1
蔣東才，字軼眾，安徽亳州人。 咸豐初，捻酋張洛行圍城，築砲台高阜，俯擊城中，東才兄遇害，憤甚，乃創義團，為官軍前驅。 會城中糧盡，東才殺馬饗士，與同邑劉廷、李承先夜縋城出襲，毀之，寇遁。
Jiang Dongcai, styled Yizhong, was a native of Bozhou, Anhui. Early in the Xianfeng reign, the Nian chieftain Zhang Luoxing besieged the city and built gun emplacements on high ground to rain fire down on it. Dongcai's elder brother was killed in the fighting; enraged, he raised a volunteer militia to serve as vanguard for government troops. When the city's grain ran out, Dongcai slaughtered horses to feed his men. With fellow townsman Liu Ting and Li Chengxian, he let himself down from the walls by night to storm the emplacements, destroyed them, and the raiders fled.
2
四年，投豫軍，英翰器其才，俾充哨長。 戰亳北，被巨創，卒擒其渠。 南道團練大臣毛昶熙檄領東震營，累勳至守備。 商丘寇之據金樓也，東才築土為山頓其上。 寇來襲，輒敗去，縱兵乘之，遇伏，砲石雨坌。 東才方解衣激戰，寇突出襲我後，東才回矛決盪，大殲其眾，寨拔。 同治二年，規汝寧。 夜獲邏卒，東才乃服寇裝，效口號，奪門入，諸軍踵之，夷巨壘。 乘勢下南陽、息縣，又敗之商丘大周集。 數遷至副將。 七年，張總愚北犯，東才攻以火，殪寇千餘。 又截擊任柱等黃河、徒駭間，晉總兵，賜號威勇巴圖魯，徙守運河。 捻平，擢提督。 明年，赴陝徵甘肅竄匪，並敗退波羅營以西馬賊，更勇號額騰額。 十二年，從克肅州，賞黃馬褂。 事寧，假歸。
In the fourth year (1854) he enlisted in the Henan army. Ying Han recognized his ability and appointed him squad leader. In battle north of Bozhou he suffered grave wounds but finally captured the rebel leader. Mao Changxi, the southern-route militia minister, appointed him to command the Dongzhen Battalion, and through repeated merit he rose to garrison commander. When rebels held Jinlou near Shangqiu, Dongcai heaped earth into a mound and stationed his troops on top. Whenever the rebels attacked they were driven back; he sent men in pursuit but ran into an ambush, and cannonballs and stones poured down like rain. Dongcai had stripped for close combat when the enemy suddenly struck from the rear. He wheeled about with his spear, cut through their ranks, slaughtered the main force, and captured the stockade. In the second year of Tongzhi (1863) they set out to capture Runing. By night they captured a courier. Dongcai donned rebel garb, mimicked their watchwords, seized the gate, and led the main force in behind him; the great fortress was leveled. Pressing the advantage they took Nanyang and Xixian, and again routed the enemy at Dazhouji near Shangqiu. After several promotions he attained the rank of vice commander. In the seventh year (1868) Zhang Zongyu pushed north; Dongcai assailed them with fire and killed more than a thousand rebels. He also intercepted Ren Zhu and others between the Yellow River and the Tuhai, was promoted to major-general, granted the title "Valiant and Brave Batulu," and transferred to guard the Grand Canal. After the Nian rebellion was suppressed, he was promoted to provincial military commander. The following year he went to Shaanxi to suppress Gansu raiders, defeated the Muslim rebels west of Boluo camp, and was granted a further brave title, Eteng'e. In the twelfth year he took part in the capture of Suzhou (Jiuquan) and was awarded a yellow riding jacket. When the campaign ended he took leave and returned home.
3
光緒初，統領豫軍。 先後疏浚賈魯河、京師內外城河。 除甘肅涼州鎮總兵，仍留豫。 十三年，黃水暴漲，力護鄭州以下堤工，救難民二千餘。 風雨罷勞，遘疾困篤，俄卒於工次。 優詔賜卹，予開封、亳州建祠。
Early in the Guangxu reign he took command of the Henan army. He successively dredged the Jialu River and the inner and outer moats of the capital. He was appointed major-general of the Liangzhou garrison in Gansu but continued to serve in Henan. In the thirteenth year (1887) the Yellow River surged; he threw himself into protecting the dikes below Zhengzhou and rescued more than two thousand flood victims. Worn out by wind and rain and unceasing labor, he fell gravely ill and soon died at his post on the river works. An imperial edict granted posthumous honors and authorized temples in his memory at Kaifeng and Bozhou.
4
廷既解亳圍，旋奪西境兩河口，補千總，從宋慶駐守宋集。 同治間，從攻懷遠，平高丘，積功至參將。 任柱等掘滎澤將圖北，又從慶迎擊。 夜率壯士襲其營，寇南走，廷截之光州，誅其酋張顯。 复破張總愚於饒陽、臨邑，擢總兵。 西捻平，晉提督，賜號額騰依巴圖魯。 八年，入陝平綏德，賜秩頭品。 寧夏既寧，賞黃馬褂。 光緒四年，卒於洛陽，祀亳州。
After Liu Ting had lifted the siege of Bozhou, he soon recaptured the Two River Mouths on the western frontier, was appointed warrant officer, and joined Song Qing in garrison at Songji. During the Tongzhi years he took part in the assault on Huaiyuan and the pacification of Gaoqiu, rising through merit to colonel. When Ren Zhu and others were digging the Ying marsh with plans to push north, he again followed Song Qing to intercept them. By night he led picked men in a raid on their camp. The rebels fled south; Ting cut them off at Guangzhou and executed their leader Zhang Xian. He again defeated Zhang Zongyu at Raoyang and Linyi and was promoted to major-general. After the western Nian were suppressed he was promoted to provincial military commander and granted the title Etengyi Batulu. In the eighth year he entered Shaanxi, pacified Suide, and was awarded first-grade court rank. Once Ningxia was pacified he was awarded a yellow riding jacket. In the fourth year of Guangxu (1878) he died at Luoyang; a memorial shrine was erected in Bozhou.
5
承先，字光前。 少英敏，好讀明戚繼光書。 亳平，赴歸德擊高州匪，拔汝寧寨，與有功。 同治間，攻張岡，匪首孫葵心來援，圍承先數匝，冒圍出，裹創力戰，敗之，遷都司。 進解光州圍，連敗之上蔡、祥符。 守黃河，降中牟寇馮增，再遷副將。 張總愚竄畿南，又從慶敗之饒陽，賜號節勇巴圖魯。 長驅玉林鎮，戰良久，中矛，浴血陷陣，大捷。 逐北濟陽，直蹙之黃河，晉號志勇，擢總兵。 錄守運河功，晉提督。
Li Chengxian, styled Guangqian. As a youth he was quick-witted and devoted to reading the military writings of the Ming general Qi Jiguang. After Bozhou was pacified he marched to Guide to fight Gaozhou rebels, captured the Runing stockade, and earned a share of the credit. During Tongzhi, while attacking Zhanggang, the bandit chief Sun Kuixin came to relieve the place and surrounded Chengxian in many rings. He broke out of the encirclement, fought on despite his wounds, routed the enemy, and was promoted to company commander. Pressing forward he lifted the siege of Guangzhou and won successive victories at Shangcai and Xiangfu. While guarding the Yellow River he induced the Zhongmu rebel Feng Zeng to surrender and was again promoted to vice commander. When Zhang Zongyu fled into the capital region, he again followed Song Qing and defeated him at Raoyang, receiving the title Jieyong Batulu. He drove hard to Yulin town, fought for hours, took a spear wound, and plunged into the fray drenched in blood, winning a great victory. Pursuing the enemy north to Jiyang, he pressed them to the Yellow River, was granted the title Zhiyong, and promoted to major-general. For his service guarding the Grand Canal he was promoted to provincial military commander.
