Imatges de pàgina
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and Major Gordon announced that he would march in the following morning, whether with or without the mutineers mattered nothing to him. Those who did not answer to their names at the end of the first half-march would be dismissed, and he spoke with the authority of one in complete accord with the Chinese authorities themselves. The native soldiers obeyed him as a Chinese official, and the foreign officers feared to disobey him as they would have liked on account of his commanding the source whence they were paid. The mutineers fell in, and a force of nearly 3000 men, well-equipped and anxious for the fray, returned to Quinsan, where General Ching had, in the meanwhile, kept the rebels in close watch from a strong position defended by several stockades, and supported by the Hyson.

Immediately after his arrival, Major Gordon moved out his force to attack the stockades which the rebels had constructed on their right wing. These were strongly built; but as soon as the defenders perceived that the assailants had gained their flank they precipitately withdrew into Quinsan itself. General Ching wished the attack to be made on the Eastern Gate, opposite to which he had raised his own entrenchments, and by which he had announced his intention of forcing his way; but a brief inspection showed Major Gordon that that was the strongest point of the town, and that a direct attack upon it could only succeed, if at all, by a very considerable sacrifice of men. Like a prudent commander, Major Gordon determined to reconnoitre; and, after much grumbling on the part of General Ching, he decided that the most hopeful plan was to carry some stockades situated seven miles west of the town, and thence assail Quinsan on the Soochow side, which was weaker than the others. These stockades were at a village called Chumze. On the 30th of May the force detailed for this work proceeded to carry it out. The Hyson and fifty Imperial gun-boats conveyed the land force, which consisted of one regiment, some guns, and a large body of Imperialists. The rebels at Chumze offered hardly the least resistance, whether it was that they were dismayed at

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the sudden appearance of the enemy, or, as was stated at the time, because they considered themselves ill-treated by their comrades in Quinsan. The Hyson vigorously pursued those who fled towards Soochow, and completed the effect of this success by the capture of a very strong and well-built fort covering a bridge at Ta Edin. An Imperialist garrison was installed there, and the Hyson continued the pursuit to within a mile of Soochow itself.

While the late defenders of Chumze were thus driven in hopeless and irretrievable confusion along the narrow road to Soochow, those in Quinsan itself had been terribly alarmed at the cutting off of their communications. They saw themselves on the point of being surrounded, and they yielded to the uncontrollable impulse of panic. During the night, after having suffered severely from the Hyson's fire, the garrison evacuated the place, which might easily have held out; and General Ching had the personal satisfaction, on learning from some deserters of the flight of the garrison, of leading his men over the eastern walls which he had wished to assault. The importance of Quinsan was realized on its capture. Major Gordon pronounced it to be the key of Soochow, and at once resolved to establish his head-quarters there, partly because of its natural advantages, but also and not less on account of its enabling him to gradually destroy the evil associations which the men of his force had contracted at Sunkiang.

The change was not acceptable, however, to the force itself; and the artillery in particular refused to obey orders, and threatened to shoot their officers. Discipline was, however, promptly reasserted by the energy of the commander, who thus described the scene:-"The non-commissioned officers, as usual, all paraded, and were sent for by Major Gordon, who asked them the reason why the men did not fall in, and who wrote the proclamation. They, of course, did not know, and on Major Gordon telling them he would be obliged to shoot one in every five, they evinced their objection to this proceeding by a groan. The most prominent in this was a corporal, who was dragged out, and a couple of infantry who were standing by were ordered to

load and directed to shoot the mutineer, which one did without the slightest hesitation." After this "the EverVictorious Army" became gradually reconciled to its new position at Quinsan. Major Gordon had difficulties with his Chinese colleague also; for General Ching wanted to take all the credit of the victory to himself, and, resentful at Gordon's not having attacked the East Gate, objected to his retaining the town, and said he ought to return to Sunkiang. However, his objections proved as unavailing as his secret disparagement of the English officer, who remained in Quinsan and who was fortunately relieved of the presence of many of the original members of the Ward force by their voluntarily returning to Sunkiang. He had no difficulty in supplying their places, and many of his recruits were the ex-Taeping soldiers who had been captured with Quinsan. General Ching proceeded in high dudgeon to Chumze and Ta Edin, where he placed his troops in quarters, while his large fleet of gun-boats ensured the safety of his communications and commanded the narrow paths or causeways on either side of the creek.

