After the Opium War, the Qing government signed a series of treaties that humiliated the country. The signing of these treaties not only intensified the determination of foreign forces to divide China, but also aggravated the pressure on the people's lives.
Faced with harsh taxes, hungry and cold peasants complained, many realizing that such a government would lead a country with no future. So in 1851, a "god man" rose up and vowed to lead the Taiping Army to break this decadent system and create a new kingdom.
This person is Hong Xiuquan.
With the shouting of the slogan of "expelling the Tartars", Hong Xiuquan and others were like bamboo, and the people in the places where they passed greeted each other.
In 1853, the Taiping Army captured Nanjing with the power of destruction and decay, and renamed Nanjing "Tianjing", made it the capital city, and named itself "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom". After the capital Tianjing was established, Hong Xiuquan and others, who proclaimed themselves the "Heavenly King", planned to start the Northern Expedition and prepare to completely overthrow the Qing government.
However, even though the Qing Dynasty was on the verge of collapse and still sat on the strength of the country, this 14-year vigorous peasant uprising still ended in failure.
As the commander of the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Army, Lin Fengxiang was also escorted to the Xianfeng Emperor.
Xian Feng had already heard of this brave and fearless general, but when he really saw Lin Fengxiang, he didn't know what to say to him.
Is it necessary to admit that it was a mistake in his own policy that caused the imperial court to miss such a good general? Or do you rebuke him for conspiring with the tiger and trying to overthrow the rule of the Qing Dynasty?
Looking at this fierce general who was still full of pride even if he was subject to others, Xian Feng could only sigh and wave his hand to let the imperial guards escort him to the Heavenly Prison.
What is lin fengxiang, who came from a peasant background and became the commander of the whole army after joining the Taiping Army, what is the superiority of the people? Why did Xian Feng also make a brave and fearless evaluation of him? In the end, what kind of treatment did Xianfeng make to Lin Fengxiang?
Still
Who is Lin Fengxiang?
Lin Fengxiang was born in a small village in Wuming County, a Zhuang ethnic group in Guangxi, to a poor family, and his ancestors have lived on cultivating land for landlords for generations. Since he was the eldest of the three brothers in the family, he took on the responsibility of taking care of his younger brother early.
In order to be able to give his family more income, he began to herd cattle and sheep for landlords from an early age.
However, a person born poor will inevitably be bullied and insulted by the landlord's family, which also makes him realize the corruption of the Qing government early. From an early age, he made a wish in his heart:
"Sooner or later, one day, I will kill all these landlords and gentry, and I will take off the hat of this corrupt official!"
In order to achieve his goal, he began to practice martial arts with the youth of the village. From boxing to horseback riding and archery, he demanded his best in everything. Cold and summer, autumn to spring, under the persistence of many years, Lin Fengxiang not only cultivated a strong character, but also practiced a good skill.
In 1844, Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, and others came from Guangdong to Guixian county in Guangxi and other places to call on the people to participate in the revolution and organized a "worship god society" . This organization continued to grow and spread to many prefectures and counties in Guangxi.
Lin Fengxiang, who was far away in Wuming, was overjoyed when he learned of this, and he took his brother, who had a relatively good relationship, bid farewell to his father and elderly relatives, and joined the organization. Since then, he has actively participated in propaganda and organizational work, and he has become a recognized "old brother" in the "Worship of God Society".
In 1851, Hong Xiuquan and others, who felt that the time was ripe, unveiled an uprising in Jintian, and Lin Fengxiang, who accompanied him, made many military achievements and performed exceptionally well by virtue of his good martial arts.
In the same year, Lin Fengxiang's vanguard army conquered the first city since the uprising, Yong'an. Hong Xiuquan, who took the first stronghold, was determined to seal these more than 800 heroes who "fought together in Jiangshan", and Lin Fengxiang was promoted to the rank of Imperial Forest Guard.
Subsequently, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in full swing, and the people along the way responded one after another, eagerly wanting to join this famous rebel army. With the growth of the Taiping Army's strength, the front was invincible. In one battle after another, Lin Fengxiang always charged at the forefront, showing his excellent combat talent.
