Hong Xiuquan is a native of Huaxian County, Guangdong. He has been to Guangzhou many times to participate in the imperial examination, but unfortunately he has failed. In the twenty-third year of Daoguang, he and his cousin Feng Yunshan's younger brother Hong Renji absorbed some Christian doctrines from Liang Fa's "Advice to the World", and later baptized themselves. In the same year, Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan went to Guixian in Guangxi to preach, and Hong soon returned to Guangdong, where Feng stayed to develop and his followers grew day by day.

At the beginning of 1848, Feng Yunshan was arrested by Wang Zuoxin, a local gentry in Shiren Village, Mengchong Township, Bauhinia Mountain, on charges of "gathering crowds to rebel" and sent to Yamen, Guipingzhi County, Guangxi, for imprisonment. Hong Xiuquan went to Guangzhou to find a high-level relationship to rescue him on the grounds of "freedom of mission." Later, Feng Yunshan was released by believers who raised funds to bribe Wang Lie, the magistrate of Guiping. In the summer of 1850, Hong Xiuquan issued a regimental camp order, requiring the congregation to go to Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi Province to organize the regimental camp, and at the end of the same year, the Taiping army fought with the Qing army in Siwang and Caicunjiang, thus beginning the armed confrontation with the Qing court. On January 11, 1851, Hong Xiuquan's birthday, worshiping God congregation 10,000 people in Jintian Village to "congratulate longevity", on March 23, Hong Xiuquan ascended the throne in Wuxuan, Guangxi, and was called the King of Taiping, and later changed his name to the King of Heaven.

In the autumn of the first year of Xianfeng, the Taiping army occupied Yong'an Prefecture (now Mengshan County) in Guangxi. In December, the kings were divided in Yong'an City, and Yang Xiuqing, the former commander of the Chinese army, was named the "Left Auxiliary Army Division" East King, called 9,000 years old, the former army commander Xiao Chaogui was the "Right Bi and the Regular Army Division" West King, called 8,000 years old, the former rear army commander Feng Yunshan was the "leading deputy military division" South King, called 7,000 years old, the former right army commander Wei Changhui was the "rear guard and deputy military division" North King, called 6,000 years old, the former left army commander Shi Dakai was the wing king, and ordered all kings to be controlled by the East King. The early official system, ritual system, and military system were established, which was known as the "Yong'an Establishment System" in history.

This is the old news that Xingzhen found in the newspaper in her father's study in the past few days, it was last year, is this Emperor Xianfeng the real son? As soon as he was changed to the Yuan Dynasty, he encountered such a catastrophe, and both inside and outside the country would have doubts about the legitimacy of his administration, and the governor of Liangguang also declared in his official newspaper: "The rebellious party will definitely be extinguished within three months, so as to set an example." A categorical taste, Xingzhen from later generations knew that the Taiping Rebellion almost swept the southern provinces and confronted the Qing government for more than ten years.

On February 1 of the second year of Xianfeng, the British ship smuggled 475 Chinese laborers from Xiamen to San Francisco, after the First Opium War, the British not only brought tens of thousands of opium, but also took millions of Chinese laborers to the North American continent under the guise of Nanyang to deceive coolies, and the trans-American railway, which claimed that "the body of a Chinese laborer lies under each sleeper", was nailed to the last sleeper shortly after that. Milche, Chargé d'Affaires plenipotentiary of the British Empire in Canton, wrote in his report to the British Empire government: "The thought of opening trade with 30,000,000 or 40,000,000 people seems to all go crazy." ”

On April 5, the second year of Xianfeng (1852), the Taiping army broke through from Yong'an, went north to besiege the provincial capital Guilin, did not ke, continued to go north, and was intercepted by the Qing army's Jiang Zhongyuan Department in Quanzhou Lingyidu, Feng Yunshan was hit by Qing artillery fire, and died of serious injuries. On May 19, he left Guangxi and entered Hunan Province, Kedao Prefecture and Chenzhou. The south of the Yangtze River was shaken, and Emperor Xianfeng issued three edicts in a row, strictly ordering Cheng Yicai, the governor of Huguang, who had been in office for less than half a year, to "encircle and annihilate the rebels" and strive to ensure that the granary of "Huguang is ripe and the world is full" is safe. He also ordered the generals of Jiangxi and Anhui to take precautions and prepare for the encirclement and suppression of the "long-haired rebellion" by the green battalions of the two provinces.

On May 25, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued an edict, "All kinds of school-age women from the Manchu and Han Eight Banners entered the Yanhui Pavilion from Shunzhen Gate for the imperial concubine and the emperor to see." ”

In the early morning of May 25, the little girl Wan'er took the copper basin filled with residual water after washing and walked out and fell into the gutter in the courtyard.

Fucha and an old lady were busy dressing up Xingzhen, newly embroidered a fresh fancy light blue cheongsam with a generous fit, full of green silk and not much beads, clustered into a dignified bun, only obliquely inserted a large sapphire with nails of kingfisher Zhizhi silver hairpin, the tail bun behind the head pressed a wishful reunion cloisonné round ornament.

