By burning the Yuanmingyuan, Britain and France gained the right to trade, but Russia seized the opportunity to seize 1.5 million square kilometers of territory!
Old Summer Palace
After the Yuanmingyuan, known as the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, was looted and burned by the British and French forces in the Xianfeng Decade (1860), the Qing government had to sign the Sino-British Beijing Treaty and the Sino-French Beijing Treaty with Britain and France respectively.
These two treaties were renewed on the basis of the Tianjin Treaty, so they are also called "renewal treaties". Its main content is that the Qing court added treaty ports (somewhat like free trade zones) and increased indemnities, while the British and French supported the Qing court's foreign affairs.
The main task of the current leadership is to attract business and investment, and in the eyes of the Rulers of the Qing Dynasty, the opening of commercial ports is a major matter that insults the national body.
In addition, on the issue of where to renew the contract, the Xianfeng Emperor showed a rare strength and resolutely refused to allow foreigners to enter Beijing. Foreigners, on the other hand, insisted on going to Beijing to "face the saints." It was impossible for foreigners to give the Qing Emperor a kneeling salute, which Xianfeng could not accept.
Therefore, before the British and French coalition forces invaded Beijing, the Qing court had sent people to negotiate with the British delegation, and because the two sides did not negotiate, the Xianfeng Emperor arrested all 39 members of the British delegation for the crime of "conspiracy to rebel".
Xianfeng Emperor
After the heads of the foreigners were arrested and arrested, Xian Feng thought that those shrimp soldiers and crabs would not be afraid, so he ordered the monk Greenqin to teach the foreign devils a good lesson.
At the Bali Bridge in Tongzhou, 39,000 Qing cavalry set out and rushed to 25,000 British and French troops. The final outcome of this battle was: the British and French allies suffered 5 deaths and 46 wounds, and the Qing side was almost completely destroyed. On September 21, 1860, the Bali Bridge was lost, and the Anglo-French army advanced into Beijing.
Xian Feng took a look, and he had a mother, and the trouble was big, so let's run. Early in the morning, with his concubines, crown princes, and a group of princes and ministers, he fled to the Chengde Summer Resort (Rehe Palace) and threw a mess to his sixth brother Prince Gong Yixuan to negotiate with the foreigners.
Prince Gong Yixuan
After the Anglo-French coalition army entered Beijing, the first thing they did was to rescue the 39 people who had been detained by Xianfeng's order. The head of the delegation, Pasha Li, and the secretary were imprisoned in the prison of the Punishment Department, while the other 37 people were locked up in the Yuanmingyuan. When the coalition forces arrived at the Yuanmingyuan, they found that only 17 people were left, and 20 of them had been killed. Moreover, the bodies of some people were unloaded in eight pieces, and those who had their arms cut off and their legs cut off were unbearable to see. Among them, the body of the British Times reporter is seven to eight pieces.
When british minister Erjin and British commander Grant saw the hostages and corpses, they thought that only the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan could deal a great blow to the Manchu Emperor. As a result, they regarded the splendid imperial gardens as the private property of the Manchu Emperors, and became the target of revenge and private anger of the coalition forces.
At that time, there was a French general named Montoban, who suggested burning the Forbidden City. Meng Tuoban said that the Yuanmingyuan is not fortified, it is not a war zone, it is not good to burn here, and if the Qing government must remember this lesson well, then burn the imperial palace and make them more painful, so that they can remember it.
imperial palace
But Elgin disagreed. Erjin said that burning the imperial city is equivalent to burning Beijing, and the people of Beijing have not provoked us, so why can't we get along with the people? The Yuanmingyuan is a private garden, or a place where we are tortured and captured, so let's burn it.
At this point, the Yuanmingyuan suffered. The foreign devils snatched and burned the Yuanmingyuan first, and a magnificent royal garden was destroyed in a torch. The Yuanmingyuan seems to have been destroyed by the barbarism and greed of the invaders, and the arrogance and blind arrogance of the Manchu Emperor should also be a pair of accelerants.
The loser had no say, and Prince Gong had to sit down and talk to the foreigners about renewing the contract. Thus, the Sino-British Beijing Treaty and the Sino-French Beijing Treaty were born again in the humiliation of the Chinese people.
