Who formed the Xiang Army?

Luo Zenan is an important figure in the history of the late Qing Dynasty and a key figure in the history of Xiang Army. Rockin Zhu, the author of The Father of Xiang Army: Luo Zenan, described his magnificent and colorful life with beautiful and passionate style. Zeng Guofan pushed him as the commander of Xiang; Guo Songtao said that he is the number one star of ZTE. Liu Rong said that he was the leader of Huxiang Confucianism; Zuo said he was a good friend; Liang Qichao thinks that his knowledge is better than Zeng Guofan's; Chen Duxiu said that he represents the spirit of Hunan people; Qian Jibo believes that without him, there would be no Xiang Army ... so many high-profile people all belong to the same person-Luo Zenan, the ancestor of Xiang Army, a famous educator, a neo-Confucian and an expert on the late Qing Dynasty. Five reasons why Luo Zenan became the "father of Xiang Army" China could not live without Hunan. From Wang Fuzhi, who fought against the Qing Dynasty and regained his sight, to Zeng Guofan, the first minister of Tongzhi Zhongxing, from Tan Sitong, a representative of reformists, to Huang Xing, a pioneer of the Revolution of 1911, and then to Mao Zedong and Cai Hesen, who inspired writing, this is a thread that witnessed and promoted China's progress, and this thread of progress has been deeply branded as Huxiang. Since the Qing Dynasty, Hunan, where political giants frequently appeared, has become a salvation totem. So, what triggered the talent blowout in Hunan? Of course, it is a once-in-a-lifetime Xiang army. Xiang Army is the watershed of Hunan talents. No province in history has ever been able to train so many talents at such a high density as Hunan during the Xiang Army period. Xiang army has a great reputation, outstanding military achievements, many generals and high official positions, which can be described as a swan song throughout the ages. Prior to this, Hunan people were afraid to say that "only Chu has material and prospers in Sri Lanka". Tracing back to the source, who is the initiator of Xiang army? This question seems to be inconclusive, and opinions vary. I think the person who can be called "the father of the item" must belong to it. To judge whether a person is the founder of an organization or faction, several conditions must be met: first, he is the founder; Second, he played a key role in the development of this organization or Sect; Third, he is a spiritual leader with lasting influence. Obviously, Luo Zenan has all these three points. The first point: He is the founder and founder of Xiang Army. Some people think that the title of "the father of Xiang army" should belong to Zeng Guofan, because Zeng Guofan and Xiang army are closely linked and almost become the symbol of Xiang army. Some scholars regard Jiang Zhongyuan as the "father of Xiang Army". Undoubtedly, Zeng Guofan's influence on the interior of Xiang Army was far greater than that of Luo Zenan in history. However, precisely speaking, Zeng Guofan should be the commander-in-chief and leader of the Xiang army, but he is not the originator of the master, let alone the "father of the Xiang army." Although Jiang Zhongyuan was the first scholar who fought against foreign countries during the reign of Daoxian, he was only the founder of "Chu Yong". Here, it is necessary to understand the concept of Xiang Army in history. There are three theories about the origin of Xiang Army: the first is "the origin of Chu Yong", that is, Chu Yong originated in Jiang Zhongyuan, followed by Xiang Tuan Yong including Yong, Bao Yong, Chen Yong Yong and Xinhua Yong, and finally assembled by Zeng Guofan; The second is "Xiang Yong's mother theory", that is, Zeng Guofan trained a new army based on Luo Zenan's Xiang Xiang Yong, integrated Hunan regiments and formed an army; The third is "Zeng Guofan's theory of building the army", that is, Zeng Guofan directly founded a new army in Changsha and Hengyang. In fact, Zeng Guofan's words about the dispute over the concept of Xiang Army can be said to be radical. In disciple Li's epitaph "Li Zhongwu Gong Tombstone", he said: "The prosperity of the Xiang army is a drop in the ocean. Founder Luo Zhongjie, male and Zenan, the big one. " This sentence is clear: Luo Zenan is the founder of Xiang Army. After his death, his disciple Li made the Xiang army stronger. Zeng Guofan is the leader and coach of the Xiang army, and he is also a party. His statement is the most authoritative and can be finalized. It can be seen that Zeng Guofan's remarks support "Xiang Yong's mother theory", that is, Xiang Army refers to the Xiang Army Corps gradually formed on the basis of Xiang Yong Ying. Therefore, Jiang Zhongyuan is only the founder of Chu Yong, and his Chu Yong is only a member of Xiang Group. In addition, what others say can also be used as