1
韓超，字南溪，直隸昌黎人。 道光十四年，副貢。 二十二年，天津治海防，超詣軍門獻策，事平，獎敘州判。 尋以府經歷揀發貴州，歷署三角屯州同、獨山知州。 獨山多盜，號難治。 超募勇訓練，用土民為鄉導，擒其渠。 胡林翼守黎平，深倚重之，言之巡撫蔣霨遠，超由是知名。
Han Chao, styled Nanxi, came from Changli in Zhili. In the fourteenth year of the Daoguang reign, he qualified as a vice tribute student. In the twenty-second year, while Tianjin was strengthening coastal defenses, Chao presented plans at army headquarters. After peace was restored, he was commended and assigned the rank of departmental judge. He was soon selected as a prefectural clerk and sent to Guizhou, where he served in acting posts as sub-prefect of Sanjiaotun and magistrate of Dushan. Dushan was rife with bandits and had a reputation as hard to govern. Chao recruited militiamen, drilled them, used local tribesmen as guides, and captured the bandit chiefs. Hu Linyi, defending Liping, came to rely heavily on him and recommended him to Governor Jiang Yuanyuan, and Chao won fame from that time.
2
咸豐元年，烏沙苗倡亂，超從林翼進剿，馳風雪中，先後斬獲數百人，餘黨悉平。 論功，以知縣用。 二年，署清江通判。 知黔將亂，捐俸豢勇士八十人，練成勁卒。 四年，獨山土匪結粵匪內犯，超率兵練迎擊，分軍出賊後，攻其不備，擒賊首楊元保，复深入廣西南丹州境，擊諸匪平之，加同知銜，賜花翎。 桐梓匪楊鳳竄永寧，合黔西匪王三扎巴連陷數城，圍遵義，超馳至，敗賊南關，陣斬王三扎巴，立解城圍。 复追敗諸葛章司河，擒楊鳳斬之，餘黨盡殲，擢知府。 五年，苗亂蔓延，超馳援台拱，解黃平、平越圍； 轉戰至施秉、鎮遠，賊塹山斷道，以阻官軍。 超以孤軍馳突其間，大小數十戰，補石阡知府。
In the first year of Xianfeng the Wusha Miao rebelled. Chao joined Linyi's punitive campaign, fighting through wind and snow, and in a series of engagements killed or captured hundreds until the remnant bands were wiped out. For his service he was recommended for appointment as a county magistrate. In the second year he served as acting sub-prefect of Qingjiang. Foreseeing turmoil in Guizhou, he spent his own salary to keep eighty fighting men and trained them into a hardened force. In the fourth year Dushan bandits allied with Cantonese rebels and invaded inland. Chao led troops and militia to meet them, sent a detachment around the enemy's rear, and caught them off guard, capturing the bandit chief Yang Yuanbao. He then pushed deep into Nandan in Guangxi, routed the bandit bands, and was promoted to sub-prefect with the peacock feather. The Tongzi bandit Yang Feng fled to Yongning and joined the Qianxi rebel Wang Sanzhaba; together they took several towns and besieged Zunyi. Chao galloped to the scene, routed the rebels at the South Gate, killed Wang Sanzhaba in battle, and raised the siege at once. He pursued them again, defeated them at Zhugezhang on the Si River, captured and executed Yang Feng, wiped out the remnant bands, and was promoted to prefect. In the fifth year, as the Miao rebellion spread, Chao rushed to relieve Taigong and raised the sieges of Huangping and Pingyue; then fought on to Shibing and Zhenyuan, where the rebels dug mountain trenches and severed the roads to block the government forces. Chao drove a lone column through their lines in dozens of battles large and small and was appointed prefect of Shiqian.
3
超性剛直，有膽略，每與上官爭執是非，上官責以勦賊而靳其餉，飢師轉戰，往往求協助於鄰省。 四川總督駱秉章、湖北巡撫胡林翼交章論薦，侍郎王茂廕亦疏薦之，詔下巡撫問狀，以道員記名。 九年，授貴州糧儲道。 時苗、教各匪連陷諸郡縣，駐軍卭水汛，扼其中，使苗、教不得合，且遏其下竄湖南之路。 賊出全力撲之，超約楚軍夾擊，賊大潰。 剿思州響鼓坪，施秉土地坪，鎮遠金鼎𡉫、鋒嚴𡉫、唐家營𡉫諸賊巢，擒賊目張東山、歐光義等，鎮遠所屬皆平。
Chao was blunt and upright, bold and resourceful. He often argued with his superiors over right and wrong; they ordered him to hunt bandits while withholding his supplies, and his hungry men fought on the march, often begging help from neighboring provinces. Sichuan Governor-General Luo Bingzhang and Hubei Governor Hu Linyi jointly recommended him in memorial after memorial, and Vice Minister Wang Maoyin also urged his promotion. The court ordered the provincial governor to report on his conduct and registered his name for a circuit intendant post. In the ninth year he was appointed grain intendant of Guizhou. Miao and sectarian rebels were then overrunning prefectures and counties in succession. He camped at the Qiongshui garrison in the center, keeping the Miao and sectarians from joining forces and blocking their path south into Hunan. The rebels threw their full strength at him; Chao coordinated a pincer with the Hunan army, and the rebels broke completely. He stormed rebel strongholds at Xiangguping in Sinan, Tudituping in Shibing, and Jindingnao, Fengyannao, and Tangjiayingnao in Zhenyuan, captured bandit chiefs Zhang Dongshan and Ou Guangyi among others, and pacified the whole Zhenyuan region.
