Study On The Militia Of Xiangxiang County

"The training of bravery in Xiang Xiang is the basis of the bravery law of the Xiang army.".In the early days of Xianfeng,the embers of the Li Yuanfa and Lei Zaihao uprisings in Huxiang society remained alive,while local bandits continued to disrupt the countryside.The Taiping Army outside the province besieged Guilin and terrorized southern Xinjiang.Subsequently,Hong Xiu and his colleagues led the Taiping Army into the “San Xiangsishui”,causing turmoil in southern Chu.At this time,the literati in Xiangxiang prepared to build a military training camp to defend the local area,integrating political aspirations and cultural ideals into the training camp in Xiangxiang,and forming a battalion with the continuous expansion of the military.Zeng Guofan established the Hunan Army with reference to his military formation ideology and system,and incorporated it as the initial core and foundation,preserving the relative independence of Xiang Xiang’s training and bravery.After the Eastern Expedition of the Hunan Army,the Xiangxiang Training Camp became the main force of the Hunan Army and participated in many major wars.Xiangxiang’s training of bravery and its derivative troops became an important arm for Zeng Guofan to establish and develop the Xiang Army,and also affected the subsequent development process of the Xiang Army.The unique culture,clan,gentry,folk customs,and other factors of Xiang Xiang in the late Qing Dynasty jointly contributed to the rise of Xiang Xiang’s military training and influenced its subsequent development.Before the Xiang Army’s Eastern Expedition,Xiang Xiang trained two points of courage,shouldering the task of defending Hunan and recovering lost territory.With the development of the war,the centrifugal force of the Xiangxiang Training Camp gradually increased,with the death of the commander and the tragic defeat of the Three Rivers Battle,making it enter a period of silence.To the north,the old Xiang battalion gradually participated in the suppression of Nian,the pacification of Hui,and the recovery of southern Xinjiang.Its commander,Liu Jintang,served as the first governor of Xinjiang,guarding the northern and southern Tianshan Mountains.With the reform of the army in the late Qing Dynasty,the Xiang Xiang Yong training battalion system eventually disappeared in history.The practice of courage in Xiangxiang not only affected the later Hunan army,but also formed an important gentry group in Huxiang society in the late Qing Dynasty,leading to the expansion of local gentry power in Huxiang society.The establishment of Lianyong in Xiangxiang marked the legalization of local regional military organizations,and the gradual expansion of the power of local governors,which became a precursor to the downward movement of military power in the late Qing Dynasty.At the same time,along with the realization of this group’s "martial arts",the thought of practical application gradually spread in this process,and was invested in many aspects such as politics,military,education,etc.of the late Qing Dynasty,constituting a key link in practical application in the late Qing Dynasty.Sorting out and studying the formation and development of the Xiangxiang Training Camp can provide some literature support and reference for further in-depth research on the subject of the Xiang Army.