April 12 of the fourth year of Xianfeng
As the battle of Jinggang was defeated and the navy division was half defeated, he asked the ministers to be punished severely, and now they urgently plan to remedy the situation, and call on the special minister and the president to pay tribute to the holy deeds.
The thieves returned to the province on March 14, and on the 24th and 5th, they sent sailors to suppress the thieves in Jinggang, and won the battle twice; On the 28th, 9th, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days of the first month, the water and land battalions were sent to win a great victory in Xiangtan, killing nearly 10,000 thieves, burning more than 1,000 ships, annihilating a large number of people, and recovering the county seat. However, on the second day of the first month, Jinggang Shui Yong was defeated, and it was really dispatched by Weichen to be obedient, and there were those who could not bear to be directly presented to the Holy Lord.
Since last Dongqin's edict, the hope of quickly aiding Anhui and Hubei and the two provinces is greater, and the more urgent the effect of the ministers is, and the more perverse their handling is. There are several reasons why the ministers are lost: in the matter of conquest, the courage or the soldier is not as brave as the soldier, and the discipline is not as brave as the soldier. To recruit more than 10,000 brave people, there must be a large number of people to coordinate the management belt, and there must be a civil and military officer and a competent gentleman 1,200 people to govern every day, which is enough to maintain each other. My emperor's previous edict had already foreseen it. At first, the ministers failed to ask the big men to help with the management belt, and they did not try to transfer more civil and military personnel to distribute them in various battalions. Each battalion has only one or two officials and gentry masters, and the discipline is not secret, and the maintenance is not solid, so that it collapses, and it is also wrong. In the battle of Jinggang, because of the great victory of Xiangtan on land and water, the ministers intended to attack at the same time, break the nest of thieves, so that the thieves could not care for each other. The wind was too smooth, the water was too slippery, and when they entered the battle, they sailed like flying, and when they retreated, they could not save an inch, and the thieves came to force them, and the gunboats were holding back, or they set themselves on fire, or occasionally used thieves, and the battleships lost one-third and one-quarter of their gunnery. It is a day to know the benefits of light advance, not to predict a retreat, and its two fallacies are also. Shui Yong had no one who had ever fought in battle, so he had to recruit boat owners and sailors to form an army, and the training took less than a month. Although Lu Yong had trained, he also had to accompany the battle-hardened soldiers to fight once or twice, so it was expected that he would be effective. Today, without the courage of the battle array, suddenly become a fierce thief in a hundred battles, a battalion is slightly frustrated, the whole army is angry, and it is not true courage can not be used, but the minister is not good at adjusting and trying it, and its three errors are also.
The army went east, and Ben Si drove out of the country. It is necessary to go against the south, the ministers and teachers have been repeatedly frustrated, Hubei Province is in danger and cannot be quickly rescued, and the thief atmosphere on the river cannot be swept away quickly, which is a great disappointment to the ardent hope of the Holy Lord. Thinking about it at night, he was very guilty, and he was angry, but he thought about it with death. However, the ministers imitated the small forgiveness of the husband, ignoring the overall situation, and fearing that this army would come to naught, and the person who my emperor relied on to clear the river face, once he despaired, although the minister died, the minister's crime was greater, and he was stealing his life with shame, while bowing his head to the crime, and on the other hand, he was anxious to remedy. Now in the first army, in addition to the rout and relocation, the naval division only left more than 2,000 people in the five battalions of Xiangtan to win the victory, and only more than 2,000 people who defeated Xiangtan and stayed in Pingjiang by land. If the rate goes down to the east, it is too thin. And after the large and small warships suffered from the wind in Dongting and retreated from Jinggang,