4
民團舊以十戶養一壯丁，超因其意稍變通之，官募士而民輸糧； 又籍叛產分授降眾、流人，以田代餉； 行之二年，得兵三千人。 自軍興，協餉不至，地方官吏爭抽取釐金以為補助。 超建議釐金統一，一抽之後，不復再抽，商無滯累，餉用差給。 十年，命幫辦貴州剿匪事。 十一年，署按察使。 提督田興恕疏陳超前後戰功，加布政使銜，賜號武勇巴圖魯。 詔予二品頂戴，署貴州巡撫。 田興恕方以欽差大臣督辦軍務，超久在行間，亦以肅清全黔為己任。
Militia had long been raised on the rule that ten households supported one fighting man. Chao adapted the scheme: the government recruited the troops while the people supplied grain; he also seized rebel estates and allotted them to surrendered rebels and displaced people, paying troops with land instead of silver; and within two years had raised a force of three thousand men. Since the war began cooperative subsidies had failed to arrive, and local officials competed to levy likin taxes as makeshift revenue. Chao proposed a unified likin levy: one assessment only, with no repeat collections, so merchants would not be squeezed repeatedly and military funds would be roughly adequate. In the tenth year he was ordered to assist in the Guizhou bandit-suppression campaign. In the eleventh year he served as acting provincial judicial commissioner. Provincial Military Commander Tian Xingyu memorialized Chao's battle record; he was given the rank of provincial treasurer and the title Wuyong Batulu. An edict granted him the second-rank cap button and appointment as acting governor of Guizhou. Tian Xingyu was then imperial commissioner in charge of military affairs; Chao had long served in the field and likewise made the pacification of all Guizhou his personal mission.
5
同治元年，田興恕罷，乃命超辦理防剿事宜。 時尚大坪、玉華山兩處為賊巢，遵義、安順、思南、大定、銅仁、石阡諸府所在皆賊，五月，回匪陷興義，雲南叛回潰勇擾境，粵匪亦由川竄至正陽、廟堂並桐梓、松坎諸地。 超令總兵吳安康進剿，用內應夜縱火攻破賊巢，擒匪首倪老帽斬之，出難民二千餘人。 六月，閔家場踞賊糾集苗、教諸黨偪江口，天柱匪首亦糾合土匪攻陷縣城，分股竄湖南晃州廳、高寨，陷卭水、青谿兩城，謀截楚軍糧道。 超令總兵羅孝連、道員趙國澍進攻安順仲匪，夷其壘，擒斬賊酋韋登鳳等。 尚大坪賊复約苗、教分掠江內，超令孝連斷其歸路，國澍等馳軍迎擊，復令副將趙德元出冷水河、梯子岩進襲尚大坪，立破之，卬水汛城同時克復。 進平玉華山賊巢，攻拔瓦寨，复天柱縣城，特詔嘉獎。 道員鄧爾巽、總兵李有恆，破王家苗寨、夾馬洞諸賊巢，獲其酋李玉榮等。 黃、白號，教匪竄遵義，知府李德莪擊破之於三台山，奪五里坎諸隘口。 副將周宏順進攻石阡，毀老王𡉫賊巢，諸𡉫就撫。
In the first year of Tongzhi, after Tian Xingyu was dismissed, Chao was ordered to take charge of defense and bandit suppression. Shangdaping and Yuhuashan were then the main rebel nests, and bandits held sway across Zunyi, Anshun, Sinan, Dading, Tongren, Shiqian, and other prefectures. In the fifth month Hui rebels took Xingyi; routed Yunnan Hui rebels raided the border; and Cantonese bandits fled from Sichuan into Zhengyang, Miaotang, Tongzi, Songkan, and neighboring districts. Chao ordered Brigadier Wu Ankang to attack. With inside help they set the nest ablaze at night, stormed it, captured and executed the bandit chief Ni Laomao, and freed more than two thousand civilians. In the sixth month rebels at Minjiachang rallied Miao and sectarian bands against Jiangkou. The Tianzhu bandit chief joined local bandits, took the county seat, sent columns into Hunan's Huangzhou subprefecture and Gaozhai, captured Qiongshui and Qingxi, and aimed to sever the Hunan army's supply line. Chao sent Brigadier Luo Xiaolian and Circuit Intendant Zhao Guoshu against the Zhong rebels of Anshun. They leveled the stockades and captured and executed the chiefs Wei Dengfeng and others. Shangdaping rebels again allied with Miao and sectarians to raid the river districts. Chao had Xiaolian cut their retreat while Guoshu and others struck them head-on, and sent Deputy Commander Zhao Deyuan through Lengshuihe and Tiziyan against Shangdaping. The nest fell at once, and the Qiongshui garrison was retaken the same day. He then cleared the Yuhuashan nest, stormed Wazhai, and recovered Tianzhu county seat, earning a special imperial commendation. Circuit Intendant Deng Erxun and Brigadier Li Youheng stormed the nests at Wangjia Miao stockade and Jiama Cave and captured chiefs including Li Yurong. Yellow- and White-Banner sectarian rebels fled into Zunyi; Prefect Li De'e routed them at Santaishan and recaptured the passes at Wulikan and elsewhere. Deputy Commander Zhou Hongshun attacked Shiqian, destroyed the Laowangnao nest, and the surrounding strongholds surrendered.
