How did the "heavenly capital" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fall, and how did the heavenly king Hong Xiuquan die?
As a scholar, Hong Xiuquan was able to stir up a storm in the late Qing Dynasty and invaded seventeen provinces in the Qing Dynasty in fifteen years, which is the best footnote for "keeping pace with the times and creating heroes". However, in the process of Hong Xiuquan's entrepreneurship, he was more superstitious, narrow-minded, headstrong and cronyism.
Above _ Nanjing Tianwangfu (Tianjing), the first city of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Nanjing, as the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was renamed "Tianjing" by Hong Xiuquan after Xianfeng 1853 was captured by the Taiping Army. Hong Xiuquan spent the most extravagant nine years in his life here. It was not until May of the first year of Tongzhi (1862) that Ceng Guoquan, the general of Xiang army, led the troops to besiege Nanjing, and the heavenly king woke up from the dream of Sensen Palace. At that time, Ceng Guoquan has been stationed in Yuhuatai, eyeing up. After realizing the crisis, Hong Xiuquan dispatched 600,000 Taiping troops to defend Tianjing, which started a three-year "Tianjing Defence War".
Because of Ceng Guoquan's siege policy towards Nanjing, the reinforcements, food, medicine and mules and horses entering and leaving Nanjing were all detained by the Xiang army, which led to the reduction of the number of soldiers in the city, the lack of food and the inability to treat the wounded. By the end of the second year of Tongzhi, Li Xiucheng, a loyal gentleman, risked his life and made a suggestion of "not letting the city go" under the condition of "no food and no reinforcements outside". Because although Nanjing was surrounded at this time, parts of Huzhou and Jiangxi were still under the control of Taiping Army. If we venture a breakthrough at this time, we will have a chance. However, Li Xiucheng's opinion was mercilessly reprimanded by the Heavenly King: "Iron drums can't help the country. Someone helped me, but I said there were no soldiers. I have plenty of soldiers and water, and there are no demons. "
Above _ Portrait of King Hong Xiuquan
Facing the "self-confidence" of Tianwang, Li Xiucheng can only be passive to Nuo Nuo, but the people in Nanjing can't understand Tianwang because they can't eat. After being reprimanded for a month, Li Xiucheng organized a breakthrough, successfully contacted the Taiping rebels outside, and continued the food supply line in Nanjing. But before long, Ceng Guoquan cut off this "lifeline" with the cooperation of foreigners, and seized 13600 kilograms of food and forage from the Taiping rebels.
At this time, Li Xiucheng, who was in charge of the Nanjing Yugoslav capital, was faced with the situation that "men and women from poor families in Beijing piled up in front of each other for help", but Li Xiucheng also suffered greatly. "The state treasury has no money, and the affairs of state are not in my hands. Seeing a lot of hardships, it is really not good, so I have to save my family in Gu Mi to help the poor in the city. " After reporting the tragic situation of Tianjing City to Tianwang, Tianwang told the people of he cheng: "Everyone should follow my instructions and prepare more manna. Only when they are full can they live forever."
Above _ Li Xiucheng (1823-1864 August 7)
The so-called "manna" or "manna" was inspired by Hong Xiuquan from the Bible Exodus. The book says that on that day, the Israelites left the land of Canaan under the leadership of Moses, and there was no food on the way, so God gave the Israelites "magic" to eat every day to spend forty years of hunger.
However, no one has seen what "manna" is, so the minister asked the "heavenly king" for advice. At this time, Hong Xiuquan's mind almost collapsed. He ordered people to collect herbs in the palace open space and take them themselves, setting an example for the officials and people in the city. This indiscriminate use of weeds has caused serious health problems for Hong Xiuquan, but he firmly believes in God and does not allow doctors to adjust his health. So just after his 50th birthday, on May 30th, 1864, Hong Xiuquan issued an imperial edict, saying that it was time for him to return to heaven, and asked the heavenly father and heavenly brother to arrange reinforcements to save Tianjing. The next day (that is, April 19 of the lunar calendar), Hong Xiuquan took poison and died. The maid-in-waiting wrapped his body in yellow silk and quietly buried it in the luxurious Tianwangfu garden.
Above _ Battle Map of Taiping Army and Qing Army
The death of the Heavenly King also heralded the end of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Tianguifu Hong, the son of Hong Xiuquan, became the "Young Heavenly King". But at this time, no matter who inherits the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, it is already powerless. Faced with the death of Hong Xiuquan, the Qing court couldn't let go, and made Li Hongzhang, who was stationed in the Soviet Union, go to Ceng Guoquan to cooperate with the Xiang army in attacking Nanjing. But at this time, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army and Ceng Guoquan's Xiang Army had a conflict. Xiang was unwilling to let the Huai army "pick peaches", and Li Hongzhang led his Huai army to stay put in Suzhou without reinforcements.
In order to avoid the "old division change" in the army, on June 15th of the lunar calendar, Ceng Guoquan led Xiang soldiers to launch a general assault, and the prefect Li Chendian dug tunnels in the most densely populated area of Taiping Army artillery. After the tunnel was dug, he used a lot of money to recruit the dead in the barracks. Li Chendian, Zhu Hongzhang and Wu took the lead. Finally, at noon on June 16, the explosives buried in the tunnel exploded a gap in the Nanjing city wall, and the Xiang army was divided into the left wing.
