1
洪秀全，廣東花縣人。 少飲博無賴，以演卜游粵、湘間。 有朱九疇者，倡上帝會，亦名三點會，秀全及同邑馮雲山師事之。 九疇死，眾以秀全為教主。 官捕之急，乃往香港入耶穌教，藉抗官。 旋偕雲山傳教至廣西，居桂平。 時秀全妹婿蕭朝貴及楊秀清、韋昌輝皆家桂平，與相結納。 貴縣石達開亦來入教。 秀全嘗患病，詭云病死七日而蘇，能知未來事。 謂：「上帝召我，有大劫，惟拜上帝可免。」 凡會中人男稱兄弟，女稱姊妹，欲人皆平等，託名西洋教。 自言通天語，謂天父名耶和華，耶穌其長子，己為次子。 嗣是輒臥一室，禁人窺伺，不進飲食，歷數日而後出。 出則謂與上帝議事，眾皆駭服。 復造寶誥、真言諸偽書，密為傳布。 潛蓄髮，藏山菁間。 嗾人分赴武宣、象州、藤縣、陸川、博白各邑，誘眾入會。
Hong Xiuquan came from Huaxian in Guangdong. As a young man he drank and gambled like a rascal, earning his keep by telling fortunes as he wandered through Guangdong and Hunan. A man named Zhu Jiuchou had founded the God Worship Society, also known as the Triad Society, and both Xiuquan and his fellow townsman Feng Yunshan became his disciples. After Jiuchou died, the congregation installed Xiuquan as their leader. With the authorities pressing hard to arrest him, he went to Hong Kong and joined the Christian church, using that affiliation to shield himself from the government. He soon went with Yunshan to spread their teachings in Guangxi and settled at Guiping. By then Xiuquan's brother-in-law Xiao Chaogui, along with Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui, all lived in Guiping and entered into alliance with him. Shi Dakai of Guixian also joined the movement. Xiuquan once fell ill and claimed he had been dead for seven days before returning to life, saying he could foretell the future. He declared, "God has called me. A great catastrophe is coming, and only those who worship God will be spared." Within the society men called one another brothers and women sisters, preaching equality for all under the banner of Western religion. He claimed he could speak Heaven's language, declaring that the Heavenly Father was named Jehovah, that Jesus was the elder son, and that he himself was the younger son. After that he would shut himself in a room, forbid anyone to look in, and take no food or drink for days before coming out again. When he emerged he said he had been conferring with God, and the congregation was awestruck into obedience. He also composed forged scriptures such as the Precious Edicts and True Words and had them circulated in secret. He secretly stockpiled hair and hid supplies in the mountain thickets. He dispatched agents to Wuxuan, Xiangzhou, Tengxian, Luchuan, Bobai, and other counties to recruit people into the society.
2
初，粵西歲饑多盜，湖南雷再浩、新寧李沅發復竄入為亂。 粵盜張家福等各率黨數千，四出俘劫。 秀全乘之，與楊秀清創立保良攻匪會，練兵籌餉，歸附者益眾。 桂平知縣誘而執之，搜獲入教名冊十七本； 巡撫鄭祖琛不能決，遂釋之。 秀全既出獄，秀清率眾迎歸，招集亡命，貴縣秦日綱、林鳳祥，揭陽海盜羅大綱，衡山洪大全皆來附，有眾萬人。 馮雲山讀書多智計，為部署隊伍、攻守方略。 以歲值丁未，應「紅羊」之讖，遂乘勢倡亂於金田。 褫鄭祖琛職，起前雲貴總督林則徐為欽差大臣往督師。 則徐薨於途，以兩廣總督李星沅代之，赴廣西剿寇。 寇竄平南恩旺墟，副將李殿元擊卻之，復回撲，巡檢張鏞不屈死； 仍遁金田，星沅檄清江協副將伊克坦布往攻，被圍陣亡。 星沅檄鎮遠總兵周鳳岐往援，戰一晝夜，斃寇數百，圍始解。 上以寇勢日熾，命前漕運總督周天爵署廣西巡撫，乃請提督向榮專剿金田。
Western Guangdong had suffered famine for years and was overrun with bandits; Lei Zaihao from Hunan and Li Yuanfa from Xinning also crossed the border to raise disturbances. Guangdong bandits such as Zhang Jiafu each led gangs of several thousand men on raids in every direction. Xiuquan took advantage of the chaos; with Yang Xiuqing he founded the Society for Protecting the Good and Attacking Bandits, drilled troops and raised funds, and his following grew steadily. The magistrate of Guiping lured him into a trap and arrested him, seizing seventeen membership registers in the search; but Provincial Governor Zheng Zuchen could not bring himself to decide the matter and released him. Once Xiuquan was out of prison, Xiuqing led the faithful to welcome him home and gathered desperadoes to his banner; Qin Rigang and Lin Fengxiang of Guixian, the Jieyang pirate Luo Dagang, and Hong Daquan of Hengshan all joined him, and his following reached ten thousand. Feng Yunshan was learned and resourceful, and took charge of organizing the ranks and planning strategy for attack and defense. The year was dingwei, matching the prophecy of the "Red Sheep," and he seized the moment to launch rebellion at Jintian. Zheng Zuchen was dismissed from office, and the former governor-general of Yunnan-Guizhou, Lin Zexu, was appointed Imperial Commissioner to take command of the campaign. Lin Zexu died en route, and Governor-General Li Xingyuan of the Two Guangs replaced him and marched into Guangxi to suppress the rebels. The rebels fled to Enwang market in Pingnan; Vice Commander Li Dianyuan repulsed them, but they turned and attacked again, and Sub-Inspector Zhang Yong was killed when he refused to surrender; they still escaped back to Jintian; Xingyuan ordered Brigade Vice Commander Yiketanbu of the Qingjiang detachment to attack, and he was surrounded and killed in action. Xingyuan sent Regional Commander Zhou Fengqi of Zhenyuan to the rescue; after a day and night of fighting, during which several hundred rebels were killed, the siege was finally broken. As rebel strength grew daily, the emperor appointed former grain-transport governor Zhou Tianjue acting governor of Guangxi and ordered Regional Commander Xiang Rong to concentrate on suppressing Jintian.
3
咸豐元年，秀全僭號偽天王，縱火焚其墟，盡驅眾分擾桂平、貴、武宣、平南等縣，入象州。 上命廣州副都統烏蘭泰會討，以大學士賽尚阿為欽差大臣，率都統巴清德、副都統達洪阿馳防。 烏蘭泰至象州，三戰皆捷，疏言：「粵西寇眾皆烏合，惟東鄉僭號設官、易服蓄髮有大志，兇悍過群盜，實腹心大患。」 周天爵主滾營進偪，驅諸羅淥洞盡殲之，向榮不謂然。 檄貴州鎮總兵秦定三移營大林，堵北竄象州道，定三亦不奉命。 四月，秀全自大林逸出走象州，犯桂平新墟。 賽尚阿增調川兵，募鄉勇，合三萬人，分兵要隘。 一日戰七勝，斬捕二千，寇仍遁新墟。 七月，竄紫金山，山前以新墟為門戶，後以雙髻山、豬仔峽為要隘。 巴清德與川、楚鄉勇出其後，上下奪雙髻山，寇大潰，屯風門坳。 向榮率諸軍三路攻之，陣斃韋昌輝弟韋亞孫、韋十一等，始遁走。 我軍追之，會大雨，軍仗盡失。
In the first year of Xianfeng, Xiuquan proclaimed himself Heavenly King, burned his base to the ground, and drove his followers out to raid Guiping, Gui, Wuxuan, Pingnan, and other counties before advancing into Xiangzhou. The emperor ordered Vice Commander-in-Chief Wulantai of Guangzhou to join the campaign, appointed Grand Secretary Sai Shang'a Imperial Commissioner, and sent Commanders-in-Chief Ba Qingde and Vice Commander-in-Chief Da Hong'a posthaste to reinforce the defenses. Wulantai reached Xiangzhou and won three battles in a row; in his memorial he wrote, "The rebel bands of western Guangdong are mere rabble, but the Dongxiang faction that has proclaimed titles, set up offices, changed their dress, and let their hair grow harbors serious ambition; they are fiercer than ordinary bandits and are the gravest threat we face." Zhou Tianjue favored pressing forward camp by camp and annihilating the rebels in Luodong Cave, but Xiang Rong disagreed. He ordered Regional Commander Qin Dingsan of the Guizhou Brigade to move his camp to Dalin and block the northern route into Xiangzhou, but Dingsan refused to obey as well. In the fourth month Xiuquan broke out from Dalin toward Xiangzhou and struck Xin market in Guiping. Sai Shang'a brought up reinforcements from Sichuan and recruited local militia until he had thirty thousand men, whom he deployed to hold the strategic passes. In one day they won seven engagements and killed or captured two thousand rebels, yet the rebels still escaped back to Xin market. In the seventh month they withdrew to Purple Gold Mountain, with Xin market as the gateway in front and Twin-Peak Mountain and Piglet Gorge as the vital passes in the rear. Ba Qingde advanced from the rear with Sichuan and Huguang militia, seized Twin-Peak Mountain from both flanks, routed the rebels completely, and drove them to encamp at Fengmen'ao. Xiang Rong led the armies in a three-pronged assault, killing Wei Changhui's younger brothers Wei Yasun and Wei Shiyi in battle before the rebels finally fled. Our forces pursued them, but a torrential rain fell and all arms and equipment were lost.
4
閏八月，寇分二路東走藤，北犯永安，陷之，遂僭號太平天國。 秀全自為天王，妻賴氏為后，建元天德。 以秀清為東王，軍事皆取決，蕭朝貴西王，馮雲山南王，韋昌輝北王，石達開翼王，洪大全天德王； 秦日綱、羅亞旺、范連德、胡以晃等四十八人任丞相、軍師偽職。 時官軍勢勝，寇知不可敵，有散志。 秀清獨建策封王以羈縻之，勢燼而復熾。 九月，大軍移陽朔，會攻永安，賊分屯莫家村。 烏蘭泰建中軍旗於秀才嶺，上植一紅蓋，下埋地雷，誘敵燔殺四千，大軍乘之，遂克莫家村。
In the intercalary eighth month the rebels split into two columns, one marching east toward Teng and the other striking north at Yong'an and capturing it; they then proclaimed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Xiuquan took the title Heavenly King, made his wife of the Lai clan his queen, and adopted the era name Tiande. He appointed Xiuqing Eastern King, giving him final say over all military affairs; Xiao Chaogui became Western King, Feng Yunshan Southern King, Wei Changhui Northern King, Shi Dakai Wing King, and Hong Daquan Tiande King; Qin Rigang, Luo Yawang, Fan Liande, Hu Yihuang, and forty-eight others were appointed to the ranks of Chancellor and Military Adviser. Government forces were gaining the upper hand, and the rebels, knowing they could not prevail, began to think of scattering. Xiuqing alone urged enfeoffing them as kings to keep them loyal, and a movement that had nearly collapsed flared up again. In the ninth month the main army moved on Yangshuo and jointly attacked Yong'an, while the rebels divided their forces and encamped at Mojia Village. Wulantai raised the central army banner on Xiucai Ridge with a red canopy above and land mines below; he lured the enemy in and killed four thousand, the main army pressed the advantage, and Mojia Village fell.
5
二年正月，大兵圍永安，燬東、西砲臺。 二月，石達開分兵為四，敗我軍於壽春營，進破古束沖、小路關。 偽丞相秦日綱由水竇屯仙回嶺。 烏蘭泰分兵夾擊，斃寇數千，擒偽天德王洪大全，檻送京師，磔之市。 時大雨如注，烏蘭泰提精卒入山，山路濘滑，寇乘我軍陣未定，短兵衝突，遂大敗。 秀全從楊秀清謀，由瑤山、馬嶺間道徑撲桂林。 烏蘭泰率敗卒追之城南將軍橋，受重創，卒於軍。 三月，賊徑趨廣西省城。 向榮先一時繞道至省，寇踵至，已有備，相持不能拔，解圍而北。
In the first month of the second year the main army besieged Yong'an and destroyed the eastern and western batteries. In the second month Shi Dakai divided his forces into four columns, defeated our army at Shouchun Camp, and advanced to capture Gushuchong and Xiaoluguan passes. The rebel Chancellor Qin Rigang advanced by Shuidou and encamped at Xianhui Ridge. Wulantai divided his forces for a pincer attack, killed several thousand rebels, captured the rebel Tiande King Hong Daquan, sent him in a cage to the capital, and had him dismembered in the marketplace. Rain was pouring down in torrents; Wulantai led elite troops into the mountains, but the paths were muddy and treacherous, and the rebels struck before our formations were set, charging in at close quarters and inflicting a crushing defeat. Following Yang Xiuqing's plan, Xiuquan took the mountain trails through Yaoshan and Maling and struck directly at Guilin. Wulantai led the defeated troops in pursuit to Jiangjun Bridge south of the city, was gravely wounded, and died in camp. In the third month the rebels marched straight for the provincial capital of Guangxi. Xiang Rong had reached the capital first by a roundabout route; the rebels followed close behind, but the city was already prepared, neither side could gain the advantage, and the rebels broke off the siege and marched north.
6
馮雲山、羅大綱先驅陷興安、全州，將順流趨長沙。 浙江知縣江忠源禦之蓑衣渡，馮雲山中砲死，寇退走道州。 道州俗悍，多會匪，所至爭為效死，勢復張。 六月，陷江華、寧遠、嘉禾。 七月，陷桂陽州，江忠源躡至，一戰走之，趨郴州。 蕭朝貴以膽智自豪，謂群寇遲懦，又詗長沙守兵單，可襲而取也，乃率李開芳、林鳳祥由永興、茶陵、醴陵趨長沙，設幕城南。 八月，蕭朝貴攻南門，官兵擊之，殪，尸埋老龍潭，後起出梟其首。 秀全聞朝貴死，自郴州至，督攻益急，九月，掘隧道攻城，屢不獲逞。
Feng Yunshan and Luo Dagang led the vanguard in capturing Xing'an and Quanzhou and prepared to sail downstream toward Changsha. Jiang Zhongyuan, a magistrate from Zhejiang, met them at Suoyi Ford; Feng Yunshan was killed by cannon fire, and the rebels fell back toward Daozhou. Daozhou was a fierce place with many secret-society bandits; wherever the rebels went, men vied to fight to the death for them, and their strength revived. In the sixth month they captured Jianghua, Ningyuan, and Jiahe. In the seventh month they captured Guiyang Prefecture; Jiang Zhongyuan pursued them closely, routed them in a single battle, and drove them toward Chenzhou. Xiao Chaogui was proud of his courage and cunning, dismissed the other rebel leaders as slow and timid, and learned that Changsha's garrison was thin enough to take by surprise; he led Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang through Yongxing, Chaling, and Liling toward Changsha and pitched camp south of the city walls. In the eighth month Xiao Chaogui attacked the south gate; government troops killed him in the assault, buried his body at Laolongtan, and later exhumed it to display his head. When Xiuquan heard of Chaogui's death he came up from Chenzhou and pressed the assault with greater urgency; in the ninth month they dug tunnels to storm the city, but repeatedly failed to break through.
7
十月，秀全於南門外得偽玉璽，稱為天賜，脅眾呼萬歲。 遂夜渡湘水，由回龍塘竄寧鄉，抵益陽。 擄民船數千，出臨資口，渡洞庭，陷岳州。 城中舊儲吳三桂軍械，至是盡以資寇。 寇入長江，旬日間奪五千艘，婦孺貨財盡驅之滿載。 秀全駕龍舟，樹黃旗，列巨砲，夜則張三十六燈，他船稱是，數十里火光不絕如晝，遂東下，十一月，陷漢陽。 十二月，攻武昌。 時楊秀清司軍令，李開芳、林鳳祥、羅大綱掌兵事。 值武漢二江屆冬水涸，乃擄船作浮橋，環以鐵索，直達省城，分門攻之。 向榮馳至，約城內夾攻，巡撫常大淳慮城啟有失，不許。 地雷發，城遂陷。 秀全出令，民人蓄髮束冠巾，建高臺小別山下，演說弔民伐罪之意。
In the tenth month Xiuquan found a jade seal outside the south gate, proclaimed it a gift from Heaven, and forced his followers to shout long life. That night they crossed the Xiang River, fled through Huilongtang to Ningxiang, and reached Yiyang. They seized several thousand civilian boats, sailed out from Linzikou, crossed Lake Dongting, and captured Yuezhou. The city had long stored Wu Sangui's arsenals, and now the rebels took the whole stock for themselves. Once on the Yangtze, they seized five thousand boats within ten days, packing every vessel with women, children, goods, and plunder. Xiuquan sailed in a dragon boat under yellow banners with great cannon ranged along the deck; at night he lit thirty-six lamps, and the other boats followed suit until for miles the river blazed bright as day; they then sailed downstream and in the eleventh month captured Hanyang. In the twelfth month they attacked Wuchang. Yang Xiuqing held command of military orders, while Li Kaifang, Lin Fengxiang, and Luo Dagang directed operations in the field. Winter had lowered the waters of the two rivers at Wuhan, so they seized boats to build floating bridges bound with iron chains straight to the city walls and attacked each gate in turn. Xiang Rong hurried up and proposed a coordinated assault from inside and outside the walls, but Provincial Governor Chang Dachun feared that opening the gates would invite disaster and refused. The land mines detonated and the city fell. Xiuquan ordered the people to let their hair grow and bind it in caps and turbans; he built a high platform below Xiaobie Mountain and preached his mission to succor the people and punish wrongdoing.
8
三年，上以賽尚阿久無功，授兩廣總督徐廣縉為欽差大臣。 時石達開攻武昌，廣縉逗留岳州不敢進，上責其罪，更以向榮為欽差大臣，日夜攻之急，寇棄武昌駕船東下，眾號五十萬，資糧、軍械、子女、財帛盡置舟中，分兩岸步騎夾行，進向九江，下黃州、武昌、蘄水等十四州縣； 抵廣濟縣，下武穴鎮。 兩廣總督陸建瀛率兵二萬餘、船千五百艘上溯，遇寇不戰而走，前軍盡覆，建瀛狼狽還金陵。 寇薄九江而下，收官軍委棄砲仗，破安慶，巡撫蔣文慶死之。 寇奪銀米無算，水陸並進，抵金陵，沿城築壘二十四，具戰船，起新州大勝關迤邐至七洲里止，晝夜環攻，掘地道壞城，守兵潰亂。 建瀛易服走，為寇所戕。 將軍祥厚偕副都統霍隆武等守滿城，二日城陷，皆死之。 城中男女死者四萬餘，閹童子三千餘人，洩守城之忿。
In the third year, with Sai Shang'a still achieving nothing, the emperor appointed Governor-General Xu Guangjin of the Two Guangs Imperial Commissioner. Shi Dakai was then attacking Wuchang while Guangjin lingered at Yuezhou and dared not advance; the emperor censured him and replaced him with Xiang Rong as Imperial Commissioner; under relentless assault the rebels abandoned Wuchang and sailed downstream, claiming five hundred thousand followers; they loaded provisions, arms, women, children, and plunder onto the boats while infantry and cavalry marched along both banks; they advanced on Jiujiang and captured Huangzhou, Wuchang, Qishui, and fourteen prefectures and counties; they reached Guangji County and descended on Wuxue Town. Governor-General Lu Jianying of the Two Guangs led more than twenty thousand troops and fifteen hundred boats upstream; when he met the rebels he fled without a fight, his vanguard was annihilated, and Jianying fled in disgrace back to Jinling. The rebels pressed past Jiujiang downstream, gathered up cannon and equipment the government troops had abandoned, stormed Anqing, and Provincial Governor Jiang Wenqing was killed. The rebels seized untold silver and grain, advanced by land and water, reached Jinling, built twenty-four stockades along the walls, and equipped a fleet from Xingzhou Dasheng Pass all the way to Qizhouli; they besieged the city day and night, dug tunnels to undermine the walls, and the defenders collapsed in disorder. Jianying changed clothes and tried to flee, but the rebels killed him. General Xianghou, Vice Commander-in-Chief Huo Longwu, and others defended the Manchu quarter; on the second day the city fell and they all perished. More than forty thousand men and women died in the city, and more than three thousand eunuch boys were slaughtered to vent the fury of the long siege.
9
秀全既破金陵，遂建偽都，擁精兵六十餘萬。 群上頌稱明代後嗣，首謁明太祖陵，舉行祀典。 其祝詞曰：「不肖子孫洪秀全得光復我大明先帝南部疆土，登極南京，一遵洪武元年祖制。」 軍士夾道呼漢天子者三，頒登極制誥。 大封將卒，王分四等，侯為五等。 設天、地、春、夏、秋、冬六官丞相為六等，殿前三十六檢點為七等，殿前七十二指揮為八等，炎、水、木、金、土正副一百將軍為九等，炎、水、木、金、土九十五總制為十等，炎、水、木、金、土正副一百監軍為十一等，前、後、左、右、中九十五軍帥為十二等，前、後、左、右、中四百四十五師帥為十三等，前、後、左、右、中二千三百七十五旅帥為十四等，前、後、左、右、中一萬一千八百七十五卒長為十五等，前、後、左、右、中四萬七千五百兩司馬為十六等； 又自檢點以下至兩司馬，皆有職同名目。 其制大抵分朝內、軍中、守土三途：朝內官如掌朝門左右史之類，名目繁多，日新月異； 軍中官為總制、監軍、軍帥、師帥、旅帥、卒長、兩司馬，凡攻城略地，嘗以國宗或丞相領軍，而練士卒，分隊伍，屯營結壘，接陣進師，皆責成軍帥，由監軍總制上達於領兵大帥以取決焉，其大小相制，臂使指應，統系分明，甚得馭眾之道； 守土官為郡總制、州縣監軍、鄉軍帥、鄉師帥、鄉旅帥、鄉卒長、鄉兩司馬，凡地方獄訟錢糧，由軍帥、監軍區畫，而取成於總制，民事之重，皆得決之。
Once Xiuquan had taken Jinling he made it his capital and commanded more than six hundred thousand seasoned troops. His followers hailed him as a descendant of the Ming dynasty; he first paid homage at the tomb of the Ming founding emperor and performed the sacrificial rites. The prayer read, "The unworthy descendant Hong Xiuquan has recovered the southern territories of our Great Ming founding emperor, ascended the throne at Nanjing, and follows entirely the institutions of Hongwu's first year." Soldiers lining the road shouted "Son of Heaven of Han" three times, and the accession proclamation was promulgated. He enfeoffed his generals and soldiers on a grand scale, dividing kings into four grades and marquises into five. He established six grades of Chancellor for the Heaven, Earth, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Offices; thirty-six Hall Inspectors as the seventh grade; seventy-two Hall Commanders as the eighth; one hundred Generals of Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth as the ninth; ninety-five Chief Controllers as the tenth; one hundred Military Supervisors as the eleventh; ninety-five Army Chiefs for the front, rear, left, right, and center as the twelfth; four hundred forty-five Division Chiefs as the thirteenth; two thousand three hundred seventy-five Brigade Chiefs as the fourteenth; eleven thousand eight hundred seventy-five Company Chiefs as the fifteenth; and forty-seven thousand five hundred Platoon Chiefs as the sixteenth; From Inspectors down to Platoon Chiefs, every rank had defined duties and a matching title. The system fell broadly into three branches—court, army, and territorial administration: court officials such as keepers of the palace gates and left and right recorders multiplied in title and changed almost daily; army officials included Chief Controllers, Military Supervisors, Army Chiefs, Division Chiefs, Brigade Chiefs, Company Chiefs, and Platoon Chiefs; when storming cities or seizing territory they often placed a royal clansman or Chancellor at the head of the army, while drilling troops, dividing units, building camps and stockades, and advancing into battle were all the responsibility of the Army Chiefs, reported upward through Military Supervisors and Chief Controllers to the commanding general for final decision; ranks checked one another in a clear chain of command that moved like arm and fingers, and they were remarkably adept at controlling large forces; territorial officials included Prefectural Chief Controllers, District and County Military Supervisors, and Township Army, Division, Brigade, Company, and Platoon Chiefs; local lawsuits, taxes, and grain were organized by Army Chiefs and Military Supervisors and finalized by Chief Controllers, who could decide even the weightiest civil matters.
10
自都金陵，分兵攻克府、廳、州、縣，遂即其地分軍，立軍帥以下各官，而統於監軍，鎮以總制，監軍、總制受命於偽朝。 自軍帥至兩司馬為鄉官，鄉官者以其鄉人為之也。 軍帥兼理軍民之政，師帥、旅帥、卒長、兩司馬以次相承，皆如軍制。 此外又有女官，曰女軍師、女丞相、女檢點、女指揮、女將軍、女總制、女監軍、女軍帥、女卒長、女管長，即兩司馬也，共女官六千五百八十四人。 女軍四十，女兵十萬人，而職同官名目亦同。 總計男女官三十餘萬，而臨時增設及恩賞各偽職尚不在此數也。
Once Jinling became his capital he sent forces to capture prefectures, departments, districts, and counties, then in each place divided the armies, appointed officials from Army Chiefs downward, placed them under Military Supervisors and garrisoned them with Chief Controllers, all of whom received orders from the rebel court. From Army Chief down to Platoon Chief they served as township officials, drawn from the local populace of each township. The Army Chief handled both military and civilian government, while Division Chiefs, Brigade Chiefs, Company Chiefs, and Platoon Chiefs formed a descending chain modeled on the army organization. There were also female officials—Female Strategist, Female Chancellor, Female Inspector, Female Commander, Female General, Female Chief Controller, Female Military Supervisor, Female Army Chief, Female Company Chief, and Female Platoon Chief (equivalent to Platoon Chief)—six thousand five hundred eighty-four in all. They fielded forty women's armies with one hundred thousand women soldiers, whose duties and titles mirrored those of the men. Male and female officials together exceeded three hundred thousand, not counting temporary appointments or reward grants of false offices.
11
其軍制，每一軍領一萬二千五百人，以軍帥統之，總制、監軍監之。 其下則各轄五師帥，各分領二千五百人。 每師帥轄五旅帥，各分領五百人。 每旅帥轄五卒長，各分領百人。 每卒長轄四兩司馬，每兩司馬領伍長五人，伍卒二十人，共二十五人。
In their army system each corps mustered twelve thousand five hundred men under an Army Chief, with Chief Controllers and Military Supervisors supervising. Below them each army had five Division Chiefs, each commanding two thousand five hundred men. Each Division Chief oversaw five Brigade Chiefs, each with five hundred men. Each Brigade Chief oversaw five Company Chiefs, each with one hundred men. Each Company Chief commanded four Platoon Chiefs; each Platoon Chief led five Squad Chiefs and twenty soldiers—twenty-five men per platoon.
12
其陣法有四：曰牽陣法。 凡由此至彼，必下令作牽陣行走法。 每兩司馬執一旗，後隨二十五人。 百人則間卒長一旗，五百人則間旅帥一旗，二千五百人則間師帥一旗，一萬二千五百人則間軍帥一旗，軍帥、監軍、總制乘輿馬隨行。 一軍盡，一軍續進。 寬路則令雙行，狹路單行，魚貫以進。 凡行軍亂其行列者斬。 其牽線行走時，一遇敵軍，首尾蟠屈鉤連，頃刻岔集。 敗則聞敲金方退，仍牽線以行，不得斜奔旁逸。 曰螃蟹陣。 乃三隊平列陣也。 中一隊人數少，兩翼人數多。 其法視敵軍分幾隊，即變陣以應之。 如敵軍僅左右隊，即以中隊分益左右，亦為兩隊。 如敵軍前後各一隊，則分左右翼之前鋒為一隊，以後半與中一隊合而平列，為前隊接應。 如敵軍左右何隊兵多，則變偏左右翼以與之敵。 如敵軍分四五隊，亦分為四五隊次第迎拒。 其大陣包小陣法，或先以小隊嘗敵，後出大陣包之； 或詐敗誘敵追，伏兵四起以包敵軍，窮極變化。 至於損左益右，移後置前，臨時指揮，操之司令，兵士悉視大旗所往而奔赴之，無敢或後。 曰百鳥陣。 此陣用之平原曠野，以二十五人為一小隊，分百數十隊，散布如星，使敵軍驚疑，不知其數之多寡。 敵軍氣餒，即合而攻之。 曰伏地陣。 敵兵追北至山窮水阻之地，忽一旗偃，千旗齊偃，瞬息千里，皆伏地不見。 敵軍見前寂無一卒，詫異徘徊。 賊伏半時，忽一旗立，千旗齊立，急趨撲敵，往往轉敗為勝。
They had four battle formations. The first was the Linked Formation. Whenever they moved from one place to another, they ordered troops to march in the Linked Formation. Each Platoon Chief bore a banner with twenty-five men trailing behind. Every hundred men a Company Chief's banner appeared, every five hundred a Brigade Chief's, every two thousand five hundred a Division Chief's, and every twelve thousand five hundred an Army Chief's, while Army Chiefs, Military Supervisors, and Chief Controllers rode in carriages alongside. One army would finish passing before the next advanced. On wide roads they marched two abreast; on narrow roads single file, moving in a continuous line like a strung fish. Anyone who broke formation on the march was beheaded. If the linked column met the enemy while marching, front and rear would coil and link together, gathering into formation in an instant. In retreat they withdrew only at the sound of gongs, still keeping the linked formation and never bolting sideways or scattering. The second was the Crab Formation. It was a three-column formation deployed on a level front. The center column was smaller; both wings were larger. They watched how many enemy columns appeared and shifted formation to match. If the enemy fielded only left and right wings, they split the center to reinforce both sides, forming two columns. If the enemy advanced in front and rear columns, they detached the left and right vanguards into one column and merged the rear half with the center into a supporting front line. Whichever enemy wing was stronger, they angled the corresponding wing to meet it. If the enemy split into four or five columns, they fielded four or five columns in turn to meet them. For large formations enveloping small ones, they sometimes sent a small unit to probe the enemy, then deployed the main force to surround them; or they feigned defeat to draw pursuit, then ambush troops sprang up on every side to trap the enemy—endlessly varied. They could strip the left to reinforce the right or shift the rear to the front at a word from the commander; every soldier watched the great banner and rushed where it pointed, none daring to hang back. The third was the Hundred Birds Formation. Used on open ground, it broke the force into squads of twenty-five, scores or hundreds of them scattered like stars so the enemy could not tell how many they faced. Once enemy morale broke, the squads converged to attack. The fourth was the Ground-Lying Formation. When pursuit drove them into mountains or against water, one banner would drop and a thousand with it; in a flash their host vanished along miles of ground as if swallowed by the earth. The pursuers saw not a man ahead and halted in astonished confusion. After half a watch the rebels lay hidden; then one banner rose, a thousand rose with it, and they charged—often snatching victory from defeat.
13
其營壘或夾江、夾河、浮筏、阻山、據村市，及包敵營，為營動合古法。 每數營必立一望樓瞭敵。 守城無布帳，每五垛架木為板屋。 木牆、土牆亦環庋板屋。 地當敵衝，則浚重壕，築重牆，壕務寬深，密插竹簽。 重牆用雙層板片，約以橫木，虛其中如複壁，中填沙石塼土。 築二重牆築物無定，或密排樹株，或積鹽包、糖包，及水浸棉花包，異常堅固。 其攻城專恃地道，謂之鼇翻。 土營而外，又有木營、金營。 組織諸匠，各營以指揮統之。 其總制至兩司馬皆如土營之制。 立水營九軍，每軍以軍帥統之。 但未經訓練，不能作戰，專以船多威敵而已。
Their camps might span rivers, use pontoon rafts, cling to mountains, occupy market towns, or ring enemy encampments, all in ways that echoed classical encampment practice. Every few camps they built a watchtower to spy on the enemy. When defending cities they used no cloth tents; every five crenellations they built a wooden plank shelter on the wall. Wooden and earthen walls likewise had plank shelters ranged along them. On threatened ground they dug deep moats and raised double walls—moats as wide and deep as possible, thick with planted bamboo spikes. Double walls were twin board skins tied with crossbeams, hollow like a cavity wall and packed with sand, stone, and brick. Fill for double walls varied: they might plant trees in tight rows, stack salt or sugar sacks, or pack water-soaked cotton bales—making them extraordinarily strong. For sieges they relied chiefly on mining, which they called Turtle's Overturn. Besides the Earth Corps they had Wood and Metal Corps as well. They grouped craftsmen by corps, each under a Commander. From Chief Controller down to Platoon Chief their ranks mirrored the Earth Corps. They raised nine naval armies, each led by an Army Chief. These crews were untrained and could not fight; they counted only on numbers of ships to intimidate the enemy.
14
其旗幟亦有差等，偽東王黃綢旗，紅字綠緣，方一丈； 以下皆黃綢旗、紅字，而以緣別。 如偽西王白緣，偽南王紫緣，偽北王黑緣。 偽翼王藍緣，其尺丈長闊則以五寸遞減。 豫王、燕王皆黃綢尖旗、紅字、水紅緣，國宗黃綢尖旗、紅字。 其緣視何王國宗，即從何色，皆長闊八尺。 侯，黃綢尖旗，長闊七尺八寸。 丞相，黃綢尖旗，長闊七尺五寸。 檢點，黃綢尖旗，長闊七尺。 以上皆紅字、水紅緣。 指揮，黃綢尖旗，黑字、水紅緣，長闊六尺五寸。 將軍至兩司馬，皆黃旗無緣，形尖，黑字，自長闊六尺以下遞減至二尺五寸。 每一軍大小黃旗至六百五十六面之多。
Their banners too were graded: the false Eastern King flew yellow silk with red characters and a green border, one square zhang; below him all used yellow silk with red characters, the border color marking rank. The false Western King had a white border, the false Southern King purple, the false Northern King black. The false Winged King had a blue border; each lower rank lost five cun in length and width. The Princes of Yu and Yan carried pointed yellow silk with red characters and pink borders; royal clansmen carried pointed yellow silk with red characters. Border color matched one's prince or clansman; all were eight chi square. Marquises: pointed yellow silk banners, seven chi eight cun square. Chancellors: pointed yellow silk banners, seven chi five cun square. Inspectors: pointed yellow silk banners, seven chi square. All of these bore red characters with pink borders. Commanders: pointed yellow silk with black characters and pink border, six chi five cun square. From General down to Platoon Chief all flew plain pointed yellow banners without borders and with black characters, stepping down from six chi square to two chi five cun. A single army might carry as many as six hundred fifty-six yellow banners large and small.
15
軍中號令，惟擊鼓、敲金、吹螺、搖旗。 凡起行出隊，俱擂鼓、吹螺、搖旗以集眾。 打仗則擊鼓吶喊，收隊則鳴鉦。 有老軍、新軍、童子軍。 尤善用間諜，混入敵營。 又能取遠勢，聲東擊西，就虛避實，其以進為退，以退為進，往往令人不測，墮其術中。 此其行軍之大略也。
Army commands used only drums, gongs, conch horns, and banner signals. To march out or muster, they beat drums, blew conchs, and waved banners to gather the troops. In combat they drummed and shouted; to recall units they clanged gongs. They fielded veteran, new, and youth corps. They were especially adept at espionage, slipping agents into enemy camps. They seized distant advantages, feinted east and struck west, struck voids and avoided strength, and advanced as if retreating or retreated as if advancing—moves so unpredictable that opponents routinely fell into their traps. Such was the broad outline of their campaigning.
16
其服色尚黃。 偽天王金冠，雕鏤龍鳳，如圓規沙帽式，上繡滿天星斗，下繡一統山河，中留空格，鑿金為「天王」二字。 東王、北王、翼王冠如古兜鍪式，冠額繡雙龍單鳳，中立金字職銜。 國宗略同諸王式。 自檢點至兩司馬，皆獸頭兜鍪式，帽上龍以節數分等差。 如諸王九節，侯相七節，檢點、指揮、將軍五節，總制、監軍、軍帥三節是也。 袍服則黃龍袍、紅袍、黃紅馬褂。 偽天王黃緞袍，繡九龍。 自諸王以下至侯相，遞減至四龍。 檢點素黃袍，指揮至兩司馬皆素紅袍。 自偽王至兩司馬，皆繡職銜於馬褂前團內。 儀衞輿馬，諸王皆黃緞轎繡雲龍，侯、相、檢點、指揮皆紅緞轎，將軍、總制、監軍綠轎，軍帥、師帥、旅帥藍轎，卒長、兩司馬黑轎。
They favored yellow in dress. The false Heavenly King wore a golden crown carved with dragons and phoenixes in the style of a round gauze cap: stars across the upper band, mountains and rivers below, and a blank center inset with gilt characters reading Heavenly King. The Eastern, Northern, and Winged Kings wore helmet-style crowns with twin dragons and a single phoenix on the brow and gilt rank titles in the center. Royal clansmen followed the princes' style with little difference. From Inspector down to Platoon Chief all wore beast-head helmets, the dragon segments on the cap marking rank. Princes bore nine segments, marquises and chancellors seven, inspectors, commanders, and generals five, and chief controllers, military supervisors, and army chiefs three. Robes included yellow dragon gowns, red gowns, and yellow-red jackets. The false Heavenly King wore yellow satin embroidered with nine dragons. From princes down through marquises and chancellors the dragon count stepped down to four. Inspectors wore unadorned yellow robes; commanders through platoon chiefs wore plain red. From false kings down to platoon chiefs each embroidered his title in the roundel on the jacket breast. Ceremonial transport ran by rank: princes rode yellow satin sedans embroidered with cloud dragons; marquises, chancellors, inspectors, and commanders red satin; generals, chief controllers, and military supervisors green; army, division, and brigade chiefs blue; company and platoon chiefs black.
17
至金陵，始建宮室，毀總督署，復擴民居以廣其址，役夫萬餘，窮極奢麗。 雕鏤螭龍、鳥獸、花木，多以金為之。 偽王皆建偽府，馮雲山、蕭朝貴早授首，其子亦襲封建府。 其宗教制度，半效西洋。 日登高殿，集眾演說，與人民以自由權，解婦人拘束。 定偽律六十二條，最為慘酷。 然行軍嚴搶奪之令，官軍在三十里外，始准擄劫； 若官軍在前，有取民間尺布、百錢者，殺無赦。 於安慶大星橋設榷關，撥砲船十艘，環以鐵索，木筏橫截江濱，以防偷漏。 九江、蕪湖，及沿江州縣岔河、小港地當衝要者，一律設立偽卡，徵收雜稅。 此其建國大略也。
At Jinling they first raised palaces, razed the governor-general's compound, and seized more commoners' homes to widen the grounds—over ten thousand laborers toiled in extravagant splendor. Carvings of dragons, birds, beasts, and flowers were largely wrought in gold. Every false king maintained a false mansion; though Feng Yunshan and Xiao Chaogui had been executed early, their sons were enfeoffed and built mansions in turn. Their religious institutions were half modeled on Western practice. Each day they mounted the high hall to preach to the masses, proclaiming popular freedom and lifting constraints on women. They enacted sixty-two false statutes, among the most brutal known. Yet on campaign they enforced strict plunder rules: only when government troops lay thirty li distant might looting begin; if imperial forces were nearer, taking even a foot of cloth or a hundred cash from civilians meant summary execution. At Anqing's Great Star Bridge they set a revenue barrier, moored ten gunboats linked by iron chains, and stretched timber rafts across the shore to block smuggling. At Jiujiang, Wuhu, and every vital fork or inlet along the Yangtze they posted false customs stations to collect miscellaneous levies. Such was the broad outline of how they built their rebel state.
18
既都金陵，欲圖河北，羅大綱曰：「欲圖北必先定河南。 大駕駐河南，軍乃渡河，至皖、豫一出。 否則先定南九省，無內顧憂，然後三路出師：一出湘、楚； 一出漢中，疾趨咸陽； 以徐、揚席捲山左，再出山右，會獵燕都。 若懸軍深入，犯險無後援，必敗之道也。 且既都金陵，宜多備戰艦，精練水師，然後可戰可守。 若待粵之拖罟咸集長江，則運道梗矣。 今宜先備木筏，堵截江面，以待戰艦之成，猶可及也。」 秀清方專政，不納。 乃遣偽丞相林鳳祥、李開芳、羅大綱、曾立昌率眾東下，秀全詔之曰：「師行間道，疾趨燕都，無貪攻城奪地糜時日。」 大綱語人曰：「天下未定，乃欲安居此都，其能久乎？ 吾屬無類矣！」
After making Jinling their capital they turned toward Hebei; Luo Dagang said, "To march north you must first secure Henan. Place the imperial seat in Henan, then cross the river—a single thrust out of Anhui and Henan. Otherwise secure the nine southern provinces first so the rear is safe, then advance on three fronts: one through Hunan and Hubei; one through Hanzhong straight for Xianyang; and with Xu and Yang sweeping Shandong, then coming west of the mountains to rendezvous at the Yan capital. To drive deep alone without rear support is the sure road to defeat. And with Jinling as capital they should build a large fleet and train the navy thoroughly—only then could they fight and hold. If we wait until Guangdong's war junks all mass on the Yangtze, the grain route will be severed. We should prepare rafts now and seal the river while the fleet is built—it is not yet too late. Yang Xiuqing held sole power at the time and rejected the counsel. He then dispatched the rebel chancellors Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Luo Dagang, and Zeng Lichang eastward at the head of a great host. Xiuquan ordered them: "March by hidden routes, press swiftly on the Yan capital, and do not waste time besieging towns and seizing territory." Dagang told others, "The empire is not yet won, yet they mean to settle peacefully in this capital—how long can that endure? None of us will survive!"
19
二月，林鳳祥等陷鎮江、揚州，令吳如孝等留守，分據浦口、瓜洲諸隘。 向榮既復武昌，躡寇而東，抵金陵，軍孝陵衞，是謂江南大營。 都統琦善亦以欽差大臣率直隸、陝西、黑龍江馬步諸軍軍揚州城外，是謂江北大營。 三月，向榮破通濟門寇壘，襲占七橋甕，奪獲鍾山圍，殲寇無算，遂移大營逼城而軍。 四月，漕運總督楊殿邦進攻揚州，毀城外木城土壘，東路寇悉避入城。 琦善、勝保先後督攻，五戰皆捷。 鳳祥留立昌踞揚城，驅婦女及所劫貨財運回金陵； 率三十六軍北竄，分擾滁州，踞臨淮關，陷鳳陽府。 其酋朱錫錕、黃益芸等別率悍黨犯浦口，攻六合，知縣溫紹原率鄉團拒之，夜火其營，寇遁回金陵。 五月，大兵圍揚州，殺敵逾萬。 勝保自揚州躡其後，力攻鳳陽，寇遁河南。
In the second month Lin Fengxiang and his commanders seized Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, left Wu Ruxiao and others to garrison them, and posted troops at the passes of Pukou and Guazhou. After Xiang Rong recovered Wuchang he pursued the rebels east to Jinling and encamped at Xiaolingwei—the force known as the Jiangnan Grand Camp. Military governor Qishan likewise marched as Imperial Commissioner at the head of Zhili, Shaanxi, and Heilongjiang horse and foot to camp outside Yangzhou—the Jiangbei Grand Camp. In the third month Xiang Rong stormed the rebel works at Tongji Gate, seized Qiqiao'ao by surprise, and took Zhongshanwei, slaughtering rebels beyond count before shifting the grand camp to press the walls. In the fourth month Grain Transport Governor Yang Dianbang attacked Yangzhou, tore down the wooden walls and earthen works outside the walls, and the eastern rebels all withdrew into the city. Qishan and Senggebao took command in turn; five engagements, five victories. Fengxiang left Lichang to hold Yangzhou, drove women and loot back to Jinling; and led thirty-six columns north in flight, raiding Chuzhou, seizing Linhuai Pass, and capturing Fengyang Prefecture. Their chiefs Zhu Xikun and Huang Yiyun led fierce bands against Pukou and Luhe; Magistrate Wen Shaoyuan rallied the militia, burned their camp by night, and the rebels fled back to Jinling. In the fifth month the imperial army besieged Yangzhou and killed more than ten thousand rebels. Senggebao pursued from Yangzhou, stormed Fengyang, and the rebels fled into Henan.
20
楊秀清遣偽丞相吉文元由浦口竄亳州，偕林鳳祥陷永城，犯開封。 省官兵擊破之，又敗之汜水。 寇奔黃河渡口，溺死無算。 楊秀清遣偽豫王胡以晃陷安慶，又遣偽丞相賴漢英、石祥禎攻九江、湖口，進圍南昌。 湖北按察使江忠源馳援江西，入城固守。 鳳祥等自汜水敗退，犯鄭州、滎陽。 六月，圍懷慶，以地道攻城，不克。 鎮江寇出城撲我軍，戰北固山下，伏寇縱火，七營皆被焚。 鄧紹良退守丹陽，都司劉廷鍈等督潮勇馳援。 寇退入城，復擾丹徒鎮，劉廷鍈復擊退之。 向榮檄總兵和春與劉廷鍈紥徒陽運河之新豐鎮，寇始不敢南竄，常州獲安。 寇之圍懷慶也，立木柵為城，深溝高壘，我兵相持幾至六旬。 訥爾經額親督諸將分五路攻壘，毀其木柵，斃敵酋吉文元。 鳳祥受重創，解圍而遁，河北肅清。
Yang Xiuqing sent the rebel Chancellor Ji Wenyuan from Pukou toward Bozhou; with Lin Fengxiang he seized Yongcheng and struck at Kaifeng. Provincial troops routed them and defeated them again at Sishui. The rebels fled to a Yellow River crossing; countless drowned. Yang Xiuqing sent the rebel King of Yu Hu Yihuang to seize Anqing and dispatched the rebel chancellors Lai Hanying and Shi Xiangzhen against Jiujiang and Hukou, then on to besiege Nanchang. Jiang Zhongyuan, surveillance commissioner of Hubei, rushed to Jiangxi, entered the city, and held it fast. Fengxiang and his commanders, beaten back from Sishui, struck at Zhengzhou and Xingyang. In the sixth month they besieged Huaiqing and tried mining the walls, but could not take the city. Rebels at Zhenjiang sallied against our troops; below Beigu Hill ambushers set fires that consumed seven camps. Deng Shaoliang fell back on Danyang while Battalion Commander Liu Tingjun led Chaozhou braves to the rescue. The rebels withdrew into the city, then raided Dantu; Liu Tingjun drove them off again. Xiang Rong ordered Commander He Chun and Liu Tingjun to encamp at Xinfeng on the Ziyang Canal; the rebels no longer dared flee south, and Changzhou was secured. While besieging Huaiqing the rebels ringed themselves with wooden palisades, deep trenches, and high ramparts; our troops faced them for nearly sixty days. Ne'erjing'e personally led his generals in a five-pronged assault, smashed their palisades, and killed the rebel chief Ji Wenyuan. Fengxiang was gravely wounded, lifted the siege and fled, and Hebei was pacified.
21
八月，鳳祥竄山西，陷平陽，直抵洪洞； 竄直隸，踞臨洺關，擾至深州。 賴漢英等解南昌圍，入湖北，踞田家鎮之半壁山。 九月，踞入楚要隘，水陸並進，陷黃州。 其竄深州者，旁擾欒城。 十月，竄天津，踞靜海，屯獨流、楊柳青諸鎮。 漢陽之寇，分股北竄：一陷孝感、黃陂諸縣，一由應城犯德安府，為防兵所遏，合眾退黃州。 秦日綱等陷安徽桐城、舒城，侍郎呂賢基死之。 舒城既失，賊遂徑撲廬州，陷之。 廬州者，安徽文武大吏之所僑寓以為省治者也。 十一月，秀全以揚州、鎮江攻圍急，遣賴漢英等領江西眾，糾合儀徵黨援揚州； 又令由安徽寧國灣沚進薄高淳湖，窺伺東壩，圖解鎮江之圍，我軍均擊退之。 寇復由三汊河進撲，死戰不退。 揚州寇曾立昌突出，與賴漢英同竄瓜洲。
In the eighth month Fengxiang fled into Shanxi, seized Pingyang, and pressed on to Hongdong; then fled into Zhili, seized Linming Pass, and raided as far as Shenzhou. Lai Hanying and his commanders lifted the siege of Nanchang, entered Hubei, and seized Banbishan at Tianjia town. In the ninth month they seized the vital passes of Chu, advanced by land and water, and took Huangzhou. The band that had fled to Shenzhou raided Luancheng on the flank. In the tenth month they fled to Tianjin, seized Jinghai, and garrisoned Duliujiu, Yangliuqing, and neighboring towns. Rebels at Hanyang split north: one column seized Xiaogan, Huangpi, and neighboring counties; another from Yingcheng struck De'an Prefecture, was blocked by defensive troops, reunited, and withdrew to Huangzhou. Qin Rigang and his commanders seized Tongcheng and Shucheng in Anhui; Vice Minister Lü Xianji was killed. Once Shucheng fell, the rebels struck straight at Luzhou and seized it. Luzhou was where Anhui's civil and military officials had made their temporary provincial seat. In the eleventh month, with Yangzhou and Zhenjiang under heavy siege, Xiuquan sent Lai Hanying at the head of Jiangxi forces and rallied Yizheng rebels to relieve Yangzhou; he also ordered a column through Ningguo and Wanzhi in Anhui toward Gaochun Lake to watch Dongba and break the siege of Zhenjiang; our troops repulsed every thrust. The rebels again advanced from Sanhe River and fought to the death without yielding. Zeng Lichang broke out of Yangzhou and fled with Lai Hanying to Guazhou.
