The Operation Was As Hazardous As It Was
Ambitious.
The resolution he came to was to attack the city and forts of
Taitsan, a place northwest of Shanghai, and not very far distant from
Chung Wang's headquarters at Soochow.
The imperialist force reached
Taitsan on May 12, but less than two days later Chung Wang arrived in
person at the head of 10,000 chosen troops to relieve the garrison. A
battle ensued on the day following, when, notwithstanding their great
superiority in numbers, the Taepings failed to obtain any success. In this
extremity Chung Wang resorted to a stratagem. Two thousand of his men
shaved their heads and pretended to desert to the imperialists. When the
battle was renewed at sunrise on the following morning this band threw
aside their assumed character and turned upon the imperialists. A dreadful
slaughter ensued. Of the 7,000 Honan braves and the Tartars from Shanghai,
5,000 fell on the field. The consequences of this disaster were to undo
most of the good accomplished by General Staveley and his force. The
imperialists were for the moment dismayed, and the Taepings
correspondingly encouraged. General Staveley's communications were
threatened, and he had to abandon his intended plan and retrace his steps
to Shanghai.
Chung Wang then laid regular siege to Sunkiang, where Ward was in person,
and he very nearly succeeded in carrying the place by escalade. The
attempt was fortunately discovered by an English sailor just in time, and
repulsed with A loss to the rebels of 100 men. The Taepings continued to
show great daring and activity before both Sunkiang and Tsingpu; and
although the latter place was bravely defended, it became clear that the
wisest course would be to evacuate it. A body of troops was therefore sent
from Shanghai to form a junction with Ward at Sunkiang, and to effect the
safe retreat of the Tsingpu garrison. The earlier proceedings were
satisfactorily arranged, but the last act of all was grossly mismanaged
and resulted in a catastrophe. Ward caused the place to be set on fire,
when the Taepings, realizing what was being done, hastened into the town,
and assailed the retiring garrison. A scene of great confusion followed;
many lives were lost, and the commandant who had held it so courageously
was taken prisoner. Chung Wang could therefore appeal to some facts to
support his contention that he had got the better of the Europeans and the
imperialists in the province of Kiangsu.
From the scene of his successes Chung Wang was once more called away by
the timidity or peril of Tien Wang, who was barely able to maintain his
position at Nankin, but when he hastened off to assist the chief of the
Taepings he found that he was out of favor, and that the jealousy or fear
of his colleagues had brought about his temporary disgrace and loss of
title. Shortly after Chung Wang's departure Ward was killed in action and
Burgevine succeeded to the command, but it soon became apparent that his
relations with the Chinese authorities would not be smooth. General Ching
was jealous of the Ever-Victorious Army and wished to have all the credit
for himself. Li Hung Chang, who had been appointed Futai or Governor of
Kiangsu, entertained doubts of the loyalty of this adventurer. Burgevine
was a man of high temper and strong passions, who met the wiles of the
Futai with peremptory demands to recognize the claims of himself and his
band. Nor was this all. Burgevine had designs of his own. Although the
project had not taken definite form in his mind the inclination was strong
within him to play the part of military dictator with the Chinese; or
failing that, to found an independent authority on some convenient spot of
Celestial territory. The Futai anticipated, perhaps, more than divined his
wishes. In Burgevine he saw, very shortly after their coming into contact,
not merely a man whom he disliked and distrusted, but one who, if allowed
to pursue his plans unchecked, would in the end form a greater danger to
the imperial authority than even the Taepings. It is not possible to deny
Li's shrewdness in reading the character of the man with whom he had to
deal.
The Futai Li, in order to test his obedience, proposed that Burgevine and
his men should be sent round by sea to Nankin to take part in the siege of
that city. The ships were actually prepared for their conveyance, and the
Taotai Wou, who had first fitted out a fleet against the rebels, was in
readiness to accompany Burgevine, when Li and his colleague, as suspicious
of Burgevine's compliance as they would have been indignant at his
refusal, changed their plans and countermanded the expedition. Instead of
carrying out this project, therefore, they laid a number of formal
complaints before General Staveley as to Burgevine's conduct, and
requested the English government to remove him from his command, and to
appoint an English officer in his place. The charges against Burgevine did
not at this time amount to more than a certain laxness in regard to the
expenditure of the force, a disregard for the wishes and prejudices of the
Chinese government, and the want of tact, or of the desire to conciliate,
in his personal relations with the Futai. If Burgevine had resigned, all
would have been well, but he regarded the position from the standpoint of
the adventurer who believes that his own interests form a supreme law and
are the highest good. As commander of the Ever-Victorious Army he was a
personage to be considered even by foreign governments. He would not
voluntarily surrender the position which alone preserved him from
obscurity. Having come to this decision it was clear that even the partial
execution of his plans must draw him into many errors of judgment which
could not but imbitter the conflict. The reply of the English commander
was to the effect that personally he could not interfere, but that he
would refer the matter to London as well as to Mr. Bruce at Pekin.
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Page 139 of 188
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of 191255
