Everyone sat down, Zeng Guofan glanced around, and everything that should have arrived was complete.

The first person on the left is Jiang Zhongyuan, the first general.

The first person on the right is Li Hongzhang, headed by Wenchen.

The four people on the opposite side lined up and went into battle as brothers. The other four of the five tigers of the Zeng family and the four brothers of Zeng Guofan.

Four Wenchen: Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Hu Linyi, Rong Hong

Four generals: Jiang Zhongyuan, Taqibu, Luo Zenan, Peng Yulin.

Four brothers: Zeng Guohuang, Zeng Guohua, Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guobao

About Jiang Zhongyuan, it is very famous in history. He was the commander of the early Hunan army in the late Qing Dynasty. The word is often ru, and the number is Minqiao. The people of Hunan Sinning.

In 1837 (the seventeenth year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty), he was raised. In 1844, he held a regimental training in his hometown, instilled loyalty, filial piety, etiquette and righteousness, and taught military skills and bravery. In 1847, he led the regiment to cooperate with the Qing army to suppress the Lei Zaihao Hui Party uprising, and was promoted to the county of Shajiang Xiushui.

In July 1851 (the first year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty), he started the incident with the Jintian of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and was ordered to go to the military camp of Saishang Aguangxi, the minister of the Qin Mission. Xuan recruited 500 brave people to go to Gui, called "Chu Yong", which was the prototype of the Hunan army.

The following year, the department expanded to 1,500 people. In May, he ambushed the Taiping army at Lingyidu, north of Quanzhou, seized the baggage of their ships, and broke their plan to attack Changsha along the Xiangjiang River to the north. Swirling tail chased the Taiping army into Hunan, aided Changsha, and seized the tomb of Cai Gong in the southeast highland of the city, so that the Taiping Military Bureau fell into passivity in the south corner of the city.

In February 1853, he was appointed as an envoy to Hubei. In May, he was ordered to assist in the military affairs of the Jiangnan battalion, and put forward the ideas of rectifying military affairs, such as Chen Strict Decree, Eliminating Soldiers, Rewarding and Punishing Soldiers, Stopping Wave War, Strict Restraint, and Lenient Coercion, thus accumulating important experience for the formation of the Hunan Army.

In June, the Taiping army will attack Nanchang, Nanjiang Zhongyuan should lead the troops to enter the city in advance at the request of Zhang Fuzhi, the governor of Jiangxi, and use the methods of guarding the battlements, digging tunnels, building the moon city, and grabbing the gap, etc., to destroy the Taiping army's "cave siege" many times.

Looking for the Qing court, please set up the Yangtze River water division to compete with the Taiping army water division, which had a certain influence on Zeng Guofan's later formation of the Hunan army water division.

In October, he was promoted to the governor of Eucalyptus, and the Taiping army withdrew from Nanchang to the west, and rushed to Tianjia Town, Hubei to strengthen the defense, but was defeated by the Taiping army and retreated to Jiehan. In December, he led his troops to defend Luzhou and fell into the siege of the Taiping army.

Due to the lack of soldiers and food, the reinforcements did not arrive, and the city of Luzhou was broken by the Taiping army on January 14, 1854, and committed suicide by throwing himself into the water. He was posthumously presented to the governor by the Qing court, and he was loyal to the martyrs.

There is a saying that Zeng Guofan did not save him when he saw death, because he didn't like his straightforwardness and was jealous of his ability, so he fell prematurely before he could make a big difference.

Regardless of whether this is true or not, at this time, it is absolutely true that Lao Zeng relied on him as the pillar of the general, so he deliberately brought him from the affairs of the county magistrate to discuss it......

Under Jiang Zhongyuan, sitting was a Manchu man. In an environment full of Han Chinese, he seemed a little abrupt. But he looked at ease. He did not think that the Manchus were superior, but because of his loyalty to Zeng Guofan.

He is Tazib. The word Zhiting, Tao Jiashi, Manchu Xianghuang Banner people. History shows that he and Zeng Guofan had an extraordinary friendship. Whether the two are in trouble or in trouble, they can trust each other and support each other.

Historically, Zeng Guofan was ordered to handle the Hunan regimental training, took the opportunity to create the Hunan army, recruited soldiers to train in the provincial capital Changsha, and hired Taqibu as a coach.

