ABSTRACT
The Qing Army had fought hard at Changsha, with a huge force at its disposal. One reason for this was that, prior to the arrival of the Taipings, they had not destroyed the homes outside that city. The Taipings took those homes and made them a base of operations from which they made repeated assaults on the city. At that time, the Jiangnan military commander was a Manchu by the name of Shuang-fu, and he rarely put in appearances at Wuchang. Wuchang was both the capital of Hubei province and the place of residence for the governor-general of the Huguang provinces. The governor of Hubei, Chang Dachun, was a man of good character but lacking in decisiveness. Shuang-fu was just the opposite of Chang Dachun, He had plenty of decisiveness, though his character was far from perfect. The Qings' armed military strength at Wuchang numbered only 3,000 men, with an additional 1,000 or more militiamen.
