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列傳一百九十三
Biography 193.
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駱秉章胡林翼
Luo Bingzhang and Hu Linyi.
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駱秉章,原名俊,以字行,改字籥門,廣東花縣人。 道光十二年進士,選庶吉士,授編修。 遷御史,稽察銀庫,卻陋規,嚴檢閱。 吏不便其所為,欲齮齕去之,會發其奸,不得逞。 歷給事中、鴻臚寺少卿、奉天府丞兼學政。 二十三年,銀庫虧帑事發,坐失察,褫職,罰分賠。 及讞定,宣宗知秉章獨持正無私,特旨以庶子用。 尋丁母憂。 服闋,補右庶子,先後命赴山東、河南、江蘇按事。 詞臣奉使出異數,所治獄悉稱旨。 二十八年,擢侍講學士。 出為湖北按察使,遷貴州布政使,調雲南。 三十年,擢湖南巡撫。
Luo Bingzhang, whose original name was Jun and who was commonly known by his courtesy name, later changed that name to Yuemen; he came from Huaxian in Guangdong. He earned his jinshi degree in 1832, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was made an editor. Promoted to censor, he audited the silver treasury, rejected customary kickbacks, and enforced inspections rigorously. The clerks resented his ways and tried to slander him out of office, but their own corruption came to light, and the plot failed. He rose through the posts of supervising secretary, vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Fengtian deputy magistrate with concurrent duties as educational commissioner. In 1843 the treasury shortfall came to light; blamed for failing to detect it, he was dismissed and ordered to pay part of the loss. When the judgment was settled, the Daoguang Emperor, knowing that Bingzhang alone had acted with rectitude and no private interest, specially ordered him restored as a subordinate tutor in the heir apparent's academy. He soon went into mourning for his mother. After mourning he was made right subordinate tutor and was repeatedly sent to investigate cases in Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu. It was rare for a literary official to be dispatched on such missions, and every case he handled won the emperor's approval. In 1848 he was promoted to expositor of the Hanlin Academy. He left the capital to serve as Hubei judicial commissioner, then became Guizhou provincial treasurer before being transferred to Yunnan. In 1850 he was appointed governor of Hunan.
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咸豐元年,廣西匪熾,詔湖廣總督程矞採赴湖南督辦防務,秉章及提督-{余}-萬清副之。 大學士賽尚阿督師過境,以供張薄,有嫌,密奏湖南吏治廢弛。 二年,詔秉章開缺來京,而粵匪已由桂林北竄入湖南。 矞採聞警,由衡州退長沙,尋復往駐。 萬清守道州,被賊陷。 江華、嘉禾、桂陽、郴州、攸縣相繼失,萬清逮治。 秉章坐未能預防,革職留任。 先議修長沙城,甫畢工,而賊由醴陵突犯長沙。 秉章嬰城固守,悍賊蕭朝貴預诇城壞,故以輕軍來襲,未得逞,尋斃於砲。 副將鄧紹良赴援最先至,入城任戰守。 賊屢以地雷壞城,皆擊卻之。 新授巡撫張亮基至,秉章奉旨暫留同守城。 及賊首洪秀全大舉來攻,援軍向榮、和春、張國梁等亦並集,且守且戰,歷八十餘日。 賊引去,陷岳州,趨湖北。 賽尚阿、程矞採並坐失機罷譴。 秉章以守城功,免議,召來京。 尋命留湖北襄辦防守事宜,未至而武昌陷。 三年春,官軍收復武昌,暫署湖北巡撫。 詔赴徐州筦糧台,未行,复署湖南巡撫,尋實授。
In 1851, as rebellion in Guangxi intensified, Governor-General Cheng Yucai of Huguang was ordered to Hunan to oversee defenses, assisted by Bingzhang and Regional Commander Yu Wanqing. Grand Secretary Sai Shanga passed through at the head of the army; resenting the scant hospitality, he secretly reported that Hunan's administration had fallen into disorder. In 1852 he was ordered to vacate his post and come to Beijing, even as the rebels had already broken north from Guilin into Hunan. Hearing the alarm, Yucai withdrew from Hengzhou to Changsha and soon returned to his post. Wanqing held Daozhou but the city fell to the rebels. Jianghua, Jiahe, Guiyang, Chenzhou, and Youxian fell one after another, and Wanqing was arrested. Bingzhang was stripped of rank for failing to prevent the losses but was kept in office. Work on Changsha's walls had only just finished when the rebels surged in from Liling to attack the city. Bingzhang sealed the city and held on. The fierce rebel Xiao Chaogui, having scouted weak points in the walls, led a light force to raid but failed; he was soon killed by artillery. Brigade General Deng Shaoliang was first to reach the city with reinforcements and took charge of its defense. The rebels repeatedly tried to blast the walls with mines, but each assault was repulsed. When the newly appointed governor Zhang Liangji arrived, Bingzhang was ordered to stay and help defend the city. When Hong Xiuquan brought his main force to besiege the city, reinforcements under Xiang Rong, He Chun, Zhang Guoliang, and others also arrived; the defenders held and fought for more than eighty days. The rebels withdrew, captured Yuezhou, and marched toward Hubei. Sai Shanga and Cheng Yucai were both disgraced and dismissed for having lost the initiative. For his role in defending the city, Bingzhang was spared further punishment and summoned to Beijing. He was soon ordered to stay in Hubei to help with defense, but Wuchang fell before he could take up the assignment. In the spring of 1853 government forces retook Wuchang, and he served briefly as acting governor of Hubei. He was ordered to the grain depot at Xuzhou, but before he left he was again made acting governor of Hunan and soon received the full appointment.
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在籍侍郎曾國籓奉命治團練,始立湘軍,秉章力贊成之。 又延湘陰舉人左宗棠襄理戎幕,廣羅英俊之士,練勇助剿,軍威漸振。 先清境內,遣軍分路破江西賊於桂陽,破廣西賊於永明、零陵、江華,破廣東賊於興寧,又破江西賊於茶陵,而常寧、永興土匪皆平。 賊由湖北進陷岳州,令王珍、曾國葆水陸截擊,敗之,岳州遂復。 令貴州道員胡林翼率黔勇追賊逼界口。 四年,總督吳文鎔師潰黃州,漢陽复陷。 曾國籓水師成,進援湖北,前敵失利,岳州复陷。 賊犯靖港及樟樹港,距長沙數十里,並陷寧鄉、湘潭。 秉章調撫標兵益塔齊布軍,令偕楊岳斌、彭玉麟同援湘潭。 國籓親率水師戰靖港,复失利。 布政使徐有壬、按察使陶恩培請奏劾罷其軍。 秉章曰:「曾公謀國之忠,不可以一時勝敗論也。」 會次日塔齊布等大破賊於湘潭,復其城,靖港賊亦遁走,長沙獲安。 賊繞西湖陷華容、龍陽、常德,令胡林翼專剿此路。 塔齊布、羅澤南進規岳州、崇陽、通城,未幾,各城皆复,而武昌再陷。 國籓整軍東征,餉械悉力資之無缺,十月,遂克武昌。 湘軍之名自此顯。
Zeng Guofan, a metropolitan graduate serving at home as vice minister, was ordered to organize militia and founded what became the Hunan Army; Bingzhang gave the project his full support. He also brought in the Xiangyin scholar Zuo Zongtang to run his military staff, recruited able men widely, trained local militia to join the campaigns, and the army's standing gradually recovered. He first secured the province, sending columns to defeat Jiangxi rebels at Guiyang, Guangxi rebels at Yongming, Lingling, and Jianghua, Guangdong rebels at Xingning, and Jiangxi rebels again at Chaling, while bandits in Changning and Yongxing were also suppressed. When rebels advancing from Hubei captured Yuezhou, he sent Wang Zhen and Zeng Guobao to cut them off by land and water, defeated them, and retook the city. He ordered Guizhou circuit intendant Hu Linyi to lead Guizhou troops in pursuit, driving the rebels to the border. In 1854 Governor-General Wu Wenrong's army was routed at Huangzhou and Hanyang fell again. After Zeng Guofan's river flotilla was ready, it advanced to aid Hubei, but the vanguard was beaten and Yuezhou fell again. The rebels struck Jinggang and Zhangshugang, only a few dozen li from Changsha, and also captured Ningxiang and Xiangtan. Bingzhang detached Hunan provincial troops to reinforce Taqibu's force and ordered them, together with Yang Yuebin and Peng Yulin, to relieve Xiangtan. Guofan personally led the river flotilla into battle at Jinggang and was defeated again. Provincial treasurer Xu Youren and judicial commissioner Tao Enpei asked the throne to impeach Zeng and disband his forces. Bingzhang said, "Lord Zeng's loyalty to the state cannot be judged by a single battle's outcome." The next day Taqibu and his colleagues routed the rebels at Xiangtan and retook the city; the force at Jinggang also withdrew, and Changsha was safe. The rebels swung around West Lake and captured Huarong, Longyang, and Changde; he put Hu Linyi in charge of clearing that line. Taqibu and Luo Zeyuan pressed to retake Yuezhou, Chongyang, and Tongcheng; soon each city was recovered, but Wuchang fell again. Guofan reorganized his army for the eastern campaign, and Bingzhang supplied funds and weapons without stint; in October Wuchang was captured. From that point the Hunan Army made its name.
