The Loyal King does everything right. He writes ahead to Shanghai to announce he's coming – as a friend! And only for the Qing parts of the city! His standing orders: no firing on the foreigners, you get your head chopped off. He even signs off wishing them all good health until he can meet them in person.

It's returned unopened. As is the second one.

And so, in the third week of August 1860, an army marching under orders

And those soldiers holding that wall on the Qing’s behalf? They're the

Major Historical Figures:
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]
Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864]

The Qing:
Xue Huan, acting Governor of Jiangsu
Wu Xu, the Shanghai Daotai
Yang Fang, banker; head of the merchant syndicate
He Guiqing, cashiered Governor-General of Liangjiang [1816–1862]

The Foreigners…
At Shanghai:
Frederick Bruce, British Minister to China [1814–1867]
Thomas Taylor Meadows, acting British Consul at Shanghai [1815–1868]
Frederick Townsend Ward, commander, Shanghai Foreign-Arms Corps

Major Works Cited:
Fairbank, John King. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast: The Opening of the Treaty Ports, 1842–1854.
Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.
Murphey, Rhoads. Shanghai: Key to Modern China.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.
Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China,

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For a thousand years, Suzhou and Hangzhou stood as synonyms for the next best thing to Heaven itself. Well... that was before 1860. As of now, Hangzhou is a fire-gutted ruin, and Suzhou is next on the target list.

But the army that does the most damage… is not the invader. The Taiping arrive to find the dirty work done ahead of them, by the very Qing forces assigned to defend the great southern city, and a vast number of the city having decided to "take matters into their own hands." As such, when a party of missionaries sails upriver from Shanghai to find out just what happened to Suzhou, they'll have to wade through a literal riverful of the dead.

Time Period Covered:
May-Aug. 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]
Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864]

The Qing:
The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]
He Guiqing, Governor-General of Liangjiang [1816–1862]
Xu Youren, Governor of Jiangsu [d. 1860]
Zeng Guofan, Governor-General of Liangjiang (from June 8, 1860); commander, Hunan Army [1811–1872]
Ma Dezhao, Qing commander

The Foreign Missionaries:
Joseph Edkins, London Missionary Society [1823–1905]
Jane Edkins, his wife [1841-1863]
Griffith John, Welsh Congregationalist missionary [1831–1912]
James Legge, London Missionary Society, Hong Kong [1815–1897]

Major Works Cited:
Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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The stealth troops successfully sneak past the enemy lines in dead men's

Except… it wasn't really the plan. The city that fell was never the objective – it was merely a diversion… a diversion that would leave 60,000 dead within a week.

Time Period Covered:

1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]

Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864]

Li Shixian, the Attending King (Shi Wang) [1834–1865]

Chen Yucheng, the Brave King (Ying Wang) [1837–1862]

The Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]

He Chun, Imperial Commissioner, Jiangnan Daying [d. 1860]

Zeng Guofan, acting Governor-General of Liangjiang; commander, Hunan Army [1811–1872]

Zhang Guoliang, commander, Jiangnan Daying [1822–1860]

Zhang Yuliang, commander of the Hangzhou relief column

Xu Yuren, Governor of Jiangsu
Major Works Cited:
Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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Please check out this entire series-arc, re-written, expanded, & re-recorded as of Aug 2026:
- Ep. 306: Dead Men Tell No Tales: https://megaphone.link/ARML5251369441
- Ep. 307: Murders & Acquisitions, Mostly: https://megaphone.link/ARML6215286599
- Ep. 308: The Shadow State:

https://megaphone.link/ARML7890860851

Bottled up in Tung Chung Bay, subsisting for three weeks on caterpillars & boiled rice, the largest pirate fleet in the history of the world meets six Portuguese ships and the arithmetic that finishes it. What follows is the biggest criminal amnesty the world had yet seen, and a question very few pirates ever get to ask themselves: what does a cutthroat do with retirement?

