1At the beginning of June, 864, Hong Xiuquan, who had been trapped in Tianjing for many days, died directly in bed because of physical discomfort and illness. Before he died, let his son Tianguifu Hong, who was only 15 years old, inherit the position of king, hoping that he can lead everyone through this difficult time. Who knows that Tianguifu Hong was the king for more than a month, and then the Xiang army led by Zeng Guofan breached Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and even he became a prisoner. Led by Hong Xiuquan, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, which swept over most of China in 14 years and brought a heavy blow to reactionary forces at home and abroad, basically came to an end at this time.

Zeng Guofan, as the greatest contributor to the demise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, did only two great things after the fall of Tianjing. The first thing is to transport the huge amount of gold, silver and jewelry obtained at that time directly back to my hometown; The second thing was to demobilize the Xiang army one month after the capture of Tianjing, cut off their capital to dominate the world, and finally gain the trust of the court and become an effective minister to govern the world. Many people have such doubts. After destroying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Zeng Guofan, who was armed with 300,000 troops at that time, why didn't he choose to rise up and rebel, but became a minister who could govern the world?

Zeng Guofan's decision to recall Xiang was actually well thought out, because he felt that he did not have the capital to run the world. In order to remove the Qing court's vigilance against him, he directly abolished his greatest capital. Although Zeng Guofan's Xiang army had more than 300,000 military forces in its heyday, he could only command and mobilize hundreds of thousands of people, and his own army only had more than 50,000 people led by Ceng Guoquan. In addition, in addition to Zeng Guofan's Xiang army, the imperial court also had a relatively strong army, that is, a powerful cavalry led by the famous monk Ge Linqin in the late Qing Dynasty. Compared with Zeng Guofan, as a Mongolian, Monk Qin was valued and prized by the Qing court. When the Xiang army attacked Tianjing, the Manchu generals such as Sengqin had already been deployed in northern Xinjiang and the same area, mainly to prevent the Taiping rebels from fleeing, but also to deter Zeng Guofan and prevent him from having the idea of self-reliance.

At this time, Xiang was indeed the most powerful army at that time, but Zeng Guofan was difficult to use. After all, since the first day of its establishment, the Xiang army has been playing the slogan of defending the country. Many people choose to be soldiers because of the harm of Taiping Army. Most of the materials were donated by the squire, and most of the captains in the army came from official families. Many people know that Taiping rebels are a group of rebels, and it is very common to beat them. After the death of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the living soldiers basically had a lot of trophies. What they want to do most at this time is to take these good things home and live a stable life. If you rebel at this time, your chances of success are slim.

Although Zuo once encouraged Zeng Guofan to rebel, no one knows whether this is his temptation. If Zeng Guofan really chooses to rebel, he should not only solve the internal contradictions of Xiang, integrate the forces of Xiang, but also guard against the armies of Sang Linqin and Feng Zicai in the north and west of Xiang. After all, once he rises to revolt, the armies of the North and the South will directly aim their guns at Xiang, and even if they can win, they will pay a painful price. In addition, the Huai army trained by Li Hongzhang also improved at this time. When Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was besieged, the Qing court asked Li Hongzhang to take Huai Army to pick peaches. Thanks to Zeng Guofan's repeated efforts, this great contribution did not fall into the hands of Li Hongzhang. If he rebelled at this time, he would face encirclement and suppression by imperial troops all over the country. At that time, the Xiang army was easily replaced by Li Hongzhang's Huai army.

Even if he defeated the Qing army, he still had to compete with his younger brother Ceng Guoquan for the throne. After all, in the hands of Ceng Guoquan, his own army will inevitably be brought up by his younger brother. After all, it is common for brothers to turn against each other when it comes to the throne. This is also the reason why he directly withdrew most of the Xiang army within one month after the fall of Tianjing. In order to prevent Ceng Guoquan from having any other thoughts, he directly requested the court to dismiss him and send him back to his hometown on the grounds that his younger brother Ceng Guoquan was ill.

The result of Zeng Guofan's doing this is obvious. First, he broke the mind of himself and others. Secondly, it is to show loyalty to the court and prevent the tragic end of high reputation. In this way, Cixi and the court ministers completely trusted Zeng Guofan, which made him and other Xiang generals become high officials and generous, and relieved the worries of the Zeng family.