The defeat of the Second Opium War and the tragedy of Ye Mingchen were caused by the Qing government's foreign policy at that time.
As early as the First Opium War, the Qing Dynasty Daoguang Emperor formulated a foreign policy that was: "You must not lose the national system at the top, and you must not provoke the border at the bottom." From the beginning of 1839, when Lin Zexu was ordered to go to Guangzhou to ban opium, this policy became the golden rule of the Qing Dynasty. However, in both theory and practice, this policy is extremely difficult to implement, and in fact it is a dead policy that cannot be implemented. As a result, the ministers concerned are punished for poor execution. Lin Zexu and Zheng Tingzhen were "dismissed from their posts and filled in the army" for "provoking the border"; Qi Shan and Yi Shan were sentenced to "beheaded and imprisoned" for "losing their national body"; and even Yao Ying and Dahong'a, who were guarding Taiwan, were also "handed over to the ministry for discussion" even though they won the battle. This shows that the Qing court acted only according to the emperor's will, and as for the interests of the matter itself, it was rarely considered. Officials who violate the "Holy Word" at the slightest level are punished severely, even if it is beneficial to the matter itself. These facts undoubtedly taught Ye Mingchen a lesson and made him dare not violate the court's policy in the slightest. When this policy could not be implemented at all, he had to fall prey to the "policy".
At the end of 1857 and the beginning of 1858, the situation had changed, and after two years of planning, the British had made full preparations to send the Canadian governor Elgin to lead a fleet to the sea of Guangdong, and at the same time colluded with the French invading army, which was even more powerful. Although the Qing government was replaced by the Daoguang Emperor to the Xianfeng Emperor, its foreign policy basically did not change. After the "Yarrow" incident, no military preparations were made because of the threat of war by the British invaders. The Xianfeng Emperor also tried to be tough on the outside world, but due to the intensification of class contradictions at home at that time, peasant uprisings such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were raging. The Qing government devoted its main forces to suppressing peasant uprisings, and the resistance to foreign aggression had been greatly weakened. Moreover, the suppression of peasant uprisings required a large number of military salaries, and part of these military salaries came from customs, so the Qing government was unwilling to cut off absolute foreign trade, that is, it was unwilling to fight with foreigners, so it regarded the aspect of "not starting border challenges" as more important. One need only look at the "edicts" given by the imperial court to the frontier ministers during this period, and we can see that its foreign policy is still "not to lose the national system" and "not to start a border challenge", but especially to emphasize "no border challenge".
On August 24, 1854, when the generals of Jiangning, Xiang Rong, the viceroy of Hubei, Yiliang, the governor of Liangjiang, and The Inspector of Jiangsu, Jir Hang'a, deeply rebuked Gil Hang'a for his weakness and incompetence in negotiating with the ministers of the Three Kingdoms of Britain, the United States, and France to amend the treaty. He should go out of his mouth and play He Sheng's hatred. On the same day, he also issued an edict to the governor Gui Liang and others directly subordinate to him to "properly consult and enlighten the law" to the three kingdoms envoys who went north to Tianjin, "When this Kifu is not quiet, it is imperative not to involve Emperor Zhang slightly and cause trouble." ”
On August 27, 1944, Xianfeng issued an edict directly subordinate to the governor GuiLiang, who "must not show any weakness" to the British and American officials who were moving north, and should "stop it with righteous words and do not cause trouble." ”
On July 13, 1855, in the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), when Ye Mingchen reported on the handling of the previous affairs of Shanghai's tax arrears, the Guangdong tea tax, and the Minyi dispute, and the subsequent handling of the affairs in accordance with the will of the imperial court, the Xianfeng Emperor praised him: "The situation of the various Yi that Lan Qing played was really clear, and he was also able to show good understanding and calmness, not only to discourage his insatiable demands, but also to avoid other accidents, so as to disturb the overall situation." Qing Qiyong was always inspired, and endured the military affairs to be peaceful, at that time, he was full of energy, and he decided not to let his cunning attempts, and there was a voyeurism at all times. ”