22
上以寇擾長江，非立水師不能制其死命，乃命在籍侍郎曾國藩練鄉勇、創水師討寇。 初，寇圍南昌，城外寇壘僅文孝廟數座，官軍屢攻不能克。 郭嵩燾偶獲諜訊之，則寇皆舟居，其壘則環三面築牆而虛其後，專蔽舟楫而已。 嵩燾因與江忠源議曰：「東南州縣多阻水，江湖遇風，一日可數百里。 官軍率由陸路躡寇，其勢常不及。 長江數千里之險獨為敵有。 且寇上犯以舟楫，而官軍以營壘禦之，求與一戰而不可得，宜寇勢之日昌也。」 忠源即具疏請飭湖南北、四川仿廣東拖罟船式，各造戰艦數千，飭廣東製備砲位以供戰艦之用，並交曾國藩督帶部署，奉旨允行。 國藩遂治戰船於衡湘，至是始成。 共募水勇四千，分為十營； 募陸勇五千，亦分十營。 以塔齊布為軍鋒。 國藩親統大軍發衡州，水陸夾江而下。
The Emperor judged that with rebels harrying the Yangtze only a navy could break their power, and ordered the retired Vice Minister Zeng Guofan to drill militia and build a river fleet to suppress them. When the rebels first besieged Nanchang their outworks numbered only a few around Wenxiao Temple; imperial troops attacked again and again without success. Guo Songtao chanced upon intelligence revealing that the rebels lived entirely on boats; their forts were walled on three sides with the rear left open—mere screens for their fleet. Songtao said to Jiang Zhongyuan, "The southeast is a country of rivers and lakes; with a fair wind a fleet can run hundreds of li in a day. Imperial troops mostly pursue by land and rarely catch up. For thousands of li along the Yangtze the enemy holds the river alone. The rebels strike upstream by boat while we answer with earthworks; we can scarcely bring them to battle—no wonder their power grows day by day. Zhongyuan memorialized at once that Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan should build thousands of warships on the Guangdong tow-net model, that Guangdong should furnish guns for them, and that Zeng Guofan should command the fleet; the throne approved. Guofan had been building warships at Hengyang and Xiangtan; by now the fleet was ready. He raised four thousand sailors in ten battalions; and five thousand foot soldiers in ten more. Ta Qibu led the vanguard. Guofan marched from Hengzhou at the head of the host, land and river columns moving down the stream together.
23
初，鎮江、揚州、儀徵、瓜洲四處寇互相應援，不得破。 十二月，琦善以揚州寇退，瓜洲勢孤，督軍攻復儀徵，乘勝追抵瓜洲。 楊秀清遣胡以晃率黨十餘萬攻廬州，巡撫江忠源晝夜抵禦，以眾寡不敵，城陷，死之。 四年正月，黃州寇張燈高會，總督吳文鎔出其不意襲之，會大雪罷戰。 越數日，秀清分兵設伏山崗，命其黨率城軍撲營，文鎔拒戰，伏起火發，十三營皆潰，文鎔死之。 賊乘勝遂陷漢陽。 二月，揚州軍進剿瓜洲，總兵瞿騰龍陣亡。 寇遣偽將孫寅山陷太平府，踞為巢。 自瓜洲結壘屬於江，以達金陵，往來不絕。 秀清復遣石祥禎會漢、黃寇黨溯江直上，陷岳州，溯流至銅官渚，逼近長沙。 曾國藩邀之靖港，而寇已由間道襲湘潭，副將塔齊布率兵千三百同水師血戰五晝夜，斃寇數萬。 論者謂微此戰，寇溯湘源以達粵，直下金陵，首尾一江相貫注，大局不可支矣。
At first the rebels at Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Yizheng, and Guazhou supported one another and could not be broken. In the twelfth month, with the Yangzhou rebels withdrawn and Guazhou isolated, Qishan recovered Yizheng and pressed the pursuit to Guazhou. Yang Xiuqing sent Hu Yihuang at the head of more than a hundred thousand rebels against Luzhou; Governor Jiang Zhongyuan resisted day and night, but outnumbered, the city fell and he perished. In the first month of the fourth year the rebels at Huangzhou feasted by lantern light; Governor Wu Weng struck by surprise, but heavy snow ended the fighting. Days later Xiuqing set ambushes on the hills and ordered his followers to lead the garrison in a camp assault; Wu Weng met them in battle, but fires broke out on every flank; thirteen camps were routed and Wu Weng was killed. The rebels pressed their victory and seized Hanyang. In the second month the Yangzhou force advanced on Guazhou; Commander Qu Tenglong fell in battle. The rebels sent the rebel general Sun Yinshan to seize Taiping Prefecture and made it their stronghold. From Guazhou they strung forts along the river to Jinling, and traffic between them never ceased. Xiuqing again sent Shi Xiangzhen with the Han and Huang rebel columns upriver; they seized Yuezhou, pushed upstream to Tongguan shoal, and threatened Changsha. Zeng Guofan met them at Jinggang, but the rebels had already struck Xiangtan by a hidden route; Deputy Commander Ta Qibu with thirteen hundred men and the fleet fought five days and nights of bloody combat and killed tens of thousands of rebels. Later writers said that but for this battle the rebels might have traced the Xiang to its headwaters in Guangdong and then swept down to Jinling, the whole river one continuous rebel highway—and the empire could not have held.
24
是月，參贊大臣僧格林沁攻克獨流寇巢，靜海寇復竄踞阜城。 僧格林沁攻毀堆村、連村、林家場三處寇壘，擒殺偽指揮、監軍以下一百餘人，悉遁入城。 秀全念河北不能支，遣皖黨由豐豆工偷渡黃河，竄山東金鄉，進撲臨清州，冀抒阜城之困。 三月，寇以地雷陷城，尋為我軍攻復，竄冠縣、鄆城，復據曹縣，築木城拒守。 四月，勝保破其巢，追至漫口支河，逼溺水，偽丞相曾立昌、許宗揚皆溺死。 偽副丞相陳世保已先於冠縣燒斃，悉數殲除。 踞阜城者即於是日全股南竄入連鎮。 僧格林沁及勝保會軍合剿破之，誅林鳳祥； 復破之高唐州馮官屯，生擒李開芳，磔之京市。 河北肅清，是後不復北犯，我軍遂無後顧憂。
That month Consultant Minister Senggelinqin took the rebel nest at Duliujiu; the Jinghai rebels fled again and seized Fucheng. Senggelinqin stormed the rebel works at Duicun, Liancun, and Linjiachang, killed or captured more than a hundred rebel commanders and staff officers, and the survivors fled into the city. Seeing Hebei failing, Xiuquan sent Anhui rebels across the Yellow River at the Fengdou crossing into Shandong at Jinxian, then struck at Linqing Prefecture to relieve the siege of Fucheng. In the third month the rebels mined a city wall and took it, but our troops soon recaptured it; they fled through Guan county and Yuncheng, reoccupied Cao county, and threw up wooden walls to hold out. In the fourth month Senggebao destroyed their stronghold and pursued them to the Mankou branch channel, driving them into the water; the rebel chancellors Zeng Lichang and Xu Zongyang drowned. The rebel Vice Chancellor Chen Shibao had already been burned to death at Guan county; the force was wiped out to the last man. The rebels holding Fucheng fled south that same day in a body to Lian town. Senggelinqin and Senggebao joined forces, broke the rebels, and executed Lin Fengxiang; then defeated them again at Fengguantun in Gaotang Prefecture, took Li Kaifang alive, and had him dismembered in the capital. Hebei was pacified; the rebels never marched north again, and our armies fought without fear for the rear.
25
初，長江為寇往來道，荊州當四路之衝，至省道梗，特召荊州將軍官文統軍討寇。 時沔陽、安陸、荊門、監利、京山、天門均陷，進窺荊州。 雲南普洱營游擊王國才奉調至，一戰敗之，重鎮始安。 並克復監利、宜昌，寇遁洞庭湖，合股犯常德府。 先是李侍賢常與陳玉成、李秀成謀解金陵圍，犯江西、福建。 偽啟王梁成先犯陝西，後與捻合，欲犯湖南、河南，而陳玉成志在武昌、漢陽，乃領一隊入梁子湖達武昌，渡江分犯，以全力圖武昌，六月，陷之，並踞漢陽。 巡撫青麟自縊不死，棄城走，尋正法。 秀全以秦日綱留守武昌，授玉成偽殿右十八指揮； 還陷田家鎮，破廣濟、黃梅，連陷九江，升偽殿右三十檢點。
The Yangtze had become the rebels' highway; Jingzhou stood at the crossing of four routes; when the provincial roads were cut, the Jingzhou general Guanwen was summoned to command the suppression. Mianyang, Anlu, Jingmen, Jianli, Jingshan, and Tianmen had all fallen, and the rebels pressed toward Jingzhou. Wang Guocai, patrol officer of Yunnan's Pu'er battalion, arrived on orders and routed them in a single battle; the great town was saved. He also recovered Jianli and Yichang; the rebels fled onto Dongting Lake and united to strike Changde Prefecture. Earlier Li Shixian had often joined Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng in plans to raise the siege of Jinling by striking into Jiangxi and Fujian. The rebel Prince Qi Liang Chengxian struck Shaanxi first, later joined the Nian rebels, and meant to invade Hunan and Henan; but Chen Yucheng set his heart on Wuchang and Hanyang, led a column through Liangzi Lake to Wuchang, crossed the river in separate thrusts, and threw his full strength at Wuchang; in the sixth month he took it and seized Hanyang as well. Governor Qing Lin tried to hang himself but failed, fled the city, and was soon executed. Xiuquan left Qin Rigang to garrison Wuchang and made Yucheng rebel Commander of the Palace Right, Eighteenth Rank; he returned to seize Tianjia town, stormed Guangji and Huangmei, took Jiujiang in succession, and was promoted to rebel Inspector of the Palace Right, Thirtieth Rank.
26
楊秀清雖在軍，而金陵之事一決於己，驛騎絡繹，多稽時日。 向榮軍孝陵衞，稱江南勁旅，秀清憂之，既克武昌，遂馳還金陵，命石達開代守武漢。 官文自荊州下剿，克沔陽。 初，寇欲先取長沙，踞上游為破竹之勢，而韋志俊略湘潭不得志，退踞岳州，築壘毀橋，意圖久抗。 我軍水師設伏誘敗之，七月，復岳州。 寇由城陵磯來犯，我軍分五路迎擊，斃偽丞相汪得勝等二人，獲船七十六，殲賊千餘人。 塔齊布陣斬悍酋偽丞相曾天養。 閏七月，寇奔城陵磯，塔齊布策馬率湘勇直入，毀營十三，斃二千人。 陸軍既勝，曾國藩飭李孟羣率水師追剿，荊河東、西兩岸寇壘悉夷。 自此由荊入川，由岳州入湘，門戶始固。 初，武昌失陷，上以楊霈代總督，台勇克京山、安陸，復天門，生擒孔昭文等正法。 餘皆下竄，踞沔陽州仙桃鎮。 是月破其巢，並收復下游孝感、黃州、麻城諸縣。 寇悉竄黃州。
Though Yang Xiuqing was in the field, every decision at Jinling rested with him; dispatches poured in and out, and campaigns lost days to the relay. Xiang Rong's camp at Xiaolingwei was reckoned the finest army in the south; Xiuqing feared it; after Wuchang fell he raced back to Jinling and left Shi Dakai to hold Wuhan. Guanwen marched down from Jingzhou and recovered Mianyang. The rebels had meant to seize Changsha first and hold the upper river for a rolling conquest; but Wei Zhijun failed at Xiangtan, fell back on Yuezhou, fortified the place, and broke the bridges for a long defense. Our fleet ambushed and routed them; in the seventh month Yuezhou was recovered. Rebels attacked from Chenglingji; our forces met them on five fronts, killed the rebel chancellors Wang Desheng and another, captured seventy-six boats, and destroyed more than a thousand rebels. Ta Qibu cut down the fierce rebel chancellor Zeng Tianyang in the line of battle. In the intercalary seventh month the rebels fled to Chenglingji; Ta Qibu spurred his horse, led the Hunan braves straight in, destroyed thirteen camps, and killed two thousand. With the land victory won, Zeng Guofan ordered Li Mengqun to pursue with the fleet; rebel works on both banks of the Jing River were leveled. From then on the gateways from Jingzhou into Sichuan and from Yuezhou into Hunan were secure. Earlier, after Wuchang fell, the emperor replaced the governor-general with Yang Pei. Tai Yong's forces captured Jingshan and Anlu, retook Tianmen, and took Kong Zhaowen and others alive; they were then executed. The rest fled south and occupied Xiantao in Mianyang Prefecture. That month government forces destroyed the rebel stronghold and also retook downstream counties including Xiaogan, Huangzhou, and Macheng. The rebels all fled toward Huangzhou.
27
時金陵寇分股嘯聚於太平府，與鎮江遙為應援。 向榮分兵四隊擊之，斃其偽國宗韋得玲、偽檢點陳贄見、偽將軍李長有、偽總制吳春和，遂復府城。 楊秀清自率戰，圍軍不利，三路皆潰； 退入城，謂韋昌輝等曰：「江南大營不走，吾輩無安枕日矣！ 現其勢方銳，不可敵也。 當乘其罷徐圖之。」 金陵寇以乏糧，驅婦女之老而無色者出城，聽其自散。 盡取年十五以上、五十以下之婦女，指配給眾，不從則殺之，守志者多自盡，死者萬計。 八月，總督楊霈收復黃州府屬蘄水、廣濟、羅田諸縣。 曾國藩自克岳州後，議乘勝東下，先與塔齊布會攻崇陽，克之，生擒偽丞相金之亨等十一人。 惟廖二逃竄，復句結餘黨，重失縣城。 國藩親督水陸諸軍攻武昌、漢陽。 寇守城之法，不守陴而守險，洪山、花園兩路皆精銳所在。 大軍自螺山下剿，楊載福等率水師，羅澤南率陸師，三路同進，連克寇壘，焚毀敵船數千。 李孟羣、塔齊布進薄武昌，寇宵遁。 楊昌泗亦攻漢陽，克之。 黃州府城、武昌縣均收復。 九月，提督和春敗寇廬江，擒偽監軍任大綱等十七名。
Meanwhile rebel detachments from Nanjing had gathered at Taiping Prefecture, coordinating from afar with their comrades at Zhenjiang. Xiang Rong attacked in four columns, killing the rebel leaders Wei Deling, Chen Zanjian, Li Changyou, and Wu Chunhe, and retook the prefectural seat. Yang Xiuqing led the fight himself, but the siege went badly and all three columns were routed; He withdrew into the city and told Wei Changhui and the others, "As long as the Jiangnan Grand Camp stays put, we will never sleep easy again! Their momentum is too strong to fight head-on. We must wait until they tire, then strike by degrees." The Nanjing rebels, short of food, expelled elderly women they deemed unattractive from the city and let them go where they would. They seized every woman between fifteen and fifty and assigned them to the ranks; those who refused were killed, and many who would not yield took their own lives—tens of thousands died. In the eighth month, Governor-General Yang Pei retook Qishui, Guangji, Luotian, and other counties in Huangzhou Prefecture. After Zeng Guofan captured Yuezhou, he planned to drive east while momentum held. He and Ta Qibu jointly attacked Chongyang, took the city, and captured eleven rebels alive, including the false chancellor Jin Zhiheng. But Liao Er escaped, rallied the remaining rebels, and the county seat was lost again. Guofan personally directed the combined land and naval forces against Wuchang and Hanyang. The rebels defended not the walls but the high ground; their best troops held the Hongshan and Huayuan approaches. The main force attacked from Luoshan. Yang Zaifu commanded the fleet, Luo Zenan the infantry; all three columns advanced together, storming rebel strongpoints in succession and burning thousands of enemy boats. Li Mengqun and Ta Qibu pressed up to Wuchang, and the rebels fled under cover of night. Yang Changsi attacked Hanyang as well and captured it. Both Huangzhou city and Wuchang county were retaken. In the ninth month, Commander-in-Chief He Chun routed the rebels at Lujiang and took seventeen prisoners, including the false military overseer Ren Dagang.
28
下游知官軍分路進剿，乃由田家鎮糾黨六千餘，一由興國分抄大冶以拒武昌軍，一踞興國以拒金牛軍。 羅澤南馳至興國，敗之，克州城。 塔齊布赴大冶，擊斃千餘。 彭玉麟、楊載福抵蘄州，燒寇船九十餘艘。 十月，楚軍攻半壁山，寇置橫江鐵鎖四道，攔以木牌，遍列槍砲。 楊載福等率水師至田家鎮，會陸師進攻，乘風縱火，破其壘，燔舟一萬有奇。 陳玉成棄蘄州竄陷廣濟，聯合秦日綱、羅大綱等分扼要隘。 塔齊布渡江追之，收復廣濟。 寇退踞黃梅，黃梅為湖北、江西、安徽三省總匯之區。 寇死拒，以萬餘守小池口抗水師，以數萬拒大河埔，以萬餘紥北城外，又以數千游弋聯絡之。 塔齊布與羅澤南登山下擊兜殺，陳玉成縋城而逸，遂克黃梅。 玉成自請罪，而秀成反加偽勳號曰成天裕。
Hearing that imperial forces were advancing on several fronts, downstream rebels mustered more than six thousand men at Tianjia Town: one column from Xingguo would strike Daye and block the Wuchang army, while another held Xingguo against the Jinniu force. Luo Zenan hurried to Xingguo, routed them, and captured the prefectural seat. Ta Qibu marched to Daye and killed more than a thousand rebels. Peng Yulin and Yang Zaifu reached Qizhou and burned more than ninety rebel boats. In the tenth month the Chu army assaulted Banbishan. The rebels stretched four iron chains across the river, backed them with wooden barriers, and lined the works with guns. Yang Zaifu led the fleet to Tianjia Town, joined the land forces in the assault, and used the wind to set fires that broke the rebel works and destroyed more than ten thousand boats. Chen Yucheng abandoned Qizhou, fled into Guangji, and joined Qin Rigang, Luo Dagang, and others in holding the strategic passes. Ta Qibu crossed the river in pursuit and retook Guangji. The rebels withdrew to Huangmei, a junction where Hubei, Jiangxi, and Anhui met. The rebels fought to the last: more than ten thousand held Xiaochikou against the fleet, tens of thousands blocked Dahepu, over ten thousand camped north of the walls, and several thousand more skirmished to keep the positions linked. Ta Qibu and Luo Zenan attacked from the heights and slaughtered the encircled rebels. Chen Yucheng lowered himself from the wall by rope and escaped, and Huangmei fell. Yucheng asked to be punished, but Xiucheng instead bestowed on him the false title Chengtianyu.
29
時捻匪蠭起，粵寇與之聯合，或令分擾，或令前驅，以牽制我軍。 秀成由廬州踞舒城，並扼桐城大、小二關，阻我南路之師。 二關為安慶通衢，屢復屢失。 京堂袁甲三檄參將劉玉豹、舉人臧紆青等戰奪兩關，斬其目吳鳳珠等十二名，進抵桐城。 廬江寇糾安慶黨來援，我軍兜戮殆盡，而潛山援寇復至，臧紆青歿於陣。
Nian bandits were rising everywhere, and the Taiping rebels allied with them—sometimes sending them to raid on the flanks, sometimes to march ahead—to pin down imperial forces. Xiucheng advanced from Luzhou to hold Shucheng and seized the great and small passes at Tongcheng, blocking the southern imperial column. The two passes were the main road to Anqing and changed hands again and again. Inspector Yuan Jiasan ordered Regiment Commander Liu Yubao, Licentiate Zang Shuqing, and others into battle; they retook both passes, beheaded twelve rebels including the officer Wu Fengzhu, and advanced on Tongcheng. Lujiang rebels summoned reinforcements from Anqing; imperial troops nearly annihilated them in the encirclement, but when relief forces from Qianshan arrived, Zang Shuqing was killed in action.
30
十一月，國藩進軍九江。 玉成自黃梅敗後，復糾安慶新到之眾踞孔壠驛、小池口，與對岸九江相句連。 李孟羣七戰七捷。 塔齊布與羅澤南等由北岸進至濯港，進攻孔壠驛，破土城，縱火焚街市，寇無得脫者。 小池口寇聞之，亦遁。 乃調陸軍攻九江，水師乘勝攻湖口，大綱趨救，大戰梅家洲，燬小河簰船、沙洲橋壘。 十二月，蕭捷三率水師馳入鄱陽湖內，追至大姑塘。 石達開聯船為卡斷其後，捷三不能返，遂與外江水師隔絕。 達開潛以小舟馳襲國藩坐船，國藩跳入羅澤南營以免。 大軍之攻九江也，敗寇收合潰散，分三道東陷黃梅。 值歲除，潛至廣濟，火楊霈大營，霈突圍出，不敢入武昌，走保德安。
In the eleventh month, Guofan marched on Jiujiang. After his defeat at Huangmei, Yucheng rallied fresh troops from Anqing at Konglu Post and Xiaochikou, linking his position with Jiujiang across the river. Li Mengqun fought seven engagements and won every one. Ta Qibu and Luo Zenan advanced along the north bank to Zhuogang and assaulted Konglu Post. They breached the earthen walls, burned the streets, and left no rebel alive. Hearing this, the rebels at Xiaochikou fled as well. The land army was then turned on Jiujiang while the fleet pressed the attack at Hukou. Dagang rushed to the rescue; at Meijiazhou a fierce battle destroyed the rebel river rafts and sandbar fortifications. In the twelfth month, Xiao Jiesan led the fleet into Poyang Lake in pursuit as far as Dagutang. Shi Dakai chained his boats into a barrier across their rear. Jiesan could not get back and was cut off from the fleet on the main river. Dakai secretly sent light boats to attack Guofan's flagship. Guofan leaped into Luo Zenan's camp and escaped. While the main force besieged Jiujiang, defeated rebels regrouped and in three columns marched east to retake Huangmei. On New Year's Eve they slipped into Guangji and burned Yang Pei's headquarters. Pei broke out of the encirclement but dared not re-enter Wuchang and fled to De'an.
31
五年正月，江蘇巡撫吉爾杭阿克上海縣，縣自三年秋陷於賊，至是始復。 秀全令皖寇大舉犯湖北，中道自小池口沿江陷黃、蘄； 復分黨從富池渡江西，陷興國、通城、崇陽、咸寧、通山，且掠江西武寧，所至脅眾以行。 湖北巡撫陶恩培甫蒞任數日，時總督在外，未及議守備。 城中兵僅二千，徵兵半途聞警皆潰去。 湖北、江西方千里，旬日騷然矣。 始寇之起，所行無留難。 其踞省府，脅取民財米。 行道掠人夫，不用則遣還，未嘗增眾。 及屢敗，乃結土寇屯城鎮，頗收拔悍鷙者，而任用石達開、陳玉成等，極稱得人之盛。 自漢口進襄河，上犯漢川，擾沔陽，進犯武昌，踞漢陽府城。 沿江築壘，並於漢陽下南岸嘴高築砲臺，以阻下游之師。 時江西寇入腹地陷饒州。 國藩親至南昌，修整內湖水師，與羅澤南陸軍相依。
In the first month of the fifth year, Jiangsu Governor Ji'erhang'e retook Shanghai County, which had been in rebel hands since the autumn of the third year. Xiucheng ordered a major rebel thrust into Hubei from Anhui; marching from Xiaochikou down the Yangtze, they seized Huangzhou and Qizhou; other columns crossed the river at Fuchi and swept west through Xingguo, Tongcheng, Chongyang, Xianning, and Tongshan, raiding as far as Wuning in Jiangxi and pressing civilians to march with them wherever they went. Hubei Governor Tao Enpei had been in office only a few days; the governor-general was away, and there was no time to organize a defense. The city held barely two thousand troops; conscripts summoned on the road heard the alarm and scattered. Within ten days a thousand li of Hubei and Jiangxi were in uproar. When the rebels first rose, they met almost no resistance on the march. Once they held a provincial capital, they extorted grain and money from the people. On the march they seized porters but released those they did not need, and rarely swelled their ranks. After repeated defeats they allied with local bandits, garrisoned towns, recruited the fiercest fighters, and put Shi Dakai, Chen Yucheng, and others in command—boasting that they had found the right men at last. From Hankou they advanced up the Han, raided Hanchuan, harassed Mianyang, pressed on Wuchang, and occupied Hanyang. They fortified the riverbank and built high batteries at Zuianzui south of Hanyang to block imperial forces coming upriver. Meanwhile Jiangxi rebels penetrated the interior and took Raozhou. Guofan went to Nanchang in person, rebuilt the lake fleet, and coordinated with Luo Zenan's infantry.
32
二月，韋國宗等攻陷武昌，巡撫陶恩培等死之。 寇溯漢江而上，以岳家口、仙桃鎮為老巢。 上以胡林翼巡撫湖北，國藩進吳城鎮，屢書與議東南大勢，以武昌據金陵上游，宜厚集兵力為恢復計。 四月，陷德安府，楊霈退走襄陽，上褫其職，以官文為湖廣總督。 國藩屯南康，思整軍出江謀進取，然寇已由都昌陷饒州，別由東流、建德窺樂平，屯景德鎮，東犯祁門、休寧諸處。 而湘軍僅萬餘人，水陸分為四：李孟羣等水師回援武昌，塔齊布留攻九江，羅澤南入江西攻饒州，國藩收蕭捷三水師三營屯南康。 羅澤南奔走往來，克廣信府，收景德。 寇之踞徽州者，與土匪相結，據險以抗我軍。 浙軍出境擊寇，復徽州，乘勝克休寧、黟縣、婺源，生擒偽將軍、兩司馬等八名。 秀全命北固山、鎮江、瓜洲、金山四路，約期進犯揚州。 托明阿伏兵九洑洲，迎擊破之，斷鐵鎖船鍊，焚船三百。 諸路寇被創而遁。 饒州之寇分據樂平、德興、弋陽，江西軍率水陸師往剿。 寇出五隊來撲，不克而奔，郡城立復。 秀全以金陵山三山為濱江要區，以精卒守之，水師不能上駛。 托明阿督水師總兵吳全美沿江掃蕩，焚船二百餘艘，獲拖罟、快蟹等船二十五艘、大小砲八十餘尊，生擒偽先鋒陳長順等六十一名。 吳全美乘勢上山，蹋平營卡。 江西肅清，水師始棹行無阻。
In the second month, Wei Guozong and others captured Wuchang; Governor Tao Enpei and others were killed. The rebels pushed up the Han, making Yuejiakou and Xiantao their strongholds. The emperor appointed Hu Linyi governor of Hubei. Guofan advanced to Wucheng and wrote repeatedly on the strategic situation in the southeast: Wuchang lay upstream of Nanjing, he argued, and a major force should be assembled to retake it. In the fourth month De'an fell. Yang Pei retreated to Xiangyang; the emperor stripped him of rank and appointed Guan Wen governor-general of Huguang. Guofan was at Nankang, planning to reorganize his army and advance downriver, but rebels from Duchang had taken Raozhou while another column from Dongliu and Jiande threatened Leping, held Jingdezhen, and pushed east toward Qimen and Xiuning. The Xiang Army numbered barely ten thousand, split four ways: Li Mengqun's fleet returned to aid Wuchang, Ta Qibu remained at Jiujiang, Luo Zenan entered Jiangxi against Raozhou, and Guofan kept Xiao Jiesan's three naval battalions at Nankang. Luo Zenan rushed back and forth, captured Guangxin Prefecture, and retook Jingdezhen. Rebels holding Huizhou allied with local bandits and used the rugged terrain to resist imperial troops. Zhejiang forces crossed the border, retook Huizhou, and pressed on to capture Xiuning, Yixian, and Wuyuan, taking eight rebel officers alive, including false generals and deputy marshals. Xiucheng ordered four columns—from Beigu Mountain, Zhenjiang, Guazhou, and Jinshan—to attack Yangzhou on a set date. Tuoming'a ambushed them at Jiufuzhou, routed the attack, cut the iron chains, and burned three hundred boats. Every rebel column was beaten back. Raozhou rebels held Leping, Dexing, and Yiyang in separate garrisons; Jiangxi forces marched against them by land and water. The rebels sallied in five columns, failed, and fled; the prefectural seat was retaken at once. Xiucheng treated the three mountains below Nanjing as the key to the riverfront, posted elite troops there, and blocked the fleet from sailing upstream. Tuoming'a directed Naval Commander Wu Quanmei to sweep the riverbank, burning more than two hundred boats and capturing twenty-five vessels—including tow-boats and fast-crabs—plus more than eighty guns of all sizes and sixty-one prisoners, including the false vanguard Chen Changshun. Wu Quanmei pressed up the slopes and overran the stockades. With Jiangxi cleared, the fleet could sail without hindrance.
33
五月，秀全謀襲金口，斷楚軍糧道。 林翼督軍屢戰，斬其偽丞相陳大為等，進屯紙坊，逼省城小東門。 寇潛自他門出掠。 林翼建議先攻漢陽，扼溳口、蔡店要隘，絕竄湘之路； 開濬江隄，以水師腹背攻之，則漢陽可破，而鄂省咽喉已通，不難併力於武昌矣。 初，寇由府河入湘，所過州邑悉殘破無完土，復為官文伏軍所狙擊，分途潰退。 六月，收復雲夢、應城，二城者府河出入要道也，寇失之，大恐。 我軍進攻德安，斷其出入，寇始不敢窺伺荊襄。 七月，塔齊布卒於軍。 寇陷義寧，國藩遣羅澤南出奇兵復之。 寇嚴守襄河蔡店，上通德安，下達漢鎮，互為應援。 十二月，彭玉麟克蔡店，水陸並進，毀襄河鐵索浮橋，蹋平南岸敵巢，而下游塘角、漢陽、大別山營壘焚毀殆盡，德安之寇益蹙。 林翼既克蔡店，而漢川為蔡店後路，寇據此游行衝突，德安亦資以通聲氣。 林翼與官文會軍克復漢川，武漢首尾始聯絡一氣。
In the fifth month Xiucheng planned to strike Jinkou and sever the Chu Army's supply line. Linyi fought battle after battle, beheaded the false chancellor Chen Dawei and others, and encamped at Zhifang, pressing the provincial city's lesser east gate. The rebels slipped out through other gates to raid. Linyi proposed attacking Hanyang first, seizing the passes at Yukou and Caidian, and cutting the rebels' escape route into Hunan; then dredging the river dike so the fleet could attack from both sides. Hanyang would fall, the gateway to Hubei would open, and concentrating on Wuchang would become straightforward. Earlier, rebels had entered Hunan by the Fu River, laying waste to every district they passed until Guan Wen's ambushes broke them up and drove them back in disorder. In the sixth month Yunmeng and Yingcheng were retaken. They guarded the Fu River corridor; the rebels' loss of them threw them into panic. Imperial forces pressed De'an and cut the rebels' lines of movement; they no longer dared threaten Jingzhou and Xiangyang. In the seventh month Ta Qibu died in camp. Rebels took Yining; Guofan sent Luo Zenan with a flanking force to retake it. The rebels held Caidian on the Xiang River in strength, linking De'an above with Hankou below. In the twelfth month Peng Yulin took Caidian. Land and naval forces advanced together, destroyed the iron chains and pontoon bridge on the Xiang, and overran the south-bank strongpoints. Downstream, camps at Tangjiao, Hanyang, and Dabie Mountain were nearly all burned, and the rebels at De'an were driven into a tighter corner. After Linyi took Caidian, Hanchuan remained the rebels' line of retreat; they used it to raid at will and keep in touch with De'an. Linyi and Guan Wen joined forces and retook Hanchuan, at last linking the Wuhan positions into a single front.
34
蕪湖之陷幾二載矣，江、皖往來道梗。 寇以為上下關鍵，水則聯艦，陸則砌臺，我軍屢攻不能拔。 是月，向榮督軍分道擊之，縣城始復。 楚南軍亦攻復湖口、都昌。 八月，按察使李孟群守金口，崇寧寇句結武昌城黨分道來撲，陸營失守，林翼亦敗於奓山，退保大軍山。 寇勢復熾，分擾漢陽，並繞道襲陷漢川。 九月，官文、林翼檄調羅澤南援武漢，澤南上書請率所部以行，謂：「得武昌乃可控制江、皖，屏蔽江西，而後內湖外江聲息可通，攻九江始操勝券。」 國藩從之，乃部署援師五千人，自義寧趨通城。 寇聞我軍至桂口，分眾來援，設木城重壕自固。 澤南會軍克之，進攻崇陽。 桂口寇退入崇陽，密約通山來援。 桂口與湖南、江西、湖北交界，形勢奧衍，米糧充足。 曩偽丞相鍾酋義寧敗後，踞此修土木城，跨山引澗，袤斜六里，欲踞一隅以掣三省之師，伺隙而動。 澤南移得勝之兵先奪是隘，進克崇陽，焚寇壘，馳赴羊樓司扼敵上竄。
Wuhu had been in rebel hands for nearly two years, blocking traffic between Jiangsu and Anhui. The rebels treated it as the linchpin of the region, chaining boats on the water and building platforms on land; imperial forces attacked again and again without success. That month Xiang Rong attacked on several fronts and retook the county seat. Southern Chu forces also retook Hukou and Duchang. In the eighth month Li Mengqun held Jinkou. Chongning rebels joined forces with partisans inside Wuchang and attacked from several directions. The land camp gave way, Linyi was beaten at Zhail Mountain, and fell back to Dajun Mountain. Rebel strength surged again. They raided Hanyang in separate columns and outflanked imperial forces to retake Hanchuan. In the ninth month Guan Wen and Linyi ordered Luo Zenan to relieve Wuhan. Zenan petitioned to lead his troops in person, arguing that only with Wuchang could they control the Yangtze provinces, shield Jiangxi, reopen communications between the lake fleet and the river fleet, and make an attack on Jiujiang winnable. Guofan agreed and sent five thousand reinforcements from Yining toward Tongcheng. Hearing that imperial troops had reached Guikou, the rebels split their forces to reinforce the position and ringed it with wooden walls and deep trenches. Zenan joined the assault, took the position, and marched on Chongyang. The Guikou rebels withdrew into Chongyang and secretly summoned aid from Tongshan. Guikou lay where Hunan, Jiangxi, and Hubei met—rugged country with ample grain. After his defeat at Yining, the false chancellor Zhong You had fortified the place with earthen and wooden walls stretching six li across the hills, hoping to pin down armies from three provinces and strike when he saw an opening. Zenan sent his victorious troops to seize the pass first, took Chongyang, burned the rebel works, and hurried to Yanglousi to block the enemy's retreat upriver.
35
十月，克復廬州。 廬州陷已三年矣，守之者為偽豫王胡以晃，與我軍大小數百戰，死傷萬餘，皆受創而去，是月始克之。 其據德安者，眾不過數千，恃武漢為下游奧主，襄、府二河群蟻聚。 我軍勝東挫西，疲於奔命。 至是官文督兵力戰，守城寇黨陸長年、馬超羣潛赴大營投誠，約為內應。 值大風雨，放火開門納師，遂復其城。 時寇之牽制我軍者三路：自隨、棗至襄陽為北路，武昌上下為南路，漢川中路。 尾潛、沔，首德安為尤要，屢收屢陷。 官文督軍分四道齊集漢川，克之，遂率兵東下，與林翼合謀武漢。 石達開自安慶率三萬人上援武昌。 澤南會林翼夾攻，連克蒲圻、咸寧； 至金口，會攻武昌，破城外敵壘，駐軍洪山。 寇之踞武昌者，城外大壘八、小壘二。 林翼與戰，澤南襲之，破大壘一、小壘二。 李孟羣亦薄攻漢南，與官文軍相聲援。 水師往來南北燒敵船，都興阿以馬隊護之。 群帥輯和，寇益不得逞。 漢陽城外自龜山沿河而下，敵船林立。 上游入江之梁子湖，下游金牛鎮，群寇赴援。 水陸各軍督團勇犁巢掃穴，武漢外患至此盡除。
In the tenth month Luzhou was retaken. Luzhou had been in rebel hands for three years, defended by the false Prince of Yu, Hu Yihuang. Imperial forces fought hundreds of engagements there, suffering more than ten thousand casualties before the city fell that month. The De'an garrison numbered only a few thousand, but they relied on Wuhan downstream and on rebel swarms along the Xiang and Fu rivers. Imperial forces won in the east and lost in the west, worn out by constant marches. Guan Wen fought battle after battle until rebel officers Lu Changnian and Ma Chaoqun secretly came over, offering to open the gates from within. In a driving storm they set fires, opened the gates, and admitted imperial troops, and the city was retaken. The rebels were pinning imperial forces on three fronts: the northern route from Suizhou and Zaoyang toward Xiangyang, the southern route along the Wuchang stretch of the Yangtze, and the middle route through Hanchuan. The line from Qianjiang and Mianyang to De'an was the most critical—and changed hands again and again. Guan Wen concentrated four columns on Hanchuan, retook it, then marched east to join Linyi in planning the recovery of Wuhan. Shi Dakai marched from Anqing with thirty thousand men to relieve Wuchang. Zenan and Linyi attacked together and in succession retook Puqi and Xianning; at Jinkou they joined in the assault on Wuchang, stormed the outer rebel works, and encamped on Hongshan. The Wuchang garrison held eight large outer forts and two smaller ones. Linyi engaged them in front while Zenan struck from the flank, taking one large fort and two small ones. Li Mengqun pressed the attack on southern Hanyang in coordination with Guan Wen. The fleet ranged north and south burning rebel boats while Du Xing'a's cavalry screened the operations. The commanders cooperated, and the rebels could make less and less headway. From Tortoise Hill down the Hanyang waterfront, rebel boats lined the shore. Rebel reinforcements poured in from Liangzi Lake upriver and Jinniu Town downriver. Land and naval forces with local militia uprooted rebel strongpoints, and the threats around Wuhan were at last cleared.
36
秀全以瓜、鎮屢挫敗，圖往援，十一月，出龍脖子等處。 向榮飭張國樑敗之仙鶴門、甘家巷，又戰七霞街，斃偽丞相周少魁等四十名； 追至石埠橋，馘二千餘，逃入城不敢復出。 秀全於對江九洑洲築石壘，浚深壕，悉銳守之，為金陵屏蔽。 寇竄江北，以此為出路，屢攻之未下也。 六合知縣溫紹原克其壘，後復為寇據，同治二年始復之。 瓜洲、鎮江一水相望，兩城往來無阻，並時有合竄揚州圖北犯意。 揚州軍與瓜洲相持已二年餘，托明阿以日戰無效，諭士民築長圍於瓜洲之北以扼之，至是圍成。 寇水路分撲，大敗去，奪其簰船，生擒偽參護鄭金柱等十名。 吉爾杭阿既克上海，移軍鎮江，是月營小九華山。 又於黃鶴山、京畿嶺築城置砲臺以逼之，並為地道轟城，寇死拒不得入。
With Guazhou and Zhenjiang suffering repeated defeats, Xiucheng planned to reinforce them and in the eleventh month marched out from Longbozi and other points. Xiang Rong ordered Zhang Guoliang to rout them at Xianhemen and Ganjiaxiang, then at Qixia Street killed forty rebels including the false chancellor Zhou Shaokui; pursued them to Shibuqiao and killed more than two thousand; the survivors fled into the city and dared not sally again. Xiucheng built stone fortifications on Jiufuzhou across the river, dug deep moats, and posted elite troops there to shield Nanjing. Rebels crossing to the north bank used it as their escape route; repeated imperial attacks failed to take it. Liuhe Magistrate Wen Shaoyuan captured the fort, but rebels seized it again and it was not retaken until the second year of the Tongzhi reign. Guazhou and Zhenjiang faced each other across a narrow stretch of water with easy traffic between them, and at times coordinated plans to strike north through Yangzhou. Yangzhou forces had faced Guazhou for more than two years. Tuoming'a, finding daily fighting ineffective, ordered officials and civilians to build a long encirclement north of Guazhou to choke the rebels—and by now it was complete. Rebels attacked by water in several columns, were routed, and lost their rafts; ten prisoners were taken alive, including the false aide-de-camp Zheng Jinzhu. After retaking Shanghai, Ji'erhang'e shifted his army to Zhenjiang and that month encamped on Xiaojiuhua Mountain. He also built fortifications and batteries on Huanghe Mountain and Jingji Ridge to press the siege, and dug tunnels to blast the walls, but the rebels held to the death and the city did not fall.
37
十二月，無為寇糾合安慶、蕪湖諸黨東下，圖解鎮江之圍。 蕪湖下至揚州，沿江汊河套港皆寇通藪。 向榮檄水師泝江會攻，敗之神塘河，又敗裕溪口援寇於陶陽浦，生擒偽檢點趙元發、偽將軍王化興等數十名。 十二日，秀全遣李秀成等援鎮江，我軍禦之石埠橋，尋由江州下竄下蜀街。 先是楊秀清調上游蕪湖，江北和、含及廬州眾還江寧，統以李秀成及偽丞相陳玉成、偽春官丞相涂鎮興、偽夏官副丞相陳仕章、偽夏官正丞相周勝坤，取道棲霞、石埠，而豫遣城寇四出絓我軍。 向榮大營存兵不敷分布，檄蕪湖鄧紹良分軍為張國樑、秦如虎應援，令吳全美以師船攻大勝關，以分敵勢。 明安泰嚴堵秣陵關，咨吉爾杭阿等守丹陽，以固蘇、常要隘。 初，澤南既去江西，石達開乘虛復入義寧，敗江西官軍，陷新昌、瑞州、臨江、袁州、安福、分宜、萬載。 江西、湖北隔絕，軍勢不能復振。 曾國藩飛調副將周鳳山統九江全軍往援，遇寇樟樹鎮，以鉤連槍敗其籐簰手，並會水師燬敵船，新淦寇聞風竄走，遂復其城。
In the twelfth month rebels from Wuwei joined bands from Anqing and Wuhu marching east to break the siege of Zhenjiang. From Wuhu down to Yangzhou, every creek, inlet, and harbor along the river served rebel traffic. Xiang Rong ordered the fleet upstream in a joint attack, routed them at Shentang River, then defeated relief forces at Yuxikou near Taoyangpu, taking dozens of prisoners including the false inspector Zhao Yuanfa and the false general Wang Huaxing. On the twelfth Xiucheng sent Li Xiucheng and others to relieve Zhenjiang. Imperial forces met them at Shibuqiao; the rebels then fled downriver through Jiangzhou toward Xiaqushu Street. Earlier Yang Xiuqing had recalled forces from Wuhu and from north of the river at He county, Hanyang, and Luzhou to Jiangning under Li Xiucheng, the false chancellor Chen Yucheng, the false Spring Office chancellor Tu Zhenxing, the false Summer Office vice chancellor Chen Shizhang, and the false Summer Office chief chancellor Zhou Shengkun. They marched through Qixia and Shibu while city garrisons sallied on every side to tie down imperial troops. Xiang Rong's main camp had too few men to cover every front. He ordered Deng Shaoliang at Wuhu to detach troops for Zhang Guoliang and Qin Ruhu and sent Wu Quanmei with war junks against Dashengguan to divide rebel strength. Ming Antai sealed Moling Pass and coordinated with Ji'erhang'a and others to hold Danyang and secure the approaches to Suzhou and Changzhou. After Zenan left Jiangxi, Shi Dakai seized the opening, re-entered Yining, routed Jiangxi government troops, and took Xinchang, Ruizhou, Linjiang, Yuanzhou, Anfu, Fenyi, and Wanzai. Jiangxi and Hubei were cut off from each other, and imperial momentum in the region could not recover. Guofan urgently transferred Deputy Commander Zhou Fengshan with the entire Jiujiang force. At Zhangshu Town they met the rebels and, using hooked spears, broke the rattan-shield corps, joined the fleet in burning rebel boats, and retook Xingan when the garrison fled.
38
六年正月，石達開陷吉安，乃由湖北入通城。 達開悍而多詐，肆擾江西，不急犯省城，不直指南康，先旁收郡縣，遍置偽官，迫其土民，劫以助逆，因糧因兵，愈蔓愈廣。 其陷瑞州者為偽檢點賴裕新，先陷袁州者為偽豫王胡以晃，先攻臨江後攻吉安者為偽春官丞相張遂謀。 廣東土匪入江西者，以周培春黨為眾。 又匪目葛耀明、鄧象等均於瑞州入達開大股之中，匪目王義潮、劉夢熊分屯吉安、泰和，亦與達開合併為一。 達開久居臨江，為上下適中之地，凶悍之眾，皆萃於此。 南則窺伺贛州、南安以通粵匪，北則踞守武寧、新昌以通九江。 達開進攻南昌，周鳳山以九江全軍守樟樹鎮。 時達開眾才數千餘，乃張燈火山谷間為疑兵，率敢死士乘夜來襲，我軍不戰而潰。 鳳山走南昌，國藩亦移軍省城。 秀全益以皖、贛諸事付達開，尋陷進賢、東鄉、安仁，破撫州。 未幾，建康、南昌相繼失。 澤南念國藩艱危，日夜憂憤，督戰益急。 秦日綱嬰城待援，士卒多傷亡，陰穴城為突門。 會達開率九江援黨至，開城迎之。 澤南要之突門，寇出直衝澤南軍。 澤南三退三進，軍幾潰，槍丸中左額，收軍還，創發而歿。 以李續賓領其眾。
In the first month of the sixth year Shi Dakai took Ji'an, then entered Tongcheng from Hubei. Dakai was fierce and cunning. He ravaged Jiangxi without rushing the provincial capital or striking straight for Nankang, but first swallowed surrounding counties, installed false officials, pressed locals into service, and fed his army on local grain until the rebellion spread ever wider. Ruizhou fell to the false inspector Lai Yuxin; Yuanzhou to the false Prince of Yu, Hu Yihuang; Linjiang and then Ji'an to the false Spring Office chancellor Zhang Suimou. The largest Guangdong bandit force in Jiangxi was Zhou Peichun's faction. Bandit chiefs Ge Yaoming and Deng Xiang and others joined Dakai's main body at Ruizhou, while Wang Yichao and Liu Mengxiong held Ji'an and Taihe before merging with Dakai as well. Dakai made his headquarters at Linjiang, the hub between upper and lower Jiangxi, where his fiercest troops gathered. To the south he eyed Ganzhou and Nan'an to link with Guangdong bandits; to the north he held Wuning and Xinchang to keep contact with Jiujiang. Dakai pressed the attack on Nanchang while Zhou Fengshan with the Jiujiang army held Zhangshu Town. Dakai had only a few thousand men, but he lit fires along the hills as a ruse and led a night attack with his shock troops; the imperial force broke without a fight. Fengshan fled to Nanchang, and Guofan moved his headquarters to the provincial city as well. Xiucheng gave Dakai ever broader authority over Anhui and Jiangxi. Soon Jinxian, Dongxiang, and Anren fell, and Fuzhou was overrun. Before long both Jiankang and Nanchang were lost. Mindful of Guofan's danger, Zenan fretted day and night and pressed the fighting ever harder. Qin Rigang held the city awaiting relief. Casualties mounted, and the defenders secretly dug a sally port through the wall. When Dakai arrived with reinforcements from Jiujiang, the garrison opened the gates to admit them. Zenan waited at the sally port; the rebels burst out and charged straight at his line. Zenan fell back three times and advanced three; his army nearly broke. A bullet struck his left forehead. He withdrew, the wound festered, and he died. Li Xubing took command of his troops.
39
續賓初建議分屯窯彎絕寇糧，既代澤南，仍屯洪山，以游兵巡窯彎、塘角間。 古隆賢率萬人來援武昌，約城寇舉燧為識，林翼諜知，佯舉火，城寇出，陷伏大敗。 達開援眾號十萬，林翼分水陸力戰，焚敵船七十，平八十壘。 武昌寇大窘，城守益固。 而江西請師日數至，義寧寇復犯崇通，九江寇合興國、大冶土寇自武昌縣進至葛店，謀襲巡撫大營。 林翼以江西待援，分軍四千一百人，以國藩弟國華統之，率劉騰鴻、劉連捷等道義寧，收咸寧、蒲圻、崇陽、通城、上高。 湖南所遣援軍將劉長佑收萍鄉，蕭啟江收萬載。 國藩命李元度收東鄉，周鳳山等收進賢，劉子淳收豐城。 五月，畢金科將千人防饒州，陷，旋收復。 黃虎臣將三千五百人攻建昌，遇寇死。 六月，彭玉麟收復南康。 七月，劉騰鴻至瑞州，戰寇，走之。
Xubing had first proposed holding Yaowan to cut rebel supplies. After succeeding Zenan he remained on Hongshan and sent mobile detachments to patrol between Yaowan and Tangjiao. Gu Longxian brought ten thousand men to relieve Wuchang and arranged beacon signals with the city garrison. Linyi learned of the plan and lit decoy fires; when the garrison sallied, they were ambushed and routed. Dakai's relief army was said to number one hundred thousand. Linyi fought them by land and water, burning seventy boats and leveling eighty fortifications. The Wuchang garrison was driven into a tight corner and tightened its defense of the city. Yet appeals for help poured in from Jiangxi. Rebels from Yining struck Chongyang and Tongcheng again, while Jiujiang rebels joined local bandits from Xingguo and Daye, advancing from Wuchang county toward Gedian to raid the governor's headquarters. With Jiangxi desperate for aid, Linyi detached 4,100 men under Guofan's younger brother Guohua, with Liu Tenghong, Liu Lianjie, and others marching through Yining to retake Xianning, Puqi, Chongyang, Tongcheng, and Shanggao. Hunan's relief commander Liu Changyou retook Pingxiang; Xiao Qijiang retook Wanzai. Guofan ordered Li Yuandu to retake Dongxiang; Zhou Fengshan and others retook Jinxian; Liu Zichun retook Fengcheng. In the fifth month Bi Jinke defended Raozhou with a thousand men; the city fell but was soon retaken. Huang Huchen attacked Jianchang with 3,500 men and was killed in action. In the sixth month Peng Yulin retook Nankang. In the seventh month Liu Tenghong reached Ruizhou, fought the rebels, and drove them back.
