Taiping Heavenly Kingdom captures Beijing

In 1853, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom controlled the fertile Yangtze Valley, centered in Nanjing. What would have happened if their expedition northwards was more successful? Will China descend into a free-for-all if Beijing falls? Will this set the stage for a Heavenly Kingdom that lasts longer?
 
Unless they moderate hard I don't have high hopes for the Taipings establishing a stable regime. And being lead by Hong Xiuquan isn't really conducive to a stable regime either.

Also worth noting that this is prior to the great culling of Taiping leadership. The ultra-ambitious Yang Xiuqing is still about, as is Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai (both Yang and Wei perished in the Tianjing Incident of 1856, and Shi Dakai abandoned the movement shortly thereafter). Hong Rengan might also be able to rejoin his cousin sooner, thereby spending less time in Hong Kong with western influences, and he won't reach the heights he did IOTL with Yang et al. in the way.

With this success, does the tension in the Taiping leadership boil over into a similar massacre to OTL? Or do the rival generals march their followers off in different directions to do their own thing? How does successfully taking Beijing affect the theology of the Rebellion and the motivations of its hardcore adherents- is it "job done, we drove out the devils as Hong was instructed, I don't want to campaign anymore"?

It'd be a mess. The Taiping would be hard pressed holding on to what territory they had (peasants angry at their temples being trashed, gentry petrified of their proposed land reform, traditionalists of all stripes, Manchus, people who don't like Hakkas), let alone exercising meaningful influence over areas of China they haven't trammelled over; presumably Qing-appointed officials would still be in place in many areas of China with no one to answer to; there's possibly Qing armies still parading about, with the potential to descend into brigandage and warlordism; the Nian will continue to do their own thing (they had some dealings with the Taiping IOTL, but nothing concrete); the ethnic tensions that lead to the Panthay and Miao Rebellions are still there, and things could be even worse with the collapse of the Qing regime.

Then there's the Europeans. What the hell do they do? At this early stage the Taiping still had some advocates, but more extensive contact with them might sour relations quickly.

Do the Taiping maintain their anti-Opium stance or are they willing to cut a deal now that they can potentially get a slice of the pie? Does some semblance of pragmatism prevail? Is a movement led by a man who locks himself up in palaces to engage in delusional conversations with God/dad capable of pragmatism?

What other options does the West have? The Qing have likely hightailed it inland, and suffered massive loss of prestige and legitimacy from losing the capital. Any western intervention to help the Qing would be incredibly awkward by virtue of the fact that the Qing still don't like the West (at least, assuming Daoguang and co are still in charge?).

They could try and deal with whatever local strongmen are left in charge of areas outside Taiping control, but that's not a recipe for long-term stability- and the West wants long-term stability because China burning itself down is not conducive to trade. There'd be some members of the Western community arguing they should take control over more coastal areas to ensure law and order (the fact that the Western community in China is not a monolith with a single opinion on what to do obviously muddles things further). Do they engage in intrigues among the Taiping leadership, bargaining with this King or that, in an attempt to ensure the most advantageous party is leading the movement? Are different groups among the Westerners supporting different factions among the Taiping?

Can Britain even summon up the troops to try anything, or are they too busy in the Crimea? The Indian Mutiny is also on the horizon. What kind of Great Game shenanigans does this scenario engender in the western bits of Chinese territory?

Something bearing the name "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" might last longer than IOTL, but only by default in a sea of anarchy- it might not still be lead by God's bloodline, if Hong has been removed; it might be a loosely associated bunch of Kings/warlords with defined spheres of influence with Hong, sitting in Beijing chatting with dad, as nominal ruler; it is unlikely to govern "China" in any real sense, just certain areas of it- retaking all of China requires a moderation- making it acceptable to ordinary Chinese, Chinese elites, and the West- that the Taiping are unlikely to achieve, and even if they do moderate it would still be a gargantuan task.
 
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