6
石阡、銅仁苗匪攻毀鎮遠營壘，卭水戍軍亦潰，遂南掠松桃，北攻天柱。 湖南援師至，賊始引去。 詔斥超專恃援軍，有負疆寄。 雲南方議撫回，巡撫徐之銘諮會停剿，而回匪益恣，竄陷安南、興義，分擾郎岱、永寧、歸化，詔原其誤信撫議，免議處。 石達開自川回竄，分三路，一走遵義，一走黔西，一走桐梓。 遣沈宏富、李有恆、余祖凱擊之。 田興恕以教案獲譴去官，黔軍益單。 二年，乞病回籍。 光緒四年，卒於家，年七十有九。 詔念前功，賜卹，諡果靖。 貴州請建專祠，並附祀胡林翼祠。
Miao rebels from Shiqian and Tongren wrecked the Zhenyuan camps; the Qiongshui garrison broke as well, then raided south into Songtao and struck north at Tianzhu. Only when Hunan relief troops arrived did the rebels withdraw. An edict rebuked Chao for relying solely on outside reinforcements and betraying his frontier charge. Yunnan was debating Hui pacification; Governor Xu Zhiming consulted and halted suppression, but the Hui rebels grew bolder, raided Annan and Xingyi, and spread into Langdai, Yongning, and Guihua. An edict forgave his mistaken faith in pacification and spared him punishment. Shi Dakai fled back from Sichuan in three columns: one toward Zunyi, one toward Qianxi, and one toward Tongzi. He sent Shen Hongfu, Li Youheng, and Yu Zukai against them. Tian Xingyu was punished and dismissed over the missionary case, leaving the Guizhou army still weaker. In the second year he resigned on grounds of illness and returned home. In the fourth year of Guangxu he died at home at the age of seventy-nine. The court recalled his earlier service, granted funeral honors, and gave him the posthumous title Guojing. Guizhou petitioned for a shrine in his honor and for him to be worshipped in Hu Linyi's temple as well.
7
田興恕，字忠普，湖南鎮筸人。 年十六，充行伍，隸鎮筸鎮標。 咸豐二年，從守長沙。 賊屯湘江西岸，軍中募敢死士夜驚賊營，興恕請行，夜浮小舟往，潛燔賊營，賊騎數百追之，泅水免。 巡撫駱秉章奇之，委充哨官。 五年，從克郴州。 六年，領五百人號虎威營。 從蕭啟江援江西，克萬載、袁州。 七年，戰上高英岡嶺，深入被圍，左手受創，亡馬，步戰，他將馳救，得免。 是役以少擊眾，斃賊千數。 進攻臨江，掘地道轟城，先登，再被創，賊死拒未下。 援賊大至，啟江議暫退，興恕不可，曰：「兵在精不在多，原為前鋒。」 率所部直貫賊陣，賊張左右翼圍之，後軍望見興恕旗指東麾西，賊皆披靡，夾擊，賊大敗竄走，遂復臨江。 八年，克崇仁、樂安、宜黃、南豐，積功至副將，加總兵銜，賜號尚勇、摯勇兩巴圖魯。
Tian Xingyu, styled Zhongpu, came from Zhengan in Hunan. At sixteen he joined the army and served in the Zhengan garrison. In the second year of Xianfeng he took part in the defense of Changsha. Rebels held the west bank of the Xiang. The army recruited volunteers for a night raid; Xingyu volunteered, crossed by small boat after dark, set the rebel camp ablaze, was chased by hundreds of horsemen, and swam to safety. Governor Luo Bingzhang was impressed and appointed him a platoon officer. In the fifth year he took part in capturing Chenzhou. In the sixth year he commanded five hundred men in the Tiger Might Battalion. He followed Xiao Qijiang to relieve Jiangxi and helped capture Wanzai and Yuanzhou. In the seventh year he fought at Yinggangling in Shanggao, pushed too far and was surrounded, took a wound to the left hand, lost his horse, fought on foot, and was saved when another commander rode to rescue him. In that fight his outnumbered force killed rebels by the thousands. In the assault on Linjiang they mined the walls; he was first over the breach, was wounded again, but the rebels held on and the city did not fall. Rebel reinforcements arrived in force. Qijiang proposed pulling back, but Xingyu refused, saying, "Victory depends on quality, not numbers. I was sent to lead the van." He drove his men straight through the rebel line. The enemy spread wings to surround him, but the rear ranks saw Xingyu's banner feint east while he struck west; the rebels broke, a pincer crushed them, and Linjiang was retaken. In the eighth year he captured Chongren, Le'an, Yihuang, and Nanfeng. For accumulated merit he was promoted to deputy commander with brigadier's rank and granted the titles Shangyong and Zhiyong Batulu.