evidence. Peng Yulin's statement is straightforward: "Wang Hao trained the Xiang Army with all the students." This shows that the Xiang army in the minds of Xiang generals was formed on the basis of Xiang army presided over by Wang Chang. Wang Anding is in Xiang Jun? "Land-water Camp System" said: "In the early days of Xiang Army, Elvis Presley and Luo Zenan talked about their pace, became familiar with the war, fought in deep trenches and defended themselves against thieves. Ceng Wenzheng adopted his theory and established a camp system. Chu Shiqiang is not the same as Beijing. " Wang Anding's statement and Zeng Guofan's "the prosperity of the Xiang army is a great shock to the sea." The statement that Luo Zhongjie, the founder, is fair to Zenan, and that others are fair to him is quite consistent. In the sixth year of Xianfeng, Hunan Governor Luo said that "Piaoyong's use of troops actually started with regiments", and later said that "the essence of military law is based on this", which actually affirmed the contribution of Xiang Army to the rise of Xiang Army in the name of the governor. As the saying goes, "There is no army without Xiang", which is a compliment to Luo Zenan, the founder of Xiang Army. "Xiang", which means "no army without Xiang", originally did not refer to Hunan in general, but to Xiangxiang in particular. This sentence evolved from "No Ze South, No Xiang Army" and "No Xiang Army" to praise Luo Zenan, which means that Xiang Yong, led by him, was the most elite army in Hunan at that time, which originally meant "No Xiang Army". With the passage of time, in this regard, the left approach can be used as evidence. Zuo was ordered by Zeng Guofan to assist in military affairs and recruit soldiers. He named this unit Chu Jun just to distinguish it from Zeng Guofan and Xiang Jun's troops in Luo Zenan, which also shows that Xiang Jun refers to the troops with Xiang Yong as the main body. The second key point is to follow Qi Jiguang's training methods, determine the battalion system, and advocate "Confucianism running the army". There are three important figures in Xiangxiang Yong ying: Zhu, the magistrate of Xiangxiang, a scholar and the founder of Xiaolian. Zhu has the advantage of knowing people and making good use of them, but it was not new at that time. He's just on official business. Wang Zhi first put forward and organized group training, but the training method was stuck in the rut and there was no breakthrough. Luo Zenan was called to the county, and proposed to imitate Qi Jiguang's method to carry out Yingyong, determine the camp system, and stipulate that each camp has 360 people. Guo Songtao's Collection of Legacies of Luoshan recorded the scene of training troops in Xiangxiang: "The public imitates the method of Qi to deploy its people and teach them to stab them, with awe-inspiring loyalty and awe-inspiring law and discipline." It can be seen that the "technique without" method of Xiang is the first one. Luo Zenan actively advocated "ruling the regiment with Confucianism". When Hunan pacified the Party, Wang Chang and Li bought Hegan House as the office for deliberation, and named it "the place to live in seclusion". Tuanding camped in Lianbin College, trained Tuanding during the day and organized Tuanyong to study Confucianism at night. That's what the history books say: "Fight in the morning and preach at dusk". Later, Zeng Guofan established Xiang Army, and almost completely copied Luo Zenan's model of being eternal in Xiangxiang. The Xiang Army is different from the Qing Army, and there are two key factors that have dealt a fatal blow to the Taiping Army: one is to train troops by Qi Jiguang's method, and the other is to carry out "Confucianism to govern the army". These two articles were advocated by Luo Zenan, not Zeng Guofan. The two major contributions are unparalleled. The biographies of the Draft of Qing History commented: "Since the Central Plains of the Yangtze River, Zeng Guofan established the Xiang Army, and Luo Zenan actually controlled it." This statement proves once again that Luo Zenan was a real leader in the early days of the Xiang Army and had an irreplaceable position within the Xiang Army. The third point: Luo Zenan was the spiritual godfather in the early days of Xiang Army, and his influence was enormous, exceeding several generations. ZTE will be in phase, and the 19th will leave Hunan. General Huxiang, nineteen out of Xiangxiang. Xiangxiang famous soldiers, nineteen out of Luoshan. In the early days of Xiang Army, many disciples of Luo Zenan joined Xiang Army in succession. Among them are Wang Chang, Li, Li Xuyi, Jiang Yili, Liu Tenghong, Yang Changjun, Li Xingchun, Pan, Kang Jinghui, Zhong Jinheng, Zhong Jinlian, Yi Lianggan, etc. Most of them didn't die young, but later they became war dead. "Introduction to Hunan