1
勝保，字克齋，蘇完瓜爾佳氏，滿洲鑲白旗人。 道光二十年舉人，考授順天府教授。 遷贊善，大考二等，擢侍講，累遷祭酒。 屢上疏言事，甚著風采。 歷光祿寺卿、內閣學士。
Sheng Bao, styled Kezhai, belonged to the Suwan Guwalgiya clan of the Manchu Bordered White Banner. In the twentieth year of Daoguang (1840) he earned his juren degree and, on examination, was appointed professor of Shuntian Prefecture. He was moved to the post of palace tutor, placed in the second class in the triennial evaluation, promoted to reader-in-waiting, and eventually rose to grand master of the Imperial Academy. He memorialized the throne repeatedly on public affairs and won wide notice for his bold, outspoken manner. He held the posts of minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments and grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat in turn.
2
咸豐二年，因天變上疏論時政，言甚切直，略謂：「廣西賊勢猖獗，廣東、湖南皆可憂。 賽尚阿督師無功，請明賞罰以振紀綱。 河決不治河員之罪，刑輕盜風日熾，應明敕法以肅典常。 臣工奏摺多留中，恐滋流弊。 一切事務，硃批多而諭旨少。 市井細民，時或私論聖德。」 疏入，下樞臣傳問疏末兩端，令直言無隱。 覆奏曰：「硃批因事垂訓，臣工奉到遵行，他人不與聞，非若諭旨頒示天下。 近日諸臣條奏雖依議，而原奏之人不知； 交部重案，覆奏依議，外人並不知作何發落。 古者象魏懸書，俾眾屬目。 似宜通行宣示，以昭朝廷之令甲，而杜胥吏之蔽欺。 至愚賤私議，或謂皇上勵精之心不如初政，或謂勤儉之德不及先皇。 今遊觀之所，煥然一新。 釋服之後，必將有適性陶情之事，現在內府已有採辦犁園服飾以備進御者。 夫鼓樂田獵，何損聖德。 然自古帝王必先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂。 書曰：'無於水監，當於民監。 '誠不可不察也。」 文宗不懌，明諭指駁，以其意存諷諫，不之罪也。 尋因自行撤回封奏，降四品京堂。
In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), citing a celestial omen, he submitted a blunt memorial on current affairs. In essence he wrote: 'The rebels in Guangxi are raging out of control, and both Guangdong and Hunan are deeply worrisome. Saišangga has achieved nothing as commander-in-chief; rewards and punishments should be made explicit to restore discipline. When dikes burst, the river officials go unpunished; because punishments are too light, banditry grows fiercer by the day. The law ought to be enforced clearly to uphold proper standards. Too many officials' memorials are held at court without reply, a practice that may breed lasting abuses. On all affairs there are many vermilion endorsements but few formal imperial edicts. Even common townspeople sometimes whisper privately about the emperor's virtue.' When the memorial arrived, the grand councillors were instructed to question him about the two points raised at the end and to speak frankly without holding anything back. In reply he wrote: 'Vermilion endorsements instruct on particular matters; officials receive them and obey, but others never hear of them, unlike edicts that are promulgated throughout the realm. Recently, although officials' memorials were decided according to deliberation, the original memorialists were not told the outcome; and in major cases referred to the ministries, when the reply came back with approval of the deliberation, outsiders still had no idea what disposition had been made. In antiquity edicts were posted on the public tower so that all could see them. It would seem better to promulgate them broadly, to make the court's commands clear and to stop clerks and subordinates from concealing and deceiving. As for the private talk of common people, some say the emperor's resolve to govern diligently is not what it was at the start of his reign, or that his diligence and frugality do not match those of the late emperor. Now the imperial pleasure grounds have been made wholly new. After the mourning period ends, there will surely be pastimes for pleasure and diversion; already the palace workshops are procuring opera costumes in readiness for the emperor's use. Music, drums, and hunting—what harm could they do to sagely virtue? Yet from antiquity emperors have first shared the realm's worries and only afterward shared its joys. The Book of Documents says: 'Do not take water as your mirror; take the people as your mirror. This truly cannot but be heeded.' Emperor Wenzong was displeased and issued an explicit edict rebutting him, but because his intent was admonitory he was not punished. Soon afterward, because he had on his own withdrawn a sealed memorial, he was demoted to a fourth-rank capital official.
3
會粵匪犯武昌，勝保疏陳辦賊方略，命馳往河南，交欽差大臣琦善差遣。 三年春，偕提督陳金綬率兵援湖北、安徽，而江寧告急。 至則城已陷，駐兵江浦。 勝保疏陳軍事稱旨，命以內閣學士會辦軍務，克浦口而賊陷揚州，偕陳金綬進剿。 擊賊鎮海寺南，破之，薄揚州城下，賜花翎。 又連破賊於天寧、廣儲門外。
When the Taiping rebels attacked Wuchang, Sheng Bao submitted a memorial outlining strategy against them. He was ordered to hurry to Henan and placed under the imperial commissioner Qishan. In the spring of the third year (1853) he joined provincial commander Chen Jinshou in leading troops to aid Hubei and Anhui, but Jiangning sent urgent appeals for help. When he arrived the city had already fallen, and he encamped his troops at Jiangpu. Sheng Bao's memorial on military affairs pleased the throne; he was ordered, as grand secretary, to assist in military affairs. He captured Pukou, but the rebels then took Yangzhou, and he joined Chen Jinshou in advancing to suppress them. He attacked the rebels south of Zhenhai Temple, routed them, and pressed close beneath Yangzhou city, for which he was granted the peacock feather. He again defeated the rebels in succession outside Tianning and Guangchu Gates.
4
奉命赴安徽勦賊，而賊已入河南，渡河圍懷慶。 勝保會諸軍進擊，將軍托明阿軍其東，勝保軍其南。 時督師大學士訥爾經額遙駐臨洺關，援軍數路久頓城下，惟二軍戰較力，命勝保幫辦河北軍務。 七月，分三路進攻賊壘，大破之，懷慶圍解，加都統銜，賜黃馬褂，予霍鑾巴圖魯名號。 賊竄山西，連陷數縣，諸軍遷延，惟勝保率善祿、西凌阿兵四千尾追，一破之封門山口，再破之平陽，繞出賊前，扼韓侯嶺，尋复洪洞、平陽。 劾逗留諸將托雲保、董占元、烏勒欣泰等，罪之； 詔嘉勝保果勇有為，授欽差大臣，代訥爾經額督師，節制各路，特賜康熙朝安親王所進神雀刀，凡貽誤軍情者，副將以下立斬以聞。
Ordered to go to Anhui to exterminate the rebels, he found they had already entered Henan, crossed the Yellow River, and besieged Huaqing. Sheng Bao joined the various armies in advancing to attack; General Tuo Ming'a encamped on the east and Sheng Bao on the south. At the time the commanding grand secretary Ne'erjing'e remained far off at Linming Pass; relief forces on several routes had long stalled beneath the city walls, and only these two armies fought with real vigor. Sheng Bao was ordered to assist in Hebei military affairs. In the seventh month he divided his forces into three routes, stormed the rebel stockades, and won a great victory, lifting the siege of Huaqing. He was given the rank of lieutenant general, granted the yellow riding jacket, and awarded the title of Holian Batūru. The rebels fled into Shanxi and in succession took several counties; the various armies delayed, but Sheng Bao alone led four thousand troops under Shanlu and Xiling'a in pursuit. He defeated them once at Fengmen Pass and again at Pingyang, swung ahead of the rebels, and held Hanhou Ridge; soon afterward he recovered Hongdong and Pingyang. He impeached the delaying generals Tuoyunbao, Dong Zhanyuan, Wulexintai, and others and had them punished; An edict praised Sheng Bao as resolute, brave, and capable; he was appointed imperial commissioner in place of Ne'erjing'e as commander-in-chief with authority over all routes. He was specially granted the divine sparrow blade presented by Prince An in the Kangxi reign, and anyone who caused military failure below the rank of brigade commander was to be immediately beheaded and reported.