In February of the fourth year, the Taiping Army successfully conquered Zhengzhou, and lin Fengxiang had become a well-known general in the army.
"There is news that Changsha is now defensively empty, I think it can be a battle, who of you can take Changsha?" Hong Xiuquan asked. Many of Fang Gang's generals responded one after another, and in order to ensure that nothing was lost, Hong Xiuquan decided to send Xiao Chaogui, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, and others to lead the main force.
In September, the Taiping Army approached changsha city. Lin Fengxiang led an advance team to occupy The Miaogao Peak at the southern gate of Changsha City, and under his wise leadership, the artillery opened the way and overthrew the great city of Changzhou.
However, the guns were blind, and Xiao Chaogui was shot and killed in the fierce war. Lin Fengxiang, who learned the news, even joined the enemy with all the soldiers, beating the Qing army to lose its armor and armor, and holding its head.
Later, due to his outstanding achievements in the battle to capture Changsha, he was also directly promoted to non-commissioned officer general.
After the Taiping Army conquered Yiyang, Lin Fengxiang relied on his eloquence to persuade the local fishermen to join the ranks of the Taiping Army.
"Congratulations General! There are thousands of fishermen outside with fishing boats saying they want to join the army! ”
"Really?" "Nature is true!"
Yang Xiuqing and others who heard the news were extremely excited, and with the addition of these fishermen and fishing boats, they could form a marine division.
In December, Lin Fengxiang received orders to lead the vanguard and this water division to attack Yuezhou. After the viceroy of Hubei, Bole Gongwu, learned that Lin Fengxiang had led the troops to come, he completely lost the idea of resisting, and left Yuezhou City and fled without a fight.
In this regard, Lin Fengxiang's generals could not help but praise:
"The general is mighty! The Admiral was a fearless man, and he fled in the face of the wind! ”
In this way, they got a city without bloodshed, and Lin Fengxiang's prestige in the hearts of the soldiers was also established.
"Send these five thousand civilian ships to the Great General!"
The Taiping Army, which had received abundant supplies, developed more rapidly, and more and more oppressed peasants and civilians joined in, and in the blink of an eye, it grew to 100,000 male divisions.
The mighty Taiping Army occupied Hanyang within ten days. Because of his outstanding military achievements in Yuezhou and Hanyang, Lin Fengxiang was promoted to the position of dianzuo checkpoint.
Soon, Hong Xiuquan established their next goal, Wuchang.
Wuchang, as the provincial capital of Hubei, has sufficient materials and perfect logistics supply, and wanting to take such a city is tantamount to ascending to heaven. But Lin Fengxiang was determined to win by surprise, so he first sent people to sneak into the city in the dark of night, lobbying the people in the city, and making enough of a siege posture outside.
The people were already familiar with the Taiping Army, and although the informants did not succeed in plotting against them, they also succeeded in planting the seeds of doubt in their hearts. Lin Fengxiang's goal was to make the people not join the rebellion of the imperial court. Under the command of Lin Fengxiang, the soldiers divided into four roads and surrounded Wuchang, not giving the Qing Dynasty a chance to rush to the rescue.
At this time, The Inspector of Wuchang, Chang Dazhen, knew that it was now an embattled situation, and he wanted to break the net with the Taiping Army. The fire outside Wuchang burned for ten days and ten nights, preventing the Taiping Army from attacking, and also cutting off its own retreat. Seeing that the fire was about to burn into the inner city, the people in the city fidgeted.
At this moment, Lin Fengxiang led a squad to blast open an outer city of Wenchang Gate with mines.
Several warriors waved their flags and landed first on the city, and the rest of the warriors quickly climbed up through the newly erected ladder under their support.
Lin Fengxiang commanded them to bravely go straight up:
"Slay the demon! Slay the demons! ”
In the thunderous roar of the generals, the Taiping Army and the Qing Army engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
Because the people in Wuchang City were suspicious from the beginning, they hid in their houses after the battle began. In the end, all the Qing troops defending the city were slaughtered, and the Taiping Army successfully occupied the city of Wuchang.
