Li Xiucheng was captured on the fourth day after the city was destroyed in the Southern Mountains of Tianjing, that is, on July 22, 1864, and his arrest was very accidental.
On July 21, near dawn, due to poor horses, insufficient strength, and no food, Li Xiucheng and the rear team dispersed, he went west alone, and unconsciously walked to the broken temple Haihui Temple on the top of Fang Mountain.
According to his own confession, he was resting at the top of the mountain, so he hung the jewelry belongings he had bundled with him on a tree, and a group of villagers in Jianxi Village at the foot of the mountain went up the mountain to find him, recognized him as a loyal king, and deliberately took cover, and in order to express his gratitude, he wanted to give away the belongings he had hung. Unexpectedly, this move harmed himself, but the property hanging on the tree had already been taken away by another group of villagers who went up the mountain, and the two groups of villagers quarreled over the division of property, including a second-rate son named Wang Xiao'er, who knew that Li Xiucheng was a big leader with long hair and was of great value, so he united with dong Tao Dalai of the village and led some villagers to arrest Li Xiucheng and twist him to Xiao Fusi's camp, Xiao Fusi took the risk of doing his own work, saying that he had arrested him and personally sent him to Zeng Guoquan.
In the early morning of July 23, Zeng Guoquan was asleep when he heard that Li Xiucheng had been caught and was not wearing any clothes, so he hurried out for interrogation. Li Xiucheng was placed in a cage, allowing Zeng Guoquan to not answer a word of questioning, he was greatly humiliated in front of everyone, plus the third brother Zeng Guohua was killed by Li Xiucheng and others in the Battle of Sanhe, and the two years of bitter battle in Tianjing could not be attacked because of Li Xiucheng, and his heart was angry, so he took up the iron cone and stabbed At Li Xiucheng's body, Li Xiucheng was suddenly bleeding, and he shouted: "Zeng Jiu, each is his master, and the rise and fall is impermanent, and now he has the will to get his will, and he will torture me?" ”
Zhao Liewen, an aide to Zeng Guofan, was afraid that Zeng Guoquan would kill Li Xiucheng on the spot, and it was difficult to explain, so he quietly said next to Zeng's ear: "This is a great chieftain, and it is not allowed to be executed at will." Hearing this, he jumped up on his seat and said, "This earth thief's ear, is there any need to stay, is it necessary to send it to Beijing?" Saying that, he ordered his relatives to take a small knife and slash Li Xiucheng's arms and thighs, and the blood kept flowing down, but Li Xiucheng still straightened his chest and did not move.
At this time, Hong Renda, the elder brother of the Heavenly King, was also bound in. Zeng Guoquan ordered his own soldiers to follow suit. Hong Renda also had a kind of behavior, acting very strong, enduring the pain in his whole body, and shutting up without saying a word. Later, Zeng Guofan also personally interrogated, Hong Renda still looked at each other coldly, ignored him, made him very embarrassed, had to report to the Qing court, this person is "drunk as crazy, words will be called heavenly father", Hong Renda has the knowledge of the other, knows that begging will only be shamed, bring greater harm. He maintained his proper integrity, although he had a bad reputation within the kingdom of heaven before, did not understand military affairs, but also interfered in government affairs, liked corruption, and so on, but at this moment, he was a hero.
Zeng Guoquan was full of personal anger, and then ordered his men to make two wooden cages, one slightly larger to imprison Li Xiucheng, and the other smaller wooden cage to imprison Hong Renda. The large cage can be relaxed, and the small cage can only accommodate the body. He was just bothering.
That night, Zhao Liewen and other aides had a conversation with Li Xiucheng. Li Xiucheng talked about the first half of his career. He also said: Today Beijing has fallen, and I am also bound, do you observe that today's day is really peaceful? Then he proved from astrology that foreigners would make China unstable, which will be seen in more than a decade. Zhao Liewen asked, "What are your plans now?" Li Xiucheng said calmly, "But it's just a death." But looking around jiangnan there are still old ministries, and if I can write a letter and let them disband themselves and get proper arrangements, so as not to die innocently, I will have no regrets even if I die. ”
The Buddhist Mahayana Sutra has clouds, and killing one person can save everyone, and this is the bodhisattva action. The Huayan Sutra has similar words. Li Xiucheng may not have read the Mahayana Sutra or the Huayan Sutra, but it was the idea and behavior of a peasant leader to sacrifice himself. He and Chen Yucheng and Shi Dakai, who were captured that year, had the same idea: "I can die, but I hope that my subordinates will be saved." ”