Yang Xiuqing
Before his arrival, a previous power struggle, sometimes known as the Tianjing incident, erupted into a battle that killed over 20,000 Nanjing residents and the East King Yang Xiuqing, who was up to that point more powerful than Hong Xiuquan himself. It was in this environment that Hong Rengan was given the second most important position in the Taiping movement; only Hong Xiuquan himself was more powerful.