North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 295 The Fall of Mars, the Death of the Heavenly King

In addition to coming specifically to pick up Hong Xuanjiao, Feng Yunshan's fleet also brought a division of troops with them.

As the remaining 10,000 Taiping soldiers boarded the ships, this division of the Restoration Army also took over the defense of the entire city of Nanjing at top speed.

With over 10,000 Restoration Army soldiers, plus hundreds of machine guns and mortars, and the support of large-caliber naval guns on the Yangtze River, the defenses of Nanjing were impregnable in just one morning.

The more than 10,000 Taiping soldiers who were relieved of their duties to defend the city, like Hong Xuanjiao, boarded the Restoration Army's fleet one after another.

Tens of thousands of family members of Taiping soldiers and officers who were stranded in Nanjing also boarded ships and left.

In the end, only the Heavenly King's Palace remained with its gates tightly shut!

Having spent a whole day completing the evacuation mission, Feng Yunshan led a regiment of the Restoration Army to surround the vast Heavenly King's Palace.

"Boom, boom, boom...!"

When the gates remained unopened, the imposing gates of the Heavenly King's Palace were blasted open by artillery fire.

Three thousand Restoration Army soldiers filed in and quickly disarmed all four thousand Taiping female soldiers who remained at the Heavenly King's Palace, then sent them onto the ship.

In addition, Hong Xiuquan's thousands of wives and concubines, nearly ten thousand female officials, maids, servants, and so on, were all sent onto the ship.

The vast treasures and wealth looted by the Taiping Army over the years, including those inside the Heavenly King's Palace, were all packed onto the ship.

In this long, dark night, the vast Heavenly King's Palace was deserted, leaving only empty pavilions and towers, and... Hong Xiuquan, literally a lonely figure!

Inside the magnificent Heavenly King Hall, a platoon of Restoration Army soldiers had already surrounded Hong Xiuquan, who was completely drunk.

……

"Click, click, click...!"

After completing the evacuation mission, Feng Yunshan, accompanied only by two guards, walked slowly into the Heavenly King Hall with heavy steps.

Perhaps it was the sound of those familiar footsteps that brought Hong Xiuquan, who had been living a life of debauchery, back to his senses.

Hong Xiuquan, slumped on the high throne of the Heavenly King, opened his sleepy eyes and looked at his half-brother Feng Yunshan, who was approaching him!
"Third brother, you...you finally came!"

Hong Xiuquan laughed maniacally: "Hahaha, did you come back to laugh at me?"

Feng Yunshan stood with his hands behind his back at the foot of the high jade steps, not answering, but just quietly watching Hong Xiuquan, who was disheveled, decadent and dejected.

"Could it be... that you've come to kill me too?!"

Feng Yunshan remained silent for a long time before saying, "Xiuquan, I have already taken away all of your family members that I could."

"Rest assured, I will ensure they live out their remaining years in peace and comfort!"

"Hahaha!" Hong Xiuquan laughed maniacally again: "Third brother, now you won't even call me second brother anymore?"

Feng Yunshan said calmly, "Xiuquan, we both know that although we were once like brothers, you are not my second brother, and I am not your third brother."

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is gone. To mention the second or third son of the Heavenly Father is just making us a laughing stock!"

"If they were really brothers, how come Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui both died at your hands?"

Hong Xiuquan tried to get up, but slumped back onto the throne: "Are you blaming me for killing Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui?"

Feng Yunshan shook his head slightly: "Those two both had ways of courting death, their deaths are not a pity!"

"But in Tianjing City, rivers of blood flowed and tens of thousands of heads rolled, most of whom were innocent people. This blood debt will most likely be attributed to you."

Hong Xiuquan abruptly flung his sleeve and roared, "That wasn't me! It was that scoundrel Wei Changhui! It was him...!"

"Heh!" Feng Yunshan sneered, "Without your tacit approval and support, Wei Changhui only has three thousand soldiers under his command. In the vast city of Tianjing, there are tens of thousands of elite troops. How could we allow him to be so presumptuous and arrogant?"

Feng Yunshan continued, "I know you deeply hate Yang Xiuqing, but this frenzied killing is undoubtedly digging the grave for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

"Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang have been beheaded!"

