Volume 418 Biographies 205: Yuan Jiasan son: Bao Heng, Mao Changxi

列傳二百五

Biographies 205

袁甲三子保恆毛昶熙

Yuan Jiasan; his sons Bao Heng and Mao Changxi

袁甲三，字午橋，河南項城人。道光十五年進士，授禮部主事，充軍機章京，累遷郎中。三十年，遷御史、給事中，疏劾廣西巡撫鄭祖琛慈柔釀亂，又劾江西巡撫陳阡賄賂交通，皆罷之。戶部复捐例，疏請收回成命。咸豐元年，粵匪起，南河豐北決口，上疏極論時事，皆切中利弊。二年，粵匪竄湖南，疏言：「總督程矞採為守土之臣，責無旁貸。若復令賽尚阿持節移軍，誠恐諉過爭功，互相掣肘。請命賽尚阿回京，專責程矞採便宜行事，如有疏虞，按律定罪。」並言：「湖北巡撫龔裕聞賊入境，託疾乞休，尤宜嚴懲，以昭炯戒。」又列款奏劾定郡王載銓賣弄橫勢，擅作威福，及刑部侍郎書元貪鄙險詐，諂事載銓狀，詔詰載銓所收門生實據，疏請飭呈出所繪息肩圖，事皆得實。載銓坐罰王俸，奪領侍衛大臣兼官，書元及尚書恆春降調，題圖者降謫罰俸有差。於是直聲震中外。

Yuan Jiasan, whose style was Wuqiao, came from Xiangcheng in Henan. He became a jinshi in the fifteenth year of the Daoguang reign, received appointment as a principal secretary in the Ministry of Rites, served on the Grand Council staff, and rose step by step to bureau director. In the thirtieth year he was moved to the posts of censor and supervising secretary. He submitted memorials impeaching Guangxi governor Zheng Zuchen for being so indulgent that he invited rebellion, and Jiangxi governor Chen Qian for bribery and back-channel dealings; both men were removed from office. When the Ministry of Revenue revived the sale of offices, he memorialized asking the throne to rescind the order. In the first year of Xianfeng, as the Taiping rebellion broke out and the Fengbei dike burst on the South River, he submitted lengthy memorials on current affairs, each hitting the mark on what would help or harm the state. In the second year, when the rebels pushed into Hunan, he wrote: "Governor-general Cheng Yucai, as the official charged with defending the province, bears responsibility that cannot be shifted elsewhere. If Sai Shanga is again sent with imperial authority to take over the campaign, I fear they will only trade blame, compete for credit, and tie each other's hands. I ask that Sai Shanga be recalled to the capital and Cheng Yucai alone be empowered to act as circumstances require; if he fails, let him be punished under the law." He added: "When Hubei governor Gong Yu heard that rebels had entered his province, he pleaded illness and asked to retire; he above all deserves severe punishment, to set a clear example." He also laid out charges against Prince Ding, Zaiquan, for throwing his weight around and acting as if favor were his to grant, and against Vice Minister of Justice Shu Yuan for greed, meanness, and sycophancy toward Zaiquan. The court demanded proof of the disciples Zaiquan had taken, and Yuan asked that he be ordered to produce the "Shoulder-Relieving" picture he had commissioned; every allegation was borne out. Zaiquan was fined his princely stipend and stripped of his concurrent post commanding the imperial guard; Shu Yuan and Minister Hengchun were demoted and transferred; those who had inscribed the painting received varying penalties of demotion, exile, and forfeiture of salary. From then on his reputation for fearless integrity resounded at court and abroad.

三年，命赴安徽佐侍郎呂賢基軍務。粵匪陷鳳陽府，踞明淮關，煽動土匪，連陷蒙城、懷遠。甲三至軍，疏言：「賊勢未遽北犯，請飭諸臣勿涉張皇，急圖制賊。」命權廬鳳道。漢、回相閧，圍潁州，遣兵解散，誅首亂，事即定。會漕運總督週天爵卒於亳州，命代領其軍。時土匪合五十八捻為一，勢甚張。甲三至王市集，收散勇，整民團，擊賊高公廟，破之，加三品卿銜。命署布政使，疏辭不赴，請專治兵事，允之；命專剿捻匪，破賊標裡鋪，擒其渠鄧大俊。鄉團先後擒獻者二千餘，悉置之法。

In the third year he was ordered to Anhui to assist Vice Minister Lü Xianji with military affairs. The rebels seized Fengyang Prefecture, held Minghuaiguan, stirred up local bandits, and in quick succession overran Mengcheng and Huaiyuan. When Jiasan joined the army, he wrote: "The rebels are not about to drive north at once; I ask that officials be warned against panic and urged to focus on defeating them." He was appointed acting Luzhou-Fengyang circuit intendant. When Han and Hui communities clashed and besieged Yingzhou, he sent troops to break up the fighting, executed the ringleaders, and the disturbance was quickly ended. When Grain Transport governor Zhou Tianjue died at Bozhou, Jiasan was ordered to take over his forces. Local bandits had meanwhile united fifty-eight Nian factions into one force, and their power was formidable. Jiasan reached Wangji Market, rallied scattered fighters, organized militia, attacked the rebels at Gaogong Temple, routed them, and was granted the honorary rank of third-grade court official. He was appointed acting provincial treasurer, but memorialized that he would not take up civil duties and asked to concentrate on military affairs; the request was granted. He was then ordered to focus on suppressing the Nian rebels, smashed them at Biaoli Shop, and captured their leader Deng Dajun. More than two thousand captives whom militia had turned in over time were all put to death.

十月，粵匪由安慶竄踞桐城，尋陷舒城，呂賢基死之。上命移軍桐城，甲三疏言：「捻首張茂踞懷、蒙間，窺廬郡，請先赴蒙、亳為諸郡聲援。」時捻匪麕聚雉河集，甲三令縣丞徐曉峰擊破之，擒賊渠孫重倫。分兵擊敗臨湖鋪竄匪，擒賊渠宮步雲、馬九，併其目數十人。令游擊錢朝舉、知縣米鎮攻懷遠，大破之，張茂負傷遁。十二月，賊陷廬州，巡撫江忠源戰歿。甲三劾陝甘總督舒興阿擁兵坐視，褫其職；並請撥兵防壽卅、六安以杜旁擾。

In the tenth month the rebels broke out from Anqing and seized Tongcheng; they soon took Shucheng as well, and Lü Xianji was killed. The court ordered the army moved to Tongcheng, but Jiasan wrote: "Nian leader Zhang Mao holds the ground between Huaiyuan and Mengcheng and is eyeing Luzhou; I ask to go first to Mengcheng and Bozhou to support the surrounding prefectures." The Nian were massed at Zhiheji; Jiasan had subprefect Xu Xiaofeng break them up and capture their leader Sun Chonglun. He sent detachments to defeat rebels who had fled to Linhu Shop, capturing leaders Gong Buyun and Ma Jiu along with several dozen of their officers. He had brigade commander Qian Chaoju and magistrate Mi Zhen attack Huaiyuan, inflicted a crushing defeat, and Zhang Mao escaped wounded. In the twelfth month the rebels took Luzhou, and governor Jiang Zhongyuan was killed in battle. Jiasan impeached Shaanxi-Gansu governor-general Shu Xing'a for holding his troops back while looking on, and had him dismissed; he also asked that troops be sent to guard Shouzhou and Lu'an and block flanking raids.

