In the article "Restoring the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to its original appearance", it is emphasized that "because of Hong Xiuquan's perverse behavior, all the people on the Taiping side, including Feng Yunshan, Shi Dakai, Hong Renjie, and others, cannot be denied." For the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the general affirmation is neither correct nor the general negation, for different times, different environments, different characters, different events, separate comments, affirmations that should be affirmed, and negations that should be denied."
For the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a representative movement of China's peasant uprisings in the past two thousand years, there are naturally negative points, there is no lack of affirmations, and there is also a need to understand the iconic figures of the Heavenly Kingdom in many ways.
A life of great splendor, witnessing the rise and fall of the kingdom of heaven
As we all know, Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, liked to divide the kings of the domain, yang Xiuqing, the eastern king, and Wei Changhui, the northern king, were all famous figures, and one person, although not the king of the clan, was also an important figure in the kingdom of heaven.
This person was Lai Hanying, the younger brother of Lai Hanlian, the wife of The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, and was known to everyone as Lai Guo's uncle.
Lai Hanying's life can be described as vigorous, he was born in a poor peasant family, had several twists and turns, and also had official fortunes, and finally returned to his hometown to live in seclusion, and died of illness at the age of 100.
It can be said that his life witnessed the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, and this sensational peasant uprising in modern history is inextricably linked to this Uncle Lai.
Lai Hanying was born in 1813 in a small mountain village in Hua County, Guangdong Province. He has been smart since he was a child, his reading grades are good, he began to do business in Guangxi, and he also practiced medicine to save people.
Until 1851, Lai Hanying and several cousins participated in the Jintian Uprising, which was not only the first shot fired by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, but also the beginning of Lai Hanying's life.
At the beginning of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, he had already followed Hong Xiuquan in his work, and it was not an exaggeration to say that Lai Hanying was a senior figure. He was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
In 1853, when the Qing army attacked Yangzhou and besieged yangzhou to death, the Qing army vowed to kill the defenders of the city, and the general who guarded Yangzhou City at that time asked Hong Xiuquan for help, so Lai Hanying became the target of being sent to rescue Yangzhou City.
Before the battle, he said to all the soldiers: If the rescue of Yangzhou City is successful, we will return to Tianjing with them, and if we do not succeed, we will die together, and we will definitely not steal life.
It was these impassioned words that encouraged the soldiers to kill the enemy without mercy, and the Qing army could be said to have no piece of armor left. Lai Hanying was greatly praised by Hong Xiuquan for this, and not only was he awarded the first class merit, but also added to the Title of Shangshu of the Eastern Temple.
Such an increase in officials can be said to be enviable, but unfortunately, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement still failed, and everything was like a passing cloud.
He has been buried in anonymity for decades, and before he dies, he tells earth-shattering secrets
However, it is worth mentioning that although the dream of heaven was shattered, Lai Hanying survived, returned to his hometown in anonymity and lived until the age of 96, and he also told Hong Yang's two big secrets before his death.
He said: The son of The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan has been hidden in anonymity, and he has also married and had children and bred offspring.
What's going on here? Logically, Hong Xiu's sons had all been killed after the destruction of the Kingdom of Heaven.
It turned out that in the chaos of the fall of Tianjing at that time, one of Hong Xiuquan's princesses escaped with Hong Xiuquan's youngest son Laixi. This child was also very lucky to survive the war, and finally fled with his mother to Dingyuan, Anhui.
Later, his mother remarried and married an ordinary person named Cheng Fengcai in Cheng Jiawan, and the child followed his surname and survived safely. Eventually he also married and had several children.
The death of the Eastern King has another hidden plot, and where does the truth go
In addition to this secret, Lai Hanying also told a secret about the death of Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King: in fact, Hong Xiuquan did not want to kill Yang Xiuqing, and it was wei Changhui, the Northern King, who did not listen to the orders of the Heavenly King and took it upon himself to kill Yang Xiuqing.
So why did Wei Changhui, who was the King of the North, kill Yang Xiuqing, the King of the East?
Li Xiucheng, the King of Zhong, commented on Yang Xiuqing in "Li Xiucheng's Self-Description": "The Eastern King's political affairs are strict and orderly, the legislation is safe for the people, and the people's hearts are admired. It can be seen that Yang Xiuqing is indeed very powerful and is the well-deserved leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
However, Wei Changhui and Yang Xiuqing have always been at odds, and since the Jintian Uprising, their relationship has not been good, Yang Xiuqing not only attacked Wei Changhui everywhere, but often reprimanded him, and even forced the Northern King to kill his own brother.
Later, when Wei Changhui lost the battle in Ruizhou, Jiangxi, because he was afraid that Yang Xiuqing would take this opportunity to punish him, he would act first and secretly lead his troops to Tianjing to kill Yang Xiuqing, the family was old and young, and none of them survived.
brief summary
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was indeed a peasant movement of extraordinary significance in Chinese history, and we must look at it from many aspects, both for its influence and its important figures.
References: "Restoring the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to Its Original Appearance", "Li Xiucheng's Self-Description"
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