6
光緒十四年，河工成，遣散夫役近數万，為奸民所惑，嘯聚硃仙鎮。 提督董明禮被圍，巡撫倪文蔚議剿，承先止之曰：「用兵必有潰擾，歸、陳各屬不能安枕矣！ 且河工夫役數十萬，設有牽動，患更大。」 乃單騎往撫，杖其前者數人，餘皆愕錯，受部勒。 十七年，署河北鎮總兵，自同治八年至是凡三攝矣。 尋補歸德鎮。 四月，卒。 亳民感之，建祠以祀。
In the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), when the river works were finished, nearly ten thousand laborers were dismissed. Misled by agitators, they gathered in a clamor at Zhuxian town. Provincial commander Dong Mingli was besieged. Governor Ni Wenwei proposed a punitive campaign, but Chengxian dissuaded him, saying: "If we send troops there will surely be rout and disorder—the prefectures of Guide and Chen will not be able to sleep in peace! Besides, there are hundreds of thousands of men on the river works; if they are drawn into this, the harm will be far greater." He then rode out alone to pacify them, clubbed several of the ringleaders, and the rest, stunned, submitted to his orders. In the seventeenth year he served as acting major-general of the Hebei garrison; from the eighth year of Tongzhi to that time he had held acting command three times. He was soon appointed permanent commander of the Guide garrison. In the fourth month he died. The people of Bozhou, moved by his deeds, built a temple in his honor.
7
李南華，字孟莊，安徽蒙城人。 咸豐初，粵寇陷江寧，淮北捻蜂起。 南華治團衛鄉里，擊捻數獲勝，累勳至守備。 捻入境，率死士百人拒之，斬悍賊百餘，進討群捻，七戰皆捷，遷游擊，賜號猛勇巴圖魯。
Li Nanhua, styled Mengzhuang, was a native of Mengcheng, Anhui. Early in the Xianfeng reign the Taiping rebels seized Nanjing, and Nian rebels swarmed across north Huai. Nanhua organized militia to defend his district, fought the Nian repeatedly with success, and through accumulated merit rose to garrison commander. When the Nian crossed the border he led a hundred men willing to die in his defense, cut down more than a hundred of their fiercest fighters, marched against the main Nian bands with seven straight victories, was promoted to raiding commander, and granted the title Mengyong Batulu.
8
同治改元，平澮北。 先是，苗練沛霖跨有長淮，既輸款發、捻，大誅練之異己者，群練帖伏。 獨南華與抗，翦除其黨，沛霖怒，遣張建猷等圍蒙。 南華破之馬家店，再至再敗之，尋就撫。 明年，复叛，築壘蒙城東南，斷我糧運，南華會總兵王才秀擊卻之。 沛霖深塹長濠，謀久困。 南華誓死守，數出戰，負重創，力疾攻之，屍山積。 會糧絕，令眾潛取之以為食，一夕皆盡，寇大駴。 出奇兵夜襲之，奪其輜重以歸，斬馘不可稱計。 僧格林沁入城，見家食人肉，南華竟體創痕，深嘆異之。 唐訓方上其功，超擢總兵。 未幾，統全軍駐守懷遠。 三年，徙臨淮、壽州。 聞任柱入蒙境，亟還軍，而捻又竄豫，巡撫喬松年移撫陝，奏自隨。 張總愚擾關中，率師馳擊之。 陝事定，稱疾去。
When the Tongzhi reign began he pacified the country north of the Sui River. Earlier, the Miao militia leader Miao Peilin had dominated the Huai River region. After he made terms with the Taiping and Nian, he slaughtered militia who opposed him, and the other militia bands submitted. Nanhua alone held out against him and destroyed his partisans. Enraged, Peilin sent Zhang Jianyou and others to besiege Mengcheng. Nanhua routed them at Majiadian and defeated them again when they returned; Peilin soon submitted to pacification. The next year Peilin rebelled again, built fortresses southeast of Mengcheng, and cut government grain routes. Nanhua joined major-general Wang Caixiu in driving them back. Peilin dug deep trenches and long moats, intending to wear the city down through a prolonged siege. Nanhua swore to hold the city to the death, led repeated sorties despite grave wounds, and pressed the attack even while ill until corpses piled like hills. When grain ran out he had his men secretly take corpses from the enemy lines for food; in a single night they were all consumed, and the besiegers were thrown into alarm. He sent elite troops in a night raid, carried off their baggage train, and killed the enemy in numbers beyond count. When Sengge Rinchen entered the city he found families eating human flesh. Nanhua's body was covered with wounds, and the prince marveled deeply. Tang Xunfang memorialized his achievements, and he was promoted by special leap to major-general. Before long he took command of the full force garrisoning Huaiyuan. In the third year he was transferred to garrison Linhuai and Shouzhou. Hearing that Ren Zhu had entered Meng territory, he hurried back with his troops, but the Nian again fled into Henan. When Governor Qiao Songnian was transferred to Shaanxi, he memorialized that Nanhua should accompany him. When Zhang Zongyu harassed Guanzhong he led his troops in swift pursuit. When affairs in Shaanxi were settled he pleaded illness and resigned.
9
久家居，慷慨好義，值歲饑嗛，毀家紓難，誦聲如沸焉。 光緒二十四年，土寇牛世修倡亂渦陽。 南華聞警，率練勇赴援，會各軍擊退之。 明年，巡撫鄧華熙疏薦其才，令綜鳳、潁、六、泗團練，參皖北軍事。 數獲劇盜，萑蒲斂跡。 調赴豫，權河北鎮總兵，尋補福建汀州鎮。 二十八年，卒。 鄉人思其德，籥建蒙城專祠，報可。
He lived at home for many years, generous and public-spirited. In years of famine he spent his fortune to relieve distress, and praise for him spread like boiling water. In the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898) the local bandit Niu Shixiu incited rebellion at Guoyang. Hearing the alarm, Nanhua led militia to the rescue, and together with the regular forces drove the rebels back. The following year Governor Deng Huaxi memorialized recommending his ability and placed him in charge of militia in Fengyang, Yingzhou, Lu'an, and Sizhou, with a role in north Anhui military affairs. He captured many notorious bandits, and lawlessness in the region subsided. He was transferred to Henan, served as acting major-general of the Hebei garrison, and was soon appointed to the Tingzhou garrison in Fujian. In the twenty-eighth year he died. His countrymen, mindful of his virtue, petitioned to build a dedicated shrine in Mengcheng; the request was approved.
10
其兄子得勝，佐治鄉團，亦頗力。 沛霖之亂，戰常陷堅。 累遷參將，賜號奮勇巴圖魯。 蒙圍解，改練為軍，俾得勝領之。 轉戰直、魯、蘇、豫，頗有功。 克宿遷、郯城，擢總兵，補安慶協副將。 直、東平，晉提督，更勇號曰剛安。 移軍江寧，平土寇胡志瑞亂，仍歸於亳。 十七年，卒，卹如製，附祀英翰祠。
His elder brother's son Zi Desheng helped manage the local militia and also served with considerable energy. During Peilin's rebellion he repeatedly fought in the thickest of the fighting. Through successive promotions he rose to colonel and was granted the title Fenyong Batulu. When the siege of Mengcheng was lifted, the militia was reorganized as regular troops under Desheng's command. He campaigned across Zhili, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Henan and won considerable distinction. After capturing Suqian and Tancheng he was promoted to major-general and appointed assistant vice commander of the Anqing garrison. When Zhili and the east were pacified he was promoted to provincial military commander and granted a further brave title, Gang'an. He moved his troops to Jiangning, suppressed the local bandit Huo Zhihui's rebellion, and returned to Bozhou. In the seventeenth year he died; posthumous honors followed regulations, and he was granted attached worship at Ying Han's memorial temple.