8
貴州苗、教匪熾，黎平府被圍久。 興恕奉檄赴援，至即攻破賊營，連戰三日而圍解，進克古州、永從，署古州鎮總兵。 九年，石達開圍寶慶，興恕率四千五百人赴援，扼九鞏橋，無日不戰，歷月餘，糧藥將罄，選死士欲以一戰決勝負，會李續宜援軍至，內外夾擊，毀附城營三，連日攻下，勢如破竹。 達開竄廣西，遂移軍靖州防黔邊，命署貴州提督，督辦貴州軍務，增軍盈二萬。 十年，道銅仁，取印江，分軍略思南、石阡，進克貓貓山賊巢。
Miao and sectarian rebels raged in Guizhou, and Liping had been under siege for a long time. Ordered to the relief, Xingyu stormed the rebel camp on arrival, fought three days straight until the siege lifted, then took Guzhou and Yongcong and served as acting commander of the Guzhou garrison. In the ninth year Shi Dakai besieged Baojing. Xingyu led forty-five hundred men to hold Jiugong Bridge and fought daily for more than a month until supplies ran low. He picked volunteers for a decisive battle, then Li Xuyi's relief force arrived. Inner and outer columns struck together, destroyed three camps by the walls, and swept the rest aside in days. Dakai fled into Guangxi. Xingyu moved his army to Jingzhou to guard the Guizhou border, was appointed acting provincial military commander of Guizhou with charge of military affairs, and expanded his force to more than twenty thousand men. In the tenth year he marched through Tongren, took Yinjiang, sent columns into Sinan and Shiqian, and captured the Maomaoshan bandit nest.
9
石達開由廣西入貴州，連陷數縣，省城大震。 巡撫劉源灝趣赴援，興恕奏言：「黔省上游道路分歧，賊若以一軍擾黔，一軍入蜀，道遠兵單，斷難兼顧。 已檄韓超防鎮遠，沈宏富守湄潭，劉義方進松桃，臣駐石阡，居中調度。 賊如上竄，則親會川軍以攻之； 窺楚，即馳還靖州。」 時興恕已實授提督，詔授欽差大臣，命援省城。 師至，部署省防，督軍赴定番迎剿，賊棄城而走。
Shi Dakai entered Guizhou from Guangxi, overran several counties in succession, and threw the provincial capital into alarm. Governor Liu Yuanhao urged him to hurry to the relief. Xingyu memorialized: "In upper Guizhou the roads fork. If the rebels send one column against Guizhou and another into Sichuan, our few troops over such distances cannot cover both. I have ordered Han Chao to hold Zhenyuan, Shen Hongfu to hold Meitan, and Liu Yifang to advance on Songtao, while I remain at Shiqian to coordinate from the center. If they flee north, I will join the Sichuan army in person; if they threaten Hunan, I will ride back to Jingzhou at once." By then Xingyu had been confirmed as provincial military commander. An edict made him imperial commissioner and ordered him to relieve the provincial capital. When his army arrived he organized the capital's defenses, sent troops to Dingfan to meet the rebels, and the enemy abandoned the city and fled.
10
十一年，兼署巡撫。 時回、仲、苗、教諸匪分擾，上下游幾無完土。 興恕分兵援剿，戰屢捷。 招撫匪首唐天佑、賈福保、陳大六、柳天成等，克復歸化、荔波、定番、廣順、獨山諸城，疏通驛路，軍威漸振。 興恕年甫二十有四，驟膺疆寄，恃功而驕，又不諳文法，左右用事，屢被論劾，乃罷兼職，以韓超代之。
In the eleventh year he also served as acting governor. Hui, Zhong, Miao, and sectarian rebels raided in bands up and down the province until scarcely a district remained intact. Xingyu sent columns to relieve and suppress them and won battle after battle. He won over bandit chiefs Tang Tianyou, Jia Fubao, Chen Daliu, Liu Tiancheng, and others, recovered Guihua, Libo, Dingfan, Guangshun, and Dushan, reopened the post roads, and gradually restored the army's prestige. Xingyu was only twenty-four, had suddenly been given a frontier command, grew arrogant on his victories, knew little of bureaucratic procedure, and let his aides run affairs. After repeated impeachments his concurrent governorship was revoked and Han Chao replaced him.
11
同治元年，罷欽差大臣。 會法國教士文乃爾傳教入黔，因事齟齬，興恕惡其倔強，殺之，坐褫職，赴四川聽候查辦。 經遵義旺超，值雲貴總督勞崇光為賊所困。 興恕驟馬衝入，大呼：「田某在此！」 賊驚潰，翼崇光出。 尋論罪遣戍新疆，行至甘肅，總督左宗棠奏請留防秦州。 十二年，釋歸。 光緒三年，卒於家。
In the first year of Tongzhi he was dismissed as imperial commissioner. The French missionary Wen Nai'er entered Guizhou to preach; after a dispute Xingyu, angered by his defiance, had him killed. He was stripped of office and sent to Sichuan to await trial. Passing through Wangchao in Zunyi, he found Yunnan-Guizhou Governor-General Luo Chongguang trapped by bandits. Xingyu spurred his horse into the fight, shouting, "Tian is here!" The bandits broke and fled, and he escorted Chongguang to safety. He was soon sentenced to exile in Xinjiang. Reaching Gansu, Governor-General Zuo Zongtang petitioned to keep him for defense at Qinzhou. In the twelfth year he was released and allowed to return home. In the third year of Guangxu he died at home.
12
曾璧光，字樞垣，四川洪雅人。 道光三十年進士，選庶吉士，授編修，記名御史。 入直上書房，授恭親王奕訢、醇郡王奕枻讀。 咸豐九年，出為貴州鎮遠知府。 同治元年，署貴東道。 二年，剿平銅仁踞賊蕭文魁，賜花翎。 雲貴總督勞崇光薦其才，迭署糧道、按察使、布政使。
Zeng Biguang, styled Shuyuan, came from Hongya in Sichuan. In the thirtieth year of Daoguang he passed the jinshi examination, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, was appointed compiler, and was registered for promotion to the censorate. He entered the Upper Study and tutored Prince Gong Yixin and Prince Chun Yiyi. In the ninth year of Xianfeng he was appointed prefect of Zhenyuan in Guizhou. In the first year of Tongzhi he served as acting eastern Guizhou circuit intendant. In the second year he suppressed the Tongren bandit Xiao Wenkui and was granted the peacock feather. Yunnan-Guizhou Governor-General Luo Chongguang recommended his ability, and he served in succession as acting grain intendant, judicial commissioner, and provincial treasurer.
