The Eastern King Yang Xiuqing combined political power, military power, and religious power into one, and was the actual helmsman and navigator of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, without the wisdom and fighting of the Eastern King, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom might still be stillborn, and he would not want to kill Nanjing, let alone push the Qing Empire to the brink of destruction. However, Yang Xiuqing was too arrogant, had no one in sight, and often deceived the emperor and committed crimes, eventually triggering the "Tianjing Incident", and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom turned from prosperity to decline. Therefore, the evaluation of Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, by posterity is different, there are many affirmations and many denials. Zhang Dejian, a spy of the Qing Dynasty, commented in "The Compilation of Thieves' Feelings": "The opportunity to line the line is appropriate, the situation in the mountains and rivers is quite proficient. Although they do not read books and do not know the art of war, they are all deceitful and vigilant, and their poisonous flames can become a burning trend. He also said: "His law is extremely strict, and whoever loses and loses, violates the order of private wealth, is severely beheaded, and the light is condemned, and does not dare to show affection, and there is no appeasement." Meritorious and unruly promotions, rewards not overdue, and the untamed, so the crowd bowed down, willing to serve, to the point of being on the stone without worry, anointing the grass without regret." It can be said that in the eyes of the Manchu Qing, Yang Xiuqing was very powerful, his military and political talents were exceptionally prominent, and he was a strong opponent.
Li Xiucheng, the loyal king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was absolutely the pillar of the late period, and his article "Self-Description" commented on the kings of Shouyi one by one. So, how does he evaluate Yang Xiuqing? In Li Xiucheng's eyes, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, had outstanding political and military talents, which could be called his talents; but in terms of interpersonal relations, Yang Xiuqing handled it in a mess and eventually died tragically under the knife of his teammates. Self-described: "Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, lives in Guiping County, lives in the name of Ping'ai Mountain, and grows mountains and burns charcoal at home for his business, and does not know the opportunity." Since worshipping God, I know everything, but I don't know how Providence became this person? I don't know. The king of heaven is trustworthy, and the affairs of a country are written to him, and the military orders are strict and orderly, and the rewards and punishments are clear. "I have a lot of admiration for his military and political talents." The Eastern King's orders are strict, and the military and the people are afraid. The Eastern King himself is mighty and arrogant, and he does not know how to be jealous of himself, and he is the first person in a big dynasty. Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and Qin Rigang were the first people to work together at home, and the Later Eastern King threatened too much, and these three people were resentful in their hearts, and their mouths were smooth and their hearts were endless. Less resentment accumulates more, accumulates into harm, and accumulates resentment and hatred. "I deeply regret its terrible relationships.
01. Yang Xiuqing his people, his deeds, and his achievements
Yang Xiuqing, a native of Guiping, Guangxi, has been a poor peasant for generations, who has been burning charcoal to cultivate the mountains, and it is difficult to solve the problem of food and clothing. At the beginning of Feng Yunshan's mission in the Bauhinia Mountains, he saw that Yang Xiuqing had a high prestige in the "Charcoal Party", so he developed him into a religion and asked him to win over members as a backbone member. In 1848, Feng Yunshan was captured and imprisoned, and Yang Xiuqing played the "Jumping God" to pretend to be "Heavenly Father Under the Mortals", stabilizing the mood of the congregation, worshiping God to avoid stillbirth, and getting bigger and bigger. Yang Xiuqing's ability to play the "Jumping God" itself shows that he is not religious, has seen through the tricks of Hong and Feng, and took this opportunity to squeeze into the upper echelons, and his wisdom can be seen. Immediately afterward, Yang Xiuqing called on everyone to "ke tan" and donate money to bribe the guiping prefect to successfully rescue Feng Yunshan, and everyone believed in his talent.