11
董履高，字仰之，安徽合肥人。 咸豐末，粵寇亂，治練衛鄉里。 同治元年春，李鴻章治軍上海，履高隸戲下，從援北新涇、四江口。 師攻常熟弗克，履高率敢死士數百先登，拔之。 連克昭文。 歷遷至守備。 二年，從克江陰、無錫、金匱，移師浙江。 時寇麕集嘉善，江、浙道梗。 西塘勢險奧，寇據為嘉善犄角，殊死眾。 履高率眾泅濟，直薄壘下，砲彈掠肩過，弗少顧，譟而上，手刃數悍賊，奪纛而舞，氣百倍，寇驚亂，拔西塘。 旋克嘉善，江、浙師始相應。 四年，師复宜興、荊溪、嘉定、溧陽，履高每戰必克。 追擊金壇寇，斬馘數千，餘黨星散。 五年，援湖州，破廣德，晉游擊。
Dong Lügao, styled Yangzhi, was a native of Hefei, Anhui. Late in the Xianfeng reign, when the Taiping rebellion spread, he organized militia to defend his district. In the spring of the first year of Tongzhi (1862) Li Hongzhang raised an army at Shanghai. Lügao served under him and took part in relieving Beixinjing and Sikou. When the army failed to take Changshu, Lügao led several hundred volunteers up the walls first and captured the city. He then captured Zhaowen in succession. Through successive promotions he rose to garrison commander. In the second year he helped capture Jiangyin, Wuxi, and Jinkui, and the army shifted operations to Zhejiang. Rebels had massed at Jiashan, and communications between Jiangsu and Zhejiang were cut. Xitang was rugged and defensible; the rebels held it as an outwork of Jiashan and fought there with desperate numbers. Lügao led his men swimming the river and pressed straight to the ramparts. Cannonballs skimmed past his shoulders, but he never flinched. With a shout his men scaled the walls; he personally killed several fierce rebels, seized an enemy banner and waved it aloft, and morale surged a hundredfold. The enemy panicked, and Xitang fell. Jiashan was soon taken, and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang columns could at last coordinate. In the fourth year the army recaptured Yixing, Jingxi, Jiading, and Liyang; Lügao won every battle he fought. Pursuing the rebels at Jintan he killed thousands; the survivors scattered in all directions. In the fifth year he relieved Huzhou, captured Guangde, and was promoted to raiding commander.
12
鴻章徵捻，檄履高出淮城，次車橋鎮，遇寇，擊敗之。 寇截淮關稅銀，一日夜馳數百里奪還。 時捻酋張總愚竄陝西，任柱、賴文光竄山東，履高東西馳逐，夷阬谷，拔鹵莽，當者輒靡。 捻集麻城、光山、固始間，編木為城，實土其中，燃砲俯擊，眾莫敢偪。 履高率千人，夜掘隧，曳木入，衷擊之，盡殪，擢副將。 事寧，假歸省親。 九年，募淮軍赴晉防河，以功晉總兵。
When Li Hongzhang marched against the Nian he summoned Lügao from Huai'an, encamped at Cheqiao, met the enemy, and defeated them. When bandits seized customs silver at the Huai tax station, he rode several hundred li in a single day and night to recover it. Zhang Zongyu had fled into Shaanxi while Ren Zhu and Lai Wenguang were in Shandong. Lügao ranged east and west, stormed ravines and wild strongholds, and swept aside all who stood before him. The Nian massed between Macheng, Guangshan, and Gushi, building wooden walls packed with earth and firing down on assailants; no one dared approach. Lügao led a thousand men, tunneled under the walls by night, pulled the wooden defenses inward, and attacked from inside; the enemy was annihilated and he was promoted to vice commander. When the campaign ended he took leave to visit his family. In the ninth year he raised Huai troops for river defense in Shanxi and was promoted to major-general for his service.
13
光緒三年，蒙古草地馬賊蜂起，移師防歸化、包頭。 沙漠平衍，寇騎梠疾，日嘗數遇，以寡擊眾，月餘，討平之。 母憂去。 五年，起署潯州協副將。 鬱林大竹根故盜藪，官軍莫能製。 履高至，潛易裝诇其地，選勁卒數百，距寇巢十里外而軍，佯示怯，寇易之，不戒備。 忽大風雨，履高銳師宵加之，擊殺數百人，寇奔遁。
In the third year of Guangxu horse bandits swarmed the Mongolian steppe; he shifted his forces to defend Guihua and Baotou. The desert was open country and the raiders' horses were fast; they clashed several times a day. Fighting against odds for over a month, he suppressed them. He resigned to observe mourning for his mother. In the fifth year he was recalled to serve as acting assistant vice commander at Xunzhou. Dazhugen in Yulin was a longtime bandit stronghold that government troops had been unable to subdue. On arrival he disguised himself to reconnoiter the terrain, chose several hundred picked men, and encamped ten li from the bandit lair, feigning timidity so the enemy grew careless. A sudden storm broke; Lügao sent his best troops in a night attack, killed several hundred, and the bandits fled.
14
九年，法越肇釁，移頓南寧、龍州備策應。 明年，再署潯州協。 思恩革生莫夢弼構苗匪，廣、黔各匪，據五崗以叛。 五月，深入苗疆，擒夢弼誅之，事遂定。 擢提督，賜號奇車伯巴圖魯。 調署新太協，仍駐龍州。 十月，徙屯枚，與法軍血戰數晝夜，左足中砲幾斷，當軸遽易之，諒山遂陷。 年餘，創平，除慶遠協。 尋謝病歸。 十五年，補廣西左江鎮總兵，嚴軍紀，能捕劇盜，鄉民感之，為立主生祀焉。
In the ninth year war broke out between France and Vietnam; he moved to Nanning and Longzhou to prepare. The following year he again held acting command at Xunzhou. In Si'en the native official Mo Mengbi incited Miao rebels; bandits from Guangxi and Guizhou seized Wugang in revolt. In the fifth month he penetrated deep into Miao territory, captured Mengbi and executed him, and the disturbance was ended. He was promoted to provincial military commander and granted the title Qichebo Batulu. He was transferred to act at the Xintai garrison while remaining at Longzhou. In the tenth month he encamped at Mei and fought the French for several days and nights. A cannonball nearly severed his left foot; the high command hastily replaced him, and Lang Son then fell. After more than a year his wounds healed and he was appointed to the Qingyuan garrison. He soon resigned on grounds of illness and returned home. In the fifteenth year he was appointed major-general of the Zuojiang garrison in Guangxi. He enforced strict discipline, captured notorious bandits, and the people were so grateful they established living worship in his honor.
15
二十五年，調直隸正定。 時拳民始萌蘗，月朔望說法愚民。 履高督兵擒其渠，繩以法，餘皆股栗，匪卒不敢入境。 明年，畿輔大亂，獨正定晏然。 歷江蘇淮揚鎮、貴州安義鎮，袁世凱疏留北洋練軍。 三十一年，除壽春鎮。 淮流盛漲，城不沒者數尺。 履高晨夜徼循，修補救護，城得無虞。 三十二年冬，巡視泗州防營，墜馬，舊創發，假歸。 越二年，卒。 詔優恤，予建祠。
In the twenty-fifth year he was transferred to Zhengding in Zhili. The Boxer movement was just emerging; on the first and fifteenth of each month they preached to delude the common people. Lügao had his troops seize the ringleaders and punish them by law; the rest trembled, and the Boxers dared not enter his jurisdiction. The following year the capital region erupted in chaos, yet Zhengding alone remained undisturbed. He held the Huai-Yang garrison in Jiangsu and the Anyi garrison in Guizhou; Yuan Shikai memorialized to keep him with the Beiyang training forces. In the thirty-first year he was appointed commander of the Shouchun garrison. The Huai surged; the floodwaters reached to within several feet of the city wall. Lügao patrolled day and night, repaired and reinforced the defenses, and the city was spared. In the winter of the thirty-second year, while inspecting the Sizhou garrison, he fell from his horse; old wounds reopened and he took leave. Two years later he died. An imperial edict granted generous posthumous honors and authorized a memorial temple.
