ABSTRACT
Lian Liwen had been recuperating in Changsha. Although the wounds he had received at Suoyi Ford were not terribly serious, he was well-advised not to overtax his remaining strength. The battle at Suoyi Ford had taken place on June 10. Afterward they had slowly come down the Xiang River to Changsha, where it was already the height of summer. There were so many rivers and lakes in the region that Changsha was often dubbed, "the water realm". Its summers were very hot, and boat excursions were aimed at cooling things off a bit. Li Xinmei had come to Changsha with Liwen. The massacre of the populace at Quanzhou by the Taipings having left her in despair, she had parted company with the armed forces and hence had not been injured on the battlefield. The governor-general's procession moved from the Hunan provincial capital of Changsha to Hengzhou in the south.
