The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is the last and largest peasant revolutionary movement in China. However, this once all-powerful movement started with the uprising led by Hong Xiuquan and was established through the occupation of Nanjing? China? The regime that lasted only eleven years collapsed, causing endless thinking for future generations. There are too many lessons, and the most fundamental lesson is only two words: corruption.
? I sleep tight and I am king. I sit on the mountain.
From the day when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom made Tianjing its capital, the leaders headed by the heavenly king Hong Xiuquan lost the initiative and practiced inaction. He entered Tianjing in March 1853, and committed suicide at the age of 52 in June 1864 (at that time, he said he died of hunger). 1 1 years, he never stepped out of the gate of Tianjing, only once sat in a big sedan chair carried by 64 people and went out to visit the sick Dongwangyang. The rest of the time, he is sitting in the golden dragon hall of Sun City and enjoying the splendor. The dignity and style of his imperial life are quite ostentatious.
According to forest, a British translator and agent of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the scene of the heavenly palace was recorded in Travel Notes of Tianjing. He mentioned that during a survey in front of the palace, all of a sudden, the sounds were mixed, and drums, cymbals, gongs and cannons were mixed together. It turned out that it was time for the heavenly king to eat, and these voices didn't stop until after dinner. At this time: The holy door was half open, and many weak and poor women went in or out. Everyone took bowls, chopsticks and other supplies to serve the royal dinner. All kinds of articles are mostly made of gold. ? The heavenly king has a crown, made of pure gold and weighs eight pounds; There is also a gold necklace, which weighs eight Jin. His embroidered gold robe also has gold buttons. He rose from the inner palace to the main hall to face North Korea, and took a golden cart called Shenlong Car, led by a beautiful woman.
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The harem of the heavenly king and the cage of women.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom practiced polygamy. In a foreign affairs document that Yang replied to Americans, he publicly admitted: Brothers hire wives, and marriage is predestined. ? The number of wives and concubines owned by King Hong Xiuquan is accurate: according to the confession of King Tiande who was captured in the prison break, 65,438+05 people arrived in Yong 'an one year later. Hong Xiuquan is obsessed with women, and there are 36 women. ? It was later reduced. 1864, the young Tianjing Wang Hong said in his confession after being captured. I 16 years old, and Lao Wang is my father. I have 88 mothers, and I am the second one. When I was nine years old, I got four wives. ? The 88 queens of the heavenly king here have exceeded the number of 72 queens in the three palaces and six courtyards of feudal emperors in previous dynasties.
Hong Xiuquan also made many strange rules and regulations for his empresses, which should be strictly observed. If women are forbidden to look up at him, at first glance, he will be more than a little guilty. If you look at the main list, you must look at your shoulders. It's best to look at your breasts. If you look boldly, you will neglect the king and the sky! ? (all quoted from my father's poems)
Can't you see what Hong Xiuquan advocated when he began to worship God in Poems of the Father? Many men in the world are brothers and many women in the world are sisters? The concept of equality is only the absolute authority and suppression of women.
Is Qionglou Yuyu high or not?
After the Taiping Army entered Tianjing, it widely publicized two words: This is the time when all countries come to Korea to build great buildings. ? In fact, no country came to North Korea at that time, and construction began immediately.
The construction of Tianwangfu began in the second month after entering the city. Wang Fu is a group of palaces surrounded by a yellow wall three feet high on the basis of the former Governor's Office of Liangjiang. There is an imperial ditch two feet deep and two feet wide outside the palace wall. There is a three-hole stone bridge on the ditch called Wulong Bridge for pedestrians to come and go. The first door to cross the bridge is the Tianchao Gate, and there is a dozen-foot-long yellow silk hanging outside the door, with a 5-foot-long heavenly king's imperial edict on it. Ministers, big and small, stop here, and they can only enter with a letter, otherwise there will be snow in the clouds (described by Taiping rebels? Decapitation? The argot of? .