16
董全勝，字凱臣，江蘇銅山人。 同治初，以把總隸李鴻章軍，充馬隊官。 攻無錫，全勝率敢死士為軍先，擒偽潮王黃子隆，城遂克。 復金匱、宜興、荊溪、溧陽、常州、嘉興，皆有功，累擢守備。 移剿捻，賊擾福山、寧海諸地，全勝分防吳家閘，潛出賊背夾擊，斃無算。 賊南竄，复敗之莒州、沭陽，追抵海州境，賊創亡略盡。 贛榆六塘河之戰，斃賊尤夥。 東捻平，擢游擊，賞花翎。 張總愚竄畿南，全勝敗之安平。 賊偷渡滹沱河，全勝追剿偽懷王邱得才一支殆盡。 賊趨天津，全勝冒雨急馳，繞截賊前。 賊回竄高唐，南走陵縣、臨邑，適黃、運漲，賊既困於水，又屢受巨創，不能軍。 西捻肅清，擢升參將。 駐津沽管練軍營，率所部開濬陳家溝，抵北塘咸河百餘裡，歲溉稻田無數。
Dong Quansheng, styled Kaichen, was a native of Tongshan, Jiangsu. Early in Tongzhi he served as warrant officer in Li Hongzhang's army and was made cavalry officer. In the assault on Wuxi, Quansheng led volunteers at the head of the column, captured the Taiping prince Huang Zilong, and the city fell. He helped recapture Jinkui, Yixing, Jingxi, Liyang, Changzhou, and Jiaxing, winning credit in each, and rose through merit to garrison commander. Transferred to fight the Nian, when rebels harassed Fushan and Ninghai he held Wujia Gate, slipped behind the enemy, and struck from both sides, killing beyond count. The rebels fled south; he defeated them again at Ju and Shuyang and pursued to the Haizhou border until they were nearly annihilated. At the battle on the Liutang River at Ganyu the enemy dead were especially numerous. After the eastern Nian were suppressed he was promoted to raiding commander and awarded the peacock feather. When Zhang Zongyu fled into the capital region, Quansheng defeated him at Anping. When the rebels stole across the Hutuo River, Quansheng pursued and nearly wiped out the division of the false Huaiking Qiu Decai. As the rebels moved toward Tianjin, Quansheng rode through rain in forced marches to cut across ahead of them. The rebels doubled back toward Gaotang and fled south through Ling and Linyi. The Yellow River and Grand Canal had risen; trapped by floodwaters and battered repeatedly, they could no longer keep an army in the field. After the western Nian were suppressed he was promoted to colonel. Stationed at Jingu he commanded the training camp and led his men in opening the Chenjiagou channel for more than a hundred li to the Beitang salt river, irrigating countless rice fields each year.
17
光緒十四年，以塞永定河決口功，升副將。 北運河紅廟漫口，全勝率軍堵塞，詔以總兵記名。 二十二年，王文韶督直隸，擢充天津練軍翼長，兼帶中營砲隊。 二十五年，卒，年六十，卹如例。
In the fourteenth year of Guangxu he was promoted to vice commander for closing the breach on the Yongding River. When the North Canal burst at Hongmiao, Quansheng led troops to seal the breach; an edict placed him on the rolls for major-general. In the twenty-second year, under Wang Wenshao's governorship of Zhili, Quansheng was made wing commander of the Tianjin training army and also commanded the central battalion artillery. In the twenty-fifth year he died at the age of sixty; posthumous honors followed regulations.
18
全勝治軍四十年，與士卒同甘苦，故臨陣咸為效命； 又善以寡擊眾，身經數百戰，未嘗一挫敗。 鴻章恆稱之。
Quansheng had commanded troops for forty years, sharing hardship with his men, so in battle they all fought willingly for him; He was also skilled at defeating larger forces with smaller ones; through hundreds of battles he never once suffered a defeat. Li Hongzhang always spoke highly of him.
19
牛師韓，安徽渦陽人。 父斐然，官知府，在鄉治團練。 師韓隨父擊賊，數挫之，稱「牛家團練營」。 咸豐八年，投皖軍，破趙家海、檀城集，收撫各圩。 十一年，發、捻各寇竄擾睢寧。 師韓以少擊眾，克週堂，積勳至守備。 同治二年，苗沛霖據鳳臺，與捻首張洛行互犄角，數百里寇寨林立。 蒙城被圍久，士卒無現糧，城幾潰。 英翰方牧宿州，亟赴援，而悍黨斜趨西南，將襲我後。 適師韓率騎旅至，戰卻之，又出奇兵通運道。 已而英翰以鳳潁道統蒙、亳諸軍，與捻相持數月。 師韓常以騎兵摧寇鋒，援師續至，復選卒潰圍會援軍，躪寇壘數十，飛彈傷額，裹創力戰，寇黨殲焉，圍解。
Niu Shihan was a native of Guoyang, Anhui. His father Feiran served as prefect and organized militia in their home district. Shihan fought alongside his father against bandits, routing them repeatedly, and their force was known as the Niu family militia battalion. In the eighth year of Xianfeng he joined the Anhui army, captured Zhao Family Sea and Tanchengji, and received the surrender of surrounding stockaded villages. In the eleventh year Taiping and Nian rebels of every sort raided Suining. Fighting against odds, Shihan captured Zhoutang and through accumulated merit rose to garrison commander. In the second year of Tongzhi Miao Peilin held Fengtai and with the Nian chieftain Zhang Luoxing supported each other; for hundreds of li rebel stockades dotted the landscape. Mengcheng had been besieged for a long time; the troops had no grain on hand and the city nearly fell. Ying Han, then prefect of Suzhou, hurried to relieve the city, but a strong enemy column angled southwest to strike the government rear. Just then Shihan arrived with cavalry, drove them back, and sent elite troops to reopen the supply route. Before long Ying Han, as commander of the Feng-Ying route, directed the armies of Meng and Bozhou in a months-long standoff with the Nian. Shihan repeatedly used cavalry to shatter the enemy vanguard. As reinforcements arrived he led picked men out of the encirclement to join them, overran dozens of rebel stockades, took a bullet wound to the forehead, fought on despite his injuries, destroyed the enemy force, and lifted the siege.
20
先是，英翰計擒洛行，及其子喜、義子王宛兒，夜獻僧格林沁軍，先遣師韓單騎詣大營，乞兵迎解，穿寇壘而過。 比寇覺，馳劫之，不及，張酋竟駢誅，時師韓年甫冠也，再遷至游擊。 嗣從英翰剿發寇，戰霍山黑石渡，大敗之。 未幾，陳得才、藍長春等構黨號十萬，游弋英、霍、潛、太間。 師韓請英翰剿撫兼施，不及旬日，降者踵接。 得才窮蹙自裁，而長春猶嵎負。 師韓苦戰，嬰十餘創，屹不動。 旋藍逆伏誅，餘眾悉平。 張總愚合賴文光、任柱窺蒙、亳，圍雉河集。 師韓聞警，率師直薄寇營，內外夾擊，遂解重圍，擢參將，賜號信勇巴圖魯。
Earlier Ying Han had planned to capture Zhang Luoxing along with his son Xi and adopted son Wang Wan'er, who were delivered by night to Sengge Rinchen's camp. He first sent Shihan alone on horseback to the main army to request an escort, passing straight through enemy stockades. Before the enemy could intercept him, Zhang Luoxing and his kin had been executed. Shihan was barely twenty years old and was twice promoted to raiding commander. He then followed Ying Han against the Taiping and won a great victory at Heishidu in Huoshan. Soon Chen Decai, Lan Changchun, and others formed a faction of a hundred thousand men, roaming between Yingzhou, Huoshan, Qianshan, and Taihu. Shihan urged Ying Han to combine military pressure with offers of surrender; within ten days defectors came in one after another. Chen Decai, driven to desperation, killed himself, but Lan Changchun still held out. Shihan fought on through more than ten wounds and held his ground without yielding. Soon Lan Changchun was killed in an ambush and the rest were pacified. Zhang Zongyu joined Lai Wenguang and Ren Zhu in threatening Meng and Bozhou and besieged Zhiheji. Hearing the alarm, Shihan led his men straight at the enemy camp and attacked from inside and out, lifting the siege. He was promoted to colonel and granted the title Xinyong Batulu.
21
六年，任柱竄山東，截之於郯城，又擊退宿遷、運河悍賊。 東捻平，超擢總兵，更勇號曰達春。 七年，西捻竄直、豫間，英翰請馳兵汴梁，入衛畿輔，檄師韓率騎旅三千會援。 尋命駐黃河以南備守禦。 師韓日與豫捻鏖戰，所向輒捷，長驅山東境，復與諸軍截之恩縣。 捻驚走，躡至鹽山、海豐，馳四晝夜抵高唐。 捻湧至，將犯運河。 會天大風，師韓趨上風邀擊，寇大潰。 西捻平，賞黃馬褂。 英翰疏稱其好謀能斷，堪勝提鎮任。 捻酋宋景詩逋誅，復以計擒僇之，晉提督，賜秩頭品。
In the sixth year Ren Zhu fled into Shandong; Shihan intercepted him at Tancheng and again drove back fierce rebels at Suqian and along the Grand Canal. After the eastern Nian were suppressed he was promoted by special leap to major-general and granted a further brave title, Dachun. In the seventh year the western Nian ranged between Zhili and Henan. Ying Han requested urgent march to Kaifeng and the capital approaches, ordering Shihan to lead three thousand cavalry to the relief. He was soon ordered to garrison south of the Yellow River on defensive duty. Shihan fought the Henan Nian day after day and was victorious wherever he went. Driving deep into Shandong he joined the other columns in intercepting the enemy at En county. The Nian fled in alarm; he pursued to Yanshan and Haifeng and rode four days and nights to reach Gaotang. The Nian massed and were about to strike the Grand Canal. A great wind arose; Shihan took the windward position and intercepted them, and the enemy was utterly routed. After the western Nian were suppressed he was awarded a yellow riding jacket. Ying Han memorialized that he was resourceful and decisive, fit for command at provincial level. The Nian chieftain Song Jingshi had escaped justice; Shihan captured and executed him by stratagem, was promoted to provincial military commander, and granted first-grade court rank.
