"He informed me that he was the leader known as the Ying-wang (or Heroic Prince); that he was charged from Nankin to relieve Ngan-king, and had undertaken a westward movement with the view of gaining the rear of the Imperial force, and besieging that city on the western side. So far he had been completely successful.
"Leaving Tung-ching, a city forty miles to the north of Nankin, on the 6th instant, he marched in a north-westerly direction upon the city of Hoh-shan, thus avoiding all the Imperialist posts in the districts of Yung-chung, &c. On the 10th he took Hoh-shan, where there was no considerable force to oppose him; and then turning to the south-west, reached Yung-shan on the 14th, which fell in the same way. Hastily securing the munitions of these two places, of which he stood in need, he pressed on to Kwang-chow, and succeeded in surprising a camp of the Amoor Tartars, killing, as the Ying-wang said, all the men, and capturing all the horses. This, and a small affair at Paho, placed him in possession of Kwang-chow, which he entered without opposition on the 17th instant. He had thus taken three cities, and had accomplished a march of 600 li (say 200 miles) in eleven days, and was now in a position either to attack in rear the Imperial force which he had just turned, and draw them off from Ngan-king, or, postponing that operation, to occupy Han-kow, from which he was distant only fifty miles. He added, however, that he felt some hesitation in marching upon the latter place, as he had heard that the English had already established themselves at that port.
"I commended his caution in this respect, and advised him not to think of moving upon Han-kow, as it was impossible for the insurgents to occupy any emporium at which we were established, without seriously interfering with our commerce, and it was necessary that their movements should be so ordered as not to clash with ours."
Now this exaggerated "caution" and absurd regard for "our commerce" made the Ying-wang sacrifice his own interests.
His expedition was planned for the express purpose of capturing Han-kow (preparatory to that of Wu-chang, the capital of the Hupeh province, situated directly opposite, on the other side of the Yang-tze); the relief of Ngan-king was to be effected en route, either by the direct attack of his army or by the effect of its success elsewhere. At the time of his interview with Mr. Parkes, either operation was simply a matter of choice, for Han-kow was almost undefended and offered an easy capture; while having completely outmanœuvred the besiegers of Ngan-king, he might have fallen upon their rear, and, with a sortie of the garrison, probably exterminated them. Of course, to effect either plan a continuation of his hitherto prompt and decisive action was imperative; this, however, became arrested by the unfortunate and prejudicial presence of the English, who, in the midst of his successes, established themselves at the city the capture of which formed the terminal point of his campaign. Of course, Mr. Parkes does not report the threats of hostility thrust upon the Ying-wang to deter him from advancing upon, and occupying the Eldorado on which foreigners of every degree were greedily intent, trusting to the terms of the Elgin treaty with the Manchoo Government for the fulfilment of their golden visions. But it were idle, indeed, to suppose so energetic a commander as the Ying-wang would allow all the fruits of his past operations and the favourable prospects of a rapid prosecution of his movement, to be lost either by "hesitation in marching upon Han-kow," or by the advice of Mr. Parkes. The Ying-wang undoubtedly received a threat of "strict neutrality" in event of his appearing at Han-kow—that sort of "neutrality" with which Mr. Parkes was "fully acquainted," and which has invariably been assumed towards the Ti-pings, but which some might interpret by the words, "gratuitous hostility."
The Ti-ping cause suffered from British contact in this, as in every other instance, as the Ying-wang delayed his march upon Han-kow, and sent to Nankin for orders. His army, although mustering nearly 50,000 men, did not possess a fighting strength of more than half that number, the rest being simply the coolies in usual attendance upon all Chinese armies; therefore delay in the enemy's country simply meant defeat. The critical and favourable moment to strike a successful blow was lost, and while the great cause of Christianity and freedom was once more paralyzed by the incubus of British interests, the opponents to both received such ample time to concentrate their out-generalled forces, that when, after a delay of several months, the Ying-wang received orders to advance upon Han-kow, and open communication with the British authorities, he encountered their vastly superior army close to the city of Ma-ching, and after a most desperately contested battle, was defeated with heavy loss, and then gradually driven beyond the city of Ngan-king without having been able to succour that position, or obtain the slightest advantage from his previous brilliant exploits.