5
賊既不得北竄，轉而南，由澤、潞間道入直隸境。 訥爾經額師潰於臨洺關，賊复猖獗，竄順德、趙州、正定。 勝保由井陘一路迎截，坐追賊不力，鐫二級。 命惠親王綿愉為大將軍，科爾沁郡王僧格林沁為參贊大臣，駐軍涿州，直隸軍務仍責勝保專任，而以西凌阿、善祿副之。 賊東竄，由深州、河間窺天津，勝保轉戰追賊至靜海。 賊由獨流分踞楊柳青，迭擊之，遂聚於靜海、獨流，負嵎久踞。 詔僧格林沁進軍合剿。 四年春，賊突圍走阜城，追擊，殲賊數千，陣斃悍酋吉文元。 而援賊由江北偷渡黃河擾山東，命勝保移兵往剿，臨清失守，坐褫職，戴罪自效。 尋破賊，克臨清，餘賊南走，追擊迭破之，解散甚眾。 及竄入豐縣，僅千餘人，蹙之河岸，悉數殲除。 捷聞，復職，加太子少保。 僧格林沁圍林鳳祥、李開芳於連鎮，久未下，命勝保回軍會剿。 開芳突出，分股竄山東，勝保親率輕騎追之，賊陷高唐踞守，圍之數月不能克。 迭詔詰責，褫職逮京治罪，遣戍新疆。 直隸、山東賊既平，予藍翎侍衛，充伊犁領隊大臣。
Unable to flee north, the rebels turned south and entered Zhili by the bypaths between Ze and Lu. Ne'erjing'e's army collapsed at Linming Pass; the rebels again grew rampant and fled through Shunde, Zhaozhou, and Zhengding. Sheng Bao intercepted them by the Jingxing route and, on the charge of pursuing the rebels without vigor, was stripped of two ranks. Prince Hui Mianyu was appointed grand general and the Khorchin prince Sengge Rinchen assistant commander; they encamped at Zhuozhou. Zhili military affairs were still entrusted solely to Sheng Bao, with Xiling'a and Shanlu as his deputies. The rebels fled east, threatening Tianjin through Shenzhou and Hejian; Sheng Bao fought in turn and pursued them to Jinghai. The rebels split from Duliui to occupy Yangliuqing; after repeated attacks they gathered at Jinghai and Duliui and, relying on difficult terrain, held out for a long time. An edict ordered Sengge Rinchen to advance and join in the joint suppression. In the spring of the fourth year (1854) the rebels broke out and fled to Fucheng; in pursuit several thousand rebels were destroyed and the fierce chieftain Ji Wenyuan was killed in battle. Meanwhile relief rebels from north of the Yangzi secretly crossed the Yellow River and harassed Shandong; Sheng Bao was ordered to move his troops to suppress them. When Linqing fell he was stripped of office on that charge and ordered to redeem himself through service. Soon afterward he defeated the rebels, recovered Linqing, and as the remaining rebels fled south he pursued and repeatedly defeated them, dispersing a great many. When they fled into Feng County with only a little over a thousand men, he pressed them to the riverbank and destroyed them all. When victory was reported he was restored to office and given the title Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent. Sengge Rinchen besieged Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang at Lianzhen but for a long time could not take it; Sheng Bao was ordered to return and join in the joint suppression. Kaifang broke out, split into detachments, and fled into Shandong; Sheng Bao personally led light cavalry in pursuit. The rebels took Gaotang and held it; he besieged it for several months without being able to capture it. Repeated edicts rebuked and censured him; he was stripped of office, arrested and sent to the capital for punishment, and banished to Xinjiang. After the rebels in Zhili and Shandong were pacified, he was given the post of blue-feather bodyguard and appointed brigade commander at Ili.
6
六年，召還，發往安徽軍營差遣。 七年，予副都統銜，幫辦河南軍務。 捻匪方熾，勝保至，連破之方家集、烏龍集、柳溝集，克三河尖老巢。 又克河關，复霍丘，大捷於正陽關，斬捻首魏藍奇等，加頭品頂戴。 八年，平酆家集、喬家廟、趙屯諸捻巢。 粵匪大股圍固始，擊破之，殲賊萬餘，斬偽顯天侯卜占魁等，固始圍解。 詔嘉謀勇兼優，遇都統缺出題奏，复黃馬褂、巴圖魯，免其弟廉保遣戍罪。 粵匪陳玉成、李侍賢合陷廬州、鳳陽，授勝保鑲黃旗蒙古都統，命為欽差大臣，督辦安徽軍務，連破賊於定遠池河、高橋。 督軍抵三河，賊遁走。 捻首李兆受久踞江、淮間，與粵匪勾結。 及見粵匪屢挫，漸持兩端。 勝保親至清流關密招之，許歸誠後免罪授官。 兆受以其部下家屬在江寧，請緩發。 至是進攻天長，兆受內應，克之，遂獻滁州，奏授參將職，改名世忠，安置降★，自為一軍。 九年，克六安，捻首張元龍以鳳陽降，复臨淮關。 進克霍山、盱眙，破賊清水鎮，斬其酋吳加孝，遂克懷遠，而廬州、定遠久未下，賊仍蔓延。 丁母憂，奪情留軍。
In the sixth year (1856) he was recalled and sent to the Anhui army camp for assignment. In the seventh year (1857) he was given the rank of vice commander and ordered to assist in Henan military affairs. The Nian bandits were then at their height; when Sheng Bao arrived he repeatedly defeated them at Fangjiaji, Wulongji, and Liugouji and captured their old stronghold at Sanhejian. He again captured Heguan, recovered Huoqiu, and won a great victory at Zhengyang Pass, beheading the Nian chieftain Wei Lanqi and others; he was given the first-class official's button. In the eighth year (1858) he pacified the Nian nests at Fengjiaji, Qiaojiamiao, and Zhaotun. A large Taiping force besieged Gushi; he attacked and defeated them, destroying more than ten thousand rebels and beheading the false Manifest Heaven Marquis Bu Zhan'kui and others, lifting the siege of Gushi. An edict praised his combined excellence in planning and courage, ordered that when a lieutenant general's vacancy arose he be recommended, restored his yellow riding jacket and Batūru title, and remitted the banishment sentence of his younger brother Lianbao. The Taiping generals Chen Yucheng and Li Shixian together took Luzhou and Fengyang; Sheng Bao was appointed lieutenant general of the Mongol Bordered Yellow Banner, made imperial commissioner, and put in charge of Anhui military affairs; he repeatedly defeated the rebels at Dingyuan Chihe and Gaoqiao. He led the army to Sanhe and the rebels fled. The Nian chieftain Li Zhaoshou had long held the region between the Yangzi and the Huai and was in collusion with the Taiping rebels. When he saw the Taiping rebels repeatedly defeated, he gradually began to waver between the two sides. Sheng Bao personally went to Qingliuguan to recruit him in secret, promising that after surrender his crimes would be remitted and he would be given office. Zhaoshou, because the families of his subordinates were in Jiangning, asked that the surrender be delayed. At this point he advanced to attack Tianchang; Zhaoshou responded from within and the city was taken. He then offered up Chuzhou; a memorial was submitted appointing him regimental commander, changing his name to Shizhong, settling the surrendered troops, and forming them into a separate army. In the ninth year (1859) he captured Lu'an; the Nian chieftain Zhang Yuanlong surrendered Fengyang, and Linhuai Pass was recovered. He advanced to capture Huoshan and Xuyi, defeated the rebels at Qingshui Town and beheaded their chieftain Wu Jiaxiao, then captured Huaiyuan; but Luzhou and Dingyuan long remained untaken and the rebels still spread. When his mother died he was in mourning, but his leave was suspended and he remained with the army.
