Preparations
Around 1849, a famine broke out in Guangxi and the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) rose in rebellion against the ruling Qing Dynasty.
By the 7th lunar month of 1850, Hong Xiuquan had amassed over 20,000 followers, who were all gathered at Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi. In preparation for an uprising, Hong organized these men into military formations, each led by commanders with military ranks: a marshal (軍帥) commanded five divisional marshals (師帥); each divisional marshal commanded five brigade marshals (旅帥); each brigade marshal commanded five infantry chiefs (卒長); each infantry chief commanded four majors (兩司馬); each major commanded five company leaders (伍長); each company leader had four soldiers under him. The total number of officers and enlisted personnel reached 13,155 by the end of that month, and civilian ranks were also created to govern the remaining civilian population.
As the Qing imperial army in Guangxi was lacking in strength, with only about 30,000 troops, and was occupied with suppressing the Tiandihui's rebellion, Hong Xiuquan and his followers were able to build their forces without being noticed by the government.
Read more about this topic: Jintian Uprising
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