After entering the celestial gate, we entered the second gate, the holy gate. There are two drums and two glazed tile drum-blowing pavilions by the door. The drums are beating for 24 hours, the piano is curling and the music is melodious. After passing through the sacred Tianmen Gate, you enter the palace area. There is a memorial archway with dozens of palaces in the east and west rows. In front of it is the Golden Dragon Hall where the King of Heaven sits. Behind the main hall is a long hall with seven or eight entrances. At the end of the hall, the ninth entrance is a three-story building. The top floor is surrounded by bars with long windows. When you climb the building, you can overlook dozens of miles away. The construction of this heavy temple is based on the nine days designed by Hong Xiuquan himself. There are East Garden, West Garden and Houlin Garden in Wang Fu. There is Zhou Shi in the pool in the garden, and Chi Pan has five floors, which can also be viewed from a distance.
According to historical records, what is the decoration of this palace? Exquisitely carved, decorated with gold and painted with colorful colors. The court column is painted with Zhu Honglong, kissed with gold, the doors and windows are pasted with satin paper, the walls are painted with mud gold, and the ground is paved with marble. ? (Record of Shield Nose, Volume 5)
The first phase of Tianwangfu project was completed in half a year, but it was partially destroyed by a sudden fire. The second phase of the project began in the first month of the following year. The masonry and wood used in the second phase of the project were all removed from the Forbidden City, temples and private houses in the Ming Dynasty. Construction workers mainly expropriate women and elderly people who are not in the army, while craftsmen are recruited from Anhui and Hubei at the behest of the heavenly king, all of whom work for free.
The third phase of Tianwangfu project is planned to extend 20 miles around.
At the same time of great construction, the kings of Tianjing are also competing with each other and making great ostentation and extravagance. If Yuma is customized, manage 25 people from the grassroots level? Two Sima? Take four people to carry the black sedan chair, increasing layer by layer. Dongwangyang takes a rhubarb sedan chair carried by 48 people every time he travels. In summer, there are water sedan chairs, glass filled with water and goldfish. Every trip is a courtesy, just like a contest. King Hong Xiuquan never leaves the palace gate. There is a golden cart led by a beautiful woman in the palace. There are 64 people standing outside the palace, carrying dragons, phoenixes and topaz. In order to adapt to the extravagant wind, there are 1000 people in the palace,1000 people in the palace, and there are gongs and music in the palace. Extremely extravagant.
From Wuhan to Nanjing, the Taiping Army seized trophies, confiscated Tianjing's industrial and commercial property, drove away residents' men and women, and collected countless money from residents' families. In order to manage and use these gold and silver treasures, the China Dynasty set up gold officials who were responsible for casting, printing and manufacturing gold and silver vessels. A jade bureau specializing in carving jade articles; Tube manufacturing crown hat standard horn hat; Classic golden boots for making boots and shoes. For example, make 24 golden bowls and chopsticks for Tianwang. The ribs are nearly feet long and the bathtub is made of gold. ? (A Brief History of Jinling Province) Even chamber pot is made of gold.
Officials in China are pursuing luxury in dress and decoration, competing with each other and being extremely extravagant. The robes can reach the property of China people. The golden buttons and eight catties of gold crowns of the heavenly king Hong Xiuquan are priceless. In addition to being so extravagant for the King of Heaven, more than 365,438+0,000 civil and military officials at all levels participated in the struggle for food, clothes and ostentation, most of whom were meritorious brothers of Wang, Qi and Hong Xiuquan during the uprising. At this time, they are all redundant idlers, enjoying the glory, and soon hollowed out the Jinshan Yinhai plundered from the library.
According to Zhang, a famous spy lurking in the official's son's palace in the north of Tianjing, in his first letter to the commander-in-chief of the Qing army in September 1853, he said: When the pseudo-holy library just broke the city, there were more than18 million, and at this time there were only 8 million. ? The sixth message sent two months later said:? The fake holy library was reported over 8 million in September, and now it is only1000000. I wonder why its use is so wasteful. ?
Your report spread all over the country.
