Bao Chao

Bao Chao

Bao Chao (1828-1886) was a famous general of Hunan army in the late Qing Dynasty.

He came from the army. First, he went to Guangxi to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, and then transferred the commander of the Xiang army. He fought in Yuezhou, Wuchang and Jinkou successively, and was granted the title of "zhuangyong batulu" and the title of commander in chief of navy. Xianfeng six years (1856) raised Xiangyong founded Ting word five battalion, changed to lead the army. He moved to Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Henan and Shaanxi, and was given the title of "Botong ebatulu". He served as the commander in chief of Suijing town in Hunan Province to the governor of Zhejiang Province, and was granted the title of first-class Viscount plus one yunqi Wei. In 1867, Tongzhi led his troops to Shaanxi to suppress the Nien army. In the battle of Anlu, he was impeached, delayed and resigned. In 1880, he served as governor of Hunan Province, and then recruited troops to guard against Russia in leting, Zhili. In 1884, the Sino French war broke out and led the troops to garrison outside Baima pass in Yunnan Province to prepare for the war. Bao Chao had participated in more than 500 battles in his life and was injured 108 times. Guangxu 12 years (1886) died, posthumous Zhongzhuang.

Life and life

Youth

Bao Chao lost his father when he was young. Later, he went to Fengjie County with his mother Liu and lived in wulibei Hongyan cave. Liu worked as a nurse, Bao Chao worked as a handyman in a tofu shop in blacksmith street, and in winter he picked coal flowers for a living in Qiba salt farm. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), the Taiping rebellion broke out. Xiang Rong, the governor of Guangxi, recruited troops in Yichang, Hubei Province to form "Chuanyong camp", and Bao Chao enlisted. He was a cook and a soldier for the first time. In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), Bao Chao was transferred to Zeng Guofan's Navy as the commander of the sentry because of his bravery. He followed the Xiang army to capture Yuezhou, Wuchang, Hanyang, and Tianjia towns, and was promoted to garrison. In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), Wuchang fell again. Bao Chao went to help him, and Hu Linyi promoted him to battalion officer. Bao Chao defeated the Taiping Army in Xiaohekou and nianyutao of Hanyang, stationed in Zhuankou, defeated the Taiping Army in Zongguan, and was promoted to Dusi. When the Qing army in Jinkou was defeated, the Taiping army attacked Hu Linyi, who was stationed in Gaomiao. Bao Chao turned around to rescue Hu Linyi. The Taiping troops in De'an and Yingcheng attacked from Yunkou. Bao Chao burned their warships and rescued Hu Linyi. Then he went straight to the Taiping Army camp. In the fierce battle, the right rib was hit by artillery fire. Bao Chao bandaged the wound and continued to fight, conquering Jinkou. After the war, Bao Chao was promoted to guerrilla and was awarded the title of "Zhuang Yong batulu".