"Now, it's time for you to pay for this blood debt!"

As he spoke, the guards behind Feng Yunshan threw a long white silk ribbon at Hong Xiuquan's feet.

Looking at the white silk at his feet, Hong Xiuquan's eyes narrowed, and then he burst into a series of miserable laughs.

"Hahahaha...!" Hong Xiuquan laughed wildly and miserably, "So you really came to kill me after all!"

"Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, Qin Rigang, and those Qing demons... they all want to kill me!"

"Now, even my best brother is trying to kill me...!!!"

"My God Father... open your eyes and look... is there any justice here?! Is there any morality here?!"

……

Feng Yunshan and his group of Restoration Army soldiers coldly watched Hong Xiuquan's frenzied performance.

After a long while, Hong Xiuquan, exhausted and panting, slumped back onto his throne.

"Huff, huff...!"

Gasping for breath, Hong Xiuquan stared intently at Feng Yunshan, his voice tinged with pleading, "Third brother... Yunshan, for the sake of our past relationship, can't you... can't you spare my life?!"

Feng Yunshan slowly shook his head: "If you live, even more people will die!"

"If you want more people to live, you have to die!"

"Why...why?!" Hong Xiuquan stared at Feng Yunshan and pressed for an answer.

Feng Yunshan replied calmly, "Even if I tell you, you won't listen; even if you listen, you won't understand; even if you understand, you won't believe; even if you believe, you won't do it; even if you do it, you won't do it well; even if you do it well, you won't change; even if you change, you won't change it well...!"

"Instead of going through all this trouble, it's better to give yourself a dignified and quick end!"

Hong Xiuquan stared blankly at Feng Yunshan: "Third brother, you've changed! Before, you were so kind and loyal...!"

Feng Yunshan silently shook his head: "It's not me who has changed, it's you!!!"

"You are no longer the ambitious Hong Xiuquan who aspired to rule the world!"

"Right now, you only care about your own pleasure, your own status and power, and fine wine and beautiful women...!"

"Now you are nothing but an empty shell, a good-for-nothing who brings disaster to the world!"

"For the sake of the world and for the sake of hundreds of millions of people, you'd be better off dying a quick and painless death!"

“You Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui… once you hold power, you all become so terrifying, ferocious, and hideous!”

"Ask yourself honestly, what's the difference between you now and the Qing demons we're determined to exterminate?"

"Even now, Hong Xiuquan is not as good as the Qing demon!"

"At least, that Tartar emperor was diligent in his duties every day and never indulged in wine and women...!"

Feng Yunshan continued, "From beginning to end, I have never changed."

"But I was so ignorant and blind back then, like a blind man groping his way in the dark."

"Unbeknownst to us, you and I, two blind men, have stumbled together onto a wicked path, the end of which will only lead to an abyss of no return!"

"Now I have finally opened my eyes, seen the real world, seen the light, and found the right path!"

"Unlike you, whether I was on the wrong path in the past or on the bright road I am on now, my heart has never changed!"

"From beginning to end, what I cherish in my heart is this world, and the hundreds of millions of people!"

Feng Yunshan stared at Hong Xiuquan and said, "Two years ago, when I returned from overseas, I did think about it and tried to lead the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom onto the right path."

"But all I got was utter despair and disappointment!"

“During that year in Tianjing, apart from personally welcoming me back and seeing me once, you were unwilling to even see me.”

"That year, you were only concerned with revelry and drinking in this magnificent palace."

“From that moment on, I finally understood that you, Hong Xiuquan, and I were never on the same path…!”

"In fact, you are exactly the kind of person I hate and despise the most!"

"Your happiness is built on the suffering of millions!"

"Your happiness is built on the blood, flesh, and bones of millions of people!"

"Is what you're drinking wine? It's the blood of hundreds of millions of people!"

"Was that a woman you were sleeping with? That was the flesh and bones of hundreds of millions of ordinary people!"

"What you're manipulating isn't power, it's the lives and fortunes of hundreds of millions of people!"

"If it weren't for our past relationship, I would have chopped off your head with my own hands!"

……

Feng Yunshan finally poured out all the words he had kept in his heart for two years at this moment.

