Chapter 8 2. The enemy is approaching, and the summer is the first

In 1850, the 19-year-old Xianfeng Emperor succeeded to the throne.The alternation of power among the supreme rulers of China has brought about subtle changes in the domestic situation and relations with Western countries.The young emperor who had just inherited the great rule was full of emotions. The compromise of the Qing Dynasty made him humiliated, and the fighting spirit of the masses to resist the British deeply touched the heart of this young post.He once again pursued a tough line abroad, supporting officials not to interact with Western envoys. Ye Mingchen, governor of Guangdong, is a traditional scholar-bureaucrat, very stubborn.In the first year of Xianfeng, he was promoted to governor and was in charge of diplomacy in Guangdong.Governor Ye's attitude towards foreigners is the same as that of Emperor Xianfeng, in four words, "disdainful".Governor Ye's instructions were often few and far between in the official correspondence of foreigners, and some did not reply at all.

In the 1850s, with the rapid development of world capitalism, expanding foreign markets and plundering colonies became a top priority.France, the United States, and the United Kingdom proposed to the Qing government to amend the treaty, requiring the opening of the entire territory of China, further opening up the Chinese market, and plundering China's raw materials. The Qing government categorically rejected the request to amend the treaty. Why did the court reject the foreigner's request?From Xianfeng's point of view, the last time you lost to you, it was a coincidence that you stumbled inadvertently, and the smelly shame came again, and the whole territory had to be opened.Five ports of trade, none of the emperors has been there, that is, Lord Kangxi and Lord Qianlong went to Jiangnan, and other emperors of the Qing Dynasty stayed in Beijing. It’s a great trip to Chengde, and it’s a great trip to Shenyang. go.The five of you are far away from the emperor. Didn’t we just lose a small battle by chance? For the sake of millions of lives in the south of the Yangtze River, I don’t care about you. I signed a contract for you. Don’t be shameless and come again, and open the whole territory , no way.Yelang's arrogant Celestial Dynasty gave Britain and France an excuse to invade China again. In 1856, Britain and France launched a war of aggression against China, known as the Second Opium War.What did the first Opium War want?Market and raw materials, "Two Crows" is still for this purpose.

In October 1856, Britain used the "Yarrow incident" to create war incidents. The "Yaro" was originally a Chinese ship, but was captured by pirates. All the people on board were Chinese. Ye Mingchen arrested a pirate on the ship, who was also Chinese.This is a family matter in China and has nothing to do with the British.It's just that this ship was registered with the British government in Hong Kong and hung the British flag for the convenience of smuggling.Under the instigation of the British ambassador to China and the governor of Hong Kong, Paul Parker, the acting consul of the United Kingdom in Guangzhou, Pacharley wrote a letter to Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, saying that the "Yaro" was a British ship. Those who were also arrested, apologized.Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong, argued hard at first, but soon compromised and sent all the prisoners to the British Consulate to be dealt with.In order to further expand the situation, Bacharley was picky in every possible way and refused to accept it. On October 23, British warships suddenly broke into Humen Haikou, attacked forts along the Pearl River, and brazenly provoked a war of aggression.Then, the British army bombarded the city of Guangzhou and once invaded the inner city.The local soldiers and civilians resisted bravely, and the British army was forced to withdraw from the Pearl River in January 1857 due to insufficient troops, waiting for reinforcements.

In order to expand the war of aggression, in March 1857, the British government appointed the former Canadian governor-general Ergin as the plenipotentiary to lead a navy and army to China; at the same time, he asked the French government to send troops jointly.In exchange for Britain's support for its interests in Vietnam, France accepted Britain's proposal to send Gerald as the plenipotentiary, and sent troops with Britain under the pretext of the "Father Ma incident".The so-called "Father Ma Incident" refers to the case in which the French Catholic priest Marais illegally entered the mainland of China and was executed in Xilin County, Guangxi in February 1856.

