Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 182 Wei Changhui: Kill the King of Heaven and seize the throne!

Upon hearing this, Chen Liu knew he had no choice.

I could only give up resistance and bet that what this man said was true and he was really prepared to save my life.

Chen Liu closed his eyes tightly, reduced his breathing to the minimum, pretending to be a dead body.

Then he was lifted up and thrown onto a cart.

The moment he lay down on the cart, Chen Liu breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the other party had not lied to him.

Otherwise, just kill yourself while you give up resistance, there is no need to throw you onto the cart.

Lying on a cart, Chen Liu was pushed out of the city and came to the mass grave outside the city.

After arriving at the mass grave, the bodies were thrown into a shallow pit. Most of the North Palace soldiers in charge of escorting them turned around and left, leaving only one person to bury the bodies.

It was the North Palace soldier who had just chosen to spare Chen Liuyi's life.

He stuffed half a pancake into the arms of Chen Liu, who was covered in blood, and then whispered.

"Take care, brother! Find a way to survive on your own!"

"We are only following orders today. From the bottom of our hearts, we don't want to kill each other with you."

Chen Liu was somewhat moved when he heard this and began to speak.

"What's your name, benefactor? For saving my life today, Chen Liu will definitely repay you handsomely in the future!"

Upon hearing this, the North Palace soldier just waved his hand.

"Don't mention repaying a favor. It's good enough that you don't hate me in your heart."

"I saved your life today, not because I expect you to repay me in the future, but because I want to feel better..."

"We are all brothers in heaven, why are we killing each other like this?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Liu knelt down and kowtowed solemnly as usual.

"Chen Liu will never forget the kindness you have shown me today."

After he finished speaking, he stood up from the ground and staggered away.

He was planning to go to Taiping Prefecture and submit to Emperor Guozong Yang Fuqing.

In his opinion, the only person who could help him and the entire East Palace to avenge himself in the current situation was Yang Fuqing, the head of the East Palace...

……

Heavenly Palace!
"Heavenly King, the Northern King has been too aggressive these days. Now in Tianjing City, the Northern King has killed thousands of our old brothers from Guangxi who followed us out of Guangxi."

"There are countless others!"

"King of Heaven, if you don't take care of it, the backbone of the Kingdom of Heaven will be killed by the King of the North!"

Hu Yihuang, the Protector of Heaven, came to the Heavenly King's Palace to ask for an audience. After seeing Hong Xiuquan, he immediately bowed and said.

Although Hong Xiuquan heard Hu Yihuang's words, he just shook his head and recited scriptures without giving any direct response.

But at this moment, Meng De'en also rushed to Hong Xiuquan and spoke.

"Please ask the Heavenly King to stop the Northern King from continuing to kill. If the Northern King continues to kill like this, the Heavenly Kingdom will be in danger!"

Following Meng De'en's lead, high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Kingdom, including Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Meng De'en, Zhou Shengkun, and Yu Tingzhang, also asked Hong Xiuquan to step in to stop Wei Changhui.

Seeing this, Hong Xiuquan knew that he could no longer pretend to be ignorant, so he had to respond and come down.

He immediately sent someone to inform Wei Changhui to stop killing and not to kill each other anymore.

……

Soon, the angel sent by Hong Xiuquan found Wei Changhui.

At this time, Wei Changhui was supervising the execution of the remnants of the East Palace as he called them.

The execution platform was already covered in blood.

Human heads were piled up into towers, headless corpses were randomly stacked together, and blood flowed along the stone slabs into the sewer.

The stone slabs, cracks in the ground, and even the sewers were all dyed bright red with blood.

Wei Changhui sat on a chair and supervised the execution, his face full of fatigue.

Several days have passed since the Tianjing Incident broke out on August 15th.

These days, Wei Changhui has been killing people almost all the time.

Kill officials, kill generals, kill soldiers, kill men, kill women, kill the elderly, kill children...

Anyone who has any connection with the East Palace will be ruthlessly killed by Wei Changhui.

There were even several troops led by generals from the East Palace who were tricked into surrendering and killed by Wei Changhui.

He had promised the commanders of those armies that he would not kill them as long as they surrendered.

As a result, after those East Palace generals led their troops to surrender, Wei Changhui executed them in public.

Seeing this, the soldiers below wanted to resist.

Wei Changhui once again promised to kill only the main culprit and not to implicate other culprits, thereby appeasing the soldiers in the army.

Then he captured all the officers at all levels in the army and killed them all.

Even if some of them have nothing to do with the East Palace.

However, after killing all officers at all levels, Wei Changhui was still worried.

In order to eliminate future troubles, he simply ordered the ordinary soldiers to be killed as well.

