In Chinese history, there is no shortage of people like Wei Changhui, who actively stood in line, endured without a bottom line, and then retaliated frantically. I call this kind of person a eunuch-type personality, and in his understanding, there will always be only either me surrendering to you or you surrendering to me, how can people be equal to each other?
But Shi Dakai is very different - I am against you, not for personal gain, but because you are doing something wrong.
In the previous article, I called Shi Dakai a modern military strategist with an independent personality and aristocratic spirit, who was ahead of his time.
The vast majority of history"Qingjun side".It's all a façade, and Shi Dakai is likely to be in Chinese historyThe only oneThe person who is really "on the side of the Qing monarch", this alone is enough to go down in history.
I have never seen a general in history who can be like Shi Dakai, bright and upright, facing the darkness of human nature, and daring to resistGreat benevolence and bravery.
Shi Dakai was talented and unparalleled, and he beat the Hunan army many times, but why did he gradually decline and defeat the Dadu River after leaving?Today we try to unfold Shi Dakai's life.
one
Shi Dakai was born in 1831, thanHong Xiuquan16 years younger, thanLee so-sung(Li Xiucheng and Yang Xiuqing are the same age) 8 years younger, thanChen Yucheng6 years older.
Shi Dakai's family is wealthy, his parents died early, he has 1 sister, 2 younger sisters, and no brothers.
The imaginary Shi Dakai should be very handsome, but in fact he may not be, and the history books record himTall in stature, with a dark face and high cheekbones,At the age of twelve or thirteen, he will grow into an adult.
Although Shi Dakai is young, he likes to act chivalrous and righteous, and his reputation is outstanding.
In 1847, Feng Yunshan and Hong Xiuquan went together to find a man named"Shi Xianggong".met 16-year-old Shi Dakai on the road, and Feng Yunshan asked him"Shi Xianggong".of the residence.
Shi Dakai said: I am.
The two were taken aback, they didn't expect him to be so young. This history is calledVisit Shi XianggongIt is said to be recorded in the official history books of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
As a result, Shi Dakai joined the Worship of God, and over the next two or three years, he grew the congregation to several thousand people and became the main force in the Taiping Rebellion.
In the Jintian Uprising in 1851, dozens of people including family cousins participated in the uprising with Shi Dakai.
Shi Dakai, together with Xiao Chaogui, was responsible for opening the way, and later Xiao Chaogui died in battle, 21-year-old Shi DakaiActing aloneThe heavy responsibility of the former enemy commander.
Shi Dakai was young, conquered Wuchang and Nanjing along the way, and beat opponents dozens of years older than him, which shows that most of the war depends on talent.
In 1853, the Taiping army occupied Nanjing, and kings such as Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and Wei Changhui destroyed their houses and built luxurious palaces. In the accounts of the contemporaries, only Shi Dakai is said"Undestroyed dwellings"., and does not pursue a luxurious life.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, after the establishment of the capital, was soon launchedNorthern Expedition and Western Expedition.
But at first, Shi DakaiNot reallywas responsible for the western expedition, but was arranged by Yang XiuqingAdministration and defense of Nanjingwork.
At this time, the Hunan army had been initially established, and the enemy's combat effectiveness had increased greatly, so the western expedition army was not smooth.
In the next 2 years, Shi DakaiHalf the timeAll stay in Nanjing, it isWhere Yang Xiuqing made a mistake in employing people.
The Northern Expedition is the icing on the cake, while the Western Expedition is life-threatening, and the Northern Expedition doesn't let Shi Dakai send rookiesAlways in charge of the expedition to the westIt was a big mistake by Yang Xiuqing.
During this time, Shi Dakai's schedule is as follows:
Year 1853In June, the Taiping army marched west;
At the end of September, Shi Dakai was in chargeExpedition to the West;
At the beginning of 1854, Shi Dakai was transferred backNanking.
