In the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, there were two characters with very special identities, one was Yang Xiuqing, who was the spokesperson of the "Heavenly Father", and the other was Xiao Chaogui, who was the spokesperson of the "Heavenly Brother". However, in 1852, Xiao Chaogui was killed in Changsha City, and the "Heavenly Brother" fell, and he could no longer "go down to the mortals". Although Xiao Chaogui died under fire from the Qing army, his death was related to Yang Xiuqing.
After the Jintian Uprising, the Taiping Army left Guangxi and entered Hunan after a change of war, and on August 17, 1852, occupied Chenzhou, an important town in southeastern Hunan. At this time, Xiao Chaogui proposed, "If you smell the low defense of Changsha City, if there are thousands of fake light soldiers, double the Road to attack it, you can get it at your fingertips." Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King who presided over the military and political affairs of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, immediately agreed, so Xiao Chaogui led an army of 3,000 north on August 21.
After that, Xiao Chaogui launched a long-distance attack, occupying five cities in a row in 20 days, driving straight into more than 600 miles. However, in this process, Xiao Chaogui's march took only 8 days, and the other 12 days were stationed in the Yongxing and Youxian areas. It was not until September 10 that Xiao Chaogui's army arrived ten miles outside Changsha. So why did Xiao Chaogui slow down his march during this period? Judging from his actions, Xiao Chaogui may have thought that the Qing army had gathered a lot of troops in Changsha, so he felt that the strength was insufficient.
During his garrison in the Yongxing and Youxian areas, Xiao Chaogui collected money and grain on the one hand, and asked for help from chenzhou on the other hand, after all, Changsha City was the capital of Hunan Province, and the city was high and deep, with heavy troops defending. After receiving xiao Chaogui's news, Hong Xiuquan planned to immediately lead a large army to leave Chenzhou and head north to Changsha. However, he was rejected by Yang Xiuqing, who said: "The King of the West is just embarrassed, does not frustrate himself, and then does not obey orders. ”
That is to say, Yang Xiuqing wanted to use the Battle of Changsha to frustrate Xiao Chaogui's arrogance, so he deliberately did not send reinforcements. Hong Xiuquan was very worried, he said: "What if there is an accident? Yang Xiuqing said: "The West King is brave and fierce, even if there are small setbacks, the Qing Demon does not dare to force it, and will be able to get rid of himself." Judging from this record, Yang Xiuqing had no hope at all for Xiao Chaogui to attack Changsha, but only wanted to suppress Xiao Chaogui's arrogance. So, how did Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing settle their grudges?
Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui are both from Guangxi, and their hometowns are only eight miles apart, and they have established a very good relationship in the early years. Later, the two joined the Cult of God and successively obtained the status of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother Spokesperson. In this case, the relationship between the two begins to change subtly, mainly due to the struggle for power! After the Jintian Rebellion, Xiao Chaogui was once ostracized, and although he was still in third place when Yong'an was crowned king, the military and political power completely fell into the hands of Yang Xiuqing.
In this case, the opportunity for Brother Tian to descend to the mortal world was less, and Xiao Chaogui could only establish his prestige through military achievements, thereby increasing his influence. Therefore, Xiao Chaogui took the initiative to ask for help and asked to lead an army to attack Changsha. Because Yang Xiuqing refused to send reinforcements, Xiao Chaogui could only lead three thousand men to attack the city. After the Battle of Changsha began, the Taiping Army, under the leadership of Xiao Chaogui, quickly swept away the outskirts of Changsha, broke the Qing army, and began to attack the city on September 11.
On September 12, when Xiao Chaogui was commanding the battle at Miaofeng Peak, he was hit by a shell from the Qing army and was shot in the chest, and he was "dumbfounded" and died of serious injuries. A few days later, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, who were in Chenzhou, received this war report, and they left Chenzhou and went north to attack Changsha. For nearly a month, Yang Xiuqing did not make any military deployments. Although Xiao Chaogui's death was unexpected, the fall of "Heavenly Brother" was directly related to the inaction of "Heavenly Father".
References: 1. "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom"; 2. "The Complete History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War"