四年二月，粵匪陷六安，竄蒙城，甲三進搗蒙城。賊走永城，甲三恐其趨宿、徐，阻糧道，急躡之，賊已濟河，不及而還。賊尋复南竄，連敗之潁州、正陽關，餘賊退六安。還軍蒙、亳剿捻匪，搗臨湖鋪，進偪雉河集。賊空巢誘官軍，甲三偵知，盡泊船南岸，令知州張家駒陣河干，參將硃連泰、李成虎敗賊馬家樓，迫之渦河，殲賊殆盡，遂破義門集，捻首張捷三遁去。

In the second month of the fourth year the rebels took Lu'an and fled into Mengcheng; Jiasan advanced against Mengcheng. The rebels fled to Yongcheng; fearing they would strike toward Suzhou and Xuzhou and cut the grain route, Jiasan pursued hard, but they had already crossed the river and he had to turn back. The rebels soon turned south again; he defeated them in succession at Yingzhou and Zhengyangguan, and the survivors fell back on Lu'an. He brought his army back to Mengcheng and Bozhou to fight the Nian, hit Linhu Shop, and pressed toward Zhiheji. The rebels emptied their base to lure government troops; Jiasan learned of the ruse, anchored every boat on the south bank, posted prefect Zhang Jiaju along the river, and had brigade generals Zhu Liantai and Li Chenghu rout them at Majialou, drive them to the Wo River, and wipe out nearly the whole force. He then took Yimenji while Nian leader Zhang Jiesan escaped.

甲三移屯臨淮，地數被兵，比戶凋敝。既至，討軍實，撫殘黎，眾皆樂為之用，超擢左副都御史。疏言：「皖軍以克復廬州為急，宜出偏師赴南路斷賊接濟。」尋以賊陷和州，窺江浦，將北竄。分遣將扼關山，赴滁河鳩團練為聲援。十月，北路捻匪复熾，令張家駒、硃連泰率軍破之於寺覺集。粵匪踞烏江，令廬鳳道張吉第擊敗之。賊夜結五壘於駐馬河，乘其初至薄之，殲擒甚眾。令參將劉玉豹、舉人臧紆青規桐城，連奪大小關，擊走廬江援賊。紆青戰甚銳，進攻桐城西門，賊由安慶、潛山來援，城賊出應之，紆青戰死，玉豹收餘眾退保六安。

Jiasan moved his headquarters to Linhuai, a district repeatedly ravaged by war where household after household lay in ruin. On arrival he inspected the army's real strength, comforted the survivors, and won men so willingly that he was promoted out of turn to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. He wrote: "The Anhui forces should make retaking Luzhou their first priority and send a flank column south to cut rebel supply lines." Soon afterward the rebels took Hezhou, threatened Jiangpu, and seemed ready to drive north. He sent generals to hold Guanshan and went to Chuzhou to rally militia as reinforcements. In the tenth month the northern Nian flared up again; he had Zhang Jiaju and Zhu Liantai defeat them at Sijueji. Taiping forces held Wujiang; he had Luzhou-Fengyang intendant Zhang Jidi drive them off. The rebels built five camps overnight at Zhuma River; he struck while they were still settling in and killed or captured a great number. He had brigade general Liu Yubao and juren Zang Yuqing press Tongcheng, seize pass after pass, and beat back rebel reinforcements from Lujiang. Yuqing fought fiercely and assaulted Tongcheng's west gate, but rebels came up from Anqing and Qianshan and the garrison sallied to meet them; Yuqing was killed, and Yubao gathered the survivors and fell back to defend Lu'an.

五年，疏陳軍事，略曰：「北路以臨淮為要，正陽次之。臣駐臨淮，牛鑑扼正陽，以防賊北渡。廬州為中路，和春、福濟師老力疲，久攻不下。西路蘄、黃無處非賊，兵力過單。東路沿江針魚嘴、西梁山，賊船賊壘，來去無常。張光第等分軍進攻，然無水師夾擊，終難收效。目下悍賊力爭江路，群聚上游，廬州有機可乘，請益厚兵力，分扼廬城東南，或增兵並剿舒、巢，俾其應接不暇，庶可一鼓而下。」

In the fifth year he laid out the military situation in a memorial, writing in part: "On the northern front Linhuai is the key point and Zhengyang the next. I am posted at Linhuai and Niu Jian at Zhengyang to keep the rebels from crossing north. Luzhou is the central front, but Hechun and Fuji's armies are worn out and have failed for months to take the city. On the west, Qichun and Huangzhou are overrun, and our forces there are far too few. Along the eastern Yangtze at Zhenyu Mouth and Xiliang Hill rebel boats and camps appear and vanish without pattern. Zhang Guangdi and others have attacked in detachments, but without a naval force to strike from the river, little can be achieved. The main rebel force is now fighting for control of the river and massing upstream, while Luzhou may be vulnerable. I ask for heavier forces to block the city's southeast, or added troops to strike Shucheng and Chaohu at once so the enemy cannot respond everywhere; then Luzhou might fall in a single assault."

時淮北官吏，甲三欲有更調，和春、福濟意不合，甲三專奏，詔仍飭會銜。於是和春、福濟疏劾甲三堅執己見，並劾其株守臨淮，粉飾軍情，擅裁餉銀，冒銷肥己。召回京，部議褫職。甲三呈訴被誣，下兩江總督按治，事得白。甲三在淮北得軍民心，其去也，軍民泣留者塞道。未幾，捻首張洛行勾結皖、豫諸捻，勢益熾。懷遠民胡文忠鬻子女，徒步京師，控都察院求以甲三回鎮，格不達，懷狀自縊。言官孫觀、曹登庸、宗稷辰先後疏請起用；疆臣怡良、吉爾杭阿、何桂清亦交章論薦。

Jiasan wanted to reshuffle officials north of the Huai, but Hechun and Fuji disagreed; when he memorialized on his own, the court still ordered joint signature with them. Hechun and Fuji then impeached him for stubbornness, for staying put at Linhuai while glossing over the war situation, for cutting rations on his own authority, and for padding expenses to enrich himself. He was recalled to the capital, and the ministries recommended dismissal. Jiasan protested that he had been slandered; the Liangjiang governor-general investigated, and he was cleared. He had won the loyalty of soldiers and civilians north of the Huai, and when he left, weeping crowds begging him to stay filled the roads. Before long Nian leader Zhang Luoxing united factions across Anhui and Henan, and the rebellion burned hotter. A Huaiyuan man named Hu Wenzhong sold his children, walked to the capital, and petitioned the Censorate to send Jiasan back; when the petition never reached the throne, he hanged himself clutching the document. Censors Sun Guan, Cao Dengyong, and Zong Jichen memorialized one after another asking that he be reappointed; and frontier governors Yiliang, Jierhang'a, and He Guiqing also wrote in his favor.

六年二月，命隨同英桂剿捻河南。甲三赴歸德，招集舊部，三戰三捷，進解亳州之圍，毀白龍王廟砦，破燕家小樓賊數万，直搗雉河集，擒蘇天福，洛行僅身免，特詔嘉獎，命以三品京堂候補。洛行尋复糾黨犯潁州，擊走之，又踞雉河集。七年，平王、鄧、宋、姚諸圩，誅捻渠李寅等百餘人，授太僕寺卿，賜花翎。勝保督師攻張洛行於正陽關，久不下，奏請甲三合剿，令部將硃連泰、史榮椿攻韓圩，克之。八年，偕勝保解固始之圍，复六安。史榮椿破捻匪於銅山，斬其渠孫大旺。移軍宿州，襲賊王家圩，誅賊首王紹堂等，乘勝复七圩。七月，命代勝保督辦三省剿匪事宜。張洛行方踞陳家莊，擊走之，分兵复豐縣。未幾，蒙、亳諸捻入歸德，窺周家口，甲三令子保恆偕總兵傅振邦馳援。賊遽趨西北，偪開封，振邦追賊，及之太和李興集。保恆集團勇扼橋口，馬步合擊，大破之，殲斃數千，逐賊出河南境，賜號伊勒圖巴圖魯。疏言：「兵分則勢孤，合則勢盛。捻匪踞地千餘裡，臣兵不過數千，不能制賊死命。請敕各督撫合力大舉，為掃穴擒渠之計。」

