Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

When Wing King Shi Dakai returned to Tianjing from Anqing, it was already the evening of September 5th.

This is because we traveled downstream by boat. If we had gone by land, it would probably have taken even longer.

The waterway from Anqing to Tianjing was almost entirely under the control of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Many of the personnel and supplies of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be transported by water.

The area along both banks of the Yangtze River from Tianjing to Anqing could almost be considered the core territory ruled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Upon arriving in Tianjing, Shi Dakai immediately went to the Heavenly King's Palace to meet with Hong Tian.

He hadn't expected such a drastic change to occur in Tianjing. Even though he had long suspected undercurrents within the city, he never imagined that three princes would die in a single night, and even the Heavenly King would perish.

This was undoubtedly a very heavy blow to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

If not handled properly, the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would suffer a fatal blow.

"Young Heavenly King, how could this happen!" Shi Dakai exclaimed upon seeing Hong Tian.

"Father-in-law, I never expected things to turn out this way. First, Wei Changhui led his troops to raid the Eastern King's Mansion and killed Yang Xiuqing. I then ordered the Imperial Guards to suppress the rebellion. But unexpectedly, Wei Changhui escaped the Imperial Guards' suppression and led a small number of remaining rebels to attack the Heavenly King's Mansion. Father, I never expected Wei Changhui to be so ruthless, daring to kill even him!" Hong Tian said angrily.

Shi Dakai nodded, even though he had received information that Wei Changhui had executed Yang Xiuqing on Hong Xiuquan's orders.

Hong Tian's suppression of Wei Changhui was a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

But it is a fact that Wei Changhui killed Hong Xiuquan.

Therefore, discussing right and wrong at this point is meaningless. The most important thing now is how to minimize the impact of the Tianjing Incident on the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Both the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing and the Northern King Wei Changhui had considerable troops.

If these troops were to rebel, the consequences would be extremely serious.

At that time, the Tartars will surely seize the opportunity to launch a comeback and pose a great threat to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom once again.

"Father-in-law, I have already given orders to keep this matter strictly confidential. Furthermore, it will be announced that Father King, along with the Eastern King and the Northern King, has ascended to heaven to serve the Heavenly Father."

Furthermore, September 4th was designated as "Ascension Day of the Heavenly King" to commemorate the ascension of the Heavenly King.

As for Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui's subordinates, the main approach was to appease them.

Next, it will be necessary for my father-in-law and the Prince of Yan to step in.

"Both of you were among the first eight kings of the uprising, wielding immense influence within the army and the entire Heavenly Kingdom."

Hong Tian said.

"Young Heavenly King, rest assured, there will be no problem with the Western Expeditionary Army. I am also familiar with the troops of the Eastern King and the Northern King, and I believe that at this time, they will definitely prioritize the overall situation."

However, it is imperative to appoint reliable individuals to take control of these troops as soon as possible.

Most importantly, we must prevent the Tartars from taking advantage of the situation to launch an attack on us.

Shi Dakai said.

Hong Tian nodded. In another timeline, when the Tartars learned of the Tianjing Incident, they seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, rebuilding the Jiangbei and Jiangnan camps and besieging Tianjing once again.

It wasn't until Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King, led his troops to decisively defeat the Jiangbei and Jiangnan camps that the Tartars lifted their siege of Tianjing.

However, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at that time was already clearly on the decline.

Even with the generals fighting valiantly, they could not prevent the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from its demise.

In this timeline, the Tianjing Incident did not have a significant impact.

At the same time, Shi Dakai became Hong Tian's father-in-law, so naturally he wouldn't leave with more than 100,000 elite troops.

This prevented the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from suffering serious damage and allowed it to survive.

History will also take a detour from here, leading to more possibilities.

"Young Heavenly King, now that the Heavenly King has ascended, the Heavenly Kingdom must be stabilized quickly. The Young Heavenly King must succeed to the throne as soon as possible!" Shi Dakai said.

"Father-in-law, am I too young to command respect?" Hong Tian asked with some concern.