It wasn't until October of that year that Shi Dakai returnedThe battlefield of the Western Expedition
In the past two years, Shi Dakai has had it every yearHalf a yearIn Nanjing, not in the Western Expedition.
It can be seen that Yang Xiuqing is not as imaginedStrategize. The reason why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was so strong in the early stage was also because the opponent was too weak, and this kind of clever victory concealed the low level of the real level.
At the end of September 1853, Shi Dakai was sent to the front line of the Western Expedition, which could no longer be carried out.
As soon as Shi Dakai arrived, the battle situation immediately changed, he first withdrew from the siege of Nanchang, which could not be captured for a long time, and then spent about half a year to capture a large area of land in southern Anhui and northern Anhui, including the temporary provincial capitalHefei.
Shi Dakai proposed"Pay the grain and pay taxes as usual".way, don't look justBusiness as usual, which is many times better than the previous Ming robbery, ensuring the normal operation of society.
From this point of view, Shi Dakai is a combination of Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng - both can fight and know how to manage locally.
Tianjing consumes 300,000 koku of rice every month and has been on the verge of starvation, which shows that there is something wrong with the functioning of society. The deep-seated reason for the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was that no one was proposedMore advancedof the world's governing scheme.
Soon after Shi Dakai arrived in Anqing, he transported 160,000 Shicao rice back to Beijing, and the follow-up material resources continued to help Tianjing and the front line, and there was no serious shortage of food in Tianjing.
At the beginning of 1854, Shi Dakai was only in charge of the western expedition for a few months, and was transferred back to Tianjing.
Why did you transfer Shi Dakai back from the battlefield of the Western Expedition?
There is a saying that,TasksIt's done, so come back;In other words, there is a transfer back to TianjingMore importanttasks.
In the account of the contemporaries, "Jinling Guijia Chronicle", it is said that Shi Dakai was on the front linePrestige is growing, Yang Xiuqing was jealous of him, so he let him come back.
I think this explanation is more convincing than the first two, because it is clear that the mission of the Western Expedition was not completed, and the defense of Tianjing was not urgent.
At the beginning of 1854, Shi Dakai returned to Tianjing, where he was mainly engaged in some administrative, military, and diplomatic affairs.
And this year is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom againSharp declineThe Year of the Year:
1.The Northern Expeditionary Army was nearing annihilation;
2.After Shi Dakai left, the western expedition was under the blow of the Hunan armyHit hard.
In order to resist the Western Expeditionary Army led by Shi Dakai, Zeng Guofan ordered people to rush to work day and night, built a shipyard, and the Hunan Army Naval Division was initially establishedShips of war,I also bought a lot of foreign guns,Gun emplacements thousand,Sailors, craftsmen, food and ammunition ** are all available.
The Qing court anxiously urged Zeng Guofan to hurry to the battlefield.
Zeng Guofan was also complacent, and posted the famous article "Seeking Cantonese Bandits".
The Hunan Army's naval division came out of the mountain in early 1854, and Shi Dakai just returned to Tianjing in early 1854.
A tiger has just reached adulthood and needs to be strangled, but at this critical moment, Yang Xiuqing asked Shi Dakai to return to Tianjing and send wasteLin Shaozhangwent to Hunan to fight the Hunan army.
Of course, Lin Shaozhang couldn't defeat the Hunan army, and he was defeated in Xiangtan, and this strategy was called the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom by Li XiuchengOne of the top 10 mistakes.
Next, the Taiping army was lost again at WuchangThousandsWarship.
In the six months since Shi Dakai left, the Taiping ArmyDefeat and retreat, thousands of ships of the naval division were burned, and the naval division above the Jiujiang RiverAnnihilated.
Finally untilIn October of that year, Shi Dakai was once again appointed to preside over the military expedition to the west.
In October 1854, the 23-year-old Shi Dakai returned.
Shi Dakai was keenly aware of the importance of the water division, and as soon as he arrived in Anqing, he set up a scaleHuge shipyard,Starry Night rushed to make warships, and finally built dozens of warships before the Hunan army and sailors approached.
