North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 294 Then play music and then dance

June 1, 1855, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Nanjing.

The current Yang Xiuqing is even more arrogant and overbearing than in the original history.

Just over ten days ago, Yang Xiuqing coerced Hong Xiuquan to his face into bestowing upon him the title of "Long Live the Emperor".

Prior to this, Yang Xiuqing, this charlatan, had repeatedly claimed to be possessed by the "Heavenly Father," forcing Hong Xiuquan to kneel and greet him. He had even threatened to pull down Hong Xiuquan's pants and beat him.

In this way, Yang Xiuqing established his absolute authority within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, undermining Hong Xiuquan's power while continuously undermining the "Heavenly King's" prestige.

Hong Xiuquan tolerated the past, as long as it didn't affect his life of debauchery and nightly revelry.

However, bestowing the title of "Long Live" upon Yang Xiuqing touched a raw nerve with Hong Xiuquan!

If you're already "Long Live the Emperor," then where does that leave me, the "Heavenly King"?

Unable to tolerate this any longer, Hong Xiuquan issued a secret edict to "Northern King" Wei Changhui and "Yan King" Qin Rigang to execute Yang Xiuqing.

Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang had harbored deep resentment towards Yang Xiuqing for years and had long wanted to get rid of him.

Now that they had the Heavenly King's secret decree in hand, their actions were perfectly legitimate, and the two immediately began to secretly plan.

On June 1st, Wei Changhui secretly led three thousand elite soldiers back to Tianjing to join Qin Rigang.

The next morning, the two led their troops in a surprise attack on the Eastern King's Mansion, killing Yang Xiuqing, his family, and his followers, who were still asleep.

After that, Wei Changhui began a massacre under the pretext of "searching out the Dong Party". In a short period of time, he massacred more than 20,000 people, including Yang Xiuqing's subordinates and civilians!

In an instant, the entire city of Tianjing was awash in blood and heads rolled everywhere, with everyone living in fear and trembling with anxiety.

……

The Tianjing Incident aroused widespread indignation throughout the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

To quell public anger, Hong Xiuquan also executed Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang.

Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, and Qin Rigang were killed one after another, and the entire core of power in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was almost completely wiped out.

In later generations, after these three were executed, Shi Dakai, Li Xiucheng, and Chen Yucheng were able to take on the main responsibilities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and prolong its existence for several years.

However, Shi Dakai, Li Xiucheng, and Chen Yucheng had already joined the Restoration Army.

Hong Xiuquan, who was neither virtuous nor talented, was simply not cut out for governing the country.

Moreover, this man was so engrossed in wine and women that he had no time to manage state affairs.

For a time, a power vacuum emerged in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Moreover, with Yang Xiuqing's death, the faith within the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom began to collapse.

That absurd belief system of "the second son of the Heavenly Father," "the fourth son of the Heavenly Father," and "the Heavenly Father descending to earth" collapsed in the blink of an eye.

Since they are all God’s own sons, how can there be a reason for the second son to kill the fourth son and for brothers to kill each other?

Are all the "sons" of God the Father so ill-mannered, so rebellious, and so devoid of humanity?!
……

In a short period of time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom suffered a collapse of faith and disintegration.

Even if Hong Xiuquan personally issued an edict, it would be difficult to mobilize a single soldier.

The various Taiping armies fighting abroad already tended to establish their own independent factions and become warlords.

Now that Yang Xiuqing and others are dead, the various Taiping armies have fallen into a state of fighting independently and seeking their own way out.

It wasn't just outside of Tianjing; even the Taiping Army stationed there began to seek their own way to survive.

For a time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which occupied a corner of the southeast, seemed to be on the verge of collapse and its members would scatter.

How could the Qing army possibly miss such a golden opportunity?
The hundreds of thousands of Qing troops besieging the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom accelerated their efforts to suppress the rebellion.

The territory controlled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was constantly being shrunk.

All Qing armies are now pointing their arrows straight at Nanjing!
……

More than half a year ago, Feng Yunshan, Luo Dagang, Shi Xiangzhen and others who had joined the Restoration Army were already intensifying their contact with various Taiping Army factions.

Now that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has reached this point, the various Taiping armies have no other choice but to join the Restoration Army and head to Guangdong.

As planned, Shi Dakai also dispatched a large fleet to once again gather various Taiping armies along the Yangtze River.

By September 1855, the number of Taiping soldiers who had successively joined the Restoration Army had reached more than 9.