Studies" commented: "The prosperity of Hunan began with the Xiang Army, and the generals of the Xiang Army were disturbed by Luoshan." Zeng Guofan also admitted: "Since the military, scholars in central Hunan have had many difficulties and made great achievements, attracting many disciples." Among many Xiang generals in Xiangxiang, 32 were included in the biographies of the Draft of Qing History. They are Zeng Guofan, governor of Liangjiang and Zhili, Ceng Guoquan, governor of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Shaanxi, Liu Yuezhao, governor of Shaanxi and Liangjiang, Yang Changjun, governor of Zhejiang and Shaanxi, Liu Jintang, the first governor of Xinjiang, an imperial envoy, and Jiang Yi, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Li, Peng Yuju, Jiang, Chen Zhuo, Li Guangjiu, provincial judges Zhang and Xiao Qijiang, Taoist priests, Wang, magistrates Zhang Shili, Liu Songshan, Xiao Fusi, Li Xianghe, Xiao Qinggao, Xiao Qingyan, Zhou Kuanshi, Hu Zhonghe and He Shengbi. Nine times out of ten, these people are related to Luo Zenan, or his disciples or subordinates, or old subordinates of Luo Jun, or Duan Yong of Xiangxiang Yingyong. Yang Changjun, Jiang Yili, Li, Li Xuyi, Liu Tenghong, yes, and Xiao Fusi, Li Xianghe, Xiao, Xiao Qingyan, Zhou Kuanshi, Hu Zhonghe, He Shengbi, Wang Kaihua, Zhang Shiri, Xiao Qijiang, Jiang Ningxue, Liu Lianjie, Liu Tenghe and Liu Ningxue. The generals included in the draft of Qing history are still like this, and there are countless names that are not obvious. In fact, although the land division of Xiang Army is huge, most of the influential stars come from Luo Zenan and his disciples. According to the Records of Xiangxiang County in Tongzhi Year, from the third year of Xianfeng to the eighth year of Tongzhi, there were 7,886 Xiang generals in Xiangxiang, including 358 civil servants such as governors, governors, ministers and judges, and 7,528 military attaché s such as prefects, company commanders, lieutenants, guerrillas, commanders and garrison officers. Although this statistic is difficult to be accurate, it can roughly reflect the absolute strength of the Xiang army in the Qing Dynasty. It is true that an important source of Xiang generals is Xiangxiang Confucianism with Luo Zenan as the core. Luo Zenan should be the spiritual godfather of the early Xiang army, because his disciples gathered and joined the army one after another. The training of Xiang army basically followed the mode of Yong ying of Xiang army. During this period, Zeng Guofan's absolute authority has not been established, and his personal charm has not been fully demonstrated. One reason why Wang Zhi parted ways with him was that he looked down on Zeng Guofan's completely copying Luo Zenan's training methods. Later, Luo Zenan died young in Wuchang, which made Zeng Guofan quickly replace Luo Zenan as a spiritual leader. After Luo Zenan's death, his disciples and former aides were still the absolute main force of the Xiang Army, and they continued to fight on the battlefield until they won, and their influence did not disappear with the end of their personal lives. The fourth key point: original tactics, first meritorious military service, far-sighted strategy, and both generals and talents. In the army of Xiang Army, Luo Jun is the absolute main force of the army strategist, and he can always win more with less. Among them, the unique Roche-style "static braking" tactics have repeatedly caused heavy losses to the Taiping Army. This tactic is often used by children in Luomen and generals in Luo Jun, and it works well. The so-called "static braking" tactics, that is, in the face of the enemy's clamor, take defense as the attack, and suddenly jump out to attack when the attacking enemy is only ten feet away from the camp. If you want to rank the stars of the item, it is the first. Guo Songtao, an important aide of Xiang Army and a famous court official, called Luo Zenan "the head of Xian Tong's Zhongxing famous star". Luo Zenan fought for four years, conquered dozens of cities, experienced more than 200 battles and rarely failed. He is called the god of war. Hu Linyi commented that "every battle must be fought first, and loyalty and courage are paramount", and thought that Luo Zenan had played an exemplary role in cultivating the national spirit of "Dare to Die" of Xiang Army. Luo Zenan attaches great importance to topographic survey and military mapping. Before joining the army, he wrote geography monographs "A Brief Introduction to the Imperial Capital" and "The Change of Poor Yin and Yang, State Situation". After joining the army, he advocated investigating the terrain on the spot and choosing favorable terrain to fight. Later, every time we went to a new place, we had to delimit the terrain and draw a battle map. His disciples were also deeply influenced