In January 1851, the Jintian Rebellion broke out, and Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui and others led the army to repeatedly defeat the Qing army and enter Yong'an in September of the same year. In June 1852, because the enemy was too light, the Taiping Army was ambushed by 2,000 "Chu Yong" under Jiang Zhongyuan at Jeonju Yidu, more than 4,000 "old Guangxi" spilled blood on the Xiangjiang River, and the Southern King Feng Yunshan was killed, which was a fiasco that the Taiping Army had never suffered since its rise. After entering Hunan, Hong Xiuquan started to retreat, wanting to return to Liangguang to fight guerrilla warfare and emulate the Heaven and Earth Society. If this were the case, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would stop there, die halfway through, and no longer become a climate. At this time, Yang Xiuqing vigorously defied the public opinion and insisted on implementing the "Daozhou Decision-making" plan, and the Eastern King said: "Having ridden the tiger's back, will you be able to return to love?" Today's best strategy, Mo Ru Sheyue disregarded, straight forward to attack, along the river and east, slightly castle, give up the key points, focus on Jinling, according to the fundamental, and then send four out, divided into north and south, that is, no matter, south of the Yellow River, I can have it. It was precisely because of Yang Xiuqing's insistence that the Taiping Army was able to continue northwards, breaking Yiyang, Chudongting, Xiayuezhou, and Kewuchang, and in March 1853, it entered Nanjing and occupied Jiangnan.
After the capital was established in Tianjing, the Qing Dynasty ordered the front-line generals to form the "Jiangbei Camp" in Yangzhou and the "Jiangnan Camp" at Xiaolingwei to encircle Nanjing; at the same time, they ordered the Yangtze River Water Division to attack and harass the Taiping Army's grain routes and impose an economic blockade on Tianjing. In March 1856, Yang Xiuqing decided to destroy the two battalions and remove the threat of Tianjing. After Qin Rigang, Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng, and others broke through the "Jiangbei camp," they wanted to go to Beijing to rest and did not want to fight again, but Yang Xiuqing was denied. "I wait for the return to camp for a long time, and I can't attack quickly." The Eastern King was furious, and those who did not obey the order were beheaded. Don't dare to ask for more, that is, to fight, only to ... It was Ri Xiang Zhang who failed to save Yao Huamen, the self-army was defeated, and then I chased on all sides, and immediately attacked the remaining 200 villages of the Xiaoling Wei Man Han camp, leaving only a few battalions left and right by Xiang Shuai, Zhang Guoliang zi zaqi Urn Bridge, and there were also a few battalions left and right. It was night to Zhang zi retreating, and my Heavenly Dynasty soldiers did not chase after him. It was five years that the Eastern King did not die. It can be seen that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was able to destroy two battalions in succession and lift the three-year-long Siege of Beijing, relying on Yang Xiuqing.
In addition to his outstanding military ability, Yang Xiu's ability to clean up political affairs is not bad, and he is a comprehensive talent. Yang Xiuqing's administration is very strict, the rewards and punishments are clear, and the execution is still very strong. Li Xiucheng said in his self-report: "Those who are safe and secure the people issue a strict order, and where the people's homes are safe and the people's homes are safe, he officials and soldiers who dare to live in the people's houses will not be forgiven, and those who step on the people's doorstep with their left foot will behead their left feet, and those who step on the people's homes with their right feet will be cut off their right feet." The law was strict, so during the year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (three years of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, three years of Xianfeng, 1853), the people were convinced. It can be said that Yang Lizheng still has a hand, under his leadership, everyone obeys the central orders, and this is basically invisible in the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
02. Often blame the Northern King for no reason, and the relationship with the second in command of the powerful faction deteriorates
In December 1851, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom carried out a sub-feudal system in Yong'an, sealing Yang Xiuqing the Eastern King 9,000 years old and governing the eastern countries; Feng Xiao Dynasty Guixi King 8,000 years old, managing the Western countries; Feng Feng Yunshan Nan Wang 7,000 years old, managing the southern countries; Feng Wei Changhui Northern King 6,000 years old, governing the northern countries; Feng Shi Da Kaiyi King 5,000 years old, that is, the meaning of the Yuyi Heavenly Dynasty. In June 1852, the Southern King Feng Yunshan was killed in battle at Yidu, and in October, the Western King Xiao Chaogui was killed in the Southern Tianyin Pavilion in Changsha City, and the Northern King Wei Changhui became the second most important person after the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing. Yang Xiuqing has a strong desire for power, in order to crack down on the second eldest of the powerful faction and establish absolute authority, Yang has repeatedly played "Heavenly Father's Mortal", publicly reprimanding Wei Changhui for no reason, so that he will lose face in front of the military and the people. For example, Yang Xiuqing's wife and uncle competed with Brother Wei for land property, and Yang actually forced the Northern King to split the body of his brother's five horses; the Beidian sailors made trouble, Yang Xiuqing beheaded the Beidian general Zhang Zipeng, and also publicly reprimanded Wei Changhui for 200 dozen boards, so that he could not get out of bed for several days.