1On September 2, 856 (July 27, the sixth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom), the Tianjing Incident happened suddenly, and more than 20,000 officials under East Wang Yang died by the swords of Wei Changhui, Qin Rigang and others. It turned out that there was a legend that the heavenly king killed Yang with a secret imperial edict, but Hong Xiuquan always denied it. Up to now, there is no definite evidence about Yang's forced seal and heavenly king's secret edict, which is generally considered to be Wei Changhui's imperial edict. In any case, this is the inevitable result of the political struggle between power and profit caused by corruption. The Tianjing incident dealt a fatal blow to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, * * * created five foreign surnames Wang who contributed to the uprising and the establishment of the dynasty. The five kings were Feng Yunshan, king of the south, and Xiao Chaogui, king of the west. They all died on the way from Guangxi to Nanjing. East Wang Yang who was killed by Wei Changhui, the northern king, in the Tianjing Incident; Wei Changhui, the northern king who was later killed by the heavenly king Hong Xiuquan; After the Tianjing Incident, Shi Dakai, the wing king, was the only one among the five physical surnames.
After the Tianjing Incident, Shi Dakai returned to the North Korean auxiliary government, which was supported by the Manchu military and civilians. However, at this time, the Hong brothers and sons were eager to seal the king after the death of the East King. First, the King of Heaven made their eldest brother Hong Renfa an Wang and their second brother Hong Renda an Wang to contain Shi Dakai. Shi Dakai angrily led the troops away and vowed never to come back.
After Shi Dakai left, Hong Xiuquan had to shed the titles of his two second brothers to thank the world, but he still failed to recall Shi Dakai and his hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers to Tianjing, thus losing an opportunity to revitalize the kingdom of heaven.
After the Tianjing Incident, the Taiping Army lost tens of thousands of elite cadres, and Shi Dakai, the wing king, split out and took away hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers, which greatly weakened the military strength of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and put the situation in jeopardy. At this point, Zeng Guofan's Xiang army besieged Anqing on the fourth road, threatening to break Beijing this year and capture Hong Xiuquan alive. Fortunately, Chen Yucheng, a recruit, reorganized his army in Anhui, and joined forces with Li Xiucheng and Nian Army to counterattack the enemy. 1858+0 15 June 65438+ 10/5 In the Three Rivers War, more than 6,000 Li, the main force of the Xiang Army, were wiped out in one fell swoop. Later, in pursuit of victory, the siege of Anqing was solved without fighting, and the upper reaches of Tianjing were held. Chen Yucheng returned to northern Anhui, defeated the Qing army in Luzhou, and captured Li, the governor of Anhui in the Qing Dynasty, which reversed and stabilized the critical situation in the past two years after the Tianjing Incident.
Hong Xiuquan, in view of the storm caused by Brother B's sealing the king, announced that China would never seal the king again. On top of the original marquis, titles such as Yu, Yan, Fu, An, Yi and ***6 were added, and Chen Yucheng was appointed as full-time Yu, and Li Xiuwei was a perfect man. At the same time, restore the previous system of commanders of the five armies, with Chen Yucheng as the former commander, Li Xiuwei as the later commander, Yang Fuqing as the commander of Zhongjun, Wei Jun as the commander of the right army, Li Shixian as the commander, and Chen Yucheng as the commander? Palm rate again? Li Xiu became the second in command of the whole army. The formulation and title of this new title generally reflects the subordinate relationship of all Taiping Heavenly Kingdom troops after the Tianjing Incident and the command system formed according to their military capabilities. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom once again witnessed the resurgence of reconstruction after the chaos.
However, only five months after Sanhe Victory and only 1 month after Luzhou Victory, Hong Xiuquan took a fancy to his younger brother Hong Rengan who had just returned from Hong Kong. On the day of meeting, he passed the exam one year higher than Chen Yucheng? Fu? This title will be given to Hong Rengan in half a month. Fu? Seal? Ann? Directly to the top? Righteousness, four levels higher than Chen Yucheng's exploits. This practice of sealing off families for nothing was criticized by the whole army, and people, especially Chen Yucheng, were indignant at this suppression. This incident of cronyism and unsuccessful sealing greatly hurt the hearts of soldiers, which not only lost the opportunity for the kingdom of heaven to prosper again after its victory in northern Anhui, but also directly shook the already unstable military foundation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
After Hong Rengan, the younger brother who didn't have any credit got high seal one after another, which caused the dissatisfaction of Xuan Ran * * * at home, and his ministers opposed it. Although Hong Rengan has repeatedly resigned earnestly, he found that Hong Xiuquan insisted on maintaining the authority of his family and the world after losing Yang's constraints, and vowed not to seal the king again, and even sealed Hong Rengan? Kaichao Zhongjing is a strategist who helped Chaogang for thousands of years. ?
