weeping massacre of the dominant race
seemed to point the inevitable finger of fate at the Tatsing dynasty.
It was no longer possible to regard Tien Wang and his miscellaneous
gathering as an enemy beneath contempt. Without achieving any
remarkable success, having indeed been defeated whenever they were
opposed with the least resolution, the Taepings found themselves in
possession of the second city in the Empire. With that city they
acquired the control of the navigation of the Great River, and they
cut off the better part of the communications between the northern and
southern halves of the Empire. They abandoned Hankow, and confined
their occupation of the river banks to the part between Kiukiang and
Nanking; but they determined to secure the Grand Canal, which enters
the river east of the city. On 1st April 1853 they occupied
Chinkiangfoo, on the southern side of the river, and they held it, but
although they also captured Yangchow on the northern bank, they
evacuated it in a few days. These successes were obtained without any
loss, as all the garrisons fled at the mere approach of the dreaded
Taepings.

The Imperialist authorities seemed paralysed by the rapidity and
success of the rebels, who devoted all their efforts to strengthening
the defences of Nanking and to provisioning it in view of all
eventualities. But the thoughts of Tien Wang and his immediate
advisers were still of offensive and forward measures, and when
Nanking was equipped for defence a large part of the Taeping army was
ordered to march against Peking. At this time it was computed that the
total number of the Taepings did not fall short of 80,000 trustworthy
fighting men, while there were perhaps more than 100,000 Chinese
pressed into their service as hewers of wood and drawers of water. The
lines of Nanking and the batteries along the Yangtsekiang were the
creation of the forced labour of the population which had not fled
before the Taepings.

On the 12th of May an army, stated to consist of 200,000 men, but
probably consisting of less than half that number of combatants,
crossed the Yangtse and marched northwards. It would be uninteresting
to name the many small places they captured on their way, but on 19th
June they reached Kaifong, the capital of Honan, and once of China
itself. They had thus transferred in a few weeks their advanced posts
from the Yangtsekiang to the Hwangho, or Yellow River.

The garrison of Kaifong made a resolute de