40
是時江西列縣陷者四十餘城，廣東和平土寇犯定南、安遠、信豐、長寧、上猶、崇義、雩都，省城不能救，軍報數月不相聞。 瑞州居江、湘之衝，有南北城，中隔一河。 劉騰鴻援南城，韋昌輝自臨江來援，至北城，遽挑戰，騰鴻乘其弊攻之，從北岸渡河抄其後，南城兵角其前，寇大敗。 至是江湖路通，自長沙以至南昌無道梗憂。 寇自陷吉、袁、瑞、臨諸府，大修戰船，議秋間圍攻省城。 瑞、臨寇船出而下，湖口寇船入而上，困我水師，復於生米口築立堅壘。 七月，由松湖帶戰船三十餘艘、陸寇千餘，將抵瑞河口，我水師偵知，豫釘排樁。 寇甫至，我軍衝入，縱火焚之，復堵城寇於臨江口，焚其船壘。 生米口之寇聞之亦遁。 八月，劉騰鴻等敗臨川偽指揮黃某，收復靖安、安義。 寧都土寇襲陷建昌、鉛山、貴溪，圍廣信。 浙將饒廷選赴援，寇遁走。 時江西寇勢浩大，黨類眾多，欲以全力困江西。 自去年十一月至本年二月，以石達開為主； 三、四、五月，以黃玉崑為主； 六、七月，以韋昌輝為主。 九江則林啟容，瑞州則賴裕新，湖口則黃文金，撫州則三檢點，建昌則張三和，袁州則李能通，皆劇寇也。 統計江西境內近十萬人。
More than forty Jiangxi prefectures and counties had fallen. Guangdong bandits from Heping raided Dingnan, Anyuan, Xinfeng, Changning, Shangyou, Chongyi, and Yudu, and the provincial capital could not relieve them; for months no reliable reports arrived. Ruizhou stood at the junction of the Gan and Xiang rivers and was divided into north and south cities by the stream between them. Liu Tenghong relieved Nancheng. Wei Changhui marched from Linjiang to reinforce the north city and offered battle abruptly. Tenghong struck at their weakness, crossed from the north bank to hit their rear while Nancheng troops engaged from the front, and the rebels were routed. The river route was open again, and the road from Changsha to Nanchang was no longer cut. Having taken Ji'an, Yuanzhou, Ruizhou, and Linjiang, the rebels rebuilt their fleet and planned a autumn siege of the provincial capital. Rebel boats from Ruizhou and Linjiang moved downstream while boats from Hukou moved upstream, trapping the imperial fleet, and they fortified Shengmi Pass. In the seventh month more than thirty warships and over a thousand rebel troops left Songhu for Ruihekou. The imperial fleet detected them and drove in stake barriers in advance. As soon as the rebels arrived, imperial forces charged in and set them afire, then blocked the Linjiang mouth and burned the city garrison's boats and works. The rebels at Shengmi Pass fled on hearing the news. In the eighth month Liu Tenghong and others defeated the false Linjiang commander Huang and retook Jing'an and Anyi. Ningdu bandits raided Jianchang, Qianshan, and Guixi and besieged Guangxin. Zhejiang General Rao Tingxuan marched to the relief and the bandits fled. Rebel strength in Jiangxi was enormous and divided among many leaders, who meant to pin down the entire province. From the eleventh month of the previous year through the second month of this year, Shi Dakai held chief command; in the third, fourth, and fifth months, Huang Yukun; in the sixth and seventh months, Wei Changhui. At Jiujiang stood Lin Qirong; at Ruizhou, Lai Yuxin; at Hukou, Huang Wenjin; at Fuzhou, the Three Inspectors; at Jianchang, Zhang Sanhe; at Yuanzhou, Li Nengtong—all formidable rebel commanders. In all, nearly one hundred thousand rebels operated within Jiangxi.
41
九月，國藩視師瑞州，李元度以撫州不克，餉益絀，乃分軍略旁縣募糧，且分寇勢，遂收宜黃，復崇仁。 是日城寇出攻江軍，林原恩敗死，元度突圍免。 撫州軍俱潰，元度移屯貴溪。 十月，復陷宜黃、崇仁，分陷金溪。 福建援軍將張從龍援建昌，軍潰，特詔起黃冕知吉安府，率軍往，以國藩弟國荃為軍主。 當是時，江西軍分為四，湘軍最強。 國藩居水軍中，劉長祐屯袁州，派隊攻克分宜，援寇路絕。 十一月，偽將李能通啟西門納官軍，袁州復。 國荃收安福。 江西諸軍稍振。
In the ninth month Guofan took command at Ruizhou in person. With Fuzhou still untaken and supplies running short, Li Yuandu divided his force to seize neighboring counties for grain and to split rebel strength, retaking Yihuang and Chongren. That day the city garrison attacked the Jiangxi force. Lin Yuan'en was killed in defeat; Li Yuandu broke out and escaped. The Fuzhou troops collapsed, and Yuandu withdrew to Guixi. In the tenth month the rebels retook Yihuang and Chongren and seized Jinxian in a separate attack. Fujian relief commander Zhang Conglong marched to aid Jianchang but his force was routed. By special edict Huang Mian was recalled as prefect of Ji'an and sent with troops, with Guofan's brother Guoquan as army commander. Jiangxi forces were then divided into four columns; the Xiang Army was the strongest. Guofan remained with the fleet while Liu Changyou held Yuanzhou, sent detachments to take Fenyi, and cut the rebels' line of relief. In the eleventh month the false general Li Nengtong opened the west gate to imperial troops and Yuanzhou was retaken. Guoquan retook Anfu. Jiangxi forces began to recover their footing.
42
初，武昌久不下，林翼謂戰易攻難，以分兵牽寇斷其援路為要。 是月，唐訓方等敗石達開於葛店。 寇增召戰艦復犯葛店，蔣益澧總六營往，逆戰，克之。 追奔至樊口，合水師燔其船，入武昌縣城。 石達開憤樊口之敗，大集黨萬餘，由廣濟、蘄水、黃岡至漢鎮，密約偽丞相鍾某堅守以待。 官文獲其偽諜，令都興阿、多隆阿馬步兜擊，寇大潰。 我軍乘勝攻黃州，不能克。 舒興阿、舒保等將馬隊四百人渡江，寇於青山、魯港間增十三壘相持。 水陸合擊破之，追奔至葛店。 寇懾於騎軍，乃大奔。 自是水陸馬步相輔，軍勢日盛，益募陸軍五千、水軍十營，增長圍困之。 武昌、漢陽同克復，擊斃偽丞相鍾某、偽指揮劉滿，生擒偽將軍、師帥、旅帥、兩司馬五百餘名。 武昌寇分七隊突門出，生擒偽檢點古文新等四人，斃先鋒悍黨八百餘，死兩萬有奇。 蓋武漢自五年三月失守，至是已二十餘月矣。 尋復武昌縣、黃州、興國、大冶、蘄州，民兵復蘄水、廣濟、黃梅。 陳師九江城下。 十二月，國藩至九江勞軍，議統水師決取九江，以聯絡內外。 乃派千總張金璧等復建昌。 李續賓追寇東下，復瑞昌。 進攻九江，派軍復德安。 劉長祐由袁州赴分宜，寇退踞新喻溪，遇之寶山，降將李能通匹馬衝陣，寇退入城，我軍隨之入，寇出東門遁。 湖南援軍將劉拔元等收永寧、永新、蓮花廳、崇義、上猶。
Earlier, with Wuchang still untaken, Linyi argued that battle was easier than siege and that the key was to divide forces, pin the rebels down, and sever their relief routes. That month Tang Xunfang and others routed Shi Dakai at Gedian. The rebels gathered more warships and struck Gedian again. Jiang Yili led six camps to meet them and drove them off. Pursuing to Fankou, they joined the fleet in burning rebel boats and entered Wuchang county. Enraged by the defeat at Fankou, Shi Dakai massed more than ten thousand men from Guangji, Qishui, and Huanggang at Hankou and secretly arranged with the false chancellor Zhong to hold and await him. Guan Wen captured a rebel spy and ordered Du Xing'a and Dolonga to encircle and rout the rebels. Imperial forces pressed the attack on Huangzhou but could not take it. Shu Xing'a and Shu Bao led four hundred cavalry across the river while rebels built thirteen forts between Qingshan and Lugang to block them. Land and naval forces attacked together, broke the rebel line, and pursued to Gedian. Terrified by the cavalry, the rebels broke and fled. Thereafter land, naval, cavalry, and infantry worked together, imperial strength grew daily, and five thousand more infantry and ten naval battalions were raised to tighten the siege. Wuchang and Hanyang fell together. The false chancellor Zhong and false commander Liu Man were killed, and more than five hundred false officers from general down to deputy marshal were captured alive. Wuchang rebels broke out in seven columns. Four prisoners including the false inspector Gu Wenxin were taken, more than eight hundred elite vanguard fighters were killed, and rebel dead exceeded twenty thousand. Wuhan had been in rebel hands since the third month of the fifth year—more than twenty months by now. Soon Wuchang county, Huangzhou, Xingguo, Daye, and Qizhou were retaken, and militia recovered Qishui, Guangji, and Huangmei. The siege closed on Jiujiang. In the twelfth month Guofan came to Jiujiang to encourage the troops and planned to concentrate the fleet, take Jiujiang, and reopen communications between the lake and the river. He dispatched Company Commander Zhang Jinbi and others to retake Jianchang. Li Xubing pursued the rebels east and retook Ruichang. He pressed the attack on Jiujiang and sent troops to retake De'an. Liu Changyou marched from Yuanzhou toward Fenyi. Rebels fell back to Xinyu Stream; at Baoshan the defector Li Nengtong charged alone on horseback, the rebels withdrew into the city, imperial troops followed, and the garrison fled out the east gate. Hunan relief commander Liu Bayuan and others retook Yongning, Yongxin, Lianhua, Chongyi, and Shangyou.
43
寇陷鎮江至是四年矣，是年京口為張國樑所迫，秀清命四偽丞相李秀成、陳玉成、陳仕章、涂鎮興往援。 秀成欲一人渡江，潛往京口，約兵夾擊，無敢應者。 玉成乃夜乘小舟潛越水寨，縱兵擊國樑軍，秀成登高見城中兵出，遣鎮興、仕章當敵，而自率奇兵繞國樑軍後擊之。 乘勝擊丹徒，和春敗走，遂渡瓜洲攻揚州，陷之。 托明阿軍潰退北路，詔德興阿代領其軍。 偽顧王吳如孝守鎮江，分兵踞高資。 古爾杭阿檄知府劉存厚扼之，金陵寇大恐。 秀清遣悍黨數萬出句容來援，吉爾杭阿中砲死。 存厚翼其屍不得出，亦戰死。 向榮急遣張國樑會救，克之。 秀成以揚州孤懸江北，留守不便，遂棄去，竄回金陵。
Zhenjiang had been in rebel hands for four years. That year Zhang Guoliang pressed Jingkou, and Xiuqing sent the four false chancellors Li Xiucheng, Chen Yucheng, Chen Shizhang, and Tu Zhenxing to relieve it. Xiucheng wanted to cross alone, slip into Jingkou, and coordinate a pincer attack, but no one would agree. Yucheng crossed by night in a small boat, slipped past the water stockade, and attacked Guoliang's army. Xiucheng watched from high ground as city troops sallied, sent Zhenxing and Shizhang to hold the front, and led a flanking force against Guoliang's rear. They pressed the victory to Dantu, routed He Chun, crossed to Guazhou, attacked Yangzhou, and took it. Tuoming'a's army broke on the northern route. An edict put De Xing'a in command. The false Prince Gu, Wu Ruxiao, held Zhenjiang and detached troops to hold Gaozi. Ji'erhang'e ordered Prefect Liu Cunhou to block them, throwing the Nanjing garrison into alarm. Xiuqing sent tens of thousands of elite troops from Jurong to the relief, and Ji'erhang'a was killed by cannon fire. Cunhou tried to recover the body but could not break out and was killed as well. Xiang Rong urgently sent Zhang Guoliang to the rescue, and the position was retaken. Xiucheng found Yangzhou isolated north of the river and hard to hold, so he abandoned it and fled back to Nanjing.
44
當是時，向榮、張國樑負眾望，稱江南勁旅。 然頻年征戰，餽餉乖時，士卒常忍饑赴敵，頗缺望，又分兵四出，所部兵力過單。 楊秀清知可乘，請於秀全，定夾攻大營之策。 五月，密約吳如孝率鎮江寇自東而西，拊大軍之背； 金陵寇自西而東與相應，更命溧水、金柱關諸寇旁出橫截。 秀清自率勁旅出廣濟門，先遣賴漢英率紫荊山諸黨攻七橋甕以挑之。 向榮、張國樑狃常勝，併力截殺，漢英忽少卻，向榮益策大軍赴敵。 吳如孝以鎮江黨突薄之，大營空虛，守兵驚散。 向榮見大營火起，退無所據，軍立潰。 寇數路乘之，大軍死傷遍地。 國樑獨以身翼榮出，稍收敗卒退保丹陽。 寇築壘圍之，向榮以病不能進，乃以軍事付國樑，一慟而絕。
Xiang Rong and Zhang Guoliang then bore the empire's hopes as the strongest force in Jiangnan. Yet after years of war, pay and supplies arrived late; soldiers often fought hungry and grew resentful, and with forces divided on four fronts their numbers were spread too thin. Yang Xiuqing saw the opening, asked Xiucheng, and planned a coordinated assault on the grand camp. In the fifth month he secretly arranged for Wu Ruxiao to lead Zhenjiang rebels from east to west and strike the imperial army in the rear; Nanjing rebels would strike from west to east in concert, while bands from Lishui, Jinzhuguan, and elsewhere would cut across the imperial line. Xiuqing led elite troops out the Guangji Gate and first sent Lai Hanying with the Zijing Mountain bands to probe Qiqiaoweng. Xiang Rong and Zhang Guoliang, used to winning, threw their full strength into the intercept. Hanying feigned a slight retreat, and Xiang Rong pushed the main force harder forward. Wu Ruxiao struck suddenly with the Zhenjiang force. The grand camp was left thin, and the guards broke in panic. Seeing the grand camp ablaze with nowhere to fall back, Xiang Rong's army collapsed at once. Rebel columns pressed them from every side, and the field was heaped with imperial dead and wounded. Guoliang alone shielded Rong and fought his way out, then gathered what he could of the broken force and fell back to Danyang. The rebels besieged them with fortifications. Too ill to advance, Xiang Rong handed command to Guoliang and died of grief.
45
向榮既死，寇舉酒相慶，頌秀清功。 秀全益深居不出，軍事皆決於秀清，文報先白其府，刑賞黜陟皆由之，出諸偽王上。 如韋昌輝、石達開雖同起草澤，比於裨將。 大營既潰，南京無圍師。 秀清自以為功莫與京，陰謀自立，脅秀全過其宅，令其下呼萬歲。 秀全不能堪，因召韋昌輝密圖之。 昌輝自江西敗歸，秀清責其無功，不許入城； 再請，始許之。 先詣秀全，秀全詭責之，趣赴偽東王府請命，而陰授之計，昌輝戒備以往。 既見秀清，語以人呼萬歲事，昌輝佯喜拜賀，秀清留宴。 酒半，昌輝出不意，拔佩刀刺之，洞胸而死。 乃令於眾曰：「東王謀反，吾陰受天王命，誅之。」 因出偽詔，糜其屍咽群賊，令閉城搜偽東王黨殲焉。 東黨恟懼，日與北黨相鬥殺，東黨多死亡逃匿。 秀全妻賴氏曰：「除惡不盡，必留後禍。」 因說秀全詭罪昌輝酷殺，予杖，慰謝東黨，召之來觀，可聚殲焉。 秀全用其策，而突以甲圍殺觀者。 東黨殆盡，前後死者近三萬人。
When Xiang Rong died, the rebels drank to celebrate and praised Xiuqing's victory. Xiucheng withdrew further from affairs while Xiuqing decided everything—reports went first to his mansion, and rewards, punishments, and appointments all passed through him, placing him above the false kings. Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, though they had risen with him from nothing, were treated as mere subordinates. After the grand camp fell, no imperial army remained to besiege Nanjing. Xiuqing believed no one in the capital matched his achievement, plotted to seize power, forced Xiucheng to his house, and made followers shout long life to him. Xiucheng could not endure it and secretly summoned Wei Changhui to plot his downfall. Changhui, returning defeated from Jiangxi, was rebuked by Xiuqing for failure and barred from the city; only on a second request was he allowed in. He went first to Xiucheng, who feigned rebuked him and sent him to the false Eastern King's mansion for orders while secretly giving him a plan. Changhui went armed. When he met Xiuqing he spoke of the cries of long life. Changhui feigned delight and bowed in congratulation, and Xiuqing kept him for a banquet. Midway through the feast Changhui drew his sword and stabbed him through the chest, killing him on the spot. He then announced to the crowd, "The Eastern King plotted rebellion. I secretly received the Heavenly King's order to execute him." He issued a false edict, had the corpse minced and fed to the rebels, closed the gates, and ordered a search to exterminate the Eastern King's faction. The Eastern faction panicked and fought the Northern faction day after day; many were killed or fled into hiding. Xiucheng's wife, Lady Lai, said, "If the evil is not rooted out completely, trouble will remain." She persuaded Xiucheng to blame Changhui for excessive killing, have him beaten, console the Eastern faction, and summon them to watch so they could be trapped and slaughtered. Xiucheng followed her plan and suddenly surrounded the spectators with troops and killed them. The Eastern faction was nearly wiped out; close to thirty thousand died in all.
46
時石達開在湖北洪山，黃玉崑在江西臨江，聞亂趨歸。 達開頗誚讓昌輝，昌輝怒，將併圖之。 達開縋城走寧國，昌輝悉殺其母妻子女。 秀全責以太過，昌輝負誅秀清功大，不服，率其黨圍攻偽天王府，秀全兵拒敗之。 昌輝遁，渡江為邏者所獲，縛送金陵磔之，夷其族，傳首寧國。 甘言召達開回，既至，或謂達開兵眾功高，請留之京師，解其兵柄，否則又一楊秀清也。 秀全心動，乃命如秀清故事輔朝政。 達開危懼不自安，其黨張遂謀曰：「王得軍心，何鬱鬱受人制？ 中原不易圖，曷入川作玄德，成鼎足之業？」 達開從之，乃還走安徽，約陳玉成、李秀成偕行，二人不從，益不能還金陵。 於是始起事諸悍黨略盡，乃以偽春官正丞相蒙得恩為正掌率，調度軍事； 偽成天豫陳玉成為右正掌率，偽合天侯李秀成為副掌率，兵事專屬秀成、玉成，均聽蒙得恩節制； 而內政則秀全兄弟偽安王洪仁發、偽福王洪仁達操之。
Shi Dakai was then at Hongshan in Hubei and Huang Yukun at Linjiang in Jiangxi; hearing of the chaos, both hurried back. Dakai reproached Changhui, who grew angry and plotted to destroy him too. Dakai lowered himself from the wall by rope and fled to Ningguo. Changhui killed his mother, wife, children, and daughters. Xiucheng blamed him for excess. Changhui, claiming credit for killing Xiuqing, refused to yield and led his followers to besiege the false Heavenly King's palace, but Xiucheng's troops defeated them. Changhui fled, was seized crossing the river, sent to Nanjing to be dismembered, his clan exterminated, and his head displayed at Ningguo. Dakai was summoned back with fair words. Once he arrived, some argued that with his large following and great merit he should be kept in the capital and disarmed, lest another Yang Xiuqing arise. Xiucheng wavered and ordered him to assist at court in Xiuqing's former role. Dakai lived in fear. His follower Zhang Suimou said, "You hold the army's loyalty—why submit to another's control? The central plains are hard to win. Why not enter Sichuan like Liu Bei and build a realm of three parts?" Dakai agreed, fled back toward Anhui, and asked Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng to go with him. They refused, and he could not return to Nanjing. By then the fiercest of the founding rebels were nearly gone. The false Spring Office chief chancellor Meng De'en was made chief controller of military affairs; the false Chengtianyu Chen Yucheng became right chief controller and the false Hetianhou Li Xiucheng vice controller. Military affairs fell chiefly to Xiucheng and Yucheng under Meng De'en; internal affairs passed to Xiucheng's brothers, the false Prince of An Hong Renfa and the false Prince of Fu Hong Renda.
47
時我軍自克復廬州，寇黨竄踞三河，分營金牛，一路壁壘相望，屢抗我師。 八月，和春督軍乘夜踰壕火其藥局，梯城而入，寇倉皇奪門出，追斃之巢湖。 生擒偽指揮張大有、偽將軍秦標盛等十一名，殲賊五千餘。 江南軍克復高淳。 九月，擊敗句容、溧水，二城近金陵為犄角。 金陵聞其敗，氣阻，大營始安。 巢縣者，寇之老巢也，其水陸連營無數，所掠糧餉悉輸金陵。 巡撫福濟與編修李鴻章督軍攻復之。 廬州所屬州邑以次肅清。
After imperial forces retook Luzhou, rebel remnants held Sanhe and Jinniu in linked camps, resisting again and again. In the eighth month He Chun led troops over the moat by night, burned the powder magazine, and scaled the wall. The rebels fled in panic and were pursued and killed at Chaohu. Eleven prisoners including the false commander Zhang Dayou and false general Qin Biaosheng were taken, and more than five thousand rebels were killed. Jiangnan forces retook Gaochun. In the ninth month they defeated the rebels at Jurong and Lishui, the two cities that flanked Nanjing. Hearing of the defeat, Nanjing lost heart, and the grand camp was at last secure. Chaoxian was the rebels' old stronghold, with countless linked land and naval camps and all plundered grain sent to Nanjing. Governor Fuki and Compiler Li Hongzhang led the attack that retook it. The districts around Luzhou were cleared one by one.
48
七年正月，湖南援軍吳坤修克安義、靖安，與民團會攻奉新，寇棄城遁。 武昌之陷也，曾國藩遣彭玉麟援鄂； 及石達開躪江西，連陷瑞、臨、袁、吉、建、撫諸郡，又檄玉麟赴援。 尋國藩以父喪歸，上命彭玉麟協同載福調度軍事。 九江為江西重鎮，皖、楚咽喉，寇力爭天險，匯踞九江，而以對岸黃梅之小池口為外蔽，進以犯湖北，退以擾贛、皖，游行掉臂，防不勝防。 大軍自達九江、宿松，諸酋聚眾數十萬，城於小池口，以遏官軍，圖上竄。 是月寇分三路入犯，距黃梅縣城數十里，知縣單瀚元請空城誘入，都興阿從其計，伏軍四起殲之。 寇棄城走，截斬其偽擣天侯陳某，偽天王婿鍾某、曾某三名。 小池口寇聞之喪膽，乃築堅城為固守計； 復於段窯、楓樹坳、獨山鎮諸處依山砌石，為壘數十，引水浚壕，阻我軍東下。 都興阿遣鮑超、多隆阿、王國才等分攻，悉平其壘。
In the first month of the seventh year Hunan relief commander Wu Kunxiu retook Anyi and Jing'an and, with local militia, attacked Fengxin until the rebels abandoned the city. When Wuchang fell, Zeng Guofan had sent Peng Yulin to aid Hubei; when Shi Dakai overran Jiangxi and seized Ruizhou, Linjiang, Yuanzhou, Ji'an, Jianchang, and Fuzhou in turn, he ordered Yulin to Jiangxi as well. Soon Guofan went home to mourn his father, and the emperor ordered Peng Yulin to assist Yang Zaifu in directing operations. Jiujiang was Jiangxi's strategic key and the gateway between Anhui and Huguang. The rebels held the natural strongpoint at Jiujiang and used Xiaochikou across the river in Huangmei as an outer shield—advancing into Hubei, retreating to harass Jiangxi and Anhui, raiding wherever they chose. The main force reached Jiujiang and Susong. Rebel chiefs massed hundreds of thousands at Xiaochikou to block imperial troops and plan a breakout upriver. That month rebels advanced in three columns toward Huangmei. Magistrate Shan Hanyuan proposed emptying the city as bait; Du Xing'a agreed, and ambushers annihilated them on four sides. The rebels fled the city. Imperial forces cut down the false Pounding-Heaven Marquis Chen and three others, including the false Heavenly King's sons-in-law Zhong and Zeng. The Xiaochikou garrison lost heart and fortified the town for a last stand; They also built dozens of stone forts at Duanyao, Fengshu'ao, and Dushan, dug moats, and blocked the eastern advance. Du Xing'a sent Bao Chao, Dolonga, Wang Guocai, and others to attack from several directions and leveled the forts.
49
四月，玉成犯湖北，眾號十萬。 李續賓壁小池，鮑超移屯黃梅，遏其衝，分途迎擊，大破之，軍威始振。 五月，李續賓攻九江，掘長壕困寇，設伏敗之馬宿嶺、茶嶺諸處。 越旬餘，安慶寇來援，合城寇三萬，蜿蜒數里。 我軍水陸會剿，連戰皆捷。 閏五月，玉成復犯湖北，大小二十五戰，亡七千有餘。 時蘄、黃一路寇猖甚，蘄州諸軍並挫，賴舒保力戰，水師左光培扼巴河，得免上竄。 官文令唐訓方增軍守要，約都興阿力扼黃梅，嚴防後路。 以是黃州上下烽火不絕，而武漢帖然無恙。 六月，續賓浚長壕合水師力攻九江，宿松、太湖群寇糾合皖省饑民十餘萬乘虛圖武漢，且解九江之圍。 寇據黃梅、廣濟、蘄州、蘄水，分四路進，大小五十餘戰，死萬餘而勢不稍衰。
In the fourth month Chen Yucheng invaded Hubei with a force said to number one hundred thousand. Li Xubing held Xiaochi while Bao Chao moved to Huangmei to block the thrust. They met the rebels on separate routes, routed them, and imperial morale revived. In the fifth month Li Xubing besieged Jiujiang with a long trench, ambushed rebels at Masu Ridge and Chaling, and defeated them. After ten days Anqing reinforcements arrived; with the city garrison they numbered thirty thousand and stretched for miles. Land and naval forces fought together and won every engagement. In the intercalary fifth month Yucheng invaded Hubei again. In twenty-five engagements more than seven thousand rebels were killed. Rebels along the Qizhou-Huangzhou line were rampant and Qizhou forces were beaten back. Only Shu Bao's hard fighting and Zuo Guangpei's block at the Ba River kept them from breaking upriver. Guan Wen reinforced the garrisons under Tang Xunfang and ordered Du Xing'a to hold Huangmei and guard the rear. Beacon fires blazed up and down the Huangzhou stretch, yet Wuhan itself stayed secure. In the sixth month Xubing deepened the siege trenches and attacked Jiujiang with the fleet. Rebels in Susong and Taihu rallied more than one hundred thousand Anhui refugees to threaten Wuhan and lift the Jiujiang siege. Rebels held Huangmei, Guangji, Qizhou, and Qishui and advanced in four columns. After more than fifty battles and ten thousand dead, their momentum barely slackened.
50
初，小池口之捷也，潯陽、湖口立望廓清； 及皖寇上援九江，陸軍梗阻，而上游水師又難驟撤，楚軍馬隊不及萬，寇所竄伏，崎嶇泥淖，馬隊幾無可施。 惟將士一心，屹然不為所撼。 楊載福、李續賓督水陸上援，多隆阿、鮑超攻賊童司牌，敗之十里鋪。 寇造浮橋河中，東通北湖，西達武穴。 續賓渡江平南岸寇屯，水師復焚寇艇，燬浮橋，寇不得逞。 七月，黃梅寇以弱兵守壘，而以強悍驍勇者遍伏村落。 多隆阿偵知，約鮑超直衝村落，斃五千餘，而其在蘄、黃者仍不下數萬。 官文督軍五路進攻，杜其上竄，擒渠掃穴，蘄、黃路通。 尋又大破皖寇於黃岡、蘄水界，克復瑞州，我軍直抵小池口。 小池口與潯城隔江對峙，為江、皖入楚衝途。 寇壘石為城，深溝高壘。 胡林翼以寇燄正衰，約諸軍先拔小池口，親督唐訓方、李續宜等由蘄水達黃梅坡下，建碉以塞宿松上竄之路。 偵知城內爨具已毀於砲，炊煙斷熄，乃令水陸環攻，射火入城。 我軍乘亂而登，寇盡殄滅。 全楚始一律肅清。
After the victory at Xiaochikou, Xunyang and Hukou seemed about to be cleared; but Anhui reinforcements for Jiujiang blocked the land columns, the upstream fleet could not be pulled back quickly, and with fewer than ten thousand cavalry in broken, muddy country, horses were nearly useless. Only the unity of officers and men kept the army from buckling. Yang Zaifu and Li Xubing led the combined relief force upriver while Dolonga and Bao Chao attacked Tongsipai and routed the rebels at Shilipu. The rebels bridged the river, linking North Lake in the east with Wuxue in the west. Xubing crossed the river and cleared the south-bank camps. The fleet burned rebel boats and destroyed the bridge, and the rebels were stopped. In the seventh month the Huangmei rebels manned the forts lightly while hiding their best fighters in the villages. Dolonga learned this and sent Bao Chao straight into the villages, killing more than five thousand, but tens of thousands still held the Qi-Huang line. Guan Wen attacked on five routes, cut off their retreat upriver, captured rebel chiefs, and reopened the Qi-Huang corridor. They soon routed Anhui rebels on the Huanggang-Qishui border, retook Ruizhou, and pressed on to Xiaochikou. Xiaochikou faced Xuncheng across the river—the gateway from Jiangxi and Anhui into Hubei. The rebels had piled stone into walls with deep moats and high ramparts. Seeing rebel strength fade, Hu Linyi ordered the armies to take Xiaochikou first. He led Tang Xunfang and Li Xuyi from Qishui to Huangmei, building blockhouses to block escape toward Susong. Scouts reported cooking pots shattered by shellfire and no smoke from the kitchens. Hu ordered a combined assault and fired into the city. Imperial troops stormed the walls in the chaos and wiped out the garrison. Hubei was at last cleared.
51
江西軍隨復東鄉。 東鄉隸撫州，寇踞之以為撫州保障，復陷萬年諸縣。 八月，將軍福興冒雨進攻，縱火平塘，絕寇竄路。 平塘者，附城往撫州之衝也。 寇果棄城而遁。 初，寇踞石鐘山，守湖口兩岸，致水師隔絕。 九月，克湖口，連破梅家洲，燔石鐘山寇巢，殪萬餘。 內湖外江至今三載始合。 載福以取九江當先援彭澤，彭澤南有小孤山，寇築城其上以守彭澤，為九江聲援。 載福會軍攻克縣城，盡掃小孤山寇巢。 下游巨險悉夷。 大軍回向九江。 十二月，長祐會攻臨江府，拔之。 寇竄湖北興國州，復為續賓所殲。 餘眾僅二百，皆鳧水而逸。
Jiangxi forces then retook Dongxiang. Dongxiang belonged to Fuzhou. The rebels used it to shield Fuzhou and seized Wannian and other counties. In the eighth month General Fuxing attacked through the rain, burned Pingtang, and cut the rebel line of retreat. Pingtang guarded the road from the city to Fuzhou. The rebels abandoned the city and fled. Earlier the rebels had held Shizhong Mountain and both banks of Hukou, cutting the fleet off. In the ninth month Hukou fell, Meijiazhou followed, the Shizhong Mountain stronghold was burned, and more than ten thousand rebels were killed. After three years the lake fleet and river fleet were reunited. Zaifu argued that Jiujiang required taking Pengze first. South of Pengze the rebels had fortified Little Gushan to cover Pengze and support Jiujiang. Zaifu joined the assault, took the county seat, and cleared Little Gushan. The great downstream strongpoints were all cleared. The main force turned back on Jiujiang. In the twelfth month Changyou joined the assault on Linjiang and took it. The rebels fled to Xingguo in Hubei and were destroyed again by Xubing. Only about two hundred survived, swimming away to escape.
52
寇之自楚北敗竄回皖也，糾合河南捻匪，撲廬州及巢縣、柘皋。 我軍進平柘皋寇壘，火巢湖派河兩子鋪寇船，寇蹤遂絕。 先是江南水師提督李德麟率紅單船入皖，寇遏之繁昌縣峽口，不得上，七閱月矣。 載福督師東下，焚奪陳玉成所派戰船略盡。 連日焚華陽鎮，復望江、東流，疾趨安慶，破樅陽大通鎮，進克銅陵，馳入峽內，與紅單船合。 寇望風瓦解，逼泥汊偽城，李成謀擲火焚之，斬戮過當。 時江西寇糾黨二萬餘，由浮梁、建德、都昌、鄱陽竄湖口，而宿松、太湖寇憤九江之敗，糾黨五六萬，麇集於楓香驛、仙田鋪等處，聲勢相依。 官文檄唐訓方壁陳園，固蘄州門戶。 多隆阿、鮑超等迎剿太湖，李續宜會水師分三路直擣，斃寇二萬餘，寇勢大挫。
Defeated rebels fleeing north from Hubei into Anhui joined Henan Nian bandits and struck Luzhou, Chaoxian, and Zhegao. Imperial forces cleared the Zhegao forts, burned rebel boats on the Chaohu branch, and cut off their line of retreat. Earlier Naval Commander-in-Chief Li Delin had brought foreign gunboats into Anhui, but rebels blocked the Fanchang gorge for seven months. Zaifu led the fleet east and burned or captured nearly all the warships Chen Yucheng had sent. They burned Huayang, retook Wangjiang and Dongliu, rushed on Anqing, broke Datong at Zongyang, took Tongling, and entered the gorge to join the gunboats. The rebels broke and fled. Pressing the false city at Nizhan, Li Chengmo burned it and slaughtered without mercy. Jiangxi rebels mustered more than twenty thousand and fled toward Hukou through Fuliang, Jiande, Duchang, and Poyang, while Susong and Taihu rebels, furious over Jiujiang, massed fifty or sixty thousand at Fengxiang Post and Xiantian Shop. Guan Wen ordered Tang Xunfang to hold Chenyuan and guard the Qizhou gateway. Dolonga and Bao Chao met the Taihu rebels while Li Xuyi and the fleet struck in three columns, killing more than twenty thousand and breaking their momentum.
53
江南大營之退駐丹陽也，秀成踞句容，屢出窺伺。 正月，國樑獨率精卒間道抵城下，毀其外壘，斃寇千數百名，寇不敢復出。 二月，金陵、安慶寇偵溧水勢蹙，糾眾至鄔山，築壘為援。 和春乘寇營未定，邀而敗之。 寇渡河復結四壘，江南軍三路敗其眾，合兵攻溧水城，前後平寇壘二十六座，殲三千，斃偽靠天侯以下十餘名。 移營已及一年，戰功此為最烈。 四月，瓜洲以我軍圍攻久，勢頻危，乃出背城計，水陸並撲，戰土橋西里鋪，不勝； 復以戰艦分兩路進：一沿港助勢，一渡江他擾，均為我水師所殲。 寇之聚溧水者，屢招援黨攻大營，死萬餘，復於鄔山築壘數十以抗我軍。 五月，總兵傅振邦破其外壘，繼以火攻城。 副將虎坤元乘內亂，斬守城悍酋而入，遂復其城。 溧水既克，和春進規句容，與溧水相犄角。 寇結外援，聲勢尚壯。 國樑會軍圍攻，而自帥親兵衝入，刺黃衣悍目數名，寇奔潰。 和春進衝內壕，國樑首先登城，寇尸山積。 閏五月二十五日，收復縣城。 九月，鎮江寇出城至甘露寺，逕撲大營，和春迎剿敗之。 寇欲西竄接應金陵，國樑密於高資增營扼塞，寇亦築壘，運糧河北。 國樑遣參將余兆青等毀其砲臺，而自率親兵渡河，會水陸諸軍鏖戰六晝夜，沉巨船十餘艘，削壁壘二，生擒魏長仁等六名，斬俘無數。
After the Jiangnan Grand Camp fell back to Danyang, Xiucheng held Jurong and probed imperial lines again and again. In the first month Guoliang led elite troops by a hidden path to the walls, destroyed the outer works, killed several thousand rebels, and the garrison dared not sally again. In the second month Nanjing and Anqing rebels, seeing Lishui hard pressed, gathered at Wushan and built relief fortifications. He Chun struck while the rebel camps were still unsettled and routed them. The rebels crossed the river and built four more forts. Jiangnan forces beat them on three fronts, stormed Lishui, leveled twenty-six forts, killed three thousand, and slew more than ten officers including the false Leaning-on-Heaven Marquis. The camp had moved for more than a year; this was its fiercest victory. In the fourth month, with the long siege turning desperate, Guazhou's garrison made a last stand, attacking by land and water at Tuqiao Xilipu without success; they sent warships in two columns, one up the harbor and one across the river, but the fleet destroyed both. The Lishui rebels repeatedly summoned reinforcements against the grand camp. After more than ten thousand dead they built dozens of forts at Wushan. In the fifth month Brigadier Fu Zhenbang stormed the outer works and set fire to the walls. Vice Commander Hu Kunyuan exploited disorder inside the walls, killed the fierce defenders, broke in, and retook the city. With Lishui secure, He Chun turned on Jurong, paired with Lishui as a pincer. The rebels still had strong outside support. Guoliang joined the siege and led a charge himself, killing several yellow-clad rebel officers; the garrison broke. He Chun pressed the inner moat while Guoliang was first on the wall; rebel dead heaped the ramparts. On the twenty-fifth of the intercalary fifth month the county seat was retaken. In the ninth month Zhenjiang rebels sallied to Ganlu Temple and struck the grand camp; He Chun routed them. The rebels tried to break west toward Nanjing. Guoliang secretly reinforced Gaozi to block them while they fortified and moved grain north of the river. Guoliang sent Regiment Commander Yu Zhaoqing to destroy the batteries, crossed with his personal guard, and with land and naval forces fought six days and nights, sinking more than ten large boats, taking two cliff forts, and capturing six men including Wei Changren.
54
寇之踞瓜洲者，遙聯金陵，近接鎮江，阻官軍進剿之路，歷五年矣。 適南岸寇援創於和春，德興阿乘其隙，檄大軍踰城而入，遂下瓜洲。 十二月，國樑大捷於瓜洲南岸，陣斬偽王，奪壘十七，遂圍鎮江。 秀全四遣眾援，均為虎坤元所破。 國樑督軍攻四門壞垣，奪復其城，逸出者沿江搜殺近萬人。 惟吳如孝潰圍遁入金陵，復竄聚安慶。 而潛山太湖之寇又陷霍山，旋退出，欲從羅田、麻城上竄，踞獨山、西河口為營。 官文調馬步軍兼程馳防豫、皖交界之處，以固楚疆。 八月，皖寇糾豫捻謀援金陵，犯商、固，擾光州、六安，窺伺隨、棗一路。 而太湖、渡石牌等處寇黨連營三十里，眾六七萬，乘我軍度歲，竄近蘄州，尋又竄荊橋、好漢坡諸處。 多隆阿迎剿，敗之仙田鋪、風火山，追抵太湖，連營宿、太以扼寇衝。 而秦日綱遣其黨北趨，避實擊虛，謀犯蘄州。 蘄水、六安之寇亦併力上竄，陷英山縣，分七路竄羅田。 羅田知縣崔蘭馨連日鏖戰，收復英山。 守備梁洪勝等督楚軍擒偽丞相韋朝綱。 寇出黃花嶺，竄楚境楓樹坳等處。 都興阿遣將往南陽河迎擊。 寇築壘北岸，我軍潛伏北岸山谷中，而列陣南岸。 寇渡河而南，我軍邀擊之，乘勝北渡。 寇陣山腰，潰寇踵至，伏兵起，斃寇無數。 楚軍勢大振，宿、太諸營始紓後顧憂。
Guazhou's rebels linked with Nanjing and Zhenjiang and blocked imperial advance for five years. With south-bank relief beaten by He Chun, De Xing'a seized the moment, sent the main force over the walls, and Guazhou fell. In the twelfth month Guoliang won a great victory south of Guazhou, killed a false king in battle, took seventeen forts, and besieged Zhenjiang. Xiucheng sent relief four times; Hu Kunyuan defeated every column. Guoliang stormed the broken walls at all four gates, retook the city, and hunted down nearly ten thousand fugitives along the river. Only Wu Ruxiao broke out and fled to Nanjing, then gathered again at Anqing. Meanwhile Qianshan and Taihu rebels took Huoshan, withdrew, and tried to break upriver through Luotian and Macheng from camps at Dushan and Xihekou. Guan Wen rushed cavalry and infantry to the Henan-Anhui border to secure Hubei. In the eighth month Anhui rebels joined Henan Nian bands to aid Nanjing, raided Shangcheng and Gushi, harassed Guangzhou and Lu'an, and threatened the Suizhou-Zaoyang line. Rebel camps stretched thirty li around Taihu and Dushipai with sixty or seventy thousand men. They struck near Qizhou during the new year, then shifted to Jingqiao and Hao Hanpo. Dolonga met them, routed them at Xiantian Shop and Fenghuo Mountain, pursued to Taihu, and linked Susong and Taihu camps to block their advance. Qin Rigang sent a column north to avoid strong points, strike weak ones, and threaten Qizhou. Qishui and Lu'an rebels pushed upriver together, took Yingshan, and split into seven columns through Luotian. Luotian Magistrate Cui Lanxin fought day after day and retook Yingshan. Garrison Commander Liang Hongsheng and other Chu officers captured the false chancellor Wei Zhaogang. The rebels slipped out by Huanghua Ridge toward Fengshu'ao in Hubei. Du Xing'a sent generals to the Nanyang River to intercept them. The rebels fortified the north bank. Imperial troops hid in the north-bank valleys while drawing up on the south bank. When the rebels crossed south, imperial forces struck them and pursued across the river. The rebels formed on the slope; as fugitives piled up, the ambush rose and slaughtered them. Chu morale surged, and the Susong-Taihu camps were at last freed from worry to the rear.
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時秀全大會諸黨，飭陳玉成為前軍主將，以潛、太、黃、宿為根據，敵我上游楚師； 楊輔清為中軍主將，以殷家匯、東流為根據，敵我中路曾軍； 李侍賢為左軍主將； 李秀成為五軍主將。 二月，和春攻破秣陵關，關為金陵南面外蔽，寇所嚴守者也。 三月，和春率張國樑等圍攻金陵。 會秀全張筵飲群黨酒，流丸墜秀全膝下，群駭愕。 秀全曰：「予已受天命，縱敵兵百萬，彈丸雨下，又將如予何！ 況和春非吾敵也，諸將弄彼如小兒，特供一時笑樂耳，奚恐為？」 初，寇屢伺我軍懈，悉銳出犯，冀解其圍，而雨花臺爭之尤力。 和春嚴為防儆，寇果由雨花臺攻大營，大敗之。 和春、張國樑作長圍困寇，度地勢險夷，溝而垣之，鑿山越水，周城百餘里。 諸營大小相維，絕寇應援，秀全大懼，誡各門嚴備。 潛結壘於壽德州，屢突長圍，不克，死者枕藉。 當是時，石達開在蜀，楊輔清竄閩，林紹璋敗於湘，林啟榮圍於九江，黃文玉坐困於湖口，張朝爵、陳得才孤守皖省，陳玉成坐守小孤山、華陽鎮一帶，秣陵又陷，金陵老巢聲援殆絕。 而糧食尚充足，上游諸州縣皆為寇據，呼吸可通，故寇雖危蹙而未遽顛覆。
Xiucheng then convened the rebel chiefs and made Chen Yucheng front-army commander, basing on Qianshan, Taihu, Huangmei, and Susong to block the upstream Hubei army; Yang Fuqing middle-army commander, basing on Yinjiahui and Dongliu against Zeng's central force; Li Shixian left-army commander; and Li Xiucheng commander of all five armies. In the second month He Chun took Moling Pass, the southern outer defense of Nanjing that the rebels had held tightly. In the third month He Chun and Zhang Guoliang besieged Nanjing. Xiucheng was feasting with his chiefs when a stray bullet struck near his knees and terrified the hall. Xiucheng said, "Heaven has chosen me. Let a million enemies rain bullets—what can they do to me? And He Chun is no match for me. My generals toy with him like children. Why should we fear?" The rebels had repeatedly probed for slackness and sallied in force to break the siege, fighting hardest for Yuhuatai. He Chun was on guard. The rebels attacked from Yuhuatai and were routed. He Chun and Zhang Guoliang built a long encirclement around the city—more than a hundred li of trenches and walls across mountains and streams. Linked camps cut off relief. Xiucheng was terrified and ordered every gate to brace for attack. They built secret bases at Shoude and repeatedly tried to break the encirclement, leaving heaps of dead. Shi Dakai was in Sichuan, Yang Fuqing in Fujian, Lin Shaozhang beaten in Hunan, Lin Qirong besieged at Jiujiang, Huang Wenyu trapped at Hukou, Zhang Chaojue and Chen Decai holding Anhui alone, Chen Yucheng at Little Gushan and Huayang, Moling lost—Nanjing was nearly cut off. Grain still held, upstream counties remained in rebel hands, and lines of communication stayed open, so Nanjing did not fall at once.
56
我軍屢圍金陵，玉成多方抗拒，而秀成出陷杭州，以掣圍師之肘，我軍不動。 玉成乃自潛山、太湖下江浦，伺官軍之虛，悉眾攻大營，以冀解圍。 蘇、常相繼而陷。 四月，李續賓、楊載福會攻九江，九江為金陵犄角，南岸肅清，專力攻九江。 城寇被圍久，以數千人攖城，植蔬種麥供軍食，其守愈暇，頻傷攻城軍士。 嗣地道成，城破而復完。 楊載福督水陸十六營攻四門，地雷再發，城崩百餘丈，諸軍躍登，斃寇萬六七千。 出城者水師扼之，俘斬無遺。 林啟榮、李興隆均敗死，磔其屍。 九江既克，寇黨無固志。 楚南軍先後收復新淦、崇仁，下撫州，克安樂、宜黃、安豐、新城諸縣，收復建昌。 國荃攻吉安，旁克吉水、萬安二縣。 於是江西陷城收復八九矣。 寇黨畏懾，金陵寇亦窮蹙。
Imperial forces kept the siege on Nanjing while Yucheng held them off and Xiucheng took Hangzhou to divert attention—the besiegers did not stir. Yucheng marched from Qianshan and Taihu to Jiangpu, found a gap, and threw his whole force at the grand camp to break the siege. Suzhou and Changzhou fell in turn. In the fourth month Li Xubing and Yang Zaifu besieged Jiujiang, the horn of Nanjing's defense, after clearing the south bank. The garrison, long besieged, farmed inside the walls and killed many attackers while holding firm. A mine breached the wall, but the rebels repaired it. Zaifu attacked all four gates with sixteen battalions. Mines blew a hundred-zhang breach; troops stormed in and killed sixteen or seventeen thousand rebels. Fugitives were cut down by the fleet; none escaped. Lin Qirong and Li Xinglong were killed and their bodies dismembered. After Jiujiang fell, rebel morale collapsed. Southern Chu forces retook Xingan, Chongren, Fuzhou, and counties including Anle, Yihuang, Anfeng, and Xincheng, and recovered Jianchang. Guoquan besieged Ji'an and took Jishui and Wan'an on the flanks. Eight or nine of Jiangxi's lost cities were back in imperial hands. Rebel bands wavered, and the Nanjing garrison was cornered.
57
秀全力圖外擾，乃命寇將竄皖南北及閩、浙諸省，冀大軍分援，以牽我師。 玉成勾結捻首張洛行、龔瞎子，眾號十萬人，踞麻城，四門築五十八壘，溝塹重疊，據險自固。 而安慶暨英、霍諸寇又陷黃安，冀窺漢陽、德安，取道北竄。 官文檄續賓上援，以紓麻城之患。 先是秀全命賴漢英掠江西，皖寇入福建，陷政和縣、邵武府，遂陷浦城，分擾建寧。 五月，我軍克復黃安、麻城，斬偽丞相指揮數十人； 追至商城，並進剿太湖、潛山、英山、霍山諸寇。 其黨竄踞東安者，圖為江南北聲勢。 和春督軍立復縣城，金陵寇愈形危蹙，急思潰竄。 和春派水師分剿繁昌，毀其堅壘土橋，進破峨橋、魯港等處。 城寇憤恚，出太平、神策門分犯大營，張玉良、馮子材等陷陣敗之，寇退。 遂攻金川門，悉毀東北城外壘柵。
Xiucheng sought outside distractions, sending raids into Anhui, Fujian, and Zhejiang to split imperial forces. Yucheng joined Nian leaders Zhang Luoxing and Gong Xiazi with a host said to number one hundred thousand at Macheng, ringed by fifty-eight forts and layered trenches. Anqing and Ying-Huo rebels took Huang'an, threatening Hanyang and De'an and a northern breakout. Guan Wen ordered Xubing upriver to relieve Macheng. Earlier Xiucheng had sent Lai Hanying into Jiangxi while Anhui rebels entered Fujian, took Zhenghe and Shaowu, then Pucheng, and raided Jianning. In the fifth month imperial forces retook Huang'an and Macheng and beheaded dozens of false chancellors and commanders; pursued to Shangcheng and swept Taihu, Qianshan, Yingshan, and Huoshan. A rebel band held Dong'an to link the Yangtze north and south. He Chun retook the county seat quickly. The Nanjing garrison grew desperate to break out. He Chun's fleet cleared Fanchang, destroyed its bridges and forts, and broke E Qiao and Lugang. Enraged city rebels sallied from Taiping and Shence gates. Zhang Yuliang and Feng Zicai met them and drove them back. They stormed Jinchuan Gate and destroyed the northeast outer works.
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石達開乃自廣豐陷江山縣，金華、衢州、處州三府屬邑焚掠殆遍。 浙軍敗之壽昌七里亭。 六月，寇竄全椒，踞滁州、九洑洲等處，浙軍大敗之，進克武義、永康、常山、江山、開化、縉雲、宣平，衢圍亦解。 寇悉竄處州，陷之，周天受督軍克復。 會閩寇蜿蜒猖獗，所復各城旋失，又陷松溪、崇安、建陽等縣，建寧府亦被圍。 浙江巡撫晏端書檄將馳援閩省，又出師江山界，剿浦城寇巢。
Shi Dakai took Jiangshan from Guangfeng and ravaged the counties of Jinhua, Quzhou, and Chuzhou. Zhejiang troops defeated them at Qili Pavilion in Shouchang. In the sixth month rebels held Chuzhou and Jiufuzhou. Zhejiang forces routed them, retook a string of counties, and lifted the siege of Quzhou. The rebels fled to Chuzhou and took it until Zhou Tianshou retook the city. Fujian rebels surged again, retook lost cities, seized Songxi, Chong'an, and Jianyang, and besieged Jianning. Governor Yan Duanshu sent relief to Fujian and struck the Pucheng nest from Jiangshan.
