Ye Yunlai (, died 1861) was a military leader of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

. He began his military career in the Jintian Uprising, later becoming a general, leading Taiping forces to many military victories. He was the chief commander defending

Anqing Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...

city and never surrendered, ultimately dying in battle. He was awarded the E An in 1857.

Combat against the Qing military forces

The

city, located between

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

and

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

, was a strategically important city and transfer base of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. The Qing military forces recovered

and they prepared to attack Anqing by the

Xiang Army 150px, Zeng Guofan, the leader of the Xiang Army The Xiang Army or Hunan Army () was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces called '' tuanlian'' to contain the Taiping Rebellion in Qing China ...

. The

Army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...

Chen Yucheng Chen Yucheng (), born Chen Picheng (; 1837May 1862), was a Chinese general during the Taiping Rebellion and later served as the Heroic (Ying) Prince (or Brave King) of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the later stages of the rebellion, nicknamed " ...

commanded over 400,000 for saving Ye Yenlai inner Anqing. Chen and Ye face faced the Xiang Army, numbered at 180,000 soldiers, commanded by general

Zeng Guoquan 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 d ...

. He later united the 90,000-strong

Green Standard Army The Green Standard Army (; Manchu: ''niowanggiyan turun i kūwaran'') was the name of a category of military units under the control of Qing dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu- ...

commanded by the Governor of

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

province, Hu Linyi (胡林翼). This large-scale and tough combat lasted from spring 1860 until 1861.

Sources

*Tiān Guó Zhi (天國志) 1861 deaths Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion Year of birth missing Generals from Guangxi Qing dynasty people {{China-mil-bio-stub