They put up slogans so that people could know what was their goal. Their slogans were: If there's land, plough together; if there's food, eat together; if there're clothes, use together; if there's money, spend together. And absolute equality everywhere. Enough food and clothes for everyone. These slogans fascinated and attracted a vast number of poor people, and hence swelled the Peaceful Army.
Their sublime aim was to overthrow Qing Dynasty and drive the Mandarin Clan out beyond the Great Wall, back to where they had come from. An order stated that anyone in the Peaceful Army, if coming in possession of anything, must hand in to the Heavenly Treasury and everyone could get a share from it when needed. Therefore, unlike the armies of Qing government, the Peaceful Army had good discipline and was supported by the people. Many young beggars and vagabonds joined it. Another edict was given that people of the Han Clan should grow their hair on the front part of their pate and restore the hairstyle of Han Clan. The male hair style of the Mandarin Clan was to shave the front part of the pate clean and braid the back part of the hair into a pigtail. When the Mandarin Clan had built up their Qing Dynasty, they had ordered all the male people of the Han Clan to wear their hair in the same style. Whoever had refused would have been beheaded. Their slogan was: hair or head. (It meant that if you wanted your hair, you could not keep your head on your shoulders.) So when the Peaceful Army grew their hair, Qing government called them Long-Hair.
While the Peaceful Army was celebrating their victory and newly-founded regime, Qing government gathered large troops and encircled YongAn City. In March, 1852, the Peaceful Army concentrated its forces and wedged out from the enclosure of the government army. The government army pursued, but was put to rout. The Peaceful Army headed for Guilin City, the capital of Guangxi Province. They surrounded the City for a month, but could not take it. So they quit and marched northbound.
The emperor sent three detachments to attack the Peaceful Army, but were also beaten. Then the government troops gathered in Wuchang City for the purpose to prevent the Peaceful Army from going further north. The emperor issued an order to allow cities, towns and even villages to organize and train their own people for self-protection.
On December 7, 1852, the Peaceful Army split itself into two sections. One section went on land and the other by water. They obtained plenty of ships from the government army. Their goal was the Wu-Han area, which included Wuchang City, Hanyang City and Hankou City. The Three Cities were the important military strategic area on the upper Yangtze River. Within ten days the Peaceful Army occupied the three cities one after another. The Heavenly King and all his other kings stayed in Wuchang City to celebrate and recruit while the emperor ordered his army commanders to set up defense lines in Hunan Province, Hubei Province and Anhui Province to blockade the advance of the Peaceful Army towards Nanking City.