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是時，上以浙、閩寇並起，乃起曾國藩率江西湘軍援浙，旋命改援閩。 國藩自鉛山進軍，寇大懼，圖牽制之計，分萬餘人犯江西，圍廣豐、玉山，入踞安仁。 閩軍遂克光澤，收建陽，解順昌圍，連復松溪、政和、寧化、崇安，破浦城老巢。 復邵武府，閩省肅清。 國藩移軍弋陽，親督水陸各軍克復安仁縣城。 八月，克吉安，擒偽先鋒李雅鳳、偽丞相翟明海，正法。 江西列城皆復。 進攻太湖，前月寇陷廬州，巡撫翁同書告急於續賓，官文以太湖方血戰有功，疏留之。 時寇於東岸及楓香鋪、小池驛、東山頭各築營壘，續賓等分段攻城，焚其火藥庫，寇眾駭散，遂克太湖，乘勝抵潛山。 潛山石牌為南北要衝，寇屢集黨與援應，抗我東征之師。 都興阿等營北門彰法山，馬步並進，寇敗潰，斃七八千，遂復縣城。 我軍分二路平上下石牌老巢。
With rebels rising in Zhejiang and Fujian, the emperor recalled Guofan to aid Zhejiang, then ordered him to Fujian instead. Guofan marched from Qianshan. The rebels, alarmed, sent more than ten thousand men into Jiangxi to besiege Guangfeng and Yushan and seize Anren. Fujian troops took Guangze, retook Jianyang, relieved Shunchang, recovered Songxi, Zhenghe, Ninghua, and Chong'an, and broke Pucheng. Shaowu was retaken and Fujian was cleared. Guofan moved to Yiyang and personally led the retaking of Anren. In the eighth month Ji'an fell. The false vanguard Li Yafeng and false chancellor Zhai Minghai were captured and executed. Jiangxi's cities were back under imperial control. They pressed Taihu. Luzhou had fallen the month before; Weng Tongshu begged Xubing for help, and Guan Wen kept him at Taihu. Rebels fortified the east bank and key posts. Xubing stormed in sections, blew up their powder magazine, took Taihu, and pushed on to Qianshan. Shipai at Qianshan was a vital pass where rebels repeatedly gathered to block the eastern advance. Du Xing'a camped at Zhangfa Mountain north of the city, attacked with horse and foot, killed seven or eight thousand, and retook the county. Imperial forces in two columns cleared the upper and lower Shipai strongholds.
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九月，玉成自潛、太會九洑洲群寇下江浦，伺官軍之虛，疾攻浦口，以冀解金陵之圍。 我軍進退爭一橋，遂大挫。 和春派兵來援，寇分軍綴之，仍力撲浦口。 江北大營遂失陷。 迭陷江浦、天長、儀徵。 並分攻六合，德興阿遁。 揚州賊破南門入，揚州陷。 進犯邵伯縣，國樑率軍渡江。 會北軍克復府城，移攻儀徵，亦克之。 亟引兵救六合，阻於寇，不得驟進。 寇穿地道陷城，補用道溫紹原赴水死。 寇渡江陷溧水，築壘江藍埠諸處，為扼要持久計。 十月，和春遣總兵張玉良攻復溧水。 寇夾攻高古山大營，國樑怒馬陷陣，斃寇五六千。 合兵追抵江寧鎮，燬卡壁數十座。 小丹陽以至采石磯老巢悉平。
In the ninth month Yucheng came down from Qianshan and Taihu with Jiufuzhou bands, struck Pukou swiftly, and tried to break the Nanjing siege. Imperial forces fought for a single bridge and were badly beaten. He Chun sent relief, but the rebels delayed it and kept hammering Pukou. The Jiangbei grand camp fell. Jiangpu, Tianchang, and Yizheng fell in turn. They also attacked Liuhe, and De Xing'a fled. Rebels broke through Yangzhou's south gate and took the city. They raided Shaobo county, and Guoliang crossed the river with troops. Northern forces retook the prefectural city and then Yizheng. Guoliang hurried to relieve Liuhe but was blocked and could not advance quickly. Rebels mined the walls and took the city. Acting Intendant Wen Shaoyuan drowned himself. Rebels crossed the river, took Lishui, and fortified Jiang Lanbu and other points for a long hold. In the tenth month He Chun sent Brigadier Zhang Yuliang to retake Lishui. Rebels struck the Gaogushan camp from both sides. Guoliang charged in rage and killed five or six thousand. Combined forces pursued to Jiangning Town and destroyed dozens of stockades. From Xiaodanyang to Caishi the old rebel nests were cleared.
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初，勝保率皖軍攻天長，捻首李昭壽以部眾二千降，勝保奏請賞給花翎三品銜，賜名世忠，使為內應，遂克縣城。 大軍之入皖也，克復桐城、舒城二縣，寇悉遁三河。 都興阿會水師盡掃安慶城外寇壘。 續賓追至三河，玉成、秀成、侍賢連江浦、六合、廬江眾，又乞援捻匪，招潁、壽、光州群盜，合十餘萬，圍官軍三重，眾寡不能敵，續賓死之。 潰軍至桐城，前留防四城軍潰，不旬日，桐、舒、潛、太復陷。 都興阿收潰卒，由石牌駐軍宿松，進剿黃泥營寇眾，敗之； 復督鮑超、多隆阿大戰荊橋、陳家大屋，平三十餘壘，軍勢復振。 玉成退還太湖，以為舒、桐已得而宿松不破，則安慶之守不固，與秀成謀再舉。 秀成知不可敵，不欲從，而玉成屢言有妙策，始與分道來犯，卒受大創而退。 玉成留軍太湖，而自還安慶。 秀成率黨還巢縣、黃山。
Earlier Sheng Bao attacked Tianchang. Nian chief Li Zhaoshou surrendered with two thousand men, was given the name Shizhong and third rank, served as an inside man, and Tianchang fell. Entering Anhui, imperial forces retook Tongcheng and Shucheng; rebels fled to Sanhe. Du Xing'a and the fleet cleared the outer works around Anqing. Xubing pursued to Sanhe. Yucheng, Xiucheng, and Shixian joined with Jiangpu, Liuhe, and Lujiang forces, called in Nian bands, and massed more than one hundred thousand to trap the imperial army in three rings. Outnumbered, Xubing was killed. The broken force reached Tongcheng; the rear garrison collapsed, and within ten days Tongcheng, Shucheng, Qianshan, and Taihu were lost again. Du Xing'a gathered survivors, held Susong at Shipai, beat the Huangni Camp rebels, and with Bao Chao and Dolonga won a great victory at Jingqiao and Chenjia Dawu, leveling more than thirty forts. Yucheng fell back to Taihu. With Shucheng and Tongcheng taken, he argued Susong must fall before Anqing could be held, and planned another stroke with Xiucheng. Xiucheng knew the odds were bad and hesitated, but Yucheng insisted he had a clever plan. They attacked on separate routes and were badly beaten back. Yucheng left a garrison at Taihu and returned to Anqing. Xiucheng led his followers back to Chaoxian and Huangshan.
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是時江西寇復闌入閩界，蹂將樂縣，並陷浦城、永吉、建陽、順昌、寧化、長汀等城。 國藩入閩，軍建昌。 諸陷城以次復。 寇復竄回江西，惟連城尚聚萬餘，復陷景德、東流，謀竄湖口、九江等處。 國藩檄調道員張運蘭倍道馳赴景德鎮，屢戰皆捷。 初，寇踞景德鎮，勢燄薰熾，江右要衝之區，恣行無阻。 國藩添派其弟國荃率湘軍五千八百赴鎮，助運蘭攻剿。 寇夜襲艇師劉于淳，燃火彈拋燒簰卡無數。 寇棄鎮竄浮梁，國荃等水陸進攻，復浮梁。 寇走建德北去，江西稍定。
Jiangxi rebels crossed into Fujian again, ravaged Jiangle, and took Pucheng, Yongji, Jianyang, Shunchang, Ninghua, Changting, and more. Guofan entered Fujian and camped at Jianchang. Lost cities were retaken one by one. Rebels fled back to Jiangxi. Liancheng still held more than ten thousand, and they retook Jingde and Dongliu, threatening Hukou and Jiujiang. Guofan ordered Zhang Yunlan to rush to Jingdezhen and win a string of engagements. Jingdezhen had been a blazing rebel stronghold on a vital Jiangxi corridor. Guofan sent his brother Guoquan with 5,800 Xiang troops to reinforce Yunlan. Rebels night-attacked Liu Yuchun's boats with fire bombs and burned countless raft barriers. The rebels abandoned Jingdezhen for Fuliang; Guoquan retook Fuliang by land and water. The rebels fled north from Jiande, and Jiangxi calmed somewhat.
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十一月，江南大營援軍直隸通永鎮總兵戴文英戰死寧國灣沚。 次日，幫辦皖南軍務浙江提督鄧紹良，大營陷，死之。 寧郡設防三百餘里，皆鄰寇巢，近則蕪湖、青陽、繁昌、銅陵，遠則無為、和州、滁州，渡江即至。 而祿口、秣陵、溧水敗寇，勾合太平金柱關、東西梁山黨眾，潛山、太湖、舒、桐及樅陽土橋敗黨，皆以寧國為通藪； 防軍僅七千有奇，又多調援他處，寇眾兵單，故及於敗。 國藩疏陳目前緩急，宜先攻景德鎮，保全湖口，上是其議。 胡林翼先以丁母憂回籍，會三河變起，朝旨迫起督師，十二月，渡江駐黃州。 時寇之踞南安者有五支：一為偽翼府宰制陳亨容、傅忠信、何名標，一為偽渠帥蕭壽璜、蔡次賢，一為偽尚書周竹坡，一為偽軍略賴裕發，一為偽承宣劉逸才、張遂謀，眾七八萬，將由南康犯贛州，築偽城於新墟，設卡壘，踞村莊，綿亙二十餘里。
In the eleventh month Brigadier Dai Wenying of the Jiangnan relief force was killed at Ningguo Wanzi. The next day Assistant Commander Deng Shaoliang's camp fell and he was killed. Ning Prefecture's three-hundred-li defense line faced rebel nests from Wuhu and Tongling nearby to Wuwei, Hezhou, and Chuzhou across the river. Defeated rebels at Lukou, Moling, and Lishui joined Taiping and Liangshan bands, while broken forces from Qianshan, Taihu, and Zongyang used Ningguo as their corridor. Only a little over seven thousand defenders remained, many detached elsewhere—too few against too many. Guofan argued that Jingdezhen must be taken first to hold Hukou, and the emperor agreed. Hu Linyi had gone home to mourn his mother, but after Sanhe the court recalled him. In the twelfth month he crossed the river and camped at Huangzhou. Five rebel columns held Nan'an under false leaders including Chen Hengrong, Fu Zhongxin, He Mingbiao, Xiao Shouhuang, Cai Cixian, Zhou Zhupo, Lai Yufa, and Liu Yicai and Zhang Suimou—some seventy or eighty thousand men—preparing to strike Ganzhou from Nankang from a twenty-li belt of forts at Xinxu.
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九年正月，國藩檄蕭啟江設伏赤石塘，敗寇，克新墟，進破南康池江、小溪、鳳凰城、長江墟寇壘，並克崇義、南安，進解信豐之圍。 二月，江浦薛三元獻城降，進克浦口，陣斬偽天福洪方、偽立天豫莫興。 寇覘李世忠擊高旺，乘虛再陷浦口。 世忠回軍再克之，浦口肅清。 李秀成急率悍賊七八萬來犯，踞烏衣鎮汊河。 秀成復要陳玉成自廬州來援。 烏衣鎮屬滁州、江浦交界鎖鑰，寇意在斷絕浦營餉道，為張國樑擊敗。 寇與閩、浙餘寇皆趨郴、桂，所謂石達開三十萬眾後圍寶慶者也。 玉成由六合犯廬州，布政使李孟羣被執，不屈，死之。 三月，糾安慶黨圍撲定遠護城營，築堅壘數十以困我師。 勝保襲破其壘，秀成東走，而黨眾日增。 國樑於定遠縣西築十里長牆禦之，其北路自九里山至浦口，三四十里，寇壘殆遍。 我軍日戰，副將鄭朝棟、張占魁皆歿於陣。 時浦口後路滁州、來安皆困於寇。 世忠自浦口繞道回援勝保，撤烏衣汊口防軍還定遠，其地復為寇踞。 和春慮江北軍單，遣馮子材渡江援應。 玉成度江浦、浦口未可力爭，分黨援六合； 又謀趨天長、揚州，渡江攻南營後路，並襲北營。 於是寇眾四五萬東趨六合，蔓延來安、盱眙諸境。
In the ninth year's first month Guofan had Xiao Qijiang ambush rebels at Chishitang, take Xinxu, break a chain of Nan'an forts, retake Chongyi and Nan'an, and relieve Xinfeng. In the second month Xue Sanyuan of Jiangpu surrendered; imperial forces took Pukou and killed the false Heavenly Blessing Hong Fang and false Standing Heaven Yu Mo Xing. Seeing Li Shizhong attack Gaowang, rebels slipped back in and retook Pukou. Shizhong marched back and retook Pukou, clearing the route. Li Xiucheng rushed in with seventy or eighty thousand elite rebels and held Wuyi and Chahe. Xiucheng again summoned Chen Yucheng from Luzhou. Wuyi, on the Chuzhou-Jiangpu border, was meant to sever Pukou's supply line until Zhang Guoliang defeated the attempt. Rebels and Fujian-Zhejiang remnants moved toward Chenzhou and Guilin—the force later said to be Shi Dakai's three hundred thousand around Baoxing. Yucheng invaded Luzhou from Liuhe. Li Mengqun was captured, refused to yield, and was killed. In the third month they rallied Anqing rebels, besieged the Dingyuan garrison, and built dozens of strong forts. Sheng Bao stormed the forts. Xiucheng fled east, but rebel numbers kept growing. Guoliang built a ten-li wall west of Dingyuan. Rebel forts lined the thirty- to forty-li route from Jiuli Mountain to Pukou. Fighting was daily. Vice Commanders Zheng Chaodong and Zhang Zhankui were killed in action. Chuzhou and Lai'an, the rear routes to Pukou, were both under pressure. Shizhong detoured from Pukou to aid Sheng Bao, pulled the Wuyi garrison back to Dingyuan, and rebels reoccupied the ground. Fearing Jiangbei was too weak, He Chun sent Feng Zicai across the river. Yucheng saw Jiangpu and Pukou could not be forced and sent detachments to Liuhe; he also planned to strike Tianchang and Yangzhou, cross the river against the southern camp's rear, and hit the northern camp. Some forty or fifty thousand rebels marched east on Liuhe and spread through Lai'an and Xuyi.
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四月，玉成圍揚州。 提督德安擊寇天長，失利，歿於陣。 勝保率軍進戰石梁，互有死傷，還屯舊鋪，扼盱眙前路捍北犯。 駐汊澗軍為寇困，先後突圍出。 和春遣張玉良、安勇分六合軍赴防揚州，以固清、淮門戶。 時池州、青陽寇逼石硊，窺灣沚。 當塗、蕪湖寇分壁青山、亭頭逼黃池。 我軍敗盱眙、汊澗及天長寇，天長寇分竄六合，並踞儀徵江干東溝，圖撲紅山窯。 其地距六合二十里，旁通瓜埠，為大營餉道咽喉。 五月，鞠殿華督軍破平六合東路王子廟、太平集寇壘。 初，六合、儀徵連界二十里，寇壘四十餘，阻糧道。 至是六合廓清。 時六合以北、天長以南，寇麇集數萬，餉道危急，由烏家集繞犯各軍之背，世忠退保滁、來。 寇趨舊鋪，直犯盱眙，圍勝保於桑樹，都興阿力戰解之。 尋舊鋪寇犯紅子橋，勝保及穆騰阿馳援，而寇已分犯盱眙，盱眙故無城，倉猝遂失。
In the fourth month Yucheng besieged Yangzhou. Commander-in-Chief De'an fought at Tianchang, was beaten, and killed. Sheng Bao fought at Shiliang with heavy losses, then held Jiupu to block the Xuyi approach from the north. The Chajian garrison was trapped and broke out in succession. He Chun sent Zhang Yuliang and An Yong to hold Yangzhou and guard the Qing-Huai corridor. Chizhou and Qingyang rebels pressed Shizui and threatened Wanzi. Dangtu and Wuhu rebels pressed Huangchi from Qingshan and Tingtou. Imperial forces beat rebels at Xuyi, Chajian, and Tianchang. Tianchang bands fled to Liuhe and seized Yizheng's east bank, threatening Hongshan Kiln. Twenty li from Liuhe and linked to Guabu, it was the lifeline of the grand camp's supplies. In the fifth month Ju Dianhua cleared rebel forts at Wangzi Temple and Taipingji on Liuhe's east route. Liuhe and Yizheng had shared a twenty-li front with more than forty rebel forts choking supplies. By then Liuhe was cleared. North of Liuhe and south of Tianchang tens of thousands of rebels threatened the supply line, struck from Wujiaji, and drove Shizhong back to Chuzhou and Lai'an. Rebels rushed Jiupu and pressed Xuyi, trapping Sheng Bao at Sangshu until Du Xing'a fought through. Rebels struck Hongzi Bridge. Sheng Bao and Mu Teng'a hurried over, but other columns took wall-less Xuyi in the confusion.
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六月，勝保攻克盱眙，追創之磨臍、天台諸山。 揚州諸軍安勇等聞天長寇回竄六合，赴儀徵截擊，大破於沙河、大小銅山。 玉成憤甚，圖報復，率死黨攻來安。 世忠守城，伏壯勇於兩門外，自督軍衝入寇營。 寇乘虛襲城，伏起攔擊，世忠返隊夾攻，寇大敗，夜走滁州。 世忠由水口焚燒寇壘，寇大潰，糾合捻匪圍定遠，再敗再進，我軍眾寡不敵，遂失陷。 七月，玉成率死黨攻來安，犯滁州，世忠擊之，稍卻； 尋復糾眾圍來安，並分屯城西北卓家巢等處，寇壘幾遍。 世忠偵寇志已驕，潛伏兵挑戰，偽敗，寇笑官軍怯； 而世忠又環譟之，寇不為意，惟槍聲絕續作備而已。 世忠驟起鳴角而前，火其營，破二十八壘。 會勝保解其圍，世忠還滁州。 八月，敗寇西竄陷霍山，江長貴等擊敗太平郭邨、宏潭踞寇，尋竄石埭，陷烏石壠，防營游擊黃金祥退屯楊谿河。 自去歲三河失陷，寇造偽城高二丈餘，砲眼星列，環以深壕，樁籤密布，與太湖互相援應，兼通糧道。
In the sixth month Sheng Bao retook Xuyi and pursued broken rebels into the Mojiao and Tiantai hills. An Yong and other Yangzhou troops intercepted Tianchang rebels fleeing toward Liuhe and routed them at Shahe and the Tongshan hills. Enraged, Yucheng led his shock troops against Lai'an. Shizhong held the city, hid troops outside the gates, and led a charge into the rebel camp. Rebels tried to rush the walls; ambushers rose, Shizhong wheeled back, and the rebels fled by night to Chuzhou. Shizhong burned rebel camps at the water mouth. The rebels rallied with Nian bands, took Dingyuan after repeated blows, and outnumbered imperial troops. In the seventh month Yucheng struck Lai'an and Chuzhou. Shizhong beat him back; then Yucheng besieged Lai'an again and ringed the northwest with forts. Shizhong saw the rebels growing arrogant, sent out a challenge, and feigned defeat. He surrounded them with shouts while they fired only sporadically. Shizhong suddenly sounded the horn, charged, burned the camps, and took twenty-eight forts. Sheng Bao relieved the siege and Shizhong returned to Chuzhou. In the eighth month broken rebels took Huoshan. Jiang Changgui beat Taiping bands at Guo Village and Hongtan; others seized Wushilong and drove Huang Jinxiang to Yangxi River. Since Sanhe, rebels had built a two-zhang false city with star-like gun ports, deep moats, stakes, links to Taihu, and open supply lines.
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石牌鎮隸安徽懷寧，當宿、望、潛、太之交，為由皖入楚要衝。 官文以偽城不拔，終礙東征，乃令多隆阿統馬步軍會攻，拔偽城，擊斬霍天燕、石廷玉等四十七名，並拒敗潛山、安慶援寇。 偽顧王吳如孝者，寇之最悍者也，自鎮江逸出，至皖北，糾捻沿淮肆擾； 尋撲盱眙之清壩，為格蘭額等槍斃，斷其首。 眾南潰，九月，擾霍山下符橋。 六安防軍盧又熊等擊敗之，破毛坦廠寇壘，而廬州、安慶寇同犯六安，乃引軍還盱眙。 天長寇犯揚州，參將艾得勝、雙喜等敗死司徒廟。 玉成率大股自甘泉山西竄儀徵陳板橋，進援六合，圍李若珠壘。 馮子材禦之失利，退屯段要口。 寇踞紅山窯，斷李若珠營後路，餉運不通。
Shipai in Huaining stood where Susong, Wangjiang, Qianshan, and Taihu met—the gateway from Anhui into Hubei. Guan Wen ordered Dolonga to take the false city, killed forty-seven including Huo Tianyan and Shi Tingyu, and beat back Qianshan and Anqing relief. The false Prince Gu, Wu Ruxiao, among the fiercest rebels, fled from Zhenjiang to north Anhui and stirred Nian raids along the Huai; he then struck Qingba at Xuyi and was shot dead by Gelan'e; his head was taken. His followers fled south. In the ninth month they raided Huoshan below Xifu Bridge. Lu Youxiong beat them and broke Maotan Factory, but Luzhou and Anqing rebels invaded Lu'an and forced a return to Xuyi. Tianchang rebels struck Yangzhou. Regiment Commanders Ai Desheng and Shuangxi were killed at Sitiao Temple. Yucheng marched from Ganquan toward Yizheng, relieved Liuhe, and besieged Li Ruozhu. Feng Zicai met them, was beaten, and fell back to Duanyaokou. Rebels held Hongshan Kiln, cut Li Ruozhu's rear, and supplies stopped.
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十月，若珠自八埠牆、陳家集潰圍出，中數創，退屯揚州，死傷馬步軍二千八百餘人。 石埭夏邨寇分股糾青陽寇萬餘，竄踞涇縣查邨，防軍副將石玉龍敗死南山嶺。 適周天受至自寧國，督天孚等力擊之，寇退還查邨。 王浚破平陶美鎮寇壘，陣斬偽丞相孫瑞亨，鎮距秣陵關二十餘里。 盧又熊克霍山，寇自太平、蕪湖犯寧國，陷黃池，高州鎮總兵蕭知音敗退新豐鎮。 玉成及秀成自天長、六合糾大股窺伺江浦，分屯南北兩岸。 張國樑渡江遣水師破壽德州寇壘，水師曹秉忠破六合、紅山窯、瓜埠寇七壘，彭常宣敗寇於儀徵泗源溝。 時寇眾悉踞揚州西北，尋陷江浦防軍壘，周天培死之，大軍退保江浦。 寇乘勢東伺揚、儀，西逼江浦，南窺溧水，勢復熾。
In the tenth month Ruozhu broke out at Babuqiang and Chenjiaji, was wounded, withdrew to Yangzhou, and lost more than twenty-eight hundred men. Shiling rebels joined ten thousand Qingyang men at Zhachun in Jing. Vice Commander Shi Yulong was killed at Nanshan Ridge. Zhou Tianshou came from Ningguo, fought hard, and drove the rebels back to Zhachun. Wang Jun cleared Taomei and killed the false chancellor Sun Ruiheng twenty li from Moling Pass. Lu Youxiong took Huoshan. Taiping and Wuhu rebels took Huangchi and drove Xiao Zhiyin to Xinfeng. Yucheng and Xiucheng massed at Tianchang and Liuhe and probed Jiangpu from both banks. Guoliang sent the fleet to break Shoude forts. Cao Bingzhong took seven forts at Liuhe, Hongshan Kiln, and Guabu. Peng Changxuan won at Siyuangou. Rebels held northwest Yangzhou, took Jiangpu's forts, killed Zhou Tianpei, and forced the army back to Jiangpu. They eyed Yangzhou and Yizheng to the east, Jiangpu to the west, and Lishui to the south, and momentum revived.
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寇自洪、楊內亂，鎮江克復，秀全兇燄久衰，徒以陳玉成往來江北，句結捻匪，擾廬州、浦口、三河等處，迭挫我師。 曾國藩以為廓清諸路，必先攻破江寧； 欲破江寧，必先駐重兵於滁、和，而後可去江寧之外屏，斷蕪湖之糧道。 欲駐滁、和，必先圍安慶，以破陳玉成之老巢，兼擣廬州，以攻陳所必救。 誠能攻圍兩處，略取旁縣，備多力分，不特不敢悉力北竄齊、梁，並不敢一意東顧江浦、六合，蓋寇未有不悉力以護其根本者也。 於是定四路進兵之策：國藩任第一路，由宿松、石牌以窺安慶； 多隆阿、鮑超任第二路，由太湖、潛山以取桐城； 胡林翼任第三路，由英山、霍山取舒城； 調回李續宜任第四路，由商、固以規廬州。 以後平寇之策，皆不出此。
After the Hong and Yang purges and Zhenjiang's recovery, Xiucheng's power had faded, but Chen Yucheng shuttled north of the river, allied with Nian bands, and repeatedly beat imperial forces at Luzhou, Pukou, and Sanhe. Guofan argued that clearing the region required taking Nanjing first; to take Nanjing required heavy forces at Chuzhou and He county to strip its outer defenses and sever Wuhu's grain route. Holding Chuzhou and He county required besieging Anqing to smash Yucheng's base and striking Luzhou to force him back. Besieging both places and taking nearby counties would split rebel strength, keep them from fleeing north or concentrating on Jiangpu and Liuhe, since rebels always defend their base. They fixed a four-route advance: Guofan from Susong and Shipai on Anqing; Dolonga and Bao Chao from Taihu and Qianshan on Tongcheng; Hu Linyi from Yingshan and Huoshan on Shucheng; and Li Xuyi from Shangcheng and Gushi on Luzhou. Later pacification strategy never left this framework.
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十一月，涇縣查村寇犯吳正熙壘，不利，而章家渡亦為我軍所挫。 揚州寇踞甘泉山，馬德昭破其壘。 國樑督軍攻江浦寇壘不下，寇掘地道攻城，玉良遣將縋城出，焚其壘，填塞地道。 寇築壘磨盤洲，我軍四路蹙之，寇眾大敗狂奔，北門寇營亦同時攻破。 其陳家集等處之寇竄回天長，南路之寇潛窺溧水，皆為防軍擊退。 江長貴克太平，郭邨、查邨敗寇竄涇縣北路。 副將榮陞連破石柱坑、盤臺寇卡，寇竄踞董家村、白茅塘，犯萬級、黃柏兩嶺。 榮陞會徽軍破之，覆其巢。 寇又竄擾河西，為參將朱景山等所敗。 副將吳再升遂乘勝進剿黃池南岸牛頭山寇壘，北岸寇糾眾來援，分兵拒之，寇多死傷； 北岸寇潰走渡河，我軍遂收南岸。 池州守城寇韋志俊獻城於楊載福，其部下古隆賢等不從，回撲府城，城復陷。 桐、潛寇援太湖，將襲天堂後路，余繼昌會軍團分路敗之槎水畈，陣斬偽漢天侯、拱天豫二名，寇奔潰。
In the eleventh month Zhachun rebels failed against Wu Zhengxi, and Zhangjiadu was beaten back. Yangzhou rebels held Ganquan Mountain until Ma Dezhao broke them. Guoliang could not take Jiangpu's forts. Rebels mined the walls; Yuliang's men sallied by rope, burned the works, and filled the tunnels. Rebels fortified Mopanzhou. Four imperial columns routed them and took the north-gate camps. Chenjiaji rebels fled to Tianchang; southern columns probing Lishui were driven off. Jiang Changgui took Taiping; beaten rebels from Guo Village and Zhachun fled north in Jing. Vice Commander Rongsheng broke Shizhukeng and Pantai; rebels fled to Dongjia Village and Baimaotang and struck Wanjie and Huangbai ridges. Rongsheng joined Huizhou troops, routed them, and destroyed their nest. Rebels raided Hexi again and were beaten by Zhu Jingshan. Wu Zaisheng pressed Niutou Mountain on Huangchi's south bank. North-bank relief was divided and bloodied; north-bank rebels broke, fled across the river, and the south bank was recovered. Wei Zhijun of Chizhou surrendered to Yang Zaifu. Gu Longxian and others refused, stormed back, and the city fell again. Tongcheng and Qianshan rebels moved on Tiantang's rear. Yu Jichang and militia routed them at Chashuifan, killing the false Han Heavenly Marquis and Arch Heaven Yu.
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十二月，侍賢由蕪湖金柱關率大股犯寧國，與黃池北岸寇合勢，連日分擾黃岡橋、牛頭山等處，再犯西河，蕭知音、熊廷芳退走寒亭。 寇圍游擊冉正祥壘，都司李培基馳援始解。 玉成以定遠、舒城、廬州寇眾北犯壽州，翁同書令副將尹善廷率精銳馳援，挫寇於東、南兩路。 時玉成以楚師甚盛，欲圖西竄六合拒楚師，因北犯壽州以牽掣我軍。 尋自江浦回援安慶、太平，糾合捻首龔得樹、張洛行等分道上犯，眾號十餘萬。 多隆阿、鮑超、蔣凝學禦之潛山，連破靈港寇壘。 蕪湖寇進犯宣城、灣沚，周天受禦之，不得逞； 乃分眾四竄，我軍亦分拒於海南渡、浮橋口、清水潭、鹽官渡。 寇退踞許邨埠，進犯西河，朱景山等創之，增軍守東西岸。 寇迭窺灣沚，我軍渡河擊之，寧國西北寇鋒稍斂。 先是銅陵、青陽寇常犯南陵、涇縣之交，我軍扼守雲嶺、蘇嶺，而設伏朝山要、三里甸，參將方國淮出奇擊之。 寇屢犯三里甸，陷國淮壘，復竄越雲嶺，陷觀嶺防營。 天受調金友堵清弋江，寇北走南陵，陳大富擊之，寇復退入涇境。
In the twelfth month Shixian from Jinzhuguan invaded Ningguo with Huangchi north-bank rebels, raided Huanggang Bridge and Niutou Mountain, struck Xihe, and drove Xiao Zhiyin and Xiong Tingfang to Hanting. Rebels besieged Ran Zhengxiang until Li Peiji relieved him. Yucheng sent Dingyuan, Shucheng, and Luzhou rebels against Shouzhou. Yin Shanting rushed elite troops and beat them on the east and south. Seeing Chu forces strong, Yucheng tried to slip west to Liuhe while pinning imperial troops with a thrust at Shouzhou. He then returned from Jiangpu to aid Anqing and Taiping, joined Gong Deshu and Zhang Luoxing, and marched upriver in columns said to exceed one hundred thousand. Dolonga, Bao Chao, and Jiang Ningxue met them at Qianshan and broke Linggang's forts. Wuhu rebels struck Xuancheng and Wanzi but Zhou Tianshou held them; they split four ways; imperial forces blocked them at Hainandu, Fuqiaokou, Qingshuitan, and Yanduguan. Rebels fell back to Xucunbu, struck Xihe, were hurt by Zhu Jingshan, and imperial troops reinforced both banks. Rebels kept probing Wanzi until imperial troops crossed the river and eased pressure on northwest Ningguo. Tongling and Qingyang rebels had raided the Nanling-Jing border until imperial forces held Yunling and Suling, ambushed Chaoshan and Sanlidian, and Fang Guohuai struck by surprise. They took Sanlidian and Guohuai's fort, crossed Yunling again, and seized Guanling. Tianshou sent Jin You to block the Qingyi. Rebels fled toward Nanling, were hit by Chen Dafu, and withdrew into Jing.
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自玉成回援安慶後，秀成獨屯浦口，寇勢已孤。 時金陵困急，援兵皆不至。 秀成以玉成兵最強，請加封王號寄閫外，秀全乃封玉成英王，賜八方黃金印，便宜行事。 然玉成雖專閫寄，而威信遠不如秀成，無遵調者。 李世忠因致書秀成曰：「君智謀勇功，何事不如玉成？ 今玉成已王，而君尚為將，秀全之憒憒可知矣。 吾始反正，清帝優禮有加。 以君雄才，胡為鬱鬱久居人下？ 盍從我遊乎！」 時偽兵部尚書莫仕葵以勘軍在秀成營，書落其手，閱之大驚，以示秀成。 秀成曰：「臣不事二君，猶女不更二夫。 昭壽自為不義，乃欲陷人耶？」 仕葵曰：「吾知公久矣。」 乃代奏之，秀全命封江阻秀成兵，並遣其母、妻出居北岸，止其南渡。 仕葵曰：「如此，則大事去矣！」 乃偕蒙得恩、林紹璋、李春發入偽宮切諫曰：「昭壽為敵行間，王奈何墮其計，自壞長城？ 京師一線之路，賴秀成障之。 玉成總軍數月，不能調一軍，其效可睹矣。 今宜優詔褒勉，以安其心。 臣等願以百口保之。」 秀全悟，召秀成入，慰之曰：「如卿忠義，而誤信謠傳，朕之過也。 卿宜釋懷，勠力王室！」 即進封偽爵為忠王榮千歲。 寇自楊、韋搆殺，秀全以其兄弟仁發等主持偽政，偽幼西王蕭有和，蕭朝貴子也，秀全尤倚任之，而以一偽將畜秀成，不與聞大計。 至是晉偽爵為王，乃大悅，以為秀全任己漸專，不料其疑己也。
After Yucheng went back to Anqing, Xiucheng alone held Pukou and rebel strength was increasingly isolated. Nanjing was desperate and no relief came. Xiucheng asked that Yucheng be made a king with independent command. Xiucheng made him Prince Ying with gold seals and full discretion. Yet Yucheng's authority never matched Xiucheng's, and few obeyed his orders. Li Shizhong wrote to Xiucheng: "In wisdom, courage, and achievement, what do you lack that Yucheng has? Yucheng is a king and you are still a general. Xiucheng's folly is plain. I defected first, and the Qing emperor treated me generously. With your talent, why stay beneath others so long? Come join me!" The false Minister of War Mo Shikui, inspecting troops in Xiucheng's camp, seized the letter and showed it to him in alarm. Xiucheng said, "I serve one master only, as a woman has one husband. Zhaoshou acted unjustly. Does he think to trap me?" Mo Shikui said, "I have known your loyalty for years. He memorialized for Xiucheng, but Hong Xiuquan sealed the river, moved Xiucheng's mother and wife to the north bank, and barred his crossing south. Mo Shikui said, "Then the cause is lost!" He entered the palace with Meng De'en, Lin Shaozhang, and Li Chunfa and pleaded: "Zhaoshou is the enemy's agent. Why destroy your own Great Wall? The capital's one lifeline depends on Xiucheng. Yucheng has commanded for months and cannot move one army—that proves the point. Issue a gracious edict to reassure him. We stake our lives on his loyalty." Hong Xiuquan relented, summoned Xiucheng, and said, "Your loyalty is clear. Believing rumors was my fault. Set your heart at ease and serve the cause!" He made Xiucheng Loyal King, Rong Thousand Years. After the Yang and Wei purges, Hong Xiuquan's brothers ran the state while the Young Western King Xiao Youhe held favor, yet Xiucheng was kept from high policy. Raised to king, Xiucheng rejoiced, thinking trust was complete—unaware suspicion remained.
73
浦口當金陵咽喉要地，迫於大軍，而糧援無措； 南渡時，見秀全問計，秀全語以「事皆天父排定，奚煩計慮？」 又與仁發等謀留其助守金陵，秀成不可，曰：「官軍既以長圍困我，當謀救困法，俱死於此無益也。」 渡還，以黃子隆、陳贊明屯浦口，親赴上游糾合皖南蕪湖、寧國死黨，謀間道犯浙江，分江南大營兵力，還解長圍之困，其志固不在浙也。 連日援太湖寇、捻攻鮑超潛山小池驛營壘不克，楊輔清、古隆賢用內應陷池州。 韋志俊突圍屯泥灣，收合散亡，移屯香口； 迭敗寇於八都坂、栗樹街，俘斬偽將軍陳松剋等三十餘人。
Pukou guarded Nanjing's throat but was pressed by imperial forces and starved of supplies; crossing south he asked Hong Xiuquan, who said, "Heaven arranges all—why plan?" They wanted him to stay and defend Nanjing. Xiucheng refused: "The long encirclement demands relief, not useless death." He left Huang Zilong and Chen Zanming at Pukou, rallied Anhui diehards, and feinted into Zhejiang to split the Jiangnan camp and ease the siege—not to conquer Zhejiang. They failed to take Bao Chao's Xiaochi forts with Nian aid, while Yang Fuqing and Gu Longxian seized Chizhou by treachery. Wei Zhijun broke out to Niwan, gathered fugitives, and moved to Xiangkou; he beat rebels at Badu Slope and Chestnut Street and took more than thirty officers including Chen Songke.
74
是年，秀全大封諸王。 初，秀全定都金陵，一切文武之制，悉由偽東王楊秀清手定。 是時為秀全建國極盛時代，其宮室制度：第一，為龍鳳殿，即朝堂也，主議政、議戰諸大事。 每有大事，鳴鐘擊鼓，會議，秀全即升座，張紅幔。 諸王丞相兩旁分坐，依官職順列。 賊將則侍立於後。 議畢，鳴鐘伐鼓退朝。 第二，說教臺，每日午，秀全御此，衣黃龍袍，冠紫金冕，垂三十六旒。 後有二侍者持長旗，上書「天父、天兄、天王、太平天國」。 臺式圓，高五丈，階百步。 說教時，官民皆入聽。 其有意見者，亦可登座陳說。 文左上，武右上。 士民由前後路直上，立有一定之位。 第三，軍政議事局，軍事調遣、糧餉、器械總登所。 秀全自為元帥，當日偽東王為副元帥，北王、翼王為左、右前軍副元帥，六官左、右副丞相為局中管理。 各科員中，分軍馬、軍糧、軍械、軍衣、軍帳、軍船、軍圖、軍俘、軍事諸科。 又有糧餉轉運局、文書管理局、前鋒告急局、接濟局，皆屬軍政議事局。 內以六官左、右副丞相領之。 其最尊者為軍機會商局長，初以偽東王領之。 遇有戰事，籌畫一切，則偽東王中坐，諸王、丞相、天將左右坐立，各手地圖論形勢，然後出師。 秀清死，偽翼王領之。 石達開去後，李秀成領之。 秀成東入蘇、杭，則有名無實，虛懸其位矣。 其時寇之武備頗詳盡。 自諸偽王內訌，人心解體，秀全以為非不次拔擢，無以安諸將之心。 然自此大封之後，幾至無人不王，而丞相、天將之職多攝行。 於是各持一軍，勢不相下，而調遣諸王者，僅陳玉成一人。 故八年以前，寇之用兵，攻守並用。 八年以後，不過用攻以救守，戰局遂至日危，以底於亡。
That year Hong Xiuquan enfeoffed a host of kings. When Nanjing became the capital, Yang Xiuqing had designed the whole civil and military order. At the height of the Taiping state, the Dragon-Phoenix Hall served as the court for policy and war. Great affairs were announced with bells and drums; Hong Xiuquan took the throne beneath a red curtain. Kings and chancellors sat by rank on either side. Generals stood behind them. Bells and drums closed the session. Second was the Sermon Platform, where Hong Xiuquan appeared daily at noon in yellow dragon robes and a tasseled purple-gold crown. Attendants bore banners reading "Heavenly Father, Heavenly Elder Brother, Heavenly King, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom." The round platform stood five zhang high with a hundred steps. Officials and people gathered to listen. Anyone with a view could speak from the platform. Civil officials to the upper left, military to the upper right. Commoners entered by set paths to fixed places. Third was the Military-Government Bureau, which tracked troops, grain, and arms. Hong Xiuquan was commander-in-chief; Yang Xiuqing was deputy; the Northern and Wing Kings led vanguards; vice chancellors ran the bureau. Sections covered horses, grain, arms, clothing, tents, boats, maps, prisoners, and operations. Grain transport, archives, emergency dispatch, and relief offices all reported to it. Six-office vice chancellors headed the staff. The Military Council chief was highest; Yang Xiuqing held it first. In war councils Yang Xiuqing sat central while kings and generals debated maps before marching. After Yang Xiuqing died, the Wing King took it. After Shi Dakai left, Li Xiucheng held it. When Xiucheng went east to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the post became an empty title. Rebel armaments were then remarkably detailed. After the kings turned on one another, Hong Xiuquan promoted wildly to hold the army together. After that nearly everyone became a king while chancellors and generals often held acting titles. Each king held his own army and obeyed little but Chen Yucheng. Before the eighth year the Taiping armies both attacked and defended. After the eighth year they attacked only to survive sieges, and the war slid toward collapse.
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十年正月，偽匡王、偽奉王、偽襄王糾合偽攝王自南陵犯涇縣灣灘，游擊王熊飛退走，寇遂蔓延黃邨、焦石埠，進攻副將李嘉萬，援師為楊名聲所敗，斬偽岡天燕、賴文禾。 寇竄踞黃柏嶺，其黨尋大至，陷涇縣。 楊名聲等退走旌德，寇踵至，明日亦陷。 我軍還守寧國。 是時秀成自率悍黨數千，已由寧國縣間道犯廣德。 張國樑督水陸諸軍渡江期大舉，克浦口八壘，黃子隆、陳贊明遁； 攻九洑洲，克其老巢，焚之。 寇自咸豐四年築壘九洑洲，內蔽江寧，外通大江，踞為南北水陸要區。 江寧長圍成後，浦口、九洑洲皆克，勢大困。
In the tenth year's first month false kings from Nanling struck Jing county's Wan Beach. Li Jiawan was pressed until Yang Mingsheng's relief killed the false Gang Heaven Swallow and Lai Wenhe. Rebels held Huangbai Ridge, then overwhelmed and took Jing county. Yang Mingsheng fell back to Jingde; rebels followed and took it the next day. Imperial forces withdrew to defend Ningguo. Xiucheng himself led thousands through hidden paths from Ningguo into Guangde. Zhang Guoliang crossed the river for a major campaign, took eight Pukou forts, and drove off Huang Zilong and Chen Zanming; attacked Jiufuzhou, took its nest, and burned it. Since Xianfeng year four rebels had fortified Jiufuzhou to shield Nanjing and command the river. Once the Nanjing encirclement closed and Pukou and Jiufuzhou fell, the rebels were cornered.
76
秀成由皖犯浙，分我兵勢，而諸將又以寇在陷阱，無能為役，習為驕佚，戰志漸消，故有閏三月大營失敗之禍。 太湖寇、捻分四股來犯我軍，知府金國琛會集諸軍敗之仰天庵、高橫嶺，生擒悍目藍承宣，向擾害蘄、黃者，寸磔之。 金國琛等復敗寇、捻於潛山廣福寨。 玉成率龔得樹、張洛行來援，乘霧移營於羅山衝、白沙畈，冀與城寇相通，以圖牽綴我軍。 諸軍會擊，寇大敗，擒斬偽庶天侯麥烏宿、偽軍師汪遂林等。 明日，鮑超等進攻小池驛，當東路； 蔣凝學等攻羅山衝，當西路； 多隆阿居中路策應。 羅山衝寇蜂擁來撲，凝學連破衝口，攻入內山，馬隊繼之，寇大敗。 值東南風作，以火焚之，燬壘百有數十。 寇奪路狂奔，斃偽丞相葉榮發、偽將軍舒春華等。 城寇謀宵遁，伏軍四起擊之。 是役也，殲寇二萬餘，益惶懼，竄入潛山。 多隆阿督軍尾擊，克其城。
Xiucheng raided Zhejiang to split imperial forces while his generals grew arrogant and slack, leading to the intercalary third-month disaster. Taihu rebels and Nian struck in four columns until Jin Guochen routed them at Yangtian'an, captured Lan Chengxuan, and executed him by slow slicing. Jin Guochen beat them again at Qianshan Guangfu Stockade. Yucheng brought Gong Deshu and Zhang Luoxing through fog to Luoshan Pass and Baisha Fan to link with the garrison. Combined forces routed them and killed the false Common Heaven Marquis Mai Wusu and strategist Wang Suilin. Next day Bao Chao attacked Xiaochi Post on the east; Jiang Ningxue struck Luoshan Pass on the west; Dolonga coordinated the center. Rebels swarmed at Luoshan Pass until Ningxue broke through, cavalry followed, and the line collapsed. A southeast wind fed the flames and destroyed more than a hundred forts. Rebels fled in chaos, leaving dead including the false chancellor Ye Rongfa and general Shu Chunhua. The garrison tried to flee by night and was cut down in ambush. More than twenty thousand were killed; the rest fled into Qianshan. Dolonga pursued and took the city.
77
秀成、侍賢等至廣德，詐為清軍，陷之，杭、湖、蘇、常並震。 巡撫羅遵殿調徽、寧防軍援剿廣德，以保兩浙門戶。 張芾遣周天孚馳防長興四安鎮，鎮距廣德四十里，當蘇、浙之交。 和春遣水陸軍來會，秀成留陳坤書、陳炳文守廣德，自率譚紹光、陳順德、吳定彩等馳攻四安鎮，陷之。 和春遣水師會攻江寧上下兩關，七里洲寇謝茂廷、壽德州寇秦禮國遣使詣大營乞降。 江寧西北各門皆瀕大江，洲堵錯互，寇踞上、中、下三關，築壘於壽德、七里各洲，與北岸九洑洲遙相倚藉。 九洑洲既克，茂廷、禮國約舉火為號，於是上下關同日而克。 國樑增八壘於江東門，增四壘於安德門，毛公渡南北岸關隘悉為我奪，寇益大困。
Xiucheng and Shixian took Guangde by posing as Qing troops, shaking Hangzhou, Huzhou, Suzhou, and Changzhou. Governor Luo Zundian sent Huizhou and Ningguo troops to hold Guangde and guard Zhejiang's gates. Zhang Fen sent Zhou Tianfu to Si'an, forty li from Guangde on the Jiangsu-Zhejiang border. He Chun sent reinforcements. Xiucheng left a garrison at Guangde and stormed Si'an with Tan Shaoguang and others. He Chun's fleet attacked Nanjing's river passes while rebel envoys from Qili Island and Shoude offered surrender. Nanjing's northwest gates lined the river where rebels held three passes and islet forts linked to Jiufuzhou. After Jiufuzhou fell, Maoting and Liguo signaled by fire and both passes fell the same day. Guoliang strengthened Jiangdong and Ande gates and took Mao Gongdu passes, tightening the noose.
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秀全檄諸寇解金陵圍。 時秀成在皖，與其部下謀曰：「清軍精銳悉萃金陵城下，其餉源在蘇、杭。 今金陵城外長壕已成，清軍內圍外禦。 張國樑又嚄唶善戰，攻之難得志，不如輕兵從間道急搗杭州。 杭州危，蘇州亦必震動。 清軍慮我絕其餉源，必分師奔命以救。 我瞷大營虛，還軍以破圍師，則蘇、杭皆我有也。」 乃自率數千精卒以行，連陷安吉、孝豐、長興諸縣。 以其弟侍賢犯湖州，自率悍黨陷武康，間道踰嶺犯杭州。 預結捻首張洛行、龔瞎子等，使內擾清、淮，以分江、皖兵力。
Hong Xiuquan ordered every column to relieve Nanjing. In Anhui Xiucheng told his chiefs: "Qing elites besiege Nanjing while living off Jiangsu and Zhejiang supplies. The outer moat is complete; Qing forces besiege inside and block relief outside. Guoliang was a fierce fighter, but direct assaults stalled. Xiucheng proposed a light column by hidden paths to strike Hangzhou. Threaten Hangzhou and Suzhou would shake. Qing forces would have to split to save their supplies. We could watch the grand camp thin out, wheel back, break the siege, and take both cities." He led several thousand elites and seized Anji, Xiaofeng, and Changxing. Shixian struck Huzhou while Xiucheng took Wukang, crossed the hills, and hit Hangzhou. He set Zhang Luoxing and Gong Xiazi to raid north of the Huai and split imperial forces.
79
上命和春兼辦浙江軍務，而以張玉良總統援浙諸軍。 玉良分大營兵勇五分之二禦之。 秀成攻杭州，以地雷崩清波門，陷之，巡撫羅遵殿等均死難。 秀成之破杭州也，祗一千二百五十先鋒。 諸處援兵不知虛實，聞城破，皆潰走。 迨張玉良援軍至，屯武林門，秀成曰：「中吾計矣！」 自以兵少，乃多製旗幟作疑兵，潛退出城，委之而去。 玉良與將軍瑞昌會擊，立復省城。
The emperor put He Chun over Zhejiang affairs and Zhang Yuliang over relief. Yuliang detached two-fifths of the grand camp to meet them. Xiucheng mined Qingbo Gate, took Hangzhou, and Governor Luo Zundian and others were killed. Hangzhou fell to only 1,250 vanguard troops. Relief troops, not knowing how few the attackers were, fled when they heard the city had fallen. When Yuliang reached Wulin Gate, Xiucheng said, "The trap is sprung!" With few men he raised false flags and slipped out of the city. Yuliang and General Ruichang retook the city at once.
80
三月，秀成回竄餘杭，陷臨安。 旋為李定泰克復。 孝豐、武康寇亦退走。 時秀成及侍賢回廣德，楊輔清亦自池州來會。 李定泰等會圖廣德，寇已分走建平，陷之，連陷東壩、高淳，復詐為官軍陷溧陽。 自是江南大營後路驟急，蘇、常俱大震。 和春馳檄張玉良等還救常州，熊天喜等克廣德，而楊輔清陷溧水，詐為官軍襲金壇，為周天孚等所敗，棄壘西竄。 句容亦陷，句容當大營後路，餉道所必經，且與丹陽、鎮江接壤，為常州門戶。 和春遣副將梁克勳赴援，不及，續遣副將張威邦由淳化進剿。 何桂清遣將分防丹陽、鎮江、瓜洲，冀通大營至蘇、常水陸道路。 馬德昭等出屯郡城三十餘里下弋橋，堵溧陽、宜興各路寇內犯。 米興朝自廣德進軍克建平。
In the third month Xiucheng doubled back to Yuhang and took Lin'an. Li Dingtai soon retook it. Rebels at Xiaofeng and Wukang withdrew. Xiucheng and Shixian returned to Guangde, joined by Yang Fuqing from Chizhou. While Li Dingtai moved on Guangde, rebels took Jianping, Dongba, Gaochun, and seized Liyang by disguise. The grand camp's rear was suddenly threatened and Suzhou and Changzhou panicked. He Chun recalled Yuliang for Changzhou. Yang Fuqing took Lishui and raided Jintan in disguise before being beaten back. Jurong fell on the grand camp's supply line and guarded the approach to Changzhou. He Chun sent Liang Keqin too late, then Zhang Weibang from Chunhua. He Guiqing tried to reopen routes to Suzhou and Changzhou through Danyang, Zhenjiang, and Guazhou. Ma Dezhao blocked rebel paths from Liyang and Yixing at Xiayi Bridge. Mi Xingchao took Jianping from Guangde.
