In 1839, Lin Zexu led the sale of cigarettes in Humen and thwarted the provocation of the British. However, after the Opium War broke out, the Daoguang Emperor removed Lin Zexu from his post and "sent him to Ili, Xinjiang, to atone for his sins." Although Lin Zexu later made meritorious contributions to controlling water in Henan, the Daoguang Emperor ignored the objections of the military chancellor Wang Ding and still exiled Lin Zexu to Xinjiang! So, what was Lin Zexu's fate after this?
In May 1842, after arriving in Xi'an, Lin Zexu fell ill and recuperated for two months, and after the initial recovery of a serious illness, he wrote a poem to his wife before his journey to the west, including a sentence that reads: "If the country lives and dies, it is better to avoid it because of misfortune." Although Lin Zexu was treated unfairly, he was calm and still loved the country. After arriving in Ili, Lin Zexu was treated favorably by General Ili.
During his stay in Xinjiang, Lin Zexu gave full play to his own strengths, actively built water conservancy projects, promoted "karez wells" and spinning wheels, and made important contributions to the development of Xinjiang, which are still called "Forest Gongqu", "Lin Gongjing" and "Forest Bus". In December 1845, Lin Zexu finally received the holy decree of pardon, acting as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu as a three-pin dingdai, and in April of the following year, he was appointed as the governor of Shaanxi.
At that time, the territory of Shaanxi was very chaotic, and the "knifemen" were rampant, posing a great danger to social order, and there were even signs of a large-scale uprising. After Lin Zexu took office, he first solved the grain problem, put in the official government's stock of grain to stabilize prices, and at the same time helped the victims of the disaster. Then, according to the disaster situation, Lin Zexu proposed to the imperial court to exempt money and grain. At the same time, Lin Zexu also planned to build a water conservancy project in Guanzhong. Finally, Lin Zexu suppressed the "knife man".
After more than a year of work, the social order in Shaanxi gradually stabilized, and Lin Zexu was newly appointed at this time. In May 1847, the Daoguang Emperor ordered Lin Zexu to go to Kunming and serve as the governor of Yungui. It turned out that the problem in Yunnan at that time was also very serious, "hui Han accumulated resentment and revenge, big and armed fighting, small and robbery, almost to no age." After Lin Zexu arrived in office, he has always adhered to the principles of "dividing the good and the bad, not dividing the Han" and "cursing the evil of the head and scattering the coercion of the subordinates".
At the same time, Lin Zexu also implemented the practice of "using Han to protect the Return, to return to the Han", which won the support and support of the Hui and Han people of all ethnic groups in Yunnan. After two years of hard work, Lin Zexu made the ruling order of Yunnan stabilize, and to this day, there are still many legends of Lin Zexu in Yunnan. However, after the Opium War, Lin Zexu still did a lot of things that benefited the country and the people, whether in the northwest or in the southwest enjoyed great prestige.
In July 1849, Lin Zexu resigned from the Daoguang Emperor due to his serious illness. On the way back to his hometown, Lin Zexu met Zuo Zongtang in Changsha, Hunan Province, and the two talked all night long, and Lin Zexu gave Zuo Zongtang all the information he had collected in Xinjiang. Thirty years later, Zuo Zongtang led an army to retake Xinjiang. In 1850, the Daoguang Emperor died of illness, and the Xianfeng Emperor took the throne, he had long heard of Lin Zexu's name, and repeatedly ordered the re-activation of Lin Zexu, but at this time Lin Zexu was already seriously ill.
In July of the same year, guangxi was in turmoil, first the Heaven and Earth Society uprising, followed by the Taiping Rebellion led by Hong Xiuquan. The Xianfeng Emperor knew that Lin Zexu was in Weizhen liangguang, so he appointed him as the minister of Chincha. Although Lin Zexu was seriously ill, he still insisted on getting up and going. In November of the same year, Lin Zexu arrived in Puning County and died of illness here at the age of 66. Lin Zexu was still thinking about the country during his serious illness, he said: "In the end, it is a Chinese patient, and its Russia is concerned!" I am old, and I should see it. When the Xianfeng Emperor heard the news, he not only gave the title of "Wen Zhong", but also personally wrote a poem: Answer jun en, qing prudent and loyal for decades, do not hesitate, disband and return, as if he had a military state in his heart; The strength of the warrior, the rugged and dangerous obstacle of six thousand miles, the division was not successful, the horse was transformed, and the air cult tears the hero.
References: 1. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty; 2. Biography of Lin Zexu