Time Period Covered:

1809–1844 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Red Flag Confederation:

Zheng Yi Sao (AKA Ching Shih, née Shi Yang), Commander of the Red Flag Confederation [1775–1844]
Zhang Baozai (Cheung Po Tsai), Fleet Commander of the Red Flags, later Qing navy vice-commander at Penghu [1783–1822]
Guo Podai, Commander of the Black Flag Fleet [178?–181?]
Mei Ying, a captive of the Red Flag Fleet [d. 1809]

Qing Empire:

The Jiaqing Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yongyan) [r. 1796–1820]
The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]
Bailing (Zhang Bailing), Governor-General of Liangguang [1748–18??]
Sun Quanmou, Provincial Fleet Commander
Zhou Feixiong, physician of Macau
Wu Yaonan, government official [fl. 1810–1840]
Lin Zexu, Viceroy of Liangguang [1785–1850]

Portuguese Empire:

Miguel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira, Ouvidor of Macau
Captain José Pinto Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa, Commander of the Macau Flotilla
Gonçalves Carocha, pilot

British East India Company:

Richard Glasspoole, second mate of the Marquis of Ely [1788–1846]

Major Sources Cited:

Andrade, Tonio. The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History.

Antony, Robert J. Like Froth Floating on the Sea: The World of Pirates and Seafarers in Late Imperial South China.

Glasspoole, Richard. A Brief Narrative of My Captivity and Treatment Amongst the Ladrones (1809); see also Owen Rutter, ed., Mr Glasspoole and the Chinese Pirates (Golden Cockerel Press, 1935).
Leonard, Jane Kate. “Maritime China in Transition, 1750–1850,” in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part 2: The Ch’ing Dynasty to 1800.

Murray, Dian H. Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790–1810.

Van de Ven, Hans J. Breaking with the Past: The Maritime Customs Service and the Global Origins of Modernity in China.

Yuan Yonglun. Jing hai fen ji (靖海氛記, 1830), translated by Karl Friedrich Neumann as History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea, 1807–1810 (London, 1831).

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Li Xiucheng thinks the plan is pointless. He said so out loud, to his superiors… and lost. So of course, it’s him tasked with leading it out the gate. He is, after all, the Loyal King. And so 6,000 soldiers cross the river in the dark through the only path still open to them, every one of them clad in the uniform of a dead enemy. Nobody stops them. Nobody even looks twice. 150 miles southeast there's a city that has no idea they’re coming for it, and it’s not even the city they’re really after.

Time Period Covered:
1859 – 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Hong Rengan, the Shield King, Gan Wang [1822–1864]
Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King, Zhong Wang [1823–1864]
Chen Yucheng, the Brave King, Ying Wang [1837–1862]
Li Shixian, later the Attending King, Shi Wang [1834–1865]
Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]

Qing Empire:
The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861, r. 1850–1861]
Zeng Guofan, founder and commander of the Hunan Army [1811–1872]
He Chun, Manchu general, commander of the Great Southern Camp [d. 1860]
Zhang Guoliang, general of the Great Southern Camp [1810–1860]
Dexing'e, commander of the northern camp

Major Works Cited:
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang, The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents
Platt, Stephen R., Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
Spence, Jonathan D., God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan

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A man disguised as a peddler stands on the bank of the Yangtze watching a British fleet go past, and tries to hitch a ride to Nanjing. He's been trying to reach the rebel capital for 6 years now, and this is the closest he's gotten. He’s told “no” … again. So he picks himself up once more and just keeps walking. He’ll get there eventually. And once he does, within three weeks he’ll be made the Shield King – the 2nd most powerful man in the Taiping

Time Period Covered:
1858–1859 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Hong Rengan, the Shield King [1822–1864]
Chen Yucheng, the Brave King [1837–1862]
Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King [1823–1864]
Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]

Great Britain:
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin [1811–1863]
Thomas Francis Wade, interpreter [1818–1895]

Missionaries & Observers:
Theodore Hamberg [1819–1854]
James Legge [1815–1897]
Karl Marx [1818–1883]

Great Qing:
The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]
Magistrate Tan of Huangmei

Major Works Cited:
Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen, and Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection.
Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and

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In the Heavenly capital of Nanjing, a government that’s now mostly murdered has to be restaffed… somehow. And so their old titles are simply dusted off and re-distributed who whoever’s still left standing. Meanwhile, the men out actually running the war have learned that there’s no use in waiting for the paperwork or permission… neither are coming. They hold their own conference, swear their own oath, and decide to prosecute the war on their own from here on out, regardless of what Nanjing might think about that arrangement.

