In 1851, the Taiping Army conquered Yong'an City, where Hong Xiuquan was enfeoffed as the king, Yang Xiuqing as the Eastern King, Xiao Chaogui as the Western King, Feng Yunshan as the Southern King, Wei Changhui as the Northern King, and Shi Da Kaifeng as the Wing King. By 1856, infighting broke out in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Eastern King and the Northern King were killed successively, and the Wing King escaped from Tianjing. Among them, there is a prince who can be called the most miserable, he is the Northern King Wei Changhui, what is the matter?
Wei Changhui was originally a native of Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi, and unlike Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui's family was wealthy and considered a large family, "occupying two hundred and sixty acres of paddy fields", in addition to several transactions in the family. Later, Wei Changhui also obtained the qualification of invigilator through donation. Most of the members of the Worship of God Society were poor peasants, and it was not easy to talk about how easy it was to pull the flag and rebel, at this time Wei Changhui donated all his property, so there was the Jintian Uprising.
When Yong'an was crowned king, Wei Changhui was made the King of the North and called six thousand years old. In the process of the Taiping Army moving north, Feng Yunshan and Xiao Chaogui were killed in battle, so Wei Changhui's status was promoted, becoming the third person in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, second only to Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King, and Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King. After the establishment of the capital Tianjing, the defense of Tianjing was once controlled by Wei Changhui, and there was a watchtower in the Northern Palace at that time, "the day is blowing the horn and waving the flag, and the night is hanging the lamp to pass orders."
Later, Wei Changhui was ordered to leave Beijing and go to Jiangxi to preside over military affairs, and made many military achievements. At that time, the Qing army captured some Taiping troops, and according to their confessions, "Wei Zheng's army fought in battle, and he was the bravest." It is often said that if he brings a thousand men, there will be ten thousand officers and soldiers who are not afraid." In 1854, with the support of Hong Xiuquan, the Book of Heavenly Love was promulgated, which highly praised Wei Changhui's merits, writing:
"The King of the North and the King of the Wings are also rich families, and because they believe that the Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Brother do not hesitate to pay homage to the family property, they respond to the emperor's orders, they support the Allah, or they are in the rear protection, or they are in charge of the left army, they suppress the demon atmosphere, they do their best, they do their best, and they don't know how to work hard!" Despite this, Wei Changhui was still bullied by one person, he was Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King! At the same time, Yang Xiuqing, in the name of Heavenly Father, constantly rebuked Hong Xiuquan, threatening the rule of the Heavenly King.
Hong Xiuquan is also very dissatisfied with Yang Xiuqing's behavior, fearing that he will one day be replaced. In August 1856, Hong Xiuquan issued a secret edict allowing Wei Changhui, who was in command of the battle in Jiangxi, to return to Tianjing and kill Yang Xiuqing. Late on the night of September 1, Wei Changhui returned to Tianjing with 3,000 troops, and in the early morning of the next day launched a surprise attack on the Eastern King's Mansion, killing Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, and more than 20,000 of his henchmen.
Wei Changhui only had 3,000 men under his command, and Yang Xiuqing's henchmen numbered as many as 20,000, and without Hong Xiuquan's support and assistance, Wei Changhui would not have been able to achieve such a large-scale massacre. Therefore, the mastermind behind the chaos in Tianjing should be Hong Xiuquan, and Wei Changhui is just an accomplice. After Shi Dakai returned to Beijing, he openly questioned Wei Changhui, and at that time Hong Xiuquan did not support Shi Dakai, which shows that the attitude of the Heavenly King and Wei Changhui is the same.
After Shi Dakai escaped from Tianjing, he mobilized his army and prepared to march to Tianjing. Faced with the situation of the oppression of the army, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan took wei Changhui, the northern king, as a scapegoat, and used Wei Changhui's first rank to calm Shi Dakai's anger. Wei Changhui's fate was very tragic, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan "killed his wife and children", Wei Changhui hid in an alley for three days, and was still arrested. Hong Xiuquan decreed, "Order dismemberment, cut off two inches of flesh, and hang each fence in the city."
References: 1. History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; 2. "Modern Chinese History Data Series: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom"