Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

From the uprising in Jintian, Guangxi, to the capture of Nanjing, the Taiping Army took only a little over two years.

This force, composed of farmers, miners, and charcoal burners, routed the Qing Dynasty's regular army.

At its peak, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's military might even have approached the Beijing-Tianjin area.

If it weren't for the poor logistics and the fact that they were isolated and deep in enemy territory, they would have almost overthrown Emperor Xianfeng from his throne.

In 1856, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom breached the Qing Dynasty's Jiangnan Grand Camp, annihilating over 10,000 Qing troops, marking the peak of its military power.

On the sky, the image of Taiping soldiers carrying spears and broadswords charging into the Qing army's camp drew frequent nods of approval from generals of various dynasties.

Although these people were poorly equipped, their fearless spirit was truly terrifying.

In contrast, the Qing army fired a few shots from a distance and then retreated, lacking even the courage to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Emperor Qianlong stared at the sky, his back teeth almost grinding to powder.

This can be called the Eight Banners? This deserves to be called elite troops?

Back then, Emperor Taizu started his army with only thirteen suits of armor. His Eight Banners cavalry swept across Liaodong and entered the pass to compete for the throne. What a magnificent sight that was!

In the era of the Sky Curtain, they couldn't even defeat a group of peasants wielding broadswords and spears.

With these useless guys in charge, let alone conquering the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan, they'd be in deep trouble even wiping out a mountain bandit stronghold.

With military force so lax, it's easy to guess how rotten the court must be internally.

He's only been dead for a few years, and the Qing Dynasty has already deteriorated to this state?

Emperor Qianlong slumped helplessly on his dragon throne, looking at Yongyan sitting upright not far away, his eyes filled with despair.

If nothing unexpected happens, the vast empire built by our ancestors will be lost in his hands.

But besides Yongyan, to whom else could it be passed on?

Emperor Qianlong sighed deeply, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

As the heavens have said, the Han people will eventually reclaim the empire, and the Qing Dynasty will ultimately perish.

Instead of worrying about what will happen a hundred years from now, we should focus on doing what's in front of us well and try to hold on for as many years as possible.

As for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom—

Emperor Qianlong snorted coldly and decided to dig up Hong Xiuquan's ancestral graves first.

After achieving a great military victory, Hong Xiuquan began to bestow generous rewards upon his meritorious officials.

Yang Xiuqing was enfeoffed as the King of the East, Xiao Chaogui as the King of the West, Feng Yunshan as the King of the South, Wei Changhui as the King of the North, and Shi Dakai as the King of the Wing.

The five kings each had their own responsibilities and led their own army, forming the early power structure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

After establishing his capital in Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan promulgated reform measures, the most famous of which was the "Land System of the Heavenly Kingdom".

They put forward the slogan "We share the land, we share the food, we share the clothes, and we share the money."

From a theoretical perspective, this system was quite advanced for its time and was extremely attractive to the poor.

In addition to these, Hong Xiuquan also established the imperial examination system and banned foot binding for women, which were at least some personal matters.

When these words appeared, a fire suddenly ignited in the numb eyes of many people.

Is it really possible for this world to be completely unequal, with everyone going hungry and cold?

If I could really live such a life, what's wrong with risking this wretched life!

But does such a place really exist in the world?

The emperors and generals of various dynasties all sneered inwardly when they looked at the contents of the "Land System of the Celestial Empire".

Such absolute average is simply a fantasy.

It's unreasonable to expect some people to work diligently while others are lazy and lazy, yet all receive the same treatment.

Absolute fairness is absolute unfairness.

These words are just empty promises and cannot possibly continue.

"Sharing the land and the food?"

Liu Bang leaned back against the armrest and burst out laughing. "Conquering the world depends on the distribution of benefits. Only by clearly distinguishing between rewards and punishments can people be willing to risk their lives."

"If you're really talking about equality for all, then let me ask you this: does Hong Xiuquan have as much meat in his bowl as the soldiers on the front lines?"

Liu Bang got more and more excited as he spoke, and sat up straight from the armchair.

Hong Xiuquan had already used this tactic before. Wasn't the "White Snake Uprising" the same old trick?

Liu Bang was able to distinguish between propaganda and a promise that needed to be kept.

Hong Xiuquan has set such a high bar; how will he end up doing this?

Liu Bang scoffed, "This Hong Xiuquan is an idealist. He governs the country entirely based on imagination. He talks about heaven all the time."

"Without external threats, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could only last for ten years at most before it was destroyed by internal strife."

