In 1840, the Opium War broke out when britain invaded the Qing Dynasty, and the Treaty of Nanking allowed China to pay compensation for land and open trade ports, and began to degenerate into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.
Fourteen years after the Opium War, Britain once again launched a war of aggression, this time britain also pulled its good friend France into it, and the result is beyond doubt that the Qing government failed again, and what followed was still the indemnity for the cession of land. What was even more infuriating was that the Anglo-French coalition army invaded Beijing, and in order to force the Qing government to comply, it even burned down the Yuanmingyuan.
Greed can never be satisfied, and the aggressor is a hungry wolf that cannot be fed. Especially with the first time, I am afraid that the future life of the Qing government will not be too good, but until the Eight-Power Alliance entered Beijing in 1900, for almost forty years, Britain did not invade China like it did in the first and second Opium Wars.
Objectively speaking, Britain's war of aggression is not too different from that of Tsarist Russia and other countries, at least the original intention is different. Tsarist Russia was bent on land and expanded for hundreds of years, and Tsarist Russia would not play trade at all.
The British still have to open the Chinese market, the two Opium Wars, both British won, the Qing government chose to yield. So since britain did not covet territory like Tsarist Russia, it was more manifested in tariffs, trade and so on.
After the Second Opium War, in fact, both the British and the Qing government changed.
Britain also knew that it was impossible to dominate China, and even if the Qing government was overthrown, it would be difficult to change to a government friendly to Britain, as long as it could safeguard and satisfy the British interests in invading China. After all, it is impossible for Britain, which is far away from the ocean, to occupy the Qing Dynasty like it did in India, and there is a tsarist Russia in the north that is eyeing the tiger and bites the Qing from time to time. If you push too hard, I am afraid that it will be a little more than worth the loss.
In fact, the Qing government also realized that the invaders were not trying to overthrow them, so the British could retreat with the appropriate concession of some interests. This also gave the Qing government some confidence, so as long as it can maintain relations with the British, there is no problem in maintaining power.
After the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion, the British also helped the Qing government suppress the domestic uprising. With the end of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the foreign affairs movement began again. The change of the Qing government also gave the British a little hope, that is, the faint and incompetent Qing government was not static, but only knew how to abide by the family law of the ancestors.
The Foreign Affairs Movement lasted for more than thirty years, and although there were secret storms at this time, at least on the surface, the Qing court maintained a relatively good relationship with the Western powers. In particular, the Qing Dynasty purchased countless machines and equipment and even weapons and equipment from the West, making them a big profit.
Although it did not have the scale of the Opium War, Britain was indeed not idle, and Britain also learned to set its sights on Tibet with Tsarist Russia, and even fought with Tsarist Russia in Central Asia and Xinjiang.
By the time the Sino-Japanese War was defeated by the Qing Dynasty to Japan, the Qing dynasty had completely exposed its incompetence, and the Qing government was already crumbling. This was followed by the eight-power coalition's entry into Beijing.