Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/296

Rh philosopher, as was his remote ancestor of the days of Confucius, he bolstered up his spirits by composing admonitory couplets on the three words, purity, sincerity, diligence:

Hold fame and riches alike cheap, desire little and keep your heart clean;

Keep utterly from illicit gain — demons will fear and gods respect you.

Act with the utmost care, even to the latest hour of life;

If your goal you fail to gain, turn and seek the cause in yourself.

Let hand and eye work together, join mind and strength to each other;

Exhaust your knowledge, goad yourself onward, even through the night that follows day.

The worst fears of Tsêng, as outlined in his pessimistic memorial, were not realised. The rebels at Tanyang did, indeed, try to break out, but were defeated by Tsêng's flotilla with the help of the land forces, November 9 and 12, 1862, at Kinchu-kwan. The Yangtse thus remained clear of the enemy.

With terrific punishment at Yuhwat'ai Tsêng Kuo-ch'üan sustained an almost continuous attack for forty-six days, while the Chungwang and thirteen other wangs, reinforced from the city, tried to shatter him. Nor were they content to use the old-fashioned weapons hitherto in vogue, but employed foreign shells fired from mortars which fell upon his armies with a noise like thunder. They mined his breastworks and blew them up. Nevertheless he stood firm and his brother kept the grain roads open.

Tsêng Kuo-fan was almost beside himself with anxiety during these critical days, and so anxious was he that he consented to receive the aid of Burgevine and the "Ever