The British and French allied forces fired artillery at Guangzhou every ten minutes, showing off their force. Governor Ye refused to negotiate with foreigners.His policy was summarized by later generations as: no war, no peace, no defense; no death, no surrender, no departure.Governor Ye's method seems to be more in line with the style of Lord Xianfeng, who is afraid of being beaten and wants to maintain his demeanor.When foreigners called, Ye Mingchen asked the imperial court what to do. Emperor Xianfeng issued an edict: The Central Plains are not in peace, so how can there be another disturbance along the coast?Just can't fight with foreigners.The emperor told Governor Ye not to insult the state and not to start a war.Ye Mingchen was dumbfounded, what kind of idea is the emperor doing?If you don’t disgrace the country, you have to fight, and if you don’t fight, you have to fight. He doesn’t know what to do. Please ask Lu Dongbin to show his spirit. There is a portrait of Lu Daxian in the pavilion. In Guangzhou, Ye Mingchen was captured and escorted to the ship.When boarding the ship, Governor Ye was very relaxed and very happy.Dingdai Hualing was dressed as if he was in court, and his entourage pointed his finger at the sea, signaling him to commit suicide as a courtier.When the ship sails, Master Ye has spoken, I will go to England to meet the King of England, reason with her face to face, and teach her lessons.I can't beat her, can I still beat her?Jinshi in the two rankings, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, almost the most educated people in China, just know the world in this way, and uneducated Chinese don't want to know what the world is like.Ye Mingchen was captured by the invading army and sent to Calcutta, India.This official in the late Qing Dynasty would never have imagined that he would go into exile overseas and die as a guest in another country.

Twenty years after the first Opium War, the Qing Dynasty is still like this. It is too easy to fight with the sea but no defense.It came up immediately and captured Guangzhou.After occupying Guangzhou, the second stop was Dinghai, the third stop went straight to Tianjin, and the final stop was Beijing. The route was exactly the same as the first Opium War, express. In 1858, the British and French allied forces captured the Dagu Fort and occupied Tianjin.The envoys of the United States and Russia also arrived at the mouth of Baihe River in Tianjin.The emperor sent people to discuss peace, and Britain, France, the United States and Russia forced the imperial court to sign the "Tianjin Treaty", the first article of which allowed foreign ministers to be stationed in Beijing.It is in line with international law for a minister to be stationed in Beijing, but this is the most unacceptable to the emperor.I would rather open a few more ports and pay a little more money. This envoy is absolutely not allowed to enter Beijing, and I cannot meet foreigners.It is absolutely impossible for foreigners not to kneel down when they see me.Later, if you agree, you have to agree, and if you don't agree, you have to agree.Probably the first person in China to meet a foreign envoy was Emperor Tongzhi, in Ziguang Pavilion, Zhongnanhai.Ziguang Pavilion is a special place to meet the vassal states of Vietnam and North Korea. Foreigners don't know it, so they come here in a daze. They bow three times when they see the monarch of their own country, and bow five times when they see the monarch of the Qing Dynasty.It was not until 1875 that the Qing Dynasty began to send envoys abroad. The first envoy to the United Kingdom was Guo Songtao, which can be regarded as reciprocity.

The second point of the treaty is to open ten treaty ports. These ten treaty ports have spread all over the coast of China and penetrated into the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Third, foreign ships entered the Yangtze River, undermining China's sovereignty over inland rivers.The territorial waters have already been destroyed once, and the sovereignty of China’s inland rivers has been violated. The inland rivers must not be opened to the outside world. American warships have visited Shanghai, Zhanjiang and Qingdao. When have you ever seen a U.S. warship visit Wuhan?Giant ships of up to 10,000 tons on the Yangtze River can enter, and ordinary destroyers can of course enter, but we will not invite American warships to visit Wuhan.