Zeng Guofan befriended him in this way because he liked that although he had the status of a Manchu Dynasty, he was also fierce and brave, did not have the bad habits of ordinary bannermen and officers and soldiers of the Green Battalion, and could be like-minded with himself. So he leaned over to make a knot, focused on using it, and tried to get him into the green camp and become his own help.

Taqib also knew Zeng Guofan a lot, and obeyed his orders. Zeng Guofan ordered the Green Battalion soldiers to listen to the training with their soldiers, but the Green Battalion officers refused angrily, but Taqibu came to lead the headquarters and acted seriously.

Zeng Guofan recommended that he be "loyal and brave can be of great use", and Zhang Liangji, the governor of Xuanhuguang, also added the title of deputy general. The green battalion officer blamed him for his deceitful Zeng, sabotaged the camp system, and was quite jealous, so he sought provocation.

Chen Yong, the coach of the Taqib Institute, and the standard-bearers had a private fight, and the standard-bearers were blowing horns and marching in line. Zeng Guofan wanted to demonstrate deterrence, so he moved to the governor Bao Qibao to name and arrest the standard-bearer who caused the incident. Bao was angry with the Green Battalion soldiers, so he sent the prisoners to Zeng Guo's domain. The group of standard-raising soldiers was in a raging situation, and first "took charge of the battle to the General Office", and wanted to attack and kill Taqib, but Tashi "hid in the vegetable garden and grass to avoid destroying his room". After besieging the Zeng Guofan Mansion, Zeng begged to aid the governor Luo Bingzhang, and then evaded and moved to Hengzhou, established a naval division, expanded the army, changed the battalion system, and formally established the army, with Taqib as one of the army generals.

In the spring of the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), Zeng Guofan led the Hunan army to "build a banner to the east", and Taqibu led an army to attack Tongcheng and Chongyang by land, and cooperated with the Guizhou Taoist Hu Linyi's department who had just arrived in Hubei.

On March 28 (April 25), he engaged the Taiping army in the Gaoling area outside the city.

Two days later, he bravely parted ways with Zhou Fengshan and other wounded soldiers to resist the Taiping army that went out of the city to counterattack, and entered the thin city. Tazib "went deep with a spear, ambushed several times, and jumped to escape", and still led his troops to fight to the death. The Hunan army and naval division on the outskirts of the city took the opportunity to launch an attack, and the water and land cooperated to break through the city.

It was a battle, and the Taiping army lost 10,000 people, and was called "the first Qijie of the Hunan army". What's more, this victory was timely and helped Zeng Guofan a lot. At that time, the Zeng vassal side suffered a crushing defeat in Jinggang, and was so distressed that he sought death twice. The battle of Xiangtan was relieved.

The Qing court rewarded the general rank of Jiataqibu and the name of Katun Batulu, and dismissed Bao from his post on the charge of not fighting for the crime of not fighting.

Zeng Guofan was blamed for his failure, and he was reduced to self-efficacy. And Taqib, who was in an important position, "did things to Zeng Guo, regarded himself as a minister, and did not take charge of the report", and did his best to defend Zeng's affairs, which was valued by the gentry and officials of Hunan. is not only rare in nature, but also shows the irreversible relationship between him and Zeng Guofan.

Sitting next to Tazib was Rozenan. Luo Zenan (1807-1856), known as Zhongyue, was a native of Shuangfeng County, Hunan. He was born in the twelfth year of Jiaqing of Qingrenzong and died in the sixth year of Wenzong Xianfeng at the age of fifty. In the first year of Xianfeng (1851 AD), he was filial piety and honesty. Determined to learn, good sex books.

The Taiping army started, committed Hunan, led the township to fight bravely, and won all directions. Accumulation of merit from discipline to political envoys. It is said that his art of war is in the university "know and then decide". He belongs to the department, half of which belongs to his disciples, and the brothers Li Xubin and Xuyi are particularly famous.

Backed up Wuhan, fought in person, and was shot. Before dying, Hu Linyi said: "Standing firm in times of crisis is a useful learning." ”

In 1853, he and his Confucian disciple Zeng Guofan jointly recruited troops to establish the Hunan Army, and Luo Zenan led an army by himself. From 1853 to 1856, before his death, he moved to Hunan, Jiangxi and Hubei, planning and strategizing. Recovering the Han in eight days.