At this moment, Feng Yunshan finally felt his mind was clear and he felt more comfortable than ever before.

"So, King Hong, you may proceed on your own!"

Feng Yunshan slowly turned around: "I'll leave you with a whole corpse and some dignity; this is the best ending you can have!"

"If it were someone else, like Qing Yao, even if you were dead, even if you were lying in a coffin, you would be dug out and your bones crushed to ashes!"

After saying that, Feng Yunshan strode out of the hall.

After being thoroughly humiliated and looking ashen-faced, Hong Xiuquan finally snapped out of his daze as Feng Yunshan walked further and further away: "Third brother... Brother Feng...!"

Feng Yunshan hesitated for a moment, then stopped.

Hong Xiuquan no longer cared about the dignity and prestige of the Heavenly King. He scrambled forward and grabbed Feng Yunshan's leg, pleading, "Brother Feng, I knew my sins were grave and I was destined to die today. I beg you to spare my life!"

"But my children are still young, they are innocent!"

"Please, have mercy and spare their lives!"

Feng Yunshan looked up at the sky, a hint of reluctance and hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Then, he turned his gaze to the two guards on his left and right.

The two guards remained calm and shook their heads slightly.

Judging from their expressions and actions, Feng Yunshan understood.

These were the two hidden knights he had specifically left in Tianjing that day.

"Ugh……!"

Feng Yunshan looked up to the sky and sighed, "I understand, Xiuquan, may you rest in peace...!"

Without pausing, Feng Yunshan walked out of the magnificent and splendid hall.

Not long after, a dull thud of a chair collapsing suddenly echoed in the magnificent yet empty Heavenly King Hall.

After waiting a while longer, Feng Yunshan, who had been waiting outside the hall, entered the hall again.

Looking up, I saw a familiar figure dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, swaying and hanging high on the beam.

A somber expression also appeared on Feng Yunshan's face.

"Put the body down, put it on the ship, and take it back to Guangdong...!"

"Yes, sir!!"

After confirming Hong Xiuquan's death, Feng Yunshan turned to the two hidden knights behind him and asked, "What about those children...!"

The Hidden Knight replied in a deep voice, "As per your orders, they, along with their birth mother, have all been dealt with...!"

"Where's the body?"

"They're all sealed in a dry well!"

"Take me to see it."

Led by the Hidden Knight, Feng Yunshan arrived at the inconspicuous dry well in the harem, moved the heavy well-pressing stone, and retrieved more than ten corpses of various sizes.

After confirming that they were all Hong Xiuquan's wives, concubines, and children, Feng Yunshan paused for a moment before saying, "Burn them all. Don't leave any traces or evidence!"

"Yes, sir!!"

"Remember, King Hong committed suicide to die for his country. His children and wives all voluntarily accompanied him to heaven...!"

"Understood, Your subordinate!"

……

After cleaning up the mess, Feng Yunshan did not rush to leave Jinling.

As dawn broke, Feng Yunshan, who hadn't slept all night, arrived at the gate tower of Qilin Gate once again.

Standing atop the towering Qilin Gate, Feng Yunshan looked down at the massive Qing army camp several miles away, and at the countless Qing soldiers outside the camp who were digging trenches.

The hundreds of thousands of Qing troops were completely stunned by the powerful firepower of the Restoration Army yesterday.

A direct assault on Nanjing is out of the question.

But they were unwilling to retreat at this point.

Thus, these hundreds of thousands of Qing troops began digging trenches and fortifications, preparing for a long-term siege of Nanjing.

But for the Restoration Army, which controlled the Yangtze River waterway, the idea of ​​besieging them was a joke.

After briefly assessing the Qing army's formation, Feng Yunshan ordered, "Send a messenger out to invite the Qing army commander to come and meet him on the battlefield!"

"Yes, sir!!"

A moment later, an envoy with a white flag on his back rode out at breakneck speed.

The arrival of the envoy caused a slight disturbance among the Qing troops several miles away.

An hour later, a dozen Qing cavalrymen, surrounding a high-ranking official, appeared several hundred meters away from the city gate.

Feng Yunshan, also under the protection of a platoon of cavalry, left the Qilin Gate and rode straight to the other side.

