Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"Uncle Shi, we are indeed still young. But, Yunzhao and I can get engaged first. When I turn sixteen, Yunzhao will be eighteen. Then, we can get married!"

Hong Tian explained.

He's only six and a half years old now; it would be a joke to get married at that age.

In another timeline, when Hong Tianguifu was nine years old, Hong Xiuquan had already arranged four wives for him.

Hong Xiuquan himself already had eighty-seven wives.

In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the wives were called "Wang Niang" (王娘). The wives of other princes were called "Wang Fei" (王妃).

After hearing Hong Tian's explanation, Shi Dakai's heart stirred.

No matter what, a daughter will eventually get married.

Hong Tian was, after all, the Young Heavenly King and the future successor of the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

If my daughter marries Hong Tian, ​​she will be able to become the empress of the world in the future.

And he was able to become the father-in-law of the young superstar, which further solidified his position.

The ongoing disputes among the Heavenly Kingdom's high-ranking officials are a great concern for Shi Dakai. If he could establish a marriage alliance with the Heavenly King at this time, it would be extremely beneficial for Shi Dakai himself, and indeed for the entire Shi family.

However, Shi Dakai still had some doubts.

Although the young superstar's performance over the past two years has been extraordinary, he's still just a little kid under seven!

"Your Highness, what are your thoughts on the current situation in Tianjing City?" Shi Dakai suddenly asked.

However, as soon as the question was asked, Shi Dakai regretted it somewhat.

The young king was too young to know about such important military and national affairs.

Hong Tian's expression immediately turned serious. He knew that this might be a test from Shi Dakai.

"Uncle Shi, the capital city of Tianjing is already rife with undercurrents. Those who can share hardship cannot share prosperity! Throughout the ages, in every dynasty, every peasant uprising has been nothing more than this. At the beginning of the uprising, everyone can work together and share joys and sorrows. But after the uprising succeeds, or even before it is completely successful, the leaders have already begun to indulge in pleasure and fight for power and profit."

To be honest, my nephew is very worried about this.

Although the siege of Tianjing has been lifted, it is only temporary. The Tartars are still very strong and possess strength far exceeding ours. They could launch a comeback and besiege Tianjing again at any time.

Now is the time for our Kingdom of Heaven to unite as one and expand the fruits of victory.

However, the upper echelons of the Heavenly Kingdom have already begun to fight amongst themselves for power.

If things go wrong, this could very well destroy the entire foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven!

Hong Tian looked heartbroken.

Shi Dakai was completely dumbfounded.

He seemed to have no idea that these words would come from a child who was not even seven years old.

It's easy to imagine how shocked he was.

"In ancient times, Gan Luo became prime minister at the age of twelve. The young Heavenly King is no less impressive!" Shi Dakai exclaimed inwardly.

"Uncle Shi must also know that the Eastern King has become increasingly arrogant. Not only did he force Father to bestow upon him the title of 'Long Live the King,' but he has also seized control of the military and political power of the entire Heavenly Kingdom. His next step will probably be to replace Father."

After the Heavenly Kingdom established its capital in Tianjing, the King remained in the palace, busy communicating with the Heavenly Father and listening to His teachings, leaving him no time for political and military affairs. This gave the Eastern King the opportunity to seize full control.

Hong Tian continued.

Upon hearing these words, Shi Dakai couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Although the young Heavenly King is young, he knows how to cover for his father!

What does it mean to communicate with the Father? To listen to the Father's teachings?

This is utter nonsense! Or rather, it's just a lie to fool the lower-ranking soldiers of Heaven.

In reality, after establishing his capital in Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan seemed to suddenly lose all ambition and began to indulge in pleasure.

The Heavenly King's Palace also housed many beauties.

Hong Xiuquan indulged in sensual pleasures and even had time to have children, so he had no time to care about important military and national affairs.

Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, already possessed the power to control the other kings. Furthermore, he had the ability to summon the "Heavenly Father" to earth, naturally wielding immense influence throughout the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Especially under Yang Xiuqing's leadership, the Taiping Army successively captured the Qing army's Jiangbei Camp and Jiangnan Camp, lifting the siege of Nanjing, which further elevated Yang Xiuqing's prestige to its peak.

