Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/456

Rh 1649 the Manchu armies conquered Hunan and part of Kwangsi and captured Ho. After his triumphal return to Peking (1650) Lekedehun was made a member of the Council of State (議政), and in the following year a supervisor of the Board of Punishments. He died in 1652, and nineteen years later (1671) was given the posthumous name Kung-hui 恭惠.

His fourth son, Lergiyen 勒爾謹, succeeded to the princedom which continued in that branch of the family until 1715 when it was inherited by Norobu 諾羅布 (1650–1717, posthumous name 忠), who was Lekedehun's son. Norobu's fourth son, Hsi-pao (see under ), the eighth Prince Shun-ch'êng, distinguished himself in the war against the Eleuths. The Princedom known as Shun-ch'êng constituted one of the eight branches of the Ch'ing imperial family which enjoyed special privileges (see under ). The family mansion in the west city, Peking, has in recent years been the property of Chang Hsüeh-liang 張學良.

[1/222/15a; 2/3/8a; 3/首8/33a; Tung-hua lu, Shun-chih, 9: 3; 京師坊巷志 Ching-shih fang-hsiang chih 5/10b.]

2em

LÊ-pao 勒保, 1740–1819, first Marquis Wei-ch'in (威勤侯), and one-time Duke Wei-ch'in, was a member of the Manchu Bordered Red Banner. His father, the Grand Secretary Wên-fu (see under ) was for a time commander of the armies fighting the Chin-ch'uan rebels of western Szechwan, but was killed in action in 1773. A student of the Imperial Academy, Lê-pao was selected in 1756 to be a copyist in the bureau for translating Buddhist literature into Manchu, and six years later was appointed a secretary in the Grand Council. After various promotions he was made a department director in the Board of War (1777). In 1778 he was sent to Urga as secretary to the Imperial Resident, later himself serving in that capacity (1780–85). In 1785 he was recalled to Peking and a year later was made governor of Shansi. From 1787 to 1795 he served as governor-general of Shensi and Kansu where he captured in several raids members of the secret religious society, Pai-lien chiao (see under ), and in 1794 executed its leader, Liu Sung 劉松, a native of Anhwei who had lived in exile in Kansu for about twenty years.

In 1795 Lê-pao was transferred to Yunnan, and was ordered to assist and  in pacifying a rebellion of Miao tribesmen in Kweichow. For a time in 1796 he went to Yunnan, but was ordered to Hunan after Fu-k'ang-an died. Early in 1797, for his error in forbidding the Burmese to send tribute to Peking in the preceding year, he was ordered to redeem himself by joining the armies then fighting in Hupeh against the Pai-lien chiao rebels. After winning a battle at Ch'ang-yang, Hupeh, he was ordered to proceed to southwestern Kweichow where another group of Miao tribesmen had rebelled. After campaigning for half a year he succeeded (in September 1797) in capturing the Miao stronghold in the mountains near Hsing-i (present An-lung), Kweichow. A month later he was created a marquis with the designation Wei-ch'in. In November he was transferred to be governor-general of Hunan and Hupeh, and early in 1798 was made commander of the armies in Szechwan against the Pai-lien chiao rebels, in place of I-mien (see under ). After winning a battle at K'ai-hsien in eastern Szechwan on his way to the rebel stronghold, he was made governor-general of that province.

At this time the main rebel bands of Hupeh were crushed on the northwestern border of that province (see under ), but in eastern Szechwan three large bands still occupied a vast area. Lê-pao was ordered to concentrate on one of these—namely the one led by Wang San-huai 王三槐. He won many battles over Wang and finally captured him by the ruse of getting him to surrender. This feat was rewarded out of all proportion to its place in the general campaign, for he was raised to a Duke, as was also the powerful minister,. Though Peking celebrated the capture of this rebel, the conflict in Szechwan had not in the least abated. In the last few months of 1798 Lê-pao was reprimanded several times for failure to take any rebel strongholds.

Early in 1799 Emperor Kao-tsung died. Emperor Jên-tsung, blaming Ho-shên for making false reports of victory and for profiting personally by prolonging the war, had that minister punished. Thereafter the emperor himself directed the campaign, his first step being to centralize the command in Szechwan. Lê-pao was made commander-in-chief of the forces of five provinces—Szechwan, Hupeh, Shensi, Kansu, and Honan—with and E-lê-têng-pao as assistant commanders. They won several battles, and Lê-pao moved 444