In the second month of the sixth year he was ordered to join Ying Gui in suppressing the Nian in Henan. Jiasan went to Guide, rallied his old troops, and won three battles in a row. He relieved the siege of Bozhou, destroyed the White Dragon King Temple stockade, smashed tens of thousands of rebels at Yan Family Small Tower, and drove straight to Zhiheji, capturing Su Tianfu while Luoxing barely escaped. The court issued a special commendation and named him a third-grade capital official awaiting appointment. Luoxing soon rallied his men and struck Yingzhou; Jiasan beat him back, but the Nian seized Zhiheji again. In the seventh year he pacified the Wang, Deng, Song, and Yao stockades, executed more than a hundred Nian leaders including Li Yin, was appointed Grand Minister of the Imperial Stud, and received the peacock feather. Sheng Bao had long besieged Zhang Luoxing at Zhengyangguan without success and asked Jiasan to join the campaign; Jiasan had Zhu Liantai and Shi Rongchun take Han Stockade. In the eighth year he and Sheng Bao lifted the siege of Gushi and retook Lu'an. Shi Rongchun defeated the Nian at Tongshan and beheaded their leader Sun Dawang. He moved to Suzhou, raided Wang Family Stockade, executed leaders including Wang Shaotang, and in the same momentum retook seven stockades. In the seventh month he was ordered to replace Sheng Bao as supervisor of bandit suppression across three provinces. Zhang Luoxing was holding Chen Family Village; Jiasan drove him off and sent detachments to retake Feng County. Soon Nian from Mengcheng and Bozhou entered Guide and threatened Zhoujiakou; Jiasan sent his son Bao Heng with regional commander Fu Zhenbang to reinforce. The rebels suddenly veered northwest toward Kaifeng; Zhenbang pursued and caught them at Taihe Li Xingji. Bao Heng rallied militia at Qiaokou; cavalry and infantry struck together, inflicted a crushing defeat, killed several thousand, and drove the rebels out of Henan. He was granted the title Yiletu Baturu. Jiasan wrote: "Divided armies grow weak; united armies grow strong. The Nian hold more than a thousand li of territory, while I have only a few thousand men and cannot destroy them outright. I ask that every governor and governor-general be ordered to combine forces in one great campaign to root out their nests and seize their leaders."

九年正月，擊張洛行於草溝，破其巢，追至沱河，多溺水死，复擊之雙渡口，洛行泅水免。勝保與甲三意不合，屢疏詆之，詔斥「甲三督剿半載，但防徐、宿，不搗賊巢，日久無效」。召回京，入覲，面陳軍事。四月，命署漕運總督。尋勝保以母憂歸，命署欽差大臣，督辦安徽軍務，實授漕運總督。進攻臨淮關，軍南岸，斷其糧道，降捻內應，斬關而入，生擒賊首顧大隴等，遂克之。

In the first month of the ninth year he attacked Zhang Luoxing at Caogou, destroyed his base, pursued him to the Tuo River where many rebels drowned, struck again at Shuangdukou, and Luoxing swam away and escaped. Sheng Bao clashed with Jiasan and repeatedly denounced him in memorials. An edict rebuked Jiasan: "For half a year you have only guarded Xuzhou and Suzhou without striking the rebels' base, and nothing has been achieved." He was recalled to the capital, received audience, and presented the military situation in person. In the fourth month he was appointed acting Grain Transport governor. When Sheng Bao left for mourning, Jiasan was named acting imperial commissioner to supervise Anhui military affairs and was confirmed as Grain Transport governor. He advanced on Linhuaiguan, camped on the south bank, cut rebel supply lines, used surrendering Nian as inside collaborators, broke through the pass, captured leaders including Gu Dalong alive, and took the town.

十年，進規鳳陽，屢戰皆捷。鄧正明以府城乞降，張元隆猶據縣城，誘出誅之，並誅悍賊三百餘人。未匝月，拔兩城，詔嘉調度有方，賜黃馬褂，命其子保恆赴軍差遣。

In the tenth year he pressed Fengyang and won battle after battle. Deng Zhengming offered to surrender the prefectural city, but Zhang Yuanlong still held the county seat; Jiasan lured him out and executed him along with more than three hundred hardened rebels. Within a month he had taken both cities. The court praised his command, granted him the yellow riding jacket, and ordered his son Bao Heng to join the army on active duty.

捻匪陷清江浦，窺淮安，令道員張學醇擊走之，乘勝復全椒。粵匪陳玉成來援，分擾滁州，令李世忠夾擊走之。是時江北無統帥，揚州叛將薛成良擁眾剽掠，亟發舟師扼高、寶諸湖。成良走依李世忠，甲三責以大義，即縛獻成良，斬之以徇。令保恆合總兵張得勝、副都統花尚阿各軍圍定遠，陳玉成糾眾來援，會合捻匪撲鳳陽，據九華諸山，連營數十里。城中食且盡，甲三令參將黃國瑞潛率銳卒四百夜薄九華山，躍入壘，城上發砲應之，賊大亂，棄營走，圍乃解。

The Nian took Qingjiangpu and threatened Huai'an; he had circuit intendant Zhang Xuechun drive them off and followed up by retaking Quanjiao. Taiping commander Chen Yucheng came to reinforce and raided Chuzhou; Jiasan had Li Shizhong attack from both sides and drive him off. North of the Yangtze there was then no supreme commander, while Yangzhou mutineer Xue Chengliang led raiders on the loose; Jiasan urgently sent a flotilla to block the lakes around Gaoyou and Baoying. Chengliang fled to Li Shizhong's camp; Jiasan appealed to duty, and Li at once bound him and handed him over; Jiasan had him beheaded as an example. He had Bao Heng join regional commander Zhang Desheng and vice commandant Hua Shang'a in besieging Dingyuan. Chen Yucheng rallied reinforcements, the Nian struck Fengyang together with him, and they occupied the Jiuhua hills in a chain of camps stretching for miles. As food in the city ran out, Jiasan had brigade general Huang Guorui lead four hundred picked men in a night assault on Jiuhua Hill. They leaped into the camps while the garrison fired in support; the rebels broke and fled, and the siege was lifted.

是年秋，英法聯軍入京師，車駕幸熱河，甲三請率兵入衛，詔以臨淮為南北筦鑰，止勿行。和議定，條上四事，曰：慎採納，節糜費，精訓練，選將才，下所司議行。复疏請還京，泰西諸國欲助兵討賊，甲三力陳非策，皆報聞。十一年，張洛行屯聚渦河北，令李世忠擊走之。

That autumn Anglo-French forces entered Beijing and the court fled to Rehe. Jiasan asked to march north with his troops, but was told Linhuai was the strategic hinge between north and south and ordered to stay. After peace was made, he submitted four recommendations: weigh advice carefully, cut wasteful spending, improve training, and choose capable generals; the court referred them to the relevant offices for action. He again asked to return to the capital and argued strongly against letting Western powers send troops to help suppress the rebels; the court acknowledged both memorials. In the eleventh year Zhang Luoxing massed his forces north of the Wo River; Jiasan ordered Li Shizhong to attack and drive him off.

練總苗沛霖者，鳳臺諸生，健猾為閭里雄。以團練功累擢川北道，加布政使銜，然不冠服，令其下稱「先生」。所平賊圩輒置長，收其田租。緣道設關隘，壟斷公私。渦河、澮、潁之間，跋扈自恣。甲三屢羈縻之，用以牽制捻匪。勝保尤信用沛霖，沛霖亦深與結納，內懷反側，憚威不敢猝發。至是藉口其練勇被害，據懷遠，圍壽州，巡撫翁同書為所劫持，殺壽州團練徐立壯；囚孫家泰，亦自盡，而壽州之圍仍不撤；遣其黨苟憬開犯河南，受粵匪封職，令練眾蓄髮，四出擾掠。於是詔褫沛霖職，命甲三會諸軍進剿，同書罷去，賈臻代署巡撫，复於潁州被圍。會張洛行大舉渡淮，甲三移軍擊之，洛行敗走。甲三屯長淮衛，解散沛霖屬圩二百餘處。十一月，保恆偕總兵張得勝等克定遠，粵匪遁走，進拔六合、天長。

