Volume 412 Biographies 199: Zuo Zongtang

列傳一百九十九

Biographies 199

左宗棠

Zuo Zongtang

左宗棠，字季高，湖南湘陰人。父觀瀾，廩生，有學行。宗棠，道光十二年舉人，三試禮部不第，遂絕意仕進，究心輿地、兵法。喜為壯語驚眾，名在公卿間。嘗以諸葛亮自比，人目其狂也。胡林翼亟稱之，謂橫覽九州，更無才出其右者。年且四十，顧謂所親曰：「非夢卜夐求，殆無幸矣！」

Zuo Zongtang, whose courtesy name was Jigao, came from Xiangyin in Hunan. His father Guanlan held licentiate standing and was a man of learning and integrity. Zongtang passed the provincial examination in 1832, but after failing the metropolitan examination three times he gave up any hope of an official career and threw himself into geography and military strategy. He loved grand pronouncements that astonished listeners, and his reputation spread among the court elite. He once likened himself to Zhuge Liang, and many considered him unhinged. Hu Linyi spoke of him again and again, declaring that across the realm there was no one to match his ability. By the time he was nearly forty, he told his intimates, "Unless heaven seeks one out through oracle and omen, there is little hope of fortune!"

咸豐初，廣西盜起，張亮基巡撫湖南，禮闢不就。林翼敦勸之，乃出。敘守長沙功，由知縣擢同知直隸州。亮基移撫山東，宗棠歸隱梓木洞。駱秉章至湖南，復以計劫之出佐軍幕，倚之如左右手。僚屬白事，輒問：「季高先生雲何？」由是忌者日眾，謗議四起，而名日聞。同里郭嵩燾官編修，一日，文宗召問：「若識舉人左宗棠乎？何久不出也？年幾何矣？過此精力已衰，汝可為書諭吾意，當及時出為吾辦賊。」林翼聞而喜曰：「夢卜夐求時至矣！」

Early in the Xianfeng reign, rebellion broke out in Guangxi. When Zhang Liangji took office as Hunan governor, he invited Zongtang with full ceremony, but Zongtang declined. Only after Linyi pressed him repeatedly did he agree to emerge. For his service in the defense of Changsha he was promoted from county magistrate to sub-prefect of Zhili Prefecture. When Liangji was transferred to Shandong, Zongtang withdrew again to seclusion at Zimu Cave. When Luo Bingzhang came to Hunan, he again contrived to draw Zongtang out to serve on his military staff, relying on him as on his own two hands. Whenever his staff brought him business, he would ask, "What does Master Jigao say?" Envy of him mounted daily, slander spread on every side, and his reputation only grew. His fellow townsman Guo Songtao served as a Hanlin compiler. One day the Xianfeng Emperor asked him, "Do you know the provincial graduate Zuo Zongtang? Why has he stayed out of service so long? How old is he now? After that his strength will be spent. Write to him with my wishes and tell him to come out in good time and fight the rebels for me." When Linyi heard the news he exclaimed with delight, "The hour of oracle and omen has arrived at last!"

六年，曾國籓克武昌，奏陳宗棠濟師、濟餉功，詔以兵部郎中用，俄加四品卿銜。會秉章劾罷總兵樊燮，燮構於總督官文，為蜚語上聞，召宗棠對簿武昌，秉章疏爭之不得。林翼、國籓皆言宗棠無罪，且薦其才可大用。詹事潘祖廕亦誦言總督惑於浮辭，故得不逮。俄而朝旨下，命以四品京堂從國籓治軍。初，國籓創立湘軍，諸軍遵其營制，獨王珍不用。宗棠募五千人，參用珍法，號曰「楚軍」。十年八月，宗棠既成軍而東，偽翼王石達開竄四川，詔移師討蜀。國籓、林翼以江、皖事急，合疏留之。時國籓進兵皖南，駐祁門，偽侍王李世賢、忠王李秀成糾眾數十萬圍祁門。宗棠率楚軍道江西，轉戰而前，遂克德興、婺源。賊趨浮梁景德鎮，斷祁門餉道。宗棠還師擊之，大戰於樂平、鄱陽，殭屍十餘萬，世賢易服逃，而徽州賊亦遁浙江。自是江、皖軍勢始振。

In 1856, after Zeng Guofan took Wuchang, he memorialized Zongtang's contributions in supplying troops and funds. The court appointed Zongtang a director in the Ministry of War and soon added a fourth-rank honorary court title. Meanwhile Bingzhang had impeached and removed regional commander Fan Xie. Fan enlisted Governor Guan Wen to spread rumors to the court, and Zongtang was summoned to face charges at Wuchang. Bingzhang protested in a memorial but could not prevail. Both Linyi and Guofan declared Zongtang innocent and urged that his talents deserved major employment. Junior Mentor Pan Zuyin likewise argued that the governor had been swayed by idle talk, and so Zongtang was not taken into custody. Before long an imperial order arrived appointing him a fourth-rank capital official to serve under Guofan in military affairs. When Guofan first formed the Xiang Army, other forces adopted his camp organization, but Wang Zhen alone kept his own system. Zongtang raised five thousand men, drawing partly on Zhen's methods, and called the force the Chu Army. In August 1860, after Zongtang had mustered his force and marched east, the rebel Wing King Shi Dakai fled into Sichuan and the court ordered the army shifted to attack there. Guofan and Linyi, finding the Jiangsu and Anhui fronts critical, submitted a joint memorial asking that he be kept on the scene. Guofan was then advancing into southern Anhui and had encamped at Qimen, where the rebel Attendant King Li Shixian and Loyal King Li Xiucheng massed several hundred thousand men to besiege him. Zongtang led the Chu Army through Jiangxi, fighting his way forward until he took Dexing and Wuyuan. The rebels pushed toward Fuliang and Jingdezhen and severed the supply line to Qimen. Zongtang wheeled back to attack them. At Leping and Poyang he fought major battles that left more than a hundred thousand dead. Shixian disguised himself and fled, and the Huizhou rebels also withdrew into Zhejiang. From that point the armies in Jiangsu and Anhui began to recover their strength.

十一年，詔授太常寺卿，襄辦江南軍務，乃率楚軍八千人東援浙。朝命國籓節制浙江，國籓薦宗棠足任浙事。宗棠部將名者，劉典、王開來、王文瑞、王沐，數軍單薄，不足資戰守；乃奏調蔣益澧於廣西，劉培元、魏喻義於湖南，皆未至，而宗棠以數千人策應七百餘裡，指揮若定，國籓服其整暇。已而壕州陷，复疏薦之，遂授浙江巡撫。

In 1861 he was appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to assist in Jiangnan military affairs and led eight thousand Chu Army troops east to relieve Zhejiang. The court placed Zhejiang under Guofan's overall command, and Guofan recommended Zongtang as fully capable of managing Zhejiang affairs. His best-known subordinate commanders were Liu Dian, Wang Kailai, Wang Wenrui, and Wang Mu, but their forces were too few to sustain prolonged combat; so he requested transfers of Jiang Yili from Guangxi and Liu Peiyuan and Wei Yuyi from Hunan. None had yet arrived, yet with only a few thousand men Zongtang coordinated operations across more than three hundred miles with unshaken command, and Guofan marveled at his calm mastery. When Haozhou soon fell, he memorialized again on Zongtang's behalf, and Zongtang was appointed governor of Zhejiang.

