Zeng Guofan

Zeng Guofan was ordered by the Qing court to raise a militia to fight the Taiping Rebellion. He organized the Hunan Army (Xiang Army) from local Confucian gentry and peasants, creating a disciplined force that became the primary instrument for suppressing the rebellion.

Zeng Guofan was a key proponent of the Self-Strengthening Movement, which aimed to modernize China's military and industry. He established the Jiangnan Arsenal in Shanghai, which produced modern weapons and warships, and promoted the translation of Western technical texts.

After years of campaigning, Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army, led by his brother Zeng Guoquan, captured the Taiping capital of Nanjing in July 1864. The fall of Nanjing ended the Taiping Rebellion, which had caused an estimated 20-30 million deaths, and preserved the Qing dynasty.

After the Taiping Rebellion, Zeng Guofan was tasked with suppressing the Nian Rebellion in northern China. He employed a strategy of fortified villages and mobile cavalry, eventually defeating the Nian forces by 1868, further stabilizing Qing rule.