81
閏三月，寇自昌化出於潛，分犯分水，陷而旋復，進陷淳安。 秀成約會諸酋同議救金陵之策，秀成與侍賢由淳化、輔清由溧水退秣陵關，玉成亦自江浦渡江來會，江寧寇爭出築壘接應。 斯時大營四面受敵，而良將勁兵調援浙西者一萬三千人，淳壩、宜興防軍又調去一千有奇，大營空虛，糧路又截斷，乃改月餉積四十五日始一發。 兵勇皆怨，心漸攜貳。 時群寇麇集，和春急調張玉良回援，何桂清留之不遣。 寇至雄黃鎮，我軍禦之不克。 輔清由秣陵關至南門，玉成由江寧鎮至頭關，板橋、善橋諸寇皆集南岸。 秀成由姚巧門進紫荊山尾，陳坤書、劉官芳由高橋門而來，侍賢由北門紅山而至，輔清由雨花臺，玉成由板橋、善橋，連日攻撲長圍。 國樑與王浚分督諸將力禦，十五日夜，雷雨雹雪，大寒，總兵黃靖、副將馬登富、守備吳天爵戰死。 大營火起，全軍潰陷。 和春、許乃釗退走鎮江，再退丹陽，旋馳書趣國樑亦至，留馮子材守鎮江。 國樑語和春曰：「六年向帥大營失陷，退扼丹陽。 彼時京口未復，今東門之限在於鎮江。 舍此不守，是導寇而東也。」 和春卒不能用，而宜興同時亦失陷。
In the intercalary third month rebels from Changhua raided Yuqian and Fenshui, then took Chun'an. Xiucheng coordinated a Nanjing relief: columns from Chunhua, Lishui, and Jiangpu while the city garrison built outer works. The grand camp was besieged on four sides, 13,000 elites were in Zhejiang, garrisons were stripped, pay slowed to forty-five-day cycles. Soldiers grew resentful and loyalty frayed. He Chun begged for Yuliang back; He Guiqing refused. Rebels reached Xionghuang Town and imperial troops failed to hold. Fuqing hit the south gate, Yucheng the head pass, and rebel columns massed on the south bank. Xiucheng, Chen Kunshu, Shixian, Fuqing, and Yucheng hammered the encirclement from every gate for days. On a night of storm and hail, Huang Jing, Ma Dengfu, and Wu Tianjue were killed defending the line. The grand camp caught fire and the army collapsed. He Chun and Xu Naigui fled to Zhenjiang, then Danyang, recalled Guoliang, and left Feng Zicai at Zhenjiang. Guoliang told He Chun, "When Xiang Rong's camp fell in the sixth year, he held Danyang. Jingkou was still lost then; today the eastern gate is Zhenjiang. Abandon Zhenjiang and you open the road east." He Chun would not listen, and Yixing fell. Rebels surged, but Hong Xiuquan neither rewarded fighters nor governed, preaching only heavenly faith.
82
寇勢大張，而秀全於戰士不及獎敘，終日亦不問政事，只教人認實天情，自有昇平之局。 仁達、仁發忌秀成功，嗾秀全下嚴詔，飭秀成率所部限一月取蘇、常。 寇掠金壇四鄉，大書於壁曰：「攻野不攻城，野荒城自破。」 我軍屯六門，日與賊戰，互有勝負。 秀成自句容攻丹陽，國樑開南門酣戰，秀成命力士溷入我軍潰卒中，猝擊國樑，被創大呼，入尹公橋下而死。 秀成入丹陽，命收國樑屍，曰：「兩國交兵，各忠其事。 生雖為敵，死尚可為仇乎？」 以禮葬之下寶塔。 和春奔常州，寇躡其後。 何桂清聞變跳走。 是月，楚軍援皖南，會克太平、建德、石埭三縣。 涇縣張芾會同周天受等進毀白華、宴公堂一路寇壘，直抵城下，斬關直入，遂復縣城。
Renfa and Renda envied Xiucheng and ordered him to take Suzhou and Changzhou within a month. Rebels raided Jintan's countryside with slogans: "Burn the fields, not the walls—the cities will starve." Imperial troops held six gates and traded blows daily. Xiucheng attacked Danyang. Guoliang fought at the south gate until infiltrators among the fugitives struck him down at Yin Gong Bridge. Xiucheng took Danyang and honored Guoliang's body, saying, "We served different masters in life. In death need we remain enemies? " He buried him with ceremony below Baota. He Chun fled to Changzhou with rebels at his heels. He Guiqing fled in panic on hearing the disaster. That month Chu relief took Taiping, Jiande, and Shiling in south Anhui. Zhang Fen and Zhou Tianshou destroyed forts on the Baihua route and stormed Jing county. In the fourth month Tianchang and Liuhe rebels struck in three columns toward Yangzhou, Guazhou, and Shaobo, were blocked, and dug in at Sengdao Bridge.
83
四月，天長、六合寇乘金陵大營退守，分三路進犯：一由陳家集圖揚城，一由東溝窺瓜洲，一由僧道橋編筏偷渡襲邵伯，皆為我軍所截擊，不敢逞，乃築壘僧道橋圖久踞。 我軍分左、右、中三路疾趨會攻，毀二壘，焚木城，積屍枕藉。 寇合股退踞陳家集。 揚州與鎮江相為脣齒，李若珠咨艇師陳泰國等分扼各口。 寇大逼常州，張玉良由杭郡率軍先至，築營寨大小四十餘，悉為所破。 常州陷，玉良敗走無錫。 秀成率所部精卒潛出九龍山，拊高橋之背。 玉良軍大敗，無錫陷，敗走蘇州。 和春創胸，至蘇州濟墅關而卒。 玉良連敗之師不能復戰，寇薄蘇州，玉良退走杭州。 長洲、元和兩縣廣勇李文炳、何信義開門迎秀成入踞之。 巡撫徐有壬等同殉難。
Three imperial columns rushed in, destroyed two forts, burned wooden walls, and left heaps of dead. Rebels fell back to Chenjiaji. Li Ruozhu had Chen Taiguo block the river mouths between Yangzhou and Zhenjiang. Rebels pressed Changzhou. Yuliang came from Hangzhou and built forty camps—all were overrun. Changzhou fell and Yuliang fled to Wuxi. Xiucheng slipped elite troops around Jiulong Mountain to hit Gaoqiao's rear. Yuliang was routed, Wuxi fell, and he fled to Suzhou. He Chun was wounded in the chest and died at Jishu Pass near Suzhou. Yuliang's broken army could not fight. Rebels closed on Suzhou and he fled to Hangzhou. Militia leaders Li Wenbing and He Xinyi opened Changzhou and Yuanhe to Xiucheng. Governor Xu Youcheng and others were killed. Xiucheng made the Wu family's garden on North Street his palace in Suzhou.
84
秀成踞蘇後，改北街吳氏復園為偽府。 秀成踞蘇十有一日，出偽示安民。 城廂內外凡收屍八萬三千餘具，而從者猶盛稱秀成愛人不嗜殺也。 寇踞蘇城，復恣意擄掠，民競團練為自保計。 江、皖援浙諸軍以次克復諸城，遂會剿淳安，寇敗遁入徽州境。 蘇寇陷吳江，犯平望，浙江防軍潰，江長貴負傷還走仁和塘棲鎮，副將張守元亦潰於清杉牐。 嘉興危急，杭省大震。 侍賢燒嘉興南門入踞之。 玉良攻嘉興西、南兩門，陳坤書、陳炳文求救於蘇。 適青浦周文嘉與洋軍戰，來告急，秀成乃先援青浦，擊退洋軍，直攻上海，不克，遂應嘉興之援，由松江、浦邑而回戰，取嘉興、平湖，順至嘉興，連戰五日，分一股上石門，斷玉良來路，兵多降者，玉良回杭州。
After eleven days in Suzhou he issued a pacification proclamation. More than eighty-three thousand corpses were collected in the city, yet rebels still praised Xiucheng as merciful. Rebels looted Suzhou while civilians organized militia for self-defense. Relief armies retook Zhejiang cities and drove Chun'an rebels into Huizhou. Suzhou rebels took Wujiang and hit Pingwang. Zhejiang defenses broke; Jiang Changgui was wounded and Zhang Shouyuan routed. Jiaxing was in peril and Hangzhou shook. Shixian burned into Jiaxing's south gate and held the city. Yuliang attacked Jiaxing while Chen Kunshu and Chen Bingwen called Suzhou for aid. Xiucheng relieved Qingpu, failed at Shanghai, then beat Yuliang at Jiaxing after five days' fighting and cut his retreat at Shimen. In the fifth month Guichi and Qingyang rebels took Jing county, killed Li Jiawan, and drove Yang Mingsheng to Huanghua Ridge.
85
五月，貴池、青陽寇犯涇縣，總兵李嘉萬等敗死，楊名聲退至太平黃花嶺。 寇陷廣德，米興朝軍潰，奔孝豐，再退歙北篛嶺外。 初，涇縣、廣德同時告警，周天受遣援皆不及，而參將丁文尚守涇，又退走，寇遂由三谿竄旌德孫邨。 廣德寇窺伺寧國，天受擊卻之。 寇由寧國縣東岸至旌德，與涇縣合勢，嘉定陷，薛煥尋克之，收太倉。 寇攻鎮江，陷青浦，陷松江。
Guangde fell, Mi Xingchao's force broke, and he fled toward Xiaofeng and Zhuoling. Jing and Guangde alarms came together; relief failed and rebels poured through Sanxi into Jingde. Guangde rebels probed Ningguo and were driven back. Rebels from Ningguo's east bank joined Jingde forces. Jiading fell but Xue Huan retook Taicang. Rebels struck Zhenjiang, Qingpu, and Songjiang. Nanjing's defense rested on Anqing, Luzhou, Taiping, and Wuhu.
86
寇之守江寧也，以安慶、廬州為犄角，以太平、蕪湖為衛護。 蕪湖之南，有固城南漪、丹陽白臼諸湖，上可通寧國之水陽江、清弋江，下則止於東壩。 掘東壩而放之，則可經太湖歷蘇州以達於婁江。 蕪湖孤懸水中，寇守之則易，官軍攻之則難。 是以踞五年血戰不退，而黃池、灣沚屢次失利，皆以我無水師，寇堅忍善守。 官軍圍攻屢年，往往因水路無兵，不能斷其接濟。 今蘇州既失，面面皆水，寇若阻河為守，陸軍幾無進攻之路，城外幾無立營之所。 則欲攻蘇州，須立太湖水師，使太湖盡為我有，而後西可通寧國之氣，東可拊蘇州之背。 因建淮陽、寧國、太湖速立水師之策。
South of Wuhu lay lakes linking to Ningguo's rivers and ending at Dongba. Opening Dongba could flood routes through Taihu to Suzhou and the Lou River. Wuhu was an island stronghold—easy to hold, hard to take. Five years of blood at Wuhu and repeated defeats at Huangchi came from lacking a fleet against stubborn defenders. Years of siege failed because imperial forces could not cut river supply. With Suzhou lost, water was everywhere; rebels could block rivers and deny camps. To retake Suzhou required a Taihu fleet to command the lake and threaten the city from east and west. He urged rapid creation of fleets on the Huai, in Ningguo, and on Taihu. Rebels took Jiangyin while Yuliang's gunboats cleared Jiaxing temples and seven forts at the west and south gates.
87
寇陷江陰，玉良連以砲艇破嘉興三塔、普濟二寺，平新塍寇壘，移營逼西門、南門，破壘七。 平望鎮者，浙江之嘉興、湖州，江蘇之吳江總匯處也。 寇踞沿河六里橋、梅堰諸處，遍築堅壘，密釘排樁，扼險以阻江、浙之路。 湖州趙景賢毀沿河寇壘，分軍進克平望，會軍於米市湖，盡燬砲臺巢穴，進圍嘉興。 寇既陷松江，遣其黨窺上海。 薛煥乘其不備，直搗南門而入，殺黃衣目十三名，奪船七十餘艘，立復府城。 自松江至上海，沿途團練截殺殆盡。
Pingwang was where Jiaxing, Huzhou, and Wujiang met. Rebels fortified Liuli Bridge and Meiyan along the river with stakes and barriers. Zhao Jingxian cleared river forts, took Pingwang, burned batteries at Mishihu, and besieged Jiaxing. After taking Songjiang rebels probed Shanghai. Xue Huan surprised them at the south gate, killed thirteen officers, took seventy boats, and retook the city. Militia slaughtered fleeing rebels from Songjiang to Shanghai. In the sixth month Yang Fuqing massed Jingde and Taiping columns against Ningguo.
88
六月，楊輔清糾旌德、太平大股犯寧國。 寇自長興竄陷安吉，王有齡遣彭斯舉赴援，遇於孝豐，失利，退走昌化。 寇直犯於潛，陷之，杭省大恐。 寇復由黃渡再陷嘉定，糾土匪進踞南翔鎮，逼上海四十餘里，再陷平望。 蘇州、嘉興寇勢復合。 於潛寇連陷臨安、餘杭，分擾富陽，吳雲會洋將華爾攻青浦急，偽寧王周文嘉乞援於蘇州，秀成率大股親援，我軍敗績。 寇收槍砲乘船再犯松江，陷之。 江陰寇分黨築壘申港，掠船謀北渡，李若珠飭艇師破燬之，偽丞相方得勝遁。 玉良以地雷崩嘉興南門城垣，寇嚴拒不得進。 劉季三等連克餘杭、臨安。 浙西寇回竄孝豐，突犯建德。
In the sixth month Yang Fuqing massed Jingde and Taiping columns against Ningguo. Rebels from Changxing took Anji. Peng Siju met them at Xiaofeng, was beaten, and fell back to Changhua. Rebels struck Yuqian and seized it, throwing Hangzhou into alarm. From Huangdu they retook Jiading, rallied bandits at Nanxiang within forty li of Shanghai, and seized Pingwang again. Rebel pressure from Suzhou and Jiaxing merged again. Yuqian rebels took Lin'an and Yuhang and raided Fuyang. Ward pressed Qingpu while Xiucheng marched in person and beat imperial forces. Rebels gathered arms, took boats, and seized Songjiang again. Jiangyin rebels fortified Shen Harbor until Li Ruozhu's fleet burned their boats and the false chancellor Fang Desheng fled. Yuliang mined Jiaxing's south wall but could not break in. Liu Jisan and others retook Yuhang and Lin'an. Zhejiang rebels doubled back through Xiaofeng and struck Jiande.
89
七月，秀成毀松江城堞，率偽會王蔡元隆、偽納王郜永寬北犯上海，號十萬，焚掠泗涇，七寶民團禦之，多死傷。 寇屯徐家匯，薛煥督文武登陴固守。 寇詐為官軍賺城，城上詗知，創卻之。 洋輪之泊黃浦江者，升開花砲於桅發之，寇始敗退。 孝豐寇陷廣德，游擊黃占起、江國霖戰死。 江長貴突圍退至安吉，米興朝奔四安。 未幾，趙景賢復廣德，寇再陷踞之。 寇復陷江陰楊厙汛城，逼常熟二十餘里。 黃浦輪船洋兵以開花砲測擊上海寇壘，六發，創及秀成。 是夜秀成解圍還青浦。 時嘉興寇告急，遂趨浙江。
In the seventh month Xiucheng stripped Songjiang's walls and sent 100,000 men against Shanghai, ravaging Sijing while Qibao militia suffered heavily. Rebels camped at Xujiahui while Xue Huan held the walls. Rebels disguised as imperial troops but were spotted and driven off. Foreign gunboats on the Huangpu shelled the rebels and forced them back. Xiaofeng rebels took Guangde; Huang Zhanqi and Jiang Guolin were killed. Jiang Changgui broke out to Anji while Mi Xingchao fled to Si'an. Zhao Jingxian briefly retook Guangde before rebels seized it again. Rebels took Jiangyin's Yangshe post and threatened Changshu. Foreign shells from the Huangpu hit Shanghai's rebel works and wounded Xiucheng. That night Xiucheng withdrew to Qingpu. Jiaxing's alarm then pulled him back to Zhejiang.
90
初，副將陳汝霖率民團救松江，迨上海解圍，洋將華爾會守松江，賜號常勝軍。 秀成陷嘉善，陷平湖，錫齡阿兵勇皆潰，寇旋去，收之。 寇陷金壇，知縣李淮守百四十餘日，糧盡援絕，川兵通寇，殺參將周天孚，陷之，李淮等皆戰死。 丹陽寇糾黨六七千由新豐等處分道撲水師，謀掠舟北渡，並沿河築壘，架砲轟射。 周希濂督艇師乘煙霧對擊，寇不支，遁回丹陽。 玉良攻嘉興兩月不下，先後集兵三萬有奇，而蘇、常以北無牽掣之師，松江、青浦之寇可直入嘉興，常州、宜興之寇可直入長興，建平、廣德之寇可直入安吉，寧國、涇縣之寇可直入於潛。
After Shanghai was relieved, Ward helped hold Songjiang as the Ever-Victorious Army. Xiucheng took Jiashan and Pinghu, then withdrew and imperial forces reoccupied them. Jintan fell after 140 days when Sichuan troops turned traitor, killed Zhou Tianfu, and slaughtered the garrison including Li Huai. Danyang rebels mustered thousands to seize boats, cross north, and shell the river line. Zhou Xilian attacked in fog and drove them back to Danyang. Yuliang had 30,000 men at Jiaxing but rebels could strike it from every direction because no force tied them down elsewhere.
91
寇前自長興逕逼省垣，雖經擊退，並立復數城，而廣德遂至不守。 迨收復廣德，而嘉善、平湖又復失陷。 寇處處牽掣我軍，近復添築營壘砲臺，又偷劫五龍橋頭卡，多方誤我軍，實有罷乏不堪之勢。 秀成以嘉興圍急，率大股來援。 玉良督戰五日，勝負未決。 秀成分股上趨石門，謀斷大營後路。 地形多支河，塘路絕，無可歸。 我軍懼奔，玉良負創，疾馳還杭省。 賊既解嘉興之困，復陷石門，分兩路直逼杭省：一趨塘棲，民團禦之，退掠新市； 一趨臨平，吳再升敗之，轉走海寧。 彭斯舉等擊斬頗眾，寇悉退還石門。 未幾，石門寇亦退，再升進駐石門。 馬德昭由臨平、長安相繼前進。
Rebels from Changxing had once threatened Hangzhou; Guangde was lost again. Jiashan and Pinghu fell again even as Guangde returned. Rebels pinned imperial forces everywhere, built new forts, and raided supply posts until the army was exhausted. Xiucheng marched a great column to relieve Jiaxing. Yuliang fought five days without a decision. Xiucheng sent a column toward Shimen to cut Yuliang's retreat. Branch rivers and dyke roads cut off escape. Imperial troops panicked. Yuliang was wounded and fled to Hangzhou. Rebels freed Jiaxing, took Shimen, and pressed Hangzhou on two roads—toward Tangqi and toward Linping. Wu Zaisheng beat the Linping column and drove it toward Haining. Peng Siju killed many and the rebels withdrew to Shimen. Soon Shimen was clear and Zaisheng occupied it. Ma Dezhao advanced from Linping and Chang'an.
92
八月，寇陷昭、常，再攻平湖、嘉善，陷之。 是時秀成自嘉興還蘇州，奉秀全偽詔，趨還江寧，令經營北路。 初，咸豐三年，林鳳祥、李開芳北犯不返，秀成未敢輕舉。 適江西、湖北匪目四十餘人具降書投秀成，邀其上竄，自稱有眾數十萬備調遣。 秀成覆書允之，留陳坤書駐守蘇州，自返江寧，請先赴上游招集各股，再籌進止。 秀全大怒，責其違令。 秀成反復爭辯，堅執不從，秀全卒不能強。 於是取道皖南，上竄江、鄂。
In the eighth month rebels took Shaoxing and Changzhou prefectures and again seized Pinghu and Jiashan. Xiucheng returned to Suzhou, obeyed a false edict, and was sent back to Nanjing to manage the northern front. Since Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang's northern expedition in Xianfeng year three, Xiucheng had been cautious about marching north. More than forty Jiangxi and Hubei chiefs offered surrender and urged him upriver with tens of thousands. Xiucheng agreed, left Chen Kunshu at Suzhou, returned to Nanjing, and asked to rally upstream forces first. Hong Xiuquan raged at the disobedience. Xiucheng argued until Hong Xiuquan could not force him. He marched through south Anhui toward Jiangxi and Hubei.
93
秀成之在偽京與諸黨會議也，曰：「曾國藩善用兵，將士聽命，非向、張可比。 將來七困天京，必屬此人。 若皖省無他故，尚不足慮。 一旦有失，則保固京城，必須多購糧食，為持久之計。」 秀全聞之，責秀成曰：「爾怕死！ 我天生真主，不待用兵而天下一統，何過慮也？」 秀成歎息而出，因與蒙得恩、林紹璋等再三計議，僉以秀成之策為然。 因議定自偽王侯以下，凡有一命於朝者，各量其力出家財，廣購米穀儲公倉，設官督理之。 俟缺乏時，平價出糶，如均輸故事，以為思患預防之計。 洪仁發等相謂曰：「此亦一權利也。」 因說秀全用鹽引、牙帖之法，分上、中、下三等：上帖取米若干石，中、下以次遞減。 此帖即充偽樞府諸偽王祿秩。 收入後無須撥解，而稍提其稅入公，大半皆入私橐。 商販非執有帖者，粒米不得入城，犯者以私販論罪。 如是，則法可行而利可獲矣。 洪氏諸偽王乃分售帖利，上帖售價有貴至數千金者。 及商販至下關，驗帖官皆仁發輩鷹犬，百端挑剔，任意勒索。 商販呼籲無門，漸皆裹足； 而諸偽王侯又因成本加重，售價過昂，不願多出貲金，米糧反絕。 秀成言之秀全，請廢洪氏帖。 秀全以詰仁發，仁發以：「奸商每借販米為名，私代清營傳遞消息。 設非洪氏，誰能別其真偽？ 此實我兄弟輩之苦心，所以防奸，非以罔利也。」 秀全信其言，置之不問，秀成憤然而去。
In council at Nanjing Xiucheng said Zeng Guofan was a greater threat than Xiang Rong or Zhang Guoliang. When Nanjing was besieged seven times, he said, it would be Zeng who threatened it. Anhui alone was not yet the danger. But loss in Anhui would require stockpiling grain to endure a long siege. Hong Xiuquan snapped that Xiucheng feared death. He boasted that Heaven would unify all without armies. Xiucheng withdrew sighing; Meng De'en and Lin Shaozhang agreed with his plan. They ordered every ranked rebel to buy grain for public granaries. Grain would be sold at fair prices in shortage, following the old equal-transport model. Hong Renfa and others saw profit in it. They pushed salt licenses in three grades priced in rice. Licenses doubled as salaries for false kings. Most revenue went to private pockets, not the public store. Unlicensed grain was banned on pain of death. The scheme was meant to enforce control and profit. Hong princes sold licenses for thousands of taels. At Xiaguan, Renfa's agents extorted licensed merchants at will. Merchants stopped coming. Kings raised prices and stopped funding grain purchases, so supplies dried up. Xiucheng asked Hong Xiuquan to abolish the Hong licenses. Renfa claimed merchants smuggled intelligence to the Qing. Only the Hong clan, he said, could tell traitors from traders. He insisted it was security, not profit. Hong Xiuquan believed him. Xiucheng left furious.
94
寇陷寧國，提督周天受等死之。 寧國之陷也，玉成與賴裕新、古隆賢、楊輔清四面圍擊。 周天受戰守七十餘日，軍中食乏，餉阻不能達，寇破竹塘、廟埠諸壘，副將朱景山等皆戰死。 旌德、太平兩軍力單不能救，寇乘勢盡掃城外諸壘，城陷，天受遂遇害。 寧國既失，南陵孤懸。 總兵陳大富苦守閱半載，國藩檄令自拔出城，遣水師迎之，難民從者十餘萬。 寇再陷太倉。 玉成糾合江寧、丹陽、句容寇十餘萬，自九洑洲、新江頭掠船二百餘，日夜更番，意圖乘虛下竄，為軍團所敗，竄六合。 鎮江寇船駛入丹徒、諫壁兩鎮港口，為水師李新明擊退。 馮子材尋進解鎮江城圍。 侍賢率寇四萬出廣德攻陷徽州，署皖南道李元度潰走開化。 寇趨祁門甚急，國藩檄邀運蘭屯霍縣，趣鮑超自太平還屯漁亭，以捍大營。 徽州既失，杭、嚴兩府防務益急。
Rebels took Ningguo and killed Commander-in-Chief Zhou Tianshou. Yucheng, Lai Yuxin, Gu Longxian, and Yang Fuqing besieged Ningguo on four sides. Tianshou held seventy days until pay and food failed; Zhu Jingshan and others died as outer forts fell. Jingde and Taiping could not relieve him; outer works fell and Tianshou was killed. Nanling was left isolated. Chen Dafu held half a year until Guofan ordered a breakout; more than 100,000 refugees followed the fleet. Rebels took Taicang again. Yucheng massed 100,000 men and hundreds of boats at Jiufuzhou until militia drove them to Liuhe. Zhenjiang rebel boats entered Dantu and Jianbi until Li Xinming repelled them. Feng Zicai then lifted the siege of Zhenjiang. Shixian took forty thousand men from Guangde, seized Huizhou, and routed Li Yuandu to Kaihua. Rebels threatened Qimen; Guofan sent Yunlan to Huo county and recalled Bao Chao to Yuting. Hangzhou and Yanzhou defenses grew desperate after Huizhou fell.
95
寇之踞蘇城也，同時城邑陷者數十。 江陰居大江尾閭狼山對岸再陷於寇，寇踞之以窺江北，人心惶然。 九月，通州知州張富年等會水師攻復其城。 上月玉成率悍寇二十餘萬進陷白鑪橋尹善廷壘，旋至馬廠集，犯東津渡，黃鳴鐸擊卻之。 至是圖取壽州內東肥河，跨山越谷，盤行抵淮河岸，聯營櫛比。 餘黨竄入姚家灣，擄船，欲水陸會攻。 巡撫翁同書派砲艇沿河截擊，寇乘霧鳧水入小港，為黃慶仁圍殺； 復以步騎撲北關，城上彈丸雨下，夜縱火焚寇壘皆燼，城圍立解。 寇竄南路：一還定遠山，一走廬江，一赴六安。 徽州寇自淳安竄陷嚴州，進踞烏龍嶺。 江寧寇糾九洑洲寇船二百餘艘下竄儀徵，我軍大敗之東溝。 副將格洪額會破盱眙竹鎮集寇屯，擒斬偽檢點汪王發等，曾秉忠破青浦寇於米家角，攻城三日不下，秉忠中創。 參將李廷舉攻寶山羅店，寇敗併嘉定，旋再竄羅店踞之。 寇攔入壽昌、金華，兵團復之。 旋再陷再復。
Dozens of towns fell when Suzhou was lost. Jiangyin at the river's mouth fell again and threatened the north bank. In the ninth month Zhang Funian and the fleet retook Tongzhou. Last month Yucheng took Bailuqiao and Macunji until Huang Mingduo repelled him at Dongjin Ford. He then marched on Shouzhou's East Fei River with camps lining the Huai bank. Remnants seized boats at Yaojia Bay for a combined assault. Weng Tongshu sent gunboats; rebels slipped through fog into a creek and were slaughtered by Huang Qingren; imperial troops stormed the north gate, shelled the walls, and burned the camps by night, lifting the siege. Rebels fled south in three columns toward Dingyuan, Luzhou, and Lu'an. Huizhou rebels from Chun'an took Yanzhou and held Wulong Ridge. Nanjing rebels sent 200 boats downriver to Yizheng and were routed at Donggou. Ge Hong'e beat rebels at Zhuyi, Zeng Bingzhong wounded at Qingpu, and Li Tingju drove rebels from Baoshan to Jiading. Li Tingju fought at Luodian; rebels fell back to Jiading then reoccupied Luodian. Rebels raided Shouchang and Jinhua but militia retook them. They fell and were retaken again.
96
十月，寇自淳安擾及威坪，兵團禦之，回竄蜀口。 徽州北路寇竄至杞樟里，逼昌化昱嶺二十里。 先是江西瑞金、廣昌、新城、瀘溪大股寇窺伺福建，汀州、邵武防軍力禦之，遂折竄建昌，而瑞金一股竄踞福建之武平，尋陷汀州，兇焰甚張。 句容寇至鎮江湯岡築壘，馮子材擊之不下。 寧國寇直趨四安，破長興長橋卡防，分竄廣坤、梅谿。 嚴州寇連陷桐廬、新城。 蘇州寇分股撲金山，我軍擊敗之，遂克楓涇鎮。 寇復糾蘇、常大股襲廣富林，圖犯松江。 守將向奎軍單，敗退。 曾秉忠回援，寇竄寶山羅店，都司姜德設伏敗之，還青浦。 玉良克嚴州。
In the tenth month rebels from Chun'an raided Weiping, met militia, and fled to Shukou. Huizhou rebels reached Qizhangli, twenty li from Changhua Pass. Fujian defenses held until rebels from Ruijin took Wuping and Tingzhou. Jurong rebels fortified Tanggang; Feng Zicai failed to dislodge them. Ningguo rebels struck Si'an, broke Changxing's river post, and split toward Guangkun and Meixi. Yanzhou rebels took Tonglu and Xincheng. Suzhou rebels hit Jinshan, were beaten, and Fengjing fell. Rebels massed from Suzhou and Changzhou against Guangfulin and Songjiang. Defender Xiang Kui was outnumbered and routed. Zeng Bingzhong drove rebels to Luodian where Jiang De ambushed them back to Qingpu. Yuliang retook Yanzhou.
97
新城寇竄陷臨安。 初，壽昌被陷，金華知府程兆綸督民團復之，桐廬亦同時收復。 於是寇眾悉趨富陽，副將劉貴芳、總兵劉季三敗死，城遂陷。 旋收復，燬江口浮橋。 侍賢復糾集臨安寇陷餘杭，逼杭州省城。 侍賢由嚴州還顧徽州，瑞昌等敗寇秦山亭、古蕩、觀音橋，追至留下，寇棄壘走。 省城解圍，遂復餘杭。 侍賢不得志於杭州，自餘杭直犯湖州。 建昌寇間道犯鉛山河口鎮踞之。 福建浦城、崇安，浙江衢州、常山、開化邊防皆急。 時徽州寇自深渡街口下竄天長，防軍會水師大破於三河、衡陽等處。 是股為天長葵天玉、陳天福會合秀成黨三萬餘眾，將謀渡河分擾淮陽。 秀成竄皖南，踰羊棧嶺，陷黟縣，鮑超大創之，城立復，再破之盧邨，陣斬偽丞相吳桂先，秀成受傷遁徽州。 國藩飭將屯守盧邨，邨距黟縣二十五里。 是時侍賢自嚴還徽，輔清盤踞旌德，環二百里皆寇。 秀成復由江蘇上犯，越嶺肆擾。 我軍疾馳百餘里，力戰兩日，驅出嶺，祁門大營始安。
Xincheng rebels took Lin'an. Militia under Cheng Zhaolun had retaken Shouchang and Tonglu. Rebels converged on Fuyang; Liu Guifang and Liu Jisan were killed and the city fell. It was soon retaken and the river bridge burned. Shixian took Yuhang and threatened Hangzhou. Shixian turned back to Huizhou while imperial forces cleared Qinshan and pursued to Liuxia. Hangzhou was relieved and Yuhang recovered. Failing at Hangzhou, Shixian struck Huzhou from Yuhang. Jianchang rebels seized Qianshan's Hehekou by a hidden path. Fujian and Zhejiang border posts were all in alarm. Huizhou rebels fled toward Tianchang and were routed at Sanhe and Hengyang. Some thirty thousand under Kui Tianyu and Chen Tianfu planned to cross and raid Huaiyang. Xiucheng took Yixian, was smashed by Bao Chao at Lucun, lost Wu Guixian, and fled wounded. Guofan held Lucun, twenty-five li from Yixian. Shixian was back from Yanzhou, Fuqing held Jingde, and rebels covered two hundred li. Xiucheng invaded again from Jiangsu across the hills. Imperial troops chased them a hundred li in two days' fighting and secured Qimen.
98
趙景賢大破賊，解湖州城圍。 湖州自三月以來，迭被賊困，此趙景賢第三次解圍也。 先是寇踞楊家莊為老巢，以礪山、仁黃山為犄角，焚掠雙林諸村鎮，蔓延長興、四安、太湖。 景賢會軍先攻礪山、仁黃，以孤老巢之勢。 我軍踞仁黃，燬楊家莊，敗寇西竄。 天長寇掠下五莊舟船數百艘，欲犯湖路； 我軍克河口鎮，復創之石谿； 竄廣豐，道員段起禦之，寇間道走玉山。 多隆阿、李續宜會軍大破桐城寇陳玉成、龔得樹於掛車河、鶴墩、香鋪街等處，平寇壘四十餘，寇退奔舒城。
Zhao Jingxian broke the rebels and relieved Huzhou. This was the third time Zhao Jingxian had relieved Huzhou since the third month. Rebels had used Yang Family Village as a base, raiding Shuanglin and spreading toward Changxing and Taihu. Jingxian attacked Lishan and Ren Huang to isolate their base. Imperial forces burned Yang Family Village and drove the rebels west. Tianchang rebels seized hundreds of boats at Xiawuzhuang to threaten the lake route; imperial troops took Hehekou and beat them again at Shixi; they fled to Guangfeng and slipped toward Yushan despite Duan Qi. Dolonga and Li Xuyi routed Yucheng and Gong Deshu at Guahe and leveled forty forts.
99
安慶者，江表之咽喉，實平吳之根本也。 寇援安慶，水陸阻梗，不能直抵江寧。 玉成眷屬悉在安慶城中，邀合髮、捻十餘萬人，圖解城圍。 多隆阿、李續宜雖力挫之，仍分屯廬江、桐城，復糾集下游江寧、蘇、常援寇並力上犯，逼近樅陽、桐城鄉村，眈眈以伺我軍之隙，將挾江南寇勢全力謀楚軍。 時屆冬令，安徽城河水涸，道路紛歧。 我軍四路告急之書應接不暇，皖南、浙江之寇分三大枝竄入江西，祁門各營圍裹於中，勢頗危急。 湖南道州寇亦竄江西。 寇既陷吳，勢必全力犯楚，此其深謀詭計。 故安慶一城，寇以死力爭之。
Anqing was the throat of the Yangtze and key to pacifying the southeast. Rebel relief for Anqing could not break through to Nanjing. Yucheng's family was in Anqing; he rallied more than 100,000 rebels and Nian to break the siege. They regrouped at Luzhou and Tongcheng and probed Zongyang, planning to crush the Chu Army with Jiangnan reinforcements. Winter dried the Anhui rivers and tangled the roads. Imperial forces were besieged at Qimen as three rebel columns poured into Jiangxi. Daozhou rebels entered Jiangxi as well. Taking Wu meant they would throw everything at Hubei. They fought to the death for Anqing.
100
左宗棠之入景德也，聞南贛寇分黨由貴溪過安仁，直撲饒、景，遣軍迎敗之周坊，寇竄陷德興踞之。 十一月，宗棠進克德興，寇奔婺源，又克之。 十日內轉戰三百餘里，寇驚為神速。 彭斯舉解玉山城圍，寇竄衢境，犯常山，與兵團戰，敗走開化埠。 楊輔清自池州率黨竄陷東流，進陷建德。 水師收東流，而建德防軍潰退。 國藩遣唐義訓馳擊，至利涉口，寇築壘河洲，列隊以待，並以馬隊扼拒各卡。 我軍分東西兩路緣山上，立破其卡； 前軍夾擊河洲寇，後軍抄其背，寇敗走。 我軍復分為三進攻，寇出東門逸，遂復其城。 寇復陷彭澤，闌入浮梁，越一日復之。 寇趨馬影橋，逼湖口。 玉麟督水陸軍力擊之，遂收彭澤。 寇宵遁，陷都昌、鄱陽。 我師馳至都昌，擊退踞寇，復之。
Zuo Zongtang, entering Jingde, beat a Gan column at Zhoufang but Deyi fell. In the eleventh month Zuo took Deyi and Wuyuan in pursuit. In ten days they fought three hundred li and stunned the rebels. Peng Siju relieved Yushan; rebels fled through Quzhou to Changshan and Kaihua. Yang Fuqing from Chizhou took Dongliu and Jiande. The fleet retook Dongliu while Jiande's garrison broke. Guofan sent Tang Yixun to Lisheshekou where rebels fortified the river islet. Imperial troops climbed from east and west and stormed the stockades; the front struck the islet while the rear cut behind, routing the rebels. Three columns retook the city as rebels fled out the east gate. Rebels took Pengze and raided Fuliang but lost it in a day. Rebels pressed Hukou from Maying Bridge. Peng Yulin retook Pengze by land and water. Rebels fled by night and took Duchang and Poyang. Imperial troops rushed to Duchang and retook it.
101
休寧寇犯上谿口，陷副將王夢麟壘。 屯谿寇犯江灣，陷副將楊名聲壘。 古隆賢、賴裕新糾大股犯羊棧、桐林二嶺，張運蘭會軍擊之，寇由新嶺退去，犯婺源。 國藩督飭鮑超大破於黟縣盧邨，別軍繞出羊棧，斷寇歸路。 寇沿崖逃走，追軍反出其前，迫之，墜崖死無算。 而休寧城寇以鮑超回剿景德，由藍田擾及小溪一帶，張運蘭擊敗之，別股屯鄭家橋者進逼漁亭。 我軍兩路抄擊，寇狂奔，斃黃世瑚等； 復敗上溪口寇，追至馬全街而還。 自是嶺外寇不敢輕入。 玉成率眾萬餘犯桐城、樅陽，我軍鎮靜固守。 寇踞七里亭，韋志俊扼樅陽街口。 李成謀舁三版入蓮花池護衛營卡，寇不得逞。
Xiuning rebels took Shangxikou and Wang Menglin's fort. Tunxi rebels took Jiangwan and Yang Mingsheng's fort. Gu Longxian and Lai Yuxin struck the ridges until Zhang Yunlan drove them toward Wuyuan. Guofan directed Bao Chao's victory at Lucun while another column cut the retreat at Yang Stack. Pursuers trapped rebels on the cliffs and killed countless fugitives. Xiuning rebels raided Xiaoxi when Bao Chao left; Yunlan beat them at Zhengjia Bridge. Two columns routed them and killed Huang Shihu; then cleared Shangxikou and pursued to Maquan Street. Rebels rarely crossed the passes after that. Yucheng attacked Tongcheng and Zongyang with ten thousand men; imperial forces held firm. Rebels held Qili Pavilion; Wei Zhijun blocked Zongyang. Li Chengmo used boats on Lotus Pond to block the rebels.
102
寇再犯景德鎮，宗棠敗之。 鮑超進扼洋塘，宗棠進扼梅源橋。 寇自下游糾大股屯洋塘對岸，我軍大破之，偽定南主將黃文金負創西奔。 時祁門三面皆寇，僅留景德鎮一路以通接濟，寇盡銳攻撲，欲得甘心焉。 時國荃圍安慶，寇勢漸窮。 十二月，玉成糾約秀成、輔清及捻匪併力西犯，其大股寇、捻俱從南岸渡江而北，會於無為、廬江，以圖急援懷寧、桐城，勢甚猖狓。 多隆阿等會於樅陽一帶，布署戰守。 皖南寇大股竄孝豐，又別股由昌化竄分水。 嘉興踞寇備具砲船，意圖南下，寇勢蔓延，浙東西同時告警。
Rebels struck Jingdezhen again and Zuo beat them back. Bao Chao held Yangtang while Zuo held Meiyuan Bridge. A downstream column camped at Yangtang and was routed; Huang Wenjin fled west wounded. Qimen was surrounded on three sides with only Jingdezhen open; rebels threw everything at it. Guoquan besieged Anqing and rebels grew desperate. In the twelfth month Yucheng joined Xiucheng, Fuqing, and Nian, crossing north of the river to relieve Huaining and Tongcheng. Dolonga concentrated at Zongyang to fight. Anhui rebels raided Xiaofeng and Fenshui. Jiaxing rebels armed boats to push south and alarmed all Zhejiang.
103
十一年正月，傅忠信、譚體元、汪海洋、洪容海各挾眾數萬，棄石達開歸秀成。 秀成驟增眾二十萬，勢大熾，由石埭分兩路趨祁門，防軍皆敗。 江長貴援大洪，唐義訓迎戰歷口，斬偽麟天豫古得金，寇潰走常山。 富陽、新城、臨安皆為我軍所克，解廣信之圍。 寇竄鉛山、弋陽、貴溪、金谿，漸逼建昌。 秀成自去冬犯皖南黟縣羊棧嶺不得志，竄浙江常山、江山等處； 今春以全力攻玉山，轉圍廣豐，犯廣信，志在踞守要地，以通徽、浙之路。 犯建昌，作浮橋渡河，以大股屯水東，環城築二十餘壘，以浮橋通往來。 江西寇黃文金犯景德鎮，左宗棠、鮑超敗之石門、洋塘，斃許茂材、林世發。 文金踉蹌宵遁，銅陵援寇與敗匪合，復入建德，分踞黃麥鋪諸處。 鮑超督諸軍乘勝壓之，斃寇萬計，追至建德，會水師收復縣城，誅林天福。 秀成梯攻建昌，參將富安等縱火具創退之，復潛為地道修子城備之。 寇船犯太湖，陷東西山。 全湖失陷，湖州北路七十二漊港橫被竄擾。 太湖，巨浸也，襟帶蘇、常、湖三郡，港口紛歧，多至百餘。 自蘇、常陷後，沿湖要隘多為寇有。 去冬間寇船自湖州出湖，迭犯西山、角頭等處，為副將王之敬砲船所敗。 然所部不滿十艘，募民船佐之，卒以眾寡不敵敗死。
In the eleventh year's first month four chiefs abandoned Shi Dakai and rejoined Xiucheng with tens of thousands each. Xiucheng swelled by 200,000 men and swept toward Qimen in two columns. Jiang Changgui aided Dahong; Tang Yixun killed Gu Dejin at Likou and drove rebels to Changshan. Imperial forces retook Fuyang, Xincheng, and Lin'an and relieved Guangxin. Rebels pressed toward Jianchang through Qianshan, Yiyang, Guixi, and Jinxi. Xiucheng, beaten at Yang Stack, fled into Zhejiang; this spring he besieged Yushan and Guangfeng to hold the Hui-Zhe corridor. At Jianchang he bridged the river, ringed the city with twenty forts, and held the crossing. Huang Wenjin struck Jingdezhen and was beaten at Shimen and Yangtang. Wenjin fled by night; broken bands re-entered Jiande and held Huangmaipu. Bao Chao slaughtered thousands, retook Jiande, and executed Lin Tianfu with the fleet. Xiucheng stormed Jianchang; Fu An burned the assault and dug inner defenses. Rebel boats took Taihu's east and west hills. The whole lake fell and seventy-two Huzhou north harbors were ravaged. Taihu linked Suzhou, Changzhou, and Huzhou through more than a hundred waterways. After Suzhou and Changzhou fell, rebels held most lake passes. Last winter Huzhou rebel boats were beaten by Wang Zhijing's gunboats. With fewer than ten gunboats and hired craft, he was overwhelmed and killed.
104
二月，玉成圖援安慶，糾合捻首龔瞎子，率五萬人攻松子關。 成大吉兵僅二千五百，寇多二十倍，分兩路抄官軍後。 大吉令參將王名滔從左側山橫截而出，陣斬龔瞎子，寇驚潰，復選悍黨分五路進，再戰再敗，捻散亡三萬人。 初，玉成嗾龔瞎子犯松子關，而自率悍黨十餘萬，從霍山之黑石渡，襲余際昌營於樂兒嶺，相持四晝夜，力竭而潰，遂抵英山，入蘄水，襲陷黃州。 分黨取蘄州，擾麻城，闌入黃安、黃坡、孝感、雲夢諸縣，並陷德安府、隨州，勢益猖獗，武昌戒嚴。
In the second month Yucheng and Gong Xiazi led fifty thousand against Songzi Pass to relieve Anqing. Cheng Daji had only 2,500 men against rebels twenty times his strength, who split into two columns to strike the imperial army from the rear. Wang Mingtao charged from the left hill and killed Gong the Blind in battle; the rebels routed, regrouped in five columns, were beaten again, and thirty thousand Nian fighters were killed or dispersed. Yucheng had sent Gong the Blind against Songzi Pass while he led 100,000 men from Heishidu to surprise Yu Jichang at Le'er Ridge; after four days of stalemate his force collapsed, fled through Yingshan and Qishui, and seized Huangzhou. Rebel columns took Qizhou, raided Macheng, overran Huang'an, Huangpo, Xiaogan, and Yunmeng, and captured De'an and Suizhou, prompting a security alert in Wuchang.
105
秀成聞玉成攻國荃久不下，分攻蘄、黃、廣濟，欲國藩赴援以分兵力。 秀成歎曰：「英王誤矣！ 正使國藩得全力以攻皖，彼豈暇救此閒城哉？ 彼有長江之利，而我無戰艦，安能絕其糧道？ 不能以我攻浙救京師為例也。」 玉成屯孝感，而以德安、雲夢、隨州三處為長蛇陣，窺伺荊、襄。 官文飛調李續宜、舒保、彭玉麟率水陸諸軍回救。
Learning that Yucheng could not break Guo Quan's siege, Xiucheng struck Qizhou, Huangzhou, and Guangji to draw Zeng Guofan away and split his army. Xiucheng sighed: "The Hero King has erred! Even if Zeng Guofan could throw his full weight into Anhui, would he spare troops for these outlying towns? They hold the Yangtze and we have no fleet—how can we sever their supply line? We cannot repeat our Zhejiang campaign that was meant to relieve the capital. Yucheng held Xiaogan and strung De'an, Yunmeng, and Suizhou into a long-snake line to threaten Jingzhou and Xiangyang. Guan Wen urgently recalled Li Xuyi, Shu Bao, and Peng Yulin with combined land and river forces.
106
侍賢竄踞休寧城，築壘上溪口、河邨、石田、小當等處，與休寧屯溪之寇互為犄角。 國藩以休城不克，徽郡難圖，祁門終屬危地，檄朱品隆等進攻，焚諸壘，寇夜遁，收復縣城。 左宗棠進剿婺源寇，破侍賢於清華街，而城寇忽分黨由中雲竄入樂平界。 宗棠親率數營屯柳家灣，扼其衝，寇敗退； 而援寇漫野至，返旆截殺，復大潰而去。 侍賢糾徽州悍黨圍王開林於婺源甲路，越三日，潰圍出，還景德。
Shixian seized Xiuning and fortified Shangxikou, Hecun, Shitian, and Xiaodang in mutual support with rebels at Tunxi. Unable to take Xiuning or Huizhou and fearing for Qimen, Zeng Guofan sent Zhu Pinlong to burn the rebel forts; the rebels fled by night and Xiuning was recovered. Zuo Zongtang routed Shixian at Qinghuajie in Wuyuan, but rebels from the city slipped through Zhongyun into Leping. Zuo personally camped at Liujiawan to block them and drove the rebels back; when rebel reinforcements swarmed in he wheeled about, cut them down, and put them to rout again. Shixian besieged Wang Kailin at Jialu in Wuyuan with Huizhou hard fighters; after three days Wang broke out and retreated to Jingdezhen.
107
秀成率黨竄撫州，為知府鍾峻等擊敗，竄宜黃，復糾土匪陷遂安。 國藩遣大富防景德。 宗棠進軍鄱陽，次鯰魚山，聞寇偷渡昌江，圖合圍景德，旋移駐金橋。 寇竄平湖，分由西路櫸根嶺、北路禾黍嶺進犯。 副將沈寶成當西面，江長貴出北路拒之。 國藩復檄朱品隆由祁門馳援，殲，寇越嶺而逃； 宗棠擊破於樂平范家邨，陣斬偽謝天義黃勝才、偽嬈天福李佳普等。
Xiucheng raided Fuzhou, was beaten by Prefect Zhong Jun, fled to Yihuang, and with local bandits took Suian. Zeng Guofan posted Chen Dafu to guard Jingdezhen. Zuo marched to Poyang and camped at Nianyushan; learning rebels had crossed the Chang River to encircle Jingdezhen, he shifted to Jinqiao. The rebels moved on Pinghu, advancing by Jugen Ridge in the west and Heshu Ridge in the north. Brigadier Shen Baocheng held the west while Jiang Changgui blocked the northern approach. Zeng Guofan rushed Zhu Pinlong from Qimen to reinforce; the rebels were cut down and fled over the hills; At Fanjiacun in Leping, Zuo killed the rebel princes Xie Tianyi Huang Shengcai and Rao Tianfu Li Jiapu in battle.
108
侍賢率數萬眾潛匿於牛嶺、柳家灣、回龍嶺，翌日，齊進景德鎮，陳大富戰死，陷之。 金魚橋坐營後路已絕，遂移屯樂平。 初，國藩至皖南，設糧臺於江西，以景德鎮為轉運。 寇之窺祁門者，屢遭挫敗，遂悉銳再犯景德，冀絕大軍餉道，至是陷之。 國藩度糧路已斷，惟急復徽州，可通浙米，親至休寧攻徽寇不克，仍屯祁門； 而寇環攻不已，誓以身殉。 宗棠大破寇於樂平，斬馘數萬。 侍賢遁，圍建昌、撫州，攻之不下，遂陷吉安，大軍旋復之，乃進陷瑞州。 於是祁門之路始通。
Shixian hid tens of thousands at Niuling, Liujiawan, and Huilongling, then stormed Jingdezhen the next day; Chen Dafu was killed and the city fell. With his supply line severed at Jinyuqiao, Zuo withdrew to Leping. When Zeng Guofan entered southern Anhui he established a grain depot in Jiangxi with Jingdezhen as the hub. Repeatedly beaten at Qimen, the rebels massed their best troops on Jingdezhen to starve Zeng's army of supplies—and now took the city. With supplies cut off, Zeng Guofan saw Huizhou as the only way to Zhejiang grain; he attacked from Xiuning without success and remained at Qimen; surrounded by relentless rebel attacks, he vowed to die at his post. At Leping, Zuo routed the rebels and killed tens of thousands. Shixian fled, failed against Jianchang and Fuzhou, took Ji'an only to lose it, then captured Ruizhou. The road to Qimen was open again.
