In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's plot against the strategy of Jiangshan, Li Xiucheng, the king of Zhong, mentioned in the "Self-Statement" that a sailor offered advice to Yang Xiuqing, the eastern king: "The water of the Henan River is small and there is no grain, and the enemy cannot be saved." Now that you have the south of the Yangtze River, there are dangers of the Yangtze River, and there are thousands of boats, so why go to Henan. Nanjing is the home of the emperor, the city is high and deep, the people are rich and surplus, and they are not yet the capital, so they go to Henan Heye. Later, Yang Xiuqing adopted, set the capital at Tianjing, confronted the Qing Dynasty, and tried to go north to the Central Plains to fight against the Manchu Qing. When the Taiping Army descended the river from Wuchang, Li Xiucheng was only a small soldier, how could he know such a secret? The only reasonable explanation is that at that time, the top brass of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was divided on where to develop and how to overthrow the Manchu Qing, and there was a fierce quarrel, which even ordinary soldiers were aware of. In fact, after the Taiping Army invaded Wuchang and Nanjing, there were differences of opinion on how to develop power and overthrow the Manchu Qing. Specifically, there were four plans to overthrow the Manchu Qing: Hong, Yang, Shi, and Luo, each with "good policies." So, who is the smartest strategy?
01. Hong Xiuquan's strategy - to enter Guanzhong, pass through Shaanxi and Gansu, and go east out of the Central Plains to take Beijing
Before fixing the capital Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan still had his own ideas, not like later "believing in ghosts and gods", relying on "Heavenly Father Heavenly Brother Heavenly Soldiers" to fight the world. After entering Wuchang, Hong Xiuquan planned to plot Guanzhong (which he had always thought during his activities in Guangxi), take Xi'an, Xianyang, pass through the Shaanxi-Gansu region, and then go east out of the Central Plains when the strength was strong, and take Yanjing in one fell swoop. Hong Xiuquan's plan, at first glance, is a copy of Li Zicheng, the "king of Chuang" at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and he probably wants to become the second "king of Chuang" and let the Xianfeng Emperor hang himself on the rhythm of the coal mountain. So, is Guanzhong the land of kings? The answer is yes, the powerful dynasties of Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang all sat in Guanzhong to control the world; Zhu Biao, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, once wanted to move the capital to Xi'an, through Guanzhong. Therefore, in theory, Hong Xiuquan is very clever, but in fact, it is not, which is a big trick. Why? The reason is very simple, the country's economic center of gravity has completely shifted south, Guanzhong has no economic strength at this time, and where to mix can only be starved to death. It should be known that even during the Tang Dynasty, the emperor often stayed in Luoyang instead of Chang'an (Xi'an), because Luoyang was the hub of grain, materials, and taxes in the south. Later, Cixi ran to Xi'an to "hunt", and even the food supply of thousands of people in the Guanzhong area was under pressure, and the economy almost collapsed.
02. Yang Xiuqing's strategy - set the capital jinling, disturb the north and south, and then the northern expedition to the central plains
Everyone said that Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, was an excellent strategist who could lead the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to overthrow the Manchu Qing and lead to victory. Then, can the nine-thousand-year-old Yang Xiuqing's combat strategy of "fixing the capital at Jinling, disturbing the north and south, and then going north to the central plains" be considered clever? In this regard, many people will say that the capital of Nanjing itself is a mistake, and the southern regime is only destroyed by the north, and there is no possibility of counterattack. Actually, you can't say that. The capital of Nanjing is indeed full of drawbacks, not to mention the enemy on all sides of the east, west, south, and north, not to mention that it is too prosperous here, and it is easy to degenerate itself and lose its enterprising spirit. However, this does not prove that the capital of Nanjing is not OK, the Ming Dynasty did not counterattack the Yuan Dynasty; the Northern Expedition of the Nationalist Government won a complete victory, and Zhang Xueliang must not obediently "change the northeast"? In the historical context of the complete southward shift of the economic center and the crushing of the north by the economic strength of the south, the temporary capital of Nanjing, occupying the southeast, and then the northern expedition to the central plains is a good strategy, is an operational strategy. In this regard, Yang Xiuqing is not wrong, it is considered to have vision. Unfortunately, after the capital tianjing was set, Yang Xiuqing despised his opponent too much, and used troops at the same time in many places, which violated the taboo of soldiers.
03. Shi Dakai's strategy - to move west into Sichuan, follow Liu Bei's example, and then conquer the Central Plains
Speaking of The Wing King Shi Dakai, he was interviewed at the age of 16, crowned king at the age of 19, commanded thousands of troops and horses at the age of 24 to kill Zeng Wenzheng on horseback, went out to start a business at the age of 26, and was martyred heroically in March 32. Shi Dakai is a man and a talent. After entering Wuchang, Shi Dakai suggested that he enter Sichuan, emulate the story of Liu Bang and Liu Bei's predecessors in entrepreneurship, and then conquer the Central Plains after their strength was strong. So, what about the strategy? Does it work? The answer is that in a chaotic world, you can divide one side and establish yourself as king; when the world is unified, it can only be a dead end, and there is no hope. Why? Zhuge Liang once said: "Yizhou is tired and malpractices", saying that Sichuan's economic strength is limited, it is not enough to support the great cause, it is difficult to stand on its own, and the Northern Expedition is inevitable. If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom entered Sichuan, it could only be blocked in the basin by the Qing army, and there was no way out. In the case that the Qing Dynasty still controlled the national resources, the local area was relatively stable, and It was unrealistic for Shi Dakai to play the strategy of "darkness Chen Cang"; copying the Meridian Valley and using the "Wei Yan Meter" could only be the next Gao Yingxiang, who was played to death by Sun Chuanting. Therefore, entering Sichuan is not realistic.
04. Luo Gang's strategy - move to Henan, set the capital kaifeng, and directly attack Beijing
How to eliminate the Manchu Qing Dynasty, luo Ganggang, a general from the Heaven and Earth Society, put forward two suggestions: "If you want to go north, you must first set Henan; the big driver is stationed in Henan, and the army is crossing the river"; "Otherwise, first determine the nine southern provinces, without internal worries, and then go out of the division in three ways, one out of Xiangchu, one out of Hanzhong, rush to Xianyang, with Xu and Yang sweeping the left side of the mountain, and then out of the right side of the mountain, will hunt Yandu." Relatively speaking, Luo Outline is more inclined to the first one, that is, "move to Henan, set the capital kaifeng, directly attack Beijing, and blitz the pivot." So, will this plan work? Judging from the achievements of Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang's 20,000 elites who later swept through the hinterland of the Central Plains and directly approached Beijing, if the Taiping Army sent all its soldiers and horses north, more than 100,000 elites would enter Yanjing with a single blow and drive away Xianfeng. As long as Xianfeng ran away, the Guannei Governor would inevitably no longer obey the order, but would rise up one after another to establish himself as king and confront the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Next, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not have to deal with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but the armed groups of Han landlords such as Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Jiang Zhongyuan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang, and the whole country was engaged in a great chaos. In this way, the demise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was inevitable, but whether the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could deal with these landlord armed forces and how long it would take to get rid of it was another matter.
To sum up, if other influencing factors are not taken into account, the Manchu Qing is eliminated, and the Luo Outline's combat strategy is the most sophisticated, and it can "expel the Tatars and restore China" in a short period of time. However, if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could not be supported by scholars, the whole country could not be "passed on", and the world would fall into a chaotic situation. In this way, the historical trend of modern China may change, after all, the great powers are eyeing the tiger, which cannot be ignored. What do you think about this?
References: History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Initial Records of Rebellion, Li Xiucheng's Self-Description