7
十年，罷欽差大臣，命赴河南剿匪。 御史林之望論劾，降授鑲藍旗漢軍副都統。 复坐剿匪不力，降授光祿寺卿，召回京。 甫至，會英法聯軍內犯，命率八旗禁軍駐定福莊，偕僧格林沁、瑞麟進戰通州八里橋，敗績，勝保受傷，退保京師。 停戰議和，勝保收集各路潰軍及勤王師續至者共萬餘人。 疏陳京兵亟應訓練，擬議章程以進。 命兼管圓明園八旗、內務府包衣三旗，親督操練，是為改練京兵之始。
In the tenth year (1860) he was removed as imperial commissioner and ordered to go to Henan to suppress bandits. The censor Lin Zhiwang memorialized in impeachment; he was demoted and appointed vice commander of the Han Chinese Bordered Blue Banner. Again, on the charge of suppressing bandits without vigor, he was demoted to minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments and recalled to the capital. Hardly had he arrived when the Anglo-French allied armies invaded inland; he was ordered to lead the Eight Banner palace guard to encamp at Dingfuzhuang and, together with Sengge Rinchen and Ruilin, advance to fight at Baliqiao in Tongzhou. They were defeated; Sheng Bao was wounded and withdrew to defend the capital. When fighting ceased and peace was negotiated, Sheng Bao gathered routed troops from various routes and relief armies that continued to arrive, totaling more than ten thousand men. He submitted a memorial stating that the capital troops urgently needed training and drafted regulations for presentation. He was ordered to take charge concurrently of the Eight Banners of the Old Summer Palace and the three domestic-service banners of the Imperial Household Department, personally supervising drill—this was the beginning of reorganizing and training the capital troops.
8
十一年，擢兵部侍郎，捻匪擾山東，詔分所部五千人畀僧格林沁往剿。 尋命勝保赴直、東交界治防，連克丘縣、館陶、冠縣、莘縣，破賊老巢。 招降捻首宋景詩，率眾隨軍。 复朝城、觀城，命督辦河南、安徽剿匪事宜。 河北肅清，予優敘。
In the eleventh year (1861) he was promoted to vice minister of the Board of War; when Nian bandits harassed Shandong, an edict divided five thousand of his troops and gave them to Sengge Rinchen to go suppress them. Soon afterward Sheng Bao was ordered to go to the border between Zhili and Shandong to manage defense; he in succession captured Qiu County, Guantao, Guan County, and Shen County and destroyed the bandits' old stronghold. He recruited the surrender of the Nian chieftain Song Jingshi, who led his followers with the army. He recovered Chaocheng and Guancheng and was ordered to supervise the suppression of bandits in Henan and Anhui. When Hebei was pacified he was given special commendation.
9
是年七月，文宗崩於行在，穆宗嗣位，肅順、載垣、端華等輔政專擅。 勝保昌言將入清君側，肅順等頗忌憚之。 洎回鑾，上疏曰：「政柄操之自上，非臣下所得專。 皇上沖齡嗣位，輔政得人，方足以資治理。 怡親王載垣、鄭親王端華等非不宣力有年，赫赫師尹，民具爾瞻； 今竟攬君國大權，以臣僕而代綸音，挾至尊而令天下，實無以副寄託之望，而饜四海之心。 該王等以承寫硃諭為辭，居之不疑。 不知皇上纘承大統，天與人歸，原不以硃諭之有無為重。 至贊襄政務，當以親親尊賢為斷，不當專以承寫為憑。 先皇帝彌留之際，近支親王多不在側。 仰窺顧命苦衷，所以未留親筆硃諭者，未必非以輔政之難得其人，待皇上自擇而任之，以成未竟之志也。 嗣聖既未親政，皇太后又不臨朝，是政柄盡付之該王等數人。 其託諸掣籤簡放，鈐用符信圖章，以此取信於人，無如人皆不信，民碞可畏，天下難欺。 近如御史董元醇條陳，極有關係，應準應駁，惟當斷自聖裁，廣集廷議，以定行止。 乃徑行擬旨駁斥，已開矯竊之端，大失臣民之望。 道路之人皆曰：'此非吾君之言也，非母后聖母之意也。 '一切發號施令，真偽難分。 眾情洶洶，咸懷不服。 夫天下者，宣宗成皇帝之天下，傳之文宗顯皇帝以付之我皇上者也。 昔我文皇后雖無垂簾之明文，而有聽政之實用。 為今之計，非皇太后親理萬幾，召對群臣，無以通下情而正國體； 非特簡近支親王佐理庶政，盡心匡弼，無以振紀綱而順人心。 惟有籥懇皇上俯察芻蕘，即奉皇太后權宜聽政，而於近支親王擇賢而任，仍秉命而行，以成郅治。」 奏上，會大學士周祖培等亦以為言，下廷議，從之。 肅順等並伏法。 尋授鑲黃旗滿洲都統兼正藍旗護軍統領。
In the seventh month of that year Emperor Wenzong died at the traveling palace; Emperor Muzong succeeded to the throne, and Sušun, Zaiyuan, Duanhua, and others monopolized power as regents. Sheng Bao openly declared that he would enter the capital to purge the emperor's side, and Sušun and the others were much wary of him. When the court returned to the capital he submitted a memorial stating: 'Political power is wielded from above; it is not for subordinates to monopolize. The emperor succeeded at a tender age; only if the regents are well chosen can they truly assist in governance. Prince Yi Zaiyuan and Prince Zheng Duanhua and others have not failed to exert themselves for years; they are eminent ministers on whom the people look; yet now they have seized the great power of state, substituting imperial edicts as mere servants, commanding the realm by holding the sovereign in their grasp—this truly cannot fulfill the hopes placed in them or satisfy the hearts of all under heaven. These princes take the copying of vermilion edicts as their justification and occupy their posts without doubt. They do not know that the emperor succeeded to the great succession with the mandate of heaven and the assent of men; originally the presence or absence of vermilion edicts was not what mattered. As for assisting in government affairs, one should decide by honoring kin and respecting the worthy, not rely solely on the copying of edicts. At the late emperor's final illness, many close imperial princes were not at his side. Looking up to discern the anguish of the deathbed command, the reason no personally written vermilion edict was left may well have been that suitable regents were hard to find, and he wished to wait for the emperor to choose and appoint them himself, to fulfill his uncompleted will. The succeeding sovereign had not yet personally ruled, and the empress dowager did not hold court; thus political power was entirely entrusted to these few princes. They rely on drawing lots for appointments and applying seals and official stamps to win people's trust, but people do not believe them; popular opinion is to be feared, and all under heaven cannot be deceived. Recently, as with the censor Dong Yuanchun's memorial, the matter was of great importance; whether to approve or reject it should be decided solely by the sacred judgment, with broad consultation in court deliberation to determine the course of action. Yet they directly drafted an edict to reject it, already opening the way to usurpation, and greatly disappointing officials and people. People on the road all say: 'These are not our sovereign's words, nor the empress dowager's intent. In every order issued, it is hard to tell what is genuine and what is not. Public sentiment ran high, and everyone felt aggrieved. The realm belongs to Emperor Xuanzong; it passed to Emperor Wenzong and was entrusted to our present sovereign. Formerly Empress Wen, though she never formally ruled from behind a curtain, in practice did hear and decide affairs of state. For the present, unless the empress dowager personally handles affairs of state and receives officials in audience, there is no way to convey the people's feelings below and restore proper governance; unless close imperial princes are specially chosen to assist in government and devote themselves to counsel, there is no way to restore discipline and win popular assent. I can only earnestly beg the emperor to consider this humble counsel: let the empress dowager provisionally hear government, choose worthy close imperial princes to assist, and have them still act by imperial command, so that perfect order may be achieved.' When the memorial was submitted, Grand Secretary Zhou Zupei and others spoke to the same effect; the court deliberated and adopted the proposal. Sušun and the others were all executed. Soon afterward he was appointed lieutenant general of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner and concurrently commander of the guard of the Plain Blue Banner.