Those who survive must be repaired, and those who are lost must still be added. When the minister was in Xiangtan on the fifth day of the second lunar month, he realized that Shui Yong might not be able to be trusted, and immediately consulted Lao Chongguang, the minister of Guangxi, to recruit 1,000 Shui Yong who had fought in battle. Xuan Zhun has been recruited in Xun and Wu, and the prefect Li Mengqun has been in charge. The minister has repeatedly consulted and ordered him to come quickly. On the seventh day of the first month of March, the minister encountered a wind and wrecked the ship in Yuezhou, and when he returned to the province, he sent people to Hengzhou to continue to build the 20th fast crab boat. Ye Mingchen, the governor of Zhuzhu and Guangzhou, said that Chen Huilong, the chief soldier, had now sent 260 commanders to supervise the water division and 100 artillery commanders, and that he had set off on 25 February. At this time, I have not seen it, and I have been consulted. Combining these three, the sailors were carefully replaced, and the sailors should improve in one or two months. However, Weichen regretted that he had the ambition to please the thief, had no talent for soldiers, was more than angry, and lacked wisdom, and relied on the wisdom of the Holy Lord, so he asked the minister to be handed over to the ministry to punish the crime severely, in order to show the grand duke. He also appealed to the emperor to send ministers and presidents to this army. The minister did not dare to be difficult because of current affairs, so he shirked and did not return to his own duties, and before going to the ministry, he should still do his best to be a manager. If the ship has been repaired, the water can be braved, and the minister will quickly sail downstream, not daring to hold on for a moment. All the micro-ministers handled the mistakes, according to the truth, asked for punishment, and asked the special minister for the reason, respectfully folded by the post equipment, and begged the emperor to give instructions. Sincerely.
Zhu Pi: There is another purpose. I don't understand this performance, how can I be stunned? Chin this.
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1. Literal translation of the original text:
Since I returned to the provincial river on 14 March, I sent sailors to suppress bandits in Jinggang on 24 and 25 March, and won two victories. On the 28th and 29th, as well as the first, second, third, and fourth days of the Lunar New Year, the battalions of land and water were sent to win successive victories in Xiangtan, killing nearly 10,000 thieves, burning more than 1,000 ships, and destroying a large number of thieves' army, conquering and recovering the county seat. However, on the second day of the first lunar month, the defeat of Jinggang Shui Yong was really due to my personal mismanagement, and some situations had to be reported directly to the saint.
Since I received your request last winter for the speedy rescue of Anhui and Hubei provinces, the two provinces have very high expectations for reinforcements, and I am anxious to achieve results, but the handling of things has become more and more absurd. My mistakes were mainly in several areas: in the matter of war, in terms of courage and skill, perhaps a soldier is inferior to a warrior, and in terms of discipline, a warrior is inferior to a soldier. To recruit more than 10,000 warriors, there must be high-level officials to coordinate the management and leadership, and there needs to be 1,200 civil and military officials and powerful squires to lead them in sections, so as to maintain each other. Your Majesty, your previous will has already taken this into account in advance. I did not ask for the help of the general staff in the management in advance, nor did I send more civilian and military officers to the various battalions. It was the first mistake that each battalion had only one or two officers or squires in charge, and that discipline was not tight enough and the ties were not strong enough to break up. In the Battle of Jinggang, because of the major victory in Xiangtan on land and water, I wanted to launch an offensive at the same time to destroy the thieves' lair, so that their heads and tails could not take care of each other. On that day, the wind was too smooth, the current was too strong, the speed of the ship during the attack was like flying, but when retreating, it was difficult to move an inch, and when the thief ship approached, the gunboat was difficult to tow, some set fire to the ship and self-destruction, and some were used by the thieves, and the battleship lost a third and the artillery lost a quarter. It was the second mistake that day only to consider the benefits of moving quickly, and not to make arrangements in advance for the failure of the retreat. There were no people who had experienced the battlefield among the water warriors, so they had no choice but to recruit boat owners and sailors to form an army, and the training took less than a month. Although Lu Yong was trained, he also needed to fight with the battle-hardened soldiers once or twice before he could be expected to play a role. Now that these warriors who have not fought are suddenly confronted with a fierce army of thieves, a battalion is slightly defeated, and the momentum of the whole army declines, it is not that the warriors cannot be used, but I used them without proper training and training, which is the third mistake.
