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Text: Yanyan
Edited by Yeon-yeon
Preface
At the time of the Battle of Jinling, the Taiping army had 500,000 strong troops and high morale, but unbelievably they were besieged by a tired Hunan army of only 30,000.
What was the reason why the Taiping army could not break through under the situation of disparity in troops? What strategy and courage did the Hunan army rely on to achieve a counterattack in an absolute disadvantage?
What kind of strategy and decision-making mistakes are hidden behind this thrilling battle?
First, the opportunity was missed, and the Qing army took advantage of the situation to enter
In March 1853, the Taiping army conquered the city of Nanjing and established the capital Tianjing, but the joy of this victory did not last long, and a 30,000-strong Qing army had already set up camp outside the city.
Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had 500,000 horses, it was helpless in the face of the siege of the Qing army. What kind of mystery is hidden behind this seemingly incredible situation?
In fact, at the beginning of the occupation of Nanjing, the Taiping army was faced with a key strategic choice. Should they take advantage of the victory and pursue and completely annihilate the Qing army that followed, or should they immediately set about building a capital and consolidating their power?
This decision may seem simple, but it is a matter of life and death for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Unfortunately, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing did not realize the seriousness of the problem at that time, but were immersed in the joy of victory and turned a blind eye to the enemy's movements. This attitude of pride and complacency laid the root of the bane of being trapped in Tianjing in the future.
The Taiping army rebelled in January 1851 and was invincible all the way, finally conquering Nanjing in March 1853 and establishing the capital Tianjing. At this time, the morale of the Taiping army was at its peak, and with the natural barrier of Nanjing, it should have seized the time to stabilize the defense line and eradicate hidden dangers.
However, the leaders of the Taiping Army, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, fell into the joy and complacency of the establishment of the capital, and turned a blind eye to the Qing army that followed them.
Qing generals Xiang Rong and Qi Shan seized this opportunity and took advantage of the unstable foothold of the Taiping army to establish Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps in the east and north of Nanjing, respectively, forming a siege of Tianjing.
In the face of the Qing army's advance, the Taiping army did not actively counterattack, but held its ground in April and May, missing a great opportunity to defeat the enemy.
The root cause of this erroneous decision lies in the misjudgment of the leaders of the Taiping Army on the situation of the war. They believed too much in the fortification of the walls of Nanjing, underestimated the threat of the Qing army, and believed that a little rest would be enough to repel the enemy.
As everyone knows, in war, the opportunity is fleeting. Once you miss a good opportunity to attack the enemy first, it will be difficult to find another opportunity to turn the tide of battle.
If the Taiping army had been able to seize the opportunity of the Qing army's unstable foothold and concentrate its superior forces to deliver a annihilating blow, it would not have had the tragic end of being trapped in Tianjing for three years.
Second, the difference is a thousand miles
Why did the Taiping army not take advantage of the victory to pursue and exterminate the Qing army in time after conquering Nanjing? Some people believe that the Taiping army needs time to recuperate, after all, they have been fighting all the way south from Guangxi, and they have been fighting for several months, and they are already at the end of their strong crossbows.
It is also said that the top brass of the Taiping army focused on building the capital and establishing the country, and had no time to think about anything else. But that's not the case. Although the Taiping army marched more than 1,800 miles from Wuchang to Nanjing, most of the time it was by boat and boat, and it was not too tired.
And Xiang Rong, the general of the Qing army, also chased the Taiping army for 1,800 miles, but as soon as his troops arrived at the city of Nanjing, they immediately launched an offensive and did not show fatigue.
On the contrary, after conquering Tianjing, the Taiping army not only did not seize the time to destroy the enemy, but indulged in the joy of profit and relaxed its vigilance. This kind of pride and complacency is the root cause of their eventual failure.
Just imagine, if the Taiping army could carry out a devastating blow to the Qing army immediately after conquering Nanjing, then the direction of history may be completely different. It's a pity that they missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they will have the dilemma of being trapped in Tianjing and riding a tiger later.