He was not even seven years old yet, and for someone so young to become a king and the ruler of the heavenly kingdom was simply too far-fetched.

"Young Heavenly King, when the Heavenly King was alive, you were the young ruler of the Heavenly Kingdom, the rightful heir to the Heavenly Kingdom. Now that the Heavenly King has ascended to heaven, you are naturally the only candidate to succeed him."

Besides, I will fully support you. And with the support of the Prince of Yan...

In the entire Kingdom of Heaven, who dares to disobey?

Shi Dakai clearly expressed his support for Hong Tian.

In fact, Shi Dakai was well aware that he absolutely could not treat Hong Tian as a child just because he was young.

Who has a child under seven years old who can lead a powerful fighting force?

They also suppressed the rebellion of the Northern King's Mansion. As a result, three kings of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom died at once.

Even if he's very young, he's still the perfect candidate for Heavenly King!

Hong Tian nodded.

In reality, he was just being modest.

Now that things have come to this, he has no other choice but to succeed as the Heavenly King.

They would absolutely not stand idly by and watch the throne fall into the hands of someone else.

It could even be said that if anyone else wanted to seize the throne, they would have to ask him if he would allow it! Ask the three thousand bayonets in the Imperial Guard if he would allow it!

He had finally cleared all the obstacles; how could he possibly do the work for someone else?

Otherwise, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain?

Next, Shi Dakai and Yan Wang Qin Rigang met with some generals and officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom without stopping, informing them that the Heavenly King had ascended to heaven with the Eastern King and the Northern King, and that the Young Heavenly King was about to succeed to the throne as the second Heavenly King of the Heavenly Kingdom. They asked everyone to consider the overall situation and support the Young Heavenly King, etc.

Even though these generals and officials were well aware that there must be more to the story than met the eye in the Tianjing Incident.

But of the original eight kings, only Shi Dakai and Qin Rigang remained. Even they clearly supported the young Heavenly King, who was not even seven years old, to succeed as Heavenly King. What else could the others possibly object to?

Even the troops under the command of the Eastern King's Mansion and the Northern King's Mansion accepted this explanation.

Even if there were occasional noises, they were quickly suppressed.

On September 8th, Hong Tian finally received the arrival of his uncle, Hong Rengan.

This was Gan Wang, who had long been in charge of the affairs of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in another timeline. Whether in terms of personal ability or loyalty, he was absolutely impeccable.

Similarly, this was the best candidate in Hong Tian's mind to handle government affairs in his place.

Whether due to his age or other reasons, Hong Tian could not possibly tie himself to tedious government affairs.

He only needs to be in charge of the general direction; the specific tasks can naturally be handled by Hong Rengan.

Hong Tian did not hide anything from Hong Rengan and told him the whole truth about the Tianjing Incident.

This filled Hong Rengan with mixed emotions; he never imagined that his nephew, who was not even seven years old, would actually control the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"Uncle, I am young, and the Heavenly Kingdom is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Tartars. Therefore, I hope that you can lend me a hand!" Hong Tian said sincerely.

Hong Rengan nodded. Now that things had come to this, he had no other choice but to fully support Hong Tian.

On September 10, 1856, with the support of high-ranking officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, including Wing King Shi Dakai and Yan King Qin Rigang, the young Heavenly King Hong Tian worshipped the Heavenly Father in Tianjing and officially ascended to the throne, becoming the new Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the second Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

At the same time, the news that Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, along with Eastern King Yang Xiuqing and Northern King Wei Changhui, ascended to Heaven to serve the Heavenly Father was officially announced.

This also caused great turmoil throughout the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Although many high-ranking officials do not believe this claim.

But with Hung Tin already on the throne and had become the new Heavenly King, they had no choice but to accept this explanation.

Ordinary soldiers and civilians were even more convinced of the existence of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Since the Heavenly King was able to lead the Eastern King and the Northern King to ascension, then if they were even more devout and contributed their strength to the great cause of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, then they too would surely be able to ascend to Heaven.

Even if you don't have this opportunity in life, your soul will surely be able to ascend to heaven after death!