The Sino-British Beijing Treaty and the Sino-French Beijing Treaty were signed
So, what are the provisions of these two treaties? Let's relive the humiliation of that year:
The Sino-British Treaty of Beijing was signed on October 24, 1860 (the Xianfeng Decade), with a total of nine paragraphs, which, in addition to confirming that the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin was still valid, added provisions to expand aggression: (1) to open Tianjin as a trading port; (2) to allow Britain to recruit Chinese workers to go abroad; (3) to cede the kowloon division to Britain; (4) the indemnity stipulated in the Sino-British Tianjin Treaty was increased to eight million taels. After the signing of the agreement, the British expressed their support for the Qing government to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and supported the foreign affairs faction yixun to take power.
On October 25, 1860 (the Xianfeng Decade), the Sino-French Treaty of Beijing was signed, with a total of ten paragraphs, which, in addition to confirming that the Sino-French Treaty of Tianjin was still valid, added provisions to expand aggression: (1) to open Tianjin as a commercial port; (2) to allow France to recruit Chinese workers to go abroad; (3) to return the previously confiscated Catholic property, and the French side privately increased in the Chinese treaty: "and appointed French missionaries to rent and buy fields in the provinces and build themselves" ;(4) The indemnity stipulated in the Sino-French Tianjin Treaty was increased to eight million taels. After the signing of the agreement, France expressed its support for the Qing government to suppress the Taiping Rebellion and supported the foreign affairs faction yixun to take power.
Territories occupied by Russia
What do you see from these two unequal treaties? If you're angry, look at another country that enjoyed its success, Russia, which also forced the Qing government to sign another "Beijing Treaty" (that is, the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty) 20 days later.
The treaty consists of fifteen paragraphs, the main contents of which are: (1) the forcible transfer of about 400,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory east of the Ussuri River (including Sakhalin Island) to Russia; (2) the demarcation of the western section of China and Russia, from Shabindabaha through Jaisandor, Temur Tudjol (present-day Lake Issyk-Kul) to the border of Kokand, "along the mountains, the flow of the great river, and the current permanent chinese garrison of Karen", according to this provision, in 1864 the "Sino-Russian Survey and Division of the Northwest Boundary Treaty" was signed, east of Lake Balkhash, More than 440,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory south of the south and Jaisanjol were ceded to Russia; (3) Kashgar (present-day Kashgar) was opened as a trading port; (4) Russia established consulates in Kulun (present-day Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia) and Kashgar.
There are also reasons for such a strange treaty. In 1856, when the Anglo-French army attacked Guangzhou, the Russian minister Putiyatin negotiated the border issue with the Qing government. In May 1858, when the Russian governor of Siberia, Muravyov, took advantage of the Anglo-French alliance to capture Dagukou, he forced the Qing general Yishan of Heilongjiang to sign the Sino-Russian Treaty of Yaohun by force. According to this treaty, the Qing government ceded more than 600,000 square kilometers of land north of the Heilongjiang River and south of the Waixing'an Mountains to Russia, and allocated about 400,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory east of the Ussuri River to Sino-Russian condominium. On the other hand, Russia waited for an opportunity to intervene in mediation, and Putiyatin signed the Sino-Russian Treaty of Tianjin with the Qing government before Britain, France, and the United States.
Divided land
In November 1860, after the signing of the Treaty of Beijing between China, Britain, and France, the Anglo-French coalition began to withdraw from Beijing. Ignatiev, the new Russian minister to China, put forward a new territorial claim on the grounds that "mediation was meritorious." On the 14th, the Qing government signed the "Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty" with Russia, and at the same time, Russia will also impose on China the direction of the western border between China and Russia proposed by it, and refer to the mountains, rivers and lakes that have always belonged to China and karen located in China as the demarcation marker, creating a treaty for more occupation of China's western territory. According to 1864, Russia forced the Qing government to conclude the Treaty on the Survey and Division of the Northwest Boundary, which ceded 440,000 square kilometers of land south of Lake Balkhash.
Thus, the Russians seized more than 1.5 million square kilometers (the equivalent of the size of three Frances) without firing a single shot, becoming the biggest profiteer during the Second Opium War.
Restoration map of the signing of the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty
The burned Yuanmingyuan is indeed a "shame" for Chinese people, and it will be mentioned at every critical moment. Compared with a royal garden, the nearly 1.5 million square kilometers of land is rarely mentioned or understated, which makes the Russians wonder how many generations of stealing.
(Image from the Internet)