時浙地唯湖、衢二州未陷賊，國籓與宗棠計，以保徽州，固饒、廣為根本。奏以三府屬縣賦供其軍，設婺源、景德、河口三稅局裨之，三府防軍悉隸宗棠。賊大舉犯婺源，親督軍敗之。同治元年正月，詔促自衢規浙。宗棠奏言：「行軍之法，必避長圍，防後路。臣軍入衢，則徽、婺疏虞，又成糧盡援絕之勢。今由婺源攻開化，分軍扼華埠，收遂安，使饒、廣相庇以安，然後可以製賊而不為賊制。」二月，克遂安。世賢自金華犯衢州，連擊敗之。而皖南賊复陷寧國，遣文瑞往援，克績溪。十一月，喻義克嚴州。二年正月，益澧及高連升、熊建益、王德榜、餘佩玉等克金華、紹興，浙東諸郡縣皆定。

At that time only the Hu and Qu prefectures in Zhejiang still held out. Guofan and Zongtang agreed to defend Huizhou and make Rao and Guang their strategic base. They memorialized that the land tax of counties in the three prefectures should feed his army, established tax offices at Wuyuan, Jingde, and Hekou to supplement revenue, and placed all garrison troops of the three prefectures under Zongtang's command. When the rebels launched a major assault on Wuyuan, he personally directed the army and routed them. In the first month of 1862 an edict pressed him to advance from Quzhou toward the heart of Zhejiang. Zongtang replied in a memorial: "In campaigning one must avoid long encirclements and secure the line of retreat. If my army enters Quzhou, Huizhou and Wuyuan will be left exposed, and we shall again face starvation with no relief. I propose to strike Kaihua from Wuyuan, detach troops to hold Huabu, recover Suian, and let Rao and Guang shield one another. Only then can we master the rebels instead of being mastered by them." In the second month Suian was taken. Shixian advanced from Jinhua against Quzhou, but Zongtang defeated him again and again. Rebels in southern Anhui meanwhile retook Ningguo. He sent Wenrui to relieve the position and recovered Jixi. In the eleventh month Yuyi took Yanzhou. In the first month of 1863, Yili together with Gao Liansheng, Xiong Jianyi, Wang Debang, Yu Peiyu, and others took Jinhua and Shaoxing, and all of eastern Zhejiang was secured.

杭州賊震怖，悉眾拒富陽。時諸軍爭議乘勝取杭城，宗棠不喜攻堅，謂皖南賊勢猶盛，治寇以殄滅為期，勿貪近功。乃自金華進軍嚴州，令劉典將八千人會文瑞防徽州，以培元、德榜駐淳安、開化，而益澧攻富陽。劾罷道府及失守將吏十七人，舉浙士吳觀禮等賑荒招墾，足裕軍食。四月，授浙閩總督，兼巡撫事。劉典軍既至皖南，遂留屯。益澧攻富陽，軍僅萬餘人，皆病疫，宗棠亦患瘧困憊，富陽圍久不下，乃簡練舊浙軍，兼募外國軍助之攻。七月，李鴻章江蘇軍入浙攻嘉善，嘉興寇北援，於是水陸大舉攻富陽，克之。益澧等長驅搗杭州，魏喻義、康國器攻餘杭。宗棠以杭賊恃餘杭為犄角，非先下餘杭，收海寧，不能斷嘉、湖援濟，躬至餘杭視師。是時皖賊古隆賢反正，官軍連下建平、高淳諸邑。金陵賊呼秀成入謀他竄，獨世賢踞溧陽，與廣德賊比，中梗官軍。鴻章既克嘉善，上言當益軍攻嘉興。會浙師取常州，而廣德賊已由寧國竄浙。宗棠慮賊分擾江西、福建，乃檄張運蘭率所部趨福建，召劉典防江西。海寧賊蔡元隆以城降，更名元吉，後遂為驍將。三年二月，元吉會江蘇軍克嘉興。杭州賊陳炳文勢蹙約降，猶慮計中變，乘雨急攻之，夜啟門遁，杭州复，餘杭賊汪海洋亦東走。捷聞，加太子少保銜，賜黃馬褂。

The rebels at Hangzhou were thrown into panic and massed their entire force at Fuyang. Other commanders urged an immediate assault on Hangzhou, but Zongtang disliked storming walled cities. He argued that rebel strength in southern Anhui remained formidable, that suppression must aim at total annihilation, and that one must not chase quick gains. He marched from Jinhua to Yanzhou, ordered Liu Dian with eight thousand men to join Wenrui in defending Huizhou, posted Peiyuan and Debang at Chunan and Kaihua, and set Yili against Fuyang. He dismissed seventeen circuit officials, prefects, and commanders who had lost their posts, and appointed Zhejiang scholars such as Wu Guanli to relieve famine and promote resettlement until army provisions were ample. In the fourth month he was appointed governor-general of Zhejiang and Fujian, retaining concurrent charge of the governorship. Once Liu Dian's force reached southern Anhui, it remained stationed there. Yili besieged Fuyang with barely ten thousand men, all stricken by epidemic disease. Zongtang himself was racked by malaria. When the siege dragged on, he retrained the old Zhejiang forces and hired foreign auxiliaries to help take the city. In the seventh month Li Hongzhang's Jiangsu army entered Zhejiang against Jiashan. Rebels from Jiaxing marched north to relieve the position, and then a combined land and river assault took Fuyang. Yili and others pressed straight toward Hangzhou while Wei Yuyi and Kang Guoqi attacked Yuhang. Zongtang judged that the Hangzhou rebels depended on Yuhang as a flank and that Jiaxing and Huzhou could not be cut off until Yuhang and Haining were taken first. He went in person to Yuhang to direct operations. At that time the Anhui rebel Gu Longxian defected to the government side, and imperial forces in succession recovered Jianping, Gaochun, and other districts. The Nanjing rebels summoned Xiucheng to plan another breakout. Shixian alone held Liyang alongside the Guangde rebels, blocking government forces in the center. After Hongzhang took Jiashan, he memorialized that reinforcements should be sent against Jiaxing. Just as Zhejiang forces took Changzhou, Guangde rebels had already broken from Ningguo into Zhejiang. Fearing the rebels might split off to harass Jiangxi and Fujian, Zongtang ordered Zhang Yunlan toward Fujian and recalled Liu Dian to guard Jiangxi. The Haining rebel Cai Yuanlong surrendered the city, changed his name to Yuanji, and later became one of Zongtang's fiercest commanders. In the second month of 1864, Yuanji joined the Jiangsu army and took Jiaxing. The Hangzhou rebel Chen Bingwen, hard pressed, agreed to surrender but still feared a trap. Zongtang attacked in heavy rain. That night the rebels opened the gates and fled. Hangzhou was recovered, and the Yuhang rebel Wang Haiyang also fled east. On report of victory he received the honorary title Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and was granted the yellow riding jacket.

