In the year 1861, Li Xiucheng was duty-bound to plan a new direction for the future and destiny of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Suzhou, Jiangsu. Although it is only three short years left before the capital Tianjing City is in trouble, it seems that they can no longer turn the tide. Although Li Xiucheng has put all his efforts and efforts into this, he still can't reverse the decline.
Li Xiucheng had tried to march eastward to seize the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions as a new and bright base, but with the fall of Anqing, the capital of Anhui Province, the situation in the upper reaches of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom deteriorated day by day, and it was no longer possible to meet its needs for food and other essential materials. This undoubtedly brought deep trouble to Li Xiucheng.
In order to solve the problem of survival and development in the capital Nanjing area, as well as to expand his sphere of influence, the eastward expedition to Jiangsu and Zhejiang became his key strategy. He looks forward to taking advantage of the precious geographical location of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to open a new chapter and create brilliance.
Historically, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had two eastern crusades, both for the purpose of occupying Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but unfortunately due to Yang Xiuqing's decision-making mistakes, it had to be terminated regrettably.
In 1860, Li Xiucheng showed outstanding wisdom and talent, skillfully using the classic tactic of "encircling Wei to save Zhao", and finally defeated the Jiangnan camp. Zhang Guoliang fell into the water and died during the battle of Danyang, and the military forces of the Qing Dynasty on the southern front were completely destroyed. In this way, the crisis of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was instantly resolved.
In this war, Li Xiucheng relied on his excellent wisdom to successfully capture the two important cities of Suzhou and Changzhou, laying the foundation for the stronghold in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
By 1861, the foundation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the upper reaches had gradually collapsed, and after repeated internal research and study, they finally reached a consensus of opinion. At this time, Li Xiucheng's Eastern Crusade plan can finally be officially launched! At the end of the year, he led the army to march eastward in three ways, and received strong support from the "Fuchao Army", and the battle touched almost every inch of land in the entire territory of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
They launched three large-scale attacks on Shanghai in succession, making Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the financial lands of the Qing Dynasty, the pocket of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. As a result, the economic strength of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was originally in dire straits, was rapidly improved, and Nanjing's food and materials were also effectively guaranteed, thus supporting the Hong family. In addition, Li Xiucheng also received advanced equipment and a large number of military support from Western powers, forming a modern and powerful army.
With the help of ironclad ships to strengthen his fleet forces, Li Xiucheng already has a strong capital to fight for control of the Yangtze River. If it weren't for the time crunch, it would have been them who were dominant! At the same time, Li Xiu has been implementing the "first-class policy" year after year, and actively striving for the broad support of all forces.
Whether it was those generals who chose to defect to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom out of betrayal of Shi Dakai, or those who followed the Wing King out to fight but had nothing to achieve and had to return, Li Xiucheng did not give cold treatment, but invited them to join the ranks of the Eastern Crusade and share the fruits of victory. According to statistics, from 1857, Shi Dakai left the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and there were many generals who followed in his footsteps, but in the past three years, they have become left with nothing and can only return to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom again.
And Li Xiu's ** spirit is higher than the sky, and he is willing to accept them. In this way, Wang Haiyang and others, who had explosive combat effectiveness, had a low status when they followed Shi Dakai and belonged to the Li brothers, so they successfully counterattacked and became a generation of heroes. For the Qing Dynasty at all levels and literati bachelors, Li Xiucheng actively contacted and fought for those literati who abandoned the dark and turned to the light, and he gave corresponding powers to ensure the good operation of the rural governance system.
During the attack on Jiangsu, Li Xiucheng adhered to the policy of caring for the common people, cooperating with the gentry, and giving preferential treatment to the officers and soldiers who had been recruited. For those who are unwilling to surrender, he treats them with kindness and gives them proper placement; As for those officers and soldiers who wished to leave, he understood their feelings and tried to solve their worries. What I admire the most is that he even found solutions for those officers and soldiers who could not afford to go home! It can be seen that King Zhong's benevolence to him deeply moved Lin Fuxiang and made him full of gratitude to Li Xiucheng.
Li Xiucheng even set up a banquet to express his deep friendship with Lin Fuxiang. Regrettably, due to Cixi's malicious slander, Lin Fuxiang was forced to endure humiliation and was sentenced to death. In addition, Li Jinyang was unlucky**, when Li Xiucheng strongly persuaded him to surrender, he was brutally killed by Zeng Guofan. Despite this, Li Xiucheng still treated Bai Juwen well, and finally released Bai Juwen after he took the initiative to leave him. Even those outsiders deeply felt Li Xiucheng's "** strategy, which was extremely kind, and was willing to sacrifice his life and forget his death." He was equally sincere with the "wavering" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, striving to minimize conflicts and win more people to the tune.
The characteristics of Li Xiucheng's management in Jiangsu and Zhejiang can be summarized as follows: With the spirit of perseverance and patience and self-denial, he worked hard to establish grassroots organizations in various localities, fought in all directions, maintained social order, and strengthened the development of production; Continuously introduce outstanding talents, and actively mobilize the gentry to participate in tax collection and management and carry out foreign activities. The final result of his efforts is to establish a strong grassroots organization system, ensure the stability of grain and grass, and maintain social stability to a certain extent.
It is conceivable that the court ** was dumbfounded and sneered at his performance. In other words, there are many obstacles, but in the face of this dilemma, Li Xiucheng still chooses to persevere, always standing behind Hong Xiu's body, and supporting his every decision. This attention to detail, good at listening to others' opinions and respecting them made Li Xiucheng based in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. However, Hong Xiuquan did not understand his reforms, and even regarded them as outliers. In his eyes, it was out of the consideration of protecting his own power that Hong Xiuquan arbitrarily canonized Chen Kunshu and other subordinates loyal to the king as princes from all walks of life, trying to divide Li Xiucheng's power.
Newbie Support Program Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, Li Xiucheng still has firm confidence and strives to move forward. He believed that as long as he could lead the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to win a few important battles, he would be able to win the bargaining chips, and at that time, the attitude of the enemy might change. It's a pity that in the midst of the predicament, many princes are too selfish, which makes the prospects of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War worrying. However, it is worth affirming that although Li Xiucheng struggled for three full years and tried various methods, he could not change the tragic fate of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.