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五年,武昌三陷,胡林翼署巡撫,飛書告急。 秉章令鮑超率水師先赴,彭玉麟募勇繼之。 起楊岳斌於家,統其眾以固北路,而南路廣東、廣西群賊擾境,土匪紛起應之。 令田興恕禦東路,王珍剿南路,先清土匪,克東安,斬廣西賊首胡有祿。 餘賊复擾永明、江華,擊走之。 克桂陽、永興、茶陵、郴州、宜章,斃廣東賊首何祿,南路遂定。 貴州苗犯晃州、沅州、麻陽,並擊走之。 當武昌陷後,總督楊霈奏飭胡林翼渡江上扼漢川,以固荊襄。 秉章上疏爭之,略曰:「楊霈始終堅執防賊北竄,然以現在形勢論之,江西、湖南尚稱完地。 若使湖北水陸兩軍移駐漢川,長江千里,盡委之賊,其將置東南於不問乎? 未解者一也。 移駐漢川,祗能禦上竄襄陽之路,其於荊州並無輕重。 若賊水陸並進,荊州門戶,其孰當之? 未解者二也。 水陸兩軍相為依附,胡林翼既駐漢川,則水軍非退守監利,即移泊岳州,為湖南門戶計,尚未為失。 然武漢門戶豈能度外置之乎? 未解者三也。 若謂賊眾兵單,不思廣濟失利之初,以總督萬餘之兵,不能當千餘之賊,乃退守黃州,未一日即退漢川,由此而德安,而隨州,今又退至棗陽。 北竄者賊也,引之北竄者誰歟? 未解者四也。 扼賊北竄,必固荊襄,欲保荊襄,必守武漢,此一定之局。 漢陽未復,不能繞至漢川,況武漢均為賊屯,胡林翼縱至漢川,以孤軍駐四面皆賊之地,又能為荊襄門戶計乎? 未解者五也。」 霈之專防北竄,原出迎合上意。 疏入,詔斥所詆霈者過當。 然上意開悟,未久罷霈,以官文代之,與胡林翼合規武漢。 秉章悉力資給林翼軍,如所以助曾國籓者。 洎林翼與羅澤南破石達開於咸寧,達開折入江西,連陷瑞州、臨江,而吉安、撫州、建昌屬城多被擾。
In 1855 Wuchang fell for the third time; Hu Linyi, now acting governor, sent urgent appeals for help. Bingzhang sent Bao Chao ahead with the river flotilla and had Peng Yulin raise more troops to follow. Yang Yuebin was called back from retirement to hold the northern line, even as rebel bands from Guangdong and Guangxi raided the southern border and local bandits rose to join them. He put Tian Xingyu on the eastern front and Wang Zhen on the south, cleared the local bandits first, captured Dong'an, and killed the Guangxi rebel leader Hu Youlu. The remaining rebels raided Yongming and Jianghua again and were beaten back. His forces retook Guiyang, Yongxing, Chaling, Chenzhou, and Yizhang, killed the Guangdong rebel leader He Lu, and secured the south. Miao raiders from Guizhou struck Huangzhou, Yuanzhou, and Mayang, and were driven off in each case. After Wuchang fell, Governor-General Yang Fu memorialized ordering Hu Linyi to cross the Yangzi and hold Hanchuan to secure the Jing-Xiang region. Bingzhang submitted a counter-memorial, arguing in essence: "Yang Fu has always insisted on blocking a northern rebel breakout, yet as matters stand Jiangxi and Hunan are still largely intact. If Hubei's land and river armies are moved to Hanchuan, a thousand li of the Yangzi would be handed to the rebels—are we to abandon the southeast entirely? That is my first objection. A post at Hanchuan could only block rebels moving up toward Xiangyang; it would do nothing for Jingzhou. If the rebels advance by land and water together, who will hold the gateway of Jingzhou? That is my second objection. Land and river forces must support each other; once Hu Linyi is at Hanchuan, the flotilla would have to fall back to Jianli or anchor at Yuezhou—which might still serve Hunan's interests. But can we simply write off the gateway of Wuhan? That is my third objection. If the claim is that the rebels outnumber us, consider the first defeat at Guangji: the governor-general's army of more than ten thousand could not hold off a little over a thousand rebels, retreated to Huangzhou, fell back to Hanchuan within a day, then to De'an, Suizhou, and now Zaoyang. It is the rebels who flee north—but who is driving them north? That is my fourth objection. To stop a northern breakout one must hold Jing and Xiang; to hold Jing and Xiang one must hold Wuhan—that is the fixed pattern of the war. With Hanyang still in rebel hands one cannot even reach Hanchuan; Wuhan is entirely enemy-held. If Hu Linyi goes to Hanchuan with a lone detachment surrounded on every side, how can he guard the gateway of Jing and Xiang? That is my fifth objection." Fu's obsession with blocking a northern breakout arose from pandering to the throne. When the memorial arrived, an edict rebuked Bingzhang for going too far in attacking Fu. Yet the throne took his point; Fu was soon dismissed, Guan Wen replaced him, and together with Hu Linyi they turned to recovering Wuhan. Bingzhang supplied Hu Linyi's army without stint, just as he had supported Zeng Guofan. After Linyi and Luo Zeyuan defeated Shi Dakai at Xianning, Dakai swung into Jiangxi, captured Ruizhou and Linjiang in succession, and raided many counties under Ji'an, Fuzhou, and Jianchang.
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國籓自上年九江之挫,久留南昌,孤軍難進展。 秉章至是銳意東援,令江忠濟出通城以固岳州,令劉長佑、蕭啟江率軍分路入江西。 六年,劉長佑等連克萍鄉、萬載,進攻袁州。 江忠濟戰歿通城,以王珍代之,連克通城、崇陽、蒲圻、通山諸縣。 至冬,長佑克袁州、分宜、新喻,趙煥聯自茶陵收永寧,-{余}-星元自酃縣收永新、蓮花廳。 初議規江西分三路,北路出瑞州,中路出袁州,南路出吉安。 劉長佑袁州一路兵逾九千,餉難再籌。 至是始令周鳳山、曾國荃各募勇二千,合趨吉安。 詔嘉秉章不分畛域,越境殄寇,賜花翎。
Since his defeat at Jiujiang the year before, Guofan had lingered at Nanchang with an isolated force that could make little headway. Bingzhang now threw himself into eastern relief, sending Jiang Zhongji out from Tongcheng to secure Yuezhou and Liu Changyou and Xiao Qijiang into Jiangxi by separate routes. In 1856 Liu Changyou and his colleagues captured Pingxiang and Wanzai in succession and advanced on Yuanzhou. Jiang Zhongji was killed at Tongcheng; Wang Zhen replaced him and retook Tongcheng, Chongyang, Puqi, and Tongshan in succession. By winter Changyou had taken Yuanzhou, Fenyi, and Xinyu; Zhao Huanlian advanced from Chaling to recover Yongning, and Yu Xingyuan from Lingxian to recover Yongxin and Lianhua. The original plan for Jiangxi divided forces into three routes: north from Ruizhou, center from Yuanzhou, and south from Ji'an. Liu Changyou's Yuanzhou column already exceeded nine thousand men, and further funds were hard to find. Only then were Zhou Fengshan and Zeng Guoquan each told to raise two thousand men and advance together on Ji'an. An edict praised Bingzhang for crossing provincial lines to destroy the rebels and awarded him the peacock feather.
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七年,武漢既復,下游無警,湘軍乃四出。 以蔣益澧率永州軍援廣西,以王珍軍增援江西,以兆琛等軍援貴州,需餉益鉅。 湖南自軍興停漕運,米賤,而徵折猶沿舊價,民困賦絀。 秉章減浮折,覈中飽,民減納而賦增。 仿揚州例,抽收鹽貨釐金,歲入百數十萬,給軍無缺。 王珍戰江西,屢破悍寇,克樂安,尋卒於軍,以張運蘭及珍弟開化分統其眾。 劉長佑攻臨江,至十二月克之。 八年,京察敘功,加頭品頂戴。 劉長佑以疾歸,以劉坤一代領其軍。 進規撫州、建昌,先後克復。 八月,諸軍齊集,克吉安。 石達開敗竄浙江,江西略定。 秉章以兵合不易,應乘勝進取。 疏請起曾國籓督師援浙,留蕭啟江、張運蘭兩軍隨徵,餘軍盡撤。 蓋自五年援江西,糜湖南餉凡二百六十萬,協濟之數不預焉。
In 1857, with Wuhan recovered and the lower Yangzi secure, the Hunan Army fanned out on every front. Jiang Yili led Yongzhou troops to aid Guangxi, Wang Zhen reinforced Jiangxi, and Zhao Chen and others aided Guizhou, and the demand for funds grew sharply. Since the war began Hunan had stopped the grain tribute transport; rice was cheap, yet tax assessments still used old rates, leaving the people strained and revenue short. Bingzhang cut inflated surcharges and audited graft; taxpayers paid less while the treasury collected more. Following the Yangzhou model, he levied a transit tax on salt, bringing in well over a million taels a year and keeping the armies supplied. Wang Zhen fought in Jiangxi, repeatedly defeated tough rebel bands, captured Le'an, and soon died in the field; Zhang Yunlan and Wang's younger brother Kaihua split command of his troops. Liu Changyou besieged Linjiang and captured it in December. In 1858, at the capital performance review, he was awarded the first-rank official's hat ornament for merit. Liu Changyou went home ill, and Liu Kunyi took over his command. They pressed on to retake Fuzhou and Jianchang, recovering both in turn. In August the combined forces took Ji'an. Shi Dakai was beaten and fled into Zhejiang, and Jiangxi was largely secured. Bingzhang argued that massing armies was difficult and that they ought to strike while victory was fresh. He memorialized the throne to recall Zeng Guofan to command the relief of Zhejiang, retaining only Xiao Qijiang's and Zhang Yunlan's corps for the expedition and pulling back the rest. Since the fifth year of the war, Hunan had poured 2.6 million taels into the Jiangxi campaign alone, apart from coordinated subsidies from other provinces.