Female battalion leaders, including Su San Niang, Zhou Xiu Ying, Xu Xiang Gui and Xu Yue Gui sisters, and Shu Er Sao, also led nearly 100,000 female soldiers to surrender.

By the end of 1855, Qing troops from all directions had almost completely surrounded Nanjing.

Tens of thousands of Qing troops surrounded Nanjing in layers, launching fierce attacks day and night, and the city could be breached at any moment.

……

Heavenly King's Palace, Heavenly King's Hall.

"Your Majesty, let's break through... Tianjing... cannot be defended!"

Covered in gunpowder smoke and stained with blood, Hong Xuanjiao knelt before Hong Xiuquan and pleaded, "Your Majesty, the Qing demons have breached several sections of the city walls. Although our brothers and sisters fought desperately to drive the Qing demons out of the city, they suffered heavy casualties..."

"The number of soldiers in the city who are ready to fight is now less than 40,000, and most of them are still wounded."

"The Qing demons outnumber us many times over, and there are even more Qing demons swarming in from all directions, vying for the credit of breaching the city...!"

Hong Xuanjiao wiped the blood from her face with the back of her hand: "Your Majesty, only the city gate on the riverside is relatively safe now."

"But the Qing navy will blockade the river sooner or later."

"Heavenly King, if we don't leave now, it will be too late...!!!"

"Ha ha ha ha……!"

Facing Hong Xuanjiao kneeling before him, pleading desperately, Hong Xiuquan embraced a beautiful woman in each arm and laughed loudly, "Go? Where to go?"

"My Heavenly Kingdom still has hundreds of thousands of elite troops... They will surely come to relieve the siege of Tianjing...!"

"Xuanjiao, just hold out for a few more days, and once reinforcements arrive, we will surely slaughter the Qing demons, leaving not a single one alive...!"

"They slaughtered those Qing demons... leaving not a single one alive...!"

As he was talking, Hong Xiuquan suddenly started singing a traditional opera!

After the opera ended, Hong Xiuquan turned around and gave each of the two beautiful women a big kiss on the cheek.

Then, turning to the group of musicians and dancers before the imperial desk, he laughed loudly, "Don't stop!"

"Keep the music playing, keep dancing...!!!"

The decadent music started playing again.

A group of scantily clad dancers danced gracefully amidst the Heavenly King's maniacal laughter.

This scene stands in stark contrast to the Taiping soldiers fighting bloody battles and whose corpses litter the ground just miles away!
……

Hong Xuanjiao was utterly devastated, staring at the frenzied scene before her.

Then, she kowtowed several times to Hong Xiuquan with a loud "bang bang bang...!"

"Your Majesty, Xuan Jiao has gone...!"

Hong Xuanjiao was in tears: "After this parting, I fear we may never see each other again!"

"Heavenly King, take care...!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hong Xuanjiao got up and turned to leave without hesitation.

Hong Tianwang has gone mad!

In Hong Xuanjiao's eyes, Hong Tianwang at this moment was no different from a dead man.

The Heavenly King is "dead," but he still has tens of thousands of soldiers under his command who need to be saved.

Months ago, the core leadership and key generals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were almost entirely slaughtered in that internal strife.

When the Qing army besieged the city, they discovered that the vast capital, Nanjing, had no capable generals.

When he was about to die, Hong Xiuquan remembered Hong Xuanjiao, who had been suppressed and blacklisted by Yang Xiuqing.

Hong Xuanjiao was actually Yang Xiuqing's cousin, whose real name was Yang Xuanjiao, and she was also the wife of "Western King" Xiao Chaogui.

At the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xuanjiao was the commander of the women's camp and was known as "Xi Wang Niang", "Daughter of the Heavenly Father" and "Sister of the Heavenly Brother".

Because of her stubborn, daring, and outspoken personality, Hong Xuanjiao offended Yang Xiuqing.

After Xiao Chaogui's death in battle, Yang Xiuqing seized power and completely suppressed Hong Xuanjiao.

It wasn't until Tianjing was besieged that Hong Xiuquan appointed Hong Xuanjiao to command all the armies in Tianjing and oversee its defense.

……

Hong Xuanjiao, accompanied by several female guards, turned to leave the main hall.

But the moment he stepped over the high threshold, he suddenly heard Hong Xiuquan's voice from behind.

"Xuanjiao... take my children... let's go!"

Hong Xiuquan now has three sons and one daughter. The eldest is only six years old, and the youngest is still an infant.

Upon hearing this, Hong Xuanjiao froze in mid-air, turning back in surprise and exclaiming, "Heavenly King...!"

