Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/111

 pressed and Tê-lêng-t'ai was ordered to accompany Ming-liang in leading six thousand men to Szechwan to combat the rebellion of the Pai-lien chiao (see under ). At that time he held the post of lieutenant-general of a Banner. He fought for several months near Tung-hsiang in northeastern Szechwan and took several rebel strongholds. When the Hupeh rebels under Yao Chih-fu 姚之富 (d. 1798) joined the Szechwan bands about July 1797, Tê-lêng-t'ai was successful in chasing Yao back to Hupeh along the Yangtze River and preventing the bands from escaping to Honan or Szechwan. But the rebels roamed the borders of Hupeh and Shensi and early in 1798, for failing to follow closely the main band, Tê-lêng-t'ai was deprived of many decorations and of his hereditary rank. With great effort he succeeded in annihilating the main Hupeh band under Yao at Yün-hsi, yet he was blamed for failing to watch carefully for other bands who were then moving from Shensi to Szechwan. He was deprived of all his official ranks except the title of a deputy lieutenant-general.

While pursuing the rebels to Szechwan Tê-lêng-t'ai fought for several months at Ying-shan where, late in 1798 with the help of Ê-lê-têng-pao, he took a mountain stronghold and annihilated a Szechwan band under Lo Ch'i-ch'ing 羅其清 (d. 1798). Early in 1799 he won another victory and was given the minor hereditary rank of Ch'ing-ch'ê tu-yü. By this time Emperor Jên-tsung had disposed of the corrupt minister,, and began to direct the campaign himself. was made commander-in-chief of the armies of five provinces and Tê-lêng-t'ai was entrusted to deal primarily with the largest band in Szechwan—the one under Hsü T'ien-tê 徐天德 (d. 1801). He pursued the rebel to southern Shensi, then back to eastern Szechwan and to western Hupeh. In the meantime Lê-pao was arrested and Ê-lê-têng-pao was made commander-in-chief of the forces of five provinces. In October 1799 Tê-lêng-t'ai annihilated another large band in Hupeh and captured its leader, Kao Chün-tê 高均德 (d. 1799), in Hsi-hsiang, Shensi. For this he was made a second-class baron and assistant commander-in-chief under Ê-lê-têng-pao. While fighting in Shensi, early in 1800, he was ordered to go to Szechwan immediately, because several rebel bands had crossed the Chia-ling River (嘉陵江), threatening western Szechwan and Chengtu. At Chiangyu he dealt a crushing blow to the invading rebels (March 1800), thus forcing them back to eastern Szechwan. For this victory he was made a first-class viscount and Tartar General of Chengtu. In one or two months he cleared western Szechwan of all the bands. The people were so grateful to him that stone monuments recording his victories, and temples with his image molded in clay, were erected at many places while he was still alive.

During 1800 Tê-lêng-t'ai concentrated on the rebels in Szechwan, and annihilated many small bands. For having permitted a large band to escape north into Shensi he was reduced to a baron (January 1801), but within a few days was restored to a third-class viscount because he reported a victory. He followed the rebels into Shensi and, for another victory in February, was again made a first-class viscount. In June 1801 he crushed the bands under Hsü T'ien-tê who was drowned while in flight near Hsi-hsiang, Shensi. Late in 1801, when he annihilated another large band, he was made a second-class earl with the designation, Chi-yung. In the middle of 1802, when the last main band of rebels was crushed in western Hupeh, he was made a third-class marquis, and in January 1803, when Hupeh and Szechwan were almost stabilized, his rank was raised to a first-class marquis. His son, Su-ch'ung-a 蘇冲阿 (1771–1829), was given the title of a deputy lieutenant-general and was sent to Szechwan to visit his father and Ê-lê-têng-pao. When the small bands in Hupeh, Szechwan, and Shensi were also crushed, Tê-lêng-t'ai was summoned to an audience. On September 24, 1803, he met the Emperor at Jehol and was accorded various honors. A month later he was sent back as Tartar General at Chengtu.

At this time the remaining rebel bands concentrated in the forested mountainous region of southern Shensi, and were moving southwest into Szechwan. After more than half a year of fighting, the bands returned to that area, and for failing to crush them, Tê-lêng-t'ai was reduced to a second-class marquis. Soon, however, he and his subordinates, and, succeeded in clearing the forested areas, and his rank was restored to him. After Ê-lê-têng-pao died (1805), Tê-lêng-t'ai was recalled to Peking and was made a chamberlain of the Imperial Bodyguard. In August 1806 he was appointed Imperial Commissioner to settle a mutiny of government troops in southern Shensi (see under ). For being too lenient to the mutineers he was severely reprimanded, and 713