Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/204

182 over the enrollment and management of recruits, and particularly over the funds necessary for their support. The quarrel became so bitter that Tsêng decided to move his headquarters from Nanchang to Wuch'en-chen, and later to Nank'ang-fu, both on the east shore of the lake. Eventually he succeeded in having the governor removed.

Appeals from Chekiang now reached Lo Tse-nan to come into that province to defeat the rebels whom he had driven out of Kiangsi, but when he was ready to start in that direction word came that a band of the enemy from Hupeh had entered Kiangsi from the west and were now at Ining, where they were severely oppressing the people and threatening Nanchang itself. This news was sufficient to recall Lo from the direction of Chekiang, not only because of the danger to Kiangsi but because this city communicated directly with P'ingkiang and Liuyang and was a back-door entrance to Hunan. But his withdrawal left the entire eastern half of Kiangsi open to the rebels. Tsêng himself was still at Nankang-fu and found it difficult to keep in communication either with T'a Chi-pu at Kiukiang or with the force at Nanchang, which was now threatened from the west. This threat was removed late in August by the victory of Lo Tse-nan after a three days' fight.

In order to prepare for future victories Tsêng suggested the remodelling of the Hupeh armies, for the regulars, many of whom were then at Teian, were useless. He also secured the consent of the emperor for Yang Tsai-fu to enroll more men in Hunan, which was agreed to. Eventually Yang appeared at Kingkow with a large number of new vessels to coöperate with Hu Lin-yi in the