He ignored Wu's background in China. The storm stopped for a long time? Comfort Hong Rengan, thinking that people will calm down after shouting for a while. He didn't panic until he heard that the army was unstable and someone was going to defect to the enemy. However, Hong Xiuquan did not correct his mistake by revoking the arbitrary title of Hong Rengan, but made a balance by making Chen Yucheng king of England, in an attempt to block the hero's mouth with another surname.
However, the collapse of Chen Yucheng triggered a new chain reaction. Because of his great contribution, Chen Yucheng was very popular with the second-class jade Jue in the knight's road. Now he suddenly surpassed the four-level title, and naturally there are other active warriors to keep up with the competition. First, Li Xiucheng, the commander of the rear army stationed in Pukou to defend the north gate of Tianjing, secretly communicated with Li Zhaoshou who defected to the enemy, and reported it to China after being discovered. The heavenly king Hong Xiuquan was so frightened that he ordered the river to be closed to prevent change and kissed books at the same time? Always loyal? A letter was handed to Li Xiucheng, a loyal gentleman. Subsequently, Yang Fuqing, commander of China Army, was appointed as the auxiliary king, and Li Shixian, commander of Zuo Jun, was appointed as the servant king. Wei Jun, the left-behind commander of the right army, led tens of thousands of people to mutiny in Chizhou, Anhui, because he was Wei Changhui's younger brother.
During the four months from Hong Rengan to Tianjing, a series of competitions were held to seal the king. Hong Renfa, the eldest brother of Wang, who was deposed two years ago, was made a loyal king at this time, and Hong Renda, the second brother, was made a brave king. The five sons of Tianwang, except the eldest son who was made a master when jintian uprising was two years old, are now four youngest sons, and Xu, who has two daughters, has also been made a sovereign. Brother Hong Xiuquan was made the son of the king, and he was made the king whether he was an adult or not.
These Hong families, big and small, made kings and became tyrants in Beijing. Especially when pawning? Is there a master in Beijing? Believing King Hong Renfa? Kingsguard brothers? The Wang Party of Hongjia headed by Hong Renda is in control of the state affairs and runs roughshod over Tianjin. What if they lend it out for sale? Hong's ticket? In charge of the entrance and exit of the city gate, even loyal Li Xiucheng has to pay 65438+ two million silver to get out of the city once. For another example, before Tianjing fell into the final encirclement, some people in the DPRK suggested buying grain in advance and transporting it back to Beijing to prepare for the war.
But because of the entrance and exit of the gate? Hong's ticket? It's very expensive, and you have to pay heavy taxes when you come back from transporting food. It was unprofitable to transport grain, and the people who transported grain refused to buy it, so that there was a grain shortage after Tianjing was besieged. Hong Xiuquan called on the soldiers and civilians to eat grass, euphemistically called it? Manna? . He died himself, because he was sick after eating grass, and there was no medicine to cure him (it is recorded that he committed suicide by taking poison).
As for Hong Rengan, who made Wang the first military adviser, although he was not as greedy as the Er B brothers, he colluded with Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng in military strategy and organized the Battle of Tianjing. 1On May 6, 860, Zeng Guofan's Jiangnan camp was broken for the second time and Tianjing was lifted. But for the next strategic direction, did he destroy the established one? Keep going east and going west? The national policy quickly reversed the second victory of breaking the camp in the south of the Yangtze River, from initiative to greater passivity, which directly led to the demise of Tianjing. So that later, according to King Levin Kwong, it was all because of this. ?
After Taiping Army 1853 conquered Nanjing, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou in the spring; On the southeast coast, there are small knives that will respond to the uprising everywhere, which can disperse the troops to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. However, in order to concentrate on overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and unifying China, Yang, commander-in-chief of the whole army at that time, decided to avoid conflicts with foreign troops occupying Shanghai's commercial port, and ordered the Taiping Army to take Zhenjiang as the boundary on the eastern front, thus winning the neutrality of Shanghai-centered powers and being able to send the main force to the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition without falling into the dilemma of fighting on both sides.