22
光緒元年，授河南歸德鎮總兵。 十五年，調河北鎮，遭父憂去。 二十年，日韓構釁，授甘肅寧夏鎮，命入衛，駐軍榆關。 事定，還本官。 二十一年，河湟回蠢動，師韓赴之。 次西寧，聞平戎驛被圍久，亟入。 大峽距驛四十里，悍回數千恃險負命。 師韓以四百人制之，血戰竟日，賊敗潰，復大峽，其小峽寇亦遁。 旋創發，卒於軍。 當其赴援時，陰雨彌旬，山迳聳巘，行帳無所用，士卒有假居旅捨者。 提督董福祥劾之，議奪職，師韓未及知而已疾終。 事聞，詔復故官。 總督周馥狀其績以上，予原籍建祠。
In the first year of Guangxu he was appointed major-general of the Guide garrison in Henan. In the fifteenth year he was transferred to the Hebei garrison and resigned on his father's death. In the twentieth year war broke out with Japan; he was appointed to the Ningxia garrison in Gansu, ordered to the capital for guard duty, and stationed his troops at Shanhaiguan. When the crisis ended he returned to his original post. In the twenty-first year Muslim rebels stirred in the Huang and Tao river region; Shihan went to suppress them. At Xining he learned that Pingyi post had been besieged for a long time and entered in haste. Great Gorge lay forty li from the post; several thousand fierce Muslim fighters held the defile and fought to the death. With four hundred men Shihan held them at bay, fought all day in bloody combat, routed the enemy, recovered Great Gorge, and the rebels in the lesser gorges fled as well. He soon fell ill and died in camp. On the march to relieve the post, rain fell for half a month. The mountain paths were treacherous; tents were useless, and some men took shelter in roadside inns. Provincial commander Dong Fuxiang impeached him and proceedings began to strip his rank. Shihan died of illness before he learned of it. When word reached the court, an edict restored his former rank. Governor Zhou Fu memorialized his achievements, and a memorial temple was authorized in his home district.
23
曹德慶，安徽廬江人。 粵寇蹂皖，練團保境。 嗣從官軍克柘皋、三河，被重創。 改隸淮軍吳長慶麾下。 同治改元，李鴻章督兵上海，檄德慶探賊，盡得其虛實，大破賊新橋。 時總兵程學啟被圍，復從長慶疾擊之，圍解。 自是官軍連下十餘城。 德慶戰常陷堅，積勳至守備。 水陸軍規蘇州，德慶一軍為遊兵。 蘇城既下，從克無錫、金匱，移師援浙，助擊平湖、乍浦、海鹽，據寇棄城走。 興城寇來犯，迎擊敗之，彈貫右臂，裹創克嘉善，攻嘉興。 從劉銘傳克常州，徇下宜、荊、溧、太、嘉諸邑，晉參將。 再從郭松林援浙，克湖州； 援閩，克潭、浦。 東捻平，擢總兵。 防直、東運河，銘傳困西捻黃、運間，德慶領所部橫擊之。 西捻平，晉提督，賜號烈勇巴圖魯。 師旋，駐守江蘇，歷揚州，徙浦口。 會天旱，天長、盱眙鹽梟煽亂，擒其渠陳紅慶誅之，解遣脅從數万人，發粟賑饑。 駐江陰，建議築鵝梟嘴及下關砲台。
Cao Deqing was a native of Lujiang, Anhui. When the Taiping ravaged Anhui, local militia defended the district. He then followed government troops in capturing Zhegao and Sanhe and suffered grave wounds. He was transferred to serve under Wu Changqing in the Huai army. When Tongzhi began, Li Hongzhang commanded at Shanghai and sent Deqing to scout the enemy. Learning their dispositions, he routed them at Xinqiao. Major-general Cheng Xueqi was then under siege; Deqing followed Changqing in a forced march and lifted the siege. Government forces thereafter captured more than ten cities in succession. Deqing repeatedly fought in the hottest engagements and rose through merit to garrison commander. As land and naval forces converged on Suzhou, Deqing's column served as mobile troops. After Suzhou fell he helped take Wuxi and Jinkui, shifted to aid Zhejiang, and assisted in taking Pinghu, Zhapu, and Haiyan, driving the rebels from those cities. Rebels from Xingcheng attacked; he met and defeated them. A bullet pierced his right arm, but he pressed on, took Jiashan, and assaulted Jiaxing. Following Liu Mingchuan he captured Changzhou and swept through Yixing, Jingxi, Liyang, Taihu, and Jiaxing, and was promoted to colonel. He again followed Guo Songlin to aid Zhejiang and captured Huzhou; aided Fujian and captured Tanzhou and Puzhou. After the eastern Nian were suppressed he was promoted to major-general. While defending the Zhili and eastern Grand Canal, when Mingchuan was hard pressed by western Nian between the Yellow River and Canal, Deqing led a flanking attack. After the western Nian were suppressed he was promoted to provincial military commander and granted the title Lieyong Batulu. On the army's return he garrisoned Jiangsu, served at Yangzhou, and was transferred to Pukou. During a drought, salt smugglers in Tianchang and Xuyi stirred up trouble. He captured their leader Chen Hongqing and executed him, released tens of thousands of coerced followers, and distributed grain to relieve famine. While garrisoned at Jiangyin he proposed building fortifications at Exiaozui and Xiaguan.
24
光緒二年，統淮揚水師，疏濬赤山湖埂，盪金陵諸河道。 十年，法越釁起，移軍防吳淞，增築南石塘、獅子林砲台。 曾國籓疏薦其設防要隘，不避艱險，授狼山鎮總兵，留防如故。 皖北飢，輸巨金助賑，詔旌之。 十六年，罷戍，赴本官。 時通海裡下河縱橫數百里，梟寇出沒，民苦之。 德慶盡法懲治，姦宄浸息。 二十七年，卒，卹如製，從祀長慶祠。
In the second year of Guangxu he commanded the Huai-Yang naval force, dredged the Chishan lake embankment, and cleared the waterways around Nanjing. In the tenth year war broke out between France and Vietnam; he moved to defend Wusong and strengthened the forts at Nanshitang and Shizilin. Zeng Guofan memorialized praising his defense of strategic passes without shirking hardship. He was appointed major-general of the Langshan garrison while continuing his defensive duties. When north Anhui suffered famine he contributed a large sum for relief, and an edict commended him. In the sixteenth year his garrison assignment ended and he took up his permanent post. The lower rivers of Tonghai then stretched for hundreds of li, and salt smugglers plagued the region. Deqing punished offenders to the full extent of the law, and crime gradually subsided. In the twenty-seventh year he died; posthumous honors followed regulations, and he was granted attached worship at Changqing's memorial temple.
25
馬复震，字心楷，安徽桐城人。 曾祖宗槤、祖瑞辰、父三俊，均見儒林傳。 复震年十六，襲雲騎尉。 以祖若父均死於賊，誓欲殺寇，投詩曾國籓行營。 國籓奇其才，遂檄令增募兵，號淮勇。 初，國籓治團練長沙，號湘勇。 李鴻章募兵皖北，以淮勇繼之，然初不稱淮勇。 淮勇之名，實自復震始。
Ma Fuzhen, styled Xinkai, was a native of Tongcheng, Anhui. His great-grandfather Zonglian, grandfather Ruichen, and father Sanjun all appear in the Confucian biographies. At sixteen Fuzhen inherited the yunqiwei rank. Because his grandfather and father had both been killed by rebels, he swore to destroy the enemy and presented a poem at Zeng Guofan's headquarters. Guofan was struck by his talent and ordered him to raise additional troops under the name Huai Braves. When Guofan first organized militia at Changsha they were called Xiang Braves. When Li Hongzhang recruited in north Anhui, Huai forces followed, but at first they were not called Huai Braves. The name Huai Braves in fact began with Fuzhen.
