The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan was on the Golden Dragon Palace, angrily reprimanded Wei Changhui, and preached: "If you don't obey my edict and kill innocents indiscriminately, you will not be able to escape the blame!" Tomorrow you shall confess your sins in public before the rooftop, and you will receive three hundred rods of moss. Qin Rigang helped the tiger to commit the murder, and also beat three hundred to see the after-effects! Qin Rigang was not convinced, and was about to argue, but was stopped by Wei Changhui.

At this moment, Wei Changhui already had other plans, he coldly glanced at Shi Dakai, the winged king standing tall in the palace, knowing that these were the results of Shi Dakai's plucking of the Heavenly King, and he didn't defend it at the moment, he turned his head and said very respectfully: "Brother is angry, it is indeed the younger brother who has a tender stomach and has done too much." Please ask my brother to issue an edict and tell the soldiers and civilians in Beijing, especially the subordinates of Dongfu, to gather on the rooftop tomorrow to watch the punishment of the younger brother and Qin Rigang. My brother can't regret it now, it's really painful! After that, he knelt in front of the desk and kept kowtowing. Qin Rigang didn't understand what the Northern King meant, but he could only kowtow.

Hong Xiuquan sighed and groaned for a long time before saying, "I don't want to beat you. If you don't do this, people's hearts will be at peace! The two of you will temporarily wear the guilt and return home, and tomorrow you will wait for the fate. "Thank you, brother." Wei Changhui kowtowed obediently again, and then led Qin Rigang to withdraw from the Heavenly King's Mansion, and glanced at Shi Dakai resentfully before leaving.

Hong Xiuquan held the pen in his hand and personally issued an edict. Then, several copies were copied by the Shushu Ya, and the seals were used and posted in front of the Tianwang's Mansion and at various intersections. He also sent a special person to sound the gong to show the people, and went to the city and outside to proclaim it.

The edict of the Heavenly King attracted millions of soldiers and civilians in Tianjing. People rushed to the streets with apprehension and anxiety, competing to watch, and those who were illiterate let the literate read, and for a time the streets and alleys were full of the sound of recitation. I only listened to the edict that read like this: "Yang Xiuqing, the east sin, the grass becomes a goblin." Falsely proclaim the will of the Father. I want to call long live. forced me to abdicate the throne. The crime of usurpation is not light. The Father is powerful and secretive. Brother Tian opened his eyes and could see clearly. I passed on the edict, and Bei and Yan were transferred back to Beijing. The East has corrected the law, and the world has returned to peace. Bei and Yan are really hateful, and they move their swords on their backs. Killing innocent people is intolerable. The two have been convicted and will be sentenced tomorrow. Behold my subjects, and do not be terrified. Except for one of the iniquities, all of his subordinates are brothers. We will not investigate it in the future. Still a holy officer. Chin this. July 28, 6th year of Bingchen"

Hong Xiuquan's edict is written like a limerick, in fact, many of the poems written by Hong Xiuquan are the same. Although the limerick was crude in its writing, it was easy to understand, and the poem quickly spread both inside and outside Tianjing. People rushed to tell each other, tears flowing. The mood is extremely excited.

Inside the North Palace. Qin Rigang, Xu Zongyang and others eagerly looked at Wei Changhui, the king of the north, hoping that he would have an idea, but seeing Wei Changhui drinking tea leisurely, Qin Rigang, who had a hot temper, couldn't help but say: "Six thousand years old, we can't sit still like this, tomorrow will whip us." The day after tomorrow may take our heads, but there are still a lot of people left in the East Temple. ”

Wei Changhui smiled coldly and said, "You will also say that there are still a lot of people left in the East Palace, if I don't wait for some means, when will I be able to get rid of them?" ”

Qin Rigang and Xu Zongyang glanced at each other. Said together: "Six thousand years old means ......" Wei Changhui beckoned with a smile: "Come here with your ears, let's be so, so ......" After saying that, several people laughed together.

At this time, there were more than 15,000 people under Yang Xiuqing's subordinates in the East Palace, and these people were either stationed outside the city on the orders of Yang Xiuqing, or they were stationed in the defense troops of each gate, only because Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang did not have enough soldiers and horses, it was difficult to cover the killing, so they saved their lives.

The king of the east was killed, and the bad news spread to all parts of the east hall, causing a huge shock. The soldiers were overwhelmed with grief, shouting, sighing, and resentment. The next day, the officers and soldiers of Dongfu, who were lucky enough to survive the various gates, fled to the barracks outside the city and told the story of the city.