移駐省城，申軍禁，招商開市，停杭關稅，減杭、嘉、湖稅三之一。益澧為布政使，亦輕財致士，一時翕然稱之。群賊聚湖州，乃移軍合圍，先攻菱湖。三月，江蘇軍克常州，賊敗竄徽、婺，趨江西。世賢踞崇仁，海洋踞東鄉，宗棠以賊入江西為腹心患，奏請楊岳斌督江西、皖南軍，以劉典副，從之。六月，曾國荃克江寧，洪秀全子福瑱奔湖州，俄复潰走，磔於南昌。七月，克湖州，盡定浙地。論功，封一等恪靖伯。

He moved his headquarters to the provincial capital, enforced military discipline, invited merchants back, reopened markets, suspended Hangzhou customs duties, and cut taxes in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou by one third. Yili, serving as provincial treasurer, was likewise generous in winning men of talent, and for a time the two were praised together throughout the province. The remaining rebels massed at Huzhou. He shifted his army to complete the encirclement and struck first at Linghu. In the third month the Jiangsu army took Changzhou. Defeated rebels fled through Huizhou and Wuyuan toward Jiangxi. Shixian held Chongren and Haiyang held Dongxiang. Zongtang, seeing rebel penetration of Jiangxi as the gravest threat, memorialized for Yang Yuebin to command the Jiangxi and southern Anhui armies with Liu Dian as deputy, and the court agreed. In the sixth month Zeng Guoquan took Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan's son Fuzhen fled to Huzhou, broke again soon after, and was executed by dismemberment at Nanchang. In the seventh month Huzhou fell and all of Zhejiang was pacified. For his merit he was enfeoffed as first-class Earl Kejing.

餘賊散走徽、寧、江西、廣東，折入汀州，福建大震。乃奏請之總督任，以益澧護巡撫，增調德榜軍至閩。四年三月，江蘇軍郭松林來會師，賊棄漳州出大埔。五月，進攻永定。世賢、海洋既屢敗，傷精銳過半，歸誠者三萬。宗棠進屯漳州，躡賊武平。於是賊竄廣東之鎮平，而福建亦定。

The remaining rebels scattered through Huizhou, Ningguo, Jiangxi, and Guangdong, turned into Tingzhou, and all Fujian was thrown into alarm. He memorialized to take the Fujian governorship himself, left Yili as acting governor of Zhejiang, and brought Debang's army into Fujian as reinforcements. In the third month of 1865, Guo Songlin of the Jiangsu army joined the campaign. The rebels abandoned Zhangzhou and broke out through Dabu. In the fifth month he advanced against Yongding. Shixian and Haiyang, repeatedly defeated, had lost more than half their best troops, and thirty thousand men surrendered. Zongtang advanced to Zhangzhou and pursued the rebels to Wuping. The rebels then fled into Zhenping in Guangdong, and Fujian was pacified as well.

乃檄康國器、關鎮平兩軍入粵，王開琳一軍入贛防江西，劉典軍趨南安防湖南，留高連升、黃少春軍武平，伺賊進退。六月，賊大舉犯武平，力戰卻之。世賢投海洋，為所戕，賊黨益猜貳。詔以宗棠節制三省諸軍。十月，賊陷嘉應，宗棠移屯和平琯溪。德榜慮帥屯孤懸，自請當中路。劉典聞德榜軍趨前，亦引軍疾進。猝遇賊，敗，賊追典，掠德榜屯而過，槍環擊之，輒反走。是夜降者逾四萬，言海洋中砲死矣，士氣愈奮。時鮑超軍亦至，賊出拒，又大敗之。合閩、浙、江、粵軍圍嘉應。十二月，賊開城遁，扼諸屯不得走，跪乞免者六萬餘，俘斬賊將七百三十四，首級可計數者萬六千，詔賜雙眼花翎。

He then ordered the armies of Kang Guoqi and Guan Zhenping into Guangdong, Wang Kailin's force into Jiangxi, and Liu Dian's toward Nan'an to guard Hunan, while Gao Liansheng and Huang Shaochun remained at Wuping to watch the rebels' movements. In the sixth month the rebels launched a major assault on Wuping and were beaten back after hard fighting. Shixian threw in his lot with Haiyang and was killed by him, and rebel morale grew ever more fractured. An edict placed all armies of the three provinces under Zongtang's command. In the tenth month the rebels took Jiaying, and Zongtang shifted his headquarters to Heping Guanxi. Debang, fearing the commander's camp was dangerously exposed, volunteered to take the central route. When Liu Dian heard Debang's army was pushing forward, he too advanced at speed. They suddenly met the rebels and were defeated. The rebels pursued Liu Dian, swept past Debang's camp, and when fired on from every side at once turned and fled. That night more than forty thousand surrendered, reporting that Haiyang had been killed by cannon fire. Government morale soared. Bao Chao's army also arrived. The rebels came out to resist and were routed again. Forces from Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong combined to besiege Jiaying. In the twelfth month the rebels opened the gates and fled but were blocked at the encampments. More than sixty thousand knelt begging mercy. Seven hundred thirty-four rebel commanders were captured or killed and sixteen thousand heads were counted. An edict granted him double-eyed peacock feathers.

五年正月，凱旋。宗棠以粵寇既平，首議減兵並餉，加給練兵。又以海禁開，非製備船械不能圖自強，乃創船廠馬尾山下，薦起沈葆楨主其事。會王師征西陲回亂久無功，詔宗棠移督陝、甘。十月，簡所部三千人西發，令劉典別募三千人期會漢口，中途以西捻張總愚竄陝西，命先入秦勦賊。

In the first month of 1866 he returned in triumph. With the Guangdong rebels pacified, Zongtang was the first to propose cutting troop numbers and consolidating pay while increasing funds for drilled militia. He also argued that with maritime trade reopened, China could not pursue self-strengthening without building ships and arms, so he founded a shipyard at Mawei and recommended Shen Baozhen to run it. Meanwhile the court's campaign against the Muslim rebellion on the western frontier had long stalled, and Zongtang was ordered to take over Shaanxi and Gansu. In the tenth month he led three thousand of his own troops west and ordered Liu Dian to raise another three thousand to meet at Hankou. En route, when the western Nian leader Zhang Zongyu broke into Shaanxi, he was told to enter Qin first and suppress the rebels.

陝、甘回眾數至百萬，與捻合。宗棠行次武昌，上奏曰：「臣維東南戰事利在舟，西北戰事利在馬。捻、回馬隊馳騁平原，官軍以步隊當之，必無幸矣。以馬力言，西產不若北產之健。捻馬多北產，故捻之戰悍於回。臣軍止六千，今擬購口北良馬習練馬隊，兼制雙輪砲車。由襄、鄧出紫荊關，徑商州以赴陝西。經營屯田，為久遠之規。是故進兵陝西，必先清關外之賊；進兵甘肅，必先清陝西之賊；駐兵蘭州，必先清各路之賊：然後餽運常通，師行無阻。至於進止久速，隨機赴勢，伏乞假臣便宜，寬其歲月，俾得從容規畫，以要其成。」

Muslim rebels in Shaanxi and Gansu numbered as many as a million and had joined forces with the Nian. At Wuchang on his march west he memorialized: "In the southeast, victory depends on boats; in the northwest, on horses. Nian and Muslim horsemen sweep the plains. If government troops meet them on foot, they cannot hope to prevail. In horse power, western breeds are weaker than northern ones. Nian horses are mostly from the north, which is why the Nian fight more fiercely than the Muslims. My force has only six thousand men. I propose to buy fine horses from the northern frontier, train cavalry, and build double-wheeled gun carriages. I shall march from Xiangyang and Dengzhou through Zijing Pass and Shangzhou into Shaanxi. I shall establish military colonies as a long-term plan. Therefore to advance into Shaanxi one must first clear the rebels beyond the passes; to advance into Gansu one must first clear Shaanxi; and to station troops at Lanzhou one must first clear every route: only then will supplies move steadily and the army march without hindrance. As for when to advance or halt and how fast to move, I beg Your Majesty to grant me discretion and ample time so that I may plan at leisure and bring the campaign to success."

