Hong Xiuquan seems very mediocre, why can he firmly hold the position of Heavenly King

Hong Xiuquan, a leader of the peasant uprising in the late Qing Dynasty, led the launch of the Jintian Uprising and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, known as the Heavenly King. Below, the history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to share with you.
The Taiping Rebellion in history can be said to have provided another possibility for the turbulent era of the late Qing Dynasty. However, due to various reasons working together, this movement ultimately inevitably led to failure. Although the ultimate outcome ended in failure, during the more than ten years of vigorous development of this movement, many heroes and heroines emerged, such as Shi Dakai, Chen Yucheng, and so on. However, when we look back on these characters, we overlook the core figure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan.
During the 14 years of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan mostly left us with a mediocre impression. Perhaps it is because he always has many capable officials under his command that we often lack some attention to him. But what is the real history like? Obviously, we underestimated Hong Xiuquan. In fact, behind a series of important events in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we can all see the figure of Hong Xiuquan. Whether it’s Yang Xiuqing forcing the enfeoffment of Wansui or Hong Xiuquan’s performance in the “Tianjing Incident”, it can be seen that Hong Xiuquan is not as simple as we think. So, why can this seemingly mediocre Hong Xiuquan always sit firmly in the top position?
Firstly, we need to understand that Hong Xiuquan is able to maintain a stable position as the leader. It has a great relationship with his early establishment of the “God Worship Society”. This situation is that when Hong Xiuquan first preached the doctrine of “worshiping God”, he plated himself with gold, making himself a spiritual symbol of the Taiping Army at that time. At the same time, if we delve into history, we will find that Hong Xiuquan had a considerable leadership gap in the early stages of the movement, and it was not until the Yong’an enfeoffment that he truly stepped onto the stage.
It was precisely because of the gold he had previously coated himself with that he firmly held the position of leader in the later years, even without directly leading the movement. So, Hong Xiuquan may appear to have mediocre qualifications, but in reality, she has already laid a solid foundation for herself to sit on the throne forever. From this perspective, Hong Xiuquan cannot be a person with mediocre qualifications.
Meanwhile, we need to note that Hong Xiuquan is a person who is well versed in imperial power. In this situation, we can see some clues during the process of the “Tianjing Incident”. This turmoil may seem to stem from the expansion of Yang Xiuqing’s personal desires, but in reality, it is a step that Hong Xiuquan must take to regain power. At that time, the initiator who ordered the kings to eradicate Yang Xiuqing was Hong Xiuquan. Meanwhile, if we weigh the pros and cons, we will find that the biggest beneficiary of this turmoil is none other than Hong Xiuquan. Because in this turmoil, the power of all the princes with different surnames was almost exhausted in the battle, leaving Hong Xiuquan’s imperial power without the power to restrain it.
Moreover, looking back on many events after the Tianjing Incident, we can also prove Hong Xiuquan’s imperial power tactics. At that time, the actions of a large number of enfeoffed kings in the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seemed very absurd. However, in reality, this action fully demonstrated Hong Xiuquan’s imperial power. According to historical records, it is said that “many feudal lords were built but their strength was reduced”. Although the large-scale enfeoffment of kings led to the proliferation of princes in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, this practice created a situation of mutual restraint among the princes. In this way, one’s position will not be constrained by any force.
Secondly, in order to consolidate his position, Hong Xiuquan always employed his own team of influential personnel in the later stage of employment. The biggest advantage of such a move is that it will not be under the control of the previous powerful officials, and at the same time, it will enable oneself to make decisive decisions.
History has always been like this. Hong Xiuquan, who appears mediocre, is actually not as simple as we think. He has never been willing to be Yang Xiuqing’s puppet. And, with the gold plating he gave himself in the early stages of the movement and his imperial power, he remained firmly in the position of the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. What he didn’t know was that all of this eventually turned into a foam in August 1864.