Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/154

134 and myself [Li Siu-ch'en, later the Chungwang], the two head chiefs, were engaged in daily exertions on his behalf, and that he had erred greatly in putting one of so little ability into a high post, one who in two months had shown himself of no value whilst he had neglected to do anything for us. He first made Ch'en Yu-ch'eng the Ying-wang [Heroic King], and, as I had made strenuous exertion all along, he concluded not to forget me, and followed up this by making me a Wang.

The precedent having thus been broken, the T'ienwang had to allay the clamors of others who had rendered service, by elevating more persons to the honor, and when some of these were men who had served for but a short time, those who had borne the burden for a long time naturally claimed the same reward. Then the Board of Proclamations yielded to the pressure of bribery and recommended more and more those who coveted the honor enough to pay for it. "The lazy and useless were all made princes and the officers outside, who were exerting themselves daily, were much displeased and refused to fight. Those of ability and talent were thrown aside, the T'ienwang preferring to form the pillars of his dynasty with the indolent and useless." Then he had to resort to making distinctions among the different wangs, and this but added to the confusion by alienating the really able men. By the end of the war there were said to have been as many as 2,700 of these wangs in several grades, practically all of them being regarded simply as officials with titles of honor, not more than three or four of them possessing any special ability. There is some indication that they came to form a kind of parliament, sanction of which had to be obtained for the more important affairs of state, such as military expeditions or plans of defence.