The militia commander Miao Peilin was a licentiate from Fengtai—strong, shrewd, and the dominant man in his neighborhood. For his militia service he rose step by step to intendant of North Sichuan circuit with the nominal rank of provincial administration commissioner, yet he wore no official dress and had his men address him simply as "Sir." In every rebel stockade he subdued he installed a headman and collected the land rent for himself. He planted checkpoints along the roads and seized control of both public and private trade. Between the Wo, Hui, and Ying rivers he lorded it over the region and did as he liked. Jiasan repeatedly kept him on a loose leash, using him to tie down the Nian. Sheng Bao trusted Peilin above all, and Peilin in turn cultivated a close bond with him; inwardly he nursed treason, but fearing Sheng Bao's power he did not dare strike at once. At this he seized on the pretext that his militiamen had been murdered, occupied Huaiyuan, and besieged Shouzhou; he held governor Weng Tongshu hostage and killed Shouzhou militia leader Xu Lizuang; he imprisoned Sun Jiatai, who also killed himself, yet still did not lift the siege of Shouzhou; he sent his follower Gou Jingkai to raid Henan, accepted a Taiping commission, ordered his militia to wear the long hair of the rebels, and sent them out in every direction to loot. The court then stripped Peilin of office and ordered Jiasan to lead a joint punitive campaign; Weng Tongshu was dismissed, Jia Zhen served as acting governor, and Yingzhou came under siege again. When Zhang Luoxing crossed the Huai in force, Jiasan shifted his army to strike him and Luoxing was beaten and fled. Jiasan encamped at Changhuaiwei and broke up more than two hundred stockades belonging to Peilin's followers. In the eleventh month Bao Heng joined regional commander Zhang Desheng and others in taking Dingyuan; the Taiping forces fled, and they went on to recover Liuhe and Tianchang.

同治元年，會克江浦、浦口，移軍會多隆阿軍攻廬州，克之。陳玉成走壽州投苗沛霖，執送勝保軍，誅之。於是勝保為沛霖乞恩免罪，責剿捻自效，佯奉命而倔僵如故。甲三策沛霖終為患，疏陳大勢，先剿群捻，次沛霖。薦李續宜撫皖，而自移師會僧格林沁軍擊捻匪，上報可。尋以病劇乞罷，允之。前因壽州失陷，部議革職，特詔寬免。

In the first year of Tongzhi they took Jiangpu and Pukou, then moved to join Duolong'a in attacking Luzhou and captured the city. Chen Yucheng fled to Shouzhou and sought refuge with Miao Peilin, who seized him and handed him over to Sheng Bao's army to be executed. Sheng Bao then pleaded for Peilin to be spared, assigning him to suppress the Nian as proof of loyalty; Peilin pretended to obey but was as stiff-necked as ever. Jiasan concluded that Peilin would ultimately be a disaster and memorialized on the larger strategy: first crush the Nian bands together, then deal with Peilin. He recommended Li Xuyi as governor of Anhui and moved his own forces to join Senggeliqin against the Nian; the emperor approved. Soon, gravely ill, he asked to be relieved of his post, and the request was granted. Earlier, after the fall of Shouzhou, the Board had recommended his dismissal, but an imperial edict specially spared him.

既受代，行至歸德，疏陳四事，請崇聖學；議政親臣專心國事；用人宜審；聽言宜斷：上嘉納之。復奏苗練終難就撫。二年春，沛霖复叛，圍蒙城，群捻助之，詔甲三在籍會籌防剿。臨淮軍苦飢乏。甲三奉命急籌接濟，乃倡捐募敢死士出間道，運至蒙城。捻匪兩犯陳州，甲三病已亟，榻前授將吏方略，擊走之。尋卒，優詔賜卹，諡端敏。擢其子保恆侍講學士，保齡內閣中書。陳州、臨淮、淮安並建專祠。後淮安請祀名宦，河南請祀鄉賢。

After his replacement took office, en route to Guide he submitted a memorial on four matters, urging greater respect for classical learning; that the emperor's trusted advisers should give their full attention to affairs of state; that appointments should be made with greater care; and that the throne should hear counsel and act decisively—the emperor praised and accepted the memorial. He submitted another memorial arguing that Miao's militia could never truly be brought to heel. In the spring of the second year Peilin rebelled again and besieged Mengcheng with Nian bands in support; Jiasan, though at home, was ordered to help plan the defense and suppression. The army at Linhuai was starving and desperately short of supplies. Ordered to rush relief, Jiasan raised donations and recruited volunteers willing to die for the cause, who slipped through bypaths to get supplies to Mengcheng. The Nian struck Chenzhou twice; though Jiasan was near death, he dictated strategy from his sickbed to his officers, and they drove the rebels off. He soon died. The court issued a special edict granting mourning honors and gave him the posthumous title Duanmin. His son Bao Heng was promoted to reader in the Hanlin Academy, and Baoling was appointed a secretary in the Grand Secretariat. Dedicated shrines were erected at Chenzhou, Linhuai, and Huai'an. Later Huai'an petitioned to enshrine him among distinguished officials, and Henan among local worthies.

子保恆，字小午，道光三十年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。從父軍中，咸豐五年，詔允留軍差遣。七年，從解亳州圍，拔白龍王廟、寺兒集、雉河集賊壘，進攻三圩，戰最力。勝保以聞，加侍講銜，賜花翎。八年，會攻懷遠捻首李大喜，奪其輜重，又大破孫葵心、劉狗於太和，賜號伊勒圖巴圖魯。九年，甲三罷軍事，保恆回京供職。十年，復命保恆赴甲三軍，破賊定遠，幫辦軍務穆騰阿上其功，甲三力辭，上諭甲三不必引嫌。十一年，破苗沛霖黨張士端於懷遠，會克定遠。同治元年，連擢侍講、侍讀、庶子。甲三以病解職，命保恆仍留軍。尋丁繼母憂，歸。二年，從甲三督治陳州團防。甲三尋卒，卹典推恩，命保恆以侍講學士即補。

His son Bao Heng, whose style was Xiaowu, became a jinshi in the thirtieth year of Daoguang, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed a compiling editor. He served in his father's army, and in the fifth year of Xianfeng an edict permitted him to remain with the army on active duty. In the seventh year he helped lift the Bozhou siege, captured the rebel strongholds at White Dragon King Temple, Sierji, and Zhiheji, pressed the attack on three stockades, and fought harder than anyone. Sheng Bao reported his deeds; he received the rank of reader and was granted the peacock feather. In the eighth year he joined the attack on Nian leader Li Daxi at Huaiyuan and seized his baggage train, then crushed Sun Kuixin and Liu Gou at Taihe and was granted the title Yiletu Baturu. In the ninth year Jiasan left military command, and Bao Heng returned to the capital to resume his court duties. In the tenth year Bao Heng was again sent to Jiasan's army; they defeated the rebels at Dingyuan, and Muteng'e, who was assisting military affairs, reported his merit. Jiasan strongly objected on grounds of nepotism, but the emperor told him not to plead conflict of interest. In the eleventh year he defeated Peilin's follower Zhang Shiduan at Huaiyuan and helped take Dingyuan. In the first year of Tongzhi he rose in quick succession to reader, senior reader, and household steward of the heir apparent. When Jiasan resigned because of illness, Bao Heng was ordered to stay with the army. He soon went into mourning for his stepmother and returned home. In the second year he joined Jiasan in overseeing Chenzhou's militia defenses. Jiasan soon died; the court extended mourning honors and ordered Bao Heng to step directly into the post of Hanlin reader.