The entire city of Tianjing was filled with people being killed by Wei Changhui.

Now, even Wei Changhui himself doesn’t know how many people he has killed.

As soon as he closed his eyes, a scene would emerge in his mind in which the remnants of the East Palace would come to seek revenge on him and kill his entire family.

He knew that he couldn't stop!
From the moment everyone in Prince Tudong's mansion started waiting, he couldn't stop.

Wei Changhui will have to sleep with one eye open at night unless all the remnants of the East Palace are killed.

But if someone asked Wei Changhui if he regretted doing this?
Wei Changhui would tell him without hesitation that he had no regrets.

Because Wei Changhui had no choice!
If he had not listened to Hong Xiuquan's advice to go to Beijing to quell the rebellion, what would have been waiting for him after Yang Xiuqing came to power would have been a slow death.

If he did not kill Yang Xiuqing after breaking through the East Palace, and waited for the other troops in the East Palace to react and send troops to rescue, he would be the one to die.

If he does not cleanse the remnants of the East Palace, he will not be able to make room for his men and let the North Palace take power and replace the East Palace's former position.

But it is precisely this cleansing that cannot be stopped.

Now Wei Changhui sees everyone as remnants of the Eastern Palace, so to be on the safe side, the scope of the purge has been expanded again and again.

But does Wei Changhui really have no choice?

Actually, not entirely true!

After the Tianjing Incident broke out and the Eastern King was captured alive, he only had to hand Yang Xiuqing over to Hong Xiuquan for disposal.

Then he has nothing to do with this!
Then, whether to kill Yang Xiuqing or not, and whether to implicate the Eastern Palace forces, was Hong Xiuquan's business.

At that time, no matter what choice Hong Xiuquan made, Wei Changhui, as a hero in suppressing the rebellion, would definitely be able to escape unscathed from the turmoil of the Tianjing Incident.

But greed is the original sin of everything!

In order to obtain Yang Xiuqing's previous status after the Tianjing Incident, Wei Changhui chose to punish everyone in the East Palace.

Afterwards, things got out of control and now Wei Changhui can't turn back even if he wants to.

To put it bluntly, it was Wei Changhui's greed that harmed himself.

Just when Wei Changhui was feeling tired and drowsy.

A report was heard from afar, and then an envoy from the Heavenly King's Palace was brought to Wei Changhui.

When Wei Changhui saw the envoy from the Heavenly King, he didn't even lift his butt, but just glanced at the other party and then asked.

"What's the matter?"

The messenger swallowed subconsciously, feeling that even if Wei Changhui did not show any murderous intent towards him at this moment, he was still very scary.

He said with a slightly trembling voice.

"In reply to the King of the North, the Heavenly King ordered me to pass on a message to the King of the North, hoping that the King of the North can restrain his murderous intentions and refrain from indiscriminate killings."

"Enough people have died in this rebellion. We can put this matter to an end. The situation cannot get any worse."

When Wei Changhui heard this, his brows raised and he started to scold.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I am only following orders to kill the traitors for the Kingdom of Heaven."

"What about indiscriminate killing?"

After he finished speaking, Wei Changhui still seemed unconvinced and continued speaking.

"Go back and ask the Heavenly King for me."

"I have removed a great evil for the Kingdom of Heaven, why is the King of Heaven now accusing me of killing people for fame?"

……

The envoy met with a setback from Wei Changhui and was sent back.

He soon returned to the Heavenly King's Palace to report to Hong Xiuquan.

After hearing the messenger's report, Hong Xiuquan's fair face was filled with anger, and he shouted with a frown and a cold look.

"What does this Wei Changhui mean? Could it be that he also wants to imitate the Eastern Bandits and commit that rebellious act?!"

When the people around heard this, they were all indifferent.

I couldn't help but begin to doubt whether the Heavenly King's decision to order the Northern King to return to the capital to quell the rebellion was correct.

When Yang Xiuqing was in power, although he was domineering, he would not kill the brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom so indiscriminately!

Meng De'en on the side took a deep breath, and then took the lead in bowing according to the previous plan.

"I beg the Heavenly King to issue an edict to execute Wei Changhui and restore order to the Heavenly Kingdom!"

After Meng De'en bowed, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others also bowed and spoke in unison.

"Please ask the Heavenly King to issue an edict to execute Wei Changhui and restore order to the Heavenly Kingdom!"

"Please ask the Heavenly King to issue an edict to execute Wei Changhui and restore order to the Heavenly Kingdom!"

"..."

Everyone spoke up at once, and the sound was deafening.

When Hong Xiuquan saw this, he was very proud, knowing that his plan had succeeded.

Use the Northern King to kill the Eastern King, and then use the Heavenly Kingdom's generals to kill the Northern King who has lost the support of the people because of the massacres in Tianjing City...

