Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/107

Rh which enabled him to fight many battles before he was at last captured and his followers scattered in 1855.

While this expedition was moving to the north under Lin Hung-ch'iang, the rebels sent expeditions up the river to recapture the cities abandoned on their way down to Nanking. One expedition in two divisions, led by Lai Han-ying and Shi Ch'iang-chen, attacked Kiukiang and hence up Poyang Lake to Nanchang.

Meanwhile Kiang Chung-yuan, whose prowess both in Kwangsi and Hunan marked him as the most capable commander on the imperial side, received appointment as provincial judge of Hupeh, with instructions to press forward to the great camp at Nanking. He left Wuchang on May 14 with three thousand men. On the way down the river he learned that the rebels had gone to Nanchang. This was a back door to Hunan. Kiang therefore turned aside at Kiukiang and hurried to the relief of Nanehang. On arriving there he attacked the rebels in the attempt to divert them from the siege. But they remained to spring their mine on July 7. The defenders, however, prevented them from entering the breach. Three months were spent in trying to take this place; after the last attempt to storm the walls the besiegers decided to withdraw. Biang pursued them to Edukiang, but arrived too late to prevent them from capturing that city. The rebels had no intention of remaining there, but started up the river, defeating the viceroy at T'ienchiachen, passing Hwangchow, and eventually arriving at Hanyang, which had been rebuilt, early in October.