六年春，提兵萬二千以西。議以砲車-{制}-賊馬，而以馬隊當步賊。捻倏見砲車，皆不戰狂奔。時陝西巡撫劉蓉已解任，總督楊岳斌請歸益急。詔寧夏將軍穆圖善署總督，宗棠以欽差大臣督軍務。分軍三道入關，而皖南鎮總兵劉松山率老湘軍九千人援陝，山西按察使陳湜主河防，其軍皆屬焉。松山既屢敗捻，又合蜀軍將黃鼎、皖軍將郭寶昌，大破之富平。捻掠三原，沿渭北東趨，回則分黨西犯，麕集北山。宗棠以捻強於回，當先制捻。檄諸軍憑河結營，期蹙而殲之涇、洛間。捻乘軍未集，又折而西渡涇、渭，窺豫、鄂。已而大軍進逼，勢不復能南，乃趨白水。乘大風雨，鋌走入北山。宗棠防捻、回合勢，且北山荒瘠，師行糧不繼，因急扼耀州。十月，捻敗走宜川，別黨果竄耀州，合回匪攻同官。留防軍不能禦，典、連升軍馳救，大破之。諸軍將雖屢敗捻，終牽於回，師行滯；而捻大眾在宜川者益北擾延長，掠綏德，趨葭州，回亦自延安出陷綏德。宗棠自以延、綏迭失，上書請罪，部議革職。時北山及扶、岐、汧、隴、邠、鳳諸回，所在響應。捻自南而北，千有餘裡，回自西而東，亦千有餘裡。陝西主客軍能戰者不及五萬，然回當之輒敗。松山等克綏德，回走米脂，捻復分道南竄。於是劉厚基出東北追回，松山等循西岸要捻。師抵宜川，回大出遮官軍，留戰一日，破之；而捻遂取間道逾山至壺口，乘冰橋渡河。宗棠奉朝旨，山右毗連畿輔，令自率五千人赴援，以劉典代督陝甘軍。

In the spring of 1867 he led twelve thousand troops west. The plan was to use gun carriages to break the rebel cavalry and horse troops to meet the rebel infantry. Whenever the Nian caught sight of the gun carriages they fled without fighting. Shaanxi governor Liu Rong had already left office, and Governor-General Yang Yuebin was pressing ever harder to go home. Mutu Shan, general of Ningxia, was appointed acting governor-general, while Zongtang served as Imperial Commissioner in charge of military affairs. He divided his force into three columns to enter the passes. Liu Songshan of the old Xiang Army brought nine thousand men to reinforce Shaanxi, and Shanxi judicial commissioner Chen Ni took charge of river defense. All came under Zongtang's command. After repeatedly defeating the Nian, Songshan joined Huang Ding of the Sichuan army and Guo Baochang of the Anhui army and routed them at Fuping. The Nian raided Sanyuan and marched east along the north bank of the Wei, while Muslim bands split westward and massed in the northern hills. Zongtang judged the Nian the stronger foe and resolved to deal with them first. He ordered his armies to camp along the river and crush the Nian between the Jing and Luo. Before the armies could concentrate, the Nian turned west again, crossed the Jing and Wei, and threatened Henan and Hubei. When the main force closed in, they could no longer push south and fled toward Baishui. In a driving storm they bolted into the northern hills. Fearing a Nian-Muslim combination, and knowing the northern hills were too barren to feed an army, he urgently seized Yaozhou. In the tenth month the defeated Nian fled toward Yichuan while another band broke into Yaozhou and joined Muslim rebels against Tongguan. The local garrison could not hold. Liu Dian and Gao Liansheng rushed to the rescue and routed the enemy. Although his commanders repeatedly beat the Nian, they were constantly drawn off by Muslim raids and the campaign stalled; while the main Nian force at Yichuan raided north into Yanchang, plundered Suide, and pressed toward Jiazhou, and Muslims from Yan'an also took Suide. Zongtang blamed himself for the loss of Yanchang and Suide, submitted a confession, and the ministry recommended his dismissal. Muslims throughout the northern hills and in Fu, Qi, Qian, Long, Bin, and Feng rose everywhere at once. The Nian stretched more than five hundred miles from south to north, and the Muslims more than five hundred miles from west to east. Fewer than fifty thousand government troops in Shaanxi could actually fight, yet they were beaten whenever they met the Muslims. Songshan retook Suide. The Muslims fled to Mizhi while the Nian again split and fled south. Liu Houji pursued northeast while Songshan blocked them along the west bank. At Yichuan the Muslims massed to block the army; after a day of fighting they were broken; but the Nian took a mountain path to Hukou and crossed the Yellow River on the ice. Ordered east because Shanxi bordered the capital region, Zongtang led five thousand men personally to the relief while Liu Dian took over the Shaanxi-Gansu command.

是年十二月，捻自垣曲入河南，益北趨定州，遊騎犯保定，京師戒嚴。詔切責督兵大臣，自宗棠、鴻章及河南巡撫李鶴年、直隸總督官文，皆奪職。宗棠至保定，松山等連破賊深、祁、饒、晉。當是時，捻馳騖數百里間，由直隸竄河南、山東，已復渡運越吳橋，犯天津。鴻章議築長圍制賊；宗棠謂當且防且剿，西岸固守，必東路有追剿之師，乃可掣其狂奔之勢：上兩從其議。於是勤王師大集，宗棠駐軍吳橋，捻徘徊陵邑、濟陽，合淮、豫軍迭敗之，總愚走河濱以死，西捻平。入覲，天語褒嘉，且詢西陲師期。宗棠對以五年，後卒如其言焉。

That December the Nian entered Henan from Yuanchu, pressed toward Dingzhou, raided Baoding, and the capital went on alert. The court sharply rebuked the commanders in charge, stripping Zongtang, Hongzhang, Henan governor Li Henian, and Zhili governor Guan Wen of their posts. When Zongtang reached Baoding, Songshan won a series of victories in Shen, Qi, Rao, and Jin. The Nian ranged over hundreds of miles, broke from Zhili into Henan and Shandong, crossed the Grand Canal beyond Wuqiao, and threatened Tianjin. Hongzhang proposed a long encirclement; Zongtang argued for simultaneous defense and pursuit, holding the west bank while eastern columns chased the Nian down. The throne accepted both plans. Relief armies massed. Zongtang held Wuqiao while the Nian lingered near Lingyi and Jiyang. Combined Huai and Henan forces defeated them again and again until Zongyu died on the riverbank and the western Nian were destroyed. At court audience the emperor praised him and asked how long the western campaign would take. Zongtang answered five years, and in the end he was proved right.