13
六年，予二品頂戴，署貴州巡撫。 七年，實授。 貴州地瘠亂久，北境接四川，東境接湖南，軍事悉倚鄰援，本省餉既艱窘，將多驕蹇。 總兵林自清劾罷後，戕興義縣令，率所部萬人擾川境。 八年，璧光密遣提督陳希祥擒斬之，令吳宗蘭剿青山餘匪，克普安、安南。 時席寶田軍已由東路進規台拱，省城附近諸匪糅雜，出沒無常。 九年，周達武調任貴州提督，率川軍至貴陽，漸次勘定。 自軍興鄉試久停，至是年始補行，人心益定。 與達武議增兵扼要駐守，令道員蹇訚破遵義賊，擒其酋吳三； 令提督劉士奇克都勻，殪其酋吳章。
In the sixth year he received the second-rank cap button and served as acting governor of Guizhou. In the seventh year he received substantive appointment. Guizhou was poor and had been at war for years. Its northern border touched Sichuan and its eastern border Hunan, so military affairs depended entirely on outside help. Provincial funds were exhausted, and many commanders were arrogant and ungovernable. After Brigadier Lin Ziqing was impeached and dismissed, he killed the magistrate of Xingyi and led his ten thousand men to raid the Sichuan border. In the eighth year Biguang secretly sent Provincial Military Commander Chen Xixiang to capture and execute Lin, ordered Wu Zonglan to clear remnant bandits at Qingshan, and recovered Pu'an and Annan. Xi Baotian's army was already advancing from the east toward Taigong, while mixed rebel bands near the capital raided unpredictably. In the ninth year Zhou Dawu was transferred as Guizhou provincial military commander, brought Sichuan troops to Guiyang, and gradually pacified the province. The provincial civil service examination had been suspended since the war began; only now was it held as a make-up, and public morale steadied. He and Dawu agreed to reinforce key posts, ordered Circuit Intendant Jian Yin to defeat the Zunyi rebels and capture their chief Wu San; and ordered Provincial Military Commander Liu Shiji to take Duyun and kill its chief Wu Zhang.
14
十年，令提督鍾有思等進剿上游，克永寧、威寧，下游諸軍擒悍賊潘得洪，收復八寨等城。 又收復上江、下江、三腳各城，平上游鎮寧、歸化賊巢，殪永城踞賊侯大五，斬郎岱金家硐踞賊金大七，盤江北岸肅清。 又破畢節、威寧諸匪，清八寨、三角餘賊，毀其巢。 令總兵何世華擊斬安南賊酋潘么，進克貞豐，西路悉平。 十一年，周達武率所部會楚軍定苗疆，詔嘉調度有方，予優敘。
In the tenth year he sent Provincial Military Commander Zhong Yousi and others upriver, took Yongning and Weining, while downstream forces captured the fierce bandit Pan Dehong and recovered Bazhai and other towns. He also recovered Shangjiang, Xiajiang, and Sanjiao, cleared rebel nests at Zhenning and Guihua upriver, killed the Yongcheng rebel Hou Dawu, executed the Langdai rebel Jin Daqi at the Jin family cave, and pacified the north bank of the Pan River. He defeated bandits in Bijie and Weining, cleared remnant rebels in Bazhai and Sanjiao, and destroyed their strongholds. He ordered Brigadier He Shihua to kill the Annan bandit chief Pan Yao, advanced to take Zhenfeng, and the western front was fully pacified. In the eleventh year Zhou Dawu joined the Hunan army to pacify the Miao frontier. An edict praised his coordination and granted him preferential promotion.
15
十二年，會滇軍克新城老巢，全省肅清，加太子少保、頭品頂戴，予雲騎尉世職。 尋新城防軍索餉譁變，匪首何玉亭攻新城，遣其黨黎正關攻興義，分軍馳剿，捕誅其渠，事旋定。 光緒元年，卒於官，追贈太子太保，依總督例賜卹，諡文誠。 四川、貴州請建專祠。
In the twelfth year, with the Yunnan army, he took the old nest at Xincheng and pacified the whole province. He was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the first-rank cap button and granted the hereditary office of Cloud Cavalry Captain. Soon the Xincheng garrison mutinied over pay. Bandit chief He Yuting attacked Xincheng and sent Li Zhengguan against Xingyi. Dispatched columns crushed the leaders, and order was quickly restored. In the first year of Guangxu he died in office. Posthumously he was made Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, given governor-general funeral honors, and granted the posthumous title Wencheng. Sichuan and Guizhou petitioned for shrines in his honor.
