That Some Of Hienfung's Officers Realized
The Position Can Be Gathered From The Following Letter, Written At This
Period By A Chinese Mandarin:
"The whole country swarms with rebels.
Our
funds are nearly at an end, and our troops few; our officers disagree, and
the power is not concentrated. The commander of the forces wants to
extinguish a burning wagonload of fagots with a cupful of water. I fear we
shall hereafter have some serious affair - that the great body will rise
against us, and our own people leave us." The military operations in
Kwangsi languished during two years, although the tide of war declared
itself, on the whole, against the imperialists; but the rebels themselves
were exposed to this danger - that they were exclusively dependent on the
resources of the province, and that these being exhausted, they were in
danger of being compelled to retire into Tonquin. It was at this
exceedingly critical moment that Tien Wang showed himself an able leader
of men by coming to the momentous decision to march out of Kwangsi, and
invade the vast and yet untouched provinces of Central China. If the step
was more the pressure of dire need than the inspiration of genius, it none
the less forms the real turning-point in the rebellion.
Tien Wang announced his decision by issuing a proclamation, in the course
of which he declared that he had received "the Divine commission to
exterminate the Manchus, and to possess the empire as its true sovereign";
and, as it was also at this time that his followers became commonly known
as Taepings, it may be noted that the origin of this name is somewhat
obscure.
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Words from 112100 to 112378
of 191255