9
石達開由浙入閩、粵,徘徊五嶺之上。 九年春,復由江西入湖南。 秉章調魏喻義、陳士傑扼巋河,起劉長佑於家,令與劉坤一募勇四萬備迎擊。 調蕭啟江、張運蘭於江西,調田興恕於貴州,未集而賊至,陷桂陽、宜章、興寧,窺衡州,為巋河之軍所扼,回竄嘉禾、新田、臨武、寧遠。 達開大隊竄永興,以據上游。 劉長佑出祁陽,與之相持。 回犯東安、新寧,劉坤一再挫之,乃趨寶慶,眾號三十萬,多烏合。 秉章下免死令,散數万人。 時趙煥聯、田興恕等軍先至,營城外。 賊營環二百里,包諸軍於中。 胡林翼遣李續宜率軍赴援,秉章令劉長佑、劉岳昭、何紹彩分三路進。 六月,戰寶慶城下,內外夾擊。 賊人眾乏食,再戰再敗,遂東竄。 蕭啟江軍遇於永州,又擊敗之。 乃由全州竄廣西,啟江尾追,劉長佑繼進,敗之於大榕口,又敗之桂林,賊竄慶遠。 秉章令長佑留鎮廣西,田興恕回貴州,蕭啟江出沅江,兼顧川、黔。 時廣東賊又擾邊境,令張運蘭、黃淳熙分擊於江華、宜章,並殲之。
Shi Dakai marched from Zhejiang into Fujian and Guangdong and hovered along the Five Ridges. In the spring of 1859 he invaded Hunan again from Jiangxi. Bingzhang posted Wei Yuyi and Chen Shijie on the Kui River, called Liu Changyou out of retirement, and had him and Liu Kunyi recruit forty thousand militia to intercept the rebels. He redeployed Xiao Qijiang and Zhang Yunlan to Jiangxi and Tian Xingshu to Guizhou, but the rebels struck before the columns assembled, seized Guiyang, Yizhang, and Xingning, threatened Hengzhou, were checked at the Kui River, and doubled back through Jiahe, Xintian, Linwu, and Ningyuan. Dakai led his main force into Yongxing to secure the upper river line. Liu Changyou marched from Qiyang and locked horns with them. They swung against Dong'an and Xinning; Liu Kunyi beat them twice, and they then bore down on Baoqing with a host said to number three hundred thousand, most of them a disorderly mob. Bingzhang proclaimed an amnesty and dispersed tens of thousands of them. By then Zhao Huanlian, Tian Xingshu, and other columns had already arrived and encamped outside the city. Rebel camps stretched two hundred li around the field and hemmed the imperial forces inside. Hu Linyi dispatched Li Xuyi with reinforcements, and Bingzhang sent Liu Changyou, Liu Yuezhao, and He Shaocai forward in three divisions. In June they fought under the walls of Baoqing, attacking from inside and outside at once. The rebels were numerous but starving; beaten twice in succession, they broke eastward. Xiao Qijiang intercepted them at Yongzhou and routed them again. They bolted through Quanzhou into Guangxi; Qijiang harried their rear while Liu Changyou pressed after, crushing them at Darongkou and again at Guilin until they fled toward Qingyuan. Bingzhang left Changyou to hold Guangxi, sent Tian Xingshu back to Guizhou, and sent Xiao Qijiang down the Yuan River to cover Sichuan and Guizhou as well. Guangdong rebels were raiding the frontier again; he had Zhang Yunlan and Huang Chunxi hit them at Jianghua and Yizhang and wiped them out.
10
十年,命赴四川督辦軍務。 時左宗棠已奉命募勇援浙,聘湘鄉劉蓉贊軍事。 湘軍名將多從曾國籓、胡林翼,惟劉岳昭、黃淳熙在湖南。 調兩軍隨行,受代將發,石達開復由廣東犯湖南境,吏民乞留。 遣岳昭、淳熙會剿,賊尋引去。 十一年正月,始啟行,抵宜昌,聞陳玉成犯湖北,分遣岳昭赴援,自率五千人入川。
In 1860 he was ordered to Sichuan to take charge of military affairs. Zuo Zongtang had already been commissioned to raise troops for Zhejiang and had hired Liu Rong of Xiangxiang as his military adviser. Most of the Hunan Army's star commanders served under Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi; only Liu Yuezhao and Huang Chunxi were still in Hunan. He called both corps to march with him, but as his successor was preparing to depart Shi Dakai again crossed into Hunan from Guangdong, and officials and commoners pleaded that he remain. He sent Yuezhao and Chunxi to pursue them, and the rebels soon pulled back. In the first month of 1861 he at last departed, reached Yichang, learned that Chen Yucheng was attacking Hubei, detached Yuezhao to reinforce there, and entered Sichuan with five thousand men.
11
四川之亂,始於咸豐九年。 滇匪藍大順又名朝柱,李短搭又名永和。 結黨私販鴉片,其黨被捕,聚眾陷宜賓,攻敘州,擾嘉定,眾號十餘萬,群盜遂四起。 總督有鳳、曾望顏等不能制,徵兵湖南,先遣蕭啟江一軍赴之。 啟江尋病歿,詔曾國籓赴川督師,中止未行,成都將軍崇實署總督。 秉章奉命後,慮客軍易遭齮齕,猶觀望。 崇實馳書促行,開誠迎候,發夔關稅以給軍,軍至,乃出望外。 時賊首李永和、卯得興踞青神,藍朝柱圍綿州,張第才、何國梁圍順慶,蹂躪四十餘縣,將逼成都。 秉章至萬縣,即令黃淳熙援順慶,戰於定遠,陣斬何國梁,賊大敗。 追至潼川二郎場,中伏,淳熙陣亡,然賊驚湘軍勇銳,引去。 秉章由順慶進駐潼川,令胡中和、蕭慶、何勝必率蕭啟江舊部,曾傳理代領黃淳熙之眾,劉德謙率親軍,唐友耕率川軍,合萬九千人,援綿州,別以他軍綴青神,分扼東北。 會穆宗即位,擢授秉章四川總督。 八月,師會綿州城下,連破賊十餘壘,賊敗退,渡涪水屯守。 官軍作五浮橋以濟,又擊敗之。 賊遁走,由什邡、崇慶趨丹棱,秉章始入成都。
The turmoil in Sichuan began in 1859. Among the Yunnan rebels were Lan Dashun, also known as Lan Chaozhu, and Li Duanda, also known as Li Yonghe. They organized to traffic opium illicitly; when members were arrested they rose in arms, seized Yibin, struck at Xuzhou, and ravaged Jiading until their following was said to exceed a hundred thousand and brigands flared up everywhere. Governors-general You Feng and Zeng Wangyan could not contain them and requisitioned Hunan troops, dispatching Xiao Qijiang's force first. Qijiang soon fell ill and died; the court then ordered Zeng Guofan to command in Sichuan, but the appointment was suspended before he marched, and General Chong Shi of Chengdu served as acting governor. Once Bingzhang received his commission he worried that outside troops would meet local obstruction and held back. Chong Shi urged him forward by letter, welcomed him frankly, released Kui Pass customs receipts for the troops, and when the army arrived the reception surpassed all expectation. Rebel leaders Li Yonghe and Mao Dexing held Qingshen, Lan Chaozhu besieged Mianzhou, Zhang Dicai and He Guoliang besieged Shunqing, and more than forty counties lay wasted as the rebels closed on Chengdu. Reaching Wanxian, Bingzhang immediately sent Huang Chunxi to relieve Shunqing; at Dingyuan they killed He Guoliang in the line and routed the rebels. Pursuit carried them to Erlangchang in Tongchuan, where they were ambushed and Chunxi fell, but the rebels, shaken by the Hunan troops' ferocity, pulled away. Bingzhang moved from Shunqing to Tongchuan, put Hu Zhonghe, Xiao Qing, and He Sheng bi at the head of Qijiang's veterans, had Zeng Chuanli replace Huang Chunxi's command, Liu Deqian lead the personal guard, and Tang Yougeng the Sichuan forces—nineteen thousand men in all—to relieve Mianzhou, while other columns held Qingshen and sealed the northeast. On the accession of Emperor Muzong, Bingzhang was appointed governor-general of Sichuan. In August the combined forces met below Mianzhou, stormed more than ten rebel camps in turn, drove the enemy back across the Fu River, and penned them on the far bank. Imperial troops threw five pontoon bridges across the river and beat them again. The rebels fled through Shifang and Chongqing toward Danling, and Bingzhang finally entered Chengdu.