On July 14, 1955, because the Russian invaders drove us back to Jinfu and killed my Hui people, the Tarbahatai digging gold people angrily burned the Russian business trade circles, and the Counselor General Yingxiu of Talbahatai found out that russia had gathered a crowd to take revenge and asked General Ili to send officers and soldiers. In response to this matter, the Qing court edict rebuked Yingxiu: "Zhou Xing's consultation with the dispatch of troops is not only unable to convince Yixin, but also fears that things will change", so that Yingxiu will burn the people in the trade circle "quickly and strictly, and order compensation for the loss of goods" in order to "not build up troops to provoke." ”
In December of the fifth year of Xianfeng, when the Jilin general Jing Chunsong asked the Jilin officers and soldiers who had withdrawn from the southern transfer to defend against the Invasion of the Russians, the Emperor said: "Never to control the foreign Yi, only to try to restrain the foreigners, to be good at enlightenment, and there is no reason to use troops rashly", so that Jing Chun should be properly controlled and not to provoke. ”
In July of the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), in the face of the Russian invaders coming and going to Heilongjiang and building a house to occupy an area, the imperial court ordered the Heilongjiang general Yishan: "We must not start a provocation lightly, nor can we be unrestrained." ”
In the first month of the seventh year of Xianfeng, he ordered Ye Mingchen to "Once upon a time, Lin Zexu misheard people's words, saying that English were incompetent and incompetent, and might as well deter military might." To the beginning of the provocation. After the loss of the sea, it is helpless, and the lessons of the past must be known. ”
From the above, it can be seen that the foreign policy of the Qing court during the Xianfeng period was still "not to lose the national system" and "not to start border challenges". Because of the relationship between financial resources, I attach great importance to "not starting border challenges". Ye Mingchen acted only according to the will of the imperial court, and between this "dilemma of leniency and fierceness", he "often used the shame of snow and the respect for the country as his words", and silently read that "if you wrestle with foreigners, you will be invincible, and if you are afraid of thwarting the people and losing your prestige or using the first and the worst and the situation to be severe, it is better to listen to what he does, and to hide my shortcomings." He also privately speculated that foreigners were heavy on trade and loved Guangdong to prosperity, but they did not hesitate to be afraid of the Cantonese people, and they wanted to be at peace with the Cantonese people, or did not dare to indulge their strength to kill themselves. It can be seen how dull and naïve Ye Mingchen's ideas are. Yet the reality is harsh and unforgiving. At the time of the First Opium War, in the face of the British invaders who were not fully prepared, the Qing government's foreign policy could no longer be implemented, so now in the face of the long-planned Anglo-French coalition forces, this policy of the Qing government is even more difficult to implement. Ye Mingchen, who stubbornly adhered to this policy, if he did not want to leave his job and run away in order to survive, he would only be tied up and taken prisoner, and Ye Mingchen chose the latter.
Of course, what prompted Ye Mingchen to choose the latter path was also his internal reasons, that is, it was promoted by his origin and experience.
Ye Mingchen, also known as Kunchen, was a native of Hanyang, Hubei, born in the twelfth year of Jiaqing (1807) and died in the eighth year of Xianfeng (1859). From his great-grandfather onwards, he has been an official for generations. In the fifteenth year of Daoguang (1835), Ye Mingchen entered the priesthood, selected the Hanlin Yuan Shu Jishi, taught editing, and from then on stepped into the career. He served as a magistrate for more than 20 years. From the twenty-sixth year of Daoguang (1846), he served as a political envoy in Guangdong, and in the twenty-seventh year, he arrived in Guangdong as a political envoy, looking for nursing inspectors, and in the second year, he was actually taught and became a major member of the party. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), he acted as the governor of Liangguang, and was soon granted the title.
