Tang Zhengzai
Encyclopedia
Tang Zhengzai was an eminent navy leader during the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...

, known during his tenure as the King of Sail (杭王). He led the Taiping fleet in many battles, nearly destroying the Xiang Army
Xiang Army
The Xiang Army was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces tuanlian to contain the Taiping rebellion in China . The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed...

. He trained other naval officers, including Li Ronfar and Li Xiucheng
Li Xiucheng
Li Xiucheng was an eminent military leader of the Taiping Rebellion, and known during his military tenure as the Loyal King . This title was given because a Qing general attempted to bribe him to kill Hong Xiuquan, but he refused and told Hong Xiuquan. His many victories also made Hong very happy...

. Tang was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...

 in 1863.

Tang Zhengzai employed wooden bridges similar in design to the Bailey bridge
Bailey bridge
The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....

 later developed by Donald Bailey
Donald Bailey
Sir Donald Coleman Bailey, OBE was an English civil engineer who invented the Bailey bridge. Field Marshal Montgomery is recorded as saying that without the Bailey bridge, we should not have won the war. - Background :...

.

Battles

In the a battle near occupied Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 on March 10, 1853, Tang commanded the first offensive, successfully cutting off every river pass that could reinforce Nanjing. In 1854, at Lake Dongting, Tang's fleet surrounded the Xiang Army's fleet and destroyed much of it. Tang's fleet later transported 30,000 of Shi Dakai
Shi Dakai
Shi Dakai , born in Guigang, Guangxi, also known as Wing King or phonetically translated as E-Wang, was one of the most highly acclaimed leaders in the Taiping Rebellion and a poet....

's troops along the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 in a swift surprise attack.

In 1857, Tang's fleet moved to Wuhu, between Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...

 and Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

; it remained there to defend the location until 1861, when a Xiang counterattack forced Tang to retreat to Nanjing.

In 1863, he was killed in action – shot by the Huai Army in Wuxi
Wuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...

.
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