II. II. II
The Hunan army went down the river and began to attack Jiujiang.
Shi Dakai avoided its edge, insisted on not fighting, and waited for the battle, and the Hunan army attacked in a big way, but did not get a profit.
The master made a move, and when he saw the subtle knowledge, Zeng Guofan saw the Taiping ArmyWell defended, vaguely felt".The situation has changed
Zeng Guofan took a lot of military funds from Jiangxi, but Jiujiang couldn't be attacked for a long time, and he felt very faceless and became more and more impatient.
The successive victories before made Zeng Guofan proud and complacentJiujiangUpstream,Lake MouthIn the lower reaches, Zeng Guofan couldn't wait to take Jiujiang, so he divided his troops to attack Hukou.
Shi Dakai took advantage of the darkness and sent a small boat to the Hunan army camp to set fire, shouting loudly, Hunan armyMartial law was imposed day and night, and he did not dare to sleep in peace
Zeng Guofan said that during this time, the Hunan armySharpIt's all gone.
If it drags on like this, there will be a problem with the grain and salary of the Hunan army, and the grain donated by the people of Jiangxi is in Nanchang, and Zeng Guofan is anxious to take Hukou, so as to ensure the smooth flow of the grain route.
As the name suggests, the mouth of the lake isThe entrance to the lake, the outside is the Yangtze River, and the inside is Poyang Lake.
In January 1855, the Hunan army launched a fierce attack, and after 8 hours of bloody fighting, Hukou was finally attacked by the Hunan armyPartially breached.
Shi Dakai lured the enemy deeper, and a few days later, the Hunan armyBoatsAll from the mouth of the lake, all into Poyang Lake, andBig shipDidn't have time to enter.
Shi Dakai immediately ordered peopleSeal the entrance, the big ship of the Hunan army was in chargeTransportation, the boat is in chargeFighting,In this way, the big ships of the Hunan army lacked the protection of small boats, and could only be used as live targets.
In the middle of the night, the Taiping army sent dozens of ships full of fire-burning materials to attack the Hunan army's big ship, the smoke covered the sky, the river changed color, and the Hunan army was burnedMore than 40 large ships.
The more than 100 small boats that rushed into the lake, knowing that the base camp was defeated, hurriedly tried to rush out of Poyang Lake, but were blocked by the Taiping army, and since then these more than 100 small boats have been in the inland riverWandering for years.
The Hunan Army's naval division retreated 50 miles and retreated to Jiujiang, which was the first victory of the Taiping Army in half a year.
10 days later, Shi Dakai attacked the Hunan Army's naval division, rockets and spray canisters were fired together, the Hunan Army's naval division collapsed, and burned more than 30 boats of the Hunan Army's naval divisionCommit suicide by throwing yourself into the water, was rescued left and right, went ashore and fled into the army camp.
The Taiping Army also defeated the Hunan Army, and the leader of the Hunan Army, Taqib, fled to hide in a straw pile in a common man's house, and only luckily saved his life.
So far, in the four months that the Western Expeditionary Army has presided over by Shi Dakai, the navy and army have won great victories one after another, and the whole line is **.
In 1855, Shi Dakai was 24 years old and Zeng Guofan was 44 years old.
The Hunan army's naval division collapsed, while the Taiping army re-established the naval division and controlled the thousands of miles of waterways of the Yangtze River.
Zeng Guofan said in a letter to his younger brother:
The law of water warfare of the Taiping army,They are all imitations of the Hunan armyThe size of the ship, the density of the pulp, and the distance of the cannon are all the same as those of our army. The guns of the thief ships did not fight as far as our troops, but theirsThe boat goes faster.
In the following year, the two sides were in a state of stalemate, and the Hunan army's repeated attacks were fruitless.
Taqib, the leader of the Hunan Army, attacked Jiujiang for a long time, vomited blood in anger, and died in the army.