This effective basic national policy, after breaking the Jiangnan camp, is because of Hong Ren? Advocating the east, and then being destroyed. Hong Rengan and Li Xiucheng opposed Chen Yucheng's correct claim that Li helped Zeng Guofan's Xiang army to save Anqing, and proposed to move eastward to Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai. He also thinks that once he wins, he can spend millions to buy twenty ships and then win Anqing along the river. Hong Ren? In his narrative, he said:? And it's easy to win and take it. ? Unexpectedly, Shanghai was not conquered and the steamboat was not bought, which caused the intervention of the powers. Li Xiucheng's million-strong army is trapped in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, while the upstream Chen Yucheng is fighting alone. Hong Ren? Later, although I realized my mistake, I asked Li Xiucheng to lead the troops to help. But Li Xiucheng refused, and he was very helpless.
Because Hong Xiuquan abused the title of king for his brother-in-law, the wind of kingship spread rapidly for a time, and several brothers even sold officials and titles. There really was no title later, was there? Wang? Prefix plus one? Small? Words, produce new words? , as the sixth king, a total of * * * sealed more than 2700 kings.
Anyone who is crowned king, regardless of rank or position, once crowned, immediately repairs the palace, holds a beauty pageant, holds a ceremonial ceremony, and surrounds himself when he goes out, blocking the streets. According to the etiquette of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, junior officials as low as 16 years old are in charge of the bottom 25 people. Two Sima? You can go out in a black sedan chair carried by four people, not to mention the prestige of Wang and others who led the troops above.
Today, it is circulating in Zhejiang that Li Shixian, a servant, goes out to sit in a dragon, phoenix and yellow sedan chair carried by 54 people, on which his subordinates can be called for a meeting. Wherever Wang Ye's sedan chair goes, small officials, soldiers and civilians should avoid it. Those who can't avoid it should bow their heads and kneel on the spot to see him off. If they accidentally bump into the etiquette ceremony, they will be flogged or beheaded. Because there were too many princes at that time, the people could not meet them, so folk songs spread: the prince walked everywhere, and the king burst into tears! ?
So many princes needed a lot of handyman to serve them, so they arrested Rafe to recruit and surrender. (unofficial history) On the other hand, in order to raise soldiers and create a comfortable home, they used various pretexts to levy exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes, such as store donations, stock donations, monthly donations, daily donations, house donations, government donations, stove donations, worship donations, house number taxes, poll taxes, teacher fees and so on. At the beginning of China, the land tax was set at seven liters and five buckets per mu, and increased to seven buckets per mu two years later.
Therefore, in the jurisdiction of Taiping Army in southern Jiangsu at that time, a couplet appeared, accusing Taiping Army of extorting money by worshipping God. What did you say, "Heaven teaches, justice destroys, family ties are exhausted, * * * is good, the sky is dark, and there will be retribution in the future?" ; What is the bottom line? This group of local officials, local snakes, sitting and collecting local taxes, is obviously a blessed paradise and turned into hell. How much land tax is levied, and the land is skinless? .
The scraped land went into the pockets of princes and local officials, so the extravagant wind of building and ostentation prevailing in Tianjing blew to the newly occupied areas in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and many official houses in Wang Fu were built one after another. The stone in Jinhua, Zhejiang, and the clock in Suzhou, Jiangsu, which are still well preserved, were built in two or three years of war.
Especially the palaces, houses and gardens of Zhongwangfu in Suzhou, even the new owner Li Hongzhang was amazed. Faithful Wang Fu Qionglou Yuyu and Qulan bridal chamber are really like a fairy bridal chamber. There are three or four gardens and two or three stages, which are unprecedented in my life. ? (Quoted from Luo Ergang's History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Volume 38) This building began in1June 860 when the Taiping Army captured Suzhou, and1February 863 when Suzhou fell. Hundreds of craftsmen have been working all the year round, and the work has not been completed and the city has been broken. ? (Record of Robbery Relics)
Li Xiucheng claims to have millions of soldiers, so he has deep pockets, except Suzhou? Gardens, pavilions, flowers and trees are all good? In addition to the palace, Tianjing also built a more magnificent palace, consciously or unconsciously competing for glory with the bad king marginalized by power. He openly boasted about the magnificence of his new palace to forest, a British translator who visited Tianjin at 186 1. Forrest Gump said in Travel Notes of Tianjing: Zhongjun boasted that his new house was the best and most beautiful building in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom except the Heavenly Palace. ?
