Zeng Guofan was defeated by the Taiping Army many times in the early stage, by the Nian Army in the middle stage, and was oppressed by foreign powers many times in the later stage of Westernization. However, he fought against repeated defeats and was extremely tenacious. He finally wiped out the bandits, assisted Li Hongzhang in wiping out the Nian Army, and safeguarded national interests with his determination to not go to hell but who will go to hell.

Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing during the Xinhai period were also representatives of repeated defeats and battles.