At the end of 1855, Shi Dakai showed the vision of a military strategist, led 30,000 people, and chose to march into Jiangxi.
For more than 4 months, Shi Dakai swept Jiangxi, eight of the thirteen prefectures were captured, and the surrounding areas of Nanchang were occupiedThere was no way to call for help, and I woke up from nightmares.
At that time, the garrison of Nanchang was very weak, and the free 2,000 city defense troops, plus more than 10,000 militiamen, had no combat experience, and Zeng Guofan had become a turtle in the urn.
Once Nanchang is broken and Zeng Guofan is captured alive, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will take the whole of Jiangxi, and it will usher in an unprecedented situationHeyday.
Nanchang was shaken, and the people rushed to flee out of the cityUtterly disappointed,raised a huge amount of funds for the Hunan army, but faced a bamboo basket to fight against Zeng GuofanIndulge in a fling at.
Zeng Guofan said that being trapped in Jiangxi isThe biggest in lifeof bad luck.
At this critical moment, in April 1856, Yang Xiuqing transferred Shi DakaiBack to Nanjing, hitJiangnan Daying.
Yang Xiuqing came and went as soon as he called his subordinates, and he was arrogant and domineering, many times just to test the power in his hands.
Until now, Yang Xiuqing may not have understoodReal opponentsWho is it.
Let Shi Dakai lead the absolute main force of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and come back to fight the Jiangnan camp, which is really a knife to kill chickens.
Shi Dakai was transferred to the battlefield in JiangxiHalf of the troops, rushed thousands of miles, and together with Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, broke the camp in the south of the Yangtze River.
This defeat gave Zeng Guofan a chanceDesperate for lifeopportunities.
Three
Although the hidden dangers of the Hunan army have not been eliminated, the Taiping army ushered in the heyday on paper.
After breaking the Jiangnan camp, Wei Changhui was sent to be extremely importantJiangxi Battlefield,It is equivalent to the Western Expeditionary Army changing hands again;Knowing that Wei Changhui would not fight, but Yang Xiuqing suddenly sent him to fight, this kind of behavior isVery suspiciousTarget.
Wei Changhui was defeated, and even the sedan chair and yellow silk umbrella cover were taken away by the Qing army, and he fled to the countryside and returned to the camp late at night.
Soon, Hong Xiuquan secretly ordered Wei Changhui to kill Yang XiuqingThe Tianjing IncidentErupt.
At this time, Shi Dakai was winning in Wuchang, but after learning the news, he had to let the troops retreat, stick to their positions, and bring them by themselvesA small number of followersRush back to Tianjing.
According to at least 6 records of people at that time: Hong XiuquanThere was no secret edictShi Dakai went to kill Yang Xiuqing.
Shi Dakai decided to go back to Nanjing for mediation after hearing the news that many people had been killed in the capital, which is why Shi Dakai came back very late.
On September 26, 1856, 26 days after the outbreak of the Tianjing Incident, Shi Dakai returned to Tianjing.
After Shi Dakai entered the city, he met Hong Xiuquan and asked to stop, and Hong Xiuquan put the responsibility on Wei Changhui.
Shi Dakai went to Wei Mansion again, persuaded Wei Changhui to stop, and accused him:He even slaughtered his brothers in a reckless manner!
Wei Changhui suspected that he was biased towards Yang Xiuqing, and Shi Dakai realized the danger after returning home, and stayed overnightRope out.
Sure enough, the next day, Wei Changhui surrounded the Yiwang Mansion, searched for Shi Dakai, and slaughtered him, and at the same time ordered Qin Rigang to lead 150,000 people pursued Shi Dakai.
Shi Dakai was so grief-stricken that he mobilized 40,000 soldiers and horses to denounce Wei Changhui and declared that if Hong Xiuquan did not agree, he would attack Tianjing.
The people in Tianjing City know about the Wing KingThe army of JingnanIt's coming, and the whole city cheers.
