An analysis of the reasons for the dismemberment of "Tingjun", the first strength of Hunan Department

1In July, 864, the Xiang Army "ji zi Camp" conquered Tianjing and destroyed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At this time, the company commanders of Hunan regiment were close to 300,000, and their strength crushed the Eight Banners green camp. In order to avoid the suspicion of the Qing court, Zeng Guofan and other Hunan leaders took the initiative to abolish the army. Ceng Guoquan's "auspicious word camp" was cut by 50,000, the left "Chu Army" was cut by 40,000, and all the small factions such as Baotian were abolished. Zeng Guofan's abolition of Xiang left a hand, that is, he kept Bao Chao's "army or not", the most elite and the most capable of fighting, and was known as the first fresh force in Hunan. Zeng Guofan said, "It's really what thieves are afraid of. Chu Yong, Xiang Yong and Huai Yong are beyond their reach. As a sharp weapon, "outflanking" and "whether to join the army" are important political capital. However, in just three years, the outflanked "whether the army" was completely dismembered, either sent back to China or absorbed by the Huai army, and the soldiers were bloodless. After 1868, "Tingjun" ceased to exist and disappeared in the long river of history. One of the reasons is that there are serious problems in the "Tingjun" itself. The key is that the Qing court exerted political balance, deliberately suppressed the Hunan faction and fostered the Huai faction. 0 1. The establishment of "Ting Army" and its brilliant military achievements are the sharp weapon for Xiang Army to defeat the enemy. Bao Chao (1828- 1886), whose real name was Chunting, was later changed to Chunting (Hu Linyi Reform), a native of Fengjie, Chongqing. In his early years, he followed Xiang Rong to Guangxi to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, was injured by Xiao Chaogui at the gate of Guilin, and then returned to Changsha to recuperate. Soon, Bao Chao joined the Xiang Army and was attached to Yang Zaifu's navy. He was highly praised for his bravery. 1855, Hu Linyi, the governor of Hubei province, was besieged by Taiping rebels at Jinkou, and was in danger. Bao Chao led the rescue alone and rescued him. Therefore, Hu Linyi attached great importance to Bao Chao and recommended to the court: "Bao Chao, a guerrilla background, a champion of bravery, has a little skill and the strictest discipline, and deserves it. He was appointed as an amphibious town commander." Let him go to Changsha, Hunan to recruit soldiers and form armed forces directly under him. 1856 12. Bao Chao has recruited more than 3,000 soldiers and trained them. Hu Linyi saw that Bao Chao's soldiers were well-dressed and well-trained, so he named them "Ting Jun", which means "thunderous army", and Bao Chao changed the word "Spring Pavilion" accordingly. 1857 65438+ 10. In October, Bao Chao led the newly formed "Whether the Army" to assist General Jiangning in fighting Afghanistan, and fought the Chen Yucheng Army at Xiaochikou. The left forehead was injured and trapped, but the formation of "whether the army" was not chaotic, but it was tied. 1June, 857, Bao Chao led 3000 "Tingjun" to fight with Chen Yucheng again, and the two sides fought at Yisheng Temple. "Whether the Army" destroyed 48 Taiping Army camps, and Chen Yucheng fled. After the war, the reputation of "Ting Jun" was greatly impacted. 1858 to 12, Bao Chao led the "Tingjun" to defeat Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng in Erlang River, and then won the battle of Taihu Lake, which turned the Anhui war around in one fell swoop. 1in August, 860, Bao Chao led more than 6,000 people to the south from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, and fought against Li Xiucheng, Yang Fuqing, Huang, Liu and Li Shixian successively. Lift the siege of Qimen and rescue Zeng Guofan. 