16
席寶田，字研薌，湖南東安人。 諸生。 咸豐二年，率鄉團殺賊，复縣城，獎敘訓導。 六年，劉長佑援江西，招參軍事，遂從轉戰，積功累擢同知直隸州。 九年，石達開由廣西犯湖南，寶田從解寶慶圍，擢知府。 十年，駱秉章令募千人號精毅營，防湖南邊。 廣東賊犯郴州、桂陽，擊走之。 同治元年，石達開復由廣西入境，連敗之於黔陽，克來鳳，以道員記名，加按察使銜。
Xi Baotian, styled Yanxiang, came from Dong'an in Hunan. He was a licentiate. In the second year of Xianfeng he led a local militia against bandits, recovered the county seat, and was commended with assignment as an instructor. In the sixth year Liu Changyou went to relieve Jiangxi, recruited him as a military aide, and he fought through successive campaigns until merit raised him to sub-prefect of Zhili prefecture. In the ninth year Shi Dakai invaded Hunan from Guangxi. Baotian helped lift the siege of Baojing and was promoted to prefect. In the tenth year Luo Bingzhang had him recruit a thousand men into the Elite Resolution Battalion to guard the Hunan border. Cantonese bandits invaded Chenzhou and Guiyang; he drove them off. In the first year of Tongzhi Shi Dakai again entered from Guangxi. Baotian defeated him repeatedly at Qianyang, took Laifeng, was registered for a circuit intendant post, and was given provincial judicial commissioner's rank.
17
二年，粵匪黃文金大舉犯江西，命提督江忠義赴援，寶田副之，戰饒州桃溪渡，大破之； 又迭破之於湖口、洋塘、石門、青山橋，賊引去，趨池州，圍青陽。 寶田襲石嶺，破賊卡，分軍遮其前，命水陸夾擊，文金遁走，遂解青陽圍，累功賜號業鏗額巴圖魯，加布政使銜。 江忠義卒於軍，寶田代領其眾，留防江西。 三年，李世賢、黃文金復合犯江西，將以遙掣江寧之師，寶田逆擊白沙關，奪梘橋要隘，鈔擊於大濟關、泥嶺關，賊竄山谷，復金谿，以按察使記名，授雲南按察使。
In the second year the Cantonese rebel Huang Wenjin invaded Jiangxi in force. Provincial Military Commander Jiang Zhongyi was sent to relieve the province with Baotian as deputy. At Taoxidu in Raozhou they won a crushing victory; then defeated him again at Hukou, Yangtang, Shimen, and Qingshan Bridge. The rebels withdrew toward Chizhou and besieged Qingyang. Baotian raided Shiling, stormed the rebel stockade, blocked their front with a detachment, and ordered a joint land-and-water attack. Wenjin fled, the siege of Qingyang was raised, and for accumulated merit he received the title Yekenge Batulu and provincial treasurer's rank. Jiang Zhongyi died in camp; Baotian took over his command and remained to defend Jiangxi. In the third year Li Shixian and Huang Wenjin again invaded Jiangxi to tie down the Nanjing army. Baotian met them at Baishaguan, seized Jiqiao pass, struck at Dajiguan and Nilingguan, drove the rebels into the hills, recovered Jinxii, was registered as judicial commissioner, and was appointed judicial commissioner of Yunnan.
18
時楊岳斌初至江西督辦軍務，檄寶田援南豐，坐遷延被劾，降知府，留軍。 會大軍克江寧，群賊擁洪秀全子福瑱逸出，由開化犯玉山，走瀘溪，寶田邀擊於新城，進至石城楊家牌，擒洪仁玕、洪仁政、黃文英等。 福瑱匿山谷中，捕得之，檻送南昌，伏誅。 詔复寶田原官，予雲騎尉世職，賜黃馬褂，授貴州按察使。 時餘賊汪海洋等走廣東，四年，寶田自平遠邀擊，降萬餘人，又扼鐵石嶺，降者二萬，諸軍合擊於嘉應州，全數蕩平。 論功，江西軍以寶田為第一，詔以布政使記名，遇缺題奏。 軍事既定，請回籍終養，允之。
Yang Yuebin had just arrived to supervise Jiangxi affairs and ordered Baotian to relieve Nanfeng. For delay he was impeached, demoted to prefect, and kept with the army. When Nanjing fell, rebels escorted Hong Xiuquan's son Fuzhen in flight through Kaihua into Yushan and on to Luxi. Baotian intercepted them at Xincheng, advanced to Yangjiapai in Shicheng, and captured Hong Rengan, Hong Renzheng, Huang Wenying, and others. Fuzhen hid in the hills, was captured, sent in a cage to Nanchang, and executed. An edict restored Baotian's former rank, granted the hereditary office of Cloud Cavalry Captain, bestowed the yellow riding jacket, and appointed him judicial commissioner of Guizhou. Remnant rebels including Wang Haiyang fled into Guangdong. In the fourth year Baotian intercepted them from Pingyuan and accepted more than ten thousand surrenders, then held Tieshiling and accepted twenty thousand more. Allied armies crushed them at Jiaying and wiped them out. In the merit roll the Jiangxi army ranked Baotian first. An edict registered him for provincial treasurer and ordered immediate nomination when a vacancy opened. When the fighting ended, he asked to return home to complete mourning for his parents, and permission was granted.