A wounded brigade commander said: "Brothers, run away! The king of the north said that the king of heaven has a will, and he wants to kill us all! "What crime have we committed?" "Why kill people casually?" "Lao Tzu fought with them!" "The government forced the people to rebel, and they had to rebel, so they had to rebel, and they reversed!" There were also some people who squatted on the ground, held their heads in their hands, and cried loudly: "Oh my God, why is this? "I can't do it! Go home and farm! ”

That night, sure enough, some people deserted, but the vast majority of people did not leave, they were waiting and watching. Because they were all poor people in the past, they finally lived today's life, and they still had deep feelings for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the Taiping army at this time rarely surrendered to the Qing army en masse, so everyone was looking forward to it, but there was a line of way, and they didn't want to do anything to betray God.

On the 28th day of the seventh month of the sixth year of Bingchen, several fast horses came to the barracks. Immediately seated were the proclamators of the Heavenly King's Mansion, who read the edict of the Heavenly King to all the officers and soldiers. When the people heard that the King of Heaven had pardoned them for their innocence and punished the two kings of North and Yan, they erupted in a heaven-shattering cheer: "Long live the King of Heaven!" "Long live the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!" "Long live Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother! Hooray! The official conveyed the order of the King of Heaven, asking everyone to enter the city early tomorrow morning to watch the two kings of Bei and Yan being tortured. He also said that in order to avoid accidents, no one was allowed to carry weapons when entering the city.

Most people trust the edict of the Heavenly King. But there are also a considerable number of people who are skeptical. They were talking, pondering, and the whole barracks was buzzing with an uneasy crowd.

In the big tent of the military camp, the remaining several East Hall commanders, division commanders, and brigade commanders gathered together to discuss countermeasures, and the biggest official position among them was Chen Changlin, the commander of the Left First Army, and most of the other East Hall officials were in the city a few days ago to prepare for the East King's enthronement, and most of them were slaughtered when the North King was in trouble, and now Chen Changlin found that he had actually become the biggest general in the Tianjing East Palace, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I don't want to go into the city, no one knows what's going on in the city, I don't want to go in again." A brigade commander said loudly that this man's name was Zhang Dashou, and that he had managed to escape from the city on the day of the incident, and that he had seen the merciless slaughter, so he was reluctant to go back.

As soon as he spoke, several brigade commanders who escaped with him also echoed, and several division commanders outside the city also said that they should stay still for the time being and wait for the situation to become clear before making plans.

Chen Changlin sighed and said: "I also want to stay still, but there is an edict from the Heavenly King for this, and all the needs of our army are supplied in the city, so there are only five days of rations left in the camp, and now there are brothers who have escaped from each gate." That's just enough to eat for three days. If we don't obey the edict, and the King of Heaven angrily declares us rebels, it will be a dead end. ”

After Chen Changlin finished speaking, many military commanders and division commanders also echoed his words, in fact, Chen Changlin said well, if he really did not obey the edict, Tianjing only cut off the grain and grass, and then mobilized troops and horses to encircle and suppress, which was also a dead end.

At the moment, everyone was arguing, and they were all discussing the way out. Suddenly, someone couldn't help but say: "It's better to go to Zhenjiang to cast the king of the west." As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden silence in the tent.

Chen Changlin's heart was also moved, in fact, the east hall and the west hall could be regarded as intimate earlier, when Jintian raised troops, the east and west kings fought side by side. After arriving in Tianjing, the soldiers and horses of the East Hall and the West Hall also fought Nanchang together. In fact, among the officers and soldiers of the lower rank of the East Highness. I still greatly admire the invincible King of the West, and the King of the West may really be an optional path.

But then Chen Changlin remembered that he had a bad relationship with the West Hall and a confrontation between soldiers and horses, so he shook his head and said: "No, if I vote for the King of the West, I will bear the name of a rebel for the rest of my life in the kingdom of heaven." And why did the king of the west take us in? Have you forgotten the Battle of Guangde a few months ago? As soon as these words came out, there was silence in the tent.

At this moment, a person outside the tent turned in and said loudly: "What if the king of the west is already ready to enter the king of Jingqin?" ”

Everyone was shocked. Looking up, it was Liu Xiangfu, the commander in charge of the second army in the camp, this person is also a general of the East Palace, but he is usually a low-key person, and he is not reused.