The fourth is foreigners traveling in China to do business and preach.At the very least, people can travel all over your mountains and rivers, which is very convenient for spying.In the end you have to pay. After the signing of the Treaty of Tianjin, the British and French allied forces withdrew from the Dagu Fort. In 1860, the Allied Forces fought again in Tianjin and approached Beijing. What happened?Emperor Xianfeng had always had illusions about the British and French invaders retreating on their own. The "Tianjin Treaty" met the requirements of the British and French allied forces, but it has not agreed to terms such as Beijing's embassy and the Yangtze River trade.The imperial court transferred the famous Mongolian Prince Gelinqin to fight with the British and French allied forces.The Mongolian cavalry were extremely brave in battle, braved the enemy's intensive artillery fire, and rushed to the enemy's camp many times to fight heroically.The enemy officer Girard gave a detailed description of the heroic combat of the Qing army in "France and China": Glory should belong to these fighters, indeed it should belong to them!Without fear or complaint, they are willing to shed their blood generously for everyone's safety.This spirit of sacrifice is regarded as great and noble by all nations... This kind of heroism can often be seen in the Chinese army; while in Europe, false rumors are spread, thinking that the Chinese army lacks courage, This is a great fallacy.In the Battle of Baliqiao, the Chinese army attacked us head-on with rare bravery.It is also true that their army consisted of 25,000 cavalry and a large militia, yet they were no match for the smaller Europeans.French and British artillery overwhelmed their arrows, spears, dull knives, and very poor guns.Although they shouted forward, rushed bravely and repeatedly, they were defeated at the beginning!The equipment level of the coalition forces at this time is much better than that of the first Opium War. At least the bullets are fixed, there is no need to pour the medicine first and then reload the projectiles. The rate of fire is much faster than then. Thing, hiding in the stirrups, even the horses are blown up, what can hide in the stirrups?The coalition forces killed 5 people and injured 20 people, but the Qing army suffered heavy losses.Emperor Xianfeng originally planned to "command the Sixth Division, go straight to Tongzhou, and fight against the sky", but when he received the news of the defeat of the Monk King, he ignored the request of his ministers to stick to the capital and let his younger brother, Prince Gong Yi Served as a peace minister, stayed in Beijing, and fled to the Summer Resort by himself.

The monk king originally planned to die in the battlefield to serve the country with his death, but suddenly received the emperor's imperial decree, "You are dependent on the country, and it is not worth fighting with the ugly barbarians."So the monk king saw that the emperor would not let me die, so don't die, and follow the emperor.Where is the emperor?Chengde, went hunting in Mulan paddock.At that time, there was no way for foreigners to call at the door of the house, and the emperor personally conscripted?The soldiers are gone, who will the emperor take to conquer in person, what should we do?Therefore, the people of Zongmiao Sheji and Limin were thrown to the invaders, and their younger brother, Prince Gong Yi, stayed in Beijing.

Prince Gong was furious, you said you bastard, you don't usually use me, I've been idle for so many years, when the national crisis comes, you run away and let me stay here.This alliance under the city has to be signed by me. Both Prince Gong and Xianfeng were the sons of Emperor Xuanzong.Xuanzong had nine sons in total, Xianfeng was the fourth, and Prince Gong was the sixth. The first three sons died, so the fourth became the eldest. The princes of the Qing Dynasty worked very hard at reading, and any emperor's calligraphy was at the level of a calligrapher.As a result, Xuanzong's eldest prince studied at the age of 22, and should be assigned a job after graduating from university. The emperor even asked him to study.The teacher criticized him, "If you don't study well, how can you rule the world in the future and be an emperor?"He was forced to be annoyed at the time, and told the teacher that I became the first emperor to chop you up. When the teacher heard this, he asked his parents to complain.Xuanzong was in a hurry: "Call me that bastard!" The elder brother Yiwei came tremblingly, knelt down and kowtowed his head, and just got up, the emperor saw it: "It's a worthless thing!" Kicked away, unexpectedly, lay down for three days and died.Then the second and third children also died, I don't know if it was scared or what.