Suppress the Taiping Army

In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), Hu Linyi recommended Bao Chao as the commander in chief of the Navy. In the summer of this year, Bao Chao participated in the battle of Hanyang, eliminated the Taiping Army along the Yangtze River, and was promoted to general. After Hu Linyi recovered Wuchang, he sent Bao Chao to Changsha to recruit 3300 people to form a ting army under his command. In December, Bao Chao attacked xiaochikou and led his army to attack by night. He was wounded in his left arm by a rolling log, but he still directed the attack more fiercely. He was also injured in his right leg, but he still couldn't retreat. He was hit by a lead bullet on the back of his head and burst with blood. He was rescued and went into shock for several days. In January of the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857), Chen Yucheng, king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, captured Huangmei, and the Qing troops were defeated one after another. Only the ting Army stood in the way of the Taiping army. In July, the Taiping army was defeated, and Bao Chao was promoted to chief of the army. Bao Chao led his troops to attack xiaochikou, defeated the Taiping Army in Konglong, and led his troops to rescue Huang Mei. At that time, the Qing army was defeated by the Taiping Army in zhuogang. All the generals advocated defense and opposed to attack. Only he advocated a quick battle and was praised by dolonga. He sent cavalry regiments to help him capture Yisheng temple. In this battle, he sustained the battle with injuries to his left knee and right arm. He won a major victory in annihilating 5000 enemies and was promoted to division commander. He led the troops to garrison Susong, and fought with Chen Yucheng of Taiping Army in Fengxiang post for 13 times. In December, Bao Chao and Chen Yucheng fought again in Taihu Lake. They had a stalemate for 25 days. Because of the strength of the Qing army, they finally defeated the Taiping army. The Qing government granted Bao Chao the rank of commander in chief. Later, Li Xubin was annihilated in the battle of Sanhe and retreated to Susong in the West. In 1858, Bao Chao led his troops to recover Huang'an and attacked Taihu Lake with duolong'a. He led his troops into the north gate, burned the powder magazine of the Taiping army, defeated the Taiping Army in leigongbu, and won a huge victory in annihilating 10000 enemies, and was promoted to commander. Then he led his troops to attack Anqing and was beaten by Chen Yucheng in Sanhe Town, retreating to Erlang river. Soon after, he joined forces with duolonga and won a great victory in Hualiangting in Susong. Wei Guangxin, the Marquis of Taiping army, was killed and 8000 people were annihilated. In the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), Bao Chao joined forces with other armies to besiege Taihu Lake occupied by the Taiping army, and Chen Yucheng led 100000 troops to the rescue. The Qing government appointed dolong'a as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy to preside over the Taihu Lake campaign. He led his troops to xiaochiyi. In December, Chen Yucheng attacked xiaochiyi on a large scale, fighting fiercely for more than 20 days, causing heavy casualties on both sides. In 1860, Li Xiucheng, the loyal king, attacked the Qimen camp of Zeng Guofan, and his troops risked their lives to save him. In the spring of the next year, Bao Chao was sent by Zeng Guofan to fight in Raozhou (now Poyang) and other places in the northeast of Jiangxi Province for mobile emergency. In April, he helped Zeng Guoquan's troops to attack Anqing and break the four strongholds of Taiping troops in chigangling. In June, he went to Jiangxi Province to intercept Li Xiucheng's Taiping army, which attacked Nanchang and was defeated by Fuzhou and Guixi. In the spring of the first year of tongzhi (1862), he went from northern Jiangxi to southern Anhui, occupied the state of Ning (now Xuanzhou), and actively cooperated with Zeng Guoquan's troops of Xiang army to attack Tianjing (now Nanjing), the capital of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was promoted to governor of Zhejiang Province, and the Department was expanded to more than 13000 people. In the summer of the third year of tongzhi (1864), because of the encirclement of Tianjing by the Xiang army, all the Taiping troops from the outside entered Jiangxi one after another, and Bao Chao was ordered to help Jiangxi. After August, he defeated Wang Haiyang of the Taiping Army in Fuzhou by means of encircling and encircling, and made a forced landing on Chen Bingwen's Taiping army of more than 60000 people. Together with Zeng Guoquan, he conquered Tianjing. The Qing government rewarded Bao Chao as a first-class light truck captain and his double eyes. Later, he found Hong tianguifu, the youngest son of Hong Xiuquan, the king of heaven. The Qing government granted him a first-class Viscount, and later awarded him the post of captain yunqi. At this time, Bao Chao reached the peak of his career by suppressing the uprising. In March of the fourth year of tongzhi (1865), Bao Chao's troops mutinied in Jinkou, Hubei Province (southwest of Wuchang) because they didn't want to go to Xinjiang. In the fifth year of tongzhi (1866), the Qing government owed 2 million liang of copper and silver to tingjun. It was not easy to raise money, so it took the initiative to donate all the money. It also requested to increase the number of rural examination places for Sichuan Province and Kuizhou capital, 14 civil and military examiners, and 12 scholars in Kuizhou capital.