Forrest Gump lived in an old mansion in Zhong Wang and was personally received by Zhong Wang's brother. In his book, he wrote about his experience in a mansion in Zhong Wang. Chopsticks, forks and spoons are all made of silver, knives are made in England, and wine glasses are inlaid with silver and gold. He (Wang Di) showed me many rare things that were hidden by Wang Zhong. Besides the heavenly king, only Zhongjun has a crown of real gold, which is really beautiful and exquisite. The crown is a thin piece of gold, carved into the shape of a tiger, and the tiger body and tail can grow around the crown; There is a bird on each side, among which, there is a phoenix standing on the crown. The front and back of the crown are inlaid with precious stones, which I have put on my head and weigh about three pounds. Zhongjun and A Jin Ruyi are inlaid with many precious stones and pearls. All utensils that can be made of silver are made of silver, scabbard and belt are made of silver, umbrella handle is made of silver, handles of fans, whips and mosquito swatter are made of silver, and Wang Di's hands are all gold bracelets and silver bracelets. ? So, Li Xiucheng, the late commander-in-chief with millions of soldiers, may have millions of wealth at the same time.
In order to get rich, the new kings paid tribute to their soldiers. When Chen Yucheng fought bloody battles to defend Anqing, the gateway to the upper reaches of Tianjing, Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian, brothers with millions of troops, wholeheartedly managed Jiangsu and Zhejiang sites. They never sent a single soldier to help in northern Anhui, and watched Anqing and Luzhou fall one after another, while Chen Yucheng sacrificed. It was not until/0/7 days after the fall of Luzhou that Tianjing fell into the encirclement of Xiang again that Li Xiucheng saw the danger that it was too late to shake the overall situation and organized/0/3 Wang 600,000 troops to rescue Tianjing. But because of the king's selfish desires, he was passive and afraid of war. After 46 days of fighting, the 20,000 Xiang army, which was hungry and cold, was not beaten back, but broke up on the pretext of lack of warm clothes. Until the fall of Tianjing, there was no king to save them.
These princes returned to their comfort zone and enjoyed the splendor. Xiao Wang didn't listen to the middle king, and the middle king didn't listen to the king. Finally, they defected. Suzhou, painstakingly managed by Li Xiucheng, was also presented to Li Hongzhang by his confidant, the Four Kings, who defected to the enemy. It took Li Xiucheng only three and a half years from the occupation of Suzhou to the fall of Suzhou, and his million-strong army collapsed. Li Xiucheng's million-strong army was swallowed up by corrupt poisonous bacteria.
After the fall of Suzhou, Li Xiucheng only led hundreds of relatives to flee to Tianjing, but Tianjing also fell six months later. When Tianjing fell, Li Xiucheng protected the young king from breaking out of the city, broke away from the brigade and fled to Fangshan alone. He took off the treasure bag wrapped around his waist and was found at rest. The treasure bag was ransacked, and he was arrested and sent to Qingying as a prisoner. After he was robbed of the old and new palaces in Tianjing, he was razed to the ground by the fire, leaving only the ruins like the Temple of the King, leaving wild pigeons flying about.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's premature aging, regardless of policy and military strategic mistakes and other reasons, simply entered the city from rural areas, it could not resist the temptation of greed for enjoyment and corruption, and it intensified, eventually leading to the instant demise of millions of * * *. This lesson is extremely painful and cannot but arouse the deep thought of future generations.
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It can also be understood that as early as1944165438+10, * * read the lessons of Li Zicheng's failure in Shen Jia's three-hundredth Festival and wrote to Guo Moruo, asking him to write another article about the Taiping Army, from which he could learn from the great revolutionary leaders' efforts to prevent corruption.