The highest-ranking official in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was the military advisor and the general, among whom there were four military advisors, namely the Left Assistant Chief Military Advisor, the Right Assistant Chief Military Advisor, the Lead Deputy Military Advisor, and the Rear Guardian Deputy Military Advisor. These four military advisors were Yang Xiuqing, Xiao ChaoGui, Feng Yunshan, and Wei Changhui. Shi Dakai, who was the King of Wings, did not hold a military advisor position.
Now, the main generals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are five, namely the Main Army General, the Front Army General, the Rear Army General, the Right Army General, and the Left Army General. They are respectively led by Yang Xiuqing, Xiao ChaoGui, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui, and Shi Dakai.
That means that Shi Dakai only had the position of a general, but not that of a military advisor, and in the current six kings of heaven, he was at the bottom.
Luo Yao Guo's status was even lower than Shi Dakai by "a thousand years," so Hong Xiuquan also wanted to follow in Shi Dakai's footsteps and give him a choice between two options: either a military advisor or a general. Hong Xiuquan was more inclined for Luo Yao Guo to choose the higher-ranking position of military advisor, so that he could retain the center of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and compete against Yang Xiuqing.
But Luo Yao Guo had no intention of going up against Yang Xiuqing, the great cultist... He doesn't have the strength and power to do so! If Yang Xiuqing really got angry, he could kill Luo Yao Guo... But Luo Yao Guo doesn't have the ability to protect himself or the power to defeat Yang Xiuqing. If that happened, Luo Yao Guo would be finished!
But he couldn't do nothing, how could he let Hong Xiuquan "lie down and win"?
So he decided to start from a lecturer who specialized in expounding on the "doctrines from heaven"...... And these "doctrines from heaven" could also be the strongest power in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!
Hong Xiuquan, on the other hand, thought that Luo Yao Guo might not know how significant the positions of military advisor and general were. So he first pointed to a place in the God Temple, then told Luo Yao Guo: "Countryman, this is not a place for talking. Let's go inside first."
Saying this, he strutted grandly into the Hall of God and took a seat to the right of a one-person-high "God" tablet. The other side also had a tablet, which housed a figure representing the Brother Jesus.
As for others, they could only stand there... unless Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chao GUI came up with a "possession by the gods"!
Luo Yao Guo entered the main hall and saw that Hong Xiuquan had already settled down. He pulled his robe and bowed down to the "second son" of the God's family: "My younger brother bows down and prays for the second Holy Son of God!"
"Hahaha," hearing Luo Yao Guo address him respectfully as the "Second Holy Son," Hong Xiuquan was very pleased, laughing and waving his hand, "Get up, get up, Brother Ba, hurry up!"
"Thank you, Your Second Divine Son of the Heavenly Kingdom," Luo Yao Guo said to Hong Xiuquan before immediately getting up and bowing to the East King Yang Xiuqing, "My little brother greets the fourth brother of the East King."
Fourth brother, not Four Holy Son!
Luo Yao Guo addressed Hong Xiuquan as the "Second Holy Son," and of course, the "Great Holy Son" would be Jesus. But Yang Xiuqing is merely referred to as "Fourth Brother," which is obviously not of the same rank as the "Great Holy Son" or the "Second Holy Son."
As Luo Yao Guo was an imperial envoy who knew about heavenly matters, he referred to Hong Xiuquan as the "Second Holy Son" and to Yang Xiuqing as "Fourth Brother." This could imply that Jesus and Hong Xiuquan were both direct descendants of God, while Yang Xiuqing and others were only collateral descendants.
Yang Xiuqing thought about this and couldn't help but get angry. However, he still didn't erupt in public, as the Taiping Army holy soldiers outside were still singing "Proud spirit, proud smile over countless waves, hot blood burning brighter than the red sunlight"!
If Yang Xiuqing were to compete with Luo Yao Guo in exorcising demons now, he wouldn't have a high chance of winning.
Thinking about this, Yang Xiuqing turned pale and walked towards Luo Yao Guo with a friendly smile, extending his right hand to clasp Luo Yao Guo's left wrist and laughing: "Brother Ba, the hundreds of thousands of people of our Taiping Army welcoming you down to earth... don't you feel proud?"
"No.” Luo Yao Guo shook his head.
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
Luo Yao Guo then bowed to Hong Xiuquan and said: "I wish that the Majesty of the Second Divine Son of the Heavenly Kingdom will reach all four seas and encompass nine regions, completing the great cause of driving out the Manchu rulers and restoring China. Only then will I, as a founding hero of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, truly feel myself in all my glory!"
Saying this, he turned to Yang Xiuqing and said, "Fourth Brother, this must also be your wish?"
Yang Xiuqing laughed and said, "Brother Ba, it's no wonder that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother sent you down to assist the Heavenly King... In the future, we brothers will together assist the Second Divine Son of the Heavenly King. I will be his left arm, and you will be his right arm. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao ChaoGUI's eyes almost popped out of their sockets——Yang Xiuqing is the Left Assistant Chief Military Advisor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, while Xiao ChaoGUI himself is the Right Assistant Chief Military Advisor.