10
時捻匪肆擾皖、豫間，以張洛行為最強。 苗沛霖自踞壽州，逼走巡撫翁同書後，佯稱就撫，陰與粵匪陳玉成勾結。 署巡撫賈臻被圍於潁州，久不解。 楚軍已克安慶，陳玉成退踞廬州。 朝廷本意安徽軍事屬之李續宜，用為巡撫。 沛霖舊隸勝保部下，心憚楚軍，揚言勝保來始薙發。 賈臻以聞，詔促勝保援潁州。 同治元年，遣軍先進，為賊所挫。 三月，勝保至，擊破賊壘，圍乃解，加兵部尚書銜。 多隆阿等克廬州，陳玉成遁走，沛霖誘擒之，獻於勝保軍。 詔於軍前誅玉成，赦沛霖罪，許立功後復官。 沛霖擁眾號十萬，所屬二百餘圩。 與張洛行勢敵相仇，自請剿之，心實叵測。 詔詢曾國籓、官文、李續宜、袁甲三等，皆主剿。 獨勝保一意主撫，上疏言事權不一，身為客軍，地方掣肘，請以安徽、河南兩巡撫幫辦軍務，允之。 迭詔訓飭，褒其才略，戒其驕愎。 卒不悛，力言沛霖無他，而為李續宜所疑，恐激變。 續宜奉旨進駐潁州，亦迄不至。
At the time Nian bandits rampaged between Anhui and Henan, and Zhang Luoxing was the strongest among them. Miao Peilin had seized Shouzhou on his own; after driving away Governor Weng Tongshu he feigned submission while secretly colluding with the Taiping general Chen Yucheng. Acting Governor Jia Zhen was besieged at Yingzhou, and the siege could not be lifted for a long time. The Hunan army had already captured Anqing, and Chen Yucheng withdrew to hold Luzhou. The court's original intent was to put Anhui military affairs under Li Xuyi, who was appointed governor. Peilin had formerly served under Sheng Bao; fearing the Hunan army, he declared that he would shave his head and submit only when Sheng Bao came. Jia Zhen reported this, and an edict ordered Sheng Bao to hurry to relieve Yingzhou. In the first year of Tongzhi (1862) he sent troops ahead, and they were defeated by the rebels. In the third month Sheng Bao arrived, stormed the rebel stockades, and lifted the siege; he was given the rank of minister of the Board of War. Duolong'a and others captured Luzhou; Chen Yucheng fled, and Peilin lured and captured him, then presented him to Sheng Bao's army. An edict ordered Yucheng executed before the army; Peilin's crimes were pardoned and he was permitted to recover office after meritorious service. Peilin commanded a force said to number one hundred thousand, with more than two hundred stockaded villages under his control. He was a match in strength for Zhang Luoxing and they were bitter enemies; he volunteered to suppress him, but his true intent was hard to fathom. The throne asked Zeng Guofan, Guanwen, Li Xuyi, Yuan Jiasan, and others; all advocated suppression. Sheng Bao alone insisted on pacification; he submitted a memorial saying authority was not unified, that as a guest army he was hamstrung by local officials, and requested that the governors of Anhui and Henan assist in military affairs; this was granted. Repeated edicts admonished him, praising his talent and strategy while warning against his arrogance and obstinacy. In the end he did not reform; he strongly maintained that Peilin had no ulterior motive, but Li Xuyi was suspicious and feared provoking a revolt. Xuyi received an order to advance and encamp at Yingzhou, but in the end never came.
11
會陝西回亂熾，多隆阿援軍阻隔不能遽達。 遂授勝保欽差大臣，督辦陝西軍務。 八月，轉戰至西安，解其圍。 降捻宋景詩中途率眾叛走。 東路同州、朝邑猶為回踞，詔責勝保專剿東路，命多隆阿進軍分任西路。 勝保力不能制賊，而忌多隆阿，擅調苗沛霖率兵赴陝，嚴詔斥阻，不聽。 命僧格林沁大軍監製，乃止。 於是中外交章劾勝保驕縱貪婬，冒餉納賄，擁兵縱寇，欺罔貽誤，下僧格林沁及山西巡撫英桂、西安副都統德興阿察實奏上，密詔多隆阿率師至陝，傳旨宣布勝保罪狀，褫職逮京，交刑部治罪，籍其家。
Meanwhile the Muslim rebellion in Shaanxi flared; Duolong'a's relief army was blocked and could not arrive quickly. Sheng Bao was then appointed imperial commissioner to supervise Shaanxi military affairs. In the eighth month he fought his way to Xi'an and lifted its siege. The surrendered Nian leader Song Jingshi midway led his followers in rebellion and fled. On the eastern route Tongzhou and Chaoyi were still held by Muslim rebels; an edict charged Sheng Bao to suppress the eastern route exclusively and ordered Duolong'a to advance and take responsibility for the western route. Sheng Bao lacked the strength to control the rebels yet was jealous of Duolong'a; on his own authority he ordered Miao Peilin to lead troops to Shaanxi. A stern edict rebuked and blocked this, but he would not obey. Sengge Rinchen's grand army was ordered to supervise, and only then did he stop. Thereupon officials at court and in the provinces alike memorialized impeaching Sheng Bao for arrogance, indulgence, greed, and lechery, false claims on pay and acceptance of bribes, holding troops while letting rebels go free, and deception that caused military failure. The matter was sent down to Sengge Rinchen, Shanxi Governor Yinggui, and Xi'an Vice Commander De Xing'a to investigate and report; a secret edict ordered Duolong'a to lead his army to Shaanxi, proclaim Sheng Bao's crimes, strip him of office, arrest him and send him to the capital, hand him over to the Board of Punishments for trial, and confiscate his property.