26
國籓困祁門，复震扼祁門櫸根嶺。 次年，會軍禦寇石門橋。 又從攻徽州，拔統領唐義訓於重圍。 迭克黟縣、徽郡，又大捷屯溪、岩市，以解徽州圍； 大捷孔靈，以克績溪、祁門。 复震性剛，不能下人，人或讒之國籓，國籓稍稍戒飭之。 复震頗責望國籓，謂：「不當用人言戒我，乃不我知也。」 會左宗棠率師徵浙，調复震從攻餘杭，比戰皆捷。 餘杭既克，追寇至遂安、開化、馬金。 湖州既克，追寇至鉛山縣坊湖鎮。 常為諸軍選鋒，積功至副將。 宗棠奏其血性過人，膽識堅定，又好學知書，請改文職，格於例，以總兵隨宗棠剿捻陝西。
When Guofan was besieged at Qimen, Fuzhen held Jungen Ridge. The following year he joined the army in repelling rebels at Shimen Bridge. In the assault on Huizhou he rescued commander Tang Yixun from a heavy siege. He took Yi county and Huizhou in turn and won great victories at Tunxi and Yanshi, lifting the siege of Huizhou; won a great victory at Kongling and captured Jixi and Qimen. Fuzhen was headstrong and would not defer to others. Some slandered him to Guofan, who gradually admonished him. Fuzhen resented Guofan deeply, saying: "You should not heed others' gossip to warn me—you do not know me at all." When Zuo Zongtang marched into Zhejiang, Fuzhen was transferred to his command and took part in the assault on Yuhang, winning every engagement. After Yuhang fell he pursued the enemy to Suian, Kaihua, and Majin. After Huzhou fell he pursued the enemy to Fanghu town in Qianshan. He often led the vanguard for the various columns and rose through merit to vice commander. Zongtang memorialized that his nature was exceptional, his courage and judgment steadfast, and that he was also learned and literate. He requested civil appointment, but regulations barred it; Fuzhen followed Zongtang as major-general to suppress the Nian in Shaanxi.
27
复震自初入軍，即誓死滅賊，捻平，年三十，始歸娶。 事母孝，友愛諸弟甚至。 生有奇姿，骯髒不平，往往至於大醉泣下，輒歌詩以自遣。 海疆日益多事，朝廷圖自強，創造火輪兵船。 鴻章任湖廣總督，遂委复震管帶操江船，則益研求西國水師兵法。 鴻章督直隸，調巡北洋，時國籓為兩江總督，仍令往來南北，且合疏薦复震沈毅有為，足勝海疆專閫。 光緒三年，簡授陽江鎮總兵，已前卒月餘，年未四十。 於是鴻章念其積勞久，且興淮軍及海上兵船，复震皆首其事，乃奏請優恤。 著有莪園詩鈔； 又嘗從寇中攜父殘稿出，展轉兵間，卒請宗棠序而刊之，為馬徵君遺集。
From his first day in the army Fuzhen had sworn to destroy the rebels or die trying. When the Nian were pacified he was thirty and only then married. He was devoted to his mother and deeply affectionate toward his younger brothers. He had a striking presence and a rough, uncompromising temper. He often drank himself into tears and sang poetry to console himself. Coastal affairs grew more urgent; the court pursued self-strengthening and built steam warships. When Hongzhang became governor-general of Huguang he put Fuzhen in command of the Caojiang fleet, and Fuzhen threw himself into studying Western naval tactics. When Hongzhang governed Zhili and patrolled the northern seas, Guofan was governor-general at Nanjing. Fuzhen still traveled between north and south, and together they recommended him as steady and capable, fit for coastal command. In the third year of Guangxu he was appointed major-general of the Yangjiang garrison, but he had died more than a month earlier, not yet forty. Hongzhang recalled his long service and that Fuzhen had been foremost in founding the Huai army and the coastal fleet; he memorialized for generous posthumous honors. He authored E'yuan Shichao; he also rescued his father's surviving manuscripts from the war zone and, after many vicissitudes, secured Zongtang's preface for their publication as the collected works of Ma Zhengjun.
28
程文炳，字從周，安徽阜陽人。 初結鄉團自衛。 年十八，投袁甲三軍，領馬隊為選鋒，戰輒冠其曹，洊升至守備。 從克定遠，破湖溝寇圩，補潛山營游擊。 同治二年，率所部二千人駐蒙城。 會苗沛霖構捻來犯，相持八閱月，大小百十戰，數獲勝。 已而捻酋葛小年擁眾可數万，殊死鬥，蒙圍益急，與布政使英翰內外夾擊，大敗之。 僧格林沁軍至，誅沛霖。 文炳會諸軍擒小年等駢僇之，皖北始稍靖。
Cheng Wenbing, styled Congzhou, was a native of Fuyang, Anhui. He first organized local militia for self-defense. At eighteen he joined Yuan Jiasan's army, led the cavalry vanguard, always topped his unit in battle, and rose through merit to garrison commander. He took part in capturing Dingyuan, stormed the bandit stockade at Hugou, and was appointed raiding commander of the Qianshan battalion. In the second year of Tongzhi he led two thousand men to garrison Mengcheng. When Miao Peilin allied with the Nian to attack, they fought for eight months in more than a hundred engagements and won repeatedly. Soon the Nian chieftain Ge Xiaonian led nearly ten thousand men in desperate fighting. The siege of Mengcheng tightened. Wenbing and Ying Han attacked from inside and out and won a great victory. When Sengge Rinchen's army arrived, Peilin was executed. Wenbing joined the other columns in capturing Xiaonian and his associates, who were executed, and north Anhui grew somewhat calm.
29
四年夏，任柱、賴文光復入皖。 英翰頓雉河集，與寇相持五十餘日，餉糈不繼，兵疲饉，文炳邀擊之，軍士戰稍卻，語所部曰：「此生死呼吸之際，汝輩尚不力耶？ 軍令在，不汝恕！」 策馬陷陣，將弁繼之，呼聲震天，寇披靡。 追戰至夜分，左臂中矛傷，裹創力戰，寇憚之。 援至，因大破虜。 論功，擢總兵。 五年，補貴州清江協副將，駐軍皖北。
In the summer of the fourth year Ren Zhu and Lai Wenguang again invaded Anhui. Ying Han held Zhiheji and fought the enemy for more than fifty days. Supplies ran short and his men were exhausted. When Wenbing attacked, his troops faltered. He told them: "This is a matter of life and death—will you still not fight? Military law stands—I will show you no mercy!" He charged into the enemy ranks, his officers followed, their shouts shook the heavens, and the Nian were routed. He pursued the fight into the night, took a spear wound to his left arm, fought on despite his injuries, and the enemy feared him. Reinforcements arrived and the enemy was routed. For this merit he was promoted to major-general. In the fifth year he was appointed assistant vice commander of the Qingjiang garrison in Guizhou while remaining in north Anhui.
30
朝命英翰撫皖。 初，文炳以軍事與英翰不相能，至是稱疾不出。 英翰之母賢，諸將自史念祖以下均母事之。 英翰以母命召文炳，至則拜床下，誓捐前隙共生死。 比出，即檄統前敵師幹。 是時，捻騎飄忽成流寇，李鴻章既定圈河策，文炳統皖軍萬五千人，與總兵張得勝等進擊。 東捻勢蹙，任柱死，其黨四散，大呼文炳名求降。 鴻章逮降卒問故，僉曰：「昔皖北善後，程公以身家保鄉人。 今我輩窮而乞憐，必能拯我。」 其信義孚人如此。 英翰上其功，擢提督。
The court appointed Ying Han governor of Anhui. Earlier Wenbing and Ying Han had clashed over military affairs; now he claimed illness and refused to appear. Ying Han's mother was a woman of virtue; the generals from Shi Nianzu downward all honored her as a mother. At his mother's bidding Ying Han summoned Wenbing. Wenbing came, bowed at her bedside, and swore to set aside old quarrels and share life and death. As soon as he left he was ordered by dispatch to command the vanguard. The Nian had become elusive cavalry raiders. Li Hongzhang had adopted the canal encirclement strategy. Wenbing commanded fifteen thousand Anhui troops and, with Zhang Desheng and others, pressed the attack. The eastern Nian were cornered. Ren Zhu was killed, his followers scattered, and they called out Wenbing's name to surrender. Hongzhang questioned the prisoners. They all said: "In the old days, when north Anhui was being pacified, Master Cheng pledged his person and family for the people of the region. Now we are desperate and begging for mercy—he will surely save us." Such was the faith his integrity inspired. Ying Han reported his merit and he was promoted to provincial military commander.