The Ying-wang, although only twenty-four years of age, had already, by his extraordinary courage, obtained one of the highest positions among the Ti-pings, ranking at this time as a generalissimo of the army, and a noble of the first degree, with the honourable title of Ying-wang (Heroic Prince). By the Imperialists he had received the cognomen of "Sze-ngan-kow" (Four-eyed dog), in consequence of his remarkably rapid and successful strategy; and next to the Chung-wang his presence inspired more fear in Manchoo bosoms than the vicinity and operations of any other Ti-ping leader. Singularly romantic were the antecedents of this young and gallant chieftain. A youthful Cantonese student, while immersed in studying the wise proverbs of the Chinese classics, he chanced to meet a fellow-scholar related to some of the Hung family, who had originated and still formed so important a part of the Ti-ping rebellion. Shortly afterwards, having been unfairly treated in his examination by the corrupt government officials, he turned towards the new doctrines of the Ti-pings, and, with the assistance of his friend, paid a visit to Hung-jin, the future Kan-wang, who at this time, 1857, was fulfilling the duties of Christian teacher and catechist to the London Missionary Society at Hong-kong. Of an impulsive and enthusiastic disposition, he soon became a convert to Christianity, which Hung-jin preached with an eloquence that obtained the future Prime Minister of Ti-ping-wang the confidence and entire approval of all missionaries and Christians for many years, though, singularly enough, when the time of Hung-jin's elevation to the second place among the Ti-pings arrived—that is to say, the moment when by his power and influence it might naturally have been known that his exertions to Christianize China would have become immense, and would have been accompanied by proportionately gigantic results—his English pretended friends for the most part abandoned him.
The Ying-wang added one more to the large number of proselytes obtained by the earnestness and devotion of the warm-hearted and noble-minded Hung-jin. He had been for some months under the tuition of the latter, and had become greatly attached to him, when, deeply impressed by the information of the imprisonment of Hung-jin's mother, wife, and several other relatives, by the Canton mandarins, because of their connection, though very distant, with the principal members of the Ti-ping rebellion, and that they were only saved from execution by the efforts of some missionaries, he formed the determination to rescue them from imprisonment and ill-treatment.
Proceeding with his fellow-student to the city of Canton, they managed, through bribing some of the prison warders, to obtain a moment's admission to the aged mother of Hung-jin. To their surprise they found with her, besides other relatives, a granddaughter of surpassing beauty, who was the orphan of Hung-jin's brother—a brother who, with nearly the whole of his family, perished during the ruthless massacres of the innocent kindred of the Ti-ping rebels. Although their first meeting lasted but a few minutes, it seems the future Ying-wang and the beautiful captive maid became mutually attached. In their case, however, the romance admits of explanation. I have myself seen both the Ying-wang and the lady, and I consider that of each sex they were by far the most handsome I ever beheld in China. I can, therefore, easily believe that when in the wretchedness of her captivity, the young and noble-looking student appeared before her surrounded by all the extra attractions of his position as her deliverer, the lonely and miserable girl turned towards him with her whole heart. Not less natural seems the passion of the student, whose newly-aroused religious enthusiasm predisposed him to entertain the warmest feelings towards those he came to rescue and whose cause he had already espoused. During the short moments of his first interview, he told the prisoners to be prepared for an attempt to escape upon a certain night. The appointed time arrived, but no rescue, for the would-be deliverer, betrayed by one of the gaolers whom he had bribed and trusted, was seized while making his way into the prison by means of false keys, and thrust, helpless as themselves, among those anxiously awaiting his assistance. Brought before the cruel Manchoo mandarins, he was sentenced to the barbarous death by "cutting into a thousand pieces," while Hung-jin's mother, wife, niece, and several other relatives, were condemned to torture and decapitation.
Time flew onwards, and at length the evening before the fatal day arrived. What dread and overpowering feelings those poor doomed creatures felt upon that last day of life, while anticipating the horrid tortures coming with the morrow's sun, I do not know; but what I can tell is, that suddenly, about midnight, the doors of their prison were burst asunder, and the whole of the captives liberated by an insurrection of famine-maddened Chinamen.