12
二年，王大臣會鞫，勝保僅自承攜妾隨營，呈訴參劾諸人誣告之罪。 詔斥其貪污欺罔，天下共知，苗沛霖已戕官踞城，宋景詩反覆背叛，皆其養筴貽患，不得謂無挾制朝廷之意； 念其戰功足錄，從寬賜自盡，並逮其從官論罪有差。 當其被逮也，降捻李世忠已擢至提督，請黜己官為之贖罪，不許。 御史吳台壽疏言勝保有克敵禦侮之功，無失地喪師之罪，請從末減。 台壽兄台朗在勝保軍中，詔斥黨附，褫台壽職。
In the second year princes and ministers jointly tried the case; Sheng Bao admitted only that he had brought a concubine with the camp and submitted a plea accusing his accusers of false testimony. An edict rebuked him: his corruption and deception were known to all; Miao Peilin had already killed officials and seized cities, and Song Jingshi had repeatedly betrayed—all were evils he had nurtured and bequeathed; it could not be said that he had no intent to coerce the court; Considering that his battle merits were sufficient to be recorded, he was granted the leniency of being allowed to commit suicide, and his attendant officials were arrested and punished according to their respective degrees of guilt. When he was arrested, the surrendered Nian leader Li Shizhong had already been promoted to provincial commander; he requested that his own office be removed to redeem Sheng Bao's guilt, but this was not permitted. The censor Wu Taishou submitted a memorial saying Sheng Bao had the merit of defeating enemies and repelling insult, and had no crime of losing territory or armies; he requested the lightest possible reduction of sentence. Taishou's elder brother Tailang was in Sheng Bao's army; an edict rebuked this as factional attachment and stripped Taishou of office.
13
托明阿，棟鄂氏，滿洲正紅旗人。 由侍衛擢護軍參領，出為山東兗州營游擊。 從巡撫武隆阿徵回疆，以功賜花翎。 累擢曹州鎮總兵，調四川松潘、重慶二鎮。 道光二十四年，擢四川提督，以病去職。 二十七年，起授烏魯木齊提督。 調陝西，擢綏遠城將軍，整飭戎政，勤於訓練。
Tuo Ming'a, of the Donggo clan, belonged to the Manchu Plain Red Banner. From bodyguard he was promoted to company commander of the guard and went out to serve as battalion commander of the Yanzhou garrison in Shandong. He followed Governor Wulong'a in campaigning in the Western Regions and, for merit, was granted the peacock feather. He was repeatedly promoted to regional commander of Caozhou and transferred to the two commands of Songpan and Chongqing in Sichuan. In the twenty-fourth year of Daoguang (1844) he was promoted to provincial commander of Sichuan and left office due to illness. In the twenty-seventh year (1847) he was recalled and appointed provincial commander of Urumqi. He was transferred to Shaanxi, promoted to general of Garrisoned Troops at Suiyuan, put military administration in order, and was diligent in training.
14
咸豐三年，粵匪林鳳祥等陷揚州，逼淮、徐，命率所部赴江南、山東交界防堵，進屯清江浦。 賊竄滁州，托明阿赴援，與週天爵會剿。 遂追賊至河南，迭戰於睢州、杞縣、陳留、中牟，進克汜水，殲賊千餘，被珍賚，命襄辦軍務。 賊竄河北，圍懷慶，乃渡河會諸軍分路進攻，迭有斬獲。 賊築土城樹木柵以拒，合攻破之，擒斬數千。 賊始遁，懷慶圍解。 論功，賜黃馬褂，予西林巴圖魯名號。 追賊山西，詔以勝保督師，命托明阿襄辦。 賊竄入直隸境，坐降五級留任，尋以傷劇解職回旗。 四年春，病痊，命赴直隸，仍幫辦僧格林沁、勝保軍務。 賊方踞阜城，堅守不出，諸軍圍之。 托明阿屯東北，賊來撲，輒擊退，突由東南隅竄出，踞連鎮，夾運河。 托明阿與都統西凌阿軍東西兩岸，圍復合。
In the third year of Xianfeng (1853) the Taiping generals Lin Fengxiang and others took Yangzhou and threatened Huai and Xu; he was ordered to lead his troops to the border between Jiangnan and Shandong to block them and advanced to encamp at Qingjiangpu. The rebels fled to Chuzhou; Tuo Ming'a went to relieve it and joined Zhou Tianjue in joint suppression. He then pursued the rebels to Henan and fought repeatedly at Suizhou, Qixian, Chenliu, and Zhongmu; he advanced and captured Sishui, destroyed more than a thousand rebels, received imperial rewards, and was ordered to assist in military affairs. The rebels fled to Hebei and besieged Huaqing; he crossed the river, joined the various armies in advancing by separate routes, and repeatedly achieved kills and captures. The rebels built an earthen wall and planted wooden palisades to resist; the combined forces broke through, capturing and beheading several thousand. The rebels then fled and the siege of Huaqing was lifted. When merits were assessed he was granted the yellow riding jacket and given the title of Xilin Batūru. In pursuing the rebels into Shanxi, an edict put Sheng Bao in command and ordered Tuo Ming'a to assist. When the rebels fled into Zhili territory he was demoted five ranks but retained in office; soon afterward, because his wounds were severe, he was relieved of office and returned to his banner. In the spring of the fourth year (1854), when his illness was cured, he was ordered to go to Zhili and again assist in the military affairs of Sengge Rinchen and Sheng Bao. The rebels were then holding Fucheng, defending stubbornly without coming out, and the various armies besieged them. Tuo Ming'a encamped on the northeast; when the rebels came to attack he always drove them back, but they suddenly broke out from the southeast corner, seized Lianzhen, and straddled the Grand Canal. Tuo Ming'a and Lieutenant General Xiling'a encamped on the eastern and western banks, and the encirclement was re-formed.