To call oneself ill and retire

After the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Nian Army in the North rallied and grew stronger. Bao Chao and Nian Army fought in Henan, Hubei and other places. In 1867, Bao Chao and Liu Mingchuan, the Huai army, attacked the eastern Nien army in Yinlonghe, Hubei Province. Liu Mingchuan attacked first, but was surrounded. Tang Diankui and Tian Lu'an were killed. Liu Mingchuan and his subordinates were waiting to die. At this time, Bao Chao's Ting army arrived as scheduled and stormed the back of the eastern Nien army. The eastern Nien army lost more than 10000 people, and Liu Mingchuan was able to escape. Later, Li Hongzhang took sides with Liu Mingchuan, but falsely accused Bao Chao of beheading him for the crime of missing an opportunity to commit fraud. The Qing government changed it into a strict reprimand. Bao Chao was severely punished for his meritorious service. In a rage, he resolutely called himself ill and resigned. As a result, the 30th battalion of tingjun was dismissed by Li Hongzhang. After Bao Chao returned to Fengjie, he imitated the architectural style of Suzhou and Hangzhou gardens and overhauled the residence, which occupied a quarter of the old city of Kuizhou. In 1870, Fengjie County was almost completely engulfed by the extraordinary flood. When the water just entered the city, the order in the city was in chaos, and some people took the opportunity to rob. Bao Chao sent dozens of family members to maintain law and order, and his heart was set. After the flood, Chao donated money to clear the mud from the streets. In the ten years of tongzhi (1871), Bao Chao donated money to repair Wenfeng tower, Fu Xue, Bao en temple, Town God's Temple and so on.

Foreign operations

In 1880, Bao Chao was granted the title of governor of Hunan by the Qing government. At that time, because of the unreasonable trouble caused by the tsarist Russia in the Yili incident, Bao Chao was ordered to summon the old troops and garrison in leting (now Hebei Province) of Zhili to strengthen defense. In 1881, when the Treaty of Ili between China and Russia was signed, Bao Chao called himself ill and resigned. In the spring of the 11th year of Guangxu (1885), the Sino French war entered a critical period. Bao Chao was ordered to fight on the Yunnan border. At that time, although Bao Chao was old and ill, he was still desperate. In the starry night, he mobilized the old troops, recruited soldiers, and galloped to Yunnan to garrison outside the Mabai pass (now Maguan) in Yunnan. After the Qing government negotiated peace with France, Bao Chao was extremely angry and cried out: "the Holy One is blind, and has failed the Heavenly Kingdom 。” He was soon withdrawn from defense and returned home. he died in October 1887. Add the crown prince and protect the title less. According to the case of death in Tidu's barracks, the patient should be given preferential treatment. He also rewarded 3000 liang of silver to govern the funeral, and was allowed to set up a special ancestral hall in his native place and meritorious province.

Main achievements

In 1850, he went to Chuanyong camp of Xiang Rong to suppress the peasant uprising in Guangxi. In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), he joined the Xiangjun Navy as a sentry officer. He fought with the Taiping Army Navy repeatedly in the section of the Yangtze River from Yuezhou (now Yueyang) to jiangxihukou in Hunan Province. In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), Hu Linyi, the governor of Hubei Province, ordered him to recruit 3300 Lu Yong, known as Ting army. He was the most ferocious one in the Xiang army and Hu Linyi relied on it. In the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857), Chen Yucheng of the Taiping army was stopped in Huangmei in Eastern Hubei and Guangji (now in the northwest of Wuxue) and other places. The following year, Anqing (now Anhui Province), an important town on the western front of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was encircled. Later, Li Xubin's troops were annihilated in the battle of Sanhe and retreated to Susong in the West. In the spring of 1860, in the battle with Chen Yucheng, the Taiping army, they occupied Taihu Lake in Anhui Province with hollow square array and serial gun. Later, with Zeng Guofan's entry into southern Anhui, the number of troops increased to 6

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