Chen Changlin said with some displeasure: "Brother Liu, what did you say?" The king of the west raised troops and served the king? ”

Liu Xiangfu nodded and said: "Yes, it's not a secret, in fact, the brother is a person from the West Palace, if today the king is held hostage by the king of the north, he acts in chaos, and he is not guilty and the king of the east is punished, and the connection is very wide, how can you brothers feed the tiger and sit and wait to die?" It's better to go to Zhenjiang together, and it is estimated that the army of the West Hall is also coming over, and you don't have to pay attention to the checkpoints along the way. ”

When everyone heard this, they began to discuss, Chen Changlin was very dissatisfied with Liu Xiangfu stealing his limelight, and said coldly: "You said that you are from the West Palace? Seeing Liu Xiangfu nodded, Chen Changlin snorted coldly and said, "It turns out that you are an undercover spy in the West Palace, no wonder we will lose the battle of Guangde." ”

As soon as these words came out, the tent was quiet again, at this time, these hot-blooded men looked down on traitors and traitors the most, and after listening to Chen Changlin's words, they couldn't help but disdain Liu Xiangfu.

Liu Xiangfu seemed to have known that this would happen, and said lightly: "The King of the West is the same as the important minister of the Heavenly Kingdom, he is the same anti-Qing, and Sufu Province is so prosperous under the rule of the King of the West." Besides, in order to save the Little Knife Society rebels who he didn't know, the King of the West would rather send countless ships south to Xiamen to rescue him, how could he not tolerate us with such a mind and courage? The 3,000 brothers of the Second Army have already planned to go to Zhenjiang with me to join the King of the West, and those who are willing to go with us will go to the edge of the sky on the fourth watch, and those who are unwilling can return to the city. ”

Chen Changlin was furious, so he wanted to draw his sword and come out to kill Liu Xiangfu, but he was stopped by the generals in the camp, and they persuaded one after another, now that it is already a chaotic situation, is there another killing in the East Palace?

Liu Xiangfu sneered and said: "A group of people who don't know the general trend, they are innocent of death, brother, I will say all this, whether to go or leave it to yourself to make up your mind." Then he turned and left.

Chen Changlin's anger did not subside, so he announced that he would be summoned to return to Beijing tomorrow morning, and the meeting was hastily dismissed. After the meeting, Zhang Dashou and several other division commanders and brigade commanders found Liu Xiangfu and said that they were willing to follow Liu Xiangfu to seek refuge in the West King. At that time, Liu Xiangfu, Zhang Dashou and other troops in the east hall had a total of more than 6,000 soldiers and horses, and they quietly left the barracks and went to Zhenjiang on the fourth watch.

Early the next morning, under the leadership of Chen Changlin and several other army commanders and brigade commanders, the remaining more than 9,000 officers and soldiers of Dongfu began to enter the city in a long line.

At this time, the sultry weather has passed, the sky is overcast, and the thick clouds are getting thicker and thicker. The procession into the city walked silently, everyone thinking about their hearts. Among them, there were old brothers who rebelled in Guangxi, some who joined the Taiping Army when Yong'an was founded, and some came from Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu. Although they joined the Taiping Army at different times, they were full of deep affection for the Taiping country and were accustomed to an equal life of "brothers and sisters in the world". Although the battles were frequent and the heavenly system was restrictive, they were full of optimism and hope for the future. They attribute this qiē to God Almighty, to the king of heaven, to the king of the east, and to the kings.

In their eyes. The king is the incarnation of God. However, they never expected that in this holy kingdom of heaven, there would be a rare infighting, and the kings would kill each other, and thousands of people would be involved. Why is that? Is God so cruel? What's the difference between this and what those "demon heads" do? However, the Heavenly Father is still holy, and the Heavenly King is still just, and they have stopped this indiscriminate killing in time, and they will severely punish the sinners who made this indiscriminate killing - the King of the North and the King of Yan!

The majestic and tall Chaoyang Gate. It was already open, and the soldiers lined up and walked into Tianjing in order. But when I saw that the street was deserted, and every house was closed, it was rare to see a single figure. on the walls, on the stone pavement. There were black-purple blood stains everywhere. The corpses that had not yet been cleaned were crisscrossed and the flesh was blurred. It emits a suffocating stench.

Swarms of flies. Dingding on the corpse, "buzzing" screaming. There were several big dogs in the alley, chewing on dead bodies...... The soldiers couldn't bear to look at it anymore and lowered their heads one after another. Chen Changlin, the commander of the team, led the team and deliberately passed guò from the front of the Dongfu. People were amazed to see that the splendid building had been reduced to ruins. There is nothing that burns out. It's still smoking.

Turning the East Mansion, I soon came to the square in front of the Tianwang Mansion, but I saw that on the tall rooftop, a colorful canopy was erected. In front of the rooftop, there were rows of guards from Tianfu. On a table in front of the table, there are familiar vegetarian wax, rice and water.

The soldiers who entered the city sat neatly on the ground under the guidance of the Heavenly King's guards. The soldiers under the two kings of North and Yan sat on their left and right and in the rear. The huge square was quietly filled with more than 10,000 people. The soldiers stared out in confusion with wide eyes and bated breath.

