History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties 42 Internal strife in Tianjing
In this episode of Chinese history stories, the story of the Tianjin internal conflict is told. After the Taiping Rebellion stabilized the situation in the Yangtze River region, a power struggle erupted within the Taiping army. Yang Xiuqing, the East King, used his claimed connection to God to try to gain more power and even requested the title of "Wansui" (Long live the East King) from the leader of the Taiping army, Hong Xiuquan. Despite being promised the title, Yang Xiuqing was later assassinated by Wei Changhui, who was critical of East King's behavior and saw him as a threat. This sparked a violent conflict in Tianjin in which over 30,000 Taiping soldiers were killed. Ultimately, Wei Changhui also turned against the Taiping army and was later killed.