七年十月，率師還陝，抵西安。時東北土寇董福祥等眾十餘萬，擾延安、綏德，西南陝回白彥虎等號二十萬，踞甘肅董志原。松山至，破土寇，降福祥；而回益四出剿掠，其西南竄出者，並力擾秦川，黃鼎破之。宗棠進軍乾州，諜報回巢將徙金積堡，分軍擊之，遂下董志原，連复鎮原、慶陽，回死者至三萬。督丁壯耕作，教以區田、代田法。擇嶮荒地，發帑金巨萬，悉取所收饑民及降眾十七萬居焉。遂以八年五月進駐涇州。

In the tenth month of 1868 he led his army back to Shaanxi and reached Xi'an. In the northeast local bandits led by Dong Fuxiang, more than a hundred thousand strong, harassed Yan'an and Suide, while in the southwest Shaanxi Muslim leader Bai Yanhu claimed two hundred thousand men and held Dongzhiyuan in Gansu. Songshan broke the local bandits and accepted Fuxiang's surrender; but Muslim raids intensified on every side. Bands breaking southwest harassed the Qin plain until Huang Ding defeated them. Zongtang advanced to Qianzhou. Intelligence said the rebels would move to Jinjibu. He divided his force, took Dongzhiyuan, recovered Zhenyuan and Qingyang in succession, and killed thirty thousand Muslims. He set the able-bodied to farming and taught them zoned-field and crop-rotation methods. He chose rugged wasteland, spent vast sums from the treasury, and settled there one hundred seventy thousand refugees and surrendered people. In the fifth month of 1869 he advanced his headquarters to Jingzhou.

甘回最著者，西曰馬朵三，踞西寧；南曰馬占鰲，踞河川；北曰馬化隆，踞寧夏、靈州。化隆以金積堡為老巢，堡當秦、漢兩渠間，扼黃河之險，擅鹽、馬、茶大利。環堡五百餘寨，黨眾嘯聚。掠取漢民產業子女。陝回時時與通市，相為首尾。化隆以新教煽回民，購馬造軍械，而陽輸誠紿穆圖善。董志原既平，陝回竄靈州，化隆上書為陝回乞撫。宗棠察其詐，備三月糧，先攻金積堡，以為收功全隴之基。及松山追陝回至靈州，扼永靈洞。化隆懼，仍代陝回乞撫，謀緩兵，穆圖善信之，日言撫，綏遠城將軍至劾松山濫殺激變。然化隆實無意降也，密召諸回並出劫軍餉。十一月，宗棠進駐平涼。九年，松山陣歿，以其兄子錦棠代之，戰屢捷，而中路、南路軍亦所向有功，陝回受撫者數千人。及奪秦壩關，化隆益窘，詣軍門乞降，誅之，夷其城堡。遷甘回固原、平涼，陝回化平，而編管鈐束之，寧、靈悉定。奏言進規河湟，而是時有伊犁之變，詔宗棠分兵屯肅州，乃遣徐佔彪將六千人往。

The leading Gansu Muslim leaders were Ma Duosan in the west at Xining; Ma Zhan'ao in the south at Hechuan; and Ma Hualong in the north at Ningxia and Lingzhou. Hualong made Jinjibu his stronghold. The fort lay between the Qin and Han canals, commanding the Yellow River crossing and monopolizing the salt, horse, and tea trades. More than five hundred stockades ringed the fort, and his followers massed there. They seized Han property and abducted Han women and children. Shaanxi Muslims traded with them constantly and acted in concert. Hualong stirred the Muslims with the New Teaching, bought horses, and manufactured arms, while openly professing loyalty to deceive Mutu Shan. After Dongzhiyuan fell, Shaanxi Muslims fled to Lingzhou and Hualong memorialized asking peace terms for them. Zongtang saw through the ruse, laid in three months' provisions, and attacked Jinjibu first as the key to pacifying all Gansu. Songshan pursued the Shaanxi Muslims to Lingzhou and seized Yongling Pass. Hualong, alarmed, again pleaded for peace on behalf of the Shaanxi Muslims to gain time. Mutu Shan believed him and talked daily of negotiation. The Suiyuan garrison general impeached Songshan for indiscriminate killing that had provoked rebellion. But Hualong had no intention of surrendering and secretly ordered all Muslim bands out to raid army supplies. In the eleventh month Zongtang moved his headquarters to Pingliang. In 1870 Songshan was killed in battle and his nephew Jintang replaced him. Victory followed victory on the central and southern fronts, and several thousand Shaanxi Muslims submitted. When Qinba Pass fell, Hualong was cornered. He came to the camp begging to surrender, was executed, and his fortifications were destroyed. Gansu Muslims were resettled at Guyuan and Pingliang, Shaanxi Muslims at Huaping under strict control, and Ningxia and Lingzhou were fully pacified. He memorialized to advance on the Huangshui region, but the Yili crisis intervened. The court ordered troops garrisoned at Suzhou, and he sent Xu Zhanbiao west with six thousand men.

十年七月，自率大軍由平涼移駐靜寧。八月，至安定。寇聚河州，其東出，必繞洮河三甲集，集西太子寺，再西大東鄉，皆險要。諸將分擊，悉破平之。時回酋朵三已死，佔鰲見官軍深入，西寧回已歸順，去路絕，遂亦受撫。河州平。

In the seventh month of 1871 he led the main army from Pingliang to Jingning. In the eighth month he reached Anding. Rebels massed at Hezhou. Any eastern breakout had to pass Sanjiaji on the Tao River, then Taizi Temple, then Dadongxiang—all formidable positions. His generals attacked on separate fronts and cleared them all. Duosan was already dead. Zhan'ao, seeing the army deep in his territory, Xining Muslims already submitted, and escape cut off, also accepted pacification. Hezhou was pacified.

十一年七月，移駐蘭州。佔彪前以伊犁之變率師而西也，於時肅州阻亂，回酋馬文祿先已就撫，聞關外兵事急，复據城叛。及佔彪軍至，乃嬰城固守，而乞援西寧。陝回白彥虎、禹得彥亦潛應文祿。會錦棠率軍至，西寧土回及陝回俱變，推馬本源為元帥。西寧東北阻湟水，兩山對峙，古所稱湟中也。賊據險而屯，俄敗走，遺棄馬騾滿山谷，竄巴燕戎格。大通都司馬壽复嗾向陽堡回殺漢民以叛。十二年正月，錦棠攻向陽堡，奪門入，斬馬壽，遂破大通，搗巴燕戎格，誅本源，河東、西諸回堡皆降。文祿踞肅州，詭詞求撫，益招致邊外回助城守，連攻未能下。八月，宗棠來視師，文祿登城見帥旗，奪氣。請出關討賊自效，不許。金順、錦棠軍大集，文祿窮蹙出降，磔之。白彥虎竄遁關外，肅州平。以陝甘總督協辦大學士，加一等輕車都尉。奏請甘肅分闈鄉試，設學政。十三年，晉東閣大學士，留治所。自咸豐初，天下大亂，粵盜最劇，次者捻逆，次者回。宗棠既手戡定之，至是陝、甘悉靖，而塞外平回，朝廷尤矜寵焉。

