CHUNG-WANG'S CROWN.
When the result of the council had been submitted to and approved by the Tien-wang, orders were given to the generals to march at once upon their several destinations. The Ying-wang was despatched with a large force along the northern bank of the Yang-tze river, in the direction of Han-kow and the province of Hoo-peh. Reinforcements were ordered to the Shi-wang in Kiang-si, and the Kan-wang, with a large retinue, was sent to the borders of Kwei-chow to accept the allegiance of a strong body of insurgents from Kwang-tung, which had lately been tendered to the Ti-ping emperor. Each of these chiefs, when prepared to start upon their expedition, assembled their troops and harangued them in a most energetic manner. Their addresses were received with acclamation, and it required but little penetration to prophesy the Manchoo troops would have but small chance of successfully opposing these enthusiastic and determined men. With all their excitement they seemed possessed with a firmness of purpose, and settled conviction to succeed. I conversed with many while marching towards the city gates, and found all alike imbued with the earnest belief that God, or as they expressed it, "The Heavenly Father," was with them. Some were quite boys, of fifteen or sixteen years. I asked several if they were not afraid to go to battle and be killed, and one daring-looking little fellow, pointing to a great cicatrice along the side of his neck, and another on his breast, told me he had received the wounds fighting the "Demon-imps" (Manchoos), and that he intended soon to have his revenge. Several of the elder soldiers told me in a very serious manner that it was a good thing to be killed fighting the "demons" (the Manchoos were so called because of their idolatry), as they would then certainly go to heaven.
The Chung-wang, previous to commencing his march to Ngan-whui, reviewed his body-guard in the large parade ground. This brigade, 5,000 strong, marching under the Chang-wang's standard of green, was composed of one of the finest bodies of men I have ever seen in my life. Until the repulse from Shanghae it was their boast that they had never retreated or turned their backs upon a foe. They were all natives of Kwang-si, the Chung-wang's province, and came principally from the Maoutze, or aboriginal mountaineers, who have never at any period of the Manchoo invasion, become subject to, or been subdued by them; and who, at the present time, still retain the ancient Chinese customs and their own form of government, entirely independent and free of all allegiance to the reigning dynasty. These Maoutze are the very bravest soldiers in China, and are easily to be recognized by the enormous quantity of their hair; for never having succumbed to and adopted the usurper's badge of slavery—the shaved head—their hair has grown from infancy, reaching almost to their feet when loose, and when dressed forming a tail of great thickness, which, when wound round the neck, acts as a protecting armour that no sword can penetrate in the day of battle.
Besides his brigade of guards, the Chung-wang reviewed another, composed of remarkably fine Honan men, and commanded by Ling-ho, an adopted son. This chief, celebrated for his reckless and dashing gallantry, had been repeatedly and dangerously wounded. He was particularly attached to Europeans, and at the time I met him, had two with him, one a Corsican, who held the position of Lieutenant-Colonel in his regiment, and the other a Sardinian, who was a Major. They had served with him several years, were both married, and perfectly happy and contented, although they had passed a considerable time without seeing another European than themselves. The men they commanded were greatly attached to them, and ready and willing to follow them anywhere. These two brigades, the body-guard of the Foo-wang, second in command, and a small body of cavalry, were all the troops the Chung-wang took with him from Nankin; but these were the very élite of the Ti-ping forces. The strength of the whole division was about 7,500, which was to be considerably increased by reinforcements in Ngan-whui.
At last, after all the other expeditionary forces had started, the Chung-wang himself set forth. Marie I left in tears, but perfect safety and comfort. After the last farewell she was led into the inner apartments by her particular friend, Cum-ho (the Good Gold), the Chung-wang's second daughter, a remarkably pretty girl of about her own age. During the few weeks which had elapsed since our arrival at Nankin, her Excellency Mademoiselle Cum-ho had been the inseparable companion of Marie. My friend was generally with me, and I began to fancy that her "Foreign Brother" was latterly assuming a very unbrotherly and more affectionate relation. We were the first Europeans the Chung-wang's ladies had ever seen, and my friend was a fine handsome specimen of the race, therefore, it was not very astonishing that Mademoiselle Cum-ho should have looked favourably upon him. Poor fellow! he must have experienced considerable difficulty in making love, for at the time he scarcely knew five Chinese words.
Field artillery was a thing totally unknown to the Chinese armies when I joined the Chung-wang, but previous to leaving Nankin I prevailed upon him to give me men to work them and the requisite authority to mount three light 6-pound French field-pieces, and carry them with us. My friends and self were each capitally mounted with strong and hardy Chinese horses, for which the Chung-wang would not hear of payment. With our small battery of artillery we were attached to his guards, and marched rapidly forward. Besides my interpreter and cook, the Chung-wang very kindly supplied us with a couple of pages each. This system of pages is a very common one in the Ti-ping armies; every chief or officer of rank has a number of them; they accompany him into the thickest of the fight, each carrying a gun, which they hand to him and re-load as fast as he can discharge them.
At the cities of Wuhu, Taeping-foo, Taeping-hien, and several others we halted, and were joined by large reinforcements, so that before we approached the neighbourhood of the enemy the strength of our army was but little short of 27,000 men, independent of the camp followers, while the baggage, coolie, and commissariat departments amounted to upwards of 15,000. During the march I had capital opportunities of observing the greatly improved state of the country under Ti-ping rule, and also of admiring the conduct, character, and efficiency of their armies.
Much has been stated about the desolating and ruthless character of the Ti-pings, but I entirely deny the accusation. I have been on many a long march with them and have never found them act with the barbarity that marked the late American war, or commit the atrocities perpetrated in Poland and Circassia, or act as Englishmen have done to the unfortunate natives of New Zealand. The Ti-pings never committed wanton devastation, never destroyed crops of standing corn, as has been done by civilized troops in New Zealand, in Algeria, and in the Shenandoah Valley.
The perfect organization of the Ti-ping armies contrasted favourably with that of the Imperialists. The former, unpaid and voluntary, observed strict discipline; the latter, receiving hire, constantly mutinied; all military crimes, especially those of ill-using the villagers and opium-smoking, were promptly and severely punished. Outrages, no doubt, were committed by the Ti-ping forces, but, if so, it was by those raw recruits who neither understood nor cared for the Ti-ping cause. The great body of the army observed a moderation unknown to the Imperialists; were it otherwise, instant execution was sure to follow. If a village was invested, its inhabitants might command security by tendering allegiance and conforming to the customs of the conquerors. If a village was merely passed by, a moderate contribution was required. There may have been, particularly in latter years, exceptions to this course, but it was not the less the fundamental rule which guided the operations of the Ti-ping armies. If they occupied a district for any length of time, peace and contentment reigned there; it was only when they rested but for a short period, and were followed by the Imperialists, or, perhaps, by hordes of local banditti and straggling bands of camp followers, that the country was desolated. Such was my experience. Each Ti-ping Wang or Prince has under his special control 100,000 people, including one army. Between the Wangs and generals of armies come nine descriptions of officers, ranking as ministers, and other great officers in charge of civil and military departments of state. The military organization and all the titles, are those used previous to the conquest of China by the Manchoo Tartars. Each Ti-ping army, or keun, is composed of 13,125 officers and men, under the command of a general (keun-shwae), and is divided into five divisions (ying), front, rear, right, left, and centre.
A division musters 2,625 strong, commanded by a general of division (sze-shwae), and contains five leu, or regiments, the front, rear, left, right, and centre.