淮北初平，保恆疏陳善後八策，請以逆產、絕產募民屯墾，整頓兩淮鹽務，以濟屯田經費；又密陳李世忠驕恣難制，請加裁抑。三年，保恆以屯田議未即行，請詣京與廷臣面議。詔斥不諳體制，下部議降一級，以鴻臚寺少卿候補。服闋赴京，廷臣交薦其才。七年，捻匪犯畿輔，保恆自請效力戎行，命赴李鴻章軍委用。捻平，加三品銜，授侍講學士。從陝甘總督左宗棠赴陝西，八年，命筦西征糧台，許專摺奏事。十一年，遷詹事。肅州克復，加頭品頂戴。十三年，連擢內閣學士、戶部侍郎。保恆督餉凡五載，諸軍欠餉糾轕，騰挪無缺。及大軍出關，詔襄辦左宗棠轉餉事，進駐肅州。保恆請入覲，未許。光緒元年，召回京，兼署吏部侍郎。二年，調刑部侍郎。

With northern Huai newly pacified, Bao Heng submitted eight recovery policies, proposing to recruit settlers with confiscated and ownerless land and to reform the Two Huai salt trade to finance the colonization effort; He also secretly reported that Li Shizhong had grown arrogant and ungovernable and asked that he be brought under tighter control. In the third year, because the colonization plan had not been put into effect, Bao Heng asked to go to the capital and discuss it in person with the ministers. An edict rebuked him for failing to understand proper procedure; the Board recommended demoting him one grade to await appointment as vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When his mourning ended he went to the capital, and ministers one after another praised his ability. In the seventh year, when the Nian raided the capital region, Bao Heng volunteered for active service and was assigned to Li Hongzhang's army. After the Nian were suppressed he received third-grade rank and was appointed Hanlin reader. He followed Shaanxi-Gansu governor Zuo Zongtang to Shaanxi, and in the eighth year was put in charge of the western expedition grain bureau with permission to submit memorials directly to the throne. In the eleventh year he was promoted to junior tutor. When Suzhou was recovered he was granted the first-rank official's hat ornament. In the thirteenth year he rose in quick succession to grand secretary and vice minister of revenue. Bao Heng oversaw supplies for five years; though pay and rations owed to the armies were a snarl of claims, he shifted funds so that nothing ran dry. When the main force marched beyond the frontier, he was ordered to help Zuo Zongtang forward supplies and moved forward to garrison Suzhou. Bao Heng asked to return to court for an audience, but the request was denied. In the first year of Guangxu he was recalled to the capital and concurrently served as acting vice minister of personnel. In the second year he was transferred to vice minister of justice.

保恆久歷兵間，審於世變，屢上疏論時事，請辨人材，厲士氣，收人心，言甚切直。又言：「歷觀各國情形，惟俄為最強最狡，往往不動聲色，佈局於十數年以前，肆毒於十數年以後。履霜有像，桑土宜先。伏原特簡久經戰陣熟習韜略之治兵重臣，專辦東三省練兵事務。凡屬兵馬餉糈邊防之事，悉以屬之。重以事權，寬以歲月，無事則可消覬覦之萌，有事則可為撻伐之助。用以拱衛神京，懾服他族。根本至計，未可委之一二不相統轄之武臣，謂可威強鄰而彌外患也。福建之台灣，僻處海澨，物產豐饒，民、番逼處。非專駐大臣，鎮以重兵，孚以威信，舉民風、吏治、營製、鄉團，事事實力整頓，未易為功。若以福建巡撫每歲半載駐台，恐閩中全省之政務，道路懸隔，而轉就拋荒。台灣甫定之規模，去住無常，而終為具文。請改福建巡撫為台灣巡撫，駐台灣，而以總督辦福建全省事，各專責成。」疏入，下部議行。

Long tested in war and keenly aware of how the world was changing, Bao Heng repeatedly memorialized on current affairs, urging the court to judge men rightly, stiffen public morale, and win people's loyalty; his language was blunt and forceful. He also wrote: "Looking across the nations, Russia alone is the strongest and the most cunning. Again and again it lays its plans in silence a decade or more in advance, then strikes a decade or more later. When frost is coming, the signs appear early; the wise gather mulberry bark before the storm. I humbly ask that a senior official of proven battlefield experience and deep knowledge of strategy be specially chosen to oversee military training in the Three Eastern Provinces. Every matter touching troops, horses, pay, grain, and frontier defense should be placed under his authority. Give him real power and enough time: in peace he can cut off greed before it takes root; in war he can strengthen our hand for punitive action. In this way the sacred capital would be shielded and other peoples held in awe. This is a fundamental policy. It cannot be handed to one or two generals who answer to no unified command and still be expected to overawe strong neighbors and settle foreign threats. Taiwan, part of Fujian, sits far out on the coast. Its products are abundant, and Han settlers and indigenous peoples live pressed close together. Without a resident commissioner backed by a strong garrison and real authority, and without hard work on popular custom, official governance, military discipline, and local militia, little can be achieved. If the Fujian governor spends only half the year in Taiwan, I fear that the rest of the province, cut off by distance, will in turn be neglected. Taiwan's newly established order, with its governor coming and going at whim, would in the end exist only on paper. I ask that the post of Fujian governor be changed to governor of Taiwan, resident in Taiwan, while the governor-general handles all affairs of Fujian proper—each with a clear mandate. When the memorial reached the throne, it was referred to the Board for deliberation and implementation.

三年，河南大旱，命保恆襄辦賑務。既至，疏陳沿途流民狀，先令州縣停徵。四年，奏請截留江南漕糧九萬石，不許；請借直隸平糶餘米三萬石，許之。又請借用江蘇義倉積穀及台灣捐修鐵路洋銀五十萬圓，下部議。令籌歸還之法。保恆請緩禁川鹽行楚，加抽鹽釐，備抵賑需，為兩全之計。疏入，仍下部議。保恆查賑所至，屏絕供張，服食粗糲，刊賑章二十二則頒行，就孔道設粥廠，就食省城者凡十餘萬人，棲息得所。時親視察，感疫病卒，優詔賜卹，諡文誠。河南省城建專祠，附祀陳州、臨淮甲三祠。

In the third year a great drought struck Henan, and Bao Heng was ordered to assist with famine relief. On arrival he reported on the refugees he had seen along the way and first ordered prefectures and counties to suspend tax collection. In the fourth year he asked to retain ninety thousand shi of Jiangnan grain tribute; the request was denied; he asked to borrow thirty thousand shi of surplus grain from Zhili's relief granaries; that was granted. He also asked to borrow grain from Jiangsu's charity granaries and five hundred thousand foreign silver dollars from Taiwan's railway repair fund; the matter was referred to the Board. He was ordered to work out a plan for repayment. Bao Heng proposed easing the ban on Sichuan salt in Hubei, adding a salt surcharge, and using the revenue for famine relief—a compromise meant to serve both needs. When the memorial arrived, it was again referred to the Board for deliberation. Wherever Bao Heng went on relief duty he refused official receptions, lived on plain food, issued twenty-two relief regulations, set up soup kitchens along the main roads, and gave more than a hundred thousand refugees who came to the provincial capital for food a place to stay. While making the rounds in person he caught an epidemic disease and died. The court issued a special edict granting mourning honors and gave him the posthumous title Wencheng. A dedicated shrine was built in Henan province, attached to the Jiasan shrines at Chenzhou and Linhuai.

毛昶熙，字旭初，河南武陟人。父樹棠，官至戶部侍郎。昶熙，道光二十五年進士，選庶吉士，授檢討，咸豐五年，遷御史，轉給事中。屢上疏論軍事吏治，劾步軍統領聯順徇私廢治，罷之，甚負清望。八年，授順天府丞，胡林翼密疏薦之。十年，加左副都御史銜，命督辦河南團練，至則規畫全局，定條規十二事：築堡寨，扼要隘，擇首事，選團丁，籌公費，互救援，定約束，申號令，公賞罰，詰姦宄，旌忠義，而終之以實力奉行；並疏陳調練民勇苦累之弊，亟宜改辦鄉團，以紓民力。尋命督辦剿匪事宜，駐軍歸德。亳州捻匪犯鹿邑，督練勇擊走之，分路馳剿，九戰皆捷。

Mao Changxi, whose style was Xuchu, came from Wuzhi in Henan. His father Shutang rose to vice minister of revenue. Changxi became a jinshi in the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed a reviser; in the fifth year of Xianfeng he was moved to censor and then supervising secretary. He repeatedly memorialized on military affairs and official discipline, impeached metropolitan garrison commander Lianshun for favoritism that had ruined governance, and got him dismissed—winning wide respect for his integrity. In the eighth year he was appointed vice magistrate of Shuntian prefecture on Hu Linyi's confidential recommendation. In the tenth year he received the nominal rank of left vice censor-in-chief and was ordered to supervise Henan militia training. On arrival he mapped the whole situation and laid down twelve rules: build forts and stockades, hold strategic passes, choose leaders, select militiamen, raise public funds, aid one another in emergencies, set clear constraints, enforce commands, make rewards and punishments public, root out traitors, honor loyalty and righteousness—and above all, carry them out in earnest; He also memorialized on the crushing burden of mobilizing trained militia and urged an immediate shift to local militia corps to relieve the people. He was soon ordered to supervise bandit suppression and established his headquarters at Guide. When Bozhou Nian raided Luyi, he led militia to beat them back and pursued them on separate routes, winning nine battles in a row.