19
貴州苗、教諸匪構亂十有餘年，東路素倚湖南援軍，自粵匪平後，議大舉剿平。 先是授兆琛為貴州布政使，偕總兵周洪印率師往，積歲無功。 李元度圍荊竹園，亦久不下。 巡撫李瀚章、劉昆先後劾罷兆琛、洪印，元度亦鐫級，薦起寶田招集舊部萬人入貴州，總統東路諸軍。
Miao and sectarian rebels had ravaged Guizhou for more than ten years. The eastern front had long depended on Hunan reinforcements, and after the Taiping rebels were crushed a major pacification campaign was proposed. Earlier Zhao Chen had been appointed Guizhou provincial treasurer and marched there with Brigadier Zhou Hongyin, but after years they had achieved nothing. Li Yuandu besieged Jingzhuyuan for a long time without success. Governors Li Hanzhang and Liu Kun in turn impeached and dismissed Zhao Chen and Hongyin; Yuandu was demoted as well. Baotian was recalled, raised ten thousand veterans, entered Guizhou, and took command of the eastern armies.
20
六年冬，進軍石阡，荊竹園為教匪老巢，寶田審視地勢高峻，匪砦環列，惟北面平夷可掩入。 七年元旦，進攻，部將黃元果先登，諸將肉薄壘下，一日平十八砦，克荊竹園，擒斬匪首蕭桂盛、何瑞堂，其旁三十六砦相繼攻下。 捷聞，被珍賚。 夏，進規寨頭。 寨頭為苗疆門戶，諸苗帑賄資糧所萃，連拔東西三屯，陣斬苗酋桂金保，破援賊張臭迷，攻下台笠、丁耙塘諸砦，遂克寨頭。 分軍克天柱，斬其酋陳大六。
In the winter of the sixth year he advanced on Shiqian. Jingzhuyuan was the sectarians' main nest on high ground, ringed with stockades; only the level northern approach offered a concealed line of attack. On New Year's Day of the seventh year he attacked. Subordinate Huang Yuanguo was first over the wall; the generals pressed the ramparts hand to hand. In one day they took eighteen stockades and Jingzhuyuan itself, captured and executed chiefs Xiao Guisheng and He Ruitang, and the thirty-six neighboring stockades fell in turn. Victory brought imperial rewards. That summer he advanced against Zhai tou. Zhai tou was the gateway to the Miao country, where tribes pooled tribute and supplies. He took the eastern and western three tun in succession, killed Miao chief Gui Jinbao in battle, defeated relief leader Zhang Choumi, stormed Taidi and Dingbatang, and captured Zhai tou. A detached column took Tianzhu and executed its chief Chen Daliu.
21
會丁繼母憂，回籍治喪，提督榮維善暫領其眾，尋詔奪情趣赴軍，進攻台拱。 台拱苗最強，踞清江、鎮遠二城為犄角。 寶田請增兵萬人，按察使黃潤昌、道員鄧子垣領之出晃州為北路，寶田自當南路，令榮維善用雕剿法，轉戰山谷間，破諸苗砦，漸近鎮遠。 潤昌、子垣由思州進攻鎮遠府城，克之。 八年二月，維善連破董敖、公鵝兩隘，遂克清江廳城。 兩軍合趨黃飄，山地狹峻，人行頂趾相接，遇伏。 維善軍疾行先出險，潤昌軍誤以為陷伏中，爭道相擠，為賊所乘，潤昌、子垣皆戰歿。 維善聞變，率二百人馳救，被圍，為苗所擒，遇害。 於是苗氛复熾。
He then entered mourning for his stepmother and returned home. Provincial Military Commander Rong Weishan temporarily took his command until an edict cut short his mourning and ordered him back to attack Taigong. The Taigong Miao were the strongest, holding Qingjiang and Zhenyuan as paired strongpoints. Baotian asked for ten thousand more troops. Judicial Commissioner Huang Runchang and Circuit Intendant Deng Ziyuan led them from Huangzhou on the northern route while Baotian took the south. He had Rong Weishan use swift encirclement tactics in the valleys, storming Miao stockades and closing on Zhenyuan. Runchang and Ziyuan advanced from Sinan, took the Zhenyuan prefectural city, and held it. In the second month of the eighth year Weishan stormed the passes at Dong'ao and Gong'e, then took the Qingjiang subprefectural city. Both columns converged on Huangpiao along a narrow mountain track where men marched toe to heel and walked into an ambush. Weishan's column marched fast and cleared the danger first. Runchang's men mistook them for trapped in ambush, crowded the path, and were overrun; Runchang and Ziyuan both fell in battle. Hearing the disaster, Weishan galloped to the rescue with two hundred men, was surrounded, captured by the Miao, and killed. The Miao rebellion flared up again.