They are the left and right arms to Hong Xiuquan!
Now, how did the "right arm" become Luo Yao Guo instead?
"Fourth Brother, you're too flattering," Luo Yao Guo quickly shook his head, "I can't be the right arm of the Second Divine Son of the Heavenly King... Being the right assistant requires skill in military tactics and command, and a group of loyal brothers who are willing to die for each other. I have no such abilities!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao ChaoGUI with the corner of his eye and noticed that the latter finally stopped rolling his eyes.
"Brother Ba," Feng Yunshan smiled and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Luo Yao Guo smiled and said: "Third Brother, I really want to be a lecturer."
"Lecturer?" Feng Yunshan was taken aback, "What will you lecture on?"
"Talking about heavenly matters!" Luo Yao Guo smiled, "Our holy soldiers in our country must surely want to know what heaven is like!"
"This... is also true!" Although Luo Yao Guo's request somewhat surprised Feng Yunshan, he still went along with the words of this eighth disciple angel: "We shout every day to kill the Manchu demons and go to heaven, but no one can truly say what's so great about heaven."
"Brother Ba," Hong Xuanjiao, continuing from Feng Yunshan's words, asked, "Is heaven fun?"
"Fun!" Luo Yao Guo laughed, "There are so many fun things to do in heaven! People up there don't have to worry about food and drink, so if they have some spare money, they'll definitely find some fun things to do! There are plenty of fun places and items in heaven!"
Hong Xiuquan, upon hearing Luo Yao Guo's explanation, frowned and asked: "Is money used in heaven?"
"Naturally!" Luo Yao Guo nodded, "Without money, you can't get anywhere, even not to heaven!"
"Do all the people in heaven have money?" Hong Xiuquan furrowed his brows——this "heaven" seems to be different from what he had imagined.
Luo Yao Guo nodded and said, "Yes! Some have more money, and some have less."
"How can there be some who have more money and some who have less?" Hong Xiuquan was taken aback again, "Shouldn't everything be under the control of Heavenly Lord and be equal everywhere?"
"Your Majesty, the Second Divine Son of Heavenly Kingdom has spoken... that is also true," Luo Yao Guo, of course, couldn't say "no" to Hong Xiuquan's words. Now he didn't have the authority to do so, so he had to first agree with Hong Xiuquan. "Heavenly Lord will distribute everything for the people in heaven, but this distribution method sometimes emphasizes equality, and sometimes it emphasizes the size of individual talents, work effort or luck... All depends on the will of Heavenly Lord and there is no definite rule. This may be what people mean by 'heaven's will is hard to predict'?"
While there are countless good things in heaven, the variety and abundance are simply too great! There are millions and millions of different items! If all of them were distributed equally, it would be not only troublesome but also inevitable that people would receive many items they don't need or like, leading to waste.
So heaven still needs money, and the distributions from Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother are actually money. Those who receive money can buy anything they want!"
"Oh, I see..."
Luo Yao Guo's words surprised Hong Xiuquan greatly. He never expected that there would be money and work even in heaven. However, since Luo Yao Guo was an angel from heaven and Hong Xiuquan himself couldn't remember what heaven was like, he could only nod in agreement.
This son of God thought: It seems that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom does indeed need someone to tell everyone about the situation in heaven. I also want to listen. Let's start by letting this angel be a lecturer, and once he's familiar with the situation, we can consider giving him a position of military advisor or general.
"Since that's the case..." Hong Xiuquan thought for a moment and turned to Yang Xiuqing, "Brother Qing, why don't we establish a position of Chief Lecturer and have Brother Luo take it?"
Yang Xiuqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Your Majesty, the position of Chief Lecturer for Brother Luo is ranked below the four generals and five principal commanders, just like the position of Female Camp General!"
Hong Xiuquan nodded and then spoke with a serious tone: "Brother Ba, Brother Luo, you shall receive the title!"
Luo Yao Guo hurriedly knelt down to listen to the announcement. He had already heard a declaration the day before, but it seemed not solemn and formal enough. Today, he would first inspect the camp, and then listen to the declaration, and it would be especially solemn because it would take place in the Temple of God.
Hong Xiuquan began to recite a "doggerel poem" in a melodious and sacred voice: "Brother Luo from heaven comes, son of God, my brother, descending to help me build the empire. I declare you as the Four Thousand Years Old, official title of Lecturer and Angel, establishing an office to exclusively explain heavenly matters. Under the wings of east, west, north, and south, with General Hong Xuanjiao at your side!"
Luo Yao Guo quickly knelt down and loudly said, "Your Majesty, the Second Divine Son of Heavenly Kingdom, thank you for your great benevolence!"
Now, Luo Yao Guo has not only officially become the "Angel of Taiping," but also secured the "power to teach the right" in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom - with logic in hand, disciples at my disposal!