Judging from Ye Mingchen's career transformation, he belonged to the smooth one who went straight to Qingyun. The smooth family and career of the eunuchs for generations caused him to be absolutely loyal to the Qing court. Therefore, in handling political affairs, he acted according to the emperor's will and did not dare to move slightly.
For example, in March of the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang (1849), when the British first wanted to enter the city, inspector Ye Mingchen and governor Xu Guangjin adopted the method of declaring to the British that they were not allowed to enter the city on the one hand, so as not to lose the heavenly dynasty system, on the other hand, to strengthen the sea and land border defense, and to take advantage of the popular anti-entry into the city at that time in an attempt to intimidate the invaders with troops, so as not to start a border attack. As he said in his recital: "If you are not careful to start and end, how can you fix the barrier and settle down?" What he called "prudence from the beginning to the end" was the comprehensive implementation of the Qing court's foreign policy. In fact, Ye Mingchen's method also did not work, but because the British invaders at that time were not prepared enough and did not want to fight at this time, they shelved the request to enter the city, so Ye Mingchen and others achieved unexpected success this time.
Ye Mingchen had also handled a case of foreigner priests infiltrating the mainland in April of the previous year. The method he used was to "apply for a treaty, hand it over to the consuls of various countries, strictly restrain them, and not allow them to return to the interior." Since the Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing signed during the First Opium War did not have the provision that foreign priests could go to the interior to preach, Ye Mingchen achieved the success of "not losing the national body" and "not starting a border attack" this time. Several accidental successes increased Ye Mingchen's conceited psychology, and also strengthened Ye Mingchen's firmness in clinging to the Qing government's unworkable foreign policy. Therefore, the tragedy of Ye Mingchen was completely caused by the Qing government.
After Ye Mingchen was captured in 1856, Huang Zonghan was appointed governor of Liangguang and minister of Chincha, and was acted by Inspector Bai Gui before Huang reached Guangzhou. At this time, the Qing government's foreign policy remained unchanged, and it still told Bai Gui and others to "not lose too rigidity in the aggressors, such as Ye Mingchen provoked the incident; nor should it be too soft, so that the heart of The Yi to despise China is the most important." "In fact, almost none of the Ministers of Chincha who handled foreign affairs in Guangdong received a good fate. After Lin, Deng, Qi, and Yi, when the British threatened to enter the city step by step, Qi Ying was embarrassed to say that Yun Zhi was "afraid of provoking the people to change" and was not allowed to "fear the border provocations", and finally adopted a cunning method, allowing him to enter the city "after two years". Then try to exercise internal adjustment. Trying to stay out of the matter and shirk responsibility. Although the internal adjustment was successful, he spent eight years in Xianfeng, and finally "committed suicide" because he deceived the imperial court while in Guangzhou. At the same time as Qi Ying, Iribu, who was the minister of the General Qinchai in Guangzhou, went to Guangdong in the twenty-third year of Daoguang (1843) and saw that the people's hearts were dissatisfied and cunning. Sorrowful, sick for more than a month".
Ye Mingchen stubbornly adhered to the Qing Dynasty's foreign policy and fought for the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but the imperial court and the emperor did not sympathize with him. After he was captured, the Qing government not only did not protest to the British government and demanded people, but instead believed that he was not killed and captured, losing the face of the imperial court and hurting the dignity of the national body. Therefore, he was convicted: "The reason for this rampant situation is that Ye Mingchen is self-conscious and handles perverse behavior. So that the people were indignant. "And use the method of dismissal to curry favor with the invaders, in order to put an end to the provocation of the soldiers." The Emperor said: "Ye Mingchen did not handle things well, and he has already dismissed the governor, so it can be seen that yi bing is a great duke, and he should know that he regrets it." In this way, Ye Mingchen became the scapegoat of the Qing court's foreign policy that could not be implemented. After Ye's death, the body was transported back to China, and only because of the leniency of the imperial court was it "spared his corpse".