The nucleus of the Taeping forces consisted of men of the same class as those to whom such high praise is given; and this may account for their marvellous success during their northern march. The Pekin Gazettes report that, on the "15th May (1852) the Kwang-si rebels attacked Kwei-lin, the provincial city of Kwang-si, when the imperial troops made a sortie and burnt and destroyed a great number of them. On the 19th the rebels raised the siege, and set out by different routes for the province of Hoo-nan.... On the 12th June the viceroy reported that the Kwang-si rebel chief, Hung-siu-tsuen, having broken up from Yunggnan came and took the city of Taou-chow, in the prefecture of Ling-lin, in the southern part of the Hoo-nan province. The magistrate of the city ventured his life in defence of the place, but did not succeed." The emperor ordered Sae-shang-a (the general who had recaptured Yung-gnan) to proceed immediately to Hoo nan with all his forces to quell the insurrection; two other generals were also ordered to advance upon the rebels with the entire force at command, and so to post themselves as to prevent their northern advance. From the reports of Sae-shang-a it appears that during July, August, and September, the Taepings steadily proceeded northward, taking the several cities that lay on their line of march, and evacuating them as soon as by forced contributions, or other means, they had obtained what necessaries they required. Avoiding the imperial camp at Hang-chow they, early in September, arrived before the provincial city of Chang-sha, where they entrenched themselves on some adjoining heights and commenced a regular siege, which lasted over two months. All the imperialist forces immediately centred upon Chang-sha, and the suburbs of the city became the scene of some severe actions. "On the 18th September the rebels, having ineffectually battered the walls of Chang-sha with their cannon, sprung a mine under the south gate, but were repulsed in their assault by the bravery of the imperial troops. The emperor, therefore, ordered eight thousand soldiers from the four provinces of Hoo-nan, Sz-chuen, Hoo-péh, and Kwei-chow, to unite with the ten thousand Chinese and Tartar troops already engaged in Hoo-nan, in order to exterminate the foe." This order proves how inadequate was the force at the command of the government to put down the insurrection even at this early stage of its proceedings. Soon after this a decree was issued degrading Sae-shang-a; it says: "From the commencement of the disturbances in Kwang-si, almost two years ago, conceiving that the minister of state, Sae-shang-a, was a faithful servant of the crown, and capable of enduring much for his country, we especially appointed him to be imperial commissioner, and bestowed upon him a 'carte blanche,' directing him to proceed to the extermination of the rebels. During the former year he distinguished himself; but afterwards, when the rebels took possession of Yung-gnan, and attacked Kwei-lin, falling back upon Hing-gnan, and capturing Tsuen-chow, whence they rushed into Hoo-nan province, and took several cities, laying siege likewise to Chang-sha; though during all this time Sae-shang-a was commander-in-chief, he displayed no abilities in military strategy, and did nothing but distress the troops and waste the revenue, by which means he has shown himself ungrateful and unserviceable. We therefore command that he be deprived of his rank, and sent up to the capital for examination; also that an officer 1 Pekin Gazette. be despatched to guard him up to the Board of Punishments to be tried for his crimes; and Ching-keuh-tsae, who, though he had under him the two Hoo provinces, had not a single plan to suggest, and allowed the rebels to do just as they pleased, we also order to be deprived of his office, and kept in the inferior post of intendant of grain to see whether he will still exert himself in the public service." During October and November the Taepings made frequent attempts to capture Chang-sha, but were each time repulsed with considerable loss. On the 29th of November they made their last assault. By the means of a mine sprung under the walls, a portion of them, some eighty feet in breadth, was destroyed; through this breach they rushed to the assault, but the imperialists drove them back with great loss, and on the following night they raised the siege and moved towards the north-west. The Taepings proceeded on to the Tung-ting lake, and captured the city of Yoh-chow, situated at the point of junction of that lake with the Yang-ztekiang. After ransacking the granaries and treasury of Yoh-chow, they advanced on by the Yang-zte, and soon arrived at the city of Han-yang, which they took possession of on the 23rd of December; they then dispatched a portion of their forces across the river to invest the city of Wu-chang, provincial capital of the province of Hoo-peh, which city was captured early in January, 1853. The official report of this affair states that the rebels, perceiving that two of the gates on the western side led to the Yang-zte-kiang, secretly dug a mine, and, introducing several hundred pounds' weight of gunpowder, they blew up about fifty feet of the wall, when on the 12th of January, 1853, they took the city by storm. The lieutenant-governor of Hoo-nan, and many of his officers died in the defence of the place. The Taepings occupied these two important cities of Han-yang and Wu-chang, together with the adjoining famous (in a commercial sense) city of Hankow, until February, during which time they collected money and provisions to an immense amount. About the 8th of February, having loaded their vessels with men and stores, they proceeded down the river towards Nankin. On the 18th they captured Kiu-kiang, a city standing near the junction of the Poyang lake with the Yang-zte. The city of Ngan-king, capital of the province of Nganhwui, was entered on the 25th, and the inhabitants were forced to contribute largely towards the maintenance of the advancing army. On the 4th of March Woo-hoo was captured, and on the 8th the Taeping forces arrived before the city of Nankin. Upon this the Emperor Hien-fung declared his intention of proceeding to the altar, and there present his heartfelt supplications for peace. "In the decree relating thereto the emperor blames his ministers for pursuing wrong measures, but likewise condemns himself for not instituting a searching inquiry into abuses, which abuses have given rise to the rebellion and distressed the people. Thinking upon this he declares that he is unable to eat or sleep. But blaming himself he deems an empty ceremony; he therefore anxiously and humbly entreats august Heaven to pardon his offences, and save his poor people." 1 1 Gazette. |