by it, and Li collected 145 1 painting. In this regard, Zeng Guofan, who is proud of attaching importance to topographic survey, is not as good as himself. Jiang Zhongyuan once said to Zeng Guofan, "However, if you steal talents from overseas, you can sail. Those who are brave and fearless with mad thieves are not afraid, but they dare not be heard in Luoshan and Lushan. " In the final conclusion, Zeng Guofan, in his memorial to Emperor Xianfeng, thought that Luo Zenan was "tied with Jiang Zhongyuan and Taqibu, and the meritorious military service was better than the two". That is to say, Zeng Guofan thinks that Luo Zenan's contribution is above Jiang Zhongyuan and Daqibu. This statement comes from the mouth of the commander-in-chief of the Xiang army, not a false statement. Luo Zenan is not only a general who dares to take the lead, but also a visionary commander-in-chief. Liu Rong said: "The fundamental strategy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is Roche's proposal." Zeng Guofan often solicits and pays attention to Luo Zenan's opinions on Xiang's defense strategy. Among them, Luo Zenan's strategic concept of "striving for the upper reaches" is a great contribution, which laid a strategic foundation for the future victory of Xiang Army. Luo Zenan in the Biography of Celebrities in Qing Dynasty edited by American scholar Arthur William thinks that Luo Zenan "is a scholar, but he is familiar with the world, especially with the strategy of art of war", and his strategy of "recovering Wuchang first, Jiujiang later and Nanjing finally" is one of the most important steps for the Xiang army to fight against the Taiping Army. Regarding the strategic vision, Zeng Guofan himself said: "It is better than calculation, and Lu is in my eyes." The fifth key point: ZTE's three famous ministers all rely on Luo Zenan. Historians call Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi and Zuo the three famous ministers of ZTE, but they don't know that without Zener, there would be no work of three people, and there would be no prosperity of ZTE. Needless to say, Zeng Guofan relied heavily on it, from training the new army almost completely copying Luo Zenan's training methods, to sending letters for help many times when Nanchang was trapped, and then relying on his disciples Li and Li Xuyi to stabilize the situation in Hubei and Jiangxi. After Luo Zenan's death, Ceng Guoquan summoned up the courage to rescue Naixiong, and the auspicious word camp was also based on the aides of Luo Zenan and Wang Chang. Guo Songtao said: "The Xiang army was first recruited by Wang Chang." It's a long story Many important strategic decisions of Zeng Guofan's balancing Taiping rebels were also made by Luo Zenan, as evidenced by Liu Rong, an important aide of Zeng Guofan. So is Hu Linyi. Luo Zenan died in Wuchang, and Hu Linyi, the governor of Hubei Province, presented an elegiac couplet: "Going on business makes me live, going on business makes me afraid, and dying on business makes me sad. Seven feet is the security of the world, and it is appropriate to save the corpse and wish the corpse; Thieves fight, thieves defend, thieves die. He paid a half-life confidant with blood, and he became a hero and lost. " Hu Linyi's sentence "Business makes me live, business makes me uncomfortable" tells the fact that Luo Zenan helped himself and propped up the overall situation in Hubei, and also confirms Hu Linyi's incomparable dependence on Luo Zenan. Hu Linyi's success in Hubei naturally cannot be separated from Luo Zenan's full assistance and the full assistance of Luo Men's disciples. Without Luo Zenan's desperate efforts, I'm afraid there would be no Hu Linyi's later promotion and ZTE's reputation. Because of this, Hu Linyi respectfully to Luo Zenan: "At first glance, I am very respectful to my disciples. Although I am a subordinate, you must call me Mr. Luo Shan. I must ask your advice before I do anything. " Zhao Liewen also recorded this in the Diary of Living in Peace, saying that Hu Linyi "regards Xinjiang as a minister and unifies the younger generation". Four years after Luo Zenan's death, Zuo resigned from the army, and formed the Chu Army with his favorite pupil, the old Xiang Army, as the backbone. His courage, training, marching and fighting tactics all followed the old methods of Elvis Presley, and Liu Songshan and Liu Jintang's uncles all came from this team. Later, the disciples Jiang Yili, Yang Changjun and others were enabled by Zuo. These people have made outstanding contributions to the recovery of Xinjiang from the left. Previously, Zuo's qualifications and appeal were far inferior. The memorial presented to the emperor by Zong, an imperial envoy of the Qing court, can be used as evidence: "In recent days, we have supported the two lakes, thanks to one or two scholars, such as Hu