The two sides stopped only when they were several meters apart.

"Who is coming?"

Feng Yunshan was the first to speak and ask.

The man at the head of the group bowed slightly to Feng Yunshan and said, "I am Zeng Guofan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Governor of Hubei!"

Feng Yunshan also bowed slightly and said, "I am Feng Yunshan, the Provincial Treasurer of the Guangdong Restoration Military Government...!"

"You are Feng Yunshan?"

Zeng Guofan was quite surprised: "Aren't you the Southern King of the Taiping rebels? How come you are now the Provincial Governor of the Restoration Army?"

Feng Yunshan said calmly, "After today, there will be no more Taiping Army or Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the world!"

"Yes, only Feng Yunshan of the Restoration Army!"

"What……?"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Guofan was so shocked that he almost fell off his horse.

What shocked him was not that Feng Yunshan had joined the Restoration Army, but the statement that "there is no more Taiping Army or Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the world!"

In recent years, the Taiping Army, which occupied half of the Jiangnan region, has become a major threat to the Qing Dynasty.

The valiant Taiping army repeatedly inflicted heavy defeats on the Qing army, causing them to suffer numerous losses.

Even without valiant generals like Shi Dakai, the Taiping Army's power was unparalleled for a time, making the Qing court feel like they had a bone stuck in their throats and were determined to eliminate them as soon as possible.

Just six months ago, the Taiping Army was still launching attacks everywhere, capturing cities and strongholds.

Just six months later, the Taiping Army and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were gone?

This greatly shocked Zeng Guofan, and his feelings became extremely complicated.

Firstly, it was a great relief that the Taiping Rebellion was finally wiped out, allowing the hundreds of thousands of Qing troops and the imperial court to finally catch their breath.

Secondly, they felt a deep sense of regret, as they and other officers were hoping to gain merit and advance their careers through the Taiping Army. Now that the Taiping Army was gone, it would be much more difficult to continue their promotions!
Thirdly, there was a deep sense of lingering fear and dread. The Taiping Army, which the Qing government had tried so hard to suppress, was wiped out by the Restoration Army with ease.
But these words came from the mouth of the former Southern King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the current Provincial Governor of the Restoration Army, so Zeng Guofan had no choice but to believe them.

Zeng Guofan finally composed himself and continued, "Then, Mr. Feng, what is the meaning of your meeting with me on the battlefield?"

Feng Yunshan said bluntly, "Lord Zeng, Jinling City is now under the control of my Restoration Army."

"As long as Lord Zeng agrees to two of my requests, I can give you Jinling City in its entirety...!"

"What……?"

Zeng Guofan was so shocked that he almost fell off his horse.

Ignoring the utterly shocked Zeng Guofan, Feng Yunshan continued, "First, after the Qing army enters the city, they must not harm the people of Nanjing in the slightest!"

"After our Restoration Army cedes Nanjing, if anyone dares to massacre the city, our Restoration Army will surely slaughter their entire family one day!"

Before Zeng Guofan could reply, Feng Yunshan continued, "Secondly, a small portion of the remaining Taiping army also traveled to Guangdong by land."

"Our Restoration Army will exchange Nanjing for the Qing army to give way to these remaining Taiping rebels and spare them from extermination!"

"If the Qing army agrees to these two conditions, a response must be given before nightfall today."

"If you agree to these two conditions, starting tomorrow morning, Jinling City will be yours, Lord Zeng!"

"If you don't agree... hehe!" Feng Yunshan sneered, "Although my Restoration Army is unwilling to defend this isolated city, it's still easy to hold it for a year or two, and then kill a few thousand Qing soldiers along the way!"

At present, Nanjing is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Qing troops.

Defending this isolated city is utterly pointless.

Even if one could travel freely through the Yangtze River waterway and resupply would not be a problem, the cost and effort involved would be quite uneconomical.

After all, in addition to the logistics of the Restoration Army, they also had to feed hundreds of thousands of people in Nanjing, requiring a considerable amount of food and supplies.

The immediate priority for the Restoration Army is to build Guangdong into a paradise on earth and a model, rather than worrying about the gains and losses of Nanjing, an isolated city.

