Zeng Guoquan (12 October 1824 – 13 November 1890), courtesy name
Yuanfu, art name
Shuchun, was a Chinese official and military leader of the late
Qing dynasty. He was the ninth brother of
Zeng Guofan, a prominent statesman and general, and a descendant of the philosopher
Zengzi. He served in the Xiang Army, a standing military force organised by his brother to counter the Taiping rebels, and was nicknamed "Ninth Marshal" (九帥). He was known for his expertise in siege warfare, particularly the use of trenches, hence he was also nicknamed "Zeng the Iron Container" (曾鐵桶). During the conquest of Tianjing (Nanjing), the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Zeng was notorious for condoning massacres of the city populace, which resulted in him being called "Zeng the Butcher" (曾屠戶).
Read more...: Life
Life
Zeng was born in Xiangxiang, Changsha Prefecture, Hunan Province. Zengzi was his ancestor. He sat for the imperial examination several times but failed to make the cut. During the Taiping Rebellion, Zeng assisted his brother Zeng Guofan in raising and organising local militias from Hunan to form the Xiang Army to fight the rebels. In 1856, he managed to recruit 3,000 troops from Hunan to reinforce Qing imperial forces at Ji'an, Jiangxi Province. In the following year, they managed to recapture Ji'an from the rebels.
In 1860, Zeng and his troops besieged Anqing and repeatedly fended off rebel reinforcements led by Chen Yucheng. They captured Anqing in the following year. In 1864, they conquered Tianjing (Nanjing), the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established by the rebels. Zeng was later appointed as the Provincial Governor of Hubei Province.
During the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor, Zeng, Guo Songtao and others compiled the book Hunan Tong Zhi (湖南通志; Guide to Hunan). In 1863, he sponsored 5,000 silver taels for the publishing of a book, Chuanshan Yishu (船山遺書; Lost Book of Chuanshan), by Wang Fuzhi. He also offered 300 silver taels to Li Shanlan for the printing of Ze Guxi Zhai Suanxue, a book on mathematics written by Li. In 1882, when he learnt that Peng Yulin wanted to establish a Chuanshan Academy in Hengyang, he donated his personal copy of the Chuanshan Yishu and provided funding to help Peng start the school.
In 1867, when the Nian Rebellion was ongoing, Zeng and Li Hongzhang adopted different approaches towards attacking the rebels. Zeng ordered Bao Chao to lead his unit to attack the rebels. Liu Mingchuan was defeated but was saved by Bao Chao. Liu then pushed the blame for the defeat to Bao and Liu Shengzao, resulting in the latter two being punished. Zeng was also forced to retire, ostensibly on the grounds of illness, but actually as punishment for his failure. In 1875, Zeng returned to politics and consecutively served as the Provincial Governor of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, and Viceroy of Liangguang. In 1884, he was appointed as Viceroy of Liangjiang. He died in 1890 and was given the posthumous name "Zhongxiang" (忠襄).
