The rebels were not all of themThe Teacher of Righteousness, Hong and Li are restricted.
History is not always simple black and white, and the peasant rebels are not all "benevolent and righteous teachers". In the traditional view of history, they are endowed with too many halos and expectations, yet from the historical record, their nature is not as perfect as we think.
We need to look at history from a more objective and in-depth perspective to understand the true face of the rebel army.
Peasant uprisings in feudal society were an important force against feudal rule, but due to the limitations of the social system, they often lacked organization and leadership, were directly managed by the government, and lacked the ability to resist the government.
In addition, there were also problems with the pursuit and quality of the peasant rebels, who often only pursued personal revenge and survival, and lacked long-term plans. As a result, their uprisings often lacked intelligence and organization, and were prone to a rabble.
For example, when the Green Forest Army revolted, the slogan was only "Kill people to pay for their lives, and compensate for injuries", and the biggest officials were only "three elders", etc., and their imagination and wisdom only ended there.
At the same time, the peasant rebel army is also easy to be regarded as a heroic representative, such as Huangchao's troops use human flesh as military food and carry out ** on innocent people, and their behavior is completely banditry.
Therefore, although the peasant uprisings in feudal society had an important force against feudal rule, their uprisings were often not sustainable and successful due to various restrictions and problems.
Hong Xiuquan enjoyed wealth and nobility in the Heavenly King's Mansion, neglecting political affairs and isolating himself from his subjects. The gate of the Heavenly King's Mansion is inscribed"Towards the party admitted, otherwise in the snow clouds"The words. When traveling, there are hundreds of hugs.
Hong Xiuquan took a luxury sedan chair, and Yang Xiuqing, the king of the East, went out on patrol every time, and there were more than 1,000 followers. The top does not abide by the abstinence system and indulges in pleasures. Hong Xiuquan's main job in the deep palace is to play with beautiful women.
Every year when the spring flowers bloom, the thirteen gates of Tianjing have to choose beauties for him. By the time the Taiping army was defeated, Hong Xiuquan had 88 wives and concubines. Although they already had the control of the spheres of influence in the two provinces, their main concern was how to enjoy life, not how to establish a new dynasty.
Although Li Zicheng invaded the capital Beijing and was only one step away from completing the historical mission of changing the dynasty, their political ideas were completely different from Hong Xiuquan's. Whether or not they have higher political aspirations will be the key to their ultimate success.
The new bureaucrats, who came from starvation, seemed to have vanished in an instant the spirit of their initial uprising when they were in front of the dazzling gold, silver and jewels.
Liu Zongmin, Li Guo and other high-ranking generals even began to break into the homes of rich families to rob beautiful women and treasures; The soldiers, without the restraint of their generals, also began to rob.
The discipline of the army was unprecedentedly corrupt, and even after only a few days, the citizens of Beijing began to feel extremely disappointed with the new regime, and cursed the early collapse of this so-called "robber regime".
The peasant rebels embarked on this "illegal" path because of hunger and cold, and they tried to uphold the principles of heaven themselves when the rulers had destroyed them. Their revolt is directed against brutal rule, which is just, but the justice of the motive does not guarantee the justice of the process.
Without the support of higher ideals, righteous rebels can easily become greater destroyers of social order, dragging the whole society into a jungle state.