Hong Xiuquan waved his hand: "Go, go...all of you, go!"

At this moment, Hong Xuanjiao finally understood that Hong Xiuquan was not crazy, but simply could not accept the huge drop from being the "second son of the Heavenly Father" to falling into the mortal world.

He could not accept the fact that his imperial dream had shattered overnight.

He understood that everyone else could leave, but he couldn't!

There is no place for him in this world anymore!

"Heavenly King, take care...!"

After bowing once more, Hong Xuanjiao, accompanied by her personal guards, turned and left the Heavenly King's Hall.

As he watched Hong Xuanjiao's retreating figure, the last glimmer of light in Hong Xiuquan's eyes went out.

He turned around and became completely absorbed in these last moments of happiness, unable to extricate himself.

……

After leaving the Heavenly King's Palace, Hong Xuanjiao quickly sent people to find Hong Xiuquan's children.

But after searching for a long time, they still couldn't find the children.

With the city on the verge of falling, Hong Xuanjiao had no choice but to gather 20,000 troops, mainly female soldiers, and that very night, she led them out of Fengyi Gate in Linjiang.

In the darkness, 20,000 Taiping soldiers crowded on the narrow riverbank between Fengyi Gate and the Yangtze River.

"Commander Hong, where should we go?"

The deputy general beside Hong Xuanjiao said anxiously, "It will be dawn in an hour."

"Once it gets light, and the Qing demons discover our breakout, we'll be trapped here forever, and we'll all die!"

Hong Xuanjiao stared intently at the wide river: "I made an appointment with the envoys of the Restoration Army; they will send a boat to pick us up tonight!"

"What about the ship?"

The lieutenant was so anxious he stamped his feet: "Don't even mention the Restoration Army's ships, we don't even have a single raft...!"

"Don't worry! I believe the Restoration Army won't lie to me; and the Southern King certainly won't lie to me either...!"

"Bang bang bang...!"

As they were talking, suddenly, large groups of Qing soldiers carrying torches rushed out from the northeast corner.

The two armies clashed head-on, and without saying a word, they immediately unleashed a hail of gunfire.

In the darkness, it was impossible to see how many Qing soldiers had arrived; only countless torches could be seen, their bright lights illuminating half the sky. "These damned Qing devils…!"

Hong Xuanjiao cursed under her breath, drew her sword from her waist, and shouted, "Brothers and sisters, follow me to kill the Qing demons...!"

"Kill them...!"

Hong Xuanjiao personally led the charge, fighting the Qing army in the darkness before dawn.

The sudden night battle caught both sides off guard, and they charged and fought fiercely in a chaotic melee.

With their backs to the river and no way to retreat, the 20,000 Taiping soldiers fought desperately, causing the Qing army to be unable to withstand them and retreat step by step.

However, the Qing army was numerous and powerful, and reinforcements kept arriving.

After a fierce battle, as dawn broke, tens of thousands of Qing troops had surrounded the remaining 10,000 Taiping soldiers.

Exhausted and unable to hold on any longer, the Taiping army was forced to retreat step by step towards the riverbank.

By daybreak, the remaining 10,000-plus Taiping soldiers had been squeezed into a small, narrow area less than 100 feet long and wide on the riverbank.

At this point in the battle, the Qing army brought in several cannons, set them up on a small hill, and prepared to bombard the desperate Taiping army.

"Commander Hong...!"

Covered in blood and clutching his bleeding stomach wound, the lieutenant staggered to find Hong Xuanjiao, who was already exhausted and leaning on her sword, panting heavily.

"Commander Hong, where's the ship...!"

Ignoring his massive abdominal wound, the lieutenant roared at Hong Xuanjiao, "Fuck your ancestors for eighteen generations! Where are the Restoration Army's ships?!"

Hong Xuanjiao did not answer, but turned her head to look at the river surface shrouded in mist, and a look of despair appeared on her face.

Hong Xuanjiao turned around and looked at the Qing army loading cannons two or three hundred feet away. Her voice was filled with despair: "Things have come to this, we can't blame anyone else!"

"Today, all that remains is death...!"

Hong Xuanjiao surveyed her surroundings, at the female guards of the battalion already covered in blood and wounds: "Sisters, follow me for one last charge!"

"There are only female soldiers who died in battle, not female soldiers who surrendered!"

"Sisters, let's die together today!!!"

The female soldiers were too exhausted to answer. They simply followed Hong Xuanjiao with resolute steps, charging towards the countless Qing soldiers who were closing in.

