Jiangnan Daying


Jiangnan Daying was an army group assembled by the Qing dynasty. The army group consist of mostly Green Standard Army, and their goal was to quell the Taiping Rebellion around the Jiangnan region. The army group twice encircled Nanjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but were defeated by the Taiping forces on both occasions.

First Jiangnan DaYing

Time

1853—1856: when the armies of the Taiping Rebellion occupied Nanjing, after 10 days Xiang Rong in command of a 10,000 strong Green Standard Army tracked them to Taiping and stationed outside the Nanjing wall.

Headquarters

The headquarters of the Jiangnan DaYing were located in Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Leaders

Military commander: Second Class Senior General Her Chyun
Lieutenant General: Zhang GuoLiang

Taiping Generals

, Yang Xiuqing, Qin Rigang, Li Xiucheng

Strength

The 80,000 soldiers in the regular Army faced 460,000+ in the Taiping Rebellion militia force.

Outcome

On June 1, 1856, an army tried to stop the Taiping forces but the Governor of Jiangsu Jeer Hungar, Mayor of Nanjing, lost and his army of 7,800 were all killed.
There was a heated battle from June 16 to June 20, but the Qing army of 80,000 was defeated and the surviving 36,000 followers of Xiang Rong retreated north. On August 9, Xiang Rong committed suicide in Danyang, but this strategy stopped the forces' march north.

Second Jiangnan DaYing

Time

1858—1860

Headquarters

Leaders

Viceroy of Liangjiang: He Guiqing
Military commander: Second Class Senior General Zhang GuoLiang
Governor of Zhejiang province 1st Luo Zundian
Governor of Zhejiang province 2nd Wang Youling
Governor of Jiangsu province Xu Youren
Lieutenant General: Zhang YuLiang
Lieutenant General: Zhou Tengso
Lieutenant General: Wang Jung

Victory of Taiping Generals

, Lai Wenguang, Tong Zonghai, Chen Yucheng, Yang Fuqing, Li Shixian, Liu Qeuling

Strength

The regular Army had only 180,000 soldiers while the Taiping Rebellion militia force had at least 560,000 soldiers.

Outcome

forces occupied Jiangsu in 1860. The next year, they occupied Zhejiang. The Jiangnan DaYing was destroyed. The Second Opium War took place and the Xianfeng Emperor died in 1861. The Xiang Army and Huai Army combined to become the Green Standard Army in 1862 and for the third time they surrounded and attacked Nanjing, successfully ending the civil war in July 1864.

Commentary

The Jiangnan DaYing had trouble making payroll for its forces, and these forces were insufficient to fight off the British and French forces in northern China.
The leaders intrigued against each other: Xiang Rong 　and Her Chyun in the first Jiangnan DaYing Her Chyun group, and the He Guiqing and Zeng Guofan groups disputed inner officials' system, which allowed the Taiping Rebellion to gain momentum.
Her Chyun could use the Brigadier General's works but he belittled the Taiping Rebellion, He Guiqing's cowardice and Zeng Guofan's selfishness, which were the three reasons for their loss.