十一年，疏言：「捻騎逾萬，官軍馬隊過單，皖、豫交界之區，皆平原曠野，步隊無以製賊死命。今豫境修築寨堡，已有成效，應責令寨長各選壯丁一名、馬一匹，投效來營。歸、陳兩屬，約可得馬隊三四百名。」上命推廣其法行之。捻匪偪省城，圍通許，昶熙檄軍援之，圍立解。因疏言：「軍令不一，將士無所適從，宜會合撫臣以一事權。」上命巡撫嚴樹森督辦河南剿匪事宜，昶熙副之，仍兼辦團練。三月，克唐縣。捻匪趙國良犯光州，陳大喜犯汝陽，並擊走之。尋以誤用逃犯李占標，降三級調用，暫免開缺。大河以南府、廳、州、縣團練皆成立，屢敗賊，詔開復處分。連擢順天府尹、太僕寺卿、內閣學士，仍留軍。

In the eleventh year he memorialized: "The Nian field more than ten thousand horsemen, while our cavalry is far too thin. The Anhui-Henan borderlands are open plain—foot soldiers cannot destroy the enemy outright. Fort and stockade building in Henan is already proving effective. Each stockade chief should be ordered to select one able-bodied man and one horse to report for service in camp. In Guide and Chen prefectures alone, roughly three to four hundred mounted men could be raised. The Emperor ordered that this plan be extended and put into practice. When Nian rebels threatened the provincial capital and encircled Tongxu, Changxi sent troops to relieve the town, and the siege was quickly broken. He therefore memorialized: "With military orders divided, officers and soldiers do not know whom to obey. Command should be consolidated under the provincial governor." The Emperor ordered Governor Yan Shusen to take charge of suppressing bandits in Henan, with Changxi as his deputy while he continued to oversee militia training. In the third month, government forces took Tang County. When the Nian chiefs Zhao Guoliang and Chen Daxi raided Guangzhou and Ruyang, he defeated and drove off both forces. He was soon demoted three ranks and transferred for having mistakenly employed the fugitive Li Zhanbiao, though he was temporarily allowed to remain in office. Militia had been established in every prefecture, sub-prefecture, department, and county south of the Yellow River, and after they repeatedly defeated the rebels, an edict restored him to his former rank. He was promoted in quick succession to Shuntian prefect, Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, and Grand Secretary, yet was kept in the field.

穆宗即位，昶熙請謁文宗梓宮，面陳機要，未許，命以軍事密疏入告。疏上製捻要策，略曰：「年來剿捻未得要領，其誤有二：一在專言防堵。潁、徐、歸、陳，平原千里，無險可扼，捻數路同發，分而愈多。官軍分堵則兵單，合堵則力疏，猶之院無牆垣，徒守門戶，不能遏盜也。一在無成算而輕戰。賊眾數倍於我，馬則十倍過之。我無必勝之術，僥倖一戰，一旦敗潰，賊焰愈張。至會師搗老巢，實為平賊要策。皖捻雖以張洛行為主，而陳、宋、潁、壽、淮、徐方數百里，無處非賊巢，即無處無賊首。官軍即能次第掃除，勢難刻期淨盡。若繞過小捻，徑搗大捻老巢，捨近攻遠，而近賊襲我於後，我必不支，此會搗老巢之難遽奏效也。然捻匪與粵匪不同，粵匪蜂屯蟻聚，其勢合；捻匪散處各圩，其勢分。其出竄也，必須裝旗糾合各圩賊目，約期會舉，常十餘日始得出。其竄山東者，每會於保安山、龍山；竄汴梁者，會於小奈集、大寺集；竄陳州者，會於南十字河、張信溜：地皆偪近亳州，亳州者，賊之吭也。計莫若擇重臣素有威望者，統步隊數万、馬隊數千，屯軍於此。用伍員多方誤楚之法，分所部為數起，此歸彼出，此出彼歸，循環馳突於各捻賊圩之間，使大捻無從勾結，小捻聲息不通，惴惴焉日防官兵之至，自不能裝旗出竄，四出打糧。俟其飢困，然後以重兵次第圍剿。賊無外援，則小股膽落，大股易平，招撫兼施，立可解散，不必盡煩兵力矣。夫防賊於既出之後，何如遏賊於未出之先？勦賊於既聚之餘，何如蹙賊以難聚之勢？而又無勞師襲遠之危、輕進損威之失，所謂不戰而屈人之兵者是也。今日大計，以衛畿輔固根本為先。豫東者，畿輔之門戶也。亳州者，豫東之賊源也。亳州之賊不除，則豫東之匪難絕，即畿輔之地不安。重兵駐豫，不能兼顧東省，駐東亦不能兼顧豫防。惟亳為諸捻匯處之區，拔本塞源，實在於此。且蒙、亳百姓，祗以偪處賊巢，呼訴無門，不得不苟全性命，非盡甘心為逆也。若官軍聲勢一振，隨撫隨剿，不但忠義良民同心殺賊，即附賊之堡寨，亦相率就撫，輔助官兵。彼久經兵革之地，人習戰爭，附賊則為悍賊，反正則為勁兵，奪賊焰而益軍威，計無便於此者。前勝保、袁甲三累獲大勝，皆由屯駐亳州，扼其要害，並賴關保、德楞額馬隊之力，是以所向有功。前事不遠，可為券證。」奏入，上韙之。

After Emperor Muzong took the throne, Changxi asked to visit Emperor Wenzong's coffin and present urgent matters in person. The request was denied, and he was told to report military affairs through confidential memorials instead. He submitted a memorial outlining the essential strategy for suppressing the Nian, stating in summary: "For years the campaign against the Nian has missed the point. There are two mistakes. The first is to rely solely on blocking and containment. Ying, Xu, Gui, and Chen form a thousand li of open plain with no defensible ground. The Nian strike on many routes at once, and the more they are split up, the more numerous they become. If government troops are split to block the Nian, their forces are too thin; if massed to block them, their strength is spread too thin. It is like a courtyard with no walls, guarding only the gate—no way to stop thieves from getting in. The second is to engage in battle rashly, without a settled plan. The rebels outnumber us several times over, and their cavalry exceeds ours tenfold. We have no sure way to win. If we gamble on a single battle and are routed, the rebels' momentum will only grow. As for massing armies to strike the rebels' strongholds, that is indeed the essential strategy for pacifying them. Although the Anhui Nian are led chiefly by Zhang Luoxing, across Chen, Song, Ying, Shou, Huai, and Xu—hundreds of li of territory—there is scarcely a place that is not a rebel nest or without a rebel leader. Even if government troops can mop them up one by one, it will be nearly impossible to eliminate them all within a set time. If we bypass smaller Nian bands to strike the main strongholds directly—abandoning what is near to attack what is far—nearby rebels will hit us from behind and we will not be able to hold. That is why a mass assault on the rebels' nests is hard to bring off quickly. Yet the Nian differ from the Cantonese rebels. The Cantonese mass together like bees and ants, and their force is united; the Nian are scattered among separate stockades, and their force is divided. When they raid abroad, they must raise banners to summon the chiefs of the various stockades and agree on a date to move together; it often takes more than ten days before they can set out. Those raiding into Shandong gather at Bao'an Mountain and Long Mountain; those raiding toward Bianliang gather at Xiao Naiji and Da Siji; those raiding toward Chenzhou gather at Nan Shizihe and Zhang Xinliu. All these places lie close to Bozhou—and Bozhou is the rebels' jugular. The best plan is to appoint a senior minister of established prestige, give him command of tens of thousands of infantry and thousands of cavalry, and station the army here. Using Wu Yuan's tactic of misleading the enemy on many fronts, divide the force into several columns that rotate in and out—when one rests the other strikes—wheeling in repeated raids among the Nian stockades. The larger bands will be unable to link up, the smaller bands unable to communicate, and trembling daily at the approach of government troops, they will be unable to raise banners, raid abroad, or forage in all directions. Wait until hunger and exhaustion set in, then use heavy forces to encircle and suppress them one by one. Cut off from outside support, smaller bands will lose heart and larger bands will be easier to crush. With persuasion and force combined, they can quickly be broken up, without having to commit the full army. What is the point of defending against rebels after they have already sallied forth, when it is better to stop them before they can? What is the point of suppressing rebels after they have already massed, when it is better to keep them from gathering in the first place? And all this without the risk of a distant expedition or the loss of prestige from rash advances—this is what is meant by defeating the enemy without fighting. Today's paramount strategy is to defend the capital region and secure the foundations of the realm. Eastern Henan is the gateway to the capital region. Bozhou is the fountainhead of rebellion in eastern Henan. If the rebels at Bozhou are not eliminated, banditry in eastern Henan cannot be stamped out, and the capital region itself will remain insecure. Heavy forces stationed in Henan cannot also cover Shandong, and forces stationed in Shandong cannot also cover Henan. Bozhou alone is where all the Nian converge. To uproot the problem at its source, the key lies here. Moreover, the people of Meng and Bozhou live pressed against rebel strongholds with nowhere to turn for justice. They have had no choice but to save their lives as best they can—not all of them willingly joined the rebels. If government forces once regain their momentum, combining pacification with suppression, not only will loyal commoners unite to kill rebels, but even stockades that had sided with the bandits will submit in numbers and aid the army. In lands long torn by war, the people know how to fight. Those who side with rebels become fierce fighters; those who come over become strong soldiers. To break the rebels' momentum and strengthen the army, there is no better plan. Sheng Bao and Yuan Jiasan won victory after victory precisely because they garrisoned at Bozhou, held its key points, and had the cavalry of Guan Bao and Deleng'e to rely on. That is why they succeeded wherever they fought. These recent precedents are close at hand and can serve as proof. When the memorial reached the throne, the Emperor approved it.

