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In the fifteenth year of Daoguang (1835), Zeng Guofan failed the imperial examination and lived in the Changsha Association of Beijing. The following year, he failed the imperial examination again, so he returned to Changsha, and lived in the Xiangxiang Association of fellow villagers Liu Rong, Guo Songtao and others. [5]

Seven migrations in ten years

In the 18th year of Daoguang (1838), Zeng Guofan participated in the imperial examination again and finally succeeded in the ranking of the 42nd place in the palace examination, and was awarded the title of Jinshi. Since then, he embarked on the road of official career step by step and became the favorite student of the military minister Mu Zhanga. He ranked first in the imperial examination, and Emperor Daoguang personally selected him as the second and selected him as the Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy.

In the 20th year of Daoguang (1840), the Sanguan exam ranked 19th in the second grade and was awarded the Hanlin Academy for the review. In July of the 23rd year of Daoguang (1843), I appointed Zeng Guofan as the chief examiner of the Sichuan Provincial Examination. In August, I was appointed as the attendant of the Hanlin Academy for the lecturer. In December, Zeng Guofan was appointed as the essayer of Wenyuan Pavilion.

In the 24th year of Daoguang (1844), he was transferred to the postgraduate. In the 25th year of Daoguang (1845), he was appointed as the examiner of the examination. In May, he was promoted to the right son of the right Chunfang of Zhanshifu. In September, he was transferred to the left son of the left son, and soon he was promoted to the postgraduate bachelor. In December, he was appointed to the postgraduate daily official.

In the 26th year of Daoguang (1846), he was promoted to the Wenyuan Pavilion and the second-class entrance examination in the 27th year of Daoguang (1847). In June, he was promoted to the position of Bachelor of the Cabinet and the Minister of Rites.

In the 28th year of Daoguang (1848), he inspected the affairs of the Central Secretariat. In the first month of the 29th year of Daoguang (1849), he was appointed as the Right Minister of the Ministry of Rites. In August, he was appointed as the Left Minister of the Ministry of War. In June of the following year, he was appointed as the Left Minister of the Ministry of Works. During the more than ten years of being in Beijing, Zeng Guofan was promoted to the second-rank official position step by step along this path of official career. He moved seven times in ten years and leaped ten levels in a row. [5]

In my hometown, Hunan, relying on complex interpersonal relationships such as masters and apprentices, relatives, friends, etc., a local group training was established, called Xiangyong, and wrote a letter to the Qing court to requisition Tachibu, who was still the Dusi. In August, Zeng Guofan was allowed to train troops in Hengzhou. "Everyone with guns, cannons, knives, anchors, sails, mounds, oars, and oars, all of them were self-examinations and thoughts" [8], and sent people to Guangdong to buy Western artillery and prepare for the establishment of a navy.

During the regiment training of Xiangyong, he strictly enforced military discipline and opened up new troops. He divided the 5,000 Xiangyong into the tenth battalion of Ta, Luo, Wang, Li and others, and moved the regiment training site from Changsha to Xiangtan to avoid direct conflicts with the green camp in Changsha. [9]

Suppress the rebels

In February of the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), the Hunan Army was dispatched in full swing, and Zeng Guofan issued the "Anti-Expression of the Belt in Guangdong". In this manifesto, he claimed that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement was "poisoning creatures" and "taking thousands of years of Chinese etiquette, righteousness, humanity, poetry and calligraphy, once it was swept away. This is not only the strange change of the Qing Dynasty, but also the strange change of famous religion since its inception. Confucius and Mencius cried bitterly in the nine springs." He then called on "all those who read and read can sit down and not think of a place to do it." He stood at the commanding height of morality, so he mobilized the vast number of intellectuals at that time to participate in the struggle against the Taiping Army, laying a solid foundation for future victory.

Zeng Guofan ordered Chu Ruhang to be the commander of the naval army, and Tachibu was the vanguard of the army. He led 240 ships of all sizes and large and large ships and 17,000 naval and land troops, and led his troops to the east. In March, the war in Yuezhou was unfavorable. In April, he was defeated by Shi Xiangzhen's troops of the Taiping Army during the Jinggang Water Battle. Zeng Guofan jumped into the water and committed suicide in anger, but fortunately he was rescued by his aide Zhang Shoulin. Because of the unfavorable war, Zeng Guofan was ordered to be dismissed.

