The rebellion was led by Chen Kai (陳開) and Li Wenmao (李文茂), both of whom were
Yue Chinese. They captured several counties and besieged
Guangzhou, but the
Qing army managed to recover most of the territory. The rebels retreated west to Guangxi and captured Xunzhou (modern-day
Guiping) in 1855, renamed it to
Xiujing (秀京), and made it their capital. The Dacheng Kingdom army was joined by the forces of other Yue Chinese rebels such as Huang Dingfeng (黃鼎鳳), Li Wencai (李文彩) and Li Jingui (李錦貴), all of whom had rebelled against the Qing since the 1850s. Other short-term rebel regimes were established alongside Dacheng, such as the Yanling Kingdom and the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom. In November 1856,
Li Wenmao besieged and captured
Liuzhou. In April 1857, Chen Kai captured
Wuzhou. They advanced to Yongzhou (now
Nanning) and captured the city. In September 1857, the Dacheng Kingdom managed to expand half of Guangxi, an area equal to northern
Vietnam, and issued their own currency called Pingjing Shengbao (平靖勝寶). In 1857, Li Wenmao attacked
Guilin. However, the Qing army, commanded by Jiang Yili (蒋益澧) managed to recapture Wuzhou. During a battle in
Huaiyuan, Li Wenmao was killed. Liuzhou then fell to the Qing. In 1859, Chen Kai led a large land and naval force in an attack on Wuzhou. The attack failed, and Chen Kai had to retreat with heavy losses. In February 1861, the Qing army attacked Xiujing. The city fell after a six-month long siege. Chen Kai was killed in the battle. The rebellion then entered an insurgency phase of actively resisting the Qing army until the last rebel holdouts surrendered in May 1864. ==Impact==