ABSTRACT
Xiang Rong, the commander of the devastated army, was in a foul mood, needless to say. He was burning with indignation. Four regional commanders had died on the battlefield. Xiang Rong, by contrast, had a force of only twenty men, lightly outfitted. They were not planning a military confrontation, but aimed at arriving at the city of Guilin before the Taipings, to which end full military equipment would have been an impediment. The course taken by the Taiping Army was also characteristic. As Xiang Rong had clearly seen, the Taipings had dressed up as Qing troops and were intent upon capturing the city of Guilin. The journey from Yongan to Guilin covered some 150 kilometers through such counties as Lipu, Pingle, and Yangshuo. Naturally, there were garrison troops at each of these county seats. An encirclement campaign. An army of 70,000 was a sufficient number to surround the city of Guilin.