Therefore, Emperor Xuanzong had no children all the time, and he regretted it very much, why he kicked his son to death.Later, I got a son when I was old, and I had Emperor Xianfeng at the age of 49, and then I was connected in five, six, seven, eighty-nine, nine sons.The fourth child is the elder, and the sixth child is virtuous. Now historians calculate the IQ of the sixth child. According to his martial arts, martial arts, and dealing with people, his scores are close to those of Emperor Qianlong.If you want to be able to ascend the throne, at least there will be no such things as Empress Dowager Cixi who will harm the country and mess up the government.But history cannot be assumed. Emperor Xuanzong was not sure who to stand for, so let’s shoot in the paddock and test the martial arts of the two of them. Emperor Xianfeng’s martial arts is definitely not as good as Yi’s. It's in the routine, all-rounder in civil and military affairs.Xianfeng can't do it.If not, what should I do?When hunting, he didn't shoot a single shot, didn't shoot an arrow, and handed in a blank paper.When Xuanzong asked, he said that I couldn't bear to beat them. In the spring, when vegetation multiplies and everything grows, I'm afraid of accidentally injuring the mother beast and causing the cubs to lose their parents. The cubs will starve to death without a mother and milk, so I can't bear to beat them. .The emperor is very happy, my son is benevolent and filial, the Qing Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, you love animals so much, how can you not love the common people.Yi is very angry, you obviously can't hit it, you say you can't bear it, I have spent so much effort to get an animal to be tortured, how can it be justified? At this time, Emperor Xuanzong's mind changed. Should I pass the throne to the sixth child or the fourth child?Xuanzong Daoguang was seriously ill one day, and he felt that it was ominous. He was afraid that he would travel westward with a crane, so he called his four and six sons into the palace to discuss the right, so as to decide who to pass on the throne to. Before entering the palace, the two princes asked their teachers for advice. Before Liu entered the palace, the teacher told him that when the emperor asked him, he knew everything and said everything, and he must let the emperor understand that you are a qualified successor.So when the emperor asked me how I would manage my finances after my death, Brother Six spoke clearly and logically; how would you plan to govern the country, how would you reward and punish me? He said it very well, and the emperor felt very at ease.It seems that this successor is good, but there is also a little bit of displeasure. You think so clearly about what will happen after my death. What do you mean?When Xianfeng was about to enter the palace, Du Shoutian, the teacher of the fourth son, was later given the posthumous title of Wenzheng. Like Zeng Guofan, there were only eight ministers in the Qing Dynasty who received the posthumous posthumous title of Wenzheng.Mr. Du Wenzheng was good at guessing the sacred meaning, so he told Emperor Xianfeng that elder brother was not as knowledgeable as the sixth master, and the emperor didn't answer any questions.So Xianfeng cried as soon as he entered the door, crying wow, when the emperor asked, the fourth elder brother began to cry, Huang Ama can't die, and he will live forever and be healthy. The emperor saw that this son was filial, so when the emperor finally issued a will The son is the prince, and the six sons of the emperor are crowned princes. This is the only one in the imperial decree of the Qing emperor's secret establishment of the crown prince. It was sealed in his father's will.So the two brothers have deep knots and conflicts. After Daoguang died of illness, Yi Chi ascended the throne, changed his reign name to Xianfeng, and granted Yi the title of Prince Gong.The reason why Xianfeng added a word of respect before the title of prince was that he naturally hoped that this younger brother who was loved by his father would also respect and obey him.Xianfeng has complicated feelings for Yi. On the one hand, he looks at him differently. He once gave Yi the best mansion in the capital. On the other hand, he is quite wary of him. Let him sweep the grave today, let him keep the coffin tomorrow, and do this all day long. Now that the foreign enemy has come here, soldiers are approaching the city, the emperor ran away by himself, and asked his younger brother to go to the top, which is somewhat unethical.Before Xianfeng died, he kept his hand and asked eight ministers to watch him, so why Prince Gong and Cixi joined forces to launch a coup and kill these eight ministers was related to this matter.The emperor passed away, and the crown prince was young, so why should the uncle help the government? You got eight irrelevant