In the meantime,Li Hongzhang found it necessary to appoint two regular British officers to lead the Ever-Victorious Army--first,John Y.Holland,of the Royal Navy (on a temporary basis);then,in March of 1863,Charles G.Gordon of the Royal Engineers. Brilliant but erratic,Gordon managed to pull the EVA together and once again employ it with effect against the Taipings.Like Ward,he worked closely with Li,although he,too, chafed at the Jiangsu governor's administrative practices--most particularly his consistently dilatory payment of the force.In fact,at several points during Gordon's tenure as commander of the Ever-Victorious Army,he and Li had basic disagreements that threatened to undermine their cooperative venture;and on at least two occasions,the EVA and the Anhui Army nearly came to blows.[11] The most serious altercation between Li and Gordon occurred in late 1863,after the Jiangsu governor had executed several high-ranking Taiping leaders who had surrendered the strategic city of Suzhou to the Anhui Army on December 4,having received Gordon's personal guarantee of their safety.This so-called "Suzhou Incident" provoked a huge outcry on the part of Westerners in China.At Shanghai,for example, representatives of the foreign powers denounced Li in a strongly-worded public proclamation.Gordon,humilated and outraged,threatened to restore Suzhou to the rebels,attack Li's troops with his foreign-led Ever-Victorious Army,and even join the Taipings.The British commander-in-chief,General W.G.Brown,took the Ever- Victorious Army under his own command and directed Gordon to "suspend all active aid to the Imperialist [i.e.Qing]cause,and the British minister,Frederick Bruce,informed the Qing authorities that Gordon could hold no communication with Li Hongzhang,"or in any way be under his orders."[12] The Chinese government,for its part,felt that Li Hongzhang's response to the situation at Suzhou had been perfectly appropriate in light of the threatening attitude of the surrendered rebel leaders,and that the foreign powers had no right or reason to become involved in the matter.Thus,although in Li's report of the Suzhou affair to the throne he had suggested the possibility of punishment for himself in order to placate the Western authorities,Beijing had no such intentions.Commenting simply that "foreigners do not understand the principles involved,"the throne shifted the burden of this delicate matter to the Zongli Yamen.[13] With passions still high and matters at a diplomatic impasse,Li found a strong foreign supporter in Robert Hart,newly-appointed Inspector-General(I.G.)of the Chinese Maritime Cusoms administration.In Shanghai to settle the accounts of the ill- fated Lay-Osborn Flotilla and to take care of other Customs-related business at the treaty port,Hart immediately and almost instinctively began to act as a mediator for the Qing government;and in so doing,he became,wittingly or otherwise,a valuable ally of Li Hongzhang.Hart would continue to play these dual roles of middleman and advocate for Li,with greater or lesser enthusiasm,throughout his long career in China.[14] The I.G.believed from the outset that Gordon should take the field against the Taipings rather than remain in garrison.In his view,the first priority was unquestionably the rapid suppression of the rebels.This development would,Hart reasoned,benefit both the foreign powers and the Qing government--not least in the expansion of Sino-foreign trade.Furthermore,despite the EVA's recent problems with pay and discipline,Hart saw the force as a potent weapon in the Qing-Taiping struggle.Significantly,he also sought to protect Gordon from "impeachment"by Li Hongzhang for insubordination--a possibility he foresaw based on the Lay-Osborn affair and his own growing experience4 In the meantime, Li Hongzhang found it necessary to appoint two regular British officers to lead the Ever-Victorious Army--first, John Y. Holland, of the Royal Navy (on a temporary basis); then, in March of 1863, Charles G. Gordon of the Royal Engineers. Brilliant but erratic, Gordon managed to pull the EVA together and once again employ it with effect against the Taipings. Like Ward, he worked closely with Li, although he, too, chafed at the Jiangsu governor's administrative practices--most particularly his consistently dilatory payment of the force. In fact, at several points during Gordon's tenure as commander of the Ever-Victorious Army, he and Li had basic disagreements that threatened to undermine their cooperative venture; and on at least two occasions, the EVA and the Anhui Army nearly came to blows. [11] The most serious altercation between Li and Gordon occurred in late 1863, after the Jiangsu governor had executed several high-ranking Taiping leaders who had surrendered the strategic city of Suzhou to the Anhui Army on December 4, having received Gordon's personal guarantee of their safety. This so-called "Suzhou Incident" provoked a huge outcry on the part of Westerners in China. At Shanghai, for example, representatives of the foreign powers denounced Li in a strongly-worded public proclamation. Gordon, humilated and outraged, threatened to restore Suzhou to the rebels, attack Li's troops with his foreign-led Ever-Victorious Army, and even join the Taipings. The British commander-in-chief, General W. G. Brown, took the Ever￾Victorious Army under his own command and directed Gordon to "suspend all active aid to the Imperialist [i.e. Qing] cause," and the British minister, Frederick Bruce, informed the Qing authorities that Gordon could hold no communication with Li Hongzhang, "or in any way be under his orders." [12] The Chinese government, for its part, felt that Li Hongzhang's response to the situation at Suzhou had been perfectly appropriate in light of the threatening attitude of the surrendered rebel leaders, and that the foreign powers had no right or reason to become involved in the matter. Thus, although in Li's report of the Suzhou affair to the throne he had suggested the possibility of punishment for himself in order to placate the Western authorities, Beijing had no such intentions. Commenting simply that "foreigners do not understand the principles involved," the throne shifted the burden of this delicate matter to the Zongli Yamen. [13] With passions still high and matters at a diplomatic impasse, Li found a strong foreign supporter in Robert Hart, newly-appointed Inspector-General (I. G.) of the Chinese Maritime Cusoms administration. In Shanghai to settle the accounts of the ill￾fated Lay-Osborn Flotilla and to take care of other Customs-related business at the treaty port, Hart immediately and almost instinctively began to act as a mediator for the Qing government; and in so doing, he became, wittingly or otherwise, a valuable ally of Li Hongzhang. Hart would continue to play these dual roles of middleman and advocate for Li, with greater or lesser enthusiasm, throughout his long career in China. [14] The I.G. believed from the outset that Gordon should take the field against the Taipings rather than remain in garrison. In his view, the first priority was unquestionably the rapid suppression of the rebels. This development would, Hart reasoned, benefit both the foreign powers and the Qing government--not least in the expansion of Sino-foreign trade. Furthermore, despite the EVA's recent problems with pay and discipline, Hart saw the force as a potent weapon in the Qing-Taiping struggle. Significantly, he also sought to protect Gordon from "impeachment" by Li Hongzhang for insubordination--a possibility he foresaw based on the Lay-Osborn affair and his own growing experience