Wei Changhui was the majority shareholder of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and without the financial support of the Wei family, there would have been no Jintian Uprising, but now that he was being bullied so much by Yang Xiuqing, how could the Northern King not be annoyed. You know, why did the little local tycoon Wei Changhui participate in the uprising? It is not to avoid being bullied by large families, and not to look at the faces of others to live; otherwise, if the family is rich, why should we risk the risk of "rebellion" in the high-risk profession of "rebellion". Li Xiucheng said in his self-description: "The Eastern King's threat is too much, and these three people are resentful in their hearts, and their mouths are smooth and their hearts are endless. Less resentment accumulates more, accumulates into harm, and accumulates resentment and hatred. The three people of the East, North and Wing were discordant, and the North and Wing were in the same heart, and one complained about the East, and was later killed by the King of the North. Indeed, the first person to return to Jingqin was Wei Changhui, the first to kill the Eastern King's Mansion was Wei Changhui, and it was Wei Changhui who ordered the killing of all the people and horses of the Eastern Wangfu, which shows how deep his enmity with Yang is.
03. With the help of the "Wrangler Incident", make a big fuss and offend Shi Dakai, Qin Rigang, and Chen Chengyao
Driven by the desire for power, Yang Xiuqing not only bullied Wei Changhui, but all the powerful factions he had to deter, including Shi Da KaiYi Hall and Qin Rigang Yan Hall, he hoped that everyone would obey. To this end, Yang Xiuqing made a big fuss and used the "Wrangler Incident" to knock on the Wing Hall and the Yan Hall. The "Chronicle of Jinling Yanjia" says: "Yan Thief Mu Ma Moujia sat in front of the door, and saw that the Eastern Thief and Uncle Geng did not stand up. Uncle Dong Thief was angry, whipped a certain A two hundred, sent Yan Thief, did not have time to ask. He also sent Yukun, intending to add a staff to Yukun. Yu Kun said that the whip could not be used as a staff, but turned to comfort. Uncle Dong Thief became more and more angry, pushed down the Yukun case, and sued Dong Thief. The East Thief was furious and made the Wing Thief restrain YuKun. Yu Kun resigned. The false Marquis Chen Chengrong and the puppet Yan king Tai Ri Gang also resigned. The Eastern Thief was furious, and the Northern Thief's Staff was one hundred, the Staff Chengrong was two hundred, the Staff Yukun was three hundred, and a certain jia was divided into five horses. For the sake of a Tonggeng uncle who could not be beaten by eight rods, Yang Xiuqing was also drunk.