31
六年，西捻張總愚北犯，詔文炳率師入直會剿。 逾歲，敗之滹沱河。 各軍至，捻狂奔，爭先渡河，棄騾馬貲糧河干。 文炳下令軍中曰：「速濟追賊，敢取物者斬！」 於是皖軍先渡，躡賊而南，斬馘無算。 西捻平，賞黃馬褂，還駐亳。 十二年，授江西九江鎮總兵。 光緒二年，移疾去。 明年，秦、晉大饑，捐巨貲佐袁保恆辦賑濟，民獲甦。 五年，起署壽春鎮，旋補官南贛。 九年，擢湖北提督。 綠營廢弛久，文炳既受事，實行加餉抽練法，軍容一振。 蒞官十載，遭本生繼母憂，終喪。 會中日戰事起，詔趣赴京。 至則命統皖軍駐守張家灣，尋授福建提督。
In the sixth year Zhang Zongyu's western Nian pushed north; an edict ordered Wenbing to lead troops into Zhili for the joint campaign. More than a year later he defeated them at the Hutuo River. When the allied armies closed in the Nian fled wildly, racing to cross the river and abandoning pack animals, goods, and grain on the riverbank. Wenbing ordered his men: "Cross quickly and pursue the enemy—anyone who seizes loot will be beheaded!" The Anhui troops crossed first, pursued south, and killed the enemy in numbers beyond count. After the western Nian were suppressed he was awarded a yellow riding jacket and returned to garrison Bozhou. In the twelfth year he was appointed major-general of the Jiujiang garrison in Jiangxi. In the second year of Guangxu he resigned on grounds of illness. The following year Shaanxi and Shanxi suffered severe famine. He donated a large sum to assist Yuan Baoheng's relief work, and the people were saved. In the fifth year he was recalled to act at the Shouchun garrison and soon received permanent appointment at Nan'gan. In the ninth year he was promoted to provincial military commander of Hubei. The Green Standard army had long been neglected. Once Wenbing took office he implemented supplemental pay and selective drilling, and the troops' bearing was restored. He held office for ten years, observed mourning for his stepmother, and completed the full mourning period. When war broke out with Japan an edict urgently summoned him to the capital. On arrival he was ordered to command Anhui troops at Zhangjiawan and was soon appointed provincial military commander of Fujian.
32
二十五年，入覲，假歸。 明年，拳亂作，詔福建、江南、浙江、安徽、江西勤王軍受節度，赴彰、衛、懷備守禦。 又明年，提督長江水師，目睹船械窳敝，乃牒商劉坤一、張之洞改用快槍； 調師船二百，編為游擊備策應。 又以師船舊砲不能擊遠，與緣江各省籌易快砲，增餉益師，軍威始壯。 宣統二年，卒，年七十有七。 先是，詔疆閫諸臣條陳時政，文炳洞見新軍癥結，具疏未上。 俄病篤，命繕入遺摺中，分編兵籍、節餉糈、增額缺、造器械、變操法五事。 上嘉其老成謀國，下所司行。 優詔褒卹，予本籍及立功省分建祠，諡壯勤。
In the twenty-fifth year he attended court and then took leave. The following year the Boxer uprising broke out. Edicts placed the loyalist forces of Fujian, Jiangnan, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi under unified command for defense along the Zhang, Wei, and Huai routes. The following year he took command of the Yangtze naval force. Seeing the ships and arms were worn out, he petitioned Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong to adopt quick-firing rifles; two hundred training ships were reorganized as a mobile reserve. Because the old guns on the training ships lacked range, he worked with the river provinces to obtain quick-firing artillery, increased pay, and expanded the force until its prestige was restored. In the second year of Xuantong he died at the age of seventy-seven. Earlier the throne had ordered frontier commanders to submit policy recommendations. Wenbing had clearly identified the ailments of the new army and drafted a memorial but had not yet submitted it. He soon fell gravely ill and ordered the draft incorporated into his deathbed memorial in five sections: reorganizing military registers, economizing supplies, increasing authorized posts, manufacturing weapons, and reforming drill methods. The emperor praised his seasoned counsel for the state and ordered the relevant offices to carry it out. An imperial edict granted generous posthumous honors, authorized temples in his home district and in provinces where he had earned merit, and gave him the posthumous title Zhuangqin.
33
方耀，字照軒，廣東普寧人。 咸豐初，隨其父原治鄉團，所部多悍勇。 嗣投官軍，徵土匪有功，補把總。 自是連克清遠、廣寧、德慶，截擊連州竄匪。 總督黃宗漢疏薦謀勇冠軍，敘都司，賜號展勇巴圖魯。 九年，發寇陳四虎侵廣寧，土匪四應。 耀入自英德，會水師抵三峽，沉賊船，水路始通。 進解陽山圍，擊退婆迳、黃陂各匪，匪奔韶州，復大破之。 十年，從克仁化、南雄。 總督勞崇光倚以破賊，令援贛，連下安遠、平遠。 十一年，援閩疆，下武平、永定。 時偽興王陳金缸陷信宜，數犯高州。 耀還軍助擊，大敗之。
Fang Yao, styled Zhaoxuan, was a native of Puning, Guangdong. Early in the Xianfeng reign he followed his father in organizing local militia; his men were mostly fierce fighters. He then joined government forces, fought local bandits with distinction, and was appointed warrant officer. He then captured Qingyuan, Guangning, and Deqing in succession and intercepted bandits fleeing from Lianzhou. Governor Huang Zonghan memorialized him as foremost in courage and strategy. He was ranked company commander and granted the title Zhanyong Batulu. In the ninth year the Taiping rebel Chen Sihu invaded Guangning and local bandits rose on every side. Yao advanced from Yingde; the naval force reached Sanxia and sank rebel boats, reopening the water route. He relieved the siege of Yangshan, drove off bandits at Pojing and Huangpi, pursued them to Shaozhou, and routed them again. In the tenth year he took part in capturing Renhua and Nanxiong. Governor Lao Chongguang relied on him to break the rebels and sent him to aid Jiangxi, capturing Anyuan and Pingyuan in succession. In the eleventh year he aided the Fujian frontier and captured Wuping and Yongding. The false Xingwang Chen Jingang had seized Xinyi and repeatedly threatened Gaozhou. Yao brought his troops back to assist and won a great victory.
34
同治二年，肇、羅寇氛熾，客匪眾至十餘萬。 耀與副將卓興以所部八千人夾擊之，迭破巨壘，焚其屯糧。 其黨鄭金斬金缸以降，鄭金即鄭紹忠也。 高州平，晉副將。 三年，赴平遠八尺墟，坐縣城失守、進兵遲誤，暫褫職。 時發寇丁太陽分據武平，耀自平遠進逼，奮擊退之。 又設伏誘敵，乘勝徑斫賊營，大潰，城賊亦驚走，遂克武平； 而丁賊猶據永定，負固不下，耀進圍之，诇知賊將赴金砂，隱卒以待。 賊至，伏起，賊返奔，追襲之，奪城外砲樓土壘，俯瞰城中，日夜下襲，賊屍山積，啟東門遁，復故官。 四年，偽康王汪海洋竄大埔，耀還軍扼守，遇偽侍王李世賢，血戰三晝夜，以少擊眾，大敗之。 復與紹忠會師入閩，連克平和、詔安、長樂、鎮平，而餘匪嘯聚和平者勢猶盛。 耀以無備，再褫職。 旋收嘉應，复官。
In the second year of Tongzhi rebellion flared in Zhaoqing and Luoding; guest bandits numbered more than a hundred thousand. Yao and vice commander Zhuo Xing led eight thousand men in a pincer attack, stormed major fortresses, and burned their grain stores. His follower Zheng Jin beheaded Jingang and surrendered; Zheng Jin was Zheng Shaozhong. When Gaozhou was pacified he was promoted to vice commander. In the third year he went to Bachi market in Pingyuan. Because the county seat had fallen and his advance was delayed, he was temporarily stripped of rank. The Taiping rebel Ding Taiyang held Wuping. Yao advanced from Pingyuan, pressed hard, and drove him back. He set an ambush, lured the enemy in, and stormed their camp in a rout. The garrison fled in alarm and Wuping fell; but Ding's men still held Yongding. Yao besieged the city, learned the rebel generals were bound for Jinsha, and hid troops to intercept them. When the rebels came the ambush struck. They fled; he pursued, seized outer towers and earthworks overlooking the city, attacked day and night until corpses piled like hills, and the enemy opened the east gate and fled. His rank was restored. In the fourth year the false Kangwang Wang Haiyang fled to Dapu. Yao returned to block him, met the false Shiwang Li Shixian, and fought for three days and nights against odds, routing the enemy. Joining Shaozhong he entered Fujian and captured Pinghe, Zhao'an, Changle, and Zhenping, though rebels still massed at Pinghe in strength. Because he had been unprepared, Yao was again stripped of rank. Soon Jiaying was recovered and his rank was restored.