Linyi, who can take courage as the first soldier. These two men were actually enlightened by Zeng Guofan ... I don't know the world's talents because of their meanness. As far as I know, there is a Zuo in Hunan who is trusted by Xinjiang officials. If it is independent, it will be no less than Lin Bu and Zenan. " Thus, the left was far behind Hu Linyi and. From this perspective, the so-called three famous ministers of ZTE are not objective and scientific, and this title is based on credit. According to the influence theory, Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi and Zuo Wei should be included and renamed as four famous ministers of ZTE. Qian Jibo, the father of Qian Zhongshu and a famous master of Chinese studies, said in "Hunan Centennial Study Style": "Without Zenan, there would be no Xiang Army." It can be seen that Luo Zenan's position as the "father of Xiang Army" is unshakable. In the book, Li and Zhang are also listed as important figures influencing the study style in Hunan, second only to Tang Peng and Wei Yuan, and ahead of Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi and Zuo. I think the influence is second only to Zeng Guofan, but above Hu Linyi and Zuo. The relationship between Luo Zenan and Zeng Guofan cannot be summarized in one sentence. Generally speaking, in the early days of Xiang Army, Zeng Guofan was the commander-in-chief and the spiritual godfather. After Luo Zenan's death, Zeng Guofan was a spiritual godfather and commander in chief. Zeng Guofan's greater contribution is that he set up an interview loyalty bureau within the Xiang army, sent clerks to record, sort out and write records praising loyalty, and constantly recommended meritorious talents of the Xiang army to the court, forming a huge talent phalanx and talent reserve of the Xiang army. Luo Zenan is the leader and mentor of this talent phalanx. To sum up, without it, there would be no item, and there would be no Zeng Guofan who became famous later; On the other hand, without Zeng Guofan, there would be no Luo Zenan with outstanding military exploits. A more accurate definition of the relationship between Zeng Guofan and Luo Zenan is "interdependence". "Governing the army with Neo-Confucianism" is the characteristic and personality of Xiang Army. Luo Zenan is famous all over the world for his brilliant military exploits, but few people know that he is a Neo-Confucianist who enjoys the reputation of Xiang Army. "A Brief Introduction to Hunan Studies" praised him: "The prosperity of Hunan began with the Xiang Army, and the generals of the Xiang Army were disturbed by Luoshan. The effect of Confucianism in suppressing chaos and the wind of giving lectures in central Hunan are all due to Luoshan. " Today, many scholars still classify Luo Zenan as an important figure of Chuanshan School to study his thoughts. Different from Zeng Guofan's few works, Luo Zenan wrote a lot in his life, including Notes on Mingxi, Tai Chi Yi Yan, Primary School Rhyme, Yaojiang Xuebian, Mencius, Zhouyi Yanyan and Huangyu Yao Lan. Wen Ruren has his own neo-Confucianism system, and his achievements in neo-Confucianism are above Zeng Guofan and Zuo Yu. Liu Rong, Shaanxi Governor and Hunan scholar, called Luo Zenan "the first scholar in Hunan". Tang Jian, Zeng Guofan's most respected teacher and famous master of Neo-Confucianism, called him a "famous Confucian". Qian Mu listed "Roche's Academic Essentials" in his book "Academic History of China for Nearly 300 Years", and wrote "A Study of Luoluoshan" in his later years, making a special comment on Luo Zenan's academic thoughts. Little known is that Luo Zenan was an educator in Hunan and Wenda before he joined the army, and students from Hunan and Changsha all voted for him. Liu Rong said, "There are hundreds of tourists". Not only are peaches and plums all over the world, but his book Rhyme of Primary School is listed as an enlightenment textbook in the late Qing Dynasty along with Three Amethyst and Disciples Rules, and has become a well-known enlightenment collection. Even today, more than 200 years later, it is still an enlightenment textbook for many schools and a necessary traditional reading material for families. As for Luo Zenan, the comment in the case of Confucianism in the Qing Dynasty is: "Since Tang Zhenshen advocated Neo-Confucianism, scholars in southern Hunan have all lived in Ziyang, and abandoned Yaojiang, especially Luoshan, in the name of pure Confucianism." This evaluation is extremely high. Apart from Luo Zenan, Zeng Guofan was barely a "Confucian scholar" among his peers. Ceng Wenzheng has the style of a king, but his achievements in Neo-Confucianism are below that of Luo Shan. In the late Qing Dynasty and its history of Neo-Confucianism, only Luo Zenan and Zeng Guofan could be called "pure Confucianism" and made great achievements.