Zeng Guoquan

Zeng Guoquan

Zeng Guoquan (1824-september 1890), whose name is Yuanfu, was Zeng Guofan's ninth younger brother, a famous general in the late Qing Dynasty, and one of the main generals of the Xiang army. He was known as "Zeng Tietong" because he was good at digging trenches to encircle the city. He was the governor of Liangjiang and the prince Taibao.

In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), he was awarded the title of "Wei Yong batulu" and "Yi Pin Ding Dai" in the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856). In the third year of tongzhi (1864), he was granted the title of first-class Earl by adding the prince Shaobao to the "merit" of breaking the city. During the reign of Tongzhi, he and Guo Songtao compiled the general annals of Hunan.

After 1875, he successively served as governor of Shaanxi, governor of Shanxi, and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Guangxu ten years (1884) Department of rites minister, Liangjiang governor and Minister of trade affairs. In 1889, the title of crown prince was added. The next year, he died in the throne, posthumous "Zhongxiang.".

Life of the characters

Zeng Guoquan, born in Baiyangping (now Shuangfeng), Hunan Province in Qing Dynasty, was named Yuanfu and Shuchun.

Zeng Guoquan was less surprised and followed Zeng Guofan to study in the capital. In 1852 (the second year of Xianfeng), he was admitted as a Gongsheng.

In 1856 (the sixth year of Xianfeng), Shi Dakai invaded Jiangxi Province. Zeng Guoquan had a bad battle. After consulting with Huang Mian, the new governor of Ji'an, Zeng Guoquan applied to Luo Bingzhang, governor of Hunan Province, to recruit 3000 soldiers. Together with Zhou Fengshan, he recruited 6000 soldiers to help Jiangxi Province and fight against Taiping army. Because he began to attack Ji'an, Zeng Guoquan was called jiziying, which was Zeng Guofan's legitimate army. In November of the same year, he was awarded the title of Tongzhi due to his meritorious service.

In February 1857 (the seventh year of Xianfeng), Ding you returned home. In the summer, Zhou Fengshan was defeated by the Taiping army, Wang Zhen and Liu tenghong were killed, and their morale was low. In October of the same year, under the protection of Qi Ling, governor of Jiangxi Province, it was put into use again. In April 1858 (the eighth year of Xianfeng), he was promoted to Tongzhi by virtue of his merit, and he was awarded the title of Dai Hualing. In August, he conquered Ji'an and was promoted to magistrate by virtue of his merit. In May 1859 (the ninth year of Xianfeng), he won three battles and three victories in Jingdezhen. He conquered Fuliang and was promoted to a Taoist priest.

In May 1860 (the tenth year of Xianfeng), Anqing was besieged and the reinforcements of Chen Yucheng, king of England, were repelled repeatedly. In September 1861, Anqing was conquered. Because of the merit, Anqing was given the rank of chief envoy. He was named as an inspector, wearing a yellow mandarin jacket and the name of "Wei Yong batulu". In September of the same year, he conquered Wuwei prefecture (now Wuwei County in Anhui Province) and took the town of Yuncao, the granary of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was rewarded for his service.

In 1862 (the first year of Tongzhi), he was appointed as Zhejiang's envoy in January, promoted to Jiangsu's envoy in February, conquered Chaoxian, Hanshan and Hezhou in March, conquered molingguan in May, surrounded Tianjing (now Nanjing) and stationed in Yuhuatai. Under the unfavourable situation of epidemic, Zeng Guoquan fought hard for 46 days and nights with few enemies. He repeatedly repelled Li Xiucheng, the loyal king, and Li Shixian, the king's servant. He successively killed Wang hongchunyuan and Tang rirong, the king of Germany.

In 1863 (the second year of Tongzhi), he was promoted to governor of Zhejiang Province. He planned to take Tianjing directly and rescue the enemy. In July 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), Tianjing was captured and 3000 leaders, including Hong Renda and Li Xiucheng, were captured. Zeng Guoquan was awarded the title of Prince Shaobao for his meritorious service. He was granted the title of first-class Wei Yibo and two eyes of Hualing.

Zeng Guoquan was slandered because of his high achievements, and he said he was ill. In 1865 (the fourth year of Tongzhi), he was appointed governor of Shanxi in June and governor of Hubei in December. In July 1866 (the fifth year of Tongzhi), he was ordered to help Hubei military affairs, suppress the new Nian Army, and became the most dangerous enemy of the Nian Army. In May of the following year, the top clothes were removed due to the ineffective suppression of thieves. In October, the top clothes were taken off due to illness. In December, the top clothes were restored due to the East twist.

In 1875 (the first year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), he became governor of Shaanxi province again, and successively served as governor of Hedong river. In 1876 (the second year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), he was transferred to be the governor of Shanxi Province. In the event of a severe drought, Zeng Guoquan successively provided 13 million taels of silver, 2 million taels of rice, and 6 million starving people. In 1880 (the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), he was sick and begged to return home. In 1881 (the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), he was granted the title of governor of Shaanxi and Gansu Province and Minister of the Ministry of war, and went to Shanhaiguan to prevent. In 1882 (the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), he was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Guangxu nine years (1883), the Forbidden City to ride. In 1884, he served as Minister of rites, governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Commerce. In 1885, jingcha was punished by Zeng Guoquan for his meritorious service. In 1889, Empress Dowager Cixi returned to power and promoted the crown prince of Enjia.

Guangxu 16 years (1890) in September, died in Nanjing, at the age of 66. He was given the title of "Zhongxiang" to the Zhaozhong ancestral temple and the Juliang ancestral temple in Beijing, and set up a special ancestral temple in Hunan Province and Jiangsu Province.

