When Zeng Guofan dismantled the Hunan Army, Tingziying was retained as a whole due to its strong combat power, but was later infiltrated by Brother Pao

In the Hunan Army Group, *** has five main infantry forces, namely the Xinning Chu Army system of Jiang Zhongyuan brothers, Liu Changyou and Liu Kunyi, the Lao Xiangying system of Wang Hao, Liu Songshan and others, and Zeng Guoquan Ji Ziying system, Zuo Zongtang's New Chu Army system, Bao Chao's Ting Army system. Among them, the one with the most outstanding military exploits is undoubtedly the Ji Ziying, and the one with the greatest development is the New Chu Army system, but the most brave and adept at fighting is undoubtedly the Tingzi Camp. Tingziying survived the Hunan Army's large-scale dismantling. Tingziying was recruited into the army in the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856 AD) with the support of Hu Linyi. Because its leader Bao Chao's nickname was Chunting, it was named Tingziying. The battalion had about 3,000 people when it was first established, and later gradually expanded to about 20,000 people. It successively fought in Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi, and several provinces to participate in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, and later played a key decisive role in the annihilation of the Eastern Nien Army. Zeng Guofan once praised Tingziying as "", but it was actually feared by thieves, beyond the reach of Chu Yong, Xiang Yong, and Huai Yong. Hu Linyi said that he was "particularly loyal and brave." After the fall of the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom, the Hunan Army Group began to disband on a large scale, from nearly half a million at its peak to less than 100,000. Even Zeng Guoquan's troops were laid off at once. 50,000 people, Zuo Zongtang's troops were also laid off 40,000 people, and the remaining troops were only more than 20,000 people. However, Tingziying survived this large-scale reduction due to its strong combat power and was completely eliminated. Later, Bao Chao had a conflict with the Huai Army system in conquering the Eastern Nian Army. He resigned in anger and left a vacancy on the grounds of serious illness. The department immediately became the target of various factions to win over. Zuo Zongtang. Wanting to take Tingziying to the northwest, Li Hongzhang wanted to incorporate it into the Huaihe Clan, but Zeng Guofan tried his best to keep it in his hands. Tingziying was infiltrated by the Ge Laohui congregation, and it was such a powerful force that was valued by all parties. It is not monolithic, and its interior has been heavily infiltrated by the Ge Lao Hui since the founding of the army. The Ge Lao Hui, also known as the Ge Di Hui, is generally believed to have been established in Sichuan by Hakka immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong in the early Qing Dynasty. My brother is called Lao, so it is also called "" Ge Lao Hui", which is a secret folk association with a certain anti-Qing flavor. The members of Ge Lao Hui call each other "" Pao Ge", and most of them are handicrafts, bankrupt farmers, veterans and unemployed vagrants. Although The Hunan Army mainly recruited young men in the countryside of Hunan. However, since Bao Chao's ancestral home was Fengjie County, Kuizhou, Sichuan, there were many Sichuan soldiers in his Tingzi camp. Sichuan was also an area where the Ge Lao Hui was very active, so some Ge Lao Hui members followed him. Bao Chao was recruited into the army, and his background was different from that of most of the generals of the Hunan Army. The composition of the soldiers recruited by his Tingzi camp was also different from that of other units of the Hunan Army. Other units mostly recruited "simple and peasant people". , and most of the soldiers in Tingziying were unemployed and homeless people in the city. Bao Chao believed that these people were willing to fight hard and die, so he recruited more of them. In addition, Bao Chao lured them with benefits and strictly supervised the war, so they fought bravely. Abnormal. The members of the Ge Lao Hui disrupted the whole army's mutiny, but these unconcerned guys provided "fertile soil" for the continuous development of the Ge Lao Hui in the army. By worshiping as brothers of different surnames, they rescued each other during wars and were protected from trouble. After being separated from the camp, if you meet a fellow soldier, you can get enough food and clothing, and if you are alone, you can avoid being robbed by a fellow soldier. Therefore, most soldiers join the gang to protect their own rights and interests, except for the infiltration of the Ge Lao Association. Chao often selected elite soldiers from the surrendered Taiping Army to replenish the Tingzi Camp. These surrendered troops were intertwined with a series of unstable factors such as the Ge Lao Hui congregation, arrears of pay, and disarmament, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Tingzi Camp in the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865 AD). The entire army mutinied in 1867, and many Hunan troops in Anhui, Hubei and other provinces were also affected by the Tingziying mutiny. They had riots and even mutinies one after another. In July of the sixth year of Tongzhi (August 1867), the main force of the Nian Army was defeated. After the Ziying camp was defeated, the last bit of use value was gone. Zeng Guofan couldn't bear the Tingzi camp, which had poor military discipline and was filled with surrendered soldiers and Ge Lao Hui congregation. He was worried that its one-time dismantling would trigger a larger-scale mutiny, so he changed it to a new one. They were disbanded in batches, with 12 cavalry battalions and 6 troop battalions being disbanded for the first time. After the Nian Army was completely pacified the next year, the rest of the troops were dispersed and transferred to various provinces for resettlement.