After the capture of Quinsan there was a cessation of active operations for nearly two months. It was the height of summer, and the new troops had to be drilled. The difficulty with Ching was arranged through the mediation of Dr. Macartney, who had just left the English army to become Li's right-hand man, and who was sent by that official from Shanghai for the express purpose. Dr. Halliday Macartney had been an assistant surgeon in the 99th, and went through the Pekin campaign in that capacity. At this time he was employed in a variety of capacities by the Futai. He "drilled troops, supervised the manufacture of shells, gave advice, brightened the Futai's intellect about foreigners, and made peace, in which last accomplishment his forte lay." How accurate that description was has been shown by Sir Halliday Macartney during his diplomatic career of more than twenty years.

Two other circumstances occurred to embarrass the young commander. There were rumours of some meditated movement on the part of Burgevine, and there was a further

ANOTHER MUTINY.

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manifestation of insubordination in the force. The artillery had been cowed by Major Gordon's vigour, but its efficiency remained more doubtful than could be satisfactory to the general responsible for its condition, and one also relying upon it as the most potent arm of his force. He resolved to remove the old commander, and to appoint an English officer, Major Tapp, in his place. On carrying his determination into effect the officers sent in "a round robin," refusing to accept a new officer. This was on the 25th of July, and the expedition which had been decided upon against Wokong had consequently to set out the following morning without a single artillery officer. In face of the inflexible resolve of the leader, however, the officers repented, and appeared in a body at the camp begging to be taken back, and expressing their willingness to accept "Major Tapp or any one else" as their colonel.

With these troops, part of whom had only just returned to a proper sense of discipline, Gordon proceeded to attack Kahpoo, a place on the Grand Canal south of Soochow, where the rebels held two strongly-built stone forts. The force had been strengthened by the addition of another steamer, the Firefly, a sister-vessel to the Hyson. Major Gordon arrived before Kahpoo on the 27th of July; and the garrison, evidently taken by surprise, made scarcely the least resistance. The capture of Kahpoo placed Gordon's force between Soochow and Wokong, the next object of attack.

At Wokong the rebels were equally unprepared. The garrison at Kahpoo, thinking only of its own safety, had fled to Soochow, leaving their comrades at Wokong unwarned and to their fate. So heedless were the Taepings at this place of all danger from the north, that they had even neglected to occupy a strong stone fort situated on a creek of the Taho lake, and about 1000 yards north of the walls of Wokong. The Taepings attempted too late to repair their error, and the loss of this fort cost them that of the other stockades which they had constructed at different points. Several of these were without any garrison, either because their numbers were too few, or because they wished to husband their resources for the defence of Wokong itself. Their inaction

entailed the defection of many of their adherents in the surrounding country, who went over to the Imperialists on Major Gordon's promise of their lives. A success obtained by General Ching and the Imperialists at Tungli entailed further discomfiture to the Taepings. Wokong itself was too weak to offer any effectual resistance; and the garrison on the eve of the assault ordered for the 29th of July sent out a request for quarter, which was granted, and the place surrendered without further fighting. A brother of Chung Wang had been in command there, but he had escaped by the Taho lake during the night before the attack. He had only received the title of Yang Wang a few days; but instead of preparing to signalize his promotion by some act of vigour, he had procured a theatrical company from Hangchow to amuse his hours of leisure. This portion of the campaign closed with the repulse of an attack on Kahpoo by some of the Soochow garrison led by Mow Wang in person, and with the preparations for the return of Major Gordon's force to its headquarters at Quinsan.

Meanwhile an event of far greater importance had happened than even the capture of these towns, although they formed the necessary preliminary to the investment of Soochow. Burgevine had come to the decision to join the Taepings. On his return from Pekin with the recommendations of Mr. Burlinghame and Sir Frederick Bruce in his pocket, and escorted by a delegate of the Tsungli Yamen, he had anticipated with more or less confidence his being promptly reinstated in the command of the Ever-Victorious Army, which, as he was careful to protest, he had never resigned. The firmness of Li Hung Chang baffled his project and disappointed his hopes. He had expected that the Governor of Kiangsu would at once defer to the wishes of the Ministers at Pekin, and would carry into execution Prince Kung's very friendly expressions. Li did nothing of the sort. He plainly declined to entrust Burgevine with any command, and the event amply justified the Futai's decision.

Disappointed in his main hope, Burgevine remained on at Shanghai, employing his time in watching the varying phases of a campaign in which he longed to take part, and of which

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