Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/105

Rh generals. Ten stubborn assaults on the Taiping army failed to dislodge it, but a great storm came to tbe aid of the government and the insurgent army fled westward, pursued by the loyalists. In rearguard actions the Taipings lost about three thousand men. Honan was now pacified, but the rebels continued to go forward.

When they had marched westward as far as Yüankü in Shansi, the rebels turned north and captured Pingyang-fu. Na-ur-ching-ê was promptly cashiered and the discreet Sheng Pao succeeded him as imperial commissioner. The latter had conferred on him the Sheng-chioh sword, which gave him power to put to death any of his men of the rank of fu-ch'iang or below. But on their side the rebels, whose total effective force had been reduced to 20,000 men, received additional troops from Nanking under the leadership of Chu Hsieh-k'wen and Hsu Ts'ung-yang.

The rebels as thus reinforced moved with incredible speed across Shansi. Town after town fell before them, terrified by reports of their power, and on September 29 they went through the Linming pass into Chihli. In that metropolitan province they repeated their successes. Passing by or capturing Jinhsien (October 1), Lungp'ing (October 2), Peihsiang (October 2), Chaochow (October 4), Kaoching (October 6), Luanching, and Tsinchow (October 8), they came to rest at Shenchow October 9, having marched more than a hundred miles and captured five towns within ten days. Here, however, they were definitely checked by the imperial commissioner, Sheng Pao, who had followed them all the way from Yangchow, and by the various commanders whom they had eluded at Hwaiking. An attempt was made by these imperialists to storm the city (October 21); a sortie was beaten back the same day, but on the next the Taipings moved out and escaped to Fuchow, and thence to Tsinghai-hsien