The makeup was also according to Xingzhen's own insistence, without applying the scary thick-based face powder, slightly twisting the hairs on her face, only applying a thin layer of powder, and discarding any slightly fragrant makeup powder, the eyebrow pencil crossed the eyebrows, and then drew a layer of eyeliner in the eye circle, which made Danfeng's eyes look forward to life, Xingzhen carefully looked at herself in the mirror through the light, and found that she was really beautiful! The clear water comes out of the hibiscus, and it is naturally carved and decorated, so beautiful that I drool at myself again.

The little girl Wan'er coughed lightly and woke up her eldest lady, what's wrong with the eldest lady lately, why do you always smirk at her reflection, and drool from time to time? You can't be hysterical at this critical moment.

Xingzhen came back to her senses, glanced at the little girl, and pressed the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, very good, it is this kind of cold and snow-like effect that can attract the attention of Emperor Xianfeng, who was dazzled by thousands of purples and thousands of red in the nostalgic flowers!

Xingzhen turned her head and asked Fucha's family: "Eniang, what about the things prepared by the shop at the entrance of the alley last time, are they ready?" ”

"It's ready," Fucha took out a royal blue sachet and handed it to Xingzhen, "This is called the shop to be protected by charcoal fire every day, but there is no such thing at this time." ”

Xingzhen took the royal blue sachet, played with it a few times, put it on the tip of her nose and seemed to sniff it, and smiled mysteriously.

"E-niang, this thing is the key thing that can determine whether your daughter can be selected!"

"I don't know where you heard it, the gods are chattering, and they don't let me tell the truth to the shopkeeper, so I found a reason to repay the vows before the Buddha to fool me over."

"Oh, Eniang, you just believe your daughter, what time is this?" Xingzhen put that sachet

"Miss, it's two o'clock."

"Okay, E-Niang, I'll set off." Xingzhen stood up, stuffed the sachet into her sleeve, and walked out of the room without hurrying out of the shoes at the bottom of the flower pot, after a month of training, Xingzhen has become very accustomed to wearing shoes at the bottom of the flower pot, and it feels like stepping on stilts in the amusement park when she was a child.

Fucha and Xingzhen snuggled together through the courtyard, past the pomegranate trees that were still dark in the night, walked past the stone tables and stone benches under the pomegranate trees, and walked to the gate in front of the Zhaobi, where there was already a green felt cart waiting, and a handlebar-style forked hand about 50 years old stood in front of the carriage solemnly.

Xingzhen walked to the handlebar and raised his hand, "Wan'er, reward him, it's early in the morning, it's not easy to wait so early." The little girl touched a handful of copper coins from her sleeve and stuffed them into the handlebar hand that she refused to ask, "This one rewards you with a sip of hot tea, and when you come back from the draft, today's salary will be a lot of yours." The handlebar thanked him repeatedly, gave Xingzhen the small stool he was sitting on and stepped on the car, respectfully waited for the two servants of Allah to enter the carriage and lowered the curtain, then put away his stool, raised his whip, and drove the mule of the carriage meekly forward.

Fucha stood on the steps and leaned against the door to watch Xingzhen reward the coachman, nodded with satisfaction, and the old lady on the side said with interest: "Madam, look at your sister, you are too sensible." ”

Fucha said: "Well, Sister Xing'er has become much stronger since she got sick. ”

"If you want the slave to say something to slap your mouth, this person has come back from the ghost gate, and he will not die, and the blessing is still to come!"

As the carriage swayed, Xingzhen felt more and more sleepy, leaning on Wan'er's arm and dozing off little by little, until Wan'er couldn't help poking her coarse nervous eldest lady: "My eldest lady, when is this, how can you still sleep?" People's hearts are in a hurry! ”

Xingzhen stretched her waist, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and let out a deep sigh, and continued to lean lazily on Wan'er with her half-closed eyes, "You girl, it's really the emperor who is not in a hurry to die as a eunuch, I have already prepared it, and besides, I can only have a spiritual draft by sleeping in the cage, and when I am in the palace, I don't even have a mouthful of hot tea, I am hungry and sleepy, even Yang Guifei, who is ashamed of the flowers in the closed month, will also be hungry to become a saltless woman in Dongshi." ”

"Gotta get it, I can't say Miss you, Miss you will be the life of a concubine in the future!"

"Good little hoof! See if I don't tear your mouth! Xingzhen pinched Wan'er, "Where is this?" ”

Wan'er rolled up the bean-blue bamboo curtain and looked carefully at the scenery outside the window, "It's already outside the Shenwu Gate." ”

"Wan'er, look at my makeup and see if there is any eye droppings in the corners of my eyes?"

Eye Wan'er rolled her eyes and learned from Xingzhen, this is also vulgar, and she stepped forward to help Xingzhen carefully brush the sideburns in her ears and straighten the hairpin.

ps: Guess what, what did Xingzhen prepare to take down Emperor Xianfeng?