The victory of this war also greatly encouraged the soldiers of the whole army and the people who participated in the uprising, and made them even more determined that this revolution would be victorious! And Lin Fengxiang was also promoted to deputy minister of heavenly officials because of this prominent command.
Lin Fengxiang knew very well that the key to victory in battle was to look at the soldiers of the army. Therefore, during the patrol of Wuchang, he strictly enforced discipline and carried out military training, showing outstanding command ability and military management ability.
While the fall of Wuchang City dealt a serious blow to the Qing government's determination to counter-revolution, the Taiping Army developed even more rapidly, breaking through the pass of 500,000 troops in one fell swoop.
On February 9, 1853, in order to achieve the strategic goal of "taking Jinling in the east and building the capital Tianjing", the Taiping Army divided the land and water and marched east. Lin Fengxiang, Hu Yihuang and others led thousands of troops and horses along the two banks of the river to gather highlights, all the way like a bamboo, within a month to attack everything and sword nanjing. At the same time, the waterway company camped for tens of miles, and also surrounded Nanjing heavily.
Lin Fengxiang, who has always been known for attacking the city and plundering the land, led a Taiping army to brave the fierce artillery fire of the enemy, first blasted open the northern city of Nanjing with mines, forcibly climbed the Yifeng Gate, killed the Qing soldiers defending the city, and fled in all directions.
Immediately after he gave an order, the Taiping Army, which had been ambushed around early, attacked with all its troops, rushed into the city together, killed the governor of Liangjiang on the spot, and successfully captured the city of Nanjing.
After fixing the capital at Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan arranged a new military deployment: to repair fortifications inside and outside the capital, and at the same time to send troops to capture important military strongholds on the outskirts of Tianjin, Like Zhenjiang and Yangzhou.
At this time, the Taiping Army had a million soldiers and more than 100,000 soldiers. But how could the Qing government be willing to watch itself fail? After the Taiping Army conquered Nanjing, Xiang Rong, the minister of Chincha, led more than 17,000 people to Jiangning Banqiao, where he established a large camp in Jiangnan and garrisoned Xiaolingwei on the East Road.
Subsequently, the Qing general Chen Jinshou and others came to Yangzhou from Liuhe and established a Jiangbei camp a few miles outside the city. The two large battalions of the Qing army in the north and south surrounded Tianjing, and since then it has also become a major problem for Hong Xiuquan, and there have been several desperate struggles between the two sides in encirclement and suppression and counter-encirclement and suppression.
Due to the repeated sieges of the Qing army, the Taiping Army lost the fortress one after another, and the important strongholds on the outskirts of Tianjing fell into the hands of the Qing army. Subsequently, the Qing army continuously gathered troops in the occupied areas of the Taiping Army and constantly intensified its attacks on the Taiping Army, bringing a huge sense of oppression to this new regime.
In order to alleviate the pressure brought by the Qing army, Yang Xiuqing suggested:
"The Heavenly Army conquered Jinling, this is a small victory, only when the Qing Demon is afraid, take advantage of the victory and forge ahead, and conquer Beijing, this is the great achievement, and then ..."
In May 1953, Hong Xiuquan instructed Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and other generals:
"Between the divisions and the line, rush to yandu, do not covet the city and plunder the land for a long time."
Hong Xiuquan wanted the Northern Expeditionary Army to attack the heart of the Qing army with lightning speed and cover its ears, instead of greedily attacking the city. Even if it is necessary to supply the army to attack the city, it cannot consume too much time, let alone fight with the Qing soldiers and delay the fighters.
Thus began the world-famous Northern Expedition to consolidate the revolutionary power of the peasants and win the victory of the national revolution.
On May 8, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others led the Taiping Army of more than 20,000 people to march from Yangzhou. However, Beijing was the center of Qing dynasty rule, and the number of troops near the capital alone exceeded 200,000, not to mention the need to cross the Yellow River, and the task for Lin Fengxiang and others was very arduous.