On February 20, 1857, his father passed away. Zeng Guofan and his brother Zeng Guohua returned to their hometown to attend the funeral. In July, he submitted two memorials, requesting the end of the system at home, and was approved by Emperor Xianfeng. The "Siyun Pavilion" was built that year.[15]

On May 19, 1858, Li Xubin and Yang Yuebin led the navy and land armies to capture Jiujiang. On July 13, Zeng Guofan received the order from Xianfeng to handle military affairs in Zhejiang and rescue Fujian. [16] In December, he wrote "Love Folk Song" to train the Hunan Army.

Capture Nanjing

In November of the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), Zeng Guofan planned a plan to advance troops from four directions. Zeng Guofan captured Anqing, Duolona, ​​Bao Chao captured Tongcheng, Hu Linyi captured Shucheng, and Li Xuyi captured Luzhou.

In February of the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), Zeng Guofan defeated Chen Yucheng in Taihu Lake. Because the Governor of Liangjiang He Guiqing gave up Changzhou and fled to Shanghai, Suzhou and Changzhou fell. In April, the Qing court ordered Zeng Guofan to immediately go to Jiangsu, and first rewarded the title of Minister of War and appointed as the Governor of Liangjiang. In June, he was appointed as the Governor of Liangjiang and supervised the military affairs of Jiangnan as the imperial envoy. In July, he ordered the military affairs of southern Anhui to be supervised by Zeng Guofan.

On September 5, 1861, the Hunan Army captured Anqing. On September 25, Zeng Guofan moved to Anqing. On December 20, he was appointed as the Prince's Taibao and supervised the military affairs of four provinces (Su, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi). His governor and the subordinates were all under the control. In the same month, an internal ordnance station was established in Anqing. At the end of the year, the three armed forces advanced to the march: "To siege the country of Quan, which belongs to Jinling, and to Zheju, the Zhejiang affairs belong to Zuo Zongtang, and the Su affairs belong to Li Hongzhang, so the situation of the Southeast Purge was settled."

On January 31, 1862, Zeng Guofan was ordered to serve as the Grand Secretary of the Governor General of Liangjiang, and Zeng Guoquan was appointed as the governor of Zhejiang. On February 14, Zuo Zongtang led his army from Jiangxi to Zhejiang. In April, Li Hongzhang led his army to Shanghai. In May, Zeng Guoquan led his army to Yuhuatai and besieged Tianjing with Peng Yulin's navy. In June, Hong Xiuquan ordered the Taiping troops from all over the country to return to Tianjing. The Taiping army gathered 200,000 troops and fought against the Hunan army for more than 40 days in October, but failed to win.

In the first month of the third year of Tongzhi (1864), Zhongshan was conquered and Tianjing was surrounded. In July, the Hunan Army captured Tianjing and launched a massacre and looting innocent civilians. At that time, Nanjing City was burned, and countless civilians were killed and injured. Nanjing people called Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan's brothers "Zeng Guofan's head shaved" and "Zeng butcher's house". In the same month, the imperial court added Zeng Guofan's prince Taibao, a first-class marquis, and was inherited and rewarded with a double-eyed peach feather. In August, 25,000 Hunan troops were accused of abolishing 25,000 people. [17-18]

Pursuing and suppressing the Nian Army

In January of the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), he selected 17 memorials from various ministers since the Han and Tang dynasties, and compiled "Mingyuantang Papers". In March, he presided over the repair of Zhongshan and respected the classics. He adopted 800 children of the lonely and cold, and donated money from his own integrity bank to raise money. On May 26, Zeng Guofan led his army to Shandong to suppress Nian. In June, he presided over the compilation of the manuscript of "Wang Chuanshan's suicide note", with a total of 320 volumes, and submitted it to Jinling Bookstore for publication.

On June 18, the strategy of going north to suppress Nian: set up defenses in important towns, draw river circles, check the embankments in Qingye, and tracking the horse team. In September, they passed through Yangzhou and Qingjiangpu arrived in Xuzhou. They dispatched troops to set up defenses and blocked sieges, and then recruited personnel along the way. In October, the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau was moved to Hongkou, Shanghai, merged with the artillery bureau originally established by Li Hongzhang and the iron plant purchased from the Americans, and then added more than 100 machines purchased by Yung Wing to build the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. In December, the permanent charter and regulations of the Yangtze River Navy were approved.
Chapter completed!