186 1 May, Bao Chao's "Tingjun" defeated Chen Yucheng in succession in Anqing, and wiped out the Taiping Army Camp outside the customs of Jixian County, and wiped out more than 4,000 elite small right-wing teams in Yingdian. From then on, Bao Chao became the god of war and the captain of Zeng Guofan's fire fighting, which made his opponent fearful. Bao Chao is unusually brave. Whether the "army" is brave and not afraid of death is quite recognized by the Qing army and the Taiping Army. "The Biography of General Zhongxing" said: "We fought more than 700 battles, captured dozens of puppet kings, beheaded more than 300,000 heads and killed more than 20 people." "The Complete Works of Zeng Guofan" said: "It's really what thieves are afraid of, which Chu Yong, Xiang Yong and Huai Yong can't do. "Quite recognized for it. King Chen Yucheng of England said that Bao Chao and his "Tingjun" were strong opponents, "Qing army was the only opponent, Li Yibao", and "Bao" was naturally Bao Chao. Li Xiucheng said, "I'm afraid the Bao army will charge and fight hard. "So, Bao Chao and his" Whether the Army "are really strong enough to be recognized by all parties. In this way, "Tingjun" has become a weapon for Zeng Guofan's Hunan faction to defeat the enemy, especially in the fierce field battle with its opponents. 02. The composition of "whether to join the army" is complicated and the military discipline is extremely corrupt, which is a huge potential hidden danger in the Qing Dynasty. When Zeng Guofan was training Xiang Army, most of his generals came from literati and Confucian scholars, while the soldiers were selected from honest mountain people, which was a typical model of "literati plus Shan Nong". However, Bao Chao and his "court army" are different. Bao Chao is not a scholar, but a soldier. " "Is it an army"? Almost all soldiers are recruited from bankrupt craftsmen, vagrants, stragglers, local ruffians and even heaven and earth societies in the city, and farmers are rarely recruited. Zeng Guofan also admitted: "No matter whether the military camp is brave or not, Changsha has a large population in the provincial capital and few simple people, but it can repeatedly reject the enemy, so it is impossible to be consistent militarily. "Here, euphemistically called the provincial capital is crowded, but in fact the outflanking troops are not from farmers, but from vagrants, stragglers and local ruffians. Bao Chao went to "regardless of the army" to recruit soldiers, naturally because these guys are outlaws, with strong fighting capacity and dare to fight and fight. But it also brings many disadvantages, that is, the military discipline is corrupt, often disturbing the people, and even openly mutiny. " "The Complete Works of Zeng Guofan" said: "On the first day, the battalions meet and help each other during the war. If something happens, they will not bully; Second, after leaving the camp, if you are poor, you will be able to get food and clothing, and if you are independent, you can avoid robbery. So, join the club wholeheartedly. "I am very worried about the elements who entered the Heaven and Earth Society in" Whether the Army "and bluntly said that they often disturb the people and have poor discipline." "The Complete Works of Zuo" says: "I have rushed to Gannan in recent years, and I have made outstanding achievements, and I am afraid of thieves. The thief came, I was glad to come, and the thief retired. I was afraid that they would make trouble in this generation if they didn't leave soon. "It can be seen that the people are also quite dissatisfied with whether they are military or not and hate their military discipline." "Qing Mu Zonglu" said: "Too guarded and too brave, not disciplined. He first thought of Baochao to suppress thieves and told him to be brave. If the brave are strictly eliminated and properly restrained, the prefect will be afraid. "The court is not happy. I have to admit that the discipline of Bao Chao's "joining the army" is really worrying, and the court, superiors, colleagues and the public are quite disgusted. Later, due to the lack of reimbursement, the "Tingjun" publicly mutinied, and many generals directly went south from Jiangxi to the Wang Haiyang Department of the Taiping Army and stood on the opposite side of the court. Zeng Guofan shouted: "This army has the longest working hours and the greatest contribution. It leveled the lack of military discipline in Japan, and soldiers were arrogant because of repeated battles and victories, complaining about not paying wages. I've been worried that it will disintegrate. "Such a disciplined army not only poses a threat to Zeng Guofan's political career, but also is a huge potential hidden danger in the Qing Dynasty. If the Eight Banners and green camp rebel and turn their guns, who can stop them? During the war, the Qing dynasty may tolerate "whether there is a garrison or not", but once the situation is slightly stable, this potential threat will inevitably be removed to avoid endless future troubles. It can be said that poor military discipline is the internal cause of Ting Jun's forced dissolution. 