I reorganized my army and went east, hoping to expel the thieves from the country quickly. However, the thieves invaded the south on a large scale, and our army suffered setbacks many times, but the situation in Hubei was critical but could not be quickly supported, and the thief atmosphere on the Yangtze River could not be quickly swept away, which greatly disappointed the emperor's ardent expectations. In the dead of night, I reflected that my sin was very great, and in addition to being ashamed and indignant, I only wanted to bear the responsibility for my guilt by dying. But if I follow the example of Pifu's Xiaoxin and Xiaoyi, regardless of the overall situation, I am afraid that this army will collapse immediately, and once the army that you rely on to clear the Yangtze River is destroyed, then even if I die, my sin will be even greater, so I endure humiliation and steal my life, on the one hand, bow my head to the crime, and on the other hand, urgently seek remedies. At present, in addition to the rout and elimination, the army under my command only has more than 2,000 people left in the five battalions of the five battalions that won the great victory in Xiangtan, and there are only more than 2,000 warriors who won in Xiangtan and stayed in Pingjiang by land. If you lead these armies eastward, it will be too thin. Moreover, since the large and small warships encountered a storm in Dongting Lake and Jinggang retreated, the existing ones need to be repaired, and the lost ones need to be rebuilt. When I was in Xiangtan on the 5th day of the first month of February, I realized that Shui Yong might be unreliable, and immediately consulted Lao Chongguang, the governor of Guangxi, to recruit 1,000 Shui Yong with combat experience on his behalf. Soon received a reply, and the recruitment in Xun and Wu areas was completed, and the prefect Li Mengqun was appointed to manage and lead. I have sent several letters urging him to come quickly. In addition, on the seventh day of the first month of March, I encountered a storm in Yuezhou and damaged my boat, and when I returned to the province, I sent people to Hengzhou to continue the construction of 20 large fast crab boats. He also received an inquiry from Ye Mingchen, the governor of Liangguang, saying that he had sent his commander-in-chief, Chen Huilong, to supervise 260 sailors and carry 100 cannons, and that he had set out on 25 February. These people have not yet arrived, and I have already sent a letter urging them. Considering these three aspects of the situation, and then carefully selecting sailors, the sailors should improve in a month or two. Personally, however, I regret that I have no determination to fight against the thieves, but I have no talent for using soldiers, and I am full of anger and resourcefulness, which has tarnished the wisdom of the Holy Lord's good deeds. At the same time, he pleaded with the emperor to send a special minister to lead this army. I am not reluctant to take responsibility because of the difficult times, and I will continue to do my best to be loyal and do my best until I go to the military headquarters. If the ship has been repaired and Shui Yong can be trusted, I will definitely sail downstream quickly without a moment's delay. I have made a mistake in handling affairs, and I have told the truth about it, and I have asked myself for punishment, and I have asked for the reason for the special dispatch of ministers, and I respectfully passed through the post station to play, and begged the emperor for his holy advice and instructions. I hereby contribute.
2. Explanation:
This memoir, which was presented to the emperor during the reign of Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, details his military operations and setbacks in the early days of the Taiping Rebellion in Hunan, especially the defeat at the Battle of Jinggang. In his recital, Zeng frankly analyzed the reasons for the failure, including the improper management and command of the army, the lack of experienced soldiers, and the mistakes in strategic deployment. He pointed out that because he was eager to win and did not fully consider the actual situation, he made a series of tactical and organizational mistakes, which ultimately led to the crushing defeat in the Battle of Jinggang. In addition, Zeng Guofan also expressed his regret for failing to quickly rescue Hubei, as well as self-blame for his lack of military talent. Despite the difficulties, he still asked for continued efforts to reorganize the army, and at the same time asked the emperor to send competent ministers to command the army, showing his sense of responsibility and self-reflection on national affairs. In the end, Zeng Guofan asked the emperor to punish him severely, reflecting his courage to take responsibility. The emperor's comment, although not detailed, revealed his dissatisfaction with Zeng's performance and doubts about whether he had become "unconscious", reflecting the tense political atmosphere and strict requirements for military generals at the time.