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曾國荃1824年10月12日 - 1890年，
清朝湘軍將領，一名
子植，譜名
傳恆，字
沅甫，號
叔純。湖南長沙府湘鄉人，宗聖
曾子七十世孫，名臣
曾國藩的九弟，湘軍內部稱之為
曾老九，尊稱為
九帥。1864年湘軍南京屠城主謀。
早年屢試不第，1852年方成為優貢生。後加入湘軍，在與太平軍作戰中，是其兄國藩的重要助手。1856年從湖南募兵三千增援江西吉安，次年陷吉安。1860年圍安慶，屢敗陳玉成援軍，次年陷安慶。1864年攻破天京。1866年任湖北巡撫。因善於圍城，又精於長壕法，人稱曾鐵桶。又由於在攻打太平軍天京（今江蘇南京）時，疑似劫掠南京城中大量財寶，被稱為曾老饕，此外在南京濫殺百姓無數，與其兄被稱為曾剃頭、曾屠戶。卒諡忠襄。
Read more...: 屠城 劫掠與貪污 晚年 軼事 參考 影視形象
屠城
國荃雖善戰，但屢屢屠殺平民，軍紀極差，亦曾自謂「殺人如麻」，以安慶殺降、南京屠城，為人所病；南京城破後，曾國藩上奏入南京後，「……分段搜殺，三日之間斃賊共十餘萬人，秦淮長河，屍首如麻，……三日夜火光不息。」其實十餘萬人大多是老百姓，南京文士李圭道：「至官軍一面，則潰敗後之虜掠，或戰勝後之焚殺，尤耳不忍聞，目不忍睹，其慘毒實較『賊』又有過之無不及，予不欲言，予亦不敢言也。」。
中央研究院院士、中央研究院近代史研究所創所所長郭廷以在其所著《近代中國史綱》引趙烈文《能靜居日記》記載曾國藩弟曾國荃率湘軍攻入南京城後的情景：「湘軍『貪掠奪，頗亂伍。中軍各勇留營者皆去搜括』，……『沿街死屍十之九皆老者。其幼孩未滿二、三歲者亦被戳以為戲，匍匐道上。婦女四十歲以下者一人俱無（均被虜），老者負傷或十餘刀，數十刀，哀號之聲達於四方。』凡此均為曾國荃幕友趙烈文目睹所記，總計死者約二、三十萬人。」是為湘軍版的「南京大屠殺」。
彭玉麟見狀不滿，先後二次（1861年安慶之圍與1864年金陵之圍）致函曾國藩，要求大義滅親。南京人至今仍以「曾剃頭」「曾屠戶」等詞稱呼曾國藩、曾國荃兄弟。
劫掠與貪污
曾國荃有個外號叫「老饕」。王闓運說他有田百頃，但此說遭郭嵩燾駁斥：「曾國荃亦無百頃田」。曾紀芬稱他這個九叔「每克一名城，奏一凱歌，必請假還家一次，頗以求田問舍自晦。」一說曾國荃於南京搶得大量財物，曾國藩則對朝廷奏稱「偽宮賊館，一炬成灰，並無所謂賦庫者，然克復老巢而全無貨物，實出微臣意計之外，亦為從來罕見之事」，說除了二方「偽玉璽」和一方「金印」，別無所獲。許多人認為，曾國藩、曾國荃私自搶走了所有太平天國的財物，以縱火掩飾。王闓運有詩云「曾侯工作奏，言錢空縷覼」，意即曾國荃一擲千金買箋紙。
又一說，攻天京時，國荃愛將蕭孚泗以馬車數十部搬運財物，估算所得財物不少於五十萬兩白銀（時綠營官兵月軍餉方銀錢一兩半），為避人耳目擇船運十九艘，為當時水路關卡守將，後為閩浙總督、兩江總督的沈葆禎截獲發現，沈不畏誘劦建功因此升官台灣知府。亦有專家認為所謂「忠襄于此中獲資數千萬」實屬無稽之談。曾國荃辯稱，回鄉湘軍需退訃恤金
晚年
同治六年（1867年）一月，由於捻亂，李鴻章和曾國荃採取分進合擊捻軍，曾國荃遣鮑超率「霆軍」東下，劉銘傳大敗，為鮑超所救，銘傳推卸責任，劉盛藻和鮑超受處分。曾國荃後因鎮壓捻軍作戰失敗，稱病退職。1875年重出官場，歷任陝西、山西巡撫，任兩廣總督。1884年任兩江總督。
軼事
同治間，與郭嵩燾等修纂《湖南通志》。1863年曾國荃曾出資刊刻《船山遺書》，共出了5000兩銀子。曾國荃還出資刊刻李善蘭的《則古昔齋算學》，共300兩銀子。1882年，曾國荃得知彭玉麟想在衡陽創建船山書院時，便捐出家藏《船山遺書》，並「又捐助膏獎銀兩，嘉惠來學」。
參考
• 唐浩明，《曾國藩》三部曲（血祭、野焚、黑雨）。
• 曾憲植，曾國荃玄孫女，任中共全國婦聯副主席，葉劍英的夫人。
影視形象
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