15
會琦善督師揚州，卒於軍，命托明阿為欽差大臣，馳往代之，授江寧將軍。 自賊踞江寧，鎮江、揚州皆陷，南北梗阻，大軍分兩路，向榮軍江南，琦善軍江北。 江北軍攻揚州不能克，賊棄城去，聚於瓜洲，與南岸鎮江相犄角。 江寧賊時乘鉅簰順流而下，陸師不能扼，水師力薄，亦不能制賊。 上游浦口最當衝要，賊於沙洲結營，時圖進竄。 恃總兵武慶一軍及道員溫紹原六合練勇為屏蔽，亦不能進取。 托明阿至軍，令副將鞠殿華毀運河鐵钅巢，提督陳金綬循東岸進攻，小有斬獲。 又截擊賊簰，斃偽丞相黃起茅。 自督舟師渡江，略北固山、金山而還。 五年，瓜洲、鎮江賊合犯儀徵，令副都統德興阿、總兵李志和擊退。 又進軍三汊河，誘賊敗之。 托明阿見僧格林沁於連鎮、馮官屯皆以圍牆制賊，議仿其法，於瓜洲築長圍以困之。 然瓜洲濱大江，江路不斷，且地勢袤長不易守，實無足恃。 圍成，屢偕陳金綬進攻，無大勝利。 江寧賊踞江浦石磯橋，武慶、西昌阿等馳擊，克之。 巡撫吉爾杭阿督師攻鎮江甚急，於是議南北同時進剿。
When Qishan was commanding at Yangzhou he died in camp; Tuo Ming'a was appointed imperial commissioner, ordered to hurry there and replace him, and given the post of general of Jiangning. Since the rebels held Jiangning, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou had both fallen, and north-south communications were blocked; the grand army was divided into two routes—Xiang Rong's army in Jiangnan and Qishan's army north of the Yangzi. The army north of the Yangzi attacked Yangzhou but could not take it; the rebels abandoned the city and gathered at Guazhou, forming a pincer with Zhenjiang on the south bank. The Jiangning rebels at times rode great rafts downstream; the land force could not block them, and the naval force was too weak to control the rebels either. Upstream, Pukou was the most critical point; the rebels established camps on the sandbars and at times plotted to advance further. Relying on Regional Commander Wu Qing's army and Circuit Intendant Wen Shaoyuan's trained militia of Liuhe as a shield, they still could not advance and seize ground. When Tuo Ming'a arrived at the army he ordered Brigade Commander Ju Dianhua to destroy the iron chains on the Grand Canal; Provincial Commander Chen Jinshou advanced along the eastern bank and achieved some kills and captures. He again intercepted and attacked the rebels' rafts and killed the false chancellor Huang Qimao. He personally led the fleet across the river, skirmished at Beigu Mountain and Jinshan, and returned. In the fifth year (1855) the rebels of Guazhou and Zhenjiang jointly attacked Yizheng; he ordered Vice Commander De Xing'a and Regional Commander Li Zhihe to drive them back. He again advanced to Sanhe River, lured the rebels, and defeated them. Tuo Ming'a saw that at Lianzhen and Fengguantun Sengge Rinchen had used encircling walls to control the rebels; he proposed copying this method and building a long encirclement at Guazhou to wear them down. Yet Guazhou bordered the great river; the river route was never cut off, and the terrain was long and hard to defend—it truly offered little to rely on. When the encirclement was complete he repeatedly joined Chen Jinshou in advancing to attack, but there were no great victories. The Jiangning rebels held Shiji Bridge at Jiangpu; Wu Qing, Xichang'a, and others hurried to attack and captured it. Governor Ji'erhang'a was pressing the attack on Zhenjiang very hard; thereupon it was proposed that north and south advance to suppress the rebels simultaneously.
16
六年二月，江寧賊大舉援鎮江，未得逞。 渡江與瓜洲賊合，突越土圍，四出縱火。 官軍戰土橋竟日，傷亡多。 托明阿營壘被毀，退三汊河，又退秦家橋，幾不能軍。 陳金綬、雷以諴等亦退走，揚州遂陷。 諸營潰散，惟德興阿猶整軍力戰。 向榮遣鄧紹良渡江來援。 越十日，复揚州，而江浦亦為賊踞。 詔褫托明阿職，留營效力，尋以病歸。
In the second month of the sixth year (1856) the Jiangning rebels came in force to relieve Zhenjiang but did not succeed. They crossed the river and joined the Guazhou rebels, suddenly broke through the earthen encirclement, and set fires in all directions. The government army fought at Tuqiao all day; casualties were heavy. Tuo Ming'a's camp and fortifications were destroyed; he withdrew to Sanhe River, then again to Qinjia Bridge, and was nearly unable to maintain an army. Chen Jinshou, Lei Yixian, and others also withdrew and fled, and Yangzhou then fell. The various camps collapsed and scattered; only De Xing'a still kept his army intact and fought hard. Xiang Rong sent Deng Shaoliang across the river to come to their aid. After ten days Yangzhou was recovered, but Jiangpu was also seized by the rebels. An edict stripped Tuo Ming'a of office and ordered him to remain in camp to serve; soon afterward he returned home due to illness.
17
八年，予頭等侍衛，率兵駐楊村防英兵內犯，授直隸提督，遷西安將軍。 同治元年，以傷病乞休，四年，卒。
In the eighth year (1858) he was given the post of first-class bodyguard, led troops to encamp at Yangcun to guard against British invasion inland, was appointed provincial commander of Zhili, and transferred to general of Xi'an. In the first year of Tongzhi (1862) he requested retirement due to wounds and illness; in the fourth year (1865) he died.
18
陳金綬，四川岳池人。 從剿教匪，授把總，積功至都司。 道光初，從征回疆，破賊於佳噶賴，功最，賜號逸勇巴圖魯，擢留壩營游擊。 十三年，直隸總督琦善調司教練，累擢督標中軍副將，琦善倚之，以堪勝總兵薦，擢天津鎮。
Chen Jinshou was a native of Yuechi in Sichuan. He followed in suppressing the White Lotus sect bandits, was appointed platoon commander, and through accumulated merit rose to battalion commander. In the early Daoguang reign he followed the campaign in the Western Regions, defeated the bandits at Jiagalai with the greatest merit, was granted the title Yiyong Batūru, and was promoted to battalion commander of the Liuba garrison. In the thirteenth year (1833) Zhili Governor-General Qishan transferred him to supervise training; he was repeatedly promoted to deputy commander of the governor's central army. Qishan relied on him and, recommending him as fit for regional command, promoted him to the Tianjin command.
19
二十二年，擢直隸提督。 及琦善督師剿粵匪，率所部三千以從。 詔金綬為楊遇春舊部，命幫辦軍務，率兵先發。 又以其不諳文字，命勝保偕行。 咸豐三年春，趣援江寧，偕勝保克浦口，詔責專防江北。 揚州陷，由六合、儀徵趨援。 琦善大軍始至，合攻揚州。 琦善軍其北，金綬、勝保軍其西，累戰皆捷。 賊堅守數月不下，而瓜洲一路通江，兵少不能合圍。 賊分犯浦口踞之，進陷滁州，遂北竄。 勝保率兵赴安徽應援，迭詔以孤城久抗，責攻益急。 總兵雙來奮進，緣梯登城，金綬策應。 兵不聽命，雙來以無援負創退，尋歿於軍，自此不敢力攻，而賊時由瓜洲窺伺來援，屢卻之。 十一月，賊陷儀徵，兩路同時來犯。 參將馮景尼守楊子橋，先潰，諸軍多失利。 城賊擁輜重突出趨瓜洲，琦善、金綬不能截擊，並坐褫職留軍。 揚州雖復，賊久踞瓜洲。 四年春，琦善卒於軍，金綬暫署關防。 托明阿至，偕金綬進攻瓜洲，毀賊砲台。 尋攻新橋賊壘，金綬之侄能義及游擊海明殞於陣。
In the twenty-second year (1842) he was promoted to provincial commander of Zhili. When Qishan commanded in suppressing the Taiping rebels, he led three thousand of his troops to follow. An edict noted that Jinshou was an old subordinate of Yang Yuchun and ordered him to assist in military affairs and lead troops to depart first. Because he was not versed in writing, Sheng Bao was also ordered to accompany him. In the spring of the third year of Xianfeng (1853) he was urged to relieve Jiangning; together with Sheng Bao he captured Pukou, and an edict charged him to defend the north bank exclusively. When Yangzhou fell he hurried to relieve it by way of Liuhe and Yizheng. Qishan's grand army had just arrived, and they jointly attacked Yangzhou. Qishan's army held the north, Chen Jinshou's and Sheng Bao's the west; in battle after battle they prevailed. The rebels held out stubbornly for months, yet the Guazhou route still connected to the river and there were too few troops to complete the encirclement. The rebels split off to attack Pukou and seized it, then advanced and took Chuzhou, and thereafter fled north. Sheng Bao led troops to Anhui in relief; repeated edicts, citing the lone city's long resistance, pressed the attack ever more urgently. Regional Commander Shuang Lai pressed forward vigorously, climbed the wall by ladder, and Jinshou coordinated the support. The troops would not obey orders; Shuang Lai, lacking support, withdrew wounded and soon died in camp. From then on they dared not press the attack hard, while the rebels from time to time spied from Guazhou and came to relieve the city—they were repeatedly driven back. In the eleventh month the rebels took Yizheng and came to attack on two routes at once. Regimental Commander Feng Jingni defended Yangzi Bridge but collapsed first; many of the armies suffered defeat. The city rebels, laden with baggage, broke out and rushed toward Guazhou; Qishan and Jinshou could not intercept them and were both stripped of office but kept with the army. Although Yangzhou was recovered, the rebels long held Guazhou. In the spring of the fourth year Qishan died in camp and Jinshou temporarily held the official seal. Tuo Ming'a arrived and, together with Jinshou, advanced to attack Guazhou and destroyed the rebels' batteries. Soon afterward they attacked the rebel stockades at Xinqiao; Jinshou's nephew Nengyi and Battalion Commander Haiming were killed in battle.
