History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 78 Military Diplomacy 4
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom became a cult organization
When Hong Xiuquan, a failed scholar, initially founded the Church of Worshiping God, he didn't think about pretending to be gods and ghosts. He still followed the formal religious route.After Hong Xiuquan localized Western religions, he used the theory of religious compassion and saving suffering to convince the common people in him.But when he decided to hold the Jintian Uprising, another leader, Feng Yunshan, was arrested by the Qing army. Hong Xiuquan was busy with rescue work, so he handed over the full power to Yang Xiuqing.

In order to win over the slack army, Yang Xiuqing came out with superstitious thoughts. He pretended to be "Father" and "Brother Heaven" possessed by Xiao Chaogui, to show that they were saviors sent from heaven. This stabilized the rebel army. The morale of the army guaranteed the success of the Jintian Uprising.

Although this is only an emergency measure, it will inevitably lead the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom into superstitious and deceptive tricks. Relying on some tricks such as descending children and inviting the Jade Emperor to descend to the mortal world, the Maoshan Taoist priests who intimidate them will step by step. One step is to brainwash believers.

In this way, it cannot be said that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is already a cult organization, but then, under the decree of Hong Xiuquan, and relying on the prestige of Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui pretending to be "Father" and "Brother Heaven", believers were asked to donate their property on their own initiative, Claiming to implement public ownership of property, Hong Xiuquan advocated such remarks as "the colder the weather, the more you take off your clothes", "don't be greedy for safety and fear of hardship, and you will go to heaven later", so that believers not only hand over their property to the public, but also make their own Relatives and friends also come to donate property.

After such coercive rhetoric, those who participated in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom handed over all their property and burned their houses, expressing their determination to follow the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and resist the Qing army together.Not only men joined the army, but women also became the source of soldiers.

This does not mean that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is united, but it shows that this is a state of entanglement.The whole family joins the army, so a chain of restraints is formed among the family members.If a man has a problem, he will settle the account with your woman, and if a woman has a problem, he will find the child to settle the account. In this way, no one dares to escape. There are only two fates for them, one is to win, and the other is to die in battle.

In this way, the believers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were controlled by Hong Xiuquan and other leaders, and after they seized the life and death power of the believers, they carried out even more intolerable policies.It is to order believers to give up for a long time and prohibit normal married life, and the couple will be beheaded if they say a few words between them.

Hong Xiuquan said in "Tian Tiao Poetry" very detailed and specific, "Seventh Tian Tiao: Do ​​not commit adultery... Men have sex with men, women have sex with women, and they must not be mixed. Anyone who commits adultery with men and women is called a monster, the biggest offender The Law of Heaven." The so-called "fornication", "fornication", and "adultery" refer to the physical relationship between men and women, which is absolutely not allowed in the ranks of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and it is regarded as a violation of the Law of Heaven.

In the "Forbidden Law", it is stipulated: "Whoever a husband and wife violates the law of heaven privately, both men and women will be beheaded." For men and women who violate the law of heaven for the first time, the punishment is very severe, and they should be sentenced to death.If they are not husband and wife, it is even more cruel. If they want to be "lighted with sky lanterns", they will be tied up from feet to heads and burned alive.

Although Hong Xiuquan treated the believers so harshly, these so-called leaders were all wives and concubines. The typical behavior was that only state officials were allowed to set fires, and the common people were not allowed to light lamps.Therefore, in the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, some people put forward a clear statement about this, "There is no salt to eat, no money to spend, and their leaders try their best to enjoy themselves." It implies that the reason for the end of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is actually the leader's arrogance. caused by seclusion.

The original intention was to rescue the people from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In the later stage of victory, the leaders were dazzled. Hong Xiuquan took the money of the believers and squandered it.After the Taiping Army entered Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan ordered people to build the Tianwang Mansion. The bricks used were all removed from the Ming Palace, temples, and private houses. The construction workers were mainly women, children, and old people who accompanied the army.

All these people did unpaid labor, which laid the ground for public grievances in the future.At the time of building construction, there was a trend of comparison within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the kings of Tianjing also competed for luxury and wealth, and began to compare their wealth one after another.Dong Wang Yang Xiuqing would take a yellow sedan chair carried by 1000 people every time he traveled. When going out in summer, there would be a glass water injection device under the sedan chair to raise goldfish to reduce the stuffiness.As for the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, the scene was even more grand.There are golden chariots led by beauties inside the palace, and there are 100 people standing outside the palace to carry dragons, phoenixes and Huangyu.In order to accommodate the luxurious extravagance, [-] Diantianyu, [-] Diantian horses, Diantian gongs, Diantianle and so on were set up in the palace.

Not only that, but in terms of daily necessities, the officials of the Celestial Dynasty also pursue luxury and compete with each other. A suit of clothes can be worth a year's income of a middle-class household.The toilets used by Hong Xiuquan are all made of pure gold. Such a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is no longer the peasant uprising army at the beginning of the uprising, but a decadent army built by deceiving the people.Hong Xiuquan and the others used all the wealth they collected to satisfy their extravagant life. How could such a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom be considered a cult?
(End of this chapter)