時粵、捻合擾潁州，命昶熙出境會剿。昶熙兵僅五千，且無馬隊，疏請調總兵李續燾等募精壯六千來豫，以厚兵力，如所請行。上复敕西安將軍托明阿選西安馬隊一千赴豫。

At the time the Taiping and Nian rebels were jointly raiding Yingzhou, and Changxi was ordered to cross the border to join the campaign. Changxi had only five thousand men and no cavalry. He memorialized asking that Brigadier Li Xudong and others raise six thousand picked troops for Henan to strengthen his force, and the request was granted. The Emperor also ordered the Xi'an General Tooming'a to select one thousand Xi'an cavalry and dispatch them to Henan.

同治元年春，亳捻劉大淵糾黨趨河南，昶熙在省聞警，馳至杞縣，賊已圍城，會僧格林沁軍自山東進至，敗賊許岡，昶熙會所部合擊之，克復所佔民圩，斬馘逾萬，餘賊引去。檄諸路團勇截殺之，還駐歸德，扼賊歸路。四月，會同僧軍合擊金樓教匪楊玉驄，盡殲其眾，授禮部侍郎，仍命督團勦賊，歸僧格林沁節制。赴汝寧督兵團剿陳大喜諸匪，克正陽，收寨、圩多處。二年，誅賊首張鳳林、張福林，克邢集、尚店賊巢，陳大喜竄湖北，汝寧、陳州所屬踞賊，殲除殆盡。調吏部。亳捻犯陳州，為官軍所扼擊，四竄。昶熙屯鹿邑，盡平亳北賊寨。

In the spring of the first year of Tongzhi, the Bozhou Nian chief Liu Dayuan gathered his followers and marched into Henan. Changxi, hearing the alarm while in the provincial capital, rushed to Qixian, where the rebels were already besieging the city. Sengge Rinchen's army arrived from Shandong and defeated the rebels at Xugang; Changxi then joined his own troops in a combined assault. They recovered the civilian stockades the rebels had seized, killed more than ten thousand, and the rest withdrew. He ordered militia on all routes to intercept and cut them down, then returned to garrison at Guide and blocked the rebels' retreat. In the fourth month he joined Sengge Rinchen's army in a combined attack on the Jinlou sect rebel Yang Yucong and wiped out his entire force. He was appointed Vice Minister of Rites, continued to supervise militia operations against the rebels, and was placed under Sengge Rinchen's command. He went to Runing to direct troops and militia against Chen Daxi and other rebels, took Zhengyang, and recovered numerous stockades and fortified hamlets. In the second year he executed the rebel chiefs Zhang Fenglin and Zhang Fulin, took the strongholds at Xingji and Shangdian, and drove Chen Daxi into Hubei. The rebels holding territory under Runing and Chenzhou were nearly all eliminated. He was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. When Bozhou Nian raided Chenzhou, government troops blocked and struck them, and they scattered in all directions. Changxi garrisoned at Luyi and completely cleared the rebel stockades north of Bozhou.

是年冬，苗沛霖伏誅，淮北肅清。詔：「昶熙部勇原助兵力所不足，今兵力足敷應用，飭散遣歸農。」命昶熙回京供職。會陳大喜勾結苗練餘黨趨汝南，陷正陽、信陽、新蔡、息縣各民寨，乃暫留勦賊。三年，進屯息縣，擒誅捻首趙國良、徐文田十餘名，盡复諸寨。十一月，僧格林沁敗陳大喜、張總愚於光山，賊西竄，偪南陽。昶熙調張曜回屯唐縣，知府湯聘珍扼宛南。四年，僧格林沁戰歿曹州，諸軍並被譴，坐革職留任，詔回京。六年，調戶部。七年，擢左都御史，兼署工部尚書。

That winter Miao Peilin was secretly put to death, and the north Huai region was pacified. An edict stated: "The local braves under Changxi were originally raised to make up for insufficient regular forces. Now the army is strong enough; order them disbanded and sent back to their farms." Changxi was ordered to return to the capital and resume his duties. When Chen Daxi joined forces with remnants of Miao Peilin's militia and marched on Runan, seizing civilian stockades at Zhengyang, Xinyang, Xincai, and Xixian, Changxi was temporarily kept in the field to continue the campaign. In the third year he moved his headquarters to Xixian, captured and executed the Nian chiefs Zhao Guoliang, Xu Wentian, and more than ten others, and fully recovered all the stockades. In the eleventh month Sengge Rinchen defeated Chen Daxi and Zhang Zongyu at Guangshan. The rebels fled west and threatened Nanyang. Changxi ordered Zhang Yao to return and garrison Tang County, while Prefect Tang Pinzhen blocked the southern approaches to Nanyang. In the fourth year Sengge Rinchen was killed in battle at Caozhou. All the commanders were censured; Changxi was stripped of rank but kept in office, and then ordered back to the capital. In the sixth year he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. In the seventh year he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief and concurrently served as acting Minister of Works.