However, the more than 20,000 people led by Lin Fengxiang were the elite of the Taiping Army, and their combat experience was very rich. From Yangzhou to Henan, the army is fast, all the way through no man's land. When attacking Guide City, the Northern Expeditionary Army completely annihilated nearly 4,000 Qing soldiers, captured more than 20,000 catties of gunpowder, and several iron cannons.
After the successful capture of Guidehou, Lin Fengxiang was expected to cross the Yellow River at Liujiakou and attack Beijing from Shandong in accordance with the original northern expedition route. Therefore, he led more than 10,000 people to break through the night and reached Liu Jiakou. The remaining more than 10,000 people were stationed in Guide, covering Lin Fengxiang and others to cross the river.
However, how could the Qing soldiers not be defensive? They had evacuated all the boats along the river to the north bank early, and had sent a large number of troops to closely monitor and control the entire river.
After finding that he could not cross the river smoothly, Lin Fengxiang decided to change his tactics and go west along the river.
On June 19, the Northern Expeditionary Army arrived at the city of Kaifeng in Henan Province with lightning speed. Lin Fengxiang sent the vanguard troops to attack Kaifeng City on the one hand, and on the other hand, he sent people to look for ships along the river for 30 miles, while the rest of the troops stayed in Zhuxian Town.
The walls of Kaifeng were strong, and there were many defenders, but as a result, they encountered heavy rain and all the gunpowder was wet, resulting in their failure to successfully attack the city. Therefore, Lin Fengxiang ordered the army to withdraw from Kaifeng to Zhuxian Town and make other plans.
Although they encountered difficulties such as lack of food and ships in the course of their conquest, in the face of difficulties, they did not shrink and waver, and vowed to carry out the Northern Expedition to the end.
With no ships to cross the Yellow River, Lin Fengxiang continued to advance westward with his army, occupying Zhongmu and Xingyang in succession, preparing to march to Gong County. Gongxian is a coal-producing area with developed water and land transportation and prosperous commerce, but the most employed coal kiln workers and boatmen have always been at the bottom of society and living a miserable life.
After Lin Fengxiang led the army to occupy and fall, he immediately issued policies and decrees that conformed to the interests of the masses of the people, which won the support of the people of Gong County, and a large number of coal kiln workers and boatmen joined the Northern Expedition. The ships that the masses risked their lives to preserve were scrambling to dedicate themselves to the Northern Expeditionary Army.
After obtaining the support of the people, Lin Fengxiang finally flew across the Yellow River at the mouth of the Luo River at the mouth of Surabaya with these small boats. After crossing the Yellow River, the Northern Expeditionary Army was like a bamboo, and the morale of the soldiers was getting higher and higher. Lin Fengxiang was resourceful and used his troops like gods to lead his army to capture Shahe and other ten prefectures and counties in a row.
On October 13, Lin Fengxiang led the Northern Expeditionary Army to take advantage of the victory and went north to capture the town of Zhangdeng, which was only 60 miles away from Baoding.
The Xianfeng Emperor, who heard the news, was restless day and night and was terrified. At the Golden Ruan Hall, he threw a tantrum at all the ministers:
"Incompetent, incompetent! As a great qing dynasty minister, you have long been deeply favored by the imperial court, and now that the country is in difficulty, you are so incompetent, what is your crime? ”
"Damn it..."
The group of ministers had to be cowardly, but at this time they were already frightened by the Northern Expeditionary Army, and no one dared to recommend leading the troops.
At this time, the monk Greenqin bowed down and said:
"The emperor was furious, and with the experience of the old minister and horse for many years, he learned that the long-haired thief's northward kou was not terrible..."
"How dare you despise this thief?"
"Emperor Qi, although this thief who went north is extremely fierce, he is only a lone army, with a total of only 20,000 people, and there is no favorable reinforcement support, which is committing the taboo of the soldiers who are deep in the hanging army!"