20
江北軍多疲玩，金綬年老，文宗以其謹願，姑容之。 閱時輒報小捷，屢以虛飾被斥。 至托明阿兵潰土橋，金綬及雷以諴駐萬福橋，望風而走。 事後飾辭自辨，又奏隨同克復揚州，為德興阿論劾，應治罪，金綬已先歿於軍矣。
The army north of the Yangzi was largely slack and negligent; Jinshou was old, and Emperor Wenzong, because he was cautious and compliant, for the time being tolerated him. From time to time he reported minor victories and was repeatedly rebuked for false embellishment. When Tuo Ming'a's army collapsed at Tuqiao, Jinshou and Lei Yixian were encamped at Wanfu Bridge and fled at the mere sight of the enemy. Afterward he embellished his account in self-defense and also memorialized that he had joined in recovering Yangzhou; De Xing'a memorialized in impeachment and he should have been punished, but Jinshou had already died in camp.
21
德興阿，喬佳氏，滿洲正黃旗人，黑龍江駐防。 道光末，由駐京前鋒授藍翎侍衛、乾清門行走，累擢頭等侍衛。 以善騎射受文宗知，曾手擒奔馬，賜黃馬褂。
De Xing'a, of the Gioro clan, belonged to the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner and was garrisoned in Heilongjiang. At the end of the Daoguang reign, from a vanguard stationed in the capital he was appointed blue-feather bodyguard and attendant at the Gate of Heavenly Purity, and was repeatedly promoted to first-class bodyguard. Because he was skilled in horsemanship and archery he won Emperor Wenzong's notice; he once seized a runaway horse with his own hands and was granted the yellow riding jacket.
22
咸豐二年，命率黑龍江兵赴琦善軍。 三年，從攻揚州，屯蔣家廟，為通儀徵要路，城賊竄出，奮擊敗之。 瓜洲援賊進踞虹橋，與守備毛三元夾擊於三汊河。 德興阿單騎陷陣，射殪其酋，大破賊，加副都統銜。 別賊破儀徵，分兩路來犯。 德興阿急趨東石人頭，毀賊浮橋。 而瓜洲賊又進築土城於河西，偪三汊河，與儀徵賊相犄角。 德興阿偕總兵瞿騰龍渡河毀賊營，賊乃不能西進。 是年冬，賊棄揚州城退踞瓜洲，官軍進复儀徵，授正白旗漢軍副都統。 四年，偕瞿騰龍進攻瓜洲，騰龍深入，為賊所襲，殞於陣。 德興阿率勁騎馳援，賊敗走，軍賴以全，賜號博奇巴圖魯。 尋复敗賊三汊河，賊埋地雷誘官軍，德興阿偵知，揮軍繞路而前，賊伏壘不出，遂分軍兩路夾攻，斬馘過當，奪獲大砲地雷。 捷聞，晉御前侍衛。 五年，迭攻瓜洲賊壘，又截擊竄賊於虹橋、八江口等處，皆獲勝。 六年，托明阿兵敗於土橋，揚州复陷，諸軍渙散，獨德興阿軍未動。 詔黜托明阿，以德興阿為欽差大臣，加都統銜。 敗賊薛家樓，進規郡城。 賊萬人迎敵，德興阿身先士卒，斬賊酋一，諸軍乘之，賊大潰，乘勝复揚州。 同時江浦、浦口並為賊踞，令總兵武慶攻克之。
In the second year of Xianfeng he was ordered to lead Heilongjiang troops to Qishan's army. In the third year he followed in attacking Yangzhou and encamped at Jiangjiamiao, a critical route to Yizheng; city rebels broke out and he fought hard and defeated them. Relief rebels from Guazhou advanced and seized Hongqiao; together with Garrison Commander Mao Sanyuan he attacked them from both sides at Sanhe River. De Xing'a alone rode into the enemy lines, shot and killed their chieftain, inflicted a great defeat on the rebels, and was given the rank of vice commander. Other rebels took Yizheng and came to attack on two routes. De Xing'a hurried to Dongshirentou and destroyed the rebels' pontoon bridge. Meanwhile the Guazhou rebels again advanced and built an earthen wall west of the river, pressing on Sanhe River and forming a pincer with the Yizheng rebels. De Xing'a together with Regional Commander Qu Tenglong crossed the river and destroyed the rebel camps, and the rebels then could not advance west. That winter the rebels abandoned Yangzhou city and withdrew to hold Guazhou; the government army advanced and recovered Yizheng, and he was appointed vice commander of the Han Chinese Plain White Banner. In the fourth year he joined Qu Tenglong in advancing to attack Guazhou; Tenglong went in deep, was attacked by the rebels, and was killed in battle. De Xing'a led elite cavalry in hurried relief; the rebels were defeated and fled, and the army was saved thereby; he was granted the title Boqi Batūru. Soon afterward he again defeated the rebels at Sanhe River; the rebels buried land mines to lure the government army, but De Xing'a detected this, led his army by a detour, and when the rebels lay hidden in their fort and would not come out, he divided his forces into two routes and attacked from both sides, killing more than the usual count and capturing great guns and land mines. When victory was reported he was promoted to imperial bodyguard. In the fifth year he repeatedly attacked the Guazhou rebel stockades and again intercepted fleeing rebels at Hongqiao, Bajiangkou, and other places, winning victory in each case. In the sixth year Tuo Ming'a's army was defeated at Tuqiao, Yangzhou again fell, and the various armies scattered; only De Xing'a's army held firm. An edict removed Tuo Ming'a and made De Xing'a imperial commissioner, giving him the rank of lieutenant general. He defeated the rebels at Xuejialou and advanced to invest the prefectural city. Ten thousand rebels came out to meet them; De Xing'a led from the front, beheaded one rebel chieftain, the various armies pressed the advantage, the rebels collapsed in great disorder, and taking victory in hand they recovered Yangzhou. At the same time Jiangpu and Pukou were both seized by rebels; he ordered Regional Commander Wu Qing to capture them.
