Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Wei Changhui was able to become the King of the North and one of the eight kings who initiated the uprising.

Furthermore, he held a high position in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for a long time, which shows he was indeed quite capable.

Faced with the bullets fired by the Imperial Guards, Wei Changhui rolled on the spot, then quickly leaped up, using the pillars and railings in the corridor as cover, and in a few leaps he escaped to the backyard of the East Prince's Mansion.

The bullets fired by the Imperial Guard soldiers were almost always aimed at Wei Changhui, but none of them hit him.

Even so, it terrified Wei Changhui.

If he had hesitated even for a moment, he would probably have been shot dead by the Imperial Guards, just like Xu Zongyang.

This was hard for Wei Changhui to accept. How could a group of child soldiers, whom he had completely disregarded, have such strong combat power? How could they be equipped with such advanced firearms?

Even foreign muskets would never have such a fast rate of fire or such great power!

Could it be that all of this was done on Hong Xiuquan's own initiative?

The young Heavenly King's troops were Hong Xiuquan's backup plan, his trump card.

So this time, after killing Yang Xiuqing, Hong Xiuquan wanted to discard him as well.

Thinking about all this made Wei Changhui extremely angry.

Having temporarily escaped, Wei Changhui quickly gathered his former subordinates and rushed out of the back gate of the Eastern King's Mansion, wanting to demand an explanation from Hong Xiuquan.

Although the Imperial Guard had two infantry companies scattered around the Eastern Prince's Palace to prevent the rebels from leaving.

However, the Eastern Prince's mansion was too large, and even the two infantry companies of the Imperial Guard could not cover everything.

Moreover, the rebels were already numerous. Even though the Imperial Guard caught them off guard and killed many, even more fled in panic.

During this process, the Imperial Guard troops killed many of the rebels.

But in the end, they were still unable to stop all of these rebels.

Wei Changhui led at least several hundred rebels straight to the Heavenly King's Palace.

Chen Yucheng soon learned of this news.

He then left two infantry companies behind to continue clearing out the rebels inside and around the Eastern King's Palace, while he led the other two infantry companies toward the Heavenly King's Palace.

Chen Yucheng was well aware of Hong Tian's plan: to eliminate the rebels, including Wei Changhui.

Otherwise, this would inevitably lead to a split within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, thus triggering even more serious internal strife.

Just as the 1st Battalion of the Imperial Guard was suppressing Wei Changhui's rebel army, the 2nd Battalion of the Imperial Guard also began to take over the defense of Tianjing City.

All sixteen city gates, large and small, of Tianjing City were now under the control of Prince Yan, Qin Rigang.

After Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang secretly returned to Tianjing, they divided the work and cooperated.

Wei Changhui led 3,000 elite troops in a surprise attack on the Eastern King's Mansion, aiming to kill Yang Xiuqing. Qin Rigang, on the other hand, controlled the city gates of Tianjing, ensuring that even if Wei Changhui failed to kill Yang Xiuqing in time, he could prevent Yang Xiuqing from leaving Tianjing.

Guanghua Gate is one of the most important city gates of Tianjing City.

Qin Rigang, the Prince of Yan of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, personally guarded this place.

"Your Highness, the Northern Prince's Mansion has informed us that they have taken over the Eastern Prince's Mansion and executed Yang Xiuqing. Why don't you return to your residence and rest for a while?" one of Qin Rigang's trusted confidants suggested.

Qin Rigang shook his head: "It's almost dawn. Let's go back after it's light. Tell the brothers to stay alert. We can't let our guard down, especially at times like this. Not a single remnant of the Eastern Prince's Mansion can escape."

"Yes, Your Highness!" the confidant replied.

Before long, it would be dawn.

Qin Rigang also planned to go back to his residence to rest.

As people get older, their physical strength and energy naturally cannot compare with those of younger people.

Just then, a group of strangely dressed soldiers suddenly appeared under the city gate.

"Who are you people?" Qin Rigang's men immediately rushed to stop them.

"By order of the Young Heavenly King, take over Guanghua Gate!"

Hong Tian already knew that Qin Rigang was at Guanghua Gate. Therefore, Major Sun Qiming, the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Imperial Guards, personally led a platoon to take over Guanghua Gate.

"The young Heavenly King's decree? What's going on? How come I didn't know about this?" Qin Rigang poked his head out from the city wall.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat!"