35
七年，授南韶連鎮總兵，調署潮州。 潮俗故悍，械鬥奪敓以為常，甚且負嵎築寨，拒兵抗糧。 耀以為積匪不除，民患不息，乃創為選舉清鄉法，先辦陸豐鬥案，明正其罪。 潮人始知有官法。 陳獨目結會戕官，謝奉章恃險擅命，並捕治之，潮民遂安堵。 暇輒釐佔產，徵逋賦，丈沙田，潮稅歲增鉅萬。 又禦水患以保農田，建書院以育俊秀，士民頌之。 總督瑞麟狀其績以上，賞黃馬褂。
In the seventh year he was appointed major-general of the Nanshao-Lian garrison and transferred to act at Chaozhou. Chaozhou had long been a violent place where armed feuds and robbery were commonplace; some built stockades on difficult ground and resisted troops and tax collection. Yao believed that until entrenched banditry was uprooted the people would never know peace. He devised an elected village pacification system, beginning with the Lufeng feud cases. The people of Chaozhou learned for the first time that government law existed. Chen Dumu formed a secret society and murdered officials; Xie Fengzhang held defensible ground and defied authority. Both were captured and punished, and Chaozhou grew calm. In quieter moments he audited seized property, collected overdue taxes, and surveyed sand fields, increasing Chaozhou's revenue by tens of thousands each year. He also built flood defenses to protect farmland and founded academies to educate talented youths; scholars and commoners praised him. Governor Ruilin memorialized his achievements and he was awarded a yellow riding jacket.
36
光緒三年，調署陸路提督。 五年，還本官，治潮州、南澳、碣石軍事。 九年，法越構兵，充海防全軍翼長，改署水師提督。 越二年，實授。 嘗率師出搗盜穴，廣、惠安謐。 十七年，卒，卹如製。
In the third year of Guangxu he was transferred to act as land-force provincial commander. In the fifth year he returned to his permanent post, overseeing military affairs at Chaozhou, Nan'ao, and Jieshi. In the ninth year war broke out between France and Vietnam. He served as wing commander of the coastal defense army and was transferred to act as naval provincial commander. Two years later he received permanent appointment. He once led troops to storm bandit lairs, and Guangzhou and Huizhou grew tranquil. In the seventeenth year he died; posthumous honors followed regulations.
37
耀身矯捷，履山險若平地，眼有異光，暮夜擊槍靡弗中，以故粵中諸匪咸憚之。
Yao was agile as a cat and crossed mountain trails as if on level ground. His eyes had an uncanny gleam, and he never missed a night shot. Every bandit in Guangdong feared him.
38
紹忠，籍三水。 始隨金缸為寇，既自贖，提督昆壽許領其眾為一營，號安勇。 克廣西岑溪，賞都司銜，始更名。 永定、大埔之役，與有功。 數遷至副將，權羅定協。 寇據嘉應，其黨譚光明等殊死戰。 紹忠扼守長沙墟，寇至，擊卻之。 城寇悉眾出，並力追擊，擒渠率，城拔。 以次徵肇慶、思平諸匪，賜號敢勇巴圖魯。 平五坑客匪，更勇號額騰伊。 自是察匪所向，捕之。 不二年，擢提督，補潮州鎮總兵。 光緒二年，搜治欽州、靈山積匪，晉秩頭品。 五年，攻克瓊州、儋臨，賞黃馬褂。 十年，權陸路提督。 粵故多匪，紹忠頗善治之。 攻剿遍粵境，轉戰閩、桂，匪為斂跡。 十五年，授湖南提督。 十七年，還綜廣東水師。 二十年，加尚書銜。 越二年，卒，卹如製。
Shaozhong was registered in Sanshui. He had first followed Jingang as a rebel. After submitting, provincial commander Kunshou allowed him to lead his followers as a battalion called Anyong. For capturing Cenxi in Guangxi he was awarded company commander rank and then took his new name. He shared credit in the Yongding and Dapu campaigns. Through several promotions he reached vice commander and acted at the Luoding garrison. Rebels held Jiaying; their leader Tan Guangming and others fought to the death. Shaozhong held Changshaxu; when the enemy came he attacked and drove them back. The garrison came out in full force; he pursued with combined strength, captured the leaders, and the city fell. He campaigned in succession against Zhaoqing, Xiping, and other bandits and was granted the title Ganyong Batulu. After pacifying the Wukeng guest bandits he received a further brave title, Etengyi. Thereafter he tracked where the bandits went and captured them. Within two years he was promoted to provincial military commander and appointed to the Chaozhou garrison. In the second year of Guangxu he suppressed entrenched bandits in Qinzhou and Lingshan and was awarded first-grade court rank. In the fifth year he captured Qiongzhou and Danlin and was awarded a yellow riding jacket. In the tenth year he acted as land-force provincial commander. Guangdong had always been plagued by bandits, and Shaozhong was especially skilled at suppressing them. He campaigned throughout Guangdong and fought in Fujian and Guangxi until banditry subsided. In the fifteenth year he was appointed provincial military commander of Hunan. In the seventeenth year he returned to overall command of the Guangdong naval forces. In the twentieth year he was given ministerial rank. Two years later he died; posthumous honors followed regulations.
39
鄧安邦，廣東東莞人。 以勇目積功至守備。 同治三年，從耀等克武平。 四年，汪海洋陷鎮平，圍平遠。 安邦赴援，抵城下，飢疲甚，雜食薯芋，卒解城圍。 再敗賊大柘、超竹。 嘉應陷，與諸軍截殲之，晉游擊，賜號銳勇巴圖魯，遷參將。 光緒三年，補清遠營游擊。 明年，匪首歐就起襲據佛岡廳，安邦約紹忠內外合攻，復其城，獲就起，置之法。 十二年，授湖州鎮總兵。 十四年，卒。
Deng Anbang was a native of Dongguan, Guangdong. Starting as a brave fighter he rose through merit to garrison commander. In the third year of Tongzhi he followed Yao and others in capturing Wuping. In the fourth year Wang Haiyang seized Zhenping and besieged Pingyuan. Anbang marched to relieve the city, arrived exhausted and starving, subsisted on taro and yams, and finally lifted the siege. He again defeated the enemy at Dazhe and Chaozhu. When Jiaying fell he joined the other columns in destroying the enemy, was promoted to raiding commander, granted the title Ruiyong Batulu, and transferred to colonel. In the third year of Guangxu he was appointed raiding commander of the Qingyuan battalion. The following year the bandit chief Ou Jiuqi seized Fogang. Anbang coordinated with Shaozhong for a combined assault, recovered the city, captured Jiuqi, and executed him. In the twelfth year he was appointed major-general of the Huzhou garrison. In the fourteenth year he died.
40
論曰：自發、捻起，各省興團練，淮、皖為盛，實淮勇之始也。 東才以下諸人，初皆起鄉團，其後或隸豫軍，或隸淮軍，皆先後著戰績，為時所稱。 方耀以粵團歸官軍，善戰兼謀勇，尤善治盜，民多感頌，茲故並著之。
The commentary says: From the rise of the Taiping and Nian rebellions, every province raised militia; Huai and Wan were foremost—this was the true beginning of the Huai Braves. From Dongcai onward these men all began in local militia; some later joined the Henan army, others the Huai army, and all in time won distinction in battle. Fang Yao brought Guangdong militia into government service, combining fighting skill with strategy and courage, and was especially adept at suppressing bandits. The people praised him widely—hence he is recorded here with the others.