12
蒞任,奏劾布政使祥奎、中軍副將張定川不職,罷之。 薦劉蓉,詔超擢署布政使。 軍事吏治,振刷一新,於是分剿諸賊,急攻藍、李二股。 令唐友耕扼眉州洪堰,斷青神之援,胡中和等諸軍圍丹棱,作長壕木城,節節進逼。 賊棄城走,追斃藍朝鼎於陣。 餘賊分路逃散,為民團汛兵截殺幾盡。 藍朝柱率二百人遁入山,尋出合諸匪陷新寧,復為官軍擊散。 其後陝西盩厔匪潰走興安,為民團所獲,有自稱為藍大順及弟三順至九順,並戮之。 李永和見丹棱已克,亦遁走,分軍追擊,圍之於鐵山。 同治元年,京察,詔嘉秉章殄寇迅速,整頓地方,加太子少保。 尋克青神,李永和、卯得興由鐵山遁走,追至宜賓,擒之。 道員張由庚克新寧,賊分竄,張第才遁陝西,曹燦章入老林。 總兵周達武解涪州圍,追擒周紹湧於大竹,又擒郭刀刀於巴州。 周毚毚由雲南入岳池、合州、新寧,張由庚擊走之,諸城皆复。 至冬,川南北一律肅清,詔嘉調度有方,予優敘。
Upon assuming office he impeached Administration Commissioner Xiang Kui and deputy commander Zhang Dingchuan for neglect and removed them. He recommended Liu Rong, and the throne abruptly promoted him to acting administration commissioner. He swept military and civil administration into fresh order, then split his forces against the scattered rebels and bore down on the Lan and Li factions. Tang Yougeng was posted at Hongyan in Meizhou to sever Qingshen's support, while Hu Zhonghe and the other columns besieged Danling behind long trenches and timber forts, tightening the ring by stages. The rebels abandoned the city and ran; Lan Chaoding was run down and killed in the fighting. The survivors scattered along several routes and were almost entirely cut down by local militia and garrison troops. Lan Chaozhu escaped into the hills with two hundred followers, later re-emerged to join other brigands in seizing Xinning, and was scattered once more by government forces. Later, brigands routed from Zhouzhi toward Xing'an were caught by militia; men who called themselves Lan Dashun and his brothers Third through Ninth Dashun were all put to death. When Danling fell Li Yonghe fled as well; detachments pursued and trapped him at Tieshan. In 1862, at the capital review of officials, an edict commended Bingzhang for quickly crushing the rebels and restoring local order and made him Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Qingshen was soon recovered; Li Yonghe and Mao Dexing broke out of Tieshan, were chased to Yibin, and captured. Circuit intendant Zhang Yougeng recovered Xinning; the rebels scattered, Zhang Dicai slipped into Shaanxi, and Cao Shenzhang vanished into the old-growth forests. Brigade general Zhou Dawu relieved Fuzhou, ran down Zhou Shaoyong at Dazhu, and seized Guo Daodao at Bazhou. Zhou Chanchan crossed from Yunnan into Yuechi, Hezhou, and Xinning; Zhang Yougeng beat him back and the cities were all restored. By winter the province was quiet north and south; an edict praised his coordination and granted him preferential honors.
13
石達開見川中兵事方殷,屢由黔、楚窺伺來犯。 是年春,陷石柱,撲涪州,為劉岳昭軍所阻,竄黔境。 尋又入敘永,攻江安,陷長寧,分擾珙、高、慶符,劉岳昭、曾傳理等擊敗之。 退滇境,分竄筠連、高縣,官軍扼金沙江以守。 賊謀三路入川,秉章調諸將及土司兵分防。 二年正月,賴裕新自寧遠犯冕寧,至越巂,為工卩部土司嶺承恩擊斃。 餘賊散擾川西十餘縣,多為官軍民團截殺,盡殲於平武山谷中。 三月,石達開渡金沙江,為唐友耕等軍所扼,由小徑趨土司紫打地。 大渡河水漲,官軍伺半濟擊之,退撲松林、小河,又為土司王應元所扼。 嶺承恩夜襲破馬鞍山賊營,斷其糧道。 复連撲兩河,皆不得渡,糧盡,殺馬采樹葉而食。 唐友耕等漢、土官兵合擊,焚其巢,墮岩落水無數。 餘七八千人奔老鴉漩,復為土兵所阻。 達開率一子及其黨三人乞降,解散四千人,餘黨盡誅之。 五月,檻送達開至成都,磔於市。 捷聞,詔深嘉之,加太子太保,將士獎擢有差。 李福猷為達開死黨,初約由黔入川。 令劉岳昭與黔軍合剿,尋於黔境就殲。 達開餘孽遂盡。
Shi Dakai, noting that Sichuan was still fully engaged, repeatedly probed the borders from Guizhou and Huguang. That spring he seized Shizhu and lunged at Fuzhou, was checked by Liu Yuezhao, and bolted into Guizhou. He soon re-entered Xuyong, struck Jiang'an, captured Changning, and raided Gong, Gao, and Qingfu before Liu Yuezhao, Zeng Chuanli, and others drove him off. He withdrew into Yunnan and split his force through Junlian and Gaoxian while government troops guarded the Jinsha River line. The rebels aimed to enter Sichuan in three columns; Bingzhang redeployed his generals and native levies to block each approach. In the first month of 1863 Lai Yuxin marched from Ningyuan against Mianning as far as Yuexi and was slain by Ling Chengen, chieftain of the Gongbu tribe. Survivors raided a dozen western counties but were largely cut down by troops and militia and finally wiped out in the Pingwu ravines. In March Shi Dakai crossed the Jinsha River, was checked by Tang Yougeng and others, and turned onto a mountain track toward the native territory of Zidade. The Dadu was in flood; imperial troops hit them mid-crossing, and when they fell back toward Songlin and Xiaohe they were stopped again by the native chieftain Wang Yingyuan. Ling Chengen attacked by night, smashed the rebel camp at Ma'anshan, and severed their supply line. They tried both river crossings again and failed; with food gone they slaughtered their horses and ate leaves to survive. Tang Yougeng and combined Han and native forces stormed them, burned their encampments, and countless rebels plunged from the cliffs into the river. Seven or eight thousand survivors fled to Laoyaxuan and were hemmed in once more by native troops. Dakai came forward with one son and three lieutenants to surrender, released four thousand men, and the remainder were put to death. In May Dakai was carted to Chengdu in a cage and executed by dismemberment in the public square. News of the victory brought an edict of high praise, the rank of Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and graded promotions for the officers and men. Li Fuyou, a die-hard of Dakai's, had originally planned to enter Sichuan from Guizhou. Bingzhang had Liu Yuezhao cooperate with Guizhou forces to exterminate him, and he was soon wiped out on Guizhou soil. With that, Dakai's remaining followers were extinguished.
14
粵匪擾陝西,圍漢中,秉章令道員易佩紳率軍解其圍,張由庚駐防川境。 至是復令蕭慶高、何勝必赴剿。 詔擢劉蓉為陝西巡撫,督諸軍。 秉章病目請告,命力疾視事。 三年,江寧克復,詔錄前後功,予一等輕車都尉世職,賜雙眼花翎。 四年,陝西粵匪為諸軍擊敗,竄甘肅階州,令周達武會剿平之。 回剿南坪番匪,匪首歐利哇降。 又剿馬邊,擒匪首宋士傑,邊境悉平。 令劉岳昭援黔,由綏陽抵遵義,道路始通,後由黔規滇,皆秉章遺策也。 六年夏,疾愈視事,命以四川總督協辦大學士。 十一月,卒於官,優詔賜卹,稱其「公忠誠亮,清正勤明」,贈太子太傅,入祀賢良祠,四川、湖南建專祠。 賜其子天保郎中、天詒舉人,諸孫並賜官,諡文忠。
Guangdong rebels raided Shaanxi and besieged Hanzhong; Bingzhang sent circuit intendant Yi Peishen to relieve the city and kept Zhang Yougeng on the Sichuan frontier. He now sent Xiao Qinggao and He Sheng bi to join the campaign. An edict elevated Liu Rong to governor of Shaanxi to direct the forces. Bingzhang, troubled by eye disease, requested leave but was told to carry on despite his ailment. In 1864, when Nanjing fell, an edict tallied his services past and present, made him a first-class commandant of light chariots with hereditary right, and awarded the double-eyed peacock feather. In 1865 the Guangdong rebels in Shaanxi were beaten, fled to Jiezhou in Gansu, and were finally crushed in a joint campaign under Zhou Dawu. He then turned back to the Fan rebels of Nanping, where the chief Ou Liwa submitted. Operations at Mabian brought the capture of Song Shijie, and the frontier was fully quieted. He sent Liu Yuezhao to aid Guizhou, opening the road to Zunyi through Suiyang; the later push from Guizhou toward Yunnan likewise followed plans he had left behind. In the summer of 1867 he recovered enough to resume office and was appointed a grand secretary while keeping the Sichuan governorship. In November he died in office; the throne granted generous mourning honors and praised him as "loyal, sincere, bright, and upright; pure, clear, diligent, and discerning," posthumously raising him to Grand Tutor, enrolling him in the Hall of Worthies, and ordering temples in his name in Sichuan and Hunan. His son Tianbao was made a secretariat director and Tianyi a provincial graduate; grandsons received offices as well, and his posthumous name was Wenzong.
15
秉章晚年愈負重望,朝廷要政多諮決,西南軍事胥倚之。 所論薦人才,悉被任用,著勳名。 川民感其削平寇亂,出於水火,及其歿,巷哭罷市。 遺愛之深,世與漢諸葛亮、唐韋皋並稱云。
In his later years Bingzhang's standing only grew; the court consulted him on weighty policy, and the armies of the southwest looked to him for direction. Every man of talent he recommended was taken up and went on to earn distinction. Sichuan's people credited him with ending the chaos that had drowned them in misery; at his death alleys filled with mourning and shops shut their doors. The affection he left behind is still ranked with Zhuge Liang of Han and Wei Gao of Tang.
16
胡林翼,字潤之,湖南益陽人。 父達源,嘉慶二十四年一甲三名進士,官至少詹事,學宗宋儒。 林翼少時,即授以性理諸書,而林翼負才不羈,娶總督陶澍女,習聞緒論,有經世志。
Hu Linyi, styled Runzhi, came from Yiyang in Hunan. His father Hu Dayuan had placed third in the palace examination in 1819, rose to junior mentor, and taught the Song Neo-Confucian masters. From boyhood Linyi was drilled in Neo-Confucian moral philosophy, yet he was gifted and unruly; marriage to Tao Shu's daughter steeped him in high policy and fed his ambition to remake the world.
