to sell charms and solicit funds among the poor people of Honan, Szechwan, Shensi and Hupeh. Gradually the movement became strong and planned an armed uprising. In 1793 the government ordered the arrest of its leaders, but Liu Chih-hsieh escaped. In the course of their search for him the local officials of Hupeh arrested indiscriminately many innocent people, and some officials sought to enrich themselves by blackmailing well-to-do farmers, thus ruining many of them. Most grievously oppressed were the people of western Hupeh who began armed resistance, late in 1795, with the slogan "officials have forced the people to rebel" (官逼民反). They joined the conspirators of the Pai-lien chiao, and in a few months the rebellion spread to Honan and Szechwan. The city of Hsiang-yang in northwestern Hupeh was the center of the movement and there tens of thousands of armed men concentrated.
Thus began the Rebellion of the White Lotus Sect which lasted more than nine years and covered large parts of such provinces as Hupeh, Honan, Shensi, and Szechwan. During the first four years of the conflict suppression was in the hands of the powerful minister, Ho-shên [q. v.], whose corrupt administration was the prime cause of the outbreak and also of its long continuance. When the revolt began in western Hupeh, Pi Yüan [q. v.], Hui-ling (see under Ch'ang-ling), Yung-pao (see under Lê-pao), and others, were ordered to co-operate in suppressing it, but they were unsuccessful. From July to December 1796 Yung-pao served as commander-in-chief in Hupeh. He reported frequent victories, but as a matter of fact the rebels were not forced to abandon their headquarters at Hsiangyang. Furthermore many new bands arose in eastern Szechwan. The next commander, Hui-ling, who was in control from late in 1796 to the middle of 1797, succeeded in dislodging the rebels from Hupeh, but chased them through Honan and Shensi to Szechwan where the insurgents of both provinces (Szechwan and Hupeh) joined forces and became more powerful than ever. From July 1797 to early in 1798 Governor-general I-mien 宜綿 (original name 尚安, d. 1812), served as commander-in-chief of the government forces in Szechwan and Shensi. In 1798 the command was assumed by Lê-pao and he succeeded in restricting the war to Szechwan. During these years of shifting commands the generals were mostly concerned with satisfying the pecuniary demands of the rapacious minister, Ho-shên, who profited from this state of affairs. Daring to report only victories and no losses of registered soldiers, they engaged farmers to fight for them. To maintain their own forces the rebel leaders likewise made it a practice to impress into their service farmers who could be recruited in ample numbers. Though there was thus a constant show of suppression the rebel forces suffered few casualties and actually increased in number.
During the early period of the war, Ê-lê-têng-pao fought mostly in Hupeh. After he had crushed the Miao in Kweichow (early in 1797) he began to fight the Pai-lien chiao rebels south of I-ch'ang. Early in 1798, for failure to dislodge a band of rebels, he was reduced from a marquis to an earl. Although that band was soon defeated and its leader captured, he was punished for taking so long to accomplish the task, and was deprived even of his earldom. Given the title of deputy lieutenant general, he was sent to Shensi. After three months of fighting in the south of that province he was ordered to lead conscripts from Kirin and Heilungkiang to Ching-chou, Hupeh, which was threatened by one of the main rebel bands. During the remainder of the year 1798 he fought in the mountainous area where the provinces of Hupeh, Shensi and Szechwan meet.
Early in 1799 Emperor Kao-tsung died. The succeeding emperor, Jên-tsung, laid on Ho-shên the blame for the inconclusive war and had that minister cashiered. To press the war with unified command he placed Lê-pao in charge of all the forces of the five provinces: Szechwan, Shensi, Kansu, Hupeh, and Honan—with Ê-lê-têng-pao and Ming-liang [q. v.] as assistant commanders. This marked the turning point of the war. In March and April Ê-lê-têng-pao annihilated three rebel bands and was made a baron. In September he replaced Lê-pao as commander-in-chief of the forces of the five provinces, with Tê-lêng-t'ai as assistant commander. The emperor praised Ê-lê-têng-pao for his bravery, his incorruptibility, and his consideration for the common people—at the same time making light of the criticism that the general could neither read nor write Chinese. The government vigorously pursued a policy of fortifying and arming the affected villages (see under Lê-pao). Volunteer farmers were treated as regular troops and were encouraged with just rewards. The rebel ranks in turn were weakened by making desertion attractive. In these and other ways, not to mention his personal bravery and military
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