03. In the Battle of Yinlong River, Bao Chao clashed with Liu Mingchuan, which became the fuse for the dismemberment of "Tingjun". When Bao Chao led the "Tingjun" to fight bravely, Liu Mingchuan was just a pawn. When Li Hongzhang formed the Huai Army, Liu Mingchuan was one of its four donkey kong, ranking higher than Pan, Pan, Pan and Pan. After Cheng Xueqi, the first master of Huai Army, was shot in the head, Liu Mingchuan and his "Ming Army" became the absolute main force of Li Hongzhang, and their position was quite prominent. At that time, the reputation of outflanking was too prominent, far above Liu Mingchuan, and he was the god of war of the Qing Dynasty. As a rising star, Liu Mingchuan naturally refuses to accept it. He thinks that Bao Chao is a brave warrior, with no ink on his chest, but a headstrong man. Therefore, Bao Chao, the number one expert in Hunan Province, and Liu Mingchuan, the chief expert in Huai Department, are intransigent, and often compete in secret, so they have to decide the level. In this regard, Xue Fucheng, an outsider, saw clearly and spoke bluntly: "Bao and Liu are at odds. Bao claimed to be an old general, and the greatest achievement was to destroy Kou. After Liu came, although his record was not as good as that of the Tingjun, he was also on an equal footing with the President, slightly underestimating his enemy. "Gong Liu said Bao Gong was brave and had no plan. He was just a general in World War I, and I heard that fame depends on himself, especially in the city. " (Selected from Xue Fucheng's Battle of Yinlong River) 1867 In February, the Qing army and the Nian Army fought a decisive battle on the Yinlong River in Hubei. According to the operational agreement, Bao Chao led the army to fight from west to east, and Liu Mingchuan led the army to fight from north to south, attacking the "Nien Army"; The two armies agreed on the specific time of the battle and sent troops at the same time. However, Liu Mingchuan believes that his troops are the elite of many battles, and the "Nian Army" can't be an opponent. Therefore, Liu Mingchuan sent his troops one hour in advance. He personally led more than 10,000 soldiers to fight in three ways and stormed the "Nianjun" position. As a result, Ren Huabang, Lai and others "outflanked" and were almost wiped out. At that time, Liu Mingchuan had sat on the floor, took off his official clothes and prepared to give in easily. At this point, Bao Chao rate 16000 people killed "regardless of the army" or not, and killed "Nianjun" cavalry with firearms, turning defeat into victory and rescuing Liu Mingchuan. By rights, Liu Mingchuan should be grateful, but this is not the case. Liu Mingchuan directly told Li Hongzhang, the old boss of the "suppression general" coach at that time, that he had deliberately delayed the military plane and caused his fiasco. Li Hongzhang was so angry that he went to outflank him and demanded the dissolution of the "Tingjun" he had long hated in order to establish military discipline. Li Hongzhang is not an ordinary person. Doesn't he know that Liu Mingchuan is lying? The answer is, he knows, but if he wants to protect Huai's interests, he will naturally punish the outflanking. As he said: "The defeat of the Ming army was caused by the impatience and arrogance of this province. 1 1 day, he came to write, saying that the army was useless and there were few thieves. 15, he suffered a big loss. It's a great shame to lose face to the Huai army for the first time. " Of course, this can't be blamed on the contradiction between Li and Liu, two Huai big coffees, and Bao Chao. Bao Chao publicly humiliated Liu Mingchuan after the war. "Three strokes of Chang Chu Zhai" contains: "Liu Bi died a martyr, and Yu gave him a secret service in the army. His crown bead is made of agate, but no one else took it. They really belong to Liu. Today, the crown beads are all there, but no one has ever seen immortality. Wen Zhonggong is very unhappy about this. Yin Longhe won the war, and Baochao was full of pride. He returned all the trench discarded by the Ming army, but his tone was arrogant. No wonder Liu Mingchuan was annoyed. 