Editing Li Hongzhang (section)

===Suppressing the Taiping Rebellion===
In January 1851, the [[God Worshipping Society]] led by [[Hong Xiuquan]] started the [[Taiping Rebellion]] in [[Guangxi|Guangxi Province]]. Within about two years, the rebels had conquered many territories in southern China and established the [[Taiping Heavenly Kingdom]] with [[Nanjing]] as their capital. In 1853, the rebels, advancing from [[Wuhan]], captured [[Anqing]] and killed {{ill|Jiang Wenqing|zh|蔣文慶|ja|蔣文慶}} ({{lang|zh-hant|蔣文慶}}), the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of [[Anhui|Anhui Province]]. The [[Xianfeng Emperor]] commissioned {{ill|Lü Xianji|qid=Q45663924|short=yes}} ({{lang|zh-hant|呂賢基}}), the [[Three Departments and Six Ministries|Left Vice Secretary of Works]], to travel to Anhui Province and recruit civilians to form militias to counter the rebels. Lü Xianji knew that Li was familiar with the local situation in Anhui Province so he secured permission from the imperial court to bring Li along with him as an adviser and assistant. Li was later ordered to remain in Anhui to oversee the militia. In late 1853, the Taiping rebels defeated imperial forces and captured [[Shucheng County]]; Lü Xianji committed suicide. In the following year, [[Jiang Zhongyuan]] ({{lang|zh-hant|江忠源}}), the ''xunfu'' of Anhui Province, committed suicide after [[Lu Prefecture (Anhui)|Lu Prefecture]] fell to the rebels. Li then became a subordinate of {{ill|Fu Ji|zh|福濟}} ({{lang|zh-hant|福濟}}), the new ''xunfu'', who ordered him to lead troops to attack the rebels, with Li often leading them in person.{{sfn|Liu|1970|pp=9-10}} Li recaptured two counties and Lu Prefecture from the rebels within the following year. For his achievements, he earned the appointment of a ''daotai'' (道台; [[Circuit (administrative division)|circuit]] administrator) and the privilege of wearing a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Other honours and privileges|single-eyed peacock feather]] in his hat. Later, he led troops into the [[Huai River]] area, but could not get along with his subordinates and was forced to abandon his mission.

In the winter of 1858, Li was reassigned to serve in [[Zeng Guofan]]'s office, where he was in charge of drafting documents. Li led a carefree life, flouted rules and regulations, and often woke up late. Zeng Guofan once chided him, "Shaoquan, now that you're working in my office, I only have this piece of advice for you: 'Commitment' is the only thing that matters to us here." Li was shocked and he improved his behaviour after that. In the same year, {{ill|Weng Tongshu|zh|翁同书|ja|翁同書}} ({{lang|zh-hant|翁同書}}), the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of Anhui, abandoned his post when he came under attack by the Taiping rebels. Zeng Guofan drew from Li's draft when he wrote a [[Memorial to the throne|memorial]] to the imperial court to accuse Weng Tongshu of failing in his duty. The lines from Li's draft that were included in Zeng Guofan's actual memorial included: "It is my duty, as Your Majesty's subject, [to point out the failures of my colleague.] I do not dare to let this pass just because of [[Weng Tonghe]]'s fame and prestige." Although Li earned Zeng Guofan's praise for drafting the memorial, he also caused Weng Tonghe (Weng Tongshu's brother) to bear a grudge against him for what he wrote. While serving under Zeng Guofan, he was put in charge of Yanjianshao Circuit ({{lang|zh-hant|延建邵道}}) in [[Fujian|Fujian Province]] but did not take up his appointment and remained with Zeng.

In 1860, Li was put in command of the naval forces in Anhui and [[Jiangsu]] provinces to counter the Taiping rebels. After Zeng Guofan's [[Xiang Army]] recaptured [[Anqing]] from the rebels in 1861, Zeng wrote a memorial to the imperial court to praise Li, calling him "a talent with great potential", and sent Li back to [[Hefei]] to form a militia. Li managed to recruit enough men to form five battalions in 1862. Zeng Guofan ordered him to bring his troops along with him to [[Shanghai]]. Li and his men sailed past rebel-controlled territory along the [[Yangtze River]] in British [[steamboat]]s – the rebels did not attack because Britain was a neutral party – and arrived in Shanghai, where they were commissioned as the [[Huai Army]]. Zeng Guofan recommended Li to serve as the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of Jiangsu Province. After gaining ground in Jiangsu, Li focused on enhancing the Huai Army's capabilities, including equipping them with Western firearms and artillery. Within two years, the Huai Army's strength increased from 6,000 to about 60–70,000 men. Li's Huai Army combined forces later with Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army and [[Charles George Gordon]]'s [[Ever Victorious Army]] and prepared to attack the Taiping rebels.

From 1863 to 1864, Li led the Huai Army to attack and recapture [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]], [[Changzhou]] and other rebel-controlled territories. For his contributions, Li was awarded the honorary appointment [[Three Ducal Ministers|Crown Prince's Grand Protector]] ({{lang|zh-hant|太子太保}}) and an [[imperial yellow jacket]]. After retaking Changzhou, and capturing, interrogating and executing the rebel leader [[Chen Kunshu]] in 1864,{{sfn|Hail|1943|p=465}} Li received a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Standard non-imperial titles|''jiduwei'']] peerage in recognition of his achievements. An incident connected with the surrender of Suzhou soured Li's relationship with Gordon. According to an earlier arrangement with Gordon, the rebel leaders agreed to yield [[Nanjing]] to imperial forces on the condition that their lives would be spared. However, after the capture of Nanjing, Li ordered the rebel leaders to be executed. This breach of faith infuriated Gordon so much that he grabbed a rifle and wanted to shoot Li, but Li fled. By the end of 1864, the Taiping Rebellion had basically been suppressed by imperial forces. Li was awarded a noble peerage as "[[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Notable titles|First Class Count Suyi]]" ({{lang|zh-hant|一等肅毅伯}}) and the privilege of wearing a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Other honours and privileges|double-eyed peacock feather]] in his hat.