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三月，我軍克新淦，解麻城圍。 繁昌荻港、蕪湖魯港寇皆敗走。 民團克雲夢，收應城、黃安、黃坡。 金國琛會水師克孝感，進攻德安，逼城為壘。 嘉興寇竄陷海鹽、平湖，宗棠敗寇於龍珠、桃嶺。 寇渡吉水海灘，陷吉安，復為知府曾詠等攻復。 寇由吉安東犯，分股竄峽江，與新喻賊合併，屯陰岡嶺，臨江告警。 玉成分股守德安、隨州，牽綴我軍，率悍黨由蘄州、黃、廣回宿松，進太湖大營後路，繞趨宿松桃花鋪，逕竄石牌，逼安慶集賢關築壘。 未幾，桐城、廬江偽章王林紹璋、偽干王洪仁玕等率二萬自新安渡至橫山鋪、練潭一帶，連營三十餘里。 至馬踏石，竄安慶，與玉成會解城圍，多隆阿分擊敗之。 玉成闌入集賢關，攻圍師各壘； 復於菱湖兩岸築壘，阻水師進攻。 楊載福遣軍舁砲船入湖，毀寇船筏，復立壘湖嘴，使寇不敢逼水陸大營。 多隆阿自桐城掛車河進攻安慶援寇林紹璋等於練潭、橫山，逼溺菜子湖無數。 黃文金糾蕪湖寇及捻二萬，築壘天林莊二十餘座，謀入安慶城，多隆阿誘斃二千，國荃圍師不少動。 水師焚奪寇船，斷其接濟，以困城寇。
In the third month imperial forces took Xingan and relieved Macheng. Rebels at Digang and Lugang were beaten and driven off. Local militia took Yunmeng and recovered Yingcheng, Huang'an, and Huangpo. Jin Guochen and the river fleet took Xiaogan, besieged De'an, and ringed the walls with camps. Rebels from Jiaxing seized Haiyan and Pinghu; Zuo beat them at Longzhu and Taoling. Rebels crossed the Ji River, took Ji'an, and were driven out again by Prefect Zeng Yong. Rebels marching east from Ji'an split into Xiajiang, joined Xinyu forces at Yingang Ridge, and alarmed Linjiang. Yucheng left garrisons at De'an and Suizhou to pin imperial troops, swept through Qizhou and Huangzhou back to Susong, turned Taihu's rear, and built forts at Shipai threatening Anqing's Jixian Pass. Soon the rebel princes Lin Shaozhang and Hong Rengan led 20,000 from Xinan across the ford to Hengshanpu and Liantan, pitching camps for thirty li. At Mataishi they entered Anqing to join Yucheng in relieving the siege; Duolong'a beat them in separate engagements. Yucheng forced Jixian Pass and assaulted the siege camps; and fortified both banks of Linghu to block the river fleet. Yang Zaifu hauled gunboats into the lake, destroyed rebel craft, rebuilt Huzui forts, and kept rebels from the main camps. From Tongcheng, Duolong'a struck Lin Shaozhang's relief force at Liantan and Hengshan and drowned countless rebels in Caizi Lake. Huang Wenjin gathered 20,000 from Wuhu and the Nian and built twenty forts at Tianlinzhuang to break into Anqing; Duolong'a killed 2,000 in an ambush while Guo Quan's siege line held firm. The river fleet burned rebel boats and severed supplies to starve the garrison.
110
侍賢自廣信竄常山，陷之，入踞江山，旋由常山分股犯衢州。 先是福建援師自衢防回援汀州，軍勢驟孤，故寇乘虛回竄。 又別股由開化白沙關竄玉山童家坊，偽為難民呼城，砲創之； 常山寇復至，會攻城，詐為援兵，奮力擊之，退屯三里街、七里街，潛掘地道，道員王德榜縋城出，大破之，寇還常山。 遂安寇直抵淳安港口，副將余永春中創敗退； 茶園寇踵至，再退桐關。 嚴州大震。
Shixian fled from Guangxin, took Changshan and Jiangshan, then sent columns from Changshan against Quzhou. Fujian troops had left Quzhou for Tingzhou, leaving the garrison weak, and the rebels exploited the gap. Another column slipped from Baishaguan in Kaihua to Tongjiafang in Yushan, posed as refugees at the gate, and were shelled; Changshan rebels joined the siege disguised as reinforcements, were driven to Sanli and Qili Streets, and began a tunnel; Wang Debang sallied from the wall and routed them back to Changshan. Suian rebels reached Chun'an port; Brigadier Yu Yongchun was wounded and driven back; rebels from Chayuan followed, forcing another retreat to Tong Pass. Yanzhou was thrown into alarm.
111
四月，國藩自祁門移駐東流，多隆阿擊敗玉成，棄壘遁，屯集賢關。 國藩復撥鮑超一軍，胡林翼撥成大吉一軍，同赴安慶。 初，玉成卽菱湖北岸築壘十三，城寇葉芸來出城接應，亦築五壘於南岸，以隔國荃與其弟貞幹之師。 國荃掘長壕，包寇壘於長壕之內。 玉成前阻圍師，後受鮑、成兩軍夾攻，計窮遁去，猶死守關內外寇壘，又於隨州、德安各留悍寇牽掣我兵。 官文派軍攻德安，築長圍困之。
In the fourth month Zeng Guofan moved from Qimen to Dongliu; Duolong'a defeated Yucheng, who abandoned his forts and held Jixian Pass. Zeng Guofan sent Bao Chao's corps and Hu Linyi sent Cheng Daji's, both to Anqing. Yucheng had built thirteen forts on Linghu's north bank; Ye Yunlai sallied from Anqing and raised five on the south bank to split Guo Quan from his brother Zhengan. Guo Quan dug a long trench that enclosed the rebel forts within it. Pinned between the siege line and Bao and Cheng's forces, Yucheng fled but still held the forts at the pass and left strong garrisons at Suizhou and De'an to tie down imperial troops. Guan Wen besieged De'an with a long encirclement.
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秀成踞義寧州武寧縣，逼近湖南北邊境。 官文派軍分守興國及崇、通、山、冶四縣。 寇裹脅七八萬人，一由苦竹、南樓二嶺犯通城，一由蛇箭嶺犯通山。 我軍眾寡不敵，均被闌入，直抵崇陽之白霓橋。 其窺伺興國之寇，撲余際昌營，官軍戰失利，退大冶。 寇隨至大冶，並擾武昌。 官文咨調李續宜等屯東湖、跕紙坊一帶，相機進剿。 秀成自孝豐竄四路，陷長興、壽昌，分犯三里亭、千家邨； 復自瑞州分竄西路，連陷上高、新昌，北路陷奉新擾義安，以阻援師。 連日曾秉忠等水陸諸軍破走乍浦、平湖寇於金山各隘。 金山與浙之平湖水陸交錯，薛煥與秉忠商籌，平湖一日不復，松江屬一日不安； 謀越境會攻平湖，再圖乍浦。
Xiucheng held Wuning in Yining Prefecture, threatening northern Hunan. Guan Wen posted troops at Xingguo and the four counties of Chongyang, Tongcheng, Tongshan, and Daye. With 70,000–80,000 coerced followers, rebels struck Tongcheng by the Kuchu and Nanlou ridges and Tongshan by Shejian Ridge. Outnumbered, imperial troops were overrun and the rebels reached Baini Bridge in Chongyang. Rebels probing Xingguo attacked Yu Jichang's camp; imperial forces fell back to Daye. They pursued to Daye and raided toward Wuchang. Guan Wen stationed Li Xuyi near East Lake and Dianzhifang to strike when the moment was right. From Xiaofeng, Xiucheng struck in four columns, took Changxing and Shouchang, and raided Sanliting and Qianjiacun; from Ruizhou he sent western columns through Shanggao and Xinchang and northern forces through Fengxin toward Yi'an to block reinforcements. For days Zeng Bingzhong's combined forces drove Zhepu and Pinghu rebels from the Jinshan passes. Jinshan and Pinghu's waterways intertwined; Xue Huan and Zeng Bingzhong agreed that Songjiang could not be safe until Pinghu was recovered; they planned a joint cross-border assault on Pinghu, then Zhepu.
113
當陳玉成之退走也，多隆阿已進軍磨盤山，遣溫德勒克西、曹克忠、金順等分途尾追。 玉成復糾合林紹璋、洪仁玕、黃文金及格天義陳時永、捻首孫葵心共三萬餘，併力上犯，築八壘於掛車河、[山+考]峔尖迤西棋盤嶺； 率黨破山內黃山舖團卡，仍出山外調黃文金四千餘人伏山內，自率悍黨分道進犯我壘。 多隆阿分軍設伏於棋盤嶺、老梅樹街，而自率馬步各軍分道拒戰，寇後隊忽自亂，老梅樹街伏騎乘之，勢不支。 玉成督敗黨抵敵，而項家河寇壘為舒亮伏兵襲焚，烟燄突起，寇大驚，敗奔桐城。 八壘悉平，燒山內寇館數十處，斃八千餘。 上命左宗棠幫辦軍務。
As Chen Yucheng retreated, Duolong'a advanced to Mopanshan and sent Wendelekexi, Cao Kezhong, and Jin Shun in pursuit. Yucheng rallied Lin Shaozhang, Hong Rengan, Huang Wenjin, Chen Shiyong, and Nian chief Sun Kuixin—over 30,000—and built eight forts from Guache River west to Qipan Ridge; he overran militia posts at Huangshanpu, hid 4,000 under Huang Wenjin in the hills, and led elite columns against imperial forts. Duolong'a ambushed at Qipan Ridge and Laomeishu Street while engaging head-on; the rebel rear collapsed when hidden cavalry struck at Laomeishu Street. Yucheng tried to rally his beaten troops, but Shu Liang burned the Xiangjiahe forts; smoke and flame panicked the rebels into flight toward Tongcheng. All eight forts fell, dozens of mountain camps were burned, and over 8,000 rebels were killed. The throne appointed Zuo Zongtang to assist in military affairs.
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寇越衢州陷龍游，連陷湯谿、金華，紹興、寧波皆大震。 寧、紹為浙東完善之區，寇垂涎已久。 金華既陷，勢將內犯。 寇犯丹徒，水軍敗之，毀寇浮橋。 曾秉忠自金山攻青浦，寇堅壁不出，敗嘉善援寇於章練塘。 寶山防軍姜德攻嘉定以分寇勢。 都興阿敗天長、六合竄寇於揚州西北鄉，盡毀甘泉山寇壘。 秉忠自金山洙涇率砲船進破白虎頭、金澤鎮寇巢，直抵浙境，敗西塘援寇，進毀俞匯卡，寇退入嘉善。 金華寇分股陷蘭谿、武義。
Rebels bypassed Quzhou, took Longyou, Tangxi, and Jinhua, and threw Shaoxing and Ningbo into alarm. Ningbo and Shaoxing were the richest districts of eastern Zhejiang, long coveted by the rebels. With Jinhua fallen, they would drive deeper into Zhejiang. Rebels struck Dantu; the river fleet defeated them and destroyed their pontoon bridges. From Jinshan, Zeng Bingzhong besieged Qingpu while beating Jiashan reinforcements at Zhangliantang. Jiang De's Baoshan garrison attacked Jiading to divide rebel forces. Duxing'a routed rebels from Tianchang and Luhe northwest of Yangzhou and destroyed the Ganquanshan forts. From Zhujing at Jinshan, Zeng Bingzhong's gunboats smashed rebel bases at Baihutou and Jinze, beat Xitang reinforcements, destroyed the Yu Hui checkpoint, and drove rebels into Jiashan. Rebels from Jinhua seized Lanxi and Wuyi.
115
五月，鮑超、成大吉破集賢關外赤岡嶺寇壘三，殲寇三千餘。 偽屈天豫賈仁富、偽傅天安李仕福、偽垂天義朱孔棠等皆伏誅。 大吉回援武昌，餘一壘超獨破之，擒斬劉瑲林。 瑲林陷蘇、常為前鋒，自恃其勇，欲以孤壘遏官軍，既伏誅，國荃軍勢自倍。 國藩之移東流也，皖南寇度嶺內空虛，糾眾由方干嶺樟樹衛防軍而入，潛陷黟縣，築壘西武嶺等處，窺伺祁門。 張運蘭等克黟縣，寇併入盧邨十都，增壘抗拒。 我軍克其七壘，寇悉駢誅。 徽州寇聞之竄走。
In the fifth month Bao Chao and Cheng Daji took three forts at Chigang Ridge outside Jixian Pass and killed over 3,000 rebels. The rebel leaders Qu Tianyu Jia Renfu, Fu Tian'an Li Shifu, and Chui Tianyi Zhu Kongtang were all executed. Cheng Daji returned to Wuchang; Bao Chao alone stormed the last fort and killed Liu Yinlin. Liu Yinlin, the spearhead of the Suzhou and Changzhou campaigns, had held a single fort to block the imperial army; his death doubled Guo Quan's momentum. When Zeng Guofan moved to Dongliu, southern Anhui rebels slipped through Fanggan Ridge past the Zhangshuwei garrison, seized Yixian, fortified Xiwuling, and threatened Qimen. Zhang Yunlan recovered Yixian; the rebels concentrated at Lu Village's ten districts and threw up more forts. Imperial troops took seven forts and executed the rebels en masse. Huizhou rebels fled on the news.
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宗棠追剿侍賢至廣信，以建德再陷，竄入鄱陽視田街，急回景德。 寇宵遁，宗棠截之，大戰棡樹嶺，寇走建德後河，遂復縣城。 運蘭進攻徽州，復之。 汀州寇由江西瑞金回竄。 時江西寇竄江山，進陷遂昌。 秀成以一股踞瑞州、義寧、武寧，分三路犯湖北，連陷南岸興國、崇陽、通城、大冶、通山、武昌、咸寧、蒲圻，寇鋒逼武昌省城。 官文、李續宜會遣水陸軍分道進剿，胡林翼亦自太湖移軍還省，先援南岸，再圖黃、蘄。
Zuo pursued Shixian to Guangxin, but when Jiande fell again rebels entered Shitian Street in Poyang and he rushed back to Jingdezhen. The rebels fled by night; Zuo intercepted them at Gangshuling, drove them to Jiande's back river, and recovered the county seat. Zhang Yunlan attacked Huizhou and recovered the city. Tingzhou rebels retreated from Ruijin in Jiangxi. Jiangxi rebels entered Jiangshan and seized Suichang. Xiucheng held Ruizhou, Yining, and Wuning and struck Hubei in three columns, taking Xingguo, Chongyang, Tongcheng, Daye, Tongshan, Wuchang, Xianning, and Puqi until rebels threatened Wuchang itself. Guan Wen and Li Xuyi sent combined forces in pursuit; Hu Linyi returned from Taihu to relieve the south bank first, then turned toward Huangzhou and Qizhou.
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寇之竄擾江西者，自去冬以來，前後凡五大股，其由皖境竄入，自北而南者三股：一曰黃文金，連陷建德、鄱陽六縣； 一曰李侍賢，連陷浮梁、景德等處。 此二股均經左宗棠擊退，未能深入江西腹地。 一曰李秀成，連圍玉山、廣信、廣豐三城，又深入內地，圍建昌，撲撫州，均未破，竄入崇仁樟樹鎮、吉安峽江，並踞瑞州府城，分竄奉新、靖安、武寧、義寧各州縣，又竄入湖北之興國、大冶、蒲圻、崇、通等處。 此北三股也。 其由兩廣竄入，自南而北者二股：一曰廣東股，其渠有周姓、許姓，上年由仁化、樂昌闌入江西，與李秀成聯合，圍攻廣信、南豐、建昌各城，連陷湖口、興安、婺源，經左宗棠攻克德、婺兩城，遂歸併徽州。 一曰廣西股，其渠為朱衣點、彭大瞬，本石達開之餘黨也。 由江西竄出湖南，經過南贛，陷福建之汀州，回竄江西，蹂躪寧都、建昌、河口等處。 其前隊已由婺源竄浙，後隊尚留撫州。 此南二股也。 五大股中，又分為三支、四支，忽分忽合，時南時北。
Rebels had raided Jiangxi in five major waves since last winter. Three columns entered from Anhui southward: Huang Wenjin took Jiande and six Poyang counties; Li Shixian took Fuliang, Jingde, and neighboring towns. Zuo Zongtang drove both columns back before they could penetrate inland Jiangxi. Li Xiucheng besieged Yushan, Guangxin, and Guangfeng, probed Jianchang and Fuzhou, held Ruizhou, raided Fengxin, Jing'an, Wuning, and Yining, and drove into Hubei's Xingguo, Daye, Puqi, Chongyang, and Tongcheng. These were the three northern columns. Two southern columns came from Guangdong and Guangxi. The Guangdong band under Zhou and Xu entered from Renhua and Lechang, joined Xiucheng, took Hukou, Xing'an, and Wuyuan, and after Zuo recovered Dehua and Wuyuan merged into Huizhou. The Guangxi column under Zhu Yidian and Peng Dashun were remnants of Shi Dakai's force. They crossed into Hunan, took Tingzhou in Fujian, returned to trample Ningdu, Jianchang, and Hekou. The vanguard reached Zhejiang through Wuyuan while the rear still held Fuzhou. These were the two southern columns. The five columns split and reunited, shifting between south and north.
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國藩令鮑超回援江西，由九江直搗建昌，先保江西省城。 瑞州及各縣踞寇逼近南昌，毓科留張運桂等扼屯城外，劉于潯屯安義堡，後營屯生米，丁峻屯臨江，皆為省垣西路屏蔽。 李續宜克武昌，寇陷松陽、處州、永康、縉雲。 縉雲既復，寇竄永康。 宗棠遣軍克建德，國藩移屯婺源，婺源者，界江、皖、浙三省之衝也。 賴裕新合汀州寇犯德興，分黨踞九都之新建，遣軍敗之。 寇渡江竄浙江開化華埠，德興、婺源肅清。 游擊黃載清克遂昌，松陽踞寇亦聞風遁，載清進攻宣平克之，寇竄武義，處屬肅清。 金華知府王桐等克永康，寇併趨金華。 江陰、常熟寇由海壩竄壽星沙，大肆焚掠。
Zeng Guofan ordered Bao Chao back to Jiangxi from Jiujiang toward Jianchang to secure Nanchang first. Rebels near Ruizhou threatened Nanchang; Yuke posted Zhang Yungui outside the walls and Liu Yuxun, Ding Jun, and others along the western approaches. Li Xuyi recovered Wuchang while rebels seized Songyang, Chuzhou, Yongkang, and Jinyun. After Jinyun was retaken the rebels withdrew to Yongkang. Zuo took Jiande; Zeng Guofan moved to Wuyuan at the junction of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Zhejiang. Lai Yuxin and Tingzhou rebels attacked Dexing; imperial troops beat their detachment at Xinjiang in Jiudu. The rebels crossed into Kaihua Huabu in Zhejiang; Dexing and Wuyuan were cleared. Huang Zaiqing recovered Suichang and Xuanping; rebels fled to Wuyi and the Chuzhou area was pacified. Prefect Wang Tong of Jinhua recovered Yongkang; rebels converged on Jinhua. Rebels from Jiangyin and Changshu raided Shouxing Sandbar by sea and burned widely.
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六月，曾國荃會水師破菱湖北岸十三壘、南岸五壘，斬馘九千餘。 寇之踞湖北咸寧、蒲圻、通城者，我軍均克復。 寇由武寧犯建昌。 金華寇出擾曹宅等處，李元度克義寧。 張玉良等率水陸軍圍攻蘭谿不下。 寇偵嚴州軍單，築壘女埠，下竄嚴州，陷之，尋為張玉良所復。 寇陷上高，擾萬載。 知縣翁延緒等克復武寧。 水師李德麟等擊毀黃山、黃田、石牌三港寇船，壽星沙寇退回江陰。 蘇州寇擾青浦，李恆嵩自北簳山移屯塘橋，以固松江門戶。 嘉定寇糾蘇州寇犯上海，我軍禦於真如。 寇渡河竄華漕，奪踞參將王占魁壘，薛煥遣軍奪還。 寇走南翔，再敗退嘉定。 時江水盛漲，國藩檄楊載福圖池州，牽掣南岸。 載福攻十日不能下，乃率李成謀三營至舊縣，偵北岸無為瀕江壘寇避水移神塘裏河，駛擊破之，進攻州城。 陳玉成、楊輔清死力抗拒。 還軍次大通，敗青陽寇，還屯黃石磯。
In the sixth month Guo Quan and the river fleet took thirteen north-bank and five south-bank forts at Linghu, killing over 9,000 rebels. Imperial forces recovered Xianning, Puqi, and Tongcheng in Hubei. Rebels from Wuning struck Jianchang. Jinhua rebels raided Caozhai; Li Yuandu recovered Yining. Zhang Yuliang besieged Lanxi without success. Finding Yanzhou weak, rebels fortified Nubu, seized Yanzhou, and were soon driven out by Zhang Yuliang. Rebels took Shanggao and raided Wanzai. Magistrate Weng Yanxu recovered Wuning. Li Delin's fleet destroyed rebel craft at Huangshan, Huangtian, and Shipai; Shouxing Sandbar rebels withdrew to Jiangyin. Suzhou rebels raided Qingpu; Li Hengsong shifted to Tangqiao to guard Songjiang. Jiading and Suzhou rebels attacked Shanghai; imperial troops met them at Zhenru. Rebels crossed to Huacao and seized Wang Zhankui's fort until Xue Huan retook it. They fled to Nanxiang, were beaten again, and withdrew to Jiading. With the river high, Zeng Guofan ordered Yang Zaifu against Chizhou to pin the south bank. After ten days at Chizhou, Zaifu took three battalions to Jiuxian, caught Wuwei riverside rebels inland at Shentangli, smashed them, and advanced on the city. Chen Yucheng and Yang Fuqing resisted fiercely. He withdrew to Datong, beat Qingyang rebels, and encamped at Huangshiji.
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七月，玉成糾輔清眾十餘萬自無為州犯英山，繞宿松，徑攻太湖，為救援安慶計。 寇排隊山岡作長蛇勢。 復有寇數萬自龍山宮對岸至塔下，袤延二十餘里，分路誘我軍，我軍堅守不動。 夜大雨，賊洶湧潮進，城中飛丸隨雨落，至晨圍始解。 玉成乃自小池驛進至清河高樓嶺，欲結桐城寇包裹我軍，以解安慶之圍。 攻撲六晝夜，玉成、輔清援桴鼓督軍，揮刀砍不前者。 我軍奮擊，大挫其鋒。 玉成、輔清率大隊竄至高河鋪、馬鞍山，桐城圍復合。 安慶圍師悉平城外諸壘。 秀成自竄踞瑞州，分陷上高、新昌、奉新等縣，以瑞州為老巢。 官文檄元度會軍攻克新昌、奉新、上高，敗寇均趨瑞州。 乃遣游擊賀接華等會軍直搗郡城，攻復之。 官文以德安寇謀窺荊襄，派水陸諸軍節次嚴剿，寇堅守，有冒死突出者，諸軍擊潰，寇不得入城。 寇復出抄我軍後以援前寇，乃斷其歸路，寇奔河西，伏兵四合，架梯入，立復府城。
In the seventh month Yucheng led over 100,000 from Wuwei through Yingshan and Susong against Taihu to relieve Anqing. The rebels formed a long-snake line along the ridges. Tens of thousands more came from Longshangong to the tower, spread over twenty li, and tried to lure imperial troops, who held firm. A night storm brought a rebel surge; the garrison rained shot until dawn and the siege lifted. Yucheng moved from Xiaochiyi to Gaolou Ridge to link with Tongcheng rebels and envelop the siege army. For six days Yucheng and Fuqing beat drums and cut down waverers to drive assaults. Imperial troops struck hard and broke their momentum. Yucheng and Fuqing fled to Gaohepu and Ma'anshan; the Tongcheng siege ring closed again. The Anqing besiegers cleared every outer fort. Xiucheng made Ruizhou his base and seized Shanggao, Xinchang, and Fengxin. Guan Wen had Yuandu recover Xinchang, Fengxin, and Shanggao, driving rebels toward Ruizhou. He Jiehua and others stormed and recovered the prefectural city. Guan Wen tightened the siege of De'an when rebels threatened Jingzhou and Xiangyang; sorties were beaten back. Rebels tried to hit the imperial rear; their retreat was cut; they fled west of the river, were trapped, and De'an was retaken at once.
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程學啟克安慶北門外三石壘，北門寇路已絕。 德安寇竄河南信陽，轉犯羅山、光山、商城，兵團截擊，退奔皖境。 鮑超督諸軍大破豐城西北岸寇壘，東岸屯寇驚潰，劉于潯乘之，收樟樹鎮。 初，超自九江進軍，秀成聞風遠遁，率瑞州、奉新、清安、安義之寇，先分萬人擾撫州； 令玉成率悍黨二萬攻豐城，而自領大隊由臨江踞樟樹、沙湖、豐城一帶，綿亙百餘里。 先一日，超至豐城對河，值寇在樟樹為浮橋，陣山岡，超分中、後、左、右四隊齊進，寇搖旗迎拒，戰一時許，大敗，馘八千餘人。
Cheng Xueqi took three stone forts outside Anqing's north gate and severed the northern rebel route. De'an rebels raided Xinyang and the Guang-Shang region, then were driven back into Anhui. Bao Chao smashed Fengcheng's northwest forts; east-bank rebels fled and Liu Yuxun recovered Zhangshu Town. When Bao advanced from Jiujiang, Xiucheng fled, sent 10,000 to harass Fuzhou, sent Yucheng with 20,000 against Fengcheng, and held Zhangshu and Fengcheng with his main force for a hundred li. Bao reached Fengcheng as rebels built a pontoon at Zhangshu; in an hour's fight he killed over 8,000.
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八月，克安慶城，城外四偽王竄集賢關。 安慶既復，東南之勢益促。 水軍進克池州，乘勝下剿，復銅陵縣。 時偽右軍劉官才方盤踞池州，與安慶相犄角。 內則堅守石埭、太平，阻徽師進兵之路； 外則上犯德、建、鄱陽，為江省北邊之患。 今與安慶相繼而下，皖南軍勢益張。 國荃與多隆阿會議，以桐城為七省要道、安慶咽喉，寇死守待援； 玉成尚擁眾數萬，徘徊於集賢關內外，謀與桐城合併。 乃會軍進擊，玉成、輔清皆大敗，越山而逸，遂復其城。 宿松、黃梅、蘄州、廣濟相繼下。 多隆阿進屯蘄州曹家渡，扼下游敗寇，以絕黃州寇援。 李續燾等會同水師進攻黃州，寇築壘浚壕以抗我軍。 蔣凝學令投誠劉維楨服寇衣，偽為援眾； 復造玉成偽文，誘寇出，而設伏以待，寇果出，為我軍所殲，立復黃州。
In the eighth month Anqing fell; four rebel kings outside fled to Jixian Pass. Anqing's fall tightened the noose on the southeast. The fleet took Chizhou and recovered Tongling downstream. The rebel Right Army commander Liu Guancai still held Chizhou in support of Anqing. He held Shicheng and Taiping inland, blocking the Huizhou advance; outwardly he raided Dehua, Jiande, and Poyang, threatening northern Jiangxi. With Anqing gone, southern Anhui momentum surged. Guo Quan and Duolong'a agreed Tongcheng was the throat of seven provinces; rebels held on for relief; Yucheng still had tens of thousands at Jixian Pass, seeking to join Tongcheng. A joint assault routed Yucheng and Fuqing over the hills and Tongcheng was recovered. Susong, Huangmei, Qizhou, and Guangji followed. Duolong'a camped at Caojiadu in Qizhou to block fugitives and Huangzhou relief. Li Xutan and the fleet besieged Huangzhou behind forts and deep moats. Jiang Ningxue had the defector Liu Weizhen pose as rebel reinforcements; forged orders in Yucheng's name to lure the garrison out into an ambush; Huangzhou was retaken at once.
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時秀成竄出豐城，踞白馬寨，遣黨攻撫州。 鮑超馳至，撫圍立解。 寇走貴谿，得廣東新寇，合大眾據湖防河口，勢甚洶湧。 超分五路應之，蹋毀七十餘壘，進復鉛山。 國藩移駐安慶省城。 初，侍賢攻嚴州，兩月不能下，乃於烏石、方門二灘連環築壘，逼近外壕。 城內糧盡援絕，副將羅大春受重傷，率將士突北門出，城遂陷。 秀成自桐廬、新城進陷餘杭。 寇之竄貴谿者，聞鮑超自撫州至，豫遁走。 初，閩寇三起，與花旗廣匪先後由建昌竄至廣信，與秀成併為一路。 鮑超會屈蟠大破廣信寇壘，立解城圍。 秀成敗走鉛山，築七壘，與城寇相守禦。 超踵至，悉覆其壘，渡河攻城，克之。 秀成竄圍廣豐，不克，分竄玉山，築壘十餘，復為道員王德榜所破。
Xiucheng fled Fengcheng for Baima Stockade and sent raiders against Fuzhou. Bao Chao arrived and lifted the Fuzhou siege immediately. They fled to Guixi, swelled with Guangdong recruits, and held the Hukou estuary in force. Bao struck in five columns, destroyed seventy forts, and recovered Qianshan. Zeng Guofan moved his headquarters into Anqing city. Shixian had besieged Yanzhou two months, then built linked forts at Wushi and Fangmen against the outer wall. With food gone, Luo Dachun was wounded leading a breakout through the north gate; Yanzhou fell. Xiucheng took Yuhang from Tonglu and Xincheng. Guixi rebels fled when they heard Bao Chao was coming from Fuzhou. Fujian rebels and foreign-flag Guang bandits had slipped from Jianchang to Guangxin and joined Xiucheng. Bao Chao and Qu Pan smashed Guangxin forts and lifted the siege. Xiucheng fled to Qianshan, built seven forts, and held the city with the garrison. Bao followed, destroyed the forts, crossed the river, and took the city. Xiucheng failed at Guangfeng, raided Yushan, built ten forts, and was broken by Wang Debang.
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秀成全股悉自江西竄犯浙境，一由玉山陷常山，一由廣豐犯江山，龍游踞寇同時出擾，衢州危迫。 是月知府張詩華克復瀘谿、興安各城。 福建援軍張啟煊擊寇浦江，失利，陷之。 寇直犯五指山，金華大股踵至，米興朝等迎擊失利。 義烏、東陽相繼不守。 啟煊退守諸暨辟水嶺，寇至再潰。 九月，寇陷處州。
Xiucheng's entire force left Jiangxi for Zhejiang—through Yushan and Guangfeng toward Changshan and Jiangshan while Longyou rebels sallied, threatening Quzhou. That month Prefect Zhang Shihua recovered Luxi and Xing'an. Zhang Qixuan's Fujian relief force was beaten at Pujiang and the town fell. Rebels hit Wuzhi Mountain as a large Jinhua force followed; Mi Xingchao was defeated. Yiwu and Dongyang fell in turn. Qixuan fell back to Bishui Ridge at Zhuji and was routed again. In the ninth month rebels took Chuzhou.
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大軍之破安慶也，無為州寇馬玉棠妻子居安慶，曾國荃生致之，密諭玉棠獻無為城。 無為居皖北形勢，控金陵，引蕪湖，為寇必爭之路。 附近泥汊口、神塘河諸處，石壘星列，以阻我軍。 曾國荃會同水師抵泥汊口，壘高難仰攻，乃令築寨安營，而自率勁旅迅赴楊家橋、鳳凰頸，決隄斷寇歸路。 寇大恐，遁入城。 越日，攻神塘河，寇亦遁歸，乘勝直抵城下。 至是玉棠事洩，偽頂王朱王陰幽之。 玉棠黨舉兵攻王陰，我軍乘之，寇大潰。 斃偽豫侯、丞相等，城立復。
When Anqing fell, Zeng Guoquan took Ma Yutang's family hostage and secretly urged him to surrender Wuwei. Wuwei commanded northern Anhui, Nanjing, and Wuhu—a route the rebels had to hold. Stone forts at Nizhakou and Shentang River blocked the imperial advance. At Nizhakou Guo Quan entrenched while leading elites to Yangjia Bridge and Fenghuang Neck to break dikes and sever rebel retreat. The rebels panicked and fled into the city. The next day they took Shentang River and pressed to the walls. Ma Yutang's plot was exposed and the rebel Top King Zhu Wangyin imprisoned him. Yutang's men attacked Wangyin; imperial troops routed the garrison. Rebel leaders including the false Yu Hou were killed and Wuwei was recovered.
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秀成由臨浦陷蕭山，再由蕭山塘路竄杭州，陷諸暨、紹興府城，分竄新昌、嵊縣。 上虞、餘姚均先後失守。 國荃連破運漕鎮及東關鎮，鎮在無為、含山之界，外瀕大江，內連巢湖，寇糧皆屯於此，上濟安慶、廬州，下輸金陵，為南北鎖鑰。 偽巨王洪某率眾五六千，並砲船數十，守之。 寇失此益膽落。
Xiucheng took Xiaoshan, entered Hangzhou, seized Zhuji and Shaoxing, and raided Xinchang and Sheng County. Shangyu and Yuyao fell in turn. Guo Quan took Yuncao and Dongguan, rebel grain depots on the Wuwei-Hanshan border that fed Nanjing and Anqing. The rebel Giant King Hong held the towns with 5,000–6,000 men and dozens of gunboats. The loss broke rebel morale.
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十月，楚軍克復隨州。 湖北自黃州、德安復後，惟隨州以孫捻援應，擾及襄陽，憑堅死抗。 官文擊退豫捻，復用降將劉維楨取黃州計，誘寇出城敗之，克復州城。 多隆阿收舒城、廬江，李續宜部將蔣凝學屯六安、霍山，宗棠屯婺源，張運蘭等屯徽州，李元度新軍出廣信，寇悉赴浙江，而皖南寇聚保廬州。 宗棠議大舉援浙，浙寇猖獗，全省糜爛，逼近省垣。
In the tenth month the Chu army recovered Suizhou. Only Suizhou, aided by the Nian, still held out and threatened Xiangyang. Guan Wen drove off Henan Nian bands and used Liu Weizhen's ruse to retake Suizhou. Duolong'a took Shucheng and Lujiang; imperial forces spread across Lu'an, Wuyuan, Huizhou, and Guangxin while rebels flooded Zhejiang and Luzhou. Zuo planned a major relief as Zhejiang burned and rebels neared the provincial capital.
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上命曾國藩管轄江蘇、安徽、江西、浙江軍務。 秀全見各省攻討嚴劇，迭克名城，金陵唾手可下，乃大懼，令秀成、侍賢分途竄擾，分我兵力。 秀成竄浙江，疊陷各郡邑，直至餘杭，浙省戒嚴。 寇從塘路抵杭州，撲武林門外賣魚橋，踞我營卡。 寇隊尋大至，運糧道阻。 提督張玉良來援，與城軍夾守。 寇乃自海潮寺至鳳凰山，環木柵實土其中為堅壁，使城外隔絕，日以槍砲轟城。 玉良攻木柵，中砲死。 內外兵益懼，而城中久乏糧，人多餓死。 自蕭山、諸暨等城陷後，援兵路絕。 寇尋陷奉化、台州，十一月，由慈谿犯陷鎮海。 台州寇分股陷黃巖、寧波，會同輔清由浙江嚴州遂安踰嶺回竄徽州，復蔓延衢屬開化，其謀在深入江、皖腹地，阻我援浙之師。
The court placed Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang under Zeng Guofan's command. Hong Xiuquan, fearing Nanjing's fall, sent Xiucheng and Shixian to raid widely and split imperial forces. Xiucheng overran Zhejiang to Yuhang and put the province on alert. Rebels reached Hangzhou, hit Maiyu Bridge outside Wulin Gate, and seized imperial outposts. Rebel numbers swelled and supply lines were cut. Zhang Yuliang reinforced the city in a joint defense. From Haichao Temple to Fenghuang Hill they built earth-filled palisades and shelled the city daily. Yuliang was killed assaulting the palisades. Defenders panicked as famine killed many in the city. With Xiaoshan and Zhuji lost, relief could not reach Hangzhou. They took Fenghua and Taizhou, and in the eleventh month seized Zhenhai from Cixi. Taizhou and Ningbo columns re-entered Huizhou and Kaihua to block imperial relief into Zhejiang.
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宗棠於廣德奉督辦浙江軍務之命，以寇圍徽郡，當入浙後路，遣軍至婺源，會防軍援剿。 輔清大舉分犯徽州、休寧，兩敗於屯谿、篁墩，遂趨南路，逕逼嚴郡； 而秀成已陷杭州，滿城亦相繼失守。 輔清率寧國寇圍攻徽州、休寧兩城，偽成天安竄休寧之屯谿，尋又竄篁墩。 十二月，總兵張運桂堅守徽城待援，乘間出擊破寇壘。 寇復踞屯谿、市街、潛口一帶，以絕徽軍糧道。 國藩調總兵朱品隆馳赴休寧，與唐義訓先破屯谿街口寇卡，毀河邊四壘，進平石橋、潛口寇巢，尋派軍護糧赴徽。 寇由萬安街分股包抄，我軍奮擊之，寇不敢遏。 張運桂以嚴市街為寇踞，糧道梗阻，與休寧軍會商兜剿，燬寇十餘壘，輔清受傷。 值除夕大雪，寇掠無所得，悉遁去，圍立解。
At Guangde, Zuo was ordered to supervise Zhejiang affairs and sent troops through Wuyuan to guard the rear. Fuqing twice failed at Tunxi and Huangdun, then drove on Yanzhou; while Xiucheng had taken Hangzhou and the Manchu quarter fell. Fuqing besieged Huizhou and Xiuning while the rebel Chengtian'an shifted from Tunxi to Huangdun. In the twelfth month Zhang Yungui held Huizhou and sallied to smash rebel forts. Rebels held Tunxi and Qian Mouth to starve the Huizhou garrison. Zeng sent Zhu Pinlong and Tang Yixun to clear Tunxi and escort grain to Huizhou. An imperial counterattack at Wan'an Street stopped the rebel encirclement. Zhang Yungui and Xiuning troops burned a dozen forts; Fuqing was wounded. A New Year's Eve blizzard left the rebels empty-handed and the siege lifted.
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是月，提督李世忠克復天長、六合。 寇自八年踞六合，屢攻不下。 黃雅冬思反正，潛約世忠先削其外壘，而己為內應。 世忠自滁州至六合，遂大破寇壘，斬馮𢤀林，直造城下。 黃雅冬倒戈，縱火拔關，我軍擁入城，擒斬衝天福林國安、頂天燕江玉城、攀天福魏正福五十餘人，皆悍黨也。 詔黃雅冬更名朝棟。 世忠以黃朝棟密約天長寇陳世明為內應，朝棟所部未盡薙髮，詐為援寇進城下，世明拔關納軍，遂克之。
That month Li Shizhong recovered Tianchang and Luhe. Rebels had held Luhe since the eighth year against repeated assaults. Huang Yadong plotted defection, promising Shizhong to take the outer forts from within. Shizhong marched from Chuzhou, smashed the forts, killed Feng Yulin, and reached the walls. Huang Yadong opened the gates; imperial troops entered and executed fifty rebel chiefs including Lin Guoan. The throne renamed Huang Yadong Chaodong. Shizhong used Chaodong and Chen Shiming to feign relief and seize Tianchang.
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是歲，汀州寇竄陷連城，分竄上杭。 江西寇復闌入武平境，時寇謀分股：一圖窺龍、巖，一由清流、寧化擾延平、邵武。 總督慶端以延平為全省關鍵，馳往駐紮； 克連城，進攻汀州，創洪容海，克之。 而江西續竄武平之寇，亦為副將林文察等擊敗。 國藩疏請飭慶端嚴守浦城，俾寇不得由閩境竄江西。
That year Tingzhou rebels took Liancheng and raided Shanghang. Jiangxi rebels entered Wuping, planning raids toward Longyan and the Yanping-Shaowu line. Governor Qing Duan rushed to Yanping, the province's key point; he recovered Liancheng, attacked Tingzhou, wounded Hong Ronghai, and took the city. Lin Wenzha beat Jiangxi rebels entering Wuping. Zeng Guofan urged Qing Duan to hold Pucheng and block a Fujian-Jiangxi corridor.
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同治元年正月，是時浙、蘇兩省膏腴盡為寇有，全浙所存，尚有湖州、海寧兩城，又孤懸賊中，獨衢州一府尚可圖存。 國藩疏薦福建延邵建寧道李鴻章署理江蘇巡撫，別立一軍，由滬圖蘇； 以圍攻金陵屬曾國荃，以浙事屬左宗棠。 於是東南寇勢日就衰熄。 世忠攻江浦，約劉元成、單玉功為內應，殺偽報王、偽宗王、操天福等七十餘名，立復江浦； 至浦口，復克其城。 自江、浙兩省寇糾眾數十萬，併力東犯，連陷奉賢、南匯、川沙等廳縣，烽火遍浦東，逼上海。 各隘防軍遇寇輒潰走。 寇既為法船所擊退，踞天馬山陳防橋，復為李恆嵩所破，敗入青浦城中。 其浦東大股踞高橋，欲斷我要隘。 美人華爾、白齊文撲寇巢，毀其壁，進攻浦東、浦南，大破之。 尋嘉定、青浦寇進逼七寶，以窺上海圍防軍郭太平營。 薛煥督軍解其圍，甫還軍，寇復大至。
In Tongzhi year one only Huzhou, Haining, and Quzhou still held out in ruined Zhejiang. Zeng recommended Li Hongzhang for Jiangsu and a Shanghai-based army to recover Su. Guo Quan would besiege Nanjing; Zuo would handle Zhejiang. Southeastern rebel power began to collapse. Shizhong retook Jiangpu with inside help, killing over seventy rebel officers. He then recovered Pukou. Hundreds of thousands from Jiangsu and Zhejiang overran Pudong and threatened Shanghai. Garrison troops fled at rebel contact. Beaten by French vessels, rebels held Tianma Hill, then were driven into Qingpu by Li Hengsong. A large Pudong force at Gaoqiao tried to sever Shanghai's lifeline. Ward and Burgevine destroyed rebel bases in Pudong and routed them. Jiading and Qingpu rebels probed Qibao toward Guo Taiping's Shanghai lines. Xue Huan relieved the siege, but rebels returned as soon as troops withdrew.
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李鴻章率湘淮軍援江蘇，營上海城南。 黃翼升統水師相繼至。 宗棠出嶺攻開化，楊輔清糾眾踞張邨、銀坑、石佛嶺，窺伺衢州，連戰走之，陣斬藍以道，開化肅清。 九洑洲寇竄江浦、浦口、和州，分黨犯橋林。 二月，嘉善、平湖寇水陸犯金山、洙涇，七日，陷之。 松江、上海俱震。 東梁山偽愛王黃崇發、西梁山偽親王某、裕谿口偽善王陳觀意糾合雍家鎮寇，分股上竄五顯廟、水家邨、湯家溝，水師李成謀登岸破之，斬黃崇發。 初，宗棠既克開化，進軍常山璞石，偵李侍賢嗾壽昌蘭谿寇糾遂安恭天義賴連繡犯開化馬金，謀長圍困我。 宗棠回攻遂安，乘援寇未集，先剿克之。
Li Hongzhang brought the Xiang-Huai army to camp south of Shanghai. Huang Yisheng's fleet followed. Zuo cleared Kaihua after killing Lan Yidao and driving Yang Fuqing from Quzhou's approaches. Rebels from Jiufuzhou raided Jiangpu, Pukou, Hezhou, and Qiaolin. In the second month Jiashan and Pinghu forces took Jinshan and Zhujing. Songjiang and Shanghai were alarmed. Li Chengmo's marines killed Huang Chongfa and broke rebel columns at Wuxian Temple and Tangjiagou. After Kaihua, Zuo learned Shixian was sending Lai Lianxiu against Majin to encircle his army. Zuo turned on Suian and took it before reinforcements arrived.
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三月，李元度敗寇於江山碗窯，再敗小青湖援寇。 江山賊進陷峽口閩軍曾元福壘，踞之，連營數十里。 宗棠自常山遣軍進剿。 林文察之克遂昌也，寇併聚松陽，蔓延雲和、景寧，尋以次擊退，進規處州，破寇松陽平港頭寇壘，寇奔處州碧湖。 上年國藩檄鮑超平青陽城外寇壘，作長圍困之。 偽奉王古隆賢潛糾浙江死黨三萬餘人進撲銅陵，分我軍勢。 超率援軍盡掃橫塘等處百餘卡三十六壘。 古隆賢偵知大軍北出，陰統涇、太悍寇築九壘於青陽豬婆店阻我師，以通糧道。 適超凱旋，進逼青陽，克之。
In the third month Li Yuandu won at Wanyao in Jiangshan and beat Xiaoqing Lake reinforcements. Jiangshan rebels seized Zeng Yuanfu's fort at Xiakou and camped for miles. Zuo sent troops from Changshan in pursuit. After Suichang, Lin Wenzha drove rebels from Songyang toward Chuzhou Bihu. Earlier Zeng Guofan had Bao Chao besiege Qingyang's outer forts. The rebel Feng King Gu Longxian sent 30,000 Zhejiang hard fighters against Tongling. Bao swept over a hundred posts and thirty-six forts at Hengtang. Gu Longxian built nine forts at Zhupodian to reopen Qingyang's supplies. Bao returned and took Qingyang.
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國荃既募湘勇回安慶，國藩飭令攻取巢縣、含山、和州、西梁山等處，以為欲制寇死命，先自巢始，遂進屯縣城東北。 劉連捷等赴望山岡以扼南路，寇乘我壘未定來犯，拒敗之。 初，寇踞江岸以北，上援廬州，下衛江寧，分布堅城，拒守要塞，通上下之氣，杜我進兵要路。 至是攻破巢縣銅城閘、雍家鎮，旋收巢縣，復含山，再會水師大破裕溪口寇屯。
Zeng ordered Guo Quan from Anqing against Chaoxian, Hanshan, Hezhou, and West Liangshan. Liu Lianjie held Wangshangang and repelled a rebel attack on unfinished works. Rebels had fortified the north bank to link Luzhou and Nanjing and block imperial advances. Imperial forces took Tongcheng Pass, Yongjia Town, Chaoxian, Hanshan, and smashed Yuxikou.
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寇之踞金陵也，以全力扼東西梁山，兩山對峙，大江至此一束，水急流洄，視小孤山尤為形勝。 國荃以此關為金陵鎖鑰，循江上逼西梁山而陣。 寇走江州，水陸爭起搏擊，遂克之。 自是金陵重鎮已失其半。 偽匡王賴文鴻竄繁昌縣，糾約踞寇撲我三山峽營。 曾貞幹乘寇未逼，督軍分道馳剿，寇大亂，殪其渠吳大嘴，遂克繁昌。 蕪湖援寇潛屯魯港以圖抗拒，貞幹會同水師奪其船百餘艘，夷三壘十餘卡，餘悉遁蕪湖； 貞幹督各軍馳抵南陵，立復其城。 鮑超既克青陽，議先取石埭、太平以固徽州之防，繼取涇縣以達寧國之路； 乃分軍五路，由龍口直抵石埭，寇矢石交下，總兵婁雲慶從西、北二門攻入，立復縣城。 寇大懼，糾集南陵援寇大至，屯甘棠鎮阻我師。 我軍分三路進擊，破十七壘，遂復太平，擒斬偽主將徐國華等三十七人。 先是超攻青陽時，有偽佐將張遇春率眾萬餘乞降，超納之，令暫屯景德三谿。 至是太平賊寇將北走，張遇春驟起殲之。 超回軍挾之，進攻涇縣，復其城，遂東渡清弋江，進規寧國。
Rebels had choked the Yangtze at East and West Liangshan, a narrows more vital than Little Gushan. Guo Quan treated West Liangshan as Nanjing's key and advanced upriver. Rebels fled to Jiangzhou and were defeated on land and water. Nanjing's outer defenses were half gone. The rebel Kuang King Lai Wenhong raided Fanchang and struck the Sanshan Gorge camp. Zeng Zhengan routed them and killed Wu Dazui, recovering Fanchang. Zhengan and the fleet seized a hundred boats at Lugang and cleared the forts; Zhengan then recovered Nanling. After Qingyang, Bao planned to take Shicheng and Taiping, then Jing County toward Ningguo. Bao's five columns took Shicheng; Lou Yunqing stormed the west and north gates. Rebels massed at Gantang Town to block the advance. In three columns imperial troops broke seventeen forts, recovered Taiping, and executed Xu Guohua and thirty-six other rebel generals. During the Qingyang campaign the rebel Assistant General Zhang Yuchun surrendered 10,000 men to Bao Chao. As Taiping rebels fled north, Zhang Yuchun turned and destroyed them. Bao took Jing County, crossed the Qingyi, and advanced on Ningguo.
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李侍賢自陷常山，與龍游寇同撲衢州，總兵李定泰等敗之，復常山，解衢州之圍。 宗棠馳至常山，攻克招賢關，以通衢州糧道。 其撲江山之寇，檄李元度會攻石門花園港寇巢，毀十四壘，寇勢不支，乘夜向台州潛遁。 是時楊輔清由淳化犯遂安，宗棠自常山進屯開化圖之，尋遣劉典進攻遂安； 輔清退走淳安、昌化，竄皖南犯寧國。 四月，儀徵寇敗後，竄擾沙漫洲等處，水師擊走之，揚境肅清。 浙軍會民團克復台州仙居、黃巖、太平、寧海，縉雲、樂清、慈谿等縣，擒斬延天義李元徠，偽王李洪藻、李遇茂，偽主將李尚揚。 尋進克寧波府鎮海、青田二縣。 台、處寇上竄溫州，踞太平嶺及任橋、瞿谿，尋分竄瑞安，張啟煊營陷，退守縣城。 楚皖軍會克廬州，秀成竄擾蘇、常，玉成則盤踞皖、楚之交。
Li Shixian's assault on Quzhou failed; Li Dingtai recovered Changshan and relieved the siege. Zuo took Zhaoxian Pass and reopened Quzhou's supply line. Rebel attacks on Jiangshan collapsed; they fled toward Taizhou by night. Yang Fuqing raided Suian; Zuo moved through Kaihua and sent Liu Dian against him; Fuqing withdrew through Chun'an toward Ningguo in southern Anhui. In the fourth month the fleet cleared rebel raids around Yizheng. Zhe forces recovered eastern Zhejiang towns and killed Li Yuanlai and other rebel leaders. They then took Zhenhai and Qingtian near Ningbo. Rebels threatened Wenzhou; Zhang Qixuan's camp fell and he held Ruian. Imperial forces took Luzhou while Xiucheng raided Jiangsu and Yucheng held the Anhui-Hubei frontier.