時捻匪戡定，疏陳軍務漸平，宜益思寅畏，略曰：「功成而喜者，常人之同情；功成而懼者，聖人之遠慮。今日巨寇甫平，兵戈未息，滇、黔、秦、隴，烽火驚心；皖、豫、直、東，瘡痍滿目。戡亂安民，一一尚煩宸慮，敬肆之機，間不容髮。萬一大捷之餘，偶忘乾惕，則患機之萌，恐有伏於無形者。今之所急：一在勤聖學。皇上春秋鼎盛，典學日新。但恐親師講學，為時無多，還宮之後，左右近習，或以功業日盛，間進諛詞，意氣漸盈，懋修或懈。昔宋莊獻皇后臨朝，仁宗聽內侍之言，欲觀寶玩，莊獻太后為言祖宗創業之艱。臣亦伏原皇太后於皇上還宮之餘，殷殷以時事艱難，勤加啟迪。至於近侍，尤宜擇老成有識之人，服事起居，將見養正之功，日臻堅定矣。一在崇節儉。今寇亂雖平，而流離之民，未盡歸農，荒蕪之田，尚多未墾。非力加撙節，不足以廣積儲而備緩急。臣前管三庫事務，見內務府借撥部庫銀兩，逐歲加增。竊恐中原底定，踵事增華，財源未開，財流不節，度支告匱，為患匪輕。伏原皇太后、皇上崇尚節儉，為天下先。一切不急之務，可罷則罷之，可緩則緩之，庶國用可充，而風俗亦漸歸質厚矣。一在飭吏治。發、捻之禍，實由不肖州縣所激而成。正供之外，百計誅求；私派私罰，自營囊橐，以致民氣不伸，釀成巨患。用兵以來，此風尤甚。即如釐金一項，奉行不善，百弊叢生。病商病民，莫此為甚。今日之封疆大吏，以地方多事，喜用精明強幹之員，而不求愷悌循良之吏。斯民元氣，剝削愈甚，其禍遂不可勝言。今東南初定，畿甸甫清，兵燹遺黎，不堪再擾。應令各省督撫慎選良吏，與民休息，以復富庶之舊。一在固根本。陝西回逆、土匪，麕聚北山，現聞大軍乘勝西征，恐至窮而思竄。其或由晉省撲河，或由草地北擾宣、大，畿輔兵單地廣，在在須防。直隸提督劉銘傳謀勇兼優，應令迅回本任，並帶所部萬人，留直屯守，以壯聲威。並將綠營兵丁，練成勁旅，庶諸賊不敢萌心北擾，而諸將亦得專意西征矣。」疏入，上嘉其言剴切，優詔答之。

By then the Nian rebellion had been crushed. He memorialized that although military affairs were gradually settling, the court should be all the more mindful of reverent caution, writing in summary: "To rejoice at success is the common human response; to fear at success is the sage's far-sighted concern. Great rebellions have only just been put down and war has not yet ended. In Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, and Gansu, beacon fires still strike fear; in Anhui, Henan, Zhili, and Shandong, devastation meets the eye everywhere. Pacifying chaos and restoring the people to peace still demands the Emperor's constant attention. The choice between reverence and complacency allows no delay. If, in the wake of great victory, vigilance is briefly forgotten, disaster may already be forming out of sight. What is urgent today: first, diligence in the Emperor's studies. The Emperor is in the prime of youth, and his learning improves daily. But I fear he spends too little time with his tutors. After returning to the palace, close attendants—seeing imperial achievements grow day by day—may offer flattery, his spirit may gradually swell with pride, and his earnest self-cultivation may slacken. In Song times, when Empress Zhuangxian held court, Emperor Renzong listened to palace eunuchs and wished to view precious curios. Empress Dowager Zhuangxian reminded him of the hardships with which their ancestors had founded the dynasty. Your servant also humbly hopes that after the Emperor returns to the palace, the Empress Dowager will earnestly remind him of the hardships of the times and guide him with constant care. As for his close attendants, it is especially important to choose seasoned and thoughtful men to attend him in daily life. Then the work of nurturing his character will steadily take root. Second, uphold frugality. Though rebellion has been put down, displaced people have not all returned to farming, and many fields still lie abandoned and unreclaimed. Without strict economy, the state cannot build up reserves or prepare for emergencies. When your servant previously oversaw the Three Treasuries, he saw the Imperial Household Department borrow and draw silver from the Ministry treasuries in amounts that increased every year. I fear that with the central plains now pacified, extravagance will follow old patterns: new revenue will not be developed, spending will not be restrained, the treasury will run short, and the consequences will be grave. I humbly hope the Empress Dowager and the Emperor will take the lead in practicing frugality for the whole empire. All non-urgent projects should be canceled where possible and postponed where they can wait, so that state funds may recover and public morals may gradually return to plain simplicity. Third, rectify official governance. The Miao and Nian rebellions were in truth provoked by unworthy prefectural and county officials. Beyond regular taxes, they devised every sort of extortion; imposed unauthorized levies and fines to fill their own pockets, until popular grievances had no outlet and a great disaster was brewed. Since the wars began, this abuse has grown especially severe. Take the likin transit tax, for example: poorly administered, it breeds a hundred abuses. Nothing harms merchants and commoners more. Today's provincial governors, finding their regions still unsettled, prefer clever and forceful officials and do not seek humane and steady ones. The people's strength is drained ever further, and the harm becomes beyond reckoning. The southeast has only just been pacified and the capital region only just cleared. The war-weary people cannot endure further abuse. Each province's governors and governor-generals should be ordered to choose good officials carefully, let the people recover, and restore former prosperity. Fourth, secure the foundations of the realm. Muslim rebels and bandits in Shaanxi are massing in the northern mountains. Now that the main army is advancing west on the momentum of victory, I fear that when cornered they will try to break out. They may either cross the Yellow River from Shanxi or sweep north from the grasslands to raid Xuanhua and Datong. The capital region has too few troops for too vast a territory, and must be defended at every point. Zhili regional commander Liu Mingchuan excels in both strategy and courage. He should be ordered back to his post at once, bring ten thousand of his troops to garrison Zhili, and strengthen the capital region's defenses. The Green Standard troops should also be drilled into a crack force, so that rebels will not dare think of raiding north and the generals can focus entirely on the western campaign. When the memorial reached the throne, the Emperor praised his blunt and forceful counsel and replied with a special commendation.

八年，授工部尚書，命在總理各國事務衙門行走。九年，天津民、教構釁，命偕直隸總督曾國籓按治，暫署三口通商大臣。事定回京，請裁歸總督兼理，從之。十一年，調吏部。十二年，上謁東陵，命留京辦事。十三年，兼翰林院掌院學士。光緒四年，丁母憂，服闋，命仍在總理各國事務衙門行走，兼翰林院掌院學士。八年，授兵部尚書。尋卒，優詔賜卹，贈太子少保，諡文達。

In the eighth year he was appointed Minister of Works and assigned to the Zongli Yamen for foreign affairs. In the ninth year, when the Tianjin incident broke out between locals and missionaries, he was ordered to investigate jointly with Zhili governor-general Zeng Guofan and served temporarily as commissioner for the three treaty ports. After the affair was settled he returned to the capital and asked that the post be folded back under the governor-general; the request was granted. In the eleventh year he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. In the twelfth year, when the Emperor visited the Eastern Tombs, Changxi was ordered to remain in Beijing to handle affairs. In the thirteenth year he was also appointed chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. In the fourth year of Guangxu he mourned his mother; when mourning ended he was ordered to continue at the Zongli Yamen while also serving as chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. In the eighth year he was appointed Minister of War. He soon died. The court issued a special edict granting mourning honors, posthumously promoted him to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and gave him the posthumous title Wenda.

昶熙屢掌文衡，兩典會試，凡朝、殿考試，閱卷歷二十餘次，士論歸之。

Changxi repeatedly oversaw the civil examinations, presided twice over the metropolitan examination, and graded papers in palace and hall examinations more than twenty times; scholars looked to him with respect.

論曰：袁甲三、毛昶熙並以謇諤著聲，出膺軍寄。甲三孤軍支拄淮壖，與捻事相終始，驕帥傾排，狡寇反覆，卒能保障岩疆，其堅毅不可及也。昶熙事權未專，同時疆吏非辦賊才，補苴之功，亦不可沒。所陳平捻方略，具得要領。賊平之後，懃懃以寅畏納諫，老成謀國，於斯見之。保恆濟美戎行，立朝侃侃，家英國幹，鬱有風規已。

The commentators observe: Yuan Jiasan and Mao Changxi both won fame for blunt integrity and were sent out to bear military command. Jiasan held the Huai frontier alone with a scattered army, facing the Nian rebellion from start to finish. Arrogant commanders undermined him and cunning rebels turned treacherous again and again, yet he still safeguarded a critical frontier—his steadfastness was beyond compare. Changxi never held full authority, and many frontier officials of his day were not equal to suppressing bandits; yet his work of holding things together should not be forgotten. The strategy he laid out for pacifying the Nian hit the essentials. After the rebels were crushed, he earnestly urged reverent caution and openness to counsel—a seasoned statesman's care for the realm shows in this. Bao Heng inherited his father's military distinction, spoke forthrightly at court, and came from a family of national talent; even early on he bore a reputation for integrity and ability.

Cite this Chapter