The reason why the Taiping army gave up carrying out a devastating attack on the Qing army may be attributed to the missteps of Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing in military command. They focus on conquering cities and territories, but ignore the importance of annihilating the enemy's living forces.
In this way, the Taiping army watched as Xiang Rong and Qi Shan's troops grew stronger and stronger outside Nanjing, gradually stabilizing until they were difficult to shake.
The consequences of this misstep are severe. After the Qing army gained a foothold outside Nanjing, it formed a strategic encirclement of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Although the Taiping army was superior in numbers, it was difficult to form an encirclement of the Qing army because of the dispersion of troops.
On the contrary, the Qing army's camp outside Nanjing became a major problem for the Taiping army. They not only cut off the supply lines of the Taiping army, but also constantly harassed and invaded, forcing the Taiping army to be tired and exhausted.
Third, it is difficult to ride a tiger when it is attacked internally and externally
When the Qing army gained a foothold outside Nanjing, the Taiping army finally realized the seriousness of the problem. But at this time, it was not easy to wipe out the Qing army in the south and north of the Yangtze River.
Although the Taiping army had 100,000 elites, the Qing army had also grown to more than 50,000 people, and they were very experienced in guarding dangerous points. After all, the foundation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is still shallow, except for the three cities of Ningzhen and Yang, there is no vast rear hinterland, and the source of grain, grass and soldiers is very limited.
In contrast, although the Qing army was at a disadvantage in terms of front-line troops, it still had a steady stream of support from the Qing Dynasty behind it. This disparity in strength doomed the Taiping army to be unable to compete with the Qing army head-on.
What's more, after the Taiping army occupied Tianjing, they also faced another thorny problem - how to manage this huge city. Nanjing is, after all, a metropolis with a large population, and it is a huge challenge for the Taiping Army to achieve effective governance in a short period of time.
At that time, the top brass of the Taiping Army spent a lot of energy on how to divide official positions and divide wealth. This kind of rush for quick success undoubtedly weakened the fighting capacity of the Taiping army and made them lose their support in the hearts of the people.
In this way, the Taiping army and the Qing army held each other inside and outside the city of Nanjing. The dilemma of being faced with internal and external enemies put the leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom under considerable pressure. Under these circumstances, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing began to implement a new strategy of dividing troops into the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition.
They hoped that the Northern Expedition would attract Qing forces in the north and thus relieve the pressure on Tianjing; The Western Expedition was intended to seize the land of fish and rice and accumulate strength for the Taiping army.
But this strategy quickly ran into difficulties in reality. Although the Northern Expeditionary Army was huge, it was difficult to continue because of the emptiness in the rear. The Western Expeditionary Army frequently succeeded, but it could only fight repeatedly in the Hunan and Hubei areas.
In contrast, the main force of the Taiping Army, which was guarding Nanjing, had to face the siege of the Qing army day after day, and gradually lost the initiative. This dilemma became one of the key reasons for the final defeat of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Fourth, fighting on two fronts, there is no way to return to heaven
In May 1853, the Taiping Army began a massive Northern Expedition. First, he captured many cities along the way, and then approached the city of Beijing in one fell swoop, directly threatening the rule of the Qing court. At the same time, the Taiping army also launched a fierce offensive on the western front, capturing the three towns of Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou successively.
However, these brilliant victories could hardly change the predicament inside and outside Nanjing. Although the Northern Expedition was huge, after all, the troops were weak and it was difficult to compete with the main force of the Qing army.
The Western Expedition was frequently successful, but it was only fought over and over again, and it failed to have a fundamental impact on the situation in Tianjing. The victory of the Taiping army on the frontal battlefield only made their plight in Nanjing even more prominent.
The reason for this is that the Taiping Army made strategic mistakes. They tried to divert the attention of the Qing army by fighting on two fronts, so as to relieve the pressure on Tianjing.
