Chapter 61 trustworthy people first

We often say: don't be suspicious when using people, but don't use people who are suspicious.If you don't trust him, why use him?Therefore, the first condition for employing a person is to trust him.In 1861, Zeng Guofan and his younger brother Zeng Guoquan led an army to besiege Anqing. Due to the tight defense of Anqing City, it was difficult to capture it for a while.Zeng Guoquan found out that Cheng Xueqi, one of the guards, had been a surrendered general of the Qing army, and it was possible to win him over, so he secretly contacted Cheng. After persuasion, Cheng agreed to serve as an internal response and made an appointment to offer the city to surrender, but accidentally leaked the news, and Cheng Xueqi had to lead thousands of his own soldiers to join the Hunan Army overnight.

Zeng Guofan didn’t like surrendering generals for two reasons: one was that he thought surrender had no integrity and did not conform to his moral standards of Neo-Confucianism; the other was that he believed that since he surrendered to you this time, he might surrender to others next time, so Cannot be reused.Because of this, he was unwilling to take Cheng Xueqi in his account, but sent him to work under Zeng Guoquan. At this time, Li Hongzhang was recruiting the Huai army everywhere because he was preparing to go to the battlefield of the Taiping Army in Jiangsu.Because Cheng Xueqi was from Anhui, and he was brave and good at fighting. Li Hongzhang's consistent employment principles were first to be loyal to himself and second to be good at fighting, so he really wanted to poach him.He made a request to the teacher, and Zeng Guofan was naturally willing to leave the Hunan Army and join the Huai Army, but Zeng Guoquan had to agree to this matter.

So Li Hongzhang explained to Zeng Guoquan: The teacher ordered me to recruit the Huai army, but except for the first battalion of Zhang Yuchun who is a veteran, the rest of our department are recruits who have just been recruited. of.The two battalions led by Cheng Xueqi of your Ministry are brave and good at fighting, with strict discipline, and most of them are from Anhui. Why don't you lend me the Huai army first.I also got the teacher's consent, so Cheng Xueqi's leaving your place is not his intention.I hope you can accomplish this, so that I can also build some achievements in Jiangsu.Although Zeng Guoquan felt a little bit reluctant, but since he asked, it was hard to refuse.

When Li Hongzhang got Cheng Xueqi, he was like a tiger with wings added.After a quick training session, a brand-new Huai Army was formally established, and immediately headed to Shanghai to enter the southern Jiangsu battlefield.After the Huai army arrived in Shanghai, Li Hongzhang first tried to gain a firm foothold and was not in a hurry to fight.The Huai army studied Westernization and purchased new weapons in Shanghai, and Cheng Xueqi also actively participated in the study and research.Since Cheng Xueqi's department is one of Li Hongzhang's most promising elites, they are basically equipped with new guns and cannons, which can be called heavy armor divisions.

Soon, the opportunity came. After the loyal king of the Taiping Army, Li Xiucheng, led his troops to capture Hangzhou, he directly marched towards Shanghai. overwhelmed.Li Xiucheng led his army to approach Qingpu, Songjiang, and Hongqiao in Shanghai, and the situation was very critical. Li Hongzhang sent Cheng Xueqi, Han Zhengguo and other troops to Hongqiao, and encountered a small group of Taiping troops. They won the first battle, and the two sides formed a confrontation in Hongqiao.Li Hongzhang personally led the army and commanded the Huai army to defeat the Taiping army several times. Li Xiucheng's general Gao Yongkuan was injured and retreated.

In the Battle of Hongqiao, the Huai army won the first battle since it came to Shanghai, which not only greatly changed the strategic situation, but also improved the reputation of the Huai army.Cheng Xueqi was also promoted to lieutenant general because of his meritorious service, and was given the title Boyong Batulu.Subsequently, Cheng Xueqi fought several vicious battles with Mu Wang Tan Shaoguang, the fierce general of the Taiping Army. The Taiping Army suffered heavy casualties, and the Huai Army won a series of victories.Cheng Xueqi was promoted from lieutenant general to chief soldier, and he was promoted to the rank of superintendent, which is a first-rank official rank.

In the summer of 1863, the Huai army launched a general attack on the old home of the Taiping Army in Suzhou.In winter, the city of Suzhou was broken, Cheng Xueqi led his troops into the city, Tan Shaoguang died, and Li Xiucheng abandoned the city and fled.The capture of Suzhou was a decisive victory. Cheng Xueqi was rewarded with a first-rank seal and a yellow mandarin jacket for his meritorious leadership.It is said that after Hong Xiuquan learned of the war in Suzhou, he wrote a comment in grief and indignation: Whoever destroys the foundation of our celestial dynasty will surely be rebellious by Cheng Fangzhong, and the celestial dynasty will not be consolidated.

In the spring of 1864, the Huai army was divided into two groups, one to attack Changzhou westward, the other to go south to Zhejiang, and Zuo Zongtang pinched the Taiping army in western Zhejiang.Entering the Zhejiang Huai Army, it was divided into two groups. Cheng Xueqi led his troops to attack Jiaxing.The attack on Jiaxing was very hard. It took a month after the Huai army met the Taiping army's tenacious resistance, Jiaxing was captured, the defender Liu Degong was killed, and the Rong Wang Liao Fashou was captured and killed.But unfortunately, in this battle, Cheng Xueqi was hit in the temple by a bullet, and the treatment was ineffective, and he passed away soon after.

The brave and brave will die.When Li Hongzhang heard the news of Cheng Xueqi's death, he immediately felt that he had lost an arm and was very sad.Even after the Sino-Japanese War, he never forgot Cheng Xueqi: If Cheng Fangzhong was still there, what little Japan would I be afraid of?Gordon, the ever-victorious army, admired Cheng Xueqi's bravery the most, and felt sorry for Cheng's death. Later, he obtained two banners of Cheng Xueqi's department from Li Hongzhang and brought them back to Britain as a permanent memorial. Zeng Guofan lent Cheng Xueqi to Li Hongzhang to take away. Later, he learned that Cheng was very brave in battle on the battlefield, made great achievements in battle, and was loyal to Li Hongzhang, so he felt that he was at a disadvantage.So he asked Li Hongzhang for Cheng Xueqi, but Li delayed returning it.Zeng Guofan sent a letter to Cheng Xueqi, and Cheng also promised to return to the Hunan Army after the Taiping Army in Jiangsu was leveled.Unexpectedly, before the battle was over, he would wrap his body in horse leather and die on the battlefield.