Upon hearing these two seemingly simple conditions, Zeng Guofan's eyes widened in surprise: "Mr. Feng, you... are you serious?"

"Of course it's true!"

Zeng Guofan suppressed the urge to immediately agree and replied, "Since that's the case, then... let me and the generals discuss it further..."

"Then we'd better hurry, or we'll miss out!"

With that, Feng Yunshan spurred his horse and prepared to leave.

"Mr. Feng, please wait a moment...!"

Zeng Guofan quickly called out to him, "Mr. Feng, please wait a moment!"

"Lord Zeng, is there anything else?"

Zeng Guofan pondered for a moment and asked, "May I ask Mr. Feng, what exactly is the intention of your Restoration Army?"

Over the course of more than a year, the Qing court went to great lengths to finally figure out the origins of the Restoration Army entrenched in Guangdong.

Even after figuring out the origins of the Restoration Army, the Qing court still had no idea what this so-called Restoration Army wanted to do.
After easily capturing Guangdong, the powerful Restoration Army remained confined to a corner of Lingnan, showing no intention whatsoever of conquering cities and seizing the country.

Now, the Restoration Army has taken in large numbers of Taiping soldiers, greatly increasing its strength.

But the fact that he so easily gave up the vast city of Nanjing left Zeng Guofan completely baffled!

Feng Yunshan smiled slightly: "Lord Zeng, the purpose of the Restoration Army has long been announced to the world, and it is very clear!"

"Expel the Tartars and restore China! This is the will of our Restoration Army!"

"May I ask, Lord Zeng, is there anything you don't understand?"

Zeng Guofan had certainly heard of the Restoration Army's slogan of "Expelling the Tartars and Restoring China," but looking at what the Restoration Army had done over the past year, Zeng Guofan felt that it didn't seem quite right.

Zeng Guofan said, "In this world, whether Manchu or Han, we are all one family. As long as it benefits the world, why be so fixated on the Manchu-Han divide?"

"Lord Zeng is right, but is the current Qing Dynasty truly still beneficial to the world?"

"This...!" Zeng Guofan was speechless upon hearing this.

Feng Yunshan continued, "Lord Zeng, the world we are in right now is undergoing a transformation unprecedented in a thousand years!"

"If our great China does not reform and strive for strength, it will surely become meat on the chopping block and food on the plate of foreign powers."

"In today's world, you're either sitting at the table or on the menu!"

"The Qing Dynasty has become the biggest obstacle and stumbling block to China's transformation and strengthening. If this stumbling block is not removed, China will never sit on the dinner table and will only appear on the menu of foreign powers."

"Lord Zeng is a learned scholar, but unfortunately he has never opened his eyes to see the vast world outside, and his vision is nothing more than this."

"My lord once said, 'In today's world, one cannot even govern a single country without planning for the entire globe!'"

"If Lord Zeng is willing to open his eyes to the world, he might as well go to the West."

"Even if you don't travel all the way to the West, you can still come to Guangdong now and take a look. It will surely broaden Lord Zeng's horizons!"

With that, Feng Yunshan cupped his hands in farewell to him and said, "Lord Zeng, farewell!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Yunshan spurred his horse and led a squad of cavalrymen away, disappearing into the city gate in the blink of an eye.

Zeng Guofan, however, stared blankly at Feng Yunshan's disappearing figure, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

"A great transformation unprecedented in a millennium...!"

"If not at the dining table, then on the menu...!"

"Without global vision, one cannot truly govern a single nation!"

Zeng Guofan pondered these words repeatedly, and even the easily attainable city of Nanjing seemed less appealing.

Capturing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "Tianjing" in one fell swoop and completely annihilating the Taiping army was undoubtedly a tremendous achievement.

Anyone in this situation would probably be overjoyed.

But after a conversation with Feng Yunshan, Zeng Guofan fell into deep thought, feeling that the city of Nanjing, which was so close at hand, tasted like nothing at all!

"My lord, my lord...!"

Seeing Zeng Guofan's distraught appearance, his personal guards couldn't help but call out to him.

"Uh……!"

Zeng Guofan then came to his senses, looked up at the towering and majestic Nanjing city walls before him, and waved his hand listlessly: "Let's go, back to camp...!"

(End of this chapter)