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自大軍克復安慶，玉成率黨自石牌而上，調宿松、黃梅之寇同至野雞河，欲赴湖北德安、襄陽招集其黨，群酋不從，乘夜由六安走廬州，眾漸攜貳。 秀全復督責甚切，玉成懼，力守廬州不敢走，皖、楚諸軍困之，日盼外援。 而潁郡解圍後，偽扶王陳得才西竄，偽天將馬融和隨張洛行遠遁，外援遂絕。 多隆阿與皖軍張得勝設伏誘賊出戰，兩軍合擊，寇大敗，遂克府城，誅偽官二百十三名。 玉成奔壽州，尚有死黨二千，以苗沛霖陰受偽封，往乞援； 沛霖縛之，獻潁州勝保大營，並擒偽導王陳士才、偽從王陳德、偽統天義陳聚成、偽天軍主將向士才、偽虔天義陳安成、偽禱天義梁顯新，及親隨偽官二十餘，並正法。 秀成聞玉成死，頓足歎曰：「吾無助矣！」 玉成兇狠亞楊秀清，而戰略尤過之，軍中號「四眼狗」。 自玉成伏誅，楚、皖稍得息肩，而金陵勢益孤矣。
After Anqing fell, Yucheng tried to rally Hubei, was refused, and fled toward Luzhou as his army wavered. Hong Xiuquan rebuked him; Yucheng held Luzhou under siege awaiting aid. Chen Decai and Ma Ronghe fled west; outside relief ended. Duolong'a and Zhang Desheng took Luzhou and executed 213 rebel officials. Yucheng reached Shouzhou with 2,000 men and sought help from Miao Peilin. Miao Peilin delivered Yucheng and twenty rebel leaders to Sheng Bao for execution. Xiucheng learned of Yucheng's death and cried, "I am lost! Yucheng, called the Four-Eyed Dog, had been fiercer and shrewder than Yang Xiuqing. With Yucheng dead, Hubei and Anhui breathed easier and Nanjing stood more alone.
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民團克寧海、象山、奉化。 李世忠大破寇於六合八步橋，寇竄滁州來安，又大敗。 寇勢大餒。 華爾等克柘林，謀搗金山衞。 知府李慶琛攻太倉，秀成率偽聽王陳炳文、偽納王郜雲官來援，逼青浦。 李恆嵩失利，退走塘橋。 嘉定、寶山皆震。 寇別隊由婁塘攻陷嘉定，英、法二提督及我軍突圍走上海。 鴻章飭軍駐法華鎮，扼滬西，寇遂踰青浦，逕逼松江。 秀全自竄踞金陵，以東西梁山為鎖鑰，以蕪湖為屏蔽，而尤以金柱關為關鍵。 自國荃破太平府，彭玉麟破金柱關，黃翼升往襲東梁山一戰而下，貞幹循江進克蕪湖，提督王明山等復攻破烈山石壘，未逾三日，上下要隘悉為我有。 從此上而寧國，下而江寧，寇均失所恃矣。
Militia recovered Ninghai, Xiangshan, and Fenghua. Li Shizhong routed rebels at Babu Bridge and again at Chuzhou and Lai'an. Rebel momentum collapsed. Ward took Zhelin and planned to hit Jinshan Wei. Li Qingchen attacked Taicang; Xiucheng sent Chen Bingwen and Gao Yunguan to relieve and press Qingpu. Li Hengsong was beaten back to Tangqiao. Jiading and Baoshan were alarmed. Rebels took Jiading; Allied and imperial forces broke out to Shanghai. Li Hongzhang held Fahua Town; rebels crossed Qingpu toward Songjiang. Hong Xiuquan held East-West Liangshan, Wuhu, and Jingzhuguan as Nanjing's keys. In days Guo Quan, Peng Yulin, and Huang Yisheng took Taiping, Jingzhuguan, Wuhu, and Lieshan. Ningguo above and Nanjing below no longer sustained the rebels.
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國荃進軍江寧鎮，屯板橋，潛襲秣陵關，進破大勝關、三汊河，直抵雨花臺軍焉。 江北浦口、六合敗寇悉聚江邊，李世忠蹙之，渡還九洑洲。 江北肅清。 五月，偽什天安吳建瀛統眾聚南匯，與淋天福劉二林屢為秀成養子所凌，至是來降，我軍整隊入城。 秀成養子方踞金山衞，來犯，復糾川沙寇回撲，復為我軍所敗，直逼川沙。 寇由海塘竄出，遂復川沙，進攻松江。 寇逼泗涇，防軍游擊林叢文敗退北門。 華爾由青浦回援，鴻章令程學啟扼虹橋，分青浦、松江後路。 寇陷湖州，福建糧儲道趙景賢拔刀自刎，賊奪之，囚一年餘，秀成禮待之極厚，終日罵不絕口，譚紹光舉槍一擊而殞。
Guo Quan camped at Banqiao, took Moling Pass and Dasheng Pass, and reached Yuhuatai. Defeated north-bank rebels clustered at the river; Li Shizhong drove them to Jiufuzhou. The north bank was cleared. In the fifth month Wu Jianying and Liu Erlin surrendered Nanhui. An adopted son of Xiucheng failed at Jinshan Wei and Chuansha. Imperial forces recovered Chuansha and advanced on Songjiang. Rebels pressed Sijing; Lin Congwen was driven from the north gate. Ward returned; Li Hongzhang posted Cheng Xueqi at Hongqiao. Rebels took Huzhou; Zhao Jingxian killed himself, was captured, and was shot by Tan Shaoguang after a year of defiance.
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初，寇圍逼松江，鴻章以松江扼青浦東、西之中，為最要地，自赴新橋，令程學啟時出兵綴寇。 寇初營西門妙嚴寺土城，華爾以砲毀之。 寇復攫據之，增築砲臺，環合四門。 常勝軍戰寇竇福濱，城軍乘夜分門出擊，寇竄遁。 乃簡精卒破天馬山寇營，突入青浦，盡焚輜重。 寇死戰，併力守松江。 其分屯廣福林及泗涇之寇，鴻章進擊敗之。 寇遁入營，斷橋以拒。 劉銘傳等克奉賢，陳炳文、郜雲官等率眾數萬圍新橋程學啟營，填壕拔鹿角，學啟不及以槍砲禦，擲磚石擊之，寇藉屍登壕，學啟開壁突擊，寇始卻，而分股踰新橋逼上海。 鴻章將七營往援，大破之，追至新橋，學啟大呼夾擊，寇解圍遁。 陳炳文、郜雲官皆負傷竄走。 進軍泗涇，寇大潰，盡燒其壘。 廣福林、塘橋寇亦退。 上海、松江俱解嚴。
Li Hongzhang held Songjiang as vital and had Cheng Xueqi harass the besiegers from Xinqiao. Ward shelled the rebel camp at Miaoyan Temple west of the gate. Rebels retook the site, built batteries, and ringed the walls. The Ever-Victorious Army and a night sally drove rebels from Songjiang. Elites broke Tianma Hill and burned Qingpu's stores. Rebels concentrated on defending Songjiang. Li Hongzhang defeated detachments at Guangfulin and Sijing. Rebels broke bridges from their camps. Liu Mingchuan took Fengxian while Chen Bingwen besieged Cheng Xueqi at Xinqiao and sent a column toward Shanghai. Li Hongzhang relieved Xinqiao; Cheng Xueqi's counterattack lifted the siege. Chen Bingwen and Gao Yunguan fled wounded. At Sijing the rebels were routed and their camps burned. Guangfulin and Tangqiao rebels withdrew. Shanghai and Songjiang were safe again.
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初，李世忠遣軍自六合通江集南渡，連破石埠橋、龍潭、東陽寇壘，寇悉遁句容。 自是九洑洲寇外援盡絕。 秀全遣江寧寇大攻石埠橋曾玉梁壘，世忠遣義子李顯發往援，入壘會守。 陳坤書自句容進攻龍潭、東陽諸壘，守軍黃國棟等退併石埠，而寇攻益急，顯發會水師力戰，盡平其壘，解石埠圍。 時李秀成自松、滬敗還，謀連合杭、湖寇眾救援江寧。 秀全遣悍黨二萬攻大營，國荃設伏敗之。 連日宗棠督軍攻衢州，東、南、北三路寇壘皆盡。
Li Shizhong cleared the south bank from Tongjiang through Longtan to Jurong. Jiufuzhou rebels lost all outside relief. Hong Xiuquan assaulted Shibuqiao; Li Shizhong sent Li Xianfa to reinforce Zeng Yuliang. Chen Kunshu and Li Xianfa broke the Longtan-Shibu attacks. Li Xiucheng, beaten in Jiangsu, sought to rally Zhejiang forces for Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan sent 20,000 men; Guo Quan ambushed and defeated them. Zuo pressed Quzhou until eastern, southern, and northern forts fell.
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初，秀全以大軍驟逼城下，日出撲犯，輒被創，趣浙酋李侍賢、蘇酋李秀成還救江寧，而宗棠攻衢州，與李侍賢相拒遂安、龍游間。 鴻章新克松江廳縣，秀成奔命未遑，乃與諸黨議曰：「曾國荃兵力厚集於金陵，為久困之計。 我勢日蹙，不如先圍寧國、太平，斷其後路。 我軍勢既振，敵乃可圖也。」 秀全以久困，慮糧不繼，仍促其入援。 秀成不得已，乃先遣悍黨數萬自蘇西援。 時寧國餘寇竄併江寧，屯於淳化鎮者亦不下二萬餘。 六月，宗棠自衢州進軍龍潭。 侍賢自遂安敗後，復糾合金華及溫、處悍黨，分屯南岸湖鎮、羅埠，北岸蘭谿之永昌、太平、祝家堰、諸葛邨、孟塘、油埠、裘家堰。 宗棠駐潭石望，距城十五里，遣眭金城會劉培元駐城西圭塘山，屈蟠、王德榜駐紫金旺，崔大光駐城北對河茶圩，劉典駐高橋。 先是李侍賢偵我軍平衢州寇壘，將進軍龍游，糾黨潛趨蘭谿、嚴淳，乘虛襲遂安，為就糧江、浙斷我餉道計。 宗棠遣軍大破之，寇由壽昌退還金華。 七月，我軍進敗龍游寇，毀蘭谿、油埠寇屯，陣斬偽駿天義鄧積士等。 宣平、處州、餘姚、壽昌均以次收復。
Hong Xiuquan recalled Shixian and Xiucheng from Zhejiang while Zuo besieged Quzhou. With Songjiang falling, Xiucheng told his chiefs Guo Quan's siege was tightening Nanjing. He proposed cutting imperial supply lines at Ningguo and Taiping. Only then could the enemy be fought on favorable terms. Hong Xiuquan, starving, still demanded relief. Xiucheng sent tens of thousands west from Jiangsu. Twenty thousand rebels still held Chunhua near Nanjing. In the sixth month Zuo advanced from Quzhou to Longtan. Shixian regrouped at Huzhen, Luobu, and Lanxi crossings. Zuo invested the city from Guitang Hill, Zijinwang, and Gaoqiao. Shixian tried to seize Suian and cut Zuo's Zhejiang supply line. Zuo defeated the maneuver; rebels fled to Jinhua. In the seventh month imperial troops broke Longyou and killed Deng Jishi. Xuanping, Chuzhou, Yuyao, and Shouchang were recovered.
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是時楊輔清糾眾十餘萬竄踞寧國府城，復分黨屯聚團山、寒亭等處，阻我進兵之路。 鮑超飭將卒撲寒亭，寇出巢猛拒，總兵宋國永橫躍入陣，伏起扼歸路，寇驚潰，平寒亭管家橋、楠家甸、獅子山寇館數十處，寇壘三十五座。 偽衞王楊雄清糾合餘眾遁回寧郡。 輔清聞寒亭戰敗，即糾黨繞城結壘，延三十餘里。 鮑超進壁烏紗鋪，飭婁雲慶設伏望城岡，以輕兵誘寇。 寇以我兵寡，直壓山岡而下，我軍張兩翼卻之。 寇見旌幟遍山谷，誤為援寇，反鬥中伏，我軍復斷其後，斃無算。 望城岡及抱龍岡十數邨皆平。 寇復陰結別股築壘堅拒，鮑超率各軍逼壘而營。 各偽王出大隊於南、北兩門夾攻，鮑超分軍進搏，寇敗走浮橋，我軍焚橋截殺，無得脫者。 寇復收餘燼，再戰再敗，輔清單騎脫走。 立收寧國府、縣二城。 初，輔清聞超軍至，數遣使乞援於江寧，秀全遣偽保王洪容海率悍寇赴之，容海者石達開死黨也，旣至，懾超威，乞降，超許之，而郡城已克。 容海奔廣德，襲獻州城，率眾六萬就撫，復本姓童。
Yang Fuqing held Ningguo with 100,000 men and blocked the roads. Bao Chao routed Fuqing at Hanting and destroyed thirty-five forts. The rebel Wei King Yang Xiongqing fled into Ningguo city. Fuqing built a thirty-li ring of forts around Ningguo. Bao camped at Wushapu and ambushed at Wangchenggang. Rebels charged downhill into a pincer. Ambush and encirclement annihilated the rebel column. Wangchenggang and Baolongang were cleared. Rebels rebuilt; Bao pressed the siege. False kings pincered the camp; Bao burned the pontoon and slaughtered the fugitives. A second assault failed; Fuqing escaped alone. Ningguo prefecture and county were recovered. Hong Ronghai's relief column surrendered after Ningguo fell. Hong Ronghai later surrendered at Guangde with 60,000 men.
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江寧援寇大舉犯壘，分二十餘隊牽掣各軍，而以銳卒突雨花臺。 國荃拔卡縱擊，大破之，解圍去。 潘鼎新等會克金山衞城，地界江、浙，為浦東門戶，至是一律肅清。 是月鴻章督諸軍會攻青浦，克其城。 譚紹光方踞湖州，聞青浦已失，恐官軍躡其後，乃合嘉、湖、蘇、崑寇犯松、滬西北，進窺青浦，學啟會水師擊卻之。 寇攻北簳山壘不獲逞，遂東趨攻北新涇，北新涇為上海西路之蔽，防軍大戰卻之。 寇分竄法華，逼上海。 鴻章調諸軍自金山衞、青浦、松陵回援，悍寇二萬圍官軍，學啟戰逾時，寇大潰。 北新涇之寇憑河據壘，伏左右以待我軍。 鴻章親督陣，與學啟軍合，盡毀寇營，紹光遁嘉定。 上海危而復安。
Nanjing relief forces tied down the siege line and struck Yuhuatai. Guo Quan sallied and broke the relief attack on Yuhuatai. Pan Dingxin recovered Jinshan Wei, Pudong's gateway. That month Li Hongzhang took Qingpu. Tan Shaoguang raided toward Qingpu after its fall; Cheng Xueqi drove him back. Rebels failed at Beigan Hill and were repelled at Beixinjing. A rebel column pressed Fahua toward Shanghai. Li Hongzhang recalled forces; Cheng Xueqi routed 20,000 rebels encircling the relief army. Beixinjing rebels held river forts with ambushes on both flanks. Li Hongzhang and Cheng Xueqi destroyed the camps; Tan Shaoguang fled to Jiading. Shanghai was safe again.
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八月，寇陷慈谿，華爾復之，受創，尋卒。 嵊縣、新昌寇陷奉化。 閏八月，奉化寇窺寧波，宗棠飭蔣益澧等進平蘭谿裘家堰寇壘，斃偽元天福萬興仁、偽疌天福劉茂林等。 羅埠踞寇偽戎天義李世祥乞降，益澧攻羅埠，世祥應之，破五壘。 湖鎮寇聞之遁，我軍渡河破五星街。 此皆龍游、湯谿要衝也。 益澧屢攻湯谿不下，軍多死傷。 宗棠進營新涼亭，逼龍游城五里，飭益澧由羅埠進攻湯谿。 劉典屯扼油埠、湖鎮，以堵蘭谿、金華援寇。
In the eighth month rebels took Cixi; Ward recovered it, was wounded, and died. Rebels from Sheng and Xinchang seized Fenghua. Zuo cleared Lanxi forts and killed Wan Xingren and Liu Maolin. Li Shixiang surrendered at Luobu and helped break five forts. Huzhen rebels fled; imperial troops took Wuxing Street. These were key passes for Longyou and Tangxi. Jiang Yizhen's assaults on Tangxi cost heavy casualties. Zuo camped five li from Longyou and ordered Jiang Yizhen against Tangxi. Liu Dian blocked Lanxi and Jinhua relief at Youbu and Huzhen.
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九月，鴻章會常勝軍攻嘉定，克之。 紹光及偽聽王陳炳文復糾援寇十餘萬，分道自太倉、崑山來犯，北由蟠龍鎮至四江口，圖據黃渡以當青浦； 南由安亭至方泰鎮，圖入南翔。 尋我軍卻寇南翔，寇乃於三江口、四江口立左右大寨，設浮橋潛渡，困我水師； 而青浦西北洋新涇、趙屯橋、白鶴江寇益蔓延，擾及重固鎮張堰，距青浦十餘里。 黃翼升率水師自青浦出衝敵舟，寇扼白鶴江不得進，別隊犯黃渡，李鶴章會擊敗之。 時四江口久被圍，紹光屯吳淞江口，炳文踞南岸。 鴻章督諸軍至黃渡，分三路進擊，自辰至未，屢衝不動。 鴻章督戰益急，諸軍逾壕直逼寇營，學啟礮傷胸，復裹創疾戰，寇由南岸潰而北。 四江營守將皆衝圍而出，寇退崑山。 我軍毀其浮橋石卡殆盡，斃數萬，夷壘二百座。 寇自是不復窺松、滬，悉力堅守崑山、太倉，尤為蘇州門戶，寇所必爭者也。
In the ninth month Li Hongzhang and the Ever-Victorious Army took Jiading. Tan Shaoguang and Chen Bingwen led 100,000 men from Taicang and Kunshan toward Sijiang and Huangdu. another column aimed at Nanxiang from Anting. Imperial troops held Nanxiang; rebels bridged Sanjiang and Sijiang to trap the fleet. Rebel columns spread within ten li of Qingpu at Newijing and Baihe River. Huang Yisheng's fleet fought at Qingpu; Li Hezhang beat rebels at Huangdu. Sijiang was besieged; Tan Shaoguang held the river mouth and Chen Bingwen the south bank. Li Hongzhang attacked Huangdu in three columns from morning to afternoon without breaking the line. Li Hongzhang pressed the assault; Cheng Xueqi fought wounded; the south bank collapsed. Sijiang defenders broke out; rebels fled to Kunshan. Imperial forces destroyed bridges and two hundred forts, killing tens of thousands. Rebels abandoned Songjiang and Shanghai and concentrated on Kunshan and Taicang.
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寧國再陷，寇復由句容進薄鎮江，壁湯岡。 馮子材督軍破湯岡九壘，寇歸青山老巢，乘勝拔之，竄還句容。 初，偽護王陳坤書糾眾四五萬圖犯金柱關，彭玉麟禦之花津，五戰皆捷。 尋寇以戰艦數百從東壩拖出，我軍毀其浮橋，寇乃不敢渡河。 至是悍寇結筏偷渡，屢逼金柱關，我軍水陸大舉，敗之花山。 寇遁上駟坡，而水師已先毀浮橋，寇回戈轉鬥，諸軍合擊，殲萬餘。 其窯頭等處尚延袤百餘里，我軍環攻，焚其壘。 花津、清山、象山、采石磯諸寇巢悉數平毀。 自是蕪湖、金柱關六十里之間寇蹤以絕。
Ningguo fell again; rebels from Jurong threatened Zhenjiang at Tanggang. Feng Zicai broke nine forts at Tanggang and drove rebels back to Jurong. Chen Kunshu tried Jingzhuguan; Peng Yulin won five fights at Huajin. The fleet destroyed a rebel pontoon at East Dam. Rebel rafts pressed Jingzhuguan until a land-water attack defeated them at Huashan. More than 10,000 rebels were killed at Shangsipu. Imperial forces burned rebel lines a hundred li along the river. Huajin, Qingshan, Xiangshan, and Caishiji were cleared. For sixty li between Wuhu and Jingzhuguan no rebels remained.
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時大營軍士患疫方稍止，秀成親率十三偽王，號稱六十萬，麇集金陵，東自方山，西至板橋鎮，旗幟林立，直逼我軍營壘，尤趨重於東西兩隅。 曾貞幹等擊敗之小河邊城寇援，寇尋由東西兩路進攻，分黨趨洲上，抄出猛字等營後，我軍分路擊退之。 寇之圍逼西路者，歷六晝夜，為我軍擊敗。 寇悉向東路，逼營而陣，潛通地道，百計環攻。 各軍將士負牆露立，擲火球擊寇。 寇負板蛇行而進，填壕欲上。 我軍叢矛擊刺，寇拽尸復進，抵死不退。 飛彈傷國荃頰，血流交頤，仍裹創上壕守禦。 侍賢自浙東來援，急攻吉後營砲臺。 國荃引軍馳救，寇來益眾，用箱匱實土排砌壕間，暗鑿地道。 我軍以火箭攢射，隨出銳卒擊之，賊鋒稍挫，遂毀西路寇壘。 東路之寇環逼不已，嘉字、吉後兩營地道轟發，寇擁入塌口，我軍分路衝出決戰，塌口以內之寇誅戮無遺。 壕外寇復舉旗督戰，各營同出抄殺，寇精銳悉挫折。 復於東路別開地道，西路決江水淹絕運糧之路。 貞幹在高坡增築小營，令水師駐雙牐護餉道。 我軍凡破寇地道五處，寇計益窮。 國荃乘勢進拔十餘卡，破東路四壘，西南諸壘望風驚潰，追至南路牛首山一帶，平壘數十座，搜剿至方山之西。 雨花臺守眾句結城寇絕我軍歸路，我軍左右盪決，寇分路而遁，重圍始解。 是役也，秀成自蘇，侍賢自浙，先後圍攻大營四十六晝夜。 國荃率諸將居圍中，設奇破之，弟貞幹力顧餉道，將士獰目髹面，皮肉幾盡。
Xiucheng massed 600,000 rebels around Nanjing and assaulted the siege camps. Zhengan beat relief at Xiaohebian and repelled pincers on the siege camps. The six-day western assault failed. Rebels shifted east, mining and ring-attacking the camps. Defenders threw fireballs from the walls. Rebels filled the moats with bodies and boards. Spearmen killed wave after wave at the parapet. Guo Quan was shot in the cheek but kept commanding the defense. Shixian arrived from Zhejiang and stormed the Jihou battery. Guo Quan reinforced Jihou while rebels mined the moats. Rocket fire and sallies broke the western mines and forts. Mines blew the Jia and Jihou camps; imperial troops slaughtered rebels in the breaches. A final sally shattered the rebel elite outside the moats. Rebels opened new tunnels east and tried to flood supplies west. Zhengan fortified Gaopo and stationed the fleet to protect supplies. Five rebel tunnels were destroyed. Guo Quan took posts to Niushou Hill and cleared dozens of forts. Yuhuatai collusion failed; the great siege was lifted. Xiucheng and Shixian had besieged the camp for forty-six days. Guo Quan and Zhengan broke the siege at terrible cost.
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大營解圍後，秀成仍屯秣陵關、六郎橋一帶。 侍賢謂秀成曰：「今江北方空虛，出其不料，馳攻揚州、六合，括其糧以濟軍； 復分兵攻國藩於安慶，彼必分軍馳救。 我今屯秣陵、溧水之師，乘虛擊之，鮮不濟矣。」 秀成納之，別遣偽納王郜永寬、偽對王洪元春等自九洑洲渡江，竄越江浦、浦口者五六萬。 洪元春陷巢縣、含山、和州，遂踞運漕鎮、銅城牐、東關各隘，知無為州米足兵單，徑撲州城。 提督蕭慶衍攻運漕、銅城，會彭玉麟水師焚毀三石卡，進破運漕鎮，連覆陶家嘴、崑山岡寇壘，繞出銅城牐後。 牐口寇衝圍而出，岡東、牐西寇皆遁走。 國荃遣軍守東西梁山顧江隘，令李昭慶帶五營自蕪湖北渡援無為，以保皖南各軍運道。 國藩調李續宜、毛有銘移防廬州。 賴文鴻、古隆賢等自廣德、寧國竄入旌德，總兵朱品隆敗之，解圍去。 其攻涇縣之寇，亦被援軍擊退。 先是昌化寇率眾數萬竄入績溪，冀絕旌德防軍糧路。 唐義訓會浙軍克之。
Xiucheng remained at Moling Pass and Liulang Bridge. Shixian urged a surprise strike on Yangzhou and Luhe for grain. and a feint on Zeng Guofan at Anqing to split imperial forces. Then the Moling-Lishui armies could strike the weakened siege line. Xiucheng sent Gao Yongkuan and Hong Yuanchun with 50,000–60,000 across the river. Hong Yuanchun took Chaoxian and Hanshan and stormed Wuwei. Xiao Qingyan and Peng Yulin smashed Yuncao and Tongcheng Pass. Rebels broke out of Tongcheng Pass then fled. Guo Quan secured the river passes and sent Li Zhaoqing to Wuwei. Zeng Guofan shifted Li Xuyi and Mao Youming to Luzhou. Zhu Pinlong beat Lai Wenhong and Gu Longxian at Jingde. The Jing County attack was repulsed. Changhua rebels entered Jixi to cut Jingde's supplies. Tang Yixun and Zhe forces recovered Jixi.
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十月，我軍連復上虞、嵊縣、新昌。 宗棠屢攻龍游、湯谿、蘭谿、嚴州諸處，破壘卡三十餘，惟附城諸壘不可破。 寇以死守城，穴牆開砲，軍士多傷亡。 龍游、湯谿兩城為金華要道，必兩城下，後路清，而後可攻金華。 蘭谿一水直達嚴州，必蘭谿下，餉道通，而後可收嚴郡。 此三城者，所謂如骨之梗在喉也。 十一月，寇竄太平、黟縣，進陷祁門，將窺伺江西饒州、景德。 宗棠恐阻糧路，檄軍助剿，未至而祁門已克。 魏喻義攻嚴州，嚴州形勢，外通懷寧，內達杭州。 宗棠援浙，謀首下嚴州，而寇在三衢，圖犯江西，斷我餉道。 乃先清衢郡，飭劉典攻蘭谿以分寇勢，踞寇偽朝將譚富與蘭谿譚星為兄弟，互相首尾。 喻義屯銅關，據險設卡。 譚富糾桐廬、浦江諸寇屢來犯，喻義伏兵鐘嶺腳，殲寇前鋒，寇驚還，閉城固守。 是夜我軍梯城而入，殲寇萬餘，立克府城，焚船三百餘艘，獲偽印二百九十三顆，餘棄械投誠。
In the tenth month Shangyu, Sheng, and Xinchang were recovered. Zuo broke thirty outposts but city forts at Longyou and Tangxi held. Rebel mining and gunfire inflicted heavy losses. Longyou and Tangxi had to fall before Jinhua could be taken. Lanxi controlled the supply line to Yanzhou. These three cities were the choke point. In the eleventh month rebels took Qimen and threatened Raozhou and Jingde. Zuo sent aid; Qimen was recovered before reinforcements arrived. Wei Yuyi attacked Yanzhou, the gateway between Anhui and Hangzhou. Zuo aimed at Yanzhou while rebels at Sanqu threatened his supply line. Zuo cleared Quzhou and sent Liu Dian against Lanxi while Tan Fu and Tan Xing coordinated defense. Wei Yuyi fortified Tong Pass. Tan Fu's assaults failed; Wei Yuyi ambushed his vanguard at Zhongling. Imperial troops stormed Yanzhou that night, killing 10,000 rebels and capturing hundreds of boats.
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是時紹興偽首王范汝增、偽戴王黃呈忠、偽梯王練業紳率大股由諸暨、東陽、義烏、永康西竄金華，號稱十萬，以援湯谿、龍游。 分黨竄武義，林文察敗之。 丹陽、句容寇竄鎮江，馮子材督軍大破於丁邨、薛邨諸處。 寇踞常熟、昭文二縣以窺江北。 距城十八里有福山者，為江南重鎮，與江北狼山鎮對峙，由江入海之鎖鑰也。 二縣守寇錢桂仁、駱國忠、董正勤與太倉酋錢壽仁密通款我軍，李鶴年攻城，寇約內應。 國忠夜飲桂仁酒，就座斫殺偽馮天安錢嘉仁、偽逮天福姚得時，以城降。 明日，會水師周興隆破平福山滸，白、徐六涇諸海口寇壘，進規太倉，而蘇州內應事泄。 譚永光悉眾爭常熟，招江陰、無錫寇六七萬來會，又令楊舍寇乘隙陷福山。 官軍固守常、昭。
Wang Fan Ruzeng, Huang Chenzhong, and Lian Yeshen led 100,000 toward Jinhua to relieve Tangxi and Longyou. A column toward Wuyi was beaten by Lin Wenzha. Feng Zicai routed Danyang and Jurong rebels near Zhenjiang. Rebels held Changshu and Zhao Wen to threaten the north bank. Fushan, eighteen li from the city, guarded the Yangtze estuary opposite Langshan. Defectors Qian Guiren and Luo Guozhong plotted with Li Henian to surrender Changshu. Luo Guozhong killed rebel officers at a feast and opened Changshu. Zhou Xinglong cleared the river mouths; the Suzhou plot leaked. Tan Yongguang rallied 60,000–70,000 men and seized Fushan. Imperial forces held Changshu and Zhao Wen.
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十二月，寇圍而攻之，團勇潰。 周興隆告急，鴻章遣援，而江陰楊厙寇已竄福山各口阻援師； 遣常勝軍及水師攻福山口河西寇壘不下。 寇攻常熟急，西北門營壘已失，常勝軍阻寇福山不得達。 李鶴年攻太倉，寇援甚眾，亦難驟進。 鴻章增調浦東軍由海道繞赴福山，會師援剿。 鶴年等自望仙橋進攻太倉，敗之。 時蔣益澧攻湯谿不下，劉璈會攻蘭谿寇壘亦失利，劉典合水陸進攻，寇堅伏不出。 龍游、湯谿援寇適大至，乘間西趨擾江、皖，益澧等迎擊湯谿援寇於金華白龍橋，大創之。 偽扶王陳得才、偽端王藍成春、偽增王賴文光、偽顧王梁成富、偽主將馬融初，皆陳玉成悍黨也。 玉成命北犯牽掣官軍，而得才見廬州被圍急，欲南援，為防軍所扼，奔竄於河南、湖北、山、陝之間，與諸捻合，遂成流寇。
In the twelfth month militia collapsed under rebel assault. Relief was blocked at Fushan by Yangshe rebels. The Ever-Victorious Army failed to break Fushan's west mouth. Changshu's northwest camps fell; Gordon could not reach the city. Li Henian stalled at Taicang against heavy relief. Li Hongzhang sent additional Pudong troops by sea to relieve Fushan. Li Henian advanced from Wangxian Bridge and beat Taicang's defenders. Jiang Yizhen and Liu Kan stalled at Tangxi and Lanxi. Relief columns were crushed at Bailong Bridge near Jinhua. Chen Decai, Lan Chenchun, Lai Wenguang, Liang Chengfu, and Ma Rongchu were Yucheng's hard fighters. Decai tried to relieve Luzhou, was blocked, and became a roving bandit in the north.
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二年正月，秀成調集常州、丹陽諸寇屯江寧下關、中關，號二十萬，自九洑洲陸續渡江，意欲假道皖北，竄擾鄂疆，截斷江、皖各軍運道，圖解江寧之困，蓋近攻不如取遠勢也。 既渡江，陷浦口，李世忠退入江浦。 偽匡王賴文鴻、偽奉王古隆賢、偽襄王劉官方糾合花旗廣寇數萬圍涇縣。 鮑超自寧國馳援，誘之入伏，寇敗還壘，而壘已為我軍所焚，寇大奔，立解城圍。 及還軍，而西河寇乘虛犯壘，見超幟，倉皇遁去。 蔣益澧、康國器克湯谿，金華寇恃湯谿、龍游、蘭谿三城為犄角，我軍攻湯谿，寇勢漸蹙。 偽朝將彭禹蘭詣營乞降，益澧令內應，誘誅偽天將李尚揚等八名。 是夜彭禹蘭啟西門納軍，殺九千餘，城寇遂盡。 偽戴王黃呈忠、偽首王范汝增、偽梯王練業紳自白龍橋退奔金華，龍游寇聞風而遁，左宗棠收之，劉典收蘭谿，高連陞等收金華，而武義、永康、東陽、義烏、浦江皆相繼收復。
In Tongzhi year two Xiucheng sent 200,000 across the river to raid Hubei and sever supplies to Nanjing. They took Pukou; Li Shizhong withdrew to Jiangpu. Lai Wenhong, Gu Longxian, and Liu Guanfang besieged Jing County with Guang bandits. Bao Chao ambushed them and lifted the Jing County siege. West-river rebels fled when Bao Chao returned. Jiang Yizhen and Kang Guoqi took Tangxi, tightening the Jinhua triangle. Peng Yulan surrendered and helped kill Li Shangyang and seven other rebel generals. Peng Yulan opened Tangxi's west gate; 9,000 rebels were killed. Huang Chenzhong and Fan Ruzeng fled; Zuo, Liu Dian, and Gao Liansheng recovered Longyou, Lanxi, Jinhua, and surrounding counties.
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浙東敗寇從於潛、昌化越叢山關，竄皖南績溪，復踰箬嶺，歸旌德，并句容、太平大股麇集石埭，謀西上。 建德大震，江西饒州、九江邊亦急。 劉典等克諸暨，譚星自浦江敗後，竄踞桐廬，宗棠飭劉培元會水軍合擊之，遏其西趨。 蔣益澧乘勢進攻紹興，提督葉炳忠會英、法軍克之。 敗寇萬餘，與桐廬踞寇沿江築壘抗拒，我軍水陸合攻，遂復桐廬。 蕭山寇亦竄走，浙東肅清。
Beaten Zhejiang rebels crossed into Jixi and Jingde while Jurong and Taiping forces massed at Shicheng. Jiande and the Jiangxi border were alarmed. Liu Dian took Zhuji; Zuo blocked Tan Xing at Tonglu. Jiang Yizhen and Ye Bingzhong with Allied forces took Shaoxing. Imperial land and river forces recovered Tonglu. Xiaoshan rebels fled; eastern Zhejiang was pacified.
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左宗棠遣益澧進攻杭州。 先是楊輔清糾合群黨，嘯聚西河、紅楊樹、麒麟山一帶，十餘萬人，以一大股抄出高祖山，先以一小隊繞過山背，揚言上犯涇縣，實欲圖鮑超老營。 二月，寇分三四萬眾圍高祖山八營，鮑超分軍三路，伏兵茯苓山傍以斷其後。 戰逾時，寇譁亂奔，近茯苓山，伏起，寇駭懼，遂平高嶺、周家橋、馬家園、小淮窯諸壘。 寇之由河西遁入灣沚者，為水師擊敗，併入梅嶺、麒麟山。 鮑超遣將分攻之，積屍若阜，並收復仰賢圩各處，餘分道竄逸。 偽懷王周逆等糾眾竄至句容城外，會合丹陽偽效天義陳酋，圖由九洑洲北渡。 馮子材扼橋據險，分隊進攻，直趨牧馬口，沿村十餘里敵卡林立，官軍直突，屹不稍動。 守備李耀光陣斬執旗寇，搗中堅，官軍無不以一當百，立燬牧馬口敵卡。 東湖寇亦敗潰，進毀南路柏林邨老巢，斬陳酋馬下，卽四眼狗玉成之叔也，寇駭奔，向西南竄走。
Zuo sent Jiang Yizhen against Hangzhou. Yang Fuqing massed 100,000 at Qilin Hill and feinted at Jing County to strike Bao Chao's base. In the second month Bao Chao ambushed 30,000–40,000 rebels at Gaozu Hill. Rebel columns were destroyed at Fuling Hill and nearby forts. River rebels were driven into Meiling and Qilin Hill. Bao Chao cleared Meiling; corpses heaped at Yangxianwei. Zhou Ni and Chen Qiu plotted a northward crossing from Jiufuzhou. Feng Zicai stormed Muma Mouth through a line of enemy posts. Li Yaoguang killed the standard-bearer and burned Muma Mouth. Chen Qiu, Yucheng's uncle, was killed at Bolin Village.
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皖西寇犯休寧，分掠建德，西侵江西鄱陽、彭澤，東擾池州，圍青陽，續由江浦縣新河口迤邐西竄巢、含、全椒之間。 南岸則金柱關，時踞皖南寇約有三起：一為胡、黃、古、賴諸寇，即踞寧國、太平、石埭、旌德者也； 一為花旗，此廣東匪，前由廣東、湖南、江西入浙、皖者也； 一為譚星，即蘭谿抗官軍者也。 徽防諸軍紛紛告警。 當曾國藩之視師東下也，寇攻常熟益急，譚紹光又益以砲船二百艘，突地攻城，降將駱國忠悉力扼守。 鴻章遣軍攻太倉、崑山分寇勢，別遣英將戈登助剿福山，會潘鼎新等水陸軍奪石城，夜毀城壘，翌日寇入西山，而福山火起，乃開門悉銳出擊，寇盡潰，擒斬悍酋孝天義朱衣點。 常熟、昭文城圍立解。 太平踞寇圖祁門。 江西軍王沐敗寇於徽州屯谿。 草市寇再敗於嚴寺街、長林、潛口等處，死近萬人，退奔休寧、藍田一帶，西通漁亭。 未幾，寇復進踞潛口，祁門防軍禦之黟縣漁亭，大破之，陣斬偽天將劉官福。
Rebels raided Xiuning, Jiande, Poyang, Pengze, and the Chao-Han-Quanjiao line. Three rebel groups held southern Anhui around Jingzhuguan: Guangdong foreign-flag bandits, and Tan Xing's Lanxi force. Huizhou defenses were on alert. At Changshu, Tan Shaoguang shelled the city while Luo Guozhong held firm. Gordon and Pan Dingxin took Stone City; a sortie from Fushan killed Zhu Yidian and lifted the Changshu siege. The sieges of Changshu and Zhao Wen were lifted. Taiping rebels threatened Qimen. Wang Mu beat rebels at Tunxi. Rebels lost nearly 10,000 at Qian Mouth and retreated toward Xiuning. Qimen troops killed Liu Guanfu at Yuting.
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寇之初起也，禁令嚴明，聽民耕種，故取江南數郡之糧出金柱關，江北數郡之糧出裕谿口，並輸江寧。 今耕者廢業，煙火斷絕，寇行無人之境，而安慶、蕪湖、廬州、寧國、東西梁山、金柱關、裕谿口，暨浙之金華、紹興，山川筋絡必爭之地，寇悉喪失，我軍足制其死命。 昔年寇之所至，築壘如城，掘濠如川，近乃日近草率，群酋受封至九十餘王之多，各爭雄長，敗不相救，識者知其亡無日矣。
Early rebels farmed and shipped grain to Nanjing through Jingzhuguan and Yuxikou. Rebel territory shrank to wasteland as imperial forces held every strategic depot. Ninety rebel kings quarreled while fortifications grew slipshod—observers foresaw collapse.
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寇復由寧國繞出青陽，分擾建德、東流。 三月，由東流犯江西彭澤，進逼祁門； 由建德窺饒州，犯梅林營壘。 劉典督軍敗之，遂大破潛口寇屯。 徽州、休寧解嚴。 乃赴漁亭，會克黟縣，斬偽絇天義古文佑。 追寇出嶺外，平寇壘二十餘，嶺內一律肅清。 太倉踞寇偽會王蔡元隆詐降郊迎，我軍至城下，伏起，槍傷李鶴章，程學啟殿軍而退。 鴻章檄戈登會攻太倉，克之。 黃文金合許家山各處寇十餘萬，由祁門進逼，與參將韓進春血戰四時，陣斬偽孝王胡鼎文，群寇奪氣。
Rebels from Ningguo raided Qingyang, Jiande, and Dongliu. In the third month they struck Pengze and Qimen; and from Jiande probed Raozhou at Meilin. Liu Dian broke them at Qian Mouth. Huizhou and Xiuning were relieved. At Yuting he recovered Yixian and killed Gu Wengyou. Twenty forts beyond the pass were cleared. Cai Yuanlong's false surrender wounded Li Hezhang at Taicang. Li Hongzhang and Gordon took Taicang. Huang Wenjin's 100,000 men were blunted at Qimen; Hu Dingwen was killed.
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寇攻廬州，犯舒城。 李秀成將由舒城、六安上竄，一出黃州，一出漢口，擾犯湖北，掣我南岸之師以援北岸，掣我下游之師以援上游，皆為解金陵圍計也。 湖北為數省樞紐，曾國藩調成大吉回屯灄口，檄水師赴武漢嚴防。 秀成來犯石澗埠，進逼我軍，晝夜猛攻，相持不下。 寇復於前營增百壘，層層合圍。 彭玉麟派隊來援，會軍夾擊，盡平群壘，秀成遁走。 其犯廬江、舒城者悉敗走。 悍寇馬融和自豫間道犯桐城，我軍敗之三里街，遁往孔城，與秀成合而為一。 秀成遣偽富天豫張承得等圍六安，敗死，六安者淮南要衝也。 餘寇走廬州，鮑超追擊，會攻巢縣，先破東關、銅城牐二隘，遂克其城。 金山、和州相繼皆下。
Rebels struck Luzhou and Shucheng. Xiucheng planned to raid Hubei from Shucheng and Lu'an to split the Nanjing siege. Zeng Guofan reinforced Hankou and Huangpi. Xiucheng assaulted Shijianbu without success. Rebels ringed the camp with a hundred new forts. Peng Yulin's relief leveled the forts and drove Xiucheng off. Raids on Lujiang and Shucheng failed. Ma Ronghe joined Xiucheng after defeat at Sanli Street in Tongcheng. Zhang Chengde failed against Lu'an, Huainan's key town. Bao Chao took Chaoxian after breaking East Pass and Tongcheng Pass. Jinshan and Hezhou fell.
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李侍賢自金陵敗遁，糾悍黨數萬屢犯金柱關。 花津、上駟渡、萬頃湖、涂家渡及燕子磯、伏龍橋、護駕墩、灣沚、黃池諸處寇壘，皆為我軍所覆。 自是寇不敢輕渡西岸，遁溧水、丹陽一帶。 四月，水師楊政謨襲破杭州閘口寇船，登岸進毀望江門寇壘，寇大震，急招新城寇還救。 蔣益澧進攻富陽，富陽一城為杭州上游關鍵，賊嚴防禦，船壘相輔。 杭州援寇屯新橋，與城寇相為犄角。 秀成令陳炳文等舍蘇州、常、昭，急援富陽，並糾蘇、常、嘉興悍黨由餘杭趨臨安，竄新城，擾富陽軍後路。 魏喻義等督兵進擊，寇復乘霧分道攻撲新城，大敗，向臨安遁走。 偽慕王譚紹光、偽來王陸順德等率大股犯太倉雙鳳鎮，攻崑山後路，圖解城圍。 我軍鏖戰三晝夜，破之。 偽天將夏天義率悍黨數萬久踞崑山、新陽縣城，鴻章督率程學啟、戈登會水師大破崑山寇壘二十四，斃萬餘。 有正義鎮者，為蘇城援崑山必由之路，學啟攻之，破石壘二。 寇見歸路已斷，奪路狂奔，遂進克同城崑山新陽。 王沐自黟縣回援景德，寇敗於陳家畈、包家塅，竄安寧嶺外。
Li Shixian repeatedly struck Jingzhuguan after Nanjing. Imperial forces cleared forts from Huajin to Huangchi. Rebels no longer crossed west, fleeing to Lishui and Danyang. Yang Zhengmo raided Hangzhou's sluice and Wangjiang Gate. Jiang Yizhen besieged Fuyang, the upstream key to Hangzhou. Relief rebels at Xinqiao supported Hangzhou. Xiucheng sent Chen Bingwen to Fuyang and raided the imperial rear through Lin'an. Wei Yuyi beat a fog attack on Xincheng. Tan Shaoguang and Lu Shunde threatened Kunshan's rear at Shuangfeng. Three days of fighting broke the assault. Li Hongzhang, Cheng Xueqi, and Gordon broke twenty-four Kunshan forts and killed 10,000 rebels. Cheng Xueqi took Zhengyi Town and two stone forts. With their retreat cut, rebels fled and Kunshan-Xinyang fell. Wang Mu beat rebels at Chenjiafan on the way to Jingde.
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時江寧攻圍久，百計欲解城圍，既分股由徽、寧窺伺江西，由含、和一帶圖犯湖北，而由湖北下竄之捻，自蘄水分為四枝，一回竄黃州，一撲宿松，越潛、太，以撲廬、桐。 寇、捻句合，兇燄甚張。 此皆李秀成所規畫也。 我軍克復福山後，江陰縣屬揚厙汛為江邊險要，寇糾眾死守，以蔽江陰。 我軍水陸會攻，斬趙尚林等，立復汛城，而漍北、漍西、塘市屯寇均棄壘遁還無錫、常州。 我軍克復建德，連復巢、含、和三城。 於是皖北寇全遁，皖南寇勢亦衰。
Xiucheng split forces toward Jiangxi and Hubei while Nian bands struck Lu'an and Tongcheng. Rebel and Nian forces combined fiercely. All were Li Xiucheng's designs. Rebels held Yangshe to shield Jiangyin after Fushan fell. Imperial forces took Yangshe and cleared the Tangshi camps. Jiande, Chaoxian, Hanshan, and Hezhou were recovered. Northern Anhui was cleared; southern Anhui rebels weakened.
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初，秀成自六安敗後，率眾東竄，聲言回救蘇州。 國荃急爭江寧老巢，攻其必救，使城下之寇不暇遠趨蘇郡，而北岸之寇亦不敢專注揚州； 乃率軍分六路併進，潛襲雨花臺及聚寶南門石壘，肉薄登城，遂奪雨花臺，乘勝猛攻東、西、南各卡九壘，皆克之。 群寇潰奔，我軍追擊於長干橋，蹙入水者無數。 未幾，城寇出，又敗退，斃六千餘，寇勢從此衰減。 秀成在江北，聞雨花臺失，益惶懼，又以崑山新克，蘇州亦受逼，乃與諸偽王改圖南渡。 於是天長、六合、來安次第解圍。 而寇之分踞喬林小店者，冒雨掠舟，喧闐不絕。 五月，浦口寇棄城遁走，而江浦寇忽獻書乞降，鮑超等察其詐，引軍急進，水師次江浦。 寇聞風亦宵遁，九洑洲偽城踞寇閉門不納，寇駭竄蘆葦中，溺死者無算。 江浦、浦口兩城寇，盡蹙之入江，江北肅清。
After Lu'an, Xiucheng feigned a return to save Suzhou. Guo Quan struck Nanjing itself to pin rebels from Suzhou and Yangzhou; he stormed Yuhuatai and nine southern forts in six columns. Pursuit at Changgan Bridge drowned many rebels. Another sally cost the garrison 6,000 men. Xiucheng on the north bank planned a southern crossing after Yuhuatai and Kunshan fell. Tianchang, Luhe, and Lai'an were relieved. Rebel detachments looted boats at Qiaolin in the rain. Pukou was abandoned; Jiangpu's surrender offer was recognized as a ruse. Night fugitives were refused at Jiufuzhou and drowned in the reeds. Jiangpu and Pukou rebels were driven into the river; the north bank was cleared.
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曾國荃連日破平下關、草鞋峽、燕子磯，收寶金圩，距蕪湖、金柱關百里內已無寇蹤。 進攻克九洑洲，寇之在中關者，附城為壘，卒不稍動。 其堅踞九洑洲者，下有列船，上有偽城，群砲轟發不息； 復於東、西、南三面分伏洋槍隊，伺間出擊，我軍多損傷。 彭楚漢等負創角戰，乘風縱火，夜二鼓，撲牆而入，聚殲無一脫者。 九洑洲既克，謀者謂浙軍攻富陽，滬軍攻蘇州，江寧亦宜速合圍，使備多力分。 國藩亦主合圍制敵為上策。 秀成南渡後，連營於江陰、無錫數十里，聲言援江陰攻常熟。 鴻章督諸軍攻破七十五壘，顧山以西寇皆盡。
Guo Quan cleared the approaches to Wuhu within a hundred li. He advanced on Jiufuzhou while Middle Pass forts held firm. Jiufuzhou had a river fleet, a hilltop stronghold, and ceaseless gunfire; foreign-gun teams sallied from three sides, inflicting heavy casualties. Peng Chuhan stormed Jiufuzhou at night with fire; none escaped. After Jiufuzhou fell, strategists urged completing the Nanjing encirclement while forces were split. Zeng Guofan favored full encirclement as the best strategy. Xiucheng camped along Jiangyin and Wuxi, feigning relief for Changshu. Li Hongzhang cleared seventy-five forts west of Gushan.
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寇自失九洑洲，下關江上接濟已斷，糧食漸乏，諜赴蘇州、嘉興，力圖接濟。 秀全以城圍日逼，留秀成共守老巢，緩援蘇州。 六月，秀全遣黨出儀鳳門犯鮑超營，出太平門犯劉連捷營，不克而退。 七月，犯下關，亦為我軍擊卻。 八月，國荃攻印子山，破其石壘，陣斬偽佩王馮真林。 明日，破七橋甕石壘一、土壘三，偽梯王練茶發伏誅。 國荃調江浦、浦口防軍，別募萬人，為火舉圍城之計。 是日程學啟會水師逼婁、葑，規取蘇州。
Cut off from the river, Nanjing starved while rebels sought Suzhou grain. Hong Xiuquan kept Xiucheng at Nanjing and delayed Suzhou relief. In the sixth month sorties against Bao Chao and Liu Lianjie failed. A July assault on Xia Pass was repelled. In the eighth month Guo Quan took Yinzi Hill and killed Feng Zhenlin. The next day he took Seven-Bridge Jar and executed Lian Chafa. Guo Quan reinforced the siege with ten thousand recruits. Cheng Xueqi and the fleet pressed Suzhou's Lou and Feng gates.