Xian Feng's face slowed slightly at this time, and he asked again, "Who are these rogue leaders?" ”
"The leader of this stream is named Lin Fengxiang, a native of Guangxi, who has always been a fierce bandit who attacks cities and plunders land. When they attacked Wuchang, he formed an earthen camp with miners from coal kilns, dug tunnels under Wuchang City, blew up Wuchang Gate with explosives, and was the first to attack Wuchang City with a sword. It was also he who served as a forward general, digging tunnels to blow up the city wall of Nanjing Yifengmen, and was the first to rush into Nanjing City..."
After learning that Lin Fengxiang was just a peasant born, Xian Feng also secretly lamented that the imperial court had missed such a good general. However, the immediate priority now is to arrest this rogue and guard the city of Beijing.
"Zeng Guofan, a waiter in the Ministry of Rites, was ordered to practice in a large group in Hunan, but what is the recent situation?"
"Back to the emperor, Zeng Guofan recruited troops well and trained well, and at present, the two divisions of water and land have more than 10,000 soldiers, weapons are gathered, and they are quite strong and can fight a war." Shoshu Bingbu replied.
"Well, Prince Hui was ordered to be a great general and plan a defense in the capital. Sen Gelinqing was made a counsellor general, commanding the large armies of Beijing and the northeast, and working with the Chincha minister Shengbao to encircle and suppress the rebels in the north. I want you to use your life as a guarantee, work together, and die to keep Baoding! Deathboy Straight! There must be no mistakes! "Obey the order!"
Although the princes and ministers guaranteed their deaths at the Golden Ruan Hall, when they returned home, they panicked one by one, some of them cried until their eyes were red and swollen like cherries, and some of them had already planned how to escape.
The gentry of the capital could not wait to escape from the city of Beijing like birds and beasts, and the Beicheng District, which had 18,000 households on weekdays, only had 8,000 residents left in just a few days, and the rule of the Qing Dynasty seemed to be in danger.
At this time, because Lin Fengxiang's troops had turned thousands of miles, the soldiers were constantly depleted, and the supply of food and ammunition was not available. Although Lin Fengxiang had done his best, he still failed to successfully overcome the defense of Baoding's southern front.
Since the reinforcements sent from Tianjing were blocked by the Qing army, and the army led by Senggelinqin and others had already arrived north of Tianjin, it was even more difficult for the Northern Expeditionary Army to retreat and capture Tianjin. Lin Fengxiang had no choice but to lead his army to retreat to Jinghai and Duliu, and confronted the Qing army for more than three months.
At this time, Longdong was consistent, the weather was cold, and most of the Northern Expeditionary Army was southerners, and they were not adapted to the cold weather in the north, and there were countless deaths and injuries. Moreover, the grain and grass supply chain that failed to successfully capture Tianjin's 40,000 soldiers and horses was also disconnected. In this extremely unfavorable situation, Lin Fengxiang was calm and resolute, exerted a heroic and fearless revolutionary spirit, and held out for a month after capturing the eastern town.
With the sacrifice of the brave general Ji Wenyuan, the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Lin Fengxiang had also reached the end of the crossbow, and the only hope was to successfully meet with the troops who came to tianjing to reinforce, but he never waited.
In March 1855, Lin Fengxiang was unfortunately wounded by an arrow and captured while leading the rest of the siege, and all his subordinates died heroically. When he was escorted to Beijing, the Qing officials, who hated the Taiping Army, were determined to punish him with a thousand knives.
Looking at the general in front of him who was blazing and did not retreat at all, Xian Feng could only sigh: Miss a good general!
Latecomers commented on his execution:
"Wherever the knife goes, the eyes are still looking straight ahead, and there is not a sound."
This makes the practitioners in the place ashamed of themselves.
In the end, Lin Fengxiang, with the lofty quality of the peasant revolutionaries who would rather die than yield, and the strong will to be loyal to the revolutionary cause of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, generously and righteously to Beijing.
Lin Fengxiang has made great achievements since he participated in the Jintian Uprising to the capital of Tianjing. In less than two years, the Northern Expedition He led shook the heart of the Qing Dynasty, the city of Beijing. Although the Northern Expedition failed in the absence of support, his heroic deeds and fearless spirit of struggle are always worthy of our admiration!