Xiao Chaogui was born in the last year of Jiaqing in The Qing Dynasty in Wuxuan, Guangxi. Originally surnamed Jiang, there were four brothers Xiao Chaogui in the family, who were the third oldest. However, because his family was too poor at that time, his parents later passed him on to the Xiao family to change his surname to Xiao.
Because he had no money to study when he was young, the core leader of the later Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could not read a few words. In addition, Xiao Chaogui may not have a good relationship with his adoptive parents, so when Xiao Chaogui was eleven years old, he began to run all over the surrounding counties and townships to do some coolies and make a living for himself.
Met the "close friend" Yang Xiuqing, but later the relationship between the two became very delicate!
At Ping'ai Mountain, Xiao Chaogui became acquainted with Yang Xiuqing, who had also fallen here. The two have a very similar tragic family history: both are adopted sons of other people's families, have never studied, and both have been engaged in the same coolie profession (charcoal burner) since childhood. Some people even said that the two of them looked very similar.
As a result, they soon became a good pair of "no words" brothers. It is said that Yang Xiuqing later married his sister to Xiao Chaogui. Later, also through Yang Xiuqing's introduction, Xiao Chaogui became acquainted with Feng Yunshan. Feng Yunshan saw that both of them were "jealous and indignant, and their ambitions were extraordinary", so he absorbed them to join the "Worship God Society".
In 1848, the local Qing court gentry sent troops to capture Feng Yunshan for "deliberately plotting treason", and Hong Xiuquan ran back to his hometown and hid. The "Worship of God Society" was once in a leaderless situation.
At that time, in order to stabilize the hearts and minds of the congregation and revitalize the morale, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui were inspired by the "surrender" ceremony in the mountain towns of Guangxi: in April 1848, Yang Xiuqing continued to lead the congregation under the pretext of "Heavenly Father" Xiafan.
And Xiao Chaogui's "Heavenly Brother Xiafan" (October of the same year) is one beat slower than Yang Xiuqing's "Heavenly Father Xiafan"! Therefore, he could only succumb to Yang Xiuqing. And what is even more absolute is that Yang Xiuqing is "descending" in the name of the leader of his father, the Heavenly Father, which Xiao Chaogui is naturally a little unconvinced, after all, he and Yang Xiuqing both joined the club at the same time.
If it comes to seniority and talent, the two should at least be on an equal footing. Moreover, Xiao Chaogui's scheming would not be weaker than Yang Xiuqing's, or even stronger. But at this point, Xiao Chaogui had to continue to play the role of "Heavenly Brother", although he was one level lower than Yang Xiuqing, but he was also bigger than the leader (Hong Xiuquan)!
When Xiao Chaogui was "Brother Tianfan", he once had a conversation with Hong Xiuquan, including a sentence: Hong Xiuquan's brother, do you recognize Yuan? Heavenly King: The little brother recognizes. (Heavenly Father's Heavenly Brother's Holy Will, p. 3) In the face of fait accompli, Hong Xiuquan had no choice but to gladly admit the special status of xiao Dynasty Guidai Heavenly Brother Rumors.
In fact, Xiao Chaogui also expected that Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan would accept this balance, after all, this was also a restriction on Yang Xiuqing. In this way, Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing became one of the core leaders from active members of the "Worship god Society".
Later, Hong Xiuquan also took advantage of the gap that began to emerge between Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing, and also tried to win Xiao Chaogui over: marry his sister to him, so that he could have more chips to balance Yang Xiuqing.
After that, every time Yang Xiuqing used "Heavenly Father Under Fan" to suppress Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui would use "Heavenly Brother XiaFan" to lift Up Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan. It can be said that the once "close friend" relationship between Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui has actually become very delicate at this time.
The attack on Changsha was accidentally killed, and the power scales of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were completely unbalanced!
After the Jintian Uprising of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Xiao Chaogui, as one of the main leaders of the Taiping Army, showed his outstanding military talent on the battlefield!