During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang's face had turned completely black.

"What the hell is this thing?"

"To bestow titles of kingship before even conquering the land—was Hong Xiuquan's brain filled with nothing but water?"

"Hasn't he heard of the An Lushan Rebellion? Hasn't he heard of regional warlordism? He even dares to casually delegate military power?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry at the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's actions that he almost had a stroke.

How did he succeed in his uprising back then? Wasn't it by building high walls, storing up grain, and delaying the declaration of kingship?

Rewarding meritorious officials was also based on merit. Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were first given the title of Marquis, and then they were gradually promoted.

Hong Xiuquan was quite something; before the war was even over, he was already throwing away titles like they were free.

How will you be granted a title in the future? Will you become the emperor?

When we talked about the students who failed the imperial examinations earlier, Zhu Yuanzhang already foresaw that Hong Xiuquan would not succeed.

As expected, they used up all their chips right from the start.

"Hmph, an idiot is an idiot. How long can he be so arrogant with his tricks?"

Zhu Yuanzhang concluded, "The first ones to take his life are the few kings he himself appointed."

Just how powerful was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at this time?

The most prosperous and fertile lands in the entire Jiangnan region were all in the hands of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

For the Qing Dynasty, losing the region with the highest tax revenue dealt a devastating blow to its finances.

It should be noted that more than one-third of the Qing government's fiscal revenue came from the Jiangnan region.

Without the money and supplies from the south, the northern army was cut off from its provisions.

It's no exaggeration to say that if any normal person had steadily built up their base, defeating the Qing Dynasty would have been only a matter of time.

When emperors of various dynasties saw the large areas of red on the map, they all gasped in shock.

With Jiangnan in hand, supplies are plentiful, and soldiers are constantly being recruited.

The Qing Dynasty lost its purse strings and became poorer with each war.

Anyone could win in this situation!

"So, Hong Xiuquan was abnormal?"

Emperor Qianlong pondered the words repeatedly, and finally let out a bitter laugh.

It seems that the Qing Dynasty barely survived and was not defeated by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

But what's the point?

According to the description in the sky, at this time, the Western barbarians had already accumulated enormous wealth during the Age of Exploration.

Even if they managed to survive the Taiping Rebellion, those wolves and tigers outside were still lining up to take a bite.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's true fatal flaw lay within itself.

When he first raised his army, Hong Xiuquan made a grand promise to the people.

The world's wealth should be shared equally by everyone, with equality for all, no place being unevenly distributed, and no one going hungry or cold.

What a wonderful vision! The people believed it, picked up knives, and followed him in action.

But when the Taiping army captured Nanjing and was finally about to fulfill their promise, the people discovered—

The so-called Kingdom of Heaven has absolutely nothing to do with them.

The "Land System of the Celestial Empire" was just empty talk; farmers still paid their grain and taxes as usual, without losing a single penny.

Even more outrageous, Hong Xiuquan embarked on a massive construction project in Nanjing, building the Heavenly King's Palace, whose scale and luxury rivaled that of the Forbidden City.

The so-called "shared wealth" ended up with all the money going into the Heavenly King's private treasury.

Before the war was over and the throne was secure, Hong Xiuquan began indulging in vengeful pleasures.

He took in eighty-eight concubines alone, which would have earned him a thumbs-up from Emperor Qianlong.

They ruled the country for sixty years, while you, Hong Xiuquan, caught up as soon as you entered the city. Truly, the student surpasses the master.

Tianmu's tone was full of sarcasm, and the last sentence was the ultimate expression of irony.

When ordinary people in the late Qing Dynasty saw this, their expressions changed from expectation to bewilderment, and finally to rage.

"Hong Xiuquan, you son of a bitch! What's the difference between you and those bastards from the Qing Dynasty?!"

"There's still a difference. At least the Qing dynasty left you with some semblance of life, while Hong Xiuquan deceived you first and then exploited you—he was worse than an animal!"

"All suffering is endured, yet all beings are saved! You deserve to die in the end, you should die, bah!"

The people, having reached their limit of tolerance, pointed at Hong Xiuquan and began to hurl insults at him.

Good heavens, they're treating them like fools.

What nonsense about sharing land and food? It's all a bunch of bullshit lies!

When you're enjoying yourself in the imperial palace, why don't you mention equality for all?

Many people truly yearned for the heavenly kingdom described there, believing they had met a savior.

It turned out to be all a lie; they tricked them into working themselves to the bone, and then reaped the benefits.

Hey!