"Kill the Qing demons...!"

"Kill them...!"

"kill……!"

The remaining 10,000 or so Taiping soldiers launched a final, desperate charge!

……

Meanwhile, on a small hill a few hundred feet away, Zeng Guofan was leading a group of officers and generals, closely monitoring the battle situation with their monocular telescopes.

"This should be the last fighting force in Jinling City!"

Zeng Guofan pointed out the landscape: "As long as we annihilate this rebel army and capture Nanjing, it will happen today...!"

"Congratulations, Vice Minister Zeng! Congratulations, Vice Minister Zeng!!"

At that time, Zeng Guofan held the official titles of Governor of Hubei and Vice Minister of War.

"Hahaha, congratulations to you too! Congratulations to you too!!"

Zeng Guofan was overjoyed: "Although this bandit army is incredibly fierce, once my cannons fire, defeating them will only take a snap of the fingers...!"

"Boom... Boom... Boom...!"

Just then, a burst of intense artillery fire suddenly came from the battlefield ahead.

"Hehe!" Zeng Guofan was overjoyed upon hearing this: "It's happening just like that, the cannons have fired...!"

……

"Boom boom boom...!"

At the same time, Hong Xuanjiao and other Taiping soldiers also heard the earth-shattering cannon fire.

“It’s over…!”

Hong Xuanjiao had not expected that the Qing army's artillery fire would start so quickly and so intensely!

With just a few rounds of intense artillery fire, his remaining ten thousand troops would surely be annihilated!
Although the Qing army's solid shot had limited lethality, it was still an insurmountable obstacle for the Taiping army, which was crammed into such a small area and had such a dense formation.

“It’s over…!”

This was almost the last thought that flashed through the minds of all the remaining Taiping soldiers.

"That cannon fire... how did it come from behind us?!"

Hong Xuanjiao, who had already given up hope, did not receive the barrage of shells. Instead, she felt that the sound of the cannons was coming from behind her.

Just then, the whistling sound of cannonballs swept over the heads of the Taiping soldiers.

"Boom... Boom... Boom...!"

The dense barrage of shells, like raindrops, struck precisely the small hill where the Qing army had set up their cannons.

"Boom boom boom...!"

Before Hong Xuanjiao and the other Taiping soldiers could react, a barrage of dense bullets, seemingly endless, swarmed overhead, relentlessly bombarding the Qing army.

"Boom... Boom... Boom...!"

Countless dense bullets bombarded tens of thousands of Qing soldiers, causing them to fall and their horses to tumble.

Countless high-explosive shells blasted countless Qing soldiers into pieces, with blood, entrails, and severed limbs flying everywhere...!
Whether it was a musket, a broadsword, or a spear... they were all blasted into pieces!
Shells were whistling through the air, and the ground was shaking!

……

Hong Xuanjiao watched in disbelief as the Qing soldiers, only a hundred meters away, were all blasted into the air.

“This…this is…!”

Hong Xuanjiao turned around with great difficulty and saw that countless ferocious and enormous creatures were slowly emerging from the mist on the river!
These countless steel behemoths are unleashing a torrent of fury at an unimaginable rate of fire!

Countless heavy cannons fired fiercely at the same time, causing the river to boil, the sky to change color, and the earth to tremble!

"The...the Restoration Army...!"

Hong Xuanjiao and more than 10,000 Taiping soldiers burst into tears instantly!
"It's the Restoration Army! It's the Restoration Army's ship... The Restoration Army's ship is here!!!"

Amidst the more than ten thousand remnants of the Taiping army, thunderous cheers erupted.

Everyone's face was filled with the ecstatic joy of surviving a disaster!
……

Meanwhile, Zeng Guofan and other Qing officials and generals turned ashen-faced instantly!
"Where...where...where did all these gunboats come from?!"

"Could it be...could it be the Guangdong Restoration Army again?!"

"Only the Guangdong Restoration Army possesses such power and firepower...!"

"No!" Zeng Guofan cried out in anguish, closing his eyes and looking up at the sky.

"The firepower of the Restoration Army's gunboats is simply unmatched... Retreat, retreat quickly...!"

The officers and generals then realized what was happening and quickly sounded the retreat.

Tens of thousands of Qing soldiers, who were blown up and routed, didn’t need anyone to command them; they had already abandoned everything and fled in panic!

……

After the Restoration Army's fleet completely dispersed the Qing army with its powerful artillery fire, it slowly began to approach the shore.

After several shallow-draft gunboats were moored at the shore, one man was the first to disembark.