Main achievements

military phase

Iron barrel is famous

The five Zeng brothers, in addition to Zeng Guofan's literary talent and military strategy, had a far-reaching influence on Modern China, Zeng Guoquan's fame was higher than the other three, which not only contributed to the Qing Dynasty, but also helped Zeng Guofan the most. Zeng Guoquan, 13 years younger than Zeng Guofan, was born in 1824. When he was 16 years old, he went to the capital with his father and learned from Zeng Guofan. He was praised by his brother Nai. In 1842, Zeng Guoquan left the capital to return to his native place. Zeng Guofan sent him to Lugou Bridge and wrote: "Chen Junping, Wu Junqi, Qu zhilao yuan, Zhen Baimei." Zeng guohuang was born Geng chensui, Zeng Guohua was born Ren wusui, and Zeng Guoquan was named Yuanfu. Therefore, "Chenjun", "Wujun" and "laoyuan" are used to refer to three people respectively. The poem praises Zeng Guoquan's talent and talent, especially those of his brothers. Zeng Guoquan was very arrogant in nature. According to historical records, he was "young and unconventional." In 1847, Zeng Guoquan was the first person to study in the county in the government examination, and he soon offered you tribute. In 1856, after the Hunan army led by Zeng Guofan was defeated in Hukou, Jiangxi Province, it was besieged by the Taiping Army in a very dangerous situation. In order to rescue his brother, Zeng Guoquan and Huang Mian, the governor of Ji'an, urged him to donate 3000 volunteers to rescue Jiangxi Province, and even trapped Anfu and other places to encircle Ji'an. It was very difficult for the Taiping army to attack the city because of its danger and waiting for reinforcements. Zeng Guoquan and others adopted the strategy of digging trenches and building bases, and implemented the strategy of long encirclement and long-term hardship. After attacking Anqing and invading Tianjing, Zeng Guoquan won by digging trenches to encircle the city, so he got the nickname of "Zeng Tietong".

According to Zeng Guofan's daughter, Zeng Jifen, every time Zeng Guoquan attacked a big city or won a battle, he always asked for leave to go home and build a house. It was also about returning home in splendor and showing off his martial arts. Zeng Guofan had been in the army for more than ten years, but he never built a house for himself. This can be said to be the difference between the two brothers. After conquering Ji'an, Zeng Guoquan went back to his hometown to buy farmland and build a house.

After the Tianjing incident, Wang shidakai, the wing of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, led his troops away, which brought a heavy blow to the interior of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In order to reverse the crisis, Hong Xiuquan took a series of measures, including Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng, Lin Shaozhang and other young generals. First, Chen Yucheng led his troops to conquer Luzhou, then cooperated with Li Xiucheng to defeat the Qing army in wuyidu, and then took advantage of the victory to go straight down to Pukou to break through the Jiangbei camp of the Qing army and break the siege of Tianjing. Later, in the battle of Sanhe Town, a strategic area, more than 6000 elite troops of the Hunan army were annihilated, and General Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua of the Hunan army were killed at the same time.

When Zeng Guofan was suffering from the defeat of Sanhe Town, Zeng Guoquan led his Xiang army to conquer Ji'an city. From the battle of Ji'an, Zeng Guofan saw his third younger brother Zeng Guoquan's unyielding character and ability to lead the army to fight, and determined that he was a person who could take on a great responsibility. Since then, Zeng Guofan regarded Xiangyong, the jiziying led by Zeng Guoquan, as his own legitimate army and took care of him everywhere. As expected, Zeng Guoquan lived up to his elder brother's high expectations and fought bravely. Most of his soldiers were outlaws. Every time he conquered a city, Zeng Guoquan ordered a three-day holiday. He allowed his soldiers to burn, kill, plunder and commit adultery. Therefore, when they attacked the city, all the Xiangyong were desperate, which was especially obvious when they besieged Anqing and captured Tianjing.

Anqing haircut

In May 1860, Zeng Guoquan led his army to Jixian pass, north of Anqing, and began to besiege Anqing. Anqing is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. If you go up the river, you can follow Hankou and Wuchang. If you go down the river, you can open the door of Nanjing. The military geographical position is extremely important. When Xiangjiang prepared to capture Anqing, the city had been occupied by the Taiping army for nine years.

In June 1860, Anqing battle began. Zeng Guoquan led 8000 Hunan troops to Anqing. Two long trenches were excavated in the West and north of the city, resulting in a siege and cutting off military supplies. The Taiping Army in the city went out to fight many times, but the Xiang army held fast to the moat and did not easily cross the moat to fight, which repeatedly frustrated the Taiping army. Chen Yucheng, a member of the Taiping army, came to the rescue and was unable to break through the position of the Xiang army. For a time, the warring parties went all out, and the battle of Anqing became a decisive battle between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty. Zeng Guofan, who was stationed in the east stream on the South Bank of the Yangtze River, dozens of miles away from Anqing, could clearly hear the roar of the artillery and the intensity of the battle. At this critical time, Chen Yucheng, the leader of the Taiping army, made a big mistake. On May 19, he led thousands of Taiping troops to Tongcheng to meet Hong Ren and Lin Shaozhang to discuss the next action. However, he left 8000 people to guard the bases in Jixian pass and on both sides of Linghu, and 4000 people to guard the fourth base of chigangling in Jixian pass, which made the troops of more than 10000 people fight alone and without a commander. On May 20, general Bao Chao of Hunan army began to attack the fourth base of Taiping Army outside Jixian. General Liu Canglin of Taiping army was brave and good at fighting. On June 8, the fourth base of chigangling was also surrounded by the Hunan corps, and the Taiping army was already in poverty

Chinese PinYin : Ceng Guo Quan