after the deaths of the east king yang xiuqing and the north king wei changhui, the yi king shi dakai was put in command of the taiping army and wielded control over the entire military. hong xiuquan was irate over shi dakai's popularity and feared that he might attempt to seize power again as yang and wei did, hence he appointed his brothers as kings in order to weaken shi dakai's influence and prevent shi from consolidating too much power. as hong xiuquan worked to undermine him, shi dakai realized that hong's suspicions would not be dispelled, and that if he stayed he would face either murder or risk another civil war, shi dakai left tianjing in 1857 with his army, which caused the kingdom to be in greater peril.