In the seventh month of 1872 he moved his headquarters to Lanzhou. Zhanbiao had earlier marched west because of the Yili crisis. At Suzhou, Muslim leader Ma Wenlu had once submitted, but hearing of troubles beyond the passes he rebelled and seized the city again. When Zhanbiao's army arrived, he shut himself in the city and begged Xining for help. Shaanxi Muslim leaders Bai Yanhu and Yu Deyan also secretly supported Wenlu. When Jintang arrived, Xining's native and Shaanxi Muslims both rose and made Ma Benyuan their commander. Northeast of Xining the Huang River blocks the way between facing mountains—the region anciently called Huangzhong. The rebels held the heights but were soon routed, leaving horses and mules strewn through the valleys as they fled to Bayan Rongge. Datong company commander Ma Shou again incited the Muslims of Xiangyang Fort to massacre Han civilians and rebel. In the first month of 1873 Jintang stormed Xiangyang Fort, cut down Ma Shou, broke Datong, struck Bayan Rongge, executed Benyuan, and all Muslim forts east and west of the river submitted. Wenlu held Suzhou, pleading for peace in deceit while recruiting frontier Muslims to defend the city. Repeated assaults failed to take it. In the eighth month Zongtang came to direct the siege. Wenlu saw the commander's banner from the wall and lost heart. He offered to campaign beyond the passes to prove his loyalty, but was refused. With the armies of Jin Shun and Jintang massed, Wenlu surrendered in desperation and was executed by dismemberment. Bai Yanhu fled beyond the passes, and Suzhou was pacified. As governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu and assisting Grand Secretary, he was raised to first-class Commandant of Light Chariots. He memorialized for a separate provincial examination circuit in Gansu and the appointment of an educational commissioner. In 1874 he was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion while remaining at his post. Since the early Xianfeng years the empire had been torn by rebellion: the Taiping were worst, then the Nian, then the Muslim uprisings. Zongtang had personally suppressed all three. Shaanxi and Gansu were now quiet, and the frontier Muslims were pacified as well. The court showered him with favor.

塞外回酋曰帕夏，本安集延部之和碩伯克也。安集延故屬敖罕，敖罕為俄羅斯所滅，安集延獨存。帕夏畏俄逼，闌入邊。據喀什噶爾，稍蠶食南八城，又攻敗烏魯木齊所踞回妥明。妥明者，西寧回也，初以新教遊關外。同治初，乘陝甘漢、回構變倡亂，據烏城。帕夏既攻敗妥明降之，遂並有北路伊犁諸城，收其賦入。妥明旋被逐，走死，而白彥虎竄處烏城，仍隸帕夏。帕夏能屬役回眾，通使結援英、俄，購兵械自備。英人陰助之，欲令別立為國，用捍蔽俄。當是時，俄以回數擾其邊境，遽引兵逐回，取伊犁，且言將代取烏魯木齊。

The frontier Muslim leader known as the Pasha was originally a Kokand noble of Heshuo rank. Kokand had once belonged to the Khanate of Kokand, which Russia destroyed, leaving Kokand itself standing. Fearing Russian pressure, the Pasha forced his way across the border. He seized Kashgar, gradually swallowed the southern eight cities, and defeated Tuoming, the Muslim leader holding Urumqi. Tuoming was a Xining Muslim who had first wandered beyond the passes preaching the New Teaching. Early in the Tongzhi reign he exploited Han-Muslim conflict in Shaanxi and Gansu to raise rebellion and seize Urumqi. After defeating Tuoming and accepting his surrender, the Pasha also took the northern cities of Yili and collected their revenues. Tuoming was soon driven out and died in flight. Bai Yanhu remained at Urumqi under the Pasha's command. The Pasha could command the Muslim population, send envoys to Britain and Russia, and buy arms for his forces. The British secretly supported him, hoping to set up a separate state as a buffer against Russia. Russia, citing Muslim raids on its border, suddenly marched in, drove out the rebels, seized Yili, and offered to take Urumqi on China's behalf.

光緒元年，宗棠既平關隴，將出關，而海防議起。論者多言自高宗定新疆，歲糜數百萬，此漏卮也。今至竭天下力贍西軍，無以待不虞，尤失計。宜徇英人議，許帕夏自立為國稱籓，罷西征，專力海防。鴻章言之尤力。宗棠曰：「關隴新平，不及時規還國家舊所沒地，而割棄使別為國，此坐自遺患。萬一帕夏不能有，不西為英並，即北折而入俄耳。吾地坐縮，邊要盡失，防邊兵不可減，糜餉自若。無益海防而挫國威，且長亂。此必不可。」軍機大臣文祥獨善宗棠議，遂決策出塞，不罷兵。授宗棠欽差大臣，督軍事，金順副之。

In 1875, after Zongtang had pacified Shaanxi and Gansu and was preparing to march west, debate erupted over coastal defense. Critics argued that since the Qianlong Emperor had conquered Xinjiang, millions had been wasted there every year—a bottomless drain. To exhaust the empire's resources on the western army and leave nothing for emergencies was especially misguided. They urged following the British proposal: let the Pasha rule as a tributary state, halt the western expedition, and concentrate on coastal defense. Li Hongzhang argued this most forcefully. Zongtang replied: "With Shaanxi and Gansu just pacified, to abandon recovered territory and let it become a separate state is to invite disaster. If the Pasha cannot hold it, Britain will not take it from the west; Russia will seize it from the north. Our territory will shrink, frontier defenses will collapse, border garrisons cannot be reduced, and spending will continue unchecked. It will not help coastal defense, will damage national prestige, and will prolong disorder. This must not be done." Grand Councilor Wen Xiang alone sided with Zongtang, and the court decided to march beyond the passes without halting the army. Zongtang was appointed Imperial Commissioner to direct military affairs, with Jin Shun as his deputy.

二年三月，次肅州。五月，錦棠北逾天山，會金順軍先攻烏魯木齊，克之。白彥虎遁走托克遜。九月，克瑪納斯南城，北路平，乃規南路。令曰：「回部為安酋驅迫，厭亂久矣。大軍所至，勿淫掠，勿殘殺。王者之師如時雨，此其時也。」三年三月，錦棠攻克達坂城，悉釋所擒纏回，縱之歸。南路恟懼，翼日，收托克遜城，而佔彪及孫金彪兩軍亦連破諸城隘，合羅長祜等軍收吐魯番，降纏回萬餘。帕夏飲藥死，其子伯克胡里戕其弟，走喀什噶爾。

In the third month of 1876 he halted at Suzhou. In the fifth month Jintang crossed the Tianshan northward, joined Jin Shun, and took Urumqi. Bai Yanhu fled to Toksun. In the ninth month the southern city of Manas fell, the northern route was pacified, and planning turned to the south. He issued an order: "The Muslim peoples have long been driven by the Kokand ruler and are weary of war. Where the army goes, do not plunder or slaughter wantonly. The army of a true king is like timely rain. Now is the time." In the third month of 1877 Jintang took Dabancheng, released all captured Turfan Muslims, and sent them home. The southern route panicked. The next day Toksun fell. Zhanbiao and Sun Jinbiao broke pass after pass, joined Luo Changhu, recovered Turfan, and more than ten thousand Muslims submitted. The Pasha took poison and died. His son Berkehuli killed his brother and fled to Kashgar.

