On September 4, 1856, at the behest of The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, Wei Changhui, the Northern King, and Qin Rigang, the King of Yan, led an army to raid the Eastern King's Mansion and kill the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing,000 people, and then about 20,000 of Yang Xiuqing's subordinates and cronies were also killed, which was the appalling "Tianjing Incident". Yang Xiuqing's death is directly related to Hong Xiuquan and is the result of a power struggle between the two. However, shortly after Yang Xiuqing was killed, Hong Xiuquan openly acted as Yang Xiuqing Zhaoxue again.
First, Hong Xiuquan's change of face
After the Tianjing Incident, Hong Xiuquan ordered Yang Xiuqing to be stripped of all his duties and called him "Eastern Evil". However, from 1857 onwards, Hong Xiuquan completely changed his attitude and repeatedly praised Yang Xiuqing's past achievements in the edict. In 1858, Hong Xiuquan wrote a poem, "The Eastern King redeems the disease as the Holy Spirit, and Grandpa surrenders to destroy the demon thief." Countless dead devils have been cursed, so they can arrive in Beijing so early." In the same year, Hong Xiuquan also posthumously honored Yang Xiuqing as a "later master" and called himself a "first master". The so-called "first master" is Hong Xiuquan's "big brother" in the kingdom of heaven.
In 1859, Hong Xiuquan designated the day on which Yang Xiuqing was killed as the "Ascension Day of the Eastern King", the day of the first "Heavenly Father's Descent" as the "Grandfather's Descending Festival", and stipulated that "the Heavenly Kingdom should not forget each other on behalf of each other". In 1860, Hong Xiuquan rebuilt the Eastern King's Mansion, and then passed on his fifth son, Hong Tianyou, to Yang Xiuqing as the King of Youdong.
Second, Hong Xiuquan's helplessness
The person who ordered Yang Xiuqing to kill was Hong Xiuquan, and now the person who praises Yang Xiuqing is still Hong Xiuquan, is it no wonder that Hong Xiuquan really misses Yang Xiuqing? The answer, of course, is no! Hong Xiuquan did this out of consideration of the actual situation, in other words, he was trying to consolidate the rule of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It turned out that after Yang Xiuqing was killed, it had a strong impact on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The first is from the mind.
Unlike the Ming Peasants' War, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement led by Hong Xiuquan used religion to maintain people's hearts. Within the Worship of God Society, Yang Xiuqing occupies an extremely important position, he is not only the third son of the "Heavenly Father", but also the spokesman of the "Heavenly Father". But Yang Xiuqing was killed. This turmoil caused confusion in the internal thinking of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and at that time there was even such a song, "The Heavenly Father killed the Heavenly Brother, and the Jiangshan could not be defeated." Long hair is unorthodox, still salty and abundant."
Third, military reality
In addition to the confusion of thought, Yang Xiuqing's death was also a military blow to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Since the Jintian Uprising, the military and political power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has been controlled by Yang Xiuqing, and many victories have been achieved. After Yang Xiuqing's death, Shi Dakai fled again, and Hong Xiu's newly appointed generals went their separate ways, and the situation was very unfavorable. In particular, Yang Xiuqing's brother Yang Fuqing, under the banner of "East Temple", led many soldiers and soldiers to follow Shi Da out.
In order to change this unfavorable situation, Hong Xiuquan decided to praise Yang Xiuqing and demean Wei, describing Yang Xiuqing's death as "sacrificing his life to the heavens and redeeming the disease on behalf of the world", and everything was "arranged by the Heavenly Father". While praising Yang Xiuqing, Hong Xiuquan also showed off the soldiers who were killed under the Eastern King, praising them for their "martyr loyalty". Hong Xiuquan's measures have played a certain effect, such as Yang Fuqing and others who broke away from Shi Dakai and returned to Hong Xiuquan's side.
References: 1. History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; 2. Historical Materials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom