guoliang was the strongest commander of his day. Had his abilities been fully used, his achievements would have been far greater. How apt was Hu Linyi's remark: 'Without throttling the rebels' throat, Jiangning was never going to be recovered quickly.' Considering why the Hunan army succeeded while Xiang Rong, He Chun, and others failed, it is clear that in war there is no room for luck.