17
道光十六年,成進士,選庶吉士,授編修。 二十年,充江南副考官,坐失察正考官文慶攜舉人熊少牧入闈,降一級調用。 丁父憂,服闋,捐納內閣中書,改貴州知府。 署安順、鎮遠,皆盜藪,用明戚繼光法練勇士,搜捕林箐,身與同甘苦。 屢擒劇盜,靖苗氛,以功賜花翎。 又因防剿新寧匪李沅發,以道員用。 總督吳文鎔、巡撫喬用遷並薦堪大用。 咸豐元年,補黎平,實行保甲團練,千五百餘寨,建碉樓四百餘座,嚴扼要隘,儲穀備城守。 地鄰湘、桂,匪戢而民安。 三年,剿甕安榔匪,誅其魁。 湖南巡撫張亮基、駱秉章兩次奏調,以貴州留不行。 御史王發桂疏薦林翼剿匪成效,詔赴湖北委用。
In 1836 he earned his jinshi degree, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was made a compiler. In 1840 he served as associate examiner for the Jiangnan region and was demoted one rank for not catching chief examiner Wen Qing smuggling candidate Xiong Shaomu into the hall. After his father's death and the mourning period he bought a secretariat post, then took appointment as prefect of Guizhou. At Anshun and Zhenyuan, both notorious bandit country, he trained fighters by Qi Jiguang's methods, combed the wooded gullies himself, and shared the soldiers' hardships. He repeatedly seized notorious outlaws, quieted Miao disturbances, and earned the peacock feather for his service. He was later commissioned as a circuit intendant to guard against and suppress the Xinning rebel Li Yuanfa. Governor-General Wu Wensha and Governor Qiao Yongqian both recommended him as a man of outstanding capacity. In 1851 he took charge at Liping, organized baojia militia across more than fifteen hundred hamlets, erected over four hundred blockhouses, sealed the strategic passes, and stockpiled grain for a siege. Near Hunan and Guangxi, banditry was subdued and the people lived in peace. In 1853 he crushed the Lang rebels of Weng'an and put their leader to death. Hunan's governors Zhang Liangji and Luo Bingzhang twice sought to transfer him, but Guizhou kept him and he never left. Censor Wang Fagui memorialized praising Linyi's success against bandits, and the court ordered him to Hubei for service.
18
四年,擢貴東道,率黔勇千人行次通城,而總督吳文鎔戰歿黃州,遂進援武昌。 賊尋犯湖南,駱秉章調林翼回防,平安化土匪,擢四川按察使,尋調湖北。 曾國籓既克武昌,檄林翼與羅澤南會攻九江,屯湖口,破賊梅家洲。 五年春,擢湖北布政使。 總督楊霈師潰黃梅,林翼率所部回援武昌,別以副將王國才一軍隸之,未至,漢陽陷,會攻不克,屯沌口。 武昌复陷,潛師渡江規武昌,為賊所圍,兵少食盡,退金口。 詔林翼署理湖北巡撫,楊霈奏令上扼漢川。 林翼疏陳形勢,宜急攻武漢,方能內固荊襄,上俞之。 時武、漢、黃、德四郡皆為賊踞,後路崇陽、通城多伏莽,公私赤立,兵餉皆絀。 林翼馳書四出乞貸,發家穀給軍。 添募兵勇,兼顧南北兩路,凡數十戰,時有克捷,亦屢瀕於危。 七月,攻克漢口鎮,奪大別山賊卡。 未幾,援賊由漢川至,焚漢口。 崇、通匪勾結武昌城賊,撲金口大營。 詔念林翼素善用兵,勉以重整散卒。 尋退奓山,餉絕兵潰,下部議處。 林翼移營大軍山,收集潰兵,駐新堤、嘉魚。 水陸合萬人,半出新募,賊至常數万,軍中奪氣。 林翼鎮靜相持,以忠義激勵將士,始漸定。 奏調羅澤南由江西來援,連克通城、崇陽,林翼自往迎之於蒲圻。 合破援賊韋俊、石達開於咸寧,復其城。 乘勝進攻武昌,自率所部普承堯、唐訓方軍由中路,羅澤南當西路,楊岳斌以水師會金口,總督官文亦令都興阿率騎兵駐北岸。 林翼和輯諸將,軍勢遂日振,屢戰皆捷。
In 1854 he was made intendant of eastern Guizhou, led a thousand Guizhou troops toward Tongcheng, learned that Wu Wensha had fallen at Huangzhou, and marched to relieve Wuchang. When rebels struck Hunan, Luo Bingzhang recalled him; he pacified the native bandits of Anhua, was made Sichuan's judicial commissioner, and was soon shifted to Hubei. After Zeng Guofan recovered Wuchang, he directed Linyi and Luo Zinan against Jiujiang; they encamped at Hukou and took the rebel position at Meijiazhou. In the spring of 1855 he was made Hubei's provincial treasurer. When Governor-General Yang Fu's army broke at Huangmei, Linyi hurried back to Wuchang and subordinated Wang Guocai's brigade; before they arrived Hanyang fell, the assault failed, and the army camped at Zhuankou. Wuchang fell again; Linyi sent a covert force across the river toward the city, was encircled with scant supplies, and withdrew to Jinkou. The court named him acting governor of Hubei, while Yang Fu ordered him to block Hanchuan upriver. Linyi argued that only a swift assault on Wuhan could secure Jingzhou and Xiangyang; the emperor agreed. Rebels held Wuchang, Hanyang, Huangzhou, and De'an; Chongyang and Tongcheng behind him seethed with ambushers; treasury and household alike were bare, and pay ran dry. Linyi begged loans across the province and fed the troops from his own family's granaries. He raised more troops, guarded both flanks, fought dozens of engagements, won some and more than once nearly perished. In July he recovered Hankou and seized the rebel forts on Dabie Mountain. Soon rebel reinforcements came down from Hanchuan and burned Hankou. Bandits from Chongyang and Tongcheng combined with the Wuchang garrison and struck the main camp at Jinkou. The throne, remembering his military talent, urged him to rally the broken ranks. He soon fell back to Zhashan; supplies gave out, the army scattered, and the ministries moved to discipline him. He shifted to Dajun Mountain, gathered the fugitives, and held Xindi and Jiayu. His land and river force barely reached ten thousand, half of them raw recruits; rebels often came in the tens of thousands, and his men lost heart. Linyi held his ground with calm, rallied the troops on duty and honor, and slowly steadied the army. He called Luo Zinan from Jiangxi; Tongcheng and Chongyang fell in turn, and Linyi rode out to meet him at Puqi. Together they shattered Wei Jun and Shi Dakai's relief column at Xianning and retook the city. Pressing the advantage they besieged Wuchang: Linyi led Pu Chengyao and Tang Xunfang up the center, Luo Zinan blocked the west, Yang Yuebin's fleet joined at Jinkou, and Guan Wen posted Duxing'a's cavalry on the north bank. Linyi smoothed relations among his commanders; the army's strength rose day by day and battle after battle went their way.
19
六年三月,羅澤南急攻城,傷於砲,驟卒。 以李續賓代領其軍,攻戰不少輟。 石達開自咸寧敗後,竄江西,連陷數郡。 曾國籓屢調羅澤南迴援,不克往。 林翼分遣劉騰鴻、普承堯兩軍赴之。 詔以武漢久不克,督戰急。 林翼疏陳,略曰:「臣頓兵城下五月餘矣。 血肉之軀,日當砲石,傷亡水陸士卒三千餘,喪將領羅澤南、周得魁百餘人,李續賓中丸墮馬者數矣。 夫兵易募而將難求,臣觀前史,李左車告韓信,以頓兵城下,情見事絀為戒。 戰易攻難,自昔已然。 故臣自四月後乃禁仰攻,分兵咸、蒲以取義寧,四戰皆捷。 分水師以清下游,直達九江。 臣自率兵五千扼武昌南路,李續賓率六千三百扼洪山東,分剿北路。 水師六營下駐沙口。 賊由九江、興國分路來援,臣豫撥三千餘人戰於百里之外。 微臣之志,誓與兵事相終始。 萬一變生意外,決不敢退怯苟且,自取羞辱。」 文宗覽奏,特慰勉之。
In March 1856 Luo Zinan, pressing the assault, was struck by cannon fire and died on the spot. Li Xubin took over his corps and the fighting never slackened. Routed at Xianning, Shi Dakai fled into Jiangxi and seized one prefecture after another. Zeng Guofan repeatedly called Luo Zinan back, but the siege could not spare him. Linyi sent Liu Tenghong and Pu Chengyao with separate columns to aid Jiangxi. The court, impatient that Wuhan still stood, ordered the assault pressed. Linyi wrote in reply, in part: "Your servant has camped beneath the walls for more than five months. Men face shot and shell every day; over three thousand soldiers have been killed or wounded on land and water; Luo Zinan, Zhou Dekui, and more than a hundred other officers are dead; Li Xubin has been shot from his horse more than once. Soldiers are easy to recruit but generals are not; I read how Li Zuoche warned Han Xin that stalemates beneath city walls expose weakness and court disaster. Field battle is easy; taking a fortified city is hard, and always has been. Since the fourth month I have forbidden uphill assaults, sent columns through Xianning and Puqi to seize Yining, and won all four engagements. I detached the fleet to clear the lower Yangtze as far as Jiujiang. I hold the southern approach to Wuchang with five thousand men; Li Xubin blocks the eastern Hongshan with sixty-three hundred and clears the north road. Six river battalions are posted downstream at Shakou. Rebels from Jiujiang and Xingguo advanced in separate columns; I had already sent more than three thousand men to meet them a hundred li off. This humble servant is resolved to see the war through to the end. If fortune turns against me, I will not retreat in cowardice or disgrace myself by clinging to safety. The emperor read the memorial and sent him special encouragement.