In this "Wrangler incident", Yang Xiuqing was indeed excessive, and did not give face to others at all. The initiator of the conflict was Uncle Tonggeng of the Eastern King, and Qin Rigang Mafu was the victim, and he was also whipped 200 hundred. However, Yang Xiuqing even wanted to behead him and show him to the public, so as to export "evil qi" for Uncle Tong Geng, and when Qin Rigang, Huang Yukun, and Chen Chengyao expressed their disobedience, they actually publicly rebuked Qin, Huang, Chen, and others. This is also due to the fact that Qin Rigang was the King of Yan, second only to the Yi King; Huang Yukun was Shi Dakai's father-in-law, the Marquis of Weiguo; and Chen Chengyao was the Marquis of Zuotian, the leader of the imperial officials. The prince and marquis were publicly humiliated for such trivial matters, and they were reprimanded (spanked) in public, which was also deserved. Yang Xiuqing played a big game this time, and at the same time offended Shi Dakai, Qin Rigang, Chen Chengyao and other three high-level officials, and the consequences were quite serious. The three people who offended were all the main participants in the "Tianjing Incident", especially Chen Chengyao, the Marquis of Zuotian, who was the leader of the eastern palace civil officials who could convey the eastern king's decrees, and Yang Xiuqing's own considered close confidants, so Chen did the internal response, arranged for the Qinwang army to enter the city, and asked for Yang Xiuqing's life.
04. Blind and dignified, play "Heavenly Father Under mortals", threaten the staff to rebuke Hong Xiuquan, and even force the sealing of long live
Power, desire, easy to make people lose their minds, this is the most appropriate to apply to Yang Xiuqing. Feng Yunshan designed a special political system for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, called the "Military Division Responsibility System", the Heavenly King was the illusory head of state, the Dynasty did not care about the government, it was a symbolic existence, and the state power was in the hands of the "Military Division". At that time, Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, was the commander of the Zuo Fuzheng Army, the main general of the Chinese Army, and the "Heavenly Father's Stand-in", which combined political power, military power, and religious power, and was the actual ruler. Unfortunately, he was not satisfied with this, and he even trampled on Hong Xiuquan's only remaining "dignity". For the sake of the two palace women, Yang Xiuqing actually played "Heavenly Father Under The Mortals", personally visited the Heavenly King's Mansion, and threatened to rebuke Hong Xiuquan in front of the Wenwu Hundred Officials, punishing him as an "unfilial son" (Hong claimed to be the second son of God), so that Hong Xiuquan had no face at all. This is too much, Hong Xiuquan is a jun after all, Yang is a subject, such a practice, is not to deceive the king, everyone has to be condemned.
Although Hong Xiuquan, the commander of the light pole, could not directly kill Yang Xiuqing, he could use the hands of other powerful factions to play with a knife to kill people. Li Xiucheng wrote in his self-report: "Originally, it was the two men of the North and the Wing King who secretly discussed killing the Eastern King alone, because the Eastern King, the Heavenly King," was too trusting and entrusted with power, and excessively forced the Heavenly King to seal his long life. At that time, the authority was in the hands of the Eastern King, and he had to seal it, forcing the Heavenly King's prince to go to the Eastern King's Mansion to seal his long life. The two kings of the north wing did not obey, the kings and subjects did not part, the east wanted to be exclusive, and the north and the wing planned to kill the east king. It can be said that Yang Xiuqing made a mistake, he thought that the Heavenly King was helpless to himself, who knew that he was killed by Hong's knife, and he used the hands of other powerful factions to get rid of himself, which was all a curse of arrogance.
In summary, Li Xiucheng's evaluation of Yang Xiuqing was very pertinent, acknowledging that he had outstanding military and political talents and was the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom towards a strong future. However, Yang Xiuqing's interpersonal relations were a mess, and his relations with the Heavenly King, the Northern King, the Wing King, the Yan King, the Zuo Tianhou and other high-level relations deteriorated, and eventually triggered the "Tianjing Incident", and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom turned from prosperity to decline. It can be said that:"Success is also Yang Xiuqing, defeat is also Yang Xiuqing", the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom prospered because of the Eastern King, and also declined because of the Eastern King. Therefore, even if Yang Xiuqing came to power, he could not overthrow the Qing Dynasty, because interpersonal relations could not be done.