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初，建德南竄寇敗於汪邨，偽匡王賴文鴻創而墮馬，群寇衛之遁。 越二日，復敗於分流木塔曹家渡，自是浮梁北路稍靖。 先是黃文金糾合諸酋由皖入江，分擾鄱陽、浮梁、祁門、都昌境內，每為我軍所扼，不得深入； 乃折而西趨湖口，分三路：上路由文橋，中路由梧桐嶺，下路由太平關，而文橋寇勢最盛，文金親踞其中。 尋自文橋撲犯堅山大營，江忠義會諸軍直前迎擊，破其七壘，文金竄皖南，江西肅清。
Lai Wenhong was wounded fleeing south from Jiande. Two days later he was beaten again at Caojiadu. Huang Wenjin's raids in Jiangxi were repeatedly blocked; he turned to Hukou in three columns centered on Wen Bridge. Jiang Zhongyi broke seven forts at Wen Bridge and cleared Jiangxi.
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文金繞越池州圍青陽。 八月，富陽寇與新橋寇互相犄角，抗我圍師。 蔣益澧督諸軍日夜轟擊，先破寇援，毀倚城大壘及大小諸卡，城寇不支，逃入新橋，城立復。 我軍復由雞籠山繞出新橋，併力追殺，寇壘悉數芟夷。 江陰踞寇日久負嵎，我軍攻之，勢漸蹙。 是月陳坤書及潮武齊區五大股眾十餘萬分道來援，亙數十里，西自江邊，東至山口，沿途紥木城十餘，其中營壘大小百餘，守禦堅固。 我軍水陸分攻，郭松林潛自山後噪而入，縱橫衝突。 銘傳直擣中堅，寇大潰。 有內應者，夜三鼓，梯城而入。 偽廣王李愷順墜水死，遂克其城。
Wenjin besieged Qingyang after circling Chizhou. Fuyang and Xinqiao rebels held against the siege. Jiang Yizhen shelled Fuyang until the garrison fled to Xinqiao. Imperial troops cleared rebel forts from Chicken Cage Hill to Xinqiao. The Jiangyin siege tightened. Chen Kunshu brought 100,000 reinforcements along the Jiangyin line. Guo Songlin stormed in from the rear. Liu Mingchuan broke the center. Collaborators opened the walls at the third watch. Li Kaishun drowned; Jiangyin fell.
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秀成自江寧返蘇，謀解城圍，與程學啟、戈登戰蘇州寶帶橋，敗北，奔至盤門。 我軍毀沿途諸卡，秀成率大股來爭，我軍力擊敗之。 初，寇於婁門外附城築十九壘，學啟屯外跨塘，砲力不能及寇壘，乃移壁永安橋，城中出夷人百餘，發炸砲助之。 未幾，寇分門大出，水陸軍力禦，寇敗退。 學啟以寇壘既多且固，不得前； 而城東南寶帶橋為太湖鎖鑰，寇立石營一、土營三，悉力拒守，遂謀先破之以挫其勢。 乃分水陸軍為三路，先破土營，寇棄壘走，石營亦旋潰。 秀成親率援師抵禦，學啟督軍卻之。 我軍攻無錫賊，敗之芙蓉山。 偽潮王黃子隆出拒，再敗走，刃及其肩，幾成擒； 郭松林追及城下，破平西北兩城壘，燒寇船百餘艘。
Xiucheng lost to Cheng Xueqi and Gordon at Baodai Bridge and fled to Pan Gate. Imperial troops destroyed Suzhou outposts and beat Xiucheng's counterattack. Cheng Xueqi shifted to Yong'an Bridge as foreign gunners shelled from the city. A rebel sortie from Suzhou was repelled. Cheng Xueqi could not advance past the outer forts; he targeted Baodai Bridge, Tai Lake's key. Three columns took the earth forts, then the stone forts. Xiucheng's relief was driven off. Wuxi rebels were beaten at Furong Hill. Huang Zilong was wounded and nearly captured at Wuxi. Guo Songlin burned a hundred rebel boats below Wuxi.
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蔣益澧既克富陽，移師杭州，康國器趨餘杭。 偽歸王鄧光明、偽聽王陳炳文、偽享王劉酋及偽朝將汪海洋，於附城要隘築壘樹棚，自前倉橋、女兒橋、老人畈、東塘、西谿埠、觀音橋、三墩，直至武林門、北新關，橫至古蕩，連營四十餘里，以拒我軍。 海洋自杭州上援餘杭，為我軍擊敗。 寇旋由前倉渡河，結壘西葛村，我軍再擊走之。 我軍攻杭州江干十里街，破街口寇壘。 我水陸軍大舉攻青陽。 初，黃文金在都昌、湖口等處戰敗而東，遂略地池州，直薄青陽城外，近城半里，環築六十六壘； 又數里，築七十餘壘。 曾國藩調水陸軍進攻，江忠義督所部渡河，從山後緣巖而上，驟攻寇壘。 寇糾眾抄我軍後路，忠義揮眾蕩決，寇敗若潮湧，平一百三十餘壘，殄萬餘，寇遁歸石埭一帶，城圍立解。
After Fuyang, Jiang Yizhen moved on Hangzhou and Kang Guoqi on Yuhang. Rebel princes fortified a forty-li ring around Hangzhou. Wang Haiyang's Yuhang relief failed. Rebels were driven from West Ge Village. Imperial troops broke the Jianggan street fort. Land and water forces besieged Qingyang. Huang Wenjin ringed Qingyang with sixty-six nearby forts; and seventy more beyond. Jiang Zhongyi stormed the hill forts from the rear. Zhongyi leveled 130 forts, killed 10,000, and relieved Qingyang.
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李侍賢、林紹璋等合股內犯，由無錫南門至坊前梅邨三十里； 高橋大股亦分眾七八千人擾至西高山，出芙蓉山後； 城寇出北門犯塘頭東亭。 官軍分路迎剿，設伏誘擊，寇大亂，敗走，陸寇殲誅殆盡，奪寇船六十餘、民船五百餘。 秀成自蘇州率偽納王郜雲官、偽來王陸順德、偽趨王黃章桂、偽祥王黃隆芸、偽紀王黃金愛來援，進逼大橋角營。 夷酋白齊文以輪船大砲為寇前驅，李鶴章以連珠噴筒破之。 寇水陸皆敗，斃萬餘。 別股犯緱山，亦敗走。 秀成子及宿祥玉、黃隆芸皆溺死，秀成頓足大哭。 程學啟再敗寇於齊、婁、葑三門，追至護城河邊始斂軍。
Li Shixian and Lin Shaozhang advanced thirty li from Wuxi's south gate; 7,000–8,000 rebels flanked through Furong Hill; and the garrison sallied at Tangtou. Ambushes annihilated the land columns and captured hundreds of boats. Xiucheng led five rebel kings to Daqiao Corner. Li Hezhang's repeaters beat Burgevine's steam guns. Over 10,000 rebels were killed. A column at Qoushan was also routed. Xiucheng's son and two kings drowned; he wept in despair. Cheng Xueqi cleared the Qi, Lou, and Feng gates to the moat.
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九月，杭州城寇大出，由蠻頭山、鳳凰山、九耀山、雷峯塔犯我軍新壘，蔣益澧督諸軍迎擊，大破之。 我軍進壁天馬山、南屏山、翁家山。 時杭寇凶狡者，以鄧光明、汪海洋為最，陳炳文次之。 其計以杭州為老巢，以餘杭為犄角，均賴嘉興、湖州之援，便資其接濟。 嘉興入杭之路，則在餘杭，故我軍議先克餘杭，扼截嘉、湖之路，以並合圍。 蔣益澧一軍逼紥鳳山、清波各門，扼其西面； 餘杭一城已圍其東南，而北路無重兵，兩城之寇往來如故。
Hangzhou's September sortie was crushed at Leifeng Pagoda. Imperial troops walled at Tianma, Nanping, and Wengjia hills. Deng Guangming and Wang Haiyang led Hangzhou's toughest defenders. They depended on Jiaxing and Huzhou for supplies. Imperial strategy was to take Yuhang and sever Jiaxing's line to Hangzhou. Jiang Yizhen blocked the western gates; Yuhang was partly besieged but the north remained open.
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寇自大橋角戰敗，勢漸蹙。 秀成糾無錫、溧陽、宜興賊八九萬、船千餘艘，泊運河口； 而自率悍黨踞金匱縣后宅，連營互進。 李鶴章謂寇以河為固，不宜浪戰，宜結營制之。 我軍疊敗坊前、梅村、安鎮、鴻山之寇，而寇之大股全集西路，志在保無錫以援蘇州。 郎中潘增瑋進攻蠡口、黃埭之策，程學啟乃與戈登攻破蠡口，進擊黃埭，毀其四壘，擒斬偽天將萬國鎮。 五龍橋者在寶帶橋西五里，由澹臺湖鯰魚口達太湖以通浙之要隘也。 學啟率戈登會水師先後破寇六營。 於是我軍紥永安橋而婁門路斷，紥寶帶橋而葑門路斷，克五龍橋而盤門、太湖之路又斷。 寇乃句結浙黨，圖撲吳江，以擾我後。 學啟率水陸軍擊破嘉、湖援寇，擒斬偽貴王陳得勝及悍黨四十餘，追至平望，斷其橋。 從此攻蘇之軍無牽掣之患。
After Daqiao Corner the rebels weakened. Xiucheng massed 80,000–90,000 men and 1,000 boats at the Transport River. He held Houzhai in Jinkui with linked camps. Li Hezhang entrenched rather than risk a river battle. Imperial victories at Mei Village and Hongshan pinned rebels to Wuxi. Cheng Xueqi and Gordon took Likou and Huangdai and killed Wan Guozhen. Wulong Bridge was the Zhejiang gateway west of Baodai Bridge. Cheng Xueqi and Gordon broke six camps at Wulong Bridge. Yong'an, Baodai, and Wulong cut Suzhou's supply routes. Rebels sought to hit Wujiang in the rear. Cheng Xueqi killed Chen Desheng and broke the bridge at Pingwang. The Suzhou assault was no longer distracted.
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偽平東王何明亮等以劉典屯績溪，不克上犯徽、歙，遂由寧國千秋關竄浙江，陷昌化，擾於潛。 其前竄廣德者，復折踞孝豐。 劉典遣軍出績溪昱嶺關援剿。 江寧軍自攻克江東橋、上方橋，而城東數隘未下。 近城者曰中和橋，曰雙橋，曰七橋甕，稍遠者曰方山、土山，曰上方門、高橋門，迤南則為秣陵，以至博望鎮，皆金陵外輔也。 國荃以東路未平，不能制寇死命，令諸軍東渡。 提督蕭衍慶過河破五壘，城寇出爭，擊退之，遂克上方門、高橋門、雙橋門。 右路方山、土山之寇亦棄壘而奔。 七橋甕踞寇倉皇欲遁，而城中忽出大股來援，兩軍相搏，總兵蕭孚泗乘夜縱火，寇冒火突出，遂克七橋甕。 其博望鎮，總兵朱南桂已先五日襲取之。 博望鎮既失，則秣陵關之勢孤； 七橋甕既失，則中和橋之勢孤。 總兵伍維壽等南略秣陵關，寇棄壘奔潰。 自是鍾山西南無一寇巢。
He Mingliang slipped through Qianqiu Pass into Changhua and Yuqian. Guangde fugitives held Xiaofeng again. Liu Dian pursued from Yuling Pass. East of Nanjing several passes still held. Zhonghe, Shuang, Seven-Bridge Jar, and Moling were Nanjing's outer defenses. Guo Quan ordered an east-bank crossing to finish the outer defenses. Xiao Yanqing took Shangfang, Gaoqiao, and Shuang bridges. Fang and Tu hills were abandoned. Xiao Fusi burned through the fight for Seven-Bridge Jar. Zhu Nangui had taken Bo Wang Town five days earlier. Moling Pass was isolated; and Zhonghe Bridge was isolated. Wu Weishou took Moling Pass. Southwest of Bell Mountain was cleared.
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偽奉王古隆賢詣朱品隆降，收復石埭、太平、景德三城，徽州肅清。 餘寇竄踞寧國、廣德、孝豐之間，勢甚渙散。 宗棠飭劉典由昌化、於潛趨臨安，進剿孝豐，為規取湖州之地。 十月，易開俊克寧國縣城。 自是東壩黎立新上書請為內應，建平張勝祿上書請獻城池。 鮑超等遂合趨東壩，繞壘環攻。 楊輔清從亂軍中逸出，寇立獻偽城。 東壩既克，建平張勝祿等即於是日斬偽跟王藍仁得，舉城降，而溧水寇楊英清亦繳械降，遂收二城。 國荃克淳化鎮、解谿、龍都、湖墅、三岔鎮等隘，燬寇壘二十餘。 江寧城東南百里內寇巢略盡。
Gu Longxian surrendered; Shicheng, Taiping, and Jingde were recovered. Scattered rebels remained between Ningguo, Guangde, and Xiaofeng. Zuo sent Liu Dian toward Lin'an and Xiaofeng to target Huzhou. In the tenth month Yi Kaijun took Ningguo. Li Lixin and Zhang Shenglu offered to defect at East Dam and Jianping. Bao Chao besieged East Dam. Yang Fuqing fled; the garrison surrendered East Dam. East Dam and Jianping fell the same day; Yang Yingqing surrendered Lishui. Guo Quan cleared Chunhua, Jiexi, and twenty forts southeast of Nanjing. Rebel nests within a hundred li southeast of Nanjing were gone.
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蘇州軍自黃埭攻滸墅關，破王瓜涇、觀音廟寇壘，直抵滸墅，擊走偽來王陸順德，進毀十里亭。 虎丘、楓橋寇皆遁。 躡至閶門，寇大恐。 李鶴章敗寇無錫鴨城橋，破西倉寇壘，直抵茅塘橋。 李侍賢調常州陳坤書來援，城寇黃子澄出迎，我軍縱擊敗之。 秀成聞滸關已失，退屯北望亭，謀返蘇州老巢。 坤書還走常州，侍賢遁宜興、溧陽，我軍乘之，下寇壘百餘。 鴻章督軍攻婁門寇。 蘇州四年自我軍連克要隘，乃於胥、葑、婁等門憑河築壘數十，婁門外石壘尤堅。 至是我軍由南北岸而進，秀成等突出婁門拒戰，程學啟與常勝軍分隊以應，援寇遁入城。 水師會攻婁葑門外寇壘二十餘皆下。 我軍連克齊盤門各壘，三面薄城，寇眾恟懼，而秀成及譚紹光猶圖固守，他酋郜雲官等皆有貳心，密請於鴻章乞反正，許之。 學啟、戈登單舸見雲官等，命斬秀成、紹光以獻； 而雲官不忍殺秀成，許圖紹光。 秀成覺之，涕泗握紹光手為別，乘夜率萬人自胥門出走嘉善。 郜雲官殺譚紹光，率偽比王伍貴文，偽康王汪安均，偽寧王周文佳，偽天將范起發、張大洲、汪瓌武、汪有為，開齊化門迎降，鴻章受之。 雲官等未薙髮，要總兵、副將等官，並請自領其眾屯守盤、齊、胥、閶四門。 程學啟慮其不可制，密請於鴻章誅之，立復蘇省。
From Huangdai imperial troops cleared Xushu Pass and Ten-Li Pavilion. Tiger Hill and Maple Bridge rebels fled. Rebels panicked at Chang Gate. Li Hezhang broke Wuxi rebels at Duck City Bridge. Li Shixian's Changzhou relief was beaten at the walls. Xiucheng withdrew to North Wangting after Xushu Pass fell. Chen Kunshu retreated; imperial troops took a hundred forts. Li Hongzhang assaulted Lou Gate. Rebels had fortified Suzhou's river gates for four years. Xiucheng sallied at Lou Gate but relief was driven inside. The fleet cleared twenty outer forts at Lou and Feng. Three sides pressed Suzhou; rebel chiefs secretly negotiated surrender. Cheng Xueqi and Gordon demanded Xiucheng and Tan Shaoguang's heads; Gao Yunguan agreed to kill Tan Shaoguang but spared Xiucheng. Xiucheng fled through Xu Gate toward Jiashan with 10,000 men. Gao Yunguan killed Tan Shaoguang and opened Qihua Gate to Li Hongzhang. The defectors demanded ranks and garrison of four gates. Cheng Xueqi had the defectors executed and secured Suzhou.
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秀成以輪船炸砲越無錫水師北竄。 十一月，李鶴章克同城無錫、金匱，追擒黃子隆與子德懋並誅之。 劉秉璋等攻浙西，平湖寇陳殿選獻城乞降。 連日乍浦賊熊建勳、海鹽𣹂浦賊皆反正。 十二月，秀成留蘇州敗黨分布丹陽、句容間，自率數百騎潛入江寧太平門，苦勸秀全棄城同走。 秀全侈然高座曰：「我奉天父、天兄命，令為天下萬國獨立真主，天兵眾多，何懼之有？」 秀成又曰：「糧道已絕，饑死可立待也！」 秀全曰：「食天生甜露，自能救饑。」 甜露，雜草也。 秀成以秀全戀老巢不肯去，非口舌所能爭，乃貽書溧陽約李侍賢，銳意走江西。
Xiucheng fled north by steamer past Wuxi. In the eleventh month Li Hezhang took Wuxi and executed Huang Zilong and his son. Pinghu surrendered to Liu Bingzhang. Zhepu and Haiyan rebels defected. In the twelfth month Xiucheng entered Nanjing and urged Hong Xiuquan to flee. Hong Xiuquan refused: "Heaven chose me—why should I fear?" Xiucheng warned that starvation was imminent. Hong Xiuquan claimed heaven-sent sweet dew would feed them. The "sweet dew" was wild grass. Unable to move Hong Xiuquan, Xiucheng arranged flight to Jiangxi with Li Shixian.
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初，寇自咸豐十年破江寧長圍，迭陷蘇、常、嘉、湖，上竄江西、湖北，擄脅潰兵、游匪以百萬計，盡得東南財賦之區，日以強大。 自去歲屢戰屢敗，各城精銳散亡不下十萬。 今年春夏間竄皖北，我軍截殺解散又十數萬。 其自九洑洲過江，僅存四五萬人。 秀全驚惶失措，賴秀成回江寧主持守局； 而秀成以蘇州為分地，事急回援。 今巢穴已失，黨羽又孤，踉蹌而走，隨行僅兩萬餘人，欲赴金陵，解圍無術。 力勸秀全突圍上竄回粵，以圖再舉。 常州陳坤書、溧陽李侍賢皆聽秀成為進止，而杭州陳炳文係安徽人，鄧光明湖南人，聞秀成有回粵之謀，皆不願從，秀全亦屢勸不聽。
After 1860 the Taiping realm seized the wealthy southeast and swelled to a million followers. Last year's defeats cost 100,000 elite fighters. Spring and summer campaigns in Anhui dispersed another 100,000. Only 40,000–50,000 remained after Jiufuzhou. Hong Xiuquan depended on Xiucheng's return to hold Nanjing; while Xiucheng treated Suzhou as his own and rushed back when it fell. With nests lost, Xiucheng fled with only 20,000 men and no way to relieve Nanjing. He urged Hong Xiuquan to break out toward Guangdong. Chen Kunshu and Li Shixian followed Xiucheng; Chen Bingwen and Deng Guangming refused to go to Guangdong.
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國荃自四月間掘地道，至是始成，而寇附城築牆號「月圍」，下穿橫洞以防隧道。 故城崩，而猶阻月圍橫洞不能克。 劉銘傳進攻常州西路，奔牛踞寇邵志倫，羅墅灣踞寇夏登山、萬錫階，石橋灣踞寇張邦振皆詣我軍乞降，收眾萬六千人。 惟孟河賊尚踞汛城，輒出犯降人壘，銘傳一鼓下之。 潘鼎新克嶼城，李鴻章等破常州東門、南門石壘。 明日，張樹聲傍城東北築壘，破小門、土門。 連日嘉興、桐鄉、石門寇犯嶼城，海寧寇犯澉浦、海鹽，偽章王林紹璋自句容援常州，均為我軍擊走。
Guo Quan's tunnels were ready; rebels built "moon walls" with counter-mines. Wall breaches were blocked by the moon walls. Sixteen thousand rebels surrendered on Changzhou's west route. Liu Mingchuan took Menghe in one assault. Pan Dingxin took Yucheng; Li Hongzhang broke Changzhou's east and south gates. Zhang Shusheng broke the Small and Earth gates. Raids on Yucheng, Jianpu, and Changzhou relief were all repelled.
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程學啟克平望鎮。 平望東連嘉興，西接湖州，南通杭郡，為蘇、浙樞紐，浙寇精銳多聚守此，今被我軍攻克，嘉興藩籬已失，踞寇奪氣。 寇犯鎮江甘棠橋張文德壘，馮子材等助擊破之，斬李秀成養子偽岡天義黃酋。 十二月，偽會王蔡元隆獻城降，左宗棠受之，改名元吉。 海寧瀕海，為杭州東北屏蔽。 元吉擁眾，致攻杭之師未能合圍； 今幡然附款，杭州之勢益孤，東北兩面圍漸合。 嘉興賊偽榮王廖發受呈降書，程學啟慮有狡謀，誡軍嚴備。 杭州踞寇偽聽王陳炳文遣人詣降，而無降書，宗棠趣蔣益澧攻城益急。
Cheng Xueqi took Pingwang. Pingwang's fall exposed Jiaxing. Feng Zicai killed Xiucheng's adopted son Huang Qiu at Gantang Bridge. In the twelfth month Cai Yuanlong surrendered Haining to Zuo Zongtang. Haining guarded Hangzhou's northeast coast. Yuanji's garrison had blocked the Hangzhou encirclement; his surrender tightened the ring around Hangzhou. Liao Fashou's surrender at Jiaxing was treated with caution. Chen Bingwen negotiated without formal surrender; Zuo pressed the assault.
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秀成會李侍賢犯江西，既以溧陽至饒州浮梁數百里處處乏食，慮裹糧疾趨為難； 因趣侍賢持二十日糧，道長興、廣德、寧國入江西，先踞腴區待己。 於是侍賢遣黨西竄，行甚疾。 曾國藩遣軍屯休寧，沈寶楨遣軍屯婺源、玉山拒之。 四月，川督駱秉璋破賊天全，生擒偽翼王石達開，磔於市。 自洪秀全倡亂，封五偽王：馮雲山、蕭朝貴皆敗死，楊秀清、韋昌輝自相賊殺，石達開避禍出奔，自樹一幟，歷犯浙江、福建、兩湖、兩廣諸省，並擾及滇、黔，蓄意入川，以圖竊據，至是為川軍擒戮。 凡偽五王前後皆誅滅矣。
Xiucheng and Li Shixian invaded Jiangxi but lacked food along the route; he ordered Shixian to take twenty days' grain through Guangde into Jiangxi. Shixian's column raced west. Zeng Guofan and Shen Baozhen blocked the route at Xiuning and Wuyuan. In the fourth month Luo Bingzhang captured and executed Shi Dakai at Tianquan. Shi Dakai, the last of the five founding kings, was executed in Sichuan after years of wandering. All five founding kings were dead.
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三年正月，蔣益澧飭降人蔡元吉襲桐鄉不下。 桐鄉為杭、嘉要道，益澧遣將分屯東北門，偽朝將何培章來降，遂收桐鄉，令培章率降眾屯烏鎮、雙橋，阻杭、嘉道，絕寇糧。 湖、杭寇皆來爭，擊走之。 我軍進屯嘉興，聯絡蘇師，規復郡城。 廣德、寧國寇竄犯浙江昌化，副將劉明珍不知寇眾寡，進擊，創矛，退扼河橋。 寇尋分黨：一竄徽州績溪，一竄淳安，謀渡威坪河進窺遂安。 時侍賢上犯，冀衝過徽州，就食江西。 其大勢趨重遂安，擾及開化馬金街，其地與休寧、婺源、常山、玉山接壤。 王開琳自徽州進遂安，連破寇於中州昏口。 黃少春馳入縣城，敗寇遂安城北，蹙入郭邨，殲之。 寇後隊仍由章邨竄昏口，少春擊破之新橋，開琳復繞出昏口敗之。 其竄往開化華埠僅千餘。
Cai Yuanji failed to take Tongxiang by raid. He Peizhang surrendered Tongxiang and blocked the Hang-Jia road. Relief columns for Huzhou and Hangzhou were driven off. Imperial troops camped at Jiaxing to recover the prefecture. Liu Mingzhen was wounded repelling Guangde rebels at Changhua. Rebel columns split toward Jixi and Chun'an. Shixian aimed through Huizhou for food in Jiangxi. He stressed Suian and Majin on the Anhui-Zhejiang border. Wang Kailin beat rebels at Zhongzhou and Hunkou. Huang Shaochun annihilated rebels at Guo Village north of Suian. Pursuit destroyed the rear guard at Hunkou and Xinqiao. Only a thousand rebels reached Kaihua Huabu.
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侍賢句合黃文金及廣德餘黨由寧國上竄，陷績溪，退踞雄路、孔靈等處，圖撲徽州。 唐義訓自徽州出紮吳山鋪，敗之，毀雄路寇館。 援寇至，我軍奮擊，再破之，縣城立復。 鴻章派郭松林、戈登等攻宜興、荊溪，寇開城出拒，槍子傷松林右肘。 我軍屯三里橋，與常勝軍會擊，偽代王黃精忠由溧陽來援，拚死相撲，我軍屹立不動，以洋槍排擊之，寇死傷相繼，無退志。 我軍三路包抄，寇始奪路狂奔，城寇勢益不支，開西門而逸，遂復兩縣城。 是城瀕太湖西岸，當江、浙衝道，為常郡後路。 自是常郡寇益蹙，蘇州、無錫之防益固。
Shixian and Huang Wenjin took Jixi and threatened Huizhou. Tang Yixun destroyed Xionglu lodges from Wushanpu. A second assault recovered the county seat. Guo Songlin was wounded assaulting Yixing. Huang Jingzhong's fierce Liyang relief was stopped by rifle fire at Sanli Bridge. A three-way encirclement took Yixing and Jingxi. They commanded Changzhou's rear on the Tai Lake shore. Changzhou tightened; Suzhou and Wuxi were secured.
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戈登進圍溧陽。 溧陽為李侍賢老巢，又江寧後路要隘。 常州、金壇在其北，句容、丹陽值其西，長興、廣德當其南，面面寇巢，前與鮑超東壩、溧水之師相隔絕，後距李鴻章常州軍亦稍遠。 孤軍深入，李鴻章戒戈登慎進止。 尋溧陽酋吳人杰降，戈登復其城。 郭松林等進攻金壇，敗偽列王古宗成、偽襄王劉官方於楊巷。 是時常州陳坤書合丹陽、句容之寇十餘萬，由西路繞出常州之北，日犯我軍，李鶴章督軍擊敗之。 寇以我軍城圍日緊，分犯江陰、常熟、無錫，以圖分我兵勢。 李鶴章撤圍師，堅守勿戰，別調軍援三縣。 李鶴章等尋解無錫城圍。 江陰守將駱秉忠與楊鼎勳等內外夾攻，寇亦敗走； 乃並趨常熟，北自楊舍、福山，南自顏山、王莊，數十里皆寇。 黃翼升會同城軍夾擊，克王莊、顏山、陳市寇壘，追殺二十餘里。 寇由大河回撲常熟，水師截之，首尾不能相顧，掩殺無算。 常熟之圍立解。
Gordon besieged Liyang. Liyang was Shixian's base and Nanjing's rear gate. Liyang was surrounded by rebel strongholds and isolated from friendly forces. Li Hongzhang cautioned Gordon against overextension. Wu Renjie surrendered Liyang to Gordon. Guo Songlin beat Gu Zongcheng and Liu Guanfang at Yang Lane. Li Hezhang defeated Chen Kunshu's 100,000 men north of Changzhou. Besieged rebels raided Jiangyin, Changshu, and Wuxi to divide imperial forces. Li Hezhang held the siege line and sent relief to the three counties. Wuxi's siege was lifted. Luo Bingzhong relieved Jiangyin in a pincer attack; then turned on Changshu where rebels lined the route for tens of li. Huang Yisheng cleared the Changshu approaches for twenty li. The fleet intercepted a Changshu counterattack and killed countless rebels. The Changshu siege was lifted.
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初，秀成入江寧說秀全出走，不聽，秀成憂糧食不繼，遣黨百計偷運。 國荃約楊岳斌水陸巡邏，遇奸民運米入城，輒奪之。 秀成遣養子李士貴率黨數千出太平門赴句容接糧入城，伏兵要之，寇棄糧走。 國荃銳意合圍，江寧城延亙百餘里，自我軍駐師雨花臺，奪取附近諸隘，東、西、南三面為官軍所據，惟鍾山石壘未克，城北兩門尚未合圍。 秀成自將出鍾山南，攻朱洪章營，敗退登山。 沈鴻賓等挾火毬箭擲壘中，寇突火跳，遂克鍾山石壘，寇所署偽天保城者也。 國荃分檄諸將屯太平門、洪山、北固山，塞神策門，餘玄武湖阻水為圍。 於是江寧四面成包舉之勢，寇援及糧路皆絕。
Xiucheng tried to smuggle grain into besieged Nanjing. Guo Quan and Yang Yuebin seized smuggled grain. Li Shigui's grain convoy from Jurong was ambushed at Taiping Gate. Guo Quan nearly encircled Nanjing; only Bell Mountain and the north gates remained. Xiucheng failed against Zhu Hongzhang south of Bell Mountain. Shen Hongbin took Bell Mountain—the rebels' Heavenly Fortress. Guo Quan sealed Taiping, Hongshan, and Divine Strategy gates. Nanjing was fully encircled without relief.
185
二月，寇以運糧路絕，日驅婦孺出城以謀節食。 城西北多園圃，豫種麥濟饑。 初，程學啟進攻嘉興，破小西門、北門寇營，殲除淨盡，擒偽天將劉得福、慕天義賈慕仁。 而湖州寇屢竄南木、壇丘、四亭子、新塍，思犯盛澤、平望，以圖嘉興，不得逞； 又犯盛澤，圍王江涇後路營，亦為我軍所敗，而城守甚固，我軍多傷亡； 又遇雨不能進攻，學啟急思復嘉興，分門攻擊，增築月牆，寇拚死抗拒； 又以地雷巨砲轟蹋城垣百餘丈，擊毀砲臺，賊爭負土填城缺。 湖州賊又自新塍來援，學啟會軍猛攻，肉薄登城，丸創其首，部將大憤，縱橫刺射，寇眾潰，遂克嘉興。 偽榮王廖發受、偽挺王劉得功皆伏誅。 援寇黃文金還湖州。
Starving Nanjing expelled civilians to save food. Wheat was planted in the gardens inside the northwest walls. Cheng Xueqi cleared Jiaxing's outer gates and captured Liu Defu. Huzhou raids toward Jiaxing were blocked; Shengze was also held, at heavy cost; rain stalled the assault until Cheng Xueqi ringed Jiaxing with moon walls; Mines breached the walls but rebels filled the gaps under fire. Cheng Xueqi took Jiaxing after a wall assault despite a head wound. Liao Fashou and Liu Degong were executed. Huang Wenjin withdrew to Huzhou.
186
寇之分竄江西者，疊經我軍截殺，闌入金溪。 道員席寶田由安仁馳擊，復其縣城。 寇由瀘溪趨建昌，寶田會軍敗之，寇蔓延於新城、南豐。 提督黃仁翼進攻新城，克之，餘竄入福建建寧縣境。 南豐之寇亦經寶田擊敗，斬偽天侯張在朋，寇棄壘狂奔，退至城下，合圍攻之。
Rebel columns entering Jiangxi were driven into Jinxi. Xi Baotian recovered Jinxi from Anren. Rebels spread through Xincheng and Nanfeng after defeat at Jianchang. Huang Renyi took Xincheng; remnants fled to Fujian. Zhang Zaipeng was killed; Nanfeng was besieged.
187
蔣益澧克杭州，康國器等同日收餘杭，寇分竄德清、武康等處。 宗棠飭軍分路進取。 三月，羅大春等各率所部撲壘環攻，降人楊芸桂開門迎納官軍。 援賊回鬥，砲擊之，敗走。 德清寇鏖戰四時亦大敗。 武康、德清皆復。 我軍進逼石門，踞寇鄧光明降。 其圖竄孝義之寇，亦截殺無算。 鮑超等會克句容，偽漢王項大英、偽列王方成宗皆伏誅。 偽守王方海宗遁金壇寶堰，寶堰南距金壇城四十五里，北達丹陽。 方海宗與偽顯王袁得厚合謀阻進兵之路，鮑超攻之，閉壘不出； 乃負草填壕，一躍而入，寇向金壇、丹陽遁去。
Hangzhou and Yuhang fell the same day; rebels fled to Deqing and Wukang. Zuo ordered pursuit in separate columns. Yang Yungui opened the gates in the third month. Relief was shelled and driven off. Deqing fell after four hours of fighting. Wukang and Deqing were recovered. Deng Guangming surrendered at Shimen. Rebels fleeing to Xiaoyi were slaughtered. Bao Chao took Jurong and executed Xiang Daying and Fang Chengzong. Fang Haizong fled to Baoyan south of Jintan. Bao Chao besieged Baoyan when the garrison refused to sortie; he filled the moat with straw and stormed the walls; rebels fled.
188
鮑超進攻金壇，設伏茅山，大敗追寇，城寇喪膽，啟南門遁走，遂復其城。 敗寇二三千，屯踞南渡，偽植王林得英約會常州西路孟河、呂城諸寇，欲由金壇歸併廣德，同踞南渡。 鴻章檄道員吳毓芬等會水陸軍分三路夜襲其巢，陣斬林得英及秫天安黃有才等，殄寇殆盡。 其攻丹陽者，為鎮江、揚州防軍，援寇一由常州運河，一由江陰孟河大至，詹啟綸、張文德會擊敗之，援寇退屯丹陽東北一帶。 丹陽一城多聚巨酋，偽然王陳時永為陳玉成叔父，偽來王賴桂芳為洪秀全妻弟。 因其內鬨，我軍乘之，陳時永創仆，斬之。 其黨自縛賴桂芳及偽廣王李愷瞬、偽列王金友順、偽梁王淩郭鈞、偽鄒王周林保，並偽義安福、燕、豫諸目，獻軍前乞降，皆駢誅，遂克其城。 至是常州、鎮江各屬俱告肅清。
Bao Chao took Jintan after an ambush at Maoshan. Lin Deying tried to rally Nandu from Guangde. A night raid at Nandu killed Lin Deying and Huang Youcai. Zhan Qilun and Zhang Wende beat relief at Danyang. Danyang held Chen Shiyong and Lai Guifang among other chiefs. Chen Shiyong was killed in internal strife. Defectors handed over chiefs; Danyang was taken and the leaders executed. Changzhou and Zhenjiang were pacified.
189
寇自德清、武康、石門克後，李侍賢及偽聽王陳炳文、偽康王汪海洋等仍堅踞湖州。 是時浙江惟湖州、長興、安吉三城未下，湖州寇於附城二三十里修築堅壘，復於長興、安吉各隘連營數十里，相為犄角。 高連陞擊之於湖州境，寇分竄昌化、分水，防軍劉明珍截斬數百。 李侍賢繞越老竺嶺，竄皖南績溪，復間道走歙西，竄屯溪； 陳炳文、汪海洋由歙北竄浙境，分犯淳化、遂安。 遂安防軍截擊歙南小川，竄寇敗還楊邨。 唐義訓等進剿失利，於是嶺內遍地皆寇，徽、休、祁、黟岌岌難保。 寇前隊由龍灣、婺源竄江西，後之續至者絡繹不絕。 國藩調石埭、青陽防軍入嶺援徽，檄鮑超率全軍援江西。
Huzhou still held under Shixian, Chen Bingwen, and Wang Haiyang. Only Huzhou, Changxing, and Anji remained in Zhejiang, heavily fortified. Gao Liansheng drove rebels toward Changhua; Liu Mingzhen killed hundreds. Li Shixian slipped through Jixi to Tunxi; Chen Bingwen and Wang Haiyang raided Chunhua and Suian. Suian troops beat rebels at Xiaochuan. A failed pursuit left Huizhou in peril. Rebel columns poured into Jiangxi through Longwan and Wuyuan. Zeng Guofan reinforced Huizhou and sent Bao Chao to Jiangxi.
190
陳坤書之踞常州四年矣，自蘇軍力攻，以炸砲毀城，寇死守，取舊棺敗船堵城缺，以槍砲拒我軍。 時城西寇壘二十里夾河環列，劉銘傳等攻破十四壘，餘壘皆不戰而潰，而河干寇壘二十餘又為張樹聲等所破，於是寇西道皆絕，惟小南門、西門附城十餘壘，我軍復擊平之。 陳坤書塞門不納敗黨，恐官軍奪入，悍賊皆死城下。 城圍既合，築長牆，伏奇兵，備大舉，水陸軍發砲轟城，風煙迷漫，寇如墜霧中。 俄，城壞數十丈，寇以人塞缺口，炸丸迸裂，人與磚石齊起天際，然旋散旋集，蓋蘇省各路敗寇，積年麇聚於此，猶圖萬死一生計也。 鴻章益揮軍迫登，我軍偕籐牌噴筒直前，寇傾火藥，以長矛格刺，軍士十墜六七。 龔生陽突入，擒陳坤書，周盛波擒偽列王費天將，戰城上良久，寇大潰，縋城出者復為我軍所殲，我軍亦死亡千數百人。 常州之失以咸豐十年四月初六日，越四年而復，日月皆不爽，亦一奇也。 陳坤書淩遲處死，梟示東門。
Chen Kunshu held Changzhou four years behind ruined boats and coffins in the breaches. Liu Mingchuan cleared the western forts; only the south and west gates remained. Kunshu refused fugitives; his hard fighters died at the walls. The final assault ringed Changzhou with cannon fire. Breaches were filled again and again as defeated rebels fought to the death. Li Hongzhang pressed the assault at terrible cost. Chen Kunshu was captured; thousands died on both sides. Changzhou fell on the same calendar date it was recovered four years later. Chen Kunshu was dismembered and displayed.
191
時常州敗寇竄徽州，我軍擊破之。 餘竄江西，圍玉山，副將劉明珍等陣斬珊天安等，斃寇二千。 李侍賢越金谿犯撫州河東灣，猛攻東門，為我軍擊退。 忽突起攻橋，環呼城中內應，冀亂我軍，劉于淳砲斃多名，餘遁金溪，城圍立解。 偽列王林彩新竄江西弋陽，我軍追抵湖西，揮軍抄擊，寇敗竄黃沙港。 對岸楊家坡寇黨從上游渡寇千餘來援，諸軍沿河截擊，鏖戰逾時，寇始蹙，多落水死。
Changzhou fugitives were beaten at Huizhou. Two thousand rebels were killed at Yushan. Li Shixian was repelled at Fuzhou's east gate. A bridge assault failed; Liu Yuchun's guns broke the sortie. Lin Caixin was driven to Huangsha Harbor. River ambushes drowned many rebels at Yangjiapo.
192
侍賢等先後由浙犯徽，由徽入江西。 江陰楊舍及常州城外之寇，由丹陽、湖州上竄徽南，其酋為林彩新及偽麟王朱某、偽爵潘忠義等，從昌化進老竹嶺，闌入歙境。 唐義訓伏兵鍾塘嶺後，以五營進，遇寇大戰，伏起，殲其前鋒。 時金國琛等行抵富陽，隔河而屯，寇眾列山岡上下，我軍俟寇涉水將半，突出奮擊； 唐義訓尾而至，夾擊之，寇不支，遁向黃山小路。 我軍馳抵五弓橋，再敗寇，因循河埋伏兵。 寇正渡時，伏突起，寇大驚亂，生擒林彩新等十名，陣斬潘忠義等十四酋，死亡者二萬餘人。
Shixian's route ran from Zhe through Hui into Jiangxi. Lin Caixin and others entered She from Changhua. Tang Yixun ambushed the vanguard at Zhongtang Ridge. Jin Guochen struck rebels mid-river at Fuyang; Tang Yixun pincered them toward Huangshan. Imperial troops won again at Wugong Bridge and set an ambush. The ambush captured Lin Caixin and killed 20,000 rebels.
193
是月，洪秀全以金陵危急，服毒死。 群酋用上帝教殮法，綉緞裹屍，無棺槨，瘞偽宮內，秘不發喪。 其子年十六，襲偽位。 秀全生時即號其子為幼主，或曰本名天貴福。 其刻印稱洪福，旁列「真王」二文，誤合為「瑱」，其稱洪福瑱以此。 然諦觀印文，實「真主」二小字，非真王也。
That month Hong Xiuquan poisoned himself as Nanjing fell. They buried him secretly in the palace by Taiping rites. His sixteen-year-old son succeeded. The heir was known as the Young Lord or Tiangui Fu. His seal read Hong Fu with "true lord" misread as "true king." The seal actually said "true lord," not "true king."
194
時湖州寇方竄湖濱楊漊大錢口，潘鼎新分軍屯南潯，而寇恃長興為聲援。 長興在湖州西，毗連宜興、溧陽及廣德州。 宗棠貽書鴻章，移嘉興之師助攻長興。 鴻章遣諸軍分道往取，水師入夾浦口。 五月，鼎新進紥吳漊，水師破平夾浦石壘。 鼎新連破吳漊、殷瀆邨，毀其卡壘。 郭松林毀長興城東上莘橋、跨塘橋寇壘。 湖州、廣德、四安寇率數萬分路來援，依山築壘，綿亙林谷。 松林等擊湖州援寇，劉士奇擊廣德、四安援寇，寇壘悉平毀，殲溺萬餘人。 而湖北廣德寇復添撥大股折回，我軍乘賊眾喘息未定，合力痛剿，追殺二十餘里，寇乃遠遁。 我軍乘夜攻城，以炸砲轟塌城垣十餘丈，松林等首先衝入，遂復長興縣城。
Huzhou rebels held Yanglian while Changxing supported them. Changxing bordered Yixing, Liyang, and Guangde. Zuo asked Li Hongzhang to shift Jiaxing troops to Changxing. Li Hongzhang sent columns and the fleet into Jiapu. In the fifth month Pan Dingxin camped at Wulian and took Jiapu. Pan Dingxin cleared Wulian and Yindu. Guo Songlin destroyed east Changxing forts. Tens of thousands reinforced Changxing from Huzhou and Guangde. Relief was destroyed with over 10,000 killed. A Guangde counterattack was pursued twenty li. A night assault with mines took Changxing.
195
江西貴溪盛源洞等處寇分踞小巷一帶，築壘修卡，我軍飭砲船馳赴黃土墩，以槍砲擊之，寇倉皇敗竄，水陸諸軍撲卡而入，擒斬多名，寇大潰。 貴溪寇壘一律肅清。 浙軍進規湖州，攻復孝豐縣城，生擒偽感王陳榮，斃千餘。 是月偽扶王陳得才等合捻竄擾孝感、雲夢等縣。
Gunboats cleared Guixi rebel posts at Huangtu Mound. Guixi was pacified. Zhe forces recovered Xiaofeng and captured Chen Rong. Chen Decai and Nian bands raided Xiaogan and Yunmeng.
196
上以江寧垂克，而河南捻犯麻城、皖城，深入江西，恐掣全局，趣國荃迅取金陵。 國荃進攻鍾山龍脖子，寇所稱地保城也。 我軍自得偽天保城後，城寇防守益嚴。 是城扼建要害，尋為李祥和所破。 國荃築砲臺其上，日發巨砲轟擊，居高臨下，全城形勢皆在掌中。 六月十六日，國荃飭諸軍發太平門地雷，塌城垣二十餘丈，前敵總兵李臣典、朱洪章等九人先登，諸將分門合力，攻克江寧省城，獲偽玉璽二方、金印一方。 是夜，寇自焚偽天王府，秀成攜秀全幼子從城垣倒口遁去，並以己馬與之乘以行。 國荃令閉門封缺口，搜殺三日，斃寇十餘萬，凡偽王以下大小酋目約三千餘。 最後城西北隅清涼山伏寇數千出與官軍死戰，卒殲之。 其偽天王府婦女多自縊，及溺城河而死。 國荃派馬隊追至淳化鎮，生擒偽列王李萬才。 其自城破後逸出者，洪秀全之兄偽巨王、偽幼西王、偽幼南王、偽定王、偽崇王、偽璋王悉為馬隊殺斃。 蕭孚泗搜獲李秀成及洪仁發、洪仁達於江寧天印山，搜掘洪秀全屍於偽宮，戮而焚之。 國藩親訊秀成等，供讞成，駢誅於市。
The court urged Guo Quan to take Nanjing quickly despite Nian raids elsewhere. Guo Quan assaulted Dragon Neck on Bell Mountain. After the Heavenly Fortress fell, the garrison fought harder. Li Xianghe soon broke the Earth Fortress. Guo Quan shelled the city from the heights. On the sixteenth of the sixth month a mine at Taiping Gate took Nanjing; Li Chen dian led the storm. That night the palace burned; Xiucheng fled with the Young Lord. Three days of slaughter killed 100,000 rebels and 3,000 chiefs. The last holdouts at Qingliang Hill were annihilated. Many palace women hanged themselves or drowned in the moat. Cavalry captured Li Wancai at Chunhua Town. Escaped princes including the Giant King were run down by cavalry. Xiao Fusi captured Li Xiucheng and Hong Rengan and burned Hong Xiuquan's body. Zeng Guofan tried Xiucheng and had him executed in public.
197
七月，鮑超連克東鄉、金谿，楊岳斌等連克崇仁、宜黃，潘鼎新會克湖州，楊昌濬等克安吉，斬偽駙馬列王徐朗。 寇併竄廣德、長興，守軍吳毓芬克四安鎮，劉銘傳克廣德。 初，秀全幼子自江寧出亡，悍黨衛至州城； 至是城克，偽昭王黃文英等挾之走寧國。 八月，唐義訓等敗湖州餘寇於歙縣，殲酋目偽幼孝王等九人。 連日劉光明等大破寇於昌化、淳安，偽堵王黃文金、偽偕王譚體元伏誅。 李遠繼挾秀全幼子奔江西廣信，於是浙江平。
In the seventh month Bao Chao, Yang Yuebin, and Pan Dingxin took cities across Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Rebels fled to Guangde and Changxing; Wu Yufen and Liu Mingchuan recovered towns. The Young Lord had fled Nanjing under guard; after the fall Huang Wenying escorted him toward Ningguo. Tang Yixun killed nine rebel chiefs including the Young Xiao King at She County. Liu Guangming killed Huang Wenjin and Tan Tiyuan in Changhua and Chun'an. Li Yuanji fled with the Young Lord to Guangxin; Zhejiang was pacified.
198
初，秀全幼子及黃、李諸酋由寧國趨昌化之白牛橋，譚酋及偽樂王之子莫桂先、偽首王范汝增等由寧國趨淳安威坪，約同竄徽境，眾尚十數萬。 劉光明擊白牛橋寇，黃酋中砲死，弟文英代領其眾，踉蹌西奔。 黃少春斬譚體元於洪橋，併誅莫桂先等酋百五十餘人。 劉明珍率所部由淳化上趨，值黃文英、李遠繼來犯，明珍偕魏喻義等分兵禦之，創黃文英於陣。 李遠繼挾秀全幼子遁至徽、歙之交。 寇由建口渡河，我軍乘其半濟擊之，大潰，斬偽列王邱國文等，收降卒六千餘。 餘黨向績溪而逸。 其已度建口者，竄至遂安，黃少春等復擊走之。 偽列王劉得義、蕭雅泗等率二萬人投誠。 洪氏勢益孤，乃由遂安昏口遁走開化，竄入江西。
Over 100,000 fugitives converged on Huizhou from two routes. Liu Guangming killed Huang chief at White Ox Bridge; Wenying fled west. Huang Shaochun killed Tan Tiyuan and 150 chiefs at Hong Bridge. Liu Mingzhen wounded Huang Wenying meeting the Young Lord's escort. Li Yuanji fled with the Young Lord toward Huizhou and She County. Half the rebels were destroyed crossing Jian Mouth; 6,000 surrendered. Remnants fled toward Jixi. Huang Shaochun drove the rest from Suian. Liu Deyi and Xiao Yasu surrendered 20,000 men. The Hong cause dwindled; fugitives entered Jiangxi through Kaihua.
199
九月，鮑超擊偽康王汪海洋於寧郡，大破之，擒斬偽朝將王金瑞等百二十餘人。 席寶田追剿湖州逃寇，大殲於廣昌白水嶺，擒偽干王洪仁玕、偽卹王洪仁政及偽昭王黃文英，皆伏誅。 沈葆楨克雩都、會昌，練勇克瑞金。 寶田追寇於石城，游擊周家良搜獲秀全幼子於黃谷，檻致南昌省城，誅之。 各路官軍截剿餘寇殆盡，於是洪氏遂滅。
Bao Chao routed Wang Haiyang at Ningguo and killed 120 officers. Xi Baotian at Baishui Ridge captured Hong Rengan, Hong Renzheng, and Huang Wenying and executed them. Shen Baozhen took Yudu and Huichang; militia took Ruijin. The Young Lord was captured at Huanggu and executed in Nanchang. Imperial forces hunted down the last rebels; the Taiping dynasty was destroyed.
200
論曰：秀全以匹夫倡革命，改元易服，建號定都，立國逾十餘年，用兵至十餘省，南北交爭，隱然敵國。 當時竭天下之力，始克平之，而元氣遂已傷矣。 中國危亡，實兆於此。 成則王，敗則寇，故不必以一時之是非論定焉。 唯初起必託言上帝，設會傳教，假「天父」之號，應「紅羊」之讖，名不正則言不順，世多疑之； 而攻城略地，殺戮太過，又嚴種族之見，人心不屬。 此其所以敗歟？
Commentary: Hong Xiuquan rose from common birth, reigned over ten provinces for a decade, and for a time rivaled the dynasty. The empire exhausted itself to suppress him and was deeply wounded. China's later catastrophe began here. Success makes kings, failure makes rebels—history resists a simple verdict. They claimed divine mandate and the Red Sheep omen, yet their legitimacy was widely doubted; their slaughter and ethnic exclusivity cost them the people's allegiance. Was that not why they fell?