Suddenly, intense gunfire erupted in the distance.

This made Qin Rigang's men, who were guarding Guanghua Gate, very nervous.

"Your Highness, it sounds like gunshots are coming from the Eastern Prince's residence!" the confidant quickly reported.

"Wasn't Yang Xiuqing already executed? Could there be some unexpected changes?" Qin Rigang couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

"Your Highness, the Young Heavenly King has already ordered the suppression of the Northern King's rebellion. Please do us a favor and do not obstruct us!" Sun Qiming's voice rang out again.

Qin Rigang then realized that it was the young Heavenly King's men dealing with the Northern King's subordinates.

This caused Qin Rigang to frown deeply.

He originally thought that he and Wei Changhui had executed Yang Xiuqing and the entire Eastern King faction on Hong Xiuquan's orders.

That concludes the matter.

Unexpectedly, the young Heavenly King also got involved.

The crucial point is that the young Heavenly King is only a little over six and a half years old, not even seven yet. How could he have suddenly acquired such a powerful force? This is simply unbelievable!

"What if I refuse?" Qin Rigang asked.

"Your Highness, then please don't blame us for being rude!" Sun Qiming didn't intend to waste any more words.

With a wave of his hand, all the soldiers under his command raised their rifles.

A Type 5 heavy machine gun was also loaded and ready to fire.

This made Qin Rigang's face even uglier.

Although he had more men, the troops of these young kings in front of him were all armed with foreign guns!

If a fight were to break out, they might not be able to win.

Just then, a group of people appeared at the city gate.

This is Hong Tian arriving at Guanghua Gate under the protection of the guards.

Such a big thing, how could Hong Tian just stay in the orphanage waiting for news?

Therefore, Hong Tian still went to the battlefield under the protection of his guards.

He first went to the Eastern King's Mansion, and after seeing the Imperial Guards' soldiers sweeping all before them, he felt relieved.

Then, they arrived at Guanghua Gate.

Compared to Wei Changhui, the Northern King, who personally led troops to slaughter thousands of people in the Eastern King's Mansion, Qin Rigang, the Yan King, was relatively less vicious.

Rather than killing Wei Changhui, he hoped to recruit Qin Rigang.

Tonight, it's already destined that two princes will die.

If Qin Rigang also dies, then only Hong Xiuquan and Shi Dakai will remain of the original eight kings.

This was also a huge blow to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Moreover, even though Shi Dakai had become Hong Tian's father-in-law, Hong Tian didn't want Shi Dakai to become too powerful in the army. Someone had to be there to check and balance him.

Otherwise, who knows if Shi Dakai would develop unwarranted ambitions as his power and strength grow?

Mutual checks and balances are the key to success.

Qin Rigang, the Prince of Yan, who was also one of the eight kings who started the uprising and ranked right after Shi Dakai, was undoubtedly a very good candidate.

"Battalion Commander, you must not be disrespectful to His Highness Prince Yan!" Hong Tian said.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Sun Qiming bowed and stood to one side.

"Uncle Qin, the Northern King has rebelled, killed the Eastern King, and slaughtered thousands of people in the Eastern King's palace. It's utterly heinous. I have already ordered the suppression of the Northern King's rebel army. I implore you, Uncle Qin, to understand the greater good and cooperate with my actions," Hong Tian said.

Qin Rigang was about to say that he and Wei Changhui were both ordered by Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan to kill Yang Xiuqing.

But the words stuck in his throat.

He suddenly realized that it all seemed to be a conspiracy, a trap.

Either Hong Xiuquan wanted to use someone else's resources and then discard them, so after Wei Changhui killed Yang Xiuqing, Hong Xiuquan ordered the Young Heavenly King to kill Wei Changhui as well.

As for the other possibility, that's even more unbelievable.

This is clearly the young king acting on his own initiative, trying to be the one who suffers the consequences!

The thought sent chills down Qin Rigang's spine.

Looking at the small figure below the city, they were filled with even greater terror.

How could a child prodigy who is not even seven years old be hiding his true potential so well?

This also made Qin Rigang realize that he had to make a choice.

If he doesn't cooperate, then he'll probably be considered an accomplice of Wei Changhui.

The outcome was predictable.

"Your Highness, I, Qin, am utterly loyal to the Heavenly King and am naturally willing to cooperate with your actions!"

Qin Rigang made his choice immediately.