This is Shi Dakai's personal tragic moment, but it is also Shi DakaiGloryvertices.
Our history may alsoDidn't show upSuch a general, he dared to go against the emperor, and he didn't ask for itUsurpation, not forPersonal interests, noAmplify the killing, just askHold one person accountable.
Later, Hong Xiuquan will be Wei Changhui'sHuman headsSoak it in salt water, send it to Shi Dakai's camp, ask him to inspect it, and tactfully apologize to Shi Dakai and invite himReturned to Beijing as an assistant to the government.
Shi Dakai led the army into Tianjing, but he did not move Hong Xiuquan's throne and did not fight for the throneHistory is rare.
Shi DakaiSave againThe Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but at the cost of the lives of the whole family. Back then, Hong Xiuquan gave Shi Da Kaifeng Wing King, which meansWings**, it turns out that Shi Dakai is indeed like the Taiping Heavenly KingdomArchangel.
Shi Dakai, who returned to Beijing to assist the government, did notAmplify the killing
Wei Changhui killed his whole family, but he didn't ask to kill Wei Changhui's whole family, Wei ChanghuiIn the foreigners, including:My brothercontinued to lead the troops to fight, and Shi Dakai did not retaliate.
Shi Dakai continued to live in the cleaned Yiwang Mansion, alone, the pain was indescribable, everything was written for instructions, he gave instructions at night, and posted it on the outer wall of the palace the next day.
At the same time, he ordered the generals to stick to the city, reuse Chen Yucheng, and stabilize the situation.
Shi Dakai was happy in charge of the dynasty, but only Hong Xiuquan was unhappy, alwaysRefuse to sealShi Dakai became a military advisor, and named two stupid brothers as kings, targeting Shi Dakai everywhere.
In this case, Shi Dakai's adviser asked him to get rid of Hong XiuquanInstead,He also cited the example of Han Shin and believed that the opportunity should not be missed.
Shi Dakai refused, he couldn't bear to slaughter his brother again, then the only way wasLeave.
Someone doesn't blameConspiratorsHong Xiuquan instead accused Shi DakaiEngage in **,This is not fair.
Perhaps there is no better solution than leaving.
Some people say, can't Shi Dakai disarm and return to the field and find a place to die alone?This kind of infinitely high level of demand from others is even more unfair. What's more, Shi Dakai was a celebrity at the time, and he could hide from ** in the whole world?
Four
In June 1857, half a year after Shi Dakai was an assistant to the government, he only led a few thousand of his subordinates to leave Tianjing, and later the troops continued to join and rapidly grew to tens of thousands.
Shi Dakai was stationed in Anqing, and the Qing army attacked Tianjing on a large scale, and Hong Xiuquan was borneThe love words are tragicThe earth asked Shi Dakai for help.
Shi Dakai sent more than 2,000 sailors to reinforce Zhenjiang, and informed Hong Xiuquan of his plan for the western expedition, and led his army to aid Jiangxi.
At this time, Jiangxi has beenIt's not the same as it used to beIn the year when Shi Dakai was no longer there, the Hunan army counterattacked, and the Jiangxi battlefield underwent a fundamental reversal, losing most of the cities, and only the last three cities were in danger.
Shi Dakai led a large army to rescue, but was cut off by the waterway of the Ganjiang River, Shi Dakai personally supervised the battle, and the battle lasted for 17 days, but he still could not cross the river.
In the end, the last two or three cities in Jiangxi ran out of food, the war horses were eaten, and finally fell tragically.
In February 1858, the Jiangxi battlefield had beenIrretrievable,Shi Dakai decided to enter Zhejiang.
Entered Zhejiang to take some territory, but did not conquer particularly large cities, and besieged Quzhou for three months.
In July 1858, after receiving the news that Yang Fuqing's war in Fujian was going well, Shi Dakai decidedMoved to Fujian.