20
五月,賊於武昌城外豹子澥等處增壘掘壕,林翼抽調諸軍擊之,遂於要隘掘壕困賊。 賊屢撲,皆擊退。 諜知九江賊古隆賢來援,已至樊口,先遣黨數千進踞葛店。 令蔣益澧率精銳迎擊,戰於葛店,大破賊,焚其舟。 追至樊口,楊載福水師亦至,合擊,斃賊數千。 攻克武昌縣城,遂渡江攻黃州。 而石達開由江西竄江寧,复糾眾上犯,分數路。 七月,急調黃州軍回援。 賊由金牛趨葛店,古隆賢亦起應之。 林翼督水陸軍分禦,連戰於油坊嶺、魯家港、姚家嶺、窯灣、沙子嶺、小龜山,旬日內二十餘捷,擒斬無算,解散脅從萬餘,追奔百餘里,至華容,賊悉遁。 九月,楊岳斌追賊至蘄州,焚其舟,直抵田家鎮。 賊援既絕,添募陸勇五千,水師六營,為長圖計。 十一月,諮會官文剋期大舉。 楊岳斌斷攔江鐵鎖,焚賊船盡。 賊傾城出撲,鏖戰三時,大敗狂奔,諸軍逐之,遂復武昌。 擒賊酋古文新等,駢誅數百人,生降四千。 同日官文亦克漢陽。 詔實授林翼湖北巡撫,加頭品頂戴。 遂分兵收復武昌縣、黃州府及興國、大冶、蘄水、蘄州、黃梅。 令李續賓乘勝規九江,都興阿、楊岳斌、鮑超屯小池口,自駐武昌籌全局。
In May the rebels fortified Baozixie and other points outside Wuchang; Linyi struck their works and then dug entrenchments at the key passes to pin them in. Repeated rebel sorties were beaten back. Intelligence reported that Gu Longxian was marching from Jiujiang; he had reached Fankou and sent several thousand men ahead to seize Geidian. He sent Jiang Yisui with picked troops to meet them at Geidian, broke them utterly, and burned their fleet. The pursuit reached Fankou, where Yang Zaifu's flotilla joined; together they killed several thousand rebels. They took Wuchang county and crossed the river toward Huangzhou. Meanwhile Shi Dakai fled from Jiangxi toward Nanjing, rallied his force, and struck upstream on several roads. In July he recalled the Huangzhou column. Rebels drove from Jinniu toward Geidian, and Gu Longxian rose to join them. Linyi divided his land and river forces to meet them, fighting at Youfangling, Lujiagang, and a string of other points; in ten days he won more than twenty engagements, killed and captured without count, released over ten thousand pressed men, pursued a hundred li to Huarong, and the rebels fled altogether. In September Yang Yuebin chased them to Qizhou, burned their boats, and drove as far as Tianjiazhen. With reinforcements cut off, he raised five thousand infantry and six river battalions for a long siege. In November he and Guan Wen agreed on a date for the general assault. Yang Yuebin cut the Yangtze iron chain and burned every rebel vessel. The rebels hurled their full strength outward; after three hours of slaughter they broke and ran; the pursuing columns retook Wuchang. They seized chiefs including Gu Wenxin, executed hundreds in batches, and took four thousand prisoners alive. That same day Guan Wen recovered Hanyang. The court confirmed Linyi as governor of Hubei and granted the first-rank official's hat knob. Columns then recovered Wuchang county, Huangzhou, and Xingguo, Daye, Qishui, Qizhou, and Huangmei. He sent Li Xubin on toward Jiujiang, posted Duxing'a, Yang Yuebin, and Bao Chao at Xiaochikou, and remained at Wuchang to direct the campaign.
21
上疏論軍事吏治,略曰:「湖北軍務不飭已久,無論賊之多寡強弱,聞警先驚,接仗即潰。 上下相蒙,恬不知恥。 誤於使貪使詐,而實為貪詐所使。 川、楚、河南勇目,招合無賴投效,以一報十,冒領口糧。 交綏即敗,又顧之他。 帑項至艱,徒飽無賴欲壑。 遣散不得其方,又相聚為盜。 近年湖北募勇之大患,綠營則怯懦若性,正額虛浮,軍政營制,蕩然無存。 此為兵事急應整頓之要。 自古用武之地,荊襄為南北關鍵,武漢為荊襄咽喉。 武漢有警,則鄰疆胥震。 四年之中,武昌三陷,漢陽四陷。 東南數省,受害惟武漢為甚。 夫善鬥者必扼其吭,善兵者必審其勢。 今於武漢設重鎮,則水陸東征之師,恃為根本軍火米糧委輸不絕,傷痍疾病休養得所。 平吳之策,必先保鄂,明矣。 保鄂必先固漢陽。 湖北之失,在漢陽無備。 下游小挫,賊遂長驅直入。 應請於武漢設陸師八千,水師二千,日夜訓練。 平時有藜藿不采之威,臨事有千里折沖之勢。 且東征之師,孤軍下剿,苦戰必傷,久役必疲。 傷病之人,留於軍中,不但誤戰,亦且誤餉。 若以武漢之防兵更番迭代,則士氣常新,軍行必利。 此武漢宜急設防練之要。 湖北莠民從賊者多,兵勇搜捕,徒滋擾害。 惟有保甲清釐,族戶綑獻,分別斬釋。 然牧令不得其人,則法不能行。 官吏之舉動,為士民所趨向; 紳士之舉動,又為愚民所趨向。 未有不養士而能致民,不察吏而能安民者。 五年大熟,州縣乃或報災,六年大饑,州縣轉或徵賦。 以豐為歉,是病國計; 以歉為豐,是害民生,而終害於國計。 歉歲官吏私收蠲緩,實惠不及於民。 有所謂挖徵、急公等名目,無一非蠹國病民。 凡下與上交接之事,諉之幕友; 官與民交接之事,諉之門丁。 詞訟案牘,病在積壓; 盜賊姦宄,弊在因循。 州縣之小事,即百姓之大事,今日之小賊,即異日之大賊。 厝火積薪,隱憂方大。 又如捐輸則有踩堂、贄見之費,牙帖則有勒索之費,釐金則有私設之費。 臣受事以來,迭次特參,在國自有刑章,在臣甘為怨府。 惟思劾貪非難,求才為難。 前者劾去,後者踵事,而巧避其名,弊將不可勝言。 臣愚以為必嚴禁官場應酬陋習,與群吏更始,崇尚敦樸,屏退浮華。 行之數年,庶可改觀。 目下州縣懸缺待人,請敕下部臣,暫勿拘臣文法資格。 此吏治急應整飭之要。 武漢甫經收復,人或以為已治已安,臣竊憂之。 如以為治安,則前收復已二次矣。 況江西七府俱淪於賊,旁軼橫出,不僅九江、安慶為足慮也。 未收復之前,事勢極難,文武尚有懼心; 收復之後,佈置尚易,而特恐文武均萌肆志。 外省粉飾之習,久在聖明洞鑑。 不揣愚昧,用以直陳。」 疏入,上嘉納焉。 於是裁浮勇,練新軍,蠲四十六州縣田賦以蘇民困。 設清查局,稽核全省倉庫盈虛之數; 設節義局,表彰死難官紳士女; 設軍需局,以備東征餉械。 嚴課吏治,糾劾文武數十人,推廉尚能,手書戒勉將吏如子弟。 初,將吏頗構督、撫異同,下令曰:「敢再言北岸兵事吏事長短者,以造言論罪。」 官文亦開誠相與,無掣肘。 軍政吏治,皆林翼主稿,林翼推美任過,督撫大和。 湖北振興,實基於此。 襄陽土匪猖獗,擾及河南境,令唐訓方等剿之。
He memorialized on war and administration, writing in part: "Hubei's armies have been lawless for years; rebels large or small find them panicking at the first alarm and routed at the first blow. Officers and men deceive one another and feel no shame. They thought to use the greedy and crafty, but are themselves used by greed and craft. Militia leaders from Sichuan, Huguang, and Henan recruit riffraff, report one man as ten, and draw rations for phantoms. They flee at contact, then enlist under another commander. The treasury is squeezed dry merely to glut desperadoes. When disbanded improperly they band together again as brigands. Recruited braves are the plague of recent years; the Green Standard troops are cowards by habit, rolls are padded, and army discipline has ceased to exist. This is the first military reform to undertake. From antiquity the Jing-Xiang region has been the pivot between north and south, and Wuhan its throat. Alarm at Wuhan shakes every neighboring province. In four years Wuchang fell three times and Hanyang four. Of the southeastern provinces none suffered like Wuhan. A skilled fighter seizes his foe's throat; a skilled commander reads the terrain. A stronghold at Wuhan would give the eastern armies a base with steady arms, grain, and convoys, and a place to heal the wounded. To pacify the lower Yangtze one must first hold Hubei: that much is plain. To hold Hubei one must first secure Hanyang. Hubei was lost because Hanyang stood unguarded. A minor setback downstream let the rebels pour straight in. I urge establishing eight thousand infantry and two thousand sailors at Wuhan with constant drill. In peace they would deter brigands even from the roadside weeds; in war they could check an enemy a thousand li away. The eastern armies fight far from home; hard battle wears them down and long service exhausts them. Sick men left in the ranks harm both fighting power and the pay rolls. Rotating Wuhan garrisons would keep morale fresh and the march easier. This is why Wuhan needs garrison and drill without delay. Many Hubei riffraff joined the rebels; chasing them with troops only harasses the innocent. Only baojia registers, family bonds, and binding offenders for judgment, sparing some and executing others, will serve. Without fit magistrates, the law cannot be enforced. How officials act is what scholars and commoners follow; and how the gentry act is what simple folk imitate. No one ever won the people without nurturing scholars, or kept them quiet without watching officials. In 1855 the harvest was abundant yet some counties reported disaster; in 1856 famine struck yet some still collected taxes. Calling plenty famine cripples the treasury; Calling lean years prosperous