[1] It was intended to march northward to Beijing before turning westward and ultimately meeting with concurrent Western Expedition, which was to attack Sichuan.

[1] It was also intended to, in conjunction with the Western Expedition, relieve pressure on the Taiping's holdings caused by the Qing's formation of the Northern and Southern Fronts.

[3] Initially, the force moved rapidly through Anhui and then Henan, leaving no supply stations or garrisons behind and declining to besiege any well-defended cities.

[4] The Taiping army reached the Yellow River by June, but the Qing had ordered all boats be removed from the southern shore.

[5] The force continued to recruit locals as it marched, swelling to a size of approximately 70,000-80,000 by the time they reached Huaiqing (also known as Qingyang)[citation needed], Henan.[where?

[4] This was nothing short of disaster for the expedition; the Qing inflicted heavy losses on the Taiping and Beijing gained valuable time to prepare for the coming army.