白彥虎走開都河，宗棠欲遂擒之，奏未上，適庫倫大臣上言西事宜畫定疆界，而廷臣亦謂西征費鉅，今烏城、吐魯番既得，可休兵。宗棠歎曰：「今時有可乘，乃為畫地縮守之策乎？」抗疏爭之，上以為然。時俄方與土耳其戰，金順請乘虛襲伊犁。宗棠曰：「不可。師不以正，彼有辭矣。」八月，錦棠會師曲會，遂由大道向開都河為正兵，餘虎恩等奇兵出庫爾。白彥虎走庫車，趨阿克蘇，錦棠遮擊之，轉遁喀什噶爾。大軍還定烏什，遂收南疆東四城，何步雲以喀什漢城降。伯克胡里既納白彥虎，乃效力攻漢城。大軍至，复遁走俄。西四城相繼下，宗棠露布以聞，詔晉二等侯。布魯特十四部爭內附。

Bai Yanhu fled toward the Kaidu River. Zongtang wanted to pursue him immediately, but before his memorial reached the throne the Urga minister urged fixing the western border, and court officials argued that with Urumqi and Turfan recovered the costly western campaign could stop. Zongtang sighed: "When the moment is ripe, are we to adopt a policy of drawing boundaries and shrinking our hold?" He submitted a forceful dissent, and the emperor agreed. Russia was then at war with Turkey, and Jin Shun urged a surprise attack on Yili. Zongtang said, "That will not do. If our army is not just in its conduct, they will have grounds against us." In the eighth month Jintang assembled at Quhui. The main column marched on the Kaidu River while Yu Hu'en led a flanking force through Korla. Bai Yanhu fled to Kuche and Aksu. Jintang intercepted him and drove him toward Kashgar. The main army secured Wushi and recovered the four eastern cities of the south. He Buyun surrendered the Han quarter of Kashgar. Berkehuli, having taken in Bai Yanhu, threw his forces against the Han quarter. When the main army arrived, he fled again into Russian territory. The four western cities fell in succession. Zongtang announced victory, and the court promoted him to second-class marquis. Fourteen Kirghiz tribes competed to submit to the empire.

四年正月，條上新疆建行省事宜，並請與俄議還伊犁、交叛人二事。詔遣全權大臣崇厚使俄。俄以通商、分界、償款三端相要。崇厚遽定約，為朝士所糾，議久不決。宗棠奏曰：「自俄踞伊犁，蠶食不已，新疆乃有日蹙百里之勢。俄視伊犁為外府，及我索地，則索償盧布五百萬元。是俄還伊犁，於俄無損，我得伊犁，僅一荒郊。今崇厚又議畀俄陬爾果斯河及帖克斯河，是劃伊犁西南之地歸俄也。武事不競之秋，有割地求和者矣。茲一矢未加，遽捐要地，此界務之不可許者也。俄商志在貿易，其政府即廣設領事，欲藉通商深入腹地，此商務之不可許者也。臣維俄人包藏禍心，妄忖吾國或厭用兵，遂以全權之使臣牽制疆臣。為今之計，當先之以議論，委婉而用機，次決之以戰陣，堅忍而求勝。臣雖衰慵無似，敢不勉旃。」上壯其言，嘉許之。崇厚得罪去，命曾紀澤使俄，更前約。於是宗棠乃自請出屯哈密，規复伊犁。以金順出精河為東路，張曜沿特克斯河為中路，錦棠經布魯特游牧為西路；而分遣譚上連等分屯喀什噶爾、阿克蘇、哈密為後路聲援：合馬步卒四萬餘人。

In the first month of 1878 he memorialized on establishing provincial government in Xinjiang and on negotiating with Russia for the return of Yili and the extradition of rebels. The court dispatched plenipotentiary Chong Hou to Russia. Russia demanded concessions on trade, boundaries, and indemnity. Chong Hou hastily signed a treaty, was impeached by the court, and debate dragged on unresolved. Zongtang memorialized: "Since Russia seized Yili it has nibbled away without cease, and Xinjiang has been shrinking day by day. Russia treats Yili as an outer dependency and demands five million rubles when we ask for its return. Returning Yili costs Russia nothing; receiving it gives us only a wasteland. Now Chong Hou would also cede the Ili and Tekes rivers, handing southwestern Yili to Russia. In ages when China could not compete militarily, rulers ceded land for peace. To surrender vital ground without firing a shot is a boundary settlement that cannot be accepted. Russian merchants seek trade, but their government uses consulates to penetrate the interior through commerce. That too cannot be accepted. I believe the Russians harbor malicious intent, assuming China is weary of war and using a plenipotentiary to restrain our frontier commanders. The present plan should begin with diplomacy, tactful and resourceful, and if need be decide the issue on the battlefield with patient resolve. Though I am old and feeble, I shall not fail to do my utmost." The emperor was heartened and praised him. Chong Hou was dismissed and Zeng Jize was sent to Russia to revise the treaty. Zongtang then volunteered to garrison Hami and prepare to recover Yili. Jin Shun took the eastern route from Jinghe, Zhang Yao the central route along the Tekes, and Jintang the western route through Kirghiz lands; while Tan Shanglian and others garrisoned Kashgar, Aksu, and Hami as rear support, for a total of more than forty thousand troops.

六年四月，宗棠輿櫬發肅州，五月，抵哈密。俄聞王師大出，增兵守伊犁、納林河，別以兵船翔海上，用震撼京師，同時天津、奉天、山東皆警。七月，詔宗棠入都備顧問，以錦棠代之。而俄亦懾我兵威，恐事遂決裂。明年正月，和議成，交還伊犁，防海軍皆罷。

In the fourth month of 1880 Zongtang left Suzhou with a coffin in his train, symbolizing his resolve to die there if need be. He reached Hami in the fifth month. Russia, hearing of the mass mobilization, reinforced Yili and the Nalin River and sent warships along the coast to intimidate Beijing. Tianjin, Fengtian, and Shandong all went on alert. In the seventh month the court recalled Zongtang to the capital as adviser and left Jintang in command. Russia also feared China's military strength and dreaded a complete break. The following first month a treaty was concluded, Yili was returned, and the coastal defense fleets were stood down.