However, this strategy is very risky, and it can easily lead to the problem of dispersion of forces and weakening of the main forces. In fact, in the process of implementing the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition, the main force of the Taiping Army in Tianjing gradually fell into a situation of being passively beaten.
What's more, as time passed, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's advantage in the hearts and minds of the people gradually lost. Due to the frequent fighting and the lack of military discipline, the rule of the Taiping army in the occupied areas became increasingly harsh, and the support of the general public for them gradually weakened.
In contrast, the Qing court realized the need for reform because of the threat of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and began to implement "self-improvement" measures in various fields, regaining the hearts and minds of some people. In the midst of internal and external troubles, the plight of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom deepened day by day.
Yang Xiuqing had several times drawn troops from the front line of the Western Expedition and returned to the division to reinforce Tianjing, but with little success. Although the Taiping army once broke the encirclement of Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps, it was soon surrounded by the Qing army. As a result of the two-front battle, the Taiping army was overstretched in all battlefields and lacked the skills to recover.
In the later period, the situation of the Taiping army in Tianjing was even more difficult. Because of the shortage of grain and grass, coupled with the rampant plague, the Taiping army in Tianjing City suffered heavy losses and its combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.
However, the Qing army stationed in Nanjing was constantly replenished with new recruits, and its morale and strength were enhanced. Under these circumstances, it was already extremely difficult for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to turn the situation around. Even if you try to turn the tide, you can't get back.
Fifth, internal strife is frequent, and strength is weakened
To add insult to injury, in Tianjing City, the generals of the Taiping Army launched a life-and-death struggle for power.
In September 1856, a conflict broke out between Yang Xiuqing, the eastern king of Hong Xiuquan, and Wei Changhui, the northern king, in Tianjing City, and Yang Xiuqing was killed. Subsequently, Hong Xiuquan killed Wei Changhui again, and the cronies and subordinates of both sides also suffered countless casualties in killing each other.
This "Tianjing Incident" undoubtedly greatly weakened the strength of the Taiping Army. After losing Yang Xiuqing, the leader of the faction, Shi Dakai and a group of battle-hardened generals gradually alienated themselves from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
While the Taiping army was killing each other in Tianjing City, the Qing army stationed outside Nanjing became stronger and stronger. The power struggle set the stage for the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The bloody infighting not only caused the Taiping Army to lose Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui and many other important ministers, but also divided the top brass of the Taiping Army, which was originally united.
Since then, the generals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have their own ghosts, fighting for power and profit, and they no longer have the intention of fighting. What's even more fatal is that after the Tianjing Incident, the image of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the hearts of the people has become more and more negative.
People began to see the Taiping army as a scourge of burning, killing and looting, rather than as a savior who "walked for heaven". The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was already in danger, lost the support of the people, and its defeat became inevitable.
After the Tianjing Incident, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was like a tiger with its claws cut off, and although it was huge, it had lost the ability to fight.
Although they resisted stubbornly in Tianjing, Nanjing and other strongholds, they could not escape the fate of destruction after all under the combined attack of the Qing army from all walks of life. This peasant revolutionary movement was finally annihilated in a bloody storm, leaving behind a tragic historical chapter.
epilogue
In 1853, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom conquered Jinling and built its capital Tianjing. However, due to the mistakes made by Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing in strategic decision-making, the Qing army not only took advantage of the opportunity to build a large camp outside Nanjing, but also missed a good opportunity to destroy the enemy in time.
In order to break the predicament, the Taiping army had to divide its troops into two routes, the northern expedition and the southern expedition. However, this stalemate that unfolded across the country was ultimately defeated by the outbreak of the Tianjing Incident.
One wrong step, one wrong step, although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had millions of soldiers, it was ultimately defeated by its own short-sightedness and narrow-mindedness. The rise and fall of history, the success or failure of history, is really thought-provoking.