04. The Qing Dynasty favored Li Hongzhang, and took this opportunity to attack the Xiang Army, foster the Huai Department and dissolve the "Ting Jun". Bao Chao has conflicts with Liu Mingchuan at ordinary times. At this time, he used victory to show off the materials discarded by the "Ming army" and openly provoked the Huai system. In this regard, Li Hongzhang is naturally dissatisfied. In order to cover up the humiliation of the Huai army and suppress the arrogance of the outflanking, Li Zhi continued to play in the court: "Does the army have discipline, often disturbing the people and deliberately delaying military aircraft, resulting in heavy losses for the Huai army? This is also a big sin. At this time, Wang Fangyuan, a military official who has always had a good impression on Huai Department, also participated in Bao Chao's invasion: "Bao Chao pretended to show his exploits and said he didn't hate anyone. His procrastination alarmed the Ming army and led to a crushing defeat. Bao Chao can be beheaded if he is accused of missing the plane. " "(selected from Xue Fucheng's" The Battle of the Yinlong River "), with the meaning of decapitation to protect the super, pushed" whether to join the army "to the forefront. The army illegally joined Bao Chao and threatened to kill him. In Zeng Guofan's view, it was to distinguish right from wrong and deliberately find fault. In order to protect the interests of Hunan School, Zeng Guofan argued: "Xiao An (Wang Yuanfang) is in the official residence, and he has never heard of the voice of being an official. He is independent of Bao Chunting and shows his talents. He is so interested in whether he is virtuous or not, and he can't observe the merits of things, so that he turns black and white and never dies. "Refused to accept the central discussion, to outflank injustice, but also for the Hunan Group to win public support. But Bao Chao was so impulsive that he resigned and went back to his hometown for illness. Obviously, he was dissatisfied with the court and thought that he had made great contributions and could not be humiliated. It is good for the Manchu court that Xiang and Huai were torn up by two experts. After all, neither of them belongs to the Manchu-Mongolian system, but belongs to the local forces of the Han nationality, which is the key object of the imperial court. Because Bao Chao resigned voluntarily, the army department and Li Hongzhang disagreed on whether to join the army, which was a good opportunity to weaken the forces of Hunan, so it was a kind of fault tolerance. In order to weaken the Hunan system, Manchu could only foster the Huai system, so that the two could balance each other and safeguard the interests of the court to the maximum extent. At that time, the Hunan faction was very powerful, and the "Tingjun" was formidable and invincible. If the important task of "suppression of twisting" was accomplished by it, wouldn't the tentacles of the Hunan faction spread all over the country, and would there be a good life in the Qing Dynasty? In this way, the imperial court "helped Huai and suppressed Xiang", and successively dissolved the cavalry battalion 12 and infantry battalion 6 of the "Tingjun", and all the others were repatriated except some of them joined the Huai army. In this way, outflanking "whether to join the army" disappeared in the long river of history and no longer existed. To sum up, Bao Chao's "Ting Jun" is Xiang's trump card in the field and one of the sharp weapons to eliminate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. Ting Jun played an important role in the continuation of the Qing Dynasty for half a century. However, the composition of "whether to be an army or not" is extremely complicated, and the military discipline is terrible. It often disturbs the people, robs and even mutinies, which has become a major hidden danger in the Qing Dynasty. During the war years, the military situation was urgent, and the court could temporarily tolerate it; Once the situation improves slightly, "whether to station troops" is bound to be restricted to ease contradictions. In the Battle of Yin Longhe, two experts from Hunan and Huaishang clashed, and the contradictions between the two factions became public. The Qing Dynasty took this opportunity to "help Hunan suppress Huai" and weaken Hunan Group. In this way, as the trump card of Hunan, the "Tingjun" will inevitably be dissolved, which is the political intention of the imperial court. It can be said that the dismemberment of the "court army" is the result of the combined action of internal and external factors, and the suppression of Hunan forces by the Qing Dynasty is the key. References: Clear Draft, Complete Works of Zeng Guofan, Complete Works of Zuo, The Battle between Shu Tingjun and Minglong River, and Biography of General Zhongxing.