After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom captured Yong'an Prefecture (present-day Mengshan County) in Guangxi in 1851, Hong Xiuquan could not wait to begin to discuss the merits and rewards: all the "old brothers" who fought with him in Jiangshan were crowned kings.
Yang Xiuqinggui was called "Heavenly Father" and was given the title of "Left Auxiliary Zhengjun Division" And the Eastern King was called nine thousand years old; while Xiao Chaogui, the "Heavenly Brother", was named "Right Bow and Zhengjun Division" And the Western King was called eight thousand years old, still one level lower than Yang Xiuqing.
Even more unfortunate: before the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom set the capital of Tianjing, Xiao Chaogui died in battle in Changsha, Hunan.
It was August 1852, and Xiao Chaogui was leading an army to attack Changsha City. However, until December of that year, the Taiping Army was unable to capture Changsha, so Xiao Chaogui personally went to the front line and supervised the battle at Miaofeng Peak outside the South Gate.
But a shell directly hit Xiao Chaogui's chest, "wearing the breast of the West King's chest, it was very dangerous, and his mouth and eyes were stupid." In the end, Xiao Chaogui died of his injuries at the age of 32. However, as for how Xiao Chaogui died, there are still many controversies!
Where exactly was The Western King Xiao Chaogui shot the cannon, and under what circumstances? Accounts vary. The main reason was that after Xiao Chaogui's death, the Taiping Army tightly sealed the news, and the Qing army did not know the news of Xiao Chaogui's death for a long time.
Therefore, in the report of the Qing army on the same day, there was no mention of "killing the generals of the Taiping Army who were dazzlingly dressed". The Qing general simply wrote in the report that the Taiping Army "picked up the soil shoulder stones, and the ants gathered on the peak of the miao, intending to build a fort." Bao Qibao's generals bombarded with cannons continuously, wounding and killing dozens of people and scattering them in all directions." Xiao Chaogui was probably seriously injured in this round of artillery attack!
Xiao Chaogui's departure made the power scale of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom instantly lose its balance:
The most direct impact was that the Taiping Army units that attacked Changsha were "leaderless", and no one was able to continue to take on the command of the attack on Changsha.
Moreover, if Xiao Chaogui had not died in battle early, the commander of the Northern Expedition after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was set to Tianjing would definitely be none other than him. With Xiao Tian's boldness and command ability, if he led the northern expedition, the process and result might be different.
You must know that the troops under Xiao Chaogui's command have always been the most courageous elite in the Taiping Army. Although Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang failed in the Northern Expedition, they actually fought not badly! After all, they were originally Xiao Chaogui's concubines, and their combat effectiveness was still there!
After Xiao Chaogui's death, the happiest person may not be his former close friend Yang Xiuqing (although there was a gap later, they were at least superficially good friends), but Yang Xiuqing was definitely the most "profitable" person! Before the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was designated as the capital of Tianjing (1853), most of the taiping army's proclamations were issued by the eastern and western kings.
After the death of Xiao Chaogui, the only Western King who could rival Yang Xiuqing, Yang Xiuqing gradually grasped most of the military power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which invisibly laid the foundation for the future chaos in Tianjing.
On the other hand, When Xiao Chaogui was alive, he could also be said to be the mediator between Yang Xiuqing and Hong Xiuquan. With the deaths of Xiao Chaogui and Wang Yunshan in the same year, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, no longer had any restrictions, so the contradiction with Hong Xiuquan later developed to an irreconcilable point.
finale
Soon after, the Tianjing Incident broke out, and Wei Changhui, the King of the North, killed Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, at the behest of Hong Xiuquan, officially kicking off the prelude to the Taiping Heavenly Civil War.
From this point of view, the departure of a brilliant leader is very likely to evolve into a tragedy of a regime, or even a great tragedy of the fate of a nation! If Xiao Chaogui was still there, the fate of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom might be a different trend.
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