22
張秀眉犯巴冶，寶田親督軍擊走之，進克稿米，令龔繼昌、蘇元春破苗寨，擊走張臭迷等，分軍守鎮遠、施秉。 時以寶田軍苦戰年餘，尚未深入，議罷其軍，劉昆仍主專任，復增兵萬人，分三路進。 九年，會攻施洞，克之。 苗走九股河，白洗苗來援，擊敗之。 進攻台拱，破革夷諸砦，薄台拱城下，苗棄城走，克之，加頭品頂戴。 進軍九股河，分別剿撫，凡平黑苗砦二百餘所。 雞講、丹江苗皆請歸化。 十年，進攻凱里，一鼓而下。 苗潰走雷公山，麕眾六七萬人，黃茅嶺、雷口坪、九眼塘、燕子窩諸寨皆絕險，寶田督諸軍冒暑入山，合擊張臭迷，斬馘三萬，燔其廬舍，剿洗一空。 駐軍施洞口，寶田遽病風痺，乞假醫療，命部將龔繼昌、蘇元春、唐本有、謝蘭階分統其軍。 軍事進止機宜，仍禀命於寶田。
Zhang Xiumei invaded Baye; Baotian personally led the army to drive him off, took Gaomi, sent Gong Jichang and Su Yuanchun to storm Miao stockades and rout Zhang Choumi, and posted detachments at Zhenyuan and Shibing. After more than a year of hard fighting without penetrating deep, some proposed disbanding Baotian's army. Liu Kun kept him in sole command, added ten thousand men, and advanced in three columns. In the ninth year they jointly attacked and captured Shidong. The Miao fled to the Jiugu River; Baixi Miao reinforcements were defeated. Advancing on Taigong, they stormed the Geyi stockades, pressed the walls, and took the city when the Miao fled. He received the first-rank cap button. The army advanced to the Jiugu River, alternating suppression and pacification, and cleared more than two hundred Hei Miao stockades. The Miao of Jijiang and Danjiang all petitioned to submit. In the tenth year he attacked Kaili and took it at the first assault. The Miao broke and fled to Leigong Mountain, gathering sixty or seventy thousand men in stockades at Huangmaoling, Leikouping, Jiuyantang, and Yanzowo. Baotian led the armies into the mountains in summer heat, crushed Zhang Choumi, killed thirty thousand, burned their dwellings, and swept the region clean. The army camped at Shidongkou. Baotian suddenly fell ill with paralysis, took medical leave, and divided his army among Gong Jichang, Su Yuanchun, Tang Benyou, and Xie Lanjie. All advances, halts, and tactical decisions still required Baotian's approval.
23
十一年，三路進兵，凱北以北悉定。 合攻烏雅坡，諸酋皆在，以長圍困之。 迭戰，斬九大白、岩大五於陣，先後降者數万。 四月，擒張秀眉、楊大六、金大五等，檻送長沙，伏誅。 張臭迷先逸，捕得戮之。 諸酋或降或斬，無脫者。 苗疆平，詔晉寶田騎都尉世職，家居養疴。 光緒十二年，詔以寶田前擒洪福瑱功，命曾國荃繪其像以進。 十五年，卒，贈太子少保，優恤。 原籍及江西、貴州建專祠。
In the eleventh year three columns advanced and pacified everything north of Kaili. They jointly attacked Wuyapo, where all the chiefs had gathered, and hemmed them in with a long siege. In successive battles they killed Jiudabai and Yandawu in the field, and tens of thousands surrendered in turn. In the fourth month they captured Zhang Xiumei, Yang Daliu, Jin Dawu, and others, sent them in cages to Changsha, and executed them. Zhang Choumi had fled earlier; he was captured and executed. The chiefs either surrendered or were killed; none escaped. The Miao frontier was pacified. An edict promoted Baotian to hereditary Cavalry Commandant, and he retired home to recover his health. In the twelfth year of Guangxu an edict cited Baotian's capture of Hong Fuzhen and ordered Zeng Guoquan to paint his portrait for presentation at court. In the fifteenth year he died and was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with generous funeral honors. Dedicated shrines were built in his native place and in Jiangxi and Guizhou.
24
論曰：貴州之匪，總名有六：曰苗匪、教匪，曰黃號、白號，其小者曰槓匪、仲匪，其他濫練、游勇、逆回、悍夷，揭竿踵起，不可悉數。 始於咸豐四年，無兵無餉，不能制也。 韓超有辦賊之才，久屈下僚，事權不屬。 田興恕入黔，兵威始振，超亦驟起，未久相繼去。 張亮基治黔數年，亦僅補苴。 中原大定，曾國籓乃議以湖南兵力、餉力為平黔根本，而駱秉章亦令劉岳昭剿黔北以保川邊。 後專倚席寶田，戡定苗疆。 自周達武以川兵、川餉濟黔之不及，曾璧光賴之以竟全功。 蓋閱二十年而後大定。 古云：「蠻夷之人，先叛後服。」 蓋以地勢使然。 然使若韓超者早膺疆寄，其延禍或不致如是之甚。 弭亂之道，在得其人，用人之道，必盡其才，固古今不爽者爾。
The commentary says: Guizhou's rebels fell under six broad categories: Miao and sectarian rebels; Yellow- and White-Banner sectarians; and lesser types such as gang and Zhong rebels. Beyond these, irregular militia, roaming braves, rebel Hui, and fierce tribesmen rose in endless succession. The trouble began in the fourth year of Xianfeng. Without troops or funds, the government could not control them. Han Chao had the talent to suppress bandits but long remained a subordinate without real authority. When Tian Xingyu entered Guizhou the army's prestige revived, and Chao rose with him, but both soon departed in turn. Zhang Liangji governed Guizhou for years and achieved only patchwork repairs. Once the central plains were largely pacified, Zeng Guofan proposed that Hunan's troops and funds be the foundation for pacifying Guizhou, while Luo Bingzhang ordered Liu Yuezhao to clear northern Guizhou and secure the Sichuan border. Later the campaign relied chiefly on Xi Baotian to pacify the Miao frontier. Once Zhou Dawu supplied what Guizhou lacked with Sichuan troops and funds, Zeng Biguang relied on that support to finish the pacification. Only after twenty years was the province fully pacified. The ancients said, "Barbarian peoples rebel first and submit afterward." That is the nature of the terrain. Yet if men like Han Chao had been given frontier command early on, the disaster might not have dragged on so severely. The way to end disorder is to find the right man; the way to employ men is to use their talents fully — a truth that has never changed.