宗棠用兵善審機，不常其方略。籌西事，尤以節兵裕餉為本謀。始西征，慮各行省協助餉不時至，請一借貸外國。沈葆楨尼其議，詔曰：「宗棠以西事自任，國家何惜千萬金。為撥款五百萬，敕自借外國債五百萬。」出塞凡二十月，而新疆南北城盡复者，饋運饒給之力也。初議西事，主興屯田，聞者迂之；及觀宗棠奏論關內外舊屯之弊，以謂掛名兵籍，不得更事農，宜畫兵農為二，簡精壯為兵，散願弱使屯墾，然後人服其老謀。既入覲，賜紫禁城騎馬，使內侍二人扶掖上殿，授軍機大臣，兼值譯署。國家承平久，武備弛不振，而海外諸國爭言富強，雖中國屢平大難，彼猶私議以為脆弱也。及宗棠平帕夏，外國乃稍稍傳說之。其初入京師，內城有教堂高樓，俯瞰宮殿，民間讙言左侯至，樓即毀矣，為示諭曉，乃止。其威望在人如此。然值軍機、譯署，同列頗厭苦之。宗棠亦自不樂居內，引疾乞退。九月，出為兩江總督、南洋通商大臣。嘗出巡吳淞，過上海，西人為建龍旗，聲砲，迎導之維謹。

In warfare Zongtang was skilled at seizing opportunity and never clung to a fixed plan. In planning the western campaigns his fundamental aim was to economize troops and secure supplies. At the start of the western expedition, fearing provincial subsidies would arrive late, he requested a foreign loan. Shen Baozhen opposed the idea. An edict replied: "Zongtang has taken the western campaign upon himself. Why should the state begrudge ten million taels? Five million was allocated from the treasury, and he was authorized to borrow another five million abroad." In twenty months beyond the passes he recovered every city in Xinjiang north and south, thanks above all to abundant logistics. When western policy was first debated, his advocacy of military colonies seemed impractical; but after reading his analysis of the old garrison-colony system, which kept men on the rolls from farming, his plan to separate soldiers and colonists, keep the strong under arms, and settle the willing weak on the land won general respect for his seasoned judgment. After his audience he was granted the privilege of riding in the Forbidden City, helped up the hall by two eunuchs, appointed to the Grand Council, and given charge of the Translation Bureau. After long peace China's military preparations had lapsed, while foreign powers boasted of their strength. Though China had suppressed major rebellions, foreigners still whispered that it was weak. Only after Zongtang destroyed the Pasha did foreign countries begin to spread word of China's power. When he first entered Beijing, rumor spread that the tall church overlooking the palace would be torn down as soon as Marquis Zuo arrived. An official clarification ended the talk. Such was his prestige among the people. Yet on the Grand Council and in the Translation Bureau his colleagues found him burdensome. Zongtang himself was unhappy in the capital and pleaded illness to retire. In the ninth month he was appointed governor-general of Jiangsu and Jiangxi and Minister of Southern Ocean Trade. On an inspection tour to Wusong he passed through Shanghai, where Westerners raised dragon flags, fired salutes, and received him with elaborate ceremony.

九年，法人攻越南，自請赴滇督師。檄故吏王德榜募軍永州，號「恪靖定邊軍」，法旋議和，止其行。十年，滇、越邊軍潰，召入都，再直軍機。法大舉內犯，詔宗棠視師福建，檄王珍子詩正潛軍渡台灣，號「恪靖援台軍」。詩正至台南，為法兵所阻，而德榜會諸軍大捷於諒山。和議成，再引疾乞退。七月，卒於福州，年七十三，贈太傅，諡文襄。祀京師昭忠祠、賢良祠，並建專祠於湖南及立功諸省。

In 1883, when France attacked Vietnam, he volunteered to command in Yunnan. He ordered Wang Debang to raise the Kejing Pacify-the-Border Army at Yongzhou, but peace talks soon halted his march. In 1884, after the Yunnan-Vietnam border army collapsed, he was recalled to the capital and rejoined the Grand Council. When France invaded on a large scale, Zongtang was ordered to command in Fujian and sent Wang Zhen's son Shizheng with the Kejing Aid-Taiwan Army to cross secretly to Taiwan. Shizheng reached Tainan but was blocked by the French, while Debang won a great victory at Lang Son with the combined armies. When peace was concluded he again pleaded illness to retire. In the seventh month he died at Fuzhou at the age of seventy-three. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor and given the posthumous name Wenxiang. He was enshrined in the Manifest Loyalty and Worthy Officials shrines in the capital, and dedicated shrines were built in Hunan and every province where he had won distinction.

宗棠為人多智略，內行甚篤，剛峻自天性。穆宗嘗戒其褊衷。始未出，與國籓、林翼交，氣陵二人出其上。中興諸將帥，大率國籓所薦起，雖貴，皆尊事國籓。宗棠獨與抗行，不少屈，趣舍時合時不合。國籓以學問自斂抑，議外交常持和節；宗棠鋒穎凜凜向敵矣，士論以此益附之。然好自矜伐，故出其門者，成德達材不及國籓之盛雲。子四人：孝威，舉人，以廕為主事，先卒，旌表孝行；孝寬，郎中；孝勳，兵部主事；孝同，江蘇提法使。孫念謙，襲侯爵，通政司副使。

Zongtang was resourceful and shrewd, deeply sincere in private life, and stern by nature. The Tongzhi Emperor once warned him against narrow-mindedness. Before he entered service, in his dealings with Guofan and Linyi his bearing dominated theirs. Most restoration commanders had been raised through Guofan's recommendation and, however exalted, treated him with deference. Zongtang alone stood as his equal and rarely yielded. Their views sometimes agreed and sometimes clashed. Guofan restrained himself through scholarship and usually favored conciliation in foreign affairs; Zongtang's sharp edge was turned unflinchingly against the enemy, and public opinion rallied to him for it. Yet he loved self-praise, and those who came from his school in virtue and talent never matched the abundance of Guofan's followers. He had four sons: Xiaowei, a provincial graduate who entered office by yin privilege, died before his father, and was honored for filial conduct; Xiaokuan, a director in the Ministry of Rites; Xiaoxun, a director in the Ministry of War; Xiaotong, judicial commissioner of Jiangsu. His grandson Nianqian inherited the marquisate and served as vice commissioner of the Court of Transmission.

論曰：「宗棠事功著矣，其志行忠介，亦有過人。廉不言貧，勤不言勞。待將士以誠信相感。善於治民，每克一地，招徠撫綏，眾至如歸。論者謂宗棠有霸才，而治民則以王道行之，信哉。宗棠初出治軍，胡林翼為書告湖南曰：「左公不顧家，請歲籌三百六十金以贍其私。」曾國籓見其所居幕★C7小，為別制二幕貽之，其廉儉若此。初與國籓論事不洽，及聞其薨，乃曰：「謀國之忠，知人之明，自媿不如。」志益遠矣。

The commentator writes: "Zongtang's achievements are illustrious, and his loyal, upright character also surpasses ordinary men. He did not speak of his poverty, nor boast of his labor. He won officers and soldiers through sincerity and trust. He excelled at governing civilians. Whenever he took a place he recruited settlers, comforted the people, and made them feel at home. Critics say he had the talent of a hegemon but ruled the people by the kingly way. That is surely true. When Zongtang first took command, Hu Linyi wrote to Hunan: "Lord Zuo neglects his household. Please set aside three hundred sixty taels a year for his private needs." Zeng Guofan saw how small his quarters were and had two new ones made for him as a gift. Such was his integrity and frugality. He had often clashed with Guofan in council. When he heard of Guofan's death he said, "In loyalty to the state and discernment of men, I am ashamed to say I do not measure up." His vision had grown ever broader.

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