harms the people and, in the end, the treasury. In famine years officials pocketed tax relief that never reached the people. Every fee called an 'extra levy' or 'urgent contribution' drains the state and burdens the people. Business with superiors he palmed off on secretaries; dealings with the people he left to gatekeepers. Lawsuits rotted in backlog; theft and outrage festered while officials dithered. What magistrates dismiss as trifles are calamities for commoners; today's petty thief is tomorrow's rebel chief. It is fire heaped on kindling; the hidden danger grows by the day. Donation drives brought 'hall treading' and greeting gifts; license brokers extorted; likin offices levied off-the-books charges. Since taking office I have impeached official after official; the court has its laws, and I accept whatever hatred follows. Dismissing the corrupt is easy; finding able men is hard. Remove one man and the next does the same under another name; the abuses would be beyond counting. I urge banning official banqueting, starting afresh with every clerk, honoring plain duty and driving out display. In a few years the administration might look different. Many county posts stand empty; I ask the Board not to limit appointments by examination seniority alone. This is the urgent heart of civil administration. Wuhan has only just been retaken yet some call it settled; I am uneasy. If we call this peace, remember we had 'recovered' it twice before. Seven Jiangxi prefectures lie in rebel hands and raiders strike from every flank—not only Jiujiang and Anqing should worry us. Before recovery the crisis kept civil and military officials afraid; after recovery work is easier, but I fear both will grow reckless. Your Majesty has long seen through provincial window-dressing. Forgive my bluntness; I speak plainly. The memorial reached the throne and won the Emperor's praise and assent. He disbanded useless militia, trained new troops, and remitted land tax in forty-six counties to ease hardship. A verification office audited every warehouse in the province; a bureau of integrity honored officials, gentry, and women who died loyal; and a supply office stocked the eastern expedition. He tightened civil rule, impeached dozens of officers, elevated the honest and capable, and wrote personal admonitions to his commanders like letters to sons. Early on his officers played the governor-general against the governor; he ordered: "Anyone who gossips again about northern shore armies or civil affairs will be punished for sedition. Guan Wen met him openly and no longer hamstrung him. Lin Yi drafted military and civil policy, gave credit and took blame, and governor-general and governor worked in harmony. Hubei's revival rested on that accord. Bandits ravaged Xiangyang and spilled into Henan; he sent Tang Xunfang to suppress them.
22
七年春,擒匪首高先二等。 陳玉成由皖北上犯,諸軍不能禦。 林翼赴黃州督師,賊眾十餘萬環踞巴河東。 會水漲,林翼令毀三台河石橋,扼河而守。 潛師出迴龍山,遏賊上竄。 調李續宜率湖勇馳至,督諸軍合擊於孫家嘴、馬家河、月山,賊大敗遁走。 都興阿、李續賓亦連破賊於黃梅、宿松,楚北肅清。 遂視師九江,定合圍方略而還。 八年四月,李續賓等攻九江,克之,磔賊首林啟榮。 詔嘉林翼調度有方,加太子少保。 林翼乃急規安慶,楊岳斌率水師出九江,都興阿出宿松、望江,逼安慶為圍師。 李續賓規复太湖、潛山、桐城,與都軍為犄角。 五月,丁母憂,詔予假百日治喪,假滿仍署巡撫。 七月,廬州陷,李續賓輕軍赴援,戰歿三河。 林翼方奉母柩回籍,詔急起視師,林翼聞命,痛哭起行,迳次黃州,軍心始定。
In spring 1857 he captured the bandit leader Gao Xian'er and others. Chen Yucheng drove north from Anhui and no army could stop him. Lin Yi took command at Huangzhou while more than a hundred thousand rebels held the east bank of the Ba River. When floods rose he destroyed the Santai River stone bridges and held the choke points. A hidden detachment marched from Huilongshan to block their upstream escape. He brought Li Xuyi with Hunan troops and led a joint assault at Sunjiazui, Majiahe, and Yueshan; the rebels were routed and fled. Du Xing'a and Li Xubin followed with victories at Huangmei and Susong, and northern Hubei was cleared. He then inspected forces at Jiujiang, set the encirclement plan, and returned. In April 1858 Li Xubin took Jiujiang and had the rebel chief Lin Qirong executed by dismemberment. The throne praised his command and made him Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Lin Yi turned to Anqing: Yang Yuebin sailed from Jiujiang, Du Xing'a marched from Susong and Wangjiang, and both closed on the siege. Li Xubin aimed to retake Taihu, Qianshan, and Tongcheng as a pincer with Du Xing'a. In May he began mourning for his mother; the court gave him a hundred days' leave and ordered him back to the governorship when it ended. In July Luzhou fell; Li Xubin rushed with a light force and was killed at Sanhe. Lin Yi was escorting his mother's coffin home when an urgent edict recalled him; he wept, rose, and marched straight to Huangzhou, steadying the armies.
23
九年,進屯上巴河,與李續宜整飭部伍,日夜訓練,謀大舉。 會石達開由江西犯湖南,圍寶慶。 林翼令李續宜率所部赴援,舒保馬隊助之,又以水師分扼河道,寶慶圍得解,於是與曾國籓合力圖復安徽。 國籓循江而下為第一路,多隆阿、鮑超攻取潛山、太湖為第二路,林翼自出英山、霍山為第三路,李續宜由松子關出商城、固始為第四路。 十月,由黃州移營英山。 陳玉成在賊中最狡悍,見太湖圍急,糾合捻匪張洛行、龔瞎子眾數十萬來援。 林翼集諸軍精銳全力備戰,欲一鼓殲之。 與曾國籓部署諸將,指揮戰略。 謀前敵總統,以多隆阿謀勇兼優,而鮑超素不相下,手書勸勉,十數往復,始定議。 又備意外,令金國琛、-{余}-際昌以八千人出潛山天堂拊賊背。 十二月,賊至,鮑超營小池驛,當其衝,賊聚攻之。 多隆阿慮分兵掣全勢,置不救,調唐訓方往助。 事且急,金國琛等由山中鼓行而出,賊乃奪氣。
In 1859 he encamped at Shangbahe, joined Li Xuyi in drilling the ranks night and day, and planned a major offensive. Shi Dakai invaded Hunan from Jiangxi and besieged Baoqing. He sent Li Xuyi with Shu Bao's cavalry and detachments of sailors to hold the rivers; Baoqing was relieved, and he joined Zeng Guofan to retake Anhui. Zeng Guofan would advance downriver as the first column; Duo Long'a and Bao Chao would take Qianshan and Taihu as the second; Lin Yi would march from Yingshan and Huoshan as the third; Li Xuyi would come through Songziguan toward Shangcheng and Gushi as the fourth. In October he moved headquarters from Huangzhou to Yingshan. Chen Yucheng, the rebels' craftiest commander, saw Taihu hard pressed and rallied the Nian leaders Zhang Luoxing and Gong the Blind with hundreds of thousands of men. Lin Yi massed his best troops for a battle meant to destroy them in one blow. He and Zeng Guofan deployed the generals and set strategy. They needed a field commander; Duo Long'a had both brains and nerve, but Bao Chao would not defer to him until Lin Yi exchanged a dozen personal letters of persuasion. As insurance he sent Jin Guochen and Yu Jichang with eight thousand men through Qianshan's Tiantang to hit the enemy's rear. In December the rebels arrived; Bao Chao held Xiaochiyi on the main road and they concentrated their assault on him. Duo Long'a feared splitting his force and held back, then sent Tang Xunfang to help. As the crisis peaked, Jin Guochen's men marched beating drums from the hills and the rebels' morale broke.