Above _ Li Xiucheng readme
Li Xiucheng, a loyal soldier, led the Taiping rebels to shrink their forces and concentrate on the inner city. The young king Tianguifu Hong was at a loss in the Heavenly Palace and was stopped by his four wives. He is not allowed to run around. Suddenly, the young king broke free from his wife's bondage and came to Li Xiucheng's house with his two younger brothers, asking for asylum. The Taiping Army in Nanjing lost the battle at this time. After Li Xiucheng said goodbye to his family, he set fire to the Heavenly Palace to attract the main force of the Qing army, and then took refuge in Liang Qingshan, Nanjing, with the young king and thousands of civil and military officials and soldiers.
As night fell, Li Xiucheng led soldiers dressed as the Qing army to break through several gates, but they were all turned back. Finally, they escaped from the whole wall that had disappeared. However, due to the confusion of troops, Li Xiucheng was separated from the young king, and his two younger brothers and the remaining120,000 Taiping Army in the city were buried in Tianjing. The bones of the old king Hong Xiuquan were also dug out from the heavenly palace.
Above _ Images of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom officers and soldiers
After Li Xiucheng and his party escaped from Nanking, they had to stop to have a rest because their good horse was given to the young king when they broke through. At this time, people who followed him ignored him, and a group of people abandoned him, so Li Xiucheng had to hide in a ruined temple in a barren mountain for a period of time. It was summer and it was very hot, so he hung his belongings under the tree next to the temple to enjoy the cool. At this time, some local residents came to the mountain. When Li Xiucheng saw someone coming to escape, they chased him all the way. They not only took the yellow and white things he was carrying for themselves, but also arrested him. Finally, because of the uneven distribution of spoils, Li Xiucheng gave the item.
At this time, Li Xiucheng's heart was dying, Lao Wang was dead, and the young king was missing and handed over to loyal subjects. At this point, he just wants to live. So he confessed his relationship with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Confessions of Li Xiucheng. At the same time, he addressed Ceng Guoquan as "Nine Handsome" and Zeng Guofan as "Main Hall", but Zeng Guofan did not leave the obedient Li Xiucheng behind. But because he knew too many secrets, he was executed on the spot, and Li Xiucheng's confession was greatly altered. The most famous military general in the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also disappeared with the fall of Tianjing.
Above _ Destroy Guangdong Bandits
After the Nanjing City was broken, Hong Rengan, the dry king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Wang Huang still had a large number of troops in Huzhou, but the young king did not die, but fled to Hong Rengan with hundreds of followers. For the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the enemy who tortured the Qing Dynasty for fifteen years, the Qing court naturally mustered all its strength and fought it out in the first world war. So surrounded by loyalists, French mercenaries and rebel Taiping rebels, Hong Rengan and Young Wang had to break through in the direction of Jiangxi, hoping to unite the local Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Kang Wang and Yu to return to the land of wealth-Guangxi. At this time, however, loyalist morale was high, and Taiping Army was losing ground. Finally, Hong Rengan was captured by Jiangxi Governor Shen Baozhen and executed that year.
In the face of one victory after another, the Qing court still can't feel at ease, because the young king Tianguifu Hong hasn't found it yet. It's like an untimely bomb, which may detonate again at any time. Where did the young king go?
It turned out that when the officers and soldiers killed Hong Rengan, Tianguifu Hong once again took advantage of the chaos and fled with a dozen followers. Later, his entourage was captured by the government, leaving him to escape alone. In a trance, he had a dream in the same strain as the old king: a very tall white man gave him a cake. After eating the cake of her dreams, Tianguifu Hong regained her strength and fled to a family named Tang. He saw someone shaving his head here, so he shaved off his long hair. He lived in a surnamed tang family for four days, and then worked as a temporary worker in a local farmer for a few days. All the way to escape, and finally1June 25, 864, was captured by government troops in Shicheng County, a subordinate of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province.
Above _ The "Heavenly King's Letters" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
After being captured, Tianguifu Hong also wrote a self-report, explaining to the loyalist that "it was all done by the old heavenly king, which had nothing to do with me", and praying that the loyalist, if released, would study honestly and strive to be admitted as a scholar, and also wrote some jingles praising the Qing Dynasty: "Now I don't want to lose my hair and help the Qing Dynasty wholeheartedly. Long live the Qing emperor, thieves are always hard to run. " From such confessions and prayers, it is enough to see that the so-called young king is just a brainless mediocrity. For such a down archer, even if he is incompetent again, he can't leave alive. So in 1 18 June 65438+ 10/8, less than a month after his arrest, the young king was executed by Shen Baozhen in Nanchang, Jiangxi.
If there's killing, there's bound to be a blood-stained T-shirt. After Nanjing invaded China and pacified Jiangnan, Zeng Guofan was promoted to first-class righteous Hou Yong, Ceng Guoquan was promoted to first-class Wei Yibo, Prince Shao Bao and Li Chendian were promoted to first-class viscount, Huang jacket and Shen Baozhen were promoted to first-class captain, and the rest were all arrived without pomp, each with its own awards. Behind this drum music is a bloody country, which is the erosion of Jiangnan.
References:
1 Qing history? Zhao Erxun and other Zhonghua Bookstore.
2 "Qing History Draft"? Ceng Guoquan Biography, Zhao Erxun and other Zhonghua Bookstore.
3 "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" Shi Jingqian (USA) Guangxi Normal University Press
4 "Two Thousand Years' History of China" Zhicheng Deng Zhonghua Book Company.
5 Confessions of Li Xiucheng Li Xiucheng
The text was created by the team of History University Hall, and the pictures originated from the Internet and belonged to the original author.