23
德興阿戰功素為江北諸軍冠，惟不曉漢文，命少詹事翁同書為幫辦。 添調新兵，軍聲稍振，進規瓜洲。 七年，參將富明阿破賊於土橋、四里鋪，水師又擊沉賊船，斬偽將軍陳磊。 是年夏，合水陸諸軍進攻，毀賊艦及砲台。 德興阿親督戰，更番進逼，至十一月，大破之，复瓜洲。 賊負嵎歷四年，至是始克。 詔嘉調度有方，賜雙眼花翎，予騎都尉世職。 乘勝逼金山，剿平新河口、龍王廟等處餘匪。 江南軍亦同日克鎮江，專力進攻江寧。 八年春，德興阿進軍江浦，獲勝。 江寧賊勢日蹙，悍黨陳玉成等由安徽糾眾來援，德興阿兵敗於浦口，退保六合，褫雙眼花翎，革職留任。 賊連陷江浦、天長、儀徵，德興阿不能救，揚州亦陷，褫世職。 尋張國樑率兵渡江复揚州，而德興阿擁兵邵伯，觀望不前，嚴旨斥責。 溫紹原守六合歷數年，為江北屏蔽，至是亦以援絕被陷，紹原死之。 翌日而張國樑馳至，已無及。 國樑以江寧軍事急，移軍渡江，詔責德興阿規复六合，軍已不振，迄無功。
De Xing'a's battle merits had long been foremost among the armies north of the Yangzi, but because he did not understand written Chinese, Junior Tutor Weng Tongshu was appointed to assist him. Fresh troops were added and transferred in; the army's reputation revived somewhat, and he advanced to invest Guazhou. In the seventh year Regimental Commander Fu Ming'a defeated the rebels at Tuqiao and Sili Pu; the naval force again sank rebel boats and beheaded the false general Chen Lei. That summer the combined land and naval forces advanced to attack and destroyed the rebel ships and batteries. De Xing'a personally supervised the fighting and pressed forward in relays; by the eleventh month he inflicted a great defeat and recovered Guazhou. The rebels had relied on difficult terrain for four years; only at this point were they finally taken. An edict praised his effective command, granted him the double-eyed peacock feather, and gave him the hereditary office of commandant of cavalry. Taking advantage of victory he pressed on Jinshan and suppressed the remaining bandits at Xinhekou, Longwangmiao, and other places. The Jiangnan army also captured Zhenjiang on the same day and devoted its full strength to attacking Jiangning. In the spring of the eighth year De Xing'a advanced to Jiangpu and won victory. The Jiangning rebels' position grew tighter by the day; fierce leaders such as Chen Yucheng gathered followers from Anhui to come to their relief; De Xing'a's army was defeated at Pukou, withdrew to defend Liuhe, was stripped of the double-eyed peacock feather, and was removed from office but kept in post. The rebels in succession took Jiangpu, Tianchang, and Yizheng; De Xing'a could not save them, Yangzhou also fell, and his hereditary office was stripped. Soon afterward Zhang Guoliang led troops across the river and recovered Yangzhou, while De Xing'a held his army at Shaobo, watching without advancing; a stern edict rebuked him. Wen Shaoyuan had defended Liuhe for several years as a shield for the north bank; at this point he too was taken when relief was cut off, and Shaoyuan died in the fighting. The next day Zhang Guoliang hurried there, but it was already too late. Guoliang, because Jiangning military affairs were urgent, moved his army across the river; an edict charged De Xing'a to plan the recovery of Liuhe, but the army's spirit was already broken and in the end there was no success.
24
何桂清疏劾：「德興阿秉性粗率，初賴翁同書相助，得克瓜洲。 自同書調任安徽巡撫去後，左右無人，毫無謀略，貽誤軍事。」 和春亦劾其舉動乖謬，難以圖功。 文宗猶念其前勞，未遽加譴，九年，以圍攻六合久不下，革任召還。 自此江北不置帥，軍務統歸和春節制。 尋予六品頂戴，交僧格林沁差遣。
He Guiqing submitted a memorial in impeachment: 'De Xing'a is by nature coarse and rash; at first he relied on Weng Tongshu's assistance to capture Guazhou. Since Tongshu was transferred to serve as governor of Anhui, he has had no one at his side, possesses no strategy whatsoever, and has caused military failure.' He Chun also impeached him, saying his actions were perverse and erratic and success was hard to achieve. Emperor Wenzong still remembered his earlier service and did not immediately punish him; in the ninth year, because the siege of Liuhe long remained uncompleted, he was removed from office and recalled. From then on no commander-in-chief was appointed north of the Yangzi; military affairs were uniformly placed under He Chun's control. Soon afterward he was given the sixth-rank official's button and placed under Sengge Rinchen's orders.
25
十一年，署密雲副都統。 同治初，授西安右翼副都統，留辦山西防務，又移駐陝西同、朝一帶防剿。 五年，充塔爾巴哈台參贊大臣，授正紅旗漢軍副都統，幫辦新疆北路軍務。 六年，丁母憂回旗。 尋卒，依都統例賜卹，諡威恪。
In the eleventh year he served as acting vice commander at Miyun. At the beginning of Tongzhi he was appointed vice commander of the right wing at Xi'an, remained to manage Shanxi defense, and was again transferred to garrison the Tong and Chao region of Shaanxi for defense and suppression. In the fifth year he served as assistant commissioner at Tarbagatai, was appointed vice commander of the Han Chinese Plain Red Banner, and assisted in military affairs on the northern route in Xinjiang. In the sixth year, when his mother died, he returned to his banner in mourning. Soon afterward he died; posthumous honors were granted according to the precedent for lieutenant generals, and he was given the posthumous title Weike.
26
論曰：勝保初以直諫稱。 及出治軍，膽略機警，數著功績。 然負氣凌人，雖僧格林沁不相下。 自餘疆臣共事，無不齟《齒吾》互劾。 文宗嚴馭之，屢躓屢起，蓋惜其才也。 始終以客軍辦賊，無自練之兵，無治餉之權； 撫用悍寇而紊紀律，濫收廢員而通賄賂，又縱淫侈不自檢束。 卒因袒庇苗沛霖，與楚軍不相能，朝廷苦心調和而不之喻，遂致獲罪，功過固莫掩也。 托明阿、德興阿皆戰將，非獨當一面之才，負乘僨事，宜哉。 斯又不足與勝保並論矣。
The commentator says: Sheng Bao was at first famed for blunt remonstrance. When he went out to command armies he was bold, resourceful, and alert, and repeatedly achieved merit. Yet he was overbearing by temperament and would yield to no one, not even Sengge Rinchen. With the other frontier officials with whom he served, none failed to clash and mutually impeach one another. Emperor Wenzong strictly controlled him; he stumbled repeatedly yet was repeatedly restored—presumably because the emperor valued his talent. He always dealt with bandits as a guest army, without troops he had trained himself and without authority over supplies; he pacified and employed fierce bandits and thereby disrupted discipline, indiscriminately took in dismissed officials and accepted bribes, and again indulged in excess without restraining himself. In the end, because he shielded Miao Peilin and could not get along with the Hunan army, and the court painstakingly sought reconciliation without making him understand, he finally incurred guilt—merits and faults alike cannot be concealed. Tuo Ming'a and De Xing'a were both fighting generals, not men of talent to hold a front alone; that they bore unsuitable burdens and ruined affairs is only fitting. They again are not worth mentioning in the same breath as Sheng Bao.