Yang Fuqing is known as "Qi Mazi", and Yang Xiuqing climbed to his own family and became the emperor of the country, after Yang Xiuqing's death, although he ran away with Shi Dakai, he has been fightingYang Xiuqing, the king of the Eastflag.
Hong Xiuquan sent an envoy to promise to ask Yang Fuqing to go back, and he decided to break with Shi Dakai and return to Hong Xiuquan's side.
Shi Dakai's brotherCome firstRendezvous with Yang Fuqing, but the result wasAttacked by Yang FuqingThousands of people(The Qing army records may be exaggerated).
When Shi Dakai arrived in Fujian immediately after, he didn't expect to see a mess.
In the past six months, Shi Dakai moved to 2 provinces, and in the process of long-distance attack, Shi Dakai's troops becameA lone army.
Long expeditionsI don't know the place of life,It's very difficult. Encountered again in FujianPlague epidemics, plusFamineIt was difficult to collect military rations, and many of his subordinates wanted to return to Jiangxi.
Here we need to discuss a question, why didn't Shi Dakai make much progress after he left?
The possible reasons are as follows:
1. Most of the famous generals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, such as Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng, Huang Wenjin, Lin Qirong, etc., did not agree to leave, and Shi Dakai took them awaySecond- and third-rate generals;
2. In those days, transportation was very difficult, and the expeditionary force could not sustain ammunition, grain and grass.
3. Shi Dakai strategyHesitation,Probably with itEmotional disappointmentRelate.
Judging from the process of Li Xiucheng taking Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it should not be so difficult to fight Zhejiang.
When Shi Dakai left, he issued a notice saying that he would be in the futureRetreat to the mountains and forestsJudging from Shi Dakai's behavior later, Shi Dakai doesn't seem to have eitherThe sharpness of the year, may be a series of tragedies such as the Tianjing Incident, which caused him someBe downhearted.
Historical figures are not gods, and when we analyze them, we cannot but consider their psychology and beThe slaughter was all over the place(including his wife and son), this is not something that ordinary people can bear, not to mention that Shi Dakai attaches great importance to love and righteousness.
At this time, Shi Dakai was only 27 years old, but the tragic experience made this upright and kind young man become an old man who had experienced vicissitudes.
Zeng Guofan also confirmed this in his letter:
Shi Dakai's army soldiers diedHunger and pestilenceA lot,No one is buried. Check out these Fujian thieves,Disorganized and undisciplined, the momentum is scatteredNot like in previous years.
Shi Dakai did not dare to force Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing in Zhejiang, thievesNo ambition, no far-sightedness.
Shi Dakai stayed in Fujian for more than 2 months, did not fight a hard battle, and left Fujian in a hurry and moved to Jiangxi.
Came to the south of Jiangxi, rested for the New Year, discussed the future direction, and finally decided to pass through Hunan and enter Sichuan.
More than 1 month later, Shi Dakai entered Hunan, intendingCapture Baoqing,It serves as a transit point into the river.
Baoqing is in the central part of Hunan, which is the hometown of the Hunan army, and the soldiers of the Hunan army were panicked when they learned about it, and the Qing court was shocked.
Zuo Zongtang, as a staff member of the governor of Hunan, hurriedly ran to Zhang Luo and called for itDischarge from the military and leave of absenceThe Hunan soldiers who returned home stood up to defend their hometown, and in one month, they raised more than 40,000 veterans of the Hunan army with rich combat experience.
Zeng Guofan was also very worried when he learned that Shi Dakai had arrived near his hometown, and sent two strong generals to lead the army to help.
This is the first big battle that Shi Dakai is preparing to fight, knowing that the enemy's strength has increased greatly, he first mobilized the enemy, attacked the east and west, and then the army surrounded Baoqing, but the enemy's reinforcements also arrived soon to block the grain route of Shi Dakai's troops.
Shi Dakai's army consumes a huge amount of military food every day, and Shi Dakai ordered the whole army to only bring 3 days of food, and the cauldron must be captured.
