A regiment is composed of 525 men and officers, commanded by a colonel (leu-shwae), and is divided into five tsuh, or companies, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth.
A company is composed of 104 men and officers, commanded by a captain (tsuh-chang); then come four lieutenants (leang-sze-ma), distinguished as the north, south, east, and west, each in command of four sergeants (woo-chang), and twenty privates (woo-tsuh).
The lieutenants, and all above, have each a banner with his designation inscribed on it, which increases in size with the rank of the officer.
Each division of an army is divided into three classes, or brigades. The first consists of bonâ fide Ti-pings, that is to say, all who are of more than six years' standing; the second brigade, of acknowledged brethren, of more than three but less than six years' service; while the third, and generally largest brigade, includes all new levies, and less than three years' service men. Each brigade is again divided into three classes. The best and bravest men are armed as musketeers, or cavalry; the next class as heavy gingall and halbert men; and the third as spearmen. A great proportion of the three arms are flag-bearers, while the standards of the chiefs are borne by officers of stanch Ti-pingism and approved courage. The rank of these latter is upon an equal footing with that of the commissioned officers, and the position is considered the most honourable in the army. The bravest men I have ever seen in my life were some of these standard-bearers. It is their duty to lead on the whole army by advancing with their colours far in front, and I am certain many a brave ensign must have fallen by the fire of his comrades, at times wonderfully eccentric. Attached to each division of guards (or the first class of the three brigade divisions) is one large black flag, and when this is advanced, the division is compelled to follow it upon pain of death, the rear rank men carrying drawn swords to decapitate any who might attempt to run. This flag possesses not only the signification the "black flag" does with Europeans, but must never be carried in retreat before an enemy, nothing but death being permitted to arrest its progress. This was well known to the Imperialists, and, until assisted by British troops, officers, and supplies of shell, artillery, &c., they rarely, if ever, awaited this terrible attack, and even if courageous enough to do so, their chance of success was but small indeed.
The absence of all mercenary attraction to their ranks arose from the wish of the Ti-ping Government to have no adherents who could possibly join them from other than religious or patriotic motives, these being recognized as the element that contributed so largely to success. The appearance of the men is quite a sufficient guarantee of the beneficial effects of the system, for, instead of being taken from the very lowest dregs of the people, as with the Imperialists, it is nearly always the case that they are men of respectability, from either the working, servant, or trading class; frequently they are of much higher social position, and this is generally the case with the Kwang-tung and Kwang-si men, whose superiority is such that it is mostly from their ranks the officers are selected.
One of the wisest and most advantageous regulations of the Ti-ping army is, that officers of every grade can rise by merit alone; a regulation highly beneficial, most of their leaders having proved very superior men; among others the Chung-wang, who, unaided, rose by his brilliant attainments alone to the highest military rank.
The total inability of the Manchoos to alone meet the Ti-pings with any chance of success, is easily to be understood when the different military constitutions of the two powers are made known; for how is it possible that armies entirely composed of the very lowest and most degraded of the people, and whose officers obtain their rank by corruption and bribery, can be able to compete with the patriotism of the Ti-pings, or the superior talent of their chiefs?
The cowardice and cruelty of the Imperialists have long been notorious, and, after the experience foreign officers have lately had, the courage and humanity of the Ti-pings should have become equally so. I can assure my readers that it is no slight devotion to the sacred cause of civil and religious liberty, and not a little hatred of the Manchoo oppressor, that encourages these people in their gallant struggle for freedom, and makes them so cheerfully accept all the rigours, deprivations, and incessant dangers of their cause. Any one who had seen them undergo the terrible sufferings that I have would never afterwards doubt this. There is one case especially, which shall be related in its proper place, the horror of which I shall never forget, and that, sad to say, was caused entirely through the interference of the British Government. It was occasioned more particularly by the arrival of the Anglo-Chinese, or "Vampire-Fleet," as it was called by the foreign residents of Shanghae, under command of Manchoo Admiral—but British Captain—Sherrard Osborne, and the progress of the mercenary contingents commanded by Major Gordon, R.E., and others.
The equipment of the Ti-ping armies was much the same as that of the Imperialists. What few cavalry they possessed were armed with heavy swords of the yataghan shape, generally double-handled, and with a very broad and thick blade; their firearms were light matchlocks, and European muskets or pistols when they could obtain them. The musketeers carried matchlocks, useless in wet weather, and European-made double-barrelled guns, muskets, and pistols, generally of very inferior quality. The second-class brigades usually carried one large gingall to four men, the weapon when in use resting upon a tripod. The spearmen simply carried a long bamboo with an iron spike in the end, and the usual short, heavy Chinese sword, used by all their infantry. The spears were proportioned to the men, and ranged from eight to eighteen feet long. The flags were all attached to twelve-feet spears. Besides the above-mentioned weapons, many men from the northern provinces were armed with the Tartar bow, which was a much more accurate-shooting weapon than either matchlock or gingall. Regiments of guards generally mustered upwards of 2,000 strong. To each regiment were attached twelve buglers in the shape of horn-blowers, the instrument used being a long brass tube like a French horn, and sounding like a number of cow-horns concentrated. Troops could be manœuvred by the notes of this instrument perfectly well. Besides the buglers, a corps of drummers formed the other part of each military band, together with players upon the hautboys, Chinese fifes, and serpent horns. Those who have seen a Ti-ping army will readily agree with me that it is one of the most picturesque and impressive sights in the world. The very becoming style of the soldiers' dress, the brilliancy of the colours, the quantity and richness of the silken flags, and the peculiar way in which the bearers wave them about, or carry them streaming in the wind,—the forest of spears presented by the spearmen of the army, the number of mounted officers,—all unite in producing a vivid impression.
It was in such style that after a twenty days' march we came upon the Imperialist troops in the neighbourhood of the Poyang Lake. Directly the Chung-wang became aware of the enemy's vicinity, clouds of skirmishers were deployed in front of the leading divisions, and the cavalry divided into two bodies, one covering each flank. The advancing army meanwhile continued its march in close columns, each column being four deep, and at wheeling distance from the parallel columns on either side. This formation of the Ti-ping armies much resembles the movement by "fours" of the British army; but the files are single—what is usually termed the Indian file, and each acts independently of the others. When it is required to form line of battle, the columns simply halt and wheel into line upon either flank, joining the points of the formations upon each side. It will thus be seen that, instead of marching front forward as European columns, they advance end on, and the front of each company when on the march is at right angles to the head of the column. The line of battle is formed four deep in consequence of this, but, if necessary, is easily made less by the rear files being right or left faced, and marched off parallel to their former position. The leading battalions are always formed of the spearmen or poorest troops; the second line of battle is composed of the second class men; and the third, or reserve, of the best troops and guards.