Time Period Covered:
1857–1858 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Chen Yucheng [1837–1862]
Li Xiucheng [1823–1864]
Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]
Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861]
Li Shixian [1834–1865]
Yang Fuqing
Wei Jun
Lin Qirong, commander of Jiujiang garrison [d. 1858]
Wu Dinggui, commander of Sanhe garrison

Great Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]
Zeng Guofan [1811–1872]
Zeng Guohua [1822–1858]
Zeng Guobao
Hu Linyi [1812–1861]
Zhang Guoliang [1810–1860]
Hechun [d. 1860]
Dexing'e (Duxing'a)
Li Xubin [1818–1858]

Major Works Cited:
Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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The Heavenly Kingdom, having recently killed kings three and four of its founding five – and misplaced the fifth – attempts to solve its acute leadership shortage. To that end, the Heavenly King turns to his own blood, promoting his brothers – both military novices – and handing supreme military authority to the upjumped royal harem-staffing administrator.
Meanwhile, up his own backwater Jiangxi creek, the one man of Great Qing capable of destroying the rebels is finally handed a paddle by his enemies’ infighting... and promptly goes home to bury his father.
Two governments, two indispensable men, and one season in which both of them simply choose to walk away.
Time Period Covered:
1856–1857 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Taiping
Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]
Hong Renfa, the Peace King [d. 1864]
Hong Renda, the Blessings King [d. 1864]
Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861]
Chen Yucheng [1837–1862]
Li Xiucheng [1823–1864]
Yang Xiuqing, the East King [d. 1856]
Wei Changhui, the North King [d. 1856]

Nien
Zhang Luoxing, Lord of the Alliance [1811–1863]
Li Zhaoshou [d. 1881]

Qing
The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]
Zeng Guofan [1811–1872]
Zeng Guohua [1822–1858]
Hu Linyi [1812–1861]

Major Works Cited:
Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.
Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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The Taiping's greatest summer curdles into its bloodiest autumn. Two months after the East King demands to be crowned Hong Xiuquan's equal, three of his brother-kings converge on Nanjing with an army he never sees coming.
By dawn, the man who once spoke with the voice of God is a head on a pole in the street. Yet the purge doesn't end there: it swallows thousands, devours the men who ordered it, and costs the Heavenly Kingdom its foothold on the Yangtze before the year is out – all without a single Qing soldier's help.
Time Period Covered:
Dec. 1853–Sep. 1856 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Yang Xiuqing, East King [c. 1821–1856]
Wei Changhui, North King [d. 1856]
Qin Rigang, Yan King [1821–1856]
Shi Dakai, Wing King [1831–1863]
Xiao Chaogui, West King [d. 1852]
Feng Yunshan, South King [d. 1852]
Hu Yihuang, Yu King (deposed)

Qing Dynasty:
Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang/Hunan Army [1811–1872]
Xiang Rong, Nanjing S. siege camp commander Nanjing [d. 1856]
Tuoming'a, Yangzhou commander

Major Sources Cited:
Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.
Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.

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The Taiping Army is riding high. Having finally broken two massive, three-year-long sieges over the course of a single summer, ultimate victory seems within their grasp. Yet, that taste of triumph acts like blood in the water. The lifting of the sieges removes the one thing that had been holding this fractured movement together: sheer external pressure.

For three years, the East King has been rehearsing one demand: the same title as the Heavenly King. Absolute recognition, absolute parity - the promotion he believes he's duly owed. Now with the pressure off, he's willing to do anything to get it, even summon the voice of God Himself.
Time Period Covered:
Dec. 1853–Sep. 1856 CE

Major Historical Figures:Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Yang Xiuqing, the East King [c. 1821–1856]
Wei Changhui, the North King [d. 1856]
Qin Rigang, the Yan King [1821–1856]
Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]
Xiao Chaogui, the West King [d. 1852]
Feng Yunshan, the South King [d. 1852]
Hu Yihuang, the deposed Yu King

Qing Dynasty:
Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872]
Xiang Rong, Qing commander of the southern siege camp at Nanjing [d. 1856]
Tuoming'a, Manchu commander at Yangzhou

Major Sources Cited:
Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.
Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.

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