In order to boost morale, Shi Dakai rode a white horse and opened a yellow silk umbrella cover to supervise the battle on the front line.
The battle was unfavorable for 3 days, and on the 4th day, the whole army demanded a decisive battle and swooped down on the Hunan army camp, advancing without retreating, but in the end it lost due to the lack of ammunition.
The siege failed, not because Shi Da opened the dish, everyone was the same at that time.
Under the scientific and technological conditions at that time, there was basically nothing that everyone could do with the city wall. As long as the city guards are not straw bales, the food is enough to eat, and the number of soldiers defending the city is not too small, they can basically defend it for two or three years.
The siege of the city mainly relies on digging tunnels and blowing them up with gunpowder, but it takes several months to dig tunnels, so the two sides are still competingGrain and grass**.
During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, many cities were conqueredLong siege hungryThis is an objective law, and Shi Dakai cannot violate it.
After the defeat in the Battle of Baoqing, everyone discussed the next step, and the veterans wanted to return to their hometown Guangxi.
After that, after Shi Dakai broke off personally, the army successfully retreated into Guangxi.
After Zeng Guofan learned about it, he said in one sentence that Shi Dakai would be defeated:
There is no old nest to think that the grain platform, the grain and rice must be captured, the ammunition must be moved, and they are tired of the valley, and there is the atmosphere of a thief.
Shi Dakai did not open up the situation in Guangxi, and the Hunan army has been following and supporting, and Shi Dakai is becoming more and more difficult.
In 1859, Shi Dakai occupied Qingyuan and stayed for 8 months, and the local governance was relatively good, and the folk songs praising Shi Dakai were circulated.
The enemy's strong walls and clear fields, coupled with the fact that Guangxi has had many uprisings over the years, has not been engaged in production, and it has become more and more difficult to raise military rationsSometimes they traveled long distances and practiced fierce battles with local regiments, just to get a little food, so the morale of the army was scattered.
At this time, in Tianjing, Li Xiucheng broke through Su Chang, and there were signs of Zhongxing, and many teams broke away from Shi Dakai and returned to TianjingOthers surrendered to the Qing court.
Shi Dakai was faced with the situation of betrayal and separation, and once again had the idea of living in seclusion in the mountains and forests.
In July 1861, Shi Dakai returned to his hometown of Guixian after 11 years of absence, and entertained his parents and fellow villagers, and revisited the fishing place of his childhood to express his future againReturn to the mountains and forestsmeaning.
When a general is homesick, it means that his heart is gone.
Near this timeDacheng uprisingAttracting the attention of the Qing army, Shi Dakai is temporarily fine, but Dacheng will soon be unable to resist, and the flames of war will soon burn to his hometown.
Then why didn't Shi Dakai join forces with Dacheng?
It's not that I don't want to, I tried it, but the other party didn't accept the ban and didn't talk about it.
With Dacheng about to be destroyed, Shi Dakai needs to think about the future.
In October 1861, Shi Dakai led the only remaining troops to try to enter Sichuan again, and finally entered the border of Sichuan four months later.
There are many rivers here, the terrain is complex, and the living environment is even worse.
For the rest of the time, Shi Dakai has been worried about crossing the river, the enemy adopts the race walking mode on the opposite bank, marches along the river, and collects the boats to the other bank, defending the river defense, Shi Dakai has no water army, there is no way.
In the course of this year, Shi DakaiTwo river crossingsUnsuccessfully, the river here is the Yangtze River or its tributaries, and the river must be crossed into the river, the river is urgent, and there are many dangerous shoals, and it is difficult for the army to cross.
And on the other side is the elite of the Hunan army, and they will not fall behind in a fair fight with Shi Dakai's troops, relying on itNatural InsuranceMore than enough for defense.
Shi Dakai decided to fight with his subordinatesCross the river in two waysTrying to make the enemy unable to do both.
After a tragic battle, Shi Dakai failed to cross the river, so he had no choice but to cross the riverReturn to Yunnan.