Towards noon, a gust of wind passed and sparse raindrops fell. It was indeed time for the rain, and the raindrops fell on people's faces, and they felt a sense of pleasure. It was getting darker, dark clouds were rolling overhead, and a rainstorm was coming. Suddenly, from the Heavenly King's Mansion, a group of female officials in brocade robes walked out. There is a slender and dignified female Chengxuan, standing behind the incense table in front of the rooftop, she first leads everyone to recite the "Praise God Psalm". She reads a sentence, and the soldiers repeat it. The voices of tens of thousands of people are mixed together, harmonious and powerful.

After reading the "Psalm of Praise to God", this female Chengxuan recited the edict issued by the King of Heaven again. After reading it, the execution began, and there was a commotion in the square.

I saw the two kings of North and Yan, wearing prison uniforms and tied up with flowers, escorted out of the Heavenly King's Mansion by a group of warriors. Eight tall and powerful executioners walked to the rooftop with answering sticks in their hands. The female Chengxuan ordered the four warriors to press the two kings of North and Yan to the two door panels. The chief magistrate picked up the answering staff and struck the second king on the buttocks. Someone next to him sang a number: "One, two, three...... "Answering the cane" "Huhu" hanging wind, hitting the skin and flesh, "popping" sounded straight. It's really a sonic boom in the audience, and everyone can hear it.

At the beginning, people pulled their necks and stared at the two kings of Bei and Yan to be tortured, and later, no one could bear to look at it, so they all lowered their heads, closed their eyes, and some people secretly blocked their ears.

When the cane first hit the second king, they both gritted their teeth as much as they could, not humming or humming. However, after three or five hits, the two of them couldn't stand it. Wei Changhui shouted first: "Alas, alas! My mother, Father is gracious! Qin Rigang also howled: "Alas! Mother! Brother Heavenly King, spare your life! The screams, the beating of the cane, and the muffled thunder in the sky. These soldiers with a clear conscience closed their eyes tightly, biting their lips, and their hearts were twisted like knives, not just to be happy or sorry.

Later, the screams changed from strong to weak, from high to low, and gradually disappeared. After a few more moments, the flogging was over. Eight martial artists set up the paralyzed two kings and sent them back to the palace respectively, waiting for their fate. At this time, people noticed that the rain was getting heavier and heavier.

Suddenly, a female Chengxuan official appeared in front of everyone in the rain and shouted: "The edict of the King of Heaven, in order to comfort all the soldiers of the Eastern Mansion, please enter the East and West Dynasty Room, and the King of Heaven will give food!" When the soldiers of Dongfu heard this, they were all deeply moved. With tears in their eyes, the people shouted, "Long live the King!" Hooray! Under the guidance of the attendants, the soldiers lined up in four columns and entered the magnificent and tall Heavenly Empire Gate, which was divided into two parts and entered the spacious east and west courts. People leaned against each other and crowded into the house to wait for food.

Suddenly, 3,000 heavily armed soldiers from the North and Yan Mansions, each with sharp swords, surrounded the east and west Chaofang. Then, he broke down the door and pounced on the unarmed Dongfu soldiers. Swords, spears, axes, and swords slashed and stabbed at people's flesh. In an instant, flesh and blood flew sideways, corpses rolled, and the east and west chambers turned into extremely cruel slaughterhouses!

Only now did people know that they had been fooled, Chen Changlin looked up to the sky and laughed, laughing so much that tears came out: "It turns out that I really refuse to let us go, I knew that the king of Touxi went, the king of heaven, it turns out that you are also an accomplice, hahaha......"

But it was too late to repent of saying anything, and the soldiers of Dongfu cried, roared, scolded, and fought, and some of the soldiers broke out of the windows and broke into the courtyard. However, before they could stand on their feet, they were beheaded by the Northern Yan army that was lying in ambush outside. There were also hundreds of extremely brave soldiers, who finally broke out of the encirclement and killed outside the gate of the Celestial Empire. As a result, it was also slaughtered by the Northern Yan army ambushed here. After more than an hour of brutal slaughter, more than 9,000 soldiers of Dongfu were all killed!

When the Wing King received the news and rushed over, he saw that there were already corpses all over the place, Shi Dakai was inexplicably sad and angry, and couldn't help but kneel on the bloody ground, and shouted: "Wei Changhui! You are forcing the life of the East Hall to the side of the West King, you are self-destroying the Great Wall! You are a sinner in Heaven! ”

After Shi Dakai cried in Chaoyangmen, where corpses were all over the place, he got up and said coldly to the guards of the Wing Palace: "Follow me to the Beiwang Mansion, I want to question Wei Changhui face to face!" (To be continued......)