Upon seeing who it was, Hong Xuanjiao was overjoyed and immediately bowed down, saying, "Xuanjiao greets the Seven Thousand Years-Old Prince of the South!"

"Hahaha!"

The first person to come down was none other than Feng Yunshan!
Feng Yunshan helped Hong Xuanjiao up, saying, "Xuanjiao, I'm late, please don't be angry!"

"Firstly, the fog on the river is so thick that the gunboats can't move fast."

"Secondly, we encountered a Qing navy that was blocking our way, and we had to clear them out before we could continue our journey."

In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan was the "second son of the Heavenly Father," Feng Yunshan was the "third son of the Heavenly Father," Yang Xiuqing was the "fourth son of the Heavenly Father," and Hong Xuanjiao was the "sixth daughter of the Heavenly Father."

Therefore, Feng Yunshan and Hong Xuanjiao always addressed each other as brother and sister.

Hong Xuanjiao, who had survived the ordeal, was on the verge of tears: "Third...Third Brother, Taiping...Taiping Heavenly Kingdom...is finished!!!"

Before she could finish speaking, Hong Xuanjiao burst into tears, throwing herself onto Feng Yunshan's shoulder.

The more than 10,000 remaining soldiers behind Hong Xuanjiao all had sorrowful faces and were weeping bitterly.

"Don't cry, little sister!" Feng Yunshan gently patted Hong Xuanjiao's back, comforting her, "It's over, it's over!"

"Where there is life, there is hope!"

"Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has ended, as long as we siblings are of one mind, we may one day be able to rebuild a true paradise on earth!"

Hong Xuanjiao lifted her tear-filled eyes from Feng Yunshan's shoulder and sobbed, "Heavenly King, Heavenly King... he...!"

“Alas…!” Feng Yunshan sighed deeply: “Xiuquan, he is not fit to be a ruler and cannot be entrusted with important matters.”

"But, Your Majesty, he is still in the city. Could Third Brother please...!"

Feng Yunshan shook his head firmly: "Little sister, it's not that your brother is heartless!"

"Everyone can leave, but he can't!"

"Everyone can be saved, except him!"

"Everyone else can live, but he... must die!"

Hong Xuanjiao looked at Feng Yunshan in shock: "Third Brother, why?"

Feng Yunshan shook his head again: "He was the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. If he doesn't die, it's inevitable that some people will continue to wave his flag, stir up trouble, and cause more problems."

"To save the lives of these hundreds of thousands of Taiping soldiers, Xiuquan must die for his country... Sister, do you understand?"

Hong Xuanjiao seemed to understand but not quite, yet she still persisted, saying, "Third Brother, even if we rescue the Heavenly King, can't we just let him... live the rest of his life as an ordinary person?"

"Sister, how can the affairs of this world be left to us to decide based on our own wishes?"

Feng Yunshan continued, "Since he has become the ruler of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and enjoyed the worship of hundreds of millions of people, he must bear the weight of this position and shoulder the responsibility for the destruction of the kingdom!"

"Even if he's willing to live the rest of his life as an ordinary person, there will still be people with ulterior motives who will continue to exploit, mislead, and incite him...!"

"Besides, it's easy to go from poverty to wealth, but difficult to fall from wealth to poverty. Is Xiuquan really willing to live a life of mere survival and become an ordinary person?"

Hong Xuanjiao recalled the scene of bidding farewell to Hong Xiuquan, and wanted to say something more, but suddenly couldn't open her mouth!

Looking at Hong Xuanjiao, who was covered in blood and could barely stand, Feng Yunshan said, "Sister, you should all board the ship quickly. The Qing army will return soon!"

"But...but there are still 20,000 Taiping soldiers in the city, and more than 10,000 women and children in the Heavenly King's Palace...I haven't found the Heavenly Prince's offspring, but they are most likely still in the city!"

"When the city falls, none of these people will survive... Third Brother...!"

Hong Xiuquan alone had thousands of wives and concubines, plus female officials, maids, and so on, totaling more than ten thousand women and children.

Feng Yunshan said in a deep voice, "Sisters, you are all exhausted and most of you are injured. Just go aboard the ship to rest and heal your wounds. Leave the rest to me, you don't need to worry about it!"

Hong Xuanjiao turned her head and looked around. Almost every soldier there was wounded and broken. She could only nod sadly, "Very well, then I'll leave everything to Third Brother!"

"Don't worry, little sister, I'll try my best to rescue as many people as possible...!"

(End of this chapter)