Most of them were just like ordinary soldiers, pointing the finger at the Taiping Army that was targeting the Qing army in the past, and the worse was that they were directly massacred. However, there are exceptions in everything. As far as Xiao Fo knows, the best people who have

[Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Series 212, original work of Xiaofo’s history, please do not reprint]

During the fourteen years of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Qing army not only used military forces to attack the Taiping Army, but also used various methods to induce the wavering elements in the Taiping Army to surrender. However, the Taiping Army that surrendered to the Qing army was rarely valued. Most of them were just like ordinary soldiers, pointing the finger at the Qing army's former target at the Taiping Army, and the worse was that they were directly massacred ( Li Hongzhang killing surrender in Suzhou is more than many people know). However, there are exceptions in everything. At present, as far as Xiao Fo knows, the better ones who have survived after surrendering to the Qing army are: Cheng Xueqi , Wei Jun .

Today, Xiao Fo is going to tell you about the person he is lucky. He followed the right person in the Taiping Army. After the superior surrendered, he switched from Hunan Army to Huai Army and was valued by Li Hongzhang. He followed him all the way and finally became the admiral of Beiyang Navy . He was Ding Ruchang who died in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

There are very few records about Ding Ruchang's early years. In "Biography of Ding Ruchang", there are only a few records of the reason why he joined the Taiping Army: Xianfeng 24th lunar month of the twelfth lunar month, the Taiping Army captured Lujiang County (Ding Ruchang's hometown), and Ding Ruchang was taken to the camp by the Taiping Army and became a member of the Taiping Army. "Xianfeng was deserted and drought, and his parents also passed away. The Taiping Army passed through Luyi and plundered people to join the army."

After entering the Taiping Army, Ding Ruchang met Cheng Xueqi, an extremely important person in his life, and became a member of Cheng Xueqi, and later followed Cheng Xueqi to guard the North Gate of Anqing . In 1861, Zeng Guoquan tried his best to let his subordinates attack Anqing, but was obstructed by Cheng Xueqi many times at the North Gate. Zeng Guoquan, who was useless, was determined to use a plan to curse Cheng Xueqi. "Because Cheng's mother was filial, he persuaded his mother to enter the city to surrender." Cheng Xueqi indeed secretly ran into the Hunan Army camp with his 300 subordinates late one night, "leading 300 people to extricate themselves and return", including Ding Ruchang. After Cheng Xueqi surrendered to the Hunan Army, he could be said to be seeking survival in the cracks. In order not to become the abandoned son of the Hunan Army, he helped the Hunan Army capture Anqing with his intelligence and courage. The Taiping Army failed in the Anqing defense battle. Cheng Xueqi was promoted to "guerrilla general" by the Qing Dynasty for his great contributions, and Ding Ruchang was also promoted to Qianzong. In the same year, Li Xiucheng's troops of the Taiping Army attacked Shanghai. Zeng Guofan and Zhang 3 asked Li Hongzhang to train the Huai Army at the request of the Shanghai gentry class. Cheng Xueqi's troops were divided into Li Hongzhang, becoming the earliest group of Huai Army.

Ding Ruchang is brave in every battle. In a battle to attack the Taiping Army, Liu Mingchuan admired Ding Ruchang's courage very much, so he asked Li Hongzhang for favor and asked Ding Ruchang to serve under his command. "Hefei Liu Zhuangsu Mingchuan led the Mingzi camp and fought with Sijiangkou together. Seeing Ying bravery, he was different from him and begged him to the tent." In the following years, Ding Ruchang followed Liu Mingchuan wholeheartedly and traveled around. After fighting the Taiping Army and fighting the Nian Army, Ding Ruchang's official position was also continuously promoted. By 1868, he had already achieved the position of general , and was also given the title of escort admiral, and was awarded the title of Batulu Yong.

Time flies very quickly. In 1894, , the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, broke out. Ding Ruchang, who was nearly 60 years old, led his army to fight. During this period, he was considered to be "cooperating with the enemy and ruining the country" by the Qing Dynasty, and was extremely disappointed. On the Lantern Festival in 1895, the Japanese army invaded again. Ding Ruchang personally boarded the Jingyuan ship and led the Beiyang fleet to fight against the Japanese Navy. During the fierce battle between the two sides, Ding Ruchang injured two Japanese warships, and the artillery shells in the Jingyuan were damaged. Two days later, land reinforcements were not arrived. Ding Ruchang committed suicide in the dress of opium that night.

References: Chen Shi, "Biography of Ding Ruchang"