He was successively awarded the county governor, the same governor, the prefect, the Taoist platform, the envoy according to the inspection, and the political envoy, and was nicknamed "Zhongjie". Later generations praised him as "a Confucian general, a scholar who knows soldiers, and his merits are unprecedented."

Luo Zenan was one of the earliest and important founders of the Hunan Army, and some people even praised him as the "mother of the Hunan Army". Zeng said in the epitaph of Luoshan that "the rise of the Hunan army, the shock of the sea, the creator of Luo Zhongjie Gong Zenan." ”

Not only that, Zenan uses soldiers like a god and knows the time and situation. He wrote a letter to Zeng Guofan, discussing Wu Chuxing, and riding alone to meet Zeng's face-to-face, making generous statements, analyzing the benefits and diseases, and planning for progress and stopping, thinking: If you want to take Jiujiang and Hukou, you should first try to take Chang, and if you want to take Changchang, you should first ask Yue and E's friends. If he succeeds, he will lead the army eastward, seize Jiujiang with a commanding position, and then capture Tianjing. Modern historians believe that this strategy drawn up by Luo was one of the most important steps of the Hunan army towards final victory.

The "Manuscript of Qing History" spoke highly of him. In October of the first year of Tongzhi, he wrote a letter to his younger brother Guoquan, recalling this period of the past, and deeply admired Luo Zenan's ability to understand current affairs and take advantage of the long term with soldiers.

So Zenan led the army to capture Wuchang, because of the eagerness to win, personally went to the front line to supervise the battle, unfortunately in March of the sixth year of Xianfeng in the city of Qianchang and died, the Hunan army lost a general. In order to avoid shaking the morale of the army, Zeng Guofan blocked the news of Luo's death and kept it secret.

Zenan led Hunan Yong to fight in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi three provinces more than 200 battles, Kecheng 20, with courage and good fighting, the Tao is known as "Confucian general". Zeng Guofan pulled Lianyun: "Step towards Xue Hu, my hometown is gentle; graceful fur belt, Confucian will be romantic." "The last military general is Peng Yulin, the word Xueqin, the master of the retreat hermitage, the history of Yinxiang, the ancestral home of Hengyongchen Guidao Hengzhou Prefecture Hengyang County, born in Eucalyptus Qing Mansion, Eucalyptus Hui Province.

Peng Yulin was a famous commander of the naval division in the late Qing Dynasty, the leader of the Hunan army, and was known as Xue Shuai. Together with Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, he is known as the Three Masters of the Qing Dynasty, and Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Hu Linyi are known as the "Four Famous Ministers of Zhongxing" in the Qing Dynasty, the founder of the Hunan Army and the founder of China's modern navy. The official was the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of Nanyang trade, and the secretary of the military department.

Peng Yulin is good at strategy, adaptable, brave in battle, good at controlling his subordinates, and has a prestige in the Hunan army. Peng Yulin was known for his resourcefulness and fearlessness when he fought.

In the battle of Xiaogushan recorded in historical records, when the Hunan Army's naval division attacked Xiaogushan, the Taiping Army "lined up artillery on the shore, and pills were like rain", and if the ships were unobstructed, the officers and soldiers of the naval division had to think about "the way to avoid artillery". But many tried methods and none of them worked.

Peng Yulin came up with a trick to "plant the bow of the ship with flesh and blood, avoid it if it can be avoided, and listen to it if it cannot be avoided". He personally took the lead in "planting the bow of the ship" and only said: "Today, I will die." Righteousness does not let the soldiers die alone, nor does it let the cowardly live alone. ”

Therefore, he personally led the Hunan army warships to move forward bravely, straight to Xiaogu Mountain, the Taiping army shore artillery fired together, and the Hunan army water brave "out of its agile skills, and keen eye", can dodge, can not hide then become benevolent, "there are people who bend down to avoid artillery, all laugh, think it is a great shame."

Under the fierce bombardment of the Taiping army, although the Hunan army suffered many casualties, it still "broke the battle for two days". Peng Yulin was very happy and wrote a poem: "The scholar laughed and led the warship to come, the flag on the river was dazzling, 100,000 Pixiu played in unison, and Peng Lang won the sister-in-law's return." And make it into a poem and send it to friends.

It can be seen that Peng Yulin is really "fighting for his life every day", "he has a high level of achievements in a hundred battles, and he is still a talent".