people (three died), even though there are a few distant relatives of the royal family, you don't use me, this is not appropriate. The Anglo-French coalition forces that captured Beijing City burned down the Old Summer Palace. The coalition forces burned and looted, but the Old Summer Palace was not destroyed, but it did experience a catastrophe.After the Yuanmingyuan, known as the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, was robbed, the British "Times" stated: "It is estimated that the total value of the looted and destroyed properties exceeds 6 million pounds. Every soldier present looted a lot. After the palace, no one knew what to take. Silver was thrown away for gold; gold was thrown away for jewels and gems; It was transported away, but it was smashed..." The Old Summer Palace, which had been looted, was finally burned to the ground by the British and French allied forces. According to the records of eyewitnesses at the time, after receiving the order to burn, in an instant, thick smoke could be seen winding up from the woods.Soon, wisps of smoke gathered into a big black mass, thousands of thousands of flames burst out, and the eyes were blue and black, covering the sky and the sun.Look at the photos of the Old Summer Palace in 1870, especially the Western buildings, which still exist. Yuanmingyuan has experienced three calamities, fire calamity, stone calamity and earth calamity.The first one is the fire robbery, the instigator was the coalition army, and the stone robbery was done by ourselves. Once the Old Summer Palace was abandoned, there were no guards to guard it. Whoever built a house would pull stones from it, and all the steps and Chinese watches were removed. Leave everything to the end. At the end of the 19th century, when the land was plundered, the people began to open up wasteland and build fields around the lake, and the Old Summer Palace was completely destroyed.Who does the Old Summer Palace belong to? It belongs to the emperor, not China.This kind of result will appear in the family world. When the country is turned into a family, the common people will have no concept of the country. This is your family.After the coalition forces finished looting, the common people boldly went in and took it, but no one cared.After the British and French allied forces robbed and burned the Old Summer Palace, they forced the imperial court to sign the Treaty of Beijing. The 27-year-old Yi has no experience in foreign affairs, but he has to deal with the fate of a dynasty under the imperial city.The treaty first recognized the validity of the "Tianjin Treaty", secondly opened Tianjin as a commercial port, thirdly ceded a district of Kowloon Division to Britain, and fourthly allowed Chinese workers to go abroad.Britain and France are probably crazy about the shortage of people, so they came up with the idea of ​​the Chinese. Why do Chinese workers go abroad?Do coolies, slaves.Many young men walked alone on the street at night, with a stick and a sack behind them, and they were on a boat when they opened their eyes.Take that soldering iron, burn it red and burn a P on your arm, Peru, and an A, Australia.So the Chinese who have settled there now say that our family has settled in the United States for four generations, and they can’t speak Chinese anymore. The first generation is either P or A, and they all came from this way.Especially in the construction of railways in the United States, there is a ghost of a Chinese laborer under every sleeper that leads from the Atlantic to the Pacific.Chinese people are smart and capable, and they can be taught as soon as they are taught, so Chinese people are used for all work.The indemnity increased, the British and French military expenditures increased to 8 million taels each, the British pension was 500,000 taels, and the French 200,000 taels. Not long after the "Beijing Treaty" was signed, the British and French allied forces left Beijing. Because of the embarrassing signing of the contract that embarrassed Prince Gong, Britain has since devoted itself to supporting the foreign peace compromise faction headed by Prince Gong. During the war, Russia took advantage of the fire and invaded and occupied a large area of ​​northern my country. From the end of the 1950s to the 1980s, more than 1.5 million people were eaten. When the regime changed in the early years of the Republic of China, it accounted for another 170,000 people in Tannu Wulianghai and Khobdo.Now Russia's Tuva Autonomous Republic and the independent Outer Mongolia, a total of 1.6 million square kilometers of land were also taken away by Russia.China has lost more than 3 million square kilometers of land in modern history, accounting for a quarter of China's land surface.The territory of China used to be like a begonia leaf, but after being gnawed by bears in the north, it turned into a skinny chicken.