As a result, Yang Xiuqing's ambition also swelled to its peak.

They went so far as to use the pretense of a "divine father descending to earth" to force Hong Xiuquan to bestow upon them the title of "Long Live the Emperor." They even went so far as to use the words of the Heavenly Father to have Hong Xiuquan flogged dozens of times. This was a blatant public humiliation of Hong Xiuquan.

It can be said that the conflict between Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing had become completely public and irreconcilable.

"Uncle Shi, the Tartars are still very powerful and can come back at any time. If the Heavenly Kingdom has internal strife at this time, it will only weaken the Heavenly Kingdom's strength and benefit the Tartars!" Hong Tian sighed.

In another timeline, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's decline from its initial victories began with the Tianjing Incident.

Even after Shi Dakai left, Hong Xiuquan urgently promoted young generals such as Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng.

Under their leadership, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom only managed to survive for a few more years.

If it weren't for the Tianjing Incident, or if the Tianjing Incident hadn't caused such great losses to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom...

Perhaps, the outcome will be completely different.

For the past two years, Hong Tian has been preparing to minimize the damage caused to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom by the Tianjing Incident.

To preserve the strength of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to the greatest extent possible, so that it could continue to resist the Manchus.

At the very least, we absolutely cannot allow Shi Dakai to leave again, and we cannot allow him to lead more than 100,000 elite soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom away.

"Young Heavenly King, it seems your desire to marry Yunzhao is in preparation for possible changes in Tianjing?" Shi Dakai asked.

Shi Dakai hadn't expected that Hong Tian, ​​at such a young age, would have such thoughts.

Hong Tian shook his head. Even if he really had such thoughts, he absolutely could not admit it.

Who would want their son-in-law to be a cunning and opportunistic villain?

"Uncle Shi, I am prepared. If things really change in Tianjing, I believe I have enough strength to ensure its stability. However, after I have suppressed the situation and stabilized it, I hope you will support me."

The situation in Tianjing City, and indeed throughout the entire Heavenly Kingdom, absolutely cannot continue as it is; changes must be made.

Otherwise, there would be no hope for the entire Kingdom of Heaven!

Furthermore, my nephew's proposal to marry Sister Yunzhao is out of genuine affection for her; he has no other intentions.

Hong Tian looked sincere.

Shi Dakai did not respond immediately, or rather, he did not completely believe Hong Tian's words.

"It seems that Young Heavenly King has made a lot of preparations at the orphanage over the past two years!" Shi Dakai remarked.

From this, we can see that the young Heavenly King is far-sighted!

It's hard to believe that this is something a child under seven years old could do.

However, this earned Shi Dakai's high praise.

If one does not even have such ability and means as the heir to the Kingdom of Heaven, how will one inherit the entire Kingdom of Heaven in the future?

I'm afraid that even if he succeeds to the throne, he will be swallowed up by other ambitious people and not even a trace will be left!

"Young Heavenly King, I can agree to let Yunzhao marry you. As you suggested, you can get engaged first, and then get married when you grow up!" Shi Dakai said.

"Thank you, Uncle Shi. No, I should call you Father-in-law now!" Hong Tian was overjoyed.

Shi Dakai was speechless, never expecting Hong Tian to change his mind so suddenly.

But having such a capable, resourceful, and ambitious son-in-law doesn't seem like such a bad thing.

It's not a loss for my daughter to marry a young superstar.

"Young Heavenly King, if something happens in Tianjing, do you really not want me to send troops to support you?" Shi Dakai asked.

Hong Tian had already become his son-in-law. Therefore, he naturally had to consider Hong Tian's future carefully.

Hong Tian shook his head: "Please rest assured, Father-in-law, I have sufficient strength to control Tianjing. Father-in-law is ultimately leading troops outside the city; if you interfere in matters within Tianjing, it might have negative consequences. Father-in-law, please wait until I succeed before expressing your support!"

Shi Dakai nodded, and seeing this, he didn't say anything more.