From then on, all power in the Heavenly Kingdom belonged to Hong Xiuquan!

As for the brothers in heaven who died or were injured in this process?

Let’s put it this way, in Hong Xiuquan’s view, this was a necessary sacrifice for the great cause of the Heavenly Kingdom.

All of this is worth it!
However, although he was happy in his heart, Hong Xiuquan still pretended to be heartbroken and spoke.

"I am deeply distressed to see the situation in Tianjing become so chaotic. It is a pity that so many Heavenly Kingdom soldiers died tragically at the hands of the northern traitors."

"This is my fault. I shouldn't have ordered the traitors from the north to return to the capital!" "It's too late to regret now. I can only try my best to make amends."

"Issue a decree to the whole Heavenly Kingdom to raise troops to suppress the rebellion and to punish the northern traitors together!"

"Whoever cuts off the head of the northern traitor will be rewarded with a title of nobility!"

When Hong Xiuquan's order was issued, the high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Kingdom around him responded in unison.

They immediately took their leave and prepared to lead troops to kill Wei Changhui.

Hong Xiuquan also sent Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang out, ordering them to lead troops to surround and kill Wei Changhui.

War broke out again in Tianjing City.

……

Northern Palace!
Wei Changhui was sleeping soundly.

Wei Changhui was exhausted from the constant killing and executions these days.

However, although he was tired, Wei Changhui did not sleep well.

As soon as he closed his eyes, a sea of ​​blood and corpses appeared before his eyes.

After a long time, he slowly fell asleep.

However, Wei Changhui had just fallen asleep for a short while when a series of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the bedroom.

Wei Jun led his men and broke directly into Wei Changhui's bedroom.

With a bang, the door was kicked open from the outside.

Wei Changhui, who was already a light sleeper, was awakened from his sleep.

He suddenly grabbed the steel knife beside his pillow and shouted loudly.

"who is it!"

"Do you want to die if you break into my bedroom?"

During this period of time, Wei Changhui has been very vigilant.

Even when he was sleeping at night, he had to put a steel knife next to his pillow for self-defense.

After he looked up and saw that the person coming was Wei Jun, the expression on his face eased a little.

But before Wei Changhui could say anything, he saw Wei Jun speaking with a look of fear on his face.

"King of the North! Something big has happened!"

"The Heavenly King has issued an edict from the Heavenly King's Palace, declaring you a traitor and summoning everyone in the Heavenly Kingdom to kill the Northern King together."

"Right now, all the Heavenly Kingdom factions in Tianjing City are attacking the Northern Palace. The situation is extremely urgent!"

When Wei Changhui heard this, his expression froze.

At first there was a deep disbelief, and then it was uncontrollable anger.

"Damn it!"

"What on earth does the Heavenly King mean by this?"

"He summoned me to lead troops back to Beijing to help him suppress the rebellion. Now that Yang Xiuqing has been killed and the Eastern Prince's Palace has been purged, he says I am a traitor and wants the Heavenly Kingdom to kill me together."

"Is Hong Xiuquan planning to cross the river and destroy the bridge?!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Jun's expression became serious and he spoke.

"Northern King, all the tribes of the Kingdom of Heaven have come to the Northern King's Palace. You must make plans early!"

Wei Changhui's face was calm, but he still spoke.

"Wei Jun, you must immediately order all our troops to assemble and prepare for battle."

"Since Hong Xiuquan is unkind, don't blame me, Wei Changhui, for being unjust!"

"Today, I will lead my men to attack the Heavenly King's Palace and seize Hong Xiuquan's throne."

"Hong Xiuquan can sit on the throne of Heavenly King, so can I, Wei Changhui!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Jun immediately went down to pass on the order.

However, what made him despair was that Wei Changhui's orders could not mobilize the troops in the North Palace.

The reason for this is that Wei Changhui's actions in recent days have greatly lost the support of the people.

The second reason is because of the Heavenly King’s decree!

You know, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a freak where religion was above politics from the beginning to the end.

As the second son of God, the younger brother of Jesus, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the living god of heaven, although Hong Xiuquan had no real power, his prestige was very high.

Almost no one dared to go against the Heavenly King's edict!

If Yang Xiuqing were still alive, he might be able to compete with Hong Xiuquan for prestige based on his achievements.

But Wei Changhui, the Northern King, is still inferior after all.

Hong Xiuquan's order almost directly deprived Wei Changhui of control over his Northern Palace troops.

Now the only army Wei Changhui can control is his own personal guards.

Wei Jun hurried back to Wei Changhui's bedroom and informed Wei Changhui of the bad news.

After hearing this, Wei Changhui fell into despair.