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十年正月,多隆阿攻羅山沖為西路,鮑超出小池驛為東路,硃品隆、蔣凝學、唐訓方等合擊,金國琛等亦同時並進,大破賊,殲斃先後二萬餘,遂克太湖城,潛山亦復。 是役為僅見之大捷,安慶之勢遂孤。 既而江南大軍潰,蘇、常盡陷,曾國籓授兩江總督,督師。 林翼為畫分路大舉之策,國籓不盡用,率鮑超等次祁門,為規复江南計,以其弟國荃圍安慶。 林翼令多隆阿圍桐城,李續宜屯青草塥,為兩軍援,都興阿別出師江北,分兵濟餉,林翼悉任之。 十月,多隆阿、李續宜大破賊於桐城掛車河。 林翼進駐太湖,度賊援安慶不利,必深入湖北腹地以分我軍勢。 令-{余}-際昌屯霍山樂兒嶺,成大吉屯羅田松子關,戒賊至勿浪戰,堅守待援。
In the first month of 1860 Duo Long'a struck Luoshanchong on the west and Bao Chao on the east at Xiaochiyi; Zhu Pinlong, Jiang Ningxue, Tang Xunfang, Jin Guochen, and others joined the assault, killing more than twenty thousand rebels and recovering Taihu and Qianshan. It was a victory seldom matched in the war, and Anqing was left isolated. Then the Jiangnan armies collapsed and Suzhou and Changzhou fell; Zeng Guofan became governor-general of Liangjiang and took command. Lin Yi drafted a multi-pronged offensive; Zeng Guofan used only part of it, camping Bao Chao at Qimen to recover the lower Yangtze while his brother Guoquan besieged Anqing. Lin Yi had Duo Long'a besiege Tongcheng and Li Xuyi hold Qingcaodi in support; Du Xing'a operated north of the river with divided columns for supplies, and Lin Yi left all of it to them. In October Duo Long'a and Li Xuyi routed the rebels at Guache River near Tongcheng. Lin Yi moved to Taihu, reasoning that if relief for Anqing failed the rebels would plunge into Hubei's heartland to split his forces. He posted Yu Jichang at Le'erling in Huoshan and Cheng Daji at Songziguan in Luotian, ordering them not to offer reckless battle but to hold until reinforcements came.
25
十一年春,賊果合捻匪西犯,成大吉破之松子關,殲捻渠龔瞎子。 霍山守者違節度,為賊所敗,遂進陷黃州、德安、孝感、隨州,林翼令李續宜回援。 賊復分股回略蘄、黃,趨安慶,約城賊夾擊。 檄成大吉下援,鮑超亦由南岸至,破賊於集賢關,擒斬數千,磔其渠劉瑲林。 多隆阿亦破援賊於桐城,賊計不得逞,城中糧將盡,勢益慼。 南岸之賊復由江西犯興國、大冶,南及崇、通,武漢震動。 林翼方病咯血,自率師回援,而圍攻安慶益急。 及抵湖北,賊已聞風遁。 八月朔,遂克安慶。 曾國籓推林翼為首功,詔加太子太保,予騎都尉世職。 桐城、廬江、舒城以次復,黃州、德安之賊先後擒斬,楚境悉平。
In spring 1861 the rebels joined Nian forces in a western drive; Cheng Daji defeated them at Songziguan and killed the Nian chief Gong the Blind. The Huoshan garrison disobeyed orders, was beaten, and the rebels took Huangzhou, De'an, Xiaogan, and Suizhou; Lin Yi recalled Li Xuyi. Rebel detachments swept back through Qizhou and Huangzhou toward Anqing to coordinate with the garrison in a pincer. He sent Cheng Daji south; Bao Chao came up from the south bank, smashed the rebels at Jixian Pass, killed thousands, and executed their leader Liu Qilin by dismemberment. Duo Long'a routed the relief force at Tongcheng; with their plan foiled and provisions inside Anqing nearly gone, the defenders grew desperate. Rebels south of the river struck from Jiangxi into Xingguo and Daye and as far as Chongyang and Tongcheng, shaking Wuhan. Though ill and coughing blood, Lin Yi led troops back to rescue Hubei even as the siege of Anqing tightened. By the time he reached Hubei the rebels had fled at the news of his approach. On the first day of the eighth month Anqing fell. Zeng Guofan credited Lin Yi as chief architect of victory; the throne made him Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and granted a hereditary commandant's rank. Tongcheng, Lujiang, and Shucheng were retaken; rebels in Huangzhou and De'an were hunted down; Hubei was fully pacified.
26
林翼久病,聞文宗崩於熱河行在,大慟嘔血,八月,卒。 詔贈總督,祀賢良祠,湖北、湖南並建專祠,賜其子子勳舉人,諡文忠。 同治元年,复詔:「林翼未竟全功,遽就溘逝,跡其功勳卓越,名播寰區,至今江、鄂士民稱頌。 命於原籍家祠賜祭一壇。」 洎江南平,加予一等輕車都尉世職,子子勳襲,後併兩世職為男爵。 光緒中,以孫祖廕襲,官郵傳部參議。
Long ill, he learned that Emperor Wenzong had died at Rehe, grieved until he vomited blood, and died in the eighth month. The court posthumously honored him as governor, enshrined him in the Shrine of Worthies, built temples in Hubei and Hunan, granted his son Ziqin the juren degree, and gave him the posthumous name Wenzhong. In 1862 the court declared: "Lin Yi died before finishing his work, yet his feats were supreme and his fame still fills the land; the people of the middle Yangtze and Hubei praise him to this day. It ordered one imperial sacrifice at his ancestral hall in his home county." After the lower Yangtze was pacified he received an additional first-class Light Chariot Commandant hereditary rank, which his son Ziqin inherited and later merged with the earlier rank into a baronetcy. In the Guangxu era his grandson Zuyin inherited the title and served as secretary in the Ministry of Posts.
27
林翼貌英偉,目岩岩,威棱懾人。 事至立斷,無留難。 尤長綜覈,釐正湖北漕糧積弊,以部定漕折為率,因地量加輕重,民歲減錢百餘萬緡,歲增帑四十餘萬兩,提存節省銀亦三十餘萬兩。 兩湖自淮鹽阻絕,率食川鹽,於宜昌、沙市、武穴、老河口設局徵稅,視舊課增至倍蓰。 時東南各省皆抽釐助餉,惟湖北多用士人司榷,覈實無弊。 其治軍務明紀律,手訂營制,留意將才。 嘗曰:「兵之囂者無不罷,將之貪者無不怯; 觀將知兵,觀兵知將。 為統將必明大體,知進退緩急機宜; 其次知陣法,臨敵決勝; 又其次勇敢:此大小之分也。」 馭將以誠,因材而造就之,多以功名顯。 察吏嚴而不沒一善,手書褒美,受者榮於薦剡,故文武皆樂為之用。 士有志節才名不樂仕進者,千里招致,於武昌立寶善堂居之,以示坊表。 嘗曰:「國之需才,猶魚之需水,鳥之需林,人之需氣,草木之需土。 得之則生,不得則死。 才者無求於天下,天下當自求之。」 薦舉不盡相識,無一失人。 曾國籓稱其薦賢滿天下,非虛語。 嘗自以聞道晚,刻自繩檢,欿然常若不足。 家有田數百畝,初筮仕,誓先墓,不以官俸自益。 父著弟子箴言行世,承其志為箴言書院,教人務實學。 病革,曰:「吾死,諸君賻吾,惟修書院,無贍吾家。」 所著讀史兵略、奏議、書牘,皆經世精言。
Lin Yi looked imposing, with a rock-steady gaze that awed those around him. When business came he decided it on the spot without delay. He excelled at auditing accounts, reformed Hubei's corrupt grain-tax system on the basis of the Board rate, and adjusted surcharges by locality—cutting more than a million strings from the people's yearly burden, adding more than four hundred thousand taels to revenue, and banking over three hundred thousand taels in savings. With Huai salt cut off, Huguang lived on Sichuan salt; he taxed it at Yichang, Shashi, Wuxue, and Laohekou at several times the old rate. While southeastern provinces used likin to fund armies, Hubei mostly put scholars in charge of collection and kept the levies honest. He ran the army with strict discipline, wrote the regulations himself, and cultivated commanders. He said: "Boisterous troops always fail; greedy generals always flinch; study the commander and you know the army, study the army and you know the commander. A supreme commander must grasp the big picture and know when to advance, retreat, or wait; next know formations and win in the field; last comes mere bravery—that is the least of the three. He led his officers with sincerity, shaped them to their gifts, and many rose to fame and rank. He scrutinized officials rigorously yet never let a good deed pass unnoticed, wrote personal letters of praise, and recipients felt more honored than by an official recommendation—so men of every rank were eager to serve him. Men of talent and principle who shunned official careers he drew from afar, housed at the Baoshan Hall in Wuchang, and held up as models for others. He once said, "A state needs talent the way fish need water, birds need forests, people need air, and plants need soil. With it they live; without it they perish. Talent does not petition the world—the world must go out and find it." He recommended men he did not always know personally, yet never chose wrongly. When Zeng Guofan said his recommendations of talent had filled the empire, it was no exaggeration. He felt he had come to the Way late, held himself to stern discipline, and stayed modest as if he never measured up. His family held several hundred mu of land; on first taking office he swore at his ancestors' graves never to pad his private purse with public pay. His father had published Admonitions for Disciples; he carried on that aim at the Zhenyan Academy, teaching students practical, useful learning. On his deathbed he said, "If you wish to honor me after I die, give only to the academy—do not provide for my family." His Reading History and Military Stratagems, memorials, and correspondence were all classics of statecraft.
28
論曰:駱秉章休休有容,取人為善。 胡林翼綜覈名實,幹濟冠時。 論其治事之寬嚴疏密若不相侔,而皆以長駕遠馭,驅策群材,用能丕樹偉績。 所蒞者千里方圻,規畫動關軍事全局。 使無其人,則曾國籓、左宗棠諸人失所匡扶憑藉,其成功且較難。 緬懷中興之業,二人所關係者豈不鉅哉?
The historian writes: Luo Bingzhang was broad-minded and tolerant, always drawing out the best in others. Hu Linyi matched deeds to names and in practical statesmanship stood above his contemporaries. Their styles of administration—lenient or stern, loose or tight—seemed worlds apart, yet both governed from a distance, marshaled a host of talent, and thereby built towering achievements. The regions they oversaw sprawled across a thousand li, and their plans routinely shaped the war as a whole. Without them, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and their peers would have lacked the backing they relied on, and victory would have been far harder to win. Looking back on the revival of the dynasty, how immense was the stake these two men held?