In 1867, Shi Dakai was thirty-six years old. This King of Taiping Rebellion no longer had the air of youth. He was calm and composed, and just by sitting there, he exuded the demeanor of a great general.
Hong Xiuquan was fifty-three years old and had a scar on his face. The scar was neither new nor old. Mixed in with the wrinkles on his face, it bore the marks of time. This scar would ultimately determine the strategy of the northwest. During the attack on Manchu Qing, many of the Hui armed themselves and joined the Taiping army. During the conflict between the Hui and Han, these armed soldiers resolutely stood on the side of the Hui and rebelled. The Hui officer who charged into the palace was shot several times, but he still charged at Hong Xiuquan with a sharp blade in his hand. He burned his life to leave a mark on Hong Xiuquan's face. Hong Xiuquan immediately gave the order to exterminate the Hui.
The Taiping Army suffered considerable losses in the face of the armed rebellion of the Hui people. As the commander-in-chief, Shi Dakai discovered a problem. Even the more honest Hui would proudly say, "If you continue to cause trouble, XX will return."
Shi Dakai made this assessment at the meeting of the kings. The Hui were only divided into those who dared to rebel and those who did not, and there was no essential difference between the two. The kings eventually came to an agreement: exterminate them all. The machetemen of Shaanxi joined the Han under the call of the Taiping army. The Taiping army was responsible for defeating the organized forces of the enemy, while the thousands of machetemen from Shaanxi were responsible for systematically wiping out the remnants of the enemy. After more than a year of bloody battles, the Taiping army had cleanly wiped out the enemy wherever they went.
Upon hearing the news of Vézé's death, Shi Dakai could completely understand why Hong Xiuquan was so happy. The war in the northwest had basically ended, and Ningxia and Gansu would be cleansed in at most half a year. The Taiping army had obtained a vast territory and sufficient land. Turning eastward was already a strategy that everyone could see in the future. If Vézé were to die now, the Taiping army, which had stabilized their territory, would have the perfect opportunity to make a comeback.
Shi Dakai also hoped that Vézé would die, so he asked the messenger seriously, "Where did you hear this news?"
"The brothers in Shanxi told me," the envoy replied.
"Shanxi?" Shi Dakai frowned. How could Shanxi have gotten the news first? The Qing Army had deployed a large number of troops in Shanxi. The Taiping army was confronting the Qing Army in Shanxi.
The envoy replied, "According to Xiongdi, as soon as the Qing Army found out Vézé was dead, they took the initiative to send troops to attack us. We captured some captives. That's what they said. "
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan's face lit up even more. If Vézé had not died, the Qing Army would not have dared to take the initiative to attack. The Qing Army's movements proved the authenticity of this news. He couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, let's send someone to meet the brothers who worshipped God in the past. Now that Vézé is dead, they should have realized their error and turned back."
At the mention of God, Shi Dakai couldn't help but frown slightly. One of the main reasons for the falling out with the Hui people was that Heavenly King Hong had been vigorously promoting missionary activities in Shaanxi and even preaching among the Hui people. Ever since he had fought his way to Shaanxi, Heavenly King Hong had spent a large portion of his time writing the teachings. After reading it, Shi Dakai and the other kings all had the same opinion. It was a comprehensive book of reasons why one should obey Heavenly King Hong without hesitation. This made the kings' impression of Heavenly King Hong even lower. If the Taiping Rebellion was like this, then the Liberation Army, which had been separated from the Taiping Rebellion for more than a decade. I'm afraid they have long since forgotten that they once believed in God's worship.
Shi Dakai didn't stop Hong Xiuquan from doing so. Although he didn't really believe that Vézé had died just like that, if Vézé was really dead, it wouldn't be bad news. Sending someone to investigate now was the most important thing.
Just as Shi Dakai was lost in his thoughts, Hong Xiuquan had already begun to ramble on about being a fraud. Shi Dakai looked on coldly. When he was young and impetuous, Shi Dakai would have snorted disdainfully at this. Now, he wouldn't do so. Hong Xiuquan was 53 years old, while Shi Dakai was 36. There was a gap of 18 years between their ages. As long as the Taiping Rebellion was maintained, Hong Xiuquan would definitely die before Shi Dakai.
Returning to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a painful choice for Shi Dakai. He had once controlled a large army that far outnumbered Wei Ze's and Yang Xiuqing's. He had once led two hundred thousand elites and left the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to fight alone. Other than participating in the Taiping Rebellion and the great expedition after leaving Guangxi, he had also personally led his subordinates through a journey that was even longer than that expedition. But Shi Dakai still failed in the end.
After Shi Dakai admitted his failure and returned to the Taiping Rebellion, he finally let go of many things and understood many more things.
Shi Dakai understood the gap between him and Yang Xiuqing. Although Yang Xiuqing was domineering, Yang Xiuqing did represent the interests of a large number of brothers in the Taiping Rebellion. When Yang Xiuqing tried to use the power in his hands to suppress all the other Wangyes and occupy the position of the first person in the Taiping Rebellion, he was opposed by everyone.
Shi Dakai also understood the gap between him and Vézé. Vézé represented the interests of Vézé's subordinates. Therefore, when it seemed that Vézé could defeat all the Wangyes and control the Taiping Rebellion as long as he attacked Tianjing City, Vézé did not fight for personal power. Wei Ze did not fight for personal power. He resolutely chose to go south to Guangdong and open up a whole new world for the recovery army.
Shi Dakai understood the gap between him and Lin Fengxiang and the others. After the incident in Tianjing, only the upper echelons of the Taiping Rebellion were destroyed. The advantageous situation that Yang Xiuqing, Vézé, and the others had worked hard to achieve did not actually collapse. The main culprit that caused the total collapse might be Hong Xiuquan, but Shi Dakai definitely could not escape the blame of the people who really destroyed the good situation of the Taiping Rebellion. At this moment, the people led by Lin Fengxiang resolutely stood up to defend the Taiping Rebellion. No matter how disappointed they were in Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, no matter how difficult the situation was, they did not abandon the Taiping Rebellion. Instead, they continued to fight for the Taiping Rebellion and for their brothers in the Taiping Rebellion.
It was because of this group of people that the Taiping Rebellion had been able to persist until now. It was because of this group of people that when Vézé asked the Taiping Rebellion to go to Shaanxi from Nanjing, the Taiping Rebellion could go north under the leadership of Lin Fengxiang and the others. It was because of this group of people that the expedition of thousands of miles did not cause the Taiping Rebellion to collapse on its own. It was only after they reached Shaanxi that the Taiping Rebellion could prosper again.
Vézé was willing to let go of the Taiping Rebellion and help the Taiping Rebellion go north. Naturally, there was Vézé's plan behind this. But Shi Dakai could not help but think, was Vézé's leniency not because of his respect for Lin Fengxiang and the others? Shi Dakai could totally imagine that Vézé actually did not want to kill Lin Fengxiang and the others.
After understanding this, Shi Dakai could re-position himself and once again integrate into the Taiping Rebellion. What Hong Xiuquan wanted was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that he imagined to be led by him. That was Hong Xiuquan's principle. Now, Shi Dakai was thinking about a Taiping Rebellion that would allow his brothers to lead.
Shi Dakai no longer competed with Hong Xiuquan for the leadership. He did not even try to take the power that Yang Xiuqing once had. He only discussed with his brothers as King Yi of the Taiping Rebellion and fought together. Perhaps because of this change of thinking, his brothers gradually changed their attitude and accepted Shi Dakai's position as the second leader.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