However, even so, Wei Changhui was unwilling to sit there and wait for death, but decisively ordered his personal guards to prepare to break out.

"We can't stay in Tianjing City any longer. Send a message to my guards to prepare to break out immediately, fight our way out of Tianjing, and find another way out."

Upon seeing this, Wei Jun immediately clasped his fists in response, then turned and left.

Soon, Wei Changhui led his guards out of the Northern Prince's Palace and prepared to break out towards the gate of Tianjing.

But just as they reached the street, they saw a group of soldiers coming from both ends of the street.

The entire street was blocked!

"In compliance with the order of the Heavenly King, the northern traitors must be killed, and the rest must be spared!"

"In compliance with the order of the Heavenly King, the northern traitors must be killed, and the rest must be spared!"

"In compliance with the order of the Heavenly King, the northern traitors must be killed, and the rest must be spared!"

"..."

Amidst waves of shouts, the soldiers continued to advance forward.

When the guards around Wei Changhui heard this, they all began to waver.

Although most of them are Wei Changhui's relatives, it does not mean that they are willing to die with Wei Changhui.

If Hong Xiuquan was really willing to spare their lives, then they would actually be willing to surrender.

Seeing this, Wei Changhui was completely panicked and shouted loudly.

"Soldiers, don't believe the lies of these traitors."

"They say this just to trick us into laying down our weapons."

"If we really lay down our weapons, how can we survive?"

"If you want to survive today, you have no choice but to follow me and break through!"

Wei Changhui's shout temporarily stabilized the morale of his personal soldiers.

But at this moment, Meng De'en jumped out of the crowd, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in his hand, and spoke.

"The Heavenly King has ordered that only the main culprits will be executed on this trip."

"Except for Wei Changhui, the rest will be spared if they surrender!"

Men De'en was Hong Xiuquan's confidant. His appearance here today represents Hong Xiuquan's will.

He said he would not kill, so there is a high probability that he would not kill!
In desperation, Wei Changhui's personal soldiers wavered again.

Finally, some chose to surrender to save their lives.

As one person surrendered, the wave of surrender spread rapidly among Wei Changhui's personal soldiers like a plague.

Seeing this, Wei Changhui was completely desperate. He used a steel knife to kill several Beidian soldiers who tried to surrender to save their lives, but he still could not stop the tide of surrender.

Even Wei Jun, the head of the Northern Palace, chose to drop his weapons and surrender.

In their opinion, although the Northern King went back on his word and killed the surrendered remnants of the Eastern Palace.

But the king is different after all!

At this point, they can only choose to believe that the king will keep his word and will not go back on his word like Wei Changhui.

Upon seeing this, Meng De'en immediately waved his hand and gave an order.

"on!"

"Kill the northern traitors, and ignore the rest!"

The next moment, deafening shouts of killing rang out, and the remaining resistance of Wei Changhui's troops was quickly swallowed up by the troops of the Heavenly Kingdom who were suppressing the rebellion...

……

Soon, Wei Changhui was captured alive and brought before Hong Xiuquan.

Hong Xiuquan looked at Wei Changhui in front of him with a stern expression and asked in a cold voice.

"Wei Changhui, do you admit your guilt?"

Wei Changhui was tied up, but he still refused to give in. He looked up and asked back.

"What is my fault?"

"I executed the Eastern King and suppressed the rebellion. I was acting in accordance with the will of the Heavenly King. What crime have I committed?"

Wei Changhui is really feeling aggrieved now.

Although it was wrong for him to kill innocent people, putting the facts aside, was Hong Xiuquan, who ordered him to quell the rebellion, not at fault?
Aren't those remnants of the East Palace who made him feel scared and threatened at fault?
Hong Xiuquan was very angry when he heard this. He stood up and walked to Wei Changhui who was tied up. He opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on his face, and then said.

"I only asked you to suppress the rebellion, but did I ever ask you to kill innocent people?"

"So many people in the East Palace have surrendered, why are you implicating them?"

"You, a traitor, have killed so many soldiers of my kingdom. Your crime is unforgivable!"

"Come here, drag this traitor away and tear him into pieces!"

"I will use his head to commemorate the soldiers who were killed in my kingdom of heaven."

Upon hearing this, several Heavenly King's guards immediately stepped forward and dragged out the tied-up Wei Changhui.

Wei Changhui screamed and cursed, but no one was moved.

Wei Changhui began to wail and beg for mercy again, but it was still useless and he was dragged out anyway.

Outside the hall, there were neighings of war horses and shrill screams.

As the screams came to an abrupt end, the Tianjing Incident, which had lasted for several days, finally came to an end!

Hong Xiuquan became the final winner.

(End of this chapter)