But after the division of troops, there was no news in the vast mountains, and his subordinates did not know that Shi Dakai had beenFailed to cross the river,Retreat back.
This loyal subordinate forAnswerShi Dakai crossed the river, at the speed of a rapid march, one day and one night, running a hundred and dozens of miles, throwing off the enemy's pursuit, but in a sheep's intestine trail, the mountain peak is steep, by the localToast ambush, beenRolling wood and rolling stonesStoned.
In April 1863, Shi Dakai did not know that his subordinates had died, and wanted to rely on his subordinates' vanguardTake the trailRush to cross the Dadu River.
Shi Dakai beforehandGift-givingTo buy a road for Tusi, the army passed through the extremely steep sheep intestine trail and entered the bank of the Dadu River, but the Qing army bought Tusi for 1,000 taels of silver and promisedAfter breaking the thief, all the assetsIt's all his own.
The local Tusi broke his promise and blocked all the retreats by knocking down the thousand-year-old trees.
The Qing army moved away all the inhabitants, and Shi Dakai's army had no food, no boats, and no way to retreat, and the river swelled as the snow melted upstream.
After more than 2 months of rushing to cross, it was unsuccessful.
On June 10, Shi Dakai led thousands of remnants, originally wanting to fight to the death, but when he failed, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river. But for the sake of the lives of his subordinates, Shi Dakai decided to sacrifice himself to protect all the people.
Shi Dakai said goodbye to his family, his wife had committed suicide by taking poison a few days ago, and several other wives and children also died in the river that night, wifeLiu and his son Shi DingjiEscorted by two soldiers, he fled.
Shi Dakai only left a 5-year-old sonShi Dingzhongby your side.
The next day, the Qing army sent a guest to swear to heaven and pardon his subordinates.
Shi Dakai surrendered to the camp, and was later escorted to Chengdu, and the subordinates who put down ** in 2000 were still **, and Liu's mother and son were also searchedNot spared,His 5-year-old son, Shi Dingzhong, was also executed.
There is still controversy in the historical circles about how many of Shi Dakai's subordinates survived, and most of them believe that Shi Dakai's subordinates have basically been killedThere is also a part of the opinion that Shi Dakai's people dispersed 4,000 people first, and some of them may survive except those who were ambushed and killed on the road.
Shi Dakai has a total of 6,000 troops, it is possible that about 3,000 people escaped, according to the investigation of thousands of descendants of the Taiping Army in the local Li area, indicating that Shi Dakai's sacrifice of life still played some role.
On June 25, 1863, Shi Dakai was escorted to Lingchi, Chengdu, at the age of 32.
Five
Is Shi Dakai's surrender a black spot in his life?
I think that on the contrary, this is the glorious apex of human nature, and sacrificing one's life to protect the three armies is much stronger than the cannibalistic stubborn resistance of the Northern Expeditionary Army, which is meaningless.
Why did Shi Dakai have to enter Sichuan?
Sichuan is rich and militarily weak, and in the case of most of the other provinces being destroyed, Sichuan'sGrainwithSalt tax on Sichuan saltIt is an extremely important income for the Qing Dynasty, Hu Linyi said
The wealth of Xishu,Five times more than two standards, ten times that of Jiangxi,Twenty times more than Hubei
What is Shi Dakai's military ability?
In such an extreme situation, Shi Dakai's defeat was only one year less than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which is a miracle, and if it were an ordinary general, it might be over in 2 years (refer to the fate of the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom).
If it weren't for the error in the final information judgment, Shi Dakai would have been able to hold on for a few years.
I didn't write history to sum up the lessons, we summed up the year 2000, so what?
Summing up the lessons learned brings just thatThe cycle of tragedy- At a critical momentPerfidyand after-the-factUnload the mill and kill the donkeyThe risk can be greatly reduced.
There have been too many killings in our history, and Shi Dakai is an outlier in Chinese historyDark timesand it will not be so dark.